Saturday September 4, 6:31 a.m.
We had a bit of a light show overnight when some unscheduled thunder and lightning and heavy rain fell upon us. The rest of the day should be suitably gloomy but the temps will be a bit more moderate. Having said that, I've got the fan on.
Well, the place is just about ready for Paddy. Just some finishing touches to take care of before I head off to see the kids. Then I meet Paddy at Hachiko. Still not 100% sure what we're gonna be doing after our initial stop at the Maple Leaf. However, I think we're more than likely to head out to PH's place for that BBQ. It's not as if it's even the regular gang that I hardly talk to...it's a bunch of PH's work buddies. I'm not even sure if the Quarterback will drop by.
It was basically Beslan that made up most of my TV viewing last night. However, as I woke up this morning, the story was finally taken off "BREAKING NEWS" status. It was a bloodbath...at least 200 dead, 600 shot. Most of the terrorists have been either caught or killed, mostly the latter. Still, with the two planes being bombed out of the sky 2 weeks ago, the Moscow subway bombing early this week and now this horror. Not to be too cliche but I think Russia is going through its own "9/11".
Just a place to deposit my thoughts on life here in the Kanto and about anything else that sticks to my walls.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Friday September 3, 9:41 p.m.
No justice in Russia today. That hostage incident in that Beslan school has ended tragically with an impromptu firefight between the terrorists and Russian forces. No idea how many casualties there will be in the next few hours, and the situation has worsened in that a good fraction of the hostage-takers has escaped into the city itself so now Beslan is a shooting range. How is Putin gonna react now?
I tried out those bath salts in the bath tonight. Once again, I only lasted 10 minutes in the tub before I got distracted enough by the events in Russia to get out. However, I think I have gone native in one way. I took a shower beforehand to wash the sweat off and then I drew the bath which took 20 minutes. I can't even imagine soaping myself in an actual bath anymore.
Well, the Hawaiian, after a number of months, has contacted me to see if I could start her English lessons. I gather that she and her family have been in a state of mourning after her father passed away.
Back to Russia...oh, boy...the ITN reporter has just breathlessly stated that there are a lot of bodies in the collapsed room with a lot of back-and-forth gun exchange.
No justice in Russia today. That hostage incident in that Beslan school has ended tragically with an impromptu firefight between the terrorists and Russian forces. No idea how many casualties there will be in the next few hours, and the situation has worsened in that a good fraction of the hostage-takers has escaped into the city itself so now Beslan is a shooting range. How is Putin gonna react now?
I tried out those bath salts in the bath tonight. Once again, I only lasted 10 minutes in the tub before I got distracted enough by the events in Russia to get out. However, I think I have gone native in one way. I took a shower beforehand to wash the sweat off and then I drew the bath which took 20 minutes. I can't even imagine soaping myself in an actual bath anymore.
Well, the Hawaiian, after a number of months, has contacted me to see if I could start her English lessons. I gather that she and her family have been in a state of mourning after her father passed away.
Back to Russia...oh, boy...the ITN reporter has just breathlessly stated that there are a lot of bodies in the collapsed room with a lot of back-and-forth gun exchange.
Friday September 3, 4:06 p.m.
Well, the RNC is over...Bush gave his speech but aside from his rabid fans in MSG, there really wasn't anything new. I think his nephew, Pierce, needs some Ritalin, though.
Nothing really to say...the Teacher gave me some bath salts so I may give them a shot tonight. Other than that, I just gave my place the once-over before Paddy crashes here tomorrow night. He's a bit of a neat freak so I made sure I dusted as well. Probably won't matter by tomorrow night. Dust has a tendency to clump up pretty quickly here. Still gotta hose down the bathroom but I think bathtime will be the time for that.
Well, the RNC is over...Bush gave his speech but aside from his rabid fans in MSG, there really wasn't anything new. I think his nephew, Pierce, needs some Ritalin, though.
Nothing really to say...the Teacher gave me some bath salts so I may give them a shot tonight. Other than that, I just gave my place the once-over before Paddy crashes here tomorrow night. He's a bit of a neat freak so I made sure I dusted as well. Probably won't matter by tomorrow night. Dust has a tendency to clump up pretty quickly here. Still gotta hose down the bathroom but I think bathtime will be the time for that.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Wednesday September 1, 10:26 p.m.
Well, being September 1st once again means that it is the 81st anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake and therefore today is Earthquake and Fire Drill Day. The gravity of the day today was also not lost on Mother Earth which not only decided to throw us a M5.8 tremor our way around noon but Mt. Asama on the Gunma/Nagano Prefectural border decided to erupt a bit of lava and ash a couple of hours ago. If Nagano sounds familiar, it just happened to be the site for the 1998 Winter Olympics. Kinda wonder if this is the start of something shaky.
Called up Paddy tonight. Well, it looks like Paddy may have had a change of heart concerning heading to PH's BBQ on Saturday. Now he's saying it depends on what the Quaterback says...sigh. In any case, I've been invited to come up to our mutual friend's place up in Karuizawa in the middle of the month. Karuizawa is the equivalent of Banff in Alberta or perhaps Aspen. In any case, it's nice, cool and very cottagey. I'd like to take a look at the place itself and check out one of the lodges there.
I only have the lesson with the Jazz Buddy tomorrow morning in Shinjuku. I've sent her a courtesy call just in case she forgets. I hope things don't get too bizarre like at the Outback a couple of weeks back. Then, I've gotta pick up new texts for the Company folks.
Well, being September 1st once again means that it is the 81st anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake and therefore today is Earthquake and Fire Drill Day. The gravity of the day today was also not lost on Mother Earth which not only decided to throw us a M5.8 tremor our way around noon but Mt. Asama on the Gunma/Nagano Prefectural border decided to erupt a bit of lava and ash a couple of hours ago. If Nagano sounds familiar, it just happened to be the site for the 1998 Winter Olympics. Kinda wonder if this is the start of something shaky.
Called up Paddy tonight. Well, it looks like Paddy may have had a change of heart concerning heading to PH's BBQ on Saturday. Now he's saying it depends on what the Quaterback says...sigh. In any case, I've been invited to come up to our mutual friend's place up in Karuizawa in the middle of the month. Karuizawa is the equivalent of Banff in Alberta or perhaps Aspen. In any case, it's nice, cool and very cottagey. I'd like to take a look at the place itself and check out one of the lodges there.
I only have the lesson with the Jazz Buddy tomorrow morning in Shinjuku. I've sent her a courtesy call just in case she forgets. I hope things don't get too bizarre like at the Outback a couple of weeks back. Then, I've gotta pick up new texts for the Company folks.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Wednesday September 1, 2:25 p.m.
Blazing hot as has been the case for the entire summer. Just beating down on my scalp as I made my way to the post office. I should probably be earning a few carcinomas there within the next few decades.
Saw Arnuld overpower the Republican masses with his speech today. Hard to believe that this is the guy who was once the Terminator and a man who dressed up as a bottled vitamin drink on Japanese commercials and now he's the ruler of the 6th-largest nation-state on Earth. Hollywood couldn't have come up with a better or more unbelievable script.
Party Hearty sent a message and stated in her usual oh-so-silly-me way that she double-booked herself for Saturday so she asked Paddy and myself over for another BBQ since her work buddies were oh-so-desperate to try out the famous PH grill. Paddy sent me a rather terse sentence describing what he'd thought of her little switch. I must admit it was pretty silly of her but that's her way. In any case, I declined the invitation and just told Paddy that it'll be just a twosome on Saturday at the Maple Leaf. I have a feeling that the Quarterback will head for the BBQ.
They've been showing all sorts of Peanuts specials on the Cartoon Network daily. It's been a mix of the specials and the short-lived cartoon series ranging all the way from 1968 ("He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown") to sometime in the 90s (the Peanuts gang head out to the ISS). They've been entertaining though I'm sure the current generation (and even the one before that) are probably wondering what the fuss is all about). However, as I've said before, it's just not the same without Vince Guaraldi doing the score but the latter entries do try to carry on with a jazz-tinged theme. On that point, the less said about "Flashbeagle", the better.
One thing about living in this city is that the homeless here are very passive unlike in other major cities where they can be aggressive to a near-dangerous degree. They just trudge along or just sit or lie around the pavement in places like Shinjuku Station or Sumida Park. No, the aggressive ones on the street here are the touts, scouts and the survey-takers.
The touts are those tuxedoed fellows in the red-light district of Kabukicho or Shibuya who try to drag in salarymen into their overly-priced bars (and financial doom) or sex shops. However, Governor Ishihara has recently been trying to shut them down with moderate success.
The scouts are those folks who try to lure young women into becoming porn starlets. I see most of them out in Shibuya; they're the guys in the flashy suits and spiky dyed hair who swoop in on unsuspecting lone girls and women and try to ask them if they've ever considered a career in "modeling". I guess they haven't been too successful of late since now their handlers are also throwing in attractive women to do some of the luring.
