Monday August 15, 2:47 p.m.
It was a scene that I'd never thought I would ever see on a Monday morning. The Tozai Line was not only empty but I could easily get a seat. Usually it would be the usual attempt to break spatial laws of physics as I get on the subway, even at 6:30 a.m. but it was like going on at midday. O-Bon must be firmly in session. And I'd also noticed that despite the summer heat, the walk to the station was a bit more bearable than usual...I wonder if the exodus of thousands of people shrunk the heat island effect.

Unlike the 6-hour marathon of Saturday, today will end up being pretty light in the schedule. I had Cozy for his usual morning lesson and I just have The German in a little more than an hour. And that will be all she wrote for me since Miss Genki is off for her own O-Bon holiday this week and Kirk seems to have made Wednesday nights his regular time.

I ended up spending the late morning and early afternoon in Jimbocho, the bookstore area in Tokyo. That image of an empty Tokyo from early in the morning dissipated when I reached Kudanshita Station, the closest subway station on the Tozai without having to pay extra outside of my commuter PASMO. Just saw a lot of oldtimers and some young 'uns with cameras pour up the stairs. And then I figured it out....today is the 66th anniversary of the official surrender of Japan to the Allies in World War II. Kudanshita Station is also the closest station to Yasukuni Shrine where Japan's war dead are buried. Most of the people were making the annual pilgrimage. Not sure if Prime Minister Kan was planning to go in an official capacity; usually when a Japanese PM heads over to Yasukuni, other Asian governments press the "I protest" button. In any case, I was walking the other way to Jimbocho so I didn't have to fight through the crowds but the police riot hoosegows were present along with an increased presence of cops on Yasukuni Avenue.

Now for the picture...I went over to Tacto, my go-to store for all of those old and rare J-Pop CDs although I should more accurately state kayo kyoku CDs since these come from the 70s and 80s. Being a Monday, I was the only one in the store so plenty of room to browse. I ended up getting Taeko Ohnuki's "Signifie" on the 2nd floor. Ohnuki has become my latest singer du jour because of her eclectic sound back 30 years ago and her long professional and platonic relationship with Ryuichi Sakamoto. I'd bought her 1977 album, "Sunshower", last month and it was a City Pop disc through and through. However, "Signifie" is her 1984 release of a more techno and European sound that had been part and parcel of hers and Sakamoto's efforts during the early 80s. Ohnuki was one of the biggies in the New Music movement which began in the early 70s along with Yumi Arai and Minako Yoshida. But whereas Yuming went more with the West Coast Sound and Yoshida headed into a more soulful direction, Ohnuki decided to veer more into a French Pop sensibility. Always interesting to see and hear how these young singers evolved over the decades. Anyways, I've got some listening to do later tonight. But there is a rerun of that old music show, "Uta no Top 10" on cable tonight.

Monday August 15, 2:26 p.m.

Ah...you may know this beauty's father better than her if you're living outside of Japan. Pops was Oscar-nominated for his supporting turn (I guess when you star with Tom Cruise, you can only be supporting) in "The Last Samurai" and was in there with Leonardo DiCaprio in "Inception". Of course, I'm talking about Ken Watanabe. Well, this is his comely young daughter, Anne (which is the Anglicism of "An" 杏), all 5' 10" and 25 years of her. Over the last couple of years, she's become the latest "It" girl on Japanese TV and movies. Her agent should either have gotten a raise or fired for even getting her to do a musical though she's never sung a tune publicly in her life. And apparently she's an otaku as well....although before you mouthbreathers start increasing your pantings, she's a fan of Japanese history so a bit more on the academic side of things. Anyways, thought I'd let you know since someday she may even follow her father's footsteps and go across the pond to Hollywood.

As has been the case for the past several days, yesterday was another scorcher in the Kanto. I had to vacate my apartment for a few hours in the afternoon lest I actually broil in my own juices while sitting on my sofa. I ended up having lunch and writing at the station bakery. The night was little better even with both of my windows open and a fan going nonstop. However, Sunday night has been my must-see TV night thanks to AXN. I've been privy to "Hawaii Five-O"/"Nikita" from 9-11 p.m. Both shows are now well into their first season over here and have been developing their mythic arcs...the seeming prerogative for successful action dramas nowadays.

Just before must-see TV, though, I did get a phone call from Teddy Bear for the first time in several years. Teddy Bear used to be one of my students at the ol' school a decade ago, and though he wasn't the sharpest tack in the tool kit he was very studious with his English. He also often annoyed the heck out of me, one other teacher and that ol' student of mine, The Stick. Despite Bear's obvious mental difficulties, The Stick had very little patience or sympathy for him. I have to admit that I had tried to ditch him since he'd had a penchant for calling me at rather inconvenient hours such as midnight and that one other teacher was starting to get rather scared of him since he used to pester her all the time. But after several years' absence from my social world, he managed to track me down via Facebook and did the usual Friend Request. I decided to respond positively, and sure enough, he contacted me. I let him talk with me for about half an hour since he has never really developed a sense of timing about when to cut the conversation. He's admitted that he easily gets lonely which would explain the need for him to contact people at any time, and in the past few years, has developed a form of trainphobia because he's gotten a panic attack on a Ferris Wheel (sorry, can't explain the connection). Anyways, I've told him about my permanent departure from these shores at the end of the year so he wants to see me at least once for lunch or dinner.

Saturday August 13, 5:05 p.m.

A bank of vending machines in Shinjuku. Honestly speaking, none of us would be surviving if it weren't for these life savers. The heat and humidity of this country pretty much makes juice machines a mandatory part of urban infrastructure. There are so many of these machines anywhere and everywhere that they should be getting voting rights. Plus, they're given the utmost of respect. Back in Canada, vending machines are basically considered extinct because like in the States, they're treated more like practice targets for vandals. Here, they're kings and queens of electrical urban structures and they repay our kindness with cola, ginger ale and Mountain Dew.

I finished my 6 hours of teaching today. It's been a while since I pulled off a marathon session like that. And I was lucky that all 3 students were all pleasant fellows. S-Tall wanted work on her upcoming presentation; I guess she was impressed by my mellifluous voice so that she actually recorded me giving her presentation by her I-Phone. S-40 wasn't as fluent or as accurate as her predecessor but she did quite well in her 2 hours. And finally, S-Art is this soft-spoken, low-key fellow but he has a very deep appreciation for art. He's been to Venice a couple of times and his wife is an artist of note.

In any case, I'm done here like dinner. I'm ready for some serious grub and then relax for my student-less Sunday.

Saturday August 13, 9:28 a.m.

Here at Speedy's for a now-rare Saturday at work. The bossman begged me to do a Saturday to teach some of that incoming wave of students from the nearby company. So, I've got 3 2-hour lessons nearly back-to-back. I've got 15 minutes between each class but this will be quite a haul today. I'll make my money but I'm not sure I'll be in a great mood by the time I finish. I did have an extra breakfast of sorts at Vie De France since I probably won't have anytime for a decent lunch but I still brought the Kaki-P as a quick snack during the breaks.

