forgot to update about things this week.
Monday was a holiday- so I went to a barbecue in Musashi Itsukaichi. Good times- BUT I got sunburned. After 3 applications of sunscreen. Mostly just on the back of the neck- but it hurt pretty bad for a day or so. Afterwards went to a very nice restaurant in Tachikawa. My friend knows the owner, so we were treated quite well.

Saw Gake no Ueno no Ponyo- the new Miyazaki film. It was beautiful- but not 'exciting' in the traditional sense. If you were into Totoro, you'll probably like it. If you preferred 'Spirited Away' or 'Princess Mononoke' then this might not be high on your list.

Went drinking last night- overheard some people talking about Harry Potter, and decided to add my 2 cents. You see- almost everyone here has SEEN Harry Potter- but few have read it. The last book just came out last weekend here- so there's a lot of press about it, but nobody I've talked to has actually read more than the first book. It's interesting though- most of the women talk about it in similar ways to the fans in the states (many of whom HAVE read it).

Anyway- somehow during the obligatory drunk discussion of my facial features (more on this eventually, perhaps), they decided I was functionally fluent, and began talking about various topics very quickly. Mostly I smiled and nodded, and responded when I thought I understood. Eventually they asked me how many years I'd been here, and didn't believe that it was less than one. One of the guys wanted to talk about 'Fist of the North Star' which is series I've only seen a little bit of.

Tomorrow I have another performance at the bar. We'll see how it goes-- I think more people will show up this time.

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My new resolution is to post BEFORE I turn on the television.	Jul. 20th, 2008 @ 10:06 pm

Had a chorus concert today.

Kavya showed up- that was awful nice of her. Also, Nina and Takeshi showed up- I was impressed. I never ask anyone to show up to my choir performances. Just because I like to hang out with little old ladies doesn't mean that I think anyone else does.

Recap:
my choir is comprised mostly of people above the age of 70. There is one member in her 50s, and the pianist is in her 30s, but mostly it's 70s and 80s. It's a lot of fun, I learn a lot, and get ample opportunity to practice Japanese, but I can appreciate that not every 20-something wants to hang out with people 3 times older than them. Still- thanks for the support guys! Glad you didn't put yourself through the whole concert!

Tomorrow is a holiday. It's a rather new holiday- Umi no Hi (Sea day). It was part of an effort by the government to have at least one day off every month, so they needed one in July. There are no traditions for Umi no Hi. I'm going to a barbecue with some friends (organized by the aforementioned Nina and Takeshi). Should be a good time. Last time I went to a barbecue with them, I didn't sleep the night before (it was golden week, and I was coming back from Matsumoto- pictures still forthcoming), and my attempts to hit on their attractive harpist friend failed miserably. We'll see if I can ever save enough face to try again.

after the concert we went out to a japanese restaurant cleverly disguised as an italian restaurant. I had some fish, and some vegetables and some soba, and a LOT of sake (it's not my fault- my choir discovered I like sake, so they keep buying it for me). Hung out with a lot of interesting people I learn a lot from. Got a few nice presents:

1. A festival parasol- one that helps to end droughts. Tell me if you need some rainmaking help.

2. Homemade Plum Wine. VERY sweet. want some?

3. a new tie. So that I match the other men in the choir. It's kinda pinkish, but nice. Made locally.

Anyway. Have a nice evening!

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HOLY CRAP	Jul. 19th, 2008 @ 02:23 am

!!!

as I was trying to go to sleep I saw something moving, and I went to take a look and it was a HUGE BEETLE-Y COCKROACH THING in my apartment and it's huge and gross.

THE BUGS HERE ARE HUGE!!!! ALSO I SLEEP ON THE FLOOR!

it's been really hot so I've been sleeping with the balcony door open- and I know I was told that was a bad idea in July, because July marks the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the MASSIVE INSECT season. but I was doing it anyway.

