My crew

I am both humbled and honored to travel and work all over the world with some of the greatest and most professional team members in the world. I know multitudes of people who have great jobs/careers/businesses and who love what they do, but they all have at least one moron or tyrant boss that they have to work with. I am reminded again of how amazing my work is that I do not work with one such ass hole. Every one of my crewmates I consider not only a talented professional, but also a friend. They are from all over the world and often, some of them, I only see on foreign soil. I feel obliged to commend them to you here.

Rick Lawall - The King, the Tony Soprano of Maplewood, NJ
I could not have asked for a greater client than Rick Lawall. I have known Rick for almost 10 years. There are few people I look up to and owe more to than Rick. Him and I worked together on some of the first shows I ever did, when I was greener than spring grass. Many years later and after a whole lot of risk and confidence investing, Rick has had a huge role in making me what I am today. He put me on shows that were larger and more important than anything I had done. He has always given me opportunities to stretch myself and try out new positions on the team. And for the past three years has doubled my business with one of the most important accounts he has, J&J’s international investigator meetings. He has taken me all over the world, taught me about wine, scotch, politics, religion, etc., and shown me a great role model of a balanced and cultured man.

One last word about Rick, not only is he all that I told you above, but he is also one of the most generous people I have ever met. Regularly when we are on shows, he goes far and above what is expected of him in providing us with meals. He, sometimes multiple times on a show, will take us and anyone in the remote vicinity to some of the finest meals I have ever eaten in my life. I have countless memories of things like eating caviar, grapefruit and drinking Grand Dam champagne in the converted greenhouse of the Austrian kings while in Vienna. Or having an amazing fillet mignon at Smith and Wolenski’s in Chicago. Or trying 4 different kinds of expensive red wines at Morton’s in the Biltmore district. Or eating Lama, Wild Bore and Lamb in Buenos Aires. What you just heard was only 4 of the multitudes of trips I make a year. Thanks Rick. Love you

Steve LaRose - The North Carolina Gunslinger

Steve is our IT/breakout guru, or as we affectionate prefer to refer to him, the bitch. Steve keeps us surfing, obviously one of the most vital roles on the team. I met Steve a little over a year ago in San Diego and have already been to 4 continents with him. We hit it off right away and now I consider Steve one of my closest friends. Even when we are both home in the states, we are video skyping and talking shit. It is fun.
Steve is my photo psycho safari partner. In reality, Steve is the one who got me into photography. I was using a little snappy point and shoot thinking I was getting some nice shots. In San Diego he showed me what a real DSLR could do and in a month I dropped 5Gs and found myself the thankful owner of a Canon 30D. I have since been thrown into the photography deep end with my first trip on site with it being in Vienna. Awesome. I am now thoroughly and completely addicted. Thanks Steve! Ass

Evan Andrews - The Tucson Smooth Cat

Evan is our technical director for the main ballroom show. In other words, I do whatever Evan says. Evan and I have worked together for quite a few years and on Rick shows for the past three I have been his PowerPoint operator. Evan is the best. He is the stable rock. I can always count on Evan finding the coolest local bars and drinking plenty beer.

Georges Tourtollette - Transcontinental Jorges

Georges is our resident airplane/travel expert. He has traveled more than probably all of us combined. This year alone he is a hundred K member on two airlines. His love for travel has led him to take up multiple residences in LA, New York, London and Bangkok. When he has to work in a region he makes sure he flies through one of those ports so he can stay for a week or two at any of his given residences. He is at this point my model for how I want to do business in the next ten years. He is encouraging me to take an offer I have to take up a residence in Vienna. Georges is who I will be staying with for a few days in London.

Georges is our video projectionist on this show and probably one of the top 5 projectionists in the world. He is a sickeningly good technician frightening us with things like accurately guessing how far off a projector is on its blow of magenta or something. He is a great guy and again, one of the most cultured, intelligent men I know.

Eric Gilbert - Phoenix Master of the One Liners

Eric Gilbert is our audio engineer and oftentimes provides gear for our shows. Like all these guys, he is one of the best money can hire. He is also one of the funniest guys I have ever met. He is always showing up with fresh one-liners, crazy rap songs he has found and the most perverted jokes ever (though somehow he pulls it off as just funny and not dirty).

Eric is also Master of the Toys. He is the total Phoenix guy, quads, motorcycles, boat, motorhome, etc. I spent a few days and had a blast wakeboarding with him about 6 months ago. Eric knows how to have a good time.

Scott Shawver - Scottipedia

Scotty is our stage manager. He spends most of his time massaging our clients interests, but he is in charge also of managing their office setups, printers, breakouts, hotel contacts, etc. He doubles a rover for us too.