O-Bon has definitely started. NHK reported the annual Shinkansen capacity levels for the folks heading back to their hometowns...unsurprisingly, it's over the 100% mark. In a way, I'm kinda glad that I did estrange myself from my relatives. Not a big fan of having to travel 3 hours standing up on a Bullet Train. Since the O-Bon festival highlights the need to give tribute to deceased loved ones, this year is more significant than most due to the ravages of the March 11th disaster, especially for those heading home to Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures. And it's also the 26th anniversary since the worst single airline crash in history took place in Gunma Prefecture back in 1985.

Friday August 12, 2:25 p.m.

Time for a bit of local foodie show n' tell here on the old blog. This was my lunch today since I figured that most of the restaurants would be crowded with the lunch time folks. A couple of rice balls courtesy of Seven-Eleven. For those who not quite with the language, the ball on the left contains flavored chicken while the other once contains tuna and mayo. As you can see from the prices, not too bad on the wallet.


This was actually last night's dinner, also from 7-11, although the one right next to Speedy's. Pretty nice little o-tsumami....spicy chicken bits with sesame seeds. Ought to go well with beer although I drank this with milk tea....yeah? Well, I still like it that way.

And the piece de resistance. Good ol' fashioned soumen. Perfect for the steamy summer we have right now. These carbs will go down within a minute...the noodles are just that smooth.

Only had The OL as the sole lesson today. We were once again esconced in that cubby hole only millimetres away from the neighbouring table. But it wasn't too bad. The OL and I could have our lesson without too much glare. She's heading out to Nagano with her family next week for a nice ol' O-Bon holiday hot spring vacation. Yup, I believe the summer holiday season gets underway from today. I don't particularly follow the custom, mostly due to financial reasons. I can hardly afford to spend even a night at some onsen.

My old student, California Girl, who has been living the past decade near San Francisco with her high-flying husband, is back in town for a few days of vacation herself. She had invited me to a potluck dinner at her friend's apartment in Shibuya. Her local friends here and my students, The Sisters of State and The Singer, are heading over but I politely declined. Frankly, if there is one thing I've learned about myself after almost two decades in this country, it's that I'm not much for parties anymore...especially where current students are concerned. One of my former colleagues from the NOVA days put it rather well....any social interaction between students and teachers should be kept at an absolute minimum. At the time, I had thought that the fellow had been growing a rather long vegetable in his rectum, but as I've gotten older and sadly wiser, I've gradually realized that I'm just not all that good with people outside of the classroom. That former colleague had been referring to social interaction of a romantic nature, but even on a purely platonic one, it's not all that comfortable for me to be with students in a non-academic setting anymore. Looks like that initially jokey Prime Directive has become quite serious now.

Thursday August 11, 6:19 p.m
As I mentioned yesterday, I was up on the observation deck, 45 floors up, in Tokyo City Hall. I decided to take some final photos of the mass that is Tokyo.
Looking at this photo to the right of me here, I can see where George Lucas may have gotten his inspiration for the design of the outer surface of the Death Star. There was a rather ominous thundercloud overlooking everything, but I couldn't see Mount Fuji beyond the thick cloud of smaze. Heck, it was even difficult just trying to find Tokyo Sky Tree.


This is a view looking out west. Tokyo Opera City is that big building right in front of you.

And then there is the bulk of the skyscrapers that populate West Shinjuku. The London Gherkin's cousin, The Cocoon, is right there.

Thursday August 11, 5:19 p.m.

Had my 2nd lesson with The Bossa Novan. She was cured of her cold but I think I may have run a bit too fast on the mouth with the lesson. I think she was left a bit winded. I'll have to apply the brakes a bit more next time, otherwise she'll just finish up with me by the end of the month.

I've just got The Carolinan and Mrs. Thursday tonight, so I'll have to think about grabbing a bit of dinner before they come in. I'm thinking of the prototypically summer dish of soumen...just thin white cold noodles eaten in a savory broth with chopped green onions. Still, I may want to put in some meat as well.

Thursday August 11, 1:12 p.m.

Over the past several days, I've been re-watching all of those Ken Burns "Jazz" DVDs that I'd managed to amass over several months. I've read that the series caught a lot of flak from various sources, including people who have a rather huge axe aimed at Wynton Marsalis' head. However, I've been enjoying watching the history of America's musical gift to the planet with Satchmo, The Duke, Lady Day and The King of Swing as the major players. And I've yet to see anything this comprehensive anywhere on the small screen. This set is definitely coming back with me home.

Thursday August 11, 12:21 p.m.

That's my neighbourhood. Looks rather non-descript but right now, that area is a sauna in disguise. All that pavement and concrete has been throwing back all that heat at us poor pedestrians for the past few days. We've got a forecast high of 36 degrees C but I'm sure that's just merely the air temperature. It's definitely a two-shower day today. I decided to be kind to student and staff alike by taking that morning shower and liberally spraying myself with AXE.

In fact, the biggest story on the news in Japan has been the weather. All around the country, temperatures ranging into the high 30s have become commonplace. Basically the only point in Japan that has anything reasonable is the easternmost point of Hokkaido which got a frigid 25 C. And the worst topping on the cake is that at least in The Big Sushi, we've got 60%~80% humidity. We are broiling here. And apparently enough people were broiling and pulling off cascade fainting spells in Yokohama that a male tarento had to stop his own outdoor show prematurely when about 3,000 fans crammed together outside in the hot sun to watch him perform. Once the first fan collapsed, the domino effect kicked in. Even the tarento had to grab someone from falling. On his blog, he wrote a very deep apology for having to even do the show in the first place, although I'm sure that his managers had that yen sign very much in mind when pushing for the show to go ahead. In any case, we are hoping that we may get some sort of respite over the weekend.

I may have mentioned that I had bought a Yumi Arai CD, "Misslim", with the remaining gift coupons. She has been known as Yumi Matsutoya for over 35 years but way back in the early 70s, she was known as this young lyrical songwriting genius and one of the tentpoles for the New Music movement in this country. "Misslim" was her 2nd album after "Hikoki Gumo", and has quite a few songs that I recognized such as the one used over the end credits of the Miyazaki movie "Kiki's Delivery Service". It's a wonderful album in which Yuming and her co-horts go into folk and City Pop. And her backing crew are no slouches either. Taeko Ohnuki, Tatsuro Yamashita (Sugar Babe), Harry Hosono and soul & funk queen Minako Yoshida, all of whom were and have become legends on their own, help her out here. For all of the hits on this album, arguably the best that Arai/Matsutoya has ever made, I was struck by one song that I'd never heard before called "Watashi no Francoise" (My Francoise), a really lovely ballad. Listening to it and the other songs almost helped me forget that my apartment was probably measuring about 32 C, even with the fan on.

Wednesday August 10, 9:30 p.m.

Finished off 001 and Kirk today. Was starting to get rather tired by the end of Kirk's lesson...not that he was boring me; Kirk has always been one of my more engaging students. But I guess I am beginning to become a victim of that phenomenon in Japan known as natsu bate....summer lethargy. You just end up having the stuffing knocked out of you by the suffocating heat and humidity. How does one fight it? Well, knocking back the drinks: alcoholic, vitamin and otherwise certainly doesn't hurt. And the so-called stamina dishes such as eel-on-rice and Korean BBQ can bring some of that energy back.

