| An update |
[31 Mar 2009|06:21pm] |
Nearly one week into my exchange, so here are some pictures to help you understand these things that I am living in.
In today's exciting installment - apartment exteriors, shrines, milk and cow!
( For pictures, click it here! )
So that is my current life! Coming up in later editions will probably be pictures of my campus and probably the local shopping areas.
Oh! Also, I know some people were wondering about it, so here is my address here in Japan:
Simon Gough
1201A Lumiere Mamiya
3-7 4 chome Ogaya
Otsu, Shiga
Japan 520-2144
I expect nothing less than an easter egg with terrible news attached from every one of you.
EDIT:
To assure people I am eating properly (and to rub my delicious salmon in Emma's face), here is what I am eating right now:
It is a grilled soy and sansho pepper marinated piece of salmon, on rice, with some cucumber and a weird bell pepper relish I accidentally made. On the plus side, I now know what happens when you put pure soy sauce into a frying pan.
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| Oh no, oh my |
[25 Mar 2009|11:07pm] |
Well, I guess I am in Japan now. There are a lot of small things here.
I have successfully moved into my dorm room - it took about two and a half hours to get here from Kansai International, but it was worth it in the end. My computer was the first thing I unpacked and tried to get working.
The internet connection I'm on is weird, to say the least - it has periods of stability, but then at other times it slows to an unconnectable crawl. I may only be accessing the internet at infrequent times. My heart, it is already breaking.
My roommate is from Oklahoma, but is in China until the 30th, so I am home alone until then. I have met a couple of non-Japanese people in the building so far, and they seem pretty okay! One of them is from RMIT.
Here are some pictures of my dorm that you may look at!
( Click here if you would like to see them )
So I guess that is that! I will keep you all updated as things happen.
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| The Reminder |
[15 Mar 2009|11:28pm] |
The big "Simon is going away" movie night/party/airing of grievances is this Friday, the 20th.
For those who stay overnight, there is going to be a lunch the following day, combining my going away with my father's birthday.
Mina - it's THIS Friday. I will remind you again later in the week, because you may think it is the following one.
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| Simon is leaving and you should all feel sad |
[08 Mar 2009|08:09pm] |
But there's going to be some kind of movie night to celebrate the fact that I'm leaving you all!
Day: Friday the 20th of March
Time: Whenever to whenever
Place: Simon's house!
That's all. There will be movies and drinking and the airing of grievances.
Maybe see you then?
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| oooooooops |
[15 Feb 2009|01:49pm] |
Okay so there has been a change in plans.
Crazy Movie Night will now have to be run on Friday the 27th of February. I would suggest the 21st, but you are all awful people and are going to a party without me.
The reason for this change in plans? It turns out I was already booked on that evening to go and watch a play.
Oopsie.
So, um, yes. That is the situation. If the 27th isn't cool or long enough notice for people, we may as well call this whole exercise in futility off.
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[13 Feb 2009|05:20pm] |
Kyoto is a far more peaceful place than Tokyo. I think I am going to enjoy living here.
It is a lot like Melbourne, but with just enough cognitive dissonance to make me remember that I am in a country where you can pick up a delicious-looking bun covered with green tea icing, except wait no it is actually melon-flavoured and the bun is full of melon-flavoured cream.
I have a lot of photos to share, when I get back home! Be prepared to be amazed by the spectacular sights of:
- the Kyoto International Manga Museum!
- Ryukoku University, my future campus!
- Tokyo Disneyland! And, most importantly...
- Osaka's glorious, mind-destroying OCTOPUS ROCK!
I will be arriving home on Sunday morning, and then I will leave again on the 24th of March. I suggest you come and soak in the Simon before it is gone, baby, gone.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A reminder: next Friday, the 20th of February, is the next installation of Crazy Movie Night. I am hoping to get through The Calamari Wrestler and maybe also Funky Forest? Mogran and Emma will attest that watching that one in full will be like dipping your hand into a bag of A-grade Mary Jane and taking a big bite.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Also, Shelby, if you want me to send you the various Crazy Movie Night movies, can you re-send me your address? I seem to have forgotten it because I am a terrible friend.
