It's the last day at the office for me, and I'm headed to New Zealand for the food festival tonight! I can't wait. This day seriously can't end soon enough.
So I'll kill a bit of time with this blog. And I'll tell you about bonsai. There's not much to tell, but I went to a bonsai lecture the other day. I've been to a few lectures at the Japan Foundation since moving here. Generally they get someone over from Japan to talk about their career or hobby or whatever. I previously went to a lecture from a photographer, then a female sumo wrestler, and the other night I went to a lecture from a bonsai master.
The guy explained about bonsai to us, and the concepts behind it and how to think about it. Which was very interesting, because it's not just tiny trees. It's really the idea of taking these trees from nature, or growing them, and recreating a minimalistic, somewhat abstract environment in a pot, that mimics reality. You're supposed to think about how trees would actually grow and change in nature, and try to prune or shape the tree to mirror that. But then the interesting thing to me was also how some of the trees they end up shaping look so unnatural in a way, but everything they've done has taken nature into consideration. After the lecture the guy actually shaped a tree for about 45 minutes, which was fascinating. I'm a bit obsessed I think. Luckily there is a bonsai society in Sydney, so I may try to go to a few events of theirs. They have an annual exhibition coming up, but sadly it's during my next trip to Europe. I'd love to try my hand at bonsai, even, but I think I'm gone too much to actually care for a bonsai tree. Maybe one day.
Now for today's music. I shared The New Pornographers' new single the other day, and much like they are a band I'm not crazy about who have a great new single, so does Big Thief. They actually put out an album earlier this year, called U.F.O.F., which was nice, as most of their music is. But they are actually going to put out a second album in 2019 (much like Foals), and that one is called Two Hands, due out in October. The first single, Not, came with the album announcement earlier this week, and I actually think it may be their best song to date. I really, really like it. So that's where we're starting today.
Then we have the new single from Angel Olsen, All Mirrors. This was also the first single off her upcoming album, also called All Mirrors, released with the album announcement. And the album is also due out in October. It's also a great song, but I do actually like her more than I like Big Thief or The New Pornographers. I don't think she's amazing or anything, but she's good and she's got some great songs which have appeared on my blog previously. And this is a strong start for the next album. Looking forward to all 3 now!
So I'll kill a bit of time with this blog. And I'll tell you about bonsai. There's not much to tell, but I went to a bonsai lecture the other day. I've been to a few lectures at the Japan Foundation since moving here. Generally they get someone over from Japan to talk about their career or hobby or whatever. I previously went to a lecture from a photographer, then a female sumo wrestler, and the other night I went to a lecture from a bonsai master.
The guy explained about bonsai to us, and the concepts behind it and how to think about it. Which was very interesting, because it's not just tiny trees. It's really the idea of taking these trees from nature, or growing them, and recreating a minimalistic, somewhat abstract environment in a pot, that mimics reality. You're supposed to think about how trees would actually grow and change in nature, and try to prune or shape the tree to mirror that. But then the interesting thing to me was also how some of the trees they end up shaping look so unnatural in a way, but everything they've done has taken nature into consideration. After the lecture the guy actually shaped a tree for about 45 minutes, which was fascinating. I'm a bit obsessed I think. Luckily there is a bonsai society in Sydney, so I may try to go to a few events of theirs. They have an annual exhibition coming up, but sadly it's during my next trip to Europe. I'd love to try my hand at bonsai, even, but I think I'm gone too much to actually care for a bonsai tree. Maybe one day.
Now for today's music. I shared The New Pornographers' new single the other day, and much like they are a band I'm not crazy about who have a great new single, so does Big Thief. They actually put out an album earlier this year, called U.F.O.F., which was nice, as most of their music is. But they are actually going to put out a second album in 2019 (much like Foals), and that one is called Two Hands, due out in October. The first single, Not, came with the album announcement earlier this week, and I actually think it may be their best song to date. I really, really like it. So that's where we're starting today.
Then we have the new single from Angel Olsen, All Mirrors. This was also the first single off her upcoming album, also called All Mirrors, released with the album announcement. And the album is also due out in October. It's also a great song, but I do actually like her more than I like Big Thief or The New Pornographers. I don't think she's amazing or anything, but she's good and she's got some great songs which have appeared on my blog previously. And this is a strong start for the next album. Looking forward to all 3 now!
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