We are the Strange Indeed

Every now and I come across something that sort of stops me in my tracks. This week I eagerly began my reading my subscription to Wired and I was reminded why I like this magazine so much. I came across this movie called "We are the Strange" and I loved the background story to it, how this web designer made this entire movie on his own using tools like After Effects and low-end 3D software. I just love the whole 8-bit look to it, and I'll definitely have to check out the DVD when it comes out, as should you!

Guess who's in town?

Across the street that houses his show, Barry McGee painted some of his ubiquitous images on the walls of a shop. I love the line quality of the drawings, very calligraphic in a way. I loved his paintings in the show, painted heads on wooden panels. In a strange way they reminded me of old icons, with their fine line and decrepit edges of ancient wood. One painting even had cracked paint which added to the effect. I've always been intrigued by his work ever since a former student of mine, Evan Dennis, introduced his work to me, and it was great to McGee's work in the flesh, so to speak.

Jimbocho book shops

Today, went with a colleague from Temple and we browsed the book shops in the Jimbocho area. I read somewhere that it is the biggest book market area in the world. I don't know if that's true or not but it certainly has a bewildering amount of book shops. It's interesting, walking around and browsing books, whose covers I can't read. At times, I was simply attracted to the jacket design and picked up whatever looked visually interesting. Saw an amazing shop with original ukiyo-e prints. Really beautiful but also very expensive. Although I'm sure these same prints would cost even more outside of Tokyo. Still, it was great to be able to actually hold the original prints and leaf through them. I wondered as I walked around, if this area was destroyed during the fire-bombing raids in WW2? I'm sure it was. I can't even begin to imagine what treasures must have gone up in flames. But then again, I suppose that can be said of most wars, unfortunately. One thing that we also noticed was how each shop seemed to cram books into every little available space. Books went right up to the ceilings and aisles were narrow and sometimes difficult to navigate. I took this picture in one shop that was floor to ceiling in all these books, relating to? Well, I don't know actually. But that was the fun of it in a way.

Harajuku Park

Walking back to the Harajuku train station two days ago, I stopped by this temple grounds. It was almost deserted, and evening was approaching fast. I walked through the park a little and then saw this narrow path. I had only walked a short distance when i could see it was a dead end but when I turned around, this view was straight ahead of me. That's what I love about Tokyo. All of a sudden, something will reveal itself to you, just when you least expect it and you're just thankful that you have your camera. Although, in reality, the camera does it little justice.

Amazing Grace

I took a break the other day from working in the apartment and decided to get some fresh air in the nearby park on the Tamagawa river. As I strolled along in the hot afternoon, I thought I was hearing things, when I first heard the faint strains of what sounded like bagpipes. Bagpipes? In Tokyo? In Futako Tamagawa? Nah. Couldn't be, I thought. I kept walking toward the sound and sure enough, there, on the far side of the river bank, a good 200m or so away, stood a solitary figure playing Amazing Grace, on the bagpipes. Amazing. The photo is poor as my zoom couldn't reach that far, but still, if you click on the image, you can see the person holding the bagpipes, lost in thought no doubt, dreaming of the bonny banks of Loch Lomand.

Henry Darger

Also went to see the Darger show at the Hara Museum. Interesting building. It has a 30's or 40's feel to it. Almost Bauhaus, in a way. The Darger show, needless to say, was a little disturbing, mind-boggling in its scope and more than tinged with sadness. There was this amazing photo of his room, taken by his landlord, and it shows this incredible mess of ephemera and a dark, almost eerie stillness. It reminded me of some abandoned church rectory or old catholic school, abandoned to the elements. The work was displayed in a thoughtful way and I thought it was interesting that they didn't show any of the more violent imagery that is shown in the US. There is also a film documentary about Darger that I didn't know about. I'll have to check it out. The exhibition did make me want to find out more about his life. He was definitely an intriguing character.

Midtown Gallery

Went today with the students to see two exhibitions at the Midtown Gallery. Very impressive buildings, beautiful attention to details and materials. Looks as if no expense was spared. While sitting in a lobby I couldn't help but notice how all the material elements worked cohesively to form a clean aesthetic whole. There is an amazing canopy overhanging the main plaza. It has that very technical, engineering look but still it has a lightness to it. Also saw an exhibition of beautiful posters as part of a Jagda show and they were so beautiful, and so well printed. As usual, great looking paper too. It's inspiring to see so much great work.

Back in Toyko

I'm back in Tokyo again. Been here about a week now and slowly getting finding my way around. Feet are sore from all the walking but that gets better over time. Anyway, the exercise is great. Staying in a different location this time, in Futako-Tamagawa. It's very close to the river, which is unusual in that it looks as if it were once very wide but has since been dammed somewhere upstream, so that now only narrow (but fast moving) greenish water winds its way between reclaimed banks of grass covered islands. People lying around, having picnics and playing baseball. The distinctive mettalic sound as the bat hits the ball, echoing across the water. As I took some photographs of the overlying bridge, I happened to notice some very interesting graffiti. Not only did it stick out because there was only this one small area that had graffiti but also becasue of the artistry of the work itself. There is a well known art college nearby and maybe some of the students did it? Anyway, now that I've figured out how to get back into my blog I'll keep this updated for the trip.

300

If you haven't seen it yet, you really should go and see the movie "300." Visually, it's stunning. At this stage, in terms of CGI, it really appears that directors are limited only by their imaginations. The effects are seamless and the story (loosely based on a real event) is fairly tight. I was a little put off by the lead actor's slight Scottish accent, but it was a small flaw in an otherwise amazing film. There is very nice website on the film which you can see here. And if you search "300" on youtube.com, you can see various video clips about the making of the film, which are really fascinating. One thing that I did wonder about, however, was if the filmakers were trying to make an allegorical film about events in the middle east? The film concerns itself with the Spartan's heroic stand against the Xerxes and his Persian army. The now famous battle of Thermopylae can be read about in detail in "Herodotus: The Histories." I know there are liberties taken with the actual events (and even what we know, I'm sure has also been twisted and shaped over the millenia) but in some ways I don't think the filmmakers are taking themselves too seriously. And throughout, there is always the sense that the film is ultimately a brillant adaptation of a graphic novel, by Frank Miller.

It's funny how things work out, when it comes to writing, especially my own writing. It's been two years now, since the book you see here was published in Ireland. In 2005 I was privileged to win the Best Emerging Fiction Award at the Sunday Tribune, Hennessy Literary Awards, which was held in the newly built Sheraton hotel in Dublin. It was a wonderful evening and one which will stay with me for years to come. Anyway, a year later, my story "Splendent sun and tawny moon," was selected to be a part of the the book you see here. It was a thrill to see my writing in such a beautifully designed book.
Last year, on a week's stay in Galway, I was shopping with my daughter, browsing the cool bookshops in Galway town, when we happened to come across a copy of the Hennessy book. My daughter's eyes widened when she saw it and quickly leafed through the book to see her fathers name. I'll never forget that moment; it was priceless. So, at the end of the day, after all the years of writing, it's funny how all that work can be validated by such a simple gesture. If you'd like to get a copy of the book it is available through Amazon here.

Coming soon in 2007

I'll be using this blog to primarily talk about my various writing projects but I will also discuss other matters such as design, education and the arts in general. I'll also be using this forum to discuss Irish and Irish-American writing. If you are interested in seeing my design work, please visit here. And, if you'd like to read about my role as an educator, then go here instead. Thanks:)