Visionaries

Rei Kawakubo

I've been reading John Water's books of essays, Role Models. It's great read and why wouldn't it be? John Waters is all kinds of wonderful. He makes super cool movies, he introduced the world to Divine, I've been told he smells good (according the girl at the register at Book Soup), and he was in one of the greatest episodes of The Simpsons ever:

Anyway, in his new book, he's got a chapter about his favorite fashion designer Rei Kawakubo. Kawakubo is a Japanese designer who founded Commes des Garcons. How does Mr. Waters describe Kawakubo's clothes?

"She specializes in clothes that are torn, crooked, permanently wrinkled, ill-fitting and expensive. What used to be called "seconds" (clothes that were on sale in bargain basements of department stores because of accidental irregularities) is now called "couture." Ms. Kawakubo is my god."

John Waters isn't Kawakubo's only fan. Tiny fashion blogger Tavi (14 years old and has already had a New Yorker profile, gee whiz, http://www.thestylerookie.com/) also raves about her.

Let's take a look at her latest collections:

Ready To Wear Fall 2011:

Fellas, don't think I forgot about you. Menswear Fall 2011:

Would you wear any of these things on the street? Probably not. But after watching every single season of Project Runway, I've learned a little something about fashion. Fashion is about ART. Arty artsy artistic art. It doesn't have to be practical.

Again, like I said in my Lolita fashion post, I think I'd like to see a world where people wore this kind of thing on a daily basis. You might ask, Rachel, why don't you do that? Well I'll tell you. I'm not a trend setter. And I'm lazy. But I'd love to gawk and marvel at people wearing this kind of thing. Someone do it. Set the trend!

Gamera vs. Gamera: A New Short Play

SCENE ONE

(The streets of Tokyo. A Gamera is breathing fire and destroying every building in sight. The citizens of Toyko watch helplessly.)

Man: Oh no! What's wrong with Gamera?

Woman: I don't know! Why has he turned against us? I thought he was our friend!

Man: Watch out! There goes the high rise!

Woman: Can't someone do anything?

(We hear a chorus of children singing "Gamera! Gamera! The Man points into the air.)

Man: Look!

(Another Gamera hovers above the skyline like a flying saucer.)

Woman: Another Gamera?

Man: Come on, let's leave!

Woman: But I want to watch!

Man: Don't you see the hordes of terrified people running the opposite direction?

(Hordes of screaming people run past the Man and Woman.)

Woman: But I wanna watch!

Man: No! Anyway, I need to look at my insurance policy. I know I'm covered for Mothra and Rodan related destruction, but Gamera vs. Gamera? I could lose everything!

(The Man and Woman exit. The flying saucer Gamera lands. He approaches the Evil Gamera who is still knocking over buildings.)

Gamera: Screech! (Stop it! You, monster, you...another Gamera?)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (That's right. Now get out of the way, I'm busy.)

Gamera: Screech! (You have to stop, you're endangering lives!)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (But I have a lot of aggression, this is the best way to get it out.

Gamera: Screech! (Stop! What's wrong?)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (Man doesn't understand Gameras' plight.)

Gamera: Screech! (But we have to help humans, they're so puny and helpless. And they're not so bad once you get to know them.)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (What are you talking about? Humans haven't done anything for us! They cause pollution! Make animals go extinct! Don't you wonder why there are only two of us?)

Gamera: Screech! (I thought I was the only one...)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (There were a lot more of us once. But then the humans-)

Gamera: Screech! (Are you sure that Gyaos or Super Monster didn't have anything to do with it?)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (No, it was the humans. Now why don't you help me stomp and kick some buildings? It's really fun!)

Gamera: Screech! (No! Stop!)

(Gamera pulls Evil Gamera away from the buildings.)

Evil Gamera: Screech! (You wanna fight? All right, I'll fight!)

(Gamera and Evil Gamera fight. This goes on for quite some time (maybe a little contact improve can be thrown in?). Finally Gamera takes the Evil Gamera by the tail and hurls him into space. The people cheer.)

