#Hal Fischer

[artistictyme]

LBB 2

pages from my second sketchbook from my current series of little black books

[academyoftheheartandmind]

keep out and Other Poems

By Dane Lyn keep out after Olga Rozanova’s “Abstract Composition (Color-painting)” please keep your hands and arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times please keep your thoughts and insights inside your pretty little head please keep tabs on your sensuality please keep your story straight please keep up appearances please keep please keep keep away keep breathing keep breathing keep…

[steveyockey]

what an obnoxious and exhausting way to categorize people lmao

[oshaskell]

Gay semiotics (1977) by Hal Fischer (Buck and Eddie edition)

[iwanthermidnightz]

ST. VINCENT FOR THE BILLBOARD PRIDE ISSUE | photos by Lenne Chai

“It’s about life and death and love,” she explains. “And that’s it.” For the 41-year-old Clark, at least two of those topics are intrinsically linked to her own identity as a queer artist. “Every record I’ve ever made has been so personal about what’s going on in my life at any given time. I’m queer. I know how to code-switch. The idea of identity as performance has been very clear to me since I was a child.” Even so, Clark shuts down the suggestion that she adopted a mask or performative identity for the album: “I’m queer, I’m living in multitudes, but this record in particular is not about persona or deconstruction.”

Code-switching — changing one’s behavior to suit an uncomfortable environment — is nothing new for LGBTQ+ people. Even in the generally progressive-minded music community, Clark says the world queer musicians currently inhabit is “very different” than when she kicked off her recording career in 2006 with the three-song EP Paris Is Burning. “Which is one of those things which gives me a lot of hope,” she notes. “I know there are certain things in the world trending in a scary direction, but all in all, I’d rather live right now than any other time in history. We wouldn’t be having this conversation 60 years ago. I would be a nurse, I would be a secretary, or I would be a mother.”

As she references the hankie code (as early as the ’70s, gay men used different-colored bandannas to signify sexual preferences) and Hal Fischer’s 1977 photo book, Gay Semiotics: A Photographic Study of Visual Coding Among Homosexual Men, it’s clear Clark knows her queer history. “People the world was hostile to developed these secret languages, secret codes, in order to communicate. I find that fascinating,” she says. “You’re very aware there’s a subterranean, subtext layer to everything that’s going on — and you have your antennae up at all times. That is erotic to me. But I’m glad that [I live in this era].”

As for the downside to LGBTQ+ culture going mainstream? “Well, if you’re safe for the TV screen, you also invite an aspect of grift [from the outside world],” she muses. “Which… I raise an eyebrow at.” To emphasize her point, she cocks her left brow; for a moment, she could pass for a hyperlogical Vulcan on Star Trek. “But there have been plenty of queer people in music. Even if the culture was saying no, there were always queer people in the arts. Please. We have built this.”

[forkingandcountry-if]

The Great Houses of For King and Country

House Wynd

Title: Lord Paramount, Emperor Edmund Wynd

Ancestral Seat: Wyndham Castle

Region: The Wetlands

Coat of Arms: Partizan Spear with Grey Cloth tied to end

Motto: “Strike True, Strike Once”

Vassal Houses: Gray, Freymen, Cole, Dustin, Courtney, Cadfael, Douglas

House Radwell-Cadderly

Title: Lord Paramount Cade Radwell-Casterly

Ancestral Seat: Two Prince's Crossing

Region: The Princeland

Coat of Arms: Two Inverted Golden Crowns and a Golden Sun Between

Motto: “Only One Crown Above Ours”

Major Vassal Houses: Royce, Roy, Vardy, Barclay, Harvey, Godwell, Radwell, Carter, Cadderly

House Merivale*

Title: Lord of the Vale, Lord Paramount Lancet Merivale

Ancestral Seat: Kingsport

Region: The Vale and Great Lakes

Coat of Arms: Golden Crowned Falcon and Golden Buck on Split Green and Blue Background.

