Osakatomebaby

Pops sent me this very groovy article the other day and I meant to post it but forgot till I saw it on Pure Land Mountain which I quite enjoy, particularly the post earlier today about plum-eating monkeys. Gotta keep your AMBM's (Anti-Monkey Ballistic Missiles) handy...well, not in Osaka but elsewhere I reckon.

I've been keeping an eye on this imposter. She claims to be me. About the same age, also a teacher, also once resided in Ohio. But she is the first to attain her 15 minutes of fame. Actually I probably already had mine and forgot.

Worked with one other Molly (Mollie) once. Mollies rarely collide. Anyway, then I was "Old Molly" and she was "New Mollie" or "Why-Molly?" and "IE Mollie". I guess I'm glad people don't do what they do with men because she was a marathon runner. Would I have been "Little Molly" or "Big Molly"? Not sure...she was taller but more svelt. "Old Molly" isn't that bad in start-up world. Okay, I'm just trying to convince myself. I know. I know.

Unfortunately this may be the last time we hear from this Molly since she is getting married and odds are she will change her name. Somehow I find it kind of sad...then there will be only one. In fact, it was nice sharing the mantle for a while. I had hoped to see more of a resemblance.

Well this is not in character but I got this email from a very good friend recently and can testify to the following:

• She is hard core, serious, smart as hell. Used to be my roommate for several years.
• I know her bro and he is a sweetheart. I am not being sarcastic now, but he used to take care of little animals like, say, my discarded hedgehog.
• He has a cool as all get-out wife who has been through all of this with him.

Anyway, if it's in your means...I will send you the address. Probably (99.99%) I will not have another post like this. I don't know why I'm apologizing, Craig's having a hella worse time than me or you, probably...she told me offline that he stays up some nights in agonizing pain. Shoot. I used to think I was going to die if I got an earache. Sorry, I don't know what else to tell you. This is what she officially said:

On Jolly July 17th, Saturday, smack dab in the middle of the blazin Texas summer, I'm going to ride 50 miles to raise money for my brother.

As many of you know he is disabled due to a chronic injury and has no insurance. He is also a new father. He has been working with a new doctor and a new chiropractor that does reallignment which is helping with secondary injuries, but he has been diagnosed with RSD, a nerve disease that has no available cure, though treatment is possible, and we are trying to do all we can. In short, he needs about 1000 dollars a month just for medical work (his medicine alone is 400/month without any treatments). This puts a tremendous burden on the familia and on him to work when he mostly cannot. He should have some medicare within 6 months (we hope).

We are also in a lawsuit with the facility that caused the negligence that caused his accident 4 years ago-however, we are fighting a big california lawfirm and need money to pay the lawyers to depose witnesses to force the other side to move the case forward. This will cost us a few thousand. The sooner we can get a settlement or go to court, the sooner my bro will have the money for the care, groceries, and support he needs. This means the world to me. I don't know any other way to raise the dollars. If anyone wants to ride with me, that would be a great participation too.

My goal is to raise $5000 dollars for my brother, Craig. If you feel inclined to contribute, you can do so by mile or inspiration. I know I can raise this much, and I thank you for your contributions, financial and otherwise. And thank you to those who have participated in his care before. On I go on the bike!!!

**LONG POST WARNING**

This picture from my favorite photoblog induced me to change my monitor background from the previous and ever-cool interretron. Fascinating I know.

It was that and the fact that I finally bothered to fetch the Fog of War the other day, so I am kind of over it. It was good, excellent even, an important film superbly made. It is quite frightening. What Morris, I am given to understand, found most disturbing was the degree to which MacNamara denies how much direct power he had and overplays the forlorn subservient role.

I don't know. I think he knows we know and he doesn't have to say it. Probably what amazed him was MacNamara's consistency in playing the role. Morris (a Berkeley guy) knew his own bias and took every pain to balance the sympathetic and critical elements of the film to make a very convincing argument. I am impressed. Particularly by the closing which is the cincher: so if you disagreed with the war why didn't you oppose it once you stepped down?

Before elucidating my thoughts on his answer I have to back up (like MacNamara and Ford). Morris attended Berkeley as a philosophy student in the mid to late 70's. Just in time to hear first hand about the protesters' experience. In fact, his choice of Berkeley (and decision to leave liberal Vermont--again, not 100% sure on my facts and can stand correction) was probably influenced in part by events there in the previous decade.