Finally, there are the survey-takers. Exactly the opposite from the first two categories, these people are usually just middle-aged women who I've usually found to be in Shibuya and they try to get people to fill out surveys on various consumer goods.
I barely go into Kabukicho so I've had no problems with the touts, and certainly I haven't been approached by the scouts and most likely will never be (unless the porn industry goes into a distinctly kinky direction). However, the survey takers are out there. My usual response? I just look straight ahead and fly past them. If they start following me, I just raise my hand in a half-prayer and wave it back and forth and pick up speed.
On Monday, though, I did get a rather unique mix of two of the types. I was walking past the Century Hyatt when a young attractive girl approached me to perhaps sell me on some sort of thing and wondered if I could take a look at a tiny little screen. I used my technique and quickly shook her off.
Well, I'll be taking in off in little more than an hour to see The Office Lady. I haven't heard anything from her so I'm assuming that we're still on in Toranomon as usual.
Blazing hot as has been the case for the entire summer. Just beating down on my scalp as I made my way to the post office. I should probably be earning a few carcinomas there within the next few decades.
Saw Arnuld overpower the Republican masses with his speech today. Hard to believe that this is the guy who was once the Terminator and a man who dressed up as a bottled vitamin drink on Japanese commercials and now he's the ruler of the 6th-largest nation-state on Earth. Hollywood couldn't have come up with a better or more unbelievable script.
Party Hearty sent a message and stated in her usual oh-so-silly-me way that she double-booked herself for Saturday so she asked Paddy and myself over for another BBQ since her work buddies were oh-so-desperate to try out the famous PH grill. Paddy sent me a rather terse sentence describing what he'd thought of her little switch. I must admit it was pretty silly of her but that's her way. In any case, I declined the invitation and just told Paddy that it'll be just a twosome on Saturday at the Maple Leaf. I have a feeling that the Quarterback will head for the BBQ.
They've been showing all sorts of Peanuts specials on the Cartoon Network daily. It's been a mix of the specials and the short-lived cartoon series ranging all the way from 1968 ("He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown") to sometime in the 90s (the Peanuts gang head out to the ISS). They've been entertaining though I'm sure the current generation (and even the one before that) are probably wondering what the fuss is all about). However, as I've said before, it's just not the same without Vince Guaraldi doing the score but the latter entries do try to carry on with a jazz-tinged theme. On that point, the less said about "Flashbeagle", the better.
One thing about living in this city is that the homeless here are very passive unlike in other major cities where they can be aggressive to a near-dangerous degree. They just trudge along or just sit or lie around the pavement in places like Shinjuku Station or Sumida Park. No, the aggressive ones on the street here are the touts, scouts and the survey-takers.
The touts are those tuxedoed fellows in the red-light district of Kabukicho or Shibuya who try to drag in salarymen into their overly-priced bars (and financial doom) or sex shops. However, Governor Ishihara has recently been trying to shut them down with moderate success.
The scouts are those folks who try to lure young women into becoming porn starlets. I see most of them out in Shibuya; they're the guys in the flashy suits and spiky dyed hair who swoop in on unsuspecting lone girls and women and try to ask them if they've ever considered a career in "modeling". I guess they haven't been too successful of late since now their handlers are also throwing in attractive women to do some of the luring.
Finally, there are the survey-takers. Exactly the opposite from the first two categories, these people are usually just middle-aged women who I've usually found to be in Shibuya and they try to get people to fill out surveys on various consumer goods.
I barely go into Kabukicho so I've had no problems with the touts, and certainly I haven't been approached by the scouts and most likely will never be (unless the porn industry goes into a distinctly kinky direction). However, the survey takers are out there. My usual response? I just look straight ahead and fly past them. If they start following me, I just raise my hand in a half-prayer and wave it back and forth and pick up speed.
On Monday, though, I did get a rather unique mix of two of the types. I was walking past the Century Hyatt when a young attractive girl approached me to perhaps sell me on some sort of thing and wondered if I could take a look at a tiny little screen. I used my technique and quickly shook her off.
Well, I'll be taking in off in little more than an hour to see The Office Lady. I haven't heard anything from her so I'm assuming that we're still on in Toranomon as usual.
Tuesday August 31, 10:23 p.m.
I found out the reason for that prospective student deciding not to join the juku. My boss told me that her mother...or should I say her mommy?...had phoned up and said that her daughter just couldn't come over to the juku since she doesn't know how to ride a bicycle. Well, it's either the lamest excuse I've ever heard for declining lessons or that woman is one mightily spoiled brat. Either way, I'm glad that she didn't sign up. So it looks like I have the boss herself for her regular lessons starting in the 9 p.m. slot next week.
Speaking of new students, I think I may get one starting from Sept. 9th biweekly.
I got word from Paddy who has just come back to Japan. Looks like the Quarterback did get back to him after all. Not sure if either he or Party Hearty will come out on Saturday,though.
Saw Rudy Giuliani wow the crowd New York-style at the RNC today. The gloves are definitely off. No clown there. Still early, though.
The Olympic athletes have been scattering off to their respective hometowns all over the country to cheering crowds and warm welcomes according to the NHK cameras.
Well, Typhoon 16 is now a low-pressure memory but No. 17 seems to be on the same trajectory.
I found out the reason for that prospective student deciding not to join the juku. My boss told me that her mother...or should I say her mommy?...had phoned up and said that her daughter just couldn't come over to the juku since she doesn't know how to ride a bicycle. Well, it's either the lamest excuse I've ever heard for declining lessons or that woman is one mightily spoiled brat. Either way, I'm glad that she didn't sign up. So it looks like I have the boss herself for her regular lessons starting in the 9 p.m. slot next week.
Speaking of new students, I think I may get one starting from Sept. 9th biweekly.
I got word from Paddy who has just come back to Japan. Looks like the Quarterback did get back to him after all. Not sure if either he or Party Hearty will come out on Saturday,though.
Saw Rudy Giuliani wow the crowd New York-style at the RNC today. The gloves are definitely off. No clown there. Still early, though.
The Olympic athletes have been scattering off to their respective hometowns all over the country to cheering crowds and warm welcomes according to the NHK cameras.
Well, Typhoon 16 is now a low-pressure memory but No. 17 seems to be on the same trajectory.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Tuesday August 31, 9:48 a.m.
Watching a visibly annoyed Paula Zahn and George Bush, Sr. go at each other in an interview.
Received a partially wistful letter from Paddy just now. He sent some e-mail over to the Quarterback about getting together but hasn't received any reply. He admitted that in their time in Toronto together that he hadn't treated Q well at times which may explain Q's non-response. My feeling is that as one gets older and more set in attitudes and opinions, one's circle of friends gets smaller. As for me, I think all three of us are generally good if flawed people. That doesn't mean that we'll stay friends. Certain ways we treat each other in the past will bring either benefits or consequences. In our probably erstwhile relationship with the Quarterback, the latter seems to be the case. The only thing we can do is ensure that the friendships we do have continue to be strong.
Woke up to a lot of strong winds howling out there but they seem to be dissipating now and T16 is now headed up north. We've avoided another bullet.
The juku boss let me know that that prospective student has gone elsewhere for her lessons which suits me fine. I couldn't really see her coming to our casual little niche. She would seem more at home with a more professional outfit.
Watching a visibly annoyed Paula Zahn and George Bush, Sr. go at each other in an interview.
Received a partially wistful letter from Paddy just now. He sent some e-mail over to the Quarterback about getting together but hasn't received any reply. He admitted that in their time in Toronto together that he hadn't treated Q well at times which may explain Q's non-response. My feeling is that as one gets older and more set in attitudes and opinions, one's circle of friends gets smaller. As for me, I think all three of us are generally good if flawed people. That doesn't mean that we'll stay friends. Certain ways we treat each other in the past will bring either benefits or consequences. In our probably erstwhile relationship with the Quarterback, the latter seems to be the case. The only thing we can do is ensure that the friendships we do have continue to be strong.
Woke up to a lot of strong winds howling out there but they seem to be dissipating now and T16 is now headed up north. We've avoided another bullet.
The juku boss let me know that that prospective student has gone elsewhere for her lessons which suits me fine. I couldn't really see her coming to our casual little niche. She would seem more at home with a more professional outfit.
Monday August 30, 9:40 p.m.
It got steamy again today although the signs were there that there was a typhoon not too, too far away. A spit of rain here, a gush of wind there. But there was nothing here to compare with the sturm und drang in the south. With the Olympics all done, the typhoon now has centre stage. It's gonna get downright torrid tomorrow with temps reaching 34. Shades of this summer.
Had the Class Act this morning as usual. The one student and I were heavily praising the other student on some bagels that we'd gotten from her as a souvenir last week. Boy, were they good! Her son-in-law had brought them over frozen from New York City from a highly praised bakery that has gotten high grades from the Jewish community. If bagels can be this good even after a deep freeze and several thousand kilometres of travel, I can only imagine how freshly-made must be like. I'm sorely tempted to check out their website.
