ATTN Nigel: Creepy temple with dolls everywhere.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I actually don't find this creepy. there's a hell of a lot of pathos and sadness, but it's touching, rather than scary.

I kind of alternated between that and an irrational "It's not something to do with Fukushima, is it? Let me check again."

It did weird things to my head. I like that.

There are a shit ton of abandoned towns in the Fukushima region, many of which are approved for return but because everyone was evacuated there's basically no living infrastructure in place (stores, etc) so nobody wants to move back.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

[Kai]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

Wow.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Surreal.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

Wow.

So desolate and so haunting and sad and strikingly beautiful.

[Kai]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

Wow.

So desolate and so haunting and sad and strikingly beautiful.

We point to Macchu Picchu and say "That's a cultural landmark, a world heritage site, a piece of history.

How is /this/ any different? Because it's recent? Because the materials are dirt common?

This is getting me thinking about why is there this human obsession with age and association of age with aesthetics.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

I actually don't find this creepy. there's a hell of a lot of pathos and sadness, but it's touching, rather than scary.

The creepy part, for me, is that it was all abandoned. Why didn't someone take the dolls with them to a new temple or something? The fact that they did this in the first place for dead kids and their families is very sad and touching. But the blessed dolls were abandoned and now they're just litter. I think it's the loss of meaning that weirds me out.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

Wow.

So desolate and so haunting and sad and strikingly beautiful.

We point to Macchu Picchu and say "That's a cultural landmark, a world heritage site, a piece of history.

How is /this/ any different? Because it's recent? Because the materials are dirt common?

This is getting me thinking about why is there this human obsession with age and association of age with aesthetics.

I actually feel the same way about the abandoned cities in Peru. In fact, the main thing that I love about modern ruins is the immediate sense of connection with the inhabitants. With ancient ruins, I have to work harder to find the sense of connection, because the signs of their day-to-day lives are mostly eradicated by time.

I used to get very sad when they bulldozed (as opposed to salvage) modern abandoned buildings, because they are history. When they imploded the cooling towers at Trojan, there went a piece of history. I am less attached to those things now because I realize that, as with antiquities, their passage is part of the passage of time.

Sometimes in my yard of my 104-year-old house, I think about the women who gardened here before me.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I actually don't find this creepy. there's a hell of a lot of pathos and sadness, but it's touching, rather than scary.

The creepy part, for me, is that it was all abandoned. Why didn't someone take the dolls with them to a new temple or something? The fact that they did this in the first place for dead kids and their families is very sad and touching. But the blessed dolls were abandoned and now they're just litter. I think it's the loss of meaning that weirds me out.

Probably the keeper of the temple passed. Or, there was never a keeper, and the community that kept it alive passed or moved away.

[Kai]

I actually don't find this creepy. there's a hell of a lot of pathos and sadness, but it's touching, rather than scary.

The creepy part, for me, is that it was all abandoned. Why didn't someone take the dolls with them to a new temple or something? The fact that they did this in the first place for dead kids and their families is very sad and touching. But the blessed dolls were abandoned and now they're just litter. I think it's the loss of meaning that weirds me out.

Probably the keeper of the temple passed. Or, there was never a keeper, and the community that kept it alive passed or moved away.

From the Abandoned Japan Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9dkRNJFQhc An abandoned shrine in the mountains. It's obvious people still tried to get there, because they left offerings, but the bridge was out, and the shrine building was in bad shape. It served a village nearby but that is slowly becoming empty as the elderly people there die or move. So it's much the same: it served a community, and the community is almost gone.

[Kai]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

Wow.

So desolate and so haunting and sad and strikingly beautiful.

We point to Macchu Picchu and say "That's a cultural landmark, a world heritage site, a piece of history.

How is /this/ any different? Because it's recent? Because the materials are dirt common?

This is getting me thinking about why is there this human obsession with age and association of age with aesthetics.

I actually feel the same way about the abandoned cities in Peru. In fact, the main thing that I love about modern ruins is the immediate sense of connection with the inhabitants. With ancient ruins, I have to work harder to find the sense of connection, because the signs of their day-to-day lives are mostly eradicated by time.

I used to get very sad when they bulldozed (as opposed to salvage) modern abandoned buildings, because they are history. When they imploded the cooling towers at Trojan, there went a piece of history. I am less attached to those things now because I realize that, as with antiquities, their passage is part of the passage of time.

Sometimes in my yard of my 104-year-old house, I think about the women who gardened here before me.

I guess when the ruins become old enough, it's the blend of natural and artificial that makes the landscape interesting, rather than the direct connection to the people.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2WFK1#a=1

Wow.

So desolate and so haunting and sad and strikingly beautiful.

We point to Macchu Picchu and say "That's a cultural landmark, a world heritage site, a piece of history.

How is /this/ any different? Because it's recent? Because the materials are dirt common?

This is getting me thinking about why is there this human obsession with age and association of age with aesthetics.

I actually feel the same way about the abandoned cities in Peru. In fact, the main thing that I love about modern ruins is the immediate sense of connection with the inhabitants. With ancient ruins, I have to work harder to find the sense of connection, because the signs of their day-to-day lives are mostly eradicated by time.

I used to get very sad when they bulldozed (as opposed to salvage) modern abandoned buildings, because they are history. When they imploded the cooling towers at Trojan, there went a piece of history. I am less attached to those things now because I realize that, as with antiquities, their passage is part of the passage of time.

Sometimes in my yard of my 104-year-old house, I think about the women who gardened here before me.

I guess when the ruins become old enough, it's the blend of natural and artificial that makes the landscape interesting, rather than the direct connection to the people.

For me, the biggest part is trying to connect to the people.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I actually don't find this creepy. there's a hell of a lot of pathos and sadness, but it's touching, rather than scary.

The creepy part, for me, is that it was all abandoned. Why didn't someone take the dolls with them to a new temple or something? The fact that they did this in the first place for dead kids and their families is very sad and touching. But the blessed dolls were abandoned and now they're just litter. I think it's the loss of meaning that weirds me out.

Strangely, this seems fitting to me. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think it's lost any meaning. If anything, I think it's gained meaning as a result of the abandonment and disorder.

[Cardinal Pizza Deliverance.]

I actually don't find this creepy. there's a hell of a lot of pathos and sadness, but it's touching, rather than scary.

The creepy part, for me, is that it was all abandoned. Why didn't someone take the dolls with them to a new temple or something? The fact that they did this in the first place for dead kids and their families is very sad and touching. But the blessed dolls were abandoned and now they're just litter. I think it's the loss of meaning that weirds me out.

Strangely, this seems fitting to me. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think it's lost any meaning. If anything, I think it's gained meaning as a result of the abandonment and disorder.

Hmm. I can see that point of view.