Tokyo bubble life

Naoki Naoyama’s reasons for coming to the United States, a literary exchange meeting held at the New York Library,

The name of the event is called the World Children's Literature Exchange, but in fact, most of the visitors are white people from the United States and Europe, and it is rare to meet authors of other skin colors.

Similar to the award ceremony in Japan, several older men announced the winners of this year's Newbery Award for Children's Literature and the Galdecott Literature Award again, and invited the two authors to make acceptance speeches, and then it was as usual Finally, we will enter the official content of the exchange meeting - the salon.

Yes, it’s not a reading salon. It’s more like a social place in New York’s high society. Well-dressed gentlemen and ladies are chatting with each other with glasses of wine, and occasionally express their respect and love for literature.

And the authors are like the mascots of the venue, flying between various groups like butterflies wearing flowers.

Naoki Naoyama basically didn't know anyone here, and he didn't want to become a literary activist, so another person quietly served a stack of snacks, found a corner and sat down,

After all, it is in the name of literary exchanges, and the works at the event site can be seen everywhere, and the quality is considered to be high. Naoki Yongshan directly picked up a copy and read it.

Well, "One Hundred Years of Solitude", why is there such a deep book in the children's literature exchange meeting?

But he didn't dislike it either. After all, it was a work of the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his previous life, he didn't have the time and interest to read these masterpieces. It seems that he can explore the thoughts of literary masters in this life.

With a different skin color and not an outgoing personality, no one came to talk to him until the end of the event.

"It's almost like I'm lonely~"

The event allows participants to take away a book as a souvenir. Naoki Nagayama took "One Hundred Years of Solitude" away directly. It is a pity that he did not know anyone as interesting as Haruki Murakami.

To be honest, the exchange meeting is over, and Naoki Naoki’s reason for coming to New York is over.

After returning to the hotel, I borrowed the hotel's international long-distance call to Shuichi Ido, wanting to know about the release progress of Japanese movies, so as to determine the time to go back:

"Moses, this is Yitang's family." A tired voice came from the microphone, and it was Yitang Xiuyi himself.

"Xiuichi-san, I'm Naoki Naoyama, did I disturb your rest?"

"Oh, Naoki-san, no, I haven't slept yet." Itou Shuichi said, "Are you in the United States now? How are the exchange activities going?"

"Oh, it's still in the morning in New York, and the event is underway~" I don't know why Naoki Naoyama didn't say that the event was over immediately, "Shuichi-san, the movie has already been released, right?"

"Not yet, the official premiere is expected to be the day after tomorrow. I have been discussing filming and arranging the film for the past two days, and drank a lot of wine." Shuichi Yitang snapped, "How is it going? Can Naoki-san come back in time?"

"Hahaha~" Yongshan Naoki smiled guiltyly, "Maybe I won't be able to come back in time, and I will hold a special exchange for foreign writers here~"

The lie came out without a draft. In order to avoid the propaganda activities in a fair manner, Naoki Naoyama found a reason in an instant.

"It doesn't matter, Xiu Yi-san and Otomo-san will watch the premiere or something! Trust you!"

"Hey, without Naoki-san, I still lack some confidence." Shuichi Yitang didn't doubt Naoki Yongshan's words at all, "But we will work hard to do well."

"Hi! Thank you for your hard work."

After hanging up the phone, Naoki Naoyama felt a little guilty. Otomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Itou were busy in China, but he was free and easy in the United States. It was really inappropriate.

Be sure to buy more gifts to bring back to them!

After building up my mind, I called my hometown again, and wanted to ask my mother and Hezi what gifts they wanted, and if it was clothes, what kind of style would they like?

"Moses, this is Yongshan's family." At this time, the whole family should be watching TV in the living room, and Hezi answered the phone.

"Hezijiang, it's me."

"Ni Jiang! Are you in America?"

"Of course it is."

"It's daytime over there, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's still noon here."

"Is it cold in New York?"

"Yes, New York is still below zero~" Naoki Nagayama interrupted Tsuruko's 100,000 whys, "Heko, how is Taro?"

"Of course Otaro is very good! Don't you think so? Otaro?"

As he said that, he heard a buzzing sound coming from the microphone, and Naoki Yongshan could only say silently in his heart: "Hang on, Taro, I will pick you up when I get back."

