incredible, invisible, flying eels

Kyoto Sakura

2011-04-15T00:21:00.008+09:00

Well, it's that time of the year again...Cherry blossom time! This was the first time I saw the blossoms in Kyoto. The whole area around my apartment and my work exploded into a pale pink canopy above the street. There are whole neighbourhoods where it seems the only tree ever planted is the beloved Cherry. This year, they were whiter than I remember.

I've seen them about 5 times now, but they are still just as magical as the first time I saw them. Wow! Taking sakura pictures is addictive!

This is Kiyamachi street. It runs along a little canal and is one of the most beautiful places to see the blossoms. I think it has such a stunning effect because the trees here are right in the middle of the city.

I like the street sign here that says: "Hey son, let's run into
the middle of the road to check out the sakura!"

People tend to have picnics under the trees during spring. This is Maruyama Park and there were so many people that it was hard to find a place to sit down. The whole area was filled with drunken businessmen, tourists, and college kids skipping school. Wouldn't you?

There were a tonne of stalls selling food. This takoyaki-ya san hung his lantern in the branches. It was a good way to get free advertising.

Many women wore kimonos. This was also common in Kanazawa. But the designs in Kyoto take the cake!
After eating some delicious Japanese junk food in the park, I left to go to Nijo Palace to see nighttime blossoms. Nijo Palace is one of Kyoto's many world heritage sites. The illumination was incredible. You can't capture the magic on film...or digitally, even...But I tried! Here are my two best attempts.

The people are so small beneath the ancient trees. It's hard to imagine Japan's first Shogun also walked in the same garden so many years ago.

Everyone had their cameras out. It was irresistible.

The shrine of good humour!

2011-04-03T12:04:00.005+09:00

yes, his junk is hanging out

It's a little know shrine in Kyoto, which shares real estate with some kind of noodle shop, but the Shrine of Good Humour is a popular place to visit for pranksters, funnymen, and others seeking the holy grail of gags, puns, and punchlines. The pantsing god, seems like a 'punny' acronym for the panting dog, but he is, in fact, the mascot for the shrine.

The shrine itself is actually comedy size as well. Shrines usually have large torii gates at the entrance, but this shrine has tiny wee things leading to a miniature matchbox building inside a little niche in the corner of the shop. It is a real shrine and people pray for a good sense of humour, and then make a joke.

I tried making a twitter joke: 100 characters of less. "Two men walk into a bar...Ouch."

As in all religions, if your prayers are answered (in this case with a hillarious punchline, a la business man in a suit slipping on a banana, or a cat fail), then you bring a votive plaque to show your appreciation.

I couldn't read them, but one lady is watering her garden with breast-milk

The shrine in renowned for turning greasy dullards into comedic supermen. And this can be seen in the large amount of dirty jokes painted on the votives.

If you have a good twitter joke, please leave it in the comments. Mine was kinda lame, but I was under pressure. There was a big nerd behind me that wanted a transformance into a Charlie Sheen-type winning machine!

98% Grey Book Launch

2011-03-28T21:51:00.008+09:00

Well, my book is now available at www.98percentgrey.com as well as on Amazon.com!

The launch was a great success with about 50 people showing up.

Here's the excerpt I read:

"A violent act leaves deep tracks, like knuckle-prints on a sandbag. Above her closet, she wrote “This too shall pass…” She repainted her room in a pastel green, a pale jade. Pantone™ 324. She then employed a gold marker once used in a homegrown bookbinding operation to scrawl enormous French curves and daffodils along the edges of the green field. The room changed to a meadow, to an Art Nouveau altier en plein air. And above the door “This too shall pass” in her own variation of a hand drawn Garamond.

She had owned the house for about 2 years now. It was actually sold through a police auction. The basement area, where Marci has domesticated, was once the crime-den of an ecstasy production ring. It was the laboratory—what the chemists-cum-gangsters called ‘the Pit’. It was an old house in the Annex area of the city, in a neighbourhood of beautiful gardens and ancient, wooden Victorian houses. There was no way one would assume a pharma-criminal ring was producing MDMA in a basement next to old widows and city-council members. Marci’s old associate first discovered the massive auction. It included all kinds of science apparatus, furniture (in particular a mahogany desk circa 1816 which he had his eyes on), as well as holdings all over the city. Marci acquired the house on Euclid Street mainly because the inheritance from her mother allowed her a large wager. It was a difficult time for her and, I suppose, she needed something concrete to pour her feelings of loss into. The house had been her saviour.

A week after she bought it, she moved in with a weapon-rack of brushes, rollers, paints, and palet-knives. The building was a chemically altered, deteriorating zombie, and Marci had to operate. She started at the heart, the lab in the basement, and worked her way up. Initially, she painted what would be her future room, a deep red. It was crimson, a velour close to Pantone™ 202 or 222. She then decided it was not deep enough. It needed more. A profundity which matched her sadness: a deep, pure blue.

She found the muffle-furnace on her second day of living in the house. It was hidden behind a stack of drywall sheets. Marci saw this as a sign. She would build the blue from scratch. It became her process, her catharsis.

She decided to make ultramarine, the deepest and most permanent of the blues, and easy enough to make from scratch.

(Ingredients needed: Clay,
Fine, soft white sand
Charcoal,
Sulphur.)

The baking started on the 6th evening. She watched the white clay heat, turn green, then red. It was an alchemical process that burned inside the oven and inside her heart. She watched it shift, transform and magically settle on a pure blue. The colour of the sky and water, of all things natural and emotional combined, heated into a brick the size of a deck of cards.

On the 7th day, everything was silent. The oven had finished and when Marci, in a spotless white apron complete with long gloves and a doctor’s mask, tried to look inside it, she could not see through the window. There was an opaque blue blocking her view. When she opened the furnace, a fine blue mist escaped and filled the room. Momentarily, Marci was enveloped in the blue of her mother’s death. Staring through the cloud of mourning was like looking into the evening sky, beyond which she could barely make out the fuzzy outline of the muffle-furnace with its own deep cavity on the other side.

And when the dust settled, she was covered in a blue film and she found the ultramarine sitting in a blue-coloured vault, where malign chemicals were once baked into designer drugs.

She removed it with a pair of tongs, careful beyond necessity, as if she was birthing it, the blue, her twin from the feeling of loss itself. After placing it onto the table, she crushed a corner of the brick and spontaneously started weeping, as if she had committed some crime against this brick she had just given life. You see, Marci had grown incredibly attached to the clay during the making of this colour. It had transformed inside the oven and grown inside her mind overnight, becoming a living essence. And the moment she broke the corner of the small, powdery rectangle, she felt she had hurt it, caused it to suffer. Immediately, manically even, she mixed the powdered blue with oil and dripping tears, made it transparent: a thin blue glaze. She rubbed this nurtured blue all over her crimson wall, daubing it with tissues, covering the red in the depth of the heavens. It deepened, opened up space and felt somehow alive. She had breathed life into the walls, made it a womb. When it dried, she knew this would be her bedroom. The terminus of her emotional system, where she could sleep, live, heal."

Good video that inspired me

2010-03-05T13:30:00.001+09:00

I know I haven't blogged for a while. I'm busy doing MRIs for research and finishing my book. It's so close to the end.

I saw this video and had to post it. It inspired me so maybe I'll start blogging again.

Rethink Scholarship at Langara 2010 Call for Entries from Rory O'Sullivan and Simon Bruyn on Vimeo.

98% Grey

2008-09-18T10:11:00.003+09:00

I am writing a book. I guess that is one of the main reasons I stopped blogging. It is taking an enormous amount of time.

But I know it is unfair to cut everyone off, seeing how I am a notoriously bad emailer. I will publish some excerpts on lottering dot com for those who are interested.

Just know they are kind of raw. I mean, I am uploading parts I like but they haven't been edited fully. Any comments are welcome. There should be no need to read chronologically, but I am posting the excerpts in the order that they appear in the book.

repause

2008-09-05T11:45:00.002+09:00

I have decided to stop blogging temporarily. It may not come as a surprise to you, since posts have gradually petered off anyways. I am far to busy these days and my schedule has changed enough to make it very difficult to find time.

I will use this blog to post only some extraordinary events from time to time...But who knows? Maybe it will come back zombie-like one day in the future. So be ready and know your zombie escape route!

the people's Mario

2008-08-28T22:27:00.002+09:00

check out this flash animation.

the people's Mario

the holidays are over

2008-08-25T18:25:00.007+09:00

well, I haven`t written in a long time. There are some very good reasons for this.

1.) My good friend, Tom came to visit me.
2.) I had a 10 day vacation and spent it touring around.
3.) The future called and asked for its money back.

I was going to do a big thing about my trip. But you've probably seen most of the pictures of Kyoto. I will instead have to give you the highlights when I remember them.

For now, I will talk about Tokyo. i spent the last few days in Tokyo. We did almost everything you can do in that city. Everything from Shibuya, the busiest intersection in the world, to getting stuck in the National Museum for 5 hours in a freak tropical storm.

Her I am with Tom in Asakusa, where the biggest paper lantern in Japan is. It's a healing place...too bad we got there too late smell the incense from the huge burner. But It was really cool.

