Videos

Japan Cottage Musings

Time Travelers in a New Year ~ Japan Cottage Musings

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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.

++

Japan Cottage Musings

Cards and Scrapbooks – Japan Cottage Musings

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Drinking a Turmeric / Reishi mushroom concoction in a stolen mug with a velour tracksuit, Dave rambles about  misplaced “tribute to Mom” memorandum log and love of receiving cards and letters which are stashed lovingly in handmade scrapbooks and shared with family.

Plus quick hits about festive cards (and evidential delays), poems, time traveller photos, letterhead, stationery and Ryoko’s Kinome office.

+ Name checks for new Papas, Steve Rapport (Mostly Rock n Roll), David Bowie 83, and Hotel Monterey and lost/odd Christmases + brother Anders.

Japan Cottage Musings

Tsuchida Yard and Garden – Japan Cottage Musings

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With Ichiro strapped on whilst outdoors, Dave and some dodgy camera work walk around the yard and gardens of our home in Okayama, Japan. Stops include: picnic area(s), Ryoko’s tool shed, location of upcoming house addition, various wood piles, bamboo grove, Mother’s vegetable garden, the kura grain barn turned art studio and (of course) a persimmon tree.

Appearances by father Takeshi, Ryoko of course, and the neighbour lady stops by to see the cutest baby.

Tsuchida Yard and Garden: Kei-truck with shelf project
Japan Cottage Musings

Postbox Haiku and Paintings – Japan Cottage Musings

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Rocking a plaid track suit, Dave catches up about an exhibit of postbox haiku and paintings at pal Mac Kobayashi’s goat farm and in Shibuya by dDesign and shares the story of the post box haiku and painting plus details of: Kathmandu, Nepal; Muscat Oman; The Vatican, and Olympia, Greece (including accompanying postcards of course) and riffs about importance of personal archeology and making things for future generations while drinking including coffee and jamu and digression about persimmon chutney.

Special ahoys to Gary, Beth, Arild, Jared, Erin, Sandra, Lance and especially you.

Postbox haiku exhibit corner at Rural Caprine Farm (more to come)

Bonus:

dDesign Okayama exhibit blurb

More about Painting / Haiku ~ exhibit intro and round-up (preview)

+ new postbox Haiku in *unconfidential* kokoro postcard (variations)

 

Japan Cottage Musings

Books by Post – Japan Cottage Musings

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+ 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.

Japan Cottage Musings

Fixing Doors at Tsuchida Cottage (time lapse)

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Yup, that’s it, just a fun time lapse of re-papering some doors on a table using an iron, cutter knife and tape at Tsuchida Cottage, Okayama, Japan.

Added “Margaret Yang’s theme” music by Mark Mothersbaugh from Rushmore just for a little something. No instructions or usefulness, just fixing some doors. Carry on.

Spring 2020 for the record.

Music / Rock

Curious Cameo: Smiley & Underclass “We all get like this” / music vid

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Another curious cameo, this one in a speedy lockdown montage video collage by a punky reggae band from London called Smiley and the Underclass and their song “We All Get Like This” from their EP “The Way To The Bomb” (Bandcamp) released July 1st / + FB & YT

It all flashes by rapidly but if you look sharp, you might see your old pal in the grain barn studio lip-syncing along to the chorus.

Continue reading Curious Cameo: Smiley & Underclass “We all get like this” / music vid →

Japan Cottage Musings

Introducing Baby Ichiro’s Name: Japan Cottage Musings

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A riff about (son born June 23rd 2020) Ichiro Stanley Thorvald Olson’s name including the kanji meaning and katakana writing plus inspirations behind each of the monikers and anecdotes about grandparents, teachers, parks, brothers and ice hockey by proud parents Dave and Ryoko in front of the family altar in Tsuchida, Okayama, Japan, August 2020 (Reiwa 2).

Kinfolk + Pals

Ichiro: Waiting (with Talking Heads) 22.6

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Meanwhile we’re Stilllllll waiting stilllll (patiently and gratefully)waiting for this baby to decide to arrive (4 days “late” i.e. right on time), as such listening to:

PS Anne-Marie: Being late is a Western concept. Time travellers do not adhere to. My light being was over a week past the “silly, slilly, late deadline. Be grounded you have work to do when you are re-united with your family. xxx sleep now

 

Japan Cottage Musings

Notice: Regarding Personal Archeology #daveo50

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+ Personal Archeology Project + 

From the kura barn studio, Dave offers advance notice of a curated exhibit of ephemera including daily personal photos representing each year from 1970-2020, as well as various certificates, publications, media articles, plus possibly spectacles, ribbons, report cards and other oddities.

Starting June 26th with 1-3 posts daily until August 16 when he turns 50 (life half way point, right) and (assuming all goes to plan) finishes with photos with (forthcoming) son.

Yearly snaps are diligently gathered from passports, photo booths, class photo day, portrait studios, and ID cards of alllll kinds (including fakes), then accurately dated with assistance of glasses and haircuts.

Locations include Saskatoon, Lansing, Eugene, Surrey/Vancouver, Utah (various) and that’s just the 1970s. Some years have several, some are scant, all are amusing(ish) – loads of curious outfits, characters and incarnations.

#daveo50 personal archeology project

Follow along via:

DaveO Creative Life Archive #daveo50
Uncle Weed Storymaker FB page 

+ possibly @unclweed Twitter and Instagram @uncleweed

Note: if you note errors and omissions, please dutifully report by the “errors and omissions” form conveniently available here at “DaveO Creative Life Archive” featuring over 4000 semantically curated entries (so far).

Japan Cottage Musings

Ryoko Sewing Diapers for baby Ichiro (time lapse)

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It’s so cute! Ryoko cutting cloth, threading needles, and sewing diapers for baby Ichiro (in belly at the time), upstairs at Tsuchida Cottage here in Okayama, Japan.

Added “Girl” music by (appropriately) Belly from their wonderful Dove album. Just for a little something something – no narration, instructions just rocking the sewing machine and adding love for his ‘lil bum and whatnot.

Update: I told/asked Tanya Donelly of Belly (+ Throwing Muses, solo, Breeders etc etc) about using the song and she replied enthusiastically and kindly (note: her other job is a post-partum doula)

Spring 2020 if you are curious.