Lost In Translation

Book Notes: Hip:The History

I recently read John Leland’s entertaining book, Hip: The History, in which he chronicles what it means to be hip by finding its African origins on the plantations of the 17th century to the hip enclaves in places like Williamsburg, Brooklyn today. He sees that the mixing of groups were instrumental in creating a synthesis of ideas and finds that much of the white co-opting of black culture contributed to this throughout culture from minstrel shows to Elvis to Eminem. New York was often ground zero for new aspects of hipness due to the mixing of immigrants and black. He notes the role of Jewish producers, and songwriters in the role of the Blues and R&B. He looks at different movements like Jazz, bebop, pulp fiction, film noir, and The Beats. I particularly like the chapter, in which he discussed the O.G.s: Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, and Whitman, who were the literary influence of hipness in American literature. Ralph Ellison and the Beats carry on this tradition. He also notes the importance of trickster, to which he sees manifested in Bugs Bunny-who gets a whole chapter. He also notes the contributions of outsiders like outlaws, gangsters, players, and hustlers. Meanwhile, he notes a connection between hip and consumer culture—the selling of the idea of “hip2 either through records or a fashion, which is sad, but true. William Burroughs selling Nikes and the like. Commercialism and marketing attempt to capture and market hip to use as a selling point, I think is undeniable. It was a well written and researched book that I found to be a compelling read. I plan to write an essay for my American Literature correspondence class on hipness in Modern American Literature,

Jinan Temple

This temple is on Nanjing Road.

Shanghai Favorites

Shanghai sweet and sour soup-a little too much of both for me.

Here are some of Shanghai's famous soup dumplings with minced pork.

Shanghai 2006

I recently returned from spending about 5 days in Shanghai. I was there for about the same time about 4 years ago during a 17-day visit to the middle kingdom. Shanghai seems more like a metropolis than Tokyo in that it has more than 2000 skyscrapers, but it's population is actually 17 million to Tokyo 20 million. I think this is mostly due to the annexation of West Tokyo, which doesn’t really feel like part of the city. There seems to be an enormous amount of opportunity in Shanghai to make money and it seems to be progressing rapidly, but I think they still trail Tokyo in sophistication, but there are lots of improvements. The advantages are cheap taxis, it is usually less than $3 anywhere you’d want to go in the inner city area. If you choose wisely you can eat and drink cheaply as well. However, if you want to go swanky there are plenty of good places to spend your money as well and I’ll be posting in the next week about some of the better places we went to. I think it’s the closest Asian city to Tokyo in energy, but I sure wouldn’t want to start over again in another country.

The picture above is a view of Pudong from across the river at the Bund.

Listening Post: Ballad of the Broken Seas

I'm in Shanghai until Tuesday, but this article apperaed in the March 24th print issue of The Japan Times.

LISTENING POST

RECORDED

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "Ballad of the Broken Seas"

By PATRICK MCCOY

Isobel Campbell, formerly of the twee neofolk Glaswegian group Belle & Sebastian, has teamed up with Mark Lanegan, former lead singer of American grunge rockers Screaming Trees, for this unlikely collaboration. The appeal of the pairing lies in the contrast in vocal styles of the two singers -- Campbell has a light, airy purr, while Lanegan's deep, sonorous growl speaks of hardship and woe.

In a collaboration via mail, Campbell wrote most of the songs and sent tapes to Lanegan in Los Angeles, who added vocals. The result is reminiscent of past odd couples such as Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, or Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, with many of the duets reeking of the emotional violence of heartbreak. "Revolver," the only Lanegan-penned cut, is another emotionally intense coupling, while the light and sunny "Honeychild What Can I Do" is an exception to the generally dark mood.

It's a pity Campbell has intimated that these two disparate voices are unlikely to collaborate again anytime soon. Their potential together is as vast as the distance that separates them.

Book Notes: Ignorance

Milan Kundera is one of my favorite contemporary writers and after reading his most recent novel, Ignorance (2002) it is clear why. He is one of the few writers witting today, that writes about ideas, big ideas like the meaning of life, love, exile and so on (another notable exception is Michel Hollenbeq). This book is about two former Czech exiles that were once connected in their youth who return to Prague after the velvet revolution and come to terms with their pasts and with those who stayed behind. There are a number of issues to reconcile and some nostalgia or positive associations are formed on the return. It also is concerned with forgotten moments which continue to define us years later. Throughout the book Kundera alludes to The Odyssey, since it was 20 years that Odysseus was away from his home, which is similar to exiles who left in 68 and return in 88. He also analyzes the history of the Czech Republic and how it is view from abroad and how they view themselves. He also discusses how the exiles have adapted to their respective countries. Kundera himself is one of the exiles in Paris and knows of what he is writing. It is interesting to note that this is one of his novels that have been written in his adopted tongue-French. A short but powerful novel that explores complex human notions and ideas about identity and the individual’s place in the world.

