The usual window, if that’s such a thing, to recap a month well…, I’m a bit late, now several days into December and I’m just saying goodbye to November. Regardless, we carry on, ergo:
on the bus with Mr Boris (Borys) into the stretch of 2022
Basically: Planning on lots of letter writing and parcel sending in December but already seeing calendar *filling up* with dentist, tea ceremony here at cottage + Santa at pre-school, more concerts and events. bit too much for me so reminding myself to super careful with pacing. slowly slow!
Poetry: November held promise for lots of writing time in my barn studio and while I did quite a bit some of this project (see: “Circumnavigation, Let’s make a start” + Shodo mantras & “next steps” + “Space out & look at notebooks”) and made a good start, but stalled out a bit with lots of other “usual life” events – hospital visits, IV injections, orthotic inserts, broken glasses, various colds and a busy month for darling wife’s arborist business.
So, as of *today-ish*, pausing on my poetry book project and digging into my favorite part of holiday/festive times which is writing 100s of cards & assembling packages of treats. Lots of visits to the post office! & will be Santa Claus at the preschool (and hopefully not get sick :-)) + requested/suggested to not have “jingle bells rocking at 11” and instead some Silent Night vibes, turn down the light to bed and a little less excitement. Am I no fun? Prob.
Christmas: We will do a little Christmas get together but this year I’m delegating more of the tasks and keeping simpler than last … And then smooth our way into New Year’s with my in-laws taking the lead / and I will spend a lot of time journaling and scrapbooking, hopefully
Honest thought: Also, I suppose I should admit that the stretch front of the year always gets me a little bit anxious… There’s still a bit of a perfectionist/productivity/list-checker in me. I’m just reminding myself that on balance, got so much done this year, especially under the “life administration” category with pensions, taxes, insurance, passports plus other important theme of the year of stepping up my health plan got a top grade. Most important of course was to be a great husband and Papa – have a hunch I passed.
Highlights for the November included:
Pod: Appearance on Writers Read Their Early Shit podcast with Jason Emde – he’s *from* BC and lives in Japan (like me) and also like me, rambled all over the world on literary hi-jinks, odd adventures and seeking the real. This event/dispatch deserves a proper post of its own, and I’ll get there, but in the mean time I really encourage you to take a listen. (you’ve caught Jason in a Beat Sushi video and other mentions of our postcards correspondence).
Blurb:
Gold & Silver (with hats) in them hills &/or in Kyoto // Consider it a listen as I *would love to hear what you think* of the rapid fire riffs about “early days of creative projects including:
Jason welcomes under-qualified window-washer Dave Olson & his fantastic beard & beautiful hands for a natter about punching or hugging Dostoevsky, see-through loincloths, meeting REM, borrowing mustard from Allen Ginsberg, dodgy Greyhound stations, working out the writing life math, and how cheerleaders are people too. There’s ropey Egyptian history, a savage polemic, the details of hippy teacher Mr Boris’s new motorized home, a few bits & Brother Bobs of Dave’s early poetry & prose, & Jason getting his King Tut timeline wrong by only 3700 years. An unnerving—if not terrifying—time is guaranteed for all. Music by the outrageous DJ Max in Tokyo. Many thanks, wherever & whoever & however you are, for listening.
* King Tut mimeographs at Prince Charles Elementary
* BYU student teacher rants from Orem high school high
* disillusionment with academia at Utah valley community college & University of Utah
* getting lost and found  in the leafy campuses on the road on the East Coast
* oh, forgot to mention the nudist elementary school teacher – and his alleged bus – at Harold Bishop
Guest: Also, our first international tourist guest in over 2 1/2 years, we had two lovely guests but technically we’re here on a business visa and sneak away from their official itinerary, and of course we’ve had a few other domestic quasi-internationals through the house, but hardly enough.
don’t worry, Ichiro was wearing shoes until just a minute before when he attacked a puddle
As it goes, our visitor is a friend of many friends and we hadn’t met before but was clear we had so much in common. He is a real Japanophile with a particular interest in archery, ceramics, traditional houses and country lifestyle. We had a very pleasant wood-stove-top cooked hot pot with many vegetables and mushrooms from our garden as well as some duck meat and many delicious side dishes, pickles, sake.
Mac the goat farmer came to visit for dinner, later we spun some David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and REM records. The next day a visit to the goat farm and then a stop at a ceramics museum. We dropped him off at the little Imbe train station (with a fantastic coffee shop) and stood outside the fence waving to him on the platform as he headed off for his next adventure. He arrived just as the rain and cold started and here we are now, extra blankets on the bed heading into December.
December, Jazz: Since we’re here and into December… yesterday we went to the wonderful “Livehouse Bird” (where we hosted our international wedding welcome party) and (where the Mae Maes often film videos) to see Mae Maes members/alum Mitsuko-san with Yano-sensei (on electric bass) and Kazuko-san (on piano) perform an afternoon show with Christmas songs and a few jazz standards.
our trio, bearing gifts and lots of claps
A special hello to us from the stage, darling wife took them each gift bags with handmade wreaths and handmade charcoal and what not.