After class, I checked out Tower Records and HMV in Shibuya for the first time there in a few weeks. That former SPEED girl, HIRO, has got her jazz CD out. I listened to a few tracks...not too bad. I may get it at the very least for curiosity's sake. However, the homegrown talent that I've become intrigued with is a unit called FRIED PRIDE.
I also ended up at McD's for lunch for the first time in well over a week. For me, that's a big achievement. However, I was a bit humbled by the Class Act when they told me that neither of them had been at the Golden Arches in several months. I'll chalk that up to generational gap. I would have chosen another Doner Kebab since I saw the truck outside of Towers today but unfortunately the guy was just setting up shop and I couldn't wait.
Went up to Shinjuku and I made a pit stop at the convenience store on the way to the Andersens Plaza to get another batch of Gatsby's Mentholated Wipes for my sweaty face and neck. Thought I wouldn't need anymore this year but I guess the summer is not done with us yet.
My lesson at the company was another solo. Luckily, it was the guy who actually can benefit from the lessons since he may be transferred to Toronto in the not-so-distant future. Still, I was pretty wiped by the end.
Got home to see that the typhoon was still taking up air time. Tokyo will be probably get its closest swipe overnight but it won't be too bad. The historical founders for the capital chose their site wisely. It's usually a freak occurence if a typhoon actually hits Tokyo dead-on.
From one circus to another. Now that the Athens Games have gone into history, the next big thing is the Republican National Convention in the States. Interesting term...circus. One featured the strongmen, the other will feature a lot more clowns.
It got steamy again today although the signs were there that there was a typhoon not too, too far away. A spit of rain here, a gush of wind there. But there was nothing here to compare with the sturm und drang in the south. With the Olympics all done, the typhoon now has centre stage. It's gonna get downright torrid tomorrow with temps reaching 34. Shades of this summer.
Had the Class Act this morning as usual. The one student and I were heavily praising the other student on some bagels that we'd gotten from her as a souvenir last week. Boy, were they good! Her son-in-law had brought them over frozen from New York City from a highly praised bakery that has gotten high grades from the Jewish community. If bagels can be this good even after a deep freeze and several thousand kilometres of travel, I can only imagine how freshly-made must be like. I'm sorely tempted to check out their website.
After class, I checked out Tower Records and HMV in Shibuya for the first time there in a few weeks. That former SPEED girl, HIRO, has got her jazz CD out. I listened to a few tracks...not too bad. I may get it at the very least for curiosity's sake. However, the homegrown talent that I've become intrigued with is a unit called FRIED PRIDE.
I also ended up at McD's for lunch for the first time in well over a week. For me, that's a big achievement. However, I was a bit humbled by the Class Act when they told me that neither of them had been at the Golden Arches in several months. I'll chalk that up to generational gap. I would have chosen another Doner Kebab since I saw the truck outside of Towers today but unfortunately the guy was just setting up shop and I couldn't wait.
Went up to Shinjuku and I made a pit stop at the convenience store on the way to the Andersens Plaza to get another batch of Gatsby's Mentholated Wipes for my sweaty face and neck. Thought I wouldn't need anymore this year but I guess the summer is not done with us yet.
My lesson at the company was another solo. Luckily, it was the guy who actually can benefit from the lessons since he may be transferred to Toronto in the not-so-distant future. Still, I was pretty wiped by the end.
Got home to see that the typhoon was still taking up air time. Tokyo will be probably get its closest swipe overnight but it won't be too bad. The historical founders for the capital chose their site wisely. It's usually a freak occurence if a typhoon actually hits Tokyo dead-on.
From one circus to another. Now that the Athens Games have gone into history, the next big thing is the Republican National Convention in the States. Interesting term...circus. One featured the strongmen, the other will feature a lot more clowns.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Monday August 30, 7:34 a.m.
Not surprisingly, the Olympics and Typhoon 16 are sharing top spot in the news today. NHK is currently doing a musical interlude of all the medal winners ad nauseum...a pattern which I'm sure will be repeated throughout all the channels today and tomorrow.
Murofushi had that press conference about his new gold medal several hours ago. Again to use the expression, "not surprisingly", he expressed some regret about not getting it through the regular channels, namely on a podium in front of a cheering crowd. Still, he was grateful to get it.
Looks like that Men's Marathon had a bit of unwanted excitement. Some psycho defrocked Irish priest decided to tackle the Brazilian runner who had been in the lead. Apparently, the idiot is on some deluded mission to warn everyone about the end of the world by attacking athletes at world events. The runner sadly couldn't get the Gold but he did get the Bronze and he came in smiling, just thankful that he wasn't killed out there. Right attitude to have. But aside from that sordidness, the Athens Games finished safely.
Shard just told me that 80s pop singer Laura Branigan had passed away last week. Way too early for her to leave at 47. I know about "Gloria" but my favorite song by her is the ballad "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" I'm sure a lot of her diehard fans are crying that right now.
Now, as for the typhoon...it looks like it's doing a real number on Shikoku and Kyushu. However, the forecast for the Kanto area for the next 24 hours will just be rain and some increased wind power. The closest it'll get timewise will be overnight tonight...very considerate of the typhoon. But I'll be bringing in my poles off the balcony before I take off for work today. Still, it'll literally skirt us here so there is every possibility that it may hiccup and end up dumping a world of meterological hurt on us.
Not surprisingly, the Olympics and Typhoon 16 are sharing top spot in the news today. NHK is currently doing a musical interlude of all the medal winners ad nauseum...a pattern which I'm sure will be repeated throughout all the channels today and tomorrow.
Murofushi had that press conference about his new gold medal several hours ago. Again to use the expression, "not surprisingly", he expressed some regret about not getting it through the regular channels, namely on a podium in front of a cheering crowd. Still, he was grateful to get it.
Looks like that Men's Marathon had a bit of unwanted excitement. Some psycho defrocked Irish priest decided to tackle the Brazilian runner who had been in the lead. Apparently, the idiot is on some deluded mission to warn everyone about the end of the world by attacking athletes at world events. The runner sadly couldn't get the Gold but he did get the Bronze and he came in smiling, just thankful that he wasn't killed out there. Right attitude to have. But aside from that sordidness, the Athens Games finished safely.
Shard just told me that 80s pop singer Laura Branigan had passed away last week. Way too early for her to leave at 47. I know about "Gloria" but my favorite song by her is the ballad "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" I'm sure a lot of her diehard fans are crying that right now.
Now, as for the typhoon...it looks like it's doing a real number on Shikoku and Kyushu. However, the forecast for the Kanto area for the next 24 hours will just be rain and some increased wind power. The closest it'll get timewise will be overnight tonight...very considerate of the typhoon. But I'll be bringing in my poles off the balcony before I take off for work today. Still, it'll literally skirt us here so there is every possibility that it may hiccup and end up dumping a world of meterological hurt on us.
Sunday August 29, 10:43 p.m.
The rain had pretty much gone down to a trickle by the time I got out for shopping. Was out and back within a half-hour. With the kimchi chicken sandwich, the remaining Japanese-style onion soup and rice with seasonings, I managed to stuff myself almost to bursting in a way that I didn't attain even at the Outback last week.
Even now on the final day of the Olympics, the Japanese medal rush continues. One of the male wrestlers managed to get himself a hard-fought bronze medal. I also have a bone to pick with NHK. In this country, there's a rather annoying rule amongst the TV networks here that the schedule is always king. So in Japanese baseball coverage, the networks give 2 hours at night...2.5 hours if there are extra innings...but that is it. Anything more is verboten...it could be a nailbiter of an extra-inning game but it doesn't matter...once 9:30 comes around, goodbye baseball. To be fair, though. I think the rules go out the window during the playoffs.
The reason I bring this up is that today, there was a real nailbiter of a Gold Medal handball match between Korea and Denmark which went into double overtime and eventually into a shootout. But then a few seconds into the second overtime, NHK decided to switch over for the weather. Yes, I know...Japan wasn't involved and yes, there was a typhoon to be scared of...but jeez, NHK...
This just in...looks like that Hungarian hammer thrower, Annus, just lost his gold due to doping. Murofushi gets it instead...YEAAAAH! This means that not only has Murofushi become the first Japanese to get a gold medal in the hammer throw but it means that Japan has gotten the highest number of gold medals in its Olympic history. The only down side is that the news comes in a much more subdued manner than if Murofushi had won it fair and square during the actual competition. Well, I'm sure that Mr. M doesn't mind at all. I guess his news will be competing with Typhoon 16 for time on the wide shows tomorrow morning. As for Annus, I'm sure he must feel like his name right now.
Got a call from my juku boss an hour ago. Looks like I've got a trial lesson with some high-falutin' intellectual type on Tuesday after my two regular classes. My boss says that she has the same sort of personality as that erstwhile student with the heart of darkness. Oh, that's just great...she apparently works at Tokyo University, just the most highly regarded (true or not) institution of higher learning in the country. Her TOEIC score is up around 900 which could signify advanced speaking ability. I just hope she's not a snob...
More on James "Scotty" Doohan. I remember 13 years ago when I had just returned from my tour of duty on the JET Programme back to Toronto to attend the big 25th-anniversary celebration in front of City Hall for Star Trek. It was basically a huge love-in for all things Trek with the star event being the appearance of the four supporting characters from the original series: Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols. The four were several hours late due to some plane delays, but I'm sure that all worked in favour of the vendors; everyone had been waiting to see the four. Finally as sunset was entering its final phase, they finally showed up.
George Takei seemed to act like he was the Ambassador of Star Trek with all the affectations of pomp and circumstance, Nichelle Nichols acted every inch the Holiday Inn lounge princess (she even sang a verse from one of her new tunes...the less said, the better), and Koenig was fairly sardonic (everyone enjoyed his sarcastic imitation of Shatner...no love lost there). However, it was Jimmy Doohan who got the biggest response of the night; we all loved the Miracle Worker. However, the stunner was when he revealed that he had once lived in the Toronto neighbourhood of Don Mills (he was born in Vancouver but raised in Sarnia, Ontario) and he even told the exact address. Oh my golly, I thought, the poor residents at that address will be inundated with extreme Trekkies on their front lawn for weeks.
The rain had pretty much gone down to a trickle by the time I got out for shopping. Was out and back within a half-hour. With the kimchi chicken sandwich, the remaining Japanese-style onion soup and rice with seasonings, I managed to stuff myself almost to bursting in a way that I didn't attain even at the Outback last week.
Even now on the final day of the Olympics, the Japanese medal rush continues. One of the male wrestlers managed to get himself a hard-fought bronze medal. I also have a bone to pick with NHK. In this country, there's a rather annoying rule amongst the TV networks here that the schedule is always king. So in Japanese baseball coverage, the networks give 2 hours at night...2.5 hours if there are extra innings...but that is it. Anything more is verboten...it could be a nailbiter of an extra-inning game but it doesn't matter...once 9:30 comes around, goodbye baseball. To be fair, though. I think the rules go out the window during the playoffs.
The reason I bring this up is that today, there was a real nailbiter of a Gold Medal handball match between Korea and Denmark which went into double overtime and eventually into a shootout. But then a few seconds into the second overtime, NHK decided to switch over for the weather. Yes, I know...Japan wasn't involved and yes, there was a typhoon to be scared of...but jeez, NHK...
This just in...looks like that Hungarian hammer thrower, Annus, just lost his gold due to doping. Murofushi gets it instead...YEAAAAH! This means that not only has Murofushi become the first Japanese to get a gold medal in the hammer throw but it means that Japan has gotten the highest number of gold medals in its Olympic history. The only down side is that the news comes in a much more subdued manner than if Murofushi had won it fair and square during the actual competition. Well, I'm sure that Mr. M doesn't mind at all. I guess his news will be competing with Typhoon 16 for time on the wide shows tomorrow morning. As for Annus, I'm sure he must feel like his name right now.
Got a call from my juku boss an hour ago. Looks like I've got a trial lesson with some high-falutin' intellectual type on Tuesday after my two regular classes. My boss says that she has the same sort of personality as that erstwhile student with the heart of darkness. Oh, that's just great...she apparently works at Tokyo University, just the most highly regarded (true or not) institution of higher learning in the country. Her TOEIC score is up around 900 which could signify advanced speaking ability. I just hope she's not a snob...
More on James "Scotty" Doohan. I remember 13 years ago when I had just returned from my tour of duty on the JET Programme back to Toronto to attend the big 25th-anniversary celebration in front of City Hall for Star Trek. It was basically a huge love-in for all things Trek with the star event being the appearance of the four supporting characters from the original series: Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols. The four were several hours late due to some plane delays, but I'm sure that all worked in favour of the vendors; everyone had been waiting to see the four. Finally as sunset was entering its final phase, they finally showed up.
George Takei seemed to act like he was the Ambassador of Star Trek with all the affectations of pomp and circumstance, Nichelle Nichols acted every inch the Holiday Inn lounge princess (she even sang a verse from one of her new tunes...the less said, the better), and Koenig was fairly sardonic (everyone enjoyed his sarcastic imitation of Shatner...no love lost there). However, it was Jimmy Doohan who got the biggest response of the night; we all loved the Miracle Worker. However, the stunner was when he revealed that he had once lived in the Toronto neighbourhood of Don Mills (he was born in Vancouver but raised in Sarnia, Ontario) and he even told the exact address. Oh my golly, I thought, the poor residents at that address will be inundated with extreme Trekkies on their front lawn for weeks.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Sunday August 29, 12:55 p.m.
Typhoon 16 is making its presence felt here although to a far lesser degree than in the south and west. It's been raining steadily all day but we've been saved the gales. A lot of people were saying that this typhoon will mark the coming of Fall. Not according to the weather forecast. We still have a few more days of torrid heat coming up.
Yesterday was pretty quiet. Just went to see M + M at the Tea Room. Had a very nice chat about what everyone was up to. One of them said that she'd started driving lessons since she was approaching the big 4-0. Signs of a mid-life crisis? She needn't worry all that much...she still looks young for someone in their late 30s. For me, the only place I wanna be in a car is in the back.
The Olympics are winding down and most of the Japanese contingent are back home. I kinda wonder how that's gonna look to the rest of the Athens crowd during the closing ceremonies but then again as I recall, all the athletes just enter the stadium pell-mell regardless of nation anyways. Still, Japan has nothing to be ashamed about...the best ever results for the country in Olympic history and 5th overall in the medal standings. Lots of fodder for the wide shows for the next week.
With this rainy Sunday, I'll be getting some housework out of the way. I'll pack a couple of more boxes for the Anime King to be shipped out on Tuesday. Then, I'll start planning for lessons for tomorrow before getting the fixins for dinner.
Typhoon 16 is making its presence felt here although to a far lesser degree than in the south and west. It's been raining steadily all day but we've been saved the gales. A lot of people were saying that this typhoon will mark the coming of Fall. Not according to the weather forecast. We still have a few more days of torrid heat coming up.
Yesterday was pretty quiet. Just went to see M + M at the Tea Room. Had a very nice chat about what everyone was up to. One of them said that she'd started driving lessons since she was approaching the big 4-0. Signs of a mid-life crisis? She needn't worry all that much...she still looks young for someone in their late 30s. For me, the only place I wanna be in a car is in the back.
The Olympics are winding down and most of the Japanese contingent are back home. I kinda wonder how that's gonna look to the rest of the Athens crowd during the closing ceremonies but then again as I recall, all the athletes just enter the stadium pell-mell regardless of nation anyways. Still, Japan has nothing to be ashamed about...the best ever results for the country in Olympic history and 5th overall in the medal standings. Lots of fodder for the wide shows for the next week.
With this rainy Sunday, I'll be getting some housework out of the way. I'll pack a couple of more boxes for the Anime King to be shipped out on Tuesday. Then, I'll start planning for lessons for tomorrow before getting the fixins for dinner.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Friday August 27, 10:39 p.m.
My chat with The Teacher produced some info that I could use for future travels to smaller Japanese-style ryokan. Perhaps, I may try for one more overnighter in the Fall in Sendai but seeing how my income is so far this month, maybe it'll have to wait until next year.
I met up with The Beauty Pair and their eccentric friend for karaoke tonight at the Urayasu Shidax. It was only my second time there, the first time being several years ago. It hasn't changed...still has that Disneyland look. When we got there, all of the customers were just teens probably enjoying their final days of freedom before returning to school next week. We got our little cubicle and spent 3 hours of singing and noshing...the food at the Shidax is a bit higher class than that of the other chains. I certainly got my money's worth of singing; I basically followed the pattern of alternating between English and Japanese. I was even able to tackle some songs that I hadn't done in years, and I realized that "Beyond the Sea" is gonna be one of my touchstones from now on. We also got some entertainment from our eccentric friend when he tried to blast through some Zeppelin with his fractured English.
After all that debauchery, I'm glad that I don't have anything until 4 p.m. tomorrow since the kids are still enjoying their vacation in Hawaii. And I'm now assuming that the mother of the Little Owl has dumped me since I haven't heard anything from her for over a month now. Hey, fine with me...I was never much for teaching kids anyways. I am a bit concerned about the weather since Typhoon 16 is just around the corner. Apparently, the storm may even make a sharp turn north towards us on Monday.
Being the Trekkie, it's with sadness that I heard about James "Scotty" Doohan's swan song appearance at the next Star Trek convention. I'd kept hearing about his final appearance for a number of months so I figured that the "Miracle Worker" was ailing. Indeed, he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's so he'll be walking down that inexorable road toward oblivion. That last appearance there may not even leave a Borg or a Vulcan dry-eyed.
My chat with The Teacher produced some info that I could use for future travels to smaller Japanese-style ryokan. Perhaps, I may try for one more overnighter in the Fall in Sendai but seeing how my income is so far this month, maybe it'll have to wait until next year.
