Tycho lay on top of his grassy hillock and waited for the disgusting crow to come for his eyes, feeling downright blue. His friends the tired old turtle and one-eared rabbit tried to pep him up, but it wasn’t taking. Banter was banter, but the disgusting crow was something else entirely. Every time he closed his jewelly eyes he saw its claws of brambly bone and its diamante beak. He remembered how it stank, and how much he hated it. “I really hate that disgusting crow,” he said sadly. “Maybe I should just let it take my eyes.” “It won’t …
Izu’s Shirahama Beach
Going to Izu and digging holes on the beach is now a firm tradition with me. It started two years ago, when a motley group of frisbee friends and I packed up our rental cars and went to dig and surf and camp on the beach. The second year was a smaller group but we did basically the same things. This year I went without the group (with SY), didn’t camp on the beach, but made certain to get down to Shimoda to dig a big hole. Perhaps you’d like to see a few other holes I’ve dug? March 08 …
Healing Villa Spa Resort
Last week one of my students told me about a great onsen/spa/resort he frequently visits, called Healing Villa, located somewhere in Chiba, with huge outdoor pools, a great big sauna, and an overall healing and chilled-out vibe. I’m all in favor of those things, had a weekend coming with no plans, so decided to head off to check it out. Generally I’m not one for spas, or massage, or any of that ‘relaxing, healing’ stuff. People in Japan often go on onsen holidays, and while I’ve always liked onsen myself, I could never imagine spending a whole day dipping in …
The ash-flooded town of Chantai
The town of Chantai in Chile was buried by volcanic ash and muddy lava in May 2008, when the Chaitén volcano erupted for the first time in more than 9,000 years. The eruption threw up a plume of ash and sulfurous steam that rose 19 miles high, from which ashfall drifted across Patagonia, and over the Atlantic Ocean. The people evacuated, and everything else was submerged in a thick layer of volcanic detritus. Car welded in place with volcanic rock. A shack sinks into the ash-fall. The town as Mt. Chaiten erupts. More cars grounded on main street. Ash up …
Ruined Shimoda Grand
Beautiful
Brand New Day
TODAY She wakes up slow, opens her dull eyes expecting the new day to glow in, but no. It’s still night. She blinks, yawns into her pillow, stretches beneath the duvet. It’s the pig bedspread, the one her mother made. Her dozy palms bobble over the linen pigs stitched onto the cotton, sleep-weakened fingers catching in the felt swirls of their curly pink tails. She pulls one out gently, lets it tug back into place, and smiles. In the distance, muted by the thick velvet curtains swaddling her second floor window, there’s the sound of drunken students calling out on …
Artificial Owl
While browsing the net for ruins sites I stumbled across this rather fantastic ruins aggregator. I’ve been so caught up in the haikyo of Japan for such a long time I forgot the sheer levels of ruined awesomeness to be found in the wider world. Deserts, tropical islands, arctic wastelands, volcanic scree fields- they make some truly jaw-dropping backdrops for some truly jaw-dropping pieces of ruin. The abandoned Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse The site is called Artificial Owl, and his whole deal is re-posting, with occasional shots he took himself. Normally I frown upon re-posters- there’s a great number of them …
The Naked Doctor
The Japanese health system caters to each and every sub-section of society; Akihabara maids, cos-players, otakus, and the naked. When the naked first arrived at the Doctor’s office it was quite uncomfortable, contributing to the ever-present Japanese angst about station and rank- factors which play into every strata of social behaviour, determining how to talk, how to stand, how deep to bow, etc… From this discomfort sprung a wide range of etiquette questions: Did disrobement lower or raise the status? Was it gender specific, did naked women around naked men go up a few degrees, necessitating deeper bows and more …
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