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Archives January, 2004January 31, 2004 Full Disclosure: What do I really look like? But the triangular rice ball above is not some figment of my imagination, it is a self portrait. Further, it is not a portrait created to reflect my current condition. Anyway, back to the original thought: I looked at this photo and though, January 30, 2004 My Day... Man! Its freezin' Hehehe... I just checked Weather.com and its ONLY 18 degrees. With the wind chil its a balmy 5 degrees. I was out shopping with Musubi-chan.... We went out to return a video to Blockbuster: The Core. A corny movie I will talk out it later. But after we returned the Video, we went to Safeway to get some stuff--tomatoes, soda, chips, sausages--then stopped off at our favorite watering whole, Glory Days. As my regular readers know, I have been going there for a while, but recently, I have noticed another Asian sitting at the bar talking to some of the other patrons. I don't really talk to strangers unless I'm drinking alone, and since I'm always with Musubi-chan, I keep to myself. Well, tonight, the Asian guy was sitting next to Musubi-chan and when she went to the restroom--which she is prone to do after the 2nd beer--he asked me in Japanese, "Do you speak Japanese?" This, of course, was a stupid question, cuz' why would he ask me unless he had actullay heard me talk in Japanese with Musubi-chan? Well, being the easy going guy I am, I talked with him a bit and learned he was from Japan. He had come to the US in the early 70s, and he claims he was sort of a hippie: going place to place, from Japan to India to Europe and finally to the US. He was an interesting sort, who seemed to want to speak some Japanese. And I felt a little bit of a kindred spirit. And I figured out why after talking with him a bit: Soon after coming to the US, he made a friend who was from Nebraska, a town called Cozad to be exact, the king of alfalfa. He told me that was the first place he bedded an American... Guys will talk about anything when they're drunk, even with a stranger. Anyway, he said this was possible because at the time--the early 70s--none of the denizens of Cozad, Nebraska had ever seen an Oriental, and the girl he met was convinced he was Bruce Lee! Hah! That was good for a laugh, expecially since, from my Asian eyes, he looked NOTHING like Bruce Lee. So why did I get this sense of a kindred spirit? He looks like Bruce Lee. And who do I look like, according to some of you? Hahahahahahahahahah! January 29, 2004 Yeah, let's beat up Onigiriman! I know they're just kidding, BUT! Maybe I am, a pain-in-the-ass power tripper. Hah! But to all of you who think pop quizzes are bad, let me tell you what my pop quiz is like and then let you decide if you wouldn't mind taking my class. I administer pop quizzes in my language classes only. I teach advanced Japanese, and so I have them read material in Japanese. I give them a clean copy of the text--they don't have to buy a book. Each copy comes with a word list, and it is fairly extensive but not necessarily comprehensive. Click here for a sample. I require students to read it before they come to class--i.e. prepare--so that if there are portions that are difficult to understand, we can work them out in class. Unfortunately, there are students who do not prepare. There are a lot of reasons, I suppose. Some were sick. some had unexpected guests, some failed to plan their lives successfully and had to write a paper at the last minute. Whatever. I drop the lowest quiz grade, so if they have such an emergency, they should rest assured that I will not count the bad grade against them. (Am I a sweatheart or what.) But there are also those who simply come to class hoping to hear someone elses translation or ask questions on something they did not prepare. So how can I distinguish those who prepare from those who don't? I give a pop quiz. for the quiz, they cannot use a dictionary, but they can use anything else: the text itself with the word list, any notes they may have taken, any translations they may have written to prepare for class. It is basically an open note quiz. There is kanji as well, Chinese characters that are in the text but not on the word list. Don't know how to read the character? Well, that is a dead give away that you didn't crack a dictionary, that you didn't prepare for class. So really, how hard do you think my pop quiz is? It's based on the text you were supposed to prepare, you can use all your notes, and if you did prepare, chances are you will get 100%, an EASY way to kick up your grade, and all you have to do is prepare for class. That's all. But keep in mind, I don't do this to punish those who don't study. I do this to reward those who do. There is a difference. As I have said a thousand times here (well maybe 27 times): I love my students, especially those who put in the effort. I have learned over the years that studying a little at a time over the course of the entire semester will reap greater benefits than cramming for a midterm and final. This is my attempt to prompt students to study continuously. I do not want any of my students graduating and later saying, "I don't remember a damn thing!" No way. This may be my "power trip", but I will not allow students to not study in my class. And just for the record. When I came to this school in '96, I had only 2 students in the second semester of 4th year Japanese. J-minors do not have to take the second semester to earn a minor. This year, I have 17. Do you get the impression that maybe they want to take the course, in spite of this loser, pain-in-the-ass, power tripping, ego maniac? Dwahahahahah! * sinister laugh * Just kidding, don't take this thing too seriously--except for the quizzes, that's the whole truth. January 28, 2004 AI: Artificial Intelligence Consummate_Leah brought up aninteresting topic: Intelligence. Apparently, she has begun to look at men using intelligence as crucial component in determining a man. I think she said something like she is more interested in a man who thinks about life than the kind of rims he wants on his car... I must agree with her: Intelligence is VERY important. But intelligence must be more finely defined. Leah gave a Webster's dictionary definition: \In*tel"li*gence\, n. [F. intelligence, L. intelligentia, intellegentia. See Intelligent.] 