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The Butler Insitute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio from mrbrown on Vimeo.
The Butler Institute in Youngstown Ohio, is the first museum of American art. Director Louis A. Zona showed us around and gave us a great tour of the art.
The Butler Institute is a gem in the town of Youngstown and worth as much a visit as any art gallery in Washington DC, for its collection of American masterpieces.
Here, Dr Zona tells us about a Warhol in their collection.
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We got a chance to try Handel's ice cream, Youngstown Ohio's most famous dessert. Bill Crosby and David Letterman are fans of this ice cream.
My double scoop will last me till next month, I think. Gosh, the size of the servings! But it was delicious stuff. I'll pay for the calories somehow but for now, I will enjoy my ice cream.
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This is Martig Farms, that produce wild bird seed and milk, among other farm products. We met Martig family and got to see their operation in Ohio
One thing I learned was how big the wild bird seed market is in the US. Feeding birds is the number one backyard hobby in America, it seems.
Oh, and I experienced a calf sucking on my finger too. Quite a funny sensation.
P.S. It is called Wild Bird Seed because the seeds are to feed wild birds, not because the bird seeds are wild.
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My very first American Football game, at Youngstown Ohio, YSU Stambaugh Stadium! We were invited by the President of Youngstown State University to watch the YSU Penguins fight the Liberty University Flames from the President’s Loge at Stambaugh Stadium.
A loge is like a booth with a good view of the field, where you can watch the game in comfort and even have some food and drink with the VIP guests.
We enjoyed the halftime marching bands too.
This was a very authentic American experience, I felt — college football in a small town.
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The seminar gang and I are getting on our 7-hour flight to Minneapolis, followed by a 5-hour wait for our final 3-hour flight to Cleveland, Ohio.
We're bracing for a long journey on what is technically a domestic flight but feels like a long haul international flight.
The airline charged us US$15 for our first bag checked in and US$25 for a second. Plus they were really anal about any overweight bags, even by 1kg. Nuts.
I am getting the Cowon media player ready for some entertainment.
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A moment of quiet reflection at the memorial to those who died at Pearl Harbor.
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Don't say mrbrown only visit Obama's HQ, ok? I also went to the McCain HQ in Hawaii, and even met Jerry Coffee, who was held captive with Presidential Candidate John McCain during the Vietnam War.
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You do know Obama is a son of Hawaii, right? Well my group visited their HQ today to speak to a state senator and a field organiser . Hawaii is a confirmed Democrat win so most of the staffers and volunteers are mobilized to call and persuade Nevada voters to vote for Obama (like walkover PAP GRC MPs help their mates in contested wards).
Being the incumbent party, their HQ was more swanky and polished than that of the McCain HQ (which we also visited) in Hawaii.
My only complaint is that bumper stickers and assorted Obama campaign stuff have to be paid for. Not free! Must buy!
Obama! You very ngeow leh!
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We were taken on a nice quick tour of the rest of Oahu, and we took a short dip in the ocean at Waimanalo Beach Park.
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I would like to assure everyone that I had nothing to do with this coffee drink:
From The Standard in Hong Kong:
"The Centre for Food Safety last night said it will test samples of Mr Brown coffee for melamine, as eight products using coffee creamer from Shandong province were found to be tainted.This came after Taiwanese company King Car announced it has recalled packs of its Mr Brown instant coffee and milk tea containing contaminated milk powder imported from the mainland."
I used to enjoy drinking the canned version of this coffee brand too.
Also tainted by melamine in China milk, White Rabbit Creamy Candy, staple candy of many of our childhoods. I used to be able to polish off a whole packet of that stuff. The novelty of eating the inner wrapper was cool too.
I doubt if anyone is going to be touching any China dairy products from now on. Heck, I doubt if people are going to be touching ANY China food products now, with its dismal record.
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Thought I'd share some stuff I caught on American TV. This is from The Soup, hosted by Joel McHale on E!. In this video, he shares a Youtube clip of "The Way" with their gospel song "The Renewed Mind is The Key".
(You can watch the full performance of this, er, funky trio, at this Youtube link)
On a side note, The Way International is considered heretical by most orthodox Christian churches, but that should not distract from what is a cringeworthy performance by any religious standards.
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Get front row seats for the epic clash of power in Malaysia, at mrbrownshow.com!
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I took a short ride from the Uni to Waikiki Beach, and then along the Diamond Head Road and Kahala Ave, near the coast, ending at the Waialae Country Club and then back.
This is a little video of the view from Diamond Head Road.
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The US Presidential election is great fodder for comedy, and this SNL skit cracked me up.
That Palin reference about the Bush Doctrine can be seen in this Charles Gibson interview:
(via The Daily Kos)
Scary.
Here is Keith Olbermann's on this:
It is interesting to be in America now, where all this stuff is playing out on the LCD cable tv in my room. In Singapore, we would never have this kind of media circus for our politicians. It's all very civilised in Singapore, you know. Be thankful our capable leaders can come in on the GRC ticket, via walkovers.
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After landing, I spent the morning settling down, and walking around in a jet-lagged state. Note to self, don't drink coffee for dinner at Narita airport before boarding my connecting flight.