Crowd: Hooray, Gamera! Thank you so much!

(Gamera weeps.)

Gamera: I'm always going to be alone!

(Gamera weeps more and more. El fin.)

Hisashi Tenmyouya

A few weeks ago, I was reading The New Yorker and found out about an art exhibit called Bye Bye Kitty!!! (http://www.byebyekittyart.org/).

There's a wide variety of work being shown, but this piece by Hisashi Tenmyouya stuck out:

Around the same time I read about the exhibit, I had started watching a series of DVDs about Japanese artists. I had only watched the films about Yayoi Kusama and Yoshitomo Nara because those were the only ones available on Netflix. After a little research, I found out that the other four films were available to rent on the internet (http://www.newpeopleartistseries.com/) for $2.99. Because I'm an obsessive completest, I got to work watching the rest. Guess who had his own movie? Hisashi Tenmyouya.

I found out from the documentary that our friend Hisashi isn't just doing traditional stuff. Have a look!

This painting was commissioned for the 2006 World Cup. The gold background appears often in his work.

What happens when you take some Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter (were they that different? I'm not a guy so I don't know) and fuse it with traditional Japanese style?

KO.

What about traditional Japanese art mixed with graffiti (which is now very legitimate and even in museums right now as you read this! http://www.moca.org/museum/exhibitiondetail.php?id=443)?

What about if you take a little of this (skip to 2:45 to see the shit get real):

+ classical Japanese art=

The thing I really liked about the documentary was watching Tenmyouya's artistic process. Tenmyouya originally started out doing commercial artwork for record companies (ala Sonny Malone in Xanadu). He applies the same work ethic while working on his fine art. Tenmyouya works up to 15 hours a day on a painting, but he is worried that his neighbors, who don't know he's an artist, will think he's a bum because he never leaves his apartment.

Balls

I just watched a little Studio Ghibli movie by the name of Pom Poko. It's the story of tanuki (raccoon dogs) who want to protect their forest home from human development. We see many Japanese cultural touches throughout the film-
Oh look! There's a kamishibai! The old raccoon dog is telling a story, how charming. I wonder what's going to happen next-

And those, those would be balls. Genuine animated raccoon dog testicles. They're actually prominent throughout the whole film, although Disney's English dub (starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brain from Pinky and the Brain, and Bender from Futurama) tries to white wash the presence of said balls by calling them pouches.

But guess what happened when I turned on the subtitles?

The proof, ladies and gentlemen. Oh Disney, stop trying to censor yourself. Just own it.

You see, tanuki are a big part of Japanese folklore and stories or their big ol' balls are centuries old. Not only are tanuki testicles known for their size, but for their magic. Yes, tanuki possess magic balls.

These magical testicles are highly functional. Here the tanuki use them as parachutes:

Later they use them to fight evil, evil man:

It appears that using testicles to beat up humans has been going on for a long time. Look at ye olden artwork:
The testicle defense also appears to be effective against giant catfish who cause earthquakes:

But that's pretty basic stuff. Do you want to see some real testicle magic? Here it goes:

Did I mention Pom Poko was made for children?

The box says it's rated PG for "Violence, Scary Images, and Thematic Elements"Really? Really?
Could that be a boat?
I must say, one pair of tanuki testicles makes for a pretty impressive boat and party paraphernalia.

Oh you wild and crazy tanuki! Let's party! Again, did I mention this was a children's movie? For children?

Maybe I'm just old fashioned or that American puritanicalness has really gotten to me, but... it's not the sort of thing you'd see in Toy Story 3.

Otaku and Lolitas

I recently watched two films that clued me in to two Japanese subcultures I wasn't too knowledgeable about: otakus and Lolitas.

Train Man: Densha Otoko (2005) tells the story of a young man only known as Train Man (his screen name) who wants to ask out a young woman he met on the train, but is too nervous to do so. Why doesn't Train Man have any confidence? Because he is an otaku.

