Saturday August 14, 12:39 p.m.

It feels nice having a full weekend off. Not much to worry about in terms of classes and such. I had a pork kimchi dinner with rice last night. I finished the last of that Bailey's Irish Creme that The Carolinan had given me a couple of weeks ago; that was the problem. I'd gotten so used to the sweetness of the liqueur that I underestimated how much alcohol was in the stuff. As a result, for about an hour or so, I looked like a massive sunburn victim and was pretty much out on the couch. I just stayed absolutely still since I didn't want any sudden movements to create a hangover situation...I just let metabolization take place at its own pace.

I also listened to that Miharu Koshi CD, "Father and Pistol". It was a bit disappointing in that she got really artsy with this 1991 album and threw in a lot of instrumental filler. But the ones that she did sing on were pretty good, and it was an indication of her old standards German period. For me, I think her intermediate techno period is my favorite so far....I listened to some of her tracks from "Boy Soprano"...really good stuff there.

I've been keeping tabs on the fate of the JET Program, the organization which got me my first teaching gig after graduating from U of T. JET stands for Japan Exchange and Teaching, and for over 20 years, the Ministries of Education, Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs have been spearheading this project via its administrative wing, CLAIR, by marshaling in thousands of Americans, Australians, Canadians and Brits to teach English within the educational system. For a kid just out of university, the salary is pretty sweet....3.6 million yen a year. It gets downright saccharine when one considers that oftentimes the "teacher" is basically there as a human tape recorder.

In the last few months, therefore, the government committee for getting rid of wasteful spending that has been hitting the headlines has now set its targeting scope on JET. And the newspapers have been debating whether it is time to bring it down or, at the very least, overhaul it. Some folks have said that JET needs to be cut since the costs far outweigh the benefits. Young arrogant 20-somethings coming over with little or no teaching experience, let alone teacher training, coming over to spout native English while earning a ton of money and often not needing to pay for a lot of rent and bills and enkai fees. Yep, I can see where the national beancounters may get rather tense. As a former JET myself back 20 years ago, I've seen a few folks that definitely should never have been allowed to set foot in this country. And the fact is, for even those people who were interested in teaching as a career, I'm not sure if JET is the ideal venue since the regular Japanese teachers of English were more than happy to hand the reins over to the native Assistant English Teacher (AET); and as veteran teachers come to realize, unless that AET is a genius, rookie teachers are always bad teachers....they haven't plumbed the tricks of the trade to handle students. Yep, I can see problems with JET.

But as for me, I'd like to see this turning point in JET as an opportunity for it to get leaner and more serious. I don't think the programme should be abolished per se; for all its weaknesses, having these young ambassadors come over to at least show kids how English is truly spoken and how life is in other countries is invaluable...at the very least, it can get adolescent minds thinking about what could be in their own futures.

Friday August 13, 3:51 p.m.

Some of the usual Shibuya summer scenes: high school girls enjoying some crepes and a guy with his yukata-sporting girl. But although it's been hot, I think there are signs that Autumn is, if not just around the corner, walking toward us. The nights have been slightly cooler and drier.

Had my only 2 classes of the day. I had The Bass for the first time in a few weeks; he was fine as always. I've got his next gig to attend next Saturday in Otsuka. Then I made the rush over here to teach The Stockholder. He was better today since I was able to grab him with some more hooks; not the type to gaff fish but the conversational ones.

Basically, I'm done for the week. I don't know how long it's been since I had a true weekend. But I don't have any Speedy classes tomorrow and neither Yajima nor The Jyuppies are up on Sunday. I may actually take a look at Akiba on Sunday to see if hokoten has indeed come back. I will definitely savor the next couple of days though I will be doing my share of cleaning and ironing.

Thursday August 12, 4:54 p.m.

