Wednesday August 31, 4:41 p.m.

It's been a muggy one here in The Big Sushi today. The temperature kept itself below 30 degrees but the humidity was at least 70%. Hurricane Talas is also making its way up toward us; should be here by tomorrow night.

Since I did get my monthly stipend, I used some of it to add to my moving costs in the form of some more J-Pop CDs of the 70s and 80s. At Tower Records in Shibuya, I bought a couple of albums. One is called "Flying" by Sumiko Yamagata. I'd never heard of the lady in all my 30 years of J-Pop enthusiasm until I came across her in that "Japanese City Pop" book. Cozy showed me a few of her early albums that he just had sitting around in his office. Apparently, she started out as a folkie judging by her looks: fluffy sweater vest, short bangish hair and bell bottoms. But as the book writes, with "Flying", she made that transformation into City Pop princess: a more mature blown-dry hairdo and silky dress. Also according to the write-up, her music took on that more modern AOR approach. Kinda reminds me how Olivia Newton-John metamorphosed from Australian country music kid to American disco queen.

Also at Tower Records, I picked up another one of Junko Ohashi's albums called "Full House". Cozy also had this album and he told me that this disc was a bit more jazzier so I should be enjoying this one for sure. Then I took the Hanzomon Line up to the bookstore area of Jimbocho where my favorite old music haunt, Tacto, was. There, I quickly snatched up The Best of Hitomi Tohyama for a heavy 6,300 yen. There were other original albums by her at far less expensive prices but only the 2-CD set had the song "Our Lovely Days", the tune that spurred me to look for her in the first place. So I plunked down my yen. When I looked at the liner notes, I found out that "Our Lovely Days" was co-written by none other than Burt Bacharach himself; yep the melodic hooks definitely scream Bacharach. I also threw in another Taeko Onuki disc. "Cliche" is the 4th in her series of French titles from the 80s whose songs were arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto. I've yet to listen to any of them since I still have to work today. But hopefully I can at least listen to a couple of tunes tonight before I hit bed. I can guarantee I won't last through an entire album since I'll probably be ready to drop out by the time I get home.

Tuesday August 30, 8:54 p.m.

Finished with S-Fluent. Did a pretty good job with his presentation but will need to vary his tone of delivery a bit more. He and his compatriots will be giving their in-company presentations tomorrow, so he (and I assume, his buddies) is feeling a bit nervous. Understandable, so I told him about envisioning his audience naked...may not have been the best advice for a guy who's married with 3 kids.

Just about ready to call it a day. I've got a pretty easy day tomorrow. Just 001 and Kirk in the evening but I plan to get out and get some CD shopping done. My latest paycheck was pretty small but I figure I can only live once, so let me die with some good music.

Tuesday August 30, 7:14 p.m.

Haven't really talked about the weather in any great detail in the last few entries. I have to say that it seems like the heat wave for Summer 2011 may be over (knocking on lots of wood). The last several days have seen warm but not excessively humid weather and the nights have been gloriously comfortable to sleep in. This time last summer, we were still in the middle of a record-smashing heat wave that lasted for another month.

But the big meterological news is that Tropical Storm/Typhoon Talas is supposedly well on its way to hit the Kanto within the next couple of days. The next three days have been showing nothing but umbrella signs. Just wonder if there will be high winds to add to the heavy precipitation. Generally, typhoons are not quite as epic as the Atlantic hurricanes but they still carry quite a punch if there is a direct hit. In the past, Okinawa was the prefecture that acted as the local whipping boy for these storms but in recent years, Typhoon Alley seems to have veered even further north into our neck of the woods.

Tuesday August 30, 6:19 p.m.

Finished up with the model lesson. Speedy just informed me that she's a lock. She's also a nurse with an interest in bossa nova, like the Bossa Novan, although she merely listens to it and not play. I just hope that the bossman doesn't get too nuts when I tell him that I will only be able to teach her for just a few months before I take off for home for good. Speaking of which, I will have to get started on that letter of resignation to deliver to him tomorrow night.

Tuesday August 30, 4:47 p.m.

Just waiting for my model student to get through her second written test. We usually have any potential students do an introductory and a Level 1 test just to get a baseline of their grammatical abilities before the actual model lesson. I've never been a big fan of doing model lessons although I will tell anyone who is checking out a conversation school as a student to demand one. Basically, it's just the usual irrational fears that bubble up within me....kinda like actors having to go to auditions.

