Saturday July 21, 1:34 p.m.
Met up with The Madame for the first time in a few months in Shibuya yesterday. No particular change...still struggling to earn the yen in her teaching jobs, although she's fortunate enough to have her safety net of her well-to-do parents' house. She took me to this Chinese tea house just next to the Dogenzaka end of Mark City, the big mall abutting the station. Yup, the place had all the trimmings which would designate it as a place of imbibing tea in Yokohama Chinatown: a lot of bamboo, brown teapots and cane furniture. Actually, we didn't spend the 90 minutes there just taste testing the leaves but eating their dim sum. It was quite good and since the dumplings had already been seasoned, there was no need for soy sauce. But I think the big winner there was the very first entry of pickles with rice congee. Very delicious.
Afterwards, since The Madame was still on her Asian tea kick, we ended up going inside Mark City and having some more tea in a somewhat hipper place where we had matcha latte. Basically, it was that really strong tea that is served during tea ceremonies with a bit of milk. Not exactly a winning combination but I guess it could grow on me slowly. We didn't stay there too long since we were sandwiched between two pairs of noisy, gabby women (it is Shibuya, after all).
Finally, we waded into the hordes of Shibuya folk and went up Spain zaka to Cafe De Copain, a place that I've been to over the years. It is the closest to a Western pub but since it was still before 5, the cafe rule was still in effect. Just ended up having tapioca coconut milk there.
With the Madame back, I can probably look forward to another intense spate of weekly meetings with her and then perhaps a long period of no contact. However, later that evening, I heard back from a guy I hadn't heard from in a few weeks, MB. He was looking for some movie buddies for "Die Hard 4.0" for Thursday, but I had to decline since I've got a few students on that day. However, we've got the 4th marked off for the next DVD night. It'll just be MB and me since The Satyr will be off doing some volunteering work in Nagasaki.
Larry King has certainly had some rather powerful appearances over the last couple of days. First, he had Tammy Faye Messner (formerly Bakker). King, who must've realized the effect that her appearance could've had on viewers, gave a sneak preview just before his interview with one of the Baldwin Bros. Well, I have to admit that my breath was taken away. That inoperable cancer has wreaked some major havoc to her body. I was never a fan of her and her ex-husband, but even I felt a lot of sympathy for her as her disease literally ate her out from the inside. Everyone and his brother were fully aware that she was not long for this Earth but still, I thought some of the e-mail questions to her were approaching ghoulishness in content.
Then, there was today's little intense segment with Jon Lovitz....something about an altercation with Andy Dick. It was basically Jon, a microphone and some major venting while Larry kept back...way back.
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Friday July 20, 9:06 a.m.
Back for my second time at the new I-cafe. Yep, this one's a keeper. The staff has a bit more professional courtesy in them.
My war with the bugs continues. Saw a few more of the critters yesterday but there were some more who've "checked into" the various motels I've set out on the kitchen floor. Back at Speedy's on Wednesday, I looked up "cockroaches" on Wiki and found out some tips. For one thing, I have to be a bit more anal about the cleanliness of my kitchen so I wiped down the entire place during most of my day off yesterday. It also advised to stop up any leaky faucets. Well, lo and behold, I've had one in my kitchen for several weeks now which I cannot seem to stop, so I may have to replace it. I saw some Brita-like filters at the local Daiei which aren't too expensive. Still, it looks like I've been countering the infestation fairly well.
I saw B2 for her monthly lesson last night. Looks like she's been doing well. She's still planning to get back to her old airline company, and she's more confident about living in London again, if she has to.
Meeting up with The Madame for the first time in a few months later today in Shibuya...a place I haven't seen in a couple of weeks due to the holiday Monday and the sudden cancellation last week. She said that she would be taking me to a tea room nearby...not sure if that means it'll just be tea. I hadn't planned on having lunch before meeting her.
Just found out on SkyPerfect's Super Drama TV channel that the TV's flavour-of-the-year, "Heroes" will be hitting these shores...soon. So, it may be possible that Daniel Radcliffe may have a new rival for the affections of the millions of teenyboppers in the form of Masi Oka. Oka might be twice as old as Harry Potter, and have much more of the geek factor but then again, "Densha Otoko" was the huge hit last summer here. It legitimized all of the otaku and made Akihabara a welcome part of the Japanese tourism scene.
I sent a fax over to the juku boss confirming that The Ace's class will also be cancelled due to the passing of the boss' mother earlier this week. I figure that this was indeed the case but I'm pretty paranoid about making scheduling mistakes. I'm just kinda wondering how next week is gonna turn out.
After several days of unseasonably cool weather, I think today will be back to the scorching temps and humidity I've come to expect and gripe about in The Big Sushi.
Back for my second time at the new I-cafe. Yep, this one's a keeper. The staff has a bit more professional courtesy in them.
My war with the bugs continues. Saw a few more of the critters yesterday but there were some more who've "checked into" the various motels I've set out on the kitchen floor. Back at Speedy's on Wednesday, I looked up "cockroaches" on Wiki and found out some tips. For one thing, I have to be a bit more anal about the cleanliness of my kitchen so I wiped down the entire place during most of my day off yesterday. It also advised to stop up any leaky faucets. Well, lo and behold, I've had one in my kitchen for several weeks now which I cannot seem to stop, so I may have to replace it. I saw some Brita-like filters at the local Daiei which aren't too expensive. Still, it looks like I've been countering the infestation fairly well.
I saw B2 for her monthly lesson last night. Looks like she's been doing well. She's still planning to get back to her old airline company, and she's more confident about living in London again, if she has to.
Meeting up with The Madame for the first time in a few months later today in Shibuya...a place I haven't seen in a couple of weeks due to the holiday Monday and the sudden cancellation last week. She said that she would be taking me to a tea room nearby...not sure if that means it'll just be tea. I hadn't planned on having lunch before meeting her.
Just found out on SkyPerfect's Super Drama TV channel that the TV's flavour-of-the-year, "Heroes" will be hitting these shores...soon. So, it may be possible that Daniel Radcliffe may have a new rival for the affections of the millions of teenyboppers in the form of Masi Oka. Oka might be twice as old as Harry Potter, and have much more of the geek factor but then again, "Densha Otoko" was the huge hit last summer here. It legitimized all of the otaku and made Akihabara a welcome part of the Japanese tourism scene.
I sent a fax over to the juku boss confirming that The Ace's class will also be cancelled due to the passing of the boss' mother earlier this week. I figure that this was indeed the case but I'm pretty paranoid about making scheduling mistakes. I'm just kinda wondering how next week is gonna turn out.
After several days of unseasonably cool weather, I think today will be back to the scorching temps and humidity I've come to expect and gripe about in The Big Sushi.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Wednesday July 18, 5:29 p.m.
Well, Speedy is back...he came in a couple of hours ago into the office after his trip to Dubai. He actually can appreciate the coolness of Tokyo now. He and his wife did the usual thing...go camel riding, sleep under a Bedouin tent and go through the markets.
As for me, the grandmothers were fine although it's never all that easy to do free talking with the elderly. I was surprised to find out that one of the two is 82 years old! She's even older than that other grandma who had attended The Tokyo War Crimes Trials as a girl. Since then, my idle hours have been spent getting some knickknacks done. I prepped for 001 and The Judge, checked over the curricula, and sent an e-card of condolence to the juku boss. Also dusted off the DVD class files on "Friends" and copied them out for that potential new student on Saturday. Since then, it's been going through the Net...found out what I needed to know about roaches considering my current household problem; I'm gonna have to fix that leaky faucet. And I even checked out international TV. It's a little difficult to do on this rickety old computer but next time I head over to the I-cafe, I'll have to see what's playing in Poland or Mauritius.
Spent some nice chat time with The Admin over lunch. The oldest grandma was kind enough to bring in some frozen pizzas (really) which we ate with some Thai bi-fun salad and inarizushi; it was a real multicultural meal. Apparently, her family takes care of some temple in the Izu Peninsula so it's possible within a few years that The Admin may have to take over as high priestess. Hopefully, she won't have to go bald.
As for dinner, well, it was The Golden Arches. Speedy decided to go decidedly lowbrow for his first major meal since coming back from the exotic Middle East. He was dismayed to find out that all meals at McDonalds went up some 70 yen. Unfortunately, with the yen depreciating and fuel costs, I gather that importing is not exactly all that cheap anymore.
Well, Speedy is back...he came in a couple of hours ago into the office after his trip to Dubai. He actually can appreciate the coolness of Tokyo now. He and his wife did the usual thing...go camel riding, sleep under a Bedouin tent and go through the markets.
As for me, the grandmothers were fine although it's never all that easy to do free talking with the elderly. I was surprised to find out that one of the two is 82 years old! She's even older than that other grandma who had attended The Tokyo War Crimes Trials as a girl. Since then, my idle hours have been spent getting some knickknacks done. I prepped for 001 and The Judge, checked over the curricula, and sent an e-card of condolence to the juku boss. Also dusted off the DVD class files on "Friends" and copied them out for that potential new student on Saturday. Since then, it's been going through the Net...found out what I needed to know about roaches considering my current household problem; I'm gonna have to fix that leaky faucet. And I even checked out international TV. It's a little difficult to do on this rickety old computer but next time I head over to the I-cafe, I'll have to see what's playing in Poland or Mauritius.
Spent some nice chat time with The Admin over lunch. The oldest grandma was kind enough to bring in some frozen pizzas (really) which we ate with some Thai bi-fun salad and inarizushi; it was a real multicultural meal. Apparently, her family takes care of some temple in the Izu Peninsula so it's possible within a few years that The Admin may have to take over as high priestess. Hopefully, she won't have to go bald.
As for dinner, well, it was The Golden Arches. Speedy decided to go decidedly lowbrow for his first major meal since coming back from the exotic Middle East. He was dismayed to find out that all meals at McDonalds went up some 70 yen. Unfortunately, with the yen depreciating and fuel costs, I gather that importing is not exactly all that cheap anymore.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Tuesday July 17, 8:19 a.m.
Well, I know corporate presidents, lawyers and even got to meet the current Emperor decades ago. However, I've just read my monthly University of Toronto Alumni Newsletter and found out that an acquaintance of mine got into The Order of Canada. Gonna have to update my list.
However, despite my brushes with royalty, my rare free Tuesday night was partially spent fighting the bugs. Yes, right out of "Starship Troopers", my war continued with the cockroaches. I'd come across eight of the vanguard last week after coming home late at midnight, and though I blasted them into roach heaven with the remaining insecticide, the invasion continued. The next day, I decided to not only get a new can of critter whup ass but a bunch of gokiburi hoi hoi, otherwise known in North America as Roach Motels (y'know...the catchphrase "Roaches check in, but they don't check out"). I bought ten of the insect version of the Hyatt chain and set half of them up in the kitchen. The package was cheap (only 298 yen) and just consisted of an origami-type motel frame with a layer of sticky paper inside on which I put on a single tablet of stuff that smelled like an especially treacly piece of butterscotch...manna from heaven for the roaches, apparently.
Well, after having left the five motels for a couple of days, I decided to see if there were any check-ins. I put one in the bottom cabinet since roaches love the dark, three on the kitchen floor by the sink and fridge, and even one on the shelf where I place all of the spices and condiments. I had only been expecting a few unlucky bugs to get trapped. And sure enough, when I looked inside three of them (including, disturbingly enough, the condiment area), there were a few forlorn guests of sorts just waving their antennae and waiting to die, immobile on the sticky paper. The one I'd left in the bottom cabinet had no takers, however. But, and I do mean this with a capital B, the Grand Hyatt that I'd left in the sticky alley between the oven range and the shelves got a full booking. When I peered in that one, I was rather disgusted to see that at least a score of roaches decided to make their reservations there. It was like looking at a car lot of a shopping mall on Xmas Eve. Antennae were just poking out like chest hairs from a hirsute disco guy's shirt. Gahhh...I'm pretty calm with critters, usually, but this sight even had me gagging somewhat. Plus, the combination of that treacly butterscotch smell with the stench of mass roach infestation had me throwing out the motel a little prematurely (the label said that it would stay effective for up to a month....I'd say that it was a little too effective). I could imagine any of the local population would have run screaming in terror if they had come across my little Hyatt at that moment.
However, I was convinced that I did the right thing by buying the Roach ryokan. I'll see how filled the other traps get.
Well, I've opened up the school today since I've got the keys. The Admin is probably one happy lady that she doesn't have to open up early. Speedy and his wife are supposedly back in town now but they'll probably need the extra day to recover from their honeymoon. Despite the more leisurely round of sleep I got last night and a proper breakfast, I was still feeling out of sorts so I just got a couple of pastries and a carton of veggie juice from the local "La Vie Du France" bakery/cafe and am now feeling a bit better.
I had another cancellation today. The Admin informed me that Mr. TOEIC has decided to kill his class tonight which will leave with a 90-minute gap between 001 and The Judge. Still, I'll have another long Wednesday here.
Michael Moore is mellowing. He has to be....I checked TVNewser right now, and apparently, the maverick director has indicated some remorse at beating up Wolf Blitzer last week. Before you know it, he may even admit that George W. Bush is a pretty nice guy.
Over here, the big news is about the quake of course. I think Prime Minister Abe's fortunes may either go up or down depending how the response to this disaster goes. Right now, talk on the pension scandal has decreased although not disappeared. But there is that nuclear reactor in Niigata which spewed smoke and fire. Apparently, TEPCO is slowly letting out that some radioactive steam and water may have been released. I believe that Shinzo needs news about another Chernobyl like he needs another ulcer.
And speaking of besieged politicians, the media was scratching its collective head when the current embattled Minister of Agriculture did a press conference looking like he lost a couple of rounds to Mike Tyson. He had already earned a few scars, figuratively, when it was found out that his koenkai may have been a little naughty by claiming his parents' house as a tax-deductible business expense last week. Well, it looks like he earned a few physical ones as well under the couple of bandages on his face. He was pretty mum on the subject, just saying that "...his skin is pretty delicate." Methinks that his wife had some powerful opinions.
Still, some good news abounds. The Japanese soccer team beat Vietnam to advance further into The Asian Cup. And Ichiro not only got the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history last week, but he didn't show any ill effects whatsoever in his first game since he his knee got beaned by an errant pitch the other night. I'd say he could probably be the MVP of the entire year. Certainly, the press here thinks so.
Well, I know corporate presidents, lawyers and even got to meet the current Emperor decades ago. However, I've just read my monthly University of Toronto Alumni Newsletter and found out that an acquaintance of mine got into The Order of Canada. Gonna have to update my list.
However, despite my brushes with royalty, my rare free Tuesday night was partially spent fighting the bugs. Yes, right out of "Starship Troopers", my war continued with the cockroaches. I'd come across eight of the vanguard last week after coming home late at midnight, and though I blasted them into roach heaven with the remaining insecticide, the invasion continued. The next day, I decided to not only get a new can of critter whup ass but a bunch of gokiburi hoi hoi, otherwise known in North America as Roach Motels (y'know...the catchphrase "Roaches check in, but they don't check out"). I bought ten of the insect version of the Hyatt chain and set half of them up in the kitchen. The package was cheap (only 298 yen) and just consisted of an origami-type motel frame with a layer of sticky paper inside on which I put on a single tablet of stuff that smelled like an especially treacly piece of butterscotch...manna from heaven for the roaches, apparently.
Well, after having left the five motels for a couple of days, I decided to see if there were any check-ins. I put one in the bottom cabinet since roaches love the dark, three on the kitchen floor by the sink and fridge, and even one on the shelf where I place all of the spices and condiments. I had only been expecting a few unlucky bugs to get trapped. And sure enough, when I looked inside three of them (including, disturbingly enough, the condiment area), there were a few forlorn guests of sorts just waving their antennae and waiting to die, immobile on the sticky paper. The one I'd left in the bottom cabinet had no takers, however. But, and I do mean this with a capital B, the Grand Hyatt that I'd left in the sticky alley between the oven range and the shelves got a full booking. When I peered in that one, I was rather disgusted to see that at least a score of roaches decided to make their reservations there. It was like looking at a car lot of a shopping mall on Xmas Eve. Antennae were just poking out like chest hairs from a hirsute disco guy's shirt. Gahhh...I'm pretty calm with critters, usually, but this sight even had me gagging somewhat. Plus, the combination of that treacly butterscotch smell with the stench of mass roach infestation had me throwing out the motel a little prematurely (the label said that it would stay effective for up to a month....I'd say that it was a little too effective). I could imagine any of the local population would have run screaming in terror if they had come across my little Hyatt at that moment.
However, I was convinced that I did the right thing by buying the Roach ryokan. I'll see how filled the other traps get.
Well, I've opened up the school today since I've got the keys. The Admin is probably one happy lady that she doesn't have to open up early. Speedy and his wife are supposedly back in town now but they'll probably need the extra day to recover from their honeymoon. Despite the more leisurely round of sleep I got last night and a proper breakfast, I was still feeling out of sorts so I just got a couple of pastries and a carton of veggie juice from the local "La Vie Du France" bakery/cafe and am now feeling a bit better.
I had another cancellation today. The Admin informed me that Mr. TOEIC has decided to kill his class tonight which will leave with a 90-minute gap between 001 and The Judge. Still, I'll have another long Wednesday here.
Michael Moore is mellowing. He has to be....I checked TVNewser right now, and apparently, the maverick director has indicated some remorse at beating up Wolf Blitzer last week. Before you know it, he may even admit that George W. Bush is a pretty nice guy.
Over here, the big news is about the quake of course. I think Prime Minister Abe's fortunes may either go up or down depending how the response to this disaster goes. Right now, talk on the pension scandal has decreased although not disappeared. But there is that nuclear reactor in Niigata which spewed smoke and fire. Apparently, TEPCO is slowly letting out that some radioactive steam and water may have been released. I believe that Shinzo needs news about another Chernobyl like he needs another ulcer.
And speaking of besieged politicians, the media was scratching its collective head when the current embattled Minister of Agriculture did a press conference looking like he lost a couple of rounds to Mike Tyson. He had already earned a few scars, figuratively, when it was found out that his koenkai may have been a little naughty by claiming his parents' house as a tax-deductible business expense last week. Well, it looks like he earned a few physical ones as well under the couple of bandages on his face. He was pretty mum on the subject, just saying that "...his skin is pretty delicate." Methinks that his wife had some powerful opinions.
Still, some good news abounds. The Japanese soccer team beat Vietnam to advance further into The Asian Cup. And Ichiro not only got the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star Game history last week, but he didn't show any ill effects whatsoever in his first game since he his knee got beaned by an errant pitch the other night. I'd say he could probably be the MVP of the entire year. Certainly, the press here thinks so.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Tuesday July 17, 3:15 p.m.
It's been a sad start to this week. First, Typhoon Man-Yi took its share of lives, and then yesterday's earthquake in Niigata Prefecture has left at least 7 families in grief. And now, something a bit more personal has hit home. This morning, I got a call from the juku boss who informed me that her mother had just passed away within the last few hours. She sounded somewhat shellshocked which was somewhat worrying to me since she's usually one of the most cheerful people I see regularly. It wasn't a total surprise concerning her mother since the boss continued to tell me that her mother had been deteriorating gradually, but when the moment finally arrived, it still must've been a terrible one.
In any case, classes have been cancelled for this week. So, not only did I get a rare Monday night off but I'm apparently gonna get an even rarer Tuesday and Friday nights off, too. Not sure what's gonna happen in terms of funeral arrangements but the boss'll let me know in time.
So, it was just The Beehive and The Nurse today. Yup, I'm all done except for this blog. The Beehive met for the very last time at Mrs. Perth's apartment this morning. And in fact, it was the last official class for Mrs. Perth, who'll be joining her husband shortly for their new life in Hokkaido. Double in fact, it was the last official class for the Beehive before Summer Break. Next week, we'll all be getting together at this famous restaurant chain in Funabashi called Ume No Hana (Plum Blossoms) for a little lunch party. Actually, today, Mrs. Travel was true to her name and absent since she's off in Turkey, just a couple of weeks after her trip through India. However, Mrs. Alp was back from her own trip in Switzerland with lots of photos and a souvenir cake.
The Nurse was in pretty fine fettle although some of her insecurities crept in when tackling Possessives today. Luckily, she has enough confidence in me that she can still continue on. Actually, The Admin informed me that one of the grandmothers would like to have my services in addition to her regular lessons with Speedy. It would seem that she likes the free chatter with little ol' me. Nice to be loved.
Movie Buddy sent out the word about catching "Die Hard 4.0" this weekend. Well, The Satyr has already seen it. I'm good for it but it won't be this weekend since I've got those classes at Speedy's on Saturday, and then there is that get-together with The Bohemian on Sunday. Yep, I'm meeting him again a few months after that little mistake of matching him with MB and The Satyr.
So, this week will be quite an empty one, although it'll be another whole day at Speedy's tomorrow since I still gotta teach a couple of the grandmothers in the morning followed by 001, Mr. TOEIC and The Judge in the evening. I've only got B2 for her monthly on Thursday and then I just meet The Madame for our first lunch in several months. Not sure what she's been up to. However, Saturday will have The Manhattanite (hopefully) and The Dentist before I do my first "Friends" DVD lesson in what seems to be years. I'll have to devote some of my free time tomorrow trying to get that hoary project going again.
I may have wrongfully given the impression yesterday that Japan was a technological paradise when it came to earthquakes. Well, the fact that Japan is one of the most quake-prone areas in the world has kicked the scientific intelligentsia into producing some of the most advanced ideas on how to cope with unstable geologies. However, Japan has still suffered some pretty bad casualty rates over the decades. Of course, there was The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 which killed hundreds of thousands of people in Tokyo (we're 20 years overdue for the next big temblor). And then there was The Great Hanshin Earth-quake of 1995 which killed over 5,000. So far, the big quake in Niigata has claimed 7 lives but hundreds have been injured and/or left homeless. No small sense of loss here. The sad thing is that this is the second quake in a little less than 3 years to hit the area. I remember the last one since Tokyo also got rocked in that one. I was in an Indian restaurant with The Coffeemaker and several of her classmates after shopping for the Halloween party when the shaking began.
It's been a sad start to this week. First, Typhoon Man-Yi took its share of lives, and then yesterday's earthquake in Niigata Prefecture has left at least 7 families in grief. And now, something a bit more personal has hit home. This morning, I got a call from the juku boss who informed me that her mother had just passed away within the last few hours. She sounded somewhat shellshocked which was somewhat worrying to me since she's usually one of the most cheerful people I see regularly. It wasn't a total surprise concerning her mother since the boss continued to tell me that her mother had been deteriorating gradually, but when the moment finally arrived, it still must've been a terrible one.
In any case, classes have been cancelled for this week. So, not only did I get a rare Monday night off but I'm apparently gonna get an even rarer Tuesday and Friday nights off, too. Not sure what's gonna happen in terms of funeral arrangements but the boss'll let me know in time.
So, it was just The Beehive and The Nurse today. Yup, I'm all done except for this blog. The Beehive met for the very last time at Mrs. Perth's apartment this morning. And in fact, it was the last official class for Mrs. Perth, who'll be joining her husband shortly for their new life in Hokkaido. Double in fact, it was the last official class for the Beehive before Summer Break. Next week, we'll all be getting together at this famous restaurant chain in Funabashi called Ume No Hana (Plum Blossoms) for a little lunch party. Actually, today, Mrs. Travel was true to her name and absent since she's off in Turkey, just a couple of weeks after her trip through India. However, Mrs. Alp was back from her own trip in Switzerland with lots of photos and a souvenir cake.
The Nurse was in pretty fine fettle although some of her insecurities crept in when tackling Possessives today. Luckily, she has enough confidence in me that she can still continue on. Actually, The Admin informed me that one of the grandmothers would like to have my services in addition to her regular lessons with Speedy. It would seem that she likes the free chatter with little ol' me. Nice to be loved.
Movie Buddy sent out the word about catching "Die Hard 4.0" this weekend. Well, The Satyr has already seen it. I'm good for it but it won't be this weekend since I've got those classes at Speedy's on Saturday, and then there is that get-together with The Bohemian on Sunday. Yep, I'm meeting him again a few months after that little mistake of matching him with MB and The Satyr.
So, this week will be quite an empty one, although it'll be another whole day at Speedy's tomorrow since I still gotta teach a couple of the grandmothers in the morning followed by 001, Mr. TOEIC and The Judge in the evening. I've only got B2 for her monthly on Thursday and then I just meet The Madame for our first lunch in several months. Not sure what she's been up to. However, Saturday will have The Manhattanite (hopefully) and The Dentist before I do my first "Friends" DVD lesson in what seems to be years. I'll have to devote some of my free time tomorrow trying to get that hoary project going again.
I may have wrongfully given the impression yesterday that Japan was a technological paradise when it came to earthquakes. Well, the fact that Japan is one of the most quake-prone areas in the world has kicked the scientific intelligentsia into producing some of the most advanced ideas on how to cope with unstable geologies. However, Japan has still suffered some pretty bad casualty rates over the decades. Of course, there was The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 which killed hundreds of thousands of people in Tokyo (we're 20 years overdue for the next big temblor). And then there was The Great Hanshin Earth-quake of 1995 which killed over 5,000. So far, the big quake in Niigata has claimed 7 lives but hundreds have been injured and/or left homeless. No small sense of loss here. The sad thing is that this is the second quake in a little less than 3 years to hit the area. I remember the last one since Tokyo also got rocked in that one. I was in an Indian restaurant with The Coffeemaker and several of her classmates after shopping for the Halloween party when the shaking began.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Monday July 16, 1:52 p.m.
What a long weekend! If some of those ancient deities that used to lead Japanese religion wanted to give us a roller coaster adventure, they certainly gave us an Indiana Jones-like ride. First, there was Typhoon Man-Yi (known locally as No. 4...no, not exactly too big on fancy nomenclature over here) for the first two days which just skirted a hair's-width of striking Tokyo...all we got was a lot of heavy rain sans the gale-force winds. And then this morning, I and millions of others got a Shindo 3 jolt when a Shindo 6+ earthquake shook the hell out of Niigata Prefecture some 250 km away on the other side of Honshu. I was just watching TV when my lamp above started weaving and I started getting slightly queasy. I could only imagine how nauseous the Niigata residents got. Of course, NHK started throwing out the bulletins for potential tsunami (there weren't any) before all of the commercial stations followed suit. As usual, the cameras were trained on the various newsrooms when the quake hit; it was the customary crew running around while the department signs swung away; then there were the security cams outside which started getting epileptic fits. Next, the news crews were out on the road searching for damage in the Niigata/Nagano area. It didn't take too long...a number of houses have collapsed, a train has fallen onto its side and various roads have inherited some rather king-sized cracks. As for casualties, this is where Japan gets its reputation as being one of the most quake-prepared nations on Earth...of course, there are injuries...a little over 100 so far, but nothing compared to some of the horrendous fatalities that occur in other countries.
I guess later this week, we can expect Mount Fuji to explode...
In any case, it's been a number of days since my last entry on Thursday. I saw The Carolinan for the first time since she got back from Hawaii. Not surprisingly, it was a relaxing trip for her, her mother, and The New Yorker. It was a judgement call but I also decided to tell her about the drama with BC a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if BC would appreciate what I did, but I think her former colleague would probably be better able to help her than I could.
Next day, I saw her sister, The New Yorker. Another sigh as I found out that she tried her best not to have any communication in the language I've been trying to imbue within her for the past couple of years. But The Carolinan and I can only admit that's the way she is. Still, The New Yorker enjoyed herself and got a nice tan out of the experience. Got the usual omiyage in the form of chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies and some mints (nice change from the usual macadamia nuts).
On Saturday, I had my last meeting with The Dancer and her family. This time, the target was Ikebukuro...Sunshine City, to be exact. The Dancer wryly remarked that the famous building was built not too far away from where Prime Minister Tojo and his compatriots had been hanged for war crimes back in the 40s. I guess Sunshine City is a most apt moniker. Sunshine City is also a most appropriate place for kids since it's got Namjatown with all of the food emporia such as Gyoza Hakubutsukan (the dumpling museum) and Ice Cream City, and a huge aquarium.
Unfortunately, at that point, Typhoon Man-Yi was making its presence known on that day so umbrellas were mandatory issue for us. Plus, before Sunshine City, The Dancer wanted to stop off at the Traditional Crafts Centre at the West Side of Ikebukuro Station and then to a soccer goods shop for further souvenirs.
Unsurprisingly, Gyoza Hakubutsukan and the rest of Namjatown was packed to the gills with folks, being a Saturday and all, but somehow all of us managed to grab a goodly amount of gyoza to feast upon and even grab a table. I treated for the dumplings while The Dancer's husband picked up the tab on the ice cream across the floor. Of course, the kids were desperate to try out the game centre with all of its UFO Catchers. This time, even the boy was happy since this time Daddy did grab some prizes including a giant box of Kit Kats.
I'd been worried about how the kids would be after that Sunday of occasional temper tantrums. But I guess I was either accustomed to the inevitable scoldings or the kids were better behaved, but Saturday was a lot less arduous. It also helped that I'd brought my I Spy book along with crayons & paper to keep them occupied in the restaurant, although Hubby got tense at moments.
Although I'd been to Namjatown a number of times, I'd never been to the Sunshine City Aquarium on the top floor, some 60 floors up. I'm glad that I finally got the opportunity. Got to see a couple of manta rays, a huge sunfish and even a shark's egg. There were even some other animals one wouldn't really associate with an aquarium such as a couple of squirrels, armadillos and even a fennec fox.
Well, today The Dancer and her family should be well on their way to Narita right now. Hopefully, this morning's tremor didn't scare the kids too much. Actually, it'll probably be their father who will probably scare them more.
Anyways, I'm typing this from another new Internet-and-manga cafe that popped up a few months ago. I've just gotten a bit tired of the sullenness at that other place. Mind you, although the guy here wasn't exactly welcoming me like he were the doorman at the Ritz-Carlton, he was more human. The place reminds me a bit more of the relatively expensive I-cafe in Akiba but the 3-hour package here is even cheaper than it is at the sullen cafe down the street. Plus, things seem a bit more classier.
Ahhh....I did forget. Before I saw The Carolinan on Thursday, I had caught "The Prestige" (finally) at The Wald 9 in Shinjuku. The Wald 9 is the newest movie theatre on the scene with all reserved seats. Nice, but they sure could use some more work on the concession stands. My hot dog was perhaps just a molecule or two removed from being misidentified as Kappabashi plastic food.
Anyways, I'm glad that I saw "The Prestige". It was indeed a movie that kept me glued to my seat and my eyes glued to the screen (and not to my watch). At first, I thought it would be something like a "What If?" flick with Batman, Wolverine, Alfred The Butler and Aladdin Insane put into the late 19th-century. But much to the credit of the performances, this was a totally different animal. Although David Bowie kept pretty much the same expression on his face for his extended cameo, it was interesting to see this fellow who pretty much scared the hell out of every prude in England in the 70s (that is, before The Sex Pistols came to be) act as the constipated Nikola Tesla. As for the big whammo ending...the prestige of the title...it was a bit of a sci-fi/"Twilight Zone" cheat but I have to admit that I was kept surprised right to the very end. I will follow Chris Nolan's entreaty not to reveal the ending but let's say if Tesla hadn't been so unlucky, I think a lot of office executives would be telling their gofers today to "Tesla off some copies".
What a long weekend! If some of those ancient deities that used to lead Japanese religion wanted to give us a roller coaster adventure, they certainly gave us an Indiana Jones-like ride. First, there was Typhoon Man-Yi (known locally as No. 4...no, not exactly too big on fancy nomenclature over here) for the first two days which just skirted a hair's-width of striking Tokyo...all we got was a lot of heavy rain sans the gale-force winds. And then this morning, I and millions of others got a Shindo 3 jolt when a Shindo 6+ earthquake shook the hell out of Niigata Prefecture some 250 km away on the other side of Honshu. I was just watching TV when my lamp above started weaving and I started getting slightly queasy. I could only imagine how nauseous the Niigata residents got. Of course, NHK started throwing out the bulletins for potential tsunami (there weren't any) before all of the commercial stations followed suit. As usual, the cameras were trained on the various newsrooms when the quake hit; it was the customary crew running around while the department signs swung away; then there were the security cams outside which started getting epileptic fits. Next, the news crews were out on the road searching for damage in the Niigata/Nagano area. It didn't take too long...a number of houses have collapsed, a train has fallen onto its side and various roads have inherited some rather king-sized cracks. As for casualties, this is where Japan gets its reputation as being one of the most quake-prepared nations on Earth...of course, there are injuries...a little over 100 so far, but nothing compared to some of the horrendous fatalities that occur in other countries.
I guess later this week, we can expect Mount Fuji to explode...
In any case, it's been a number of days since my last entry on Thursday. I saw The Carolinan for the first time since she got back from Hawaii. Not surprisingly, it was a relaxing trip for her, her mother, and The New Yorker. It was a judgement call but I also decided to tell her about the drama with BC a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure if BC would appreciate what I did, but I think her former colleague would probably be better able to help her than I could.
Next day, I saw her sister, The New Yorker. Another sigh as I found out that she tried her best not to have any communication in the language I've been trying to imbue within her for the past couple of years. But The Carolinan and I can only admit that's the way she is. Still, The New Yorker enjoyed herself and got a nice tan out of the experience. Got the usual omiyage in the form of chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies and some mints (nice change from the usual macadamia nuts).
On Saturday, I had my last meeting with The Dancer and her family. This time, the target was Ikebukuro...Sunshine City, to be exact. The Dancer wryly remarked that the famous building was built not too far away from where Prime Minister Tojo and his compatriots had been hanged for war crimes back in the 40s. I guess Sunshine City is a most apt moniker. Sunshine City is also a most appropriate place for kids since it's got Namjatown with all of the food emporia such as Gyoza Hakubutsukan (the dumpling museum) and Ice Cream City, and a huge aquarium.
Unfortunately, at that point, Typhoon Man-Yi was making its presence known on that day so umbrellas were mandatory issue for us. Plus, before Sunshine City, The Dancer wanted to stop off at the Traditional Crafts Centre at the West Side of Ikebukuro Station and then to a soccer goods shop for further souvenirs.
Unsurprisingly, Gyoza Hakubutsukan and the rest of Namjatown was packed to the gills with folks, being a Saturday and all, but somehow all of us managed to grab a goodly amount of gyoza to feast upon and even grab a table. I treated for the dumplings while The Dancer's husband picked up the tab on the ice cream across the floor. Of course, the kids were desperate to try out the game centre with all of its UFO Catchers. This time, even the boy was happy since this time Daddy did grab some prizes including a giant box of Kit Kats.
I'd been worried about how the kids would be after that Sunday of occasional temper tantrums. But I guess I was either accustomed to the inevitable scoldings or the kids were better behaved, but Saturday was a lot less arduous. It also helped that I'd brought my I Spy book along with crayons & paper to keep them occupied in the restaurant, although Hubby got tense at moments.
Although I'd been to Namjatown a number of times, I'd never been to the Sunshine City Aquarium on the top floor, some 60 floors up. I'm glad that I finally got the opportunity. Got to see a couple of manta rays, a huge sunfish and even a shark's egg. There were even some other animals one wouldn't really associate with an aquarium such as a couple of squirrels, armadillos and even a fennec fox.
Well, today The Dancer and her family should be well on their way to Narita right now. Hopefully, this morning's tremor didn't scare the kids too much. Actually, it'll probably be their father who will probably scare them more.
Anyways, I'm typing this from another new Internet-and-manga cafe that popped up a few months ago. I've just gotten a bit tired of the sullenness at that other place. Mind you, although the guy here wasn't exactly welcoming me like he were the doorman at the Ritz-Carlton, he was more human. The place reminds me a bit more of the relatively expensive I-cafe in Akiba but the 3-hour package here is even cheaper than it is at the sullen cafe down the street. Plus, things seem a bit more classier.
Ahhh....I did forget. Before I saw The Carolinan on Thursday, I had caught "The Prestige" (finally) at The Wald 9 in Shinjuku. The Wald 9 is the newest movie theatre on the scene with all reserved seats. Nice, but they sure could use some more work on the concession stands. My hot dog was perhaps just a molecule or two removed from being misidentified as Kappabashi plastic food.
Anyways, I'm glad that I saw "The Prestige". It was indeed a movie that kept me glued to my seat and my eyes glued to the screen (and not to my watch). At first, I thought it would be something like a "What If?" flick with Batman, Wolverine, Alfred The Butler and Aladdin Insane put into the late 19th-century. But much to the credit of the performances, this was a totally different animal. Although David Bowie kept pretty much the same expression on his face for his extended cameo, it was interesting to see this fellow who pretty much scared the hell out of every prude in England in the 70s (that is, before The Sex Pistols came to be) act as the constipated Nikola Tesla. As for the big whammo ending...the prestige of the title...it was a bit of a sci-fi/"Twilight Zone" cheat but I have to admit that I was kept surprised right to the very end. I will follow Chris Nolan's entreaty not to reveal the ending but let's say if Tesla hadn't been so unlucky, I think a lot of office executives would be telling their gofers today to "Tesla off some copies".
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thursday July 12, 8:35 a.m.
I had a rather grotty homecoming last night. After a full day at Speedy's, what did I come home to find in my kitchen? Eight...count'em, eight....small cockroaches making a party hall out of my kitchen and garbage bag. Well, I've always been tolerant of lesser lifeforms...even cockroaches, but 8 is far into the freeloading zone. So, I got my green can of whup-ass and blew them all away. Even so, one of them lasted a good long half-hour before finally heading off to roach heaven. I pretty much depleted my insecticide....the kitchen was fairly dripping of the stuff by the time I got through with the pests...it was pretty much an re-enactment of Chernobyl. No living thing will touch my kitchen for the next several hours.
So, it was just a mere 10 hours away and back I am over here. But it'll be a relatively short stay since I've only got Speedy's grandmothers for a bit of chit-chat. After that, I may take in a movie before I see The Carolinan. She may be a bit surprised that BC won't be showing up; perhaps that'll be my in to ask for some advice about her since she and her are somewhere between acquaintances and friends.
I got the call from The Dancer. The clan will be saving Saturday for me for Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. So, it'll definitely be Ice Cream City and perhaps Gyoza City although I'm not sure if the kids would be able to handle the garlic...and of course, there is the aquarium. The timing is good since there may be a typhoon flying in from the south overnight on Sunday. I'm just hoping that the adults won't be swept up by the kids' typhoon again. I was just darn exhausted by the time I finished up with the family last Sunday.
I had a rather grotty homecoming last night. After a full day at Speedy's, what did I come home to find in my kitchen? Eight...count'em, eight....small cockroaches making a party hall out of my kitchen and garbage bag. Well, I've always been tolerant of lesser lifeforms...even cockroaches, but 8 is far into the freeloading zone. So, I got my green can of whup-ass and blew them all away. Even so, one of them lasted a good long half-hour before finally heading off to roach heaven. I pretty much depleted my insecticide....the kitchen was fairly dripping of the stuff by the time I got through with the pests...it was pretty much an re-enactment of Chernobyl. No living thing will touch my kitchen for the next several hours.
So, it was just a mere 10 hours away and back I am over here. But it'll be a relatively short stay since I've only got Speedy's grandmothers for a bit of chit-chat. After that, I may take in a movie before I see The Carolinan. She may be a bit surprised that BC won't be showing up; perhaps that'll be my in to ask for some advice about her since she and her are somewhere between acquaintances and friends.
I got the call from The Dancer. The clan will be saving Saturday for me for Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. So, it'll definitely be Ice Cream City and perhaps Gyoza City although I'm not sure if the kids would be able to handle the garlic...and of course, there is the aquarium. The timing is good since there may be a typhoon flying in from the south overnight on Sunday. I'm just hoping that the adults won't be swept up by the kids' typhoon again. I was just darn exhausted by the time I finished up with the family last Sunday.
Wednesday July 11, 8:21 p.m.
Finished up with 001 tonight. Not exactly her most proficient lesson since she was stumbling through her Present Perfect like a relative neophyte but we managed to salvage things with a stroll down Memory Lane. Memory Lane is always the go-to hook for speeding or brightening up things with folks over 30...well, even the twenties, since I still have a lot of knowledge for J-Pop and anime in the 90s and actually like them.
I've just got the one student left, The Judge. The nighttime assistant will be leaving halfway through the lesson so I'll be closing down the shop....only to come back less than 10 hours later. Mind you, it'll only be for 2 hours. Still, it's a bit of a drag to make that long haul commute between here and Ichikawa.
Finished up with 001 tonight. Not exactly her most proficient lesson since she was stumbling through her Present Perfect like a relative neophyte but we managed to salvage things with a stroll down Memory Lane. Memory Lane is always the go-to hook for speeding or brightening up things with folks over 30...well, even the twenties, since I still have a lot of knowledge for J-Pop and anime in the 90s and actually like them.
I've just got the one student left, The Judge. The nighttime assistant will be leaving halfway through the lesson so I'll be closing down the shop....only to come back less than 10 hours later. Mind you, it'll only be for 2 hours. Still, it's a bit of a drag to make that long haul commute between here and Ichikawa.
Wednesday July 11, 5:08 p.m.
I guess I'm halfway through my marathon session here at Speedy's. The bossman left less than half an hour ago for his honeymoon. As usual, he was running late, rueing half-jokingly that his wife would be berating him again for tardiness. Not sure where he and his missus will be going but I hope he gets some sleep on the plane; he said he only got 1 hour of shuteye last night. So, along with being thin and married as being on the NOT list, I can probably add CEO as well.
So, it's just The Admin and me right now until 001 shows up. I saved myself some money and added variety to my lunch as Mr. Influence had some leftover lasagna in the fridge and some of that veggie soup. Yup, that stuff will keep me satisfied for the rest of the evening. Found out a bit more about The Admin during a chat over lunch. Apparently, a score ago, she had been studying for several months in San Jose (I gracefully refrained from asking if she knew the way there) before getting involved in a number of projects back here before her current stint as the day staff here.
I've read on TVNewser that Part 2 of the Michael Moore vs. CNN prizefight has been fought with apparently no decision although according to the blog, there was plenty of arguing and yelling which I couldn't really imagine from straight-out-of-GQ-and-the-operating-room Sanjay Gupta. Not sure if Wolf Blitzer, Gupta's tag-team partner, was there this time as a referee. But hopefully, that will mean that we won't have to witness any more nastiness on the cable screens anymore. We've got Lou Dobbs for that....although according to the transcripts, his interview with liberal basher Ann Coulter could've also been a script for a "Murphy Brown" ep. Apparently, both Dobbs and fellow curmudgeon Jack Cafferty are no big fans of Moore's either. I would just love the three of them to be in a room together. I'd think that the teams would be evenly matched...physically, at least.
I guess I'm halfway through my marathon session here at Speedy's. The bossman left less than half an hour ago for his honeymoon. As usual, he was running late, rueing half-jokingly that his wife would be berating him again for tardiness. Not sure where he and his missus will be going but I hope he gets some sleep on the plane; he said he only got 1 hour of shuteye last night. So, along with being thin and married as being on the NOT list, I can probably add CEO as well.
So, it's just The Admin and me right now until 001 shows up. I saved myself some money and added variety to my lunch as Mr. Influence had some leftover lasagna in the fridge and some of that veggie soup. Yup, that stuff will keep me satisfied for the rest of the evening. Found out a bit more about The Admin during a chat over lunch. Apparently, a score ago, she had been studying for several months in San Jose (I gracefully refrained from asking if she knew the way there) before getting involved in a number of projects back here before her current stint as the day staff here.
I've read on TVNewser that Part 2 of the Michael Moore vs. CNN prizefight has been fought with apparently no decision although according to the blog, there was plenty of arguing and yelling which I couldn't really imagine from straight-out-of-GQ-and-the-operating-room Sanjay Gupta. Not sure if Wolf Blitzer, Gupta's tag-team partner, was there this time as a referee. But hopefully, that will mean that we won't have to witness any more nastiness on the cable screens anymore. We've got Lou Dobbs for that....although according to the transcripts, his interview with liberal basher Ann Coulter could've also been a script for a "Murphy Brown" ep. Apparently, both Dobbs and fellow curmudgeon Jack Cafferty are no big fans of Moore's either. I would just love the three of them to be in a room together. I'd think that the teams would be evenly matched...physically, at least.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Wednesday July 11, 9:08 p.m.
I saw just a small part of that Michael Moore diatribe/rant/berating/non-interview on "The Situation Room". I can see that during those 10 minutes (from what I read on TVNewser, it was about that long....although for Wolf Blitzer, it probably felt far longer), it truly was a situation room...yes, even more so than the newsroom at CBS after Katie Couric slapped her editor for a word faux pas.
As I said, I only saw about a tenth of the attack before deciding it wasn't worth it anymore and switched over to urbane BBC. I haven't seen too much reaction to the scene so far. There has only been one thumb up for Wolf for parrying and defending the CNN realm. However, as much as Moore didn't do himself any favours by just devouring CNN and every other so-called mainstream media outlet without really defending his stats in "Sicko", I can admire his intent and bravery for tilting the windmills of mainstream anything although I probably will never willingly share an airplane seat with him. He is pretty nigh indestructible....happily taking the lusty round of boos and catcalls at the Republican National Convention in 2004.
And perhaps CNN could use a bit of deflating. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, the epiphany of Anderson Cooper and therefore the catalyst for everyone else in the network, the various folks there seem to have become glib to a nearly snarky degree. Do I really need to see Cooper barely grumbling his distate for Paris Hilton on air or various anchors cheerfully whining about some sort of thing during the "happy talk" sessions between features?
Well, yesterday was a pretty quiet day with just The Beehive and the regular juku classes. Just by luck in the morning just before all of us showed up at her apartment, Mrs. Perth came across an advertisement in the community newspaper about a building which is renting classrooms out. So, hopefully by Fall, we'll have a new permanent home.
My Thursday got a whole lot less demanding, though. Not only did The Manhattanite cancel her lesson for 9:30 that night but BC has also canned her upcoming lesson. The latter student was no real surprise. It'll take a while before she gets out of her funk....if she ever does. However, she did hold out hope that perhaps August will be possible to resume her lessons.
However, today will be one of those spread-out affairs with The Nurse in the morning, 001 in the evening and The Judge to finish up late at night. Then I gotta head back early next morning to take care of Speedy's grandmother students while he's off on his long-awaited honeymoon. At least, once I finish with the ladies in the morning, I can take off and breathe.
I saw just a small part of that Michael Moore diatribe/rant/berating/non-interview on "The Situation Room". I can see that during those 10 minutes (from what I read on TVNewser, it was about that long....although for Wolf Blitzer, it probably felt far longer), it truly was a situation room...yes, even more so than the newsroom at CBS after Katie Couric slapped her editor for a word faux pas.
As I said, I only saw about a tenth of the attack before deciding it wasn't worth it anymore and switched over to urbane BBC. I haven't seen too much reaction to the scene so far. There has only been one thumb up for Wolf for parrying and defending the CNN realm. However, as much as Moore didn't do himself any favours by just devouring CNN and every other so-called mainstream media outlet without really defending his stats in "Sicko", I can admire his intent and bravery for tilting the windmills of mainstream anything although I probably will never willingly share an airplane seat with him. He is pretty nigh indestructible....happily taking the lusty round of boos and catcalls at the Republican National Convention in 2004.
And perhaps CNN could use a bit of deflating. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, the epiphany of Anderson Cooper and therefore the catalyst for everyone else in the network, the various folks there seem to have become glib to a nearly snarky degree. Do I really need to see Cooper barely grumbling his distate for Paris Hilton on air or various anchors cheerfully whining about some sort of thing during the "happy talk" sessions between features?
Well, yesterday was a pretty quiet day with just The Beehive and the regular juku classes. Just by luck in the morning just before all of us showed up at her apartment, Mrs. Perth came across an advertisement in the community newspaper about a building which is renting classrooms out. So, hopefully by Fall, we'll have a new permanent home.
My Thursday got a whole lot less demanding, though. Not only did The Manhattanite cancel her lesson for 9:30 that night but BC has also canned her upcoming lesson. The latter student was no real surprise. It'll take a while before she gets out of her funk....if she ever does. However, she did hold out hope that perhaps August will be possible to resume her lessons.
However, today will be one of those spread-out affairs with The Nurse in the morning, 001 in the evening and The Judge to finish up late at night. Then I gotta head back early next morning to take care of Speedy's grandmother students while he's off on his long-awaited honeymoon. At least, once I finish with the ladies in the morning, I can take off and breathe.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Monday July 9, 6:47 p.m.
Well, I'm ready for Mr. TOEIC and I even got some curricula done....so, some more blogging to get out of my system.
On the weird and wacky front of Japanese pop culture:
For the past week or so, we've been hearing about this tarento, Kenji Haga, who's gotten himself into heaps of trouble for intimidating and perhaps extorting money out of someone by threatening to sic a former pro boxer on him. Not surprisingly, he and the boxer were nabbed, and thus another amorphous TV personality has fallen by the wayside. What a way down for a guy who was one of the very first dancers on Tamori's "Waratte Ii Tomo" noontime variety show all the way back in 1982. Since then, the half-American/half-Japanese beefcake's only other notable achievement was as boyfriend to fellow half-American/half-Japanese actress/tarento Anna Umemiya for several years until their breakup nearly a decade ago. Her father, tough guy actor Tatsuo Umemiya, minced no words when he held a sudden news conference outside of the family home a few days ago. He called Haga kidai no waru or "the worst scum ever". Apparently, during the breakup, Haga allegedly tried to blackmail Anna and family for some copious amounts of yen or he would release some rather juicy details to the tabloids. In any case, Haga and company are now resting comfortably on ice and will probably join comedians Masashi Tashiro (drug use and general lechery) and Gokuraku Tombo's Yamamoto (rape of a minor) in that hellish limbo of being well-known ex-celebs afraid to show their faces.
Then, there is the news that another one of the original Morning Musume is gonna have a musume of her own. Kaori "Johnson" Iida, all of 25, is 10 weeks preggers and will be getting married with the father, a former idol singer-turned-regular salaryman. The news is actually over 2 days old so the forums have already had several pages devoted to the story. Well, y'know when idols no longer dance or sing, they gotta put their energies somewhere... I guess Morning Mago is just around the corner with all of the former MM'ers breeding like tribbles.
Did catch some of that Live Earth on SkyPerfect back on Saturday night. They were going back and forth between Sydney and Tokyo with Sarah Brightman finishing off everything in Shanghai. But just when Wembley was about to present those prog rock-turned-80s pop dinosaurs, Genesis, the signal promptly cut off saying that would be all that would be shown unpaid. Mind you, some wags would probably have said thank you. Linkin Park and slinky Rihanna were the folks shown at Makuhari Messe...didn't see any of the J-Pop acts (perhaps a blessing). Some of the guys on the forums were complaining that their idols such as Ai Otsuka and Rihanna herself got as much response from the audience as if they were singing in front of the Easter Island statues. Well, as one guy sagely put it, despite the structure and the intentions of the concert, the audience there probably wasn't there for them. They were more for the rock rappers of Linkin Park. I think the two types of fans would be like oil and water. That would be more the fault of the organizers for putting such diverse acts so close together.
Now, whether Live Earth actually achieved anything....well, as I'd mentioned before, there were quite a lot of folks including Bob Geldof who stated that Live Earth was a colossal waste of time, and more importantly, carbon footprints and CO2. I can understand....having tens of thousands of dancing (well, perhaps not at Makuhari Messe) young folk can probably lead to a footprint the size of Paul Bunyan himself. But practically speaking, how else can one person bring the issue to a huge audience at one time....sorry, but the concerts are the way to go since everyone likes music. Plus, the issue was indeed brought...between acts, I was inundated by black-&-white ads showing everyone from Josh Lucas to Cameron Diaz giving their tips on how to fight global warming. So, one cannot say that the message was buried underneath the music. And considering that Geldof's legendary Live Aid in 1985 really didn't bring about any major or permanent changes in the famine situation in Africa, I don't think The Boomtown Rats' leader ought to be tsk-tsking too loudly.
Well, I'm ready for Mr. TOEIC and I even got some curricula done....so, some more blogging to get out of my system.
On the weird and wacky front of Japanese pop culture:
For the past week or so, we've been hearing about this tarento, Kenji Haga, who's gotten himself into heaps of trouble for intimidating and perhaps extorting money out of someone by threatening to sic a former pro boxer on him. Not surprisingly, he and the boxer were nabbed, and thus another amorphous TV personality has fallen by the wayside. What a way down for a guy who was one of the very first dancers on Tamori's "Waratte Ii Tomo" noontime variety show all the way back in 1982. Since then, the half-American/half-Japanese beefcake's only other notable achievement was as boyfriend to fellow half-American/half-Japanese actress/tarento Anna Umemiya for several years until their breakup nearly a decade ago. Her father, tough guy actor Tatsuo Umemiya, minced no words when he held a sudden news conference outside of the family home a few days ago. He called Haga kidai no waru or "the worst scum ever". Apparently, during the breakup, Haga allegedly tried to blackmail Anna and family for some copious amounts of yen or he would release some rather juicy details to the tabloids. In any case, Haga and company are now resting comfortably on ice and will probably join comedians Masashi Tashiro (drug use and general lechery) and Gokuraku Tombo's Yamamoto (rape of a minor) in that hellish limbo of being well-known ex-celebs afraid to show their faces.
Then, there is the news that another one of the original Morning Musume is gonna have a musume of her own. Kaori "Johnson" Iida, all of 25, is 10 weeks preggers and will be getting married with the father, a former idol singer-turned-regular salaryman. The news is actually over 2 days old so the forums have already had several pages devoted to the story. Well, y'know when idols no longer dance or sing, they gotta put their energies somewhere... I guess Morning Mago is just around the corner with all of the former MM'ers breeding like tribbles.
Did catch some of that Live Earth on SkyPerfect back on Saturday night. They were going back and forth between Sydney and Tokyo with Sarah Brightman finishing off everything in Shanghai. But just when Wembley was about to present those prog rock-turned-80s pop dinosaurs, Genesis, the signal promptly cut off saying that would be all that would be shown unpaid. Mind you, some wags would probably have said thank you. Linkin Park and slinky Rihanna were the folks shown at Makuhari Messe...didn't see any of the J-Pop acts (perhaps a blessing). Some of the guys on the forums were complaining that their idols such as Ai Otsuka and Rihanna herself got as much response from the audience as if they were singing in front of the Easter Island statues. Well, as one guy sagely put it, despite the structure and the intentions of the concert, the audience there probably wasn't there for them. They were more for the rock rappers of Linkin Park. I think the two types of fans would be like oil and water. That would be more the fault of the organizers for putting such diverse acts so close together.
Now, whether Live Earth actually achieved anything....well, as I'd mentioned before, there were quite a lot of folks including Bob Geldof who stated that Live Earth was a colossal waste of time, and more importantly, carbon footprints and CO2. I can understand....having tens of thousands of dancing (well, perhaps not at Makuhari Messe) young folk can probably lead to a footprint the size of Paul Bunyan himself. But practically speaking, how else can one person bring the issue to a huge audience at one time....sorry, but the concerts are the way to go since everyone likes music. Plus, the issue was indeed brought...between acts, I was inundated by black-&-white ads showing everyone from Josh Lucas to Cameron Diaz giving their tips on how to fight global warming. So, one cannot say that the message was buried underneath the music. And considering that Geldof's legendary Live Aid in 1985 really didn't bring about any major or permanent changes in the famine situation in Africa, I don't think The Boomtown Rats' leader ought to be tsk-tsking too loudly.
Monday July 9, 4:51 p.m.
Now, I know why I'll never willingly have kids. I met up with The Dancer's clan again yesterday for that day-long trip through Tokyo. Actually, we just traipsed through the trendy areas of Harajuku, Omotesando and Shibuya. The day was relatively cool and partially cloudy and sunny...which would work out well for our tempers. Actually, it was more for The Dancer's hubby's temper. The hubby's temper was tested last week at that game centre in Fujisawa when his young son pulled off a nasty temper tantrum. Yesterday, it was at Kiddyland, one of the major toy emporia in the world's biggest cities. Hubby was a bit nervous about what a visit to a toy store could do to a couple of kids....kinda like a ko-gal with a gold VISA card in Shibuya. Well, his fears were partially realized when his son demanded to get the most expensive Pokemon set in the store at the very real risk of creating a scene. Then, it was a number of small incidents at Shakey's Pizza next door which got Hubby's temperature rising, including when said son cried that he needed to go to the washroom just when poppa was finally able to tuck into this pizza.
I'd always thought it would be the opposite situation. The Dancer, whom I've known better than Hubby, was always the type to fly off the handle. I remember distinctly back at university when she got into a huge philosophical argument this side with Lou Dobbs with a Marxist-Leninist at Club Day, whereas Hubby was one of the most even-keeled folks I'd ever met. Yesterday, it was more of the Homer/Marge Simpson dynamic between the two.
After lunch, we all waded through the crowds in Harajuku and made our way into Yoyogi Park. I thought after almost 2 decades, those bizarre rockabilly dancers would have finally excised themselves, but there were still half a dozen men reliving the 50s, complete with leather, pompadours and sunglasses. In fact, we saw quite a few interesting examples of cultural colour in our half-hour trek through the park. There was the elderly fellow singing some sort of enka/minyo fusion just a few metres away from a couple of wannabe actresses hamming it up. Then there were the hip-hoppers with a couple of tap dancers hoofing away a la those guys from the final scene of Beat Takeshi's take on "Zatoichi". Some other guys were practicing flag-twirling while some avid otaku were flashing their cellphone cameras at some maid. There was even a real model getting shots taken by a professional crew. The Dancer remarked that the rockabilly guys were boring in comparison. Of course, the kids were oblivious to the scenes. Finally, at the main fork branching off into the roads into Yoyogi Park and Meiji-Jingu Shrine, there were the various maids and goths getting their pictures taken by the tourists.
We were somehow able to get through the literal sea of humanity on Omotesando Dori although we did make a pit stop at this wedge-shaped sculpture spouting off water which amused the kids no end. Hubby was getting tense again since his buggy for the kids was squeaking something awful although I think it was bothering him far more than anyone else. But we managed to make it to the Children's Palace next to the U.N. University in Aoyama, just across from Aoyama Gakuin University. I'd always heard about this place but never been up there...for obvious reasons. Up on the roof, there was one of those huge jungle gyms with tons of crawlspaces and tunnels as if it had been designed by Escher. The kids naturally loved that, and then we downstairs to the tricycle-riding area. As is true with all tiny siblings, the brother made it his mission to try to ram his sister's vehicle. The sister, like any criminal mastermind, merely sped to the nearest empty trike for escape while bro struggled to maneuver his.
The too-good-to-be-true moment of tranquility was indeed that. When we got to the target pitching quarter, bro and sis got into a little battle which got bro into another crying jag and sis getting severely lectured at by momma which got sis into a "IT'S SO UNFAIR!!" weepie. I just kept myself apart from the family moment and hummed happy thoughts. However, the tension lasted for just a few minutes and by the time we got out at closing time, things were back to normal....for a young family, that is.
All of us trundled down to Shibuya trying to figure out what to have for dinner. The bro was seriously finicky with his fave food...which basically amounted to juice, plain white rice and chicken nuggets. TGIFridays came to mind before Hubby threw another condition which was he wanted to get to a true Japanese establishment. Luckily, thanks to Chip Guy's knowledge of Shibuyan restaurants, I knew about Toriyoshi, the izakaya that specializes in chicken dishes. Of course, we had to go through some more seas of humanity before we got there, no small feat with a giant stroller in tow. But we got there.
The maitre d' there seemed (I could be wrong) a little nonplussed to see us...probably our family status automatically signalled no heavy drinking which meant no big payday. In any case, that would've earned him a chintzy tip back in Toronto. Despite the presence of chicken, the bro was still plenty picky about what he liked. He wouldn't touch the yakitori and he demanded that the chicken wings, the piece de resistance of Toriyoshi, be shredded before eating them. And of course, once the meal was over for the kids, they started getting restless. Luckily, I had my crayons which I usually hold for Chip N' Dale...they took to them and the pieces of paper that The Dancer had like ducks to water. That got us down to some fairly peaceful eating.
On the way back to Shibuya Station, and after several hours of often volatile parenting, there was a bit of a victory of sorts. The son finally held my hand when I offered it to him since walking through Shibuya on a Sunday night was often intimidating for many adults let alone a 4-year-old kid. The little kid was finally warming up to me. And so, I was able to get everyone back in the right direction for home. The Dancer's family is a good one....and I'm happy to say that Hubby, despite his usual mild mannerisms, will brook no funny stuff from either of his children. Still, I was quite exhausted when I finally got home. At least, I'll get a week of recovery before I see the clan one more time before they head on out on the 16th.
Luckily, it's a light day today with only SIL and Mr. TOEIC at bat. The week itself will be a bit busier than last week since Speedy is heading on his long-awaited honeymoon. Basically, Thursday will be somewhat of a commuting elastic band. But with the increased Citizen's Tax payments and the dreaded NHI premiums coming up, any dribble of money stream will be welcomed.
Now, I know why I'll never willingly have kids. I met up with The Dancer's clan again yesterday for that day-long trip through Tokyo. Actually, we just traipsed through the trendy areas of Harajuku, Omotesando and Shibuya. The day was relatively cool and partially cloudy and sunny...which would work out well for our tempers. Actually, it was more for The Dancer's hubby's temper. The hubby's temper was tested last week at that game centre in Fujisawa when his young son pulled off a nasty temper tantrum. Yesterday, it was at Kiddyland, one of the major toy emporia in the world's biggest cities. Hubby was a bit nervous about what a visit to a toy store could do to a couple of kids....kinda like a ko-gal with a gold VISA card in Shibuya. Well, his fears were partially realized when his son demanded to get the most expensive Pokemon set in the store at the very real risk of creating a scene. Then, it was a number of small incidents at Shakey's Pizza next door which got Hubby's temperature rising, including when said son cried that he needed to go to the washroom just when poppa was finally able to tuck into this pizza.
I'd always thought it would be the opposite situation. The Dancer, whom I've known better than Hubby, was always the type to fly off the handle. I remember distinctly back at university when she got into a huge philosophical argument this side with Lou Dobbs with a Marxist-Leninist at Club Day, whereas Hubby was one of the most even-keeled folks I'd ever met. Yesterday, it was more of the Homer/Marge Simpson dynamic between the two.
After lunch, we all waded through the crowds in Harajuku and made our way into Yoyogi Park. I thought after almost 2 decades, those bizarre rockabilly dancers would have finally excised themselves, but there were still half a dozen men reliving the 50s, complete with leather, pompadours and sunglasses. In fact, we saw quite a few interesting examples of cultural colour in our half-hour trek through the park. There was the elderly fellow singing some sort of enka/minyo fusion just a few metres away from a couple of wannabe actresses hamming it up. Then there were the hip-hoppers with a couple of tap dancers hoofing away a la those guys from the final scene of Beat Takeshi's take on "Zatoichi". Some other guys were practicing flag-twirling while some avid otaku were flashing their cellphone cameras at some maid. There was even a real model getting shots taken by a professional crew. The Dancer remarked that the rockabilly guys were boring in comparison. Of course, the kids were oblivious to the scenes. Finally, at the main fork branching off into the roads into Yoyogi Park and Meiji-Jingu Shrine, there were the various maids and goths getting their pictures taken by the tourists.
We were somehow able to get through the literal sea of humanity on Omotesando Dori although we did make a pit stop at this wedge-shaped sculpture spouting off water which amused the kids no end. Hubby was getting tense again since his buggy for the kids was squeaking something awful although I think it was bothering him far more than anyone else. But we managed to make it to the Children's Palace next to the U.N. University in Aoyama, just across from Aoyama Gakuin University. I'd always heard about this place but never been up there...for obvious reasons. Up on the roof, there was one of those huge jungle gyms with tons of crawlspaces and tunnels as if it had been designed by Escher. The kids naturally loved that, and then we downstairs to the tricycle-riding area. As is true with all tiny siblings, the brother made it his mission to try to ram his sister's vehicle. The sister, like any criminal mastermind, merely sped to the nearest empty trike for escape while bro struggled to maneuver his.
The too-good-to-be-true moment of tranquility was indeed that. When we got to the target pitching quarter, bro and sis got into a little battle which got bro into another crying jag and sis getting severely lectured at by momma which got sis into a "IT'S SO UNFAIR!!" weepie. I just kept myself apart from the family moment and hummed happy thoughts. However, the tension lasted for just a few minutes and by the time we got out at closing time, things were back to normal....for a young family, that is.
All of us trundled down to Shibuya trying to figure out what to have for dinner. The bro was seriously finicky with his fave food...which basically amounted to juice, plain white rice and chicken nuggets. TGIFridays came to mind before Hubby threw another condition which was he wanted to get to a true Japanese establishment. Luckily, thanks to Chip Guy's knowledge of Shibuyan restaurants, I knew about Toriyoshi, the izakaya that specializes in chicken dishes. Of course, we had to go through some more seas of humanity before we got there, no small feat with a giant stroller in tow. But we got there.
The maitre d' there seemed (I could be wrong) a little nonplussed to see us...probably our family status automatically signalled no heavy drinking which meant no big payday. In any case, that would've earned him a chintzy tip back in Toronto. Despite the presence of chicken, the bro was still plenty picky about what he liked. He wouldn't touch the yakitori and he demanded that the chicken wings, the piece de resistance of Toriyoshi, be shredded before eating them. And of course, once the meal was over for the kids, they started getting restless. Luckily, I had my crayons which I usually hold for Chip N' Dale...they took to them and the pieces of paper that The Dancer had like ducks to water. That got us down to some fairly peaceful eating.
On the way back to Shibuya Station, and after several hours of often volatile parenting, there was a bit of a victory of sorts. The son finally held my hand when I offered it to him since walking through Shibuya on a Sunday night was often intimidating for many adults let alone a 4-year-old kid. The little kid was finally warming up to me. And so, I was able to get everyone back in the right direction for home. The Dancer's family is a good one....and I'm happy to say that Hubby, despite his usual mild mannerisms, will brook no funny stuff from either of his children. Still, I was quite exhausted when I finally got home. At least, I'll get a week of recovery before I see the clan one more time before they head on out on the 16th.
Luckily, it's a light day today with only SIL and Mr. TOEIC at bat. The week itself will be a bit busier than last week since Speedy is heading on his long-awaited honeymoon. Basically, Thursday will be somewhat of a commuting elastic band. But with the increased Citizen's Tax payments and the dreaded NHI premiums coming up, any dribble of money stream will be welcomed.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Saturday July 7, 4:44 p.m.
Well, I'm done for the day. Got through The Manhattanite and The Dentist. The Dentist had one of the more interesting stories this week. Her favourite oden restaurant's owners (the bossman also frequents the place) had just started a second branch in Kanda last week when a little gas accident basically totalled the entire place. No injuries but no insurance, either. That's a very fast way to throw away tons of money...faster than a few rounds of blackjack in Vegas. The Manhattanite will be making another appearance here late on Thursday night...which means I'll have to rush up from Ichigaya where I'm scheduled to teach The Carolinan and BC (provided that BC has recovered from her depression). It would be a long day on Thursday but I've got this rather huge gap in the schedule between 11:30 and 6:30, so I'm not really griping.
Supposedly, Live Earth Tokyo is booming along with some band called The Abingdon something or other right now. Those technopop dinosaurs, Yellow Magic Orchestra, are skedded to play as well. There was an an NHK 1-hour special (you Youtube guys have probably already put it out) last night on Sakamoto, Hosono and Takahashi with a performance. Yep, quite a lot of time has gone by. That was one of the tamest versions of "Cue" I'd ever heard. Quite a far cry from those slick modern Asian boys I saw thirty years ago on the stage.
Well, I'm done for the day. Got through The Manhattanite and The Dentist. The Dentist had one of the more interesting stories this week. Her favourite oden restaurant's owners (the bossman also frequents the place) had just started a second branch in Kanda last week when a little gas accident basically totalled the entire place. No injuries but no insurance, either. That's a very fast way to throw away tons of money...faster than a few rounds of blackjack in Vegas. The Manhattanite will be making another appearance here late on Thursday night...which means I'll have to rush up from Ichigaya where I'm scheduled to teach The Carolinan and BC (provided that BC has recovered from her depression). It would be a long day on Thursday but I've got this rather huge gap in the schedule between 11:30 and 6:30, so I'm not really griping.
Supposedly, Live Earth Tokyo is booming along with some band called The Abingdon something or other right now. Those technopop dinosaurs, Yellow Magic Orchestra, are skedded to play as well. There was an an NHK 1-hour special (you Youtube guys have probably already put it out) last night on Sakamoto, Hosono and Takahashi with a performance. Yep, quite a lot of time has gone by. That was one of the tamest versions of "Cue" I'd ever heard. Quite a far cry from those slick modern Asian boys I saw thirty years ago on the stage.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Saturday July 7, 1:34 p.m.
Well, today is Tanabata Day...the day when everyone dresses up in yukata and ties up little strips of colourful paper with their wishes written on them. I've already seen some of the young and old ladies wrapped up in their kimono today on the streets.
The Dancer finally did call this morning. Apparently, the cell phone died temporarily on the bullet train. But no problems here...I'm meeting the clan tomorrow morning at their apartment hotel in Roppongi and then we'll plan out the day's events. They did mention the possibility of going to Harajuku although I'm not sure what the kids would think. But there is the Kiddyland store not too far away.
The Lady called me this morning as well to cancel this Monday's class due to various ailments. She's got her shingles and The Matron has got another backache. And I may suffer some financial headaches if this continues. Not good considering I've gotta get my ticket for Hong Kong, the National Health Insurance premium schedule is due in this month, and I'll be treating The Dancer's family tomorrow.
However, I did see The Coffeemaker this morning. Tully is back in Japan but he's up in his home prefecture of Nagano to celebrate the remodeling of his family home with the rest of his clan. The Coffeemaker was in good form, as she usually is, and it was nice to have the basement of the cafe devoid of people for most of the hour.
I've got The Manhattanite for the first time in a few weeks here at Speedy's in a few minutes. I'll be lending her a CD called "Shipbuilding" by a Japanese collective called Tomita Lab which seems to specialize in bossa-tinged AOR type stuff. She's a fan of the J-reggae singer, Hanaregumi. He's got a contribution on the disc but it's rather different in tone from what he usually sings so I wanted to give her a listen to it. Then, I've got The Dentist for her 60.
I'm assuming the Live Earth concert has started in Makuhari Messe on schedule. I warned The Ace last night, since he's off doing some sort of qualification test in Chiba City today, that he could be surprised by a lot of kiddies on the train today heading to see Kumi Koda and all those other J-Pop singers. Speaking of Al Gore's musical magnum opus, I've been rather surprised at how controversial it's been. Apparently, Bob Geldof, the grandpa of all these benefit megaconcerts, has slammed the former VP for holding this supposedly ill-advised event. And certainly on CNN, there was no love lost for Gore. Glenn Beck, aka Paula Zahn's replacement, and a representataive of PETA actually agreed on the hypocrisy of this concert in that this concert will probably be pumping a planet's worth of carbon into the atmosphere and that tons of meat will be served which means that another ton of emissions will go into the air from the processing. Perhaps, it's just as well that Al said that he has fallen out of love with politics.
Anyways, got the Manhattanite...
Well, today is Tanabata Day...the day when everyone dresses up in yukata and ties up little strips of colourful paper with their wishes written on them. I've already seen some of the young and old ladies wrapped up in their kimono today on the streets.
The Dancer finally did call this morning. Apparently, the cell phone died temporarily on the bullet train. But no problems here...I'm meeting the clan tomorrow morning at their apartment hotel in Roppongi and then we'll plan out the day's events. They did mention the possibility of going to Harajuku although I'm not sure what the kids would think. But there is the Kiddyland store not too far away.
The Lady called me this morning as well to cancel this Monday's class due to various ailments. She's got her shingles and The Matron has got another backache. And I may suffer some financial headaches if this continues. Not good considering I've gotta get my ticket for Hong Kong, the National Health Insurance premium schedule is due in this month, and I'll be treating The Dancer's family tomorrow.
However, I did see The Coffeemaker this morning. Tully is back in Japan but he's up in his home prefecture of Nagano to celebrate the remodeling of his family home with the rest of his clan. The Coffeemaker was in good form, as she usually is, and it was nice to have the basement of the cafe devoid of people for most of the hour.
I've got The Manhattanite for the first time in a few weeks here at Speedy's in a few minutes. I'll be lending her a CD called "Shipbuilding" by a Japanese collective called Tomita Lab which seems to specialize in bossa-tinged AOR type stuff. She's a fan of the J-reggae singer, Hanaregumi. He's got a contribution on the disc but it's rather different in tone from what he usually sings so I wanted to give her a listen to it. Then, I've got The Dentist for her 60.
I'm assuming the Live Earth concert has started in Makuhari Messe on schedule. I warned The Ace last night, since he's off doing some sort of qualification test in Chiba City today, that he could be surprised by a lot of kiddies on the train today heading to see Kumi Koda and all those other J-Pop singers. Speaking of Al Gore's musical magnum opus, I've been rather surprised at how controversial it's been. Apparently, Bob Geldof, the grandpa of all these benefit megaconcerts, has slammed the former VP for holding this supposedly ill-advised event. And certainly on CNN, there was no love lost for Gore. Glenn Beck, aka Paula Zahn's replacement, and a representataive of PETA actually agreed on the hypocrisy of this concert in that this concert will probably be pumping a planet's worth of carbon into the atmosphere and that tons of meat will be served which means that another ton of emissions will go into the air from the processing. Perhaps, it's just as well that Al said that he has fallen out of love with politics.