This is the pagoda near the shrine. Asakusa shrine is probably the most famous shrine in Tokyo next to Meiji-jinja.

This is the mandatory city view of Tokyo with Tokyo Tower (a red replica of the Eiffle Tour) in the background. It was a beautiful day and the city literally sprawls to the horizon in every direction. It is immensely big. And actually has the same population of all of Canada!!!

This is Tom in a pachinko parlour. Nuff said.

We also stayed in a capsule hotel. Mostly in order to experience all of the possible accomodations Japan has to offer. We stayed in a ryokan, a traditional inn in Kyoto, so aside from a Love Hotel we went slept nearly everywhere. (Sorry Tom, not with you, buddy). But in the capsule you get your own radio, alarm, and TV. When i turned it on there was some Japanese porn on the tube!

This is me when I realised they only have one channel!!!!

We also went to a lot of museums and galleries in Tokyo. My favourite was the 21_21 Design Shift gallery. They curator basically created my dream exhibit. I pretty much designed this kind of art show all through university, but it was never realised. This guy took samples of ever kind of writing throughout the world and typeset it. It was all very beautiful. Unfortunately we weren`t allowed to take pictures...but my camera "accidentally" went off and I got this one, blurry image.

Throughout Tom's trip the weather was perfect. Hot, not too humid, and sunny. The very last day, there was a storm that hit. We were lucky both times it rained. The first time we were in the National museum. We walked through the whole complex twice, reaching the final building just before they closed. The second time we were eating at this nice restaurant. This is the beautiful picture that resulted.

Culture tip #17: Fireworks

2008-08-03T11:47:00.006+09:00

Summertime in Japan is fireworks time. After the rainy season companies, towns and cities, and individuals put on enormous fireworks festivals. People flock to them wearing beautiful yukata and drink outside. The fireworks in Kanazawa are consistently better than the biggest displays I've seen in Canada -- or anywhere else for that matter. So without further ado, I'll let you get to the show.

In the Edo period, the two main families who made fireworks were the Tamaya and the Kagiya. So when things heat up, people still shout 'tamaya' and 'kagiya' in response.

summer festivals

2008-07-29T11:07:00.009+09:00

Summer is full of festivities in Japan. These pictures come from the Hyakuman Goku Matsuri, the parade celebrating when Lord Maeda entered Kanazawa city the first time. People watch the re-enactment of Samurai walking through the gates and to the castle. Then there is a BIG dance in the main street of the city.

The streets are packed with dancing people. Businesses have their own uniforms, but anyone can join in.

There are many drummers, most of them are ripped Japanese men playing enormous taiko drums, but there are some girls wearing kimonos who also play them...Then there is this girl!

Of course, with any parade there are food and game stalls that follow. The whole park is lined with there stores (most of them apparently run by the lowest level yakuza).
The group of uniformed girls is almost stereotypical Japan.

This is how is looks as you walk through the stalls. There are games, food, toys...video games (This is Japan, after all!)

Here's a traditional game people play. I guess, it's the Japanese 'bobbing for apples'.

They have absolutely every kind of food from Takoyaki...

...to choco-bananas.

But the best part of summer to me, is the people sitting around in yukata.

strange foods

2008-07-23T10:19:00.004+09:00

"Good old-fashioned fried egg!"

And after that, you can wash it down with some Plussy juice...whatever that is.

childhood TV

2008-07-19T10:11:00.003+09:00

So I know they recently made a Knight Rider movie, but who in their right mind would see it? I mean, you know it`s not going to be as good as when you saw it as a child. Even now, I barely remember any plot. As a child I could forgive the show for not having a story, because it had a car that could talk...But now, i`m an adult and can think about these things. So having a Knight Rider movie (was David Hasselhof in it, by the way?!) would just ruin another childhood memory.

I would rather they made an Airwolf movie, or a Street Hawk one. Remember those? The helicopter that shot down MIGs, and the motorcycle that could boost really fast. They didn`t have plot either, but then neither were those vehicles intelligent. It was just some wicked cool helicopter that lived in a volcano! How can you beat that?! I mean, it didn`t have plot either (not that I could remember) but the music was better than Knight Rider and IT LIVED IN A VOLCANO!!!!

Or MacGyver even. I know that show had a plot. And there was sometimes science involved. But then I also remember the time he made a water powered bomb to escape from prison using a few bed springs and his belt buckle...

Still it was amazing, and would make a movie a thousand times better than Knight Rider. My apologies to anyone who saw the movie and liked it...and also to any Hasselhof fans out there.

the executive colouring book

2008-07-14T17:41:00.001+09:00

check it out!!!

Heaven and Hell

2008-07-09T11:14:00.009+09:00

Last weekend I climbed Tateyama, the second highest mountain in Japan.
We had to take a cable car up to the top. From there we took a bus to the base station. Then we go from there on foot.

This is the mountain. The tip is covered with a massive cloud, but you can make out the gift shop at the top. Yes! you heard me! A GIFT SHOP!!! For centuries there was a shrine at the top. The monks built a house, then when tourists came, the house became a shop for charms, now it's a gift shop.

The whole mountain was still covered in snow. About 2 meters actually. If you slip down the side, there's no coming back. You'd slide straight into the valley a 1000 meters below. Man, I swear I'd piss myself in fear for the first 3 seconds, then I'd shout "Guys, take a picture! Take a picture!"

This is near the top. The area near the summit was just rocks. Not Fuji style rocks, either. Real rocks.

The summit was incredibly misty and cloudy. The shrine is actually the highest point on the mountain. Totally covered in white, it was a little like being in a waiting room in a virtual reality game.

Yuka taking a picture of Erin and Will.

The climbing was good and the sunset beautiful—although I sadly didn't get a picture of it...However, to me the most interesting part was the area around the base station. The Buddhists claim that Tateyama is holy because it contains 9 views of heaven from the summit at 164 views of hell around the mountain. This sign points towards the area known as 'Hell's Valley'.

Here you can see it literally looks like God wiped his ass on this portion of earth. (And smells like it too).

The signs warn you not to walk on water like Jesus in this area. Also under no circumstance should you fight the gas clouds!

The path you follow is through a sulfur pit. I never knew that sulfur leaves green stains on the ground. But I guess it makes sense.

While everyone else was taking pictures of the green water, or the grey rocks, I couldn't stop snapping pics of the pipes and barrels lying around. I suppose my idea of Hell is like a dirty, fart-smelly place always under construction. I have like 50 pictures of a barrel in this landscape, but I won't bore you all with them.

There were also some natural scenery like this geyser spouting off evil clouds of gas just asking to be punched in the face.

More of hell. Those clouds are actually indescribably BIG...

...and indescribably smelly.

a series of vending machine incidents

2008-07-01T11:07:00.006+09:00

I discovered some unique vending machines last month. Here are the three I caught on camera before they could run away.

In Japan there are seriously too many drink vending machines. Like you can basically stop your car on the highway and buy a tea in the middle of nowhere. So I was pleasantly surprised when I finally found a snack vending machine. But where the Coke™ machine has a robot voice that talks to you and the other vending machines come with a TV screen, and Infra-red payment systems, this potato machine was...er, pretty bland.

This one is pretty decent (for not being a drinks machine). In fact, I saw this the first day and nearly keeled over when I realised it sold ramen, and oden, a kind of Japanese stew. I was like: "This is the perfect vending machine for me!" Then the next time I walk by it they added Aquarius, my all time favourite drink. How awesome it that? A complete meal from a machine?! All for less than $4!

Ok! This one is just weird. Bras? Strapless bras?! Is that for when women forget to wear one? Or when they all-of-a-sudden regret wearing that skimpy nightgown with the regular street bra with the straps? Still blows my mind. But only ¥2000! That`s a deal, right?

No way! LESS than ¥2000! That`s a steal!!!

But seriously, wouldn`t it be a little embarrassing for every passerby to see you select your cup size?

Remi's Farewell

2008-06-23T10:38:00.004+09:00

In this last week I've had to say goodbye to someone who has become one of my best friends in these last 2 years. It was great to have him here. Together we climbed Hakusan, caught rock crabs, fought gundam wars, dug a 6-foot hole in the beach, travelled to Fukuoka for a day, survived a travesty, got harassed by the Penguin-Lady, made ridiculous movies, struggled with the 2nd level Japanese test, fought a duel under the sakura, drank over girl problems, saved each other's asses many many many times, created an awesome video game idea, witnessed the end of an era (NOVA), and once fought the evil creature only know as 'Kill'.

Over the last 2 years (from 2006, actually), I've napped a pic with my phone every time Remi bought cigarettes on the way back home from work. So here is my goodbye present for him, in chronological order:

The last one was 2008-05-30, the last day you could buy smokes from a vending machine without a special TASSPO card. Thus I guess we actually witnessed the end of two eras.

Good luck, Remington. Farewell. I'll miss you, buddy.