It's been a fairly busy day although nothing compared to the five lessons of yesterday (thankfully, the 6th...Mr. Swank....did a dotakyan so I still got paid for his lesson). I had the usual session with The Beehive, so it was talk about the new Prime Minister and last week's whipping boy, Shinsuke Shimada. Then I met up with The New Yorker for the first time in about 3 weeks.

After this model lesson, I just have S-Fluent, the really good presenter to do his dry run with his presentation.

Speaking of the new Prime Minister, I found out from the Beehive that he is a local guy...in fact, he's from Funabashi City in Chiba Prefecture just next door to my home of Ichikawa. I learned of some of the lore of Yoshihiko Noda as he was going up the political ranks. As recently as a decade ago, he used to stand in front of JR Funabashi Station handing out flyers and introducing himself. Apparently, one story had him speechifying in front of a station for 13 hours straight. If he had indeed been doing that a decade ago, there is a pretty good chance that I even walked by him, although I've always made it a habit to completely ignore politicians.

I listened to some of his talk last night when he had addressed the DPJ throng soon after his runoff victory over the Industry Minister, Banri "Crybaby" Kaieda. He has a rather interesting way of giving his sentences this short but intense delivery. And he admitted that when it comes to charisma, he has little to none. In fact, he referred to himself as a dojo (stress on the 2nd syllable), a common slimy loach, and that he would never ever look like a kingyo or goldfish. That's OK by me. As long as he can somehow tackle all of the problems plaguing this nation, I can get used to dull and pedantic.

I even found out that PM Noda is a kohai of Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Alp from their old high school. Mrs. Travel, in fact, had seen the man at a reunion some years ago, and would have to agree with the man himself that he doesn't exactly stand out in a crowd. In any case, Noda has just officially been voted in as the 90th Prime Minister and now it's just getting that new Cabinet together either by Friday or next Monday.

Monday August 29, 6:34 p.m.

There has been a book out in the stores here titled "A Geek in Japan" by a Spanish fellow over the past several months. Apparently, the contents are based on this guy's blog which talks about the author's adventures and descriptions of life in this zany country with plenty of his own photos. It became one of the most popular sites in the Spanish-speaking world, which therefore begat the book. He's probably raking in the dough.
Perhaps I should re-label the title as "A Lucky Bastard Geek in Japan". I'm sure as hell not hearing anything from any greedy publishers.

Monday August 29, 6:26 p.m.

Looks like my social calendar for September is getting that special feel. After several years, The Egg and his wife will be visiting Japan from the 8th. My old friend asked if my apartment is available as the DIY B&B. Although it will sound very unwelcoming, I had to decline him. My place frankly has gone downhill over the years, and certainly women won't find it too homey. And I'm sorry, but frankly even with my best cleaning efforts, I don't think my place will just do it anymore as a crashpad. At least, The Egg gave me an out by stating that his wife preferred to find something in the form of a proper hotel near Tokyo Station. Believe me, that's fine with me.
Also, a family friend has informed me that he and his wife will be visiting at the end of next month. They won't be needing my help in terms of accommodations thankfully but I hope to see them for dinner. Plus, of course, there are the usual meetings with the Movie Gang.

Monday August 29, 6:01 p.m.

Just found out over the wire that "Ghostbusters 3", a movie that had been flitting around in the ether for years has finally gotten the official green light....with or without Bill Murray, which could be a significant plot point in the new movie.

Now I don't think the original "Ghostbusters" was a gutbuster at all...aside from one well-placed joke late in the movie, and the 2nd movie was even more in need of laughs. But I think what the two of them had was heart in terms of the characters, the special effects...and of course, that theme song (although I distinctly remember its performance on the Oscars of that year as being one of the low points in the show). In fact, I did buy the double-pack DVD set a couple of years ago and still enjoy watching at least the first one repeatedly.

Dan Ackroyd mentioned that the movie will be one where the old Ghostbusters, who now frankly have Slimer's girth, pass the baton to a new generation. Apparently one name has already been bandied about...that of Ashton Kutcher, aka Mr. Demi Moore. As for me, I wouldn't mind having the first Asian ghostbuster in the form of Masi Oka. And why not have a female ghostbuster? I think that Felice Renee Smith from "NCIS: LA" would be a nice addition.