Anyways, got the Manhattanite...
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Friday July 6, 1:26 p.m.
The Nurse had her best day as a student here today. She was just spot-on and trying so hard. All of us had to try hard trying to get a slot for her for the next, next class though. I may have done my faux pas of the week when I suggested she could come in on the 21st, a Saturday, since I do have that dreaded DVD lesson. However, both the boss and The Admin kinda froze; apparently, The Nurse has paid for weekday lessons only so basically if she does in on the 21st, she would have to pay extra but Speedy said that he would waive it...just for her. Well, I've said that I have little interest in the business side of things...only interested in making sure the students are happy with their lessons.
Well, I've checked all of my sources. The Dancer has not checked in. So I guess I'll be heading back home for yet another dinner in my place...twice in a row. That's some sort of record. Plus, I did get some of the curricula stuff done so I'm not feeling too guilty.
At the risk of letting my ridiculously long multi-coloured scarf show, I've reading up on the latest "Doctor Who" news on Outpost Gallifrey. It seems as if the BBC flagship show has been starting to attract some pretty big stars a la "24". Sir Derek Jacobi had his few minutes in the sci-fi sun as The Master, Kylie Minogue will be showing up in the season premiere on Xmas Day, and now the rumours are flying about that Hollywood hard guy, Dennis Hopper, may be popping up. Of course, all of us are probably holding our breath (for a few seconds) at that news. I'm just trying to imagine all that in my mind...an actor who's been in everything from the original "Twilight Zone" to "Blue Velvet" to Japanese commercials for bath salts to the first season of "24" is gonna be starring next to Everyone's Favourite Time Lord in Season 4. All I can say is that if Hopper does indeed come to The Beeb, I'll be awaiting Leonard Nimoy's cameo. And hey, Paris (pre-convict) Hilton mentioned the good Doctor in an SNL skit.
Speaking of which...I guess "Heroes" has become TV's version of a sci-fi convention. Not only do we have an otaku as the star of the show, but we've also got Mr. Sulu as his Dad and Chris Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor) as another mutant. Plus, apparently, Eric (brother of Julia and The Master in the 1996 Who movie) Roberts is popping up as another character there. I guess it's not surprising but American TV has been promising more of these eerie SF/superhero shows for the fall lineup. It'll be a duckshoot whether any of them survive the current boom.
The bottom line, though, is that The Entrepreneur has taped the first three eps of Season 3 for me and so, I should be expecting a little package by mid-August. I will now hide the scarf.
Anyways, I'm done here. One more check of the e-mail and I'm outta here.
The Nurse had her best day as a student here today. She was just spot-on and trying so hard. All of us had to try hard trying to get a slot for her for the next, next class though. I may have done my faux pas of the week when I suggested she could come in on the 21st, a Saturday, since I do have that dreaded DVD lesson. However, both the boss and The Admin kinda froze; apparently, The Nurse has paid for weekday lessons only so basically if she does in on the 21st, she would have to pay extra but Speedy said that he would waive it...just for her. Well, I've said that I have little interest in the business side of things...only interested in making sure the students are happy with their lessons.
Well, I've checked all of my sources. The Dancer has not checked in. So I guess I'll be heading back home for yet another dinner in my place...twice in a row. That's some sort of record. Plus, I did get some of the curricula stuff done so I'm not feeling too guilty.
At the risk of letting my ridiculously long multi-coloured scarf show, I've reading up on the latest "Doctor Who" news on Outpost Gallifrey. It seems as if the BBC flagship show has been starting to attract some pretty big stars a la "24". Sir Derek Jacobi had his few minutes in the sci-fi sun as The Master, Kylie Minogue will be showing up in the season premiere on Xmas Day, and now the rumours are flying about that Hollywood hard guy, Dennis Hopper, may be popping up. Of course, all of us are probably holding our breath (for a few seconds) at that news. I'm just trying to imagine all that in my mind...an actor who's been in everything from the original "Twilight Zone" to "Blue Velvet" to Japanese commercials for bath salts to the first season of "24" is gonna be starring next to Everyone's Favourite Time Lord in Season 4. All I can say is that if Hopper does indeed come to The Beeb, I'll be awaiting Leonard Nimoy's cameo. And hey, Paris (pre-convict) Hilton mentioned the good Doctor in an SNL skit.
Speaking of which...I guess "Heroes" has become TV's version of a sci-fi convention. Not only do we have an otaku as the star of the show, but we've also got Mr. Sulu as his Dad and Chris Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor) as another mutant. Plus, apparently, Eric (brother of Julia and The Master in the 1996 Who movie) Roberts is popping up as another character there. I guess it's not surprising but American TV has been promising more of these eerie SF/superhero shows for the fall lineup. It'll be a duckshoot whether any of them survive the current boom.
The bottom line, though, is that The Entrepreneur has taped the first three eps of Season 3 for me and so, I should be expecting a little package by mid-August. I will now hide the scarf.
Anyways, I'm done here. One more check of the e-mail and I'm outta here.
Friday July 6, 9:28 a.m.
Last night was a refreshing one, devoid of any classes. Just had that rare Takaaki Ishibashi night ("Utaban" on TBS at 8, and then his flagship show, "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage deshita") on Fuji-TV at 9. Plus, some major ironing.
I still have yet to hear from The Dancer despite sending an e-mail over to her yesterday. So, I may assume that we aren't gonna meet today...which isn't too bad for me. I'll just have my lesson with The Nurse, do a bit of curricula and then head on home until it's time for The Ace tonight. I'm actually feeling fairly sprightly this morning since I decided to hit the hay early last night at the Spanish dinner hour of 10 and then wake up at 6 this morning.
I've been hearing about Al Gore's (BTW, way to go on raising that neer-do-well son of yours, Al) Live Earth concerts for the past few weeks and was wondering when they would be hitting play. Well, goofy me. I just read in "The Japan Times" that they launch tomorrow. The Tokyo base will be having their contribution to the cause in Makuhari Messe...not exactly in my neighbourhood, but pretty darn close. Makuhari Messe is that convention complex in Chiba which reminds me of what the guys on "Logan's Run" or "Rollerball" could've been envisioning as a utopian/dystopian environment of the future....all white gleaming metal and concrete to reflect all that horrible heat right into the air. I couldn't think of a more ironic place to hold a concert devoted to solving the world's environmental problems. Still, I think the concert will have a who's who of J-Pop history: current flavour-of-the-semi-decade Kumi Koda will be strutting her stuff in as little as possible, and I think even technopop legends YMO will have a hand in the proceedings. I'll have to play my "Rydeen" in tribute....never could figure out what the title meant. I guess it's like Phil Collins' "Sussudio".
Yesterday was also the final day of the current session of the Diet. The Upper House President, retiring pol Chikage Ogi (a former Takarazuka Revue star...and absolutely looks it), gave her best Queen Victoria impression with her verbal "We're not amused" reprimand to the senators for some of the problems over the past few months. I'd say that PM Abe and his LDP may be looking at a rather tough 2 weeks of campaigning starting from late next week....let's see, three ministerial resignations since he started his new job in September (well, two resignations and one suicide), a political fire to put out when one minister called women "baby-making machines", and then there is the little issue of that pension record snafu with a capital "F". As many 50 million records screwed and possibly lost forever...those are a lot of angry voters.
Still, the current political situation here in Japan is rather interesting. Unlike in the US where voters will throw out someone they don't like often enough (re: the last midterm elections), Japanese voters tend to go with the devil they know rather than the devil they don't. And since politicians kinda rank down there with yakuza and pedophiles, PM Abe may only have that security blanket to go with to keep the coalition majority in the Senate.
And the headaches continue....newly-minted Defense Minister Yuriko Koike already has a small crisis to handle. Looks like some hot-headed USN seaman ended up stabbing two young Japanese women in his apartment yesterday.
Well, the Nurse should be here any minute....
Last night was a refreshing one, devoid of any classes. Just had that rare Takaaki Ishibashi night ("Utaban" on TBS at 8, and then his flagship show, "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage deshita") on Fuji-TV at 9. Plus, some major ironing.
I still have yet to hear from The Dancer despite sending an e-mail over to her yesterday. So, I may assume that we aren't gonna meet today...which isn't too bad for me. I'll just have my lesson with The Nurse, do a bit of curricula and then head on home until it's time for The Ace tonight. I'm actually feeling fairly sprightly this morning since I decided to hit the hay early last night at the Spanish dinner hour of 10 and then wake up at 6 this morning.
I've been hearing about Al Gore's (BTW, way to go on raising that neer-do-well son of yours, Al) Live Earth concerts for the past few weeks and was wondering when they would be hitting play. Well, goofy me. I just read in "The Japan Times" that they launch tomorrow. The Tokyo base will be having their contribution to the cause in Makuhari Messe...not exactly in my neighbourhood, but pretty darn close. Makuhari Messe is that convention complex in Chiba which reminds me of what the guys on "Logan's Run" or "Rollerball" could've been envisioning as a utopian/dystopian environment of the future....all white gleaming metal and concrete to reflect all that horrible heat right into the air. I couldn't think of a more ironic place to hold a concert devoted to solving the world's environmental problems. Still, I think the concert will have a who's who of J-Pop history: current flavour-of-the-semi-decade Kumi Koda will be strutting her stuff in as little as possible, and I think even technopop legends YMO will have a hand in the proceedings. I'll have to play my "Rydeen" in tribute....never could figure out what the title meant. I guess it's like Phil Collins' "Sussudio".
Yesterday was also the final day of the current session of the Diet. The Upper House President, retiring pol Chikage Ogi (a former Takarazuka Revue star...and absolutely looks it), gave her best Queen Victoria impression with her verbal "We're not amused" reprimand to the senators for some of the problems over the past few months. I'd say that PM Abe and his LDP may be looking at a rather tough 2 weeks of campaigning starting from late next week....let's see, three ministerial resignations since he started his new job in September (well, two resignations and one suicide), a political fire to put out when one minister called women "baby-making machines", and then there is the little issue of that pension record snafu with a capital "F". As many 50 million records screwed and possibly lost forever...those are a lot of angry voters.
Still, the current political situation here in Japan is rather interesting. Unlike in the US where voters will throw out someone they don't like often enough (re: the last midterm elections), Japanese voters tend to go with the devil they know rather than the devil they don't. And since politicians kinda rank down there with yakuza and pedophiles, PM Abe may only have that security blanket to go with to keep the coalition majority in the Senate.
And the headaches continue....newly-minted Defense Minister Yuriko Koike already has a small crisis to handle. Looks like some hot-headed USN seaman ended up stabbing two young Japanese women in his apartment yesterday.
Well, the Nurse should be here any minute....
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Thursday July 5, 12:46 p.m.
One of those warm & sunny summer days. Just had 002 for her 60...nice solo class. If I had only one class to teach for the day, hers would be it. And sure enough, I just have that class today. I decided to eschew the movie outing today since I would've had to wait until 3 to see "The Prestige"; I guess I'll have to wait for the DVD instead. So, just had a ramen lunch at the place just under my station. I don't have to worry about inflicting my breath or body odor to a poor student from the garlic broth or getting bloated during sleep.
I sent out mail to The Dancer to see what the clan is up to tomorrow when they return to Tokyo. I've got several hours between The Nurse at Speedy's and The Ace at the juku. I've got a feeling for the kids' sake, we'll be hitting the Coldstone Ice Cream Shop near their apartment hotel in Roppongi.
Speedy came into the room when 001 and I were just about to start our lesson. Both of us knew there was gonna be a spiel, and sure enough, he wanted to get our bodies over to the next little bit of restaurant hopping on the 28th...this time, for summer purposes, it will be a beer garden in Ebisu Garden Place. Speedy used all his charm to draw 001 with promises of much flowing alcohol, and I thought that just maybe she would actually take him up on the offer. However, 002 informed me that she hadn't received any e-mail from 001 about the party so basically she's gonna let it slide. I wasn't planning on going either since I don't go for large parties anymore, and I know that 001 isn't too keen on them either. The final nail in the coffin was 002's statement that she would have to do something rather early on the 29th so she wouldn't be going.
Anyways, that's it for now...