Motto: “Honor From On High”

Major Vassal Houses: Uplands, Greenspan, Flowers, Merivale-upon-the-Lake, Achillande, Lunete, Grenplace, Cessair

House Abbey

Title: Lord Paramount Finneen Abbey

Ancestral Seat: Oldchurch

Region: The Midlands

Coat of Arms: Silver Crown in White Star

Motto: “Steel to clean the hearts of men”

Major Vassal Houses: Morrel, Coffer, Abney, Woods, Arden

House Chamer

Title: Warden of the Hinterland, Lord Paramount Ornold Chamer

Ancestral Seat: Mount Reave

Region: The Hinterlands and Firth

Coat of Arms: Bucking Horse

Motto: “All things can be ordered”

Major Vassal Houses: Cramer, MacAffey, Mulholland, Vicar

House Champion

Title: Warden of the Greater Realm, Lord Paramount Hal Champion

Ancestral Seat: Guard's Round Hall

Region: The Borderlands

Coat of Arms: Knight in a Field of Wheat

Motto: “Faithful Unto Death”

Major Vassal Houses: Daunt, Gallant, Richard, Radclyffe, Reeds

House Fischer

Title: Stewardess of the Royal Woods, Lady Paramount Moira Fischer

Ancestral Seat: Diver Castle

Region: The Greenwood

Coat of Arms: Wooden Keep

Motto: “Swift to sow! Swift to swords!”

Major Vassal Houses: Keats, Trent, Pole, Diver, Greenwood, Hart

House Parish

Title: Lord-Governor of the Plain, Lord Paramount Merritt Parish

Ancestral Seat: Fortress Merill

Region: The Plains

Coat of Arms: Burning fortress flanked by rivers

Motto: "First to Fury"

Major Vassal Houses: Murgatroyd, Everly, Eccleston, Farnham, Gladwyn, Dane, Dwerry

House Galagar

Title: Lord Paramount, King o' the Rock Brent Galagar

Ancestral Seat: The Rook

Region: The Highlands

Coat of Arms: Heraldic Eagle flanked by Lions

Motto: “In Our Own Right, Kings”

Major Vassal Houses: Aron, Link, Broeker, Burnes, Arrowsmith, Keeper, Fletcher

*You are an heir of House Merivale up in the Vale and Great Lakes.

[foxmulderautism]

mid-scene and might repost this on main in the morning if i feel comfortable dropping the Vomit  Blood Saliva Cum paragraph on there but i’m proud of this and think it’s like. SO lover boy

They’d dance together and kiss men and sometimes they’d dance with men and kiss each other. Anything could happen when everything was dark and disco rushed. They’d stay out until time stopped being about movement and started being about presence, until dawn pulled them back outside, when they’d stumble to the bus stop on 18th Street because they always thought a 4am Castro Café breakfast would make them vomit, and because Bobby liked to drape himself across the brick wall and put his sunglasses on, like he was sunbathing to lure out the sun. And Beau always sat on the bench, their heads next to each other in their separate spaces. They never memorised the bus times. Some nights, or mornings, they lay and sat in needed silence. But most nights, here was where they talked about Beau’s cinematographer dreams or Bobby’s fascination with volcanic eruptions or looped discussions about Harvey Milk, the council’s response to the bathhouse fire in ‘81, and their burning hatred of the president, whom they would not name out loud until he could mention AIDS out loud. Here, was where they confided about Beau’s sleep problems and Bobby’s claustrophobia. Here, was where they once discussed the practicalities of a ghost hunting tour of the country, tried to map it out by designating a brick for each state. Here, was where Beau can’t remember all the conversations but remembers all the times they laughed until it hurt. Here, was where Bobby once laid on his stomach and Beau sat on the bench and they kissed once, like that, because the sun had not risen and technically anything could still happen. Here, was where Bobby once cleaned the dried remains of a poppers nosebleed from Beau’s face with his saliva and jacket sleeve. Here, was where one of Beau’s last memories of Bobby before he was sick lived, when he was sick but neither of them knew it, so maybe they can say he wasn’t; when Bobby was sick but not ill, a fuzzy limbo they’d soon be familiar with. Bobby, as always, draped over the wall, his hands over his eyes because he forgot his sunglasses, an elbow in Beau’s curls. Beau sat with his eyes shut before the sun could give him a headache. Somewhere, birds had begun to sing. And Bobby, out of nowhere, his voice hazy, drawn out, “Dude...I think cum might have skin healing properties.”

weird accidental record: four bodily fluids mentioned in a 355 word paragraph

[nocompromise-noregrets]