1. The act or state of knowing; the exercise of the understanding. 2. The capacity to know or understand; readiness of comprehension; the intellect, as a gift or an endowment. Now, "knowing" and "understanding" and "comprehension" can refer to quite different things. I think that most would consider "intelligence" as understanding "facts." For example, a person who comprehends the Newton's law of physics or Einstein's law of relativity is likely to be intelligent. One who can explain existentialism and metaphysics intelligibly would certainly be intelligent in my books. Of course, this is not everything. Intelligence should also encompass some of the more mundane aspects of life. We should all be intelligent enough to know who the Secretary of State is, what H2O stands for, when the Declaration of Independence was signed (supposedly), where Tehran is, and why the Chicago Cubs didn't go to the World Series. We should also be intelligent enough to stop at a red light, keep the safety on on a loaded gun, and never piss into the wind. And yet, this is not the type of intelligence I find the most important in a mate. My former wife has a Ph.D., spoke Japanese and English fluently and certainly looked both ways before crossing the street. But she didn't "know". She didn't "understand". There's another kind of "knowing", another kind of "understanding". And that's the capacity to "know" when I'm upset, to be ready to "comprehend my "feelings", to excercise "understanding" by asking me questions when they need to be asked. This kind of personal intelligence is something that I didn't understand until I met Musubi-chan. She "understands" me perfectly... uh, sometimes too perfectly. She knows what I'm feeling, comprehends virtually everything I'm thinking, sometimes even before I think it--which has been scary sometimes, but amazing nonetheless. And I try to reciprocate in kind--although I must admit to not being totally competent in this area yet. Andwhile it is proving to be as challenging as the Ph.D. dissertation I toiled over (300+ pp.), I am trying.... January 26, 2004 SNOW SNOW  Yes, I really hate shoveling, and thought about going to school. But nooooooooo, our school has to cancel classes on a day I don't have any classes... Crap. So instead, I took pics as Musubi-chan and Unagi-kun cleared out the walkway... Okay, okay, before you bombard me with nasty remarks, I too did some shoveling, like the sidewalk and the parking spaces... I'm right-handed but for some reason I shovel snow like a lefty. That is, I hold the shovel like a left-handed batter, left hand above the right.
Now if only it would snow just a little more so school would be cancelled tomorrow, too.... So, how was everyone else's Monday? January 25, 2004 No More Lazy Weekends The Good, the Bad, and it was Ugly
Or maybe the hair has to be longer than mine! Hahahahahahahah! So did anyone else see a good movie this weekend? Or a good TV show? January 23, 2004 My Lightening Rod The topic I have raised is a sensitive one for many minorities, and given the number and length of the comments I have received, it has become a lightening rod of sorts for the thoughts and opinions of my visitors. But today, in an attempt to write something lighter, I want to talk about another lightening rod... Back in October, I related my burning adventure with jalapeno peppers. As you recall, I had to use the restroom after handling some chilis and as a result, a very sensitive part of my body learned to shout: "Ai! Mui caliente". (To read the entire entry, click here--go ahead, I dare ya'.) Well, I had another stupid experience recently. As the the temperature has dropped, so has the humidity, leaving the air as dry as a bone. As a result, static electricity has seems to jump out from everywhere. I think static electricity is a product of electrons--those things that circle the nucleus of an atom--that can transfer from one object to another when they rub against each other. Now, I'm no scientist, but as I understand it, this transfer of electrons is easier in a dry environment and when one object gets an overload of electrons, a negative charge, it will jump at protons, a positive charge, the first chance it gets. This sudden jump is what causes the electric shock we feel... or something like that. Can someone clarify or verify? I have to have at least one visitor who remembers high school science. In any event, the other day I came home from shopping and began to change into my homewear. As is my custom, I like to take my socks and pants off first and then my sweater--48% cotton, 27% linen, 25% acrylic--and as is often the case with clothing that contains degrees of synthetic fabrics, it cackled with electricity. Well, this piece of clothing was obviously looking for a postive charge somewhere... anywhere. I began to fold my sweater when it brushed that same sensitive part of my body... CRACK! An electric jolt hit me where it counts, right at the tip. Man, did it hurt. You guys know how sensitive that part is. Imagine pricking it (no pun intended) with a needle. Now multiply that 3 to 10 times (depending on how sensitive you are). Musubi-chan, who was facing away and also changing her clothes, spun around surprised. "Woah, that must have hurt, Where did it..." She stopped in mid-sentence and stared at me, as I was doubled over grabbing [insert today's title above] in an awkward attempt to chase the pain away (Itai, itai, tonde-ike!). "Gyahahahahahaha! Are you okay? Hahahaha, I mean, kekekekeke, really, are you okay? Przupzufufu," asked Musubi-chan, in as sympathetic a face as she could muster. "I don't think I'll need surgery, if that's what you mean," was all I could mutter. Y'know, for me to refrain from any sort of sarcasm, I think I would have to be dead... January 22, 2004 All Japanese School From what I can tell, the general consensus could be summarized as: "If our kids are going to a mixed school, they may as well go to public school; it's closer and free." It sound like a rational, economically sound arguement, but I have heard the whispers of some who did not like the idea that Maryknoll was desegragating. Some JAs took the pride thing too far, or they adopted some of the uglier aspects of Japanese culture.