What's an otaku you ask? An otaku is a type of Japanese super nerd. His (otakus are typically male) interests will most likely include computers, anime, comic books, video games, etc. Otaku have a mecca of sorts in Akihabara, a shopping area in Tokyo where otaku wares can be bought.

Otakus (should there be an s? I'm not really sure about the plural form here) are likely to have questionable fashion sense as you can see:

(Don't feel too bad for Train Man. He gets advice from his message board friends and ends up looking pretty snazzy by the end of the film).

What about subcultures for the ladies? Well, you can always become a Lolita.

Momoko in a frilly Lolita dress.

So if you haven't seen Kamikaze Girls (2004) yet, you need to. Firstly, you should see this movie because it's like a super cracked out version of Amelie (man oh man, that cinematography). Secondly, you have to love a movie where the ability to embroider is a major plot point. Thirdly, you'll see a lot of Lolita fashion.

Because isn't Lolita fashion pretty fabulous? I could never pull it off, but I've got to give credit to these girls who are kawaii crazy. It takes a lot of dedication to live a Lolita lifestyle. The hair, the clothes, the accessories (including parasols!), it's a lot to work with.

Like otakus, followers of Lolita fashion also have a shopping mecca: Daikanyama. There they can go to such stores as Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (no, they didn't just make up that store for the movie). A sample of their products:

http://www.babyssb.co.jp/shopping/baby/onepiece.html

If you'd like to see this fabulous Lolita fashion in person, you can visit the Baby, The Stars Shine Bright store in San Francisco.

I really wish I'd see people be a little more adventuresome with their fashion this side of the Pacific. People here are pretty boring with their day to day wear. I feel like the people most likely to wear Lolita fashion only do so in the safety of convention or a faire (that's right, a faire with an e). The only American counterpart I can really think of is my beloved Austin Scarlett. He, like Momoko, is way too fashionable for the 21st century:

Studio Ghibli Part 2!

Part 2! Let's do this.

So Pom Poko is being skipped for now because I'm talking about it in its own post. It's all kinds of crazy, it deserves that. Moving on-

Whisper of the Heart (1995)

The only film directed by Miyzaki and Takahata's protege Yoshifumi Kondo before he died of a brain aneurysm at 47.

This is a very lovely film about a young girl named Shizuku who wants to be a writer and her relationship with a boy who wants to be a violin maker.

The movie gets extra bonus points for featuring John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads," including the ONJ (Olivia Newton John to you non-Xanadu fans out there) cover heard at the beginning of the film.

Break it down, Shizuku:

Princess Mononoke (1997)

So I watched this movie back in junior high and remember being kinda traumatized. Mostly because there's this human to human/mother bird feeding her baby bird regurgitation scene. I honestly couldn't remember that much about the film, but man, did that regurgitation part stick.

What about watching it all these years later? Still traumatizing. The regurgitation part didn't even get to me so much this time (probably because I was expecting it). But there are definitely decapitations and lopping off of limbs happening that I didn't remember. Yes, it's brilliant, but I like my Studio Ghibli films with a bit more whimsy.

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

At the beginning of the trailer, you'll see Mrs. Yamada wearing a tsunokakushi (see wedding post). You'll also see the family sitting under a kotatsu! Hooray, learning about culture!

So this is a movie of little vignettes about a quirky Japanese family. Two hours of vignettes. I mean, it's cute at the beginning, but boy, this movie drags on and on. But seriously, if you want to see a cartoonified depiction of modern Japanese life, this is the way to go.

Spirited Away (2001)

Amazing. A masterpiece. I love the magic, the spirits, the spectacle, everything about this movie is perfect.

The Cat Returns (2002)

Directed by Hiroyuki Morita, this is a sort of sequel to Whisper of the Heart, but not really. This movie features an enchanted cat statue named the Baron (who also appeared in Whisper of the Heart) who comes to the rescue of a girl named Haru who is kidnapped and brought to the Cat Kingdom.

