Another Everest

So, tomorrow I've committed to do something that I know not.

As a wedding gift to my best-friend and her husband, I volunteered to baby-sit her 17 months old daughter for a weekend. I offered an entire weekend, but then of course I got some jitters and that whole weekend became 1 night and 1 day.
Except that after the kid's ear infection, fever, cold and some adult discussion - it became 1 WHOLE day, from noon till midnight. And that is tomorrow.

I'm having a stage freight.

Yeah.

That kid is one of the most adorable kids in the whole world. Really. She speaks fluent Swedish and understands Tah-Yee's(*) English, and she does roll-over, and walks everywhere and loves the drums and everything. And above all, now every time I swing by she will give me a full kram och puss! I can't get enough of her.
But then, I have never spent more than 3 hours alone with her - hence the stage freight.

Still nervous, I dig around my house and try to find something amusing to bring.
Nope, I got nothing in my house that is 17-month-old-friendly. Nada!

Right. I'm just going to go bring myself, armed with 4 DVDs of Cinderella, Snow White, Toy Story and Tweety Bird. And I'm also going to bring my guitar along. Little Ella always seems to like me a little more whenever I play some musical instrument.

12 hours... surely we're bound to have some fun. Yeah, I can take her to see the ponies and play at the park or something.

Everything is going to be fine... :)

*Apparently my name to her has gone through several evolution, from Ta-Ta, Da-Deeh and finally Tah-Yee

Diving, anyone?

I was blogwalking here earlier and I'm thinking now that I should try out diving sometime.

Don't know why I never thought about doing that before.

I've done snorkeling a great amount, but never diving.

Thanks for the inspiration, Leon.

A ray of mango

One of my friend is an insurance inspector. And these days he's inspecting fruit shipments. Last week he asked me if I liked mangoes. Of course I said "YES!"
So he said, "OK, a mango is coming your way soon!"

My friend is leaving for a short holiday in Bali tomorrow and knowing that he's very busy before his departure, I wasn't expecting to see him nor the mango anytime soon. All my hopes for mangoes had vanished, I have sort of given up on that.

Until suddenly a phone call arrived last night, in the middle of a typhoon, and it was my insurance inspector friend.
"Hey, I'm coming over with your mango. Be there in 20 minutes!"

Next thing I know, at 11 pm at night, with the rain pouring hard outside and the winds blowing noisily, the doorbell rang.

There he was. Holding a mango in his hands, with the biggest mischievous grin pasted on his face, my friend shouted, "Delivery for Taiko Tari!"

Thank you, thank you, Dear Friend. That was terribly sweet of you bringing the mango all the way to my place in the middle of a horrid weather. Thank you!
Now I want le franc and grapefruits, anything in the shipment collection? Ha!

Terima kasih, Dodi!

I came home today, there was a note from Mr. Postman... Went to pick it up and in my hands I held a package from Indonesia. It's from Dodi!!!

Dearest Dodi, thank you so much for the surprise package of a much celebrated Indonesian movie "Nagabonar Jadi 2" and a biography on the late Indonesian musician, Chrisye: Sebuah Memoar Musikal. I've been dying to read this book since its launch.



Thank you, Dodi! Getting these stuff is pretty much a challenge when you live outside Indonesia, so this is such a pleasant surprise. Terima kasih!!!

We'll always have Paris! (...***with update)

So... I'm very excited!!!

Not only I'm going to Paris - that in itself is always something worth looking forward to - but I got confirmation that two of my favorite bloggers will come and see me there and we'd spend a weekend together!

Whoa! I'm excited!!!

Now, Montchan and c-Gen, I'll do my best to arrive the Friday so we can have full Saturday and Sunday together. And Sister Mary Lisa... oh please please please, PLEASE, be there. That way we can plot our retirement hacienda plan.

See you soon!

Update... update...***
AND LISA MAKES FOUR!!!

From Kiruna

On a much happier note, I got home today and saw in the post a very nice postcard from Montchan and c-Gen!

Thank you!!!

Kitchen-ly dilemma

Twice a year I have my big grocery 'shopping' at my best friend's apartment. The Swedish trio always have their big fridge clean-up in mid July and mid December, right before they go back for their month long (sometimes 6 weeks) summer/Christmas vacations. The chosen person to be getting the load is unmistakably yours truly.

