I Cooked a Bit for Unharsh Critics

From left:
Vlado. He studied economics at Sofia University, took advantage of a study abroad program that brought him to Montana. Later, he got a job at Yellowstone National Park. He has since lived in Chicago, Detroit, and now has settled with his awesome girlfriend, July who is from Uzbekistan but they met in Chicago, in Mt. Prospect, a suburb of Chicago. Vlado and July spent Easter with my family this year and I spend many nights with Vlado's parents in my village (he's from here). They miss their son but he's working and has made a life for himself in the U.S.

Anthony. I met Anthony after a performance of 'The Brothers Karamazov' at the Lookingglass Theater in Chicago. My brother played Dimitri Karamazov and Anthony was my brother's understudy. Anthony's father was born in Bulgaria; Anthony is an actor living a little bit of the time in Los Angeles. Anthony is currently living in Poland and working as an ensemble member of a Polish theater group but he makes it back to L.A. as needed.

Justin. Justin was born in NYC and to NYC he shall return. This photo though, was shot in my apartment in Bulgaria. Justin and Anthony are making a film in Bulgaria that will be great. They took the 7 hour bus ride to my village to see the sights down here and hang out. They agree that it was very worth it.

Scott. Scott is a Peace Corps Volunteer who was visiting me. He is from Petaluma, CA and he's an all around nice guy. He recently traveled to Poland and got into the mix with Anthony's friends. Oh, and all of these guys met up in Sofia, plus Vlado's older brother who is a lawyer there. I couldn't go though because I had work over the summer.

Iliyan & Andrea

This is a video of Iliyan and Andrea. They're Bulgarian pop stars. I shot this backstage at a concert this summer. I don't want to explain why they're rad but they performed, pleased the fans and kept going.

George & Alex

How come I have to tell all the stories? And, who are these kids and why are we hanging out together?

When communism ceased to control Bulgaria, a boy named George who had been running a chicken farm with over 50,000 chickens, single-handedly, applied for and got accepted into a program called 'Future Farmers of America.' He moved to Wisconsin in 1991. After working at farms in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York, he was ready for the city and moved to San Francisco.

Enter Brueger. Brueger, when he was only known as Poindexter, got a job at a hip bar/club in San Francisco. I would go there often, getting to know the owners and their wives, the guys at the door, Brad and Malcolm - legends for sure, and hanging out with one of the bartenders.

Go forward 12 years and I am hanging out with that bartender again, in his homeland, Bulgaria. These photos were taken in Sofia and in Sozopol and they are of the sons of George's childhood friend George. The boys' names are George and Alex. They are my friends.

If I'm in Sofia, I hang out with George and he lets me borrow books like Winnie the Pooh and The Wizard of Oz, in Bulgarian.

RILA

There is a mountain range in Bulgaria called 'RILA.' I'd been wanting to visit it, along with the Rila Monastery, since I came to Bulgaria. This summer, I finally got the chance. I don't like carrying stuff so what you see me wearing in this photo is all that I brought. Luckily, I borrowed a sweatshirt from someone; it got cold at night. My friends and I woke up at 6 in the morning and hiked up to the Seven Lakes. The lake that I'm standing in front of is called 'Kidney.' We were the first ones there, had the whole place to ourselves. I worked out the kinks from a crummy sleep, worked up a sweat and then got to lay on a rock and enjoy the moment. If you get the chance, visit Rila. She is gorgeous!

Manowar

A warm summer day. A walk in the park and I spot this young couple unafraid to show their love for one another or their love for Manowar. I told them the story about the lead singer of Manowar, Eric Adams, calling my house when I was 12. My oldest brother had been in the Manowar fan club, The Army of Immortals, since it began in 1987. Eric Adams was calling long time fans. When he called though, only my mom was home. She knew a lot of his songs from driving my brothers and I around and us always playing Manowar in the car and told him what big fans we are. I told the couple this story and they loved it, especially because my mom was with me and she doesn't look like a typical Manowar fan.

Around the Fountain

My parents were visiting me and we had been walking around Sofia all morning. We sat down in a small park to rest and drink Fantas. I began talking to this little girl and her grandmother. She was very shy but soon we were talking about Winnie the Pooh and she was telling me about all of her stuffed animals. Her favorite is a monkey.

Friends 2

Friends 1

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