Thursday July 7, 6:05 p.m.

One of my must-have drinks during this summer. I was wondering about that phrase underneath the title, "Refreshing & Uplifting". It is indeed English but the combination struck me as slightly odd Japlish. And sure enough, Bay, who has seen this photo, pointed out that the American bottles don't have the caption. All I could think about was mentholated Wonderbras.

The German came in and we had an actual text lesson today but it was almost like fighting against a tidal wave trying to keep on text. Kinda like teaching 001. Speaking of whom, Arashi's No. 1 fan informed me that her particular favorite, Masaki Aiba, has ended up in hospital due to a nasty bout of pneumothorax. And the boys have got a concert schedule in about 3 weeks. Of course, the big question is whether Aiba-kun will be able to make it on stage in time. Most likely, Johnny Kitagawa himself will probably kick his protege/boy toy out of bed and force him to make a press conference where Aiba will tearfully apologize to the public for causing so much trouble by contracting a serious disease. Yes, I am pretty snarky about Japanese culture when I want to be.

Thursday July 7, 3:12 p.m.
As I was walking to the station a couple of days ago, I came across this scene at a neighbourhood apartment's garbage dumping area. Sign of the times, I say.
In 17 days, these television sets will be officially labeled extinct although as you can see here, the fossils are already starting to pile up. Since Japan is going completely digital as of the 24th, the old tube TVs (or buraun-kan terebi) have been piling up along with the banana peels and eggshells in garbage dumps all over the country. Of course, these TVs have been dumped illegally. That pink sign states that these sets cannot be picked up and recycled since the recycling fee hasn't been paid through the convenience stores with the appropriate receipt sticker stuck onto the set. But hey, I can understand a bit of the dumper's plight since I wouldn't be too enthusiastic about having to pay $40 to have a truck come and pick my own 40-year-old set up. Yup, my old Sharp still has a little over 2 weeks of life left before the days of analog come to an end. Not sure what I will do with mine when the Day of Reckoning comes. I may just have it as a really big ornament.

Thursday July 7, 3:05 p.m.

Today is Tanabata! It's the holiday for star-crossed lovers...yadayadayada. But for most people, it's their opportunity to write their wishes onto colored bands of paper and attach them to tree branches. I'm sure this would be something that Temperance "Bones" Brennan would sniff her nose at.

The pictures of the colorful Tanabata decorations were taken at the Nihombashi branch of Takashimaya last Friday. And the band up above was written by some kid exhorting some people in Sendai to hang in there during these rough times. I haven't tied a band onto a branch but if I could I would write to wish everyone in Japan to improve their lot in life.

Just have a couple of students today: The German and Mrs. Thursday. Both have always been chatty types so the lessons should flow pretty easily. Actually, the weather isn't so blisteringly hot today...will be looking forward to a cooler night tonight.

Wednesday July 6, 5:41 p.m.

Yep, that sizzling dish to the left is of my trek to the Gold Rush, that hamburg steak restaurant that the Movie Gang had gone to back on Sunday before "Super 8". That is a picture of The Triple Rush, a combo plate of Cheddar Burger, Grated Radish Burger and Bacon Burger with the throw-in of veggies and baked potato. I asked for a sausage for an extra buck....hey, they offered, I took it. Considering all of the calories at stake (no pun intended), the name Triple Bypass would also be a fine way to address this dish. Still, it was a good dinner since I hadn't had any lunch.

Heatwise, it wasn't the sauna-like conditions of a week ago, but it is definitely summer out there. I actually stopped by Jimbocho where my favorite old CD shops are located. I checked out Tacto and Disk Union...if I'm still solvent by the end of the month, I may pick up a couple of discounted discs there.

I'm just having 001 today since Kirk did a dotakyan this morning which means I still get paid for the class. Luckily, I'm feeling far more regular than I did for 001's lesson last week. I've been eating plenty of veggies for the past 7 days.

Monday July 4, 4:02 p.m.

Whilst most of America is (gonna be) enjoying The Fourth of July, it's just a regular day here. However, it is a slightly cooler and drier Monday compared to the heat and humidity of last week which gladdens me no end.

Yesterday, after my session with The Jyuppies, I met up with The Movie Gang of Skippy, Movie Buddy, The Satyr and The Wedding Planner at JR Shinjuku for what could be an epic month of movie-watching due to all the flicks that are coming out. We first had dinner at another Skippy recommendation called The Gold Rush which is just a few doors down from Studio Alta, one of the area's landmarks. The Gold Rush is a chain that serves variations on the hamburg steak that is de rigueur within the interesting culinary category of yo-shoku or Japanese-style Western food. The Shinjuku branch is basically just a basement corridor with a few booths lining the place....quite cramped in there. I had the Triple Rush of burger with cheese, burger with grated radish and burger with a bacon slice on top...all frying away on the hot plate. Luckily, I made do without lunch yesterday.

The main event was "Super 8". It was a pleasant enough summer timewaster; definitely not on the level of "E.T." although I'm one of the few people on the planet who couldn't even get through halfway through that movie (just too schmaltzy for me). There was definitely a feeling of camraderie between the two flicks although "Super 8" was far less sentimental about the creature and its relationships with humans. Basically, the only recognizable face in the large cast was Elle Fanning due to her more famous sister and the fact that Elle had been in the much-acclaimed "Somewhere" directed by Sofia Coppola. Overall, it came off as an intense kids' version of "The Outer Limits"...no big twists, just a straight-on sci-fi adventure with the usual Spielbergian touches of parent-child angst. I think I liked it a bit better than MB and The Satyr; they complained about the unevenness of the story.

Afterwards, the gang and I ended up downstairs at The Brooklyn Parlor, my third visit to the place and my first at night. Yep, the atmosphere is nice and the prices are New York level. Had dessert there this time in the form of Cherry Pie with a nice buttery crust and a Coconut Latte.

Next Saturday, the option is already in to catch "Thor" with another stayover at MB's.

Saturday July 2, 3:21 p.m.

Finished up with my two classes. It was another serious but good lesson with The Intellectual. We got into the discussion about the government's handling of the Fukushima Crisis.

I've just been diddling about the Net since I don't particularly want to head home while it's still feeling like a blast furnace. Not that it's that much different when I get home at night. I really have to open the windows. I did manage to put my Japanese writing skills to good practice by blogging down about the fact that it'll soon be 30 years to the day that I made my 2nd trip to this country and stayed at the Tokyo Prince Hotel for my first 5 nights. The place hasn't changed one whit since 1981. A lot of water under the hashi since those teenage days.

Saturday July 2, 12:12 p.m.

Sad to say but I almost forgot to mention that it was my country's birthday yesterday. 144 years young! Mind you, the only thing I did to commemorate the anniversary was to listen to a little-known Junko Ohashi tune called "Canadian Lullaby" which has absolutely no reference to Canada in the lyrics. Maybe I should drink down a bottle of maple syrup in penance but since one of those bottles of Medium No. 1 now cost close to a thousand yen a pop, I think I'll have to settle for the usual pancake breakfast tomorrow.

Finished what was probably my final lesson with Mrs. Prissy; certainly she thinks it is since she got me a couple of Peanuts postcards as a gift. Plus, she only has a few lessons left on her current contract so there is a possibility that she may not renew in any case.

Saturday July 2, 10:28 a.m.

Just a picture of a small brook in the middle of Shinjuku that I'd taken back on the hottest day of the year a few days back. But actually, the past couple of days have been slightly less volcanic in temps much to my delight. We did get some rather intense squalls shortly after my walk through Hell on Wednesday which cooled things down nicely. Just going up to 30 C today....believe me, taking into accounts recent heat and humidity levels, that temp is a blessing!

Yesterday turned out to be a triple cafe day. I had The Bass in our usual coffeehouse in Funabashi. There was a barfly of sorts knocking back beer (yes, I know, this is a cafe but beer still flows just as easily there) while belching and having his dirty feet on the seat, but thankfully outside of bad manners, he didn't bother us. Then, it was some hours later when I came across The OL for her first official lesson with me in 3 years. We met at our old haunt in Nihonbashi's COREDO complex...the Ueshima Coffeehouse...a lot fancier than the Funabashi place but definitely more crowded. The two of us had to occupy a couple of tall stools by the entrance. The OL was somewhat lamenting the fact that although she and her two sisters (my former student The UL and the otaku sis) are now well into their 30s they're still nowhere near marriage. Hey, join my club. I've got jackets!

And finally, I had The Godfather in the Tully's in Tameike-Sanno. Although we're basically having the lesson without a net (i.e. no text), we've been having good sessions talking about the birth of his new company and the fact that he's already got 3 projects on tap...all having to do with the recovery of the Tohoku area after the tsunami and earthquake.

I have Mrs. Prissy and The Intellectual today. It may be my final time with the former since she's reported that she can only come on Saturdays now and I'm just coming here as a favor to the bossman.

Tuesday June 28, 2:26 p.m.

Going gaga for Gaga....sounds like going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. But that's what the crowd at NTV studios were doing since their heroine showed up there for what seems to be a nearly annual custom. She's done her concert in Makuhari Messe and now she's doing the media rounds.

Had my usual Beehive at Cafe Nard in Funabashi. The demand for rooms at the community centre in Tsudanuma is high so we couldn't score a room until late July. So, this little cafe will do for the next few weeks. Travel, Alp, Jade and myself expressed some worry over our friend, Mrs. Tee, since apparently she's been going through some major stress in her family life. She's been absent from our little group for the past month or so. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch at a classy Chinese restaurant on the Chiba Kaido.

I finally set foot into my real estate agency to explain my guarantor predicament in person on the way back home. It didn't hurt too bad; the nice clerk there confirmed what I was asking for and he gave me a form to fill out which required to put down an emergency address. I can drag it out some more. However, another clerk had to deal with an irate foreign customer over some sort of problem; I would've disdained the lady but then again I remember that I was in the same sort of mood a few years back when I'd first entered the agency.

After a few days of relatively cool weather, we're back into the blazing heat again....explains why I'm in the I-cafe for the next few hours instead of at home. I can take advantage of the fans and all-you-can-drink option.

Monday June 27, 7:35 p.m.

Well, got the news from the juku boss that she's decided to shut down the offer of English lessons. I can't say that I'm surprised about it since neither Mr. White nor The Journo will be coming back anytime soon if ever. So, the only thing left for me is to nullify her guarantorship of my apartment tomorrow and basically my links with the place that I'd been teaching at for over 5 years will be gone. I'm still not too happy that she's decided to do this.
In Lady Gaga news, apparently, the Lady has found a new appreciation for the popular izakaya cocktail known as a Lemon Sour (shochu and lemon juice). Rumor has it that she was in one of the branches of the popular izakaya chain, Tengu...maybe in Shinagawa, a rather odd place for a celebrity of her stature. Shinagawa Station splits the neighbourhood into a strictly residential area filled with drab apartments and new condos and a neighbourhood filled with hotels and upper middle-class houses...not exactly celeb territory. And it also has the gigantic Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau....unless Gaga's gotten herself into some trouble, I don't think she'll be anywhere near there.

Monday June 27, 5:22 p.m.

I kinda figured that it was due, but I still had to sigh sadly when I heard about Peter Falk's passing on Saturday night via NHK. Lieutenant Columbo was a favorite of Dad's, and I occasionally watched one of the movies on cable. There was a certain appeal about this rumpled detective ultimately getting the best of his targets after having to suffer from their arrogant slings and arrows.

Columbo was part of the rotating lineup on "NBC's Sunday Night Mystery Movie" along with "McCloud", "MacMillan & Wife" and "Hec Ramsay" back in the early 1970s. The theme of the series by Henry "Pink Panther" Mancini ended up becoming Columbo's theme .

But for all of the TV detectives that proliferated in the United States over the past few decades, it was only Columbo who not only made it through the Japanese cultural filter but thrived here in Japan. He had a large fan following and his movies have seen repeated viewings. I can theorize that it was because of Columbo's kindness, humility and quiet deductive brilliance that garnered him his enormous popularity on this side of the Pacific. A lot of the TV detectives here in the weekly suspense dramas also contained these traits but Peter Falk added that something extra with his beat-up raincoat and car, his cockeyed and seemingly confused expression and his "Just one more question, sir..."

Falk even got his chance to do a commercial in Japan for some sort of whiskey, and one of the most famous scriptwriters here even created his own popular detective hero, loosely framed on Columbo. Furuhata Ninzaburo (definitely more difficult to pronounce than Columbo) took on his own eccentricities and keen genius reasoning, and even the show followed the same format of having the plot show how the detective solves the crime rather than who committed it, but Furuhata didn't share the same cuddliness that Columbo had.

I figure that there will be a lot of fans here who will be searching throughout the cable universe over the next few days and nights searching for that episode of "Columbo".

Monday June 27, 5:16 p.m.

Part of that Friday recce included taking a look into the old Tokyo Prince Hotel in the Shiba Park area. Just located a few hundred metres away from Tokyo Tower, this was the Ground Zero for what my life was to become. Almost 30 years ago, I stayed in this place and discovered that Japan was the place I had to study. And strangely enough, the very first of the Prince Hotels hasn't changed one whit in those 3 decades. It was almost as if Doctor Who had plopped a Time Bubble around the structure. I would love to spend a last night here before heading back to the Great White North for good, but with my financial picture looking rather bleak at the moment, just not sure....

Monday June 27, 5:11 p.m.

After finishing with The Godfather in Tameike-Sanno, I ended up spending the next 2 hours doing a walkabout through that area and even down into Tokyo Tower territory. Since I know that I'll be leaving for home by the end of the year, I've started taking photos of the myriad areas that make up the largest metropolis on the planet. It was a bit of an undertaking since it was warm and humid out there but managed to do the recce without fainting. As you can see, I do love the Sunset function on my digital. And I was able to even get a few night shots.

Thursday June 23, 9:29 p.m.

Had another nice class with Mrs. Thursday. We did the usual chat on the previous "NCIS" episode, but we also got into the topic of Country & Western music in the States. It seems that her husband has a thing for Western (yee-hah) culture right down to the fashion. I grew up listening to some of the Bluegrass stuff while Mr. Thursday is more into the Texas 10-gallon hat stuff, so names like Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty and Donna Fargo were quite new to her. However, I did recommend her and her husband to take a listen to Crystal Gayle....her "Don't Make My Brown Eyes Blue" is a classic.

I just got word from Mrs. Speedy that Swank has cancelled her lesson for tomorrow, so it'll just be The New Yorker and The Godfather. It'll make the commuting a bit easier. Mrs. Speedy has offered a bit of dinner to me via her mother....some traditional fare such as takigomi gohan. And I have to go in right now.

Thursday June 23, 7:52 p.m.

I just finished with The Carolinan. As usual, she was pretty languid about it all, but then again, it is feeling rather languid out there meterologically. She and her sister, The New Yorker, will be heading out to Okinawa next week for a few days. Nice to hear that some people can actually afford a nice vacation that doesn't involve escaping from nuclear disaster.

Was sorry to hear that Clarence Clemons, the burly saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, has passed away. I still remember him tooting away in the video for "Dancing In The Dark" all the way back in the mid-80s. I liked that tune by The Boss but my all-time favorite will always be "Hungry Heart" when Bruce looked rather scrawny.

Thursday June 23, 5:49 p.m.

Another hot one in The Big Sushi today. Apparently, Lady Gaga was out and about in Tokyo while giving out her exhortations for tourists to return to Japan. Apparently, in gratitude, the agency director for tourism tried to give her a sloppy wet one on the cheek. He looked like someone who had already one too many at the izakaya or needed an anklet monitor lest he gets too close to a junior high school. But then again, Lady Gaga has probably encountered a lot of weirdness in her life already.

Just two lessons today with The Carolinan arriving in about half an hour, and then my fellow "NCIS" fan, Mrs. Thursday to wrap up. The Godfather got back to me and said that I could teach him tomorrow at 5 p.m. A bit late for a Friday these days, but in these times of limited income, I can't afford to reject any classes right now.

Wednesday June 22, 7:57 p.m.

It's rather quiet right now. The bossman is just writing away in his office while his wife is reading something in the lounge area, and I'm just blogging. It didn't use to be this way. Around this time last year and in previous years, there would be as many as three staffers (perhaps, Ray, La Fille and the not-so-dearly-departed Ms. Efficiency) puttering around in the office while I regularly had 001. But with the economic difficulties of the past year and then the Disaster of 2011, well, we're basically just a 3-person operation now with the occasional assist by Ms. Schmooze and The Marm. Actually, I got a surprise message from La Fille who's now fully into her own as a Japanese teacher in Korea asking about The Magician's next lesson re-scheduling. I guess the bossman still has her on overseas duty. I've been calling her humourously as our Seoul branch manager.

There was a bit of activity a few minutes ago when the bossman miscombubulated a schedule and didn't realize that he actually had a student at 8 p.m. He'll probably get a talking-to from the missus when I take off after Kirk's lesson.

It looks like my day of 4 will be merely a day of 2 tomorrow since The Magician has re-skedded to next week and The Godfather has once again had to cancel. It'll just be The Carolinan and then Mrs. Thursday in the evening.

Wednesday June 22, 7:35 p.m.

Ordinarily, I would be continuing my banter with 001 at about this time in her final half-hour, but she's off today for some reason. Instead, I am waiting for Kirk to come in on an atypical Wednesday class. Usually, he's a Monday student but he switched it over to midweek for this week. Actually, 001 will be going to some sort of charity event for quake victims organized by the fine boys of Arashi. Of course, she and her fellow Arashi fan friend, Yoko Ono (Yoko, because that IS her name, and Ono, because she is a fan of the Arashi leader, Ono-kun) will be heading off to Tokyo Dome to see their heroes take on even more heroic stature this Friday. I did ask her to come up with a report about their adventure next week.
As I was coming to work today, I came across a banner at one of the subway newspaper kiosks declaring "GoMaki Retires!" GoMaki refers to former Morning Musume member Maki Goto who had been the catalyst for the 2nd, or Golden, Age for the long-running girl group in the ancient days of B.A.K.B. (Before AKB 48). She came in as a gawky 13-year-old girl but ended up spearheading MM's biggest hit, "Love Machine". It was a tune launched in September 1999 but became one of the songs of the year as everyone was trying to sing it at karaoke boxes and year-end parties. However, her solo career didn't exactly catch on fire and then her brother, who had been one-half of a minor dance-song unit called E.E. Jump, ended up getting a career as a jailbird and then I think one of her relatives ended up falling off a balcony and killing herself. And basically, her name started to creep into "Whatever happened to...?" category. Well, if the headline is correct, it looks like Goto will go to blessed anonymity.

Wednesday June 22, 6:25 p.m.

Nope, unlike a couple of entries ago, this young lady may just be a few years younger than Lady Gaga but she is just worlds away from her in terms of personality. If I were being very uncharitable, I would call this one Lady Baka (idiot), but I will be charitable since the Japanese geinokai often demands the de-intellectualization of young female tarento.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Rola? According to Wikipedia Japan, she is all of 21 years of age and has the distinction of being half-Bangladeshi, one-quarter Japanese and one-quarter Russian. Quite an exotic mix and in this country, female exotic mixes often get targeted by heat-seeking tarento scouts. In this case, Rola was recruited in front of a Marui department store some years ago and has had a successful career as a magazine model. Often a number of the young models and pinup gals also get that foot into the door opening into the world of TV personalities. And the reason I even bring her up at all is that I, by accident, caught her on one of those talk shows on Monday night.

The show had a couple of those male manzai comedy duos and one other comic basically playing with her like a Barbie doll-cum-hostess. And unlike the relatively sober-looking countenance in this picture (aside from the stuck-out tongue, that is), Rola looked like something out of "The Rose of Versailles" appearing half-anime girl and half-manga heroine from the days of a French Queen. And she was putting on such a thick rendition of a Betty Boop sounding airhead, I'm not quite sure who was the goofier: her or the five Johns....er, comedians who were fawning and giggling all around her.

But before I start bemoaning the so-called desired idiocy of model-turned-tarento in this country, I do remember one Uno Kanda around 15 years ago who had started out also as an airheaded model on TV (and even getting slapped by a disgusted baseball manager's wife...not exactly a good person herself), but ended up becoming a shrewd businesswoman and slightly more substantial. So, it's all about the cuteness factor to get into the money and fame before letting the seriousness out. Perhaps Rola will end up the same way.

But I still think Lady Gaga can still kick the living crap out of Rola in her Judas.

Wednesday June 23, 4:53 p.m.

As a bit of a PS, I see from my stats that I've attracted several folks from Malaysia. How do you do. I'm not sure if it gets as hot and steamy over there (I mean, outside of the bedroom and brothels) as it does over here (same conditions), but I do remember a few years ago when one of the local TV channels interviewed tourists visiting Asakusa; some of them were from Thailand and southeast Asia and they said that even they were having trouble adjusting to the virtual warm ocean that they had to walk/swim in this city. If there's one thing we can export reliably annually, it is a fine sense of what humidity really means.

Wednesday June 22, 4:36 p.m.

The Gaga has indeed landed. Yesterday, the Lady Gaga arrived in Japan for an extended stay...apparently, she may be here until the first week of July. Strangely, though, it was reported that 200 fans were at Narita to greet their heroine; I'd been expecting far more fanatics in dark leather and spike heels. Far more came out to greet Korean actors, but I guess middle-aged women have far more time on their hands. One cannot live on their sofas alone. Yes, I am quite sarcastic, thank you very much. Not quite sure what she's gonna be doing for the next several days although I will be very impressed if she actually loses the claw nails and does some cleaning up in quake-and-tsunami ravaged Tohoku. Most likely, though, she'll be shopping through Harajuku and Shibuya, giving a number of interviews and maybe even throwing on some shows. Apparently, she may be due for one interview on The Journo's wide show on NTV next Tuesday....perhaps The Journo may in fact be the one doing the interview. I think his leg has healed enough so that he can walk those few steps from his car to the studio.

However, if Lady Gaga stepped outside today, she may actually end up being called Lady Gag-Gag. The Rainy Season may officially be still on but it's feeling like a blast furnace out there. Summer has indeed arrived along with the Gaga, and it'll be the first taste of it in the new Japanese reality of setsuden...energy conservation. I've done my bit by not turning on the air conditioner although my apartment was already above 28 C in the morning, so I was smelling the bacon, if you know what I mean. Still, it wasn't too bad in these early days. But I do worry about the next 3 months. The temperature was supposed to be up to 31 C, which probably means that it'll be one or two degrees higher. Gaga should really consider not using foundation for the next several days, if she doesn't want to look like the lost member of Mummenschanz.

Well, I bit the bullet and called up my real estate agency in Gyotoku, and asked them about my situation concerning my apartment's guarantorship. They said that indeed that there was a guarantorship company within their world, and if I passed an inspection and be willing to pay half of my rent, they would take care of me.

Skippy has started the next round of summer movies. She's asked about catching "Super 8" on the 3rd.

Monday June 20, 8:36 p.m.

Less than 24 hours before the official first day of summer, and yes, it's feeling rather moist inside of Speedy's as I type this. I finished up with Miss Genki half an hour ago. We actually did do a page or so of the text but we also touched a bit upon "Glee" as we usually do. We did have a conversational interlude in which we spoke about the differences between Japan and America when it came to comedy. I put up a small flow chart up on the board showing that whereas American comedy focused on topical issues and illustrated through sketches or stand-up routines, Japanese comedy seems to focus on oft-repeated catchphrases, bawdiness and slapstick.
Which brings me to the crux of this entry....a few weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels, making my now-rare foray into Japanese TV when I came across a bit of a surprise on Fuji-TV. Apparently, "Saturday Night Live" has landed in Japan. It just so happened that it was the inaugural show and I had found it whilst the first sketch was on. It had veteran comedians Sanma Akashiya and Takashi Okamura doing a sketch involving fat dancing comedienne Naoko Watanabe doing a parody of Lady Gaga. The stage was set up just like the original in New York, and I've just seen the opening credits on YouTube and was somewhat shocked how closely it resembled the opening for the original as well. But watching just a few minutes of the sketch made me realize that it still needs some mighty tweaking. For one thing, it was the veteran comedians basically spearheading the sketch whilst the listed new comics were very much just in the background....just like in any homegrown variety show. That was never the intent of SNL. It just seemed bizarre that the show just looked like any regular comedy show with the SNL logo just smacked onto the screen. And frankly, the first sketch was about as funny as a car accident...a custom that's usually built into the last half-hour back in the New York show. Not that auspcious a start. The musical guest was Ken Hirai...who is really isn't the biggest thing anymore.
At this point, "SNL Japan" is experimental. It will be only on once a month and for just an hour, so Fuji-TV is taking a slowly, slowly approach with it. But if the future outings are anything like what I saw, I think it'll be back to the usual cross-dressing inanities and catchphrases.

Monday June 20, 6:02 p.m.

"X-Men: First Class" made for an entertaining reboot. I would probably put it just under "X2" in the best of the mutant movies. There was a bit more emphasis on character rather than plot, and although the special effects were not on an awe-inspiring level (but then again "The Dark Knight" could be placed in the same boat and look how that movie did), I was a whole lot more satisfied with McAvoy, Fassbinder and Bacon than I was with Jackman in his solo turn as "Wolverine" (although he made for a funny cameo in the new movie). As for the younger Xavier and Lehnsherr, noone can beat Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen but James McAvoy and Michael Fassbinder did a pretty good job with the roles. And having the movie mesh in with the events of The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 made for a fun little conspiracy plot. Although I've heard that the movie isn't raking in as much cash as expected, it's gotten past the golden $100 million line so I'm confident that a second movie will be in the works.

Ol' Sam has left the building, so to speak. After staying a couple of nights at my place, he took off to meet his wife and kid yesterday morning. I have to be honest, though. He's got to be the most embittered cynic that I've ever known. He was just forever kvetching about everything; it almost got to the point where I was quite happy to see him off at the station. I had considered asking him to join me for breakfast at the neighbourhood McDonalds but I quickly got him to the ticket gates. He's a good guy at heart but I've got limits.

A few hours after Ol' Sam's departure, I went out to teach The Jyuppies for the first time in a couple of weeks. I felt badly about taking their money despite not being able to teach them due to a cold coursing through their household so I ended up buying a box of Yoku Moku cookies at the depachika by Futako-Tamagawa Station almost equivalent to my hourly wage of teaching. Just thought it was the right thing to do.

I saw Mr. Swank for the first time in over 3 months at his company today. It was obvious that he has put on the Grecian Formula and, more importantly, lost some weight. He has been very busy trying to save the Pacific coast with his tetrapodal products and also doing his overseas business in Korea and Vietnam. Still his jovial self, though.

I've only got Miss Genki before I wrap up tonight. I have yet to hear from my real estate agency about the fax that I sent last week. I may have to visit the place directly tomorrow after finishing with The Beehive. I don't really want to have to do that but I don't have a choice. The juku boss is probably gritting her teeth for my response.

Saturday June 18, 2:40 p.m.

Ol' Sam made it to my place pretty much in one piece although he was lugging 5 pieces on a rush-hour subway. My childhood friend has become somewhat of a kvetcher in his middle age, somewhat like a Nikkei Woody Allen. He often starts his opinions with a rueful grin and a slow shake of his head. As we were noshing on tonkatsu at the neighbourhood Tonki underneath my subway station, he was complaining about his health, raising a family, the ridiculous crowds of Tokyo, etc. He's gone out by himself today to get some omiyage and then roam around Shinjuku and Harajuku. I would've gone out with him but I've already got pre-made plans with MB and The Satyr for "X-Men: First Class" later today at Roppongi Hills.
The good thing about having people over is that it does force me to clean up the place, and I was surprised that I was able to get my apartment (relatively) tidy within 2 hours.

Before I started converting my pad into a hotel, I did have The Bass and Swank. The Bass gave a speech on the aftermath of the quake. Like a number of people I know such as the juku boss, March 11 hit my drummer student hard in the ledger. A lot of his customers stopped purchasing his wares since they were also in crisis mode. The last statement of his speech was heavy with meaning...we all just have to survive and wait this out and that we are not alone.
As for Swank, it turned out that the library in Arisugawa Park in Hiroo was closed for the day due to energy conservation. So, the two of us just made our way to a nearby Starbucks a minute away from the station where we mostly talked about one of her acquaintances. Neither of us could really call her a friend since she seems to have her nose permanently hooked in the air like an elitist. The way Swank described her sounds like the elitist was just born into money and probably cannot fathom that her statements could be construed as being on the wrong side of snobbish. I then confided to her about my former student, The Lady, and the rich life that I'd been exposed to for several years when I had regularly visited her mansion on Mondays.

Saw a couple of back-to-back shows of "Piers Morgan Tonight" which clearly showed opposing sides of celebrity life. Saw the whole interview with Jada Pinkett Smith. It was an exchange that both Morgan and Smith enjoyed, and it showed a lady who was obviously enjoying life with her career, her family and her even more famous husband despite coming from a very tough background. Considering that Jada was now in the stratosphere, she just seemed very down-to-earth. On the other hand, I saw the last few minutes of Morgan's interview with Tatum O'Neal the night before, and I could quickly pick up that the interview was definitely not a fun one for either interviewer and interviewee. Ironically, although Tatum seemed to have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, her life has ended up being one of drugs and abusive behaviour by father and ex-husband. Tatum looked and sounded like she was barely putting on a brave face over some very unhappy issues.

Thursday June 16, 7:09 p.m.

Yep, folks. That is indeed an Oreo chocolate bar with a hint of matcha tea inside. Actually, it's not too bad and since even in the West, matcha ice cream is part and parcel of the Japanese dining experience in restaurants, why not? That's what the Japanese do best...take something as American as apple pie and give it the ol' Nippon twist.

Came back from seeing The Godfather in Tameike-Sanno a few hours ago. With all of the sudden cancellations, today was only the 2nd official lesson I had with him. I am starting to find my groove with him. Next month, he'll be starting up his own consulting company (I may hinted to you beforehand that he was already the president of his company, but I was wrong...he's just one of the higher-ups) and one of his first tasks will be to find solutions to get the ravaged Tohoku region up and running again. A challenge to be sure but also an opportunity. He was talking about ways to promote goods from the area not just for domestic consumption but also for the international market as well. If I can help him with his English presentation methods, then it'll go a long way in helping him sell his stuff as well.

Rain has started dripping down for the past couple of hours. I did put up my umbrella. I didn't hear any sizzling radiation but I just wonder if I'll still become my own night light and start glowing in the dark. Will save on electricity.

Thursday June 16, 12:37 p.m.

Well, there's a bit of a "Casey at the Bat" feeling in Vancouver tonight after their Canucks got shellacked in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. I don't want to say it but it sounds like several members kinda choked. Speedy, who's also a big hockey fan, had to pick up his jaw when I told him. Still, better luck next year. And we've got Winnipeg back.

The only big news here for me is the ongoing unneeded cramp in my life concerning the guarantorship. I sent the fax to my real estate agency concerning the situation. I'm sure there is probably a message on my machine right now from Able. And my cable company is getting on me once again about changing one of the equipment for the television. It seems like cable companies around the world are universally annoying. I did get a message from the juku boss, commiserating with me about our respective situations. And then she asked me whether I could still remain her friend after all that has happened.

Anyways, I've got The Shareholder, The Godfather and Mrs. Thursday on the slate today. Plus, I got some stuff done for Swank's lesson tomorrow.

Wednesday June 15, 8:21 p.m.

Saw 001 for the first time in almost a month. It was good seeing her, especially with some of the kerfuffle surrounding the juku boss. I'm still keeping it all together for now, but I can feel a layer of stress forming underneath. The worst thing I can imagine is that a long friendship gets torn asunder because of this guarantorship mess. But going back to 001, talk was back on Arashi; apparently, she and her compatriot will be going to some sort of Arashi-backed charity event next Friday. I, never one to let an opportunity for homework go by, assigned her to give me a report on the event for next time.

Well, Grandma FON has cancelled her lesson for tomorrow yet again. So I'm starting with The Shareholder before I have to dart out to Tameike-Sanno to see The Godfather (providing that he doesn't dotakyan again) before coming back to Speedy's to teach Mrs. Thursday. I'm sure she'll have lots to say about last week's season premiere of "NCIS".

Tuesday April 12, 10:25 a.m.

Yesterday, I got together with The Egg and The Wild Guy for lunch. We decided to go for The Memphis Smokehouse again on Sheppard and Yonge where I had the Sausage Sandwich with some mighty hot cayenne peppers. The Wild Guy showed some of his old heat, ranting on some political matter, of course. I've got one more get-together with him on Saturday.

Then The Egg took me all the way to the border of Mississauga where his theatre is located. The Queensway is one of the biggest cineplexes in the city and raked in the 2nd-largest box office in the country last year. He was kind enough to show me around his kingdom including the VIP Room and an IMAX-lite system.

The movie we caught was "Hanna", a rather strange thriller starring Saorise Ronan. Instead of being a typical Michael Bay Hollywood explode-a-rama, it was distinctly European in tone...kinda like the Bourne trilogy distilled through an Ingmar Bergmann prism. The Egg likened it to "The American", the quiet George Clooney flick set in Italy. The quirkiness factor was furthe enhanced by the fact that the star was a 16-year-old Scottish actress, supported by 2 arguably higher-profile Aussie thespians playing a German rogue spy and an American spymaster. I don't think it'll get much repeat business but the movie will make for a conversation piece in film classes for a while.

10:57 a.m.

After the movie, the Egg and I took the long commute back to midtown for dinner. The Egg has gained a well-earned reputation for knowing some of the best eats in town, and Yonge-Eglinton seems to be one of the hubs in Toronto for fine dining. A couple of weeks ago, The Egg took me to a splendid Italian place in the area. Last night was a trendy eatery called Quince. Quince had all the hallmarks of upscale dining: dim lighting, post-modern decor, happy happy service and the appropriate pricing. As The Egg put it, no kids would ever come to this place. To enter a similar place in Tokyo is beyond my tax bracket. However, here in my hometown, I have a chance. and I was quite well rewarded for my rare foray into a restaurant that doesn't automatically have ketchup close at hand. There were fries but they were called frites.

In any case, Mrs. Egg arrived. As usual, she griped mightily about the private hell that is her workplace. Unintentionally, she reassured me about my choice of career.

So my day yesterday was an amalgam of businessman's lunch, an afternoon movie and a 3-hour evening of urban culinary delight.

And that was all I did write for my 1 month in Toronto. There is still that matter of the final Saturday brunch to talk about.

Wednesday June 15, 5:29 p.m.

The last hour or so have been a bit stressful since I had been crafting a letter to fax over to my real estate agency in Gyotoku. Now I know how President Obama's speechwriter must feel. And I'm doing this in polite business Japanese...so there's a lot of keigo to put down. For those who don't know, keigo is the polite expressions...the more formal versions of various words that are used in business letters. Plus, there's the undesired dimension that I don't want to have the guys there going into panic mode and throwing me out of my apartment since I cannot find a guarantor.

As for the juku boss, I'm not quite sure what her reason is for pulling out as guarantor for my apartment. At first, she says it was because of the quake and her husband's financial situation. Now she says it's because of her illness. I'm not sure if she's just gone into panic mode herself.

It seems like I'm just by myself again. I came in at 3 and the bossman's wife was in the apartment. Just to remind you folks, Speedy's is now both the school and the abode for the bossman and the missus. I'm just hoping that I'm not cramping her style by coming in too early. I try not to be too intrusive.

The Godfather contacted me to see if I can teach (or talk with) him tomorrow afternoon. Seeing that I can't really afford financially to say No, I said Yes. Not that he's a bad guy or anything, but I had been hoping to use some of the time to get some more worksheets typed up for Swank's lesson on Friday.

Wednesday June 15, 3:16 p.m.

Not the best picture but I've been reading this book called "Japanese City Pop" by Yutaka Kimura. Considering it's in Japanese, I haven't had too much of a problem going through it since it's basically a catalog of 500 CDs which are included in this sub-genre of J-Pop. City Pop is the Japanese equivalent of American AOR or soft rock, and includes artists like Tatsuro Yamashita, Mariya Takeuchi and the members of The Yellow Magic Orchestra, a few years before they went techno back in the mid-70s. It's probably the segment of J-Pop that I have related most to in my 30 years as an aficionado of Japanese music. City Pop is named as such since the music kinda gives that "Bright Lights, Big City" feeling. And you can't get more "BLBC" than Tokyo. The music has all the genre touches such as a horn section (especially fluegelhorn....hail to Chuck Mangione) and some Fender Rhodes. For you kids out there who have been weaned on stuff like Arashi and AKB48, give some City Pop a try. I would definitely recommend EPO's "Downtown" and Akira Terao's "Ruby no yubiwa" (A Ruby Ring) as classics. Just check them out on YouTube.

Now, as for my life, things are pretty nuts with the juku boss these days. I spoke with Cozy this morning and asked him point blank on whether our mutual friend was OK. When she called up last Saturday to cancel our get-together for Sunday, she said that her husband was in some sort of "accident" and couldn't or wouldn't elaborate. This morning, Cozy told me that when she had called him, she wanted to divorce her husband. I kinda wonder if that "accident" of his involved any sort of flying object aimed at his head. Cozy informed me that the boss has often complained loudly and threatened to leave the guy, so he wasn't particularly worried. And I know that the boss has been having some panic attacks over the past few years since her operation.

Then, I got an e-mail from her right now asking me if I could hurry up with the guarantorship cancellation; I had been expecting that she would start getting a bit antsy about it. But this time, she did give me some useful information. Strangely enough, my real estate agency, Able, actually has some sort of guarantor agency of its own. So I'll be sending some mail over to them in the next few hours. The boss also told me that Mr. White will be bailing from his lessons in July as well so I guess my Tuesday nights will remain empty.

I have to remember that Ol' Sam is not exactly the sharpest ball on the billiard table when it comes to traveling. He called me several minutes past midnight this morning, after I'd already gone to bed to talk about his stay with me on Friday and Saturday night. I had asked him by e-mail to give me a call last night....it would've been nice if he had called me earlier. In any case, he will probably be my final guest in my apartment before I leave the place forever. I told him that I'd already made plans with the Movie Gang (well, just MB and The Satyr) on Saturday since he had initially told me that he was only coming for Friday night, and he was apologetic and OK with that.

I just have 001 to come in about a couple of hours.

Tuesday June 14, 2:59 p.m.

Yep, I'm still relaying my diary entries during Toronto. It won't be much longer.

Sunday April 19, 10:15 a.m.

Just waiting for The Dancer's husband to pick me up for lunch. The weather doesn't look too good for BBQ, but it may be the warmest day so far this year.
I'm entering my final full week in Toronto. If it were the usual vacation, I'd be leaving this week but instead I still have 10 days. If it were the usual vacation, I'd be fretting about getting the usual omiyage for everybody but under various circumstances, I'll get just a couple of boxes for the juku and Speedy, and even that I'm wavering on. I've never been a big fan of the Japanese tradition, and I think millions of Japanese share my feelings but tradition there sticks better than Super Glue.
However, things in Japan seem to be further normalizing....outside of the immediately affected disaster zone. NHK, over the past several days, has started to variegate its news coverage. This morning, I found out that the regional gubernatorial/mayoral elections, including for that of Tokyo, had taken place. Governor Shintaro Ishihara has won a 4th term as the chief of Tokyo; I don't like him very much but I think it was a case of preferring the devil you know over the devil you don't. To be honest, his competitors didn't exactly inspire, even the former popular governor of Miyazaki Prefecture, Hideo Higashikokubaru. His star dipped somewhat since he opted to fly from his home province rather abruptly which may have revealed a little too much naked ambition. So we now once again have a governor with the opinions of Rob Ford and the longevity of Hazel McCallion. I just wonder if we may have a political death on the order of Franklin Roosevelt considering Ishihara's age.

Monday April 11, 9:17 a.m.

It's been one month since the big quake. Hard to believe that so much time has flown by, but Japan has had plenty of reminders via aftershocks, including a M6.1 a few hours ago. The nerves of millions of people along the Pacific coast must be plenty frayed by now but the aftershocks will probably continue for several months.
Yesterday, I had lunch with The Dancer's family and The Entrepreneur's family at the former's house. Over the past month, I've had various outings but this meeeting was definitely the most homey. The Dancer's husband and I shared some war stories about the quake, since his family was at Tokyo Disneyland when all hell broke loose. For them, the exodus out of Japan had a nightmarish quality since they left during the height of the frantic scramble of foreign tourists to get out of Dodge. The Entrepreneur's son has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 3 months, not surprising for a baby.
Today will be an all-day affair with The Egg. I'll be having lunch with him and The Wild Guy up in the latter's neck of the woods. Then, it'll be a movie down at Yonge & Eglinton before dinner with his wife.

Tuesday June 14, 2:36 p.m.

Well, Happy 3,900th Entry! I think I'll make myself a grilled cheese.

Nahhh...I'll just go with the Roast Pork bento I got from the supermarket. It made for a nice change from the usual karaage that I usually buy...one cannot live on chicken alone. Not too bad...the pork had that char-siu consistency and taste although not to the same cloying level. I have noticed that I've gotten some American readers...not sure if they're from New York but I have heard that there has been a bento boom there. If so, this is the usual bento here in the local supermarkets. The meat will change of course but the rest of the sides are pretty much consistent: pink/purple pickled (say that 3 times fast) radish, some sweetened tofu skins with vegetables and the ubiquitious rice with seasonings. Makes for a good hearty and easy dinner or lunch. However, I've gotten lazy in my middle age and I don't bother with the nuking...just eat it cold. Or perhaps in these current conditions in the Kanto, I can just leave it outside for a few days and let the ambient radiation do its work.

That supposed annual dinner amongst the juku boss, Cozy and myself never came to pass after all. Not that I was especially ravenous to go for monjayaki, but it would've been good to have us come together so that the boss and I could discuss about our current shared dilemma concerning her guarantorship of my apartment. Cozy could've been a fine arbitrator. However, the night before, I got a call from the boss stating she wouldn't be able to make it out; apparently her husband had an "accident" of sorts. I asked as non-intrusively as possible about this accident. She tried to explain but after a few seconds she gave up and said that she would talk with Cozy directly by phone. I'm not sure what's up but the last few months have been rather strange on her. Again, she asked me to get her guarantorship canned and I said that I have been trying. But as we go into the summer, I'm sure the heat will go even higher on that note. In any case, Cozy contacted me a few minutes later to officially cancel the dinner. I'm seeing him tomorrow for his lesson, so I'll ask him what he thinks is up with his former classmate.

Yesterday, I had a fairly busy day with four students: The New Yorker, and then at Speedy's, The German, Miss Genki and Kirk. It was the usual struggle with The New Yorker although I did make things a lot lighter and more away from the book for her sake. My back-to-back-to-back with the final three students was also quite bouncy although more substantive. I found the respective topics of discussion interesting with each student. The German and I spoke on our favorite Japanese musicians and TV shows back 30 years, while Miss Genki spoke on her current love, "Glee" and "Spiderman: The Musical"; she positively jumped straight up when I'd told her that AK had seen it a few months ago. And with Kirk, he talked on the trials and tribulations of his job. He's definitely one cheerfully morose fellow. I get all kinds in my job.

It looks like I may have a couple of students coming back into the fold. I heard from the bossman that Mr. Swank has decided to have regular lessons starting from next Monday. I'm sure the first couple of classes will just fly by since we'll be talking on the past few months. Y'see, he, in his capacity as the owner of a tetrapod company, has been doing his part to save the ravaged Tohoku region after the quake and tsunami. I'm not even sure if we can fit any "Star Trek" into the conversation. Then, The OL contacted me to firm our first meeting for the 26th, after I finish with Yajima.