It's a pretty freaking weird movie. You probably won't trust cats after you watch this.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

In love with the magic in this movie. I loved the spectacle. Magic scarecrows, talking fires, wicked witches, what more could you want. It's amazing to compare the magic in this film to the magic of Miyazki's movies from the 1980s. He really takes it to another level here.

I also love the main theme. I've been trying to learn it on my accordion, but I've been pretty unsuccessful, probably because I suck at music.

Ponyo (2008)

Miyazaki's latest. Adorable and sweet. And it's based on The Little Mermaid, a story from my Danish people. Although there isn't any of Miyazki's trademark flying sequences, he's able to use the same techniques for the underwater scenes and when Ponyo is running on the waves.

Note: So I didn't get to watch Tales from Earthsea (2006, directed by Miyazaki's son Goro). But after an unenthusiastic review from my friend (he couldn't even finish it), I decided to wait to watch that one.

???????????????

Like my dad always says, "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you."

As a child of the late 80s/early 90s, I was obsessed with Unsolved Mysteries. What more could you want? The creepy intro music. Robert Stack. His trench coat. The hot line (I always wished I had some inside information to crack a case, but that never happened). And of course the stories. They talked about everything weird and creepy a kid could love. Civil War ghosts. Past lives. UFOs (when I was 22, I was still so conspiracy theory influenced that I wrote my senior history thesis on Roswell (there weren't any aliens, I was so disappointed)).

And then there were the disappearances. How could people vanish without a trace?

When I recently heard about the Megumi Yokata case, I had an Unsolved Mysteries flashback. Of course I wanted to learn more. This is what I found out:

This is Megumi Yokata. In 1977, when she was 13 years old, Megumi disappeared while walking home after school. She truly vanished without a trace, no one had any idea what happened to her.

Twenty years later, a reporter contacted Megumi's parents and told them that their daughter was one of thirteen Japanese kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s.

Why would North Korea kidnap random Japanese citizens?

Well firstly, Kim Jong Il is crazy. I probably shouldn't have written that on the internet, because now he's going to find me and get me. I don't have too much experience with North Korea, but I did watch this documentary called A State of Mind-

(I know I bring up documentaries too much, I can't help it, I just watch a lot of them) Anyway, this movie made me even more freaked out about North Korea than I was before.

Why else did North Korea want to kidnap Japanese citizens? To train Korean spies to act Japanese. No joke. In 1987, months before the Olympics in South Korea, two North Korean spies posed as Japanese tourists and bombed a flight headed to Seoul. The spies learned the language from the Japanese captives.

Supposedly a picture of Megumi as an adult in North Korea. The picture might have been doctored.

When the Yokatas went public with their story, most people didn't believe them. The idea that North Korea picked up random Japanese citizens off the street seemed to far-fetched. The public opinion changed in 2002, when North Korea admitted to the kidnappings.

In 2002, North Korea allowed five Japanese citizens to return home. Megumi wasn't one of them.

What happened to the others? North Korea claims that everyone else died. How?

• Two died from heart attacks (ages 24 and 27)
• Two died from traffic accidents (ages 30 and 43)
• Two died from gas poisoning (ages 28 and 31)
• One died from liver cirrhosis (age 49)
• North Korea claims Megumi killed herself in 1994.

Even though the deaths happened in different places and different years, all of the death certificates were from the same hospital. North Korea also claimed that six of the eight graves were washed away in a flood. North Korea returned what they said were Megumi's ashes to her parents, but DNA testing was inconclusive whether the ashes were Megumi's or not.

North Korea, let me give you some advice. If you're really going to try and do a big cover-up, you need to try a little harder. There are way too many holes in your official story.

Megumi's parents (and many others in Japan) believe that Megumi is still alive. The Yokatas continue to fight to get their daughter back:

Will we ever find out what really happened to Megumi?