In any event, Maryknoll was a segregated school. It sounds awful now, but before you place judgement, let me tell you that it was also a blessing of sorts for Japanese in the beginning. It was established in the early 20th century when racism and the "yellow peril" mentality was still a part of mainstream society. It provided a place where Japanese nationals in America could worship in peace in a language they understood and study without fear of prejudice. The Catholic mission is located about three blocks from LA's J-Town, and unlike the current Lil' Tokyo, J-Town back then was a place where many of the Japanese community lived. There were a few houses, but most rented long-term hotel rooms--many are still there above the stores and restaurants on the north side of 1st Street across from JVP and Koyasan Temple. (My dad used to live there as well.) The kids could then walk to Maryknoll for their education. During my time, the school was still a source of community. I was born ten years after WWII, a couple of years after the Korean War and was a student there for nine years (kindergarten to 8th grade) during the Vietnam War. On the street, away from Maryknoll/J-Town, I was called a Jap, a Chink, and a Gook. Maryknoll provided me with a place I could study and play without fear of random and malicious harrassment, and sometimes violence--I have been beaten up for being "Japanese". While I wouldn't go so far as to claim that Maryknoll empowered me, it did allow me to grow without restraint and, in a way, innocently. Unfortunately, it also cultivated that attitude of being special to the detriment of others; by segregating others, we ultimately segregated ourselves. January 21, 2004 What's in your Culture? So how do these characteristics affect a culture? Well, in a number of ways, I think The idea that we act as individuals, that we are responsible as individuals evokes a sense of empowerment in each of us, doesn't it? We sense that we can accomplish things, not because we everyone does it, or because we do it as a group. Instead, we accomplish things--or Dream we can accomplish them--because of this sense of individuality, that it is up to one's own self to get things done. None of this waiting for someone to do it for us. And to a greater or lesser extent, this idea of individualism allows us to forge a cultural identity, and this is especially crucial for many of us Asian Americans, or at least for me as a Japanese American. Growing up as a JA, I had learned the concept of group consiousness from an early age at school--I went to an all JA elementary school in LA. But I always tried to wade into main stream society, to be a part of what I always saw on TV or in movies. While I couldn't identify physically with the Americans I saw--remember I look like Jackie Chan not John Wayne--but I was always drawn to the concepts conveyed in the media. Individual strength, individual accomplishment, individual responsibility. And so I am a hybrid of sorts, combining what I believe to be the better parts of both my identities: the idea that the group is an important aspect of society, that I should strive to support and complement the group; but I should also not rely totally on the group, that as an individual I had my own responsibilities and goals. I consider this unique and special. I have been given a gift. In this society that celebrates diversity--at least ideally (sorry, had to throw that in)--I have a life that can channel two different cultures, providing me the opportunity to cull the best from both worlds and forging an identity that is distinctly my own. And ultimately, this is my definition of American culture: one that celebrates--indeed encourages--the freedom of distinct individuals to contribute to the larger culture. This is, of course, the ideal and we often find ourselves in situations that are far from it. But by the same token I have found myself contributing, and that, to me, is something that I relish. Indeed, that is why I teach: To reach out and touch as many people as I can. (Crap, I didn't mean to sound like an old AT&T commercial.) Sometimes I feel very fortunate... January 18, 2004 Swingin' A Little Bruin Football... January 16, 2004 Ichi the Killer...
January 15, 2004 What Kind Of Asian Are You? So which one are you? The following is a list of the categories with just some of the defining characters (Except for Trendy Asian Bitch which had me nodding and cracking up at the same time). Click here for complete definitions. Twinkie: Asian-American: Yap (Young Asian Professional) Fob (Fresh Off tha Boat) SuperFob Fobulous Fobabee Fobsta Tab (Trendy Asian B*tch) Hoochie Tab Rice-Boy January 14, 2004 Whew! And I thought I needed a rectal exam... January 13, 2004 First day of class... In the Film class, I showed the first half on Seven Samurai tonight. And as I do every year, I got real anal before the movie. I make them sign a contract promising they understand all the requirements in class and that they will not cheat. Don't laugh. I inevitably get students rolling their eyes, but despite all this, every year there are at least three (3) students who cheat by plagerizing from the Interenet. We're talking about a 1-2 page paper. Why would you want to plagerize!!!!! Anyway, I do this to give them the opportunity to understand that I am dead serious. Some profs will not say anything and them when s/he catches someone--Boom--suspension. I think its nice of me to give them fair warning that I actually do check to see if anyone is cheating. And the main point is that I'm not trying to catch anyone who's cheating just to catch someone. I do it to be fair to the students who do honest work. Can you imagine if you did your own hard work and got a B+ and the person next to you got an A by cheating? Wouldn't you be pissed? I would, and I don't want any of my studnets pissed because of what I neglet to do... So am I too anal? And when is beer the most delicious for you. For me, its at the end of the semester after grading a stack of finals. That first gulp is mighty refreshing! January 10, 2004 Importing foreign words... It used to kill me when I would use the "wrong" pronunciation of an English word in Japanese: the original word is gum, so the Japanese word for chewing gum is gamu. Now rubber band is, in Japanese, "circular (wa) gum", but it's called wa-gomu. This is not a typo" one is pronounced gamu, the other is gomu. Or how about "glass"? A cold drink tumbler is called gurasu and a sheet of glass is called garasu. But allow me clarify this. The pronunciation of these words are based on when they were imported. Chewing gum is an American phenomenon and was imported as such, while the rubber in a rubber band was introduced by the Dutch way back when and they spell and pronounce it "gom" in Flemish. This practice is not only for western words. Depending on when a word was imported from China determines the pronunciation of a Kanji, Chinese character. The character for woman (Jp. onna) is pronounced nyou, as in nyoubou (wife), and jo in josei (female), because the word nyoubou finds its roots in Buddhism, a religion that was imported during the Six Dynasties China, presumably much earlier than the bulk of Chinese word importation. BUT (and you knew there was a "but"), this doesn't explain why they say gomu-teepu for the plastic tape we use for shipping, or sungurasu for sunglasses... I got on this subject cuz I was thinking about the distinction made with rice in Japan. When you eat Japanese food, it's called gohan. When you eat it with western food, such as curry, it's called raisu. Do you think its the distinction between long grain rice and short? Nooooooooo! you could be served exactly the same thing, taken from the same rice cooker, but it would be called differently based on how its served. I once was at a restaurant in Japan and asked for more rice. "Could I have more gohan, please?" Jerk. And in case you were wondering, curry was imported to Japan by way of England--which was teh former "protectorate" of India. and soyou will find what many of us consider to be typical Japanese curry usually in western-styled restaurants in Japan, if not specialized curry places. January 9, 2004 Once upon a time... Now I had two possible responses floating in my head: But I was such a wimp. All I did was say, "Thank you." What would you have said? Is there a polite but snappy response to let her know that what she said was insulting? Are any of you still confronted with this kind of backhanded compliments? Share your thoughts...
