Peggs

done and dusted

2007-07-31T10:52:00.000+09:00

surprise surprise - i am back. lying in bed, cooled by the air-con, cicadas drowning out the usual din of traffic outside our little space. first day of a long holiday.

as a vague connection to my last post, lots has happened, though not much time has passed and i continue the surprises....

my last day at work has come and gone - along with a fairly enjoyable leaving do and a little too much beer. more good pressies and requests to keep in touch. ready to move on now (right now!)

sunday saw shako "fishing". this involved wading through the mud of a large river-bed at low tide to a spot on the waters edge to meet the "master" - a weathered beaten Kurashiki local and an expert on these ugly little crustaceans.

we proceeded to tempt the poor little things from their cozy holes with traditional Japanese calligraphy brushes attached to sticks. grabbing the two front pincers when they appeared at the entrance and gently pulling them out and into a waiting basket.

our fun was interrupted by the mother of all rain storms and after hiding under the inadequate shelter of a road bridge we called it a day and headed back to the master's house for a BBQ. after a trip with the red-light-running host for the day, we were glad to get settled round a bubbling pot of oil for shako-tenpura and the warmth of a mini-bonfire.
this was followed by a snack/chat/firework session with some locals, cute kids and friends. a thoroughly enjoyable day that surprised us all.

monday saw a "family musical" reproduction of Les Miserables. it was our first trip into the main Okayama Symphony Hall - filled mostly with little girls, their handbags and mothers.
we lasted until the interval - what appeared to be Fantine frantically masturbating under the bedsheets in what should have been her death scene was the "climax" for us....
in a sage reviewers words "it wasn't bad. it just..... wasn't good."

having done a little search on the webbage i now realise that this performance was far more commercially driven than we first thought.
the event was sponsored by a supermarket and a home store.
the edited story comes from an anime series that has been running for some time and no doubt has many a product tie-in. oh, the wonderful artistic world of japan.

still, we got our tickets for free.

faster than the speed of cheese

2007-07-25T18:00:00.000+09:00

12 little days left after today. and only 3 of those days are at work!! zipping by it is.

feeling a touch sad - i'm a seasoned "goodbye" sayer having done it on numerous occasion during my time here. but hearing about my little students getting home and crying because they won't see me again makes me feel a little funny. still - a quick letter to said student with my address enclosed should do the trick.

however, i'm also well aware that give it 3 or 4 weeks and it will be "greg who??"

have been getting some goodbye pressies too - only had two days of my last week and have already got two t-shirts (one i won't be wearing/one i might) and a jimbe:

something i would never really buy myself but am very happy to have as a gift/souvenir. mine is a little brighter with a less than tasteful design but nevermind....

hair is all chopped off - done by an expert hand at "Rough" hair salon.
money is transferred.
boxes are sent.
bags are in the process of being packed.

not sure i'll have much more to blog about before i leave but with a free week to do as i please, maybe the urge will take me again....

otherwise it'll be stateside bloggage!

ooh err!

2007-07-18T18:44:00.000+09:00

Even after three years here in Japan it is still a country that continues to confound and surprise me. A plethora of odd stories in the news, from grisly murders to blatant political corruption via a few crazy new technologies always keeps me reading avidly.

However, on a more personal note, this weekend we discovered what appeared to be a shop with a large selection of full-on Gay Manga Porn!!

Now, for a - dare i say it - extremely homophobic country, this came as somewhat of a surprise.... we flicked through quite a few of the books and although mostly text, there were certainly a fair few drawings of the man-on-man variety. The fully illustrated ones were wrapped up tight in cellophane but from what we saw the standard Japanese pixellation of the naughty bits still applies here.

Here are a few examples of the front covers:

Down boy!

it's the end of the world....

2007-06-27T18:30:00.000+09:00

well, not really - just the end of my time in Japan.

I have just 4 1/2 weeks of work left and 5 1/2 until the big day:
home time (via an extended holiday with my baby in San Francisco).

We are waiting on the visa as the final part of the plan, so every digit is crossed and all wood is being touched....

I am definitely feeling "over" Japan but not in any particularly emotional way - after all the ups and downs over the past three years it will just be a relief to leave.
One last trip to the old hometown of Hiroshima is planned for the 海の日 weekend - a Cafe Spice treat and some farewells are on the cards.

Got some great things planned for SF and will be so excited to get on that plane! Here's counting.....

millions of peaches, peaches for me...

2007-05-18T18:07:00.000+09:00

millions of peaches, peaches for free .... not in Japan.
Check out the price of these little babies:

or for those of you without a magnifying glass:

In real money that price should read 40.97 pounds! for 9 peaches!

Oh! hanami

2007-04-13T18:02:00.000+09:00

So another week has flown by....

We 'did' a little hanami last weekend. Korakuen was the main venue and despite a little rain we had a pleasant picnic on the grass with some yaki-soba and chu-hais.