Weddings!

So this happened. Good luck, you crazy kids.

Unlike a lot you out there, I didn't watch the Royal Wedding in its entirety. I don't have cable and even if I did, I like sleeping too much. I did see a teeny tiny short clip of the vows on the internet (Archbishops are so serious) and another clip of Wills and Kate kissing on the balcony, but that's it. Oh and some pictures of guests wearing cracked out hats, but I swear, that was it. I managed to avoid the royal wedding fever for the most part.

All of the English regalness and pomp got me thinking, how do they do this sort of thing in Japan? Let's take a look!

Crown Prince Akihito and his bride Princess Michiko in 1959:

With the groom's parents Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kojun in Western style wedding celebration wear:

And here are pictures of their son, Crown Prince Naruhito and his bride Princess Masako in 1993 (history repeating itself):

With the now Emperor and Empress:

As you can see, Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako handled the media coverage just a little differently than Wills and Kate did (with 1990s computer simulation!):

I decided I'd learn a little more on Japanese marriage in general. Here's what I gleaned (from Wikipedia (not entirely trusty I know) and some random weddings around the world websites:

There are two types of marriages in Japan:

1. Renai: a love match (which pretty much everyone does now)

2. miai: an arranged marriage (the old school way, ala The Makioka Sisters)

For a traditional Japanese wedding, there are 2 types of bridal head covers. You can either go with a wataboshi (a white hood) or a tsunokakushi (a cloth that goes around your hair). Some say that tsunokakushis are worn to cover a bride's horns of jealousy.

You don't have to be in a ceremony to be officially married in Japan. Just fill out some paperwork and submit it to city hall and you're set.

If you're going to a wedding and you're giving the bride and groom money, make sure to put it in a fancy envelope called a shugi bukuro.

And lastly, I hope you're not a lady who was born during the fifth cycle of the year of the horse (1966). You're bad luck and no one wants to marry you. Heads up procreaters: don't have a baby girl in 2026. She too will grow up to be an unlucky spinster.

Studio Ghibli Part 1!

Do you know about Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest animators of all time? Or his animation company, Studio Ghibli? Because you should. I'm sure you at least know about Spirited Away, but there's oh so many more! You should watch them all! But you're probably not going to listen to me. Will you listen to Pixar's John Lasseter? He says the same thing. "Watch them all!" demands John Lasseter!

I'm going to give you an overview of all these movies that you need to see. There's a lot of damn Studio Ghibli Movies, so I'm going to split this up if you don't mind. Studio Ghibli 1984-1992. Let's do this!

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

So this isn't officially a Studio Ghibli movie, they made it right before they created the studio, but I'm going to lump it in with all the others because it is the beginning of the beginning.

Nausicca is an insanely relevant film about the dangers of war and destroying the environment. It seems so topical, even though it was made 27 years ago. This might seem like an odd comparison, but it reminded me of when I saw Network for the first time. This is still happening now. People knew it was going to happen. Why aren't we paying attention? The movies were warning us, people!

Also, there's lots of super cool flying scenes on mini personal gliders and giant airships. Fantastic visuals.

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Originally called Laputa in Japan (had to change that due to its similarity to una palabra muy mala de espanol), this film was Miyazki's first official Studio Ghibli film. We've still got some environmental themes going on and more flying sequences! This time with sky pirates! And there's robots!

There's a question whether you should watch this one with the American dubbing. You've got James Van Der Beek doing the most annoying voice acting ever. But then Mark Hamill is the villain, so it's kinda win/lose no matter which way you go with it. No, James Van Der Beek is just so damn annoying. Watch it with the subtitles.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

So this is classic. And adorable. And dark (why is the mother in the hospital? Is it related to the war? Methinks maybe?) It's just simple and wonderful. You get to see post-war Japanese life (I think it takes place sometime in the 1950s) and a magic cat bus. Yes, you heard me right. There is a cat bus.