Culture tip #16

2008-06-11T11:59:00.007+09:00

These cute little creatures are called teru-teru bozu. Around this time of the year you can see them hanging outside houses, and family-run stores. They are usually made by children who pray for sunny days. You see, it's almost the rainy season, and soon it will rain constantly for about 3 or 4 weeks. During that time teru-teru bozu acts like a anti-rain charm. They are said to bring clear skies.

Children make them out of cotton hankies and paper, and then sing this song:

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Make tomorrow a sunny day,
Like the sky in my dreams sometime.
If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day.
If you make my wish come true,
We'll drink lots of sweet sake

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day.
But if it's cloudy and the sky is crying,
I'll snip off your head!

Sometimes people will hang them in public of signs, or low cables in some kind of gentle act of guerrilla art. They are sometimes seen with an umbrella. And if they are hung upside down they are said to bring rain.

Here's the whole team. This was set up for a display selling umbrellas.

Animals are smarter than YOU!

2008-06-05T01:00:00.001+09:00

This is incredible!

I am speechless...Makes you realize how little we understand about animal brains. The other day I heard about a lost parrot here in Japan reciting his address and name of his owner until he was returned. How weird is that?

Also there was the story about the dolphin who lead the pack of whales out of the sandbar maze. They kept getting beached and and some people were pushing them off the sand, then they would beach themselves again. This happened for a few hours until I lone dolphin swam in, squeek-squeeked at them until they followed him through the maze to the exit and the open sea. Link to BBC news

And not to mention my old dog, Dante, who I could say hands down was one of the smartest animals I've ever encountered...Outranking some humans, I know.

have you ever wondered...

2008-06-02T15:37:00.002+09:00

How much is my dead body worth?

$4650.00

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Damn! Not worth enough! I swear some guy once offered me more than that just for my kidney! Geesh! What's the word come to now-a-days?! Screw this! Ok. If I die just throw my dead body into a swamp. That way some alien scientist in the distant future will find me all 'ice-man'-like, mummified with my credit cards and cell phone. That'd be more worth it than the 4000 dollars!

apology

2008-05-29T11:56:00.002+09:00

sorry I haven`t written in a while. I'm super busy these days. On top of work, I am translating some lady's dairy for Japanese practice. It's a big test of my Japanese ability, but incredible practice. Mainly, I have learned that translation is not precise, but interpretive. This is especially true when Japanese grammar is completely backwards.

She writes in an old style, which tends to be kind of poetic, and it uses a lot of kanji where normal people would used hiragana. All in all, I enjoy it. Perhaps it's because of the interpretive aspect of it. I think her style suits mine quiet well.

Now, when I say 'dairy' i don't mean her personal day-to-day minutia, but actually, she publishes a diary for her clients. She's a member of some kind of welcoming committee for ambassadors' wives...or something. So it's quiet interesting.

Anyways, I will try to keep writing here too.

incredible stop-motion video

2008-05-16T11:24:00.001+09:00

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Yakushima

2008-05-11T00:14:00.012+09:00

I just got back from Yakushima, a small island 5 hours south of the tip of Kyushu, the southermost of the main islands. The whole island is covered by an ancient rainforest and has been a World Heritage Site based on exceptional natural beauty as well as showing the importance of on-going natural development. The island has some of the world's oldest trees. Japan's oldest stands at 7200 years old, and there are a number of other 2000 plus trees on the island. Anything over 2000, but under 3500 is called ko-sugi, or baby sugi!

The closest city is Kagoshima, the gateway to Yakushima and Tanega-shima (Japan's space port). Kagoshima is also an interesting city. It's home to one of Japan's only active volcanos, Sakurajima. Apparently, this is the most volatile volcano in Japan, with activity as recent as 2005.
We took a ferry out to the volcano, walked around the base until we came to a spot where we had a clear view of the top, sat down and drank some beer. Getting near the active cone is forbidden, but we found ourselves next to a shrine to the volcano. After 2 or 3 cans of beer, I noticed that my foot was covered in tiny, little black dots. I guess the wind shifted and when we looked up, it was raining ashes on us. A fine black mist, really. But you could smell fresh lava on the air. The volcano is really pretty to look at—pretty and menacing. The last real eruption joined it to the mainland by a tine isthmus, altered the tides and spewed out an enormous amount of lava. (A rarity for Japan, because every other Japanese volcano has explosive eruptions, rather that lava flows.)

When I got to the island, the old man at the inn greeted me with "Welcome, you who are called." When I asked what he meant, he explained that the island calls people. You don't choose to go there, but you are summoned by the island. This makes sense when you learn that the oldest tree, called Jomon sugi is about 5 hours walk from the nearest road. (That's a 10 hour day!)

The path takes you through thick forests, some of the most beautiful scenes with monkeys and white-tailed deer wondering around freely, fearless of humans. There are spiderwebs of old roots everywhere.

More roots.

This is actually an enormous root crawling over a bolder. You have to pass under the root on the way to the big tree.

After the 5 hours walk up the mountain, you first get to Wilson's stump. The stump itself could easily fit a large living room inside it (I promise I will post a movie of this later). Then you climb farther to Jomon sugi, the 7000 year-old hulk. It is indescribably big...And there is no way a photo does it justice. I wanted to lay a pencil beside it to show scale, but you actually can't get close to it due to too many tourists eroding the soil around it. At one point there was a family of deer that stood next to it, but I couldn't get my camera out in time. The whole place reminds you of Princess Mononoke.

A montage from the movie, in case you haven't seen it.
If you haven't, go rent it now!!!

The island also has some natural hot springs. One in particular that I liked is a sea-side spring. It is only accessible a few hours before and after high tide, and during that time you are basically bathing outside, naked with any strangers who might want to share the warm water with you.
Like this guy, for example. The water smalls of sulpher and is salty, but it is incredibly relaxing to hear the waves and soak.

The last great thing about the island is the beach. It has beautiful clear water.
The local fish is called tobiuwo, or directly translated "flying fish". They are very different from the fish Gavin had hanging on his wall as a child, but they have wings, do pop out of the water in schools and do kind of fly. While I was swimming, a school of them virtually jumped over me in a blue-silver rainbow of fish.

I got a nasty sunburn and returning to Kagoshima, the only moisturizer I could find was some made from volcanic ash. "It's good for your skin!" the salesman said. So I bought it and when I covered my sunburn that night, laying on the bed, I looked and smelt like a burnt piece of bacon. Like yaki-nikku, a little too well done.

amazing violin plus DJ

2008-05-05T16:56:00.001+09:00

Hip Hip Violin And DJ - video powered by Metacafe

Japan's hero of ROCK!

2008-04-27T10:39:00.003+09:00

They love him so much that they named a drink after him!

My favourite Jack Black youtube video...

Mormon cult video

2008-04-24T09:54:00.002+09:00

this is a pretty...er...how do you describe it? Chillingly beautiful video about an interview with three mormon wives. Currently there`s a major court case about under-age sex at the "ranch" in Texas.

the next craze

2008-04-19T20:47:00.001+09:00

This is the best video ever! So funny!

the next craze!

check this out!

2008-04-18T22:08:00.002+09:00

sanity check!

Other new things:

I bought new glasses,
Joined a tea ceremony class,
Saved Tibet (single-handedly!),
Planted 50 sunflowers,
Drew up a zombie-emergency plan,
Walked in the mountains,
Spent all my money this month...

gundam

2008-04-13T21:14:00.005+09:00

Ok, I know it's dorky. But recently I have rediscovered arcade games at the age of 28. One of my students is an acoustician researching emotional impact of music in multi-media. He told me about how video games are breaching virtual reality. And when I saw the Gundam pods for the first time, I fell in love.
You climb into a POD (Pilot Operating Device) and control a giant robot, along with any of your friends who are in other pods. You communicate through head sets and fight people in other game centres in far off places.
This is the inside of the pods. It's impossible to take a decent picture of it without a fisheye lense, since it is literally a 180 degree sphere. There are better pictures of it here at the official site.

Every week there is a different map. This one was in the Himalayas.

For those who don't know, Gundam is a very popular series in Japan. It is about giant robots, space ships, a civil war, and has some cool animation.

Outside of the pods there is a game screen where others can watch the battle. It is also where you upgrade your mech and get new ranks.

This is a bad shot of the battle.

There are two sides. The the rebels, who fight in transformer-looking bots, and the 'principality of Zeon', who are kind of the bad guys.

My robot is one of the bad guys. The type is called a Domu and it fights with a giant laser katana.

It truly is an immersive experience...and kind of addictive.

Sakura

2008-04-07T21:14:00.006+09:00

'Hanami' is the custom of going cherry blossom viewing. This is an important part of all Japanese people's lives. The cherry blossoms are so fragile and they arrive spontaneously and disappear within a week or two. During this time schools, businesses and friends have cherry blossom viewing parties. It is against the backdrop of the pale pink sakura that people meet their new schoolmates, co-workers, as well as say goodbye to old friends. Although they fall off the trees in a matter of days, the beauty of the blossoms never fade. I mean, I have seen the same scene for 3 years now and I have never gotten sick of it. I still take the same pictures every year! And you may never be able to show the true beauty in a photograph, but still somehow you can't stop taking pictures. This year I took some new pictures, as well as some of the same ones as before. And I too have said goodbye to many students under the pink trees. (Bye bye Chizuko! I'll miss you!)