Hiya! Hope you had a great time at your Christmas parties! For the fanfic writer asks I'd love to hear your thoughts on 10 and 14 if you have a few minutes to spare. Thank you so much and have a fantastic week ahead of you! 😁

Hiiii! Thank you - I had a marvellous time! I am very sleepy and peopled-out now, but am having a nice quiet day chilling out and recovering and recharging my batteries. Very glad I am now off work for three weeks! XD (I am such a lightweight these days :D )

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? Hmmmmm. I try not to expect a particular response because I'm well aware that that way lies self-doubt and fixating on hits and comments and things, so I try to just post and be happy for whatever comes along, but I think on stumbling into the Italians' fandom I wasn't expecting it to be quite so quiet. On the other hand, I was not expecting Hal and Jack to get nearly so much response as they have, and I am DELIGHTED by it. So these things balance themselves out. :D (also I wasn't expecting to reconnect with two different old friends, one over the Italians and one over my disastrous boys - although I do talk with the latter friend on here we don't really share a fandom, and the former has been a mostly RL friend for a long time although we began in the same fandom, until I tripped and fell accidentally into her territory XD )

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick? OOOOH. I would very much like to see Empty Vessel-'verse as a long-form TV show much like Rings of Power, with the movies' cast plus some extras (Rosamund Pike or Saskia Fischer as Thranduil's wife Auriel, and Paisley Billings or Maria Ketikidou as Bard's wife Maudie, in particular :D ). I mean, I can dream, right?! :D :D :D

Thank you so much for asking! <33333333 anyone else fancy sending me some questions about fic? I am free as birds today so will be able to answer much more promptly. :D :D :D

[sacredstem]

babe are you okay? you reblogged gay semiotics (1977) by hal fischer again.

[beejstache]

Hal fischer’s gay semiotics literally wouldn’t know where to begin with bj hunnicutt

[aarchval]

Hal Fischer, Blue Handkerchief, Red Handkerchief, 1977.

[artistictyme]

"Queer Semiotics" - 2023

First stab at a project I made for my Unfixed Identities class. This was incredibly Inspired by the Gay Semiotics project by Hal Fischer. I want to continue to work on top of what I have already dine, since I don't think I have nearly achieved all that is possible with this concept.

I'll link the archives where the pins are originally from. Though i did find them through a twitter post made by @sweatermuppet

Oh yeah one last thing the tote bag was designed by my friend and inspiration calo di zuccheri . She's fucking amazing. Buy her art and if you can donate to her ffs fund I will love you forever.

[tigerstrikesasteroidnetwork]

NY / Ryan Patrick Krueger: Documents from the Closet

Courtesy of the Artist and Rivalry Projects, Buffalo, NY

Ryan Patrick Krueger: Documents from the Closet August 5 - September 10, 2023 Opening reception: August 5, 2023, 5-8pm

Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York is pleased to present Documents from the Closet, a solo installation of work by Ryan Patrick Krueger, curated by Samantha Box. This exhibition marks Krueger’s New York City debut, and is accompanied by a curatorial text written by Mary Lee Hodgens, artist and former Assistant Director of Light Work, Syracuse.

Documents from the Closet

Mary Lee Hodgens For their ongoing project, Documents from the Closet, artist Ryan Patrick Krueger works with a personal collection of LGBTQ+ archives, vernacular photographs, and ephemera to tell a story about grief, loss, and courage. The artist weaves together two narratives, an unflinching effort to understand personal losses and identity through an exploration that begins in the historical oppression of gay men.

In the gallery, Krueger props seven-foot-tall pine boxes precariously against the walls, balanced atop piles of dirt or sand. In size and shape, the boxes feel reminiscent of monuments, gravestones, or coffins. Each box contains a history lesson: formally elegant collages of monochromatic black-and-white shapes that Krueger punctuates with flourishes of pink, red, and the bright yellow of shipping envelopes. Collage is about finding new meaning in the juxtaposition of disparate elements. For Krueger, this process of isolating, truncating, or layering visual information allows for dialogue with the past while telling their own newer story.  

