I have to admit, the Egg McMuffin in Ukraine is tons better than the US version for some reason.

The crop of this bus photo provides a small glimpse at the comfort level inside.

The brand spanking new train terminal at Donetsk, ready for throngs of football fans.
Also not quite ready, but it should be ready in time.

Most of the signs outside of towns, small or large, where pretty darn fantastic.

Welcome to Eastern Europe, the smoking section.

One of my new favorite subjects is people taking photos of food.
Here Temo captures his dessert.

Short shorts are in for constructions.

A new church outside the train station.

Walking into the brand spanking new Donetsk train terminal.

A bus ride out of Donetsk gets you to Soledar, a small town famous for salt mining.
Our tour kicked off with a ride down an elevator 300 meters or so (about 1000 feet) to a closed section of the mine.
This was the first moment in my life where I realized I might be a bit claustrophobic.

Todd

Pratt & Marmot

The final cavern was 40 meters tall (131 feet) and housed a soccer field.

Ukraine state arms (The Trident) on the county hall building.

To Donbass Liberators (above) – a monument commemorating those that fought in WWII.

New for Donetsk? A freshly built Donbass Arena for the Euro 2012 Football Championship.

It’s big.

Because of this huge event, the entire city is being transformed. Buildings being constructed,
gardens planted, walls painted, signs installed… it’s quite impressive. They had a few weeks before
the event still as we arrived, so everyone was bustling a little bit harder I’d imagine.

Even the water is football commemorative.

View outside the hotel room.

Ukrainian hryvnia

Triforce delivery

Borscht and the some for breakfast

Temo & Roy

Type on the Liberators memorial

High heels, very much in fashion.

Meat tree.

Candy aisle, sadly not too different from the ones back in the states.

Not long for the Euro soon we’d be using Hryvnia to pay for things.

Boarding our flight to Ukraine.

The buses that take you from the terminal to the plane. I like taking photos of these because they look like they’re floating.

Arrived in Donetsk and regrouped with walk through Pushkin Boulevard and around the city.

Todd

Christopher

Mike looking at the menu at Khinkali, a Georgian restaurant no less.

Badrijani nigvzit (eggplant with walnuts, delicious)

Khachapuri (cheese filled bread with raw egg)

First stop was technically Chicago, but only for a few hours.
There I met up with the first of 6 other travelmates, Todd.
He helped me sort out a baggage issue and we shared a brew.

Then we arrived in Munich some 8 hours later. Me? A little worse for the wear.
Passed fields of rapeseed and checked into our hotel and met up with traveler #3, Temo.

There was food.

Kiosks.

Posters.

Horse Chestnut in bloom

A beer at the Hofbräuhaus, which was a lot more touristy than I remember.

Munich Frauenkirche

Münchner Stadtmuseum Eingang. (Type reminds me of the new Stedelijk identity)

And then jet lag got the best of us.
Time for bed, then an early flight to Donetsk in the morning.

Next stop? Germany.

For travel.

Travel day: LAX > DTW > CVG

Seems I’ve been through the Detroit Metro Airport before: Previously, in 2004.

I do very much love the light tunnel connecting concourses, even when running madly to catch a connection.

The rest of the day was spent wondering why I thought a red-eye flight was a good idea.

Pretty sure this is Toledo from above. I could be wrong.

Last night we hit the food trucks and pictured above, the most delicious IncrediBalls burgers.
(Ground Kobe beef, bacon, gruyere, arugula, garlic aioli and toasted brioche aka “bun”.)

My first trip to Los Angeles was nested in that quick chunk between Christmas and New Years.

In the place of touristy notions and vague expectations, I was introduced to fascinating and friendly people.

The beginning of an unexpected crush on a city I hope to see again soon.

Feliz Gonzalez-Torres
“Untitled” (Supreme Majority) 1991

Took a while to work through images from this particular Sunday, as the hours were filled with
so. much. good. stuff.
My friend Thor is exceptional at finding quality things to do, and provides fine company.

We started at the MoMA and smartly ate lunch at their cafe.
Headed to exhibits on photography and the modern kitchen, then Warhol’s Motion Pictures.

The main space was filled with projections of long portraits on film…
Famous folks like Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Allen Ginsberg, Lou Reed, Dennis Hopper,and Susan Sontag.
It was mesmerizing and I’d have taken a snapshot, but it wasn’t allowed and wouldn’t do it justice.

Fun aside: anyone can upload a screen test to the MoMA pool, and the museum set up
and filmed a boatload themselves: Here’s my friend Brent!

The rest of the day included a triple-feature of short art films, a revival of Hello Again
(a musical that involves a lot of sex happening on the tables), and best of all?
A dinner of homemade meatloaf.

A kind tip of the hat to Thor, Patrick and Jeff for making the trip into the city so worthwhile.

Highly recommended, if you go to the MoMA, start off with a meal at Cafe 2.
Order too much food because you’ll find the appetite for it. (no rollovers for the rest of the images)

Ai Weiwei
Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa, White House, Tiananmen Square
from the series Study of Perspective 1995-2003

Jenny Holzer
Living: More than once I’ve wakened with tears… 1980-82

Richard Lippold
Five Variations within a Sphere 1947

Tom Wesselmann
Still Life #30 1963

Paula Hayes
Nocturne of the Limax maximus – Egg 2010

Konexi word game

As luck would have it, I’d see Tina the next day on her turf. Flew out to spend a few days
talking internet possibilities with Fictive Cameron.

Soon as I landed, the visual goodness of New York began to poke me in the eyes from every direction,
like this knitted bike cozy down in Dumbo.

The evening began at the Say Media 100 launch and ended in a blur over some stiff drinks named Penicillin
which I am filing into the cautious category for future restraint.

I can’t tell if this chair is sad, or just plumb tuckered out.