Uploads from Vaneeesa, with geodata

Day 35

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:07:44 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

DJ and I walked east along the Linden equator today, border crossing from LEA4 into LEA2. I guess we're starting a caravan or something... you'll never guess... yes! I know! We ran into Padmavati! It's pretty barren out here in LEA4, not a lot going on. Sure is nice to have some good company at least. And incredible weather and blue skies.

All the water here is so shallow and warm, it's really fun to move between islands. Today we crossed from Fonpo, Tol Island, past Fana Panges Island, and stopped for this pix on the western end of Udot Island.

LOCATION: 7.3732773600226N, 151.70248031616E
NAME: Fanomo, Udot Island, Truk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 14°

Day 34 - Detail Truk-Tol-Fonpo

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:47:37 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Google Map of Fonpo on Tol Island, Truk Lagoon. In the inset, DJ snorkeling in the warm, pristine, shallow waters just off the eastern coast.

Day 34

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:05:38 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

My trek Southeast continued today. I made another treacherous, but ultimately successful diagonal border crossing and reached the Linden Equator today. I was in fucking Iceland a few weeks ago! Incredible. What a journey this has been. The funny thing about walking to the ends of the earth is: you never know who you're gonna meet there. As I made that diagonal crossing SE from LEA5 down into LEA2, who should I run into there but DJ Haraway. This is the 2nd time I've seen her since Xue's birthday party, and the3rd time in a row that she looks totally different. DJ is some kind of chameleon. Perhaps not a "shape shifter," but a "clothes horse" at least.

Those high-numbered LEA sims were opulent full-regions, down here in the fiery waters it's every parcel for herself.

As far as I can tell, this island group is the largest above water "blob" in Truk Lagoon. Polle, Patta and Tol Islands all seem to in fact be a single contiguous land mass. Yesterday I traversed from tiny and uninhabited Onomue Island about three-and-a-half kilometers to closest Polle, and today I traveled about the same distance over land to the more easterly end of this western Truk grouping: Fonpo on Tol Island. From here looking east I can see so many small islands dotting the shallow reef: Romanum, Udot, Fana Panges, and more in the distance.

I'm going to head east for a while now, over to Udot / LEA4, and DJ's said she'll walk with me for a while.

LOCATION: 7.3656164069018N, 151.63450241089E
NAME: Fonpo, Tol Island, Truk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 14°

Day 28

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:12:42 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

I walked south again today. I was sad to leave the wonder of Secret Rage's world at LEA25. I think, in a way, it reminded me of the final act of Ingmar Bergman's _Fanny & Alexander_

If you recall, the film opens with a rich, warm, and joyous family. But after Fanny & Alexander's father dies, their mother marries The Bisiop, and they are plunged into a world of harsh austerity. Finally, at the end they are "rescued" by mysterious carnival people and Fanny and Alexander discover yet another way of being in this world.

At Secret Rage's "A Dream Within a Dream" it felt a bit like the wonder and mystery of Fanny & Alexander's carnival experience. Neither austere, nor warm, but a psychological enveloping of feelings and possibilities.

Trekking south I crossed the sim border into LEA26 and the endless waters of Banrion Constantine's Aequitas. In the photo I found some abandoned, old pilings and a curious ferris wheel off somewhere beyond.

LOCATION: 38.519563696402N, 28.631572723389W
NAME: Marina Da Horta, Horta, Azores, Portugal

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 34.7°

Day 27

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:10:52 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

My trek south continued today. I wonder, when I finally reach the equator, if I'll dream of icebergs. So far the warmer air and water is like manna from heaven.

Today I left the ArtGyro installation at LEA18 and crossed its southern border down into Secret Rage's "A Dream Within a Dream" installation at LEA25. This photo is of me high atop an old tree where the "big birds" have nested. Here's what Secret Rage wrote in her parcel description:

...an earthbound multi-level land filled (or soon to be) with vignettes depicting my nocturnal travels and visions~explore from deep underwater to reaching towards the sky...

I'm really loving the Azorez. Corvo yesterday was extraordinary in the dynamism of such a small "bowl" in such a vast North Atlantic, now today the "island of the flowers," incredible. Flores & Corvo make up the smaller, western group of the archipelago, so tomorrow I'll probably cross over from the North American Plate to... gosh... I know that these two western islands are on the edge of the North American plate, but I can't tell from my map if the larger, eastern group is on the Eurasian or the African plate... this place is so close to where all three plates meet - perhaps I'll know by tomorrow.

LOCATION: 39.506822109113N, 31.186580657959W
NAME: Cedros, ilha das Flores, Azores, Portugal

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 90.9°

Day 33

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:18:40 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

I headed South-East today, leaving LEA7 and entering LEA5 - LEA Art Sandbox. Who could have guessed that I'd travel to the equator to find Roger Corman's 53-year-old cinematic masterpiece, that meditation on the desperate artist, "A Bucket of Blood"!
youtu.be/Tqkewj1XMn8

Meanwhile in Truk Lagoon, I left the tiniest dot of an island, uninhabited Onomue Island, across a few km of shallow reef to spectacular Polle Island
www.geonames.org/7667981/faichuk-islands-polle-island.html

LOCATION: 7.3353969129592N, 151.55948638916E
NAME: Polle Island, Truk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 24.1°

Day 32

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:50:09 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

I haulted my eastward journey and headed south, way south today. I border crossed from LEA29 down to LEA7 and the LEA Media Arts Center.

I can't believe how recently I was freezing, as today I moved from the beautiful waters of the Azores down to the near-equatorial splendor of Truk Lagoon in Micronesia.