Along one of the many canals in Kanazawa. I think this one used to be part of the castle moat.

This is the first tree to open in Kanazawa every year. It is part of a private garden in of an old samurai house.

An old favourite.

Sunset at the castle

Night time in the park looks like you are walking through the milky way, especially if the blossoms are reflected in the black water.

Relaxing along the Sai river. Some pigeons were also enjoying the cherry blossoms.

A road with a sakura canopy.

best misprint ever!!!

2008-04-01T23:31:00.005+09:00

The New York Times misprinted the CERN Large Hadron Collider as 'The Large HARDON collider". Considering all the controversy recently (A lawsuit has been filed with a US court about the possibility of destroying the universe by creating a black hole or by splitting time/space to create a new dimension), this is the best picture ever: Still laughing about it...

BLING!!!

2008-03-31T19:10:00.002+09:00

Old Skool! Gold plated tapes yo!!!

That's awesome, a skull with ear phones! Bling bling!!!

culture tip #14

2008-03-28T22:28:00.003+09:00

Japan has two official religions: Buddhism and Shinto. This is a Shinto Shrine. Shrines can range from massively big to cupboard-sized, like this one. They are all devoted to a different aspect of life. For example, this one is for good fortune. But they can be for anything from business, to love, to a famous person, to studying. And yes at university entrance exam time, the ones reigning over study are filled with high school students, praying to pass their exams.

Another major difference between the Buddhist temples and the Shinto Shrines is that you clap your hands when you pray at a shrine, but not at a temple.

These are Jizo statues. Jizo is a kind of healing stone. They are carved into the shape of a man and dressed with a red bib and hat. Sometimes these shrines pop up when accidents happened in order to heal the spirits around the spot.

Hanging on the sides of the shrine are tsuru, origami cranes. They are associated with health. After the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Sadoko, a young girl who was afflicted by radiation and developed leukemia, tried to fold 1,000 cranes in an attempt to get well. Tragically she failed, but now school children all across Japan learn how to fold them and often send them to Sadoko's monument in Hiroshima's peace park.

my mom's visit

2008-03-24T00:17:00.005+09:00

I know it's a bit late, but I actually had very few photos of my mom's vist. She took most of them because my camera was low on batteries the first 2 days and then I didn't see her for a few. So I will post some pictures again once she sends some to me.
We went to the museum the first day and visited the samurai house near my apartment. This is a snapshot of her descending the stairs in the Nomura Samurai house.

We went to an onsen the same day. This is supposed to be the best onsen resort on the main island of Japan.

I went with my good friends Akiko and Kazuyo. Here's a photo of everyone in kimonos. I'm wearing a yukata that the onsen provides.

The dinner was kaiseki ryori, a traditional 14 course meal. Even though my mom was kinda full, she ate absolutely everything. The food was incredible! Mmmmmm delicious!

This is my mom and me in front of some amazing rock formations in Noto Peninsula. There is a photo-montage of this one in my very first post!

We saw a lot of things in a very short time and often there was no time for a camera to come out. My mom had hers always ready. I called it 'the Whirlwind Tour of Japan'! But I was actually extremely touched when my mom said to me on the last day, "I always thought Italy was the best place in the world, but Japan has completely stolen my heart."

KOBE!!

2008-03-19T10:57:00.002+09:00

Known for it`s Chinatown, Kobe is an exciting city. It`s very modern because of rebuilding after the 1995 Earthquake, which left about 5000 people dead.

This is the Chinatown. It`s lively and offers delicious food. Remi and Erin posing for the Camera.

We couldn`t go up the mountain, so we decided to ascend the Port Tower to get our spectacular night view.

This is Harbourland! Fun fun fun! Erin and I rode some mechanical animals, and Remi hung out with Pikachu!

This is the money shot. Remi by the harbour.

Kanazawa city

2008-03-13T11:12:00.003+09:00

My mom is visiting this week so I have very little time to blog, but I thought I would post some pictures of the city I took recently.

Kanazawa station. It's designed in the shape of a shrine. There is a very modern looking torii gate outside of it.

A sunset in Korinbo, one of the main intersections of the city.

Random city scape I took while walking around the city.

You know in Canada, the cops would bust a place like this pretty quick. But maybe they find it hard to read the Roman letters or something, because this place has been here for a while.

liminal air

2008-03-05T11:40:00.006+09:00

One of the best places to go in Kanazawa is the 21st Century Contemporary Art Museum. Recently they have installed something called "Liminal Air" in a square, glass room. It's basically different lengths of string hanging from the ceiling. The whole effect is truly magical. Here are the pictures.

Wondering around in the fog, you would encounter kids whirling around your legs like little woodland creatures.

But it was just as much fun for the adults.

This is what it looks like inside. Me looking down at my slippers.

the last 5 pictures on my phone

2008-02-28T22:09:00.006+09:00

Well, I am a little embarrassed to say that I am a (in-the-closet) ZIMA lover. When it came out in Canada, I never had a chance to try it, because it was rejected by the beer-drinking Canadian men so quickly. (What 3 months? Barely...) Here it is not so common, but when you drink it with a slice of lemon, it's fantastically refreshing! Go ZIMA!

The canals during a light snow. The picture has a washed out look to it, as if it were taken in a different age.

2am hanging measurements

an abandonned marketplace, covered with tarps because of nearby construction. The whole place looks like a bio-hazard containment site.

A happy accident...

Winter can be so beautiful sometimes...

2008-02-21T01:50:00.007+09:00

So cold even Jesus was wearing a hat.

This an icicle on Oyama Shrine. The thing it is frozen around is a traditional drain to remove water from the roof...damn...er, what`s that thing called in English again?

Walking through Kenroku'en...

...There was still greenery underneath everything.

The sun came out suddenly...

...Then disappeared...

...behind an enormous pagoda.

(a giant mushroom?)

Happy Valentines!

2008-02-14T12:11:00.003+09:00

As I mentioned before, Valentine's Day is a guys' holiday in Japan. Girls give guys chocolate. So in celebration, here are some funny Engrish pics.

Translation: Creamy collon! mmmmmm...delicious tube of cream.

Remi licking the cream out of the collon. Wowza!

alphabetic poetics

2008-02-12T01:22:00.000+09:00

something cool I found: The old Japanese syllabary was arranged to form a kinda of poem.

now it goes か　き　く　け　こ、　さ　し　す　せ　そ　(ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, sa, shi, su, se, so); arranged by the sound.

The old one goes:

いろはにほへと　(i, ro, ha, ni, ho, he, to) Even the blooming flowers
ちりぬるを　　　(chi, ri, nu, ru, wo) Will eventually fade
わかよたれそ　　(wa, ka, yo, ta, re, so) Even our world
つねならむ　　　(tsu, ne, na, ra, mu) Is not eternal
うゐのおくやま　(u, wi, no, o, ku, ya, ma) Deep in the mountains
けふこえて　　　(ke, fu, ko, e, te) Cross them today
あさきゆめみし　(a, sa, ki, yu, me, mi, shi) And superficial dreams
ゑひもせす　　　(e, hi, mo, se, su) Shall no longer delude you.

the eternal return of the internet

2008-02-04T14:08:00.000+09:00

Ok. The strangest thing just happened to me. While surfing the net, I found a small piece I wrote in high school (?) about buying a pet monkey, who had a penchant for punching people in the balls, and teaching him how to drive. I remember sending it to my friend, Byron, who laughed his ass off and proceeded to forward it to some other people. Little did I realise that once something hits cyberspace it becomes an ephemeral bird, free of all bonds. This silly story I wrote has been copied and pasted so many times that I hardly recognised it when I saw it. It was like making a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. The entire essence was so different, altered by countless thousands of teenagers (no doubt!), but I still recognised some of the lines...and the first sentence was almost the same.

This experience made me realise anyone who tries to control information on the internet is either a cyber-stalin, or a half-brained twit. And that goes especially for the recording industry. I honestly believe that this info becomes its own self-replicating organism. It no longer has an owner, and barely has a creator since often the ideas pop out of the collective cyber-conscience. Rather it has co-authors, or co-engineers and contributors. What we adoringly refer to as "our series of tubes" amounts to the majority of collected human information and experience. It is therefore meant to be shared, copied-and-pasted millions of times until it becomes the uncountable electric flow that pulse-pulses through every computer in every household and business. Anything on the internet can never be destroyed once it is there. Unless there is some complete collapse of human civilization and all it's infrastructure, internet information will be humanity's eternal monument — copied, linked, file-shared, saved, and downloaded in perpetuum.

weird dreams...

2008-01-31T22:14:00.000+09:00

Recently, i`ve been having the strangest dreams. Last night, I dreamt I was sleeping in a hotel room, the big kind with a large bath and all the extras. (On a side note, any dream that has sleeping in it is bound to be a weird one). In my dream, someone opened the door to my room. I freaked out and started yelling at the person in Japanese. ("お前は誰だ？入るな！") But the mysterious person entered anyway. I stayed in bed—it`s possible I was naked and didn`t want to get up. It turned out to be a gaijin girl wrapped in a towel. She dropped some courtesy bubble bath on my counter and said thoughtfully, "I couldn`t use it all, so you can have the rest." Then she left.

