Osakatomebaby

Every time I come to Japan the yen gets stronger. Coincdence? I think not.

Conversely when I last went back to the States the economy crashed. I know there's a flaw in my logic here, but for the life of me...

Martin D. Franks, executive vice president of CBS, is evidently also responsible for superbowl ad selection. An article in the New York Times investigates CBS's rejection of the Anti-Bush MoveOn.org commercial dealing with Bush's budget deficit.

"...we don't want those who have deep pockets to have an undue influence on the debate."

Are we talking about the same 2,000,000 member nonprofit organization? Last I checked CBS had no objection to big corporations running dubious pr ads about how they are working to save the environment or feed developing nations.

Regarding ads they have approved:

"If you can find somebody responsible who is for drug abuse...or...teenagers seeking to smoke, then it would be a credible rebuttal of our policy."

I guarantee if tobacco advertising weren't illegal they wouldn't be taking this stance. As for drug abuse, well duh (rolls eyes) no one thinks that's good, but the ad is coming from the White House, and the illegality of at least some drugs is a major political issue. More than anything, a top TV exec giving the NYT such a transparent and very hokey challenge just shows that the guy either has no respect for print media (NYT in particular) or he's been in TV too long and doesn't know sound bites are a lot more dubious in print.

Asked about last year's drug policy advertisement that linked drug sales to international terrorism, Mr. Franks said, "Is it an absolutely perfect system? Absolutely not. On the other hand, the MoveOn.org ad wasn't even close. I didn't need to rewind that one in the VCR."

Lucky for them this one didn't accidentally slip through. Whew!

My mom's reaction to this blog:

Wow!!! What a lot of writing...

link / posted by Molly @ osakatomebaby : 01:08

Well I haven't gotten the Vintage Murakami I ordered yet, but I had an hour to kill yesterday in Umeda so I hung out in Kinokuniya and checked it out (yeah they had it).

Yes, it's a reprint of existing works. Whatever. Except, that is, for a short story which is the last inclusion. So I stood there and read "Iceman" in the store. There aren't--or I haven't seen--bookstores like B&N or Book People here. But people do seem to stand in the aisles and read quite a bit, so...why not?

"Iceman" was published in the New Yorker recently, if I'm not mistaken. It's worth the price, even if you've read everything else in the book. Why? Murakami is a master of the short, but this is one of his best--at least if you tend to the chilling emotional aspects of Murakami.

I'm currently reading The Dying Animal by Philip Roth and among other things, his professor protagonist bemoans his son being:

...one of those overheated kids for whom whatever he reads has a personal significance that eradicated everything else germane to literature.

Not that I don't see his point, but his character is a hypocritical twit anyway, and...um...well I took this a little personally. I like books that communicate something I can recognize or relate to. I like a little subtlety, and above all good story-telling, all of which is why I'm hating this Roth book. If this is "Literature", it can go take a flying leap. Mind you I have to finish the book. I'm hoping an unsubtle act of vengance is inflicted on the main character at wich point I'll sing its praises and start touting the morality tale.

"Iceman" on the other hand, is good story-telling--a tragedy where the fatal flaw is nothing more than the narrator following her heart. If I see a personal significance, it's in going out on a limb and doing something a bit off without really considering, or in full denial of, the consequences.

Besides how could anyone *not* relate to a Murakami narrator? They feed the cat, always have a beer in the fridge, make excuses to do what they want, have regrets, and are constantly trying to get to the bottom of something that's eluding them. That's how everybody feels, right?

Anyway it gave me the shivers.

Visited Kurama onsen, north of Kyoto Sunday. It was surprisingly convenient to get there, just an hour and a half or so away, and quite reasonable as well for a day trip.

But first we stopped in at Kurama-dera which was well worth it. For one thing, I saw snow for the first time in many years. Not that snow itself is exciting, but it's pretty on the mountains. Hiking to the top of the mountain, you'd occasionally hear a shushing sound as a big patch of snow would slide off. There were quite a few pilgrims wearing plastic bags on their heads to keep dry. I got lucky and didn't get hit, but I probably wouldn't have cared if I did. Especially by the time I got to the top and saw the lovely view. It's so close to the city, yet this is really countryside because of the religious importance of the area and because it's not particularly suitable for building I suppose.

The temple's been around since 770, but the main hall was rebuilt in 1971 after a fire (possibly related to the fire festival video site), but it's quite lovely and there were some beautiful chants emanating from the interior. It used to be a Tendai temple, but has since founded its own sect known as Kurama-Kokyo.

According to the brochure:

"More than six million years ago, Mao-son (the great king of the conquerors of evil and the spirit of the earth) descended upon Mt. Kurama from Venus, with the great mission of the salvation of mankind. Since then, Mao-son's powerful spirit governing the development and the evolution not only of mankind but of all living things on Earth has been emanating from Mt. Kurama..."

Some history too:

There is the interesting story...of the warrior called Ushiwaka-maru (later known as Minamoto Yoshitsune, 1159-1189). When he was a young lad, he took military arts under the "Tengusan" (subjugator of evil) at Kurama, and he went on to become an excellent soldier.

There was also a museum we could have done, although I didn't realize it till I got home and actually read the brochure they give you at the temple (which I skim, unceremoniously stuff in my pocket and promptly forget).

There are quite a few sake barrels on display at various shrines around the temple. Which reminded us that it was quite cold and we'd better be getting on to the onsen.

My massage therapist friend back home would be proud of me. I went back and forth from the hot springs to the freezing cold water I imagined was the freshly melted snow. Who knows? He and I used to do that with our hands and buckets of water on a very regimented pattern and at precise temperatures. It's supposed to increase circulation and release tension--him from doing massage and me from working at the computer all day. Well it worked. After that I hit the sauna, which is when I finally stopped feeling the rush of normal life. Or more precisely, I realized that normal life is rushed and there are other ways to be.



Of course there was a great lunch. Duck nabe, sashimi and the best rice I've had, ever, mixed with mountain vegetables. Plus hot sake, you can't go wrong.



Followed by another bath. This is the life. Every time I go to an onsen I wonder why I don't go more often.