I met up with The Beauty Pair and their eccentric friend for karaoke tonight at the Urayasu Shidax. It was only my second time there, the first time being several years ago. It hasn't changed...still has that Disneyland look. When we got there, all of the customers were just teens probably enjoying their final days of freedom before returning to school next week. We got our little cubicle and spent 3 hours of singing and noshing...the food at the Shidax is a bit higher class than that of the other chains. I certainly got my money's worth of singing; I basically followed the pattern of alternating between English and Japanese. I was even able to tackle some songs that I hadn't done in years, and I realized that "Beyond the Sea" is gonna be one of my touchstones from now on. We also got some entertainment from our eccentric friend when he tried to blast through some Zeppelin with his fractured English.
After all that debauchery, I'm glad that I don't have anything until 4 p.m. tomorrow since the kids are still enjoying their vacation in Hawaii. And I'm now assuming that the mother of the Little Owl has dumped me since I haven't heard anything from her for over a month now. Hey, fine with me...I was never much for teaching kids anyways. I am a bit concerned about the weather since Typhoon 16 is just around the corner. Apparently, the storm may even make a sharp turn north towards us on Monday.
Being the Trekkie, it's with sadness that I heard about James "Scotty" Doohan's swan song appearance at the next Star Trek convention. I'd kept hearing about his final appearance for a number of months so I figured that the "Miracle Worker" was ailing. Indeed, he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's so he'll be walking down that inexorable road toward oblivion. That last appearance there may not even leave a Borg or a Vulcan dry-eyed.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Friday August 27, 9:32 a.m.
Just watching the Paula Zahn exclusive with the soldiers who were right there when all the Abu Ghraib abuses were going on. What was striking was how Peter Parker the accused looked and sounded. Just makes me wonder how many regular people could be in that situation and act any differently. I'm afraid I can't be that optimistic.
Another typhoon is on our doorstep...or a little off on the lawn, so to speak. Okinawa and southern Japan will get the brunt of it, but Tokyo may also get a bit sideswiped this weekend.
Just watching the Paula Zahn exclusive with the soldiers who were right there when all the Abu Ghraib abuses were going on. What was striking was how Peter Parker the accused looked and sounded. Just makes me wonder how many regular people could be in that situation and act any differently. I'm afraid I can't be that optimistic.
Another typhoon is on our doorstep...or a little off on the lawn, so to speak. Okinawa and southern Japan will get the brunt of it, but Tokyo may also get a bit sideswiped this weekend.
Thursday August 26, 10:20 p.m.
Looks like the Athens organizers can be happy that the arena was filled to overflowing for at least one night after a fellow countrywoman got the gold in the 400m hurdles.
Quiet day today. Just cleaned up the place just in case the Chipmunk visited which she didn't. I picked her up at the station and took her to the Japanese-style family restaurant a minute away from the apartment. I helped her out on a couple of English presentation she'll have to make next week overseas...the topic was on wince-inducing stuff such as urine bags and catheters. I managed not to scrunch my face too much. She treated me to dinner in thanks but I also gave her some of those New York bagels that I got from one of my students. I had one of them this morning...yup, it tastes like a bagel.
The Japanese equivalent of the FTC actually raided some of the big music companies like Sony and Avex Japan. It looks like there was some sort of unholy cartel among the big five to bar the other smaller outfits from reaping profits from the usage of original songs as in lieu of ring tones on cellphones. Amazing what happens here...
Well, I have my last class of a very slow week tomorrow. I've got The Teacher for her lesson. Then I meet the Beauty Pair for all-night karaoke.
Looks like the Athens organizers can be happy that the arena was filled to overflowing for at least one night after a fellow countrywoman got the gold in the 400m hurdles.
Quiet day today. Just cleaned up the place just in case the Chipmunk visited which she didn't. I picked her up at the station and took her to the Japanese-style family restaurant a minute away from the apartment. I helped her out on a couple of English presentation she'll have to make next week overseas...the topic was on wince-inducing stuff such as urine bags and catheters. I managed not to scrunch my face too much. She treated me to dinner in thanks but I also gave her some of those New York bagels that I got from one of my students. I had one of them this morning...yup, it tastes like a bagel.
The Japanese equivalent of the FTC actually raided some of the big music companies like Sony and Avex Japan. It looks like there was some sort of unholy cartel among the big five to bar the other smaller outfits from reaping profits from the usage of original songs as in lieu of ring tones on cellphones. Amazing what happens here...
Well, I have my last class of a very slow week tomorrow. I've got The Teacher for her lesson. Then I meet the Beauty Pair for all-night karaoke.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Thursday August 26, 2:28 a.m.
Up somewhat late tonight so I might as well contribute something before I finally retire.
For the first time since the Athens Games began, Japan didn't earn a single medal on Tuesday. But it did get its bronze in baseball yesterday. So, now, Japan has passed its old record of 32 medals set back in LA 1984 to have its most successful Olympics. And the synchro swimming pair may actually get something today.
I met up with the ladies today. As usual, a lot of gab but they were happy. Also, I got some souvenirs from one of them in the form of bagels straight from the Big Apple. Looks like I won't be worrying about breakfast rolls for the next little while. And I also got a number of chocolates. Afterwards, I went up to Akihabara to see if the Anime King's latest request in the form of a soundtrack were there. No such luck. But I did see my favorite Doner Kebab truck nestled in one of the many side streets of the electronics district. Resistance was indeed futile so I grabbed myself some lunch.
Although it was too bad that the OL cancelled out last night, I was able to get home early and crash a bit before dinner. Dinner was a recipe from my trusty ol' Chinese cookbook that I'd bought all the way back in the late 80s. The recipe called for Hoisin Sauce. When my old buddy, the Iconoclast, dumped a lot of stuff on me, he left me several jars of various Chinese condiments. The Hoisin Sauce officially expired in 2002 so I was somewhat concerned. But aside from some gray scum to the side, the sauce worked out well. The wonders of refrigeration for you...
With a free Thursday, I'll be cleaning up the place again so that I can possibly entertain Chipmunk's arrival later tonight.
The last part of this is on a wistful note, but seeing that it is the middle of the night, I thought it would be appropos. For over a month, I've gotten no word from either Arwen or 99. I'd actually sent a message off to Arwen whose e-mail address I do have, but never got a reply back. I know that she has that new demanding job but I'd thought that she'd have some time to let me know how she's doing. The last time I saw the pair was at El Torito where they had a great time. I'm still 100% positive but I have the sad feeling that that Sunday night was perhaps the big kissoff to me. My lessons with them weren't exactly the most successful since they didn't seem to chime in with the text too well. I would have thought that Arwen would have at least given me some sort of lame excuse to forego our professional relationship but she hasn't sent word one. And I would've thought that at least our personal friendship was still intact but I'm now thinking that even that's non-existent as well. I don't think I offended them in any way or was that bad a teacher. It just hurts, that's all, especially because in the one year prior to their "disappearance", I'd thought that our little friendship had been one of my stronger ones. Just don't know...but I do know that in the very iffy case that I hear from either or both of them again, I don't think I'll be nearly as cordial.
I think what makes it even more galling for me is that Arwen isn't the first one. The Madam pulled a similar stunt earlier this year starting with that sudden cancellation from my Xmas dinner. I haven't totally forgiven her for that since I felt pretty rotten eating alone at the restaurant. Now I'm just afraid that I may have to be standoffish where students are concerned. I haven't bothered calling Skippy since I don't want to give the impression that I'm pushing. And I haven't sent any word over to my ex for the same and additional reasons. Frankly, I'm wondering if I'll have to live the life of a monk from now on with only Movie Buddy being the only person that I really trust here.
Up somewhat late tonight so I might as well contribute something before I finally retire.
For the first time since the Athens Games began, Japan didn't earn a single medal on Tuesday. But it did get its bronze in baseball yesterday. So, now, Japan has passed its old record of 32 medals set back in LA 1984 to have its most successful Olympics. And the synchro swimming pair may actually get something today.
I met up with the ladies today. As usual, a lot of gab but they were happy. Also, I got some souvenirs from one of them in the form of bagels straight from the Big Apple. Looks like I won't be worrying about breakfast rolls for the next little while. And I also got a number of chocolates. Afterwards, I went up to Akihabara to see if the Anime King's latest request in the form of a soundtrack were there. No such luck. But I did see my favorite Doner Kebab truck nestled in one of the many side streets of the electronics district. Resistance was indeed futile so I grabbed myself some lunch.
Although it was too bad that the OL cancelled out last night, I was able to get home early and crash a bit before dinner. Dinner was a recipe from my trusty ol' Chinese cookbook that I'd bought all the way back in the late 80s. The recipe called for Hoisin Sauce. When my old buddy, the Iconoclast, dumped a lot of stuff on me, he left me several jars of various Chinese condiments. The Hoisin Sauce officially expired in 2002 so I was somewhat concerned. But aside from some gray scum to the side, the sauce worked out well. The wonders of refrigeration for you...
With a free Thursday, I'll be cleaning up the place again so that I can possibly entertain Chipmunk's arrival later tonight.
