Tag Archives: film

Libraries / Museums / Archives

The Taisho Era: When modernity ruled Japan’s masses via The Japan Times

Link 1 Comment

Note: Fascinated with era of Japan (forgotten in between the epic Meiji Restoration and industrialization and the militaristic/imperial period leading up to the Asian/Pacific etc. war / working on finding more books and films exploring this “forgotten” time (started with Naomi by Tanazaki)

The Taisho Era: When modernity ruled Japan’s masses via The Japan Times, July 29, 2012, by Michael Hoffman

One hundred years ago this week — on July 30, 1912 — Emperor Meiji passed away and Japan, traveling blind and hardly knowing where it was going, entered a new age.

The Taisho Era (1912-26), sandwiched between the boldly modernizing Meiji Era (1867-1912) and the militarist tide of early Showa (1926-1989), deserves more recognition than it gets.

Taisho is Japan’s Jazz Age. Can it be summed up in a phrase? It often is: ero-guro-nansensu — eroticism, grotesquerie, nonsense.

All three filled the air. Was Taisho, then, mere frivolity? To cite only the plainest evidence to the contrary: World War I; the 1918 Rice Riots; “Taisho Democracy;” the founding in 1922 of the Japan Communist Party; the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923; the granting of universal manhood suffrage in 1925; and the repressive Peace Preservation Law passed barely two months later.

Source: The Taisho Era: When modernity ruled Japan’s masses | The Japan Times (may be paywalled)

Social + Culture

Poster: “Go With The Flow” – doc film about Olympia WA, 2002

Image 1 Comment

Poster: “Go With The Flow” – doc film about Olympia WA, 2002

In 2002, I participated in a documentary film called “Go with the Flow” about the capitol city of Olympia… at the time, Time Magazine called Olympia “the hippest city in the west” or something (note: I have the Olympian newspaper article about that magazine article somewhere…)

Excerpt clip:

Anyhow, the full blurb is below but in brief: I was interviewed in reaction to the recent High Times magazine article calling Evergreen State College the top cannabis culture in the USA which provoked much consternation from both the suits and the heads. Lots of other neat Oly folks in there including: Slim Moon (Kill Rock Stars records), Calvin Johnson (K Records), Evergreen Grad ceremony and contrasts of Procession of the Species and Lake Fair parades.

Regardless, the film is amusing and I was in attendance at the premiere at Capitol Theater (the poster above is promoting this screening), and along with this rather battered poster, even have a DVD around here somewhere…

Blurb:

Go with the Flow is the story of Olympia, Washington, a place in the Pacific Northwest so vibrant and unique, Time Magazine once called it “The hippest city in the West.” Nestled on the southernmost tip of Puget Sound, Olympia’s scenic beauty is surpassed only by its intriguing history and eclectic subcultures.

http://pagetfilms.com/portfolio-item/go-with-the-flow/#:~:text=Go%20with%20the%20Flow%20is,intriguing%20history%20and%20eclectic%20subcultures.

  • DISTRIBUTOR: Pacific Communications
  • PRODUCER: Jim Jenner
  • DIRECTOR: John Paget
  • FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: 85 minutes
  • DATE: 2002
  • ON DVD: Buy Here (or Amazon?)

Note: Oh and it seems that film has a FB Page is now available on Vimeo if you’re so inclined (requires login and purchase or password, (i dunno). #GOFLOW

HempenRoad

HempenRoad / promo postcard, 1996-7

Image

HempenRoad: promo postcard, 1996

A promotional postcard for the HempenRoad film project Made while we were still in production, printed on 100% hemp cardstock paper (from Ecosource in Victoria ,BC) and mailed all over to wrangle up support and excitement about the project.

HempenRoad: promo postcard, 1996

Note: the toll-free 888-UNC-WEED phone number and the Olywa.net/Uncleweed web address (before there was a domain).

The card itself was laid out from various mixed-media elements (including Eiji (rip) and I snapped by Ben Livingston i think) using an early version of Photoshop on a pirate mission at a Kinko’s (prob with Pete Word).

There is another glorious postcard and duplex paper made after the film was released which eventually (hopefully) will turn up (and possibly a higher-res scan of this one).

Also: recently resurrected the film as ” chapters” + made an IMDb page and surfacing artefacts as I find them… including poster art and other items – and there are production journals for your perusal to meet pioneers and unique products.