The problem is, I am actually going to go to spend the long weekend in Niigata. This means the rather big basket of produce containing several types of mushroom, potatoes et al is facing the harm of going bad. As well as a few containers of fresh cream, sour cream, frozen peas and a few other frozen vegetable. OK, the frozen fruits problem that I'm having is due to the very small capacity in the freezer - considering that I have just done my own fish and poultry shopping a few days prior.

At 10 pm last night, I was facing a dilemma as to what to do with them. Seriously, I have no intention of lugging them all to Niigata tonight; but I cannot possibly eat them at one sitting, I am just one small person.

So, I decided to cook them all. haha. Once cooked and kept in the fridge, the food should keep for another week. Which is kind of cool, too, this means that I don't need to fuss about cooking lunch at all for a week! How's that for a back-up plan?


In my fridge right now:

Potato and mushroom bake (completed with all frozen veggies and half of a zucchini)

Tiramisu

Blueberry and raspberry pudding

Mmmmmm.

I'm hungry again now.

*Image is of my potato and mushroom bake. yummmmm!

On chicken pox

My little buddy is sick.

OK, let's back track a little: I have been having visitors from Indonesia (it's this couple I know from uni and their two children - 5 yo and 10 mo) these past 2 weeks.

Late two nights ago, I phoned my friends at their hotel to check in on them and see what fun activities we shall tackle on Thursday and Friday when Auntie Taiko Tari was taking her day off.
Everything seems to be fine except that the 5 yo boy was having a fever and was already sleeping. We agreed to wait one night and see if he needs to visit a doctor.

The following morning I received a call in the morning to notify that the boy's fever had gone down, but he seemed to have developed a few reddish spots all over his body.
The problem was, they're supposed to be jumping on a plane to go back to Jakarta on Saturday - none of us were entirely sure if he'd be allowed in the plane.
For once and for all, we went to the hospital to see what the final verdict would be.

At the hospital we were met by the doctor. He asked all health questions related to the boy:

"Any fever this morning?"

"Any diarrhea?"

"Any vomit?"

"Any other symptoms?"

"OK, let me have a look into his mouth."

When he pulled out his flashlights and scalpel-looking tool, the boy went ballistic. "I DON'T WANT ANESTHESIA!!!"
Nothing we could say could calm him down. I really don't blame him, getting sick in a completely foreign country while on vacation is one thing, but getting examined by a doctor with strange tools and spoke a completely different language is a completely different matter.

After struggling for a few minutes, the doctor gave up and proclaimed, "Yep, it's chicken pox."

So, the boy is now forbidden to fly home tomorrow. The poor lad and his family need to extend their stay another week. We are now searching for ways to camouflage his pox and smuggle him into the airplane, but maybe it's safer just to stay a few more days for everyone at stake.

Get well soon, Little One!

A Japanese Wedding

Background information

In these past 9 years, I have been 'fortunate' enough for not having been invited to attend a wedding ceremony. Predominantly because it will be a very expensive participation if I were to attend all friend's celebration, as explained here.

But for Toru and Yone, I cherished the invitation. I am honored to be invited and included in their joyous celebration. In fact, I actually asked him not to hesitate in inviting me when he first started talking about marrying Yone last year. I remember telling him, "I know that you know I've been dodging wedding invitations all these years. But for yours, by all means, I will be most happy to attend."

The Wedding Day

Everything started at 11 AM. This is when the door to Terakoya opens. The couple and their family members had already gathered for some photo sessions earlier that day. Terakoya is a very beautiful French restaurant with a stunning garden on a hilly landscape. Toru and Yone were both doing a little bit of a rehearsal, while some early birds have already showed up and had a peek on their rehearsal procession.

The wedding itself was a simple one. Neither Toru nor Yone are particularly religious, so they decided not to have any religious ceremony.

The procession start at 11:30 AM. All of the friends and families gathered at the grassy area with soap bubble maker in hands. We were encouraged to make soap bubbles at any given time during the procession.
Once we're ready, a keyboardist started making some music, and the groom showed up and started picking up the flowers from some of the friends, and made a small bouquet. Toru was looking very smart in his black suit (not tuxedo).

Not long after, the wedding march began and we were looking at the gate. Yone walked with her father towards the miniature river and Toru came to pick Yone up from her father. The groom then helped the bride crossed the small bridge and they walked to the top of the hill.
Then Toru started his vow. I can't remember what he said exactly, but I remembered thinking that what he said was absolutely perfect and comical, and very Toru-like.
And then Yone's turn was up. Her vow was truly heartfelt and so many of us were moved to tears.
After that they exchanged rings and were officially declared husband and wife.
The fathers of the bride and the groom then joined as witnesses and signed on a large parchment and they held it up like an award.