NLUTE Before school start next week, i will try to sort out some of the events and maybe put it down if possible... I guess it was too late for Piratechan... :( January 8, 2004 Anonymity... Someone by the name of SAITO Ayaka once wrote an article/essay in the Asahi Newspaper about living alone in Tokyo. My students know this cuz I make them read it for my advanced J-class. It was, at the time, a controversial piece because she exposed the thoughts and acts of young single women in Tokyo: They live in cheap apartments, they have guys supplement their lifestyle in exchange for "favors", and if money really became an issue there was always the "water trade", i.e. clubs, cabarets and other seedy joints to work at as a hostess. Ultimately, she concludes that men and women use each other for sex, and this is a kind of self-love: the partner is just another face in the city, and you are masterbating using the other person as your tool (for her, I guess that wold be a dildo...) Anyway, I mention this because she states that this is possible because she is able to stay relatively anonymous in Tokyo, a great big place populated by millions of people, who know and yet don't know the person they see everyday because they blur and meld into the sea of other people... kinda like Xanga... Now, as narcissistic as Xanga can be, I'm not saying that I'm masterbating here, using your sites, your comments, your e-props as my dildo... uh, wait, bad example, but you know what I mean... But I think, Xanga is a place where people can pleasure themselves by freely expressing their thoughts and feelings with ease. Why? Cuz they can maintain a modicum of anonymity. Have you noticed or read the many sex related sites? There are a lot of people that talk about their sex lives, adventures, fantasies, histories; and virtually all of them are anonymous: no name, no photo, no location, no date of birth, no nothing. I used to read some of these and found some interesting, but ultimately they became boring. They were either rants or mere fantasies. Which is fine, but rants or fantasies are interesting only in context, the context provided by--at least in some measure--the identity of the writer. I mean, I don't need to look at you driver's license, but some background--occupation, approximate age, activities (besides sex)--allows the reader to make an investment in the "character". Without that, the stories become meaningless. Take Paiky for example. His stories are funny because I have come to know him, or rather his persona. I know where he's from (TX), how tall he is (over 6'), he tends bar (Orange), he's looking for a full-time job, his cousin (Ken), his siblings (he isn't on speaking terms with his younger sis). This is stuff he shared on his site. And while this information alone doesn't blatantly identify him, people who do know him would recognize him--his photo doesn't hurt either... Anyway, pure anonymity is fine for those who really need to get something off their chest, but personally I think it takes away from making the site interesting. Practicing what I preach: I usually talk about myself and many can figure out my persona, but if you need more, go to the JAJournal to get a better bead on who I am... January 07, 2004 The Value of E-props... This, of course, made me think of those who give only Ah, but who cares? E-props to everyone! January 6, 2004 Last Words on Last Samurai... The story evolves around the development of Algren (Cruise). A former civil war officer, he is disenchanted with life due to the brutal and indiscriminant killings of Indians--women and children included--he experienced in the service of the U.S. Army. He gets the opportunity to go to Japan to train Imperial Japanese soldiers--conscripts from the common classes, mostly peasants. During the course of their training, they are forced to make a stand against a resistance group of samurai who refuse to let go of the old ways. These men are see as anachronistic, throw backs to an earlier age who threaten to impede on the modernization of Japan. When these soldiers-in-training meet the superior warriors in battle, they are easily routed, and Cruise, outnumbered, is captured.
