Saturday April 3, 4:40 p.m.

Yep, that's a small group of cherry blossoms whose picture I took back on Tuesday when I was walking through Kinshicho. O-Hanami is now in session throughout the weekend. The combination of the new fiscal year and the yearly tradition of meeting under the cherry trees to drink, eat and be merry has brought out the festive side of the Japanese...as well as the darker side on the subways.

I don't do much of that myself, since I don't drink very much and I'm not a big fan of sharing park space with thousands of other folks. I really haven't done O-Hanami in a number of years; I think the last time was with Tully, The Coffeemaker and a few other students from the ol' school in Ichigaya Park. You can be sure, though, that the masses have descended upon that park, Ueno Park and Chidorigafuchi, right by The Imperial Palace to eat, drink and be merry...and oh yeah, perhaps look at a few pink flowers right into the night. As for me, I'll be content by walking past them or just seeing them on TV.

The Intellectual, in his truncated time here today, talked about the effect of certain videos on young people. His timing was quite good, since there was a CNN feature on the notorious Japanese hentai computer games. "Hentai" stands for pervert, and the games feature some very nasty stuff such as the user being able to grope, and even rape/torture anime-style girls or women. My student felt that, though the games aren't suitable at all, clamping down on them is tantamount to censorship and therefore hinders free speech. He also stated that there has been no physical proof that such materials or the adult videos have had an effect on folks. I could've pointed out the case of the recently-executed child murderer Tsutomu Miyazaki, but then again, he was already batty probably before he started buying his first snuff videos. Still, I'm not sure if the case can be made that such porn has absolutely no effect on the weak-minded.

The Intellectual and I also spoke about the arrival of the iPad on American shores. The arrival had all the pomp and circumstance of a royal coronation. One female reporter for a computer magazine was just gushing as if she had met Johnny Depp. Even "The Japan Times" hasn't escaped the hype machine. An entire page was devoted to the iPad. Hmm...I've hinted to folks that I might be willing to break my self-imposed exile from personal computers in my home for this latest Apple contraption, but then again I am saving money for more important things.

The PA came by as well. No particular problems. And since then, I've just been doodling about on the Net. The bossman has even come in and gave both Ray and me a couple of sweet, juicy Fuji apples. However, I should be getting ready to take off for home pretty soon. I've also got to prep for The Jyuppies' lesson tomorrow afternoon.

Mr. TOEFL has reserved a lesson next week for the first time in almost a month. And MB has given me the word about getting some get-together going for Skippy's birthday later this month.

And speaking about royal coronations...at about 2 a.m. JST Sunday morning, the 11th Doctor Who makes his official first appearance on BBC screens. I'm sure everyone in Great Britain will be slavering away to see him....and his most comely companion, Amy Pond.

Saturday April 3, 11:45 a.m.

The Intellectual is gonna be rushing in about a half-hour late, according to a phone call I got from him. I very rarely ever answer the phones since I've got no talent for answering them in a Japanese-language business context, but since the phone was ringing off the hook incessantly, I had to take it. Luckily, it was him and not some inquiry.

Looks like another old TV face has gone off this mortal coil. This time, it's John Forsythe of "Dynasty" fame. And he's also the voice of Charlie from "Charlie's Angels". Looks like Farrah won't be alone anymore.

Saturday April 3, 10:55 a.m.

First potentially decent day of the month. It may be fine for Ohanami for the masses (and I do mean, masses). Since the financial year started on the first, I've been seeing a number of young (and not so young) drunken types on the train; so far, no puddles of vomit on the subway platforms, but I'm sure that'll be rectified soon enough.

It's hard for me to say this in many ways, but I think I've actually across someone who's at least just as scatterbrained as the juku boss. Mr. Nice Guy came in last night a full half-hour ahead of schedule despite being repeatedly told by the boss herself that his appointment was supposed to be at 8:30. Not only that, but his wife has apparently lost the envelope that the boss gives to every student for them to pay their monthly tuition. And not only that, despite both being told by the boss that they are to inform her if they have to cancel classes ahead of schedule, both Mr. and Mrs. Nice Guy simply forgot. Even the boss was left at a loss for words when my newest student gave some rather blank-faced apologies. Not the brightest light bulb in the chandelier.