I went back to sleep. In my dream, that is. Then I became aware that there is another presence in the room. However much I tried, I couldn`t make out who, or what!, it was. Out of nothingness a blue-ish aura appeared and from the outside in a person materialized. I couldn`t make out her face, but I knew it was a female ghost. Then I woke up. In real life! ...and went back to sleep.

The dream continues in a weird way. I return to the room, but this time when I enter the door it takes me to a massive, warm, traditional Japanese house. My family are all there in the central room chatting and being merry. There are also some people from work there. When I come in, there`s some hullabaloo and the manager says to me in a stern professional tone: "We need to talk".

So we retreat to a smaller room with a kotatsu, a heated table. She starts talking to me and although I can`t remember whether it was Japanese or what she was saying, I knew it was important and confidential. Meanwhile, my sister, who is in the next room, behind the paper screen, keeps saying "I can hear you! I can hear you!" So the manager leans against the wall and falls right through it into a beautiful, long hallway. And in the distance, I can hear a big-screen TV switch on.

why winter is nice

2008-01-25T22:01:00.000+09:00

Well, I've become ridiculously busy recently. My week starts with a long, but peaceful train ride into the middle of nowhere. Actually, the train runs next to the mountains along the coast. It then crosses the vast rice paddies in a valley. It's one of the older trains in Japan—something you don't see very often anymore. The final destination is a town called Tsurugi, which has a massive high-tech university just outside it. It's the kind of place that generates the newest ideas and technology. My class is in the building where ethical debate on artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights occurs.

Anyways, I wanted to relay this story to you all. it has recently started snowing in Kanazawa. Beautiful, thick snowflakes falling slowly. Winter here is really great, not only because the city really shows of its 'shibui' flavour. (Shibui means tasteful, sober, or austere). On snowy days, Kanazawa's samurai district probably looks much like it did 200 years ago. The snow resting on the traditional, black tile roofs, look so exotic. The other (much tastier reason) why winter is good is that the fish get fatty to protect from the cold. Winter is the time of feasting, nabe, crab, and great sashimi.

Recently, I walked through the market, always congested with shoppers trying to get the best deals on seasonal fish and peach-coloured crab. The main intersection is particularly packed with old men yelling out 'irrashai!' and pedalling their goods. When I walked through there that day, for some reason, everyone moved away. I stubbornly kept walking and found myself staring the biggest, ugliest fish in the contorted eye. It was about 1.5 meters in diameter, and looked more like a 'real fish' got steam-rolled than that it was actually born so ugly. I remember seeing the fish in the Osaka Aquarium, where they have to put a net around the glass so that it doesn't hurt itself by continually running into the glass. (So, I guess it's stupid as well as ugly. Great combo, God! Where you drunk the day you made that thing?!) Anyways, despite being ugly and stupid, the fish has a nice name (in English): Sunfish...The japanese name, 'Mambo', is more appropriate.

The people i talked to have never eaten it. It's very rare, and in some places a delicacy. But would you really want to eat such a hideously ugly thing?

edible art

2008-01-17T21:59:00.000+09:00

This is a large candy dragon. It's all made from sugar. The whole thing stands about 4 feet high. And it intricately detailed.

Look at those eyes! Menacing, aren't they? "I am the lasht one!"

Isn't he so cute?! I just want to eat him up! cuuuuuute!

woah!

2008-01-15T23:41:00.000+09:00

Something weird I saw while I was in T-dot:

What do you think is happening here?

niagara falls

2008-01-14T13:58:00.000+09:00

Just before New Year's Eve I went to Niagara to do the number one touristy thing in Ontario — see the falls! Thanks to my mom, we stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the falls.

Without further delay here are some of the pictures I took:

This is the US side. There are two sides to the falls. The United States has the crappier one and so many people flock to the Canadian side (also gambling is legal there!) During the night, they illuminate the falls.

The Canadian side is much bigger and forms a horseshoe shape. There is so much water falling at such a strength that it forms a cloud of mist in the middle of the falls. It's pretty impressive how big the cloud is.

This is the view from our hotel window. You can clearly see the horseshoe shape.

Me a the top of the falls. you can get very close the the falls on the Canadian side. And they tell you stories about people who tried to go over it in barrels in the old days. Personally, I think that's a serious death-wish considering how powerful the water is.

This is a picture from below the falls. There are a series of caves behind them and you can literally see the hundreds of thousands of litres flow over the edge. It's very loud, but beautiful and awesome how powerful nature can be.

This is the lobby of the casino. It was amazing! I didn't gamble because I'm notoriously unlucky with money, unlike Gavin who scored BIG on pachinko when he came! ("TRIPLE GOLDEN 7s!!!!!") But the casino looked impressive and it even had a garden with full trees inside.

after a long hiatus

2008-01-09T12:20:00.000+09:00

Well, I'm back in Japan. I actually have been here for a week now, but I have been busy with new year's parties, jet lag, and laziness so I wasn't able to post. Oh! And my suitcase went missing so I couldn't upload any pictures to my mac.

But I am happy to be back. I had a wonderful (though short) time in Canada.

Here are some highlights:

Visiting friends and family!

Tom and Chris! I also saw Sheleena! Thanks to everyone for hanging out with me while I was back! <3

Here are some Toronto landmarks:
The Ontario College of Art and Design, floating ever so gently above the old building.

Honest Ed's!

The Eaton Centre!

The city from 600m up. A beautiful night view from the CN Tower. Still the worlds tallest until next month sometime...

Well, I am out of time. I have to run to work, but I will do a second installment of my trip soon. Please keep checking back.

real winter

2007-12-24T23:49:00.000+09:00

Well, I made it to Canada after a loooOOOOoooOOOoooOOoong journey. Landing in Chicago was crazy! The winds were so strong we had to make 3 attempts to land. And when we finally did, the storm got worsen, making it almost impossible to fly out. But luckily, I made it only after a 4 hour delay. (Some people were in the airport for about 2 days).

I'm here now and it feels good to be back. Had dinner at Bombay Bhel, my favourite Indian restaurant. I kind of want to go back again! mmmmmmmm samosa!

Anyway, it's really winter here! Not unbearably cold, but definitely below zero. And the best part is that there's LOTS of snow! It really looks like Xmas, except this year the Christmas lights are not EVERYWHERE like last year. I guess people are getting smart about being energy efficient.

MERRY X-MAS EVERYONE!!!

post 200

2007-12-22T09:45:00.001+09:00

well...as of today I will be travelling. In a few days I will arrive in Canada. So the posts will be slow in between.　I'm really excited to see my friends and family. And I'm a little anxious about Canadian winter...Here I've been walking around with a spring jacket, and going out for lunch without any jacket. I mean, it's still raining here! In Canada it's between -10°C and -1°C. And I bet there's more than 30cm of snow already.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. I have a good feeling about 2008! 良いお年を！

Usagi to tsuki no odori

2007-12-21T00:57:00.000+09:00

Well, here`s a photo of the final. It`s not a scan, but I`ll have to do for now. I`m happy with it and I hope that it is selected to be the book cover that I`ve trained it to be. My little brain child all grown up...It makes me feel so proud!

next week

2007-12-19T10:58:00.001+09:00

Well, I will be going back home in a few days. It all kind of set in today. I've been so busy lately that I've hardly had any time to think about anything. I haven't started packing or anything. This morning I realised that the year is almost over, that Xmas is almost here! Man, time flies, doesn't it?

Ok. Well, as it has become a tradition, I will write a list of the things I want to do/eat:

•A&W Poutine (with a frosty mug)
•zucchini and cauliflower
•CENTRAL HEATING!!!
•see friends and family (of course)
•praat Afrikaans
•bagels and croissants
•feel REALLY cold!
•talk to a stranger
•go pants shopping
•see the AGO and the ROM
•have dinner on the CN tower—while it's still the tallest in the world!

Ok well, those are the things I want to do/see/eat while I'm back.

Go Tiesma, Go!

2007-12-17T22:00:00.000+09:00

This is a shout-out to Benjamin!

His original Xmas song still makes me a little weepy when I hear it. I was there when he and Alison recorded it in our little Albion shack in London. It in itself was a precious Xmas memory. Ah, Alison...Where did you go? Anyways, here is this years Xmas song by Benjamin Tiesma: Snowflake Heart. (Left click to play, right to download)

Thanks, Benjamin, for adding to the 'Holiday-music-I-don't-hate' list. Yes, buddy, you are right up there with 'Christmas in Killarney'!

If you have a link to 'Missed You So' (I think that's what it was called, right?), please send it my way!

Well, here we have it folks a little Xmas present for everyone, courtesy of Benjamin.

the messiness of life

2007-12-15T09:44:00.000+09:00

So recently I've been working on a book cover for some competition. It's been a while since someone actually gave me an art project, and it actually feels really good to be working on something. But as always having so much pressure to work on something has thrown me into a creative beret-wearing phase. I think when you are actively doing art you look at life with completely different eyes.