Fast forward to the present. Here I am, 28. Never had any of my friends drafted. Never had to sell my Simon and Garfunkel records to afford to make rumballs to send to soldiers (yet...how much will my mp3's be worth when this Iraq thing drags on). I know the history, a bit, though mostly through my own reading since never once in high school did a history teacher make it past WWII if they even got there. Seems they were perpetually behind in the syllabus. Oh except I do remember Coach B reading to us from "On the Road" so we must have made it to the 50's, but not the 60's.

What I know is garnered from films and novels. Is that any way to learn about history? That and the idealization the media creates of hippies in catering to their baby boomer demographic--those folks watch a lot of tv.

What do I know about MacNamara? What do I know about Vietnam? I do, as it happens, know quite a bit about the firebombing of Japan (and its ill effects on the pitiable architecture here). This is the long way of saying that despite my imagination and passion for Morris' films, I feel like some of what is going on in this film might be lost on me...might have gone over my head.

Case in point, when Morris asked, why didn't you speak out? MacNamara's response, more or less, was "my words had too much weight". I think, but I could be wrong, that he means that he was afraid for the internal stability of the US. Of course this was before Kent State, but it was 1968 and the anti-war movement was in full swing (e.g. the protests at the Pentagon). MacNamara had spent the last decade controlling the kind of information that would fuel the most extreme of those passions. Morris' point, I guess, is it would have been just for him, now no longer able to push for what he saw as the rational course from inside, to tell it to the world at large.

I don't expect Morris was really suggesting MacNamara might have done such a thing. But it hangs out there. You've admitted you could be considered a war criminal. You've said you wanted to back out of Vietnam and felt your years under LBJ were more or less PR and damage control due to his (LBJ's) belligerence. You feel guilty now, and responsible. Why didn't you then? Why didn't you act?

This is the part where I have to start theorizing what is really being discussed. It's not as simple as switching sides, it's about how the two sides were so polarized, they could not have a discussion. The wall of misinformation on one side and self-righteous anger on the other made it impossible to communicate, which I suppose is why we have so many stereotypes about the 60's now.

I heard an interesting story on This American Life a couple of weeks ago about a Republican candidate for the New Jersey State Assembly. He didn't have a chance of winning, and most people were willing to engage in polite debate or discussion. That is till he came to an upper-middle class district populated by staunch Dems where he was berated about the war (something a State Assembly Member can do little about outside of passing a resolution in favor or opposed). His wife and family were harassed. Anyway, according to his account, they were the most intolerant of people.

Well, it's one-sided of course, but not unconvincing. One might well be intolerant, angry, and self-righteous about the war. I appreciate lunatics like Abby Hoffman and Michael Moore, for entertainment value. One might start shouting slogans and epithets. Bush is evil. Cheney is a goon. Rumsfeld is...

Mr. Death was one of Morris' best films (there are many but not yet enough). That someone so cruel could think himself humane. Someone so blind could be so long supported by the establishment.

This was Mr. Death on a global scale but more sympathetic...and it is frightening. The difference between life and annihilation is luck? The fate of the free world (as it were) rests in so few hands--someone chosen amidst such a coarse level of debate and by people more often voting "against" than "for"?

Sometimes I want to crawl away and hide. Kerry is not necessarily going to make the situation better and it's absurd to support Nader (sorry Ralph). We have no idea. Heads are still going to roll. This thing is going to drag on for years, decades maybe. I want to go to Vietnam, but then again, I don't. Oh to be a Canadian...

(Justin and Erin, you saw it recently...if you're reading this I'd be interested in what you thought. Jim? Col? You guys are politicos. Anyone else seen it? Anyone who was there in the 60's? I know I'm behind the curve here...)

Just made reservations for the play I've been waiting to see for the last 9 months. Wow, I'm kind of fulfilling a lot of plans lately. Anyway, looking forward to staying in Tokyo. Was planning on going alone but managed to talk Miss Marni the Unassailable Aussie into coming along even though the show is in Japanese. We're going to read (or re-read) the short stories it's based on on the Shinkansen.

Should probably take the night bus but time is money and have you ever slept on one of those things? If I'm traveling by night I want it to be on the top bunk of a night train through India while clinging to my bag in fear. Besides, there's nothing quite as cool as taking the Shinkansen past Fuji-san. I'm tempted to make a thermos of Bloody Marys since we'll be on vacation (um...when am I not on vacation...)

Accommodations on the other hand come in two varieties: the cheap ryokan and the cheap hostel. Nice ryokans are nice, but my requirements at the moment are proximity to nightlife and no curfew. A bath, even a crummy one, would round out the picture but it's not a necessity. I can go to onsens in Kansai. We may even opt for a hostel, just need somewhere to flop.