The last part of this is on a wistful note, but seeing that it is the middle of the night, I thought it would be appropos. For over a month, I've gotten no word from either Arwen or 99. I'd actually sent a message off to Arwen whose e-mail address I do have, but never got a reply back. I know that she has that new demanding job but I'd thought that she'd have some time to let me know how she's doing. The last time I saw the pair was at El Torito where they had a great time. I'm still 100% positive but I have the sad feeling that that Sunday night was perhaps the big kissoff to me. My lessons with them weren't exactly the most successful since they didn't seem to chime in with the text too well. I would have thought that Arwen would have at least given me some sort of lame excuse to forego our professional relationship but she hasn't sent word one. And I would've thought that at least our personal friendship was still intact but I'm now thinking that even that's non-existent as well. I don't think I offended them in any way or was that bad a teacher. It just hurts, that's all, especially because in the one year prior to their "disappearance", I'd thought that our little friendship had been one of my stronger ones. Just don't know...but I do know that in the very iffy case that I hear from either or both of them again, I don't think I'll be nearly as cordial.
I think what makes it even more galling for me is that Arwen isn't the first one. The Madam pulled a similar stunt earlier this year starting with that sudden cancellation from my Xmas dinner. I haven't totally forgiven her for that since I felt pretty rotten eating alone at the restaurant. Now I'm just afraid that I may have to be standoffish where students are concerned. I haven't bothered calling Skippy since I don't want to give the impression that I'm pushing. And I haven't sent any word over to my ex for the same and additional reasons. Frankly, I'm wondering if I'll have to live the life of a monk from now on with only Movie Buddy being the only person that I really trust here.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Tuesday August 24, 10:33 p.m.
Another sweaty day. Met Movie Buddy for Fahrenheit 911 at la Theatre Ginza. We noticed that the majority of the viewers were quite a bit older than us. The staff also had an interesting approach for getting the people in...kinda like boarding procedures for a plane. It was actually a full house...the first time since The Phantom Menace back in 1999 that I'd actually experienced that, although the theatre only held 150 people. The trailers also seemed to drag on for a long time before the main event.
Now as for Michael Moore's magnum opus: after all the hoopla and the Palme D'Or, I got to see what all the fuss was about. I'm just gonna state the obvious here, but it was a very heavily partisan attack on Bush and his administration...not just professionally but on a personal level as well. Despite that repeatedly played scene of Bush on vacation with the Go-Gos background music, 911 was definitely a lot more somber than Bowling for Columbine. I marveled at how Moore got access to some of that footage from Iraq; I'm sure that Bush's press team must have been slapping themselves upside the head at how some of those scenes got to Moore. Moore also wove an intricate web of conspiracy connecting Bush, Cheney and the Bin Ladens on a scale that matched The Lone Gunman and anything from the X-Files but I have to wonder how strong that web really is. Some of the footage was fairly humourous, especially on how Moore chose his BGM for his scenes (the theme from that ol' 80s show, "The Greatest American Hero" to back up Bush's now-criticized appearance on the aircraft carrier, for example), and harrowing when it came to the grisliness of the bombing victims and Mrs Pedersen's coming to terms with her son's death.
Will 911 actually sway the election? Maybe/maybe not. Anti-Bushers and pro-Bushers will remain in their respective camps, and the undecided bloc will only use the movie as a small touchstone to make their decisions. There are many more variables out there for those folks to think about. And in any case, it isn't a direct election. I couldn't say that I enjoyed the film...things were just too grim for that but I can say that Moore gave his viewpoint very clearly. Plus, it is the first documentary that I've seen in a theater for decades. My butt was starting to get awfully sore and therefore I was getting pretty restless by the time 911 finished 2 hours and 10 minutes later. There wasn't the usual buildup, climax and denouement of a regular escapist flick for me to time my comfort zone.
Afterwards, MB and I made a slow walk through Ginza which didn't exactly keep me cool. The theater also wasn't all that cool either so I was feeling distinctly moist. We were searching for a pizza buffet place that MB's girlfriend knows but to no avail, so we ended up having a late lunch at the Fujiya in Yurakucho. Surprisingly, we didn't really go into all that much analysis of 911. I guess Moore did that for us. We just did our usual chat on other movies before breaking up an hour later. I'm not sure when we'll be meeting next time. Perhaps it'll be when the Ballerina makes her next return to Tokyo in a couple of weeks.
I made my way back to Urayasu for my juku. My two classes were fairly spritely affairs. The Beauty Pair and I spent a few minutes talking about our next social meeting on Friday with their eccentric friend from a few weeks ago. Hopefully, he won't drop his pants at Urayasu Station like he did when he first entered the izakaya. It'll be a karaoke affair at the local SHIDAX. Good choice, since the chain has the best rep amongst the karaoke boxes. Also, the juku boss herself will be filling the slot vacated by that student who's now getting used to life in Kentucky. She'll need the work since her structure is all over the place. I'll be glad to keep that extra slot occupied for the income.
The Office Lady sent in a cancellation notice today. So I've just got the Class Act for the first time in a few weeks. It'll be nice seeing them again. I'll have to tell them about 911 since it was one of them who had given me the ticket. Plus, I'll be seeing the Chipmunk Thursday night to check her PowerPoint presentation. It'll be a working dinner near my place. Also, it looks like The Anime King has made another order with Sega. I got another note from Yamato. I don't mind helping out my friend but I just don't want to end up being a clearinghouse all the time.
The Olympics are starting to wind down as far as the Japanese contingent is concerned. The main engines for the national gold rush have come back home and had their press conferences. The women's volleyball team have finally been eliminated (a lot of soul-searching will be taking place for that group, I'm sure), the gymnastics are done, and the coach for the women's softball team has resigned. Plus, Japan is not much of a force in the remaining track n' field events. I think the last couple of hopes for gold are in the baseball and synchro. We may actually match, if not exceed, the best gold result by the time the Games wrap up.
Another sweaty day. Met Movie Buddy for Fahrenheit 911 at la Theatre Ginza. We noticed that the majority of the viewers were quite a bit older than us. The staff also had an interesting approach for getting the people in...kinda like boarding procedures for a plane. It was actually a full house...the first time since The Phantom Menace back in 1999 that I'd actually experienced that, although the theatre only held 150 people. The trailers also seemed to drag on for a long time before the main event.
Now as for Michael Moore's magnum opus: after all the hoopla and the Palme D'Or, I got to see what all the fuss was about. I'm just gonna state the obvious here, but it was a very heavily partisan attack on Bush and his administration...not just professionally but on a personal level as well. Despite that repeatedly played scene of Bush on vacation with the Go-Gos background music, 911 was definitely a lot more somber than Bowling for Columbine. I marveled at how Moore got access to some of that footage from Iraq; I'm sure that Bush's press team must have been slapping themselves upside the head at how some of those scenes got to Moore. Moore also wove an intricate web of conspiracy connecting Bush, Cheney and the Bin Ladens on a scale that matched The Lone Gunman and anything from the X-Files but I have to wonder how strong that web really is. Some of the footage was fairly humourous, especially on how Moore chose his BGM for his scenes (the theme from that ol' 80s show, "The Greatest American Hero" to back up Bush's now-criticized appearance on the aircraft carrier, for example), and harrowing when it came to the grisliness of the bombing victims and Mrs Pedersen's coming to terms with her son's death.
Will 911 actually sway the election? Maybe/maybe not. Anti-Bushers and pro-Bushers will remain in their respective camps, and the undecided bloc will only use the movie as a small touchstone to make their decisions. There are many more variables out there for those folks to think about. And in any case, it isn't a direct election. I couldn't say that I enjoyed the film...things were just too grim for that but I can say that Moore gave his viewpoint very clearly. Plus, it is the first documentary that I've seen in a theater for decades. My butt was starting to get awfully sore and therefore I was getting pretty restless by the time 911 finished 2 hours and 10 minutes later. There wasn't the usual buildup, climax and denouement of a regular escapist flick for me to time my comfort zone.
Afterwards, MB and I made a slow walk through Ginza which didn't exactly keep me cool. The theater also wasn't all that cool either so I was feeling distinctly moist. We were searching for a pizza buffet place that MB's girlfriend knows but to no avail, so we ended up having a late lunch at the Fujiya in Yurakucho. Surprisingly, we didn't really go into all that much analysis of 911. I guess Moore did that for us. We just did our usual chat on other movies before breaking up an hour later. I'm not sure when we'll be meeting next time. Perhaps it'll be when the Ballerina makes her next return to Tokyo in a couple of weeks.
I made my way back to Urayasu for my juku. My two classes were fairly spritely affairs. The Beauty Pair and I spent a few minutes talking about our next social meeting on Friday with their eccentric friend from a few weeks ago. Hopefully, he won't drop his pants at Urayasu Station like he did when he first entered the izakaya. It'll be a karaoke affair at the local SHIDAX. Good choice, since the chain has the best rep amongst the karaoke boxes. Also, the juku boss herself will be filling the slot vacated by that student who's now getting used to life in Kentucky. She'll need the work since her structure is all over the place. I'll be glad to keep that extra slot occupied for the income.