I have The Intellectual and The PA today. The Businesswoman was supposed to come as well, but she's cancelled.

Friday April 2, 1:15 p.m.

On the left is the ever-growing Tokyo Sky Tree, fated to become one of the tallest towers on Earth..perhaps only to be superceded by that Dubai tower. It's situated smack-dab in the middle of stodgy old Oshiage, although with this huge thing coming up in the world, it's hard to imagine that Oshiage will remain that way for much longer.

On the right is the ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower, planned to be built in London just in time for the 2012 Olympics. It kinda looks like a cross between a psychotic's version of a roller coaster and a scrunched-up rubber band. It may not look all that graceful but it'll certainly be the talk of the town.

Thursday April 1, 8:32 p.m.

Well, I was an April Fool for about 30 seconds. I came across the headline on the Net: "Canada Buys Half of Hawaii", and was so gobsmacked that I even put it on my status bar in Facebook. Then, with the realization, came the superimposing of a "SUCKER" sign over my face just like in those old "Looney Tunes" cartoons. Still, I was able to spin the headline acknowledging my momentary lapse in sanity.

Aloha, eh?

Thursday April 1, 5:49 p.m.

I guess it isn't just the juku boss who got kinda scatterbrained about mixing up the schedule this week. After forcing Mr. Nice Guy to run to the juku for no reason at all on Tuesday night, it was Speedy's turn to screw up...but it was a joint effort. I found out when I came in...unusually...late afternoon today that Grandma FON did show up for her lesson, only to find out herself that I wasn't there. She had just naturally assumed that the staff would just log her in for the next lesson unless she said otherwise. I did mention to the bossman and Ray a couple of times earlier this week that it was strange that FON hasn't said anything about her next lesson, but they didn't act upon it. Not that I was all that put out, although I feel badly that FON showed up all this way for nothing. I was able to get some decent sleep in this morning as well as get some ironing done. Not that I mentioned this to the bossman who wouldn't have taken that news too well.

And I was fortunate that I also had the rest of the day off yesterday after Miss HGL's lesson since 001 wasn't available last night. I just sped back home and bought some new clothes at the neighbourhood stores, including the shoe shop. I've been very lucky in terms of location since my neighbourhood shoe store has a Big Shoe section. Since I'm a Size 9.5 (a Japanese 27.5 cm), I would be out of luck in a lot of other stores, but for this place, I was able to get something to my liking. The formal shoes weren't exactly anywhere too expensive but they should pass muster when it comes to Paddy's party next Monday. I also used up the rest of the coupons that Mom had sent me and bought up some briefs, a shirt that actually could fit my neck and a new belt to replace the one that's about to go under mitosis. Nice to have an evening and a morning to myself.

From next week, it should be an interesting one. On Monday, the Anime King and his Court will arrive on these shores for 2 weeks of fun and anime. I also got word from Automan that he and his new wife will be in the area, and there is Paddy's party.

I've been reading "Watching Anime, Reading Manga" by Fred Patten, that tome I had bought over at the Aoyama Book Center for a mere 500 yen, on the subway. It's been a good read for knowing about the history of Japanese pop culture slowly creeping into American society. They've covered the landings of classic anime such as "Uchusenkan Yamato", "Gatchaman" and "Macross", the appearance of legends such as Osamu Tezuka and the crusty Hayao Miyazaki at the conventions, and of course, the Simba-Kimba controversy involving "The Lion King" and Tezuka's "Jungle Taitei". The issue has long become moot in the past several years, especially when the stage version is doing so well on these shores. Not surprisingly, Patten and just about everyone else has concluded that Disney did borrow aspects of "Jungle Taitei" for "The Lion King", and that Disney has acted like a schmuck by not acknowledging this fact. From my point of view, it's unfortunate but not surprising. Back in the early 90s, Disney was riding on a tidal wave of renewed popularity due to its triple smash of "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty & The Beast" and "Aladdin" and prior boasts of making the most successful original animated feature ever with "The Lion King" just about had the beancounters and shysters of The Mouse House telling the other employees to keep mum. Also, with Michael Eisner at the helm...and I have heard about some of this apparently dilettantish ways...I wouldn't have been surprised if he had sent a memo to everyone not to so much as utter a syllable of Osamu Tezuka's name during press conferences. For me, it is enough to know that the truth is so very obvious.

I've just got The Music Man on tap tonight.

Wednesday March 31, 12:50 p.m.

Spring may have finally come into the Kanto, some 10 days late. It feels balmier than it has been over the last several days so the Ohanami festivities can possibly begin from this weekend. Whatever the case, I'm sure the millions of people of this megalopolis will be very happy to start doffing off the heavy Winter wear.

Yesterday was basically a day off except for the three hours of juku classes. I scooted over to Oshiage on the Hanzomon Line; basically, it's an unremarkable shitamachi neighbourhood, except for the fact that there is a 350 m-and-climbing structure growing by leaps and bounds right in the middle. Yep, the Tokyo Sky Tree is making its way up in the world. Took some shots along with several other avid photogs. Then I walked down the main road as far as Kinshicho. There was a small mall there which looked appropriately modern, but there was also a promenade with plenty of cherry trees. It was a bit early for the salaried folks to start doing their Ohanami quite since it was still pretty chilly.

At the juku, Mr. White had the day off, but Sugar & Spice kept me on my heels. I think they are the only kids that I've ever had that I've actually been enjoying as students. But the only cost is my energy levels. Kinda glad that The Milds are truly very mild. The boss showed her scatterbrained side once more by insisting that Mr. Nice Guy had a make-up lesson tonight, even as going as far as calling his wife to get him down to the juku only to find out as he rushed breathlessly in that he hadn't needed to in the first place. She gleefully apologized and he gleefully accepted that apology, so I didn't vent too much steam.

I got word from both The Cornerette and Cozy that my work has passed muster with them, so I will expect some money from them in the couple of days. I've only got an hour with Miss HGL today; then I head off back home to get some clothes shopping done for next week's wedding party for Paddy. Luckily, I've got some remaining coupons at Daiei.

A number of new shows have been popping up on cable recently. I caught "Leverage", another show starring a former top movie actor, Timothy Hutton. I'll always remember him as the idealistic, doomed hero from the 80s movie "Taps", but here he's playing a grizzled, haunted former insurance investigator leading a group of con artists. It's in the same vein as "Mission: Impossible" and "The A-Team". Not a bad pilot. And I've been enjoying "Burn Notice" more and more. Tim Roth's "Lie To Me" will be starting up next week; would like to take a look at that, although The Satyr has said that it's really nothing special.

On the Japanese side of TV, they're into the Spring specials now. I caught "Pussuma", the late-night variety show starring loudmouth Yusuke Santamaria and formerly humiliated SMAP'per Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. But that little bit of idiocy that Kusanagi got into last year with him drunkenly ranting in the nude in a posh Roppongi neighbourhood has basically been forgotten. Last night's episode consisted of dusting off a classic variety show scam called the ne-dokkiri. Basically, it involves certain tarento ambushing other tarento in their hotel rooms and rousing them from sleep, just to show them what they look like without all of the cosmetics on. One of the victims was former Morning Musume leader, Hitomi Yoshizawa, for which the fans will pounce on and scour through YouTube, I'm sure. However, the best was saved for last with "victim" Egashira 2:50, a tarento who's basically an insane asylum resident allowed out on a permanent day pass apparently. In the last few minutes after getting roused from sleep, he crazily took off all his clothes, terrifying the female victims who had come along for the ride, including the aforementioned Yoshizawa, and then he even used a shaver to start maniacally clip his armpit and pubic hair. Only on Japanese late-night....will love to see the comments on this one over on the J-Pop forums.

Monday March 29, 7:55 p.m.

The cold weather continues. I'm still actually wearing my sweater, Winter jacket and longjohns today...and I don't think even back in Toronto that all three are usually necessary. So, I think it's safe to say that this Winter...and it isn't Winter anymore, surprisingly enough...was one of the coldest the Kanto has ever seen. At this rate, the cherry blossoms will end up freeze-dried.

Happy to say that I saved myself a trip to the I-Cafe yesterday and got that proofreading over to The Cornerette on Saturday after working on it for about 3 hours. Fortunately, the bossman hasn't said anything about the extra usage of electricity. Still have yet to hear from the lass. Basically, yesterday was a rare relaxer...actually slept for over 8 hours and took my time through the lesson-less day. Ended up watching episodes from Season One of the original "Mission: Impossible".

