Burning Man Stories: The Yum Wagon

On many occasions I have had the privilege of experiencing the Yum Wagon at Burning Man.  This is a project of a theme camp, a booth built on a trailer that is towed to a prime public location.  And oh, how the people do line up to get a taste.  No meals are served from the Yum Wagon, merely a taste, any taste you can name, whether it be the taste of some real food you're longing for, or a taste of some abstract concept or an object or substance not normally considered food.  Whatever you request, the talented taste engineers operating the booth will rummage through their vast assortment of flavorful ingredients to produce a spoonful of *something* which they then feed into your mouth.  You make the final call on whether they succeeded in delivering the requested flavor or not, and if you are satisfied, give the bell over the bar a hearty ring.  One year the camp that produces the Yum Wagon (forgive me, I do not know which camp it is.), was close by, and I frequented it a few times.  The last time I bellied up was in 2011.  I've enjoyed the taste of a bacon blue cheese burger, and the tenth dimension, among others which I can't recall. 

Italy Sketches: the rest

More of my sketches from Italy

 Sketch from the Costume Museum at the Pitti Palace

Architectural details captured while riding on a bus.

Part of a frame in the Uffizi

Part of a frame in the Uffizi

Terrence McKenna portrait

A couple sketches of one of my favorite speakers, the late ethnobotanist, Terrence McKenna.

 

 

Terrence McKenna captured from YouTube

Italy sketches: The People

 Quick portraits captured in public, mostly the airport and museums.

Italy Sketches: The Art

 Sketches inspired by or drawn directly from the art and architecture of Italy.

Italian Souvenir Painting by Carlo

I bought a little souvenir painting from an outdoor vendor named Carlo by the Pitti Palace.  He hustled me pretty good, and though I'd intended to just browse, I soon purchased a pen and watercolor image of the Palazzo Vecchio, by the Uffizi for 6 Euro.  I particularly like his sketchy figures in the foreground.

"For the Fuzz" Poem by Daniel Ari, illustrated by free radical

For the fuzz 

by Daniel Ari
illustrated by David Fleischmann, the free radical

Now that it’s refused me, I’ll refuse hair.

That’s how I decided twelve years ago

to strip my head razor-clear and take air,

snow and sight without the diplomacy

of coiffure. Know my mind, world. It is here.

Since the divorce, my do has kept a low

profile, though I spot it on the fringes

at times. It has never regained the glow

it had when my follicles were engines,

the sex machines of our honeymoon years.

Now, Fine Gray Fuzz, I sometimes get twinges

when I see some full-headed guy, recall

you at Burning Man, my shock of orange.

At 22, we pulled a ponytail.

How could I ever have cursed you, Jewfro?

I was young and could complain my gall out

without recognizing there’d be fall out.

For the Fuzz

Italy trip photo highlights

 I just got back a few days ago from Florence, Italy.  It went well, I was healthy, and the weather was fine.  I have many stories to share of my experiences, much to tell about the art, architecture, food and people.  Here is a short set of highlights.  More to come.

View of the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) from the roof cafe of the Uffizi (Offices) Gallery

The Duomo, the most breathtaking structure in Florence, the biggest dome in Italy.  What an amazing place, virtually pulsating with ancient energy.

The Pitti Palace: 6 Museums including the Costume Museum, Royal Apartments, Silver Museum, Porcelain Museum, Modern Art Museum, and Boboli Gardens (with nearby Bardini Gardens)

The grounds of the villa in which I was staying, in one of its apartments.  Olives, grapes, chickens, bamboo, cherries, and various herbs and flowers grow on the large estate.

I'giuggiolo was the local restaurant, and I mean "the" local one.  There was no other decent restaurant within three blocks of our neighborhood.  But this one was great, packed every night of the week.  Google translate offered some help with their online menu, but something was lost in the translation: i.e. "buffalo" refers to buffalo cheese, not meat.

Piazza Savanarola, not the most amazing church, but a nice big park, and semi-close to our bus stop.

Santa Maria Novella Church, and train station, the local hub of transport, where all buses eventually end up, and taxis are plentiful.  Some confusion in here, trying to exchange money (mistake!), and to find the bathroom (I thought It would have been easier).

Soccar Stadium I passed on my walk from home to downtown.

Santa Croce church and Piazza (plaza), a beautiful front, and a good place to meet people.

Church of San Lorenzo, a mighty edifice, surrounded by a crowded marketplace teeming with tourists.

The Gardens at Villa al Bosco di Fontelucente, a newish castle built by a rich immigrant family, the farmhouse of which now houses Richard Fremantle's Collection of Art by Foreigners in Tuscany, in Fiesole, a small old town outside Florence.

Piazza della Signoria, a large open space near some of the main attractions of Florence: the Palazzo Vecchio just behind the statue of Neptune, the Uffizi Gallery just down the alley to the right, and adjacent to the Loggia di Lanzi.

The Loggia di Lanzi, a vaulted archway full of sculpture of classical figures.

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio's large entrance.

Boboli Gardens, 11 acres of forest, lawns, hills, ponds and statuary. 

The Porcelain Museum, to the left, at the highest elevation point, and northernmost point of Boboli Gardens.  The Porcelain Museum was mercifully small, after much walking both in the museums of the Pitti Palace, and the Gardens.

Bardini Gardens, just adjacent to Boboli Gardens, and equally extravagant, surrounding Bardini Villa, a picturesque village.