The Office Lady sent in a cancellation notice today. So I've just got the Class Act for the first time in a few weeks. It'll be nice seeing them again. I'll have to tell them about 911 since it was one of them who had given me the ticket. Plus, I'll be seeing the Chipmunk Thursday night to check her PowerPoint presentation. It'll be a working dinner near my place. Also, it looks like The Anime King has made another order with Sega. I got another note from Yamato. I don't mind helping out my friend but I just don't want to end up being a clearinghouse all the time.
The Olympics are starting to wind down as far as the Japanese contingent is concerned. The main engines for the national gold rush have come back home and had their press conferences. The women's volleyball team have finally been eliminated (a lot of soul-searching will be taking place for that group, I'm sure), the gymnastics are done, and the coach for the women's softball team has resigned. Plus, Japan is not much of a force in the remaining track n' field events. I think the last couple of hopes for gold are in the baseball and synchro. We may actually match, if not exceed, the best gold result by the time the Games wrap up.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Tuesday August 24, 8:04 a.m.
Another bittersweet night at the Olympics. There were no less than 4 women in wrestling up for gold. Half got their wish. However, the expected champion, Kyoko Hamaguchi, had to settle for bronze in a rather large upset. Her rather colourful father, "Animal" Hamaguchi - a former pro wrestler, raised the 9 Levels of Hell from the stands at the officiating. Before one makes the inevitable comparisons between Animal and the father of the Williams sisters, though, he really is a tough but tender father. However, I don't think any judge should approach the Animal anytime soon.
Yesterday, on my way to the company, I dropped off at a point between Ginza and Kyobashi to check out Le Ginza Theatre a day before Fahrenheit 911. It looks like I may have to head out a bit early this morning to get another ticket since the lady told me that yesterday's afternoon show got a full house. The theatre is next door to the Seiyo Hotel, that place that one of my Monday morning students told me about. It's a small, subtle but expensive-looking hotel; the two Benzs out in front made that point abundantly clear. Luckily, I was in more formal gear, otherwise I would've felt distinctly underdressed even just passing the Seiyo.
I read the latest issue of METROPOLIS. It certainly has bulked up on the human interest stories. First, the Fischer controversy and now an article on the mean streets of Tokyo and how the governor is cracking down on the sin via a page out of Rudy Giuliani's playbook. Hey, I'm all for that; however, I'm not sure if I can really believe seeing a Warner Bros. goods store in formerly gang-ridden Kabukicho.
Another bittersweet night at the Olympics. There were no less than 4 women in wrestling up for gold. Half got their wish. However, the expected champion, Kyoko Hamaguchi, had to settle for bronze in a rather large upset. Her rather colourful father, "Animal" Hamaguchi - a former pro wrestler, raised the 9 Levels of Hell from the stands at the officiating. Before one makes the inevitable comparisons between Animal and the father of the Williams sisters, though, he really is a tough but tender father. However, I don't think any judge should approach the Animal anytime soon.
Yesterday, on my way to the company, I dropped off at a point between Ginza and Kyobashi to check out Le Ginza Theatre a day before Fahrenheit 911. It looks like I may have to head out a bit early this morning to get another ticket since the lady told me that yesterday's afternoon show got a full house. The theatre is next door to the Seiyo Hotel, that place that one of my Monday morning students told me about. It's a small, subtle but expensive-looking hotel; the two Benzs out in front made that point abundantly clear. Luckily, I was in more formal gear, otherwise I would've felt distinctly underdressed even just passing the Seiyo.
I read the latest issue of METROPOLIS. It certainly has bulked up on the human interest stories. First, the Fischer controversy and now an article on the mean streets of Tokyo and how the governor is cracking down on the sin via a page out of Rudy Giuliani's playbook. Hey, I'm all for that; however, I'm not sure if I can really believe seeing a Warner Bros. goods store in formerly gang-ridden Kabukicho.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Monday August 23, 9:02 a.m.
It's become a morning ritual. Go to sleep and then wake up to find out that Japan has gotten a few more medals. For the 2nd consecutive Olympics, a Japanese won the Women's Marathon. It certainly helped that her main rival, a British woman, crumpled in the heat and humidity. I'd say it was a testament as well as a miracle that the training and stamina could keep most of the competitors in the race, let alone actually finish, considering the aforementioned weather and the arduousness of the course. Along with the gold in the marathon, Murofushi got his silver in the hammer throw and there were another two bronzes. I think the winner in the marathon can look forward to having a lucrative career in TV ads if she follows her predecessor's lead. It was a good race for everyone...all 3 entrants from Japan placed in the top 10.
The weather does feel good outside. We'll also get some rain later on. Hopefully, a sign of things to come?
It's become a morning ritual. Go to sleep and then wake up to find out that Japan has gotten a few more medals. For the 2nd consecutive Olympics, a Japanese won the Women's Marathon. It certainly helped that her main rival, a British woman, crumpled in the heat and humidity. I'd say it was a testament as well as a miracle that the training and stamina could keep most of the competitors in the race, let alone actually finish, considering the aforementioned weather and the arduousness of the course. Along with the gold in the marathon, Murofushi got his silver in the hammer throw and there were another two bronzes. I think the winner in the marathon can look forward to having a lucrative career in TV ads if she follows her predecessor's lead. It was a good race for everyone...all 3 entrants from Japan placed in the top 10.
The weather does feel good outside. We'll also get some rain later on. Hopefully, a sign of things to come?
Sunday August 22, 7:57 p.m.
An interesting time with the Jazz Buddy today. I fulfilled her request for steak by setting the lesson in Shinagawa so that we could go to the Outback afterwards. She may be soft-spoken but she doesn't hesitate to reject something if she doesn't like it. We initially went to Anna Millers, that bastion of short-skirted waitresses and the target for millions of otaku everywhere on the Net, as a venue for the lesson. We had just sat down and looked at our menus when JB asked if we could move elsewhere. It wasn't because of the potentially sexually harassing atmosphere, though; she just felt the place was too stuffy and a bit too expensive for just coffee.
So we ended up at one of those trendy open cafes within a store in the WING shopping mall some metres down the way. The lesson went fairly well and then we went to the Outback. It was her first time there so she was looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about when Gabby had told her about the group outing there a few weeks ago.
We both ordered pretty much the same thing: the Outback Special with relevant side items, complementary sourdough bread and a shared plate of chicken wings. She didn't seem to care much for the sourdough bread so I was quite happy to take it off her hands. During the order-taking, JB gave our amiable bilingual waitress a good grilling on the recommendations. I'm not very sure if she would've gotten as polite and friendly a response if she'd done the same sort of thing at an equivalent American eatery, though.
I gotta admit...for such a slim and somewhat pallid lady, JB has an appetite to rival mine. The lady was as relentless as the Borg in tackling her meal. In my past outings with various students over the years at the Outback, the ladies either shared one plate in pairs or crumbled under the weight of 225 grams individually. Not Jazz Buddy. She didn't devour her steak and sides with gusto or speed but she did devour it some 10 minutes with grim determination after I sped through my meal. Our conversation unsurprisingly centered on the theme of comparing Japanese vs. American cuisine. She would later thank me for introducing her to what American cuisine was like. I would also recall that she was the only one in our group outing at Fujimamas a couple of months ago that could polish off the entire humongous breakfast platter there.
She even decided to go for dessert so I immediately ordered the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under, a massive tower with a brownie foundation, a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, a towering penthouse of whipped cream and an intimidating amount of chocolate sauce pooling and covering the bottome of the plate. Both the waitress and I assumed it would be a shared eating opportunity so she brought 2 spoons. However, the symbolism of extra silverware was lost on JB who then proceeded to pull the entire dish towards her and again used her Borg powers to single-handedly shave down the sides of all the layers and mash it up before eating. Relentless and efficient...past challengers just attacked the Thunder anywhere which brought down the whole mess like a fallen redwood within the first 30 seconds of attack. The kicker was that all the time she was eating it solo, she just kept stating how overly sweet and undelicious it was. The lady's a machine. I didn't particularly mind not being included in the participation in dessert though I think I could've lessened her suffering if she'd asked me to help her out; I find that the Thunder has a pretty cloying Play-Doh aftertaste. I prefer the cheesecake but I didn't bothering ordering it since I knew I couldn't handle that all by myself...at least not anymore.
Well, back home now. Japan has further garnered some more medals. No golds in today's harvest but the folks in swimming, yachting and bicycling managed to fill up the silver and bronze ranks quite nicely.
My Monday will be fairly blank until my lone class at the company tomorrow night. I'll just clean up around the place and then do some recon for that theater in Ginza before Movie Buddy and I catch Fahrenheit 911 on Tuesday.
