Goodbye, Fukuoka

Tuesday I said bye to this great city, and even greater group of friends. I will really miss these people...

JUNKO.

The event organizer and manager of Kieth Flack, the best club in Fukuoka. If anyone knows the musical pulse of the city, it's her–whether live thrash-punk, gay-pink-girl dance parties, house and techno nights, German DJs...she's there and smiling. She's one of the coolest girls I've ever met.

KO_CHAN.

Along with YUJI, this DJ/record collector/event organizer/soul and funk expert knows more than you ever will about 60s and 70s American beat music. And he's Japanese. He works at Keith Flack with JUNKO.

YUJI.

He's–and I'm not kidding–one of the world's experts on old funk and soul. Something of an icon among record collectors on ebay, he learned English by listening to Isaac Hayes, Texas funk, and Ike and Tina. And his family's curry company makes some scrumptious chicken and beef curry.

YAMA-CHAN

He's in his kitchen, with a Texas shirt that he habitually wears. His yatai, or street food stand, has some of the best ramen in Fukuoka (a city famous all over Japan for the stuff). Yaki ramen/soba, Korean style beef, stir fried vegetables...This was my favorite place to eat in Japan.

MIKI.
Her family owns Ikiko brand of mugi shochu, a popular Japanese whiskey. She was born on a small island off the coast of Nagasaki. She surfs and cooks. Need I say more?

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Hiroshi Sugimoto, "Union City Drive-In" 1993

NY Times article on "Rearming Japan." Watch the video. What do kamikazes have to do with museums that pay homage to WWII ships? Or North Korea, or history teaching in Japanese schools (in which pupils are not told of the raping and pillaging of colonial Japan)? It's ridiculous how 4 or 5 separate issues can be lumped together as a conspiracy by right wing organizations to change the constitution.Abe and other conservatives of the LDP want capable military with North Korea and China barking next door. The chances of getting it are slim. And, even more so, is the possibility of escalating nationalism. Just 1 in 3 Japanese sees the need to change the constitution at all.

Noaya Hatakeyama, "Mori Building" (Tokyo)

MegaCities exhibition at the Tate.

Vice article, "Inside Pyongyang"

I wish I had a website like this one.

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Tosu at night, Hido style

Here is my take on my city, Tosu. I took these with photographer Todd Hido's style in mind (see other posts for his photos).

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Szarkowski's legacy

John Szarkowski, MOMA chief for decades, dead at 81. The NY Times obit.

I won't highlight Szarkowski's career. He was a curator many say directed photography as it's addressed and studied today. Instead, I'll give four pictures from four photographers who have Szarkowski to thank for introducing their work to the public.

1. Diane Arbus

D. Arbus, "Child with hand grenade"

2. Garry Winogrand

Garry Winogrand,"LA Sidewalk"

3. Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander, "Nashville, 1963"

4. William Eggleston
William Eggleston, from Los Alomos

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Rainy Friday

Photo by Raymond Depardon (magnum).

Do yourself a favor and read this New Yorker article on opium eradication in Afghanistan. They're just in it for the money.

Scary shit on Cheney. The guy is taking us down dark, dark alleys.

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Mt. Aso, the worlds largest...

It's somewhere that way, says my friend with semi-exposed ass. On Sunday a few of us drove to Kumamoto, the neighboring prefecture. The place is known for horse meat (sashimi, of course), and Mt. Aso, the world's largest caldera.
The volcanic opening itself was the most impressive sight. Surrounding the opening are jagged canyons, their violently-cut edges revealing distinct colors and layers of rock. A giant mass of blueish steam wafts near the opening, and when the wind blows strongly, you can catch a glimpse of the bubbling volcanic stew. It's not orange, but blue. It looked perfectly suitable for a afternoon bath.
On the descent I saw Japanese cows for the first time. They were getting fat on these luscious green acres. They had so much room for grazing. The beautiful bucolic farm setting came as a direct contrast to the farms I'm used to seeing in Texas. It reminded me of the book I'm currently reading, Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He would approve of the farms in Japan, no doubt. And now we know why beef cost so much here.

Now that I've been in Japan for nearly a year, I should be used to the cost of traveling. But I'm still shocked: to go 40km on a highway it cost us $20.

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