Alan Irwin’s Blog

WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN (Cue Go-Gos music…)

Our hotel is in the relatively quiet island neighborhood known as Zemalek. The shops are more upscale and cater to employees of the many embassies located in the area. (The U.S. embassy, however is not in Zemalek and we seriously doubt it looks like one of the many colonial structures guarded by a single skinny dude trying to stay awake in his tiny wooden guard shack.)

Though taxis are cheap and plentiful, I am unquestionably the former and we prefer to walk anyway. So walk we did. For hours. Many of them lost. Most of them lost.

When I say “lost” I don’t mean we were all alone with no one to ask for directions. We were far off the beaten path of tourists, but fully merged into the heavily pummeled path of locals. I mean we were two grains of sand amidst this infinite desert of people, cars, micro buses, more cars, trucks, taxis and… have I mentioned cars?

Our maps were useless at this point as what little signage there was was in Arabic, and stopping to ask for directions posed a threat as moving to the left would land us under a bus, moving to the right would get us creamed by a guy with a blow torch, and stopping would cause a major break in the flow for the cart piled precariously with 4×4s or a burro carrying a few hundred pounds of aluminum tubs. So on we walked.

We decided that a little street food would fortify us in our traffic-phobic meandering and stopped at a clean(ish) place with a friendly proprietor and what appeared to be his enthusiastic following. Turned out that he’s popular because he makes some of the best liver and mokh (deep-fried brains) in town. Maybe we didn’t need so much fortification after all.

Eventually, we bumbled into Islamic Cairo and found sanctuary within the Medieval walls along stone-paved, car-free streets, with ornate mosques and historical merchants’ homes. It also happened to be the wholesale hookah district. Good to know had we been in the market for a water pipe.

Food highlight: Ravioli stuffed with lamb and apricots in a light cream sauce; ravioli stuffed with chicken in a mallow sauce. The pasta was fresh and perfectly al dente but very chintzy on the stuffing. Mallow… the taste is similar to parsley but it produces a glutenous, slimy sauce. Think oozing okra. The “light cream sauce” was really a cheap white sauce and needed a heap o’ Parmesan for some flavor. Must try making my own lamb & apricot stuffing for ravioli. (Anyone want in on the experiment?)

COPPING OUT

The next day, we chose to walk fewer kilometers, save a few hours, and experience Africa’s first metro. An excellent move. (pun intended)

The Coptics came to Caro around the second century A.D. We showed up on Friday.

Housed in the fortress of Qasr el Shamah, the Coptic museum boasts a small but stunning collection from Egypt’s Christian era which linked the pharonic with the Graeco-Roman periods. Within the complex are several churches, the Ben Ezra synagogue (founded in the 9^th century but occupying the shell of a 4^th century Christian church), and the church of our hometown gal, Saint Barbara. Nothing like a good story of beheading and martyrdom to end our day in Coptic Cairo.

We took our dinner and accommodations on the overnight train to Aswan.

Food highlight: Inedible dinner; breakfast of 4 different forms of white bread plus processed cheese spread. Excellent service.

Oxymoron highlight: “Sleeper” car

Next up: KICKING ASWAN

NOTE: Clicking here or on any picture will take you to the album

GEEZERS IN GIZA

There are many tourists who bemoan the fact that the Sphinx doesn’t seem very large. Whiners I say. Relative to the massive Great Pyramid of Cheops (2,550,000 cubic meters and the second most massive structure ever built – extra credit if you can name the largest) over which it stands guard, perhaps it is on the small side, but we’re not talking garden gnome to tract house scale. At 20 meters high by 48.5 meters long, it’s plenty big enough to impress and, oh, right, it was constructed in the middle of THE DESERT so we’re going to give it a few bonus points for that.

The Giza plateau is actually in a suburb of downtown Cairo which appears like some polluted oasis on the horizon. But in that magic time, after most of the day tourists had boarded their air-con buses, the evening crowd had not yet arrived for the Son et Lumiere (Sound & Light) show, the touts and camels were presumably off to their tout and camel dinners, Alan and I strolled alone around this oasis of sorts, the peaceful, mostly ‘deserted’ (Alan’s pun intended) pyramids, and then quietly made our way back to – or rather away from – civilization.