Individualism In The Workplace

Kimiko Manes looks at the differences in office/customer service behavior in the latest U.S. Culture-Lesson from the Classroom column in The Daily Yomiuri:

In the United States, the whole society is founded on the premise that individuals are given rights and responsibilities (although sometimes I think the "responsibilities" part has fallen by the wayside these days). If some work is given to an individual, he or she is responsible for completing it, and that responsibility must be respected: meddling with their work is a professional violation. Therefore, even if you work with someone in the same office, unless you are specifically asked for help, or directed by a supervisor to help, that individual is solely responsible for that work.

Of course, if there is a mistake, it is that individual's responsibility, and if the errors are too numerous or grave, one can get fired. Not helping coworkers, then, can be an act of respect for their work, and it is also a way to deflect responsibility in case their work turns out to be shoddy. This is the line between oneself and someone else's responsibility; anything that is out of an individual's jurisdiction, then, becomes "none of my business." This seems to be how an individualistic society works.

However, if you are given a task or agree to do a specific job, you are free to finish your work however you see fit. For example, a businessperson might be given a limit, say, "up to 1 million dollars" to complete a deal. If it is within that area, that person has the power to make decisions. How favorable the negotiated deal is might help that businessperson's career, but unlike Japan, he or she will not have to talk with the main office or "honsha."

I agree that this happens to an extent, but I think that if something needs to be taken care of-it often is. Whereas their Japnese counterparts are paralyzed if something is out of order-there are no exceptions and rules must be followed to the letter:

On the other hand, according to one American who resided in Japan for a long time, "When a foreigner goes to city hall or a bank in Japan, workers at the windows are extremely polite but they have to consult with other coworkers or supervisors before they can process the paperwork or transaction. Because the individual isn't given any sort of responsibility, they have to consult each other to make decisions."

He's absolutely correct. Unless it pertains to something very specific, individuals cannot make decisions easily in the Japanese workplace. Work tends to be done by groups in Japan, and everyone can do each other's work. To facilitate this, routines are set up. To oblige the foreigner who visits the city office, city workers might have to ask their coworkers and their supervisors if the routine set up for Japanese people will be appropriate for the foreigner.

Unlike the United States, most people in an office can help that person, but the placement of responsibility is unclear. Therefore, the Japanese tend not to favor changing routines, and sometimes even think that the routines cannot be changed.

People unconsciously form a paradigm to view the world around them, and they tend to prefer the system with which they are most familiar. It has taken me a long time to understand American society, and I think that there are many Japanese in the United States who never seem to understand how things "work." Similarly, I assume that some foreigners in Japan also take time to understand and accept how things are carried out in Japan.

Beauracracy here is in a class by itself. I need to get a $5 money order fro my correspondance course. I had to fill out a form in triplicate and had to write my address three times, the address of the receiver twice and disclose what it was for whcih I wrote "school fees" in English since I didn't have my Japanse dictionary with me. They called me no less than three times to find out what the $5 was for-WTF?

Another time I needed to renew my VISA two week before returning to the U.S. when it would expire while I was gone, and I told the clerk Ihad a special case and neede to get this done quickly-he claimed that had had no power and that it was up to the main branch in Otemachi. I got it but with no help from the clerk, I find people reluctant to take responsibililty for promises here in order to save their butts in many cases.

I guess I've accepted the Japanese system-it's not goingto change anytime soon, and I realize neither is perfect.

Book Notes: Everything Bad For You Is Good for You

I have to say that Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad For You Is Good For You, is a persuasive individual. He starts off by identifying the “Sleeper Curve”-which is how in the Woody Allen film, of the same name, things that were thought to be bad, deep fat, steak, cream pies, and hot fudge in the future are good. I never thought that I would budge from the position that there is nothing redeeming about computer games, but Johnson has shown that the role playing games in particular require problem solving skills to advance in the game and cites The Simms and Grand Theft Auto as examples-there are 100 page step guide that have been written to help gamers proceed through the varying levels of the game. He says often these games promote “telescoping”-which involves solving short term problems like slaying a dragon, while being cognizant of the end game goal rescuing the princess.

