Impractical Jokes

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In Matsumoto on the weekend there was an army of college students dotted around the city sitting on chairs, looking bored, and clicking little clickers counting pedestrian traffic.

I thought it would be funny to walk back and forth in front of one of them and have them keep clicking me over and over again.

It wasn’t funny.

Sometimes practical jokes shouldn’t be put into practice.

 

note: stopping just as you are about to pass those clicker people isn’t any funnier.

double note: I guess this idea was an ideological joke only.

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Trivial Bets #5

Toni Tennille of “The Captain and Tennille” fame was a backup singer on Pink Floyd‘s “Darkside of the Moon” album. (false)

planetross 1 – trivial better 4

When I’m Not Blogging, I Seem To Visit …

 

 

… the same places over and over again!

 

I had 9 days off in a row one after the other consecutively: like a row of dominoes, each day fell quickly and toppled in to the next … and were rectangular, white, and had assorted black dots on them … unless you have those black dominoes with assorted white dots on them … then it was just like that!

My snake wrangling sister  and her son came: so I polished off the bells and whistles (they were a bit dusty … and quiet), pulled out all the stops (hidden behind the Christmas ornament in the closet), and gave them the planetross super deluxe grand tour de forcefulness.

It’s kind of nice revisiting places, especially with people who haven’t been there before.
It makes me look like I know something!
… and we had a rubber chicken which always comes in handy.

In Nikko, I know that the chance of actually seeing the “sacred white horse” in it’s stable is slim; I know what shrines and temples are included on the one day ticket; I even know where the monkeys are! (usually)

 

In Matsumoto, I know the castle has a secret floor, all the staircases are in separate locations on each floor, and the staircases rise at angles between 55 and  61 degrees.

 

I knew that if I didn’t take pictures of the old guns inside Prairie Flounder  and Turkish Prawn  would be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I also know that taking pictures of things in glass cases doesn’t usually work too well for me.

I know cicadas are noisy little bastards everywhere! (random fact … consider it a bonus)

 

In Hiroshima, I know that I took the right exit when I see the “Boo Foo Woo” supermarket sign and the “Gush” sign … that I still have no idea about what they are selling.
Possibly there are other “Boo Foo Woo” supermarkets  at the other Hiroshima exits, but so far I’ve been lucky.

I know it’s the #2 tram that takes people to the ferry going to Miyajima; I know the seats on the trams make me bounce up and down in a silly way; I know that I really should start checking when the damn tide will be in!

 I know the A-bomb dome is pretty hard to miss at night too!

It’s amazing to think that I feel more comfortable driving in to Hiroshima than cities back at home: Vancouver is still a mystery to me.

 I know that something in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum will make me think about the bigger picture and how lucky I’ve been … and that life is fleeting and you better enjoy it while you can because you never know what card will be dealt next.

 

In Kanazawa, I know that the same staff will be sweeping the same paths at the Kenrokuen Garden.

I know I will stick my head into this thing outside the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art on every visit. 

I know I sweat a lot and am possibly getting a bit thin up top!  Thanks for mentioning it! (the sweat is real, but the thinning hair could be a trick of light possibly)

 I know I will see cool art/statues/posters around the city … that I didn’t see the last time.

I know that if a family member is with me, I’ll probably have to ask random people to do random silly things in front of the camera … and they will say yes. 

I know I know I know. I’ve been there before.

 

note: If you come to Japan keep a bit of bread in your pocket because you’ll probably come across hungry carp in ponds somewhere when you least expect it.

double note: we also saw the Nagaoka fireworks and the Numata Matsuri … but I always go to those things … so I won’t mention them here. I think the “snake wrangler”  and “son of snake wrangler” had a good time: typhoonish weather, a little earthquake, a 5 hour traffic jam, and  enough lightning to power a lightning storm rounded out the trip. 

 

 

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Displaysment

 Looking around a big Craft Market on the weekend made me think about “crafting” and “marketing“.

All the crafts on display were topnotch. I wasn’t really interested in a lot of them, but I could appreciate the “craftmanship shape quality of all the vessles and other crafts present“.

The real difference was in the presentation/marketing.

Some artists displayed their stuff like cakes at a bake sale, while others thought a garage sale type layout might best attract attention and buyers.

These things were cool and reasonably priced, but they looked like crap just lying there. Having them on little stands would have been a lot better.

Maybe the artist wanted people to pick them up, but you could barely see what they were if you were just walking by.

Other artists really had a handle on the presentation situation.

There were many good techniques:

Cool Display Units 

 These would still look good sitting on a table, but the display unit made everything so much better.

This one triggered my curiousity. There were lighting fixtures/lamp things inside. Yes, I did look in all 3 holes.

 

Expensive Cool Stuff Out Front

 

 I don’t think this person sold too many funky hats for $80, but they sold out of all the felt belts and pin-on corsage things that looked like flowers.

 

Grouped Things

Somethings just look better in numbers; lined up, grouped together, lying in bunches, or spread out.

 United we stand, divided we don’t sell … or something like that.

 20 together look cool, but maybe the effect will be different when you buy one and put it on your apartment balcony. These were the 2nd most photographed thing at the market. Having 10 people constantly buzzing around your display with cameras can’t be too bad.

 Being colorful always helps.

Nicely lined up never hurt sales.

User friendly grouped musical things are begging to be looked at and played. (played term used loosely)

Things made for kids can’t be too bad.

 

Craft Market people are crafty … sometimes.

 

 

note: the jury is still out on this one.

These people were selling coat hangers made of twine or something. I guess they knew that their product wasn’t so visually stunning.
I think they sold them all though. (the coat hangers, not the chairs with lemons on them)

 

double note: ahhh! The most photographed thing at the Craft Market was …

The Pinky Girls working for Matsumoto City selling “2 Day Bus Passes“.
I was going to buy some … until I was reminded that I drove to the Market.

 

triple note: How not to sell your stuff …

don’t sit behind your wares in total despair.

 

quadruple note: I never mentioned the ring/jewelry people because really they don’t need any presentation skills or other help to make people look and buy their stuff.

quintuple note: “location, location, location” didn’t work at this place. The best located stand was a rogue shop on the way to the Craft Fair that 75% of people walked by to and from the Fair.
They were selling crappy factory laquer ware stuff and didn’t get too many sniffs, bites, or second glances.

sextuple note:

a craft market could be a boat show
a carafe market sells vessles too!

 

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Trying To Catch The Moon

 

I saw this piece at a once a year Craft Fair in Matsumoto, Nagano. 
The event is a pretty big deal with really good artists from around Japan being invited.

It was tucked inside a little stall among hundreds of other little stalls showing and selling wares: wax work, leatherwork, woodwork, glasswork, metalwork, ceramic work, …

This was the best thing I saw this weekend. I would have bought it, but it was 200,000 yen (about $2.000 plus U.S. dollars).

I wondered why I liked it so much:

–It was strange and funky and funny and odd.

–It was hiding behind the artist’s other stuff that was more accessible and within the average person’s price range: coat hooks, spoons, …

–It was sitting there begging to be looked at .. and being ignored.
I notice stuff like that sometimes.

 

I went back to this piece 2 days in a row … 2 times each day and even got the artist’s webpage address.

And then I realized I liked it because of what it represented … in a silly sort of way that I could I understand:

reaching, striving, yearning, and trying to obtain a goal.

I don’t have too many goals in life, but this was a metaphor … or metalphor …that I could appreciate.

If I was an artist, I would create stuff like this … because then I could have it, think about it, and keep it close by forever … or until I pass on my little space on this planet to someone else … or sell it and make some more.

 

note: here is another photo of it.

 

 double note: from the artist’s link  it was made in 2006 and no one’s bought it yet; I may still buy it … if I reach, strive, yearn, and try a bit more than I am right now …  or a bucket of money falls in my lap.

I’m reaching, striving, yearning, and trying for that big bucket of money falling in my lap … because that’s easier.

 

triple note: I think I put on sappy blogs after a holiday: holidays make me sappy … I guess. Go figure.

quadruple note: possibly there are blogs about a Craft Fair, cactuses (cacti), dogs, fashion, signs, mannequins, and visored people coming on in the near future.
… and other crap as usual.

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When I’m Not Blogging, I Possibly Visited … (Part Last)

 Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture

 

Hidden treasures close by always leave me slapping my head thinking “Why haven’t I visited here before?” … but so do mosquitoes around a re-hab center.

 

Only a 3 hour drive from where I live; Matsumoto in my guide book is described as:

The city has a somewhat lazy, dishevelled feel to it, though the coming of the 1998 Winter Olympics will probably force the people to spruce things up a bit.

Hey! those “lonely planet” books are expensive!

 

 The city has a fascination with frogs for some reason.

 

 Matsumoto Castle is one of the Top 3 Castles in Japan. I’ve visited the other 2: Himeji and Kumamoto before.
I didn’t mean to, things just happen like that to me.

Built in 1504 and completed in 1614, it’s pretty old. It was scheduled for the scrap heap when the Meiji Restoration period was in full swing; but some locals thought that would suck, so the city bought it … and the rest is history … but so is the past.

Why was it called the “Meiji Restoration” when they went around wrecking and tearing old stuff down? Stupid Meiji Restoration!

 

 The castle somehow looks better in black and white.

I took this photo from one of the sniper windows, while slowly … ever so slowly … winding, shuffling, and climbing my way to the top of the castle, in my socks and everything!

Those are all the people who joined the line after I joined the line.

The castle looks like it has 5 floors, but there are really 6: one is secret. (you’re going to have to scroll back up to check this out, because I don’t have any more photos of it)

 

From what I saw Matsumoto looked like a very nice city, but with limited time before joining the final traffic jam of the trip there wasn’t time to explore anything else. I’ll definitely go back again.

 And that was the end of this year’s Golden Week adventure.

Another vacation packed away in a can along with all the other vacation memories in my head.

 

 

note: arriving home it was all the usually post-trip stuff: laundry, lawn mowing,  photos, milk purchases, and distributing the obligatory omiyage (souvenirs) to my neighbour and co-workers.

 

 

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