z u i h i t s u 随筆: November 2014

Echoes of Bluemars

For years, I listened to the Bluemars ambient music streams on the Internet, at night before or during sleep, or while writing or working in the studio. There were three separate streams: Bluemars (Music for the Space Traveller), Cryosleep (Zero Beat Guaranteed) and Voices from Within (Words From Beyond). Cryosleep especially provided the ambience for me to enter into a non-intrusive other-worldly realm where my mind seemed to float, suspended, as I savoured the lightness and textures of the sonic pulses.

On and off over the years, Bluemars suddenly stopped transmitting in 2013. However, in late 2013, overrider created Echoes of Bluemars; as curator, he has made certain that the revived fleet of streams remains faithful to its origins.

"In attempts to reestablish communication with the lost Bluemars fleet, an echo of past transmissions was found. Retransmitting signals from years ago, these echoes give us a glimpse into the past."

http://echoesofbluemars.org

The streams are definitely worth exploring.

There is also an Echoes of Bluemars Facebook page, if you're interested.

Enjoy!

Latent Image magazine

Five full pages, including an excerpt from my wood nymph poem and several images, were published in Issue No. 4 (Fall 2014) of Latent Image, an online magazine edited/published by Allison White and Nicole Langdon-Davies from Vancouver.

Their 'zine is "a story of images and words, juxtaposed." The online digital version is free to view; you can also purchase a hardcopy version.

2 of 5 full pages

Art shows in Japan

While in Tokyo, I visited the Hokusai exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum close to where we were staying. It was great to see Hokusai's ukiyo-e masterpieces up close.

We travelled to Mount Fuji where we visited the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. Many years ago, I had bought an oversized book (Opulence) that showed the wonderful kimono created by Itchiku Kubota. He had succeeded in reviving the long-lost technique of tsujigahana. If you're interested in seeing more about the Kubota kimono, go here.

Trip to Japan

J & I recently travelled to Japan, visiting Narita, Tokyo and Mount Fuji. It was a great trip! It's always inspiring to visit a country that has such a sense of aesthetics and design.

If you're interested in viewing an online slideshow of the trip, please hop over. Here are a few images from the trip... (I used an iOS app called Moku Hanga (woodblock print) to postprocess the photos.