No, I haven't abandoned you, dear readers. I've just been caught up in work-life demands, an insanely hectic production schedule, and have had little time or enthusiasm for combing the web for spectacular photography finds. I must apologise if I've disappointed return visitors to my site over the past six weeks, particularly whomever was kind enough to nominate my site in the Best Japanese Blog section of the Asia Weblog Awards. Clearly I have NO chance of winning, but thanks in advance to anyone who thinks my site is deserving of a vote. Things WILL return to normal although, since I'm about to head off overseas again shortly for a couple of weeks (this time New Zealand and Australia), that might not happen until the new year. Might I just beg a little more of your patience!

For those of you who have been asking about my recent travels, my trip to Washington DC and New York was a lot of fun as well as being most productive, work-wise and personally, especially now that I've recovered from a particularly bad dose of jetlag in both directions. Fortunately I'm now in a position to reflect back on the experience and share some of the cultural highlights. So thanks to all the folks in NYC who made my visit especially wonderful, particularly one kindred spirit whose like-mind gave rise to some really thought-provoking conversation that I hope we'll be continuing online and offline in the future.

The Whitney is currently showing some great exhibitions; my favourites being a major solo show of painter John Currin's work (originally shown at the Serpentine in London), and the obsessive self-documentation of Lucas Samaras--a show filled with hundreds of manipulated polaroid self-portraits of the artist as he has aged since the 1970s.

The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is showing a truly inspiring collection of historical and contemporary male "non-bifurcated garments"...yup, skirts...called Bravehearts: Men in Skirts, accompanied by some really beautiful fashion photography. The exhibition includes the likes of some of my favorite designers including John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Ozwald Boateng, Leigh Bowery, and Alexander McQueen. A must for fashion and cultural afficianados alike!

The ICP's Strangers exhibition, the inaugural show in their new photography triennial series, also contained some excellent work, some of which I had seen before, including Liu Zheng's haunting photographs of mental patients chained together as a form of theory.

A must-see, must-hear experience for New York City residents and visitors: the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History is showing the mindblowing audio visual extravaganza SonicVision, an explosive and dizzying eyecandy experience combined with an ultra-cool and captivating electronica soundtrack curated by Moby, with artists such as Fischerspooner, Boards of Canada, and Brian Eno. You'll love it...go see it...NOW!

And what's a trip to New York City without a campy Broadway musical experience. My choice? Rosie O'Donnell's super-queer Taboo, a semi-autobiographical tale of Boy George's rise to superstardom from the camp underground clubs of London in the 1980s, starring Boy George himself as designer/performance artist Leigh Bowery and Euan Morton as Boy George. How strange is that to star in a musical about your life as another character?!! Very queer and very entertaining, despite all the negative reviews.

Finally, let me point you to an absolutely delightful series of photographs by New York illustrator extraordinaire Witold Riedel of pelicans in flight, set against delicate watercolour blue skies filled with cotton wool clouds, taken during his visit to Art Basel Miami Beach. Two posts, in particular, caught my eye: one pelican looking like a weird 3D animated character and a series with birds in flight.

Adieu, till we next catch up...