Tag Archives: postal

Japan Life/Travel, Post'd (cards + letters)

Dossiers of Kerouac in Kobe (& me in Okayama) to global beats

Leave a comment

Finally going to sneak up to Kobe just before the end of the Jack Kerouac exhibit (aug 3/4/5).

This one went to a dude in Scarborough

Was hoping things would be chiller and I would be healthier and could bounce up to Kyoto for a couple of days while generally absent in overseas tourists but it just doesn’t seem to ever lineup… Seems every time I leave the house, I “crash“ again #mecfs #digression

Anyhow, this is a little round up of dossiers I’ve mailed out to various Kerouac/beat enthusiast, collectors, archivists and generally-kind folks so that professor Matt Theado & colleagues work is amplified to other corners of other continents.

This to a collector and architect in Germany

Of course I love it when folks send me “static montage“ snapshots of the dossiers. As you will notice, along with the Jack Kerouac stuff, also added in different combinations Of my paintings, postcards, various snapshots, occasional goat farm brochures or museum catalogs and as usual, resplendent with stamps, both inky and postal.

Seen here is last year is canceled catalog and this year‘s phoenix

Shared here in slightly obstificated versions to pretend I’m protecting anyone’s privacy or whatever I don’t know.

Look at that, he already has it framed next to some other lovely pieces

If you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say “Kerouac in Kobe“ or variations thereof, the short version is: this year, like everything else, it’s complicated 🙂

Here is a stash which went to a painter in eastern USA (included some postcards of paintings)

Was scheduled for last year with the original s/croll and a bunch of workshops (including mine) and ancillary exhibits but, due to quarantine etc., the “keeper of the scroll” (cool job!) couldn’t come… so this year it’s a painstakingly reproduced digital version of the scroll + there was a symposium a couple of weeks back and a nice collection of books and artifacts and typewriters in display.

Bringing it all back home to the goat farm as a reminder that there’s more information elsewhere in this archive

Loads more about elsewhere in this archive >> worth checking it out and giving them some support if you’re in the area. Runs until August 8.

Anyhow, today is father-in-law‘s birthday and think I’m gonna wear my new Fluevog shoes in celebration and we’ll eat curry & new secret hideout. Big moves all around. Ha ha

Oh and that painter I mentioned above also received one of my paintings from a numbered print run of “Gravelly Beach no. 4, Sakura“ I’ve now shared around the world

Consider Perusing:

Post'd (cards + letters), Shoebox

Postal wormholes to elsewhere #haiku 

Leave a comment

Bend paper to find
Shortest distance between points
Or apply a stamp

{for Amber}

Consider Perusing:

Personal Musings, Post'd (cards + letters)

Diary: postal, piano, fever etc

Leave a comment

Mailed:

  • 23 postcards {mostly #DaveO50 #PersonalArchaeology series}
  • Two thick dossiers (one foreign, one domestic)
  • Bonanza of Paralympic sports stamps
  • Plus, voting packet (Thurston County)

Also: piano moved, laundry started, Ichiro has a fever, Pokémon stamps acquired for a special packet, next step is the tatami mats getting re-wrapped.

Clarification about Pokéman: putting a packet together of Pokémon (and other Japanese cuteness) for a friend’s 13-year-old grandchild dealing with some heavy medical situation and facing eight months of chemotherapy. He loves Pokémon. So: (eager to help) put a message out to the local foreigners FB group for advice and trying to understand what makes a Pokémon card exciting (is it opening of the new packs or getting a super collectible card etc.?) And while I was at the post office, I noticed the Pokémon stamps so I bought a sheet to add to the packet. They’re here somewhere, I’ll snap a photo…

Wife studying for tree doctors certification level-up.

End of dispatch, more laundry to fold.

Hat was ¥642

Re: hat & workclothes >>

Related Annotations:

Japanese workwear stores are awsum & cheap > fun to explore // my arborist wife lets me tag along for kei-truck trips & i get a whole outfit (plus big hat, belt & cooling shirt) for like 4000¥!

Tabi (toe/sock-boots) are great & cheap to replace &/or have a few pair in rotation.

Baggy trousers keep ya cool (actually) & act like “cat whiskers” when on scaffolds to know how much space you have.

PS Sent requisite messages about baseball All-Star game and Tokyo Olympic conundrums (Note to self: post that radio interview you did)

Ohtani at MLB home run derby

Consider Perusing:

Japan Cottage Musings

Time Travelers in a New Year ~ Japan Cottage Musings

Video 1 Comment

Quickly before running a bath, Dave – regaining equilibrium – discusses creation of a slightly-delayed but very-pleasurable project, ergo: “Time Travelers“ handmade cards including outfits, printing techniques and paper choices, fire hazards, inky & postal stamps, and fingerprints.

Plus riffs about carrying on in strange times, wonderful events, fountain pens and puppets. And expressing gratitude to friends who sent cards and letters, often reciprocated by Hokusai woodblock prints and/or “cheap and cheerful” time traveler cards.

++

Consider Perusing:

Japan Cottage Musings

Books by Post – Japan Cottage Musings

Video 1 Comment

+ Books by Post / Japan Cottage Musings catch-up riff +

Wearing stolen hotel pyjamas, Dave riffs about: Larry Harper’s “70” variety collection, various Richard Brautigan items (Rick Lupert’s Van Nuys Tokyo Express, William Hjortsberg’s Jubilee Hitchhiker, and “the world’s mightiest hat” gift from Marty and Willis), then onwards to the legendary Joan Anderson letter from Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac, and Jack Micheline’s poems and ephemera… also riffs about analog and digital creative symbiosis and and namechecks Douglas Coupland and others… plus importantly, Ichiro bathtime, Ryoko’s chainsaws, and the usual postcards. Yowza.

