Saturday October 3, 10:07 a.m.

The feeling among some Tokyoites today might be similar to the tone of "Casey at the Bat", in which The Big Sushi must feel like Mudville. Yep, after years of hoopla and having to hear Governor Shintaro Ishihara's stentorian and strident demands for an Olympics in 2016 in his fair city, the largest city on the planet got the ultimate thumbs-down from the IOC early this morning in Copenhagen.

To be honest, there was no surprise from me on that point. Tokyo's support rate for The Games from its own citizens was the lowest of the 4 cities bidding for 2016 at 72%. But even that percentage seemed quite a bit overinflated considering the very tepid...cool...response from their own residents. There was never a huge upswell of emotion for The Games in the past few years, and it only seemed within the last couple of weeks that even the media and any athletes showed any real passion to get them. In the last couple of days, I saw Sydney 2000 Women's Marathon winner Naoko Takahashi and Hammer Throw champ Murofushi finally come out to cheer on the bid...where were they months or years ago?

Back in the early 60s, when Tokyo did host The Games, the metropolis, and the entire country for that matter, had something to prove by getting The Olympics. Japan had spent nearly 2 decades in getting out of the shadow of World War II, and the '64 Games were the debutante ball. There isn't really anything for this metropolis to prove today...outside of slapping on some solar panels on a stadium. Tokyo continues to metamorphasize, with or without a major sports event as impetus, and the country's athletes show up at just about every international competition around the planet. As for the lack of passion within the city...well, that's just comes with the territory, societally speaking. Japanese on an individual level can be just as berating, weeping and explosively humourous as anyone else. But when it comes to the society at large, they become the equivalent of the polite, demure spinster at a tea party. It would take something on the level of a stinging defeat from a war to shake societal passion from them.

I didn't wait until the 1:50 a.m. JST announcement of Rio getting the Olympics. Have classes to teach, y'know. However, I did get one of two surprises live at about 11:30 p.m. Chicago got ousted in the very first round. The media had been reporting that The Windy City was one of the two favourites. And there was nothing like the Obama Factor to help kick in a bit more juice into the bidding. But President Jacques Rogge didn't feel the love from The City of Da Bulls, deep-dish pizza and jazz, and it got the bum's rush. One of the truly rare sights is to see a crowd in a major American city left speechless...I got that sight last night on CNN. I found out this morning from its website that the support rate there had probably always been inflated, too. I'd heard percentages like 92%...but it was actually more like 55%. Ouch!

The only other surprise was finding out that Governor Ishihara could actually speak fluent English. I'm sure the next week will have me finding some sympathy for his direct staff as he probably mutters and screams in two languages at City Hall.

So, all those banners that had been hanging throughout Tokyo for the past several months will come on down....perhaps to become someone's dusty memento in a closet along with Nagoya's 1988 poster and the one for Osaka some years ago. There is no joy in Tokyo today...for some people. But the rest of us will go on quite well without the Olympics, thank you.

Thursday October 1, 8:23 p.m.

Looks like my ode to Chudleigh's got some notice from one of my Mixi friends...the one who's the huge "Doctor Who" fan. It was a pretty rich description, rich enough to match the consistency of a Chudleigh's pie crust. I did get my compliments from her. She couldn't quite understand my phrase of a burstworthy apple pie so I sent her the web address of the Chudleigh's website showing one of their magnificent pies; she should get a pretty good idea from that.

When it rains, it pours...I now not only have a rental contract to translate by next Wednesday for Shrek, but The Corner has just sent me an e-mail after several weeks to ask me to translate one page from their own site. Luckily, that page is nowhere near the monster that the ceramics project was. Still, I can't get upset about the increase in work, especially that powwow earlier today with Speedy about the declining fortunes of the school. And speaking about the boss, he gave me the direction I needed with that Eiken 1 project. I also now have inherited his two students, The Magician and The German, who I've taught in the past.

Saw The New Yorker. May have to think more about having her classes in the late afternoon rather than in the mid-afternoon. The Tully's there seems to be more amenable for conversation classes at 5. The only problem is that getting back to Speedy's on the Shinjuku and Oedo Lines is an exercise in Hell.

Thursday October 1, 3:29 p.m.

Well, it didn't quite come out right but at least the object is still showing. That might look like a dish of sliced peaches, but it sure ain't. That, my friends, is a plate of hoya shiokara...in plain English, it's Sea Squirt Innards. Perhaps if you haven't gagged, then you don't know what it is. Let me elucidate. Sea Squirt is basically an upright Sea Cucumber....just a living tube from the bottom of the ocean.

Never had the stuff before so The Bohemian and I ordered a plate of it. The stuff was so salty that we automatically ordered another couple of bottles of Asahi Dry...now I know the restaurant's secret weapon to get people to drink. Not something that I would order again initially.

However, I did wax poetic over at Mixi about the wonders of one of the few consistently happy memories from my childhood...Chudleigh's Apple Farm in Milton, Ontario. If anything says Fall in Ontario, it is this place. My family used to go there like clockwork every October to pick up a ton of apples from the trees. The mornings were always the same...cool, sunny and crisp just like a Red Delicious. And then there was the visit to the local farmhouse and shop with the aromas of hot apple cider and warm apple pie wafting into our nostrils. I was virtually heady and floating in the air on that stuff. The crumble top apple pie was, and is, especially the favorite. If there is one thing I miss about Autumn in Toronto, it is these yearly visits for apple picking.

Thursday October 1, 2:23 p.m.

Speedy brought me in for a small tete-a-tete...nothing particularly new, just that the school has fallen on hard times. Apparently, the bossman got an earful from the investors on how the bottom line has been sagging this past year, so there will be a few changes in store in the foreseeable future. Obviously the economy has been a major factor but also it seems that the freelance teachers-and-cafes format has also taken a few chunks out of us...and since that would include me, the bossman shot one across my bow by asking that I ramp up my ball game whenever I'm in the school.

Thursday October 1, 9:14 a.m.

Hadn't had one of these early wake-up calls in a while. Felt like it, too. I hit the hay at about 11:30...got up at 5, and just felt really woozy. Had to eat a pre-breakfast of cereal and blueberry juice before I left the apartment, so my eyes were feeling pretty perky; unfortunately, the rest of my body had to wait until I got the McBreakfast near the school.

It'll be another Donut Day. I have The Nurse in about 45 minutes and then nothing til The New Yorker at 5 and finally The Music Man at 9:15 tonight. Since Miss Sedona cancelled her lesson today, the donut hole is that much wider now. But I should have plenty on my plate. Shrek sent me an entire rental contract to be translated via fax so when I got home last night, there was a bunch of fax paper reamed right out of my phone. I did a contract for The Corner last year so I have the experience; all I need to know is how fast Shrek needs the translation. Then, I've got this guy in Eastern Europe who's studying over there and needs to have some proofreading done for his thesis. He had sent a sample earlier in the week...he definitely has the vocabulary but his structure is a bit haphazard, something that theses can't afford to be. And then there is Cozy and his request for classes. He's asked for either early mornings or evenings. Well, the latter option is off the table for obvious reasons so I may be seeing McBreakfasts on a more regular basis.

Well, tomorrow (or actually, Saturday morning at 1, local time) will have the IOC decide on which city will get the 2016 Olympics. Will it be Tokyo, Chicago, Madrid or Rio de Janeiro? The good money is probably on Barack Obama's neck of the woods since it has the highest local support at 92% and of course, it just simply has Obama behind it. I've been rather ambivalent about it. Tokyo's got the lowest support rate at 72%...still not bad, almost 3 out of 4 people want the Games here. But The Big Sushi has also got the advantage that it is, bar none, the safest big city, not only of the 4 applicants, but in the world, period. Still, I think the folks here are rather leery about having to entertain the entire world for 2 weeks. A lot of folks have been talking about just vamoosing into the countryside for that fortnight in 2016.

I finally got that condolence card done up for my late uncle's wife. Man, it wasn't easy to pick out the right words and write them down in kanji, especially when I'd only met the man 2 or 3 times in my life. Still, once I finish with The Nurse today, I'll head on out to the post office.

Wednesday September 30, 8:40 p.m.

Yup, that's the fare I had with the juku boss and Cozy back on Sunday at Sazanka, that swanky restaurant up at the top of the Hotel East 21 in Toyocho. The sushi platter is on the left while there was some truly tender grilled beef on the right. I think that was the winning dish for me.

001 came in, and it was the usual fun and games. She had a fine time in Australia and she actually missed out on the orange sandstorms in Sydney by just a few days. It was quite the hike for her up Ayer's Rock, though, since she had to scale slopes as sharp as 53 degrees for the first leg. Speedy the school got some Macadamia Chocolates while I personally received some Emu Jerky...somewhat more tender than the usual beef variety. I had to relay the bad news to her that I wouldn't be coming to 002's party this coming Sunday although I didn't mention anything about the current troubles I have with 002. 001 looked disappointed but I'm just not too interested in anything to do with my former student right now.

