The Road to Burning Man

So I'm heading to Burning Man.

I left yesterday from Calgary at about six, hit the border about noon. We discovered that when three young guys say they're going to Burning Man to CBP, they search the car. So after two hours we got across the border. We stayed one night in Butte, Montana, hit up some hot springs in the morning and are now in Twin Falls, Idaho. We will stay tomorrow night in Reno, resupply and head up to Burning Man.

It's kind of weird being in the states. Unlike other countries I've been to (Japan, Thailand, the British Isles), everything is almost exactly like home, just a little bit different. It throws you off. Beer in convenience stores, everybody paying with cheques. It reinforces the oddness to have everything else, language, etc. the same.

It will be nice to get to the site where the weirdness will be overt and celebrated.

Stay tuned for more
Richie

The Road to Burning Man

So I'm heading to Burning Man.

I left yesterday from Calgary at about six, hit the border about noon. We discovered that when three young guys say they're going to Burning Man to CBP, they search the car. So after two hours we got across the border. We stayed one night in Butte, Montana, hit up some hot springs in the morning and are now in Twin Falls, Idaho. We will stay tomorrow night in Reno, resupply and head up to Burning Man.

It's kind of weird being in the states. Unlike other countries I've been to (Japan, Thailand, the British Isles), everything is almost exactly like home, just a little bit different. It throws you off. Beer in convenience stores, everybody paying with cheques. It reinforces the oddness to have everything else, language, etc. the same.

It will be nice to get to the site where the weirdness will be overt and celebrated.

Stay tuned for more
Richie

Spook Country

I just read Spook Country by William Gibson.

He's my favourite author. I couldn't have cared less when Harry Potter came out, but I pre-ordered Spook Country. His are the few books I can get a real appreciation for when reading for the scond (third, fourth...) time. I think this has something to do with the fact that the actual story is secondary to my enjoyment of his books. In fact, I'd be hard-pressed to even explain what the plot of this latest book is, and I just read it. With Gibson, its all about characters and his exceptionally cool writing style.

One of the interesting things about Gibson is how he's identified as science fiction, but his books have been getting closer and closer to the present. His first book, written in 1982, took place in a vague, undefined future, probably about twenty years hence. This newest book is set in February 2006. I like to think that the world is just coming closer to his vision of the future. he just keeps getting more and more relevant. William Gibson's books take place in our time, but a world that's so much cooler than the one you or I live in. A world of art, music and eccentrics. It's my ambition in life to become a Gibson character

As to the book itsel; as the title suggests, it's about espionage. And something called locative art, a kind virtual sculpture tied to a specific GPS coordinate. It also contains the character Hubertus Bigend, head of the PR firm Blue Ant. His appearance in both this and the previous book suggests to me that he creating a loosely tied-together trilogy. But really, you're just gonna have to read it

Ballardian Archetypes

I'm almost done reading Millennnium People by J.G. Ballard. Ballard is best known for his novel Empire of the Sun, which was turned into a film by Spielberg, but I far prefer his weird dystopian science fiction, which is the bulk of his output. He, along with William Gibson and Jorge Luis Borges is the greatest inspiration for my own writing.

However, in the same way that all of Robertson Davies has one character, himself, I always have the same image in my head when I read Ballard. A sort of archetype of the educated English middle class. In my head this man (for it's always a man) is constructed of equal parts Ballard himself, Christopher Hitchens and Edward Fox, especially in Day of the Jackal. He is tall, slim and fair. Blue eyes, sandy fly-away hair. He is invariably dressed in leisurely clothing; pale linen suits, polo shirts or tennis shorts. Even if it says so in the text, in my head he never wears a tie. If it's cold he might wear tweed and a sweater.

The odd thing about all this is that it always the same. Even if it is the apocalypse, which it often is in his stories, he is still there in his linen suit and espadrilles. I'm not sure if this is a lack of imagination on my part or the authors. I wonder if my own characters suffer from this problem. So many of them are me.

The phtos above will give you an idea.

Richard

Crappyness

So my iPod was stolen. Yeah.