There were a number of wedding photo sessions taking place - I felt a little voyeuristic hovering behind the real photographer but I fired off a few shots as I wasn't the only one spying.
For once it made me wish my beloved camera was digital so that I didn't risk taking too many crap shots.
I do like the not-knowing and the wait before flicking through the prints to see how everything came out.... but maybe my last big purchase in Japan will be a brand spanking new digi camera. I've got my eye on a couple of little beauties so who knows....

With the absence of any quality broadcasting on JTV we usually resort to renting a big load of DVDs for our viewing pleasure. But just recently, we have discovered this little gem - TVLinks - it is packed with goodies and we have gourged ourselves on a diet of disposable USTV.
America's Next Top Model, American Idol, My Name is Earl, South Park, and CSI to name but a few....
The last week has seen me hooked on Heroes - now I'm not usually a comic/sci-fi geek but I've really enjoyed the 18 episodes so far....

.... and hope my new favourite website gets the links to the upcoming episodes some time soon.

In other news:
saving - going OK.
hair length - getting longer.
tokyo - done.
fitness - getting better.

Two years to this very day that I started this lowly blog!!

Ahoy there! Anniversary #2

2007-04-06T17:29:00.003+09:00

In what is becoming something of a tradition on my somewhat pointless blog - it is now time for another pirate picture.

Yes, I have been scouring my photos from the past year and, as is tradition, I will post a picture of myself looking stupid once more....

Please let this be the last year that I have this kind of picture available to post....

almost famoose - the sequel

2007-04-06T17:29:00.001+09:00

This time it's just my favourite lady who has been enjoying another fifteen minutes of local fame.

A promotion slot for the unmentionable corp saw her encouraging the little kids to shout "he is daddy!" and having a fun time.

Followed by an unrehearsed slot where the presenter decided to catch her out with a bit of fast-firing nihongo.

Sneaky.

oh so tokyo

2007-04-06T17:28:00.000+09:00

So Saturday night saw us heading to the big smoke, into the unknown realm of sprout's long lost childhood friend.
Would she be a coco-lulu girl; a goth; a yakuza?.... the possibilities were endless. But in the end she was nothing short of very ordinary (no offence intended!)
The meeting at Shinagawa was a little awkward and very brief as they headed to the tiny aparto in Harajuku and me to Shibuya for a little wander in the rain and a poor night's sleep in a capsule hotel.
Sunday saw "tour guide" mode but it was a packed day that we might not have completed otherwise. The highlight - watching a 22yr old orchestra 'otaku' conducting an (super) orchestra, looking like he was trying to fly as he jumped and flapped his arms.

Also included in our whistle stop tour was the new National Art Center, Roppongi Hills shopping district (yuck), the cherry blossom around the Imperial Palace and a superb oden lunch in an old restaurant in Azabujuban - what looked like a really cool little area to live.

Whilst viewing the blossom, the fact that there were probably more people than flowers was a little off-putting. To add to this, we inadvertently strayed into a festival at Yasukuni shrine - the cause of a whole heap of trouble between Japan and its Asian neighbours.

The evening was spent very uncomfortably having dinner at the family's aparto, with me seemingly on trial, having to prove my credentials. The night wasn't much better, as Monday morning isn't the best time to be at a capsule - alarms going off from 5.30am never make for a good sleep.

The morning saw another highlight though - Tsukiji fish market. In what seemed like another world, men zipped around on motorised carts, cut up huge tuna and sold all manner of strange sea food while women sat in little wooden huts counting up the bills.

After nearly being run-over countless times we made a break back into the real (and underwhelming) world for a sushi breakfast. Yet to have the photos developed but I'm hoping for some good ones....

Akihabara didn't throw up any strange folks to gawp at - maybe we didn't look hard enough.... Harajuku was fun with a Mexican meal nearly hitting the spot.

All in, it was a great weekend - still feel the need to catch up on the sleep lost but hey, I've got plenty of time for that! Roll on Golden Week....

keeping up

2007-03-30T18:07:00.000+09:00

"Through Midtown, we aim to turn Tokyo into the center of intellectual creativity for business and culture in Japan, Asia and the world."
Hiromitsu Iwasa, head of Mitsui Real Estate, Tokyo Midtown developers.

Providing spin on a new development that appears to be little more than offices, shops, and a hotel on top of a big tower with some random pieces of art scattered around the place.

Maybe I should attempt to develop my intellectual creativity by visiting the shops this weekend.....

or maybe not.

....road to nowhere

2007-03-30T11:40:00.000+09:00

In accordance with my to-do-list, I have made a flying start and been for a couple of runs. By coincidence I got a mail from my good friend Mr. Smyth who has also had his running shoes on, accompanied by his fiancee (Keri), they completed a half-marathon.... he also informed me of a few more friends (Ants/Kev) who had participated.

It got me thinking that maybe we have reached that age where that nagging feeling of getting old gets a little stronger and the excess "muscle" around the midriff becomes that little bit harder to shift .... the obvious course of action - go jogging.
I will try to keep up and hopefully when I return later this year I can join them....