For some reason, it would seem that I've suddenly been getting some requests for teaching and proofreading over the past few weeks. A friend of a friend has asked me for some proofreading work of his academic thesis (not sure if that's gonna come about as of yet since he's asked me for my credentials, and I told him that I'd never really tackled anything as big as a thesis before), Cozy has asked me to teach him from next month, Swank has returned to the fold, and even Shrek has asked for my translation services (also iffy since it's legalese and his minders want it quick). I wonder if that means that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I've got that card of condolences all made up and ready to go; just have to address the envelope.

Wednesday September 30, 4:53 p.m.

Getting some steady rain...a bit of a relief since this month has been rather dry. Nice to get some precip.

Not exactly back to Hump Day levels, but I do have 001 back from Australia. And that will be all she wrote for today's lessons. However, it should be interesting to find out if she had been engulfed in all that red dust which choked Sydney last week.

My SOS to my Mixi friends about what to write for my late uncle brought in a number of useful replies. I've actually written a rough draft which should be good enough to transcribe into good onto the card. The juku boss told me last night that even native Japanese sweat blood trying to think up of the best words to put down in such situations. In a way, I am glad that I didn't have to go to the funeral.

Miss Sedona has once again cancelled her lesson for tomorrow morning. I have a feeling that she wants to cut her final class as close as possible to her departure date in October so she doesn't have to put herself under any pressure about renewing for a few more lessons.

We had tsunami alerts all along the Pacific coast this morning due to that massive quake in American Samoa. It's pretty rare to get tsunami warnings here and at this point, the rise in water levels should only get up to 50 cm at most.

I had The Milds for their last lesson before Mr. Mild has his debut as a chorus singer this Sunday in Urayasu. He's got his fair share of butterflies in his stomach...a slang term that I did dutifully teach in last night's lesson.

Anyways, I should finish up that card of condolence.

Monday September 28, 3:29 p.m.

It was a dinner-out weekend. Saturday was with The Bohemian; it was the first time having dinner with him in over 6 months. The Bohemian has on-and-off days. On his off days, he can be cheerfully (to him) and offensively (to me) racist, anti-Semitic, sexist and borderline pedophilic after which I would rather not see him for a very long time. Luckily, Saturday night was him on his on day. He was better, although some of his anti-Semitism did manage to leak out. We had dinner in Shibuya near the new Yamada Denki in a basement izakaya. Of course, The Bohemian chose a place that had an all-you-can-drink option for 2 hours. The food there was pretty good, although the hoya shiokara (sea squirt in innards sauce) was way too salty. There was also the ad running about the 10th being an anniversary celebration so that there will be a 2,000-yen all-you-can-eat as well. Since The Bohemian behaved himself, I may take him up on his offer to head there again with him. He also said that he would like to bring over some of his other Mixi friends.

The other outing last night was with more stable folks: the juku boss and Cozy. Like last year, it was at the East 21 Hotel near Toyocho Station. Unlike last year, Cozy took us to the very top of the hotel to a great Japanese restaurant called Sazanka. Since Fall has come, all of the dishes were seasonal including something could never be brought over to Japanese restaurants overseas: dobinmushi. It consists of seasonal favorites such as shrimp, matsutake mushrooms and other ingredients steeped in a light broth in an iron teapot. And the broth is poured out into teacups and drunk as such. Once the broth has been completely drunk, I just ate the ingredients from the pot. Absolutely delicious. Strangely, just like The Bohemian on Saturday, Cozy also suggested inviting me to some sort of food critic enclave event so that I could imbue myself with some gourmet cuisine and make friends at the same time. I don't think I feel anywhere near quite that lonely.

This morning, I met up with Swank for the first time in several months. We met in an outdoor plaza right by Roppongi Hills. Still very pleasant and fluent although she doesn't think it...at least not nearly as much as I do. Still, it looks like I've patched that hole in my Monday schedule that The Class Act has now vacated. And maybe Grandma Dynamite will be coming back into the fold as of next Thursday. That's a big if since she tends to cancel at the last minute.

And that is basically it for me for the rest of today since The Medicine Man has cancelled his class for tonight. So, I'm just enjoying my time at the neighbourhood I-cafe and will have a rare Monday night at home.

Friday September 25, 1:03 p.m.

The Nurse was one of the millions who braved the Kan-Etsu Highway up to Gunma Prefecture during Silver Week. It took her 8 hours round-trip to stay 2 hours there. I think the payoff was somewhat lacking.

Well, the pay packets are almost done. Once I get mine, I'll probably take off soon after since I still gotta get the bereavement card for my late uncle...I went to Ginza's Ito-Ya yesterday but although I could get a birthday card for my niece, I couldn't find anything remotely appropriate to send to my aunt. My only other choice is the Matsuzakaya Department Store in Nihombashi.

Also, during my short recce in Ginza, I found out that the HMV in the Mosaic Building in Sukiyabashi had received the axe a couple of weeks earlier. The music store had once taken up the entire 4th floor but then several years ago, the place was downsized to just a third of its original size, and then the final farewell in early September. To be honest, I guess there was a certain inevitability since there is a more accessible HMV just down the street in the Ginza INZS complex.

Spoke to Ray about her going to Akihabara to help out the bossman tomorrow at the fair. She's not looking forward to it because of the weekly infestation of otaku.

Friday September 25, 10:40 a.m.

The end of a 2-day work week. Not surprisingly, not feeling all that tuckered out. Just have The Nurse in about 20 minutes and then it's just the juku folks tonight. And that is with The Ace out of the picture since he's got plans.

Heard that the bossman and Ray gotta head out to a study abroad fair out in Akiba tomorrow. Oh, joy! In the midst of Otaku Central on a Saturday. Hope Ray doesn't go into Maid Rage there.

Thursday September 24, 10:30 p.m.

Had my lesson with The Music Man. Yep, Renault came up. As expected, both of us agreed that the car company got off with a slap on the wrist after what will probably go down as one of the most egregious scandals in any sport. He also mentioned that he thought that Michael Schmacher is truly a dangerously competitive driver.

A bit of an odd topic to finish the day on, but it's been something that's been trying to get out of my mind and onto blog for a while, so I'll see if I can get this written down before I get out of here. Being a veteran Trekkie and a soundtrack fan, I was intrigued by the reactions on YouTube concerning the Michael Giacchino score to the current reboot of the franchise. Excerpts of the CD have found permanent status on the site. There have been a lot of raves about the tracks including Track 5, "Enterprising Young Men", which is also a favourite of mine. But there are those who think that Giacchino's accomplishments pale in comparison to Jerry Goldsmith's contribution to Trek Lore with his famous theme for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". There was even one nod of support to the score for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (the one with the whales) which I frankly likened to a DeVol score for a late 60s sitcom. Not that I hated that one, but let's say that neither Giacchino nor Goldsmith should be particularly threatened.

For me and for the record, I think there is room for not just Giacchino and Goldsmith, but also for James Horner, the composer for the score for what is arguably the best of the entire franchise "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". The score fits the movie. Goldsmith's majestic score fits in with Robert Wise's laudable but doomed attempt to create a space opera out of hammy acting and a huge space turd in a cloud. James Horner created a swashbuckling seafaring motif which goes hand-in-glove with the adventure and space battles that characterized "The Wrath of Khan". And then you have the most recent contributor to Trek Music, Michael Giacchino, who has whipped out this frothy, frenetic and fun score to celebrate Star Trek's return to its roots. Giacchino even gets all illogical...much like much of the plotting of the movie...by thrusting in the legendary Alexander Courage TV theme in various parts three times. I was somehow able to get over that strangeness and have listened to the CD now even more times than I have Giacchino's other great soundtrack, that for "The Incredibles".

So, Trekkies, rejoice. You can enjoy all the pieces of Trek Music without guilt.

Thursday September 24, 7:48 p.m.

Well, I guess I had a lot of energy all stored up from Silver Week. Used it to get ready for lessons, come up with a strategy for Swank who I'll be seeing next Monday (actually, she'll be the only student I'll be seeing on Monday...The Medicine Man has cancelled his lesson), copied off a couple of tests for Mrs. Jyuppie this Sunday and Mr. White on Tuesday, and got the final part of the review done up for The Restauranteur's lesson tomorrow night. Not too bad.

On my way to Speedy's, I came across a rather unfortunate scene on the opposite platform. It looked like some high school kid had stopped breathing. He was splayed out unconscious and the paramedics were applying the defibrillator to his bare chest. Never a good sign, but I hope he's OK.

Should ask The Music Man about that Renault verdict. Earlier in the week, Renault missed the proverbial bullet by just getting a suspended sentence for intentionally asking a driver to crash for the company's benefit. The Music Man is also an F1 enthusiast, and in fact, he was the first to tell me about this scandal.

Thursday September 24, 4:45 p.m.

Back at the grindstone, as it were. Just today and tomorrow before another weekend crops up. Silver Week was basically made up of my cocooning at home for the most part (except for a Tuesday afternoon outing to Jimbocho) while the rest of the Kanto apparently enjoyed parking out on the highways for 5 days. Basically that is it for the very first extended holiday in September...I guess Silver Week will only occur when the holidays align themselves like they did this year. Newswise, it was also the week when PM Yukio Hatoyama played debutante at his ball at the United Nations. His English was pretty darn good...but then again the lad did go to Stanford for 6 years. Also, domestically, the new Prime Minister faced his first big challenge to his administration by proxy...Land and Infrastructure Minister Maebara got the screws tightened on him by a good chunk of the people of Gunma Prefecture as he had made the decision (or that is, his party made the decision during the election campaign) to cancel one of the big projects that had already been started by the name of the Yanba Dam near the city of Naganohara. This project had been tossed about for half a century before it finally had been accepted by the locals, then last week came the axe by Maebara. He's not a popular figure out in the boonies. And he had probably been feeling more sorry for Pension Reform Minister Nagatsuma for getting such a cold welcome by the bureaucratc staff.

Also, the countdown has begun before the IOC Selection Committee makes the final decision about which city gets the 2016 Olympic Games. Tokyo is in the final running and the choice will be made on October 2nd. I'm sure Governor Shintaro Ishihara will be feeling pretty cranky next week.

Got the call from Mom this morning that one of my uncles had passed away earlier this week. I had met him a few times early in my childhood and adolescence, but like with virtually every relative that I have, I was never very close to him. However, I am sending his family a card of condolence.

Just have The Music Man tonight. However, I did go out earlier today to wire over my airfare back home to the parentals. Made another recce through Roppongi, Ginza and Shinjuku. Had some lunch at Stackers, the small sandwich shop on the 12th floor of Takashimaya Times Square. Their burger plate doesn't really stack up (oops, sorry) but the BLT plate fits the bill. I was also in the nearby HMV. Looks like Madonna has released her best album in a single and double-CD format.

Tomorrow is the official last day for that old CD shop, Otokichi, in Nakano Sun Plaza. I may just take a gander there tomorrow since I have a big chunk of empty time (sign of the times) between The Nurse's lesson and my lessons at the juku later in the evening.

Monday September 21, 1:36 p.m.

The first day of Fall and, more importantly, smack dab in the middle of Silver Week. Due to a fluke in national holiday scheduling, Respect-for-the-Aged Day and the official First Day of Fall fall in the same week and just one day apart. So, there is a so-called Citizen's Holiday on Tuesday to buffer the two. However, throw in the weekend, and we've got ourselves a Silver Week. For the first half, though, I've been basically coccooning in my neighbourhood. The I-Cafe has been as far as I've gotten out of my own apartment in the past 3 days. The weather has finally become more suited to a Fall. Meanwhile, being a major holiday week, the highways have once again become the largest parking lots on the planet.

A lot of time with coccooning, there's a lot of watching of movies on cable TV. I had my own share on Saturday. I actually finally caught "When Harry Met Sally" in its entirety. Up until then, I'd only seen the famous faked orgasm scene. I have to say that I did enjoy the 20-year-old flick by Nora Ephron. The director seems to be (or was) the female Woody Allen, at least in terms of her directing style. I'd seen "Sleepless in Seattle" before, and it comes off as being a sister movie to "When Harry Met Sally" (and perhaps a godmother to the illegitimate brat known as "Knocked Up"). Ephron likes tons of banter with her romance, New York City, and jazz music as an underscore. Plus, she apparently liked Meg Ryan as well. Being a score guy, I'm now rather interested in acquiring the soundtrack. I liked the leads of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan...they came off as likeable and real people with all of their strengths and weaknesses shown to the fore. Enjoyed the quip of "the white man's overbite" and I'm sure all of the women in the audience back in 1989 all sighed wistfully when Harry gave his short and sweet reasons why he loved Sally at the end of the movie. Just a pity that Ephron couldn't bring some of her magic when she did "Bewitched"; I think she just just overreached herself there.

Sunday was just a lot of US crime dramas on Fox Japan and Super Drama TV along with a couple of I-Go games. Yup, "Criminal Minds" and "NCIS" have kept me entertained...almost felt like I was back in Toronto. And just this morning, I caught a NFL game. I've never been a huge fan of American football, but the game between Dallas and New York did have quite a bit of everything. It actually came off as what a Super Bowl should be more like.

Newswise, it's also been a bit of everything. The Perils of Noriko Sakai continue apace...her cottage deep in the wilds of Chiba was torched by an unknown arsonist....perhaps a fanatic with feelings of betrayal. Yoshito Usui, the creator of the comic with the Japanese equivalent of Bart Simpson, "Crayon Shin-Chan" was killed when he'd fallen off a high cliff in Gunma Prefecture...there have tributes from all over East Asia. And buried in all that, is new PM Hatoyama's first trip to the United Nations since getting sworn in last week. Talk about hitting the ground running.