Food highlights: Babaganoush with the texture of pico de gallo, with plenty of chopped onion, garlic and roasted jalepeno. Smoked, marinated eggplant. Heavy-garlic tahini.

Next up: WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

Click here to see more pictures in our album

AMSTERDAM – Gouda for Us

We know what you really want to know: Yes, we briefly strolled the edge of the Red Light District. Yes, we checked out the “coffee shops” where one can order a latte as a chaser to a wide selection of joints. No we did not partake. But we did have a mellow day in this lovely city. Despite the cold and gray, it’s still a lovely place with quiet, efficient trams, thousands of bicycles and peaceful strolls along the canals.

We checked out one of the more popular cheese stores and, although it stocked a couple dozen Goudas and a respectable variety of other European cheeses, it couldn’t hold a raclette flame to our beloved C’est Cheese in Santa Barbara.

The highlight of our day was a visit to the Van Gogh museum. More interesting than any of the paintings were the artist’s small sketches and correspondence between Vincent and his brother, Theo; his friend/colleague, Paul Gaugin; and his doctor. Ear incident notwithstanding, Van Gogh’s life was not filled with the “madness” we always seem to associate with him. He was well aware of his anxiety and voluntarily chose asylum when he felt overwhelmed with depression. But his writing and his work were very deliberate – far from “crazy” — rather than some episodic side effects. He was quite in touch with his feelings as well as his craft, which lasted a mere 10 years before he committed suicide at age 37. Who knows what a prescription for Prozac or Wellbutrin might have done for him back in the day.

Food highlights: Frites with Indian chutney sauce; waffle with chocolate & whipped cream.

ZOMBIES and MUMMIES

Our flight into Cairo touched down early but queuing for our visas and passport control canceled any hope of us getting to our hotel before turning into zombies. In the meantime we enjoyed people watching. There was the couple that was “shopping” for their visa and presumably their relationship. (“Honey, should we get the one-month or 6-month visa? Which is the better deal? Will I continue to be this sweet and agreeable if I continue to wear these 4” high heels for the next month?”) Then there was the Richard Simmons lookalike — except he was dressed in a brown tank top, matching brown exercise shorts and hiking boots; Richard would have chosen something from a more colorful palette. He was carrying a matching brown book bag, just large enough to hold his shortwave radio and large headphones, a dilapidated copy of “Egypt” from the late 1960s Time-Life “Great Ages of Man” series (I suppose it’s still current enough given the age of this civilization), a bamboo back scratcher, and a small, soft, weed-like thing that at first seemed like some sort of delicate duster, but shed profusely so we stopped thinking about how it might be used by Richard II. Checked into our hotel at 4:00 a.m.

MAKING SCENTS of CAIRO

First impression: Massive. Loud. Unbelievable traffic. Praying to Allah as we cross – I’m not kidding – freeways on foot.

So, we like to think of ourselves as fairly experienced travelers, wary of scams and hustlers, however we readily admit that in our sleep-deprived, zombie-like state, we were not at our best on day one. Not once, but twice, in the span of less than an hour, did we find ourselves trapped in papyrus and perfume shops. (And would you believe there was a special discount – just for us, my friend – at both places.)

The first place was actually fine and we enjoyed sniffing lots of essential oils and reluctantly letting the saleswoman dab too many samples on our wrists and forearms. Of course, we didn’t buy anything. Then fully marinated, we continued wafting our way toward the museum when we stupidly get waylaid – again — and find ourselves waiting for the requisite mint tea while the, uh, “doctor” tells us all about the healing properties of his many oils. He takes a look at my droopy eye lids and bags, which are looking particularly paunchy after about 4 hours of sleep in the past 2 days, and he asks “Old or new?” I mutter something akin to “Old, like this routine” and he proceeds to rub a little something on my forehead and temples. Feels great. Does nothing for the bags. Sale lost.

Then he does the same to Alan who has already chugged his tea and just wants the hell out. But wait, it’s time to bust out the menthol. Keep in mind we already smell like an Isla Vista head shop sans patchouli and musk. So Doc rubs some essential oil that smells like Vick’s Vaporub on Alan’s chest and then strokes it up his neck. Then he alternates closing off one nostril at a time and makes Alan snort. He continues the ritual until he thinks Alan can blow productively, at which time he hands Alan a couple squares of toilet paper and commands him to do so. Doc shoves my nose to within a few millimeters of Alan’s mouth, does a CPR compression or two and says something about “fresh breath.” I find this all very amusing and I nod in agreement with the ‘doctor’ about the health properties of essential oils. I inquire about the cigarettes he chain smokes and it seems they lack the same benefits.

