Clipse interview + New Yorker article

This interview with Malice came a couple of days ago on Pitchfork. Malice, along with Pusha T, are the Clipse. Their CD Hell Hath No Fury is by far the best rap album of 2006, second only to Ghostface Killa's Fishscale.

Malice on writing–
What we do is, [when] we're working with Pharrell [Williams], we'll discuss the hook and where we want to go with it. And after we talk about it, Pusha goes off into his world, and I go off into mine. And we write like that. We both write while we're driving in the car; I write in the shower. I've always got the music playing. I always have whatever instrumental I'm writing to ready. So first thing in the morning when I get up and hop in the shower, I'm singing that, and I get a lot of fresh ideas as soon as I wake up. But throughout the day, whether I'm just kicking it with some friends or we're driving around, it's always on repeat in the car. And we just continue to play with it and turn those words and just pull from [our] memory banks.

And the Neptunes and Timbaland–
I will say this: Even though I've been rapping since way before I met the Neptunes, I was just never satisfied with the beats I came across. I would meet cats that would have tapes and tapes of a whole bunch of beats, but they wouldn't inspire me. And when I got with the Neptunes, I thought their beats were so insane. But before the Neptunes, in all fairness, I did come across one guy whose beats were ridiculous-- this was in high school-- and that's Timbaland. That's DJ Timmy Tim.

And as for the New Yorker, in the January 1 issue there was a short on "cocaine rap" featuring the Clipse and Young Jeezy. The article pointed out that the two artists' recent albums were all about cocaine, a shift from the rappers of the early nineties (think Native Tongues) who "tried to placate moralists." The article wasn't a cautionary slap on the wrist, a wake up call to the glamorization of cocaine. They just wanted to point out the incredible words and wordplay the two rappers use to paint their picture of the drug industry.

This is how the article ended: "We may never know what the Thorntons really think about cocaine's effect on the world, but we can hear what it does to their words." This is literary-magazine praise for coked out wordplay. As Malice says in the interview, "we are wordsmiths" and "all we can control is the verses." That the whole album is all about bakin, cuttin, dealin, and spendin' from the sale carries no moral consequence. It's so stripped down and believable that all we can listen to are the words.

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Edo period Eccentric painters

On Sunday I went to the Kyushu National Museum to check a exhibition on Edo period painters. The featured paintings were those of Ito Jakuchu, a member of the 'Eccentric' painters of the late 18th-century. Based in Kyoto, these painters' oeuvre is an individualistic method of expression and focus on subjects from nature–flowers, birds, fish and other animals.

I can't find a picture of my favorite painting of the exhibition (Katsu Jagyoku’s “Rabbits with Pines and Crows with Plum Tree in Snow), but this one is just as remarkable. By Nagasawa Rosetsu, this "Bull" is 6-panel black and white that was displayed alongside an "Elephant." The bull and elephant face each other and are nearly identical in size.

The works were all owned by the Price Collection, a group that has been credited with reviving a period of Japanese art that was all but forgotten by collectors after WWII. Today, Joe Price is a famous collector of Asian art, yet he stumbled into the field by chance. Several decades ago, while at a pawn shop with his father's friend, Frank Lloyd Wright, Price was drawn to a painting of grapes on a vine. He ended up purchasing the painting–a work of Ito Jakuchu–and more like them, until he had a sizable collection.

Tokyo Art Beat story on Jakuchu

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Korean dudes seek Vietnamese brides

According to this article, wedding tours in Vietnam are very popular with Korean men who have difficulty finding a partner the traditional way.

Here are some excerpts:
"In a day or two, if his five-day marriage tour went according to plan, he would be wed and enjoying his honeymoon."
"Now, that industry is seizing on an increasingly globalized marriage market and sending comparatively affluent Korean bachelors searching for brides in the poorer corners of China and Southeast and Central Asia. The marriage tours are fueling an explosive growth in marriages to foreigners in South Korea, a country whose ethnic homogeneity lies at the core of its self-identity."
"One Korean broker said the 22-year-old, who seemed bright and assertive, would adapt well to South Korea. Another suggested flipping a coin." "The widespread availability of sex-screening technology for pregnant women since the 1980s has resulted in the birth of a disproportionate number of South Korean males. What is more, South Korea’s growing wealth has increased women’s educational and employment opportunities, even as it has led to rising divorce rates and plummeting birthrates."

So, is this comical or trashy? At first, I'm embarrassed for the Korean man. ("Hey how did you meet your wife"? "Oh, on a 5-day wife-tour in Vietnam"). Marriage partners have replaced sex as the newest commodity for guys who have no chance of getting laid in Korea. A commodity is what these girls are.