Today is probably going to be the busiest day of the week for me. I had Cozy for his early-morning session. Looks like the two translation jobs are good to go with him, so I can just send him the bill on Wednesday. Then, I saw Swank for the first time in about 3 weeks, and it'll be another month before I see her again due to work. The lucky thing, though, is that I got a referral from her to none other than her husband, so of course, the bossman is quite happy. I'll be seeing him in about 2 weeks.

The session with Swank lasted just an hour so I had time to browse through Aoyama Book Centre nearby in Roppongi. Didn't find anything there except for the weekly METROPOLIS magazine, but I did drop by their annex at the back of the building where they have discounted books. Ended up buying a book on anime/manga for just 500 yen...a sixth of the original cost. Really can't consider myself an otaku on either field...and don't think I've ever been one. I've only really liked certain anime such as "Space Cruiser Yamato" and "Macross"; I think I'm far more of a kayo kyoku fan, and now that's pretty much limited to the old days of the 80s and 90s. Still for that price, I can read up on what has grabbed the world's attention from Japan for the past few decades.

SIL was fine as usual. Just talked a lot about the past, as we usually do. Got back to Speedy's where I planned for a lot of the other lessons in the next couple of days such as the juku classes and for The Medicine Man. I hope my last lesson of the day will go rather smoothly. I'll actually be starting at the juku a couple of hours later than usual, since Mr. White is off tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'll be checking out the slowly rising Tokyo Sky Tree near Oshiage Station since I've got no session with The Beehive. The rest of the week is looking a bit slow since I only have Miss HGL on Wednesday for just an hour. Just as well, since I'm planning to get a few clothes in preparation for next Monday's wedding party for Paddy.

Saturday March 27, 7:08 p.m.

Well, I have been here overtime. Ray left over an hour ago. I've just been able to complete 19 pages' worth of proofreading for The Corner's associate. Dunno what to name her...will wait until Monday or until I regain full use of my brain cells...whichever comes first. I need my sustenance right now. It may have to be Mickey D's once more, but there has to be more out there than Big Macs.

The proofreading wasn't too difficult but it was just long. At least, I won't have to go to the I-Cafe tomorrow. I've sent the whole kit and kaboodle back to her. She needs to know how to use quotes more judiciously. I had to muddle through whole series of conversations written like full paragraphs.

Looks like I've got Ms. HGL for my lone 2 hours on Wednesday. I was thinking of seeing the half-completed Tokyo Sky Tree up close and personal on that day; I can still do it though. But at least I've got most of the day off on Tuesday to get some nice duds for Paddy's big party the following Monday.

Saturday March 27, 12:05 p.m.

It was one of those busy commuting days yesterday. In Funabashi for The Bass, then over to Shinjuku to see The New Yorker and The Bow, and finally over to Urayasu for the juku students. The New Yorker managed to survive and even enjoy her time in San Francisco, although she did undergo the infamous 3rd-degree grilling of Customs and Immigration post 9-11. I took a look at her photos...yep, there is a reason that The City By The Bay is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I even got a souvenir in the form of a package of Ghiradelli's Chocolate...shared those with the juku folks.

The Bow should've had her dinner with The Carolinan and four others in Tsukishima last night. The diner de jour was ankou nabe or angler hot pot. I've heard about this delicacy for years but one would have to pay me good money to get near that...I'm not into eating anything that looks like a cross between a fish and the Alien. And just the way the thing gets cut up into bits has never endeared me to it.

It was The Ace's last night at the juku...and at his company, for that matter. From April 1st, he'll be starting his new career via school and a part-time job as a care counselor. I guess, then, it was appropriate that we did spend an hour instead of his usual 30 minutes before he left us for good. It was quite a time for collecting goodies...the New Yorker with her Ghiradelli souvenir, and then The Ace with his goodbye gift of Japanese confections, and even the juku boss got me some snakcks made from soba flour. The Ace's departure was atypically good; usually, folks leave me awkwardly by just saying that they are "busy" (The Full-Timer) or by disappearing (The Coffemaker) and even on bad terms (The Jazz Buddy).