Tokyo is still on for tomorrow.... not sure what I'm going to do there but anyways....

In my music news, I have belatedly discovered The Shins who are jolly good. Also, if you like mono-browed men with guitars 'Tigress' and 'Captain Badass' by Songs: Ohia are great!

to do. to do.

2007-03-23T18:09:00.000+09:00

To do in the near future (or at my rate - before I leave Japan) ....

fun tings:
1. learn to skate better (yes i am aware of my age)
2. grow my hair as long as i can (before i get too annoyed and chop it)
3. trip to Tokyo (may be my last)
4. trip to Shikoku (first and likely only)

less fun tings:
1. save. save. save.
2. keep/get fit
3. get my Japanese vocab level back up to what it was over a year ago
4. throw out old things and ship home new things

hmmm.... fairly straightforward, lets see if I can do them all.

がんばる!

2007-03-21T16:13:00.000+09:00

Had my preconceived notion of a hard day's work Japan-style somewhat blown out of the water after helping out with some local theatre peeps.

The plan (conceived via email) was for a full day from 10am until 8pm helping to construct the set for the upcoming coming play "Voices". Sprout has been involved from the start, designing costume concepts and regularly attending rehearsals. But this was my first forray into the theatre world....

Having dragged ourselves out of bed at the ungodly hour of 9am and hot-footed it over to the otherside of Okayama City, we met up with Yama-chan (standard issue cheeky-chappy in charge of building) and the other workers (total 6).

After a 30min trip out into the inaka we pulled into a cool old-style Japanese country house and had a little explore. Once doors were opened, sheets unfurled and wood placed, it was nigh-on 11am. After the obligatory (teeth-grindingly awkward) personal intros we checked the plans and set to work around 11.30am....

After a whole 30mins work, Yama-chan informed us it was lunchtime.... we were stopping before we had even begun! We all piled into his station wagon and zipped off to a nearby town for a hanbaagu ranchi - very nice too.

Post-lunch shopping for some supplies meant we returned and restarted around 2pm. We then put in approximately 1hr30mins "hard graft" and were then informed it was time for ice-cream at a nearby farm.... A choco-chip gelato cone (made from fresh milk) later, we cleared away the little work we had completed and prepared to head home....
As 5pm approached, we departed - those who were interested could go on to a dress rehearsal, those who weren't could leave!

So, for the day:
hours spent working: 2
hours spent otherwise: 7

I like that ratio!

It was all great fun, but I really hope that they are putting in extra hours this week to complete everything as it was so far from that when we left....

Am looking forward to seeing the play this weekend and trying to spot the bits of the stage I might have had a hand in making!!

Almost Famoose

2007-03-09T14:17:00.000+09:00

As another month has flown by (with more ups and downs) I have been spending too much time playing around with my blog and not actually posting anything.... I just don't think I'm cut out to be a computer programmer/designer - all this html is too confusing.... I think I'll just let it be.

We have been in a few more "the only foreigners" situations with a trip to the theatre to see an interesting but over-long play about hell - all in Japanese. This required a huge amount of concentration but was worth it for some of the funnier moments....

We also visited the above exhibition (Tsuyoshi Higashijima) and had fun running in front of the paintings to make them come alive. We were spotted by a museum curator and quickly had our photo snapped - our historic visit was to be logged on the museum's website diary.... Follow this link to view evidence of our local fame.... my back and sprout's profile whilst chatting.

え-? vs. eh?

2007-02-22T12:12:00.000+09:00

My current slightly jaded view of Japan led me down the slippery slope to viewing the gaijinpot forums. A group of more cynical individuals you are unlikely to find. Most - the few giving useful information aside - are frothing at the mouth at the imminent demise of either NOVA, unfortunate foreigners with police problems or visa overstayers, to name but a few.
The website did help me find my current job, so I'm not knocking the site itself. I have learned a lot and the bubble I must have been living in - namely Hiroshima - has well and truly burst.
Its posters/readers - in what seems to be an all too common trend in the foreign community here (from first and second-hand experience) - are people so keen that others fail (or at least face real difficulties) in order that they may gloat over the juicy details.
This attitude also morphs itself into railing against Japan and all its problems. This bitterness comes from I know not where... being here too long? a run of unfortunate events? real/perceived discrimination?
In some cases it is justified though - namely the reaction to the recently published manga-style comic "Secret Files of Foreigners' Crimes":

"外人どもに日本お蹂躙させていいのか！！”
Translate as "Should we let those damn gaijin trample all over Japan?!"
It is an insulting, racist/xenophobic rant that people are quite rightly disgusted by.

Is it a change in me or in Japan at present? A good question.

