The moment only lives twice
Jan. 29th, 2008 03:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
imomusYou don't know what you've got till it's gone, special moments are most poignant when least retrievable, absence makes the heart grow fonder. If these clichés contain any substance -- and most clichés have a smidgen -- then my absence from tonight's Hitotoki Hitoban reading party at The Pink Cow in Shibuya (7pm - 10pm, entry free) will be fond indeed. I will, however, be present in spirit -- and via this video, which will be projected at some point during the course of the evening.
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Hitotoki means "one moment" and hitoban "one night". Tonight's reading party celebrates the website Hitotoki, set up by those fine people from Tokyo Art Beat almost a year ago to build a narrative map of Tokyo (connected, naturally, to Google Maps). These "short narratives describing pivotal moments of elation, confusion, absurdity, love or grief — or anything in between — inseparably tied to a specific place in Tokyo" now cover peak moments in New York, Washington DC and London too.
Mine, of course, is set in Tokyo. It's quite an old memory of a series of trips out along the Chūō-Sōbu Line to visit a lover who lived in a "white room" in Nishi-Ogikubo. (She now lives somewhere else entirely, with whippets, a husband and a Porsche.)
It's odd that this essentially rather private memory (the relationship was secret at the time) has now become so mediatised, appearing first as the hitotoki itself, then as a phoned-in video message accompanied by sentimental music. At tonight's party it'll take its place alongside readings by Jean Snow, ULESHKA, Joseph Badtke-Berkow, David Cady, Ashley Rawlings and others. Special moments, it seems, only live twice (or thrice) and secrets are best shared.
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Well, if we're going that far, why not the whole hog? Let's end with a PS3 reconstruction of the route I might have taken home from one of those electrifying clandestine encounters. This sequence shows a Chuo Main Line train heading east between Shinjuku and Tokyo stations. It's from the PS3 game Railfan, which has attained, as you can see, shockingly evocative levels of realism. Maybe the PS4 version will allow me to park the train, jump out rattling the keys and whistling, and make a visit to a virtual lover "even better than the real thing". These days our special moments don't get lost, just better and better mediatised.
[Error: unknown template video]
Hitotoki means "one moment" and hitoban "one night". Tonight's reading party celebrates the website Hitotoki, set up by those fine people from Tokyo Art Beat almost a year ago to build a narrative map of Tokyo (connected, naturally, to Google Maps). These "short narratives describing pivotal moments of elation, confusion, absurdity, love or grief — or anything in between — inseparably tied to a specific place in Tokyo" now cover peak moments in New York, Washington DC and London too.
Mine, of course, is set in Tokyo. It's quite an old memory of a series of trips out along the Chūō-Sōbu Line to visit a lover who lived in a "white room" in Nishi-Ogikubo. (She now lives somewhere else entirely, with whippets, a husband and a Porsche.)
It's odd that this essentially rather private memory (the relationship was secret at the time) has now become so mediatised, appearing first as the hitotoki itself, then as a phoned-in video message accompanied by sentimental music. At tonight's party it'll take its place alongside readings by Jean Snow, ULESHKA, Joseph Badtke-Berkow, David Cady, Ashley Rawlings and others. Special moments, it seems, only live twice (or thrice) and secrets are best shared.
[Error: unknown template video]
Well, if we're going that far, why not the whole hog? Let's end with a PS3 reconstruction of the route I might have taken home from one of those electrifying clandestine encounters. This sequence shows a Chuo Main Line train heading east between Shinjuku and Tokyo stations. It's from the PS3 game Railfan, which has attained, as you can see, shockingly evocative levels of realism. Maybe the PS4 version will allow me to park the train, jump out rattling the keys and whistling, and make a visit to a virtual lover "even better than the real thing". These days our special moments don't get lost, just better and better mediatised.
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The Naked Island, Kaneto Shindo's 1960
Date: 2008-01-29 04:18 am (UTC)Re: The Naked Island, Kaneto Shindo's 1960
Date: 2008-01-29 08:13 am (UTC)Re: The Naked Island, Kaneto Shindo's 1960
Date: 2008-01-29 04:49 pm (UTC)and the film focuses on a girl sold into slavery by her family that becomes a servant girl for a well to do family,
before the monsoon of the northern ideology invasion of their tiny political island.
Re: The Naked Island, Kaneto Shindo's 1960
Date: 2008-01-29 05:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 05:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 06:34 am (UTC)That train video was oddly compelling.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 08:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 07:26 pm (UTC)tear-stained NJ Transit
Date: 2008-01-30 01:24 am (UTC)to siphon a few un eluded moments of clarity.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 10:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 11:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 03:30 pm (UTC)but this line was really, really nice:
"like power running through overhead cables the pleasure generated in the white room seemed to electrify the chou line from Shinjuku to Mitaka."
Great Night
Date: 2008-01-29 04:10 pm (UTC)Craig from Chin Music Press (the other group behind the Hitotoki site ;-) ) here. Great night. Wonderful turnout and everyone was engaged, positive and the readings went really, really well. And if you've ever been to a "reading" you know they can veer into horribleness very easily. Your video was also well received -- cheers for that.
We'll be doing it again in several months time (so much for the One Night thing) and hope you can join in person.
Best,
Craig
Re: Great Night
Date: 2008-01-29 05:08 pm (UTC)Re: Great Night
Date: 2008-01-29 08:38 pm (UTC)I. would. take. a. bullet. for. you. momus.
(well a rubber bullet, but still)
Jokes: a) “Every dance move is the Robot if you can imagine an advanced enough robot.”
b) Last night I had a date and things were getting pretty hot and heavy in the bedroom until she turned to me and screamed... "Hey! Not in the ass!" I said, "Look lady -- it's my thumb and my ass, if you don't like it you can leave!"
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-29 08:48 pm (UTC)still thanks, is good to hear yr voice again.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-30 01:54 am (UTC)I'd add that although you coined that term when being delayed on the way to some 'reward', perhaps we need another term which refers to being lost or disorientated without the presence of a future reward, the 'reward' being whatever you chance upon whilst in that state.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-30 03:13 am (UTC)So maybe it's not all good.
prophetic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGubduTyBvU) ponty
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-31 12:13 am (UTC)Bush is the last president of USA.
Date: 2008-04-02 10:53 pm (UTC)asgd asdhasdhg dfg asdf
test
Date: 2008-06-13 01:46 pm (UTC)What is your name?
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