Roppongi Hills: The Mori Art Museum

Hello Ozzies!

I didn't say it in the latest post, but I finally managed to take control over my rebelled mac, and the track pad has been condemned to perpetual ostracism (thank you mommy and daddy, for sending me my wireless mouse!).

So I hope this means I will become a nice Kansas girls and will start pouring info here (I'm starting to repeat myself here, I sound like a politician...).

Last Sunday was cloudy, but I didn't feel like staying home, so I went for some shopping. It's been at least 3 months, and you know I need it! Specially if my brother goes to San Francisco, which means lots of outlets for him, and no clothes for me. Since this is not acceptable, I went to buy,buy,buy,BUY! Well, in fact I didn't buy much, just a jacket and a hat, but it's a start (by the way, have I mentioned that I love my new jacket and my new hat? I love them!). I've also bought a card holder for business reasons (ok, this was a cheap excuse, but I couldn't help it).

So after a tiring shopping afternoon (I will never ever again complain for the amount of people during sales periods in Europe!), I decided to go for this wonderful exposition everybody talks about, located in Roppongi hills. The Mori Art Museum, located in the 54 floor, hosts some nice temporary exhibitions, normally related with art of Oriental manufacture.

Today's exhibition was centered around the work of Ai Wei Wei. Doesn't ring a bell? Neither to me, until I saw one of his most known works: the Bird's Nest building of the Beijing's Olympic Games. A very very nice surprise: I would not call him an artist, for me he is rather a "designer": he conceives most of his works, but the manufacture is performed by someone else.

Ok, it looks stupid, but this is 1ton of tea, in a block of 1 cubic meters. In real, it is impressive, specially with the ilumination and its location. I was very impressed by the mixture of antiquity vs. modernity that is a constant in all of his works.  If we come back to the block of tea, we can see that even though the piece is undoubtedly of modern fabric, the fact that it has been made up with compressed tea (a millenary beverage in China), and its strong link to nature (the tea used in this piece is just that, tea: nothing has been added to it) appeals to the ancient history of his home country.

Enough! Anyone reading this may think I'm getting paid by the museum, or even worse, that I started sniffing yellow brick's powder (Mommy, if you're reading this, I swear you it's not true!).

Most of the photos I took were in black and white: I like the way the light acted with the structures. Plus, it gives them more artistic relief. Anyway, here are some other pieces:

After the exhibition, I headed for the panoramic view of the Museum. It is located in the 54th floor of Roppongi Hills. Thus, the views are breathtaking. It is really THE spot to see Tokyo at night!

But it is possible to go even further up in Roppongi Hills: you can always meet the rooftop (the fancy name for it is the Sky Deck). Here, there's no window panes, no glasses, nothing. You are expected to leave everything in a locker (except for the mobile phone and the camera) before taking the lift to the roof.

And man, when you get there, it just gets better! One has the feeling of owning Tokyo, as in Kingpin's office (the comic reference was somehow "obligé" here). Up above, only sky. And below, the humming of Tokyo...

Enjoy the views Ozzies!

Sadoo: The Japanese Way of tea

Hello Ozzies!

Long time no see! So we're gonna try to update this blog a little bit.

This may surprise a few (or not, it just depend how well you know me...but since everyone thinks I'm a bit of a weirdo, I suppose it won't be a blast): Last Saturday I started my Tea ceremony classes (or Sadoo, as the Japanese call it)!

But what is this funny thing old Willie is popping out of his hat? Well, for those who don't know it, here's a  couple of links with info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony  (Wikipedia was kind of an obligation...)

http://www.kato3.org/chanoyu/frame.html    (this one is more home-made, but also nice)

As you may see, it is something pretty old, and very attached to the Japanese zen roots. Personally speaking, I find it very interesting, both esthetically and from a philosophical point of view.  Even though its main idea may seem a bit simple (in the simplest version the tea master serves pastries and tea to a number of guests), it conveys many of the most important teachings of the zen buddhism. And since esthetics is a topic very dear to me (philosophically speaking), the Japanese mixing was a must. It may sound weird, but there is a lot of things common to the tea ceremony and Wilde, Nietzsche and Berger. And of course. But I will spare you of all this rhetoric about esthetics (unless someone asks, of course! Dorothy and Toto are very tired of hearing me talking about these things...).