Anyway, during this time, Cruise discovers something that he himself either lost or never had in the first place as a U.S. soldier: A sense of pride of being a warrior, that it was good to fight for a cause, to fight with dignity. And this dignity is grounded in the respect and honor of ones own lifestyle and traditions as well as those of your opponents. Too bad he didn't die in the final battle. This guy who supposedly now understood the samurai, could not die with them. Wouldn't it have been something if Cruise died? But then again, maybe that was the point. Unlike Kikuchiyo in the Seven Samurai, Algren could get really close, but never actually becomes a samurai. Kikuchiyo was a farmer and could never be a samurai in life, so how fitting it was that this peasant could become one in death in battle. Conversely, Algren didn't die, cuz he couldn't do what Katsumoto did in the end: Take his own life as a samurai. Ultimately, I enjoyed the movie as a story, and hope everyone watches it. My curse, sometimes, is my need to analyze things too much, to peek under every freakin' rock to find if everything is just perfect.
But then, er, I guess, um, I can say the same thing about me... January 5, 2004 Last Samurai (cont'd): Romancing the Past...
The only issue I have with this movie is it's depiction of samurai as mighty warriors. Yes, they were of the warrior class, and certainly there were those who dedicated themselves to the way of the Bushi, as the archers above suggest. But in reality, the great majority were no longer "warriors". For over 200 years during the Edo period, Japan lived in peace--albeit under the stern hand of the Tokugawa regime--and with no battles to be fought, samurai became the administrators of their daimyo's (lord) province. They became the magistrates and accountants and tax collectors. Now, I know that the final samurai of the old regime portrayed themselves as true warriors, and the final stand of the Matsudaira of the Aizu district (Fukushima) in NE Japan is well documented. However, like this movie, there is a museum dedicated to their final stand against the Meiji government, and it is incredibly romanticized. Indeed, the entire era is romanticized as even the manga, Rorouni Kanshin, suggests. I think a better film is Samurai Fiction, a movie depicting samurai as bureacrats and weak fighters when confronted with a powerful one. I will review this soon, as well. In any event, the movie did not portray the samurai as I believe they should have, but that is not to say that I did not like the movie. I did. It was epic and beautifully photographed. And the story--as a story--is interesting. If you haven't seen it yet, I think it is well worth the price of admission. The battle scenes alone are worth the price of admission, and Sanada Hiroyuki is just too cool... January 3, 2004 Looking forward... Still, it is therapeutic, and allows me to write what i wanna write about. I saw the movie Better Luck Tomorrow and thought it was pretty interesting and will write about it soon. I also want to finish NLUTE, which I will soon. For now, I will talk a little about the Last Samurai... Last Samurai: Depicting the Past... But perhaps the most amazing were the battle scenes. I have seen a few samurai movies in my day: Samurai Trilogy (Miyamoto Musashi), Kurosawa flicks from Seven Samurai to Sanjuro to Ran, as well as the campy Sato Ichi and Kozure Okami (Lone wolf and cub) series. All are good, and exciting, but none of these had the hakuryoku (ferocity?) that The Last Samurai exhibited. As kid I often compared the fighting in medieval western tales with Japanese samurai tales. Samurai movies were always refined, a struggle between combatants with swords. Rarely was there any physical contact. I really liked this movies and gave it 4 stars (out of 5) on my MovieLens* ratings. Still, the movie did have it's drawbacks, which I will address tomorrow. * NOTE MovieLens is a place where you open an account and rate movies. It's free. After a few ratings, the site will provide you with predictions of your ratings. The more you rate, the more accurate the prediction. At this point I have rated 910 films and it predicts most movies fairly accurately, except of foreign films. I often give Japanese films high ratings, and the program figures I like foreign films and predicts I will like every French, Russian, German and Italian movie that comes out. January 2, 2004 Around New Years break... Anyway, this is the time of year to everyone considers resolutions for the year. Every year for the past, oh, 20 ot so, it has been to lose weight and be healthy. Well, for the past 12 years, I have exercized rather vigorously when I can. and I feel relatively healthy, but Fall semester has kept me busy the past two years I literally have no time to work out--although I somehow found time to wirte on Xanga... Hmm, it is obviously a matter of priortiy: What do I need to do first? I like to run and such, but I also like to write. Interestingly, I should be writing my research, but for some godforsaken reason I'd rather write on Xanga. I guess its the narcissistic nature of Xanga that keeps me going. It's too bad I can't do research on myself. I'dn have a book out in no time! Hahaha! Ok, ok, so I'm a jerk... In any event, I think, instead of resolving to do specific things--lose weight, run more, drink less... oops, not that one--I'll be more general, focus more on a principle: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Yes, I think this will do it. Prioritizing will allow me to get my work done in a timely manner, to end my endless bouts with procrastination. I will remain on Xanga, of course, but as with all of you, Xanga is--or should be--several rungs below the significant things in our life, like... like... uh, damn, is there anything more important than Xanga?. Its so therapeutic, and liberating. It's kinda good for my soul, allowing me to express thoughts I rarely have an opportunity to express in the real world... Or am I just rationalizing to cover up for an addiction. Hahaha! Anyway, I know I can do what I have to do, I just have to set set them up in a way that provides the appropriate amount of time to accomplish them. With that in mind, I'm off to run! |
I first drew this thing over ten years ago after looking at this photo of myself. Yes, that's me in pink frames on my Japanese alien registration card, ca. 1992. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I had to squeeze my shirt collar closed with the necktie since the buton would not longer reach... Prior to going to Japan, I had gained a significant amount of weight, and was hovering around 170 lbs. This is a lot given that I didn't exercise at all back then. Every ounce of bulk had a fat to muscle ratio of about 5 to 1. But enough of this disgusting fat talk. It's so embarrassing, I don't even know why I talk about it... Oh, yeah, its about me... hahahaha. 
