Viewing the Cosmos
Mood:  lucky
Topic: spiritual quest

walking along the path in near darkness with the sounds of random scurrying and tweeting bats above we came upon some people who invited us to view the moon.  it was a group of Sidewalk Astronomers, 2 telescopes and 4 people.  Paul ( works for Alaska Airlines-ticket-customer service) the guy who let us view the moon, MADE his telescope from scratch with supplies purchased at Boeing Surplus. he was'specially proud of his titanium barrel that took 7hrs to polish. (it was super shiny)  I peeked in the scope a couple of times with my own eyeballs and 15 times with my friend's digital camera.  Stay tuned to view some spectacular MOON photos, it was a truly amazing night at Greenlake.

Summer of Samurai...and windbags
Mood:  lyrical
Topic: spiritual quest
Tonite was a panel about the history of cinema in the Japanese American (nikkei) community featuring Terry Nakano who once owned and ran a theater that featured 'chambara' samurai classics and not so classics. He mentioned that some were of a 'soft-core' nature. Also on the panel was prof. Steve Sumida (american ethnic studies and asian american studies) and Bill Blauvelt (filmmaker, and director of Aono Jikken Ensemble).

the discussion was interesting, but the the most comical stories came from Terry Nakano. The MOST annoying part was the GUY who came with a LONG winded speech (michael kauffman) about how he cant get any funding and whining on and on for 35min..wasting everyone's time..get your own website so u can rant the day and night away.what an UNKOHEAD!!

Anticipation
Mood:  suave
Topic: spiritual quest

 why cant i buy a japanese version of Totoro the movie in america??

i dont want to listen to dubbed in lingo-- it's rhythm is bad.

Grace Lee
Mood:  mischievious
Topic: spiritual quest
hey, its the NW asian american film fest here in Seattle, and The Grace Lee Project is opening the fest on Jan 26th thurs night at NWAAT/theater off jackson in the ID.

Grace Lee is the director of the piece which documents many other Grace Lee's around the way, it's a pretty cool concept from a really COOL filmmaker.

I met her via Loni Ding in SF at the NAATA-a-g0-g0 in 1996, so it's been a while since we've seen each other. www.gracelee.net to check out her project.

Ao No Jikken
Mood:  lyrical
Topic: spiritual quest
I suppose i could have easily categorized this as "cultural" in the topic sector, but for me it's a spiritual quest- considering the fact that i went to an Ao No Jikken performance twice and liked it alot.
I think i surprised Blauvelt by my in-person
" No Lie Review ".

This film Hadaka No Shima, was a very cool silent black and white cinematic masterpiece, as each frame was a stunning photographic image. I especially liked the composition, lighting, and single person in the frame shots.

i need to borrow the film's breakdown w/ music notes that the musicians use for reference...as the chronology of the film is starting to dissipate in my mind. i'd like to tell u about the deeper politics brought up in the film.

Animal Years
Mood:  lyrical
Topic: spiritual quest
Happy Birthday to all the SNAKE/SCORPIO's that i know, there are alot of you out there. Many of whom are very artistic--- performance-music-composer-director-types, i find that an interesting tidbit in the magnetic vortex between us. Don't you?

butterfly
Topic: spiritual quest
The film " Butterfly " could be considered a 'spiritual quest' for some people who are continuously searching for their meaning in life.

more later , i 'm still digesting the film.

i wish i could see it again. as i was consumed by the director's visual landscaping, lush, interesting juxtaposition of time, memory, grainy old film, shooting without showing body parts.

i'd like to see what got edited out.

D8 vs Hi8
Mood:  d'oh
Topic: spiritual quest
Ever needed to know what is the deal with Sony's Digital8 cameras? well the main thing that people THINK is the right info is wrong. i know this cuz i read the directions 5 times.

SOME DIGITAL 8 or D8 cameras will NOT play any Hi8 or reg8 tapes, u can only use them to tape on!!! the people at camera stores BELIEVE that ALL are the same, and they will play all the past formats. not the case. so beware.

The TRV 280 model, Will NOT play already recorded hi8 or regular8 tapes, it WILL only play D8's that have been recorded on it.

TRV280 has i.Link, USB outputs. no inputs. one a/v output to vcr or tv, but u have to match your vcr to a code on the camera. and the eject tape mechanism is clunky and weird. the batteries are way better than most, $50 for a 4.5 hr. and the one that comes in the box lasts 90min.

now that i have the D8 i must decide whether to keep it or not. maybe go online and get a hi8 for $240. i really like the edit features on the TRV 280, i can do a lot of cool stuff. TRV280 is hard to hold as it is slick surface, and blocky gave me a hand cramp (shooting with it for 12min)

i'll just have to wait for the GL3 to come out.

Darkrooms are Scarce
Mood:  down
Topic: spiritual quest
my bathroom is too small to print bigger than a 5x7 print, and the rental spaces cost too much. this issue is on the minds of many photogs, especially the art-kind. with the war and the hurricane, products containing Silver are rising in price. that is primarily the push for increasing interest in digital photography, by Kodak.

i feel as if technology is pushing the traditions of photography out of my hands. Pushing a tradition into exile. The darkroom magicians are far and few, i feel like a species on the verge of extinction.

The darkroom is an integral part of photography, once that aspect is lost, it marks the death of the medium. Digital is transparent, though it is immediate in our cameras,it still doesnt capture the joy that one gets when seeing your picture be born before your very eyes and how u feel when u get to pull it out of the tray and how u feel when its dry and hold it out in your hands for inspection.

There's too much time after u take a digital photo, waiting to print it out, and how it nver looks tha same when its on your computer, the ways in which to print it out are too costly for most.

I enjoy the simplicity of the camera obscura and the tangible form of the print, all the technical advances can never take its place in my world of photography.

Mishima's Photographer in Seattle
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: spiritual quest
i read in the mainstream papers that Japanese Master photographer, Eikoh Hosoe is speaking and signing books at Theater off Jackson on sept 26, monday nite.!!

i met with him in 1994, but i didnt take his picture, cuz he had the 'dont take my picture' vibe about him.

koyasan rummage
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: spiritual quest
went to check out the Koyasan Temple's rummage sale ( highly advertised, low attendance )- too hot outside, they had perishable items melting in the hot sun. there were some good tapes getting obliterated. I did get a good deal on a photoshop7 book ($1), 2 sheets of hard h20 paper ($1 ) a bag of shiny paper ($1) and a cool flashlight ($6) i only had $5. so they got $5. i did come back on sunday and the gator board was free. The Shizuka-Sensei, is the new head guy there, young, brainy and seems quite cool for a monk.