On other hand, it's mutual exploitation. In the arrangement, the poor Vietnamese girl and the middle-class Korean man use each other. The former dispenses sexual and marital satisfaction in exchange for better quality of life. For a lifelong partner, the latter sends a envelop to Vietnam each month with a significant chunk of his middle-class paycheck. Also, can you blame the Korean guys? What would you do if there was no suitable partner in your country? And who can deny that that the institution of marriage is all about money anyway?

What bothers me most about this is the income gap, and possible exploitation that results from the arrangement. The obvious answer is that this arrangement is OK as long as the women go through these reputable companies and are insured a comfortable lifestyle. I predict that the effects won't be seen until this generation of mixed-race kids grows up in ultra-homogeneous Korea.

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Mass Consumption makes Art

From images that represent America's unsunstainable consumption, Chris Jordan makes cool shit. The above is a close up of a 75,000 shipping containers, the number that passes through American ports daily. Look at the link for thousands of Chevy Denalis, aluminum cans, plastic bags, and Benjamins ($100 bills). Go to http://www.chrisjordan.com/ for more.

Someone should use this concept and apply it to the amount of money that the U.S has spent in Iraq. Look here to find out how much that is. Makes you want to throw up on the U.S. government.

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At Mimitabu, the weekend begins

This is my friend, Tatsunori, or Tatsu or Tat-chan, whichever is easiest. He's the chef at restaurant near my house called Mimitabu (earlobe). I usually go there after school on Friday and have a couple of beers to bring in the weekend. Tatsu and the other two guys who work there are always smiling and goofing around. Last weekend, they told me how much they love shopping for used Russel athletic hoodies at 2nd-hand shops. He's really into his hair, on which he must spend more than I pay for rent. Tatsu has a pit bull named Ben and a rotating cast of girlfriends, most of whom are of the pit bull-variety of girls.

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Today's proof that there is too much $$ in Japan

These are the Reversible Destiny Lofts in Tokyo. Designed by Arakawa + Gins, the condos are intended for old people who would get too comfortable in a 'normal' apartment. To force the tenet to stay alert, the floors slope at various angles, light switches are hard to find, and the kitchen is slumped in a corner. Cost for the inconvenience: $750,000 a pop.

"People, particularly old people, shouldn't relax and sit back to help them decline. They should be in an environment that stimulates their senses and invigorates their lives." Says the designer, Shusaku Arakawa, a Japanese artist based in New York. My question for him is, why did you build something so colorful and cool-looking, only to fill it with an obstacle course that will make the occupier go insane?

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Uniformity in Japanese schools

This is from the article “Bright sparks” in The Economist (Feb 8th 2007).

“And in Japan there is a widespread belief that all children are born with the same innate abilities—and should therefore be treated alike. All are taught together, covering the same syllabus at the same rate until they finish compulsory schooling. Those who learn quickest are expected then to teach their classmates.”

I was thinking about this today while in a class in which there are two boys who constantly disrupt. Somehow these two loud-mouths make it nearly impossible for the rest of the 30-odd students to learn—much less hear—anything from the teacher. In most countries, these boys would have been apprehended months back and, if necessary, thrown out of class temporarily. But in here in Japan, students are rarely singled out and disciplined. I can’t imagine what one would have to do to be escorted out of class.

Like the Economist article mentions, the Japanese school system values uniformity over much anything else. From what I see, there’s no individual discipline, or honors classes, or time out, because everyone should be treated alike. This is such a strange concept to grasp but come to my school and the sameness is what will shock you most. The identical clothes, hair styles, sock length for girls, pencil bag accessories, backpacks, etc. It’s like every student is on the same sports team, a far cry from the multi-colored junior highs of the rest of the world.

The uniformity in schools (and society) makes everything so much easier. Efficiency is key, and streamlining makes things run smoother. And it’s not just in the school system—the Japanese population is one of the most homogeneous. There are so many things to say about this. For now, I’ll leave it with today’s incident, where the cost of blind obediance to uniformity was, and will continue to be, wasted class time.

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My Japanese house, pt. 2

This is the view from my front door. Right now you can't see those mountains because there is a huge blanket of clouds in the way. It's raining now. It has been raining all night and now I have to walk to school in the rain.
203, It's me number, my me mine.

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Thai Boxing in Bangkok

This is from my last day of Muy Thai boxing class. The other guy is one of the instructors. Each time he hit the bags, he emitted a horribly smeltered sneeze/grunt/bark. In the gym hierarchy, you quickly realize that you can grunt only if you've been there a while. Beginners don't grunt–they dont' make any noise. There was Swiss guy named Mirko in the class. He pissed me off. He says, "let's spar". OK, but I'm a beginner so let's go slow. OK. Then he proceeded to go full speed, without any pads, all the while saying in a rough Germanic accent, "Relax, man, you're too tense." Go back to Switzerland, Mirko!

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