Sunday, October 30, 2016

Sunday Papers: Charles Simic


"For knowledge, add; for wisdom, take away."

On the turntable: Ben Folds Five, "Ben Folds Five"

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Band Wit



Back in the days when I was playing live music in Yonago with Tim W, we would appear under a different band name at each gig. The following is a list of the names we used, or intended to use.  (Some may offend, so be forewarned.)

Table of the Leg
Damn Flies
Spooky Temple Dudes
Stony Curtis
Obstinate Camel
Nazi Pope
Perceived Diss
Sayu Gyaku (左右逆)
Anal Mix Tape
Psychological Sabotage
The Knot in the Y
Wood Moratorium
Goethe's Werther
Vanity Organ
The Noble Source
Mullah Fucka
Grok the Koan
Bovine Intervention
Bovine Comedy
Zulu Porn
Reverse Vasectomy
Veda's Dairy
Androgynous Zone
Acid Milk Truck
Spank the Monarchy
Puppy with Verbs
High Brow Connotation
Singed Fringe
Glass Water Starfish
Avalanche of Creme
Tambourine Damage
Transportation Misadventure
Wiley on the Bridge
Institutional Conformity
Two-Dimensional Asshole
3D Lunch
The Usual Inattention
Roppongi Hillbillies
Ovarian Sisters
Casanova Hijinx
Conquistador of the Useless
The Gilligan Four
Al Pachinko
Phallus Cowboys
Fudo Hanbaiki (不動販売機)
Kill Gilligan
Traveling Dingleberries
Impenetrable Orpheus
Ramadan Nachos
Back-up Bellringer
Genghis Karma
Shakuson 5 (釈尊 5) 
Snooty Vegan
Keisei and the Sunshine Band
Infidel Castro
Scott Baio Wolfe
Guns 'n' Moses
Felonious Punk
Ozzy Gillespie
 
On the turntable:  Chet Baker, "Lullaby of the Leaves"
On the nighttable:  Natsume Soseki, "The Gate"

Friday, October 28, 2016

Megijima ,Ogijima






The third in the Inland Sea series:

http://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guides/megijima-ogijima


On the turntable:  Charles Mingus, "Mingus at Carnegie Hall"
On the nighttable:  David Sedaris, "When You are Engulfed in Flames"


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

(untitled)



Days of darkness part, 
To reveal the blue skies of 
Possibility.


On the turntable: Bob Dylan, "Live 1975"
On the nighttable:  Stephen Armstrong, "The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited"

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Sunday Papers: D.T. Suzuki


"When traveling is made too easy and comfortable, its spiritual meaning is lost"


On the turntable:  "The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever" 
 

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Shodoshima




Second post of a six-part series on chasing Donald Richie. On Shodoshima.

http://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-gui…/shodoshima-drive


On the turntable:  Boards of Canada, "Music has the Right to People"
On the nighttable:  Michael Pollan,"Cooked"

Thursday, October 20, 2016

(untitled)




Tipping their caps
From the top of the hill,
To the lands they once knew.


On the turntable:  Begin, ”BEGIN シングル大全集”

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

(untitled)




All along the watchtowers,
You'll find a source of strength
For when the heart is wounded.


On the turntable:  Bruce Springsteen, "Tunnel of Love"

Monday, October 17, 2016

Imbibing Bibliophile #8




No Direction Home by Richard Shelton

Matsumoto Brewery, Traditional Bitter


On the turntable: Cactus, "Cactology"

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Sunday Papers: Robert Brady


"Travelers come to need their own company more than stayers ever do."

On the turntable: The Beatles, "Final Rhine River Tapes"
On the nighttable:  D.T. Suzuki, "Zen and Japanese Culture"

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Inujima & Teshima





First part of a six-article series on Japan's Inland Sea, for Japan Visitor.

http://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guid…/inujima-teshima


On the turntable: Bob Dylan, "Blues"
On the nighttable:  Robert Shelton, "No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan"


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

(untitled)




Strolling the beach
looking for shells,
All we find is rubbish.


On the turntable:  Boubacar Traore, "Mali Denhou"

Monday, October 10, 2016

Sou Fujimoto and the Primitive Future





My next article in the architect series discusses the permeable, light-filled architectural designs of Sou Fujimoto. 

http://www.zenvita.com/blog/sou-fujimoto-and-the-primitive-future.html


On the turntable:  Boston, "Greatest Hits"

Sunday, October 09, 2016

Sunday Papers: Marcel Pagnol


"No history textbook in the world has ever been anything but a propaganda pamphlet in the service of governments."


On the turntable:  The Continental Op, "Stitch Music"
On the nighttable: Alistair Horne, "Seven Ages of Paris"

Friday, October 07, 2016

(untitled)




Often through this scene,
Details ever changing,
Painted with a different brush.


On the turntable:  The Beatles, "Anthology 3 Outtakes"
 

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Mountains Beyond Mountains




The gods of the three directions
Take on solid stony forms.



Days of rain and winds from yet another typhoon have scoured the skies clean. I've stood upon this spot 20 times or more, but I've never had the visibility of today. Ontake-san, Norikura, Kiso Koma-ga-take (with Kitadake photobombing in the far distance in the middle of the last pic).





On the turntable:  Brian Auger & The Trinity, "Definitely What!"

Monday, October 03, 2016

All our Gayn






Reading Gayn's fascinating Japan Diary, which entails his time working as a journalist from just a few months after the end of the war. 

Most interesting is that you can see the seeds being sown for the political system we have here today. 

It's really no wonder that democracy doesn't work in Japan, imposed as it was by the military. And militaries are generally not the most democratic organizations.

On the turntable:  Bob Dylan, "The Genuine Basement Tapes"