The theme is the moon. The thumbnail I drew looks something like this:

Of course it's not done yet. The final is in progress on my desk. And when I look around in my room, I see exactly how crazy messy your environment has to become to work on art. I`m not sure if it's like this for everyone...I mean, I'm sure there are some artists who have a spotless workshop as if they wipe up every spilled drop of paint.

My creativity almost demands that it be messy. Everything I could possibly need within grabbing distance.

remarkable eyes

2007-12-13T11:09:00.001+09:00

I posted a story I wrote recently here. It's nothing special, but it spontaneously came out of me, and I had time during my internet-less period to write it out. So Enjoy!

punctuation!!!

2007-12-11T01:11:00.001+09:00

I love this! I wanna reproduce something like this as a skit. I wish I knew about this when I went to arts camp!

meat rocket!

2007-12-10T12:47:00.000+09:00

Anyone want some uncle meat?! You can ride it like a space ship and eat it all night long! But remember kids, if your real uncle ever asks, you say "no!" Unless you live in one of those countries where you can call any older male 'uncle', then it might be OK. Just be careful, sometimes the rocket can burn you if you touch it. Why? ...'Cause it's HOT like a Plasma screen TV in Detroit, dammit!

the winter feast

2007-12-07T11:22:00.000+09:00

So during the stint where I had no internet, Kazue-sensei had a winter feast in her beautiful apartment. It was like 4 of mine joined together and took up half the floor of the apartment building. It was a potluck party and everyone brought something nice to eat. I made a wheat salad; kinda sweet curry flavour. But the impromptu cooking prize goes to Erin, who made an incredible pasta salad. Of course, everything was good, though!

Here`s the spread. It looks like a Thanksgiving meal at home! Yay, real food! (Of course, I ate wheat salad for the next week!)

After the meal we relaxed with wine and had a `pile-on` on Akiko as soon as she laid down. "PILE ON!!!!!"

Good times!

Crazy Canadians!!!

2007-12-05T18:14:00.000+09:00

This is crazy! First time I look at Canadian news and this is what I see!

Basically: Guy breaks up with girl. Girl goes crazy. Grabs a katana and goes on a rampage. Destroys a car and slices a fire-fighter.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! WOMAN GOES NUTS WITH A KATANA!

Maybe we need a sword registry in Ontario...

games shows

2007-12-04T00:09:00.000+09:00

Japan is a country of game shows. The television is almost always filled with some kind of game segment, a panel of experts giving their opinion on something, and a section on food. It is all pretty entertaining. Although I never watch TV except in very rare situations, when I do (even in a few brief seconds) I usually catch only GOLD!

This is from one of these shows. Psychological, man...I tell you.

Katakana words

2007-11-30T21:41:00.001+09:00

Well, it seems my internet came back just in time for the "Two girls, one cup" video phase...Not sure what that's all about...

Anyways, I have the net again! YAY!!

So I thought I'd start small, so as not to hurt myself.

Here are some katakana words that sounds very funny:

A little bit of unexpected truth here. When you read the name of the November special, you get 'Mac Crap'. How true...I wish all McDonald's products were named this honestly — McChickenHead, McSaw-Dust, McProcessed Junk, and the old favourite, McMutant Chicken.

Not sure what this is exactly, but the flavour is 'Penis.

This is a bottle of spray paint I was looking at. The colour is 'Ass Brown. What kind of marketing is that?!?

bowing signs

2007-11-24T17:12:00.000+09:00

This is great! I`m sure this sign you can only see in Japan. It`s a bowing traffic sign.
"Thank you honorably for slowing down"

tea ceremony

2007-11-20T16:28:00.000+09:00

On Sunday I went to a tea ceremony. I'm consedering either a calligraphy or tea ceremony class for the new year. The teacher was a small, grey-haired lady in a beautiful black and red kimono, who spoke proudly of zen, the seasons, and Japanese culture. She seemed very nice and even tried to speak English a little bit. We communicated very well, stumbling only on ceremonial words, names for certain tools, and old Japanese words. But all in all, it was a beautiful experience.

I sat Japanese style for about an hour and couldn't feel my legs by the end. I didn't even try to stand up because that certainly would have been impossible. But I'm getting better at sitting seiza style. When I got here it was hard to sit on my knees for more than 15 minutes.

The sensei explained that tea ceremony was a kind of past time for the ancient Japanese people. They didn't have TV or radio so they used to sit together and have tea. Here's what makes this different from English tea:

The room is small, there's a hanging scroll on which a beautiful haiku is written about the season. (In this case "Slide open the door to see blowing leaves".) You can hear the rain in the garden all around, and the smell is one of incense burning beneath the pot of water. The cups are themed to match the red leaves of fall, the migrating birds, and the rice harvest. Everything is a perfect microcosm of nature. Like being in a tea ceremony you feel at once part of nature and outside it. It may be the perfect zen paradox. The ceremony with all it's rules, creating the spontaneous sensation of the natural world.

It was beautiful.

Sorry no pictures...

is there a doctor in the house?

2007-11-16T21:20:00.000+09:00

funniest video EVER!!!!!!

calligraphy and the park

2007-11-14T16:40:00.001+09:00

I haven't done any shuji for a long time, but this weekend I had some experienced help, so I tried again. I've been studying kanji pretty much constantly since I decided to take the test, so this was a way to reacquaint myself with it. Last week I hated it...despised it, even. My food started tasting like Kanji...I guess I had an overload. But this weekend writing the characters with a brush felt really good. Really refreshing. I focused on the strokes, the look and not the meaning. It didn`t matter if I forgot the onyomi or the kunyomi, all that mattered was if it looked beautiful. The character in the corner means 'me'.

Although the weather was bad, I took a walk in the park. The leaves didn't change so much...maybe I missed it. Or maybe there are too many evergreens. I'm not sure.

What was beautiful was the pyramid shapes they make to hold up the trees in the heavy snow. It's characteristic of this area. I love the shape!

on my desk

2007-11-10T17:12:00.000+09:00

I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by listing the items on their desk...or in their bags, for example.

If you empty out the contents of a woman`s purse, you`d be able to give a pretty accurate description of her psychologically.

So here is a picture of my desk.

The items are listed like this:
a map of the world with australia at the centre, drawn on a 3M post-it note;
a whiteboard with my dream house drawn in the corner;
spiderman pen;
my personalized water bottle;
kanji practice cards;
(some work);
a giant origami ball;
a walkie-talkie...

What does this say about me? ...I wonder...

Re: NTT telephone line

2007-11-08T16:09:00.000+09:00

To whom it may concern:

My internet is not working. I have been having trouble with my NTT telephone for the last few months, and it was disconnected last Wednesday. I have been unable to receive phone calls on it, and so it seemed to me unnecessary to have. Especially since I am paying over ￥2000 for what is now basically a desk ornament from the 1980s.

Much to my chagrin, when my phone line was cut off, my internet also stopped working. I suppose I need to reconnect my phone line, just to have the internet. So, I want to let you know that my posts will be few and far between until my desk ornament is connected again.

Sincerely,

Graeme Lottering

PS. Thanks to all who left comments on the last post. :)

visiting beauty (culture tip #14)

2007-11-06T11:23:00.000+09:00

Every once in a while, I will have a real spiritual experience. Perhaps I have been neglecting myself lately, or parhaps I have been too busy to look out into the world recently. I`m not sure, but it's been about a year since I've had a spiritual thought. Yesterday, however, I certainly had a beautiful, serene experience when I visited a temple in Nagoya. (Yes, yes, there's nothing to do in Nagoya, I know! But this temple popped out as I exited a subway and was a delightful surprise.)

Sometimes you just feel that there's something great about the place. It leads you in and you find yourself wondering around the yard, listening to chants and thinking about life. I stood on the porch for about 45 minutes, breathing incense and staring at pigeons scavenging the yard for food.

fig 12 - culture tip 14: The incense is considered purifying and people will waft it onto their bodies, and especially over sick or injured parts to help them heal.

The temple yard was surrounded by buildings because Nagoya is a rather big city, but standing on the temple porch was completely quiet and peaceful, and life seemed to go by at the slow pace of nature.

Every temple has two guardians standing watch over the entrance. Raijin, the thunder god; and Fujin, the wind god. Here there was a giant painting on Fujin on the apartment building walling off the temple yard. It's cheesy I know, but once you have been to Japan you except that the Japanese make very little distinction between cheesiness and high-culture.

I sat on the porch thinking and thinking. And under the giant lantern tied with people's wishes, I felt some deep 4th-dimensional feeling of understanding. Like time was overlapping and the I saw life ever-so-briefly through the temple's eyes. It's impossible to fit into words...But it was beautiful.

funny bush moments

2007-11-04T22:09:00.000+09:00

And my personal favourite:

a wee typography video

2007-11-01T11:01:00.000+09:00

Tojimbo

2007-10-29T11:47:00.000+09:00

Last weekend, I went to a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn to have a meal. We drove about an hour and a bit into the next prefecture. Fukui, is a relatively rural prefecture on the Sea of Japan, known for delicious crab and their funny accent.