We're planning to meet up with Asuka's paramour who's a chef-restaurant-guy and if he ever calls me back Travis (does he ever call anyone back, no). Apparently Travis knows an erotica-themed Izakaya (uh...restaurant) of the S&M variety, not woodblock prints (although there is supposedly a cool one of those in Kyoto too). Zippy.

I wore the same shirt I did in that tropical storm in Pondicherry and guess what happened...typhooooon. It's my typhoon shirt. It did not stop me from going to USJ.

Not something I would normally have thought to do but it was quite fun. Oh heck, it was smashing--perhaps because there were no lines (due to said typhoon). I cannot tolerate lines. You could not pay me to stand in line for two hours to ride past hundreds of tiny E.T.'s climbing Seussian flora. But no line and I'm willing and even, dare I say, enjoying it.

Spider man was indeed the best, although Back to the Future was a close second what with the omnimax theater and all. But I'm a sucker for 3-d animation. Could do without the 4-d animation though in which that 4th "d" evidently consists of getting sprayed with water when the animated donkey sneezes. No thank you.

Oh the wild west show wasn't bad. I mean, it *was* bad but it was still fun just to see a guy take a two story dive. And for the record, the margaritas at the Hard Rock Cafe are not bad, but the Ceasar Salad is.

I am exhausted, glad I went and glad we did everything so maybe I will never go back. Also starting to wonder if I bring the rain with me? Everywhere I go it rains.

Post editing policy: Typos only. That is, unless I have caused some harm to someone, I may not delete or remove a post, or change the wording except to correct grammar and spelling mistakes.

That said I seem to have made one below which I will not change but was clearly inaccurate. Going to see Manhattan was not "the" only time I enjoyed going to a movie with someone, it just happened to be a particularly good one. And I have been known more often than not to go to movie with others and enjoy myself. I guess I was just in a tizzy yesterday. There are certainly times I have enjoyed seeing movies with people in a way I would not have alone, including:

Seeing Casablanca at the Paramount with Jim. That was indeed a classic moment, and, in fact, when I think of the Paramount it is not that time with Ian that jumps to mind first, but Casablanca with Jim. I believe it was the first time I had even been to the Paramount as well and went because of Jim. Those indeed were the days, oh to be back then again.

Also seeing Waking Life with the fearless duo, the peerless pair of Cortese and Davis, who more or less live as if they were in the film already.

Watching videos is a totally different story. Videos are great watched together with folks and commentary depending. I could go on...but someone is now complaining about something else I have to attend to. Gah. I give up.

I don't have to be anywhere till 5. Mind you I have to...

Oh who cares. I am tempted to sneak off to see Lost in Translation all by myself, even if I have to see it three more times with other people. I really don't understand why people go to movies together.

Okay, I do, I suppose it means you for sure have something to talk about for at least a hour and possibly years depending on the movie and the friendship. It's 2 hours of potentially unlimited material.

Even when I go to a movie with a friend, I am never quite satisfied with our relative responses. They cry when I don't, or am trying desperately to and can't. (Oooh poor me). I laugh at inappropriate moments and with my father's rather loud "bwah!" or "heh!" depending on how much I am conscious of holding it back.

Or like the Matrix. See I hated the first one, said "brain in a jar", "Keeanu can't act", stuff like that. My imagination is better than that anyway, I grew up tesseracting. But by the time I saw Reloaded I had a better developed appreciation for kitsch or as someone who shall go unnamed would say, the post-ironic. I appreciated it more..or I had lost my edge. Either way, I was less interested in it being "good" than just internally consistent and I thought 2 opened up a lot of good doors. I didn't see three...because the reviews were so bad if that makes any sense.

I like LOTR 1 the best too for the record.

Okay I'm living in Japan and our cache is slipping fast. It's been at least 3 months since I've seen an article on how Japan is "in". (I guess that means that in 1988 twins and body-switching were in). But when I saw "The Last Samurai" all I could think of was the fact that Hollywood was glamorizing the fight against modernism and Americanization while at home we were working on biting off a bigger chunk of the middle east and, well, we still don't understand the terrorists. Because of course samurai were honorable and Islamic nations are not.

Oh dear...how did I get off topic.

The first movie I ever went to by myself was "Deconstructing Harry". I had just got rid of a no-good-two-bit (who wouldn't deny that characterization). I put on my best wool turtleneck, trenchcoat, make-up even, and drove myself to a movie. It wasn't great, but at that moment, it was. I'd hate to ruin it by watching it again--I probably remember the feeling of walking in and buying a ticket better than the film itself.

That reminds me of the one time I did really enjoy seeing a movie with someone, someone you might not suspect. The first time I saw Manhattan it was with Ian who is Daniel's friend.

We sat in the balcony of the Paramount. It was a double feature with Annie Hall, which I *had* seen and wanted to again, but when the lights came up in between we both less-than-glanced a each other and walked out. We went to the car without a word, headed to Magnolia South as by auto-pilot and finally opened our mouths to say things like "2" and "Shiners". We didn't talk till the beers were drunk and it didn't seem a bit weird.

Now that was a movie.

As for LiT, I guess I don't care what other people think, there will always be enough kvetching about foreigners and Japanese and there will ever be enough of us sorting out our place (if and when we care). The fact is, the Japan stuff is the background and I probably don't care if it's offensive or not. I mostly just like the isolation and the moment they have.

As Good As It Gets? That was a movie I did go see with what's-his-(euphemism) after I kicked his (euphemism) out. It was practically about him and his psychotic record collecting and water bottles and generally paranoid misanthropic self. Nothing to talk about. Nothing more to say.

As good as it really gets? The point right up to before "they lived happily ever after". That and going to movies alone.

Got to stay in sometimes unless I want to stay out all night every weekend...eh, so no. I love public transportation and I hate it too. I'm going to move into the city.

Anyway, for those who related to Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club (as opposed to Short Circuit or say, Short Circuit 2, for example), rejoice. Awkward is the new black. Where oh where is Emily Kremer when you need her? I lost track after she hooked up with that guy who was more neurotic than her and I suddenly felt like the neurotic one. I think her sister still lives on Red River. Maybe someday I will go knocking on doors up and down that street in the Hyde Park neighborhood till I find her. Can't peek in mailboxes because I seem to have forgotten her name and she is married.

I got all excited reading this. Yes that's me, no it's not, yes, yes, yes, no, no no no. But ultimately, I have to remember these words of wisdom from my youth.

I gotta add this to Colin's site...along with a yellow dog. I mean, I *have* seen a dancing banana before, but not one that was updated to correspond to terrorist alerts. That's what technology brings to the table my friends.

My "walk" this morning turned into a two hour odyssey because I was so enjoying it that I went much too far south then couldn't find a way to cross the river, and naturally, instead of turning back the way I had come, I plowed ahead. Funny like that.

At one point I did locate stairs up from the river to where the access road should have been, but instead found myself on a "path" surrounded by 4-foot grass. That's when I started running because I just wanted to get out of it. It was fun...being a little lost, a little scared that an off kilter homeless person might wander out of the grass but none did. Finally found a bridge and promptly went from hopping over foot-long earthworms to zig-zagging past industrial junk.

Altogether a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Also realized I need not be so shy about saying hello or rather, ohaiyo gozaimasu and it's variants, to the 100 or so middle-aged men I pass when I go for a run or a walk (can't say why, but there just aren't a lot of women or younger people there...a few). It does make me a little nervous but when they smile and say good morning (and I do too) I feel great. But I worry about my accent.

Then I decided, why not just pretend I'm Andre Codrescu, only speaking Japanese. If I were walking in the morning and Andre Codrescu said good morning to me, I wouldn't critique his accent. I'd be tickled. "Guud Mouurning" he would say, so if my "Ohaiyo" sounds like that, I am happy.

Thanks to Justin...This is the best thing I've seen online so far this year.

Also, I must express my regrets. I usually do enter League contests, but this one is quite a massive undertaking...particularly since my DVD player is kaput, my tv lives under the desk, I am losing touch with celebrities, pop culture, and politics in general, and the only thing I can remember off the Taco Bell menu is the chili cheese wrap which is foul. I could probably handle #'s 7-11. Slim pickin's.

5:10. Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats...Ho-oooooooooooo!

Yes that's the first thing I thought of this morning, but it's a good thing for your gobberwarts...

Sunrise is at 4:45am. To heck with that. I am getting up at 5:30 or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon. See if I don't!

Who's your momma.

Not me.

So for no reason other than I recently realized I have strayed mighty far from my austere lifestyle of last year I have to make more rules. I realized how far I've strayed when this morning I actually seriously considered buying some real furniture. Got to fight the nesting instinct. No grass under these feet.

The rules of the order:

First, I have managed to get up at 7 or eight daily for nearly a year, but the sun is up at like 5 so rule#1, up with the sun and go for a walk.