Ok, back to the Tea Ceremony! Our first lesson took place in a real tea room, in a real Japanese house (photos will come as soon as I download them from my camera). This time, we were something like 9 (a lot for a tea ceremony!), and in the following classes we will be around 11. All of us Vulcanus students eager to learn a bit more about Japan and its culture.

We were there for something like 3 hours, and man, it was amazing. Up to some point, it was like coming back to my lessons of Kuk Sool Won, and I really appreciated it: even though the scenario was completely different, the principles at stake were surprinsigly similar. Like coming back home...I'm going to sound very hippie here, but at some points I felt as if the room, the decoration, the ceremony and I were only one. It is also true that the night before I didn't sleep much (partying and zen rime quite well!)...

Enough of the "heartfelt revelations minute"!

See you ozzies (enjoy that hour you just gained, here there's no change of hour...)!

Blowing in the wind

Hello Ozzies!

Just as Bobby said...except that maybe not in the sense he had in mind. The Merlor typhoon has just came to Tokyo. Result: no class for Vulcanus! I really needed my holidays...ok, it's not very "Japanese thinking", but I think they'll understand. And if they not, I don't care! Today, Dorothy and Toto are kite-playing. And me...taking a long, well-deserved nap!

See you Ozzies!

First Gym class or "How the hell can they manage to not to sweat?"

Hello Ozzies!

Since I'm pretty back on the schedule, I've decided to skip the last two weeks and talk about the present. Don't worry, this is only a temporary measure. I will be coming back to my last trips (Hiroshima, Kurashiki, Okayama, Matsue, Izumo, Hagi and Nikko). I know, this is a disaster, and I should go straight to hell for doing this, but I think is the only way to keep my mediocre blog running.

So, what have I done today? Well, I've gone to my first class at the Gym! Of course, in Japanese. Pedro and I have joined a Gym in Machida where there is pretty much everything: swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, and a long blablabla. That includes some classes also, like Adidas Style Yoga vs. Martial Arts! Yeah, you read right. I have no idea of what does it mean, even though I have already attended one class!

Before starting, we thought "why don't we do some stretching first by running on the treadmills?" Wonderful idea, that is, if we were to join a European class in a Gym...What we didn't expected was to be the only ones sweating during the whole class. Japanese people don't sweat. At least not while doing sports. It's amazing. Well, I'll go for "rather creepy" instead. But it comes quite handy. Specially if you are to do martial arts barefoot in a very slippery floor. We have been veery close to total disaster. The teacher started opening her legs, performing weird combos with the hands and her legs, and kicking the air. Everything so fast I saw my poor back plummeting more than a couple of times. And we to keep in mind that the lesson was (yes, you got it right) in Japanese. So try following her steps just by looking at her, hearing some funny sounds coming out of her mouth, while you try just too hard not to slip and slam your face against the floor. If there are any kids reading this, please, listen carefully to Aunt Willy: Don't ever do that at home!

Anyway, it was a funny experience. We may be repeating it next week. Meanwhile, I have to figure out how they manage not so sweat. You may think I'm exaggerating, but it's a 100% truth. Nobody was wetting the floor. I think I'm going to call Scully (from X-files), see what she thinks...

Sleep tight ozzies!

In progress

Hello Ozzies!

Sorry for the delay (I think I'm writing that as my epitaph). The reason why is taking me so much time to write a new entrance in the blog is that my computer has declared war to me, and every time I try writing something, the f·$%"&· moves the cursor. I suppose that the trackpad needs some cleaning from the inside, but it kind of gives me the creeps to open my Mac.

Anyway, I'm going to try to have something for tomorrow. I'm bringing the whole Concilium Wizardy if it's necessary.

See you tomorrow Ozzies!