"Damn, that looks like an onigiri (riceball) with glasses." And I proceeded to draw my first crude Onigirman, which looked something like this dude on the right. Do you see the resemblance? Well, as you can tell, the rice ball has evolved (devolved?) quite a bit. In any event, I am fast approaching my former self, and seriously need to get back into training. So, farewell my fellow Xangans. I shall return when I am once again my svelte little self... 
SNOW: Update
The pic above right is the wifey, Musubi-chan. She truly enjoys exercise--she was an aerobics instructor in Japan. So when we go out like this, she has a lot of fun as her smile will attest. Me? I'm the epitome of a couch potato. Not that I hate exercise, mind you, but if given the choice between a 3 mile jog and a 3 hour movie with popcorn and drinks, I'll take the movie (or football game or whatever). Just as Musubi-chan's smile attests to her enjoyment of exercise, my body--the round glob trying to slide down on the left--speaks volumes, or should I say pints and pounds?
There wasn't a whole lot of of snow, but it was cold enough that the snow that was there didn't turn into slush. I wasn't very successful the first few tries. When I sat down in the disc, it just sorta sank into the soft new snow and I was stuck. I tried to nudge my way forward with a couple of hip thrusts, but to no avail. Giving up, embarrassed, I had to let Musubi-chan and Ungai-kun slide down a few times first. After they packed the snow a bit, creating a mini sled-course, I was able to finally slip down the hill as well. I think I REALLY need to work out more rigorously. 
Not to make excuses or anything, but the fall semester is usually very busy and I truly do not have that much time to exercise. I'm either teaching or grading or... ok, Xanga-ing. Hahahahahah. Anyway, to slide down the hill head first on my stomach, a la Musubi-chan, I need to cut out the potato chips and chocolate that I so enjoy. Indeed, I slid down the hill head first, once. And it was a rather smooth and quick run as my weight became a speed factor down the now firmly packed course. But I'm glad it was cold enough for the snow not to turn into slush. Had it melted a bit, the disc would have stuck to my belly like a suction cup. Now THAT would have been embarrassing!
Anyway, I saw Open Range and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Once Upon a Time... is the "sequel" to Desperado and stars Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp. It was awful. Desperado was campy with Banderas as an action hero with a machine gun dressed as a guitar. The tale was simple and the movie was supposed to be for the action. Unfortunately, Once Upon a Time--perhaps trying to outdo its predecessor--was way too campy. Lots of blood, a few more gadgets, and a plot that was too vague for me. And what a waste of Depp. He plays a ruthless CIA agent who kills the chef that makes each excellent roast pork he eats in his attempt to maintain some sort of balance in Mexico--suggesting, I think, that Mexico is not supposed to have good cooks, a very condescending joke. It's so ridiculous. Depp walks around in a CIA t-shirt, and in the end has his eyes bored out, literally. The only thing good about the movie was Cheech Marin (of Cheech and Chong and more recently of Nash Bridges). His sarcasm is always great and he doesn't disappoint here. Sadly, he only has two scenes and dies early. I think he knew something that even the great Johnny Depp did not recognize. ** stars (look at left column for rating standards)
On the other hand, Open Range was actually quite good. It is an old time western when men adhered to values such as honesty and justice. Critics have called it the best western since Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, and this is true. Indeed, with its revisionist approach to the Old West--men regret and feel guilt for their killing ways and seek some form of redemption--it is perhaps a more "human" representation of people of the time. While Open Range is a throwback to the old western, it is not the same. There are no strong and silent types in this film. Charley (Kevin Costner) and Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) have their own speeches about what men are, how they feel and how they should approach life. As in Last Samurai, the fight scenes are riveting. As I think about it, a lot of this can probably be traced back to Saving Private Ryan where the fight scenes were grainy and loud and ugly... and ultimately realistic. When Charley strides up to the hired gunman Butler, asks "You the one who shot my friend?" then puts a bullet in his head, I knew this was going to be a classic gun fight. And I was not disappointed. Duvall is a great actor and I always enjoy his work. Costner is actually a piece of plywood with two arms and two legs. 
His acting is always stiff like a board, but when he plays roles such as this--a man awkward with and unsure of himself, as in Field of Creams and Dances with Wolves--he excels, I guess cuz he's just playing himself. A mild surprise was Annette Bening. I thought she was kinda cute in The American President (with Michael Douglas), but she is much more attractive with longer locks... Well Boss, I reckon I'm just a might partial to purdy long hair. Yup. *** ½ stars 
Not that Japanese culture is all bad... But there is a distinct attitude of Japanese uniqueness that reverberates in Japan even now. 
After the concert, Musubi-chan and I went to Ballston to unwind further at Chevy's with some Dos X draft. There we watched the NFC Championship. After an atrocious season for my beloved UCLA Bruins, it was very nice to see the Carolina Bruins... er, I mean Panthers win. Former Bruins Deshaun Foster and Rickey Manning Jr. did a great job. Deshaun scored the second touchdown that sealed Philly's fate. 
It was an incredible play in which he broke at least 4 would-be Philly tacklers virtually by himself to get into the endzone. It was an awesome one yard run. My boy Rickey had three, count 'em THREE, inerceptions. I just love it to death. He'd been calling out the Eagle's receiver all week as not a problem for him, even ex-UCLA teammate Freddie Mitchell. For once this season, I felt truly proud to be a Bruin...