Today, I've just got The Publicity Agent and The Businesswoman for the first time in a month. There will probably be a lot of catching up. Plus, I'm on standby for a massive proofreading job from The Corner's former associate. I have to wait until 6 p.m....hopefully, the bossman doesn't show up today. In any case, I'll probably be in the Internet cafe for a few hours getting that job done.

Ray is back here in front of me. She isn't 100% yet but markedly better than on Thursday.

Rumor does have a certain destructive power. There was an incident yesterday on Takeshita-dori, the Harajuku street for teens that often has a population density of 1 million per square metre on the weekends. Well, a record may have been set unfortunately. There were false rumors on Friday that some famous tarento was in one of the myriad shops there which sent hundreds of kiddies on their Spring Vacation running. And then basically there was the Mother of All Scrums in which kids started falling dominoes. Miraculously, only 4 teens had to be taken to hospital.

Speaking of incidents, I was on the JR Sobu Line, heading from Funabashi to Shinjuku when the train got terminated at Suidobashi Station. Apparently, there was one of those jinshin jikou at Yotsuya Station. The line was forced to stop for a few hours, which usually means a jumper's guts had to be wiped off the tracks there. Just ended up having lunch at Mickey D's right across from Tokyo Dome and then walked the 10 minutes to the Toei Shinjuku Line.

Thursday March 25, 7:40 p.m.

Another one of those somewhat lackadaisical sessions with The Carolinan. She kinda had that mopey demeanor throughout. But when she greeted La Fille, she was all smiles and slightly chirpier. I guess The Carolinan and I have just known each other for so long that we've become the equivalent of an old couple...no need to put on airs. However, it's only half-working; I'm still the teacher...I think I still have to put on my game face for a student.

Well, just one more lesson with The Music Man. I'm thinking of grabbing something across the street but the weather is so miserable outside. However, hunger calls...

Thursday March 25, 4:05 p.m.

Well, this actor beside me must be wondering what he's in store for (although I think he must be admiring himself in the mirror here). Now, when one Googles "Matt Smith", there will always be the words "Doctor Who" beside his name. He's been basically typecast as the latest reincarnation of the Time Lord for about a year now, but I'm sure he's still wondering how everything is gonna go in a couple of weeks, when the entire sci-fi world will be tuning into his premiere. David Tennant must be googling his eyeballs, while he's twiddling his thumbs waiting whether or not his American sitcom, "Rex Is Not My Lawyer" will ever get the green light, as he watches all of the media hoopla surrounding his replacement's arrival. I don't ever recall the media blitz for him or Chris Eccleston ever being quite so intense. You'd think BBC has gone completely HOLLYWOOD. The trailers have become increasingly exciting with one scene of battling Spitfires in outer space harking back to the final battle scene in "Return of the Jedi".

And his new companion, Amy Pond, is getting a lot of attention and leg shown. In fact, some shrew is publicly complaining that "Doctor Who" should remain absolutely family-oriented. Uh-uh, lady....this is not your generation's "Doctor Who" and it hasn't been for years. Captain Jack's kissing both The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler made sure of that.

In any case, I'm awaiting the first reviews, if not the first scenes. Unfortunately being here in Japan means several months of waiting.

Thursday March 25, 3:52 p.m.

Just when we old TV viewers were getting used to a world without Peter Graves, who had passed away last week, now I've just heard that Robert Culp of "I, Spy" fame has left this mortal coil. Over here, "I, Spy" never became the cult US hit that "Mission: Impossible" has been, but people could possibly remember him from his role on "The Greatest American Hero" or in his occasional villain roles on "Columbo". His partner on the show, Bill Cosby, has become the more high-profile celebrity over the decades, but there was still Culp's handsome good humour in what was a lighter spy series.

At this rate, Robert Vaughan might be getting a tad nervous. He's pretty much the only one left of all of the TV spy series stars of the 60s. Then, The Grim Reaper might start to go after the second bananas like Cosby, Landau and McCallum...and that last one has been enjoying a renaissance on "NCIS".

Thursday March 25, 3:16 p.m.

In a very long holding pattern right now. Ray left Speedy's a few hours ago since her cold was getting the worst of her. La Fille is filling in the time. Not that there is much to do...no students and the bossman is out on business and will be for the rest of the evening. In fact, The Carolinan is still 3 hours away and The Music Man is 6 hours from now. That's quite a hole in this Donut Day.

