Category Archives: Life

Photography

One of my recent interests has been film photography. Of course, I was interested in exploring the difference between digital and analog technology, and having taken more than my share of smartphone pictures in my life, I was ready to jump to the opposite end of the spectrum. It also helps that Japan has an […]

Brexit and globalisation

Two momentous events that took place last year were the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, and the UK’s referendum on EU membership that led to the “Brexit” decision to leave the union. The two are often lumped together and seen as symptoms of a single larger force, which they probably […]

Reading shelf, September 2016

Currently reading: C.G. Jung: Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (vol. 2) (seminar notes) J.G. Ballard: Empire of the Sun (fiction) Eric Hobsbawm: Age of Extremes (nonfiction)   Just finished: J.G. Ballard: Extreme Metaphors (interviews) Ursula K. LeGuin: The Earthsea Quartet (fiction)    

Collecting books

Until about five years ago, I would hesitate to buy books if I had other, unfinished books that I was currently reading. It seemed irresponsible to “start on something new” without finishing things that were in progress. This is the kind of attitude that leads you to visit every single room and see every single […]

Worlds on display

In fashion shop interiors, I often see objects that suggest a certain environment, assemblages that seem to be taken from a different setting altogether. For example, very old sewing machines to suggest craftsmanship (even as the clothes are made in China with the latest equipment). Or piles of old books, sometimes surprisingly carefully selected (who picks […]