Those who know me, or have read this blog, know my love of music. Thus, not being able to listen to music at all times knda blows. How it happened, I was drunk, and two punks basically took it from me after i got off the train. Crappyness.

I'm trying to look at the bright side, of which there is none. I'm on a bit of a music break. I don't want to burn myself out, so I'm not going to listen to music for a while, so I can approach all my favourite bands anew.

I'm gonna focus on my writing for a bit, try and get some stories published.

Burning Man 2007...Vegas Baby Vegas!

So my tickets for Burning Man arrived this week. Awesome.

So this is the plan: My roommates Wing, Jinja and myself will strike south from Calgary on or about the morning of the 24th of August. We will take about three days or so leisurely driving down to Reno and Black Rock City. We'll probably camp, motel it, Jinja wants to take some pictures. We hope to arrive earlyish on the 27th, in order to stay at Burning Man the full week. We'll meet up with some people I met last year, and some of my Japanese friends I went with.

Last time was pretty crazy, but this time we're gonna be staying longer, we're much better prepared, and I at least know a little bit about what I'm getting into. Last year I saw two topless girls fight in the Thunderdomw, participated in some performance art and just generally went a little nuts. This year is gonna be crazier.

Following Burning Man, we plan to stay one day in Reno, then drive to Las Vegas. We're going to go from a week in temporary artist's community, where there is no money, to the world centre of greed. I've never been to Vegas, so I'm not sure what to expect during the four days or so we're there. Then we go home.

I fully expect to take a good three years or so off my life with this trip, but it will be worth it, because I'll have gained at least five year's worth of experience.

See you on the other Side.

Richie

New Music Part 1

As you may or may not know, my roommate Wing's girlfriend, Chelsey, is currently in Japan doing, all kinds of crazy stuff.

Before she left, I gave 30,000 Yen (About 300 dollars) in order to buy a bunch of music for me. Yes, I'm that big a nerd. Nine CD's off new (to me) music just arrived last week. It is hard to express just how excited I was. Something like a little kid at Christmas. I tore them all open, but then couldn't decide which one to listen to first. I even did all the dishes so I would have some thing to do while I listened to the music.

Amongst the new music was the first full-length album for this band, Empty Black Box, "What's EBB?". The addition of this album means I now own every release by this not-particularly well-known indie band. Looking at their Two-Tone suits and horns, you would think of them as a Neoska band -and they do have some ska influence- but in fact they refer to themselves as Brass Rock. I think it's a great description; really high-energy pop-rock with a great brass section. Their songs are all just your basic love songs, but with great arrangement. The really great thing about this band is that no matter what, they can always put me in a good mood.

I think that encapsulates what I like about the Japanese music scene, the positivity. Not just within individual bands, but amonng all the people that support them. There's very little infighting, and none of the attitude you see so often from rockabilly fans: "That's not real rockabilly." People are honestly about the music, even if they can't understand the lyrics. They get that music is about fun and emotion, and really should not be thought about too much. And even if someone is a fan of one specific type of music, they are usually pretty open to other things. I remember standing on the patio of King Cobra after my band's first gig, a huge ska event, and talking with a bunch of rockabilly guys with no problems.

Anyway back to the band. These guys put on an amazing show. I saw them in Nagoya after spending the day at the zoo. (the things you think when you're hungover; 'you know what I should I do, travel to another city, go to the zoo and then a concert. RIGHT NOW') Their are two kinds of show that are awesome; the kinda shitty band that goes on stage, drunk, and just has a great time with great energy. You can't be mad at those guys, and they just sweep you up into their energy (that was my band, Los Skauters). The other kind is the really good band, that's organised and puts on a show. Empty Black Box is definitely of the latter variety. The trombones have choreographed dances, they wear matching suits and the music sounds as good as the record. The lead singer also speaks incredibly fast. Unfortunately, they were somewhat overshadowed by the Hot Hunny Bunny Stompers who came on next (and win the prize for best name). Now that's a show! Costumes, a dedicated a dancer/stagehand, props, all backing some really talented musicians. However, I still love EBB more, I think.

At some point I'll figure out how to add links then I'll show you all the band's homepage, etc.

Thanks,

Richie