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| Oh so um |
[05 Feb 2009|09:46pm] |
I am currently in Tokyo. It is colder than I thought it would be.
Sometimes I like to stand in the open air and close my eyes and pretend everything is going to be all okay and it is all just in my head, but then I open my eyes again and I get shunted back into a reality where I am alone and cold and empty and all I can see around me are people who are actually happy with their lives.
All I get from Tokyo is a stupid broken feeling. Living in this city even for a week looks like freedom, but it feels like death.
I am going to go back to my hotel soon. At least I don't have to pretend everything is fine there.
Oh, also.
There is going to be another Crazy Japanese Movie Night on Friday the 20th of February. We are going to watch The Calamari Wrestler, a movie about a squid who joins the professional wrestling circuit. And probably some others, we will play it by ear.
It would be nice if you came and spent a little time with me before I go back to Japan to live for six months.
I will see you all sometime.
Yours,
Simon.
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| 55 Words Themes |
[20 Dec 2007|08:33am] |
Theme 083 - Heal
In Grandma's dream, she was walking down a long, stone-carved tunnel. Slowly, her legs grew stronger, and she threw her cane behind her. The light burned brighter and brighter, while Grandma's pace grew faster and faster. Soon, she broke into a run, her smile wide... When they buried her, she still had that smile on her face.
Theme 049 - Preservatives
Most things you buy have artificial ingredients - to lengthen their shelf life, at the cost of purity. Was he buying these flowers for her to delay the inevitable? The jewelery? Had she noticed the smell, that stench of inevitable decay? Was it truly beyond saving, now? How long would these things stall their expiry date?
Theme 021 - War
"They all deserve what they get," the young recruit said as he took aim at some distant target. He meant the Iraqis. Women, children, elderly, all of them hated freedom. The other recruit, his bare black head glinting in the sunlight, pulled his own trigger. He enlisted conservative, but his comrades span him left.
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| 55 Words Themes |
[19 Dec 2007|05:09pm] |
Theme 100 - Gone
He stood in that shower for thirteen minutes, just watching her hair dance around in the water's impact. Flipping, tossing, shaking and turning the way she did. When he knelt down to pick it up, the change in water flow knocked that long, black hair down, into the drain. Lost. From his eyes, another pouring.
Theme 043 - Die
John lived in the suburbs with his wife, their darling son and daughter, a dog named Spot and the cat who adopted them. Working nine to five, he didn't expect much to happen with his life. He died naturally, while in his sleep. His small, non-descript gravestone read, "Here lies John Smith." Another faceless cliche.
Theme 079 - Fuck
It was only when she asked him how many girls he had fucked that he actually thought about the notion. There was Van, Laura, her, and... had he actually made it with that girl in Toronto? He quickly smiled, nuzzled her cheek, and said, "I don't fuck girls, I only ever make love." The liar.
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| Fuck fuck shit fuck fuck |
[18 Dec 2007|05:47pm] |
| [ |
music |
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'Holy Diver' covered by Pat Boone |
] |
I forgot all about this short story project. Time to get my rear in gear and finish it before 2008. MAYBE NOT POSSIBLE OH WELL.
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| 55 Words Themes |
[24 Aug 2007|02:06am] |
Theme 009 - Cut
She stares at the white scars that emblazoned her forearm - remenants of a time long since past. Her phone vibrates and plays some high-pitched Japanese pop song. 'John' flashes on the tiny, almost manageable screen. Rolling down her pink sleeves, she answers the mobile with a smile and bright voice. Memories of the distant past.
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| 55 Words Themes |
[22 Aug 2007|02:56pm] |
Theme 052 - Old
A meeting of the ancient deadly sins – Sloth was absent. Lust made eyes at Pride, who gazed at his own reflection, both ignoring Envy’s glares. Gluttony and Greed arrived with crumbs on their shirt cuffs, but gave assurances that the store was out of food entirely. Wrath, as usual, left with blood on her hands.
