Travel Category Archive
Long time
We last spoke the end of last month. It wasn't long ago. Since then you have been in 5 cities, on 3 continents. Been a far place. (I didn't even have to check that website... I track you in my...
Where you been man?
2007-10-31 23050 start: Montréal -> London (one way) (3250km) 2007-12-10 53210 start: London -> Paris (211km) 2007-12-14 53210 finish: Paris -> London (211km) 2007-12-19 4446 start: London -> Tokyo (one way) (5947km) 2008-01-25 105515 start: Tokyo -> Aomori (359km) 2008-01-28...
A cruel trick
(written December 19th, 2006. Forgot to publish until December 31st, 2007) My thoughts as I ride a taxi out of Delhi towards the domestic airport on my way to Bangalore, turn to the chaos, the disorder, the disarray, disrepair, destitute...
View from Ebisu
for Joi (and others): Click to see video. I know this view from somewhere nearby....
Off to Paris
running out the door on my way to Paris for XTech 2007. Lots of good friends, great people and new folks to meet! eh oui! ciao....
Mata ne
Almost ready to go. My flight is at 5pm JST today. Thank you to all my new and old friends here. I feel as if I have two homes now, truly. Arrigato, and see you soon! And to the folks...
Jeans
I packed only two pairs of black cords for this trip (because that's all I had been wearing all fall.) Almost two months ago I acquired a pair of cheap tapered camo cargo pants. Before all this I had worn...
Winding down, winding up
A week and a half left. I am feeling the way I always do at this point: Can't wait to get home... but don't want to ever leave. This visit was both devastating on some levels and elevating on others....
Esthetic urban decay by design
The view above is common in Tokyo: rough, old and weathered giant stone block walls. Images of ninja scrambling along them... er I digress. Walking back to Shibuya from Harajuku a few weeks back, I noticed this wall: Obviously,...
Bangla
If you ever need the Bangla keyboard mappings and some fonts for Mac OS X, Apple conveniently links to them. Be prepared though... It's like being there!!! ;) Oops, you'll need some fonts with that. Thank you come again. Why...
Typical weekend dilemma for me...
I had planned to spend some time this weekend hacking out the "featured article" functionality for the GlobalVoices redesign. It's the last big piece that needs doing and we have a Thursday EST deadline to show off a final version...
Juliana
another video from that party there there Just realized who she is....
Run for cover
or at least cover your ears. Zipped out to Soft in Shibuya last night for Juliana vol.3. It was even better than last month's. Just completely mental. Videos, of terrible quality, and excessive volume (my ears are still ringing), but...
Vive La Internette
On Sunday night I went out to Soft in Shibuya for the "Tokyo Fun Party" "Juliana" night. The pictures recount a bit how crowded, hot and manic things got. A Sunday night, in a tiny basement space, from 7...
HKG > NRT
or How a four hour flight can take a day (3320.20 km) Wake up at 6:30am. - check email - shower - dress - finalize packing Leave hotel room at 7:30am - walk up to main street - hail a...
Dim Sum revelation
Well, I've had Dim Sum in Montreal's Chinatown (multiple locations), New York's, Toronto's, Vancouver's, San Francisco's and now finally Hong Kong... and I can say this: It tastes pretty much exactly the same everywhere. Big cheers for consistency, people. Possibly...
pop me a new one
warning: proceed with caution. "Shenzhen Airlines to transport donated human organs for free" Shenzhen Airlines, China's largest private carrier, has signed an agreement to transport donated corneas and other human organs for free. Fantastic. I'm in Hong Kong and I've...
what is authenticity?
nothing is real. Abe Burmeister on "counterfeit" sneakers: Once it's made, once it's shipped, once it's slipped past customs, once it's settled lightly in some temporary location, then you still need to find it. There are no insider announcements, no...
all together now
How to tell this story without getting into the technical details and revealing by what method I prioritized tasks, and still manage to convey some of the insanity that visited itself upon me today? Let's just say that the last...
Hong Kong
Arrived in Hong Kong last night. So far so good. Haha. Just a quick note to say so. More later. ;p Some pics from Rebecca of where I'll be spending the week....
disconnect
Every time I come to Japan, the biggest frustration is getting a mobile phone. This time it's not a phone I need (I have two I could use) as much as just a connection. It seems that will be just...