Miike seems to have a response to this question by offering ultra-violence in this Ichi the Killer. This film focuses on the actions of two polar opposites: Ichi the ultra-sadist and Kakihara the closet ultra-masochist. Kakihara searches for the killer of his Kabukicho gang boss, Anjo, who also happens to be the one who--it's suggested--developed and fulfilled Kakihara's masochistic desires. He learns that the killer is a man named Ichi after torturing a rival gang leader. Ichi is a blubbering wimp, who is bullied by his manager at work--go ahead and die you idiot--but gets exxxcited when he sees someone sexually tortured and/or violated. And in the process of killing those who violate others, we learn he does this only so he can become the new violator. Ichi's violence is being manipulated with some kind of hypnotic technique by someone referred to as Jijii--although dealt with as a proper name in the subtitles and in various reviews, to me suggests his relationship to Ichi, his uncle. Now it is unclear whether Jijii took advantage of an inherent predeliction to sadism in Ichi or if he developed it, but it is clear that he is using it to direct Ichi toward killing all member of the Anjo gang, especially Kakihara. 
The movie progresses from one violent scene to another as both Kakihara and Ichi work their way violently from victim to victim. The violence is way over the top. For example, the torture of Suzuki, the rival gang leader who gave up Ichi's name: this involved suspending him horizontally with multiple meat hooks, then pearcing his body with what looked like a crochet needle only shinier and sharper, and pouring hot oil over his entire body after cooking some shrimp tempura. Yes, this was a graphic scene, but by no means a spoiler. There are worse scenes, from extreme sexual violations to manga-like body dismemberment. You have to see it to "appreciate" it. 
The two reach their confrontation at the climax, an inevitability in a Yin-Yang sort of way as they are perfect mirror opposites. Kakihara is in control, violent in public but masochistic in private; Ichi has no control of his fate, is passive in public but sadistic in private. Ichi, sometimes befuddled with his own violence, ultimately kills Kakihara, who for his part achieved a kind of ultimate maoschistic climax. The denouement--unlike the rest of the movie--was thought provoking: a scene with school children going through a park and Jijii shown hanging from a tree apparently having committed suicide. Walking behind the school children is Ichi. The effect is frightening in that it suggests that the manipulator, the one who had the violent intentions is dead, since he no longer had a reason to live as all the gang members had been elliminated. In contrast, the actual perpetrator of the violence lives on innocently like a child, not realizing his own actions, oblivious to any sense of responsibility, unaware to his nascent violent tendacies. Is this how Miike sees the future? Does he see the younger generation--out children--as Ichi? A pessimistic thought suggested by the same person who seems to be promoting it...
one e-prop. To give only one, the commenter is taking the time to select the number of props, which means the person is actually giving thought to the number of props, which in turn suggests they are giving them value. Which is okay if you're into that kind of thing. 
The comments I wrote on the movie in the last two entries should not be taken as a criticism of the movie itself. They are simply observations that I made based on what I know about Japan. And if you'll notice, I critiqued some of the criticisms as well as the movie itself. I think Dizzo said it best when he said that movies are first and foremost entertainment and should not be viewed as a representation of "real" life. I whole heartedly agree. And as a story it was affecting and enjoyable.
During his captivity, he familiarizes himself with the life of these warriors, their approach to life, living and death. They train with dedication, they accept loss and death with dignity, and they treat their enemy with respect. Cruise being one of these enemies, he experiences first-hand. He also learns that Taka, the woman who is seeing to his daily needs, is the wife of the man he killed. He perhaps recognizes her sadness or frustration of having to house this foreigner, but Algren nonetheless comes to appreciate how she accepts him as an enemy to be respected--if not liked. Of course, this turns toward the end to acceptance: she simply dresses him into his armor, accepting him as a member of her inner group. Thank God there was no sex and they didn't make this into a I'm-Tom-Cruise-and-I-can-have-any-woman-in-any-language kind of thing. 
But this is only with things Japanese. Many of you will laugh, but I watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen the other day and enjoyed it. It was surreal and "extraordinary". And it was--by unanimous verdict--a flop at the box office, because it was too fantastical. Was it realistic? Not even close. Was it ridiculous at times? Incredibly so. When you see a submarine the size of the Enterprise--the aircraft carrier, not the space ship--maneuvering the canals of Venice, Italy, you know that this is way over the top. The main characters in the story are literary fictional characters--Allan Quatermain (Haggard), Capt. Nemo (Verne), Dorian Gray (Wilde), Tom Sawyer (Twain), the Invisible Man (Wells), Dr. Jekyll (Stevenson), Mina Harker (Dracula: Stoker), and Professor Moriarty (Doyle). Now, when you think of these fictional characters, you think of fantastic things. But consider the reaction of a late 19th century reader. A White Hunter who can kill a lion at a thousand yards? Unheard of! A ship that submerges 20,000 leagues under the sea? Preposterous! A man and a woman who don't age because one has a cursed portrait and the other sucks blood? Queer! One man who is invisible and another who becomes a monster through a potion? Scientifically absurd! A white boy going on an adventure with a negro boy? Can I have a hit from your hookah? Hahahaha... The point, I think, is that the movie was supposed to be as fantastical to us as those stories were to the readers of a century ago. And as such it was a fun story to watch on screen. An adventure of extraordinary characters doing extraordinary things. What's wrong with that? I wish some of these critics would stop being so stuck on "realism" and chill...