So really nothing out of the extra ordinary. It's pretty much like a church wedding, but without the priest and the church.



The reception was pretty much regular. The room was divided into the groom side and the bride side. I was seated right in the middle of Toru's close friends from university. It started with a short recap on Toru and Yone's life history, and then a toast and then a very fine meal. People will go table-hop with a bottle of beer and start introducing themselves to each other, while topping off the visited table's beer glass. Most of the people who table-hopped are the family members of the bride and the groom; as they are the one who usually know everybody.
I made 3 table-hops, first to the couple's table, and then to the bride's parents and then to the groom's parents. The visit was returned by the parents and the brothers and the sisters.
The couple also made a round to everyone's table and thanking every single person's attendance, while giving some small token of appreciation. Oh, one more thing to add, when I just arrived at my table (which is right in front of the bride and groom's table), I found that everyone's name card was equipped with a personal message from the bride or the groom. I got a very nice note from Toru! :)



Everything finished at 4 PM. This was then followed by the nijikai (after-party) at a completely different location. Majority of the attendance at the nijikai are those who did not attend the wedding ceremony. There was a slideshow from the wedding and skits provided by Yone's girls rugby team during her years at uni. And Toru's friends also gave a "Boot Camp" skit, which was actually hillarious. All the boys colored their face to be extremely brown and did a Billy Blanks impression with Toru and was completely hillarious.

In conclusion, this Japanese wedding was pretty much like any other wedding, nothing quite "Japanese-y" per se. The biggest difference in comparison to a typical western wedding will be the type of clothing that the family wears, as they are mostly very formal kimonos.

Oh, there was a bouquet throwing at the end of the nijikai, and guess who got the bouquet? Yes, me. People are saying I will be next because of that flower bouquet violently fell into my hands. First, I need to get me a boyfriend, then maybe I will believe this 'omen' or whatever.



Also, it is a little confusing, perhaps, to be calling this a wedding day. Toru and Yone were lawfully wed earlier in the year already, at the city hall. So, that day will be referred to as "city hall wedding". June 16 is the "official wedding day". Toru and Yone are coming over tonight to feast on some tiramisu, so I'm going to ask them then on which date they will be celebrating their wedding anniversary.

When all one do is work...

It is the inevitable... This one week has turned my life into utter boringness. How could 5 days have gone by with nothing to write about? Although on some work subject, I can write a lot about "Meet the Robinsons", Microsoft and a certain computer hardware manufacturer. Oh, I just remember, legally bound by NDA contract...I can't elaborate on those subjects either.

On the bright side, though, I got to go and have lunches and dinners at some of my favorite restaurants. Even though most of them were business meetings, the food are still first class - can't complain. Tomorrow, too, Viscount A from Italy and I are going to be brunching people at this restaurant that I found on my way to work. Le Gaulois' review seems to be very positive. I am looking forward to try it for myself.

On a sad note, we had to say bye bye to one of the Tuesdays.
So long, Andy, be good and be safe. Do let us know when you're done with the month-long road trip. Come by to Tokyo every now and then, Hong Kong is not so far away!

"Bye-bye Andy" Tuesday dinner at Esperia (Starting from the lady in pink: Deenster, Carlos, Andy, Taiko Tari, Antonio, MirPir)

On a happier note, Darling Ms. Bicky is in town for a couple of weeks. We had the usual Tuesdays dinner at Hale Kai's on Tuesday. It was soooooo good to see you again! It truly felt like you have never quite left us!

"Hi, again, Ms. Bicky" Tuesday dinner at Hale Kai's (starting from the lady in stripes: Deenster, James, Antonio, Krista, Ms. Bicky, Taiko Tari)

Another musical week

Much to my enjoyment, this week turned out to be rather musical. One for Carlos' concert, followed with an extensive drumming session the following day, wrapped with a jazz evening in Kichijoji.