Personal Musings

Mementos: SW Road Trip with Grandpa, 3 B&W views (Arizona, New Mexico)

1 Comment

Mementos: SW Road Trip with Grandpa / saguaro and mission somewhere in New Mexico

Sometime in early 1988 (I think), (update: 1989) living in Orem Utah, recently dropped out of high school and floating along with classes at the community college, recovering from an epic car crash, my Grandpa rolled up in his old Chevy citation and suggested a road trip. Original thoughts for a few days but extended into much longer as we drifted  down into Mexico.

With his “golden eagles” (or something to that effect), National Park pass, and affinity for small highways and no agendas plus his usual travelling style which included switching off driving responsibilities every two hours regardless of situation, choosing  quirky / classic motels and diners on the fly, flirting with waitresses and continuous cigarette smoking and diary-keeping within the car, it was a most excellent journey.

I was studying photography at the time and took a heavy Japanese-made but Swiss-branded “Alpa” 35mm camera and black-and-white film, and a tripod and set up various shots along the way.

As usual, more evidence exists (including self-timer’d shots – often nekkid) and a photo essay of Petrified Forest) including a small spiral notebook chronicling where we stayed, various mileage and other ephemeral information about fuel efficiency, parks visited and what not, but for now, here are three of my favourite shots from the journey which I developed and processed myself in the dark room at the old ” Utah Technical College” Provo campus dark room.

The locations are unclear at this point but along the way, we visited every State / National Park/ Monuments anywhere near us, plus Tombstone Arizona, Four Corners, various places in Baja and mainland Mexico (in which I crossed the border with nothing but my old expired high school ID card or something… It’s all a bit hazy) I also recall buying a comically huge terra-cotta pot and huge woven basket in Mexico which was really a poor decision as we were taking turns resting in the back of the vehicle and well, space was at a premium.

Mementos: SW Road Trip with Grandpa / saguaro and other cacti in (iirc) Saguaro National Park/Monument, AZ

Note: I wrote a story about a bit of the trip and specifically one morning on a First Nations “reserve” with a few observations while waiting for something to open (note to self: post that up sometime) and read some of it in a Postcard from Gravelly Beach podcast too as well as a tribute to him in another.

Mementos: SW Road Trip with Grandpa / Gramps and I in the cacti. rip Robert Louis Stevenson #bigfish

Libraries / Museums / Archives

“These Are the 66 Best Documentaries of All Time” via Vogue

Link

These Are the 78 Best Documentaries of All Time, October 6, 2021 via Vogue Magazine

What makes a documentary “important”? What makes it worth referencing, or remembering, or even watching in the first place? Why, in this time of seemingly perpetual sociopolitical strife, would we veer away from the vaunted, glorious escapism of big feature films and go see something small and rooted in the real, instead?

Documentaries can be a hard sell, but it’s one that’s getting easier all the time. Once viewed as something stiff and obligatory, documentary film has, in recent years, risen to the top of the heap—thanks in no small part to some of the earth-shaking, needle-pushing, and ultimately world-changing films that are listed here, which find their focus in war, love, sex, death, and everything in between. And as for this list—its only qualifier is that these are the critically acclaimed, historically important, and pivotal films that a person who cares about film (and in doing so, often cares about humanity, in general) should really get to know.

Source: These Are the 66 Best Documentaries of All Time | Vogue

Libraries / Museums / Archives

東京物語, Tōkyō Monogatari – Tokyo Story (1953) Yasujirô Ozu (via YouTube)

2h 16min | Drama | 3 November 1953 (Japan)

An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city; but the children have little time for them.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Writers: Kôgo Noda (scenario), Yasujirô Ozu (scenario)

Stars: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura

See full cast & crew » https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046438/

HempenRoad

HempenRoad / chapter 6: Olympic Peninsula / Port Townsend (bonus)

Video

This segment of Hempen Road documentary is a bit different so calling a “bonus” clip… rather than interviews with hemp cannabis pioneers, activists, entrepreneurs etc, this one features my rather poetic (according to HempWorld magazine’s review) soliloquies about broken promises to land, societies and neglect of culture along with Eiji’s stellar mixed-media cinematography and montage editing as we worked our way up and around the glorious Olympic peninsula with a stop to gaze at the albatross of Satsop nuclear chimneys, struggling and damaged reservation land.

Then comes a stop in scenic and absurdly charming Victorian-era port town appropriately called Port Townsend (as this was as far as sailing ships could make it before steam power came along and made the the place irrelevant for decades – now its bustling, then was perfect…) for a look around.

Note: we filmed a segment with PT Hemp Co (you’ll notice their 2nd floor store in the clip) but wasn’t able to use and now the footage is “lost” in a shoebox somewhere due to Eiji’s untimely demise.