We also have Totoro to thank for this: Compare and contrast!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkr3QpiKF-E

And no parody would be complete without a song:

That Miyazaki touch can sneak up on you anywhere!

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Did you just watch the clip? Did it depress you like hell? Of course it did. Just to let you know, that adorable little girl DIES. I didn't spoil the movie for you. They tell you at the beginning. Because you need the warning.

This film was directed by Miyazaki's partner Isao Takahata. Yes, it's beautiful, yes, it's a wonderful anti-war film, but just know what you're getting into when you pop the DVD in.

For some reason this was a double feature with Totoro. It's heavy stuff for me. I'm wondering how the three-year-olds handled it.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

One of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies. She's a witch and it's the 1960s in Scandinavia? Count me in!

It deals with important issues like believing in yourself. And becoming friends with cool artists who live in forest cabins who control birds.

And guess what? More Miyazaki flying, this time on brooms and bicycles!

Only Yesterday (1991)

That's all you're getting.

I haven't seen Only Yesterday and none of you will be able to see it because Disney won't release the because they talk about periods. Oh my God, periods! Hide your children! They mustn't know! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Apparently they showed it on Turner Classic Movies like 6 years ago, but then they never showed it EVER AGAIN. I heard it's a very touching movie, but I guess I won't find out for myself until Disney gets over menarche.

Porco Rosso (1992)

This Miyazaki movie is more for grown-ups. A WWI flying ace has been transformed into a pig (how and why, we never find out, but it doesn't matter).

The only issue I have with the film is that it ends very abruptly, which probably has something to do with the fact that it was originally produced as a short movie for an airline. I really wanted another 20 minutes of story, I just loved the world so much.

Also. Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso? Balla.

Part 2: Coming soon...

1-2-3-4!

Linda Linda Linda (2005) is about a high school girl rock band who is struggling to reform after 2 of the members have quit. The remaining girls look for a new lead singer and find a Korean exchange student to take over. After a LOT of practice practice practice (it's a very slow paced movie, I think they're the most reserved rock 'n rollers I ever seen) we get to hear some rock 'n roll!

Unfortunately for my non-Japanese speaking self, some of the movie went over my head. I think one of the main tensions of the film is supposed to be if Son, the Korean exchange, will be able to grasp enough Japanese to sing; however, I couldn't get a sense of how bad her Japanese was supposed to be. What hurdles does she have to overcome, I asked myself, her Japanese sounds fine to me! If I hadn't read the summary before I watched the movie, I probably wouldn't have noticed anything too different about how Son spoke.

Come on, subtitle people, you gotta give me bigger hints. I don't know what stilted Korean-accented Japanese sounds like! Give me more ellipses or something!

I was also kinda confused about random cultural things that happened in the movie. For instance, in the film it was very important for the drummer to be making and selling banana and chocolate crepes at the high school. Why exactly?

After I watched the movie, I discovered that under the Special Features section there were little informational segments that answered all the questions I had. Now that I'm informed, let me throw some knowledge your way.

It turns out the drummer was selling crepes because the school was having a Gakuen-sai, which is a type of school festival. It is usually held in the fall and stalls are set up where people can buy food and then they can see a play or a beauty pageant or a concert.

The concept of kokuhaku (a confession of love) was also discussed. A kokuhaku isn't just a "I wanna be your girl/boyfriend" conversation, it's a serious declaration of true love kind of thing.

But what was the biggest Japanese cultural revelation of the movie? The rock 'n roll!

Throughout the movie, the girls are trying to learn how to play "Linda Linda" by the Blue Hearts (a band I'd never heard of before). You hear the song about a million times in the film. The girls sing along to a tape recording, they practice and sound horrible, and finally (spoiler) they succeed. And rock. Surprise surprise (not really).

Of course this damn super catchy song got thoroughly stuck in my head. So then it was time to investigate the original song. Let's hear what you've got boys!