Fondly from Tsuchida Cottage, Okayama, Japan.

Consider Perusing:

Post'd (cards + letters)

Post’d: usual dossiers of art, poetry and ephemera (and tea)

Image Leave a comment

The usual, ergo:

dossiers of art, poetry and ephemera

scrapbooks of same(ish)

piles to Post offices.

Also tea.

PS I enjoy this sort of activity on many levels for sure, i.e.: find playing with scissors and glue and pens very pleasant and, like the thought of spreading a little bit of goodness to various places around the world and, going to the post office gives me a little manageable errand.

I have a hard time getting “out and about” and really have to minimize screen time so this allows me to communicate and create and keep my brain active.

In these dossiers, i included prints of my paintings, bits of poetry, various insta snapshots, and letters on expired aerograms etc.

Enjoy the goodness / (of course) my address is available and you can sign up for Postal Club. I hope you hang on your fridge or put in a shoebox. 

Consider Perusing:

Shoebox

Poem: post office closed (again)

Image Leave a comment

Poem: post office closed (again)

Post office closed
(again)
You’ll need another
day to know
you are loved
by a lost poet
without a watch

Consider Perusing:

Personal Musings

Diary: Tie dyes for Ichiro + Deadhead treats from Brother/Uncle Dan

Leave a comment

{Catching up with…} Leading up to Ichiro’s birth, another wonderful package arrived – this one from brother Dan (with postal assist by brother Bob) containing an assortment of handmade treats and other related goods.

Most noteworthy were a variety of tie-dye t-shirts including one for papa (hello!), mama and the forthcoming-at-the-time baby in our “family tartan“ which he also made for various brothers and nieces and nephews. Will make a splendid family photo one day. 

In the meantime, here’s two of us, and the tie-dyes on standby for little Ichi-Stan.

Also in the mix there’s a few gifts of soccer scarves for some friends Dan met during his last visit and, a variety of Grateful Dead socks for us and the notable Deadhead/goat farmer Mac.

Ichiro being extra special got an additional tie-dye which, paired with his various bibs and hats would be extra cool.

Thanks brother/in-law-uncle Dan for being so thoughtful and we’ll soon I’ll put on our tie-dyes for a photo with the young nephew.

Note: Dan learned his tie-dye trade, well perfected it anyway, from Lance who along with Leslie were proprietors of Aaron’s Tie-Dyes for many years. Dan and I were able to assist – in my case, purely as a “road trip logistical assistant”, and indeed, it was the tie-dye is that introduced me to Lance and his cohorts other then-new ISP (OlyWa.net) in a totally life-changing coincidence of asking for change for laundry machine.

 

 

Consider Perusing:

Post'd (cards + letters)

Ichiro: Telegram, rec’d

Image Leave a comment

Why yes, we do accept telegrams here at Tsuchida cottage / No Time Machine required. #io

Consider Perusing:

Personal Musings, Post'd (cards + letters)

Mail Box Open for Delivery / Postal Info and Tips

3 Comments

Postal mail is now making the journey across oceans successfully. As such, you are invited to send letters, cards, dossiers and packaged goodness to your forthcoming lil pal Ichiro Stanley Thorvald Olson.

+ Service +

Use your national postal service (assuming they are operational) and/or DHL (better for Japan then FedEx or UPS) or if available in your area, the fantastic “Yamato / Black Cat” courier service.

+ Coordinates +

Ichiro Olson
c/o Dave, Ryoko
937-1 Tsuchida, Naka-ku
Okayama-shi, Okayama-ken
703-8217 Japan

You can get fancy and print out this if desired #extracredit
〠703-8317 岡山県岡山市中区土田９３７ー1

If asked for a phone number, please use:
Ryoko Olson: +81 9075095064

If you misplace this address, its easily accessed via FB, Twitter, daveostory.com &/or search “Dave Olson uncleweed postal address” via preferred search engine.

+ Pro Tips +

When using national postal service for packages bigger than a card/letter, use the “Small Packet” option / saves money from “regular” airmail.

If sending books/magazines you can use “Printed Matter” service which again will save money (usually sent via Surface Air Lifted).

You will need to complete a customs declaration including assigning a value. Just add a nominal amount – *we know its priceless* but this is for customs duty, not insurance.

Of course, ensure you have a legible return address in case the system is thwarted by various apocalypse. We will do best efforts to let you know when your kind sentiments have arrived. Continue reading Mail Box Open for Delivery / Postal Info and Tips →

Consider Perusing:

Post'd (cards + letters)

Post: Jack Kerouac Bonanza from Lowell, Mass

Image Leave a comment

Kerouac postal pack Lowell Massachusetts
Kerouac postal pack Lowell Massachusetts

Postal mail has been a little bit lean of late due to various restrictions and delays and whatnot but wow, the dam burst big-time with a remarkable packet from Lowell, Massachusetts containing a bonanza of Jack Kerouac ephemera and artifacts, along with a lovely handwritten letter compiled into a mini chap book.
There’s more to it than this humble snapshot can contain and taking my time to savour it all (and not shockingly, add stickers to suitcases and laptops).

Reciprocation underway but this is a hard one to match > Going to have to pull out all the skills.

Fantastically #grateful for all the mail and today, especially this one.

Consider Perusing:

Post'd (cards + letters)

Post’d: Aerogramme Rec’d from Ends of the Earth, Jan/Feb. 2020

Leave a comment

Aerogrammes from South Georgia, postcards from Antarctica… present reality of our postbox in Okayama from an intrepid traveler nephew / distiller

Consider Perusing: