Ah, so it’s finally happening! As of about two weeks ago I found out that I am definitely absolutely going to Japan this summer! I couldn’t be more excited, and my goal here is to have a journal to share my experiences with all of you. This is sort of a prologue to the actual trip, seeing as though I won’t be boarding my plane to Tokyo until May 27th.
Kanazawa Castle （金沢城）
As I’ve indicated, the city that I will be spending two months in is called Kanazawa. Surprisingly I had never heard of it before, despite it being a very large and prominent city. Here is a very nice youtube video (if you’re willing to spend 20 minutes) describing some of the focal points of the city. The classical music about 3 minutes in is a very nice touch too :)
Other than that, I’ll just add a few pictures for the time being. Later on I’ll discuss things in a little more detail.
21st Century Art Museum
Kenrokuen （兼六園） (Six Attributes Garden)
So I was in New York City the other day. My friend and I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA for short) and afterwords, right next to the New York Times headquarters building is a very interesting store. It’s called MUJI (無印良品, Mujirushi Ryōhin) and is essentially a Japanese Ikea.
The store is very cleverly using a no brand strategy to appeal to customers. I would kind of agree that non branded materials can be a little more aesthetically pleasing to look at. When I was there, I bought a business card case and 2 CDs. They sell about 15 different CDs each with a different theme. They were playing the Tango themed disc and it sounded really awesome. All instrumental of course, with guitar, piano, bandoneon, and violin. The second one was French and unfortunately didn’t end of being as good. Ah well, can’t win ‘em all.
Anyways the store was very cool and I thought I would share. There is another location in SoHo NYC near Chinatown, but other than those two and a small section dedicated to MUJI in the MoMA design store, there are no other existing outlets in the States. Obviously, there are many stores in Japan, and also several across Europe.
So I was on youtube, and for some reason this popped up under my recommended videos.
’tis very funny and cute, until you realize that it’s about farting :P
~Ryan
Doctor Faustus Novel
So, I’m already off to a great start at writing Friday posts. This will hopefully make up for my absence. Which means that Orey is really the only one who is being a true slacker. So because I don’t really have any information to offer all of you diligent readers, I might just try to convince you of how my life is interesting.
So the problem here is that most of you who read this probably already know what I was referring to when I mentioned Faustus in the title. More specifically I’m talking about the magnum opus of famous German author Thomas Mann. This class that I’m taking now (yes I’m taking about school cause it’s all I do) is called Music and Literature: Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus. At the class’ core is the weighty novel that we are to read over the semester, which talks about a fictitious composer named Adrian Leverkuhn, living in pre-Nazi Germany up until his untimely death at the onset of World War II. Now I’m no history enthusiast, but I do enjoy learning about the inner cultural and psychological thoughts that led the German nation to such a precipitous decline. And what is the best part is that music is involved! So while reading Faustus and Stern (a historical novel that covers ancestral Germany up and through to the New Republic) I also get to listen to compositions by the masters. Why just a few minutes ago I was listening to Beethoven’s Op. 111 Piano Sonata. Yes it is great fun (at least for me…) Anyway the book is full of allegories between Leverkuhn’s life and the condition of the German nation during the rise of the Third Reich. In fact the book is an allegory of allegories to be more specific.
Thomas Mann author
Ok so anything else to rant about? Hmmmmmm….I guess not really. Oh, I get to go to a club on Friday. Excuse me, it is actually called a Danceboutique. :P I’ll make sure to paste a rainbow somewhere on me for the occasion.
~Ryan
Hello, thankfully an introduction is most likely not needed. But on the off hand that by some miracle, this site spikes to universal fame and fortune, I should at least put up some information about myself.
Interests include: piano (mostly classical but I play contemporary stuff for work); computers; Japanese; anime; DSAGA (Diverse sexuality and gender alliance), IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers); and also some Hopkins symphony orchestra things.
I also like watching a lot of youtube (C)…..
I’m junior majoring in computer engineering, and will hopefully emerge from graduation with a career for some computer / computational robotics / electronics company. Maybe something that involves blowing shit up perhaps……..with lasers!
Some current things that I’m doing on the off beat include listening to a lot of Ben Folds music, and watching the Showtime hit Weeds online. I’m halfway through season three and I really find it interesting, and no, it’s not for the sake of aspiring to become a single stay at home mom who supports her children by selling pot.
So now onto more important matters……what is it that I fell that I’ll be contributing to the site? Ummmmm well, on the previous log I did, it ranged from anime reviews, to music recognition, to anything that I damn well was pleased to write about. So I would say that you can necessarily place me in any particular category. However I can tell you that while Tony nay surround himself with Gundams, and Jen with her BJD’s, our next poster will most definitely be the residential pervert. So if your looking for a good laugh, come back on Monday. But in all seriousness I hope to include some relevant world news posts, that will have some opinions of mine. Hopefully something that will spark a discussion yeah?
So to distract you as I depart, here is a funny video of a Porto-potty joke that I like……
Clever and Hysterical Porta Potty Bathroom Prank
~Ryan
