Richard Avedon <> Avalon Hodges

Just discovered that my sister was one in one of Richard Avedon's last photographs before he died in Oct of 2004. Wasn't a portrait, but a group shot. She is the princess with the little dog.

from an article in The New Yorker, Nov. 1 2004:

Although, in the course of a sixty-year career, Richard Avedon was known mainly for his originality in portraits and fashion photography, he also confronted the realms of politics, power, suffering, and war. He documented the civil-rights movement in the South, the Vietnam War, mental institutions, and, in a portfolio called “The Family,” the Washington establishment of thirty years ago.

Earlier this year, Avedon decided that he would try to capture a sense of the country in the midst of a crucial Presidential election campaign. He travelled well beyond his studio on East Seventy-fifth Street, visiting the Conventions in Boston and New York, and, among other places, Killeen, Texas; Reno, Nevada; and San Francisco. After more than fifty sessions, he also had a series of sittings scheduled for his return East—with Donald Rumsfeld, William Rehnquist, Alan Greenspan, and William Kristol—but on September 25th in San Antonio, where he had been working with Iraq veterans and was preparing for a sitting at a school, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Six days later, he died, and this portfolio, “Democracy,” was left unfinished.

300 Internet death threats since Tokyo killing spree

300 Internet death threats since Tokyo killing spree

Documentary on forced confessions screened in Tokyo

Documentary on forced confessions screened in Tokyo

on advertising

Advertising is a price companies pay for being unoriginal.
— Yves Behar on TED

Dangers of Street Photography in Kabukicho

did tomoko mention that 3 guys kicked my ass?

[5:13:11 PM] andreszd says: no!
[5:13:13 PM] andreszd says: ?
[5:13:17 PM] andreszd says: what happened?

[5:16:53 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: oh was out with 3 Japanese. two girls and another guy. We were all in suits and had dinner in Shinjuku and drinks in Kabubukicho. On the way back to the station I snapped a pic of some girl sitting on the curb. she had her head down like very drunk. but not puking. didn't get her face or anything, just her sitting there. some guy out of the blue came over and complained that I took the picture. I immediately said "sumimasen sumimasen, keshimasu." (trans: sorry, i'll delete it) and showed him that I was deleting it. (if it was a stellar photo I might have tried to keep it, but I didn't really care about the shot at all). and then he kicked me. so I said again, "keshimasuyo!" (trans: I'm deleting it!) and tried to show them that I'm deleting it, and he punched and kicked me. after about 3-4 times of that, I gave the camera to my friend so I could fight back

[5:17:39 PM] andreszd says: shit
[5:17:46 PM] andreszd says: fighting in a suit!
[5:17:51 PM] andreszd says: then what happened?

[5:18:15 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: his friend joined and I busted his friend's nose. (got blood on my shirt and jacket) :(

some people tried to break it up, and someone held me from behind. at first I was like,, oh this is bad, but then I just figured that the guy behind me was just trying to stop the fight so I relaxed...but then he threw me down to the ground, so I had three guys kicking me.

[5:18:33 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: I managed to take off my jacket at one point...

[5:18:41 PM] andreszd says: jesus
[5:19:07 PM] andreszd says: go to hospital?

[5:19:50 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: dude kicked me as hard as he could in my thigh. it's very bruised. hurts to walk. even hurts when I lay down. kills me on stairs. also hurt my shoulder, jaw, neck, and stomach/adbomin near my lower rib. luckily they didn't break it.

[5:19:52 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: no
[5:20:12 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: no hospital. cops came and the dude who started it manged to walk away while the cops where checking my ID haha

[5:20:30 PM] andreszd says: man
[5:20:34 PM] andreszd says: wtf

[5:21:06 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: on the way home, I saw another fight and took pictures of it. I've seen like 4 fights in the last couple weeks. too many K1 fans in the place. think it gets them all in the fighting mood.

[5:21:49 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: guess my luck in kabukicho ran out. think I'll just take photos of cats and flowers from here out.

[5:22:55 PM] Max Hodges - White Rabbit Press says: hard to fight three people...

Inconspicuous Consumption - A new theory of the leisure class

Good read!

The less money your peer group as, the more bling you buy—and vice-versa.

Inconspicuous Consumption

police searches in japan

this is an old article I dug up, but relevant to recent increases in police activities directed towards foreigners:

Police shakedowns on the rise
By MARK SCHREIBER

Weekly Playboy (Oct. 16)

Last January, I was rushing past the koban [police box] at the west exit of Shinjuku Station en route to a meeting and suddenly this cop halts me, saying, 'Will you please submit to an inspection of what you're carrying on your person?' " relates editor Toshikazu Shibuya (a pseudonym), age 38. "I happened to be carrying this Leatherman tool, a pair of scissors with a 3-cm-long folding knife attachment in the handle. The next thing I knew, he escorted me into the koban."