Well, it looks like some of that energy into my lesson schedule is coming back. I've gotten those extra classes thanks to Speedy's corporate client. And even The Businesswoman, whom I haven't seen in some months, is gonna be coming back next Wednesday. I also got word from The Godfather; he'll be scheduled for next Tuesday. And finally, the juku boss has sent me e-mail stating that she will be moving into her new apartment next week. Perhaps once things have settled down for her in her new life, she'll have me and Cozy over for tea. She's apparently gonna be moving over to Maihama which is just across from Tokyo Disneyland. I think things are definitely gonna be getting noisier for her.

Wednesday August 10, 6:02 p.m.

Nope, that is not a picture of one of my relatives after one too many Asahi Beers. This 68-year-old fellow is none other than one of the members of the legendary comedy team, The Drifters, by the name of Cha Kato. And he has become the latest celebrity to get married recently....to a 23-year-old woman. Yup, he has decided to go for someone 45 years his junior. Definitely got the gossips' tongues wagging. I'm sure his tongue has been wagging...uh, sorry.

And then, some days later, it was reported that another of his contemporaries, TV personality Masaaki Sakai, just got married to a woman 20 years his junior. I'm sure a lot of folks in the izakaya, especially the men, are just nudging each other lasciviously at these acts of cradle-robbing. Or especially in the case of Cha Kato, uterine malfeasance.

Wednesday August 10, 5:51 p.m.

Nothing says more like a Japanese summer than the buzzing of a cicada. Yup, with the efficiency and dedication of the swallows (sparrows?) of San Capistrano, millions of these insectoid noisemakers, known as semi in Japanese, have returned to the trees of Japan. Well, I shouldn't say "returned" since last year's batch have all died. This year's population is the next generation to burrow themselves out of 17 years of life underground. And when they crack out of their old shells and then fly to the nearest tree, they start vibrating like mad and create this near-deafening chorus which reminds everyone of the heat and humidity that is swamping us right now. As usual, there are quite a few dead, upturned cicadas on my street and on my floor just outside my door. Luckily, there are plenty of crows in my neighbourhood that love to feast on the dead things.

Wednesday August 10, 4:53 p.m.

I could've been excused for initially mistaking the riots in London for one of the battle scenes in "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2". I think the only good thing that has come out of that is that there have miraculously been no fatalities there so far. That whole situation there in the UK makes me rather grateful that I live in Japan where there has been no serious incidence of riots and looting in decades...perhaps even a century. It's just not in the Japanese nature to go into anarchy mode. I mean, even Toronto has seen its share of strife in the streets when the G8 came to town last year. And to think that a few short weeks ago, everyone's eyes had been been on Oslo. The sad thing about all this is that this has probably been brewing for years, and Whitehall and Scotland Yard couldn't do anything about this. And on top of that, London is now less than a year away from its Olympic Games. Do you think anyone will want to go there right now? I've got my old friends, The Ballerina and Paddy living there. I'm not too worried about Paddy since he lives just a few blocks from Buckingham Palace (not that I'm intimating that he regularly goes over there to borrow a bowl of sugar). But The Ballerina has put an entry on her Mixi page stating that she has a friend who is living in one of the areas that got beat up and that she has been hearing sirens nonstop for the last few days.

As for me, the only thing that we've been fighting here is the heat. The moushobi, or heat wave, is coming down on us like a hammer on anvil. Probably 35 degress C out there right now. There was no way I could stay in my apartment so I left it several hours before my two lessons here at Speedy's. I decided to get off at a couple of stops between Iidabashi Station (my main transfer station) and Nakano-Sakaue Station (my final destination) just to see what it was like. Well, not much to say except that I did visit a couple of libraries just to escape from the relentless heat and discovered where The Ministry of Internal Affairs is located. Plus, I've managed to take a lot of opportunities at the vending machines for copious amounts of drinks. I just have to remember not to overdo it on the cold stuff since I've had to race to the washroom...my intestines get a bit cranky if they only have to handle cold liquids.

Monday August 8, 8:28 p.m.

The intensity of the summer in Tokyo is directly proportional to the number of empty pop cans in my Non-Burnables garbage bag. In the non-summer months, it takes me weeks to fill up that bag, but I've managed to stuff one bag in about a few days. Yup, after a glorious 2-week respite of comfortably cooler weather, the typical blisteringly hot and humid Tokyo summer is back to torture us.

I did say that I did catch "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2" today. I'm not sure if Daniel Radcliffe or any of the other actors had shown up to do press in The Big Sushi earlier in July when the movie had debuted here. I can only say that if they had shown up today, they would've ended up like Lord Voldemort in the last few minutes of the movie....just disintegrate into ashes. I met up with Movie Buddy at the Wing Shopping Mall just across the street from JR Shinagawa Station this morning. Usually, our cinematic haunts are either in Roppongi or Shinjuku but the theatres there, though showing the movie, didn't have the right times for us so we ended up in Shinagawa...which made for a nice change of scenery. We first had lunch at the Anna Miller's above the McDonalds. In the past, that Anna Miller's had earned a reputation for waitresses wearing short skirts and frilly dresses which regularly drew the Akiba cosplay crowd. But since a lot of women wear pretty outrageous clothing nowadays, the waitresses employed there now no longer need fear the prying eyes of creepy otaku. Instead, the restaurant is now back for being famous for its pies.

I have yet to tell MB about my plans to return to Canada permanently. I just didn't feel it was the right time to land the bombshell. He and The Sylph will be away for the rest of the month to see the in-laws and then for a week's trip in New York City. So I'll let him know in September. After the movie, we just headed for some Mango Frappucinos at the local Starbucks in JR Shinagawa. Not much air conditioning inside but at least the drinks kept us hydrated.

Got back to Speedy's for my lone lesson today with Miss Genki. It looks like some of my financial distress may be alleviated with the news from the bossman that there will be some students coming in from one of his corporate client companies for some intense study before heading out to the States. So, I've got some 6 hours' worth of classes this Saturday for starters. Luckily, I've got neither Yajima nor The Jyuppies this coming Sunday. JT was there assisting the school once more. Boy, is she a cheerful one. As she was leaving the school today, she yelled her goodbyes to me all the way from the genkan.

It was just another gab session with Miss Genki. We spoke on the Potter movie and the phenomenon of geekdom before she segued into her experiences with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Yep, she had actually seen a local stage production of it some years back and she was just shocked at the dress of some of the audience. But that was about it. I told her that she should go to one of the yearly revivals in the States and see how she feels about throwing toast at the screen. Then we started going back into our favorite decade, the 80s, and of course, the music. Pretty smooth and easy hour.

I'll be heading home. I've got my early with Cozy and then it'll be several hours before I teach The New Yorker at our regular haunt of the Shinjuku Starbucks. Just wondering how hot it's gonna be tonight. I'll probably have the fan right by my head all night. And I'll be filling up the Non-Burnables bag some more most likely.

Monday August 8, 6:42 p.m.

Japan has a very trend-conscious society. Almost 30 years ago when Boy George and Culture Club entered the national consciousness, tons of young men (and perhaps some young women, too) of this country dressed up and slapped on the face paint like a bunch of Japanized New Romantics. When the tamagotchi held sway 15 years ago, there were lineups at Tokyu Hands that would've rivaled those for the newest pachinko parlors. And then there has been the decade-long "Harry Potter" series. Countless kids and adults put on their Hogwarts uniforms whenever the latest movie had come out in Tokyo and other major cities. Well, I was never a true fan of the movie series (it had only been 50/50 at very best for me) and I've yet to pick up a Rowling book. The "Half-Blood Prince" and Part 1 of "The Deathly Hallows" were frankly just plain deadly to watch...I know, I know, some of you Harry Potter fans out there are now looking for your Elder Wands to aim at me. You could but you would fail...I'm somewhat larger than Tom Riddle so I can absorb more.