What little of a work week I have is gonna get even smaller. The Carolinan just called in to say to cancel Thursday's lesson since she will be busy making the transition from her old workplace in Aoyama to Jinbocho.

Automan officially got hitched last weekend. I got some of the first photos from the wedding via a mutual friend. Her brother-in-law called last week to say that Automan and the missus may be coming over to Japan next month, and maybe even The Lens and his wife again. Plus, Mom also called to let me know that the VISA bill has come in for my air ticket. So, I'll be shucking over some cash at my bank on Thursday. At this rate, I'll probably be ready to declare insolvency at the end of this year.

Thursday September 17, 8:45 p.m.

Just another 30 minutes before The Music Man finally gets here. Well, I got to see the Noriko Sakai act of contrition. It looked like everyone was in a hotel ballroom...those places are usually used for celebrations, not for humiliations. The cameras were flashing so hard and so frequently, I was afraid that another Pokemon incident of induced epileptic fits was gonna happen. In any case, since the sound on my computer has been turned off for some reason, I could only watch Nori-P looking shellshocked and tearful as she bowed beyond the contrite 60-degree angle and mouth her apologies. She's apparently put herself in the hospital for the next little while to recover. The person I feel for most of all is the new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama. He had just become only the 2nd non-LDP PM in the last half-century, only to be upstaged on his first full day in office by a former aidoru-turned-drug addict.

Well, it looks like Swank is definitely coming my way again. La Fille handled the rendezvous. I'm supposed to be meeting her not in Hiroo, where she now lives, but in the relative anonymity of Roppongi Hills since she doesn't really want to be seen there by any of her neighbours. As if I could ever be mistaken for a paramour. Kinda nice if I got treated to lunch there...

And that meeting with The Romantic and his friend will have to be put off til a later date. He left the message saying that the 28th won't be possible. He suggested the 29th but I've got my classes with The Beehive and then the juku. No can do.

Thursday September 17, 7:28 p.m.

The face that launched a thousand cameras...finally came out after several weeks in the hoosegow. Yep, that's right...Noriko Sakai was released from from Bayside Police Station a few hours ago to a lightning storm of flashes and then off to a press conference to show her contrition (and perhaps some of those dance moves?). She didn't look too much the worse for wear but the sadness on her face was all too apparent. I've only been able to see screen captures of the press conference but it looks like she's had to pause a few times to dab at some tears. I've got a feeling that her story will be on all night.

Thursday September 17, 6:02 p.m.

I've managed to get pretty much everything done that I needed to: prep up for lessons for The Bass and The New Yorker tomorrow, set up the next stage of review for The Restauranteur, upload the photos into Facebook, and even sent Speedy some ideas for that Eiken 1 course. Not bad for 6 hours. And I still have over 3 before The Music Man comes in for his lesson. One big Donut Day.

That picture on the left is one from the Takeshita Dori leg of my big walk on Monday. It shows a couple of stores that provide the lifeblood for the typical Japanese teenager in Harajuku...the cream-and-banana filled crepe. I'm sure that there are a whole lot more of these shops riddling the entire neighbourhood. I've had my fair share of the thin pancake filled with stuff, but I couldn't see myself even entering the lineup for a crepe in Harajuku. With all of these kids, I'd probably be seen as a pedophile on a fishing expedition.

Had a young mother with her kid come in earlier in the afternoon. Cute kid but I was surprised to find out that he was still only 18 months old. This boy looked like he was 3 or 4 and could walk quite well. At this rate, he should be eligible for military service by the time he hits 10.

Thursday September 17, 1:50 p.m.

Just a couple of shots from that recce I took from Shibuya to Roppongi on Monday. The orange Slinky on the left is that tunnel just beyond Aoyama Cemetery and a click away from Roppongi Hills. The one on the right is one that most teens in Tokyo would know on a weekend. That is indeed Takeshita Dori...on a Monday, no less...still packed to the gills with the girls.