The "Melodies from Gedo Senki" concert by Carlos Nunez presented itself to be a very nice event. It is the first one that Carlos had done in his series of promotion for the particular album. The concert was advertised to be including two very distinguished guests, one is Aoi Teshima, a raising young singer who was the voice talent for the Therru/Tehanu caracter in the movie as well as Akiko Yano, a prominent jazz and pop musician who's known for her exquisite piano talent and unusual singing voice.
Along these outstanding collaborators, two that I felt very privileged of getting to know for the first time is Marie Nishiyama, the harpist (amazing harpsicord she plays!) and also Aska Kaneko, leader of the Aska Strings. Meeting them all backstage was a wonderful perk, they are such highly accomplished musicians, wonderfully talented, but they are very down-to-earth and above all... NORMAL.

The concert was held in the beautiful NHK Hall. I was lucky for scoring a very good seat, which is practically in front of the stage (7th row from the front).
Having been to so many of Carlos' performances, I have always told myself that one of these days I will no longer be impressed by it. Boy, was I wrong! One thing that you can always count on Carlos, is his extreme unpredictability. The man is a genius and one of the few people who is always pulling something completely out of the blue and making it work.
The concert started with a beautiful tune from Cinema Do Mar, I can't remember whether it was "Women of Ireland" or "Tristan and Isolde", it was smooth and soothing. And then after a short speech in Japanese (nice try!) and gaining a few loud chuckles from the audience, the concert progressed with songs after songs from the new album. It was equipped with a very nice slide show, snippets from the movie, as well as other images, interesting lightworks and closed with a little interesting entourage by the Tokyo Bagpipe Society. That was the first half of the concert.
The second half, we were lulled into the concert again with songs from different movies and collaborations by other musicians and finally closed with some Irish dancing by some hundred people in the audience.

Ah... good times!

Taiko drumming the following day was good too. Sensei was teaching us how to do what we call the nidan uchi. It is when you're doing a piece of music using two taikos on both sides. Usually two drummers will be playing an identical piece simultaneously, in front of each other, and then swap position. This can be complicated and highly dangerous when we're not used to do it. Oh, dear, I think I got hit by one of the drumming partner like 4 times. Also I hit my thumb several times myself, too... OUCH!

Friday night, my comrades Odaiko Div and Annie Bananie came up with an idea that we should all go out for a bit of music. The choice fell on Tokyo's renown underground jazz spot "Sometime Piano Hall" in Kichijoji. This is a live house with Blue Note quality, but with only a speck of the cover charge. Everyday this place will have different performers, with 2 or 3 stages per day.
The evening that we went, we had a jazz quartet performing. One funky all white-haired-drummer, very cool middle aged gentleman as the bassist (double base) and beanie-headed pianist, and lastly the singer (interesting hair style, she carried the hair of Jon Bon Jovi at his worst; but if you're willing to look beyond her hairstyle...) with a very cool air to add to her husky voice and for always getting completely absorbed in her songs.
The night was fine, the chat was true and the joy was fulfilling.

Ah, life... it can be bizarre and challenging at times, but it is nothing that a little bit of music can't solve.
I thank you, all esteemed musicians, for the music.

Muchas gracias!

One fine day...

Another one fine day. It is at the moment 27C. Hellllooooo? It is Summer already now. Global warming at its peak, yeah. Yesterday it was 16C, and today it is 27C, and tomorrow is forecasted to be 17C. Global warming is the only explanation...

Today and tomorrow I am taking a couple of days off. Why, of course because I have 8 days worth taking altogether, and if I don't take them it will expire in a month time. So, I just simply think it is stupid not to use my comp days.

Unable to score an appointment with the dentist, the morning suddenly became available. Since my hamstrings are still sore, I decided to go to the gym rather than going to the park to jog. Besides, it is 27C, chances of fainting under the sun at 10 AM is quite high.
There was this aerobic class that I've been wanting to join, and it will be in an air-conditioned room.
The gym I'm commuting to is a chain that is available in different corners of Tokyo (and Japan). For convenience reasons (less people, closer to work, timely studio classes), I've been going to the one in Omotesando. Today, however, looking at the schedule the gym's HQ in Harajuku has a better class at 10:30 AM.
Got there at 10:20, running amok to the elevator to get to the class on time, only to be very puzzled to see the elevator's arrangement has changed. In fact, EVERYTHING have changed on that building. It seems now they are ruling all floors of the fancy glass building, except for 1st and 2nd floor, which is occupied by a stubborn boutique. Funny what 4 months renewal project did.

Back to the elevator... I honestly think their elevator arrangement is very stupid. They have two elevators, but only 1 that is functional to bring the gym members to the reception which is (now) on the 4th floor. For some oblivious reason, the elevator was stuck on one floor and never came down. Having waited 5 minutes, I grew restless, shouldn't there be stairs or something? Of course there is no other way, you have to be on that darned elevator.

