Tracking the Unseen in the Old Capital

 

 

A nice treat to see my latest article live on The Japan Times...

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2024/10/26/travel/kyoto-haunted-ghosts-halloween/

 

On the turntable:  Phish, "1995-12-07, Niagara Convention Center"

 

Sunday Papers: Kyle Frost

 

"I feel like most travel writing and promotion in 2024 has one flavor – “Hey, visit here, it’s great”. Influencer culture has narrowed the scope of storytelling, minimizing meaningful reflections and stories in favor of nicely packaged Instagram posts, snappily edited TikToks, and SEO-optimized blogs that are more about appealing to every possible Google search."

 

On the turntable:  Phish, "1994-12-01, Salem Armory"

October 14 Elegy

 

 

Sunday Papers: William Carlos Williams

 

"Memory is a kind of accomplishment." 

 

On the turntable:  Neil Young, "Journey to the Past"

 

Venturing into the Garden of the Gods

 

Thank you to the iconic Outdoor Japan magazine for sending me out on a fun and educational journey...

https://www.outdoorjapan.com/activities/travel/venturing-into-the-garden-of-the-gods/ 

 

On the turntable:  Phish, 1993-08-07, Darien center, NY

 

Set-jetting with the Shogun

 

 

Thank you to The Japan Times for publishing my latest piece, on a rather timely subject. The print version is expected to appear on Saturday.

 

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2024/09/17/travel/shogun-osaka-castle-travel-historical-sites/ 

 

On the turntable: The New Pornographers, "Brill Bruisers"

Sunday Papers: Simone de Beauvoir

 

"In America, the individual is nothing. He is made into an abstract object of worship; by persuading him of his individual value. One stifles the awakening of a collective spirit in him. But reduced to himself in this way, he is robbed of any concrete power. Without collective hope or personal audacity, what can the individual do? Submit or, if by some rare chance this submission is too odious, leave the country."

 

On the turntable:  Neil Young, "Mixed Pages of Storytone"

 

Sunday Papers: Bob Copper

 

"The consequent invasion has taken its toll and, sadly but incontrovertibly, many of our most cherished heritages have suffered the fate of becoming tourist attractions. And you don't have to be madly misanthropic to recognize that the presence of people means pollution. When commercialism comes barging in through the front door, romance and beauty tiptoe hand-in-hand out at the back." 

 

On the turntable:  Spoon, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"

 

Sunday Papers; Michel-Rolph Trouillot

 

"Human beings participate in history both as actors and narrators" 

On the turntable: Santana, "Santana III"

Cycling through Asuka

 

 

After 10 years away, I'm quite pleased to have an article in The Japan Times again.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2024/07/06/travel/asuka-tour-cycling-temples/ 

 

On the turntable:  Neil Young, "Live in San Francisco 1986 , Part One"

 

Sunday Papers: Hunter S. Thompson

 

"Life has improved immeasurably since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." 

On the turntable: The Smashing Pumpkins, "Pisces Iscariot"

 

 

Sunday Papers: Gary Shteyngart

 

"Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life."

 

 On the turntable: Snooks Eaglin, "New Orleans Street Singer"

 

Tracing the Shimanto

 

 

Thank you to Perceptive Travel Magazine for publishing the third article in my recent "Kochi trilogy."

https://www.perceptivetravel.com/issues/0424/japan.html

 

On the turntable:  "Letter to Brezhnev" (Sdtk)

Reminiscing Ryoma

 

 

"In a new article, free on KJ’s website (link in bio), Edward J. Taylor follows the historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma through the city of his birth."

https://www.kyotojournal.org/asian-encounters/reminiscing-ryoma/

On the turntable:  Stockholm Syndrome, "Holy Happy Hour"

Muroto, High and Low

 

 

"Writers in Kyoto member Edward J. Taylor is well-known for documenting his explorations on foot. Now up on the website is a recent account of wanderings through the unique and picturesque landscape of Cape Muroto, Shikoku Island."

https://www.writersinkyoto.com/2024/03/05/wik-members/muroto-high-and-low-edward-j-taylor/ 

On the turntable:  Screaming Trees, "Ocean of Confusion"

Sunday Papers: H.G. Wells

 

 “Science is a match that man has just got alight.”

On the turntable: Sneaker Pimps, "Uncover the Fans Project"

Driving through the Breadbasket

 

 

Finally journaling last summer's Italian road trip...

 http://viewsfromaprovincialperch.blogspot.com/2023/12/driving-through-breadbasket.html

 

On the turntable: The Beatles, "The Beatles 1967 - 1970"

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

A year in reads: 2023

 

 

On the turntable:  Little Feat, "Little Feat"

Stuff from an Old Notebook #20

 

Random thoughts and ideas from the last year. 
 



-While pouring hot water for tea, my favorite cup gets a dark line down the side and the liquid bleeds through.  It is this kind of cold that defines Kyoto, I suppose.  And who knew porcelain cups could crack?

-Declaration of Independence as Dear John letter.    

 

-With all the bottled vitamins and pills, the medicine cabinet looked like Neil Peart’s drum kit.  

 

-Social media is like 1000 voices shouting in an empty room. 

 

-It was August, the month that Buddhist priests actually earn their living. 

-The delight I take in closing the shutters at night, always spending a few moments out on the darkened patio, the light now shut in by ancient painted wood. So many stars here. Their number is rivaled by the blinking lights of planes, of satellites, always in a hurry. Why such a rush, when surrounded by such beauty?  (France)

 

-Even in France I long for France.  Barely engaged with the outside world, didn't even dine out once.  I wasn't really in the mood for moneyed chic Riviera France.  I wanted quieter meals in the villages and towns up in the country.  But I knew from the number of ambulating tourists that I'd had to dodge in the narrow lanes of Ramatuelle that it wasn't the right year for it. Instead I passed long mornings out on the terrace and read, until the heat bullied me indoors.  My reading led me to Paris, and its writers and painters of the 1920s.  And introduced me to the familial bohemian scene at the Vila America, an hour's drive from here in Antibes.

 

-The S&M quality to election slogans:  "Allow me the privilege of being chosen to be your next abuser." 

-Near to where birds sang…

 

 

On the turntable:  The Shadows, "Reunited"