I did go to Nakano Broadway's Recomints discount disc shop where I picked up that 1991 Miharu Koshi CD, translated as "Father and Pistol" (maybe had some daddy issues). But I also got another Mariya Takeuchi disc, "Morning Glory". Two very different artists, Koshi and Takeuchi. The former is very eclectic in her musical tastes swinging from minimalist techno to French chanson tunes while the latter is very comfy in the West Coast sounds of the United States. Just by looking at the cover of "Morning Glory", you can see that Takeuchi is going for some 50s lovelorn Sandra Dee image. Should be interesting listening to them tonight, although whether I'll be able to keep it together by the time I get home around midnight is another question. Feeling pretty peaked right now despite eating a little snack.

Afterwards, I had lunch at the Golden Arches in Nakano Broadway. The middle-aged female manager invited me to sit down just inside the doors but I decided to go al fresco and sit at the only table outside. Perhaps McDs could use with the free advertising but with my body, I could just as easily have repelled potential customers.

Afterwards, I headed out to South Shinjuku and just took a look around Times Square. Of course, a trip to Kinokuniya was in order. I didn't buy anything but I did find an interestingly shaped pizza cookbook. Then I just went up Times Square and ended up taking a nap in one of the comfy lounge seats on the 14th floor.

Got back about an hour ago. Looks like we've got another staffer, but this time it's for the kids' school.

Thursday August 12, 12:01 p.m.

Yep, that was my stomach-bursting meal on Friday night at The Restauranteur's establishment. I polished off that Spaghetti Napolitano and Green Salad like a pro. Took me about 30 minutes.

Came back early this morning after what was basically less than 6 hours of sleep at home to teach The Patent Attorney here. It ended up being a double lesson since he needed to get a major amount of proofreading work done before he and his wife headed off for Vietnam this weekend. It was a pretty hefty amount of scourging through technical specs for some kind of knee stabilizing thingamajig...had me getting rather drowsy at the midpoint; it didn't help that The PA's ability to read aloud was rather poor.

At this time, I don't have anything until a model lesson tonight at 8 so I'll be heading out for a few hours. I'll probably head over to Nakano Broadway to check out Recomints for any other old CDs that have managed to fall between the cracks. I like to think of myself as the Island of Lost Toys when it comes to discounted discs. Not sure what the crowds will be like there today since we are in the middle of O-Bon season.

Wednesday August 11, 10:09 p.m.

Sunrise over my apartment in Ichikawa back on the 8th. As you can tell from the time stamp on the lower right corner, I'd gotten up in the wee hours since I had a rather lousy stomachache from overinduling in a hunk of beef the night before. However, I still had the presence of mind to see a photo opp and to use the Sundown filter on my camera.

Finished my marathon session tonight. Helped The Artist with her directions for New York City; she's actually coming for one more lesson next week before she takes off for The Big Apple next Wednesday. Then I had my newest student, Mr. Perfect. He's a handsome dentist who reminds me of a younger Paddy back in U of T days. His English is pretty darn good, too. He should make for a fine addition to my flock. I've got a feeling that he may turn some female heads.

001 was her usual giddy self. She got her Arashi concert tickets last week. The only thing is that she and her friend will be sitting all the way in the back nosebleed seats. They'll need to bring binoculars if they are to see their heroes strutting across the stage, although I think the jumbo screens should alleviate any eyestrain. Finally, I finished with Miss Sony. Another good addition. However, I still have yet another model lesson tomorrow night...with someone who's far less proficient than Mr. Perfect. However, Speedy tells me that she's somewhat more talkative than Miss Prissy....which is absolutely fine with me since I think Miss Prissy is also aces.

I'd been trying to get access to Mixi only to be told that the server is down for some reason. It has apparently made news on the Yahoo site; rumours are already flying about that the Koreans may have taken it down with a virus. And the users are getting plenty impatient. As usual, I'm taking such talk with a grain of salt. It'll be up and running when it's up and running.

Wednesday August 11, 2:57 p.m.

Big Hump Day today after 2 days of easy scheduling. On Monday, I just had Cozy for his morning lesson and that was all she wrote for the rest of the day. I found out what was eating Cozy last Monday. Apparently, he and his wife have the Neighbours from Hell...notably a chinpira and his sleazoid wife. A chinpira, for those not in the know, is basically a lower-level yakuza thug or punk. For the past several months, poor Cozy has had to deal with these two; he didn't go into details about what they've done but obviously it wasn't enough to make it a crime. But Cozy did call the police, and like in the first act of any suspense movie, the cops did sympathize but said there wasn't anything they could do since the thug and thugette haven't committed anything wrong. As it stands, it's very possible that my student and his spouse may have to move...a real pity.

I caught "Inception" for a second time at Roppongi Hills after Cozy's lesson. It still stood up on a repeat viewing and I gleaned a bit more information from the mind-heisting gang. I really enjoy Hans Zimmer's score for this one and I was sorely interested in getting the soundtrack from Tower Records last night but I'm gonna hold off until the next payday.

Ah, yes, did forget to mention about the photos. The one on the left is a cicada, one of the living symbols of midsummer. The guys have finally started screeching and my neighbourhood is starting to show signs of their bodies piling up on the pavement, since after several years digging around underground as larvae, they pop up for a few days of mating before they expire.

The photo on the right is my lunch from yesterday. The Beehive and I met over at The Springs Hotel in Makuhari Messe for a special session since Ms. Tulip was back from Toronto for 3 weeks of vacation. Her daughter, whom I tried to help with her book report last Xmas, tagged along. Before everyone showed up, Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Alp spoke to me about the venue...I mentioned that perhaps it wouldn't be too bad if we could meet at the far emptier Spring Hotel cafe for our sessions since I'm always a bit tense at the crowded Beckers in Tsudanuma; it would cost me an extra 100 yen round-trip but I'm willing to pick up the cost if it means a more conducive atmosphere. However, my only worry is that the Springs is owned by a president of a pachinko parlor chain (which would explain the Vegas-like gaudiness of the lobby) which could also mean the odd appearance of unsavory types from time to time. We did have lunch at the 2nd floor sushi restaurant called Genkai. As the picture suggests, their lunch special is plenty large and tasty.

After lunch, I took the Keiyo and Chuo Rapid Lines to reach Shinjuku where I taught The New Yorker for Tuesday's lone lesson. It was the first time I tried that commuting combo to reach a venue in The Big Sushi. Rather nice ride to take a nap. The New Yorker was still struggling but kept things rather light as usual. She has her birthday on Thursday so her sister, The Carolinan will be taking her to a fancy beer garden called Meiji Kinenkaikan in Aoyama.

As I mentioned earlier, I hit Tower Records in Shinjuku since it was the 10th which meant Triple Points Day. I browsed a while on the jazz floor until I decided on getting an inexpensive 5-pack of Manhattan Transfer albums...no liner notes but the discs were fine with me. I listened to the inaugural "Manhattan Transfer" from 1975 when Laurel Masse was still part of the quartet. More than half of the album consisted of their hits but did listen to a few songs that I hadn't heard...surprisingly quite disco in flavor.

I also picked up Sophie Millman's latest since she seems to have become rather popular here of late. She had a gig over at Tokyo Blue Note earlier this year. She's also notable in that she was a University of Toronto Economics Major.

As I said, it's a busy one today. I just had The Businesswoman a few hours ago, and in a few minutes, The Artist will be coming in. She requested a special today since she'll be heading to see her brother over in The Big Apple and wanted some directions on....Directions. So I concocted some New York maps to help in that endeavor. Then, I've got some model lesson student before 001 and Miss Sony seal the deal.

The bossman informed me that tomorrow's Patent Attorney would like to go for a double session. However, it'll still be a sparse Thursday since it'll just be him and then The Music Man tomorrow night.

Saturday August 7, 3:13 p.m.

It was one of those really bizarre Friday juku sessions, and it all occurred in the afternoon, a rather atypical time for a Friday juku session. The juku boss once again brought up that little misunderstanding with the computer usage...y'know, I was willing to just forget about it, but she just had to bring it up once more with the consistency of cud-chewing. And this time, there was crying involved. She said after that rather tense departure on Tuesday, she'd gone into a bit of a depressive funk for a few days since the last thing she wanted was me to hate her...which I don't. Despite all of the names I've thrown at her...and frankly, which I'll probably continue to do since she often drives me up the wall with some of her antics...I'm still thankful to her for a number of things, least of which is the fact that she's the guarantor of my apartment. Still, I really didn't want to go through another venting with her, but she just felt so guilty about how she handled things on Tuesday that she started weeping. And if there's one thing I can't stand is to see a grown anything cry. I reassured her that I didn't hate her...it was just one of those little tiffs that even friends go through...and I promised her that I would start touching keys again. So, I'm hoping that is the end of that.

The second thing that made things rather intriguing at the juku was that that reporter who wanted lessons with me turned out to be a semi-celeb of sorts. Since I make it a policy to use code names for close friends and students, I'll have to daub him as The Reporter. The Reporter is a known face on the morning wide shows, so as soon as he came on up to the room, I pegged him immediately. The other surprising fact is that he actually lives not 5 minutes away from the juku....a celeb living in old Urayasu. The Reporter confided that he had started out as an actor, and he did have that rather Ricardo Montalban sort of delivery and stance, not in the Khan Noonien Singh way...but more in his old Hollywood days. His English is pretty good if not perfect but I can help him. But his outsized personality and rat-a-tat style of speaking (probably because of his journalistic career) made both me and the boss wonder if he's gonna last a month with us. We're pretty laid back in this corner of the universe. Although he set up a first class for September, I'm wondering if he'll just stand us up since we're too down-home for him. In any case, I'll probably still set up some sort of curriculum for him.

Afterwards, since I had several hours before the night group of the boss, Mr. Nice Guy and The Restauranteur, I made my way out to Otemachi and to Maruzen to pick up some reading material and then make a short pit stop at home before I made my monthly visit to The Restauranteur's diner. I had forgotten the portions served there so I ended up having the Meat Sauce Spaghetti and The Green Salad...both of them individually could've made a complete dinner for a carnivore and a vegetarian respectively. Somehow, I was able to grind my way through both...even The Restauranteur was impressed. My night group was fine and now the juku is off for about a week for the O-Bon holidays.

Yep, the O-Bon launched from this morning when NHK reported on the huge traffic jams on the highways. And next week is gonna look a bit sparse with the big exception of Wednesday since I've got The Businesswoman, The Artist, a model lesson student, 001 and Miss Sony. I would've raised a bit of a hue and cry, except that the rest of my days are going to have huge holes in the schedule.

I just had Miss Prissy and The Publicity Assistant. Both of them had some interesting stories for me. Miss Prissy came in suffering from a slight hangover. The lady has always come across as someone who would collapse if she even smelled beer fumes, but apparently she can almost hold her own in terms of alcohol, but she admitted that she had imbibed a little too much last night, and thus the tiny headache. With The PA, she came in without any sleep for over 24 hours due to the demands of her job. Somehow, she made it through the class without collapsing herself. And she even had the wherewithal to decide to renew with us again.

Almost time to go home...

Thursday August 5, 8:50 p.m.

Well, I've been long finished after The Carolinan's lesson. La Fille is just noodling around the keyboard while the bossman is doing the same in his office. Earlier this afternoon, some lady called in to say that she wanted to get some counseling for some classes and that she would arrive there by bicycle by 4 from some faraway location. The bossman was a bit leery whether she would be able to get here by 5, let alone by 4. Sure enough, she didn't even get here by 5; she didn't get here, period. Just as well...it was probably some dimwit woman...I've had some experience with them recently. Yup, there's still a part of me which is pissed off at the juku boss. My family can hold grudges.

The class with The German went well. We actually managed to get through 2 pages of the text although there was still a lot of gab. 001 may be the Queen of Banter when it comes to me, but The German comes a close second. The Carolinan was her usual quieter self but she was a bit more animated since we did get into some good talk about those missing centenarians. Apparently, the count is about 33 nationwide. That one mummified lady had been dead for over 3 decades...Reagan hadn't even become President when she passed on.

