tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post5230317076480981791..comments2024-03-19T21:14:01.007-07:00Comments on The Compass Rose: My Summer in KyotoCurtis Favillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-26982940581270809492009-07-21T20:58:54.082-07:002009-07-21T20:58:54.082-07:00Perhaps we can have a debate about the virtues of ...Perhaps we can have a debate about the virtues of oriental culture, someday.<br /><br />For the moment, I have to indulge in less complicated projects.<br /><br />It does no good to tackle problems for which one is unprepared, or insufficiently informed.<br /><br />Attacking from a position of ignorance does no one any good.<br /><br />Blogging is about raising ephemeral concerns and issues, and suggesting tangents of sentiment. Nothing more. <br /><br />Someday, it would be interesting to collect all these brief essays. I think Douglas Messerli has done that very thing.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-45556900991566464682009-07-21T17:31:57.243-07:002009-07-21T17:31:57.243-07:00I didn't think you should "put it down,&q...I didn't think you should "put it down," [Nippon]. But to have some perspective! You went gaga.<br /><br />You tend to go gaga over a few things: first it was Larry Eigner, and now, Japan.<br /><br />Try to get a hold of yourself, or pretty soon there's going to be nothing to hold you back.<br /><br />On the one side there's this Grammar Nazi. You make fun of the inadequacy of American speech and writing.<br /><br />Then, on the other side, there's this notion that Japan and Larry Eigner are perfect, or at least as close to perfect as anything in this world can be.<br /><br />Just because they appear in a poem by Philip Whalen doesn't mean that dragonflies are special. <br /><br />Remember what the Japanese did in Nanking in WWII. Remember the terrible suffering they inflicted on the Dutch and on our soldiers at Pearl Harbor.<br /><br />I don't know what if anything Larry Eigner did that could be considered unethical or immoral or even anaesthetic or unaesthetic, but still, didn't he ever write anything in your mind that wasn't good?<br /><br />He did seem to mix up Kenya with less well-nourished African countries of the period. Can't you even fault him on the knowledge scorecard?Kirby Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05952289700191142943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-75263579830646375512009-07-20T08:00:00.526-07:002009-07-20T08:00:00.526-07:00in private home design the japanese did take into ...in private home design the japanese did take into consideration the aesthetics of shitting and pissing<br />they took pains to create space<br />quiet space adn the practice of old was to place aromatic pine branches where the waste would be overwhlemd with pine scent<br />this was forsaken when they took to american style plumbing which never fit into their social design but they sort of forced it i guess they bought into the shiny efficiency of th ewest<br />now they excel at it<br />without much thought it seems<br /><br />we have a monastery in fujimi<br />designed by a japanese architect<br />ken takagaki<br />set into a very small space<br />but made spacious nonetheless<br />i don't know about the toilets<br />but i've heard nothing shitty from the monks<br /><br />i too think the photos are superb<br />and i don't like photos all that much<br /><br />what i detest about the chinese is the cameras<br />i was performing in a coffe shop a few nights ago<br />a bunch of japanes tourists came in lokked around<br />took some pictures adn left<br />it seems they have no need any longer to sit and listen adn contemplate<br />why bother<br />take a picture and go<br />too many damn cameras around<br /><br />jjhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10043530995274885830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-48012858127672357202009-07-19T17:40:13.748-07:002009-07-19T17:40:13.748-07:00Kirby:
I guess the point of my Japan post is that...Kirby:<br /><br />I guess the point of my Japan post is that I rather liked Kyoto (as well as Northern Japan). <br /><br />It didn't occur to me to put Japan (and the Japanese) down. Or to try to find shortcomings and failures in oriental culture.<br /><br />Buddhism never appealed to me much. But from an aesthetic point of view--especially for Westerners--it's an interesting opposite.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-60076898767797822872009-07-19T14:07:40.132-07:002009-07-19T14:07:40.132-07:00their legs are shorter, perhaps, so -- easier to f...their legs are shorter, perhaps, so -- easier to fold?<br /><br />we would have to affirm that on a statistical basis, but again, it's probably not a PC thing to go around gathering statistics about.<br /><br />I once heard from a guy who was doing research in Japan that he held on to a rope and had to poop out over a hole dug centuries back. Once a week he'd go to a McDonald's (this was in the 60s) and sit there with the newspaper for two hours.<br /><br />Such a relief!<br /><br />Tell us everything you think about the Japanese at some point and be as critical as you can!<br /><br />Ed will flip!<br /><br />but i think the rest of us just want to know the truth.Kirby Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05952289700191142943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-85082865833660626172009-07-19T13:42:21.922-07:002009-07-19T13:42:21.922-07:00Japanese have a different view of toilets. Usuall...Japanese have a different view of toilets. Usually, it's a hole in the floor, maybe with a kind of shaped flange around the edge. You just have to squat all the way down to the floor, and let'er fly. Being a very tall man (6'4"), this put a big strain on my knees. Plus, it's unfamiliar to a Westerner used to resting when doing one's business.*<br /><br />But these kinds of things are culturally determined. It's just different. If you grow up using another form, it's what seems natural.<br /><br />One day I'll talk about the Japanese, a fascinating people--both good and bad. They are profoundly different from us--something that hardly anyone ever talks about. In our current environment of accommodation and political correctness, it's impermissible to talk about it, but it's a crucial thing.<br /><br />_________<br /><br />I'm not sure if it's a racial thing, but I think Europeans have a harder time folding their legs than Asians do generally.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-14421338233416799112009-07-19T10:20:30.878-07:002009-07-19T10:20:30.878-07:00I find the Buddhist thing very compelling. Why do...I find the Buddhist thing very compelling. Why don't you tell us about some of the annoyances, though? This verges on Orientalism the way you go ga-ga. Weren't there any drawbacks?<br /><br />Like I liked Paris, but didn't like the dog shit everywhere.<br /><br />I liked Paris, but the toilets were quite rudimentary.<br /><br />It doesn't seem like you have any perspective on the place, even 25 years later, as if you waltzed into hog heaven.<br /><br />Come on! Carp a bit! It's only human!Kirby Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05952289700191142943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-10428860909399827382009-07-18T19:30:40.598-07:002009-07-18T19:30:40.598-07:00Curtis,
The photos here are superb -- all yours?...Curtis, <br /><br />The photos here are superb -- all yours?<br /><br />(Two get big with a click-through, the others remain small.)Steven Famahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13733977161680651117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-88952984404566853032009-07-18T17:40:12.611-07:002009-07-18T17:40:12.611-07:00I wouldn't have known where to find Corman.I wouldn't have known where to find Corman.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-69566557483042610082009-07-18T09:40:26.290-07:002009-07-18T09:40:26.290-07:00you visit Cid and Shizumi's
ice-cream shoppe?...you visit Cid and Shizumi's<br /><br />ice-cream shoppe?<br /><br />take pictures of?Ed Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285310130024785775noreply@blogger.com