Sunday, January 21, 2007
Those of you interested in Japanese woodblock prints or ukiyo-e should check out my latest acquisition: a series of 29 prints depicting the story of the 47 Ronin. If anyone happens to have more info on this series, please contact me. I purchased it from a vendor at an antiques market who did not know much about it.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
OK, so I never update this blog anymore. Sorry! I've been focusing on my tattoo blog. Here, listen to a song I started the other day at: Lazy Sunday
Sunday, August 27, 2006
It's been one month since I started studying kempo, and while I've certainly learned a lot, for the most part I still stumble through classes rather awkardly. Luckily, my classmates (is that the right word? dojo-mates? fellow kenshi?) have been incredibly patient and instructive, without exception. And of course our sensei has done the same, imparting his knowledge with authority and occasional humor. It is wonderful to be reminded each class that without the help of others, I would be lost. One of the reasons I undertook studying kempo was that I needed a strong dose of humility, and I receive that in spades each class.
On a completely unrelated note, here's something I wrote the other day while lying in bed listening to the sounds outside my window:
the evening's breeze begins to swell
and for a moment it's hard to tell
if the crickets are answering the wind's call
or if their song is the cause of it all
And this while lying in Bryant Park, relaxing after work:
a most delicate crystalline lattice floats overhead
impossibly layered yet sheer as babe's breath
shimmering iridescent from the Sun trapped deep within
like a cloth woven from some forbidden silk of the Immortals,
not meant for the eyes of humans and other animals
On a completely unrelated note, here's something I wrote the other day while lying in bed listening to the sounds outside my window:
the evening's breeze begins to swell
and for a moment it's hard to tell
if the crickets are answering the wind's call
or if their song is the cause of it all
And this while lying in Bryant Park, relaxing after work:
a most delicate crystalline lattice floats overhead
impossibly layered yet sheer as babe's breath
shimmering iridescent from the Sun trapped deep within
like a cloth woven from some forbidden silk of the Immortals,
not meant for the eyes of humans and other animals
Sunday, August 06, 2006
A few weeks ago I began studying Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese martial art. Rather than attempting to describe it in detail, check out the official website for more info. It's been an interesting experience so far. During the first two classes I don't think I've ever felt so lost, so completely clueless, in my entire life. I must learn how to breathe, sit, stand, speak and move all over again. I think it will be a good experience for me if I can stick it out. I try to keep this quote from F. Herbert's "Dune" in mind when frustration starts to set in:
..a person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.
..a person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.
Monday, July 17, 2006
I hadn't really listened to this song in over ten years, but for some reason today I did..and it resonated with me in a way it never did before.
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine
Staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long
And there is time to kill today
And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun
And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to nought
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I'd something more to say
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine
Staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long
And there is time to kill today
And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun
And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to nought
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I'd something more to say
Monday, June 12, 2006
Watched Turkish film "Uzak", directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, this evening (the English title is "Distant"). Mostly it's a slow, cool meditation on loneliness - sort of like watching your breath crystallize on a quiet winter's day. It reminded me of Tarkovsky's "Solaris" in some ways. Short on dialogue and long on glacierly-paced pans. I think they actually name check Tarkovsy at one point in the film. Anyway, I enjoyed it. But between that and the book I'm currently reading (Beckett's "Molloy"), I could really use some uplifting fare! It's all lonely old men slowly dying these days..
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
In an effort to provide a more targeted blog for those of you interested in my tattoo exploits but not my other personal silliness, I've started a new site devoted to tattoo, Munewari Minutes. Please have a look and share your thoughts. All future tattoo related posts will be published there.