I've only got juku business tomorrow. There is that model lesson....30 minutes of it...with that so-called professional interviewer of the stars. I'm a bit leery though I have gotten my prep done for it. For one thing, he wants to come in anytime between noon and 6 on Fridays but that's an absolute no-no since I've usually got The Shareholder during that time. And for another, he's really going downscale for a guy who chats with folks like Leo, Will and Tom. Why would he want to go to our motley juku in a Urayasu neighbourhood to learn high-scale English? I'm wondering if he'll decide to turn tail once he sees we're in a somewhat dilapidated house. In any case, once that's done I've got 5.5 hours of nothing until the juku boss starts off Friday night. I can go to The Restauranteur's place but that doesn't open til 5.

Mr. Nice Guy has to do a make-up lesson between the boss and The Restauranteur. But his time with us has become numbered since, thanks to his wife, he's managed to secure a position in his dreamland of Hawaii. He won't be leaving until October but he's finishing up with us at the end of this month. To be frankly honest, he is indeed a nice guy but his structure is so wonky that I feel that I'll always have to shore up his stuff with sticks and baling wire so I won't be so sad to see him go, and besides he and his family will get a far better education over there in The Aloha State.

Had a brief misunderstanding with one of my translation clients. I got so eager to get a translation assignment that I hadn't read the fine print which states that it's SOP to find out whether the assignment hadn't already been given out to someone else. Sure enough, it was, and I got a frantic letter from to cease and desist. I gave my apologies and he gave his, and everything's fine now.

Gonna head home soon. But I'm happy that I can actually sleep in a bit tomorrow and can actually enjoy a bit of air-conditioned comfort in my apartment before I head on out.

Thursday August 5, 3:42 p.m.

Man, The Shareholder is gonna be one hard student to have during the summer days. A self-confessed humorless guy, he just has a molasses-like thought process which sucks all of the oxygen out of the room. Barely got out of the room with my wakefulness intact. Glad that I hadn't had lunch until after his lesson. Otherwise, I would've been pretending to be a narcoleptic.

I got those translations done, got something whipped up for that model lesson at the juku tomorrow afternoon, and prepped for The Restauranteur's lesson tomorrow night. I may be dropping by her place for dinner since it has been about a month.

001 was her usual genki self. Not surprisingly, we didn't even touch the text. We basically gabbed about getting those concert tickets for her fave band, Arashi, a hilarious episode of drunkenness involving her and some friends, plus various cocktails.

Thursday August 5, 11:32 a.m.

Just bought my lunch at the 500-yen place. Yep, it's another scorcher out there. Luckily, I'm here until after The Carolinan's lesson tonight. Then, I'm strangely done for the day since The Music Man is not coming tonight. However, before she comes I still have The Shareholder and The German.

The really weird news dominating the local airwaves has been the one about missing centenarians. Apparently, Tokyo's oldest citizen, a 113-year-old woman has gone AWOL for the past several weeks or months. Noone has seen or contacted her. When the media decided to check her daughter who's a relatively youthful 80, she gave the kicker that she hasn't had any contact with Mom in about 40 years. And she hasn't been the only one. Police found the mummified remains of one old fellow who had gone missing and several others are out there incommunicado. Just wonder if pictures of senior citizens will start getting emblazoned on the sides of milk cartons in Japan as pics of kids are on the American equivalent.

Thursday August 5, 9:45 a.m.

Sometime last week, I blogged about the singer Miharu Koshi, and her fascinating career from Japanese New Music idol to 80s technochanson pop tart to turn-of-the-century (20th-century, that is)Franco-German jazz chanteuse. I'd bought a CD of her New Music days and blogged about that. Back on Monday, I bought the CD on the right "Epoque de Techno" which is actually a re-release of her first two forays into New Wave YMO-influenced techno, "Tutu" and "Parallelisme".