Scotty is a total wild man who can not do anything at half speed. When he sets his mind to something it gets done and done perfectly. Many people have a hard time working with him, but we have gotten into a groove with him. Scotty is our token expert on bizarre trivia, thus we call him Scottipedia. He can tell you the full history of progressive scan video, or the history of the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, or cask density qualities in the making of white wine. He is a total nut and a great team member.

Chris Hassfurther - The Emperor of Prussia

Chris is our Viennese lighting designer. We met Chris a year ago doing a show in Vienna when our German team recommended him to us for a local lighting designer in the city. We fell in love with him and have brought him to every meeting we can since then. He fit in with the team immediately. He is both talented and a hard worker. Chris is also a great resource for us to understand European culture and is able to be sent out on site surveys to check out the ground before we arrive.

Chris is also the guy I am looking into renting a room with in Vienna. He is looking to upgrade to a two bedroom for his girlfriend and himself and could use some help linking up resources. I would love to do it and may still …

Horst and Andrea - The Bavarian Connection

Horst and Andrea are an amazing couple and at the same time our German gear providers. We have worked with them for years and have become fast friends of the Lawall crew. Like I said before. They always pack a huge load of Bavarian beer any time they show up to work with us. How could one not love them. They both are fun, loving and hard working people with a loyalty that we can all feel. It is a shame we cannot work with them more often.

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I am going to be doing these retrospective now that I have been in Prague for 5 days now, but that is sometimes best.

I must begin with a warm thank you to Joy (pvtjoy) my wonderful travbuddy from the LA CORE for her generous gift of a ride to the airport. Girl you know you so totally rock.

I flew out on the 6:00pm from LAX. I had a coach class ticket, but since it was booked in B class on American I was able to upgrade to business for only 10,000 miles, no copay (hell ya!). Cool thing was my friend Georges was also on the flight in business heading home to London for a day before he comes to Prague. Flight was awesome. American has just upgraded its business class on their 777 fleet. The seats are almost completely horizontal. Sweet. Had a lovely little steak with asperagus and a tasty little ice cream sunday just before bed. Can't beat that. I don't even have ice cream sunday makings at my house. The flight was a breazy 10 hours. Got in a little Big Love, some Lonely Planet and before I knew it were landing.

I was also honored to try out London Heathrow's lovely new Terminal 5. It is a beautiful terminal, but I have two grievous complaints about it, aside from having to fly British Airways. One, the stupid terminal lost one of my bags! For six weeks these idiots have been losing bags in the millions and they still can't get it right! Number two, Heathrow is now a fucking non-smoking airport. I totally get the whole don't smoke in closed public places, but when I have been flying for 10 hours and you won't let me out of the terminal or provide me with some shitty little smoking closet you went way to the top of my "you suck" list. That is absolutely not right and I wish someone would sue these airports for some sort of impinged freedom, a medical addiction to nicatine, anything.

One bonus that started to get that dumb airport off my list was the recent abolition of the single carry on only policy. I, for one, had added my many angry words to the faces of quite a few noble Brits (especially once after making me check my computer bag and breaking one of my laptop screens with no compensation) in the hopes of helping abolish this retarded policy and finally we have won! So fellow TBers, feel free to somewhat recind the boycotts of LHR.

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I have just come back from Prague, and one of the places that I loved was was Café Louvre. Café Louvre is one of the classic old french-type cafe's which has been one of the central places for political and philosophical discussion founded in 1902. These cafes were the hot houses for radical thinking and community development. In 1948, the Louvre - as a "bourgeois" institution - was forcibly closed as the communists took hold in Prague.In many ways these types of cafe quite literally changed the world in its political, philosophical and scientific thinking. This cafe was involved in all the revolutions in central europe, including the last one with the collapse in the USSR. It is directly below this cafe, that the student got shot which led to mass protest and independence in 1989. In the past the cafe hosted discussions with Franz Kafta, Karel Capek, Albert Einstein, and a lot of the existentialist philosophers. Fantastic!! The cafe is still almost in its original form, billiard rooms, discussion groups etc. I love it! Café Louvre is open from 8am every day; with morning newspapers and a broad selection of breakfast dishes, coffee and other beverages. At lunchtime and on through to the evening, hot food and salads are presented with style. Vegetarians and those who prefer lighter foods are particularly well catered for, as are lovers of cakes and pastries. As in most places in Prague, you are never far from a beer tap though and the local Czech brew on sale at Café Louvre is as good as you will find anywhere. Next door to the café area is a fine billiard room, with 5 pool tables. Payment is by the hour for a table. A fabulous Art Nouveau interior, with huge original chandeliers, buzzes with the noise of local coffee talk, the shopping crowd, business lunches, and students. I recommend everyone to go there, you'll get great food, cheap price, atmosphere is great and the service is very pleasant and quick!