Making a small comparison, here are some sample headlines from crime reports - BBC News UK Edition vs. Japan Today:

"Girl watches pet mauled to death"
"Father of seven in breach of Asbo"
"Police identify 169 London gangs"
"Life for samurai sword murderer"
"Uncle in court over toddler death"

"Elderly couple found murdered in Saitama home"
"Woman indicted for murdering husband, dumping body parts"
"Woman gets suspended term for stealing, killing French bulldog"
"Police raid offices of mobster group over fatal shooting"
"JAL passenger threatens crew with knife, then flees terminal in Kagoshima"

No in-depth analysis required and journalistic bias aside, I'm not sure it's the foreigners that Japan should be worrying about. Just thought it was an interesting snapshot of my two countries.

No more gaijinpot forums and a more positive outlook for me!!!

...come home.

2007-02-04T14:38:00.000+09:00

Been on a downer this week.
It kicked off with a discriminatory police stop with no basis and left me itching to do something about it. But to borrow a description from the card "we" all carry - "aliens" (registered or not) really have no standing.

Live with it/ignore it/get on with it/if you don't like it, go home/it's the culture/it comes with the job - are a few of the maxims offered up.
Still got to me though and I've been here two and a half years....a bit of temporary Japan sickness me thinks.

Derrida got one over on me too. Finished two out of eight chapters - not bad for a first timer! The library due date and a feeling that I'm out of my depth are sending me to replace the book with something more manageable.

However, all is well now. Last night was a fun-filled occasion with steaks, bear sauce, and mini-champagne. Today - breakfast in bed and blogs with my baby.

With the return of sprout, all negative thoughts are fading fast, being replaced by plans for the future, and studies online (if possible).

This is hardcore

2007-01-23T22:15:00.000+09:00

Hello blog. It's been a month or so.
Christmas was cool, as much as it could be, being cut short by a brief return to work for my loved one. We had a great day and I got some amazing presents based around the central theme of my advancing years....

an awesome Orient watch being one of the highlights.

As hinted at before, spontaneous travel is not the easiest thing to do during one of the main holiday periods in Japan. Our, all be it slight, plans to go to Hokkaido were scuppered by weather, time, money and other tourists. However, after a flurry of phone calls and last minute checking, we aimed for a relatively untravelled part - namely Wakayama-ken.

Seishun 18 kippus being purchased we stopped off in the old favourite, Osaka, and had nearly enough Mexican food to prevent us squeezing into our capsules! Onwards, to Shirahama (a useful description to practice your Dutch) and after a drunken night of stripping and poker, we had a lovely sunny day to hit the deserted beach and take snaps-a-plenty.

Numerous local stations later we made the Shingu/Hongu connection and after garbled phone calls, were whisked away to our minshuku - "Kumanose" - for a New Year's Eve feast. We were staying in an old g'ma & g'pa's house near the town of Watarase, with a perfect little onsen by the river. The New Year's sunrise was seen in, chatting over the fence in the fast disappearing darkness and hugging-up in our standard issue robes. It was the best New Year's ever.

After more and more food, we headed out on our heels to visit an open-air hot spring - dug out of a riverbed!

There were a few more locals than in the above picture but it was "pants optional" and just great. We spent hours floating, relaxing and chatting.

The weather turned nasty to see us off but the memories are all good.
We returned via Osaka, more great places to go out and hit home a little train-sick but exhilarated.

Having to go our separate ways again is pure poop. Though Okayama is revealing more treasures the longer we are here - my latest discovery was this little gem, tucked away in a corner of the city center:

for those of you not yet reading your katakana - the name: HAADO PORUNO CINEMA. Complete with nude posters and sketchy curtains it's so tempting.... or not.

For now, I have decided to try and expand my mind until my sprout returns. Jacques Derrida's musings are the first to tackle. I am on top of the first page but it might be downhill from there....

Oh well, back to being a lonely man for the near future. Goodnight all.

The big 3 O(h) dear...

2006-12-22T18:06:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It was spent in less than ideal circumstances but nevermind. I share this wonderful day with a host of unlikely characters that appear to include the following:

Josef Stalin and Vampira (Maila Nurmi)

Jane Fonda and Frank Zappa

Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Evert

Kiefer Sutherland and Julie Delpy

As for any newly visible signs of aging from 29 to 30 - I had a check this morning:

1. Same wrinkles around the eyes. Check.
2. Same amount of grey hairs. Check.
3. Same flabby stomach/love handles. Check.
4. Same skinny legs. Check.
5. Same tired bags under my eyes. Check.

Therefore, I can conclude that there is no noticeable change after the transition from my 20s to my 30s. Yay.
In other news, I now have only one more day until the long awaited Christmas break and seeing my loved one!
Hokkaido here we come. (hopefully).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Back to the Lo

2006-12-13T17:47:00.000+09:00

A return to the lo feeling of late August/September this year

alone again in the OC. missing my sprout. nearly 30. this sucks.

Golden Balls

2006-12-07T17:34:00.000+09:00

Been having a excellent time with the Sprout/OC connection. The weekend included a long overdue trip for some Pachinko action. Needless to say, after 20 minutes playing with the little golden balls I was none the wiser and slightly poorer - oh what fun!!

