Lost In Translation

Busy Weekend

It was a busy weekend, I went to a wedding party for Jeff and Kaori (two people I met at my friend Joy's View image party last weekend) with my friend Arun and his girlfriend Michiko View image. Afterwards, I had the usual night out in Roppongi (We went to the bar Heartland then the club MUSE).

That's Tony with Jeff in the back at MUSE, in front is a friend of May's, who is on the right.

On Sunday I went to a Japan vs Canada rugby match, which Japan won, however I don't remember the score. After, We went to a reggae concert in Yoyogi Park.

Modern Living

This house, in Bunkyo-ku near Hakusan, may be communsit-era Russian influenced, but I think it's a cool design none the less.

Karaoke

Last night I was hanging out in Shinjuku with my friend Shun, some of his friends from high school, and my Aussie friend Jason View image. After eating and drinking we decided to go to karaoke, which I haven't been to in a while. The first surprise was that you had to order your drinks through the TV with the remote. The second surprise was that the English song lists are getting better as well. There was some Jon Spencer Blues Explosion songs so I did "2 Kindsa Love" and was going to sing Weezer's "Across The Sea." Usually I have to rely on standards like "Country Roads" or "Stand By Me." If I'm lucky there's "Walk On The Wildside" by Lou Reed.

Book Notes: The Master Of Petersburg

I was inspired to read The Master of Petersburg after reading the excellent Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. I liked it more than The Life & Times of Michael K, but less than Disgrace. It was another meditation on loss, the effects of violence, and grief, but also father and son relationships, spirituality, love, and guilt. It was also telling of life in 19th century Russia and Dostoevsky in particular. I was a little unsure about what he was doing with some of the characters like the revolutionary Nechaev and the landlady's daughter Matrona/succubus. Perhaps they were symbolic or they were just Russian with the fits of passions. It just didn't have the emotional resonance of Disgrace, but engaging enough I suppose. I guess I'll take a break from Coetzee for a while-no more of his books on my shelf.

Kita-Asaka

This is the view of Kita-Asaka in Saitama, where I teach 3 times a week, from the Musashino train line platform

iPod Saved!

Well, I went to the Apple Store in Ginza and they were able to reset the factory settings at no charge at the "Genius Bar"-doesn't take much to look like a genius when I'm around computers. Needless to say, I was relieved that I didn't have to shellout $400+ for another iPod, because it has become indispensable.

iPod Blues

Man, I was just trying to restore my iPod since it wasn't showing up in the iTunes and I did something I shouldn't have and I think I erased the factory settings or something. I know I tried to restart the computer when the restore process stalled-a stupid thing I'm sure. I'm upset that I should have just left it alone, now I have to make a trip to the Apple store. The worst case scenario is that I will have to buy a new one, but I'm hoping it will be a simple process to restore/reboot it. Nothing I can do about it now. Update later.

Jenkins Deseter, Father

This was in Japan Today:

Baker says Jenkins will be treated as deserter

Friday, May 21, 2004 at 06:00 JST
TOKYO U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker said Thursday his country will treat the American husband of a Japanese woman who was abducted by North Korea as a deserter if he returns to the United States, but offered no further views on the issue ahead of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's trip to Pyongyang on Saturday.

"The fact that it's been a long time ago does not change the fact that he is still classified as a deserter," Baker told reporters after a speech to a group of Japanese lawmakers. "If he is returned to the custody of the United States, he will be dealt with according to the provisions of our military justice," he said. (Kyodo News)

I think it's a shame that the US is preventing this family from reuniting-politics. North Korea is strange place-it seesm too weird that they kidnapped Japanese people-why? To train them as spies? To learn more about the language and how they think? I think the US could step back and allow Jenkins to reunite with his family here. We'll see how it plays out.

Tako

Tako is the Japanese word for octopus, which I can eat, but I have to say I can't really get past the chewy texture. It doesn't really have much taste in my opinion, but I've had some fresh stuff that was better than usual. However, that being said, I prefer tuna belly (toro), but that's just me. This is a seafood stand from the Sanja matsuri from last weekend.

Japanese Best Actor

I just came across this on The Japan Today website (the movie he's in sounds interesting):

Japanese teen, 14, wins best actor award at Cannes

Sunday, May 23, 2004 at 06:00 JST
Yuya Yagira IMAGE.NETCANNES Yuya Yagira, a 14-year-old Japanese boy, was a surprise winner of the best actor award at the 57th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night for his performance in "Nobody Knows."

He is the first Japanese to win the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film, which is directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, had its world premiere at Cannes before release in Japan in July. It is based on a real-life story from 1988 in which four children born of different fathers who never went to school were abandoned by their mother and left to fend for themselves.

When tragedy struck, not a single resident in the building was aware of their existence.

"For 15 years I never stopped thinking about this," Koreeda said. "I wanted to show children surrounded by irresponsible adults. The oldest, who is 12, is the only person in the story to show a sense of responsibility right up until the end. This touched me."

The youngster, who was not at the ceremony as he had to fly home for exams, plays the oldest of the four children, who are aged between four and 12 in the film.

The youngster won ahead of several adults widely expected to scoop the prize, Australia's Geoffrey Rush, the star of "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," or young Mexican newcomer Gael Garcia Bernal, who plays Ernesto "Che" Guevara in "The Motorcycle Diaries."

The Palme d'Or best film award went to American director Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" about a critical look at the administration of President George Bush after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. (Wire reports)