What? Japanese punk? I didn't even know that existed! Fail on me for not knowing! Thanks Linda Linda Linda. I'm always looking for good ol' fashioned rock 'n roll.

One last note: Even though the pace was super super slow, Linda Linda Linda gets 1000 extra bonus points for having a dream sequence involving the Ramones. Because every movie really needs that.

Bonus Ramones video for you just because (with some Japan mentioning, try and catch it!):

Tsunami Stone

Once long ago, when I was an undergrad, I had these things called "graduation requirements" (curses!). I couldn't just take a bunch of drama and history classes. Nooooooooo, I had to be well-rounded. Which meant GEs. Terrible, terrible math/science GEs.

I scoured the course catalog for classes that were more science-y and less math-y. Geology department. Volcanoes? Let's do it! Anything else fit into my schedule? Let's get this science GE stuff out of the way as soon possible. Hmm, what about a class on Rivers?

I was stupid. Rivers wasn't really a science class, it was a math class in disguise (and I know that science involves math, but whatever, this was ultra too much math). I sadly cannot do math. Well, I can do basic math if someone is forcing me, but engineer-esque math? In a lower division class? It's just not going to happen.

So as hard as I tried, as dutifully as I took notes in class, and even though I read the whole freaking book (which was written by the professor, not fair), my grade suffered. Because of stupid math that had no place in a SCIENCE class. I'll tell you, we weren't calculating shit in Volcanoes. We were learning about aa and pahoehoe (look it up! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aa_(lava_flow)#.CA.BBA.CA.BB.C4.81). Or learning about renegade volcanologists who paddled a raft across an acid lake to get to a volcano. There was drama and natural wonders! There were no math formulas in Volcanoes.

You want some math, Rivers class? Here's some math:

Engineer > Rachel

Rachel + math = sad grade

Even though the math kept bringing me down, I actually learned quite a lot in Rivers class that has stuck with me.

Most important lesson that the professor repeated 3 trillion times: DO NOT BUILD YOUR HOUSE BY A RIVER. Even though that river may seem calm and quaint most of the time and it's a great place to walk your dog, that river will flood and your house will get washed away. This flood might not happen this year, but it will happen at some point in your life, and you really need to listen to the River Experts, because they warned you! But are you going to listen? I don't think so! Even though you should! Why aren't you listening? Don't buy a house there!

So this theme of living somewhere you probably shouldn't popped up twice this week:

1. In Caroline's play The Quiet of the Storm (look, pretty pictures for people who didn't go: http://theatre.usc.edu/gallery/index.cfm?groupid=228) Why do you live in a town where hurricanes kill?

2. In the New York Times article about tsunami stones:

Photo by Ko Sasaki

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/asia/21stones.html?_r=1

Coastal towns in Japan have a tradition of putting up large stones with inscriptions saying where people shouldn't build their homes. Some people listened to the stones and decided to live on higher ground. The people who didn't listen to the stones believed a sea wall would protect their homes. For a lot of people, the sea walls did nothing.

People have already gone through these experiences over and over, why don't we listen to past?

Kamishibai

Have you gone to the Velaslavasay Panorama. Yes or no?

No: Go there as soon as you can (It's right by USC on 24th Street off of Hoover, you have no excuse not to go).

Yes: Go back again.

What is the Velaslavasay Panorama you may ask? It's an amazing place of wonder and old-timey-ness that specializes in, you guessed it, panoramas! What's a panorama you ask? Well, a long time ago before television, people wanted to be entertained and see the sights of the world. But travelling back in yesteryear? Even more of a hassle than today. So panoramas were created (2D (moving picture scrolls) and 3D) to entertain and educate the masses. Take a look!

Here's their official website for more information: http://www.panoramaonview.org/index.html

Time for a tangent: I'm pretty sure this interview was done the first time I visited the panorama. I think that even might be my hand cranking the panorama at 1:26. The lady in charge said I could give the cranking a try (I felt so special!) and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, so I wasn't paying attention to the photographer.

