games offer a chance at an international language. they cross countries, borders, and time zones. the same game can be played with twists all over the world, developed a little different through the course of time.
maybe the roots of my interests began at the card room that i worked in for three years. all the characters, the personalities. the common game was poker, and often the table was very diverse. old guys, college kids. white, black, asian, english speaking, spanish speaking, the card room was diversity.
as i continue my travels i am watching for games and their variety. i saw these guys in bangkok playing a varied version of backgammon that was very interesting, and it seemded like the satkes were. instead of rolling on the board they qould throw the dice into a small bowl, the sound of the dice matched the action. i usually stand and watch for a little trying to figure out the little twists and turns that make their version unique.
yesterday i walked past an intense card game where cash was the language. it looked some kind of blackjack but icouldnt quite figure it out. the currency was baht and money was changing hands very quickly. i tried to take some pictures, but the guys said no because of the illegality of gambling in bangkok. its usually a good idea to respect the wishes of the locals, especially when they are in front of a muay thai training facility.
to see more pictures of games throughout the world please follow the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/themissinglinke/sets/72157606089091579/
Friday, August 1, 2008
games, the international language
Thursday, June 5, 2008
goa
i had a real good time in goa. i met a lot of good people and enjoyed the sounds of the beach. soccer is huge there, which is not the case in most of india. i played a couple games on the beach and kicked the ball around pretty much everyday with the local kids.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
trash sunset
its really sad what's happened to the indian landscape. there is trash everywhere. this was such a beautiful place destroyed by litter. the worst part about it is that there is no infrastructure to handle all the trash. sometimes in the cities you walk for blocks looking for a trash can to throw something away and you usually never find one. i feel bad about my impact because as a foreigner i have to drink bottled water and this is a large portion of the problem. boiling water is not always a reasonable option and in the cities you really have no choice. hopefully within the next 10 years some one will invest in recycling and waste management.
village ball
while in ooty i went on two separate treks through the country side. it was a great experience for me. i walked about 40 km in two days and by the end of the second day my legs felt like rubber. on the second trek we came upon a small hindu village where the kids invited us to play soccer. two out of the four side of the field had a ledge so every time the ball went off the ledge they sent some kid running and the game would pause for five minutes. i kept calling it a T.V. timeout which they all found pretty funny. village ball was good times, i quickly became a local legend because i had a hat trick. this was fun for me and i could tell the kids really enjoyed it.
banana plantations
as the price of food rises globally i can not help but think of these women who rise with the sun everyday and work in the plantations so other people can eat. it is often the farmer/laborer who can not afford the crop that they work so hard to harvest. they work in the blistering heat so we can eat, and they are often forgotten. when i got back to the city i went to a market where many people were selling bananas, i could not help but think about the labor and effort that went into getting the food into the cities.