1 minute english
This morning, I picked up Jeremy, my erstwhile assistant who had been backpacking around Delhi for the last 2 weeks, at Shinjuku station. As soon as we boarded the Yamanote train, heading for our connection at Shibuya, a Berlitz commercial...
Pics are up
Over on flickr, the context remixer for photos.. As a set. On a map. (or rather, the actual set/map cross-context mix view ;) In a calendar....
Made it
I've got some catching up to do here (no guarantees I will though) but this is just to say: I'm in Tokyo, at the JoiLab. Amen. Delhi Bangalore Singapore Bangkok I've seen a lot I need to process. It was...
Banned soft drinks in India
From The Hindu, December 20th, 2006: "Soft drinks banned within premises of educational institutions, hostels" The State Government has issued a fresh ban against the sale and distribution of all soft drinks, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi, within the premises of...
7 days down
As I write this, back where I come from it is Tuesday 6:21am. Exactly 7 days ago at this moment I was waking up to start this trip. Now I am some 6 kilometers above rural southern India, on my...
coming, coming
I am running to the airport for a flight to Bangalore. Will write a post on the flight and post it later tonight. Hang tight. In the meantime: my flickr stream and my two sets, one and two....
Narita
Arrived at Narita, staying overnigth at "SkyPort Hotel". Slept most of the flight, thanks to sleeping pill and winning the seat lottery and scoring a full 4 seat row to myself. Yes, I was THAT bastard this time. ;) Tomorrow...
Narita
Arrived at Narita, staying overnigth at "SkyPort Hotel". Slept most of the flight, thanks to sleeping pill and winning the seat lottery and scoring a full 4 seat row to myself. Yes, I was THAT bastard this time. ;) Tomorrow...
Off to India
Leaving now. Fingers crossed. I leave with my post-conference, in-India plans a total shambles....
2 and 4, 1/2 and 1
Two weeks from now I am arriving in Delhi. A month from now, Tokyo. The next 4 weeks are going to fly by in an instant, and then... and then... ? Update Roughly: Montreal -> Narita -> Delhi (4 days)...
Quarto
Waiting for my laundry this evening, I went for a walk down St-Denis to find some food. Walking buy a "smart games" boutique, I decided to duck in and see if I could find... Quarto is the game Chicken...
Off we go
12DEC MONTREAL-TORONTO 12DEC TORONTO-NARITA 14DEC NARITA-DELHI 29DEC DELHI-NARITA 28MAR NARITA-TORONTO 28MAR TORONTO-MONTREAL To do: Shots Visas Figure out what the hell I am going to do in India for a week after the meetings and the Dalai Lama thing (suggestions...
Even better...
"Sumaato" have developed a ridiculously slick bookmarklet that uses the Google Maps API to allow even easier Flickr geotagging. A sweet feature made better by using Google's better maps ('specially for Japan ;) Seriously. Look at this photo of the...
Going to India
I am going to Delhi, India in December for the Global Voices annual meeting. I started researching the trip this evening. First question was "ok, so where is this city exactly..." ;) Obviously I am not going to go...
Open Data Movement talk in Helsinki
For the last two weeks I have been dying for an excuse, any excuse, to be in Helsinki right now. The announcement of Matt Biddulph's Aula talk today comes a full 48 hours too late for me to do up...
Temporary quitter
Standing at the check-in counter at Narita last month, the white haired Québecois gentleman behind me started chatting when he heard me say "yes I am traveling through to Montreal, thank you." "You know hif you leave for more t'an...
Off we go
About to settle into my last night in Tokyo. Three months. In 24 hours I am over the Pacific again, heading back to Montreal. I feel anxious anticipation; I wonder how I will react to diving back into my old...
Noooooooooooo
An email confirming an IRC meeting made me realise my June 12th flight "home"... is on MONDAY. Monday, not Tuesday as I thought it was. Not Tuesday as I had planned for it being. Not Tuesday as I had worked...
The kind of info
you're not likely to easily find online... Where, exactly, at SFO is the FedEx dropoff located? Searching FedEx's location finder, which requires knowing exactly which combination of checkboxes to toggle, produces a driving map to the airport. Useless. SFO's website...