Shibuya vociferously argued that he used the tool for trimming films and other work-related tasks. "There's no need for that gadget, you can find something else," the cop growled, confiscating it.

Several weeks later Shibuya was summoned to Shinjuku Police Station to undergo another round of interrogation. After an hour, he was let off with a stern warning that possession of such scissors was illegal, and made him liable to misdemeanor charges.

Weekly Playboy reports that police have been conducting these shakedowns of the citizenry as part of an "Emergency Public Safety Program" launched in August 2003. In 2004, the number of people actually prosecuted for weapons possession misdemeanors uncovered during these ad hoc inspections, referred to as shokumu shitsumon (police questioning), reached 5,648 cases, double the previous year, and up sixfold from 10 years ago.

"I think you can interpret it as an expansion of police powers," says a source within the police. "They are taking advantage of citizens' unfamiliarity with the law to conduct compulsory questioning."

In principle, police are not empowered to halt citizens on the street arbitrarily. The Police Execution of Duties Law, Section 2, states that an officer may only request that a citizen submit to questioning based on reasonable judgment of probable cause, such as suspicious appearance or behavior.

Moreover, Weekly Playboy points out, compliance to such a request is voluntary, i.e., you have the right to refuse.

Hiromasa Saikawa, an authority on the police, states that officers are being browbeaten to come up with results, or else.

"Officers are under pressure to meet quotas for nabbing suspects who can be prosecuted," he says. "Low achievers might be passed over for promotion or denied leave time."

What should you do if you're stopped? Weekly Playboy offers several suggestions, including recording the conversation and carrying a copy of the relevant passage of the law to show you know your rights. Since cooperation is voluntary, you can refuse; but an uncooperative attitude might be regarded with suspicion. Raising a ruckus in a loud voice might cause a crowd to gather and convince the cop you're more trouble than it's worth.

But on the other hand, a show of good manners is probably a wiser strategy. Keep smiling, but be resolute. Policemen are human too, and a disrespectful attitude will probably just aggravate matters.

"A cop already knows that almost everyone he stops for questioning will be a law-abiding citizen," a retired policeman tells Weekly Playboy. "If you refuse, they'll suspect there's a reason. They can summon assistance and gang up on you, or in a worst case even make a false charge that you interfered with official duties."

For the time being, the magazine concludes, it's probably a good idea to eschew carrying knives and other potential weapons on one's person.
The Japan Times: Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006

A Guide to New and Used Camera Shops in Tokyo

A Guide to New and Used Camera Shops in Tokyo

Portable Polaroid PoGo Printer

Long live Polaroid!

Here's how it works -- you snap off a picture with your cam phone or Pict-Bridge enabled shooter and then send the image to the PoGo via Bluetooth or USB. The PoGo then prints out a borderless image on a 2-inch by 3-inch slice of thermal ZINK photo paper.

Wired reviews Polaroid PoGo Printer

(another) pool of blood in Kabukicho

Was beta testing the timing of my Kabukicho tour nagivgation last night--(yeah, in the rain). At around 3 AM I met up with Kabukicho photographer Kwon Choul who just finished shooting a massive pool of blood where some girl hit the ground after apparently jumping from a building. Sad.

Girl I met at an SM bar in Roppongi while shooting Osada Steve killed herself too a couple months ago, by jumping off a building. Too bad that asshole in Akihabara didn't just kill himself instead of stabbing random strangers to death. Does he want to punish society for not bending over backward to help him succeed in life? Try living with a disability or chronic back pain. Try living in parts of Africa or rural China asshole. You had a pretty decent freak'n life wimp.

JapanToday: Japan News and Censored Discussion

It's always nice to have an audience for one's work, so I'm happy that a photo of mine selected to appear on JapanToday's Picture of the Day. But after I posted some comments of their site, about the photo I took, the editor ask me not to please not comment anymore. Saying:

...some readers have already challenged you with insults, which I have removed.

I'm afraid we cannot allow a direct dialogue between readers and yourself because it will get nasty. We wish readers simply to discuss what is going on in the photo.

I only wish you not to participate on discussions where you took the photo. If you hadn't identified yourself, it would have been OK. We apply the same rule to writers as well.