In 2011, Krueger began an eBay search using phrases such as “gay interest” and “vintage gay photograph” to hunt down photographs depicting what they describe as “tenderness, friendship, intimacy, and true love.” These photographs, including tintypes and photo booth portraits, show us men—now long gone—embracing or sometimes just mugging for the camera. Played out decades ago, these fleeting moments of connection and intimacy now feel furtive. Krueger allows us to see their process by including eBay receipts and the handwritten envelopes in which a network of other collectors of “gay interest” move and share these documents. We grieve these lives with the artist, who asks us to consider both the complexities of living a double life in pre-Stonewall America and our own human need for connection and community.

Krueger references many iconic gay artists, activists, and organizations here, including Act Up, David Deitcher, Essex Hemphill, Hal Fischer, Jonathan Ned Katz, Marlon Riggs, the Mattachine Society, and David Wojnarowicz. The artists also layers many symbols of the struggle over the documents, including a red tie, pink triangles, a locket containing the ashes of a childhood best friend, red boxing gloves, and clippings of classified ads from the pages of a defunct 1990’s LGBTQ+ newspaper.

What emerges is that Krueger’s embrace of LGBTQ+ American history allows them to stand on a timeline that faces forward. Although each box feels final and heavy with grief, there is also a sense of triumph. In acknowledging those who’ve gone before, Krueger transforms the boxes into protest banners. Furtiveness falls away, and in its place comes acceptance and yes, pride. As artist and AIDs activist David Wojnarowicz said, “To make the private into something public is an action that has terrific ramifications.”

Ryan Patrick Krueger holds a BFA in Photography from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, and was formerly Digital Services Coordinator for Light Work, a non-profit artist-run photography organization at Syracuse University. Krueger has curated exhibitions and held shows nationally including Documents from the Closet at the Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, NY), On Longing at MONACO (St. Louis, MO), Response Response (with Linda Kliewer in Portland, OR), and Queer Moments: Selections from the Light Work Collection (Syracuse, NY). Most recently, Krueger exhibited work in the 2022 FotoFest Biennial, If I Had A Hammer, (Houston, TX), and appeared in Aperture, Art in America, and Sixty Inches From Center.  

[obsessivelollipoplalala]

Overall review/summary of the 2023 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford

With Groban and Ashford leaving this production in January, I thought I'd finally make a post talking about what I thought of this revival as a whole when I saw it on 7/15/23 and 8/26/23.Total rating? About 8/10.

First of all: for all intents and purposes, this revival felt faithful to the original production and like it was bringing that vision to a modern stage, which I really appreciated. There were minor changes here and there, which I'll get to, but it didn't try to do anything crazy and forced edgy/~artsy~. The source material is strong enough on its own and there's no need to deviate much.

In terms of casting: Josh Groban was a great Sweeney Todd and Annaleigh Ashford is pretty much the epitome of taking things too far with Mrs. Lovett, and not knowing when to stop.

Let me explain:

Main Casting:

People are clowning when they complain about Groban's Todd. From a vocal standpoint, you cannot argue he doesn't have an objectively skilled voice, and he hit every note perfectly on the soundtrack and in both live performances I saw. In terms of vocals, this has to be one of the best Sweeneys out there. Regarding his acting, he was good! Groban always seemed like he was in this brooding daze, like he wasn't all there, and I think that's a crucial aspect of Todd's character. The actor needs to showcase that this man is gone in his own world of bloody fantasies and mournful memories, and I think having him seem detached from reality does that. Groban did the angry moments well, too. They didn't seem forced, which is the trap Sweeney actors can fall into. I remember sitting there during "Epiphany" and watching him totally lost in the drama of the moment in the middle of the stage with the razor literally glistening in the spotlight, and again, I felt like the whole thing captured just how removed from reality Todd is in that moment. He had his sad moments towards the end, too. He was really solid, plain and simple.

With Annaleigh Ashford...I wrote an entire breakdown of why her performance undermines Mrs. Lovett's character lol, which I'll link here, but the best summary I can give is that she turned Mrs. Lovett into a British Harley Quinn. She turned her into the caricature that Angela Lansbury and Hal Prince feared the character could become. This is not an actress without talent, but man, she didn't know how to control herself, and it wound up hurting Mrs. Lovett's character, because she isn't a clown, she's the true villain of the show. It was like watching Mrs. Lovett on The Office with the winks to the audience and constant comedic shtick, and that lessened the dark tone of the entire show. If Ashford had been a stronger Lovett, I'd give this production a 10/10, but she's too big of a character to ignore. Thankfully, the source material is too good for her to have seriously damaged the show. Plus, her understudy was really good!