Ol' Sam has contacted me about his stay with me, and just landed me a bit of a bomb by stating that he was planning to stay at my place for 2 nights, instead of the 1. I've already made plans with The Movie Gang on Saturday so he is more than welcome to join us, but otherwise, he'll have to stay by himself watching TV. I know that sounds very cold but I distinctly remember him sending me mail asking to stay just for Friday night. In any case, I have to finish up the cleaning tomorrow morning after I finish with Cozy. I don't know what's up with 001's status. Will she come for her regular lesson tomorrow night or will I be spending most of the day at home again?

Saturday June 11, 3:13 p.m.

Three months since the big quake. I'm sure all of the channels will be marking this anniversary as they will for every month on the 11th for the rest of the year...at the very least.

The bossman is back in the house, as it were, and he's already counseling a young girl and her mother on a possible study-abroad opportunity in Canada. I've got The Intellectual in about half an hour. It'll be the only class here which is a bit of a pain since 20% of what I earn will go to transportation. Still, The Intellectual is good people.

It's been a rainy day with some heavy downpours earlier today. Not sure if that tingling on my scalp is a result of radiation-filled precipitation. It's deceptively normal out there. Escalators are back in operation and the subways seem to be operating at nearly 100%. And the supermarkets seem to be booming; even the supplies of bottled water haven't depleted any.

"X-Men: First Class", or as it is known here, "X-Men: First Generation", starts today in Tokyo. The Movie Gang is ready for it for next week. MB is probably watching Captain Jack Sparrow as I write this; he's probably the only one of us who is willing to still give him a try. But actually, Skippy did see it already but I haven't really gotten any indication as to what she had thought of it.

Friday June 10, 3:36 p.m.

Feeling pretty sleepy right now but then again The Shareholder can have that effect on teachers. He is so languid with his answers. Earlier in the day, I had Swank over at our new haunt in Arisugawa Park. I was supposed to have had The Godfather as well but he's cancelled due to work. It's always the case with presidents...cancellations are fairly rife with them.

I was able to get home in time to catch the premiere of Season 7 of "NCIS"...the one where Gibbs and the boys rescue Ziva. The reaction in the "NCIS" community of Mixi has been overwhelmingly approving with fans virtually squealing their love, especially for Tony and the boss.

Well, I'm off for the day but I'm just doing some blogging here before taking off for home. The weather has been fairly fine today...somewhat cloudy but not blisteringly hot, unlike in Toronto which got 40 degrees. The Anime King relayed to me that the high temperature did indeed blow off the top of the thermometer but then the bottom fell off and it looks like the low will be around a chilly 13. It's a wonder that Torontonians haven't collapsed.

Now, as for the picture, that's a bucket of takoyaki, or squid balls (no giggling, please). The bossman's wife was kind enough to give me one last night as an impromptu dinner. This was an especially good dose of takoyaki since the surrounding dough was moist and fluffy while the squid itself was tender, not rubbery.

Thursday June 9, 5:56 p.m.

All by my lonesome again at Speedy's. I've got The Carolinan and Mrs. Thursday. It should be a banner day for the latter lady since Season 7 of "NCIS" debuts here in Japan. She may be grilling me with a lot of questions about the season premiere. I'll string her along as I usually do.

Earlier today, I had lunch with former administrators at Speedy's, AK and Bay, at a place in Shinjuku called The Brooklyn Parlor (http://www.brooklynparlor.co.jp/) located in the basement of the Marui Annex department store. AK, being the honorary New Yorker that she is, of course recommended the bar/cafe/restaurant/bookstore. Yes, it is a multiple-use establishment, and a very handsome one at that. It is a wide space which looks like an underground bookstore except for all of the tables and seats interspersed throughout the facility. Very comfy and welcoming with the de rigueur jazz playing in the background. In the past, a lot has been said about Japan's passion for all these French; well, in these years, it looks like things have been shifting far across the Atlantic to The Big Apple. I had the Panini set which consisted of a large sandwich overflowing with steamed chicken slathered in a mushroom-and-cheese sauce. The three of us ended up spending three hours there talking about New York, and our own little worlds. Bay is heading back to Seattle the day after tomorrow, so basically that was the last time I see the lass in this country. Next time, probably Toronto. She did leave a good tip about using Yamato Moving for my big exodus to Canada.

Speaking of the hometown, I heard from Mr. TOEIC that Toronto may be facing 40+ degree temps today. Even for a meterologically hardened Torontonian like myself, that's just plain crazy weather over there. I hope my parents and niece are OK. Makes what I'm facing here pale in comparison.

The Godfather contacted me to once again cancel his lesson this Friday due to work. Looks like the next meeting will have to be next week. He asked if there were any way to catch him in the morning but with Swank and The Shareholder before him, that's pretty much impossible. In a way, though, I'm happy he cancelled since I would have ended up doing the traffic yo-yo amongst Hiroo, Nakano-Sakaue and then Tameike-Sanno.

Social plans are coming into place. I've confirmed meeting details with Cozy about this Sunday's meeting with him and the juku boss for a dinner of monjayaki. Monjayaki is the ugly stepsister of Osaka's okonomiyaki, which is probably a whole lot better known in the Americas. Monja is a plasticky goop of vegetables, small bits of meat and a whole lot of cornstarch (probably) which is fried up on a hotplate. It's gotten into the gaijin vernacular here as the representative word for vomit...sorry, no other way I could've said this. Anyways, we're meeting at Monzen-Nakacho Station since that's the closest station on the Tozai to the Tsukishima district which is basically monja town.

The other plan involves the Movie Gang. Looks like MB will be on his own to catch "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" since both The Satyr and I felt that the movie wasn't worth our 1800 yen. Felt kinda bad about leaving MB alone on this but in these currently difficult financial times, I don't think I can really afford to watch bad movies. Instead, we'll see if we can go for "X-Men: First Class" the following Saturday. I'm happily hearing that the reboot of sorts has been getting pretty good reviews Stateside; a relief considering that "Wolverine" was just a dog. With "Thor" getting similar reports, this may become a banner year (no pun intended to "Hulk" fans) for Marvel Enterprises.

Wednesday June 8, 5:22 p.m.

Forgot to mention that I watched "Bruce Almighty" for the first time via cable yesterday. Never caught it at the theatres, and despite it being one of the crazy Jim Carrey flicks, I think I was right in saving my 1800 yen. It was fun to watch Carrey mug like he usually does but it didn't strike me as being quite up there with "The Mask". Jennifer Aniston was basically the straight woman and wasn't really a partner in the movie.

Wednesday June 8, 3:22 p.m.

Nearly had a repeat of last Wednesday's rendition of Cancellation Day. When I got to Speedy's, I found out that 001 had cancelled tonight's lesson but the bossman's student did come after canning out of last week. Nice fellow...quite talkative but still has a way before he can come off with a truly polished presentation. In any case, I was finished as of noon.

It looks like I'll have another Saturday at Speedy's since the bossman will probably be recuperating from his annual 2 weeks of overseas business trip. It'll be The Intellectual again, and perhaps Ms. Prissy. Kinda bad timing since MB has just contacted all of us in the movie gang to catch either "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" or "X-Men: First Class" this Saturday. I can still make it as long as it's a night showing. For me, I will go for the mutant superheroes. I was rather let down by Johnny Depp last time.