Finally, the elevator came, and brought us up to the new reception floor, which is on the 4th floor. Now all lockers and showers and cross training machines are on the 4th floor. I became very confused... Did the studio move? If it didn't then how are we supposed to go to the 3rd floor? If it did, then where, there was no clear sign where everything was.
Asked the helpful lady, and she pointed a labyrinth like passage way to bring me to yet another elevator. "You need to go to the 3rd floor with an elevator, but hurry the class is starting like now."
The elevator came 2 minutes after they repaired it (some reconstruction was going on as I was waiting for it). Honestly, didn't anybody think of putting a flight of stairs to connect 3rd floor and 4th floor, to save anybody's anxiety and sanity? It is afterall a GYM. Taking a flight of stairs will give an extra workout, and that's good, no?
Oh well, the renewal is actually a good thing, though. The gym has become more spacious and you have more machines to use.

After the gym, I took a bike ride around Yoyogi and just going in and out of the small streets. The trees are now so lush and green, and it's blissfully empty, what big contrast to the Golden Week time where thousands of people seemed to choose my neighborhood as a hangout place and that's just bloody annoying.

Home again, now, after the refreshing shower I'm now going to eat some... grapefruits. Might cool me down a little. It is still May, so I don't allow myself to turn on the AC just yet.

Hmmmn, 2 more hours until I have to get ready to go to Carlos' thing. This will be good, I think this is his first time to have a concert at NHK Hall. So tonight, he's going to have the first concert for his new exploration of Gedo Senki (Tales from Earthsea)'s tunes. This album is called "Melodies Inspired by the movie: Gedo Senki". The album itself goes quite quickly, 10 songs, altogether only about 35 minutes. So for the remaining 1 hour, I am curious whether Carlos is going to showcase the entire soundtrack (which is not from the album), or he's going to do his own thing - considering the fact that the rest of his band are here, too. I hope for the latter. We shall see.

Okie dokes... off for my grapefruits now!

Golden Week is a time to ZZZZZzzzzzzzz...

We are going through what they call the Golden Week period in Japan. Basically it is a collection of holidays that fell on April 29 (Emperor Day), May 3 (Constitution Day), 4 (Greenery Day), and 5 (Children's Day). This year is one of the good year, because of how the dates are located, my office (and most other businesses in Japan) closed their offices on May 1-2. So, all in all, I got 9 days off! YEAH!

After working nearly 5 weeks straight, I was more than happy to just sleep in everyday, and occassionally have plans during the day, or meet up friends for dinner. It's been quite liberating.

One of the highlight of the week was on Tuesday when MirPir and I rented a car and went up to Nikko. It is about 170 km North West of Tokyo, took us about 3.5 hours drive through the normal roads. The trip was fun and it was great to have sometime to chat and unload. Went up to the shrines, and later on to the Lake Chuzenji and finally to Yumoto Onsen. It was quite special to go through a very misty area, going straight up with 48 very steep curves.



It was pissing rain, in different level of heaviness, but it didn't stop us from having a good time.

I also caught up with 24 Season 5. It was very good, but now that I have finished I am running out of thrilling things to watch. Hmm... I do have Lost Season 2 and CSI New York waiting to be seen...

OK, got 3 more days left, what should I do... Haven't quite decided yet. Though, an old friend is in town from Spain on promotion tour, will see him at some point. Other than that, maybe I should continue with the hybernation plan. Zzzzzzz...

The Monthly Fix

Nothing beats the happiness I'm feeling since this morning when I woke up. The ghastly 13 days project marathon period is finally over and I have a week of life in slow motion.
Today I cleared out my agenda and see what fun things I am going to see and experience in the coming days.

March 30
I'm going to the circus! Circus circus circus!!! No animal (yeah!!) but many many many boneless people.
Thanks to dearest MirPir, I am going to see the cirque!! Cirque du Soleil's Dralion, here I come!!!!! MirPir has kindly setup a very good seat for me in front of the stage. I'm soooo excited!!!

April 12

Taiko drumming performance in Roppongi, right by my office. This time it is a drummer called "Juraku Chikushi".
This would be interesting. They claim to be bringing together East and West, where wadaiko (Japanese taiko drum), piano, djembe and sakuhachi blend into a piece of music.
I have never heard of Chikushi Juraku nor his team Kinjishitaiko before, but I am very much looking forward to see their stage.