Inspiring, and well written, obituary
Last night, after returning to the Stamen offices with Eric Rodenbeck and his wife Nikki to pick up my bag, we ended up in a raucous and rolling conversation while finishing off a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. At one point,...
Different perspective
(a collage of conversations) So, Boris, where are you from? Montreal, Canada. But I just got here from Tokyo. Oh wow, that's pretty cool. What are you doing in Tokyo? You must have big clients there who can fly you...
Bo Pack
Among the many many lessons I am learning on this trip, one of the most salient, and indeed one that I pretty much knew about, is the fact that I am nowhere near as mobile as one would think,...
Ahh San Francisco...
2:00am. Bar close. Big guy runs up behind me and then matches my walking speed. "hey man..." "hey..." "I've got a bottle of white wine... wanna party?" "uhhh... sorry man..." "ok, um, what else can i say.. uhh... blowjob?" "ah....
I'm off
San Francisco for two weeks, friday to friday. Lots of friends to see. Lots of work to do. Then back to Tokyo. Momentum means movement. Serendipity means go. (This is a collage of photos from exactly one year ago...
Time floating again
It's May 1st. I don't know what day of the week it is. I don't know how long I've been here. I don't know how long I am staying "away". I don't know if I am going to California next...
I am missing something
I'm missing dancing. The long late nights in little cozy sweaty lounge clubs. The breakbeat, rare groove, afro-electro-house. The uninhibited moving, grinning, flirting. Till 4 am. Oh, I will be home soon. Just no set date yet....
Hey New York Fries! Up yours!
New York Fries, which offers poutine on it's menu, has the incredible balls and audacity to claim: "Invented in Quebec and perfected by New York Fries. A delicious marriage of New York Fries, fresh cheese curds and our signature gravy."...
Cue music
I had a funny daydream waiting for my chashumen the other day... A medium sized ramen shop in Tokyo. The last bars of "Our house" by Madness are fading out on the radio, Our house, in the middle of our...
Reset
"Air Canada Reservations, how can I help you?" . . o o O O ( ( ( my visa's good till mid June ) ) ) I'm not coming home just yet. I hope you all understand....
circadian cycle clusterfuck
Just when I had overcome the jetlag... Between 2am trans-global conference calls between Tokyo, New York, Boston and London; 14 hour time-shift work schedules; and hanging out with Joi: I don't know, as they say, if I am coming or...
fragments
on lies: a necessary and healthy feature of sociality is lying. Lying is a feature, not a bug. The great dream of a utopian society is a system where lies are not necessary; the great nightmare, one where it...
P'führt di Gott, schöne Leiche
Aright, I'm off to Tokyo. Cya! ;)...
Too much seating
I am doing a giant cleanup of my apartment before I leave so that my house-sitter, Steven, doesn't feel like he's living in my junk, but also it's just a good opportunity to do so, and get rid of a...
3:30am wake-up call? No way!
I just changed my flight and booked a hotel room in NYC for tomorrow night. I've got a 9:00am meeting in Times Square and had a flight leaving Montreal at 6:00am. That means being at Dorval at 4:30am. That means...
Great neighborhood!
Was just looking at the metro map for Tokyo to see what some of my daily commutes might look like this time around. VERY sweet. Everything within reach. Direct from Shimo-Kitazawa: - Harajuku - Shibuya - Shinjuku (and from...
Ikimasho!
I had to do this. It may seem insane to take off now but I have to do this. The next 3 weeks are going to be off the hook as I wrap up old work and engage all...
Raye in India
Stunning gallery of travel photos from Raye Fukuda, a web designer I met in Tokyo....
Fly, fly away
I retreated from the extreme heat here today to the little air conditioned café down the street. Sitting on the table I installed myself at was today's Globe & Mail. At the bottom of the front page (hah! I almost...
Coïncidinks
Who woulda thought that one afternoon back in February would produce TWO photographic coincidences? First, Karl and I. Then, Jim and I....
Goin' back to Cali
It appears I will be in California early next week. L.A. to be precise. I'm thinking I will do my usual "taking advantage of a paid flight" and perhaps stick around a bit longer. Take care of business then road...