So be happy when I say that when I caught the very last movie this afternoon in Shinagawa, I was actually impressed with the final chapter in the saga...and this is before I read that Part 2 had been universally acclaimed critically and that it has become the 3rd -largest grossing movie in history. I could actually watch this movie without looking at my watch or just drop my head into my right hand. Basically, it had to have been a no-brainer....from what I've heard, the book of The Deathly Hallows was all warfare. And the director finally translated that well enough to the big screen with a rousing finale, plenty of death scenes, and a sweet passing of the baton to the next generation. The consummation of the attraction between Ron and Hermione was just a blip in comparison. And there was the redemption of Professor Snape and his role as probably one of cinema's tragic figures. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to put this last movie on a pedestal as so many critics have, but I'm just happy that the series has ended on as satisfying note.

Saturday August 6, 12:14 p.m.

Before I came out here to the I-Cafe, I had found out via CNN that S&P had downgraded America's credit rating from AAA to AA+. All that sturm und drang of the last week in Congress for naught. In fact, Standard and Poor's pulled the carpet out of the Obama administration because of the shenanigans in Washington; they cited the "political brinkmanship". Basically that just means that S&P thought that the Republicans and Democrats were acting like a couple of brats. So, they took off an "A".

Boy, does that hurt Obama. That Election Day in 2008 just seems to be so long ago. And now I'm wondering how his re-election chances will go. If things get any worse, he may just give up the ghost and not even bother re-upping for a second term. But that would pretty much hand the next 4 years to The Republicans...and basically The Tea Party movement.

Saturday August 6, 11:33 a.m.
Of course, since this was a Speedy-subsidized affair, the nijikai (or next stage) of the evening was karaoke. Finding a karaoke establishiment in Shinjuku is like throwing a rock in JR Shinjuku and hitting someone. They're that numerous. Karaoke Kan is one of the most famous chains in the country for providing rooms for warbling. The name has no connection with our embattled Prime Minister although I'm sure he wishes he could spend a few hours in a room to decompress.


Welcome to our room for 1.5 hours. This room was one of the smaller ones in the basement and can probably hold a maximum of 8 people. There is a room service phone, and of course, the karaoke setup in the corner. Woman doesn't come up extra here; for that sort of place, you'd have to check out Kabukicho with a much thicker wallet...and a much thicker--well, you know what I mean.

The typical menu in a karaoke establishment. Just fry the heck out of everything! Mind you, the drinks have a fine range of beer to girly-girly stuff like strawberry milk.

Something that Geordi LaForge would be proud of. Instead of those phone directory books with listings of just about every song written by Man...and AKB 48, one can just tap away at a karaoke PADD. And all of us did. We got our Sex Pistols, Billy Joel and Carpenters in there. BTW, that control panel at the bottom looks pretty cool. I can probably drive a starship with that.

Yeah, it had been a year since my last foray into a karaoke establishment. Everyone except Miss Oxford sang; she was resolutely willing to remain a listener. The bossman was more than happy to be fueled on alcohol and wail away his blues. But I kept up with my renditions of Billy and Karen. I also threw in an enka song as well.

I barely venture into karaoke boxes these days. Pretty much with the exception of the bossman, I don't really have any friends who enjoy singing anymore. The Movie Gang is strictly just into the dinner-and-a-movie scene. It used to be that when I was at the ol' school, heading out with students and teachers to the neighbourhood box was nearly a monthly event. Now I tell everyone that I've retired.

I think there is a certain etiquette involved when it comes to a good karaoke experience. The first thing is that if you're not willing to sing, then don't come! Ray made it quite clear that she has no love for the Japanese pastime, and that's OK with me. Believe it or not, there is a substantial portion of the Japanese population that feels that only professional singers should be allowed to croon or belt out a tune publicly. Miss Oxford was lucky that the rest of us could let her non-participation pass.

Now, if you're willing to give karaoke a go but have never done so before, then pick out a song that you like and focus on it. That will become your juuhachi-ban or "No. 18"; I've got no idea why it's labeled as such, but it refers to your signature song, the tune that will be sung by you at any karaoke encounter. The multitudes of songs available in the hard drive make it impossible for you not to find something that you can sing. Pick up something, though, that you can handle. You may like Michael Bolton but do you really want to commit vocal suicide by belting out anything by him? Try something along the lines of Billy Joel or The Carpenters. That is, of course, if you like them. In this country, if you really want to impress your Japanese hosts, you can try something in the native language. Decades ago, I focused on the enka song, "Yukiguni" (Snow Country) since it's not that difficult to croon and, plus, it has that image of my own country although it's really referring to the Tohoku or Hokkaido. Once you've got that No. 18 mastered, you can start thinking of other tunes to add to your repertoire. Don't think that just because you've sung that one song, you're off the hook. As long as you're doing your 2 hours in the room, you'll be asked to contribute.

Also, don't start stuffing the ballot box, so to speak, with your requests. Perhaps if there is a lull in the singing, especially if your group is going for a marathon session, you may put in a back-to-back, but otherwise try to make sure that your karaoke buddies get their turns in. Years ago, we had a colleague (who's now providing simultaneous interpretation of NHK News) who thought that she was giving a concert during one of our trips to karaoke. We basically had to conspire to throw in a ton of songs while she was wailing away to achieve balance.

Don't be surprised if your buddies are either nattering away or searching their menus for their next songs. That's not being insulting to you. Karaoke is a communal activity and not "American Idol". Several things happening at once is the natural atmosphere in a karaoke room.
But do not believe for a minute the reassurance "Sing anything you like however you like...as long as you try". Know who you're going out with. If it's with a bunch of office colleagues in their 50s, don't suddenly go for The Sex Pistols. If you're going out with a group of youngsters whose musicology is restricted to the sounds of Arashi or AKB 48, don't pick out an old folkie that their parents probably listened to during their university years. And again, re-emphasizing on the No. 18 rule, make sure that you've gotten some prowess at the song. Nothing brings a pall into a room faster than someone who just ravages the heck out of a tune. My old buddy, Chip Guy (who has a bit of a mean streak when it comes to karaoke), regularly and probably intentionally vocally treated his choices like that psycho in "Saw" did with his victims. I nearly begged him to stop singing after the 3rd hour.

Well, I've done my Michael Weston voiceover of karaoke.

Saturday August 6, 11:22 a.m. The Speedy gang had its farewell dinner for one of their own last night. At his request, we went to Karachi on a side street in West Shinjuku.

The Tandoori platter was unexpectedly spicy. Usually, when it comes to Indian food, things are rather toned down in Tokyo but these guys put the flame on these babies. Darn fine with me but I had to go through a couple of Strawberry Lassis to cool my mouth.

We also got a very generous heap of freshly-made naan. At first, the bunch of us wondered if we would be able to finish it all, but not to worry. There was still some curry in each of our pots.