Did get confirmation that The New Yorker is back safe and sound from her trip to San Francisco last week. If only that translated into improved English ability.

Thursday March 25, 9:00 a.m.

Back in the saddle again. I'll be here for the next 13 hours, and yet I only have 2 official Speedy classes and one private. There'll be a lot of work on Farmville, Cafe World and Social City today, of course without having the boss notice too much.

It is downright wintry today. Getting home last night, the hand holding the umbrella almost fell off due to the icy winds. I actually had to dust off the longjohns and heavy winter coat to get to work today.

I received an interesting memo via Shard on some advice that profane writer David Mamet may or may not have written to the writers on the long-defunct show, "The Unit". It was a good read. Basically, any scene that has two characters talking about a third is "....a crock of s**t". Gee, I kinda wonder what he must have thought of "The West Wing".

A strange thing....I received e-mail from one of The Corner's associates, a woman who I had a small tangle with over procedure during the translation project for Japanese ceramics last summer. Basically, my relationship with The Corner ended after that. But she apparently has her own gig now, according to her e-mail address, and has asked me to proofread a ton of material over the weekend. She initially asked me to tear through 40,000 words, but I said that would be difficult and counterproposed half of that (which would still be quite an undertaking for the weekend). So, probably no weekend for me.

Wednesday March 24, 8:48 p.m.

I opened up the school this morning, and I'm gonna close it in a few minutes. Ray has gone home feeling rather miserable due to a headache and a potential cold. But the trouper that she is, she's coming in for the early shift tomorrow. I don't think I can really pull that off anymore.

001 came in for her usual 90. Barrel of laughs. She still has that major crush on Aiba-kun of Arashi. She was disappointed that one of the Arashi shows finished its run, much to her surprise and dismay, on Monday. I told her that it may be because NTV is prepping them for a prime-time series, especially since one of Fuji-TV's flagship programs "Smap x Smap" will be wrapping up 14 years next week.

Anyways, I gotta head on home so that I can come back here bright and early again.

Wednesday March 24, 5:54 p.m.

Back to the present. It's been a lousy cold day today although we have officially passed the First Day of Spring...which is why we had the national holiday on Monday. I think I even saw a flake or two fly by the window during Miss HGL's lesson.

It seems as if a few people around me have been suffering from the cold or something. HGL was feeling somewhat chilly today, and currently Ray is under the weather. Even The Milds were not feeling anywhere near 100% last night, although they were game enough to come to the class.

Well, President Obama managed to pull off that miracle. He got his Health Plan Bill passed which he signed into law yesterday. It doesn't necessarily mean that he's saved his presidency; half of the population will probably make sure of that. However, it does mean that he doesn't necessarily have a failed one.

It's been a fairly quiet day with just Grandma Fado (the bossman is off at a fair today), HGL and now 001. It should be about the same tomorrow...Grandma FON and Mr. TOEFL have canned their lessons which just leaves Miss Prissy in the morning, and then The Carolinan and The Music Man in the evening. That'll be one big Donut Day!

Wednesday March 24, 4:50 p.m.

Some hours before my date with destiny at Blue Note Tokyo, I had met up with The Lens and his wife once more in Myogadani. The neighbourhood is one of those well-to-do areas near Ikebukuro. The couple is staying with The Romantic and his wife who live there for the week. We ended up having lunch at an Italian place called La Croce just across from the station.

La Croce didn't have much in the way of pretension. It was just one of those neighbourhood restaurants that catered to the local folk. The five of us had the lunch specials with mine being on the upper right. My special came to about 1250 yen...a good bargain considering where we were. I'm basically of the opinion that outside of the source country itself, Japan has the best Italian.

Then, we took a bit of a walk deeper into Myogadani before we reached a recommended gelato place called Super Frutto. The Romantic's wife (when she wasn't sending some of her snarky comments at me....the two of us don't get along too well [I'm a retired otaku, she's an ambitious shrew]) is a big fan, and as it turned out, the gelato was a refreshing contrepoint for the heavier lunch.

Wednesday March 24, 4:35 p.m.

While Saturday night was made for listening and seeing The Manhattan Transfer, Sunday night was the time for "Sherlock Holmes". In between was the mother of all windstorms. Overnight, there were some fierce gale-force winds which beat down on the Kanto.