Ichiro says “hello Santa, please bring me a bulldozer”
It’s kind of cute as Ichiro was the only kid there and I was the only “international”. The hosts/staff of the bar I really fantastic and I’m hoping Akahoshi (*redstar*)-san can come hang out in the correct studio next year, possibly bring his base for some recording poetry jams. Ichiro rocked some snaps with the Olympus camera and then let me capture him with (multi-instrumentalist) Yano-sensei in a Santa hat plus my darling duo with the afternoon’s chartreuse.
Bonus Round, pardon redundancies
Art Flashback (forgot to mention previously, i think)
“Return of the Ancient Gods” by Rogério De Frietas
Oh hey, i scored this lovely collage from a ME/CFS art auction made by Rogério De Freitas in Oeiras, Portugal. Now in the kura barn studio awaiting mounting & framing. The artist included some other ephemera treats too <3 obrigado Rogério De Freitas. {note to self: send him a postcard}
New year cards arrived from printers. Turned out quite good, not *quite perfect* but then I’m a little obsessive about these things.
Big move was digital layout and outsource printing rather than laborious/expensive full analogue & at-home production. Looking forward to posting 100s.
Minor “imperfections” are:
* probably should’ve upgraded to super-premium paper stock
* matte finish is still a little bit smooth for address writing & inking style
* added a “fake stamp“ with our rabbit (it’s his year after all) & didn’t leave quite enough space for the “real stamp”
All of these minor foibles can certainly be excused as was first time ordering from vendor Canva so wasn’t familiar with the paper stock / finishes.
And the special stamps ordered from Japan Post (with the lucky/lottery numbers) are little larger than expected – same with sweeet air mail stamps (Postage stamps of postboxes, very meta).
Today and Vinegar:
Dec. 4: Well, i’m up & out of pyjamas. talked to “wizard of Nagano” for a while, laundry started, dishes catch-up, watched some Canucks while eating leftovers (darlings at tea ceremony).
Was planning on writing letters & making pod/vid in barn but gonna make persimmon vinegar instead.
So many ways to make persimmon vinegar *so many* but i follow this routine since i LOVE this video / sweet lady taking her time, little bit classical music in bg, no hype. this is the internets i <3.
she is Ingeborg Andersson and has 24 subscribers and made the best video on YT
Also need to stock up the firewood. Oh, just took out the compost.
PS “the wizard” is a US Vietnam-conflict-era veteran has lived in Japan (mostly) since medical discharged in early 70s, part of community i met in early 90s living in the mountains in dis-used akiya houses, growing gardens and living trad with loads of arts and crafts and music.
Oh: yikes off to a rough start, glass canning jar blew out while adding hot water to sterilize. no damage to me but broken glass mess. pausing to let heart rate reduce.
Anyhow… December is off to a bumpy start for other reasons so just thinking out loud as I’m trying to bounce up. Next, oatmeal.
The three of us, on the road by wonderful, air conditioned, Wi-Fi enabled, Uno bus service into Okayama city for passport snaps for Ichiro. His first time on the bus and he’s really into it, waved to the driver, of course, (yup, like his papa).
Evidence of the journey as he looks at the windows to endless possibilities
Lots of fun at the photo studio, serious face and a sailor suit for two passports, two countries, two sizes… Then and outfit change (jimbei & barefeet) for a bit of a commemorative studio photo / just like my Mom used to do for us boys.
of course, the journey included postboxes, payphones
After photo studio, caught street jazz / sort of informal part “Okayama Jazz Street weekend” (Including a tenor sax, followed a car and upright bass combo, the bass played by the chief of “Live House Bird” where we hosted our “foreigner welcome party” before the wedding.
Melodica, Tenor Sax, Bass combo afternoon in Omotecho shotengai
We’d never had a chance to thank him in real life – he was grateful for all the snapshots and awareness of our pals brewed up.
Stopped for tea at a place filled with older gents playing Shogi & Go + bought Ichiro a puzzle at one of those dusty forgotten stationery shop so I dig.
You can *barely tell* that we’re even related I’m sure
Oh, also bumped into several people we know, or wife knows… Starting to be a lot more action around the city, was also a sake festival and saw a gaggle of obvious foreigners, first time in a long long time, seem to be maybe a sports team?
[update: done-ish] All above unpictured for now, mebbe i’ll grab something from R‘s phone as my camera is broken but i did take the instax for 3 snaps.
Home now in the cool dark room with the little guy snoozing next to me.
From a kura barn in provincial Japan, DaveO kicks off “Beat Sushi” by sending greetings to Beat / Deadhead / Prankster / Political fixer(?) Brian Hassett with a meandering answer to a simple question about a Jack Kerouac vinyl box set.