Monday August 29, 5:08 p.m.

After Yajima's lesson, I decided to take a look up at Akihabara and was surprised to discover that there was still a hokoten going on. Apparently, the cancellation of the pedestrians' paradise was a temporary one after the March 11 earthquake.

Of course, this was the hokoten post-killing spree by that psycho a couple of years back. No performances of any kind, but at least all of us had lots of space to walk around. And the crazy cars were out. These are vehicles tricked up and decorated by otaku in tribute to their favorite characters. There were a few parked on one of the main streets which garnered quite a lot of attention by cellphone-wielding folks.

This young maid immediately shielded her face when she noticed that I was about to take a picture of her. Perhaps she is in the Maid Protection Programme.

Monday August 29, 5:01 p.m.

My gradual dissemination of my permanent departure from these shores is continuing. I informed Yajima yesterday at the end of the lesson. He kinda had this deer-in-headlights look in his eyes and there was a brief awkwardness. Of course, I knew that my private students would react in different ways but it still kinda feels bad that I have to let them know....even if I am being considerate in letting them know almost 4 months before D-Day. And then today, I let The Godfather know. He was nice enough to respond that it was too bad but he understood the situation. I still have to tell the Movie Gang, Speedy and The Sisters of State. No idea how The New Yorker or The Carolinan will take this.

Monday August 29, 4:51 p.m.

Besides the annual political winds of change, we've got the real thing happening as we speak. As labeled here on the map as Typhoons 11 and 12, the more imaginatively named Namundol and Talas are coming north. It looks like Namundol will be bothering Taiwan and mainland China, but Talas looks like it's making a straight line right for us in the Kanto. According to the timeline map in the above picture, it may strike sometime in midweek. Should be interesting. I don't think there will be quite the hype that Hurricane Irene was generating. And the hype was probably the only thing that Irene had been generating to epic levels as it relatively gently scoured through New York City. Anderson Cooper looked almost disappointed as the CNN meterologist revealed that Lower Manhattan would probably get flooded but only that. Aside from 12 hours of straight rain, Irene would basically snub The Big Apple. I can only hope that Typhoon Talas will do the same as its Atlantic big brother.

Monday August 29, 4:33 p.m.

"Allo...I bid you welcome to Maison De La Crow where you can 'ave all the crow you want to eat. May I interest you in our special for today: Japanese Prime Ministerial Candidate Crow with extra ticks and mites for extra crunchiness?"

Yup, don't bet on me for your political choices. I kinda feel like that guy who had bet all his money on The Vancouver Canucks to win The Stanley Cup in 4 straight earlier this year. I'd thought that it would be the relatively popular but dumb former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara who was gonna get the top job in Japan with the runnerup being crybaby minister Kaieda. Instead, it was current Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda who grabbed the brass ring of Nagatacho.

But I'm not alone in at the crow buffet table. A lot of the media thought it would be a two-way race between Maehara and Kaieda. There were an unprecedented 5 nominees for the DPJ presidency which had the pundits predicting...and predicting correctly...that there would have to be a runoff vote after the initial vote since noone was probably gonna get the 200 votes needed to get that majority amongst the DPJ parliamentarians. But the surprise started when the two-way turned out to be only half-right. Maehara got left in the dust in 3rd place! And here I had been ruing that Japan was gonna get its own Dan Quayle. But then again, things were looking bad for Maehara when it had been announced that the posse of Ichiro Ozawa, the blacklisted but still potent kingmaker within the party, was gonna support Kaieda instead of Maehara.

During the runoff, The Godfather and I were having our weekly talk at the Tully's in Tameike-Sanno, and we were discussing about how the party leadership elections would go. We were both surprised (and relieved) that Maehara got dumped. But then half an hour later, the runoff results came out on The Godfather's cellphone, and in the upset, Yoshihiko Noda got the nod. So, unless there are any major surprises tomorrow such as a successful assassination, the current Finance Minister will become the future Prime Minister. And he's the guy in the center in the bottom photograph. Not exactly photogenic but as long as he's competent, I'll take him anyday. May be wishing too much here.