With the vague possibility of a trip abroad this winter break I have taken note of the following story and will be careful in the future:

"Flatulence leads US jet to divert"

"An American Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Nashville after passengers reported the smell of sulphur from burning matches.

The matches were found on the seat of a woman who had attempted to conceal the odour of flatulence with the matches, Nashville airport authorities said."

(Thanks to the BBC for this top news story)

Puttanesca!

2006-11-21T22:23:00.000+09:00

Although you would think I'd be over any amusement caused by "Engrish" and taking into account that the translation isn't too bad, the menu at our little tapas restaurant caused no end of amusement with a dish titled:

"Spaghetti Prostitute Style" 1200yen

I decided against sampling her sauce.

Holy Moly

2006-11-10T20:52:00.000+09:00

Check this out:

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:114601

I don't know what to say....

Edit: Yes I do - "Oh poo, the link's gone down. Oh well, it was funny while it lasted"

Flex

2006-11-03T18:49:00.000+09:00

With a quiet weekend ahead, I shall be reading my favourite magazine and mulling over any possible future purchases.......

Natch.

The way you move

2006-10-06T20:40:00.000+09:00

Well, I've been in the "OC" for just over a month now and I must say it has gone by fairly quickly - the weekdays drag but the weekends more than make up for it.

In just one day my favourite little Sproutling will be coming along to join the fun in this part of Japan and I can't wait.

Not much going on to be honest - my work highlight being a fat little boy who showed me the hip-hop dance moves he'd learnt with "Tony" from New York (whilst studying English too!!)

He could have looked like these two if he hadn't been 8 years old, overweight, Japanese, really bad at dancing, wearing a bum-bag/fanny-pack or counted out his running-step really obviously. (Guess it's more of a "you had to be there" story).

My new aparto is now fully furnished with all my old Hiroshima stuff and is really growing on me. Did the Kyoto/Kobe connection a couple of weeks ago and had a top time with top food. Been using my cool new "fisheye" camera and got some nice photos for a first attempt.

Roll on October and the main reason why I moved here!

Hi / Lo

2006-08-19T02:04:00.000+09:00

Hi:
A relax packed Obon week with my favourite person ever, can be summed up by the following images....

+

+

+

In addition we danced like crazy, ate fine food, scared ourselves high over Osaka, and chilled away the days. We fell in deeper.

Lo:
Quiet times alone / rain / back to work.

Easy now.....

2006-07-15T18:21:00.000+09:00

Hmmmm. Well my last couple of posts have been a bit negative.

But my jaded view has been lifted slightly by a very kind 65 year old dentist!

On hearing I was English he started telling a tale about an Englishman who had helped the Japanese a long time ago and how he would like to repay some of that kindness. This consisted of a free Xray, local Japanese rates for drugs/treatment and a lively examination.

I have no idea what incident he was talking about.

(Lets not mention that the surgery/equipment was at least as old him and the hygiene procedure was just as dated)

Hope it all gets sorted - I'm tired of not being able to open my mouth.

Shit List

2006-07-13T19:49:00.000+09:00

How annoying life can be sometimes. I pay for medical insurance. I have the worst toothache ever. I call to check I'm covered for treatment. Am I bollocks.

So another profession is added to the list of those I will most likely hate for life. The full list reads:
1. Taxi drivers
2. Landlords
3. Medical Insurers

(in no particular order)

ARE YOU READING THIS YOU TWAT?

2006-07-05T23:34:00.000+09:00

Apparently blogging allows free expression, the chance to say things you want without constraint. Not in Japan.
The dictionary definition reads "friendship; a good relationship" somehow this translates to "life controlling; privacy invasion". Funny that.

Wet n' (not) Wild

2006-05-27T15:58:00.000+09:00

Its raining?
Again. I don't believe it.

Tee Pee Poo

2006-05-09T20:25:00.000+09:00

So, Golden Week has been and gone but it certainly lived up to its name. I spent a fantastic few days 'hardcore' camping with a special friend.

After saving said lady from a near head on collision with a shinkansen:

We made our way to the middle of nowhere - Akamizu, Kumamoto-ken in the shadow of Aso-san - for a little known music festival. Just below the volcanic slopes was a small field with a couple of hundred like-minded people sleeping in tee pees, relaxing in the sun and enjoying life, all surrounded by beautiful forests and breathtaking views.

Having travelled light and pitched our tent we set about wandering round peace loving hippies with dirty brown babies and eating as much delicious food as possible. We passed the following days chatting with random strangers, avoiding showers, avoiding toilets and drifting in and out of reality.

The nights were spent dancing up a storm to obscure Japanese bands with names such as Aqua Bomb and Guitar Panda (see opposite), listening to drum beats and watching naked men rolling in the dirt.

We also indulged in a spot of finger painting, tug-o-war, cooking on the smallest stove ever seen and secret sneaks into the woods.

It was quite simply - amazing. Roll on next year.....

