-
Adventure Hiking
A view from the heights above Kozuka According to Open Street Map, up behind the Hackerfarm, past the Kamado no Hi bakery and the site of the Kozuka Art Festival, and there’s a hiking trail. Google Maps doesn’t show it. Akiba said there was nothing but his friend’s house at the end of that road.…
-
Unexpected body work
Yesterday in Yoyogi Park I was hula hooping while waiting for a friend when an older man holding some attractive red tasselled ropes walked over to watch. He looked interested, so I stopped and offered him a hoop, “Wanna try?” He shook his head and pointed at his back. “Oh, but it can be…
-
Hisashiburi, Kimie!
Me, Kimie Yanagi, and Hanako Murakami. A few summers ago, or maybe more than a few, I was part of Hanako Murakami’s exhibition at the Echigo Tsumari Trienniale in Niigata. It was a great summer of making art and helping out with the festival in the tiny village of Matsudai. One of the residents, Kimie…
-
In Front of the Camera
Me & Tod “on set” in our living room For a change, I am in front of the camera in character and in costume. I have a small part in a film project being done by Jesse & Will at Ice Block Films. Their shooting schedule spans a full year and mine are the first…
-
Ringing in the New Year
At midnight, we joined the parade of neighbours and worshippers at Denzuin temple and payed our respects. It is a beautiful temple, very rich and recently renovated. Outside there were festival booths selling warm foods and drink. One sold a lucky opportunities to ring the giant bell. The bell started ringing at midnight, pulled 108…
-
Weekend in Manazuru
Tod, Rob & I took an impromptu trip to Manazuru, a rocky little cape in Kanagawa, this weekend. We hiked, relaxed, ate a lot of fish, took a lot of pictures, dipped in the ocean, hooped on the pier, played music in the forest, chased butterflies, climbed thousands of stairs, and wandered along mysterious paths…
-
A Social Weirdo
The other day, I was talking to Tod about how seeing people’s summer festival photos on Facebook makes me sad. There are a lot of interesting little festivals in Japan – creative events combining music, camping, and flow arts. I rarely go to them, even though they seem interesting and many people I know go.…
-
Building a Geiger Counter
Meet bGeigie #2209. We built her yesterday. Tod soldered 179 points. I did the non-soldering bits. The build took us most of the day, but it wasn’t too hard. I think some of the time was taken up awe, making comments like “Wow, we’re adding the smallest disk drive ever” and “This tiny thing is a…
-
Me, the Sea, and the Sunrise
One of the quiet delights of camping on Niijima is a morning walk to the beach. This year, I saw several sunrises emerging blood red from the ocean. For some of them I was busy hooping while Rob filmed me for our video project. Sunrise. I am sitting atop a 4 meter high koga stone…
-
Niijima before camp
You know I love Niijima, don’t you? We have been there so many times to enjoy living a slow life in nature. I’ve lost count. 10? 12? There is something magical about the island that brings us back again and again. Guru-guru Camp, our annual 2 week camping/hooping trip, is coming up again during Golden Week…
Archives