Friday 30 April 2010

Nemoto

Kicked off last night at a standing-bar tacked on to an off-license/bottle-shop/liquor-store near a friend’s house. These bars are a lot more popular since the credit crisis, or “Lehman SHOCK!” as it’s more snappily called here. 


Go inside, buy booze, drink it in the drive
.

 an old 50's poster...      ...but what's this one standing on?


Nicely warmed up for Rounds 2,3 and 4 in Kabukicho

Wednesday 28 April 2010

Hogen Fuda and the Welsh Not

On the surface, Wales may not have much in common with Okinawa, the tropical islands that drip from the far southwest of Japan, except a common love of singing, music and drinking. There is something else though...
In the mid-19th century many Welsh schools used the Welsh Not as a way to discourage the Welsh language. It was basically a large wooden tag with the letters “W.N.” carved into it.



Every day it would be hung around the neck of any child caught speaking Welsh instead of English. The child could only get rid of it by catching another child speaking Welsh and passing it on. Whoever was stuck with the Welsh Not at the end of the day was punished.

Seems you can’t keep a “good idea” down as the same system was used by the Japanese shortly after they annexed the former Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879 to try and eradicate the native Okinawan language, Ryukyuan
In schools throughout what was now Okinawa, any child caught using the indigenous language was forced to wear a large wooden tag around their neck, this time called a hogen-fuda.

Once again, the tag would be passed from child to child, to anyone caught not speaking Japanese. Children were taught to report their friends who went against the authorities just to get rid of the tag and avoid punishment.

Worse was to come in Okinawa of course, but despite the initial negative impact on the language, the one lasting impact in both countries has been a heightened passion to preserve the culture.

Sunday 25 April 2010

Friday 23 April 2010

Pity

For those solitary moments…
Reminded me of a guy I worked with years ago who had the flu and diarrhoea at the same time… while running out of toilet paper. 

He’d blow his nose, then wipe his arse, blow his nose, wipe his arse, blow his nose, wipe his arse… but then not feeling himself, he’d be in the middle of wiping his arse and have to blow his nose.

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Upskirt Box Shot

She may not have really needed all that extra lace and ribbon crap…
…but she swore it made her cigarettes taste better.

Monday 19 April 2010

My kinda dog

I like the idea of a no-mess, no-fuss, no-bark, no-howl, no-yap, no-whine, no-wash, no-smell, no-walkies, no-maintenance and zero-demand pet. Just the same dumb, lovable smile, all-day, every-day.


It may not be for everybody, and admittedly you don't get much back (if that's what you were looking for when you gave in the first place) but it's just nice to see some options.




Think I'll watch The Stepford Wives again...

Saturday 17 April 2010

Hokusai 2010

Animated sequence based on Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa shown on an updated version of a 6-fold screen.

Thursday 15 April 2010

Shonan

Here are a few pics from a great daily photo site of beachlife in Shonan, South of Tokyo by Saka Ichirou
If and when I finally get off the "real job" treadmill I want to be doing something like this. Great stuff.
Browse the site, you'll find loads more.
\

Saturday 10 April 2010

Cumulonimbus Continuous

Finally finished the frame for this excellently-titled print of a painting by Jenny Butt that arrived a few weeks ago, drekly from Cornwall, now proudly decorating the walls of Club 51. Thanks Jenny!

I ordered the print before pricing up the frame and once again realised I’m in the wrong business when the framing shop wanted to charge me four times what I paid for the print!

Sod that! Managed to knock one up with some timber from the local B&Q/Mitre10/Home Depot, some sticky-back plastic and a pair of Val's own knickers at a tenth of what the pros wanted to charge... and had fun doing it.  

Check out the rest of Jenny's stuff here
Flooded Surface and Ocean Edge are other ones I had my eye on.

Fender

Never been able to play guitar, but some things are universal.
From an old series of Bob Perine Fender ads. 

Friday 9 April 2010

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Balafon


Back on the bike last weekend for the first time since the big crash of June'09... and no broken bones this time. Went down to the river and came across this guy playing a Balafon some sort of wooden xylophone from Ghana.

A mate of his brought it back for him - nice bit of gourd action.

Channeling Patrick Moore.

His kid didn't look too impressed though… 




Saturday 3 April 2010

Onbashira

I first saw the Onbashira festival about 25 years ago on one of those "Crazy World of TV" shows. It happens once every six years near Suwa in Nagano and I managed to get up there in 2004. It's on again this weekend but sadly I can't make it so here's some pics from last time.

The festival is based around replacing the four holy pillars at the Suwa Grand Shrine. The wood for the pillars comes from a divine forest several miles away the other side of town so every six years they choose the best trees, tie huge ropes to them and drag them to the shrine where they'll stand for six years before being replaced again. The catch is that on the way to the shrine there's a very steep hill, so with great ceremony the chosen few get to ride them down. A real badge of honour for those who get to do it.

Some low quality screenshots from my home video of some slightly crazy, pretty brave and very proud men...
       

        

        










Maybe not a big surprise that people have been seriously injured and even killed during this festival but in 2004 everything went smoothly. The log-riding is in April, then in May they have the second stage where they cross a freezing river before finally erecting them at the shrine.

As a bonus, I got to meet the Tokyo Shock Boys (Dengeki Network) who were there making a program for National Geographic Channel. I asked Nambu-san, the one with the shaved head and pink tufts, if they were going to ride and they just shook their heads saying it was too dangerous. If it's too dangerous for these boys, then hats off to the guys who pull it off.