Along with spinning Velvet Underground and Jack’s “Western Movies” with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims from “The Last Word” disc, your rambling host talks about:
* JK’s recent centenary & events in Lowell, Mass etc
* a phone call from Lowell with Brian and Thomas the German architect
* plus namechecks for: Beat Museum’s event in San Francisco; Jim Irsay and Mr. Canary’s sc/rol etc adventures in LA and beyond
* bit of SxSW flashback (missing pals & hi/jinks)
* and a look around the Giggling Piglet Studio with records, books, typewriters, flags, ephemera and whatnot
A rollicking rapid-fire, mixed-media introduction to The Beat Generation – made especially for youth (specifically, a 11th grade lit class at a DoD base school) – with topics including:
what made The Beats, the beats (ergo: time, place, circumstance, intentions, global mindset, searching for “holy”)
characteristics of style (freeverse, spontaneous prose, collaboration, diversity, art + craft + integrity)
notable writers and characters including: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg William S. Burroughs, Gary Snyder, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
roots and branches extending from the Beats like: Merry Pranksters, folkies, hippies, yippies, punks, DIY and even “digital nomads”
riffs about censorship, “obscenity” trials, sexuality, religiosity
call to action about the importance everyone with something to say “saying it” – including YOU
plus more notable writers: Gregory Corso, Richard Brautigan, Ruth Weiss, Diane DiParma & currently working Ron Whitehead and Anne Waldman
namechecks and cameos for: The Clash, Tom Waits, Jello Biafra, Ken Kesey, Wang Ping, Masa Uehara, Nanao Sakaki many more…
Presented from a historic barn in provincial Japan with vinyl records, artifacts, ephemera, loads of books, postcards etc – by storymaker Dave Olson who invites you to ask questions via postcard (address included within).
A rapid-fire introduction to the “Beat Generation” focused on the story of “6 Poets at Gallery 6” reading Oct, 1955 SF CA when Allen Ginsberg, Phillip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Micheal McClure, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti et al were all in the room for a reading hosted by Kenneth Rexroth that would go into legend and launch a poetry renaissance in San Francisco and the world.
Includes extended erstwhile members of the movement and “what happened” after that night as the poets and their friends scattered their influence globally (with, not surprisingly, a little bit of extra emphasis on Japan, Zen, India/Nepal) plus Merry Pranksters, Furthur bus, Grateful Dead and even the Simpsons. Whoa!
i really think you are gonna dig this story
Lots of the usual ephemera, show & tell, couple of vinyl records, loads of books, various digressions and asides, hats & homework.
3 very different styles of drummers from 3 countries:
Beginning with a short clip of Ilugin Trio from Russia performing at Ubud Jazz Festival in Bali, then 3 stitched clips from Australia’s Arcing Wires at the same festival, finally a smooth old gent (name i can’t recall) performing with Keizaburo Yano (on vocals) at Piano Bar in Okayama, Japan.
Duo sister Taiko drummers fronting jazz band (with drum kit, keys, alto sax) playing outdoors at Kurashiki (Japan) Jazz Street event in historic Bikan district.
Note: what follows is the information as was printed upon a sheet which was included in the gift bags as a way to support and thank the various vendors, suppliers, helpers and whatnot for the wedding and build their businesses by fostering community. (pdf attached for your convenience).
For many of these sections (party, giftbag, shrine, pottery etc) there are additional posts and artifacts. As such, this isn’t meant to be comprehensive, just the way the goodness was shared and printed, quite literally the morning of the party with very few modifications in this form.
Let us introduce the various friends and providers who helped us put together the wedding festivities. Please help us show thanks by offering reviews, likes, shares, photos etc.
Food
Rural Caprine Farm / ルーラルカプリ農場 / Sempei Makoto Kobayashi / 小林真人 party host and food / yagimilk.com/
The poster art for the party was one of the first things on our “we want to have” list for the wedding celebration. We both love music, especially live, and the posters which go along with the gigs.
So we asked the lovely Joanna and huggable Kenji who together have Gamomo Creative (a Chamorro warrior from Guam where Dave used to live for just another connection) to design up something special.
Joanna and I did many projects together at Hootsuite so she is familiar with my “here’s a big crazy idea with vague details, make something magical by reading my mind” way of working and Kenji being hafu-Japanese and an eccentric creative, is also uniquely qualified for input. They also made 2 lovely kiddos! Oh and Kenji is featured in one of my barber round-up posts getting a mullet from guitar hero/barber Rich Hope.
Anyhow, I sent JoBot (coz she’s a robot who designs with love) 6 pages of notes and a folder of “inspiration” – way toooo much of course (i’m a maximalist when it comes to design) and she asked appropriate questions to whittle it down and see what it is i liked about each piece of inspiration.
With this in mind, i’ve compiled various images and notes in a rather stream of consciousness manner to share for-the-record how we collaborated to make something truly special which will be the central design element for the goat farm party.
Worth noting that originally we planned to just us the poster at the party and then in the gift bags but it was so wonderful (not surprisingly but still surprising), we created a number of home-done print runs on various stock to send in announcement dossiers to folks all around the world. About 300 went out in this form and we then pro-printed 150 for giftbags and another 6 BIG versions on foamboard to display at key locations at the party and another rollable 4 for other commemorative purposes. Thanks Joanna and Kenji for your huge hearts and exceptional work.