Yesterday split up my week into 2 mini-work weeks since I had nada on the schedule. I'm sure 001 is enjoying coddling koalas and climbing Ayers Rock in Oz right now. As for me, it was just cleaning the apartment and watching the relatively quieter pomp and circumstance (well, relative to the party atmosphere of a US Inauguration) of the swearing-in of the first non-LDP Prime Minister in 16 years into the Japanese Diet. Pretty much by 3 p.m., all of the TV stations were glued to the Lower House Chambers where Yukio Hatoyama shyly stood up to accept the accolades and, of course, the responsibility of becoming the 60th PM in charge of the 93rd Cabinet. However, things for the newbie DPJ parliamentarians got started all the way back at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m. when two (relatively) young Diet folk showed up at the gates of Nagatacho...along with some bleary-eyed media types. At 8 a.m., the full media and newbie scrum finally got let in like a bunch of kids at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Of course, the up-close-and-personal stories of the new Cabinet officers...including PM Hatoyama were put up on display. Watch young Yukio at the tender age of 9 with Grandpa Ichiro, the first LDP Prime Minister. Then see him 21 years later with his baby son, Takarazuka Troupe-trained wife, and the worst haircut ever seen, and then come the glory political years of the 90s and 00s. Then, there was his first primetime news conference as PM at 6 p.m. followed by the official investiture of him and all of his Cabinet by the Emperor before things came to a close with the group photo on the steps in the official residence.

But have a bit of heart for the outgoing Prime Minister, Taro Aso (well, I won't but you can feel free to). He gave his farewell speech in the morning and was probably very moved by the line of Aso fans who did come out to say goodbye. He was in the chambers later that afternoon, looking rather glum with some of his other fellow LDP'ers.

For several days, there had been some tabloid reports on this Mieko Tanaka and the fact that she had been in some softcore romantic movie not too many years ago. I had no idea who this person was until yesterday. It turns out that she is now one of the Ozawa Girls, a freshly-minted DPJ parliamentarian....not too old, either...only 33. Unlike some of her new colleagues, she quickly gave the press her back since she probably didn't want to go over any old ground about her movie career. But she did fess up back some days ago, stating that at the time that she had needed the money....which would probably put her incongruously with Anna Nicole Smith. Ironic, since new Deputy Prime Minister Kan lectured the young 'uns about not providing the media with any cannon fodder.

But even with all of the coverage focused on Nagatacho yesterday, Noriko Sakai could not be denied. Or that is, her husband, to be more exact. Yup, the surfer dude-crackhead, Yuichi Takaso, finally got bailed out last night at 5 p.m. from his Shibuya holding cell. Not only were the media, passersby and cops outside in force, but apparently some disgruntled Nori-P fan who took a page out of that Iraqi reporter's playbook and tossed a shoe at the departing van with Takaso in it. He got hauled in pretty short order. As for Sakai herself, she's supposed to be finally getting out any minute now.

Finally got a call from The Romantic about that so-called research project he has been telling me about. He came to the realization that it would be better if we met in person than have him send over a bunch of papers....hmmm....I wonder....

And Cozy finalized the plans for dinner for the 27th. It'll be at the last spot that he, me and the juku boss got together. Looks like Cozy will be bringing his wife...according to the boss, she's quite the looker.

I had my first early morning arrival at Speedy's in some weeks since I seem to be now having a dearth of classes. I guess absence truly makes the heart grow fonder; I really enjoyed the McBreakfast this morning. Miss Prissy returned after some weeks; she'd had a good time in Guam and told me that she made the extra effort to use the English she'd picked up in class. Nice to hear. Got an omiyage of Mango Chocolates. Now, basically I'm off til The Music Man comes in at the late hour of 9:15 p.m.

Tuesday September 15, 1:23 p.m.

Last night didn't go too badly....The Music Man was fine and I didn't end up strangling The Medicine Man like I'd wanted to last week for his non-performance. I think with the latter guy we got into a warm-up discussion about the H1N1 virus which would definitely be in his ballpark. He said that Swine Flu would probably affect almost half the population and it would peak in early October. He also suggested I get a mask, although not of the cotton variety since they would be a bit too loose to be useful. Point taken.

Speedy reacted with some surprise when he found out that I wouldn't have any classes tomorrow. As usual, he just noted "That ain't too good". Well, with two students now having vacated the premises and 001 off on her Australian sojourn along with the fact that I have no privates, it looks like I'll have the anti-Hump Day.

The Bohemian contacted me to change the date of our meeting. Apparently, an old friend of his from university will suddenly be moving to Southeast Asia very soon, so he wanted to combine his farewell meeting with my dinner with him to the 26th instead of the 20th. I'm good with that. Also, Cozy got in touch with me; apparently, he had spoken with the juku boss about getting together for dinner, and somehow he had convinced her to come out on the 27th although she may not be ready for a full dinner. Well, I'll just see when I talk to her later today.

Another celebrity death....Patrick Swayze has really become a ghost. The writing was on the wall for the past couple of years, but he finally passed away today. I bet there will be a lot of folks putting on that "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack tonight.