And these were the curries, all bubbling away in their individual pots over sterno. There was the spicy keema, mild and creamy spinach, and chicken curry.

Indian food is quite the staple in The Big Sushi, so it was a bit surprising that we quickly ended up being the only party in the restaurant for most of the evening. Not a particularly good sign for surviving in one of the most demanding cities for cuisine. But we had a fine time.

Friday August 5, 6:51 p.m.

Well, talk about timing. No sooner than I had written my last entry concerning "NCIS" when I came across a CNN website article stating that none other than Pauley "Abby" Perette is the top actor in the Q Ratings. In fact, there is a bit of a log jam in the top 10 consisting of NCIS agents: Cote DePablo is No. 2, Mark Harmon is No. 4 and Michael Weatherly is No. 7. Kinda feel sorry for Sean Murray and the "NCIS: LA" gang, though. Apparently, the Q Ratings are quite useful information for the studios when it comes to the worth, monetary and otherwise, of their performers. At this rate, "NCIS" may last until the time I reach my first century.

Friday August 5, 6:40 p.m.

I think we're just about ready to head out to Karachi. Just another 5~10 minutes. Basically, spent my few hours here surfing the Net, including reading up on all that can be read about "NCIS". Gibbs and the team have a huge following here in Japan, and "NCIS: LA" is also making its presence felt and liked. I'm sure there are quite a few fans in Tokyo who would be thrilled if the show ever decided to have a special ep visiting NCIS Yokohama.

I saw the latest episode last night on FOX Japan; we're currently in Season 7 and it was the Thanksgiving episode where Gibbs has to save a genius girl from a think tank. Kinda struck me as being one of the weakest episodes of the entire series...the girl gets kidnapped from Ducky's mansion while Ziva and Ducky are handling the turkey; a little too similar to a Season 2 ep in which Ducky himself gets kidnapped from his place. The writers may want to consider getting back to a seasonal arc story.

Friday August 5, 4:37 p.m.

The sports headlines locally have been filled with the news of the untimely death of Japanese soccer defenseman, Naoki Matsuda. He was just 34 when he suddenly collapsed during practice a couple of days ago from sort of heart attack. Never regained consciousness. A lot of the late night sports shows were providing full-blown tributes to him. To be honest, I'd never even heard of the guy until Wednesday which shows how much I follow the game.

The weather is back to full-blown heat wave again. I've been sweating bullet trains all day starting from this morning, so I figure that it'll be time to switch the beach towel lining my futon before it gains sentience. I had The Bass and The OL in quick succession at their respective cafes in Funabashi and Nihonbashi. The OL's lesson went surprisingly fast...the hands of my watch just seemed to fly by.

Went down to Shibuya to get my brother's birthday present. Got a card from Itoya, bought a DVD at Tower Records and then picked up the envelope at Tokyu Hands. I got him the disc of that live-action version of "Space Battleship Yamato" that had been released in December last year and died a quick death at the box office. Well, I figure that my brother just has to see it at least once. I was able to send it out in the mail about a half-hour ago. Provided that the backlog has been straightened out at Canada Post after its brief mail strike, the DVD ought to get there by my bro's birthday in a couple of weeks.

Tonight is that goodbye party for the kids' school teacher. We're going Indian at a place called Karachi in West Shinjuku. Ironic name for the place considering that the city is in Pakistan but the cuisine is Indian...sending a hopeful message, perhaps. Anyways I hope the only explosive thing there is the flavor.

Thursday August 4, 5:34 p.m.

Feeling pretty exhausted after my two back-to-back lessons with The Bossa Novan and The German. Not sure what it was. Coincidentally, they are both nurses. The Bossa Novan was in the middle of a cold so she wasn't at 100% but we were able to make some progress in the text. As for The German, it was the usual barrel of laughs I often have with 001 but we actually did a couple of pages in her text which is quite an achievement since it isn't even a matter of sidetracking with her....we don't even get onto the road in the first place. The German will be heading up to Hokkaido for her summer vacation later this month via The Hokuto-sei, a famed train departing from Ueno Station and traveling some 18 hours until it reaches JR Sapporo. Not cheap and definitely not easy to secure a reservation, she has my envy. Apparently, she'll be having a ￥7,500 French dinner in the club car during her ride up. She said it was pretty expensive although I know that French dinners in the capital can be easily twice or three times as pricey. I guess she was taking into consideration the fact that this was on top of the transportation fare.

A new staffer came up from the kids' school. I'm not sure how old she is but she has this rather breathy way of speaking both Japanese and English. In fact, she reminds me of how actress Jennifer Tilly sounds (the one voice-acting Bonnie Swanson in "Family Guy"), so I guess she'll be JT. In any case, she's pretty friendly although she does need some help getting around the computer system. She'll be joining us for that goodbye dinner for that teacher at the kids' school tomorrow.

Thursday August 4, 1:14 p.m.

I've got The Bossa Novan for her very first lesson today. She's a 90 like 001 and The Beehive. She's pretty shy but can open up once she gets into a roll. But she'll need a good foundation of vocabulary if we're to progress. Then I've got The German right after her followed by Mrs. Thursday a few hours later.
A new staffer from the kids' school will be coming in to help out this month so I'll be doing my intros with her. Actually, tomorrow, Speedy is having a goodbye party for one of the teachers at the kids' school so I've been invited to partake in some good ol' Indian food. Haven't had that in a while. Apparently, the teacher in question will be setting up his shingle in China somewhere. Just hope he doesn't have any need for high-speed rail right now.
MB has sent feelers about catching the very last "Harry Potter" movie. Since he works for a high school, he's now off for the next several weeks, and he's hinting at a weekday so I suggested next Monday.

Thursday August 4, 1:07 p.m.

Baum Kuchen....something that I'd never heard of in my native Canada until I came to this country where it's virtually a national institution when it comes to desserts. But it's actually from Europe, and in German, it is translated as "log cake". When I first heard it from one of my students long ago, I automatically gave one of my own German phrases: "Geseundheit".

And yet it is over here. As the translation will hint, it's a cake that looks like a cross section of a tree trunk since it's made by slathering a layer of batter on a rotating spit and once it's baked, another layer is slathered on and so on. Then a fine coat of icing over the whole log is spread on. The department store, Matsuzakaya, in Ginza has a storefront bakery specializing in baum kuchen so customers get to see the baking in action.

Of course, this being Japan, variations are bound to be produced. Mrs. Speedy kindly gave me a box of Maple Baum Kuchen...a bit of Canada in the Germany. I managed to finish the roll cake in about 4 days by taking a sector a day for breakfast. Considering its origins, it's not all that heavy.

Wednesday August 3, 9:34 p.m.

It was a pretty good night but I hadn't expected any less from 001 and Kirk. 001 did get her tickets for the very last Arashi concert for their 2011 tour...January 15 in Fukuoka. And Kirk and I had a good talk on the current political situation and the concept of retirement.

And in a not-unexpected about-face by the juku boss, I received an e-mail saying that she would continue as my guarantor until the end of my time here and admitting that her "mood" has been somewhat "dented" by the events of the last several months. OooooK....I'll just reply to her tomorrow.

Wednesday August 3, 5:43 p.m.

