This is one of those weird nights again. Passed out from exhaustion in the couch potato chair and drifted in and out of sleep while watching the usual "comedy-variety" shows on Japanese TV, which all consist of a bunch of untalented folks called "talento" in Katakana, all sitting around and hitting each other over the head while saying "What are you saying?" Then, they all laugh and do it all over again.
So, I drag myself into bed and POOF, I'm wide awake. SIGH.
Yeah, I'm gonna write about the weather (how mundane can one get?). It is very changeable here. We had a warm sunny day which turned into a chilly, slightly rainy night. The next couple of days will be those grey, STAY-IN-BED type days. However, there will be no time to do that.
I helped some of the students make a short movie today. Got to rollerskate for no particular reason, and drive my car backwards for about 1/4 of a kilometer. Perhaps, when the movie is done, I can post a link here. Not getting fancy with the blog yet, but I suppose it will eventually. OK, enough said for the day. HUNH!
5.23.2001
It has been a harrowing week. There has been a lot to do, and a lot going on.
Here in Japan, they do a sporting event called UN-DO-KAI (all vowel pronounced as short versions, so U as in spOOn, O as in grOAn, AI as in whY). I had to purchase two sets of training jerseys with matching shorts and long pants, so that she can practice this week. She is in first grade. All the other kids' parents had to do the same. It's an interesting way to keep the economy stimulated, though it obviously hasn't been working well for some time.
Sunday, my day to sleep in, I have to wake up EARLIER than is usual for a weekday to go to the event. We'll spend a half day there as all the kids run and dance and jump and do all that play type stuff.
I finally came up with the soundtrack to my next mini-movie. I'll be composing some music to go along with the images. Here in Hakodate, there are remenants of old fireproof storage houses around the older part of the city. They are of fascinating structure, and in various stages of decay, renewal and disrepair. It will be a mixture of a montage of these images, interspeced with my vocals, and some spoken narration bordering on poetry to boot. Should be fun to make a straight movie without interactivity. That's coming up next, actually.
More when my feet unfreeze. This northern climate is a KILLER!
Here in Japan, they do a sporting event called UN-DO-KAI (all vowel pronounced as short versions, so U as in spOOn, O as in grOAn, AI as in whY). I had to purchase two sets of training jerseys with matching shorts and long pants, so that she can practice this week. She is in first grade. All the other kids' parents had to do the same. It's an interesting way to keep the economy stimulated, though it obviously hasn't been working well for some time.
Sunday, my day to sleep in, I have to wake up EARLIER than is usual for a weekday to go to the event. We'll spend a half day there as all the kids run and dance and jump and do all that play type stuff.
I finally came up with the soundtrack to my next mini-movie. I'll be composing some music to go along with the images. Here in Hakodate, there are remenants of old fireproof storage houses around the older part of the city. They are of fascinating structure, and in various stages of decay, renewal and disrepair. It will be a mixture of a montage of these images, interspeced with my vocals, and some spoken narration bordering on poetry to boot. Should be fun to make a straight movie without interactivity. That's coming up next, actually.
More when my feet unfreeze. This northern climate is a KILLER!
5.18.2001
Just spent a few hours working up a "GESTALT" for your communications group at FUN. I love the creative experience it entailed. Wish we had more chance to do that, but dealing with a LOT of bureaucracy more than anything else.
Anyway, my Gestalt was the word YES, which I chose from the John meets Yoko archive of interesting ideas. John Lennon went to an art exhibit by Yoko. Apparently, there was a white room with a ladder in the middle. At the top of the ladder, there was a magnifying glass attached to the ceiling. John climbed the ladder and looked through the magnifying glass at what looked like a speck of dirt. However, it wasn't a speck of dirt, it was a very tiny word written. With the magnifying glass, John read the word YES. He thought it was one of the most positive experiences he had ever had.
So, experiences and YES are what led me to the Gestalt.
