how to travel with a smile

honored dog & fish feet (日本 2)

**My intention was to publish updates every night in Tokyo. However, I met some challenges. One was the struggle to find consistent internet with my gaijin iPad. The other challenge was exhaustion after running around Tokyo from 8A to 12A everyday. Sleep won that battle. I offer a thousand apologies for any inconvenience or anxiety this may have caused. Also, I can avoid the mess of a rush job like my last post. Further apologies offered.**

On our second day in Tokyo, we met up with our friend Hiccup and his Sister who lives in Japan. It’s amusing being so far from home and see people you know. Something is familiar, but in the wrong setting. It added to the jumble that is Tokyo, throwing me off a little more. Sister showed us around to some crazy fun sights.

We headed out to Yokohama to go to the ramen museum. First we made a stop at the famous Shibuya Station statue of the faithful dog Hachikō. This Akita Inu met his human, a professor, at the station daily as he came home from work. The professor unexpectedly passed away one day and never returned to meet Hachikō. Still, Hachikō waited everyday at Shibuya Station for nine years feed only by kind commuters. This loyal dog still shows up in popular culture almost 80 years later.

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permanent ink

love this typography art by Deph (ToDieFor Clothing)	Last month I mentioned an art event to my brother, Uncle$am. I’ve been toying with attending this art show ever since I heard about it. Nicole East (The Baroness) and Hope Gallery Tattoo in New Haven, Connecticut, organized a rare event to get artwork by your favorite artists permanently inked on your body by super talented and influential artists. The event is aptly named Quick and Painful. Giclée prints in tattoo flash style showed the choices available. At the Chicago leg of this tour, Joe Capobianco from Hope Gallery Tattoo and Sean Adams, Patrick Cornolo, Jennifer Trok, and Heath Rave from Speakeasy Custom Tattoo were bringing their mad inking skills for a one night only experience.
	There are tons of badly drawn tattoos imitating these artist’s work all over the internet. This event provides and opportunity to get the official artwork done by extremely talented tattoo artists the right way.
	I poured over the tattoo choices for over a month before we went. All of them were made by artists I love. Some of them had complicated meanings that I appreciate and understand, but wasn’t sure I wanted that story on my body for life. Also, I didn’t want to diminish my respect and love for an artist by getting tired of their work on my body. Still I wanted something meaningful to me. I began to narrow it down as the day approached.
	I also called friends that have tattoos and asked them about their experiences, regrets, and opinions. Each time I talked to someone else, I became more convinced that I was definitely getting a tattoo. It didn’t matter what they said. I knew what I wanted to do. It was helpful to talk about it aloud though.

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island adventure

I know I’m reaching way back for this one, but it was a big trip for me. In February of 2009, The Pilot and I took a trip to London. It was the first time I have been outside the US. I haven’t even been to Mexico or Canada. It was not the eye-opening experience I expected, but it was definitely interesting and fun. In London, there was definitely a higher concentration of a certain accent, but really it was all familiar also. The mix of people really reminded me of all the different folks from all over the world I used to know and work beside in Chicago. I miss that. I now live in a “city” (really just a sprawling development) where, if you are darker than slightly tanned and have a funny accent, you are to be feared. I know I have to get out and into a more interesting life. That’s a big part of the purpose of all this traveling and writing. I want to pursue life, to really chase it down and participate. For now, I am based here in this cultural desert, but I go looking for water as often as possible. Continue Reading…

tara mcpherson X hello kitty X kidrobot

When I was still an art student nerd in Chicago, I stumbled on a website that was promoting artists’ works as “art for your phone.” They had a bunch of little bite-sized wallpapers that you could download to your phone. I don’t remember what brought me to this site, but I was hooked to it for several hours. There were tons of names that I am very familiar with now, but was hearing them then for the first time. Looking back, it seems like a bizarre place to be introduced to the worlds of Luke Cheuh, Thomas Han, Gary Baseman, Takashi Murakami, Tim Biskup, Shepard Fairey, and all the names that usually appear near them. This silly place to download mobile art opened up a world of designer toys, urban vinyl, and accessible art that still has it’s hooks deep in me. It will be the addiction that undoes me.

From this same website, I became an instant follower of Tara McPherson. Since that day I have been an admirer of her work. I linked to her site and immersed myself in McPherson 101. Her rock posters are incomparable to any you’ve ever seen anywhere. I promise. Her characters touch on so many that seem to say just the right thing to me.

From Tara’s site, I found out she had done something called a “Dunny.” It was part of an designer toy series, this series focusing on artists from LA. It looked kinda cool and it was currently available at hip stores around Chicago. So I went out to the MCA gift shop and bought my very 1st Kidrobot toy. If you have seen my house, then you know the end of that story. I will soon need a bigger house for my collection. Soon I will just start replacing the furniture with items large enough to accommodate mealtime and lounging.
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“small gift, big smile!”

My Melody Stamp Set 1976

One of my clearest memories of the early 80s is the “My Melody” stamp set my older sister had. I wanted it so badly. I used to sit and stare at the characters on the clear treasure box they were kept in forever. I doubt my sister appreciated it as much as I did. I loved all of My Melody’s friends too. The fox and the little mouse were so cute! I recently found a picture of that stamp set online. It’s was apparently made in 1976 and it’s exactly as it was burnt on my brain.

I have been in love with Sanrio since those days in the 80s when I first bacame aware. So when I found out that the “Small Gift” Sanrio 50th Anniversary event was going to be in Santa Monica, I knew we had to go! I asked ThePilot tentatively if it was possible to go. “Of course, we HAVE to go,” he said. Well ok! So I started looking at calendars and making plans and getting so excited.

Friday morning we got out of bed very early to catch a flight to LA. By 10a we were on our way down the road to the Santa Monica Airport. The event was held in the Barker Hangar there. We were greeted at the outside door by a giant balloon rainbow with Hello Kitty on it letting us know we were in the right place and that things were about to get a whole lot cuter.

Inside was an explosion of kawaii! Everything was embellished with Hello Kitty, Bad Badtz-Maru, Chococat, Keromi, and all the gang.
To kick things off with a big start was a Smart Car with a Hello Kitty paint job just inside the entrance. Continue Reading…