We've been getting the gerira gou...sudden downpours...over the past few days. It's still not in heat wave mode yet but the humidity is certainly back to sweat me out. I did watch the weather report last night and the meterologist mentioned that after a record-breaking first half of July in which temps soared even higher than tempers in Congress, the last half saw temps plummet to below average...it was certainly comfy for me. I'm just wondering if August will see record-breaking levels of precipitation like South Korea has been getting.
Today, I saw The Godfather for his weekly lesson in which he landed a bit of a bombshell on me. Apparently, he and his fledgling company fell prey to a con artist. For the past number of lessons, he had been telling me about one of his partners who was allegedly able to speak 4 or 5 languages, and had a PhD in Marketing from UCLA Berkeley. And the swindler had shown some good work and had a pretty winning personality....made some oyaji jokes, too. Too good to be true? Yep, it sure was. For some reason, the con guy was able to access a lot of the company's funds and then absconded with them over the weekend.
Considering the situation, The Godfather seemed to take it pretty well. He was chuckling ruefully throughout the hour at his horrible luck although I think he looked like he was about to shed a tear or two early in the lesson. And in this country, smiling can be done through all sorts of emotions. The "Sukiyaki" song kinda came to me during this time since the original lyrics talk of smiling through one's tears. I was wondering throughout how my newest student and even his senpai, a Professor Emeritus from one of the most prestigious universities in the country, could fall for this scum. Well, it sounded like the con artist was quite a pro in his strategy and The Godfather didn't go far enough into the background check. He did say that he had found some odd things about him such as no photo in the UCLA grad rolls for this fellow and the fact that that he had always written his name in katakana, not kanji. But apparently the con artist skillfully evaded the questions. And I think there was that "can't happen to me" mind set of denial. But the fact is that fraud happens all the time in Japan. At this point, The Godfather will be meeting up with his professor and his other partner to try to recover from this embarrassment.
In any case, as it happens from time to time, I switched my cap from one of teacher to that of counselor. I really should be setting up a chaise lounge somewhere.
Well, in any case, I've got 001 for the first time in 3 weeks in just a few minutes.

Wednesday August 3, 5:35 p.m.

I have to take this time to kinda give my condolences to my family back home. The family cat passed away over the weekend.

My mother called me up as she usually does at the beginning of the month, and after telling me about her successful cruise in the Meditteranean she informed me of the cat heading up to Cat Heaven. She got somewhat emotional about it on the phone but I am really more worried about my father who seemed to be closer to the puss than anyone else in the family. Since I only got home once a year, the cat labeled me a rival and had always looked at me with a mix of suspicion and wonder (at how big a human can get without achieving critical mass). So I didn't really react too emotionally at the news. Plus, I knew that his time was nigh at the age of 16 years. My brother sent me e-mail about it to confirm. I did tell The Beehive about the cat since I've mentioned him over the years to my veteran class; Mrs. Travel informed me about Pet Loss Syndrome. I think my parents are probably going through that right now. I'm wondering about whether another cat should be introduced into the home but I'm of two minds on that one right now.

Anyways, I salute the cat!

Wednesday August 3, 5:24 p.m.

Back on Monday, CNN and the rest of the world media managed to make this entire American debt ceiling crisis look like a season finale of "24". Perhaps I can understand why Wolf and the gang, though, would label a lot of the shenanigans in Congress as kabuki theatre: slowness, long faces and meaningful gestures.

However, the final passage of the bill and all of the emotional sturm und drang that surrounded it reminds me of a Japanese commercial that had been playing for years here. See that picture to the left? That's a bag of kale powder...stuff that's used to make ao jiru...literally "green liquid". It's one of the most noxious things I've ever come across but it is good for you. I sometimes mix it with milk but I make sure I add some heaping teaspoons of honey before I imbibe the stuff. Anyways, there was a commercial for it in which a crusty old actor (I guess the Japanese equivalent of Wilfrid Brimley) drinks a glass of kale and water, puckers his face as if he'd ingested whole slices of lemon and sputters at the camera "MAZUI....MOU IPPAI!" Translation? "Ach, that's crap!....gimme another!" The House of Representatives from both ends of the spectrum treated the finished bill as if it were the plague and yet they passed it through like a really bloody stool (erk...sorry for the analogy).

In any case, the Senate passed it, President Obama signed it, and now this true-life summer blockbuster has finished...until the sequel in several months' time.

Monday August 1, 8:22 p.m.
It was nice, especially after having to deal with that e-mail response from the juku boss, to have another pleasant hour with Miss Genki. We managed to get through a few centimetres of text before we both lapsed into the topic of 80s music videos. As soon as we entered that rich world of our generation, I knew that it was game over for the rest of the hour. So, names like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Starship were sprinkled liberally throughout our conversation. But I can say proudly that my student fulfilled her duties and spoke virtually all in English. Now, when I hit home, I'll probably throw in one of my 80s compilation discs.
In terms of weather, it's been unusually nice in that the past couple of weeks haven't really been all that hot. Certainly the past couple of days have skirted on the upper edge of coolness. At this rate, TEPCO won't have to worry about the overusage of air conditioners. And I'm not complaining, either. There is another typhoon but it looks like it's heading northwestward although Okinawa is still in the target zone.
Got word from The Godfather. It looks like he may become a floater in terms of scheduling. He's asked for Wednesday morning this week for his regular session.

Monday August 1, 6:24 p.m.

To the left is the representative dish of the summer...broiled eel (unagi) on rice. Now, depending on the size and the container that it's in, it can be called either una-don (which is the one pictured in the supermarket plastic box) or unaju which is usually served in a fancy lacquer box and costs quite a bit more.

Forgive me for being the hypocrite here, but I'm not a big fan on how the dish gets made (live eel gets impaled through the head and slit open with a super sharp knife) but I can't deny the results...eel slices slathered in that sweet-savory sauce and grilled until the outside gets that smoky, crispy taste and then deposited on a bed of warm white rice.

Unagi can be served any time during the year but there is that day, doyo-no-ushi-no-hi, in which it's open season in all of the eel restaurants. Supposedly on that day, folks all over Japan got their fill of eel to restore their stamina, although that can easily be done by downing a can of cola. However, as anyone can tell you, nothing beats that combination of protein and carbohydrates when the aroma is wafted outside of the restaurant. This year, though, it seems that there are two such days...tomorrow being the second one. However, I decided to avoid the lineups and got this store-bought one for 580 yen. Perhaps it doesn't quite match up to the unaju made fresh in the eel eateries but heck it was satisfying enough for me. If there is one thing I'll definitely miss when I leave Japan, it'll be this dish.

Monday August 1, 5:59 p.m.

Feeling a bit melancholy right now since I got a reply from the juku boss concerning her wish to terminate her guarantorship of my apartment. I tried to be as even in tone as possible when telling her that I couldn't get anywhere with my application form since I had felt a little hurt that she wanted me to cut ties. The reply was civil but I did pick up that feeling of a debate rebuttal. And she suddenly decided to point out that if she had to end up picking up the pieces financially of any remaining rent (not that I would ever let it get that bad), she would be blacklisted by the banks since she could not pay for me due to her limited income once her divorce is finalized. I don't deny that fact but I think her timing in saying that is suspect...I think it's just a bit of a dig at me for inconveniencing her. Still, I wasn't interested in further straining our friendship by pointing this out so I stayed mum. In any case, it looks like my former juku boss may be letting her request drop which will be of some relief to me.