Anyway, my Gestalt was the word YES, which I chose from the John meets Yoko archive of interesting ideas. John Lennon went to an art exhibit by Yoko. Apparently, there was a white room with a ladder in the middle. At the top of the ladder, there was a magnifying glass attached to the ceiling. John climbed the ladder and looked through the magnifying glass at what looked like a speck of dirt. However, it wasn't a speck of dirt, it was a very tiny word written. With the magnifying glass, John read the word YES. He thought it was one of the most positive experiences he had ever had.
So, experiences and YES are what led me to the Gestalt.
5.16.2001
Busy busy... Yeah, right.
Blogger had a story about a 19-year old who died of Leukemia recently. Very sad, but not sad, as the girl obviously chose to celebrate her life, not fear her death. Nice repositioning!
I'll be having two folks moving in with me shortly. My mother-in-law, coming up from Kyushu and a Canadian Woman named Cara, who is just finishing her two years here in Japan. Suddenly the house will be full, which is actually a nice thing. We humans are social animals, and even little Ayaka and I can't just be together by ourselves all the time. Ayaka's friends come over, but not enough, because they live kind of far away.
OK, well, this is mundane stuff. I just wanted to have SOMETHING written here, but back to doing a whole bunch of stuff. I'll write about my very first out of body teaching experience when I get the chance.
Blogger had a story about a 19-year old who died of Leukemia recently. Very sad, but not sad, as the girl obviously chose to celebrate her life, not fear her death. Nice repositioning!
I'll be having two folks moving in with me shortly. My mother-in-law, coming up from Kyushu and a Canadian Woman named Cara, who is just finishing her two years here in Japan. Suddenly the house will be full, which is actually a nice thing. We humans are social animals, and even little Ayaka and I can't just be together by ourselves all the time. Ayaka's friends come over, but not enough, because they live kind of far away.
OK, well, this is mundane stuff. I just wanted to have SOMETHING written here, but back to doing a whole bunch of stuff. I'll write about my very first out of body teaching experience when I get the chance.
5.15.2001
To observe the passing of Douglas Adams, my G3, circa 1997 also passed on yesterday. Despite repeated attempts at resusitation, I have concluded that something in the hardware must be fried. Of course, I had severe computer withdrawl symptoms last night, where even at one point, I said out loud to myself "What am I supposed to *DO* tonight?? Man, oh man! I have GOT to get a life. Aside from that, I find myself chatting with a lot of people from the past right now through various internet technologies...so there must be something to all of it.
As I went to bed earlier than usual, from having no computer to play with until 2 or 3 in the morning, I woke up earlier than usual, at about 5AM. This was interesting, because I could easily doze off, have a quick dream, then wake up and fully remember the dream.
So, the dream I had was that I took one of those flat low carts with wheels for moving big boxes, and I got on it and used it like one of those new scooter thingies. There I was, scooting down some long corridor in some building, sorry, no details here because I don't remember, when I came upon a group of four boys who were standing abreast each other so that they were blocking the path way through the hall into a more upcoming open space. As I pulled up behind them, and feeling a bit peeved that they would get in my way like that, I started to say something, when one of the boys moved out of the way to let me through. The boys were staring at some sight straight ahead and as I passed them, I, too looked at what they were looking at: for isn't that the natural propensity of everyone?
Beyond them was a lobby of sorts, so perhaps I was in some hotel or convention center. The boys were looking at one of those long, graceful arched staircases. The kind used in the Titanic, or any luxury hotel where people want to make a grand entrance from the second floor to the first would go. Thing was, the staircase, and the entire surrounding area, including the space up on the second floor where the staircase was arching to, were absolutely cluttered with people. I don't remember what the people looked like, but everyone in the scene was standing there stone still and stunned. The other thing is: they were all holding a copy of the same photograph and looking at the photo, then glancing off where I couldn't see, like the photograph was of the scene they were looking at. There were a lot of surprised and shocked faces bobbing back and forth between photo and off where I couldn't see...and then I woke up, back into the netherworld of not-yet-awakeness.
Perhaps I'll make sense of it one day? Ya think?
As I went to bed earlier than usual, from having no computer to play with until 2 or 3 in the morning, I woke up earlier than usual, at about 5AM. This was interesting, because I could easily doze off, have a quick dream, then wake up and fully remember the dream.