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| 55 Words Themes |
[22 Aug 2007|02:41pm] |
Theme 041 - Citric Acid
It’s three in the morning. Another round is passed down the bar and into her waiting hands. The salt and the lemon are given to her soon after. She pauses to think of what she is running from – a calloused hand on her thigh shakes all thought away. Lick. Slam. The taste of citric acid.
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| 55 Words Themes |
[20 Aug 2007|09:14pm] |
Theme 057 - Sacrificial
Terrified, memories of past moments flash before him - a glint of steel; wide, screaming eyes; the warmth of the deep red blood that covered his hands. What happened to the corpse after it was whisked away, only his father knows - however, recovering quickly, he pats his satiated belly and says, "Another slice of lamb, please."
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| 55 Words Themes |
[20 Aug 2007|06:13pm] |
Theme 035 - Walk.
He moves down the aisle, following the procession of black-clad kinsmen who shuffle past the place where she rests. Sorrowful glances assail him from all directions - his turn to stand next to her. Silence comes for a brief moment. A touch on his shoulder. Eyes closed, he gives her a kiss she can’t even feel.
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[20 Aug 2007|03:13pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 writing |
] |
| [ |
music |
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'If You Could Read My Mind' by Gordon Lightfoot |
] |
In order to get some writing practice in, I've decided to take one of these "100 themes" lists and make a project out of them. I'm going to try and get all 100 done by the end of the year, minimum - preferably, I'm going to do at least one every day.
I'm going to limit myself to fifty-five words for each story. I think it will be more of a creative challenge that way.
Without further ado, here is the list of themes. I hope all two of my readers will wait with anticipation for each installment.
That's all.
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| Best Albums of 2006 (finally!) |
[06 Jan 2007|03:25pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 accomplished |
] |
| [ |
music |
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'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani |
] |
Alright, it's a few days late, but the process of making a Best Of list is one of the hardest things in the world to do for a pretentious indie music snob like myself to pull off. For one, I have to start thinking about what things I actually like, and what things I only like because it's ironic/super indie. Also, I needed to figure out what albums would get the honourary awards and which would be shunned forever, along with deciding what special theme I'd give my list. I decided upon... gifts. Every album will come with a special note as to who it would be the perfect gift for! So, in summary: hard process. I deal.
Without further ado, I present... the Simon Wolf Best Albums of 2006 List!
( Read on, old chaps! )
Well, that does it for this year. Please, ladies, no bitching about what I chose. Unless you're Mel, in which case you'll bitch about me dropping The Knife to #3. Deal with it, sucka.
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| You Lose, Mel |
[13 Jan 2006|11:59pm] |
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music |
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'Edge of Seventeen' - Stevie Nicks |
] |
So Mel thinks he can out-do me, eh? Well, I guess I'll have to just out-do his out-doing! That no-good out-doer will rue the day he messed with me. To prove I'm the better person, I'm listing the ten best things to happen to music in the past 10 years, and I'm going to list the ten worst things as well. Just to show that I'm more awesome. These are in no particular order, though, because they're just too powerful to rate.
TEN BEST THINGS
- It is finally proven that whitey can, in fact, surpass black rappers in terms of rhyming ability and talent.
- Leonard Cohen releases 'Ten New Songs', after spending years in a Buddhist monestary.
- Dream Theater releases 'Scenes From A Memory', showing that concept albums can still work in this modern day and age.
- Radiohead releases "OK Computer". Need I say more?
- The Arcade Fire. Seriously.
- The Pixies reunite.
- Drugs. They're a given.
- The Mars Volta, for showing that analogue technology can still provide a quality product in a time where digital music production is the mainstream.
- Opeth's 'Damnation', proving that the "stereotypical metaller" has fantastic musical abilty.
- Jeff Buckley dies.
TEN WORST THINGS
- Jeff Buckley dies.
- Mogwai releases their first EP and become a rallying call, calling card and favourite of the pretentious indie scene.
- Rolling Stone magazine produces their Top 500 albums and songs lists, thereby misinforming the innocent music-listening public for years to come.
- Mainstream pop-punk. I may be stretching at the 10 year limit with this one, though.
- Joe Strummer bites the dust.
- Konkretë.