Also, the bit of the blue is due to the fact that I told The Jyuppies about my permanent departure from these shores in December. They took it with some shock and sadness which I felt badly about, but better to do it now rather than in the Fall. Mr. Jyuppie asked me about the possibility of setting up a Skype link between us once I got settled back home. I think that might be a pretty good idea, actually.

There are still some other key folks that I have yet to inform, namely Speedy, The Sisters of State and The Movie Gang.

Saturday July 30, 3:50 p.m.

It's approaching 5 months since the big quake and 4 since I came back from my escape to Toronto. Students have come and gone, and I've been keeping an eye on my finances. Not exactly sailing on Easy Street. Sometimes, I just shake my head at what I've come to since arriving in Japan nearly 17 years ago. Sometimes, I get shaken by that feeling of despair and depression that for all of my admittedly not supremely hard efforts over the past decade-and-a-half, I will most likely be heading home with less than what I started with financially. I see a lot of my friends and students over the years getting married and settling down with the kids and mortgages while I've basically stayed constant and I wonder was it all worth it. Certainly, I had never expected a quake as big as this one to hit us this way, and The Big One has been partially responsible for my change in thought about my future in this country. At this point, I still feel that my days are now numbered here in Japan, and I will be heading home with my tail between my legs. I'm not sure if I'll survive the next few months financially especially with the shortfall in income and all the expenses that I'm responsible for. It'll be fairly humiliating to have to be forced to ask my parents for money, especially since they're now both retired.
I'll be telling The Jyuppies tomorrow that I will be going home and most likely in the next few days I'll be telling Speedy himself as well. In a few minutes, I'll have to inform the juku boss that I couldn't find anyone even to be my emergency contact in my (half-hearted) efforts since the application form demands that I have to put down their annual income, and for just such a request, I think demanding to put down an annual income is heavy-handed. If you recall, she's been exhorting me to cut her guarantorship for the past few months since she's planning to get divorced. Again, I'm not keen on this especially since the very basis of being an apartment guarantor in this country is just in case the tenant decides to flee. I've told her that I don't plan on fleeing unless things get VERY bad here and I don't see that happening, but her latent paranoia won't let her agree with me. Well, it's been almost 3 weeks since our last meeting for that monjayaki dinner, and I don't think it's fair on her for me to hold back any longer. She won't like what I will say but I'm not going to ask anyone else for help. It looks like it's everyone for himself/herself now.

Saturday July 30, 11:45 a.m.

It was a bit of a surprise when the news came in yesterday about the untimely death of former Yankees pitcher, Hideki Irabu, despite some of the turmoil that had surrounded him.

His name was plastered in big letters on the tabloid papers such as "Tokyo Sports" all yesterday, and the television also covered his suicide to a certain extent. However, he didn't get the huge attention that perhaps some of his fellow Japanese players would've gotten if they had gone off the mortal coil. Ichiro Suzuki is the genius eccentric, Tsuyoshi Shinjo of The Mets was the cartoonish fop and Hideki Matsui was the jovial lovable slugger.

But unlike his far more popular namesake former teammate on the Yankees, Irabu really didn't amount to much in the biggies although he had made a good name for himself in Japan before making the crossover. Unfortunately, the nickname that I'll always associate with him is "the big fat pussy toad", given by the late and irate George Steinnbrenner when Irabu missed a tag out. My former student, The Lady, whose family had for some reason often consorted with baseball players (including Hideki Matsui), had also met Irabu and found him and his personal reputation riddled with arrogance. And there were some of those stories of him getting into fights and stuff. I also had to laugh somewhat at CNN's description of him "...helping the Yankees to 2 World Series championships". According to Wikipedia, he only pitched in one post-season game with little effect on the outcome. I never got the impression that he did much in his time overseas.

Saturday July 30, 11:36 a.m.

Allow me to show you my dinner from last night. The one on the left here is my famed Open Kim Chi Chicken Sandwich. It's an original...being a bachelor does bring out the culinary creativity in me. I've been concocting this one for years. And as bachelor food, it's a breeze to make. Get some chicken fillets, season them up, dredge them in some cornstarch and fry them in oil for a few minutes on one side. Once you flip them over, dunk the store-bought container of kim chi on them and cover the pan for a few more minutes. Just dump the stuff on two slices of bread. Can't be beat.

The other dish above is some takoyaki from the supermarket. Basically they're squid balls (OK, I sense you out there....stop snickering). Originating from Osaka, they're just orbs of fried dough containing a piece of squid at the centre. They're topped off with some savory-and-sweet sauce, mayo, dried seaweed, pickled ginger and bonito flakes. The fun thing about the flakes is that they take on a seeming sentience when they wave due to the heat emanating from the takoyaki. Nope, not exactly the healthiest dinner in the world (with the possible exception of the kim chi) but hey, it was a Friday night.

Saturday July 30, 11:23 a.m.

I guess this would count as just part of life in this country. This long winding crack is now part of the apartment building across from my place. When I get back home, perhaps I should check out my apartment's exterior, lest one day my building decides to hatch open like a maturing cicada.

In any case, speaking of cracked things, it seems that for the past week, the top 3 economic powers on the planet have been toiling very publicly on their own problems. The US is currently fighting within itself over this supposed debt crisis...D-day is apparently on August 2nd. And The People's Republic of China is battling an increasingly angry population (one doesn't piss off 1 billion people lightly...even in a Communist country) over its handling of the Bullet Train accident. If it weren't so tragic, it would be so laughable...the government was actually trying to literally bury the evidence in front of the mass media's eyes. Then, it went "Oops!" and dug the train back up. I'm just amazed that both the media and the public have been allowed to vent their anger so openly....but I am worried that there may be a Tiannemmen (can't be sure of the spelling) moment and the government will crack down on the dissent like it did in June 1989. Of course, here in Japan, we're still battling a lack of electricity, irradiated beef and petty political battles. Heck, I even saw a government minister cry last night on TV...either he will become a hero in front of the public's eyes or he will end up cast off like a piece of snakeskin.

Yesterday was a day of private students and cafes once again. Mind you, it was just The Godfather and The OL. I had my second lesson this week with The Godfather; it's ironic that he's been enjoying his lessons (he did indeed tell me) considering that after our first meet-and-greet all the way back in January, I'd been under the impression that he was a write-off. As for The OL, we were in a better vantage point for our lesson since we had our own booth, and luckily there was a pair of foreigners nattering away so I was not worried about our voices annoying anyone.

Thursday July 28, 7:41 p.m.

Still not in the heat wave range of things temperature-wise but still warm enough to make me reminisce about the gloriously cool days of last week during the reign of Typhoon Ma-On.
Pretty busy for a post-quake day. I've had three lessons nearly back-to-back and just have one more in about 15 minutes...that being the one for Mrs. Thursday. I had The Sisters of State and then a model lesson with a student who will become one of my flock starting officially from next Thursday. She'll be the Bossa Novan. She reminds me of my old student, The Businesswoman, in that she has an interest in bossa nova and plays the guitar. She definitely loves her music since she has frequented a couple of Brazilian places in Nishi-Ogikubo.
Lunch today was up at my favorite Chinese eatery in the basement of the Maynds Tower in Shinjuku.
I saw the Journo doing a spot on his wide show this morning on a murder case involving a young woman with anger issues who had killed another woman whom she had mistakenly assumed dissed her. Definitely haven't gotten any word from him about whether he'll ever come back for my lessons. But then again, the juku is dead and buried.