The Ryokan was right on the sea, perched like an Eagle's nest on top of these cliffs. The food was incredible and YES! I managed to take a photo of it before eating this time!

The food was absolutely incredible! It was served with hand-made clay glasses of beer or sake. Along with the sounds of the waves breaking below on the rocks. We could actually see the ocean through the windows in all directions. I took some pictures but it's pointless to show because it couldn't possibly convey the feeling of it.

The ryokan also had a hotspring! There was no one else in the mens' onsen, so I thought I would sneak in a camera to FINALLY take an onsen picture for my blog.

The onsen was also right next to the sea. I could actually hear the women in the bath next to me, but we were unable to have a conversation because the waves were to loud.

After the delicious meal and a soak, we drove to Tojimbo, the main tourist attraction in Fukui. It's basically these enormous cliffs that reach like grasping hands into the ocean.

Here's my hyper-UNrealistic picture of one side of the rocks. On the background there's a long red bridge leading out to an island.

When we got there the sun had just started to set. And there was a massive hawk floating around the sky, looking for fish.

My own version of Hokusai's The Wave.

Erin taking a picture of the ever-present hawk.

a walk around Nagamachi

2007-10-25T11:25:00.001+09:00

While walking around Nagamachi, the neighbourhood around my house, I saw some persimmons hanging over an old samurai wall.

The area is usually filled with tourists, but that day it was serenely quiet. It was as if I stepped back 200 years...Except, I had my cell phone out to snap a pic of this delicious-looking fruit. (Actually, I never heard of persimmons until I came here)

Lucky I had my phone out and on camera mode, because as I crossed the canal. A giant heron swooped down and slowly walked under the bridge I was standing on to search for fish.

And he caught one!!! Unbelievable! He speared it with his beak. It was an interesting walk through Nagamachi.

Halloween...already?

2007-10-23T10:43:00.000+09:00

Yeah, i know it's early...

Here are the pictures from our Halloween Party!
the atmosphere was great! Lots of people showed up and most were dressed up. It was just like a cosplay party gone wild! All the staff were dressed like pirates. The next day my voice hurt from saying 'Yarg!' too much.

me, Remi and Erin

an Indian woman, a witch, and a princess

Jason, me, and a mad scientist

Jason getting murdered by Keiko

me and Kotaro

me and Captain Kontani

the school girl you expect to see in dirty manga: Tomoko

monolith

2007-10-20T01:33:00.000+09:00

Just came home drunk off a real-life geisha experience!

No jokes, yo! Very different from the maiko you all imagine, but lemme tell you...Interesting!

Anyways, I won't go into detail. You can read about it from my previous experience here. (Yay! cross-referencing)

I just wanted to post a video, actually.

The Monolith

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the truth behind punctuation

2007-10-18T11:21:00.000+09:00

check out this hilarious link!

The funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

I laughed my ass off. Mainly because I know exactly how he feels!

you gotta be kidding!

2007-10-16T22:14:00.000+09:00

I couldn't believe it when I saw it myself! I was pretty confused when people started selling bottled water in North America some years ago. The truth is, I couldn't understand why people would buy water when they could just open a tap and drink perfectly good potable life-essence. I mean, I can understand in South/Central America and Afrika, where the running water is 60% human waste, but in North America?! In Canada?! Canada basically has fresh-water mana flowing out of its taps. The water there is more healthy than a vegetable omelette! And yet, despite everything, it caught on.

Well, I guess after all that, I'm not surprised that people would be buying DIET water...

The next thing we'll see will be oxygen cigarettes, that filter out the "bad" air.
Am I right?! I'm right, right?

commuting to clown school

2007-10-15T11:05:00.000+09:00

They told me they made things small in Japan. But you would never believe until you saw it. This bike was comedy-sized! Yes, that's my bag sitting in front of it!

Can you imagine a businessman in a suit riding this thing to work?

buildings

2007-10-12T10:01:00.000+09:00

This post is about some cool buildings I've seen around Japan.
This one looks like it came from an anime. I like the dark Gothic look, mixed with sci-fi. It almost has a Batman feel.

This one from Tokyo's Odaiba area, it looks like a spacecraft too. The inverted pyramid look must be in these days.

Another upside-down pyramid right here in Kanazawa! Let's all go for a ride in the Stargate, boys and girls!

In Japan, all buildings that are being renovated are covered in a Christo-esque canvas.

What?!? This building has my last name!

By the way, I love the look on the guy's face. It's as if his towel called him a bad word. Simultaneously shocked and disgusted. But they must be good friends, because why would he be carrying a towel anyways?!

Takayama

2007-10-09T11:55:00.000+09:00

This weekend I took a trip to Takayama. The name means "high mountain", and truly it is high in the mountains. Until semi-recently the town was inaccessible by car, as the town was kind of a hidden secret. You can still see very traditional thatched-roof houses in the area, which are covered with a thick layer of snow in the winter.

The steep roofs protect the houses from caving in in the winter under the weight of the snow. This town looked like I had stepped back in time to a much older age.

The lifestyle here is also a lot slower, despite a heavy influx of tourists. You still see people in traditional rice hats, farming, gardening and making crafts.

The interior of the houses, probably look something like this. The all used to have a small fireplace in the middle, where people cooked and heated themselves in winter. Nowadays they are still sometimes the centre-piece of a dinner.

The outside doors were slid open and a wonderful breeze blew into the house. This was actually, the government administration building, so it had a large garden in the middle.

This is what I saw.

Outside the narrow streets were bustling with action. The city is actually a city of carpenters! About 80% of all stores sell wooden goods. They were such specialists in their field that the Edo government would often call upon them to build palaces and temples. And in fact, many of the ordinary things were made of wood.

Bowls, forks, spoons: all wood!

The city is still very self-sufficient and lives in relative harmony with nature. If you go into a convenience store, you are likely to see the person behind the counter sanding or carving a wooden toy. The famous food from the area is called 'sansai', and is actually a collection of miscellaneous mountain plants. Most of which I didn't recognise. Some looked like ferns, others like a sweet asparagus (a kind of grass maybe?), yet others like potatoes. All very delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I ate it all before being able to take a picture!

something fishy

2007-10-06T10:13:00.000+09:00

The particular sect of Buddhism that was historically practiced in Kanazawa was fascinated with the 6 aesthetic virtues. Their values were so strong that the Togugawa general fell in love with it and allowed a kind of self rule, instead of enforcing the Edo government's law. Still to this day you will see art all over the city.

Two weeks a year there are special art weeks in Kanazawa. In these weeks artist take to the city and set up fantastic installations everywhere. The big ones are well known locations, but more likely you will just be walking around and discover them.

While walking home, I saw these fish swimming in the canal.
One fish! Two fish!

Red fish! Blue fish!

holy smoking guitars, Batman!

2007-10-03T00:24:00.000+09:00

This is unbelievable!!!

kids guitar trio

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some street art

2007-10-02T00:13:00.000+09:00

This is lame, but I kind of miss this kind of thing, so I sometimes fulfill my desire to see some wicked street art by looking for websites with pictures. This one is good.
It`s by a London artist. I hope you like.

cool site

PS. Know any good get-rich-quick schemes?

ROUND1

2007-09-28T10:45:00.000+09:00

Last weekend we went to Round1 to cool off. It's basically a massive sports/games centre. You can do absolutely everything there! Everything from bowling, to soccer, to mini-golf, to go-karts, to arcade games, to gambling...Oh, did I mention rodeo and fishing?! yes, you can catch REAL fish! Crazy!!!

I took pictures mainly of the game centre because I was too busy kicking ass at Badminton to get my camera out! (^_^)v

Here's a pic of Kazuyo and Akiko posing with guns. Sexy!!!

Erin and me rocking out on guitar hero. I didn't know any of the songs, but look at me go!

We need a band...

Akiko and Kazuyo doing the tambourine game! Actually looks like fun.

Here are some random Japanese girls playing a horsey game. They were going crazy, screaming and yelling. Maybe they were betting on it? Either way, I thought it was hilarious and couldn't help secretly getting them on video camera.

Kazuyo made us take some pelicula, which she claimed everyone must do before they leave Japan. It was good fun, though! I only have one question: Why in a girl's pants?

interesting photo exhibit

2007-09-26T10:17:00.000+09:00

This is a link to a Japanese photographer, Kohei Yoshiyuki from the 1970's who took night time shots with a Kodak infrared bulb. His photos are pretty funny. And they seem somehow like a nature documentary of animals.

Check it out! I think you'll like it.
NY Times slideshow

...and you thought the Pope mobile was cool!

2007-09-25T11:06:00.000+09:00

I`m not sure why, but it was a holiday recently. Erin believes that it was because of the autumnal equinox...and it`s hard to admit, but she may be right. Anyways, last night I heard this strange chanting coming from outside. It sounded like a monk, but a little grainy, or electronic, like a cyber-monk! So an I looked and lo! a monk-mobile!!! The pope would be jealous.

PS. Happy Equinox! From here on it only get`s colder!

Shamisen on gold

2007-09-23T12:03:00.000+09:00

These are pictures of Remi and Akiko`s shamisen concert. It was pretty cool!
Akiko, Yoda, and Remi.