Then, head off towards Vancouver via various ferries for the “big finish” of the filming and film with 16mm B&W footage of seagulls winging through the air. Sigh.

Another note: music in this clip are both faves as well. The spacey “Ry Cooder-esque” one is “Desert in my Toenails” (or something like that) by Chris Sullivan who i knew in Utah, he was from Kentucky, played all sorts of instruments, left our band to catch crabs in Alaska and still rambles with various bands and places. The outro song is Chris Jacobsen who i knew in Guam, a Rhode Islander boat cap’n with a zany sense of humour but an air of melancholy around him. I’ve tried to track him down to no avail. Notably, both of these were captured from cassette tapes, recorded on 4 tracks (still have the originals i think). 

+++

Artifacts, Background, Technical notes at:

* Daveostory – https://daveostory.com/category/film-vids-docs/hempenroad-documentary/

* IMdb – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9839016/

View full-length documentary at:

+++

  • Filmed 1996
  • Released 1997
  • Digitized 2007
  • Chapter Edit 2020

thanks for Pete Word and Bread Rees for various archiving assists

+++

Additional chapters include:

  • Victoria, BC, Canada
  • Olympia, WA, USA
  • Eugene, OR, USA
  • Portland, OR, USA
  • Seattle, WA, USA
  • Vancouver, BC, Canada

with entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, farmers, pioneers etc.

+++

With Special Dedication To:

  • Misa and Naoyo
  • Robert Lunday (rip)
  • Eiji Masuda (rip)

Fondly, daveo / Okayama, Japan, April 2020

HempenRoad

HempenRoad / chapter 5: Seattle (1996/7)

Video

Hemp cannabis pioneer entrepreneurs in Seattle, Washington, USA are featured in this chapter of 1996/7 documentary film in which host/producer Dave Olson (hello) visits with interesting characters including:

  • David Edwards, Earthgoods
  • S. David Stunda, Earthgoods
  • Rob Jungman, Manastash
  • Khamphy S., Panther Manufacturing 
  • Tom Cluck, Belltown Hempery
  • Jill Etherington, Belltown Hempery
  • Kristina Lynch, Belltown Hempery
  • Fred Martin, Belltown Hempery

along with scenes of a snowboard “big air” contest and Seattle landmarks including the now-demolished Kingdome, Pike Street Market, Showbox theatre, Lusty Lady and Hammering Man.

+++

Artifacts, Background, Technical notes at:

* Daveostory – https://daveostory.com/category/film-vids-docs/hempenroad-documentary/

* IMdb – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9839016/

View full-length documentary at:

  • Youtube – https://youtu.be/-zph6xDAc-g
  • Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/122077349
  • Reelhouse – https://www.reelhouse.org/uncleweed/hempenroad/

+++

  • Filmed 1996
  • Released 1997
  • Digitized 2007
  • Chapter Edit 2020

thanks for Pete Word and Bread Rees for various archiving assists

+++

Additional chapters include:

  • Victoria, BC, Canada
  • Olympia, WA, USA
  • Eugene, OR, USA
  • Portland, OR, USA
  • Olympic Peninsula, WA, USA
  • Vancouver, BC, Canada

with entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, farmers, pioneers etc.

+++

With Special Dedication To:

  • Ralph Seeley, esq (rip)
  • Robert Lunday (rip)
  • Eiji Masuda (rip)

Fondly, daveo / Okayama, Japan, March 2020

HempenRoad

HempenRoad / chapter 4: Olympia (1996/7)

Video

Hempen Road / chapter 4: Olympia (1996/7)

Hemp cannabis pioneers and activist in Olympia, WA, USA (ala OlyWa) are featured in this chapter of 1996/7 documentary film in which host/producer Dave Olson (hello) visits with interesting characters including:

  • Bob Owen, Wa Hemp Education Network (and Lt. Governor candidate)
  • Dennis Peron, Prop 215 (California) activist etc
  • OlyWa.net: Chas Lance Tomala, Jay Unabonger Stewart, Scott(y) Orr
  • And many Washington State activists in action

Continue reading HempenRoad / chapter 4: Olympia (1996/7) →

HempenRoad

HempenRoad / chapter 3: Portland (1996/7)

Video

Hempen Road / chapter 3: Portland (1996/7)

Hemp cannabis pioneer entrepreneurs in Victoria, Canada are featured in this chapter of 1996/7 documentary film in which host/producer Dave Olson (hello) visits with interesting characters including:

  • D. Paul Stanford, CRRH etc
  • Cheryl Kolander, Aurora Dye Works

Continue reading HempenRoad / chapter 3: Portland (1996/7) →