May 9
I'm going to see an old friend. Carlos Nuñez (Galician bagpipe/ gaita) is going to be in town performing with his band and performed with Japanese acomplished musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto actually earlier in April, but on May 9 he will be performing at NHK Hall again showcasing his works with Studio Ghibli production "Tales from Earthsea". This will definitely be exquisite! Haven't seen him in about a year, it's about time to catch up indeed.

and finally....

June 10
The Chieftains are gonna be here! Got the tix, paid the fees, scored the seats lassies and lads!!! Paddy Moloney, Matt Molloy, Sean Keane and Kevin Conneff are going to be here in flesh. I am bursting with joy just thinking about this concert.

All in all, I'm feeling content to think that I'm all set 'till June for my monthly music fix.

Fun!

Documentary Film Screening: 'Cinadkeran' & 'Song of the Arayo'

Extending the words: should you find yourself in Tokyo on March 2, 2007 and would like to find a very interesting to do, you need not look for more.

One of the Tuesdays, a documentary filmmaker, will have a film screening right on that day.

Below is the complete information:

‘Cinadkeran’ & ‘Song of the Arayo’

18:15-19:00 Symposium: ‘The World of the Cinadkeran and the Yami Tribe’

Hosted by: Jin Akira (film-maker), with:
- Professor Inui Naohiko (of Gakushuin Women’s College), who specialises in the life and culture of the Yami;
- Professor Minagawa Ryuichi (of Keio Senior High School), who specialises in the spiritual culture of the Yami;
- Andrew Limond (director); and
- Kitamura Minao (producer).

Programme

19:10-19:27 ‘Song of the Arayo’
[17 mins, in Japanese with English script provided]


The ‘arayo’ (dorado) is a sacred fish. An old man fishes far out to sea in his traditional hand-made boat on the first day of the fishing season. This film is a window into the unique worldview of the oceanic Yami. It has already been shown in Germany and Japan to critical acclaim.

Directed, filmed and edited by: Andrew Limond

19:32-21:05 PREMIERE: ‘Cinadkeran’
[93 mins, in Japanese with English script provided]


Some say that the ‘cinadkeran’ is the most beautiful boat in the world. The Yami tribe has been building such boats for centuries. This documentary is a complete record of the construction of a cinadkeran, from the felling of the first tree, to the boat’s maiden voyage to catch flying fish almost one year later.

Directed and filmed by: Andrew Limond Cameramen: Goto Ippei; Kanazawa Yuji 2nd Unit Director: Jin Akira Sound effects: Saito Tsuneo Audio mixing: Imori Masanobu Narration: Kobayashi Katsuya Academic Cooperation: The Taiwan Yami Culture Research Forum: Inui Naohiko, Minagawa Ryuichi Translation: Siyapen Monod, Siyapen Jazikna (Siyapen Kotan) Produced by: Kitamura Minao, Miura Yoko

TIME: Friday 2nd March 2007 from 18:00

VENUE: ‘Kyurian’ (きゅりあん) The Shinagawa Culture Foundation, 1st floor Hall
Keihin Tohoku Line, Oimachi Station . One minute’s walk after turning left out of the central exit; located in the same building as Marui.

MAP: http://www.shinagawa-culture.or.jp/curian/cumap.html

TICKETS: On the door: 1,500 yen In advance*: 1,300 yen

INQUIRIES: (Japanese) 03-3352-2291, e: info@vfo.co.jp
(English) 080-5672-9920, e: andylimond@hotmail.com

*Advance tickets can either be booked with by Andrew Limond in person, at the contact number or email address above, or, they can be bought directly by using fund transfer facilities at any post-office (please mark the fund transfer slip ‘cinadkeran’, or ‘チヌリクラン’):　郵便振替 00120-2-556390 (ヴィジュアルフォークロア).

Noorderlicht Photofestival 2006: Another Asia

Extending the words: if you should find yourself in the Netherlands between September 10 through to October 29, 2006, please visit the Noorderlicht Photofestival 2006: Another Asia.



The theme for the festival is "Another Asia".