To reiterate from last week, my opinion on her New Music stuff which includes songs like "Love Step" and "Snoopy" was that as a happy-go-lucky, tons-of-hair, jeans-wearing singer, she came across as a Junko Yagami or Taeko Onuki wannabe but not her own singer. She wrote up some pleasant enough songs but nothing that particularly stood out. In the liner notes for "Epoque de Techno", Koshi admitted that around the early 80s she had come upon a brick wall set up by a lot of producers who were no longer all interested in her work. Something needed to change, and the catalyst was the Haruomi "Harry" Hosono, one of the three masterminds behind the Yellow Magic Orchestra.

One of her final New Music albums was "On the Street" which had her old persona strutting in a 70s pantsuit. Well, she underwent a metamorphosis along the lines of a caterpillar to a butterfly so that the former glowing girl-next-door type turned into the heavily made-up coquettish gamine shown on 1983's "Tutu", her first New Wave album. Her voice was squeezed into a whispery, higher register with French pop sensibilities, and the music was technopop. Her new songs were definitely more interesting to listen, and although the chances of them hitting the top of the Oricon chart were somewhat lower, she had successfully become her own singer.

The Shibuya-kei sound wouldn't be recognized for another several years but it's interesting that Miharu Koshi came out with her new sound sometime before other artists such as Kahimi Karie, Pizzicato Five and PSY-S, acts that Koshi reminds me of. Now that I've got her middle period of New Wave represented on my CD shelves, I'll have to check her latter period of Franco-German delights.

Thursday August 5, 8:19 a.m.

It seems to be an annual event....once again on Tuesday at the juku, I had to take the boss to task for some idiocy. She's kind, generous and very loyal but at the same time, she's also a scatterbrain and a dumbass with her mouth.

It was about the computer at the juku. There has been that revolving door policy with it. At one point a couple of years back, she allowed me to use for some general Net surfing and e-mail but when it started getting cranky, she asked me not to use it so that it can last a bit longer. And I had no problems with that. Then she got a new computer late last year for which she developed a temporary phobia since for some mysterious reason she had decided to get a top-of-the-line machine although she has nearly zilch knowledge about computers in general. It was getting to be a regular thing for her to come begging to me every time I arrived for some little glitch that she couldn't understand.

However, when things finally settled down for her psychologically, I was apparently allowed to make documents for students and even got to access my e-mail. I did inform her that I would only access the Net just for e-mail purposes, and she was seemingly fine with that. Then, Tuesday happened. I was just checking my e-mail when the boss came in and told me that I would have to delete my cache of documents because the computer speed was slowing down; I hadn't realized that several documents of 11 KB each would cause that much of a slowdown but, yeah, I said I would delete them since they were only for Sugar N' Spice and they were now gone. But then, the boss had to put the boot in and told me that I would have to stop surfing the Net, and she said it in a way that made it sound like I was Netsurfing behind her back. Basically, I was back on the outs when it came to the computer.

Well, perhaps it was the heat, my general fatigue and the fact that she was flip-flopping like an errant senator, but I just went into battle mode and tried to assure her that I was only checking my e-mail...as I had promised her. But she just kept repeating that I couldn't use the computer anymore. Well, that kinda broke my back.

She realized that perhaps she had put my nose out of joint and got me some sort of chocolate thingy from the store as a bit of an apology...but all that did was just get me even more pissed off at her. She basically accused me of lying behind her back and thinks that a cake is gonna appease me? Well, when I left that night after my lessons, she did what she usually does in such a situation and kept on groveling and apologizing...which drives me up the wall with anyone. And finally, I quietly vented at her about what and how she said it. And I just said that if she can't handle the computer policy, then I would just simply not use it anymore. Of course, she said that she will give me access to the computer again...but frankly I'm fed up. I just shrugged my shoulders and just changed the topic to that model lesson student on Friday. But I'm just not get myself involved in that computer anymore.

Monday August 2, 6:20 p.m.

Quite a difference with the regime change in televisions. Out with the old chassis JVC, and in with the slim flatpanel Sharp AQUOS. I was able to hook up the latter pretty much within 45 minutes with cable and DVD. Now, I've got the predecessor just laying on the tatami; I have to give a call to the sodai gomi guys for pickup by Friday...and probably end up paying a good 5,000 yen.