Thursday August 25, 5:14 p.m.

For years, I've been hearing about goya champloo, which is one of the most famous dishes in Okinawan cuisine. Its main ingredient is goya, or bitter melon, and as the name suggests, this vegetable, which looks like a warty cucumber, has got a taste which would pucker anyone's mouth if that person had the bad luck to ingest it as is.
Goya champloo is a stir-fry dish consisting of sliced goya, sliced fatty pork, tofu, eggs and bean sprouts all mixed together. I seasoned the pork with soy sauce and sake beforehand. And then I just added a bit of salt and pepper. Mrs. Alp, who was the student who had kindly presented me with the goya on Tuesday, also suggested the secret ingredient to hold it all together....soba tsuyu...the flavored dipping sauce for soba noodles. A lot of folks use miso but Mrs. Alp swears by soba tsuyu. And sure enough, the tsuyu has that combination of rich soy sauce, salt and sugar to add that kick. Since it was the first time for me to whip this stuff up, it came out a bit soupier than I had intended but still, it made for a satisfying dish on a summer day.

Thursday August 25, 4:55 p.m.

Please take a good look at this fellow. Perhaps by this time next week, he will be the new Prime Minister of Japan. His name is Seiji Maehara, and he used to be the Foreign Minister in PM Kan's government until a scandal forced him to vacate the post earlier this year.

He looks young, and is indeed young for a guy who may be getting the top job...I don't think he's even reached 50 yet. And frankly, he's a bit of a dumbass. I don't have many high hopes for Maehara. PM Hatoyama was wishy-washy, PM Kan was in over his head with all that has happened this year, but Seiji Maehara strikes me as being just plain dumb. A few years back, when he was an up-and-coming politician and the leader of the then-Opposition Democratic Party of Japan, he pulled a Chicken Little by ranting and raving over a supposed e-mail that showed a parliamentarian of the then-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a compromising situation. The e-mail proved to be a false one and Maehara had to resign in humiliation. But second and even third chances are given liberally in Japanese politics, and Maehara came back to have posts in the Cabinet. But his time as Foreign Minister was cut short when it had been found out that he had accepted political donations from a foreign resident which is a no-no and summarily had to resign once more.

However, after another few months in the political wilderness, Maehara announced his candidacy to become leader of the party, and now the pundits are predicting that he will get it next week. Prime Minister Kan will most likely announce his resignation tomorrow since all of his conditions have been met for him to step down. It's time to pass over the bull's-eye. And since the DPJ have the majority in the Lower House, whoever gets the leadership of the DPJ gets the Prime Ministership.

Oh, I just hope he isn't our equivalent of George W. Bush.

Wednesday August 24, 8:05 p.m.

One down, one to go. Finished my lesson with 001...just the usual gab with her about the usual Arashi. I've just got Kirk and then I'll be done for the day.

Heard about Jack Layton's passing today. When I was back in Toronto in March and April, that was the first time I had actually seen anything of the leader of the NDP. People had told me that he had looked far more robust, but even at that time, he was looking fighting trim for a guy who was going through cancer. But then I saw his very final press conference on YouTube today and realized that this was a guy whose days were very numbered. During the debates for Prime Minister in the Spring, he came across as the most amiable and most likely to chum around with. But, though it sounds cold, I'm glad that he didn't become PM because of the obvious final results. I wouldn't have been able to imagine the chaos of having to go through another election to replace Layton.

Wednesday August 24, 5:41 p.m.

Since I had most of the day off, I went over to Oshiage to see how Tokyo's latest architectural behemoth was doing. Tokyo Sky Tree is now basically complete although it won't officially open until next May. The last time I'd been there was last April when it had just passed the 450 m mark. Now it's at its mature 634 metres....and with a baby brother building next to it.

Kinda too bad that I won't be here next year to see the grand opening, but then again, I had my opportunities granted when the CN Tower opened up way back in 1976.

Wednesday August 24, 4:56 p.m.

Last night at 10 p.m., a severe-looking man came into a room filled with journalists and photographers and even flashes to send the most battle-hardened media watcher into seizure. And for an hour, he held everyone spellbound as he explained his errors and deeply apologized. Nope, I am not talking about Muammar Khadafy (as if he would ever be humble in front of the world media), but about Shinsuke Shimada, probably one of the most recognized figures in the geinokai, or the Japanese world of show business.