Time for another tangent: I bought a mini version of the panorama to take home. I would have put up some pictures of my tiny panorama, but as I was importing the photos, my stupid picture file got corrupted, now I can't open any of them, and I'm trying hard not to have a computer-induced brain meltdown, but I hate computers, and this rant could go on for a very long time, but I'm sure it would bore you, so I'll finish it in my head.

Back on topic: Anyway, all of these panoramas reminded me of kamishibai!

I bet you've got another question. What is kamishibai? Kamishibai is a Japanese art of storytelling. It is told through a series of illustrations that are presented in a tiny wooden box. A kamishibaiya (a storyteller) narrates the story and performs the voices of all of the characters. Unlike their Western panorama counterpart, kamishbais typically feature stories with a narrative (panoramas usually are travelogues without a plot), but there are occasions when kamishibai is used for informational purposes.

Here is a kamishibaiya telling a story. A kamishibaiya would make money by selling candy before the performance.

Eric P. Nash's book, Manga Kamishibai, is a wonderful history lesson in Kamishibai. He looks at kamishibai's golden age in the 1930s, how kamishibai was used during World War II, and kamishibai's death by television (first called denki (electric) kamishibai, due to it's similarity to the paper theater).

The book also features lots of wonderful original kamishibai art.

A title card to a Jungle Boy story.

The super hero Golden Bat fights a giant robot.

Ninjas!

Note: So I took more great pictures from the kamishibai book. Including one of a kamishibai 1960s Batman and Robin. Oh the garishness, it was awesome. But because my stupid computer is a whole lot of stupid, you don't get to see them. You're just going to have to check out the book from the library once I return it.

Here you can see some kamishibaiya in action:

Old school (you've got to make an effort and click on the link, it won't let me embed it):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MahEbmc4CE

New school:

Yayoi Kusama

I just watched the film I Love Me which is about avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama. Here's the trailer:

In the film we get to see Kusama create a series of 50 black and white drawings.

We also get to see an overview of her entire body of work. From sculptures-

To installations-

And more.

We also get to look at themes that pop up in Kusama's art. For instance, Kusama's obsession with dots. They turn up in her work frequently.

Here is a portrait of her dotted mother from 1939.

The dots appear over-

And over-

Even on Snoopy!

What really touched me about watching the film was seeing how an artist deals with growing old. Kusama was born in 1929. Repeatedly throughout the film, we see how frustrated she is with her age. She celebrates two birthdays, but doesn't want anyone to know how old she is. She has trouble walking, but doesn't want to use a wheelchair, she thinks it's a sign of weakness. Someone tells Kusama that she's impressed that Kusama generates so much work in her "later years." Kusama says that she hasn't reached her later years, they're at least 5 years away.

We see more of her frustration during an interview with a reporter:

Reporter: As compared to mountain climbing, what stage are you as now?

Kusama: What stage am I now? Looking up, it's endless, I think. There are so many things I want to do so I want a life of 300 or 400 years.

Reporter: Do you mean you haven't even done half of what you want?

Kusama: On top of one mountain, I want to put on another mountain.

Kusama is able to channel this awareness of impending death into her work. An excerpt from her poem (she writes poems and novels along with creating all of her other art), "Resplendent Road"

I have spent life being far from attaining enlightenment.

Unable to sleep at night, I end up thinking about death

During these long years since childhood, suddenly I realize, in the path of my life, that I am facing death.

Having grown old, my black hair turning white,

The path to truth has withered and turned gray.

Forsaking the fame, am I to wander into the other world all by myself?

The movement is imminent.

Then love, future, and the flowering Shinano Road have been dyed gray.

Good-bye, my life. Fly away into the sky!

After Kusama finishes reading the poem she tells the camera, she talks about how great her poem is, how no one else would be capable of writing something like that, that "there's the work of genius in everything I do." Oh Yayoi Kusama, you're sassy and amazing. I want to be like you.