Author Archives: Traveler Bill

2013 is the Year of the Magpie

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Yesterdays mail delivery at Two Traveler’s Plaza included a package notification from the USPS. As it happens we both had today off so this morning after breakfast I headed to the Pratt Post Office to claim my unknown parcel.

Turns out it was my 2013 Member Pack from Collingwood F.C.

Back when Traveler Nell and I decided to make a go of it I understood there was only one condition. I had to convert to Australian Footyism. Nell is MAD for the Magpies for many years. When we got engaged I wrote to our excellent president Eddie McGuire to request a letter of acknowledgment which he did send.

So I have been an International Member of the ‘Pies for three years now and every year I get a cap, a scarf and a polo shirt.

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2013 Member Kit

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Star Athletic – A New Sponsor

This year Collingwood is partnering with Star Athletic to make a “For Footy” uniform.  We’ll see.

Here are some of the other Corporate Sponsors

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The 2012 Shirt

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And 2011

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Here they are all lined up.

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And here is my long sleeved game-day Guernsey I got in 2011.  Notice the Gold AFL Logo indicating Collingwoods status as defending Premiership Champions.

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The NAB Cup starts while we are away, but we will be home in plenty of time to see the ball bounce on the new season.

WABAC Whensday- On Broadway

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Sherman, set the WABAC Machine to May 2004 in New York City. Today we are going to revisit one of Traveler Bills greatest projects…his walk On Broadway.

It was Memorial Day weekend in 2004. The Saturday was my birthday, I decided that the way I wanted to celebrate was to complete a long planned project to walk down Broadway and to photograph myself all the way down. To give you an idea how long ago it was, the original plan was to make a flip-book of the journey.

The original version of “On Broadway” had a song that I have no rights whatsoever to use. For this version I went to the FreeMusicArchive.org and downloaded Blue Bossa by Jazz at Mladost

Enjoy

Traveler Bill On Broadway – Again! from Traveler Bill on Vimeo.

How to Canceive an Art Exhibit

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For those of you that aren’t fortunate enough to spend a great deal of time in the World Financial Center like I am, you may not be aware of “Canstruction NYC.” They are, according to their website…

a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that holds annual design and build competitions to construct fantastic, giant sized, structures made entirely out of canned food. In each city after the structures are built and the winners declared the creations go on view to the general public as giant art exhibits. At the close of the competition all of the CansculpturesTMare dismantled food used in the structures is donated to the local food banks for distribution to community emergency feeding programs.

Now I have been lurking around this area for years and I seem to recall the structures being free standing without the aid of platforms, wire structures and packing tape. I’ll wager that the farm that a careless foreign visitor or blackberrying businessman walked into, and thereby destroyed some poor artists hours of blood sweat and tears.

I walked through the World Financial Center recently and captured the following images.

Here is the Jefferson Memorial…

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Made out of Goya Vienna Sausages.

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A pinwheel

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The Big Wheel from the Showcase Showdown of the Price is Right20130201-150811.jpg

A Ferris Wheel20130201-150824.jpg

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A dozen sundry pieces in the Winter Garden.  I see a balloon dog, a bees nest and a Google Android 20130201-154404.jpg

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I thought this was a light house, but I’m not sure now.20130201-154349.jpg

A chess set.20130201-154342.jpg

Sweet Rome, Italia: Supplementare Seconda Parte

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Last year Traveler Nell and I visited Europe starting in Rome. Before we had even left Lazio we had agreed that we had to return someday to the Eternal City. And so we are…only ten months later. Leading up to our return trip I am posting some of the things I love about Rome.

Numero Otto (8): Trenitalia

When Traveler Nell and I first planned to travel through Europe in 2012 I knew I wanted to travel as much as possible by train. As it turned out with the exception of Venice to Paris (which at $1,000 and 14 hours, was a little too pricey and long to justify) we were able to arrange for all our interstate and international travel by train.

Our first experience with Trenitalia was at the Termini Station in Rome. It was here we picked up our Roma Pass.

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Pizza an Arancini at Termini

Traveler Nell at Termini's Main Level

Traveler Nell at Termini’s Main Level

Espresso on the Roma Venezia Express

Espresso on the Roma Venezia Express

As an aside, the train we were on was so fast that when we would go through tunnels our ears would pop!

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View from the Rail Station in Venice.

 

 

 

Pain de Me! UPDATE

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A few weeks back I lamented the loss of my Kitchenaid and my failure to produce a loaf of Pain de Mie.

Rather than sit on my rump waiting for the world to right itself I decided to take the bull by the horns, let go of those horns, exit the paddock with said bull, and make a loaf of my regular Farmhouse white in the pan. I think I did ok.

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The corners are not well defined at the top but the crumb was tight. Here it is in comparison to my typical bread loaves.

It is a great freezing loaf and as a square slice fits nicely into any nook available.

20130124-163437.jpgAnd having eaten a grilled cheese sandwich made with this break I will personally vouch for it’s freezer stability.

 

My Ties with Lunch: Jan, 29, 2013

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I like neckties and I try to wear one every day. Lets see if I can make a swing through my entire collection.

The tie of the day is a navy blue Four-in-Hand necktie with red and white Repp stripes from Jay Crew. (And it desperately need an ironing!)

And the knot of the day is the Half Windsor.

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WAYBAC Whensday: Healesville Sanctuary

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Sherman, set the WABAC Machine to the late September 2011 in Healsville Victoria Australia. Today we are going to visit the Healesville Santuary!

Healesville from Traveler Bill on Vimeo.
Sonny Boy (Al Jolson) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Whenever Traveler Nell and I visit her homeland of Australia we try to balance time with her friends and family with getting out to do particularly Australian activites. In our last trip we managed to accomplish both aims by visiting the Healesville Sanctuary with her parents.
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Healesville is one of the locations of ZOOS Victoria and a place where you can have a “Magic Moments” encounter with a native specie such as kangaroo, wombats or koala. Guess which one I picked.

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In the State of Victoria it is illegal for a non-authorized person to touch a koala so whenever you see a celebrity holding one they are in some other state. This meant my close encounter would be of the Second Kind.
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But that was just fine because “Benny” was uncharacteristically awake and active, at least for most of the encounter. Now the traditional explanation for koalas typical torpor is that they are drunk from the toxins in eucalyptus leaves of which their diet consists.  But that is an over simplification.  In fact their metabolism requires so much effort to digest the gum tree leaves that they need to sleep immediately after eating. Regardless the reason, I thought it a good idea.
Napping with Bills friend
*Benny may not have been his name, though I think it is, I just don’t remember.

Buddy Rich’s Ghost Got a Two Day Pass From Hell

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Several times in the past week Traveler Nell and I have been woken up by the radiators at Two Travelers Plaza.  I caught the sounds we heard on a couple occasions.

 

The Ghost of Buddy Rich II from Traveler Bill on Vimeo.

For those who do not know, Buddy Rich was a big band drummer. When I was in fifth or sixth grade he came to our school. (I don’t remember which year exactly, I do know that Doc Sevrinson came the other year. Apparently though, he was a bit of a grump.

So famous a grump in fact that Jerry Seinfeld immortalized it on his show.