Done dropping LL off at Narita Airport, I am a loss for what to do next. I choose the Keisei line to go home, which is the absolute cheapest option (@ 1,300 yen compared to 3,000 yen for the Narita Express), and because I am in absolutely no hurry. In any case, I have Michael Chabon's 636 page The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay with me.
At the bottom of the escalator, sliding into the subterranean cavern that is the train platform, dimly lit and all dingy tiles and chrome, I find, improbably and inexplicably, synthesized bird songs chirping from a miniature speaker mounted on the wall.
I wonder how it's supposed to make travelers feel. Is it intended to remind people of how far removed they are from nature? From their childhood? From sunlight? The Keisei limited express pulls in, all sweaty with its windows steamed over, and I can't help feeling its sadness.
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9 comments:
poor Benkei. this reminds me of the summer i lived in NYC alone. everytime i got to Penn Station on my way home from work, i would glance at the departures board for trains to Philly. i was so tempted to skip town on one of those trains, in the middleof the work week, to see friggin burnedouteyes...but no, i turned away and walked back to my apt cuz i've got friggin work tomorrow. i was sad...and so pissed at the stupid world.
--P.
poor Benkei. this reminds me of the summer i lived in NYC alone. everytime i got to Penn Station on my way home from work, i would glance at the departures board for trains to Philly. i was so tempted to skip town on one of those trains, in the middleof the work week, to see friggin burnedouteyes...but no, i turned away and walked back to my apt cuz i've got friggin work tomorrow. i was sad...and so pissed at the stupid world.
--P.
hi P- so now it's all good?
the ol' aztecs built temple entrances with acoustical effect, some of which sound like chirpin birds. sounds like gods talkin?
the two of you are taking over my board!
Things are cool now. I'm busy with my own research, so I barely have time to do (or think about) anything. Besides, I'm trying to catch up on watching '24'. The Japanese dig it. A TV producer friend has even copped some composition techniques from it for his own work (in travel documentaries, no less).
no, it's not all good, but it could be worse.
i was weak & dying from food poisoning yesterday (McD's grilled chicken sandwich), and i'm so happy & grateful to be well again.
yeah, it's easy to hear the gods in nature. why can't we have more nature in our brick jungles?
--P
I caught a short 10 minute blurb on one of the random Japanese shows I watch (Sakura, an NHK asa-dora aimed at kids) they had a blurb about many stations piping in bird sounds to try to keep out families of birds that have taken up living on the platforms. It hasn't been working well though apparently...
does that strategy make any sense to anyone? Did they bother to contact an ecologist before implementing it?
what the hell's a grackle?
a grackle's related to a grouse?
all the metro north stations have these sticking out long pins on every beam and ledge to stop the unwanted perching and pooping. it's as if the hellraiser guy decorated the joint.
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