I saw Jeanna de Waal fill in for Ashford during the second performance, though, and she was very good. She retained some of Mrs. Lovett's more annoying, shticky stuff, which suggests at least part of this characterization is the fault of the director, but in general, de Waal toned it down enough without losing the comedy in appropriate moments like "A Little Priest." She has a great voice, I sat close enough to be able to see the subtle expressions on her face, and I think she could have a leading role on Broadway. My family and I enjoyed her very much, while my friends and I found Ashford grating by the end.

Supporting Cast:

I have quicker notes here: I only saw Daniel Yearwood as Anthony, because Jordan Fischer left by the time I went to NYC, but Yearwood was really good! Great voice and acting. I liked how this version of Johanna seemed especially unstable, with jerky, neurotic mannerisms when she sang. You really get the sense that this girl isn't right.

I saw two Tobys: Gaten Matarazzo and Nathan Salstone. I didn't see a huge difference between these two actors' portrayals tbh, both were solid Tobys, but Salstone toned down Toby's insanity at the very end of the show, which I preferred, simply because I've always thought that was the weakest part of the musical and I genuinely dislike it and I'm glad the movie cut that part out entirely lmao.

Everyone else was pretty much fine tbh. Nicholas Christopher was really funny as Pirelli, and John Rapson had funny moments as the Beadle. I did think Jamie Jackson came across as kind of bumbling as the Judge, and I don't think that characterization is quite right for a raping pedophile, but, eh.

Changes to the Production:

I need to start with one thing I totally disliked: how they staged Lucy's rape during "Poor Thing." I know that sounds like a weird thing to complain about, but the problem was that if I didn't know the story beforehand, I would've had no idea what happened. Lucy and the Judge/Beadle/etc. are up on a platform, above the pie shop where Mrs. Lovett is singing, and the lights are out on them. We can only see shadows. The Judge like, extends a hand almost Bela-Lugosi-Dracula-style and Lucy, trapped up there, is weak to his power. She's picked up and carried off to him. That's it. I swear. It's not that we need a graphic rape scene--not even the film showed any nudity--but it's too vague. Everyone who saw the show with me agreed that they wouldn't have picked up what happened if they hadn't seen the film before, and this is a big plot point! It's part of why Lucy poisoned herself, why Sweeney wants revenge, and what an awful person Judge Turpin is. It shouldn't be left to ambiguity. I don't know why the director (I'm assuming) made this decision, but it genuinely hurt the storytelling. It's the only change I completely disliked, but I just don't understand why they did it this way. Just have the partygoers gather around the Judge and Lucy to conceal what's going on and have Lucy scream, like most productions do.

They sped up the tempo for "Johanna (Reprise)" by a hair. I honestly don't know why, and it doesn't ruin the song for me, but that's one of Sondheim's most beautiful and underrated songs, and I prefer versions that take their time. That's not nearly as noticeable as the key change for "Not While I'm Around", though! I don't know why they did that, but I don't like it. Changing the key changes the notes, and changing the notes makes the song sound a lot different lol. It just feels like an unnecessary, negative change

They added a scene of dialogue with Johanna and the Judge. It seems like this was adapted from the dialogue which was originally meant to happen after the cut version of "Johanna" performed by Judge Turpin. In the original dialogue, the Judge offers himself to Johanna. This new scene plays out similarly with the Judge commenting on how Anthony has been hanging around all week, and he's found a suitable man for Johanna: himself. During his spiel, we see Johanna take a spare key behind his back and then hide it, giving the audience a hint as to how Anthony will get in the house later. While the scene wasn't totally necessary, it served as a nice little gap in between musical numbers and set us up for Johanna planning to run away with Anthony later because she's in a panic over the Judge's proposal.

They added women walking in the background during "Ladies in Their Sensitivities." It's a small thing, but honestly a nice addition, because it gives the audience something to look at on stage while the Beadle sings a slower, quieter song. Honestly, just having the Judge and Beadle stand on a bare stage during that song was kind of the stage equivalent of dead air before, so the women in the background gave your eye just enough to look at.

