Ian Taylor

I first met Ian in Phnom Penh about 10 years ago when I was probably one of only two Western Planners in Thailand. He was just about to move to Bangkok to do the same job so we had something in common from the get go. Ian was quickly cynical about the advertising proposition process (long before it became fashionable to diss propositions) so he wrote a bit of code that produced an auto proposition  generator. I found it hilarious (and unnervingly accurate given the politics that goes into that process).

Since then we've both moved on from the high octane world of consumer materialism. Aside from being a truly gifted photographer, Ian is the single most interesting Asia adventurer and traveller I know. He just got back from a resumed Kayak trip down the coast of Burma and Thailand as the first attempt had to be cut off due to some exotic tropical illness he picked up. Probably from eating wild roots and strange sea marsupials or something.

Last time we hooked up for a chat Ian had me gagging at the bit to fly to Calcutta with tales of poets and Marxist philosophers trying to hold onto some sort of anti materialist ideology in the face of rampant consumerism and erm not much money. I'd fit in there wouldn't I?

Ian's now pinging between Hong Kong and Bangkok a bit more. All of his photography makes me envious but if there's one thing Ian nails better than anyone it's his kids shots. Go check his work out over here if you want a guy to squeeze a great photo out.

i am

...listening to trance again after many years of looking down upon it as inferior to minimal techno and 'for the kids'. However technically most of Booka Shade's work is trance if you speed it up a wee bits and I've loved most of their work. So it's trance on Thursday. Break out the glow sticks :)

Barefoot Running

I've taken up running again and I noticed my new unused trainers nearly disintegrated at the seams. They've been in storage for a long time and under hot conditions so the glue appears to have perished. Instead of waiting to buy a new pair and in the spirit of just doing it I went for a barefoot run and I really like it. The feet took a few weeks to get over the blisters I created but they've healed and seem to be tougher now, though on hot days I'm probably cooking the soles of my feet too so I'm careful to choose specific surfaces and take advantage of soil and grass wherever I can.

As is the case with much of my life these days, I think about things and then it drops into my data stream and so this presentation on barefoot running turned up on fora.tv last week. It starts off with some dance but settles into the topic after that.

I really like the no ipod, pseudo psycho geography, plain shorts and contact with ground feel. I get a fair bit attention from people which makes the runs more fun and fly by quicker than if I was kitted out with brand labels, jogging software and expensive trainers. It's just me, some shorts and ...well that's it really. Feels good and might not be for everyone but is working out for me.