Just imagine David Letterman in the States hosting 6 weekly TV shows with those shows scattered throughout the networks, and you'll get an idea of how prevalent Shimada is on TV. And all this doesn't include the various specials and commercials that he appears on. In Japan, there isn't that presumed barrier about TV stars appearing on rival networks that firmly exists in the United States. Anyone who is in the upper echelons of TV stardom is pretty much required to have at least a half dozen programs. Shinsuke Shimada hosts those 6 variety shows, two of which have his name stamped onto the title, and there is one of his shows tonight on Fuji-TV called "Hexagon", a quiz variety show starring some of the allegedly dumbest tarento this side of a box of table legs.

Well, those show may now be history for the next little while at least. Fuji-TV may be or may have been sweating mighty bullet trains about what to do for its 7 p.m. time slot tonight. The reason is that last night at that press conference in Shinjuku, Shimada promptly resigned from show business. And though the media attention around this resignation may have rivaled that of the departure of Johnny Carson from "The Tonight Show" in the early 90s, the circumstances were far from happy last night.

Apparently, all this has come about due to some past dalliances between Shimada and the yakuza. It had come to light in the past few days that some years ago when one of the kings of Japanese TV had been in a spot of trouble, he had got in contact with an old friend who turned out to be a gangster. That gangster, who had earlier denied that he had been one, in turn, contacted a fixer to resolve the problem. The problem was apparently resolved discreetly. It may have involved the incident in which Shimada had punched out a female manager in one of his companies back in 2004.

Well, any established contact between show business and organized crime is a definite no-no, according to the media and entertainment....although I think anyone who's been anyone in show business prior to 1985 (when the yakuza were officially considered persona non grata by the government) most likely has had some sort of relationship with the J-Mob. I've always thought that there was a bit of a buddy-buddy relationship between the two, just like Frank Sinatra and the Mafia in Las Vegas. Now, the e-mail which showed the contact between Shimada and his gangster buddy was way back almost a decade ago. But it was enough for the president of his management company, Yoshimoto Kogyo, to call him in immediately after one of his programs and discuss the matter before Shimada decided to call it quits after more than 30 years on the telly.

Shinsuke Shimada had first started out as one half of a comedy duo back in the late 70s and rode the first wave of a comic duo boom. He and his partner became regular players on a popular "Saturday Night Live"-like variety show called "Oretachi wa Hyokin-zoku". And when his duo broke up in the mid-80s, he morphed into a popular host of TV shows starting with a Best 10 music show. His quicksilver Osakan wit and stylish looks basically got him to the top of TV.

My take on him, though, was ambivalent at best. I was never a big fan of manzai comedy, and though a lot of the natives here enjoyed his straight-talking style and his occasional live chewouts of celebs and civilians (on his talk shows), I initially and up to the time of his press conference last night found him to be another arrogant self-righteous celebrity. And that incident of him clocking one of his employees far from impressed me although he did hold a press conference in which he deeply apologized. However, after seeing his press conference last night and then witnessing former actress-turned-TV personality Miho Takagi tearfully showing gratitude to him on a Fuji-TV morning wide show for all of his encouragement during a tough time in her life, I'm wondering if I should just label him as just a flawed mercurial person. Apparently, despite all of the pompous bluster that he has shown on his programs, he has also helped a lot of his junior colleagues through their careers on TV.

Shinsuke Shimada may have left the stage last night and left some huge (scheduling) holes, but I don't really think any of us have seen the last of him. Just like superheroes...and supervillains...in the comics, Japanese celebs have often found a way to return to glory. Plus, Shimada's contrition in front of the cameras does get bonus points in a society where the deepest apologies go a long way to reforming a person in front of public eyes. Still, as the reporters have said all this morning, there is still a lot of the maelstrom surrounding the departed Shimada that has yet to be revealed.

Monday August 22, 8:29 p.m.

Ahhhh....doesn't this look appetizing! A nice hearty bowl of ramen to finish off the day. Well, I would be able to eat this if it were just a bit cooler and less humid. As it is, I would probably end up melting into a puddle of cholesterol.