This festival is an interesting mix of 64 photographers from 21 countries, showcasing photographs of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Another Asia forms a triptych:
Another Asia I --> through Asian Eyes
Another Asia II --> through Western Eyes
Another Asia III ---> looking to the past

If you happen to make it there, please make sure to have a look at the works of the very talented James Whitlow Delano. James will be showing "Death Throes of a Great Rainforest", an ongoing project begun in 1994 of the decimation of the great swath of everwet rainforest extending from the Malay peninsula, through Borneo and up to the top of the Philippine Archipelago. A few have benefitted handsomely while forest dwelling peoples have lost their forests and have been left impoverished.



James is a long time friend whom I met at a photo shoot for an article with Newsweek Japan many years ago. If you happen to make it to the festival and meet James, please tell him Tari says hello!

Tales from Earthsea: A Viewer's Tale in Tokyo

I want to share with you my amazing discovery yesterday.

Cousin Yudo, my favorite movie-going buddy and I were discussing about a movie that we wanted to go watch.
After much debate over "Pirates of the Carribean 2", "Mission Impossible III" and "Cars"... he talked me into seeing something completely different.
He kept on saying, "Let's go watch that Gedo something movie. It's a Studio Ghibli production and Miyazaki is directing it, I reckon it must be good."
On my comp day yesterday, I finally caved in.
I went with him, not knowing what to expect, except that the movie is an animated one, of a fantasy story.

So, we watched the movie. It was very enjoyable, although I think it's a little heavy for children.

As we were watching the movie, I noticed the set of the story was from some country's seacoast. I kept on thinking and said, "Hmm, this reminds me so much of Spain. The Galician coast, to be exact. Where is the book supposed to be set in? Is it Spain?"

"I'm not sure. It's gotta be somewhere in Europe, though. Look at the old buildings."

"It must be Spain or some Mediterranean country, since the characters seem to have darker skin tone."

Shortly after I said that, the soundtrack music started playing. It was a bagpipe based music.

I said, "I'll be damned, but this is Galician bagpipe."

"If it is a bagpipe, shouldn't this be Scottish, then?"

"Not necessarily, you see bagpipe is also a part of Spanish culture, and I can be wrong, but this music really sounds like the works of Carlos Nunez."

"They do have darker skin tone, they can be Spanish I suppose..."

"Trust me, I know my bagpipes. This one is not Scottish, this one is definitely Galician."

So we continued watching the movie. And it ended beautifully. However, I was still a little unsure about the story-line even after the movie finished.
When I raised my opinion, Yudo said, "Well if you haven't read the books, then I supposed it will be a little difficult to understand the story, especially because this one is not of the first book."

When I inquired about the books, he said, "It's a part of a series. Some western author wrote it, maybe she's European, although I'm not so sure. I can't quite remember what the name is, it's not easy to pronounce. But the series is called Tales from Earthsea."

and then I said... "Wait a minute, is it Ursula Le Guin?"

my cousin yelped, "YES! That's it"

I said, "You've got to be joking! Ursula Le Guin is my client's mother. Oh my goodness. Now everything makes sense!!"

Theo Downes- Le Guin, one of my most cherished clients, often travels to Japan for research projects. Every time he's in town, we always go out for a meal. One of the subject that always comes up is his 'side' business trip that he does for his mother. He often animatedly told me about meeting Mr. Miyazaki, or visiting the Studio Ghibli production house.
The works of Ursula Le Guin is highly noted in the fantasy world. She is a cherished author, and I'm a little ashamed that I haven't yet read any of her books.

Anyway, so we talked about the books and Mrs. Le Guin while waiting for the lights to come out.

As we were talking, we were reading the names of the voice cast, and I wanted to make sure I see who contributed in the music for the soundtrack. When I least expected it, there standing proudly and singularly the name "Carlos Nunez".
Hahaha.... STRIKE 2!!
Carlos Nunez is a good friend that I met at a music festival in Japan in Summer 2005. He is, in fact, my first introduction to the Celtic music. We befriended each other since then. Carlos is a phenomenal musician who was very kind to show me around Galicia when I paid him a short visit in November 2005.
I recalled Carlos was in town for a month earlier in Spring this year. We caught up for meals and phone calls whenever the opportunity presented itself. During which time he often spoke of the works and the recordings that he did. Only yesterday I remember he was speaking very fondly of a work he's doing with an "animation movie about the sea" - that's how he simply put it.

What an amazing coincidence!!!
Never in my wildest imagination would I expect to discover such connection in one small occasion. I would never have put the two and two together.
Going to see the movie with zero expectation and genuinely enjoyed it is one thing, but discovering the amazing surprise elements after watching it has made this movie even more special to me.

Great work, Everyone!!