Rule #2, no more than 700 yen a day on food except weekends or if I go out. Then I can go hog wild, but of course I don't have to (but you know I will). But if I spend less than that it does roll over which means that if I keep it simple I can still have a chu-hai or beer after work every now and then.

Today: 200 yen pickles to last three days and 400 yen bento. The rest is rice and miso..oh and chocolate with kirshwasser. Just the staples.

Actually the latter has been sitting on my shelf for a month waiting for a special occasion and sadly, it seems the booze evaporated through the foil. So it tastes good but...

**bwaaaaaah**

Let that be a lesson to you. Too much delayed gratification is not a good thing (either part of the term). Also, booze evaporates.

Rule #3. I work on Saturday, that means Friday is *not* a weekend night no matter what my cultural inner clock tells me. That means tomorrow. That means I gotta get up in 4 1/2 hours.

Uuuuh...is this gonna work? Hmmm....

i am living in the moment
i am living in the moment
i am living in the moment

i think i am bored...

Right is the ever lovely Miss Marie. She and her friend found a purikura (print club) machine that let's you change your hair and makeup. Will she mock me if I say...Ooh la la! Perhaps not, she'd never heard the song about the place in France and she was very cool about that. You know the one...(I love the red hair, but it's all in the eyes really).

Evidently English education in Korea is pretty much the same as here in Japan. Okay, and what is going on with this girl's pants? Do I even want to know...

Good ol' Colin busts upon the blog scene with Hawaiin Shirt Friday, "a slightly skewed view of film, sports and politics". So if I blogged less recently it's in part 'cause I was trying to help out making the site loud and cheesy and entirely appropriate. I think we did okay. I'm blinded.

So who is Colin, for those of you who don't know...Lessee. Colin is the guy who in 9th grade walked up to me and said, "Are you that girl who is going out with M*** R***?"

"Yeah."

"You realize he's an a-hole."

"Yeah."

And we were immediately best friends. The rest is history. Oh, right, he's the guy willing to risk life and limb to save a drowning football in the Potomac.

David Sedaris is interviewed in Time magazine about the new book. He's funny, but I'm a little surprised to see it in Time. I guess 'cause I think of him as a public radio guy and outside of Garrison Keillor that world tends to stay a little isolated. The reviews I've read of his new collection aren't great either, but I don't really care, will still read it.

He's the bext of the big 3 humorist commentators on This American Life with Sara Vowell a close second and David Radkoff bringing up the rear. I'd certainly buy her other books when I get to it, not sure about his. All entertaining. It seems like such a long time from one show to the next. Each week I go online thinking it's been at least two weeks since I listened, only to find it's been but one and I only get one hour more of this drug, doled out by my wise but rather stingy dealer, Ira Glass.

"But Ira, man, you don't understand, I *need* two hours this week. Not every week, just this once man."

"Um, I think you're taking this stuff too seriously. Maybe you should back off a little? It's supposed to be fun, you know. Have a good time."

"Ira, don't you get it? I *see* stuff in a whole new way when I'm listening to the show. I think I'm making progress. I could really *get somewhere* this time. You know, a deeper place."

"Okay, listen, you seriously need to listen to yourself."

"Ira, geez. You are so uncool, and you're pushing this stuff! Can't you understand? Drop out, log on and tune in man. Look I've tried To the Best of Our Knowledge and it's just not as good. I need the hard stuff, the soul stuff. The stuff with the alienated Errol Morris-esque soundtrack and the perfectly edited chuckles of disbelief. You've got it and you've GOT to give it to me or I don't know *what* I'll do. I might read Pynchon. It' on my shelf."

"Oh for the love of god. Are you thinking about what you're saying? You don't even realize you're not really talking to me, do you? That you're just making this all up? See what you've become..."

...and he fades.

Ira Glass and Errol Morris, you've created a monster. Ah! Why can't there at least be a few placebos. Can't we get some crummy copy-cats? *Feens*.

Hot diggity. Somebody tape this for me. And yeah, still haven't seen The Fog of War. What wouldn't I give? Hmmm...I would give up my upcoming trip to Tokyo to see the Murakami play...no. No I wouldn't. I would give up...darn.

What do I have to give up? A few accumulated non-necessities?

Aah...I would give up the map of India I have carried around for the last seven years with all the cities covered in red map dots. Um...I would give up a month of Sundays. Okay, I would give up all my Murakami books and have to buy them again later and not have them handy when wanted. I would not give up Beaudilaire, Whitman or Han-shan. Okay, fine I would give up Han-shan.