So, the dream I had was that I took one of those flat low carts with wheels for moving big boxes, and I got on it and used it like one of those new scooter thingies. There I was, scooting down some long corridor in some building, sorry, no details here because I don't remember, when I came upon a group of four boys who were standing abreast each other so that they were blocking the path way through the hall into a more upcoming open space. As I pulled up behind them, and feeling a bit peeved that they would get in my way like that, I started to say something, when one of the boys moved out of the way to let me through. The boys were staring at some sight straight ahead and as I passed them, I, too looked at what they were looking at: for isn't that the natural propensity of everyone?
Beyond them was a lobby of sorts, so perhaps I was in some hotel or convention center. The boys were looking at one of those long, graceful arched staircases. The kind used in the Titanic, or any luxury hotel where people want to make a grand entrance from the second floor to the first would go. Thing was, the staircase, and the entire surrounding area, including the space up on the second floor where the staircase was arching to, were absolutely cluttered with people. I don't remember what the people looked like, but everyone in the scene was standing there stone still and stunned. The other thing is: they were all holding a copy of the same photograph and looking at the photo, then glancing off where I couldn't see, like the photograph was of the scene they were looking at. There were a lot of surprised and shocked faces bobbing back and forth between photo and off where I couldn't see...and then I woke up, back into the netherworld of not-yet-awakeness.
Perhaps I'll make sense of it one day? Ya think?
5.14.2001
Oh, the blog worked! Hip hip!
So now, being of the acadmic variety (and well trained as a creative writer), I've been scrambling to put together a proposal to start my own full-blown MOO. We should all have these personal worlds, which I see as the new form of literary release.
The theme is of course the GHOTI Bowl (c'mon GHOTI is pronounced "FISH"), the place where all can see me and there is no place to hide. It's a bit stressful, but exciting, too.
More later. Just glad to see that the GHOTI Bowl blog is working!
So now, being of the acadmic variety (and well trained as a creative writer), I've been scrambling to put together a proposal to start my own full-blown MOO. We should all have these personal worlds, which I see as the new form of literary release.
The theme is of course the GHOTI Bowl (c'mon GHOTI is pronounced "FISH"), the place where all can see me and there is no place to hide. It's a bit stressful, but exciting, too.
More later. Just glad to see that the GHOTI Bowl blog is working!
5.13.2001
Hello? Hello? Is this microphone on? Now I know how Lenny Bruce felt.
Why the GHOTI Bowl? Well, check with George Bernard Shaw, unless he is still dead...but basically because I've been trying to figure out the dream I had sometime in early November, 1995 in which I declared to myself "CULTURE IS A GHOTI". It started my first website theme (lying idle at www.webcom.com/lbdavies).
It has something to do with a cause/effect relationship of personal identity. Confused? Me, too. Stay tuned and I'll paste in lots of old stuff, too.
Comments? Can you post them here? I haven't a clue. Ignorance is bliss, right? RIGHT?
I've now been trying to publish this for the last 24 hours with no luck. This is what I mean by pain-in-the-ass technology. Four simple steps, yet I keep getting error messages. SIGH.
Still no luck getting this published. Error codes and more error codes. One day, the world will see this, though. Meanwhile, I'll just quietly stress out in front of my keyboard and wonder why I'm not the center of the universe.
Why the GHOTI Bowl? Well, check with George Bernard Shaw, unless he is still dead...but basically because I've been trying to figure out the dream I had sometime in early November, 1995 in which I declared to myself "CULTURE IS A GHOTI". It started my first website theme (lying idle at www.webcom.com/lbdavies).
It has something to do with a cause/effect relationship of personal identity. Confused? Me, too. Stay tuned and I'll paste in lots of old stuff, too.
Comments? Can you post them here? I haven't a clue. Ignorance is bliss, right? RIGHT?
I've now been trying to publish this for the last 24 hours with no luck. This is what I mean by pain-in-the-ass technology. Four simple steps, yet I keep getting error messages. SIGH.
Still no luck getting this published. Error codes and more error codes. One day, the world will see this, though. Meanwhile, I'll just quietly stress out in front of my keyboard and wonder why I'm not the center of the universe.