The reason for the picture? Well, I had my lesson with Miss Genki. And once again, we eschewed the text for something heartier. She and her sister had just come back from their Guam vacation last week and we ended up talking about what they had noshed on during their 4 days there. Baby back ribs, Chinese crab, tons of food. What else is new? Our conversation went through the myriad dishes of dim sum before we came onto the talk of ramen. And so of course, I just had to mention the Ramen Museum near Shin-Yokohama Station. For someone who adores ramen like Miss Genki, it was a bit of a shock to find out that she had never been to the Mecca of All Things Noodly. So, I took her to the website and she took down the images as if she were really eating a bowl of the stuff. As for me, I would like to go there myself one last time before I head on back to The Great White North, but I just can't be sure considering my financial picture.

Speaking of other people who have seen better days, CNN is reporting that Muammar Khadafy is currently missing. No surprise there. I think the term is "...gone into hiding". I just didn't think that the regime would fall this fast but then again the media may be jumping the gun on this. I'm sure when I get home I'll be seeing "BREAKING NEWS" ad nauseum posted up in black & yellow all night.

Just got word from Swank in Hawaii. Looks like she may cancel her first lesson this Friday since she may be rather busy decompressing after a month in The Aloha State. Can't say I blame her. After enjoying an entire month in paradise, I think she would need some time to recover.

Monday August 22, 5:01 p.m.

Did want to mention that The Godfather proudly informed me that his second child into the world last Friday. For all the horrible stuff that had been put on the poor man over the past few weeks, I think this news has been very welcome. Anyways, I won't see him til next Monday. It's looking like a busy Monday though with Cozy, The Bossa Novan, The Godfather and then Mr. Swank squished in between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Speaking of Mr. Swank, his wife should be back in action this Friday when I see her for the first time in a month since coming back from their annual vacation in Hawaii. Over the past few weeks, Swank has been uploading various pictures from The Aloha State to her Facebook page. Must be nice to be rich.
Looks like most of this week will be characterized by night classes, except for The Beehive tomorrow and then Swank and The OL on Friday.

Monday August 22, 4:46 p.m.

Still unseasonably cool although the humidity is definitely up there. I actually wore my casual otaku jacket although by the afternoon it was definitely helping to build up a sauna around my body. Starting from tomorrow, the temps are gonna gradually be rising again until Friday when we'll back into the heat wave once more. A number of folks around me actually thought that the summer was gonna be over, but I know from long experience that nowadays Tokyo summers last well into September.

On Saturday, I got a call from my old friend, The Cat, from up in Nagano Prefecture. I've known her for almost 20 years when she was a working-holiday student in Toronto hanging out with us in our university club. She is one of the friends whom I've already told about my intentions to leave Japan for good this December. As usual, The Cat asked me a number of questions on English since she also teaches kids as a part-time job. She also informed me that Paddy is planning to come back to Japan soon to check up on his mother who's been ailing of late. I'd never heard anything about this from Paddy in his last e-mail last week, so I'm assuming that he may not have time to see me which may explain why he hasn't told me about his plans.

Today I had Cozy for his usual 8 a.m. session. The rains were coming down this morning although things have become far drier since then. After reading my comments on Mixi concerning Junko Ohashi the singer, he promptly fed his nostalgia genes and ordered 3 CDs by her via Amazon, and then showed them to in class. Nice to know that I can influence people this way.

Since I have a huge hole in my schedule between Cozy and Miss Genki in about 2 hours, I visited Akihabara for the first time in several weeks. Checked out Tower Records and the like before having my usual doner kebab for lunch. Saw the usual maids on the main strip giving out the leaflets. I guess Maid Cafes still pull them in.

Over the past several days, I've been watching the situation in Libya. As one talking head put it on a BBC show, noone can predict as to what will happen between Khadafi and the rebels. But to noone's doubt, the endgame is here. The rebels have entered Tripoli, neighbouring Tunisia has even formally declared that the rebels are now the provisional government, and when Khadafi's mouthpiece started blaming the entire world for this mess, I kinda figured that the Colonel's days...or hours....were numbered. And indeed, CNN is reporting that a number of his sons have been captured, and that the country was now on the brink. Should be interesting when I get home. I don't believe that the Battle for Libya will be won by tonight my time but I think several things will be in play that might enhance it when the time comes.