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Today we actually had to do our primary work, ie set up the ballroom for the show we were doing there. Our German gear providers are the most wonderful people. Not only have they become good friends over the years, but they are great at what they do and they always come baring gifts, i.e. cases of good Bavarian beer. That was the point when we discovered the greatest gift the Crowne Plaza had to offer us�"the greatest loading dock of all time. It was a quiet little area with trees, beautiful architecture around us, and privacy. We could drink, smoke, talk trash all in our own little world. It was great.

Set went quickly and we were out by about 1700. Steve and I went out shooting, mainly at an area in the bushes bellow a restaurant we had eaten at near the river bank where we could shoot across the river at the St Charles Bridge with some cool lit up buildings around it. We also did some great shooting of Prague Castle across the river from the other side.

Steve and I spent the majority of this trip practicing our HDR skills, so if many of my shots look too highly stylized, forgive me, I am experimenting. It has so much potential to be artsy and all, I couldn’t pass it up. Don’t worry, within the three, bracketed shots I have the center exposure which is a normal shot that I can fall back on and can post for you purists out there. Steve, Eric and I also had some beers and food in the Old Town Square again. For those of you who have been here, you know the black magic embodied here to drag poor tourist souls back over and over again. It is so unbelievably enchanting and peaceful; storybook type of European square look. The towers of the cathedral are so beautiful, in fact some of the most beautiful one could hope to see. I keep waiting for Sauron’s eye to appear above the turrets. Could almost make one believe in god  … na … it too was built by humans.

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So today was our  "set" day for show. We had an army of guys working on it so it went up quickly. A show that was to take three days to set could have been up in one if we had tried. I spent my time helping Georges set up projection even though I think I was more in the way than helpful. He is kind with my greeness. Georges is one of the finest video projectionists in the world (though he would never agree). It is an honor to work under him. Georges has invited me to London after St Petersburg in a week to hang for a few days. We are also planning a Machu Picchu run following our South America meetings in June. He is the best.

We went out that night doing some more shooting and drinking. It was again, truly epic. I would tell you more except I have no idea where we went. We just wandered the city. Look for the photos.

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Since I am here on a business trip, I should layout how this was supposed to work. We are paid to travel into the country, in this case, two days. I pushed it up a day so I could see the city. However, our client had padded our trip with a day to settle in, plus three days to load our show into place before the two days of meeting, followed by a travel day after to leave Prague. It turns out, we could have set the meeting in a day and a half, but the ballroom wasn't ready. So in reality I came here for 7 days to work, but actually only worked three and a half days. Funniest part is I got paid for 7 days. I love my job. Paid money to see Prague!

We again spent this day wandering the city. Steve and my style when we hit a city like this is to never follow a map or have any game plan other than a handful of epic things to see. We want the wandering side of the adventure. So for this one we knew we wanted to see Prague Castle, the Old Town Square, St Charles Bridge, etc. We jumped on the metro to one and then just wandered the streets until we would find another. Some of our alley and store shots are our favorites. Plus, this way we can find groovy pubs, shops and restaraunts. I could get lost in this city a hundred times over and not make the same path or see the same things, each wandering is such an experience.

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So it is my first day in Prague. British has finally found my bag and got it to me in the morning. Not bad. My buddy Steve Larose and I are staying together for that first day in, but today I got my own room that will go for the rest of the week. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza. A nice remnant of the Cold War, but an alright hotel at that.

Steve and I, as usual spent the day trekking all over the city seeing the sites, drinking beer and shooting photos. We visited the Old Town Square, St Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, and countless alleys, shops and bars. Two highlights were eating in Old Town Square under the awnings in the center. We had classic Czech food and beer with an amazing view 360 degrees around us. Second we found a riverside pub that we drank and smoked in the open air just bellow Prague Castle. Unbelievable.

We also had a great time shooting the gardens around St Vitus Cathedral. We have also begun working on our skills at shooting in HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograhy. It is difficult and time consuming since you have to bracket three shots with different exposure levels. The real hitch comes in that the camera cannot move between the three so everything is done on a tripod, even during the day. The shots are epic though and I will be posting soon (got to make you read first).

For dinner our friend Rick took Georges, Steve, Eric and I to dinner at Fish, a gourmet Czech whole fish restaraunt on the river just under Prague Castle. We ate outside with a couple great wines and flaming deserts. Nice

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We had a lovely time in Prague - Hotel was well situated and easy to walk everywhere - only problem we had twin beds each side of the room. Hotel was clean; breakfasts were good and plenty to choose from. Would have been nice to have tea/coffee making facilities in room, but overall very good value for money. Staff was very approachable and helpful. We were very happy with our choice and it was good value for money. Thank praguediscounthotels.com for help with the booking and free transfer. We already recommended the site to our family and friends.