Visually, The Last Samurai was done realistically and beautifully as I mentioned yesterday. However, there were some minor flaws and one major one for me. As a movie, it was great. As a story, it was moving and exciting. I read a review somewhere that criticized the movie as another PC attempt to recast western (American) eyes to cultures different than our own. It was a kind of East Asian version of Dances With Wolves: former Civil War soldier is disillusioned with his current life as a soldier in the west killing Indians, is caught by his "enemies," comes to understand and appreciate their way of life, and ultimately sides with them against the evil that is the modernizing West. Personally, I can see the correlation between the two movies, but I think that overlooks the reality of influence in all literary (textual) endeavors. These guys should read Harold Bloom's Anxiety of Influence and get a clue. I think that there are enough differences--particularly in the content of the "enemy"--to warrant a story from another aspect of "understanding other cultures." Unfortunately, there is a problem with this "understanding" of this other culture. For me, the representation of the samurai was over-romanticized--honor, loyalty, dedication: an image that any Japanese would love to present to a western audience--and ulitmately detracts from a true understanding of what Japan was all about in the Edo period.
But first, let me pick a couple of the technical nits. I read somewhere--I don't remember where--the comment that there were palm trees in the background and that there were no palm trees in Japan. Since I read this before I saw the movie, I made it a point to watch for it... And indeed, there it was, in plain site. At first, I thought it might be the basho (left)--a kind of banana plant, the one from which the famous haiku poet took his name. 
But the more I looked at it, the more it looked like a palm tree. And then I recognized it. It WAS a palm tree. No, not the one's that grow in the tropics like Okinawa, but a hardier breed that's been in Japan for a millenia, the Shuro. This particular photo was taken in 
Another problem addressed by reviewers was the appropriateness of Tom Cruise: He is too modern. Huh? This remark suggests that Erol Flynn would fit in perfectly with 13th cen. England as Robin of Nottingham and Charleton Heston is suited for the 1st century as Ben Hur, despite his American accent, but Tom Cruise is out of place in the 19th century? If this is so, then so is Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada. In general, Japanese back then were pretty small and scrawny. During the Edo period, the 
However, I did have a problem with the dock at Yokohama harbor. The movie shows Algren and company disembarking their steam boat right next to the bustling streets of Yokohama, but I doubt that a boat could dock right next to land. Indeed, the photo to the left is one of Yokohama at the beginning of the Meiji period. The narrow stretch of
land is landfill, but you'll notice the boats are anchored away from land. To dock a boat next to land, they would have had to dredge up and support much of the bay to make it deep enough for a boat large and sturdy enough to cross the Pacific to dock next to a street! Even photos of Nagasaki (right), where trade with the West had been active throughout the Edo period, show boats anchored in the harbor, as people arrived on smaller vessels. But again, like the choice of actors, this is a minor flaw, given the genuineness of the feel of the setting. 
They spent more time learning math and the legal system than they did practicing their swordsmanship. This, of course, is not a knock on the spirit of the samurai. Indeed, without this group of loyal, dedicated technocrats, Japan's society would never have modernized so quickly during the Meiji period. But the idea that the samurai woke up in the morning and began their training, meditated at noon, and then practiced some more in the afternoon as depicted in the movie is the romanticized version of the warrior class. This is not the image I want westerners to have of Japan. The movie--if the attempt was to allow western audiences to "discover" another culture--should have provided suggestions of the other side of the samurai class. Alas, there were none. 
From the very first scenes of Japan, the film depicted a Japan that even the Japanese have never done. The vista of Yokohama as the boat carrying Nathan Algren approached was fascinating. I don't think I've ever scene a movie depicting premodern Japan on such a scale. The city itself was also wonderful, as it successfully depicted the narrow yet corwded streets of a blossoming port town. I understand that the designers studied many photos from the mid 19th century and created the look and feel of the movie, and they did a great job. (I have a photo book of 19th century photos and many of them look exactly like they were taken from the movie!) The costume was also well done. While I'm sure the designers had many Japanese advisors, many of the costumes were designed by the American staff. Amazing. 
Compared the the grabbing and pushing depitcted in fights in the Adventures of Robin Hood or the Three Musketeers, samurai seemed like true swordsmen who repsected the "art" of the sword. Of course, when you think about it, a fight is a fight is a fight. I learned this in karate (5 years of Shotokan). Once a senpai challenged three of the older guys to a mock fight. While there were no blows to the head or crotch, everything else was pretty much fair game. After a few punches, they seemed to really get into it and there was much more grabbing, pushing and kneeing than the typical image of a karate fight choreographed in a movie. It certainly bore no resemblance to the kata (Form: choreographed moves in an imagined fight) we practiced time and again. Since then I began to envision fights as a more brutal affair than a clean cut one. There was a TV show once in Japan starring Sugi Ryutaro. He is loder than me, but quite athletic and a great swordsman (for movies). But in this TV show--Kenka-ya Ukon Œ-‰Ü‰®‰E‹ß--Sugi-san fought in this manner, a brawler who was good with a sword. This was the kind of fighting that was depicted in the Last Samurai: brutal, physical, very real. And it was exciting.
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