They also made the company walk onto the stage and stare blankly as the Beggar Woman sang her, "Quick, miss! Run and tell!" etc., etc., bit during "Johanna (Reprise)." Making the company come out on stage that moment was nice, too, because the Beggar Woman being able to see them shows how far gone she is.

The company also had choreography. It wasn't dancing, but planned, jerky movements, similar to how zombies would move, in a way. They would almost tip over, breathe heavily, crick their necks, and generally appear like they were undead. It was just enough to make the company even more unsettling during the ballads without going too far, so I liked that decision a lot.

Miscellaneous

I liked the set design with the barber shop being a platform above the stage, as opposed to that one, big, rotating set piece with the barber shop on top and pie shop at the bottom that's often used

I liked the backdrop they had during night scenes with a big moon in the background

I liked the light design with the lights going red when Sweeney kills for the first time, and this dramatic green lighting coming from beneath Sweeney to illuminate his face like in a horror movie when he yells, "You?!" at the Beggar Woman when he returns to the barber shop, timed with a loud, dissonant chord

The company was lively in this production, too. I adored "God, That's Good!" with the energy from them and the main cast. It's such a strong opening for the second act on stage

I liked Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett walking off together at the end of the final ballad and jumping into the abyss together. It's fitting

I kind of like that both Ashford and de Waal played Mrs. Lovett as being afraid of Sweeney at the end and being aware that he was coming after her now. I like the totally delusional portrayal in that moment, too, but yeah

SO yeah, extremely solid production, it felt respectful to the original and it was incredible seeing a full-blown Broadway production of this amazing show. I just wish Ashford hadn't been mistaken that she was cast in a musical comedy instead of a musical thriller

[fettereise]

Hoi An: Motorradtour und Zwangspause (13.-17.9.)

Bei unserem Besuch in der Zitadelle von Hue hat uns ein Mann auf einem Moped angesprochen. Dabei war er sehr ruhig und extrem freundlich. Wir haben uns ein bisschen unterhalten, und schließlich kam raus, dass er ein Unternehmen hat - sein erweiterter Familienkreis transportiert Touris auf dem Mitfahrersitz von Motorrädern, wohin sie wollen. Er fragte uns, wohin wir wollen, und bot uns eine Tour nach Hoi An an. Wir waren anfangs noch etwas zögerlich, aber da Lui ein guter Geschäftsmann ist, weiß er, dass sich Deutsche am liebsten durch Empfehlung anderer Deutscher überzeugen lassen. Deswegen packte er stapelweise Notizbücher aus und zeigte uns die vielen begeisterten Dankesworte seiner deutschen Kunden.

Drei Tage und ein paar WhatsApp Nachrichten später werden wir also am 13.9. um 8 Uhr von zwei Motorradfahrern an unserem Hotel abgeholt. Wir bekommen Helme und Warnwesten mit dem Logo der Firma, die großen Rucksäcke werden mit Spanngurten befestigt, und los geht's. Da wir nicht die einzigen Kunden sind, treffen wir bei Luis Büro auf 10 weitere abenteuerlustige junge Menschen. Nachdem das ganze große Gepäck in einem Van verschwunden ist, erklärt Lui den Tagesablauf und dann geht's auch schon los. Mein Fahrer ist erst 21, fährt aber sehr souverän (sein Englisch beschränkt sich allerdings auf rice , tunnel, motorbike, water und are you ok?). Mir tut bereits nach 30 Minuten auf dem Bock heftig der Hintern weh, aber angesichts der noch vor uns liegenden 130km lenke ich mich mit der Natur ab - und das ist ein Kinderspiel, denn die ist grandios! Wir fahren durch frisch abgeerntete Reisfelder, durch kleine Fischerdörfer, durchqueren sogar einen seichten Bach, befahren Highways und enge Schotterwege. Zwischendurch machen wir kleine Pausen, bekommen Infos über die Lebensart der Fischer hier und trinken reichlich Wasser, denn es ist wie immer sehr heiß. Vormittags halten wir zum Schwimmen an einem wunderbaren Fluss an, hier baden auch die Locals. Der Einstieg ins Wasser über rutschige Felsen ist etwas schwierig, aber das Wasser ist herrlich erfrischend, und Luis Leute werfen uns Mitfahrern kalte Bierdosen in den Fluss. So lässt es sich leben!