Ahoy There! Anniversary

2006-04-08T14:02:00.000+09:00

It's been nigh on a year since I started this blog, so to commemorate this monumental occasion I thought I'd post a picture of me being a pirate. Again. (see April 2005 archive)

This is the latest in a repeat series of appearances and shows just how much my character is maturing. Note the addition of neck tattoo and facial scar plus the tendency toward campness with a pencil moustache and goatee.....

"The following day I shipped to sea with a privateer"

Hello/Goodbye

2006-03-30T19:07:00.000+09:00

This weekend I made a brief but exciting visit to the big smoke that is Tokyo. The reason - a meeting of old friends:

You can probably work out which are my friends.....

After a good chat and a (very) little sleep we set about doing all things Japanese as an immediate introduction to Nihon. On the menu was print club, karaoke, genki drinks, sushi, izakayas, temples, shrines and crazy shopping.

As they work their way to Hiroshima for another weekend meeting, it leaves me very happy if a little unsettled to have a reminder of home in such proximity. Could it be a touch of home sickness - maybe not as I am probably the happiest I have ever been. Perhaps just the anticipation of friends seeing my life here in Hiroshima. The slightly revised menu for this weekend will likely include Miyajima, Peace Memorial Park, shopping and as many bars, restaurants and coffee shops as we see fit.

The next few days is also a time of sayonaras with Naoko leaving our company tomorrow and Vman's farewell night on Saturday. Best of luck to all.

Watching

2006-03-18T12:45:00.000+09:00

This week, amongst other things, I have watched Graduation Ceremonies at two of my kindergartens.
These included - mothers crying; an array of kimonos; fathers glued to the back of their videocams, too busy recording what they should be enjoying; fathers being late; skirts slightly too short for such an occasion; kids fidgeting; kids oblivious to all the pomp and ceremony; kids crying; a Kindergarten showing off it's connections; a Kindergarten making a show of caring about more than money; receiving Elementary School principals waffling at length; me stifling yawns; me stifling laughs at inopportune moments; ripples of laughter as I utter my 'omedetou gozaimasu' to 180 kids who have never heard me speak Japanese; a vague sense of emotion toward my favoured students; lots of bowing; hasty exits before getting dragged into stilted conversations; a lovely bunch of flowers; an airing for my suit and relief that this time next year I will likely be doing something completely different.

In complete contrast, I also watched what is either the best film ever made or the worst (I'm tending toward the latter). Rented on a whim, You Got Served features the strangely shaped:

some horrendous acting and all manner of crazy dance moves. If you've got a large amount of time to kill, do it.

New tings

2006-03-15T21:06:00.000+09:00

So, I've been on a little blog holiday as I have actually had loads of better things to do!! I drafted a post back in February after getting quite excited about the collaboration of a couple of favoured musicians - namely Jack White and Brendan Benson.
Working together under the guise of The Raconteurs, they have a brilliantly retro site here and a couple of super songs available for listening.

Another discovery is a band called Midlake (go here) who have a song (as certain people will testify!) called Roscoe that I can listen on repeat for far, far too long. The link takes you to a little website called myspace.com, into which I have recently been inducted. For all those of you in England, the following comment should briefly summarise the site if you are yet to visit:
"wow you're on myspace!! Welcome to being an american highschool/college kid" - courtesy of Danimal.
But I must say the music section is top class with downloads-a-plenty and all your favourite bands. It's a whole new world.

Speaking of whole new worlds, I recently took a trip to this little place:

with a view to finding a perfect spot to live with a certain special someone. It is all so exciting - I can't wait!

But for now, I will be very happy with all in Hiroshima, a lovely new pair of shoes and a long awaited visit from old friends........

Spot the difference

2006-01-17T21:53:00.000+09:00

Despite being in Japan for nearly 18 months now, I recently spent a top-notch long weekend doing some great things for the first time. It was a whirlwind of hairdressers, massages, amazing food, bad films, crazy train rides and Love Hotels. We did squeeze in an old Japanese favourite though - a quick hour of karaoke. A massacred rendition of 'Like a Prayer' led me to catch up with Madge, the incredible never-aging woman. If you go here you can immerse yourself in some of her finest moments and note how little she and some of the dancing has changed over the years.
After watching 'Hung Up' - I have now found a new move to aspire to as breakdancing is proving just a little too difficult for my aging frame. I shall now endeavour to never take an elevator again, instead I shall be doing flips and spins between stair flights a la the dancer in the video. If you're lucky you might even catch me doing it in a pink leotard.

Something approaching what I might look like.

In other news, I have now fallen into the trap of renting '24'. Having watched through til 8pm of series 2 in just one week, I'm still itching to get to the grand finale. Just another two and a half series to go - will I ever see the light of day?? Jack - help me.....

Nama

2005-12-31T13:54:00.000+09:00

Well, it's been a cool week or so - kicking off with my belated birthday dinner including great presents/friends/food/drinks.

Christmas Eve was spent in the traditional way, drinking copius amounts and singing the night away in karaoke - my personal highlights (read "lowlights") being a solo "Bohemian Rhapsody" and duets of "Down Under" with Vman then "Ring of Fire" with Danimal.

