flee the factory

Once home to a quarry and refinery known for its prized granite in the bustling industrial revolution of yesteryear, the island's industry has been put to quiet rest; its skeletal remains now the centerpiece for a thriving art project. And like the island's history, the people who come here, transformed as well. People I knew well in Okayama City--the construction workers, the yakitori chefs, bartenders, and storekeepers; all became dancers, musicians, and artists of every shade. Others less artistically inclined, like myself, became drunken assholes, but that's beside the point. The atmosphere was electric, but chill as the soft breezes coming off the inland sea. It wasn't so much our leaving behind the city that mattered at an event like this, but severing the rigid cultural ties and leaving behind the obligatory confines of Japanese society itself.

It really got me thinking--if this is what freedom really tastes like to all these people, what does that have to say about the kind of world we all had to return to this morning?

Here are a few photos of the night--minus the 150 or so that I hardly remember taking.

Jamboree 4 - Inujima

('full screen' option recommended)

did it for the lark

By now I should have already been back to Adelaide. Back to Beppu, and then on to Tokyo. My summer should have already been filled with the pattering of little feet on foreign soil, but due to "fear of death" at the hands of the ruthless and unstoppable swine flu pandemic, every last one of my international programs met the business end of the almighty hype-beast's ax.

Fine, whatever. I can deal. All for the better anyway, I'm sure.
So thanks to this amusing myriad of cancellations, my last official month in Japan has happily opened up, giving me a chance to spend the 4th of July on a tiny spit of land in the Seto Inland Sea with the whole crew, instead.

Rucksack is more than ready to jet; slipped a fresh SD into the Canon, stenciled "Tom Collins" into the side of an aluminum Sigg, swooped a pair of blue aviators and flippy-floppies, and slashed two big red X's over this weekend's Saturday and Sunday--the first welcome amendment to our regularly scheduled programming in ages.

Musical acts, guest artists, live graffiti exhibition, and more. 

Supposedly, even the Halau hula troupe has a showing.
If you're local, jump for Jamboree event/access info.