Wednesday July 27, 6:58 p.m.

Don't panic! That's not an infestatation of flatworms in my apartment. It's just a plate of store-bought yakiudon. A very simple concoction of udon noodles pan-fried with veggies and pork...I've been trying to save up on the cash by buying plastic boxes of stuff like this. I guess I could've arranged the dish a bit better, though.

It's another 001-less Wednesday night here at Speedy's although she'll be back next week. I've only got Kirk coming up in a little over an hour from now. The weather is back to warm again with some stickiness in the air but it still hasn't gotten back to the heat wave conditions of a couple of weeks ago. I can stand this stuff and if another typhoon comes up the Pacific coast, that's just plain gravy for me.

Yesterday was all private for me. I had Cozy for a rare Tuesday morning before I headed over to Tsudanuma for The Beehive session. For the first time in about a month, we were back at the community centre instead of Cafe Nard in Funabashi. And for the first time in a while, we had a pretty full turnout. Not only did Travel, Jade and Alp show up but Mrs. Perth dropped in from Hokkaido and Mrs. Tee finally came back after weeks away due to some personal difficulties, namely a battle between a stubborn husband and daughter. Tee indeed lost a good amount of weight from the stress. It was good to see Mrs. Perth as well since it was basically the final time I would see her here in Japan before my final flight home to Canada. So I went with the ladies for lunch and had a good chance to catch up with Perth.

Finally, I met up with The Godfather at our usual cafe in Tameike-Sanno. He's usually late on Fridays but since I had to teach The German at Speedy's last Friday, he got bumped to yesterday afternoon. His new company has gotten off to a promising start. Nothing too big to report but his company seems to one of consulting, and it's gotten itself into the recovery plan of the Tohoku after the March 11 earthquake.

Monday July 25, 8:21 p.m.

Well, I would like to take this time to thank all of the 34 Malaysians who have been reading this blog. I'm not sure if I can come out to your country to personally shake your hands but duly note that the feeling is there.

In any case, I wrapped up my day with Miss Genki. It was another one of those gab sessions in which we don't touch the text. Luckily, she also has quite a few conversational touchstones. We spoke on those old music shows, "The Best 10" and "The Top 10", a comparison between Japanese manzai comedy and North American sketch comedy, the revelation that famed movie composer Hans Zimmer was the keyboardist for The Buggles' lone hit "Video Killed The Radio Star" and finally her favorite show, "Glee". She, along with thousands of Japanese fans, are hoping that "Glee: The Concert" will make its way across the Pacific. Like me, she has also heard that the characters of Rachel, Finn and Kurt will be phased out after Season 3. I think the powers at Fox may be biting their nails especially at the fact that TV's most popular gay character will be leaving the roost.

Monday July 25, 6:33 p.m.

Well, the heat is starting to return to the Kanto. For about 5 days, thanks to the wonders of Typhoon Ma-On, we had swooningly cool temps but now that the typhoon has spun away, the temps have returned to the more seasonable boiler room levels of a Japanese summer. But although it was warm today and I was sweating a bit as I was making my way back to Speedy's from Mr. Swank's company in Shinjuku, it was a drier heat with not much of the usual humidity to negate our sweat glands' capabilities. We may have a bit of an extension of the good ol' days of last week tomorrow since the forecast calls for rain, but otherwise I believe I'll have to get a re-supply of the Gatsby wipes.

After months of television PSAs warning us about the change from analog to digital, D-Day finally came yesterday at noon. After over half a century of analog broadcasting, the service finally shut down, going totally to digital. Everything and everyone from anime characters to a member of SMAP exhorted all of us about the coming electronic Day of Reckoning and to prepare by having a digital system set up. Supposedly, once noon came, all of those old chassis-tube tellys would be showing just a screen message stating that analog broadcasts have ceased forever. Well, then, can someone tell me why my own 40-year-old TV which is thicker than a young sapling is still broadcasting in analog? I got back from teaching Yajima expecting to play Taps for my little set...but when I pulled the knob (yup, this set is REALLY old...no remote control), NHK was still coming bright and clear while the commercial channels were somewhat fuzzy and flippy. But that's the point, I'm still getting something. The only exceptions to the new regime are the 3 prefectures most affected by the March 11 earthquake: Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi. Apparently, my little apartment must have gotten upgraded to become the 53rd Japanese province.

Monday July 25, 6:07 p.m.

The last 72 hours since my last entry have had news to keep the pundits talking for several weeks. And here I thought last week with the Murdochs and Nadeshiko Japan was a banner time. We've had the massacre in Norway, the sad but not surprising Amy Winehouse death and that horrible crash in China between the two bullet trains.
On Friday night, I was just doing my couch potato thing in front of the television set when at about 10:30 p.m. JST, the CNN anchor started reporting on explosions in Oslo. At first, I was wondering if she meant Oslo, Iraq or Oslo, Afghanistan. But, nope, it was indeed Oslo, Norway. As the minutes passed, the information started getting more and more dire as the images of a blown-out government centre started getting fed into the network and eyewitness accounts started filtering in. Then, a couple of hours into the bulletin, the news of automatic weapons fire on Utoya Island, some 30 km away from the Norwegian capital, broke in and I started thinking whether Norway was undergoing its own 9-11.
But some 24 hours later, it had become clearer that the horrors in Oslo were less Twin Towers and more Oklahoma City. Obviously, this doesn't make the situation any less terrible, but the comparisons are inevitable between Anders Breivik and Timothy McVeigh. Both seem to be quiet polite men and both have this delusionary belief that society had to be taught a grave lesson. Breivik is supposed to be pleading in court sometime in the next several hours, and I can pretty much guarantee the viewership for this coverage will far outstrip the ratings for the Murdochs in Parliament last Tuesday.
But if I can add my own Japanese angle on this story, watching the hours of coverage of this tragedy in Norway, I was reminded of that March day in 1995 when the apocalyptic cult, Aum Shinrikyo, bombed the Tokyo subways with sarin gas, killing 12, injuring thousands and scaring millions. Again, it was a case of a group of like-minded psychopaths who had felt that society was too sick to survive and so decided to accelerate the process of its downfall.

But within this Venn Diagram of Norwegian horror, a very big circle started forming within. And that was the Amy Winehouse death. As I've said, her passing was sad but not surprising. It just seemed like her demons couldn't and wouldn't let her go and finally dragged her down. All that talent in her voice couldn't override that addiction in her brain. I was never a fan of hers since I'm just not into soul music but I could acknowledge that her singing was one of those one-in-a-million phenomena. Just seems like an utter waste. Apparently, there is a Club 27 out in Wikipedia whose members consist of celebs who left this world at the tender age of 27. I'm just wondering if Lindsay Lohan is gonna be petitioning for her own jacket in this club in the not too distant future.

As for that bullet train crash in China, the Japanese media were covering this accident in bigger detail than they did Oslo or Winehouse. I guess that the bullet train is considered to be a national treasure in this country and the Japanese get rather concerned when one of their own gets involved in something bad.