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I went backpacking for nine days and by the time I got Prague I wanted to eat a nice meal. We walked by and saw the signs that said "best steak in Prague", so we went in expecting really good steak. Unfortunately this restaurant disappointed us. First off, they charge you for everything! the bread the put on the table, the dip, and they take long bringing the food out so you would drink your soda and then have to order another one. Second, it wasn't the best steak. It was cold (probably because it was left there overtime so we would drink all of our soda) and overdone. It wasn't the best steak. I can compare it to an Applebees steak. The only good thing is that it was well seasoned. We spent over $80 bucks on this restaurant and it was not worth it. Only go there if you are truly hungry and you desperately crave steak.

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Who got sick on the plane from London to Prague?! Oh, that would be me. This has never happened to me before and I pray that it never does again. It sucks!! I landed and changed some money over to the Czech Crown (kc) and then got in a van to meet someone at a hotel near my school. On the way I passed the Dancing Building. I have seen pictures of it, so it was neat to see in person. A guy met me at the hotel and explained sooo much to me and I don't remember any of it. He had a car bring me to my villa and gave me 5 keys. Each key is a different color. My villa is locked up like Fort Knox! Yellow- opens fence, white- open top lock, silver- opens bottom lock, green- opens hallway door, blue- opens my room door. That is a lot of keys!

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I went to Prague for a couple of days to meet up with friends last autumn. I had heard from many people that it was such a beautiful city so my expectations were high. Luckily for me, my expectations were not only met but exceeded. The centre of town has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and when you see it you feel as though you are stepping back in time. The city is often called the city of a 100 spires • and it leaves up to the name. It seems as though everywhere you look there are spires reaching for the sky. This is especially the case when standing on the Charles Bridge. I loved the city’s architecture and how many of the buildings were so colourful. It contains one of the world’s most pristine and varied collections of architecture, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, New-Classical and ultra-modern. As one of my friend’s commented when she first saw the main square and its historic buildings, “it is like a fairly tale.”

The Prague Castle on the other side of the Vltava River offers great views of the city and is very historic and must be visited.

The city of Prague is also a great place to have a pint of beer and to party the night away. If you have time, I also recommend visiting the countryside as there are many wonderful castles and small towns that are very much worth seeing.

Organized everything through www.europetraveltours.net.

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Great location for central prague. Is less than a 5 minute walk to the prague plaza and is surrounded by restaurants, cafes, and shops. The place is clean and hospitable. There is two floors of rooms, most are dorms which you share with six to eight people. The beds are comfortable and they provide sheets and towels. Shared floor bathrooms which are very clean all the time (two ladies clean that place all day). Price includes a breakfast sandwich, cereal, milk, coffee, orange juice. The staff could be a it more friendly. They just give the key and set you off. They only provide info if you ask. The bad thing about this place is that they allow smoking in the common areas (not inside the rooms) so you leave smelling like cigarettes. Also, at night people like gather in the common area to drink and talk, which can get very noisy. Is a great place to meet people but is not a quiet hostel Dorms= 900 ch

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went out to cafe and had cheese and ham omelette.

went to gift shop and dad got me a prague t-shirt.

went to prague main train station and i changed a travellers cheque. we paid for our train tickets to krakow, poland for tomorrow.

went and had a mineral water in fancy hotel.

got mom a czech republic fridge magnet from gift shop.

went to hotel paris where we met to two croatian girls called hanna and anna. we then went on 3 hour walking tour of prague with them plus the tour guide who was called eva. unfortunately it was raining quite badly.

after the walk i went and had a pizza in a downstairs cafe bar. hanna and anna came down but didn't stop they just had a drink.

went to tescos and got a couple of rolls for tomorrows train journey.

we went to royal cafe bar near appartment and had egg ommelette and 2 bottles of diet coke. we got talking to a 50 something married couple from manchester, england.

we went back to our appartment.

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got on train to prague from bratislava at 10.30 am. we had to change at one station and got on express train to prague. we sat in buffet carriage on express train. we got talking to people from the u.s.a, croatia, cyprus and nigeria. i changed some travellers cheques on the train to get some czech currency.

we arrived at prague train station at about 15.30.

we made are way to hostel but no vacancies. while waiting there we got talking to a guy from michigan, u.s.a. then this guy called tity came who was abit drunk and let out his appartment to us for £30 a night.

we went a walk around the city and i purchased 2 mini prague pictures + czech republic t- shirt from gift shop. i also got a star wars cd. yes i know i am sad.

went and had meal at restaurant and got back to our appartment at about midnight.

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My part-time, where travel bugs are not considered annoying :) where cumin, curry, garam masala, and other oriental spices rule, where the chefs kneel down on their shabby rugs facing the mosque to say their prayers no matter how busy the restaurant gets, they only call out a 'technical break' :)))) where the staff know lots about what they serve because they've tasted it all on their uncountable travels. It just doesn't feel like work.... :)

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