(Thanks to V for the stolen picture)

The first half of Christmas Day was perfect with some fine presents alongside. The second half was spent in a strange mood and the shadow of early-morning work falling fast.

A spot of teaching followed to throw things out of line but then back onto the holidaying on Wednesday!

A combination of good coffee and Sin City passed the day.......

before spending the night with this little lovely......

So, tonight is New Years Eve and it's shaping up to be a good time. But I'm predicting that post-alcohol, I will be looking something like this......

Oh Burt.

Aging

2005-12-20T22:46:00.000+09:00

As hinted at in my previous post, it is my birthday in just one hour and I will be the grand old age of 29.....

For those of you who have forgotten what i look like after all this time in Japan - this is a pretty accurate portrayal of me on my birthday:

At this time of year my thoughts turn to family and in order to redress the balance of mildy embarrassing childhood photos - here is one of my sister playing an angel in the school play:

(she's the smiling blond in the middle)

Good God?

2005-12-19T19:22:00.000+09:00

As a scarily high-numbered birthday is fast approaching, I find myself surprised by having discovered religion in an unusual form.....

Although the fries were pretty tasty, I'm afraid the burger didn't quite live up to it's billing......
So after a brief conversion, I don't think I'll be frequenting this particular establishment again.

Something slightly more important....

2005-12-13T22:23:00.000+09:00

A double post in a single day.... what's going on?

Whilst I spend a large majority of my time here enjoying myself, one of my close friends from school days is working very hard on things far more important.

So, in support of him I post a link to this:

http://www.iraqpeacetalks.org/index.html

which forms part of the work of Res Publica.

I'd appreciate it if anyone reading this would take the time to follow the link and sign the petition if you agree with it.

I'm a little Pixie

2005-12-13T20:56:00.000+09:00

After a nightmare-esque Japanese exam earlier in the day, the Pixies loomed large at the ridiculous start time of 6pm last Sunday. A double dose of "Black Regain" sent me twitching to the venue high above most of downtown Hiroshima where Frank, Kim and co. did not disappoint.
With the set list reading like a "Greatest Hits" album and smiling throughout, they rocked. My particular favourites for the evening were Velouria, Gouge Away and, of course, Monkey Gone to Heaven.

A non-descript picture taken towards the end of the gig. Shortly before collapsing in a heap due excessive bouncing down at the front. Frank Black is the big ball of light in the middle......

Monkey / Heaven Interface

2005-11-12T13:28:00.000+09:00

In the coming weeks I'll be getting very excited about seeing this man:
make lots of noise with the little known band -

Woo hoo!

Winter Range

2005-11-07T20:48:00.000+09:00

After studying the varying fashions in this great country, I have decided that this winter I will be sporting the following look...

For especially cold days, this ensemble:

(yes I will be growing my hair in a similar fashion)

Underneath which I will be wearing:

In other thoughts, I really should do something else rather than post utter rubbish to my blog. That is all. Goodnight.

Time on my hands....

2005-11-06T12:10:00.000+09:00

Whilst I should be studying nihongo, I find my inner geek wandering to top 5 lists thanks to a recent repeat viewing of High Fidelity.

I have come to the conclusion that they are very difficult to make up and I shouldn't waste my time doing so. But, just for kicks, I reckon I'll share my top 5 opening lyrics (from recently purchased music to narrow it right down):

1. "All my saints have taken bribes
Singing going going gone
All the angels taken dives
Leaving you the only one......"
Elbow "The Everthere"

2. " I sleep with my hands across my chest
And I dream of you with someone else
I fill my body with things that I don't need
Until I sink to the bottom....."
Maximo Park "Going Missing"

3. " Take me for a drive to the coastline
Pull me to the depths of the sea
Leave me in the middle of the ocean
I can walk the rest of the way....."
The Dears "Lost in the Plot"

4. " Some granite wall
Numbs our bones, numbs our all
As we sit on skinny hands
Nothing to say, nothing at all....."
Franz Ferdinand "You're the Reason I'm Leaving"

5. "I like the peace of the backseat
I don't have to drive
I don't have to speak
I can watch the countryside
and I can fall asleep......"
Arcade Fire "In the Backseat"

I guess they might sound a bit cheesy taken out of context/without the music but they catch my attention in the songs and I've written them now so I might as well post! No more top 5 lists for me.

At last

2005-11-05T17:06:00.000+09:00

Well, it is finally time for my first full weekend off in four weeks - yippee! It has been a lazy, Gyllenhaal flavoured day, heading into town without much of a plan. Looking for a copy of the highly recommended Secretary without much success and pondering its purchase instead.

Whilst flicking through some random magazines, I happened upon this mildy attractive young man:

who elicited such a response from my companion that I feel I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't request that anyone who may read this blog in passing, resemble Jake and happen to be in Japan right now - I have a lovely friend Kate who might like to meet you!