As for the World's Greatest Detective, the movie had come out originally in North America right on Christmas Day but only came out last Friday here in Japan. MB, The Sylph and Skippy came out to see Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. It ended up being a split decision. MB liked it but I wasn't all that impressed.

Whereas Basil Rathbone was the embodiment of deductive logic in his deerstalker cap, and Jeremy Brett was the effete Doctor Who version back on 80s BBC, Robert Downey Jr. went for a mix of Tony Stark and perhaps his dissipated character from one of his earliest films, "Less Than Zero". I don't know...the film just seemed as foggy as the stuff that rolled across that film's London. And I just got somewhat bored of it all. It just seemed narcolepsy-inducing. Strangely enough, MB and I didn't really discuss it at dinner...not much to discuss really.

Afterwards, the four of us went to another Skippy recommendation nearby in Shinjuku. Lately, the new flavor of the month has been this Korean dish called Sundubu, a piping hot bowl of kimchi, tofu and other stuff. Restaurants selling the stuff have been hitting the various city centres. We tried out this one place in the basement...pretty small place, too. My version was the spicy one...and it sure had its fair share of capsicum. But it was awfully tasty.

Skippy was able to land on her feet once more in terms of job search...well, this time, it took a little while longer at 3 months, but she's working for some medical supplies company; something that she's never tried so it was a pretty fast and hard week for her.

Wednesday March 24, 9:39 a.m.

A lot of stuff happened between Saturday and today, so I'll just segregate my entries. This one is on The Manhattan Transfer.

Yep, I finally entered the premier jazz joint in Tokyo to see one of the premier veteran jazz groups of the past century. Blue Note Tokyo is located in the appropriately swanky neighbourhood of Minami-Aoyama, the same area where I'd caught Ruiko Kurahashi back in December.

On entering Blue Note, it was kinda like entering an old-style theatre with a lot of the plush golds and browns. I went down to the basement where I gave my ticket and then got a paper disc with the number 38 denoting my place in the order of getting seated. I waited just half an hour before the count began.

When I heard my number called, the staffer led me further downstairs to the main hall where another staffer took me to my seat. He asked me nonchalantly whether I wanted to get a close-up view of the stage. I certainly did. And he escorted me to one of the tables. And that's one of the drawbacks of Blue Note that I'd heard about. The place is big but the non-reserved tables rather remind me of being in Economy Class on a plane. My image of a swanky jazz club has always been that of round tables with a certain discreet distance amongst them. However, the tables were all jammed up against each other as if we were in a cafeteria. So, I was all by myself between a couple and a group of middle-aged folk. And I had to make some yoga-like turns to face the stage, but then again, I was just 3 m away from it.

Also, came the fact that the food and beverages are pretty pricey. I would say that the food is overpriced. However, for the sake of being there, I ordered the Mas Que Nada cocktail for 1,000 yen....basically a tropical Shirley Temple. I definitely savored that drink at that price.

Then, came the Transfer. The radio-like announcer proudly introduced the group, and after being a fan for 35 years, I finally saw Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne in the flesh....3 metres away. At first, when they trundled up on stage, I became rather aware that they were no longer spring chickens. Alan looked like a retired hippie professor with a bit of a paunch showing on his otherwise still-lean frame, Janis had that motherly look with the glasses, Cheryl was showing a bit of wag in her arms, and Tim looked like my Dad in the Polo shirt and blazer...but then again, Tim has looked like my Dad for decades now. But when they opened their mouths, the glory days were back. It was just like listening to the CDs. They were not just old, but they were old pros.

Their raison d'etre for their current tour was to promote their latest album, "The Chick Corea Songbook", and the tunes were fine enough so that I'm thinking of buying my first original Transfer album in several years. But it was of course when they sang their hits such as "Route 66" and "Birdland" that the audience was just jumping. One fellow behind me believed that he was the secret 5th member and was just bopping and singing in the audience. Still, it was nice that the guys can still elicit this much love. It was almost eerie to see these four right in front of my eyes. They really brought the house down with "Trickle, Trickle".

The set itself was less than 90 minutes. But not too surprising considering their age and the fact that they have been pumping out 2 shows a night all over Japan at full blast.