Nach einer weiteren kleinen Etappe halten wir an einem großen Restaurant, das auf Stelzen mitten in einer Lagune steht. Hier gibt es zum Mittag frischen Fisch und Meeresfrüchte, Frühlingsrollen und leckeres Brot mit einer rötlich-scharfen Sauce. Wir haben gutes Timing, denn während des Essens ergießt sich ein heftiger Schauer über das Restaurant.

Nach dem Essen geht es weiter zu meinem Highlight der Tour: Wir überqueren eine Bergkette und fahren über den sogenannten Wolkenpass. In scharfen Serpentinen geht es immer weiter den Berg hinauf, die Ausblicke auf die Bucht und den dichten Dschungel davor sind atemberaubend, und der Fahrtwind macht die sehr feuchte Luft erträglich. Ich bin ziemlich zufrieden mit unserer Wahl des Transportmittels, auch wenn man nicht viel drüber nachdenken darf, was bei einem Sturz nur mit kurzer Kleidung bekleidet hier alles passieren kann... Aber was ist das Leben ohne ein bisschen Nervenkitzel und Risiko?

Oben am Pass angekommen gibt es viel zu süßen Eiskaffee und unsere Fahrer machen tolle Bilder von uns. Weiter geht's durch Danang (eine große und nicht besonders schöne Stadt) und zu den Marmorbergen, die eine Vielzahl von Höhlen, Pagoden und Schreinen beinhalten. Hier bekommen wir Zeit, auf eigene Faust zu erkunden.

Gegen 19 Uhr erreichen wir erschöpft, aber zufrieden Hoi An und werden noch zu unserer Unterkunft gefahren. Wir haben uns wieder für ein homestay entschieden, etwas außerhalb des Zentrums, inmitten eines kleinen Dorfes, wo die Bewohner noch selber per Hand Gemüse- und Kräuterbeete bestellen. Ich hatte am Morgen schon ein heftiges Kratzen im Hals gespürt und befürchtet, mich bei Torben angesteckt zu haben, was sich die nächsten Tage bewahrheiten würde. Zu allem Übel stellen wir am ersten Morgen im Tra Que Herb Village (so heißt es hier) fest, dass unser kleines und unisoliertes Zimmer direkt neben einer Baustelle liegt, und die Handwerker haben ab 6:45 Uhr kein Erbarmen. Obwohl ich krasse Kopf-und Halsschmerzen habe, ist an Schlaf nicht mehr zu denken. Beim Frühstück schildern wir den zwei Frauen, die den Laden hier schmeißen (was ich total toll finde und was hier auch super selten ist) unser Leid und sie upgraden uns kostenlos in die "Villa", eine kleine Wohnung mit deutlich mehr Platz direkt am Pool. Die folgenden zwei Tage bin ich fast nur im Bett, und Torben versorgt mich mit Wasser, Medikamenten und Snacks. Hier eine Erkältung zu haben, ist echt ätzend, weil die trockene Luft der Klimaanlage die Beschwerden verschlimmert, man diese aber auf keinen Fall ausschalten will... Und an Ausschlafen ist auch hier nicht zu denken, lautem Geschrei von Hühnern und Hähnen sowieso der dröhnenden Musik der Nachbarn sei Dank.

Da wir bisher nichts von der Stadt gesehen haben, buchen wir zwei weitere Nächte direkt in der Altstadt von Hoi An. Das war eine gute Entscheidung, denn die Stadt gefällt uns sehr - relativ sauber und aufgeräumt, wunderschöne Altstadt mit den markanten, hier hergestellten Stoff- und Papierlaternen, unzählige Schneidergeschäfte, ein Fluss mit süßen Booten mitten durch die Stadt. Wir erkunden viel zu Fuß, essen viel, lassen uns treiben und es noch langsam angehen. Ich lasse mir bei einer Schneiderin einen neuen Bikini nähen. Besonders im Dunkeln sehen die Straßen hier echt toll aus.

Am 17.9. machen wir Pläne für die nächsten Tage - und entscheiden uns spontan, morgen früh ins Flugzeug zu steigen!

[thefurryandtheyoung]

New Gay Semiotics (inspired by Hal Fischer’s photography work)