So the good times roll on until the doctor’s daughter is directed to put the Vick’s on my chest. Not bad until the upward neck stroking begins and I’m sure she’s going to bust my windpipe with her firm, oily palms. I am relieved when we move on to the nose-blowing-breath-checking segment. Fortunately, the CPR portion of the routine does not crack a rib.

Now the rest of Cairo’s touts can quite literally smell a couple of rubes heading their way.

SHOW ME THE MUMMY

Reeking from flowers, menthol and cigarettes, we finally made it to the Egyptian Museum. There were dozens of guards, police and other uniformed types outside, a camera check and x-ray machine yet, surprisingly, no security anywhere inside. The museum itself is dark and dingy with most item descriptions typed on now-yellowed paper or scrawled on scraps of old lined binder sheets. No fancy halogen pinpoint lighting; no audio tours; no slick handouts. However – and this is a huge however – we were able to come within INCHES of everything including King Tut’s innermost (solid gold) and second (gold and inlay) sarcophagi as well as plenty of other objects. These guys knew how to accessorize.

We saw scores of intricately painted sarcophagi, coffins and coffinettes, even those for animals (e.g. pets, food, sacred, offerings), toys, boomerangs(!), vestments, statuary, pottery, jewelry, housewares, giftware, better shoes, bed & bath… oops, sorry, got carried away… The point being, the collection is enormous and we were able to experience it very, very close up.

Food highlight: kushari is typical Egyptian fare and we went to one of Cairo’s most popular places for it. Kushari is not for those avoiding carbs, but it is a vegetarian’s delight with protein complements and great flavor. The dish consists of macaroni, rice, and a little vermicelli, with a mildly spicy mixture of tiny lentils and some garbanzo beans heaped on top, and a big scoop of crispy fried onions for the finishing touch. It comes with a little dish of a tomato-based liquid that you spoon in and mix to your taste. There’s a large bottle of the stuff on the table and everyone seems to add an extra splash or two. I asked about the second large bottle on the table and was told it was hot sauce. Of course, I can’t resist. Off the fricken’ Scovil scale. I’m guessing it’s liquefied Scotch Bonnet… or perhaps hydrochloric acid.

Next up: Geezers in Giza

That’s right, this year we travel to the land of pyramids and camels. Egypt has been on our list of “must see” countries for quite awhile, but right now seems like a politically advantageous time to visit.

On the map, I’ve circled the areas we’ll be focusing on. Cairo has the cultural and  tourist sites such as the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, and The Necropolis of Saqqara (okay, that one is a frakkin’ awesome name!). And we plan on taking a Nile cruise between Aswan and Luxor.

As usual, we don’t have a firm itinerary for Egypt and will be arranging our activities once we are in the country. We do, however, have our flights confirmed. We’ll be flying from Los Angeles to Cairo on Sunday, November 1, with a 9 hour layover in Amsterdam (oh yeah, cheese and chocolate, baby). We’ll be returning to Los Angeles from Cairo on Tuesday the 24th of November.

As usual, the blog will be filled with Harriet’s colorful commentary along side our photos (and she swears she’s going to finish the Easter Island entry from last year’s trip). However, acknowledging our temporal translation in that medium (i.e. lateness) I’ll be twittering our progress as often as I can get access to the net. So, for those who’ve been looking for a reason to justify checking out the (not so) cutting edge social media, you can follow our real time activities with @alanirwin

Now back to our panicked preparations.

Oh yeah – Comic-Con! Who’s the captain now?

The 2009 San Diego Comic-Con happened from July 22-26 (I’ve posted close to 100 photos from the con at my album.). This was the 40th anniversary convention and my 4th time attending. More “pop-culture happening” than “comic book convention”, it was a chaotic mix of comic books, TV, film, games, art, toys, collectibles, cosplay, books, martial arts, theater, tourism, fantasy, and commerce. It’s hard to describe what I love so much about attending this conference, but if I had to choose one thing I’d say it’s the energy of being surrounded by 125,000 people passionate about some aspect of pop-culture. In other words, geeks.