I have Miss Genki in about an hour and then Medicine Man for the final slot. I haven't seen Medicine Man in about a month but I promise I'll have lots to do with him when he comes in.

Monday August 2, 6:04 p.m.

It was one of those lazy summer days for me. Not too many classes so that I had a lot of time to enjoy myself. I had Cozy for his usual lesson this morning bright and early...he apparently had a rather not-so-nice weekend but was reluctant to go into it and I reassured him that he was under no obligation to tell me at all. I could only speculate that there was a major screwup in his work or he and the missus had a tiff.

Then I decided to go watch "Toy Story 3" at Roppongi Hills. The first show didn't start until close to noon so I just had my coffee and dessert at Espresso Americano where I always teach Swank. It was a bit weird there just by myself for an hour and a half without having my student in front of me.

"Toy Story 3" is definitely the final chapter in the lives of Buzz, Woody and Jessie...at least, I hope so. As one critic put it, this series will probably go down as the most critically successful movie trilogy (although I think the guys behind The Bourne Trilogy may have something to rebut about that) in history...and as much as I love the characters, I really don't want Pixar to tempt fate by risking a mediocre 4th entry....as unlikely as that may be. It's hard to believe that a decade has passed since the 2nd movie so it is somewhat of a miracle that just about all of the actors from the first 2 entries could make it. Plotwise, the movie basically follows the same premise as that of No. 2 but what sets them apart is that there is a certain poignancy which permeates the flick throughout. Past characters have gone missing and Andy is now going away for good....the final scenes probably had even grown men grabbing for their handkerchiefs, and I did hear some sniffles from my audience. Still, there are some great comic moments including Buzz's Spanish Mode.

As strange as it may seem, I can compare "Toy Story 3" with the Japanese cop movie I saw a few weeks back "Odoru Dai Sosasen 3". Both were third entries, both had tons of old and new characters, and both had their themes of time passing by. However, I think the Pixar entry definitely succeeded far better in that category.

Saturday July 31, 3:21 p.m.

With the help of some parceling tape, what remains of my glasses is still sticking to my head.

I had my 3 Saturday students in quick succession: Miss Prissy, The Publicity Agent and The Intellectual. All of them were fine in their own way. I should be heading home within the next half-hour.

When I got home yesterday afternoon, I made a beeline toward Yamada Denki and got that new TV. It's an AQUOS, a flatpanel for about 36,000 yen...a pretty good bargain...about 15,000 yen cheaper than the usual asking price. It felt quite strange that I could actually pick it up with one hand and just carry it home like a bag. My last TV required two delivery men to haul it up to my place back in the 20th century. Speaking of which, I have to call up the guys over at sodai gomi (big garbage) to haul off the old set next Friday. I'm gonna try to set it up tonight (didn't bother last night...just too tired) whilst I get ready to see Yajima for the first time in about a month tomorrow.

Tonight's the annual Sumida River Fireworks Festival over in Asakusa. Luckily I won't be going anywhere near that area....a million people per square kilometre is just too much population density for me.

Friday July 30, 1:12 p.m.

Not the best start to the day. Just as I was getting dressed, the left frame of my admittedly ancient classes gave up the ghost and fell off. I tried to use some glue to put it together only to get a glob of the stuff on one lens which proceeded to stay stubbornly on. Therefore, I have been flying blind, so to speak, out in The Big Sushi with my lesson with The New Yorker and soon with The Shareholder. So, I now not only have to get a new TV but possibly a new pair of glasses.

It is an interesting experience, though, walking the streets without my spectacles. I'm not really blind but I see everything through a layer of fuzziness. I can make out shapes but not details. In a way, though, it's been easy to walk with my head totally upright since I don't like to make eye contact, inadvertent or otherwise. Since I can't make out people's faces, I can just stare straight ahead.

As for tThe New Yorker, she's been having her own problems. She just got an I-Phone like millions of other people in this nation, and she's just not a real technologically savvy type. She's been having her share of frustrations over the past 48 hours. I just told he that she just needed to practice with it some more, like her English conversation. Mind you, she's been with me now for 5 years still struggling.