- Fatboy Slim, for showing the world that you too can record someone saying "Let's party down", then loop it to a repetitive beat and, later, play shows in front of half a million people. Seriously, screw Fatboy Slim. It's because of him that I can't listen to any popular radio stations.
- Conor Oberst writes and sings "When the President Talks to God", the single worst protest song in the history of popular music. Actually, just Bright Eyes in general.
- Metallica rallies against Napster, forever showing that they are not about the music.
- The latest wave of emo. Fuck emo.
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| Keeping up with the Jones's |
[03 Jan 2006|01:07am] |
| [ |
mood |
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 better than you |
] |
| [ |
music |
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"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" - The Arcade Fire |
] |
Mel thinks he's the man for posting a top ten of 2005 list. Well, just to prove how much I rock, I'm posting a top ELEVEN. That's right, I'm one-upping Mel, mainly because I'm better.
11. Z - My Morning Jacket
It's mellow, it's pop, it's something that grows on you with time. When I first listened, I really didn't think that much of it. But now, after long car drives and time spent at gym, this album has earned a place in my heart. And a spot on on my top eleven list.
10. Ghost Reveries - Opeth
Some of you may ask why Swedish prog-metal is on my list. Well for my money, Opeth have pretty much the best guitar playing in the metal world right now, and as a guitar geek this is like honey for my ears. It may not be as good as some of their other stuff, but it's still damned good. It does sort of flatten in the middle, but the beginning and ending tracks more than make up for it.
9. Demon Days - Gorillaz
Comparing this album to the first of theirs would be like comparing a wading pool to the Atlantic ocean - this one is deeper, darker, and divides people on a whole new level. A better comparison would be comparing the original Batman TV series to Batman Begins. Yeah, that's a good one. Something I wasn't expecting to have on my list, but now it is.
8. Lullabies To Paralyze - Queens of the Stone Age
This was the first QOTSA album I listened to, and it was love at first listen. But, like any good relationship, we grew apart, and now I only have fond memories, shoved in between bad, bad moments. The good moments are really all that's pulling this up to number 8, but damn if they aren't some good moments.
7. Octavarium - Dream Theater
Dream Theater, like Opeth, have some of the best guitar skill out there, and that is sweet to my geeky ears. They're quite the inspiration when it comes to composing music, even if the album requires the right time and mood to really enjoy - you can't just pick up and play it at any old time.
6. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
The album was a surprise favourite - the variety of musical style, combined with sweet simplicity and some excellent mixing combine to make one hell of an album.
5. Apologies To The Queen Mary - Wolf Parade
Indie rock is always a favourite with me, and especially if it comes from Canada! Lately, Canada has become a beacon of shining hope for music, with the Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade releasing some truly excellent albums. 'I'll Believe In Anything' is probably one of the best songs of the year, honestly.
4. Gorgeous - Ni Hao!
I only discovered this band recently, but they instantly dug into me and haven't budged. After all, if there's one thing I like more than Japanese all-girl indie rock bands, it'd be Japanese all-girl indie rock bands doing pretty sweet covers of Ramones songs.
3. The Woods - Sleater-Kinney
The second all girl band on my top eleven list, and these ones certainly know how to rock. Like Mel said, these ladies know how to rock harder than most male-dominated bands, and for that I am thankful.
2. Wolfmother - Wolfmother
They're Australian, they know how to rock, and they can come up with riffs that Black Sabbath would kill for. Those facts by themselves would secure these guys in the top eleven, but they got to second place because of the feel that the album produces - it's like listening to classic Led Zeppelin-era rock, but on a whole different way. Sure, it could never replace the classics, but there's something about it...
1. The Runners Four - Deerhoof
Deerhoof, one of the most original bands out there, go on a Led Zeppelin binge? Oh, hell yeah! I'm pretty sure that their guitarists are the best working in indie rock today, and their drummer is amazing as well. Unlike your typical Guitar Center shredders, they take what is obviously a lot of technical ability and translate it into a batch of rock songs that are alternately rollicking, surreal, psychedelic, and HEAVY.
And that's it for me. I would include favourite moments, or best lines, but you know what? Screw them, I just wrote a top eleven. Beat that!
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