You look taller than Yul Brynner!

5 years ago or so I attended a private art performance event in Sapporo and as I was leaving the petite elderly Japanese hostess spoke in English to me, "You look taller than Yul Brynner!" Haha, I was very surprised! He was 173cm and I am 180. What does that mean? I take it as a compliment, it amuses me, and I am not even sure why. He is a talented star, why would she compare me to him? why him? Now I wonder if she knew him and I am the rare foreigner for her to meet thus the comparison? I want to talk to her again, interview her for my zine. Typing this up I now have another memory of her from a previous encounter, she told me she is a writer.

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High Street Kensington markets in London 1982



PHAZE Clothing UK 1980's. On my high school trip we visited the UK during the Spring of 1982 and on my student "free time" I drank Carlsberg Special Brews and explored the High Street Kensington markets in London and discovered a stall selling these t-shirts. Just scanned in this poster tonight and wanted to share. I also have a 500M .tif available if you want for printing or better examination. I bought their "zip jacket" and dream of reproducing it in Japan, seeking a local pattern maker Can you guess what shirt I bought? don't try Cheers & hope you have a great day.

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Denver : I heard news that Carbone's Italian Deli on 38th closed.  Maybe in 2013?  As I grew up east coast, a good sub was vital and Colorado lacks this but Carbone's was the real deal, was where I went as much as possible.  I remember how engaging matriarch Rosa was to me and everyone waiting in line.  The joy of unwrapping that white butcher paper and enjoying the heavenly sandwich ❤️

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Cruising the ocean frontage roads of Tomakomai we stopped to admire this little garden paradise. The owner popped out to welcome us. He once owned a cabaret club in Chitose many years ago, now at 75 he is retired and his enjoyment is to create this garden so everyone can see. He collects the sun powered bobble head toys, he claims to have over 300. As we talked I enjoyed the sound of the surf pounding & fresh salty sea air. I want to go back and visit him, record his stories on tape and bring him a solar powered toy for his collection.

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GREETS : Heyza, My name is Stevyn aka IronFeather. I was born in the year of the Horse in a small village in Scotland, UK back in the 1960's.    As a child, I grew up in the states , Georgia and Virginia then high schooled in New Hampshire.   I spent many of my favorite formative years as a barrista at both locations of Pennylane Coffeehouse in Boulder so if you made it there then we have probably met. 


It was a crush to the people of Boulder when Pennylane Coffeehouse closed down. The place was a safe haven, a gathering of underground types, punks, hippies, artists, poets, musicians, travellers, university students and regular working joes.

The place was a focus of peoples lives, a community hub. Its closure was a vacuum,  missed by many.  Soon after, John opened up the Laughing Goat Cafe which became a huge success and though the new cafe hosted the weekly poetry readings, rotating art shows, underground music events it was not a replacement for Pennylane and John never intended to copy or replace, this was his own project.

A crew of the Pennylane kids, not young adults, had access to a plot of barren land near Lyons and opened the Anarchists Club & Cafe and advertized the opening night as a reunion for all Pennylane regulars. It was a weird place, no real building, just a square dirt lot surrounded by an 8 foot tall wooden privacy fence and one side open to a steep hill of the Rocky Mountain foothills.  The owners promoted guns and many people brought firearms.  It reminded me of a motorcycle gang party! I was happy to see many familiar faces. Punks and hippies, older men playing chess. People brought their children. It was festive, fun, phreaky. The policy I was excited about was the 90 minute drink all you can for $40. But after I paid and went to the cooler all I could I find were chilled glasses and many diet cokes. A man assured me they would replenish the beer in just a few minutes. 

A few people shot their pistols into the air.  I have no real experience with guns but I did rent two pistols from the cafe counter. My wife and I could try shooting at the dirt hill. Suddenly some guys were pumping off round of large caliber rifles into the hill. It was a wild scene. But then some fool was shooting at the wooden wall and I was shocked, people could easily be on the other side. Things were getting crazy and fast.

There was one young shy guy at the cafe I remembered fondly from Pennylane and also would see sometimes as we lived in the same apartment complex. I could never remember his name, I think it was Mike. He was soft spoken and kind, always a regular. But now I watched with surprise as he lobby a grenade at the hillside.  It blew up and rocks and dirt showered us all. We were away from it but I turned my wifes face away, maybe rock fragments would reach us. Was he showing off? Looking for attention? I realized that he was probably wounded, he was very close to the hill. Then I watched as he tossed another grenade at the hillside and rather than backup or fall down he ran and hugged the explosion.  It was a slow motion nightmare as the upper part of his body flew through the air like paper plane and slide to a stop on a table near me.  Mike or whatever his name was beyond rescue, human lasgana. I resisted the urge to take a picture. I gathered my wife and said we need to leave, now! Would we get in trouble being here? As we were leaving I remembered the two pistols, I ran back to get them as now we could keep them but someone else had already grabbed them. The was was pandamonium as we quickly got the hell out of there.