LOCATION: 7.346037814319N, 151.5189743042E
NAME: Onomue Island, Truk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 10.4°

screen_last-120226

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:44:29 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Azores-Map

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:25:22 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Map of my 6-day adventure in the Azores.

Thank you Google Maps!
♥♥♥ Van & Vic forever!!! ♥♥♥

Day 31

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:42:35 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Continuing east today I left the opulence of LEA28 and the Pirats Art Network and made the border crossing into the much more sparse and austere world of LEA29 and the Land Rush Endowment.

I'm curious as to what the Land Rush is... it's an inspiring name... but I still have so far to travel today and the hour grows late... I fear I must press on... keep walking...

Barring the unexpected, today should be my final day in the Azores. From the sublime loneliness of Corvo at the extent of the western group, to the relative density of the central island group and now at the eastern extent here on Santa Maria, perhaps 70km below Sao Miguel.

The beauty and North Atlantic vulnerability of the Azores are reminiscent of other experiences in my life, yet more intensely so here on these tiny dots surrounded by endless ocean. I felt this power especially on Corvo. I felt such an intense, visceral response to that little drop of land. Perhaps we can conceive a future performance on Corvo. Perhaps one day my daughter will open Gallery Xue / Corvo there.

LOCATION: 36.927938997767N, 25.01895904541W
NAME: Maya, Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 60°

Day 30

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:09:29 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

My sojourn east continued today. Leaving the troubled waters of Merlino Mayo's Metamorphoses I made the border crossing from LEA27 into LEA28 and into the Pirats Art Network Galleries.

From Mayo's dark, foreboding, uncastle, I unexpectedly find myself in the postmodern splendor of PAN's opulent and luminescent architecture.

LOCATION: 38.738285058333N, 27.301368713379W
NAME: Altares, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 24.1°

Day 29

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:19:15 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

At Banrion Constantine's Aequitas yesterday, I reached the southwestern extent of the LEA archipelago. So today I trekked east. After a remarkable underwater diorama of cubes at Aequitas, I eventually crossed the sim border from LEA26 into LEA27 and Merlino Mayo's Metamorphoses.

Here a monumental hand dwarfs my tiny human frame outside the main building at Metamorphoses.

LOCATION: 38.430597498225N, 28.460426330566W
NAME: São Mateus, Pico, Azores, Portugal

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 5°

screen_last-120224

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 11:39:42 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Follow Friday - My First!

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:33:39 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

1. 11042_188918537268_768482268_4001281_4642258_n, 2. Emy., 3. Amazing well with dark tunnel at the bottom at Quinta da Regaleria #portugaltrip, 4. Untitled, 5. naked tea party at Fanny's Farm, 6. Prim Doodle 2

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Day 26

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:08:36 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Yesterday I reached land's end, LEA17. That, and, even if I hadn't, my bones have grown weary of this 64°N latitude. It's way time to head south. How I dream of slipping into non-frigid equatorial waters. And it is a dream. I am so far from that, that it might as well be another life.

Venturing south from LEA17 down into LEA18 I am struck by how the same, and how different it is. At the sim crossing little changes, Yooma Mayo's installation at LEA17 segues effortlessly and seamlessly into the waters of ArtGyro at LEA18. I climb a steep rockface and find myself on this bridge with thundering waterfalls at my back.

And different?

Oh yes! A few degrees of warmer water, hahaha more like a few degrees "less frigid," but anyway it feels like bathwater to me now.

LOCATION: 39.710902N, 31.112001W
NAME: Vila Do Corvo, Corvo, Azores, Portugal

CAMERA: Firestorma V330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 14°

Day 25

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:20:07 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Continuing West, I finally arrived at LEA17 and Yooma Mayo's sublime installation there.

I hadn't seen DJ for a while, and I know her typing pool has been working overtime building up something like 4,000 items in inventory. That's 2,000 or so of library, so about 2,000 new in the last week.

Last time I worked a shift, DJ was just exoskeleton, but obviously a lot of flesh has been applied to the exo since then. I wasn't actually clear if DJ would have a gender or not... but apparently "it" is a "she."

Speaking of "she" things... YES I had a rib removed to fit into this corset dress. Just shut up about it already! Yes body mods for fashion / beauty sake go against everything I believe in... but none of that matters, I'm a mesh addict now.

My first high off Onxy LeShelle's "Nolita" dress was quite literally like nothing I've ever experienced in my life. The next morning I foolishly burned my entire system & prim clothing wardrobe.

Then I came down.

Just like any other clothing, there are great mesh dresses, and there are crappy mesh dresses. I've roamed a few fashion back alleys trying to regain that initial mesh dress euphoria. I've tried on fabrics and patterns that made my skin crawl.

A great mesh dress is a visceral, transformative experience. A shitty mesh dress is a bad trip.

Given my deteriorating state of mind, when I found Salid Sewell's overwhelming "Corset System Dress," letting her yank a couple of ribs out felt like a minor price for this grade of fashion fix.

And if all that's not enough, I'm also at 64° N latitude - I should be completely freezing my ass off, but Salid's anesthetic hasn't worn off yet, and honestly, all I feel is the buzz.

CAMERA: Firestorma 330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 60°

MeshDress

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:34:28 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

I tried a mesh dress and I liked it

Day 19

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:14:31 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

Rooftop. Gallery Xue / NYC.

Day 17

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:14:30 -0800

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

With a giant, totemic, Easter Islandish figure at Claudia Jewell's large-scale, landscape installation "Spirit"

CAMERA: Firestorma 330
FILM: 1080p
LENS: 16.7°

NF-1962aB-PosterCrop-BW

nobody@flickr.com (Vaneeesa) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:00:51 -0700

Vaneeesa posted a photo:

21 February 1962, Rudolf Nureyev & Margot Fonteyn perform Giselle at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London