high contrast means business!

well, this week was pretty slow… all i did all week was party… and by party i mean do homework (i.e.: take photos, rule at lower level math, and watch all of veronica mars season 3 [kinda weak... but i did develop a newfound hatred for "the cw"... WHY!? WHY CW!? I WILL NEVER HAVE THE RESOLUTION I NEED BECAUSE YOU CANCELLED VERONICA MARS BEFORE THERE COULD EVEN BE A SEASON 4!!! YOU SUCK! THEY TOTALLY ENDED SEASON 3 LIKE THERE WAS GOING TO BE A 4TH SEASON, BUT NOW THERES NOT... SO I WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO VERONICA MARS AND "THE CASTLE"! ANY SERIES THAT INVOLVES A COLLEGIATE SECRET SOCIETY REQUIRES RESOLUTION!!! YOU SUCK!]

anyways, i took about 1200 photos, and umm, about 95% of them were terrible… but i was able to turn in the requisite 14… including these 2 self portraits…and i admit they are nice portraits, but whats so damn great about self portraits? its just some excuse for your prof to see how lame you are at coming up with ideas… granted my teacher told me they were “really strong”… but come on… art students + self portraits… glorified myspace photos and self indulgence… lameness. petty bourgeoisie individualism! why are all art teachers so concerned about self portraits? window to the soul my ass. here they are anyways, cause they are “really strong”

did someone say chiapas?

no bears allowed in the dorms

and to clear your mind.. heres a baby

hes just peekin out at ya

heres my whip, in color and black and white… cause its that epic

high contrast means business!

and heres the obligatory blurry kids staring at me photo

heres some other classy art photos i took

he saw me. oops.

side note… its totally ok to be sick and wear a surgical mask all around.. to school.. to work.. on the train… you, my friend, are doing everyone a favor! keep your illness to yourself… and while you are at it, look like you are prepared for the impending apocalypse… japan is all about prepardness… the apocalypse is going to happen any minute now… so just go ahead and start rocking your surgical masks and retrofitting your majestic skyscrapers for tsunamis and earthquakes…

oh yeah, i made a new friend… well an acquaintance… he wasnt that stoked that all i had to offer was leaves, so he kind of peaced out before we could really sit down and chat

i really need a zoom lens

BIKE PORN!

for a country that is notorious for inaccurately applying english phrases to things, i thought this was really clever.. on a side note… in japan it is apparently totally ok to wear a shirt that says “100% nigger” as long as you dont know what it means… weird. and lame. and you know, horribly racist. very odd. once again, i should have taken a photo with my futuristic japanese cell phone. damn.

more bike porn

mama chari bikes rule the street here… god bless any country that sells a $150 bike that comes with a built in lock, a basket, a kick stand and a light. you might not know much about gender equality, but at least your bikes are functional and accessible.

KITTENS! KITTENS MOST LIKELY ON DRUGS!

on another tangent… i ran into these cats on the street in shinjuku last monday… last monday was a holiday… a fake “yay! its fall” holiday created to somehow circumvent or repair the labor laws in japan… so fewer salarymen jump in front of trains to get out of the ridiculous work cycle… and someone did actually jump in front of a train last friday (not in front of me… 2 stops down)… right when i was about to get on said train line… so i had to wait like a half hour before we even moved… you want to end your life… whatever… just dont stop my damn train!)

anyways, and by cats i mean… cats on drugs! real cats… and im sure they were real drugs! after the show, the kitten tapped me on the shoulder and was like “hey man, do you know where i could hook it up with a few rails?” and i was all “dude, thats not my scene… get lost.. go talk to some yakuza over there.” at least i know who im not inviting to my next holiday get-together this year. high or not, these cats were adorable.. and asleep and motionless in crowds of people for like 3 hours… which is why i suspect drugs

i hope that sign says “these cats are really high, crowd around and pet and gawk and take photos, they dont know no better”

i forgot to mention the breakdancing mime. cool.

and i forgot the artsy fartiest shot of the week

check ya’ll later. peace. oh those wood panels are some kind of votive thing that you pay for and write a prayer on, or like a wish for peace or something positive… its at the meiji shrine.. basically every single person in my photo class had a photo of these things… so  i didnt turn it in… didnt make the cut. its certainly a valid thing to take a photo of.. i mean east meets west and all that… and yay for being exotic… but its clearly played out.