"Hey, hey, it's fine if you don't feel uncomfortable, Hezi, I just called to ask, what kind of gift do you want? I went to a clothing store before, and the clerk there said that if you buy clothes for women, you'd better ask them own opinion."

"Gifts? Clothes?" Crane's voice suddenly became excited, "I want the latest style!"

".What exactly do you want? The clothes here should be the latest."

"Erna." Yongshan Hezi obviously didn't think about it, and directly handed the microphone to his mother, "Gasang, tell me what kind of style you want to see."

The voice of the microphone was changed to Nanako Nagayama: "Naoki, is the event in New York going well? Is there any acclimatization?"

"Hey, the activity has been successfully completed, and my health is also very good." The mother still cares about the child's health, unlike Hezi, who doesn't care at all, "Gasang, if you want to buy clothes, what kind of clothes should you buy?" ?”

"Naoki, let's forget about clothes~" Nanako Yongshan hesitated to speak, obviously not liking his aesthetics, "Or a simple coat or a cheaper souvenir."

"Well~" Naoki Yongshan was a little sad when he heard the dislike, "Then I'll buy it like this~"

"When will Naoki come back?"

"About a week or two later, I still want to go shopping in the United States~"

"Then pay attention to safety~" Nanako added, "Haha, Hezi said that you should buy more local specialties."

"Hi hi~"

Naoki Yongshan, who hung up the phone, thought about the next itinerary. He was delayed by the gangsters yesterday, and he hadn't seen many scenic spots.

The Statue of Liberty must be seen, the Empire State Building and the Twin Towers can also be photographed, the Brooklyn Bridge must be walked, and Broadway performances must also be seen.

With such a total, there are many places to go, and this time it is best not to meet the little gangsters~

After lunch at the hotel, we took a taxi to the Statue of Liberty.

In this afternoon, Naoki Naoyama completely regarded himself as a first-time tourist. Although most of these scenic spots have been visited in his previous life, the scenery a few decades ago is completely different from the one after that, let alone the Twin Towers. there is none left.

Taking pictures + taking pictures + taking pictures, Naoki Naoyama is glad that he brought several spare films, otherwise today's trip would not be complete.

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of the United States. After taking a cruise ship, you can find that the appearance of the statue has turned green, but the interior is still the true color of copper. The elevator at the bottom of the statue can go directly to the top of the base, and then walk along the statue Like the inner 171 spiral stairs to climb to the crown at the top.

Naoki Naoyama looks out at the sea and Manhattan in the distance from the small window on the top of the crown, and it feels as if the whole of New York is under his sight.

The Empire State Building can be taken up by elevator, and the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building can overlook New York City at 360 degrees. There are also fixed binoculars, and the view is very good.

As for the Petronas Towers, it is really a long-distance view, so it is better not to go up.

The taxi carried Naoki Nagayama on the Brooklyn Bridge, and after waiting for his addiction, he came to Fifth Avenue and started shopping~

"If you don't want clothes, just buy a bag. You can't go wrong."

Naoki Naoyama is now considered a rich man. Following the principle of "only buy the expensive ones and not the right ones", he bought a new bag from Hermès for his mother, and then bought a Chanel perfume for Tsuruko. I don't need a bag for school~

For my father and elder brother, two people who basically don't follow trends, they can only buy some carved handicrafts and professional sea fishing equipment.

Of course, the high-end stores here also support home delivery, all of which have left the address of the Central Plaza Hotel.

The Broadway show will not start until after 7 o'clock, and there is still an hour or two of vacancy. Naoki Naoyama is wandering on the streets of Manhattan,

Suddenly, I saw another guy with a hood and a bag appearing in the alley. He squatted down and took out a spray can and began to graffiti on the wall.

Another street artist? Naoki Naoyama approached and called softly: "Basquiat?"

The young man raised his head, he was a white man with a bad temper, he saw Naoki Naoki's appearance, he raised the spray can aggressively: "Go away, don't meddle in your own business!"

Naoki Naoyama shrugged. In New York, you will always meet unfriendly people as well as kind people. This is the inclusiveness of big international cities.

"OK, I'll go, I'll go~"

Naoki Yongshan slightly raised his hands and stepped back.