Google map this
Ok so we've all seen Google Maps in action right? Just for kicks (like I have time) I asked for directions from my place here in Montreal, to Aaron's in Vancouver. Nevermind that it seems to be totally oblivious to...
The mind wanders...
I woke up this morning, still in Vancouver, and I am still here, about to go, and my mind is already home and it is already moving as if it were already home, i.e. I am thinking again like myself,...
Getting out
I awoke, my heels on fire, knowing what I needed to do. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I called the airline: - “Hello I'd like to change my departure booking please.” - “Sure. For when?” - “As...
Vancouver arrival
I am sitting on my suitcase outside Aaron's apartment building waiting for him to debug something and come let me in... ;) Canada Customs don't like webdesigners who stay in Tokyo for a month “for fun”. Makes them suspicious. Unpacked...
Uncanny
Boris, February 2005, Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan. Karl, January 2005, Taipei, Taiwan....
Darkness
I've been on a lot of flights, to many places, at all hours of day and night. I've seen mountains, I've seen oceans, Aurora Borealis and the thin line where the sky turns dark. Above the Bering Straight, looking...
Sayonara
Well, that's it. I have a flight to catch. Thanks to all who helped me out, let me crash, bought me drinks/food and otherwise spent some time with me! I'm off to Vancouver now for a two week stint. Wheeee!...
Fuji and Shibuya
I can't get tired of views like this. Tokyo City View, Roppongi Hills, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan...
Fuji zan
Coming around from Akihabara on the JR Yamanote line this evening, I would catch little glimpses of a sky that could only be produced by a glorious sunset. Having just passed Ebisu, the rail line was now deep in...
Offline, on slopes
In a few hours I am meeting up with a group of 30 people, mostly strangers, to head off for a skiing/snowboarding/onsen/ryokan weekend in Nagano. I'll be offline until late Sunday night JST. :)...
Quick rant
If I read one more weblog entry talking about tags and/or folksonomies, I'll wretch (cow tongue sashimi, too much red wine and a bumpy cab ride through Tokyo not required). If your RSS/Atom feed doesn't contain full entry text, I...
Night and Dior
Omotesando, Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan...
Tokyo > Montreal in under a second
I'm sitting in the Good Day Café, just off Aoyma Itchome/Omotesando (search me how the street names work in this place...) in Harajuku, Tokyo. I spark my NewsReader, go to my folder of Montreal RSS subscriptions... and I am 100%...
Shinjuku-nishiguchi
Metro station wall. Current desktop. Shinjuku, Tokyo (If you look really closely, you can see my reflection on the right side.)...
A Shinjuku street at night
Shinjuku, Tokyo. Near the trainstation....
Itinerary
Here's how the last 60 hours or so of my life went by. Let's begin at 10:00 am EST Tuesday January 11th, 2005. I awake with the knowledge that this would be the last real rest I would get until...
Arrived
I am at Jim and Yuka's ultra awesome apartment, gonna wash up and head out to Harajuku to hook up with Gen, on who's couch I will spend the first night. (Thanks to all three of you!!!) Damn it...
Parting shot
Emma made sure I'd be as uncomfortable for the next few days as she may well be... ;) I'm off....
Today
Overnight, I moved this site to a new, way faster server. This will allow me to start building on it again. In the move I decided to ditch my photo galleries because, well, I didn't like them and they took...
Kon'nichi wa!
BORIS ANTHONY MR 1 AC 111V 12JAN Montreal/Vancouver 0800 1031 2 AC 3V 12JAN 3 Vancouver/Narita 1340 1655 3 AC 4V 09FEB Narita/Vancouver 1900 1100 4 AC 194V 23FEB Vancouver/Montreal 1100 1844...
WikiTravel
Just came back from a fun Dim Sum lunch organised bySébastien Paquet, where I met, amongst others, the co-founders, Evan & Michele, of Wikitravel, the Wikipedia of travel. I don't need to explain the concept do I? ;)...
La Lune de Gorée
Gilberto Gil, performing at the Creative Commons Benefit Concert on Monday night.
Helthinki
This event was just announced yesterday. Just checked with my travel agent... a last minute flight to Helsinki, departing tomorrow evening, would cost me an arm. Damn. I must consider this carefully....