I got a surprise mail from The OL, of all people. I hadn't taught her in a few years but it looks like she's up for another go-round with me. I had to let her know that this would be the last opportunity since I'll be going home for good at the end of the year. But if she's amenable to an afternoon lesson, then I'll be more than happy.

Well, now that I have the day off, I'll just enjoy the remaining time here at the I-Cafe and then head off for another quiet night at home. Tomorrow, I was supposed to be meet up with AK and Bay for lunch, but the latter may still have remnants of a cold so the thing could be called off.

Saturday April 9, 12:05 a.m.

Yes, still up since for the past hour I've been watching some political drama via CNN concerning the now-delayed shutdown of the US government. The only thing the coverage was missing was a John Williams soundtrack. But the important thng is that Yellowstone Park and the Washington Monument will be open for business today.

I spent some time at Metro Reference Library, one of my favorite hangouts in Toronto since after all these years, it remains one of the largest environments where large numbers of people can read or study quietly. It's also one of the most comfortable areas to read as well. There I managed to find a copy of Dave Thomas' "SCTV". In the 90 minutes I was at the library, I could only scan just the early years. To Thomas' credit, he doesn't hold back the bad stuff which included the disastrous guesting of Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson, and some of his run-ins with the various producers. My respect for him increased further when he admitted that he had been much to blame for some of the rancor that would inevitably occur amongst the cast, especially during the heyday of The McKenzie Brothers. But the surprising fact was on reading that Joe Flaherty and Rick Moranis didn't share too many sketches together because of Joe's resentment over the fact that Rick had never gone through the Second City process. In any case, it's a book that I would like to own.

I still had another hour before I met The Tea Lady so I killed some time at the Indigo branch at Yonge and Eglinton. Some tempting books to buy but I'm holding off til next week.

The Tea Lady and I had dinner at a Vietnamese place called Ginger. It's basically set up as a fast food joint whith one-dish meals. My choice of Curried Chicken and Fried Rice wasn't spectacular but at $6.50 including a Coke, I couldn't really complain. The Tea Lady didn't go on any major harangues although we talked on the quake and its consequences, and about her noisy Portuguese neighbours.

The movie of the night was "Limitless" with the rising Bradley Cooper. It wasn't an epic game-changing movie a la "The Matrix", but it made for a pleasant special episode of "The Twilight Zone". And there was one scene which had the entire audience literally squirming and groaning in their seats...something that I often relish and miss in the Tokyo cineplexes. Robert DeNiro phoned in his performance but his easy roles can often still beat a lot of other actors' more "earnest" approaches.

Saw Robin Williams' umpteenth appearance on Letterman tonight. Man, he is getting old! He's still got that manic energy but he's not racing around the talk show set like he used to do.

9:54 p.m.

I've enjoyed getting together with friends but it's nice to get a free day. Just stayed home although I stepped out out for half an hour to get some chocolates for tomorrow's lunch at The Dancer's place. Then it was dinner out at Zen with the whole family.

Toronto and Montreal had their final game of the season. One is heading for the playoffs, the other is out for the 6th year in a row. I'll give you a guess which is which.

Monday June 6, 4:39 p.m.

Some 6 hours ago, I was in that place to the right. That is Good Day Books near Ebisu Station, and I was there to have some books bought back. So, my move back home to The Great White North has gotten some slow legs by moving out of the cookbooks that never really got much usage over the years. The bookstore is different in that the whole place is devoted to English-language books only...something I haven't seen since Tuttle's closed in Jimbocho all those years ago. I'd read about the policy on book buybacks on their website the night before, so I knew that getting cash from them was pretty much impossible; their payback comes in the form of vouchers, good for an entire year. I was happy, though, that they took 8 of the 10 books that I'd brought with me. The only ones that they didn't accept were "The 9-11 Report" and "Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas". So I got my voucher for 2,100 yen; I may use it when it comes close to my departure or I may just give it to someone like MB or Skippy.

The summer is definitely hot on our tail. Very muggy out there although the sun is also out there. That extra sizzling on my bare arms could be radiation. I ended up having lunch at the Burger King in Ebisu Garden Place. Strangely enough, it's right beside Krispy Kreme. In fact, they're in cahoots with each other...no dividing wall between the two shops, although I can't even imagine anyone in this burg having a Whopper set and then getting a couple of those sugar bombs. That would be more like something in California. I just had a relatively miniscule Cheeseburger Set and have followed that up with a convenience store salad with a vegetable juice. Yes, I guess I'm trying to do something about my weight. I just can't let Mother Nature sweat it off me.

Sunday June 5, 4:10 p.m.

It's been an unusual day. No problems with Yajima's lesson in Den'en-Chofu, although he was going along with the setsuden policy (electricity conservation) and keeping his air conditioner at 28 degrees C...things were getting a bit warm in the house, especially with a body like mine. Then I go over to The Jyuppies' place for their lesson, only to find out that the entire family has gone down with a cold. I'm not sure if Mr. Jyuppie was annoyed with me since I resolutely refuse to carry a cellphone but he tried to leave a message on my home phone at around 8 a.m. However, since I had to leave at 7:30 this morning, he had been under the impression that there was no way I could access my messages remotely, and so he didn't leave any message. And I thought that was Mom who had left the usual busy signal on my machine. In any case, I still got my full pay which was very kind of them, but I still feel pretty badly about accepting money for nothing, so I'm thinking of shipping some desserts to them from the usual department store basement, or depachika. I'll probably pay an amount equal to one hour's pay.

I had a similar situation back on Friday when I ended up waiting an hour at the Tully's in Tameike-Sanno to find out that The Godfather had to back out of his lesson due to his own illness. Y'know...I tell them to leave a message on the machine....ain't rocket science.

Last night, I watched "Casablanca" on DVD for the umpteenth time. At first, I had thought that I would finally get tired of watching the 1942 classic but it still held me with all of its style and quotes.

The weather has gotten noticeably muggier over the past couple of days, compared to the relative deep freeze we were all in about a week ago. It is definitely feeling quite moist in my home so I've brought out the fan. I haven't activated the air conditioner since I do want to pitch in my share for setsuden but the question is how long I can hold out in a 30-degree room with over 60% humidity.

What has also gotten hotter is all of the political insanity in Nagatacho. Last Thursday was supposed to be the big handover of the non-confidence motion against PM Kan by a group led by Opposition leader Tanigaki of the LDP. Instead, Naoto Kan pulls a fast one by giving a speech a few hours before the big moment and stating that he would resign....when recovery from the triple whammy disaster reaches a certain level. The non-confidence motion is rescinded and a number of folks in Kan's own party who had decided to side with the Opposition whipped back their resignations. However, that phrase...."reaches a certain level" got everyone screaming at Kan since it looks like a verbal hedge by the Prime Minister. Kan's little gambit may have backfired, and now it looks like he may be stepping down in late August, although the powers-that-be are trying to get him replaced as early as the end of this month. Of course, the folks in the Tohoku have been looking at this display with a mixture of anger and frustration.

I did get a reply from The Matron's husband about my request for guarantorship. Basically, due to his position as an attorney, he cannot do it. Well, things are not looking too good with my apartment.

And I even got more bad news from that restaurant, Enkobo, that would've been the site for our annual dinner with the juku boss and Cozy next Sunday. Apparently, the owner phoned me up to say that the restaurant has been reserved for some big party and so he's had to reject my reservation.