I would give up two hours of sleep a night if I had them left to give. I would not give up my photos. Would I give up the precious hour after work to chill out...no. I wouldn't give up Japan or I would be back by now. Oh, I would give up my speakers an go back to mono for two months. Look, if I want it bad enough its gonna hafta hurt. I would give up one pair of shoes, and I don't have many. Ah...I would give up everything I ever bought at the 100-yen store. In fact, I would do that anyway.

Lessee...I would give up going to see Lost in Translation. Ironically enough I can't even find the time to work that into my schedule now that it's coming out this week. What a joke. Actually I could possibly squeeze it in whilst I am in Tokyo at the end of the month seeing this Murakami play I have been waiting on equally long, but I think I'll have to see it at least twice more once I come back if those folks don't abandon me for taking so long to keep up my end of the deal.

Oh, okay, would I actually go buy an all-regions dvd-player if someone sent me a copy? Nah, I don't want to own it. Just weigh me down. Anyway, it's probably available *somewhere* in Osaka. All I need to give up is the $80 to buy a cheap DVD player and a half a day to go find it...

*Sigh*. Someday my brain will learn to go from A->B without stopping off at t-a-n-g-e-n and t again first. Darn.

This looks great. I think I gotta check it out for vaction sometime. Bale me some rice or something.

...on this situation which is somewhere near where I live, though I'm not clear on the specific location. Lots of little tidbits. Basically some Vietnamese boat people who were at some point incarcerated for other crimes have been in detention for over two years because Vietnam won't take them back (they don't want to go) and Japan won't grant them visas. What to do? Do I want the murderer released to my neighborhood? No. Do I want them to be sent back to Vietnam against their will. No. Should they be confined? Probably no although 8 years does seem a bit short for murder, but if they've legally served their time, I don't know.

Quite a mess. Last year one committed sucide, another tried yesterday, and 23 are on a hunger strike. And I'm worried about my idiotic class status. Oh shoot, that reminds me I missed the Amnesty meeting yesterday for the fifth time this year, and I really could have gone. Drat. I better go fill out some petitions or something.

An alien wants to know. Made me think of the argument over whether the "Hi, how are you?" mural ought to be saved. Looks like it was. Just thought that needed a follow-up.

It seems like only a year ago that I decided to move back to Kansai and asked for my old teaching job back...Back then Osaka was expensive digs, especially coming from the East Side of Austin. Of course, the quality of life is different since Osaka is lacking in such essentials as convenience store chimichangas (instant heart attack...truly guesome), 3am BBQ joints and 24/7 police surveillance. But there are a few good reasons to live here: convenience store tofu (no heart attacks, ever), 3am ramen and 24/7 karaoke. Besides, Osaka is now now longer the 3rd most expensive city in the world, but merely the 4th. So after living in Osaka, New York or, say, Geneva would feel like Oklahoma--everything is so cheap! Australia? France? Forget it. Developing nations. Prague, where good old Mick hangs out rounds out next to the bottom of the list. Maybe I should move there...

In India my Texan cohorts who'd been living there joked, "Let Molly pay. She's Japanese, she can afford it." Well...yeah, I never quite got a handle on the money--change a 100 US and I'd have a huge wad of rupees. I've never seen so much paper money since I was working in the cash office at the Neiman Marcus Last Call outlet, so I did spend it all and now I'm back to the simple life-- sitting outside next to the Kamo river in Kyoto munching grilled shitake and enjoying a little cold sake.

Speaking of the good life, I've been in a tizzy reading this book about American social classes. It's quite dated (evidently a lot of social climbers at that time were wearing keds and putting nautical flags on their cars) and very East-Coast centric. There aren't quite as many Anglophiles in Texas for example, nor the disdain for spicy food. But then maybe that's just 'cause I wasn't in that class. Anyway, one thing is abundantly clear from this as I read in Japan--that the America which Japan idolizes is the America of the lower and middle class. E.g. Budweiser beer, t-shirts with lots of writing, those god-awful trucker hats, fast-food. And those things are kind of status symbols for middles and lowers here, taking them up supposedly a notch. Meanwhile to be higher here you really have to be interested in Japanese archaism--traditional arts, things like that. Of course having a knowledge of English and the world via travel are status symbols, but talking about it a lot or being wildly obsessed with it is gauche unless you're quite young.