Remi rocking it out!

They served a cup of tea with the rising sun in it.

c'est quoi ça?!

2007-09-21T10:02:00.000+09:00

J'suis oú? Certainment, c'est pas Japon, lá! Tellement BIZARRE!

This is very different from the bikes Japanese mail men use to deliver the post. That's for sure!

dreams

2007-09-19T10:04:00.000+09:00

Since I`ve started studying for the test, I`ve been having these dreams filled with kanji. The strange thing is that I can`t read Roman characters in my dreams at all. It`s said to be impossible to read in your dreams because your left brain, which controls language and logic, is asleep and your right brain is in control.

However, somehow I can read chinese characters! My theory is that because they are pictographic, they read like symbols rather than letters. Seeing a kanji in your dream is like seeing a stop sign. It doesn`t represent a sound, it represents an idea. Anyway, it`s pretty weird to be able to read them in a dream.

Maybe it means my left brain isn`t taking them in as language at all!

coolest thing on TV

2007-09-17T12:36:00.000+09:00

Technophile = nerd love

2007-09-16T00:17:00.000+09:00

This is a snapshot I took after I cleared off my whiteboard. The explanation is too accurate, I think. It struck me as something you could put on a T-shirt.

the next few months...

2007-09-13T09:29:00.000+09:00

Well, I've decided to write the Japanese Language Proficiency test in December.

There are 4 levels to the test. The 4th level is the easiest and the 1st nearly impossible. I am going to take the 2nd level — it's equivalent to a 4 year university program. When I looked at the past tests, the 3rd level seemed way to easy. I would be able to pass that test without any studying, so, unfortunately for my social life, I'm going to try the 2nd level.

This means I have to study about 2 hours every day. I need to learn 700 new kanji in the remaining 2 months. That's about 5-8 kanji every day.

To be honest, at this point, I'm pretty sure that I'll fail it in the end. However, it gives me a goal to study for and I'll learn a lot in the process...But if I do pass this test, it's a proper certification.

Wish me luck!

temple concert

2007-09-11T22:23:00.000+09:00

This weekend I went to a concert inside a temple. It was my first glance of what regular life is like inside a temple. In fact, it's rather like a community centre. There were kids playing, a dog and cat walking around, as well as priests praying.

The real reason I was there was to watch my friend, Miyuki's sanshin circle play.

They started by doing a 盆踊り、a dance for the dead. Kind of in honour of the ancestors. So there were two people playing shamisen and one was playing an instrument I've never seen, which played like a violin.

The shamisen with some people dancing in the background.

This is the violin like instrument. It sounded very nice, actually — and very eastern!

Nice kimonos, eh?

Here`s the dance! The Bon Odori.

Part 2!

There were also some other performances, like this jangara, a traditional folk song.

Ok ok ok! Now for my favourite part: The sanshin! This is an okinawan instrument and it definitely sounds different from the traditional Japanese ones. The sound itself was rural, pastoral...something from a peaceful, quiet life...catching fish maybe?

Sorry for the low quality, I took all of this on my mobile phone.

two views of the city

2007-09-07T10:45:00.000+09:00

This was taken from Utatsuyama, the mountain inside Kanazawa city. It was a hot day, but clear enough to see the sea from the summit. In this picture you can make out the shoreline, but in reality the sun reflecting of the water was blinding. This was taken the same place I took some night views before.

The second view is from my balcony. I few nights ago there was the most intensely red moon. It was haunting. I knew Japan was famous for it`s red sun sets, but this was absolutely out of this world!

Japanese name generator

2007-09-05T11:10:00.001+09:00

ever wondered what your name would be in Japanese?

By the way, apparantly...

My japanese name is 藤原 Fujiwara (wisteria fields) 大輝 Taiki (large radiance).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

culture tip #13

2007-09-03T10:51:00.000+09:00

Japanese condom vending machine. This one even sells the rare brand of MfG, otherwise know ans 'Mother fucking Gonads'. And remember kids 'Safety is for you!' Some other prime choices are Freshcoat and Honeycap.

Speaking of debauchery...Here's a little sake cup you can buy and give to people who suck at life.

the newest fad

2007-08-31T02:10:00.000+09:00

Check this out!!! It even has English!

The above video has been removed, so here's a replacement. I must warn you that the second half has nothing to do with the ass-biting bug...But it's also pretty funny.

the most accurate personailty test EVER!!!

2007-08-29T21:47:00.000+09:00

oh my god! This blew my mind. It even shed light on things for me. Unbelievable...

graeme took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Needs to feel identified with someone or something..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

lightning storms

2007-08-28T10:19:00.000+09:00

Recently, we've been having some severe thunderstorms in Kanazawa. Actually, it's very unusual, because thunderstorms are more associated with winter in this region. The first time it happened, I stood on my balcony watching the lighting behind the clouds. It was kind of magical — this pink, red, blue flashing behind the grey clouds. Then the thunder struck and I was deafened for a moment. It felt like the whole world shook.

This morning again, there was a thunderstorm. I was woken up by a continuous rumbling sound, like the sky had an upset stomach. Then the loudest crack of thunder. These strikes would continue to occur and eventually, I heard sirens, and then some people yelling outside. I got up to check things out, since it seemed like this whole scene was unfolding outside my apartment. But by that time the rain had started to fall so densely, that it was difficult to see anything except the red rooftop next to my house.

When I went back to bed, I heard the emergency broadcasting system come alive. I heard "Kanazawa citizens, don't panic! Kra-KA-koooom!! ...rain. Please stay inside and be careful." And then some tones you might hear in an airport or train station.

under the sea

2007-08-24T10:33:00.000+09:00

While in OZ I actually managed to see a whale breaching the surface in the most spectacular way. I was standing on an immense cliff next to an old lighthouse when someone noticed it. The guide I was with took out some binoculars and I managed to find the exact spot at the right time. It was a spectacular thing to witness.

We also saw some wild dolphins jumping beside us while we were driving on the beach. But I wasn't able to take any photos of those.

So, here are some pictures from snorkeling/diving instead. We went to Moreton island, which is basically like a paradise of beaches, forest, and activities you can do.

There were a number of wrecks off the shore and we snorkeled around them. The broken ships were really interesting and I took as many pictures of them as I did of the fish.

Some coral shielding us from any big, dangerous fish.

I took this picture as I emerged from the water. There was some kind of cactus growing on the loading mechanism of this wreck. It's interesting that a cactus can grow so far from shore. But I guess in a country where it rains about every 2 years, that kind of thing is possible. (Yes, actually they have pretty severe water restrictions in effect in Brisbane and you can only take 4 minute showers...and then some people save the shower water to water their plants.)

Here's a deeper dive, with a flipper in the background. There were so many fish. I think it was a feeding ground because they weren't even afraid of us. You could literally grab a fish if you wanted to. Like swimming through a cloud of colourful fish.

australian wildlife

2007-08-21T10:10:00.001+09:00

When I visited my aunt Lorraine, she took me to a wildlife park. It was good to visit family. And I got a pretty good tour of aussi animals.

A small kangaroo. This one is about knee-height. Small and cute.

Here I am feeding it. They were very soft.

The Koala`s were also cute. My aunt asked me if I wanted to take a picture with them, but they smelled really bad. Kinda like a dirty men`s bathroom with a hint of eucalyptus. Later a guide told me that they smell because they are a "perfect creature". Of course I asked him to explain and he told me that they are so specialized that they don`t even have to drink water. They get absolutely everything from the eucalyptus they eat — even all the water they need. So when they pee, it`s concentrated eucalyptus juice.

Then there are the crocs! There were so many of them all lying in the sun. We counted about 12 of them.

Then of course there are the cousins. Cute little things. Here they baked some ginger cookies for me. It was wonderful because it reminded me of my grandmother. When I was young, I grew up on those cookies. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! yummy!

This is a picture of me and Keagan and Celine. Nice kids.

interlude

2007-08-20T09:55:00.000+09:00

I was planning to do a post a day, but conveeeeeniently my keyboard broke. So yesterday I bought a new one! Yay! this one is much cooler and also has Japanese characters on it. (Kinda motivates me to type some new blog posts!)

Anyway, I was walking through a part of the city I hardly ever go. and I found a series of rice paddies tucked in between buildings and streets. It`s very Japanese to combine city and farming like that. I`ve even seen that kind of thing in Tokyo!

When you walk on the sidewalk next to the paddies, you can hear the slush slush of water rushing beneath and filling the fields.

The thing is, it really made me think about time. I stood there looking at this beautiful green — total green. And I realised that it`s been a year since I started blogging. Time has gone by so fast, but it`s not until I look at nature that I fully understand this. When I took this picture, I was surrounded by the cicadas` song, music that represents the heat of summer. If heat could make a noise, it would be the buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz of cicadas.

It was a beautiful day, though. And it ended in the perfect summer moment. I felt overwhelmed by happiness sitting on the beach at a table, eating nasi goreng with some friends, while fireworks fizzled and popped above our heads. It felt both tropical and Victorian, like a Seurat painting.