28 June 2006, morning Still in the midst of World Cup madness. Actually, for Kumiko it's madness. She wakes up at 4 or 5 every morning to watch the last game. I tried to do it a couple of times, but couldn't keep my eyes open. My "fantasy league" soccer team has been in first place (out of 22) for the past 4 days. That feels like an accomplishment after finishing 16th of 17 in the last fantasy tournament. I got my new work visa for Japan last weekend. I always expect a long, sweaty, frustrating wait, but this time it was a cinch. I was in and out in about 15 minutes. Nothing like the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, which is my standard comparison for government offices. I just assume everything will be that terrible, but I'm starting to realize that no government office wait is as bad as that one, lined up in a cordoned line, inching your way to the counter, sandwiched between the lowest of life forms. It reminds me of the cantina scene in Star Wars, except that there's no music or space liquor to ease the pain. I need to recalibrate my expectations.
I ordered a new camera (because I desperately need another) from my favorite shop, Cupog's Collectable Cameras, in Slovakia. This camera is going to be an experience, I'm sure. It was designed for exposures on 9x12cm glass plates, which aren't really available anymore, except from a Russian company called Slavich. But even those Slavich plates are close to impossible to get in Japan and really expensive anyway. The better option is to use 9x12cm sheet film, slightly more available, stuck to a plain glass plate. I'll have to attach the film to plates in total darkness, then load the plates into light-tight cartridges. After that the process is to focus the camera using a ground glass screen in the rear, then remove the screen and replace it with a film cartridge. Then pull out a sliding piece which was covering the film, then click the shutter, replace the sliding piece, remove the cartridge, and start over again for the next exposure. Sounds like fun. It's a really considerate, contemplative , relaxing process - or so I've read. The camera is a Contessa-Nettel Tessco (ca.1926). It was shipped from Slovakia yesterday, and I can't wait to get started with it. I'll have to wait though, because I don't have any film yet. It's a special order item, of course, and it seems only two companies are still cutting film in that size, Foma in the Czech Republic, and Adox in Croatia. Woohoo!
Back on the train. When will it end? I can't stop taking these photos.
Photo with Kowa SIX on Kodak T-Max 400
20 June 2006, morning I've just finished all of my postcards for a postcard exchange I entered through APUG. I can send out 45 cards today. I've already received about 15 cards from other people. It's a really fun idea. Next month, I'm making a short trip to Tokyo to meet the other Japanese members of APUG. We've been caught up in World Cup every night. The USA didn't beat Italy, but they did at least tie them. There's still a chance that they could make it to the second round if they beat Ghana and if Czech Republic beats Italy.
9 June 2006, night A very relaxed moment as we get ready for World Cup fever. I just finished picking teams for the two fantasy leagues I'm signed up in. I bought some sausages and sauerkraut, so we can get in the German spirit for the opener tonight between Germany and Costa Rica. I would have bought some Costa Rican food if it was available. Perhaps I could cook some beans. I'm in the good position of loving international soccer while not being terribly attached to any one team, so I can enjoy the whole tournament without too much despair when any one team drops out. Of course I have my favorites: England, Czech Republic, Mexico, and of course the USA and Japan and recently Croatia. Beyond these teams I'll usually just pull for the underdog. I'd like to see some African teams do well and the host team Germany, and I want to see the superpowers - Brazil, Italy , France, Argentina - upset by teams like Ivory Coast, Togo, Serbia Montenegro, and Ghana. I'd love to see the US team beat Italy, but historically, Italy has beaten the USA the past million or so times they've met. The first game starts at 1am here.
She was talking on the phone, but when she noticed me,
she posed without missing a beat.
Photo with Fujifilm Klasse on Fortepan 200
3 June 2006, late afternoon We spent the morning in Kobe today. Kumiko and I left the house at 9:30 so we could beat the crowds to the Robert Capa exhibition at Daimaru department store. They're showing his recently unearthed color work, which apparently no one knew about until recently when the photos were found at Magnum Photo Agency in New York. There were plenty of shots onboard ships in the Pacific and at an air force base in England, which were fairly interesting, though not thrilling, and then a few shots of Ernest Hemingway's family life, which was very boring, and then some shots from his travels in Japan in 1954, which were the best part of the show. The Japanese are crazy about Robert Capa, so we knew this would be crowded. Luckily, things only started getting silly as we were finishing.
Last night was a Thai dinner with Julio. This place had an actual Thai running the kitchen, and it was good. Very powerful flavors, which I love. I ate too much and too spicy though, and ended up getting kind of sick at the end. Live and learn. Julio paid for the whole dinner. Thanks Julio! I hope he didn't pay because he felt bad about me getting sick. He gave us a ride to Umeda afterwards, and we were charmed by Toto, Julio's dog, a Schnauzer.
That afternoon, I went down to Tenmabashi to apply for a new visa, since mine will expire at the end of June. The immigration office is a really sweaty place with no air conditioning. They just have a few fans oscillating about. It didn't take long though. I decided to walk to B-Koubo, the rental darkroom, from there because it seemed as though it might be close, and it turned out to be much closer than the way I usually go. I made prints of old men. On the way there, I stopped to take some photos in a park, where I got some good shots and met a Croatian guy named Mario. He's an architect. Maybe I should introduce him to Kumiko's desperate friends. He's a really nice guy.
It's hot in Osaka. I made polenta for tonight's dinner. A teenage girl on the train today was wearing a shirt that said "In my opinions courageous men must oppose the monarch." Those are unrelated facts.
a man who sells pickled vegetables near my office
Photo with Voigtlander Bessa RF 6x9 on Kodak T-Max 400
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