After four full days of the convention plus a preview night, I’d be hard pressed to give a detailed account of the entire convention. You can find several comprehensive reports of the convention on-line, so here I’m just going to give some of my random thoughts (and a sample of the photos) in no particular order.

There are plenty of celebrities in attendance, mainly signing autographs or pitching their latest projects to the fans (and occasionally wandering the floor). Here are Leonard Nimoy signing autographs and Ray Bradbury being wheeled through the crowds to some event. There aren’t just TV stars: also authors, movie stars, comic book artists and writers, animators, publishers, and directors. Upstairs is a huge area set aside for autograph booths, and down on the exhibition floor are scheduled events with specific stars and authors (there are a LOT of book publishers at the con, although their booths a quite a bit smaller than the movie studios’ booths).

I’d be hard pressed to pick out my favorite event, but among the top few would be the Klingon Lifestyles session on Friday evening. An amateur production, each year this group puts together a 45 minute play focusing on the IKV Stranglehold, a Klingon warship and its adventures. Pure tongue in cheek, enthusiastic fandom with loads of inside jokes. These folks are fun.

The Eisner Awards are the comics industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. Lots of dressed up writers, artists, editors, and publishers. This year, the convention expanded into the neighboring hotels and so the Eisner’s were presented at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel. Here you can see Jeff Smith and Terry Moore announcing an award.

One of the weirdest things (and at Comic-Con that says a lot) was Michael Jacksons glove on display. Yup, that’s his glove from Thriller (… or whatever) that’s on tour, and of course, it had to make an appearance at Comic-Con.

Upstairs at the convention center is the Art Show. Small spaces can be rented by amateur or professional artists for displaying and selling original artwork without having to rent and staff a booth on the convention floor. So, pictured here is the table I rented with a variety of turned items in my Script series.  This year I sold 7 items: vases and dice with Vulcan and Romulan script. Sweet!

Molly Hahn is a friend from my improv class and also an illustrator who just completed her first children’s book. She had a table in the Artists Alley section and sold out her inventory at the convention! It’s a very cute book and I was able to snag a copy early.

I didn’t get a picture of them, but I ran into my buddies Wayne Sherman and Jed Dougherty a couple of times during the show. Jed’s an artist trying to break further into the comics industry (click on the link and check out his art…now, I’ll wait) and Wayne is a comic and gaming geek who tries to find the strangest stuff each year at the con. I’ll have to check with him on what won this year.

There are several art related events that happen during the convention (beyond the whole COMIC BOOK thing). This shot is from the Quick Draw, where three different illustrators are given odd little challenges and that require quick illustrations. Here, Sergio Aragones (who is the fastest artist I’ve ever seen) is illustrating a story he’s telling about the staff at Madd Magazine during a holiday in the Caribean. There were several other events with artists working live, and there are pictures from those events in the album.

Just a reminder that it’s not just adult geeks wandering around the convention center buying stuff. There are a lot of kids and come on – how cute is that!

It’s hard to grasp the size and scope of Comic-Con, and I can’t even touch upon all the events that occur. There are hundreds of conference sessions, scores of celebrities, hundreds (thousands?) of vendors, and 125,000 attendees. This picture just captures a small portion of the exhibition hall: the aisles start with 100 (way behind me) and continue on to 5200 (way ahead of me).

I’ll end this summary with a couple of samples from the most showy part of the convention: all the costumes. It’s impressive with all sorts of genres represented as well as a wide range of costume quality on display. On Saturday night there’s an event called The Masquerade, which is a huge costume contest that includes music and choreographed dance. This picture is from the Leia in Metal Bikini meetup: a popular costume from the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi movie.

These guys had the scariest costumes with the guy in the middle being pretty startling. You can’t make it out, but he had LED’s glowing at the tips of his dreadlocks. When he came at you, you’d step back and your heart skipped a beat.

And I thought these were the most original costumes – Spy vs. Spy from Mad Magazine. You can see a lot more examples of costumes in the album.

And that’s my report from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. I came home with a LOT of stuff: comics, art, collectibles, and a lot more stories. I may get around to posting some of it, but for now let’s just call it an embarrasement of riches.