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| Monday, 11-Aug-2003 00:00 |
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Summer
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Whew! After one of the longest rainy seasons on record, summer has finally arrived in Tokyo. Outside its about 35 degrees - so hot that you feel the skin on your neck burning from the moment you walk outside into the sun.
Looks like I picked the wrong week to do overtime. Would love to be at the beach... 
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| Thursday, 7-Aug-2003 00:00 |
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Another Snapshot
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Listening to: Interpol's Stella
Reading: Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
Re-reading: Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
Eating: Instant noodles
Drinking: Awamori
Watching: The Star Wars Kid
Laughing at: Doonesbury
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| Tuesday, 5-Aug-2003 00:00 |
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Summer Sonic, Day 2
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Waiting for The Strokes
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Summer heat - Kirin to the rescue!
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Sunday was fantastic. We saw:
The Polyphonic Spree
The Rapture
Interpol
Stereophonics
The Strokes
Radiohead
It was one hell of a weekend and I'm still recovering. I'll post a longer review soon...
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| Saturday, 2-Aug-2003 00:00 |
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Summer Sonic '03
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Just arrived home from the Summer Sonic music festival in Chiba. Fantastic day, but I'm exhausted. It took just under three hours from the time the lights came up in the stadium to the time we got home! And we're up early for Day 2 tomorrow... Polyphonic Spree are playing at 10.30. Figure they are going for the whole Sunday-morning-in-church vibe.
I'll post a review later this week. For now, here are the bands we saw on day 1:
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
The Kings of Leon
The Kills
Starsailor
John Spenser Blues Explosion
Blur
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| Friday, 1-Aug-2003 00:00 |
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Totemo oishii desu!!
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Courtesy of Mad Science:
http://www.sub.nipponham.co.jp/winny/kazari/
Nippon Ham present ANIMALS MADE FROM MEAT 
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| Thursday, 31-Jul-2003 00:00 |
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Oompa Loompa
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This promises to be interesting...
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0367594
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| Tuesday, 29-Jul-2003 00:00 |
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Earthquake Part II
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Going native in a yukata
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According to the NHK news last night, hundreds of people applied for a "Certificate of Misfortune" stating that they had suffered as a result of the earthquake and aftershocks. I know what you're thinking - yes, "Certificate of Misfortune" IS a great name for a band!
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| Sunday, 27-Jul-2003 00:00 |
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The Earthquake
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Yes, there was an earthquake yesterday morning, but it was a long way from Tokyo in Miyagi Prefecture. Thanks those of you who wrote to check up on me.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/07/26/japan.quakes/index.html
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| Saturday, 26-Jul-2003 00:00 |
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Flying the flag
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Finished reading Ian Walker's "Zoo Station:Adventures in East and West Berlin". Not bad, but would have been better had a good editor cut about half. Too self-indulgent.
One section reminded me of an experience we had in Okinawa. In Walker's book, he goes to a British Officers' club and discusses the US presence in the city:
"'It's strange,' Julian said. 'You'd think that given the shared language we'd be very similar to the Americans, but they're as foreign to us as the Russians. Out of all the soldiers here the Americans are the only lot who actually believe all that nonsense about the evil commies. They really do. They think communism is a kind of disease..."
And later:
"'Yes, there is a difference between us and the Yanks,' PRO David said.
'I mean, have you heard all those adverts on AFN?' continued Julian.
I nodded, giving a brief impersonation of the corniest one I could remember.
'We all crack up when we hear those,' Julian said.
In Okinawa a few weeks back, we were lucky enough (!) to see AFNTV. My favorite ad:
Title: ON THIS DAY
Image: A black and white sketch of a pidgeon.
VO: On this day in 1945, a unit fighting the Japanese attached a vital message to the leg of a carrier-pidgeon.
Scene changes to a sketch of soliders in WWII dress attaching the message.
VO: Later that day, flying over enemy lines, the bird came under enemy fire.
Image: a sketch of the bird being hit in mid-air.
VO: Bullets ripped through the bird's body - it was badly wounded. Nevertheless, the bird bravely carried on, delivering its message.
Image: a sketch of soldiers carefully taking the message from the bird's leg.
VO (in a grave voice): Sadly, the bird passed away shortly after completing its mission.
Image: The US flag
VO: Another chapter in the great history of the American Armed Forces.
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| Friday, 25-Jul-2003 00:00 |
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Hold still so I can read you...
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Today one of my students wore a T-shirt which read:
THERE IS AMUSEMENT OF SINCERITY IN THE MINOL WORLD, AND THERE IS ACTUAL FREEWAY.
Dali would have felt right at home in Japan, I tell you!
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