Inoshishi

Year of the boar, here we come.

Fave Xmas Gift

THE GORILLAPOD.



Thanks Michelle.

The GorillaPod is a uniquely flexible tripod. With robotic-looking joints, it can bend into a variety of shapes and turn any camera into a disturbing spider-like beast. I've yet to NEED it, but it has been a lot of fun to play with (even when not attached to the camera). Here it is on the bottom of my chair:



The possibilites are endless. Check out: http://www.joby.com/ for more about this scientific revolution and radical gift.

Korea Highlights

COLLEEN:

Public art is everywhere! plus: when stopped to admire the glass-block sculpture, a Korean stopped and asked if we knew the significance of the piece. Pretty friendly of her to stop and talk to strangers. She was also bold enough to ask how where we're from, and how we are friends.... it's nice to see people be so direct.


What was this for? People used platforms like these in ancient Korea to study the stars.

Late-night crowds. I loved seeing people out so late into the evening. Makes wintertime more lively. Skating outside in downtown Seoul till 10 at night was definately a favorite.

Heated metal seats on the subway. Mike said they creeped him out, but I think metal seats seem so much cleaner than cloth. Add the heat, and they're perfect!

Sharing street food by the riverside. favorite street foods: Korean sushi rolls & fried stuff!


Especially the fried sweet potato (although there is plenty of this in Japan). Most disgusting ever street food (yet interesting): fried wormy looking things.


MIKE:


Insadon Gallery District. Although most the art didn't do much for me, it was nice to see this area of town. And of course I walked away with some things to contemplate. Favorite place here was the InsArt Complex (i think that was the name....) a five story building with a different gallery/show on each floor. One level had a nice portrait collection, another a really nice travelogue of China with nice photo captions like "when we go sightseeing, we are the sight they see." Very appropriate.

Namdaemun and Dondaemun Markets: bargains, bootlegs, bartering, BAPE.... i'm not one for much shopping, but something about the crazy marketplace atmosphere is absolutely magnetic.

The Royal Palace was nice, but considering we got ripped off on tickets (travel agent made us pay $20 in advance. tickets were $3) and had to go on a guided tour in Japanese, I'm a little salty. Other ceremonial things like the changing of the guard ceremony at the Sunglyemun ("The Gateway to Seoul") made up for that though:



And of course ice skating. And of course of course the food. Oh man. (Drools.)

Insert Seoul/Soul Pun Here

Korea was (is) amazing! We had such a great time there. Details soon, but for now a few photos:


The Food (i wish i knew 'oishi' in korean)


The View (awesome hotel deal)


The Ice Skating (!!!)


The Girl (and the drum)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.

Off to Korea

We leave bright & early tomorrow morning (before sunrise) for a pre-holiday trip to South Korea. We'll be back for Christmas (aka Monday aka Gestuyobi aka 'just like every other work day') and should have some interesting things to share. People keep warning me about dog meat, as if I might accidentally ingest some, which I find pretty hilarious.

"In The (Art) World"

It's appropriate that last night I was discussing the phrases "on earth" and "in the world" because the last thing in the world I would have expected to see in Yamasaki is a Picasso original. Except for maybe a Miro original. But I saw both this evening at the new art gallery in town Galerie Chouette. It was a beautiful place and quite exceptional. One of those rural businesses you hope isn't too urban for it's own good and will be able to stay afloat. Hopefully they can draw collectors from Himeji and beyond. There are so many treasures hidden out here.

Between the variety of French paintings and the snakes in bottles, my eyes have gotten quite a workout this week. Tomorrow I'll give them a break and let my ears do the work when I head to Osaka for a show featuring my friend Takehiro Nishide who I haven't seen since he was in Columbus several years ago.

SNAKE - N = SAKE

So we've heard a few times about this special expensive sake with a snake in it. (Think a much more grotesque version of the worm in tequila bottle.) Well, this weekend we finally saw some and it lived up to disgusting expectations. We were staying at a friend's house up in the mountains which was inherited from her father who had used the place as his pottery studio. While snooping around we found some beer bottles from 1988 unopened - VINTAGE! - and then discovered these nearby. What a find. Judging by the two bottles we found, the snake is even fed before being thrown in the liquor adding a whole other level of 'eeww' factor. We thought the bump resembled a small mouse, Satomi said it looked like frog. Either way, it's definitely one of the most unique things I've seen here. Maybe even number one.

Shogi (Japanese Chess)

Last night's Nonohana Eikaiwa group mostly centered around the game of Shogi, commonly referred to in English as Japanse chess because, well, the two are almost exactly the same. We discussed the rules in English and then had a go at the game. My first two moves had them believing I was some kind of intuitive learner and praising my skills. I explained how similar it was to chess and then made some stupid mistakes which proved I was nothing more than average at best. The rules were just different enough to trip me up a few times and I ended up getting clobbered by Tamako in no time. I have to say I picked it up much better than Go which I've been trying to understand beyond the very basics for months now. (Note: playing a computer that even on the easiest setting and with a handicap kills you every time is not the best way to learn.) I'll have to pick up a Shogi set of my own here soon.