Artifact: Radio (somewhere in Phitsanulok, Thailand)
Diary: Opera Day with Kimono and Seijinshiki + Piano Recital
Heading to opera today / Ryoko is purple kimono with silver obi & orange sandals. Stunnnning. Also complicated (it ain’t just “putting on a robe” – its a whole process choosing the right one for the occasion and then whoa putting it all on is an art (which is kinda the point).
Anyhow, furthermore, today is national holiday to celebrate and welcome crop of 20 years olds to adulthood with all sorts of dress-up ceremonies & events. [Read about Seijinshiki}
Should be real colourful in the city / we’re riding bus, i’m having a warm bevvie.
Note: to be clear, this wasn’t a full opera production but rather a variety of songs by a troupe (is that the right word?) or a company of singers doing various ensembles, bits, songs, snippets from opera. I have the program and would share notes but hey… it’d just be a tease right.
Let’s meet some of the singers:
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Tied your dhoti improperly – Items: Forgotten in Drawers (vol. 6, Circumnavigation)
Diary: New Year’s Bar-b-q at Kobayashi’s Rural Caprine Farm
On January 3rd, to continue celebrating the new year, we organized the parents, uncle/aunt and cousins to head over to Mac Kobayashi’s Rural Caprine Farm for some leisurely bar-b-q fun.
I gave farm tours to check on the big pigs and tiny horse and the old cow barns, feed storage areas, piles of dirt, old van, possible campgrounds and whatnot.
Anyhow, was very pleasant and i love eating Mac’s food but even more, hanging out with him and his ridiculous music collection.
Continue reading Diary: New Year’s Bar-b-q at Kobayashi’s Rural Caprine Farm
Diary: New Year’s Holiday “Kojo Piano Club” Friends Music Party
Note: In the day’s between / around New Year’s – there are plenty of activities… today’s activities include hanged up the New Year’s decoration, drinking all the coffee to try to wake up & thwart headache, then going to an afternoon friends party/talent show where we will be singing a duet with Ryoko on piano.
Our selection is a modified (taking out the sort of dodgy creepy lyrics) version of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” with an arrangement vaguely based on this lovely scene in TV programme “The Crown” season 1.
Do not expect video documentation of our performance though we diligently practiced and made a special vocal arrangement with some trade offs and whatnot.
However, I will present some insta-photos as evidence and to provide a bit of flavour of the 5th annual Kojo Piano Club (there was even a theme song) party / event in which all the friends (many of whom, perform or learn together) perform music in various ensembles, plus usual eating, drinking and frivolity.
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Artifact: “Sticker Walls” etc (various dives), vol. 1
Here and there i see “sticker walls” in various bars, toilet rooms of bars, taverns, dives of all sorts, or sometimes coffee shops – maybe – but mostly bars and toiletrooms of bars. So i take photos sometimes, especially since a pal in Squamish mentioned his affinity towards same and another pal from Whalley sometimes shares photos of crappy bar toilets and ask “where’s the sh!tter?”
So anyhow, here are some photos with minor annotations if recalled – no accuracy intended or implied. There are others, we’ll start with these and call the assortment which appears, Vol. 1 of a possible series. Also, these make the best and worst computer screen “wallpapers” too. Tip: Give a try.
Continue reading Artifact: “Sticker Walls” etc (various dives), vol. 1
Artifacts: License Plate Wall in Pe ELL, WA (partial view)
Anecdotally I’ve heard that technically you can’t publish/post/publicize photos of license plates (number plates in some areas) however i’ll assume this edict (if it exists at all) does not apply when a license plate is decommissioned and as such, simply becomes a decorative artifact, in this case attached to a shed in a small hamlet in Washington State.
You’ll notice Guam, Utah, Washington State, Alaska, Oregon, Hawaii, Colorado and antlers represented. Also a shovel (rusty).
Artifact: Camera, Brownie Target (Whidbey Island, WA, circa 2013)
Artifacts: Vending Machines at Uno Bus terminal in Okayama
Some (not all by any measure) vending machines at bus station (and map board) at Uno bus terminal in Okayama, Japan.
Also not pictured: sumo on TV and cup of hot tea purchased.
Continue reading Artifacts: Vending Machines at Uno Bus terminal in Okayama
Towards the Yangtze (alt) – Items: Forgotten in Drawers (vol. 6, Circumnavigation)