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Konnichiwa, like to share some feel good stories from Hokkaido Japan. Few months ago I attended a music gig at a small cafe near my house. The party was most excellent. I have since returned to the cafe for food & coffee and was very surprised to learn the origin story. The owner is a Japanese woman, an artist, who about 8 years ago watched a film about a cute cafe in Helsinki Finland. The film is a good heart warming story. She was deeply touched and moved by the film so much that she re-created the cafe in my town, the feels, the vibes, the food, etc. I was just there today and had delicious food, great coffee and best of all, awesome people. The cafe is now celebrating 7 years of being open and is rocking out. Of course the virus situation has us all stressed and she only has very limited hours, maybe 2 afternoons a week open. It is wild as now after watching the film I really want to visit Finland. I am touched also. There is this mystery vibe connection tween Finland and my area, Hokkaido Japan. So strong that Finland Air even started weekly direct flights to my remote island. I was honored as the staff invited me to join them in the future when they will host board game nights. I think it is amazing that a person can watch a movie and be so inspired to try and bring that vibe to their own world and make it reality. It worked! So cheers to the artists who create such stirring works and cheers to the fans who admire and are deeply moved by such works ❤️
 

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Lost my dear mother today.  I am shocked and torn up. My life is filled with so many good things thanks to her efforts, support and love. 



 

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Yippie!! My 5 year project concluded today!!! Happy story: Last night was awesome meeting up with a crew of my old co-workers for dinner and hours of gossip. Been years since I have seen them. I felt loved, respected, appreciated and I was so happy and emotional to see all of them. I love and cherish them. One of my friends with her kids drove many hours to attend, so after the festivities they crashed at my place. The next morning I felt pretty hip for putting on the old skool Jonny Quest cartoons for the children, they were always my favorite and they were totally into it. Around this time one of the boys spotted the Matryoshka doll on my bookshelf.

So wow, I moved to Japan almost 5 years ago! My first shopping spree was at the 100 Yen shop, so much phun looking at all the exotic cool items for just 100¥ (~$1). I loved the toy section, especially the joke items. So I bought the fake can of potato chips that has a compressed spring "snake" that explodes out when you open it. Like a total dork, for three years, at every party, dinner, gathering, bbq I placed this can among the food and snacks and to my great frustration and growing disappointment nobody even looked at it.

Never surrender! After a few years I wanted to take it to the next level. I bought a real can of potato chips, emptied it and attempted to put the snake inside. It failed. The lid is not so snug so the compressed snake was pushing too much pressure against the weak cap. "Curses, foiled again!"

While at a thrift shop I found a Matryoshka doll for cheap. I was touched by nostalgia as I had fond memories of my grandparents booty from their vacation in Russia so I brought this one home. I was surprised to find it empty!

I am not a storyteller and I know you are busy so you are allowed to close this story, click onwards dear reader, as we all know what happens next. Yeppers, I put the pop out snake inside the empty Matryoshka doll and it was snug enough to hold together, perfect!!!! A cunning plan!

Ok now a few more years go by…..

Today I watched as the young Japanese boy picked it up, he was happy and recognized it as a traditional Russian doll. Of course he expected the usual cute doll within a doll as did everyone at the table.

I stood up and backed away. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Could one be injured by this trap? Lose an eye? Chaos? Omg! Was it really going to happen!?

I wished I had taken a photo, made a video. It was the perfect storm, all the correct pieces to complete this complicated social study and conclude my 5 year wait.

He opened it and the snake jumped out, yells, shock, bewilderment, amazement, and laughter. It was a dear moment. Another victory!

The boy was thrilled and of course I told him to keep it. He is super excited to return home, visit his friends, relatives. Share! I did tell him that handing it to someone is not as special as just letting it sit and see what happens, he fully understood.
 

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A snake nut can is a practical joke device that closely resembles a can of nuts, but contains a long wire spring covered by a cloth or vinyl sheath, printed like snake skin, which leaps out of the can and startles the unsuspecting victim.

The item was invented by Samuel Sorensen Adams of the S.S. Adams Co. circa 1915. Adams' wife Emily had been complaining about the jam jar, saying that it wasn't properly closed or that it was sticky. Adams, inspired by her nagging, then invented a spring snake - a coil of wire wrapped in a cloth skin, and compressed the two-foot snake into a little jam jar so that it would jump out when the lid was removed. 

The snake jam jar then evolved into a whole array of products, including the snake peanut brittle can, the snake mint can, and the best-selling snake nut can. In the 1990s Adams' grandson produced snake potato chips. 

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LOG: 2019-12-17: Train home, standing. Evening debriefing with my sweetie. Play film soundtrack from THE STING while preparing ultra spicy relish toppings for our sandwiches tomorrow. Shocked to discover that there is a poster in my PURPLE RAIN Prince album I have had since college. WTF moment. Tis 9:40pm, what is next eh? Life is grande.
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疑っている : Dubious Logic: Police in Tokyo recovered 159 bicycle seats from the home of 61yo Hatori Akio, who stole them from other unsuspecting riders. His motive? “I had my seat stolen, and I wanted others to feel my pain.”

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Maybe my brain is purging old systems. Tonight I had a realization that the query A/S/L has not been asked of me in my recent cyber life, maybe for the past 7 years. Tis a good thing eh?

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