Apparently, Noriko Sakai didn't get out on bail yesterday which probably disappointed the vultures...er, I mean....journalists outside Bayside Police Station. The main reason was that the 5 million yen had yet to be paid. Most likely, if and when she comes out, she'll be looking quite a bit lighter physically. Prison has a way of making that happen...and it's not just because of the food. That former president of Livedoor, Horiemon, was looking positively svelte compared to his hedonistically plump days once he got out, and Sakai's fellow "comrade-in-arms" Manabu Oshio got out a couple of weeks ago looking somewhat thinner as well. The only problem is that Nori-P had already looked quite slim and trim when she had been arrested.

Well, I may not be making any money tomorrow but at least I'll probably get to see the inauguration of the new DPJ Cabinet along with the new Prime Minister live on TV.

As for my two cents on that so-called Serena Williams Tirade incident over the weekend and the fact that she hasn't apologized for it....well, what did you expect? It's not as if this was the first time a tennis player has gone bonkers....I'm sure Martina and Chris have had their run-ins with officials. And everyone knows about McEnroe. I'm just surprised that neither of the Williams Sisters hadn't gone berserk before on the court at this stage in their careers...pretty good control up to last weekend, I would say. Of course, the fact that Serena hadn't gone super-primeval on an official made it all the more shocking...still, athletes like her are different human beings. They're near-paragons of human physique, trained to be killingly competitive and have the pressure of making tons of endorsements...again, I say it's more of a surprise that she hadn't gone Wolverine before now. No, obviously it wasn't right what she did and she could've shown a bit of class by giving some sort of apology, but again under the circumstances, I really can't be that surprised.

Monday September 14, 6:38 p.m.

I ended up making that last entry exclusively on my latest walkabout so I'll wrap up the past few days here.

Ah, yes..."X-Men Origins: Wolverine", otherwise known here locally as "X-Men Zero"...they like to add Zero to any sort of prequel, and very appropriate here as well since there was a character by the code name of Zero. And unfortunately, the movie itself kinda scored itself with the same integer...at least in MB's eyes. For such a mild-mannered Aussie, MB is a pretty harsh critic. But then again, I can say honestly that "Wolverine" won't ever be scaring Chris Nolan and "The Dark Knight" franchise. For one thing, the movie was less smoothly flowing origin story of one of Marvel Comics' flagship characters, and more the usual backbreaker plotting that plagues these superhero movies: putting in so many superpowered heroes and villains in one movie that the flick just comes off as a fashion runway showcase for mutants. Hey, look, it's The Merc With A Mouth...Deadpool; hey, it's John Wraith disguised as the frontman for a hip-hop band; hey it's Merry from "Lord of the Rings" with an electricity fetish. And hey, it's good ol' Sabertooth....who just pops up every 10 minutes to have another go-around with his little brother. MB was correct in stating that he needed to punch out the editor; frankly, I would've preferred that "Wolverine" was guaranteed a quadrilogy...with that one plot strung out throughout 4 movies. It would have helped a whole lot in establishing and perhaps even relating to the various characters a whole lot better. Imagine having the first movie based on just the establishment of Major Stryker's elite unit of mutants and their adventures, then the sophomore entry could've dealt with Logan's angry defection and his meeting up with the love of his life. The third could've seen him "lose" his love (you're gonna have to read the Wiki summary to understand why I put the word in quotes) and gain his adamantium. And finally, the fourth movie would have seen him in the final showdown with Stryker. Of course, the beancounters at Fox would never have agreed to this. Their star isn't exactly in his twenties and he probably would want to get out for something more Oscar-baiting. Still, the movie made enough so that the sequel is pending. Now I wonder if Magneto is next.

Well, as for today, besides the recce, it was a banner day for news. So much so that the soon-to-be Prime Minister Hatoyama ended up 3rd in terms of news stories. Noriko Sakai and Ichiro Suzuki took the flag at different ends of the pole today. The folks at the various news desks opened up with the requisite plastic smiles since Ichiro got his 9th consecutive 200-hit season in Texas early this morning. Reporters were out on the streets all over the country getting those personal opinions while his hometown displayed a huge banner congratulating the baseball legend....now, if Seattle could actually get close to winning even a pennant. As for the other end of the spectrum, singer-turned-tarento-turned-surprisingly-good-dancer-at-a-disco-turned-druggie jailbird Noriko Sakai was supposed to be out on bail today. Not surprisingly, there was a mammoth presence of media types in front of Bayside Police Station where she'd been held for several weeks. It's an irony of pop culture in that the Yuji Oda drama "Bayside Shakedown" takes place in the fictionalized version of the station. Not sure where she would be heading after finally getting out....I would think the nearest place for her would be her old condo in Minami-Aoyama....or as far away from Tokyo as possible.