An interesting time with the Jazz Buddy today. I fulfilled her request for steak by setting the lesson in Shinagawa so that we could go to the Outback afterwards. She may be soft-spoken but she doesn't hesitate to reject something if she doesn't like it. We initially went to Anna Millers, that bastion of short-skirted waitresses and the target for millions of otaku everywhere on the Net, as a venue for the lesson. We had just sat down and looked at our menus when JB asked if we could move elsewhere. It wasn't because of the potentially sexually harassing atmosphere, though; she just felt the place was too stuffy and a bit too expensive for just coffee.
So we ended up at one of those trendy open cafes within a store in the WING shopping mall some metres down the way. The lesson went fairly well and then we went to the Outback. It was her first time there so she was looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about when Gabby had told her about the group outing there a few weeks ago.
We both ordered pretty much the same thing: the Outback Special with relevant side items, complementary sourdough bread and a shared plate of chicken wings. She didn't seem to care much for the sourdough bread so I was quite happy to take it off her hands. During the order-taking, JB gave our amiable bilingual waitress a good grilling on the recommendations. I'm not very sure if she would've gotten as polite and friendly a response if she'd done the same sort of thing at an equivalent American eatery, though.
I gotta admit...for such a slim and somewhat pallid lady, JB has an appetite to rival mine. The lady was as relentless as the Borg in tackling her meal. In my past outings with various students over the years at the Outback, the ladies either shared one plate in pairs or crumbled under the weight of 225 grams individually. Not Jazz Buddy. She didn't devour her steak and sides with gusto or speed but she did devour it some 10 minutes with grim determination after I sped through my meal. Our conversation unsurprisingly centered on the theme of comparing Japanese vs. American cuisine. She would later thank me for introducing her to what American cuisine was like. I would also recall that she was the only one in our group outing at Fujimamas a couple of months ago that could polish off the entire humongous breakfast platter there.
She even decided to go for dessert so I immediately ordered the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under, a massive tower with a brownie foundation, a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, a towering penthouse of whipped cream and an intimidating amount of chocolate sauce pooling and covering the bottome of the plate. Both the waitress and I assumed it would be a shared eating opportunity so she brought 2 spoons. However, the symbolism of extra silverware was lost on JB who then proceeded to pull the entire dish towards her and again used her Borg powers to single-handedly shave down the sides of all the layers and mash it up before eating. Relentless and efficient...past challengers just attacked the Thunder anywhere which brought down the whole mess like a fallen redwood within the first 30 seconds of attack. The kicker was that all the time she was eating it solo, she just kept stating how overly sweet and undelicious it was. The lady's a machine. I didn't particularly mind not being included in the participation in dessert though I think I could've lessened her suffering if she'd asked me to help her out; I find that the Thunder has a pretty cloying Play-Doh aftertaste. I prefer the cheesecake but I didn't bothering ordering it since I knew I couldn't handle that all by myself...at least not anymore.
Well, back home now. Japan has further garnered some more medals. No golds in today's harvest but the folks in swimming, yachting and bicycling managed to fill up the silver and bronze ranks quite nicely.
My Monday will be fairly blank until my lone class at the company tomorrow night. I'll just clean up around the place and then do some recon for that theater in Ginza before Movie Buddy and I catch Fahrenheit 911 on Tuesday.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Saturday August 21, 8:31 p.m.
Spoke with Mom for the first time in a month. She and Dad plus their friends had a good time on their Alaskan cruise. Another one of those floating all-you-can-eat buffet ships. They got to see the tail ends of whales and one brown bear up in the tundra. They also got to meet the relatives in Vancouver.
Got over to the Grapevine a full half-hour before it started. Being the first one there, the old but kindly proprietor gave me a glass of beer. I had to sip slowly so that I didn't end up entertaining the masses a bit too much. The party was a smaller affair as is usually the case with the September grads but it was good. We had eight out of nine grads show up with six teachers: me, Movie Buddy, The Jester, The Rapper, The Shamrock and a new teacher, the High Roller. In previous years, we've had our grad parties at the Grapevine. My impression was not all that great of the place due to a subpar menu one time and the fact that it's a pretty old and dank place more suited for the streets of old Asakusa. However, the fried chicken, the beef stew (for which I got a doggie bag) and the other dishes worked out very well today. Plus, the owners were very nice people. And we got some special off-menu cakes for dessert. I may just take them up on their offer to dine there for dinner one night..that is, if I ever get a chance to teach at the school again.
I may have committed one faux pas when I mentioned that there would be a singing segment and I made a snarky crack about it. The Coordinator is big on singing at these parties, but I am most definitely not. I realize that she likes it so I should've just held my tongue. It doesn't look like there was any damage, though. One good thing about the smaller September graduation parties is that the speeches by the students are resultingly smaller in number.
Also the following parties for this group were also somewhat more subdued. This group of alumni consisted of a quieter lot so we just had some coffee before the karaoke box opened up next door. We spent the next couple of hours there with The Rapper taking the lead in the singing. We started out filling a couple of rooms but by the second hour, one of the rooms emptied out. I took care of the financial matters which were surprisingly inexpensive. And I also contributed my vocal cords; my impression of Satchmo on "What A Wonderful World" seemed to have wowed the masses. Everything broke up by 6:30 which was fine with me since I really needed to get a shower.
Before he took off, the Jester and I had a short talk on stuff. True to his moniker, he's been the life of every party that we've had over the past year. However, today, despite his usual jokes and antics, he told me that he was exhausted after a pretty sleepless week. It's darn admirable of him to keep the party going but he really doesn't need to stress himself out. He did mention that he'd like to try out the food museums at the Sunshine 60 Building someday in the near future. Unfortunately, his weekeday night schedule is booked up and the museums are crowded to the rafters during the weekend, so we may have to wait a while until he gets a better schedule.
The Ballerina left a message in response to mine. She's doing OK although she did mention that she had a small problem with her eye. She'll be coming back to Tokyo in a couple of weeks so we'll probably get together again in early September.
Well, got the lesson with Jazz Buddy tomorrow in Shinagawa followed by another steak dinner at the Outback.
Looks like the weather is starting to slow down in the heat pumps. Just going to 29 tomorrow. Maybe we'll start facing that inexorable slide into Fall.
Spoke with Mom for the first time in a month. She and Dad plus their friends had a good time on their Alaskan cruise. Another one of those floating all-you-can-eat buffet ships. They got to see the tail ends of whales and one brown bear up in the tundra. They also got to meet the relatives in Vancouver.
Got over to the Grapevine a full half-hour before it started. Being the first one there, the old but kindly proprietor gave me a glass of beer. I had to sip slowly so that I didn't end up entertaining the masses a bit too much. The party was a smaller affair as is usually the case with the September grads but it was good. We had eight out of nine grads show up with six teachers: me, Movie Buddy, The Jester, The Rapper, The Shamrock and a new teacher, the High Roller. In previous years, we've had our grad parties at the Grapevine. My impression was not all that great of the place due to a subpar menu one time and the fact that it's a pretty old and dank place more suited for the streets of old Asakusa. However, the fried chicken, the beef stew (for which I got a doggie bag) and the other dishes worked out very well today. Plus, the owners were very nice people. And we got some special off-menu cakes for dessert. I may just take them up on their offer to dine there for dinner one night..that is, if I ever get a chance to teach at the school again.
I may have committed one faux pas when I mentioned that there would be a singing segment and I made a snarky crack about it. The Coordinator is big on singing at these parties, but I am most definitely not. I realize that she likes it so I should've just held my tongue. It doesn't look like there was any damage, though. One good thing about the smaller September graduation parties is that the speeches by the students are resultingly smaller in number.
Also the following parties for this group were also somewhat more subdued. This group of alumni consisted of a quieter lot so we just had some coffee before the karaoke box opened up next door. We spent the next couple of hours there with The Rapper taking the lead in the singing. We started out filling a couple of rooms but by the second hour, one of the rooms emptied out. I took care of the financial matters which were surprisingly inexpensive. And I also contributed my vocal cords; my impression of Satchmo on "What A Wonderful World" seemed to have wowed the masses. Everything broke up by 6:30 which was fine with me since I really needed to get a shower.
Before he took off, the Jester and I had a short talk on stuff. True to his moniker, he's been the life of every party that we've had over the past year. However, today, despite his usual jokes and antics, he told me that he was exhausted after a pretty sleepless week. It's darn admirable of him to keep the party going but he really doesn't need to stress himself out. He did mention that he'd like to try out the food museums at the Sunshine 60 Building someday in the near future. Unfortunately, his weekeday night schedule is booked up and the museums are crowded to the rafters during the weekend, so we may have to wait a while until he gets a better schedule.
The Ballerina left a message in response to mine. She's doing OK although she did mention that she had a small problem with her eye. She'll be coming back to Tokyo in a couple of weeks so we'll probably get together again in early September.
Well, got the lesson with Jazz Buddy tomorrow in Shinagawa followed by another steak dinner at the Outback.
Looks like the weather is starting to slow down in the heat pumps. Just going to 29 tomorrow. Maybe we'll start facing that inexorable slide into Fall.