One thing about the book (and it mostly takes the piss out of *every* class) is it's deep disdain for the pretentions of the middle class. Basically, it says, that's where you find the snobs. The uppers don't really care what people think. Well, that and they're a little clueless. He really has it in for readers of the New Yorker in particular. That and catalog shoppers. (Sounds like my family is taking quite a beating). On the one hand the middle class reads a lot more in terms of novels and "literature" but then they're also the primary audience for "unreadable second-rate pretentious books by...John Steinbeck, Pearl Buck...Hemmingway." Ha ha, who's the snob?

There are even exercises at the end of the book on learning to draw class inferences, and a living room scale by which to rate your own class. Genuine Tiffany lamp? Add three points. Reproduction? Subtract 4. New Oriental rug? Subtract 2. Worn one? Add 5 (each). reproductions of any Picasso painting, subtract 2, each family photo subtract 3 unless it's in a sterling frame, then add 3.

It's funny, but I was kind of wondering, well so what's the alternative buddy? Then I flipped ahead and the last chapter is about the "X" way out. That is, he's more or less advocating getting the heck out of the rat race--being a "bohemian". Evidently living abroad is a pretty good indicator, that and proximity to a good wine store, Army surplus or university library (that you actually use). Now it's starting to sound like Austin. Whew, I guess I can relax and stop worrying about my class standing...of course, that's not a very X thing to do...or is it?

I better go check and see if I still have bohemianhipster@yahoo.com. Haven't checked it in a while. See, it's important to have these little moments of self-awareness. Okay and I only got the address because Jim wouldn't stop calling me that. Tried to tell him I am too out of the loop to be a hipster, but he seemed to think that was precisely the point. I dunno. Hopefully announcing it proves my point. I'm going to the convenience store for some tofu.

**UPDATE** I am no longer the bohemian hipster. Whew, thank god.

...which comes out here next week. I want to see this movie which doesn't exploit any stereotypes.

I really do...

This author evidently had the same experience as me coming through customs last time, thought I suspect she came through Narita.

You know a nation is good with a foreign language when they start making jokes in it. Our arrival at Customs was a quick induction into a sly, dry sense of humor. A quietly bored customs man asked if we had anything to declare, adding with a grin, "you know, marijuana, heroin ...?"

I was so surprised and amused I burst out laughing. Must be part of the training. As for being representative of English ability here, that's a stretch.

On that front, I am feeling inspired to become a better teacher this week on account of a seminar I attended yesterday. Very good. Highly recommended--for 4000-en it's very reasonable and we covered a lot. It was also interesting to meet so many different kinds of teachers--people with their own schools, college professors, kindergarten teachers. I suppose for folks with a background in education much would be review, but I was impressed to see that much we're trained to do at my school is spot on with the current thinking. That is to say, our teaching methodology is very balanced. The presentations would probably offer insights even for those who have the background. I have to write a paper on it to get the certification so I'll probably tell you more about that when I process some of the ideas. To anybody who says that Eikaiwa teachers are hacks or that private language schools are a scam, well some of them may be, but there are good ones too, even among the "big 5". I like my job, and it's not McEnglish.

Because the writing's so good.

Prepare to be boarded! Avast ye and shiver me...nah. It's not talk like a pirate day yet...me hearties...

I guess this is what my dad is really doing when he tells my mom he's "working on another proposal". It appears to be his rather sympathetic response to last summer's heat wave in Europe which baked a lot of old people in their homes.

I don't know if I'm more disturbed by his use of the locution "yeah baby!" or the word chunky-dunkin'. Actually I'm disturbed by a lot here, but what do you expect from an Aggie?

The Austin discussion has mushroomed. Dedman and Loyd have added their 2 cents. Well actually Dedman won't officially come out and be nostalgic (he did have the post about the 1990's but little on Austin itself). He's being a bit like 1994 Jim.

Ryan* (aka Melbotis's dad) has responded regarding the grackles. Something I still have difficulty getting nostalgic about, except perhaps for the story of how I came to know them, being an Okie and all. When I was a kid we didn't really recognize them. If it's not good eatin' what's the point...pass some possum please. Speaking of Austin wildlife, we should add coyotes to the list.

And for the sake of completeness, a list of Austin's best dive bars (in no particular order):

• Ginny's Little Longhorn
• The Poodle Dog Lounge
• La La's Li'l Nugget
• The Horseshoe Lounge
• Deep Eddy Cabaret

I didn't count Hole-in-the-Wall since I think that's more of a venue or Showdown since that's really a campus bar, or anything in the vicinity of 6th Street. What did I leave out?

Just because I'm hungry, I feel compelled to mention Texadelphia's Philly cheese steak sandwiches. The expression "smothered in onions" has never been so true. That's how I want to go, smothered in onions.