Thursday July 29, 8:46 p.m.

Once again, the session with The German was another major chatfest, though liberally humourous. She's slated for another round with me next week; although I wonder if it's really wise to put us together.

That was several hours ago. Since then, I've been mostly fiddling around the Internet: typing stuff on Mixi or playing games via Facebook. But I've got The Music Man coming in about half an hour and then I'll be done for the day.

Thursday July 29, 8:33 p.m.

The man on the left is Keisuke Kuwata, leader of the legendary Southern All Stars. Anyone who has been into J-Pop for a while knows about this guy. He and his band represent all that is summery about Japanese music. From the crowded beaches of Shonan to the white sands of Okinawa, the good time music of SAS has been filtering through the speakers for over 30 years. Perhaps the closest American equivalent would be The Beach Boys but it would be a poor one. Southern All Stars is quite a unique outfit putting out a mix of upbeat beach tunes, some raunchy rock and summery ballads with frontman Kuwata providing some growly vocals while his wife, Yuko Hara, mans the keyboards and sometimes provides some of her own songs. In addition to his band, though, Kuwata has also been doing his solo act for just as long and getting tons of hits.

This may all change. It has become the big news story of the day here that Kuwata has been diagnosed with an early form of esophageal cancer so a new album has been delayed in release. It's still early days so the prognosis is excellent. Still, though, a lot of fans were caught off-guard since the man is in his youngish 50s.

I was never a huge fan of The Southern All Stars for some reason but even I have to admit liking some of their tunes. For me, the most famous tune of theirs was the theme tune from the failed movie "Inamura Jane" back in 1990. "Manatsu no Kajitsu" became their ballad tune, at least until a more recent hit, "Tsunami", pretty much replaced it. SAS songs were on regular karaoke play and it was a very rare outing to the karaoke boxes when a SAS song wasn't sung...usually badly...by some drunken fellow.

I'd heard that Hall & Oates were somehow inspired by Kuwata. And Kuwata himself sang a great rendition of "I.G.Y", the deceptively difficult hit of Donald Fagen.

In any case, I do hope that Kuwata is back on the mend.

Thursday July 28, 3:50 p.m.

It's been another one of those days spent behind the computer between lessons. However, some respite will be coming when The German gets here in about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, it's been raining the proverbial cats and dogs outside. Speedy just interviewed a new teacher to fill one corporate spot.

Currently the staffer in charge is The Schmoozer...out of all the staff that have come and gone, including Ray, she's the one who loves to mingle and get out the word about our school, which is precisely the reason that Speedy hired her. Miss Efficiency had to leave early to go to a medical checkup, and perhaps didn't impress the bossman by telling him at a late stage. Our newest staffer is still learning the ropes as she's going along, and she's been fending off the annoying sales folks on the phone.

Thursday July 29, 9:37 a.m.

I woke up to the meterological equivalent of Tchaikovsky's "The War of 1812" this morning. The past several days had been notable for increasing heat and humidity but then after that slow first movement came a huge thunderclap at about 6:15 a.m. and then the clouds opened up like the floodgates of Hoover Dam. It actually felt truly cool outside...but very wet. It was a slight hassle getting to work but at least the shift in weather is a welcome one.

I've got quite the Donut Day today. I just had my lone lesson of the morning via The Patent Attorney, and because of Grandma Dynamite's sudden but unsurprising cancellation, I don't have anything until 4 p.m. this afternoon when The German comes in, and then it's another several hours before The Music Man comes in for his lesson.

A couple of murderers got the noose yesterday, and Justice Minister Reiko Chiba was there to witness it all...the first time that a standing minister ever saw people get put to death. It is also significant in that before she became the minister, she had been part of a grassroots organization against the death penalty. I can only gather that she decided to witness the executions so that she can get further food for thought about her personal policies. It's not as if she's gonna be carrying this burden as the minister since she has already decided to step down in September.