Maybe this posture looks like being robbed, the patrolling police on Fifth Avenue saw it, immediately blew the whistle, and then ran over.

When the white guy found out, he yelled, "SHIT!"

Drop things and run away.

The police came slowly, but as soon as the white guy ran away, it turned into a chase.

Seeing the two pairs of long-legged ones disappearing before his eyes, Naoki Yongshan admired: "Both of them can go to the Olympics! If the punks yesterday were two-thirds of their level, I might just I can't run away."

However, Naoki Yongshan turned his head and saw a pack of spray cans left by the boy, and took a few cans by accident, black, white and red, and stuffed them into the inner pocket of his coat.

Sure enough, it was a windbreaker that couldn't be seen with a submachine gun, and it didn't deform at all.

During these two hours, Naoki Naoyama walked along Fifth Avenue towards Broadway, and when he encountered graffiti, he would stop for a while, pretending to appreciate it,

However, when no one was around, he immediately sprayed all kinds of stick figures on the blank space next to it, and added the iconic "Suprise!!! Mother Fu*ker!!!"

This exciting feeling is like an addiction. No wonder so many street artists are obsessed with graffiti, even at the risk of being chased by the police.

When I arrived at the Broadway theater, the spray cans had already been used up, and Naoki Naoyama didn’t remember how many stick figures he had drawn, but he felt happy anyway.

At the Broadway Theater in the evening, the musical "Cats" was staged. From the poster of the theater, it can be seen that this is the first time that this musical is shown in New York.

Naoki Naoyama held the ticket stub in his hand, ha, this is a very commemorative ticket~

The episode "Memory" in the musical is said to be a song improvised by the creator of the musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

To be able to achieve such a level of improvisation is a real genius~

With the end of the Broadway musical, Naoki Naoyama also returned to the hotel,

It is not possible to go back to Japan at this time, and I have to wait until the promotional activities are almost over.

He was eating supper in the Palm Hall, while flipping through the travel brochures of the United States, preparing to visit other places.

A few days later, Basquiat, who was creating in the studio, saw Andy Warhol walking in, so he put down his painting tools

"Andy, my brother, why are you here?" Basquiat warmly gave him a hug. Andy Warhol can be said to be his good teacher and helpful friend, and a noble person in his career.

"It's nothing, I just came to see you~" Andy Warhol looked at the paintings in the studio, the colors were still bright and bright, and they contained deep thoughts.

"Jean, did you know that there was a stickman on the street?" Andy Warhol lit a cigarette and said casually leaning against the window sill, "The guy who is shouting Suprise!!! Mother Fu*ker everywhere."

"? Stickman? Mother Fu*ker" He has been in the studio for the past few days and doesn't know much about the outside world. "William?"

"Oh, you know him?" Andy Warhol said with a smile, "No wonder you even have his graffiti in your 'gallery'."

"A friend I've known not long ago."

If Andy Warhol mentioned that he spent ten days and a half months in the studio, maybe he would have forgotten this friend who he only met for one afternoon.

"What's up with him?"

"His stickman became popular." Andy Warhol said with a smile, "Now from Fifth Avenue to MUDD CLUB, his stickman can be seen everywhere, street graffiti artists, and some people start to imitate his style."

"???"

Basquiat was a little surprised, obviously this guy was just a beginner, and the first graffiti work was completed under his nose.

"The artistic content of the stickman is not high, how can it become popular?"

"The magical line and simple painting style satisfy the emotions of young people in New York and people who are disappointed with reality, and capture the rhythm of the times."

In this 1982 economic downturn, there was a surge of anger in everyone's heart, and this stickman cursed on behalf of everyone.

Andy Warhol asked: "Can you introduce us? I want to see what kind of guy this is."

Basquiat speechless: "I don't have his contact information"

"?"

"It's just a friend I've only met once." Basquiat said, "He's a Japanese who just came here for a trip. Oh, he's also a writer, model and actor, and he's very handsome!"

This time it was Andy Warhol's turn to be speechless: "What's the use of these, I can't get in touch anyway, so let's talk about it when I have a chance."

Basquiat smiled: "The stickman who mysteriously appeared and disappeared is so cool. Next time I see him, I must talk about it."