He also goes onto to explain how television challenges today like at no other time. He shows how comparatively a show like Dragnet, which required little thought to process the story, has evolved into The Sopranos, which has a large ensemble cast and requires knowledge of the characters and the shows past history, as well as the need to follow the story in progress for foreshadowing. The complexity of the show is validated by its repeated watchability-a factor that has made Seinfeld’s and The Simpson’s creators incredibly rich on syndication rights. He takes this a step further, when he analyzes reality TV. He compares it the game shows of the past like The Price Is Right, which is a simple game in which the rules are set. A show like The Apprentice can throw a curveball. His example was that they brought back fired employees to work for the two remaining contestants, which would show whether or not hey were well-like by their former competitors-a factor that wasn’t considered by the contestants. Furthermore, it invites participation as the theoretical water cooler talks that take place between people and more increasingly on the net promotes the reading and writing and cognitive analysis of not only game shows, but also other shows like Lost and 24 where speculation is half of the fun.

In part Two, he explains how these changes in mass entertainment have resulted in greater intelligence. He cites the rise of the middle section of IQ scores over the years as well as the fact that though the internet people read write more than have in the past. I’m not doing Johnson justice, but he makes a good case that things might not be as bad as they are made to be by the media and other cultural critics. An interesting and provocative read that is not unlike those that I have recently read like The Tipping Point or Freakonimcs.

Anti-Wheel Technology

I have to admit that the February Chuck Klosterman column in Esquire was lame, but he has made up for it with an entertaining look at technology in the March issus. He makes this astute observation:

In retrospect, the wheel was an obvious solution to a problem everyone was aware of-yet it still took thousands of years. Text messaging is precisely the opposite: It’s the solution to a desire I never even knew I had, and it came into existence long before anyone was demanding it.

I didn’t send a single text message until the summer of 2005, and when I did, it was almost certainly because I was drunk. To my surprise, I discovered that I loved texting. Very often, I (apparently) want tot tell people information that is so inane and trivial that I does not even justify making a phone call. Here are five of my most recent text messages:

“I am eating walleye.”
“That was some quality ivory tickling!”
“Hide the steak knives.”
“I am shopping for a robot.”
“Ian Mortimer!”

He goes on to list some other Antiwheel technology:

An even better example of successful Antiwheel Technology is TiVo. Prior to getting a DVR from my cable company, I don’t think I ever thought, Man, I sure wish I could freeze live television. Before I had that box, using a VCR to tape programming did not seem remotely troubling. And unlike TiVo, the VCR was an invention people were actively awaiting.

We’ve always assumed that necessity is the mother of invention, but what happens when necessity no longer exists? Society has evolved beyond the stage of building a better mousetrap; metaphorically we now have mousetraps that can kill water buffalo. It’s becoming harder and harder to think of new everyday things that we want or need, and that creates a completely new paradigm for inventors. It makes the process of inventions less practical and more abstract: We now have to come up with the solutions to problems that don’t exist.

Tokyo Apartments

These are not your typical Tokyo apartments and I hardly call Mitaka Tokyo proper-it's West Tokyo. However, they should make them all look like this since most of them are very depressingly designed. Here's more from thecoolhunter.com:

What we most love about all things Japanese is that they vary so radically from intelligent design to the completely wacky. The most recent work from New York based designers Arakawa and Gin is a wonderful example of the latter.

The creative duo have unveiled a small and most unusual apartment block based in Mitaka, Tokyo. Reversible Destiny Lofts are eye-catching brightly painted lofts that look like a McDonald's play ground through the eyes of someone on LSD. The architecture looks like the aftermath of a size 3 earthquake, a little shaken and lopsided. There is a method behind the designers madness however. Arakawa believes that comfort makes you grow old quick, and that residents, in particular elderly ones, need to be kept on their toes by having their interiors physically challenge them. Lopsided floors force the resident to maintain a good sense of balance , strangely located light switches insist we feel around for the light, whilst small veranda doors will ask you to crawl and bend to enter.

How much does this physical challenge cost? Priced at US$750,000 each, the houses are three times more expensive than other apartments in the same neighborhood. It looks funky and the concept is challenging, however we can't help but wanting to stick the designer in there when he is 93 years old and see how he copes. by Lisa Evans