It's growing dark now and I'm now in my mansion, listening to my new Bloc Party Remix album on my new headphones, looking forward to a Saturday night and another day off tomorrow.

Dick Turtle vs. Fanny Packs

2005-11-01T14:13:00.000+09:00

Thanks once again to another friend linking me up with another memory:

http://www.luckybags.com/fun/fun/dickturtle

aaah - takes me back to the fun-filled days of free periods, snorting white powder (courtesy of Dick Turtle's Fun Bag), playing beef-curtain cricket and weaving friends into furniture.

Nowadays I'm having different kinds of fun including dressing up as a pirate (for the 2nd time but in a slightly more camp way), receiving a 'rabu reta' from a strange woman and re-discovering the laughs in The Office via my DVD player.

just remember: be careful, over there your fanny is your arse ...... not your minge.

Ice Pop

2005-10-22T10:57:00.000+09:00

After chatting with friends last night, one of whom will understand the title reference, I thought I should catch up on a very old past-time: Breakdancing. So for anyone who's interested, this is what I'll be doing in my apartment at quieter moments:

Turtles/Floats:

Despite what many people think, turtles and handglides are actually very different. This move is done by shifting weight and placing hands in the right places, while handglides are done by putting weight down and spinning.
Step 1: Get used to holding the turtle position, and be able to breathe well when you're holding it. The position is having both elbows stabbed into both sides of the abdominal muscles, remember to keep your ass low.
Step 2: Get into the position and lift the right hand up, leaving all of your weight on top of your left hand.
Step 3: Don't spin, but turn on your left hand counter-clockwise, so that you can place your right hand around it.
Step 4: Stab your right elbow back into your abdominal muscles, so your temporarily back into the starting turtle position.
Step 5: Now place all of your weight onto your right hand, and lift your left hand.
Step 6: Turn counter-clockwise again while you continue to bring your left hand around and stab it again so you're back to the starting turtle position.Repeat, and remember to shift the weight onto one hand before moving the next hand around.

Mogs - don't know if you are aware of this blog but get practising and I'll give you a dance off when I return.......

Also, in other news - this is the best haircut I have seen for a while:

"Mi an dem fi go a di party but di three of them had caps an' mi had none so mi get two mirror one behind mi and di other in front of mi an' mi trim mi hair like a cap an' go a di dance," said Housen.

and as the headline helpfully points out - the hair is the hat!

Had a difficult day...?

2005-10-06T20:41:00.000+09:00

If you have had a long and tiring day like me, the following links might amuse you, in a base childish kinda way:

http://www.rathergood.com/independent_woman/ - the excellent Elbow covering a Destiny's Child classic with a super video.....

http://www.rathergood.com/buffy/ - a few naughty words but nevermind.

An excellent site for stupid things!!

Pump Inspired Post

2005-09-26T18:17:00.000+09:00

As usual with my posts this one is thanks to my friend Le Pump - my world coverage isn't quite as red but i'll get there.....

Fuji Rock Festival '05

2005-08-31T12:13:00.000+09:00

Despite the rain it was an excellent three days. The highlights for me were:

Friday July 29th

The Kaiser Chiefs were superb in the Red Marquee and were the first band to get me dancing and jumping!

Followed later on by probably the best performance of the weekend - with Chris Martin running around the Green Stage like some mad genius - Coldplay gave a truly great show to a huge crowd.

The Coldplay crowd (looking a little sad)

Saturday July 30th

Dachambo in the mud filled Field of Heaven were a great way to forget about the pouring rain and kick off another day.

Maximo Park have some great songs but were on a little early in the day to get everyone going.

Beck gave a quirky and enjoyable performance with some playing of random pieces of glassware thrown in for good measure.

The Bravery ponced around on stage and sounded/looked pretty good but didn't quite cut it.

Fat Boy Slim closed another good day but for some reason thought that people could hear him shouting through a megaphone over the huge speakers at the Green Stage - no chance!

Sunday July 31st

The Futureheads did a great set and practiced a little Japanese to get the crowd singing along with the excellent cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love". I met two of the band in the queue for some food after the show and very nice chaps they were too.

I had forgotten how good some of The Coral's songs were and they played to a packed Red Marquee.

Towards the end of a long three days New Order were doing their miserable old men routine but some great old songs and a verse sung in Japanese added to the performance.

Me showing my usual enthusiasm for dance music - possibly inspired by the amusingly named DJ Peanut Butter Wolf in the Red Marquee.

All in all a great festival, the setting was beautiful, the weather didn't detract too much and the music was absolutely brilliant. Fuji Rocked.

PS. I went to SummerSonic in Osaka aswell but I'm afraid it didn't quite match up. Some great bands, the best of which in my opinion were Kasabian, The Subways, The Departure, The Arcade Fire and Interpol.

Those Pesky Monkeys

2005-05-12T23:37:00.000+09:00

A word to the wise for anyone thinking about feeding their local monkey......

2005-04-13T13:50:00.000+09:00

Ahoy there!