Clearing customs was a pain, because their computers were acting up, causing delays, and I had some issues with my passport.
Here's a tip for those of you who want to go the US. If you have ever lost your Singapore passport, and it was replaced prior to the new biometric passport, please please please go and make a new biometric passport. This is because in the old days, if you lost your passport, and ICA issued you a new one, it was still the same passport number (usually your IC). This raises red flags at US Customs and you will have to go to the little black room and explain it, every single time. Happened to me last year in San Diego too.
The new biometric passport uses a new number completely, which eliminates this problem. But old passport users like me will be affected.
I assembled my Dahon bike and decided to go out to see the town and look for some food. This is where the hassle of packing a folding bike for my trip pays off. I could go anywhere I wanted from my apartment in the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
I rode to Ala Moana Shopping Center, and had a Jamba Juice there (fancy fruit juice joint). It took me about half an hour to get there because I got a little lost. Second note to self: get a map.
Staying on campus has its advantages. Food is cheaper here because it is meant for students. There was an all-can-eat-cafeteria (US$7.75 for brunch, eat 5 meals and get 1 meal free) about 1.5km away, and a student footcourt nearby.
Waikiki is about 5 to 6km away from where I am, and accessible by public bus (US$2 with one free transfer) called The Bus (a very duh name). You can mount your full-sized bicycle on the rack on front of the bus, and board it.
I haven't been back to Honolulu for more than 20 years now, it looks the same to me. Everyone looks quite laid back here, even in the city.
One thing Singaporeans need to get used to (beside riding/driving on the other side of the road, yikes), is that shops close earlier. It is not easy to get food late at night, not like at home where 24-hour coffee shops are everywhere. Fortunately for me, a Sushiman was open till 10pm and I found it after riding out and trying my luck. I had a bowl of spicy Ahi donburi (Ahi is Yellowtail Tuna). For UD$7, it was a lot of raw Ahi.
After dinner, I rode to the 7-Eleven, loaded up my Ortlieb pannier bags with a map, some bottled water, cold drinks and comfort food, and rode the uphill route back to my dorm, guided by my 2 Fenix L2D flashlights on my handlebar.
Thank goodness I brought a bike with 24 speeds. Hawaii everywhere is slopes and hills.
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You get to know an airport terminal intimately when you have to wait more than 5 hours for your connecting flight.
After waking up at 3am and getting to the airport at 4am for a 6am flight, and 7 hours of rather uneventful flying from Singapore, I reached Narita airport at around 2.30pm, Tokyo time.
My connecting flight to Honolulu is 8.40pm, Tokyo time, so that gave me many hours to wander the hallowed halls of Narita's transit terminal.
Thank goodness for the Cowon A2 media player, with 25GB worth of movies and tv shows. I managed to finish Get Smart, and started on Iron Man.
Food at the ANA Fiesta foodcourt is probably one of the better non-Western-fastfood joints here.
Internet is not free, so I am typing this at an Internet kiosk, that is costing me 100 yen per ten minutes. Hey, that's still cheaper than data roaming on Softbanks's 3G network (more than $5 per MB!).
I will post a photo of the cool ass water spray I saw in the toilet bowl here, when I get to a proper wireless network with my Mac.
The Japanese think of everything.
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Er, not really lah.
This is my Dahon folding bike packed into a 32 inch luggage, waiting to follow me to the US for a month.
I've still got to put in some packing foam to give it a little more protection but it's pretty much good to go.
The Dahon Mu P24's first stop will be Honolulu, where the New Generation Seminar takes place. It is organised by the East West Center, who kindly invited and paid for me to attend it. The East West Center is an educational and research institute set up by the US Congress to build up relations and understanding between the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. They are based in Hawaii, lucky fellas!
The seminar, attended by people from all over, is focusing on the topic of globalisation this year. After Honolulu, we will make stops in Youngstown Ohio, and Washington DC.
I am certainly looking forward to meeting and interviewing people from this cultural exchange program, and telling some Singapore stories for my presentation.
After the seminar ends in two weeks, another journey will begin. From the 5th of October to the 18th of October, my cameraman, Ryan, and Emily Teng of Blessingsinabag.com, will join me for The mrbrown Road Trip, East Coast USA.
We will be updating you via daily live videos, photos and blogs. Yes, LIVE Videos! It will be a new media, online, interactive travel show. You will be able to follow us as we explore cities like DC and New York, partly by a hybrid car (kindly sponsored by Hertz) and by folding bicycle (kindly provided by sponsor, Speedmatrix, the Dahon distributor, who is also providing bike tech support).
There will even be a contest! I'll tell you more about the Road Trip event over the next few days. Meanwhile, I need to make sure I didn't leave out any bicycle parts.
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Gahmen checking sticks! Make sure yours are approved! Find out at mrbrownshow.com!
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Not the best place to park, not when you end up blocking a long trailer that is hauling a construction vehicle, that in turn ends up blocking the whole traffic junction.
No car could move at the junction until the driver came back to his car to drive off.
FAIL.
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