I know when I take my hippo for a walk I entice it along with chocolate. My buddy Canadian Mike does a great line in posts about Kooky Japan- it’s fun, people like to read about it, and it drives traffic (come ye millions with your ad-traffic!), so I figured I’d give it a shot.
Mike Beddall’s painting of Killin Jack
My buddy Canadian Mike painted this awesome scene from the beginning of Killin Jack!
Taro Okamoto’s Museum
A few weeks back I went to the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art.
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Mike buys a bike!
Last weekend I finally bought, after months and months of deliberation, a new bike. Part of the problem was having a similar bike back in the UK- but the cost of shipping it was prohibitive. A tricky situation, since I have a hard time spending money. Why is that? Is it the Puritan ethic I was raised with? Is it me trying to save the world by minimizing my carbon footprint? Is it that I don’t want to consume any goods as that encourages little kids in Asia to work in sweat shops? Who knows. Anyway- here it is: She’s …
Caterpillar Man
I fell in the hole on a Tuesday. The hole is a hole in the road. It’s not such a busy road, sure. Maybe 50 people walk by a day. I fell in by accident and now I can’t get out. The sides are steep, and there’s nothing down here for me to eat but this damn banana tree and rat bones. There’s a lot of dry and dessicated rats down here. It doesn’t make any sense to me. But, I have to eat, so I crack the bones and slurp down the dry marrow. It’s like molasses, but not …
Flatland @ Reflection’s Edge!
Flatland goes to Reflection’s Edge!
Caterpillar Man goes to Nautilus!
Sagasu’s Life @ Reflection’s Edge!
Sagasu goes live at Reflection’s Edge!
Hole-digging, Shimoda Beach
I’ve always loved to dig holes. My earliest holing memory is in the back-yard with Joe as young kids, and us keen to dig a hole down to Australia, with what must’ve been toy plastic shovels. Some adult was egging us on, perhaps my Dad, and though even at the time I knew it was impossible, I still felt a certain excitement at the thought it was ‘possible’. My Dad loves making sandcastles. I remember us on beach holidays, collecting shells to use as soldiers, arming the battlements as the sea rushed in, cheering the soldiers on like the musicians …
Shimbashi Ice-Walkers
I saw something cool while passing through Shimbashi station last week on my way to work. Two suited older foreigners, a guy and a woman, were unloading big blocks of ice from white polystyrene crates outside the JR exit, then tying them up with string. I figured it was some kind of art thing, and I like art, and had time before my next class, so decided to join the small crowd of onlookers and see what would happen next. After they got done tying, the woman and some J-helpers gathered around to help the guy hoist his ice onto …
Japanese Manga
I started reading some Japanese manga recently. Here’s a photo of the ones I’ve read so far: Here’s a rough breakdown of their content: Crows- A blonde kid with super fighting powers turns up at the Crows school and starts kicking everybody’s asses because they get in his way. One-Piece- A kid with special powers (GUM-U GUM-U Mr. Fantastic-style stretchy body, allowing for GUM-U GUM-U rocket punch and etc..) wants to become the Pirate King, and kicks everyone’s asses because they get in his way. Naruto- A ninja kid with special powers (he’s got strong magic maybe) acts like an …