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vocals by grace slick of jefferson airplane…

seven, seven, se~ven.

tomorrow is canada day! it’s time to celebrate. get down with this man with the great hair all day today, so you can reach the climax tomorrow. let’s party!

vermillion pleasure night is a japanese tv show directed by yoshimasa ishibashi, avant-garde director from kyoto, japan. vermilion pleasure night is an omnibus show, which was aired on tv tokyo on sunday midnight starting 2000. once again, yoshimoto kogyo, the king of comedy agency produced it. the show became a huge hit throughout japan. it’s kitschy and full of dark humour. i love it. now the shows are available on dvd. now i can watch them in north america! banza~i.

this “utau 6-nin no onna” is one of his short films. the title means “six women, who sing”. it sounds better in japanese. i like the use of kanji for “utau (sing)”. there are five ways of writing “utau” in kanji - 歌う　謡う　詠う　謳う 唄う. the first “歌う” is to sing from your throat rhythmically. the second “謡う” is to sing by developing your voice with melody. the third “詠う” is to sing / read a poem. the fourth is to sing in a suppressed voice with intonation as you bend your body. the last one, “唄う” is a transliteration from Sanskrit. it’s used when anything non-human creates a pleasant sound or beautiful voice. for example, “a bird sings” or ” a stream sings”. when it’s used in a noun form, it means folk song. for the title of this piece, the choice is the last one, “唄う”. it gives a nostalgic tone to this piece, yet this whole thing is absolutely modern. i love the ambivalence. it’s post-post modern.

i’m a slave for this sort of languid ambiance. i just think he’s brilliant.

(music)
ah~
i persistantly continue to wash
stain, i can’t get rid of
my fingers, cracked and swollen
my fingers, stung by cold water

(music)
on a windy day like this, my clothes might be blown away
but a warm day will come
a bright day will come

(music)

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on a gloomy day like today, i go on a psycho-trip back to japan.
turn my apartment into a lounge. a lounge at home.

i love my apartment life.

(pizzicato five)

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hello businessmen in the world. it’s 8 pm (SMT = Saskatoon Meridian Time) sunday night. i’m sure you had an exquisite time away from your companies over the weekend. but time is ticking by. tomorrow is Monday. that’s right, it’s almost time to go back to work!!! we have less than 12 hours to prepare. are you ready? are you really ready?

with these exercise lessons for businessmen, not only will you be fully prepared, you’ll be guaranteed to successfully climb up the career ladder. put on your best suit and tie. let’s go!

(my translation from japanese):

- i’ll introduce to you some exercises that are very useful in various situations encountered by businessmen. using the latest in businessman engineering, let’s enjoy exercising! here are my assistants:

“ i’m kohjiroh yamamoto.”
“ i’m yoshihiro fujita.”
“ i’m michihiko kamakura. let’s enjoy exercising together.”

- the pianist is mr. satoshi ishibuchi. (wave)

lesson one: greetings

- the first exercise is fundamental for all businessmen: greetings. let’s begin with a basic greeting.
relax your shoulders and straighten your back. bend forward 30 degrees.

“someone’s coming from the right. oh, someone else is coming from the left.”

- the next exercise is how to greet your important clients. cross your hands lightly at the front. show your heart as you bow. it’s fine as long as you look like you’re bowing sincerely.

“oh, a client’s coming from behind! don’t be flurried. stay calm. just act quickly.”

- the next exercise is greeting your boss. let’s change the angle of your bowing depending on the boss’s title. let’s go!

“assistant manager, section manager, general manager.”
“30 degrees, 45 degrees and 90 degrees.”
“again, assistant manager, section manager, general manager. now, their titles get even higher!”

“managing director, executive director and president! you might as well roll over!”
“again, managing director, executive director and president! you hardly ever meet the president. it’s important to give him a good impression.”

- this is the last exercise. this is a greeting when you see someone you know at a distance. don’t pretend not to notice. let’s greet them!

“oh! you’ve noticed two people you know at a distance, simultaneously. choose one of them and bow. once in a while, you won’t be able to make eye contact. don’t worry, just bow. greeting is all you need to worry about.”

“ now you’ve noticed them and they’re even farther away. wave wildly and give a big phony smile. it’s pointless unless they notice you. the key point is to have the courage to overdo it.”

“ well then, do your best at work tomorrow.”