*Ryan, why no comments on your site?!?!

Or Latter Day Saints, or whatever they are. They come up and talk to you on the street then let you practice your Japanese on them for free and use polite (enough) Japanese. They'll even follow you if you keep talking to them so you don't have to stop what you're doing. Way better than a Walkman.

"Hello"
"Hi"
"Going home?"
"Yeah, just finished work. You're Latter Day Saints?"
"Yes" (look of hope--perhaps just glad not to have to explain why they're talking to you, a stranger) "Are you interested in LDS?"
"No, but I saw your nametags. Where are you from?"
"Fukuoka"
"Pretty good deal, traveling with LDS huh?"
"Oh yes."
"And they didn't send you abroad? That's too bad huh?"
"Oh yeah, but we get to go abroad next time. We're in Osaka for a year and a half"
"So where you going next?"
"Just everywhere."
"What do you really do?"
"Physical therapist."

(insert standard foreigner introduction questions i.e. where are you from / how long have you been here / do you teach English / etc)

"So (this is me) do you have any luck with people?"
"Yes, (big smile) some people."
"That's great. Well good luck! Bye!"

exuent

Single serving lesson. Simple stuff, but good enough for me. Everybody's happy. Yeah I'm in that "love the world" mood again for no good reason. And they weren't pushy or anything, so I can't really fault them too much for wanting to spread the word of whatever it is they're into as long as they're polite. And lest you think I was using them too much, I didn't drag them halfway to my house and you know, I meant it when I said good luck. Everybody's got to be on some kind of trip.

That and I'm feeling a little holier than thou on account of taking the political compass quiz and ending up halfway between the Dalai Lama and Gandhi--which is a departure from my performance on the Libertarian quiz but this one's not a marketing tool*. In fact I don't really understand it but I actually think it's worth figuring out. Any advice for the political-wise unastute would be double plus good. I'm afraid in my ownlife I'm becoming an oldthinker and definite-wise getting sucked into doublethink because of my bellyfeel.

Listening to: Johnny Cash, The Mercy Seat (...a crime for which I am Totally Innocent...and all things either Good or Ungood.)

It all makes sense in it's way.

*Okay I just looked back at that post to get the link and I had forgotten it was about polygamy. Coincidence? I'm a little wierded.

Okay, so Jim got some of us blogging, but do none of us live in Austin anymore? It seems not. I guess people in Austin are too content to blog, or have had to many margaritas, or have just come back from a massage, or were out too late in the warehouse district (or god forbid, 6th Street), or are out in the hammock, or are otherwise just not at all about to start yammering away online.

Austin is a great little town. Melbotis seems to be pining for it. And I wouldn't mind walking down Guadalupe in my cowyboy hat--a little sweat running down the bck of my neck on the way to Dirty's for a cherry limeade. Or to be Barton Springs-bound on my good old bike (that is rusting away at home). Or...let's see, on a hot day...maybe hitting the Clay Pit buffet then checking out Waterloo records before escaping to the cool darkness of Dog and Duck, away from the sun or in the parking lot of Draft Horse (name changed back) with dogs and tailgates. Or digging some fiddle playing at Artz' Rib House or Don Walser at Threadgills. Or picking up someone with too many tattoos during Victrola's happy hour at the Continental, or being wowed by the guy at Club DeVille's karaoke night who can do "You don't buy me roses" as a duet with himself. Or checking out all the beautiful salsa people at Miguels? Or digging into some Magnolia Mud or cruising resale shops on Burnett. Wait! I got it--putting on the boots and heading down to Broken Spoke to hear Chapparal play their country version of "Don't Go Back to Rockville". That's clearly it.

What I don't understand is how he can miss the grackles.

(I may come back and add some links later...now off to Japanese class.)

All the important news is on Pravda, naturally. Haruki Murakami has completed a new novel. All hail a free press! How long till it's translated?

But I thought Murakami's favorite writer was Raymond Carver (a book of whose short stories I have recently acquired). But I dig on the Dostoyevsky...though to be honest I've only read his two shortest works. Shoot, I was happier when I thought Murakami only liked short stories and my other favorite, Somerset Maugham. Now I have to read Brothers Karamazov and it's summer! But time for a book. Was going to read a book about the American class system but little good that would do me here so Karamazov it is. Its cover stares at me every time I slink past the corner candystore. I read it in the basement of the Berkeley Public Library.

I mean, it's on the shelf and I'll probably read it. Would rather re-read Tolstoy's confession. So short, so good. I have a short atten...