Chris

Personally, I can't think of a single better use for a website forum than as a place for the authors to engage in discussion with their readership. But apparently JT only permits reader-to-reader discussion. Am I the only person who thinks that is a bit odd? Seems like they let the bad apples spoil the cart. Just get rid of the abusive accounts instead of prohibiting your own contributors from engaging in discussion with the readership...

It gets stranger. Yesterday's Picture of the Day, a photo of girl crying at the site of Sunday’s stabbing spree in Akihabara, someone made this comment:

...Then there are all the people taking photos of the three victims as they die in the streets ! Question ! What exactly are you going to do with those photos ? I mean how sick is that !... Sick folks ! Really sick !!!

To which I replied:

Many of those amateur photos made it into the mainstream news. Only so many people can help a victim. Do you know how to stabilize someone and provide first responder medical care?

You never know what purpose an image might come to serve. Perhaps they document the valiant efforts of rescuers. Perhaps they could be useful in court. Do you suppose that photograhy of war atrocities is equally sick?

You could make the same criticism of journalists in China after the earthquake...taking pictures instead of helping with search and rescue. But that isn't their job. If no one plays that role, the stories would not get out.

On April 16, 2007, a 23-year-old man shot and killed 32 people at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As the shootings were taking place students reported what was taking place on blogs, mobile phones, instant messaging, Flickr, Wikipedia, and social networks.

Is taking a photo of a crime scene inherently wrong? I don't think so."

Then I got this email:

This is to inform you that your message on JapanToday.com has been removed for the following reason:
Off Topic

">there are all the people taking photos of the three victims as they die in the streets ! ...

On April 16, 2007, a 23-year-old man shot and killed 32 people at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As the shootings were taking place students reported what was taking place on blogs, mobile phones, instant messaging, Flickr, Wikipedia, and social networks.

Is taking a photo of a crime scene inherently wrong? I don't think so."
--
JapanToday.com Moderator Team

Good grief! I don't understand the logic of that...

My reply to the JT Editor:

How can comments about taking pictures at a crime scene be deemed "off topic" on a Picture of the Day page about a recent killing spree?

As a small business owner myself, I thought I should tell you, that based on my experience having my recent comments edited and removed I don't plan to comment again on your site. It's simply a waste of time for me to spend any time engaging in discussion and constructing thoughtful comments when they might instantly disappear for no clear reason. It's impossible to even guess what you might deem as "off topic" considering what was just deleted and considering what does get past your moderators.

When visiting your site to check the progress of discussions, I'd spend time reading news articles which caught my attention, so having a comments section is definitely a way to make a site "sticky". But your moderation policies are too frustrating. I don't mean to sound unpleasant, but just wanted to let you know--as someone who knows how hard it is to run a business--that you just lost a customer.

I'm flattered that you're selected to post my photos, and you're welcome to continue, but asking that I don't engage in discussion regarding my own photo seems very strange to me. I can't think of a single better use for a website discussion section than for the readership and the authors to engage in dialog.

I think a better way to deal with trolls is to give them a warning and site the specific Terms of Use which they are violating and kindly remind them to read the Terms of Use. If they don't get the message and continue, just delete them.

You're Terms at JapanToday are over 3000 words. Do you think people actually read them? The Terms of Use at TED.com--a favoriate site of mine--are about 200 words (9 and 10 don't count).

Sincerely,
Max

Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix played on medieval instruments

http://www.record-producer.com/learn.cfm?a=4493

Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix - played on various medieval instruments. Tam Nightingale, musical co-ordinator on the project, said he chose Purple Haze as he thought it to be "the quintessential psychedelic track."

Instruments featured on the trail
Rackett - The cool bass synth sounding instrument
Tef - Medieval tambourine
Shawm - A double reed, which makes a very distinctive medieval sound
Rebec - Precursor of the violin
Viol - A type of early cello
Recorder - A type of flute

China's All-Seeing Eye : Rolling Stone

China's All-Seeing Eye : Rolling Stone
Now, as China prepares to showcase its economic advances during the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, Shenzhen is once again serving as a laboratory, a testing ground for the next phase of this vast social experiment. Over the past two years, some 200,000 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city. Many are in public spaces, disguised as lampposts. The closed-circuit TV cameras will soon be connected to a single, nationwide network, an all-seeing system that will be capable of tracking and identifying anyone who comes within its range — a project driven in part by U.S. technology and investment. Over the next three years, Chinese security executives predict they will install as many as 2 million CCTVs in Shenzhen, which would make it the most watched city in the world. (Security-crazy London boasts only half a million surveillance cameras.)