One of those warm & sunny summer days. Just had 002 for her 60...nice solo class. If I had only one class to teach for the day, hers would be it. And sure enough, I just have that class today. I decided to eschew the movie outing today since I would've had to wait until 3 to see "The Prestige"; I guess I'll have to wait for the DVD instead. So, just had a ramen lunch at the place just under my station. I don't have to worry about inflicting my breath or body odor to a poor student from the garlic broth or getting bloated during sleep.
I sent out mail to The Dancer to see what the clan is up to tomorrow when they return to Tokyo. I've got several hours between The Nurse at Speedy's and The Ace at the juku. I've got a feeling for the kids' sake, we'll be hitting the Coldstone Ice Cream Shop near their apartment hotel in Roppongi.
Speedy came into the room when 001 and I were just about to start our lesson. Both of us knew there was gonna be a spiel, and sure enough, he wanted to get our bodies over to the next little bit of restaurant hopping on the 28th...this time, for summer purposes, it will be a beer garden in Ebisu Garden Place. Speedy used all his charm to draw 001 with promises of much flowing alcohol, and I thought that just maybe she would actually take him up on the offer. However, 002 informed me that she hadn't received any e-mail from 001 about the party so basically she's gonna let it slide. I wasn't planning on going either since I don't go for large parties anymore, and I know that 001 isn't too keen on them either. The final nail in the coffin was 002's statement that she would have to do something rather early on the 29th so she wouldn't be going.
Anyways, that's it for now...
Wednesday July 4, 5:00 p.m.
Happy 4th of July to the Americans! Hopefully, the only fireworks you see later tonight are the officially sanctioned ones instead of the Al Qaeda ones. Interesting...with all of the hoopla in the States and the UK with the Blair-Brown transition, the Glasgow Airport bombing, the Scooter Libby commutation and now with the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnson, it's all too easy to miss some of the local scandals.
For instance, this political season should be called Fall instead of Summer...as in Fall of Ministers. PM Abe must be hitting the ulcer medicine something hard after his third member of Cabinet decided to fall on his sword...this time, figuratively. Defense Minister Kyuma resigned yesterday after having made the rather major faux pas of telling an audience his personal truth instead of the official or people's truth. He inferred that it had been inevitable that the US would nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Personally, I have no problems with his opinion; perhaps, the A-bomb was needed to finish off WWII once and for all without having to sacrifice even more lives on both American and Japanese sides as had happened for the Battle for Okinawa some weeks earlier. Still, try giving that explanation to all the hibakusha who are still living and who are still suffering over 60 years later.
So, Kyuma joins the late Minister of Agriculture Matsuoka (suicide) and another minister by the name of Sada (scandal) on the scrap heap of disgraced Cabinet members. But the fun hasn't stopped...the new Defense Minister happens to be a former TV Tokyo broadcaster and a woman to boot, Yuriko Koike. Shinzo Abe must be wondering if any more wheels are gonna be falling off before the Upper House elections in a few weeks.
Yesterday was a typical Tuesday in Mister Canuck's Neighbourhood. Met up with The Beehive at Ms. Perth's apartment. As was expected, a lot of the conversation entailed Ms. Travel's latest adventure...this time in the Himalayas. She certainly had a glimpse of a different world: her destination was totally isolated with destitute people and treacherous roads. I almost envisioned her with a dusty fedora on her head, a whip in her hand and a John Williams soundtrack behind her. We also talked about the soon-to-be departing Ms. Perth's new home in Sapporo. It looks like The Class Act may not be the only group of students who I may be conducting large-scale field trips with. With luck, a trip to the Snow Festival in February may be in order.
The latest round of juku classes was interesting. Chip N' Dale were fine, Seven gave me her usual tribute of confections (this time, it was candied potato sticks) and even The Milds gave me an omiyage in the form of baked chocolate cookies from Shimane Prefecture after their weekend up there. In fact, I also did get an ochugen gift from Seven's mother as well...nice to be a teacher at times.
But the classes of note last night were the last two with The Siberian and Jolly. On Canada Day, The Siberian and a fellow student from his university had entered a Chinese-singing contest in Shin-Okubo. The two had been practicing their tune for a few hours 2 or 3 times a week in the local karaoke box with the shocking result that they actually took the top prize in Tokyo. And so in about 6 weeks, they'll be heading over to Beijing to enter the final stage in China's nationwide singing contest. If they take that crown, then they have their song officially stamped onto CDs for national distribution. I cracked that they could become the nation's equivalent of The Carpenters. The Siberian has always had a facility with foreign languages but he's said that trying to sing the Chinese language was quite a throat-shredding affair.
Then, Jolly told me of his culinary adventure when he and his boss had wined n' dined two clients last week at this pricey Akasaka steakhouse called Lowry's. Yes, it's the same Lowry's that takes care of the salt and pepper business. Jolly, not exactly a petit person, tackled a 1.5 kg steak. Even in this era of big eating in Tokyo did I imagine that a steakhouse would serve a hunk of beef that big in this country. His boss and clients looked on with a mixture of awe and perhaps disgust as my student managed to put away 80% of this former cow. He didn't have many regrets about leaving the 20% since it wasn't his yen. Being a settai, the very hefty bill (probably tens of thousands of yen) is now in the hands of Jolly's accounting department. I'm rather surprised that he hadn't heard of the Outback or Tony Roma's so I recommended them although he may be disappointed in the rather "paltry" portions there.
Today is one of this week's light days. I just have 001 as the lone student on my schedule. I got that haircut this morning for the first time in 3 months. My do was getting quite shaggy. And I finished off the last of Season 2 of "Doctor Who" on the video tape. As I was telling my kind benefactor for the tape, The Entrepreneur, the final parting of the ways between The Doctor and Rose Tyler was chock-full of sappy melodrama as the very first companion of the new series sobbed an ocean's worth of brine and gasping her admission of love for him. That sort of thing never happened in the original series. It was always a pretty stoic scene: the Doctor and imminently-to-be-former companion finish off another breathtaking adventure in the TARDIS with the latter stating that it was time for him or her to leave while everyone's favourite Time Lord would wave him or her goodbye and be off into the vortex without any time for any major emotional upheaval. I could imagine a number of the old fans sticking their fingers down their craw in ewwwww disgust when Billie Piper signed off. Still, just loved the exchange of insults between The Daleks and The Cybermen.
Well, 001 should be just around the corner...
Happy 4th of July to the Americans! Hopefully, the only fireworks you see later tonight are the officially sanctioned ones instead of the Al Qaeda ones. Interesting...with all of the hoopla in the States and the UK with the Blair-Brown transition, the Glasgow Airport bombing, the Scooter Libby commutation and now with the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnson, it's all too easy to miss some of the local scandals.
For instance, this political season should be called Fall instead of Summer...as in Fall of Ministers. PM Abe must be hitting the ulcer medicine something hard after his third member of Cabinet decided to fall on his sword...this time, figuratively. Defense Minister Kyuma resigned yesterday after having made the rather major faux pas of telling an audience his personal truth instead of the official or people's truth. He inferred that it had been inevitable that the US would nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Personally, I have no problems with his opinion; perhaps, the A-bomb was needed to finish off WWII once and for all without having to sacrifice even more lives on both American and Japanese sides as had happened for the Battle for Okinawa some weeks earlier. Still, try giving that explanation to all the hibakusha who are still living and who are still suffering over 60 years later.
So, Kyuma joins the late Minister of Agriculture Matsuoka (suicide) and another minister by the name of Sada (scandal) on the scrap heap of disgraced Cabinet members. But the fun hasn't stopped...the new Defense Minister happens to be a former TV Tokyo broadcaster and a woman to boot, Yuriko Koike. Shinzo Abe must be wondering if any more wheels are gonna be falling off before the Upper House elections in a few weeks.
Yesterday was a typical Tuesday in Mister Canuck's Neighbourhood. Met up with The Beehive at Ms. Perth's apartment. As was expected, a lot of the conversation entailed Ms. Travel's latest adventure...this time in the Himalayas. She certainly had a glimpse of a different world: her destination was totally isolated with destitute people and treacherous roads. I almost envisioned her with a dusty fedora on her head, a whip in her hand and a John Williams soundtrack behind her. We also talked about the soon-to-be departing Ms. Perth's new home in Sapporo. It looks like The Class Act may not be the only group of students who I may be conducting large-scale field trips with. With luck, a trip to the Snow Festival in February may be in order.
The latest round of juku classes was interesting. Chip N' Dale were fine, Seven gave me her usual tribute of confections (this time, it was candied potato sticks) and even The Milds gave me an omiyage in the form of baked chocolate cookies from Shimane Prefecture after their weekend up there. In fact, I also did get an ochugen gift from Seven's mother as well...nice to be a teacher at times.
But the classes of note last night were the last two with The Siberian and Jolly. On Canada Day, The Siberian and a fellow student from his university had entered a Chinese-singing contest in Shin-Okubo. The two had been practicing their tune for a few hours 2 or 3 times a week in the local karaoke box with the shocking result that they actually took the top prize in Tokyo. And so in about 6 weeks, they'll be heading over to Beijing to enter the final stage in China's nationwide singing contest. If they take that crown, then they have their song officially stamped onto CDs for national distribution. I cracked that they could become the nation's equivalent of The Carpenters. The Siberian has always had a facility with foreign languages but he's said that trying to sing the Chinese language was quite a throat-shredding affair.
Then, Jolly told me of his culinary adventure when he and his boss had wined n' dined two clients last week at this pricey Akasaka steakhouse called Lowry's. Yes, it's the same Lowry's that takes care of the salt and pepper business. Jolly, not exactly a petit person, tackled a 1.5 kg steak. Even in this era of big eating in Tokyo did I imagine that a steakhouse would serve a hunk of beef that big in this country. His boss and clients looked on with a mixture of awe and perhaps disgust as my student managed to put away 80% of this former cow. He didn't have many regrets about leaving the 20% since it wasn't his yen. Being a settai, the very hefty bill (probably tens of thousands of yen) is now in the hands of Jolly's accounting department. I'm rather surprised that he hadn't heard of the Outback or Tony Roma's so I recommended them although he may be disappointed in the rather "paltry" portions there.
Today is one of this week's light days. I just have 001 as the lone student on my schedule. I got that haircut this morning for the first time in 3 months. My do was getting quite shaggy. And I finished off the last of Season 2 of "Doctor Who" on the video tape. As I was telling my kind benefactor for the tape, The Entrepreneur, the final parting of the ways between The Doctor and Rose Tyler was chock-full of sappy melodrama as the very first companion of the new series sobbed an ocean's worth of brine and gasping her admission of love for him. That sort of thing never happened in the original series. It was always a pretty stoic scene: the Doctor and imminently-to-be-former companion finish off another breathtaking adventure in the TARDIS with the latter stating that it was time for him or her to leave while everyone's favourite Time Lord would wave him or her goodbye and be off into the vortex without any time for any major emotional upheaval. I could imagine a number of the old fans sticking their fingers down their craw in ewwwww disgust when Billie Piper signed off. Still, just loved the exchange of insults between The Daleks and The Cybermen.
Well, 001 should be just around the corner...
Monday, July 02, 2007
Monday July 2, 7:43 p.m.
Got through with my second lesson with The Full-Timer. She had a bit of a tough time applying the Past Perfect, so I gently led her into the topic of her upcoming trip to Thailand in a few days. She's a veteran of the place so she shouldn't have any major problems...barring any coup d'etats.
Looks like Mr. TOEIC will be showing up as scheduled. Haven't heard any sudden cancellations on the phone.
That gigantic cinnamon roll from The Doughnut Plant should be categorized as a smart bomb. I'd thought it was fairly light going down but I guess absorbent should be the more appropriate adjective. I feel rather bloated right now so that a few small pieces of sushi and some Pringles is all I can take in at this time.
Got through with my second lesson with The Full-Timer. She had a bit of a tough time applying the Past Perfect, so I gently led her into the topic of her upcoming trip to Thailand in a few days. She's a veteran of the place so she shouldn't have any major problems...barring any coup d'etats.
Looks like Mr. TOEIC will be showing up as scheduled. Haven't heard any sudden cancellations on the phone.
That gigantic cinnamon roll from The Doughnut Plant should be categorized as a smart bomb. I'd thought it was fairly light going down but I guess absorbent should be the more appropriate adjective. I feel rather bloated right now so that a few small pieces of sushi and some Pringles is all I can take in at this time.