I've been really careful too- there is NOTHING for these bugs to eat right now-- everything is closed up tight!- I haven't even been keeping food in the house for the express reason that I didn't want to deal with huge insects- HUGE!

The guy who had this apartment before me left some unused roach hotels in the closet- and I have deployed one. It makes me think of Nightmare on Elm Street 4- but there's nothing to be done.

It's like I have a roommate-or maybe a horrible pet- possibly hundreds. Who knows- the one I saw was HUGE. Twinkie-sized. Like a Volkswagen. with teeth.

my god it was huge. I'm never going to that side of the room again.

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	Jul. 18th, 2008 @ 10:46 pm

The new Miyazaki film comes out this weekend. I'm planning on watching it- even though I'll have a lot of trouble understanding it. still, maybe I can scoop the american animation critics. I haven't seen much of it in the american press...

saw a bike crash between a high school girl and an old man. The old man landed on the back of his neck, then got up and continued riding. He didn't even stop to acknowledge the girl, who had run up to him and repeatedly asked if he was Ok.

Got a choir concert on sunday. We're singing 'Old Kentucky Home'- the version with the disparaging lyrics about black people. I tried to point out that the lyrics are offensive, but nobody seemed to notice. Question to the singers out there-- would you care if you were singing an offensive song in another language? If you knew that nobody in the crowd would understand the language? Also, I have a solo in said song.

There's some fox series of shorts called 'Prom Queen'- have you seen it? I have- not a fan. There's a japanese version- "Japan Prom Queen"- but I just thought about it for the first time today- Japanese High Schools don't have proms. People don't really dance here (on average). How does it make sense to anybody?

Performing again at the bar next week. Had a rehearsal yesterday- it went well. We're talking about next month already- they want Journey- any other suggestions? Classic rock stuff.

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	Jul. 16th, 2008 @ 02:27 am

so yeah- new animal crossing for wii. 'Animal Crossing City Folk' - you can go to the city and do stuff there. Also, there's a microphone or something, so that should be fun.
It's supposed to be out by the end of the year- but I probably can't get the japanese version, because I won't understand my little animal friends.

Now with the virtual console, I kinda doubt that they'll include any retro games like they did with the gamecube version, but there's always the possibility...

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Other entries

» Shroud

got a shroud today. The kind of shroud that's relatively popular with people apparently my age.

Recently there's been all sorts of sales here. Mostly clothing sales- they advertise with signs saying "off 50-30%" which is kind of strange-- why the bigger number first? It's a mystery. So I've been perusing the various stores. Last week I got glasses. This week a shroud. Who knows what I'll get next week- maybe suspenders?

Choir rehearsal yesterday. It was a rockin' good time. Next sunday is our a Capella concert with a handful of other local groups. Wanna come? it's at 2:30 at the Honda Komikan. The week after I'm singing at that bar again. This time 3 songs- 2 original ones (not My originals- someone else's) and 'Stand By Me.' So yeah, good good.

Finally finished the Japanese textbook I started 4 years ago. Got the new one. It appeared thinner, but in fact the type is just MUCH smaller. The last few chapters of the first book were intense on grammar but had only a few vocabulary words. This trend seems to be reversed in the new book. MUCH more vocabulary but less difficult grammar. I always struggle with vocabulary...

Also, one of my homework assignments was to write a brief history of england in the 17th century. My version was QUITE brief, being handwritten, less than a page with every other line skipped. I would venture to estimate it at 10 sentences. The example was an even dozen, so I guess I'm not that far off. I was mostly right, but there were a few 'を’s omitted by accident.

Went to the Fuchu art museum yesterday. On the way I ran into one of my students. Nice girl- about 7 years old. She really wanted to impress her friends by having some semblance of a conversation with a foreigner. We talked briefly about the weather, and I asked her where she was going. She couldn't really answer, but made a good show of it.

The exhibit was modern South Korean realist art. Interesting stuff- all post-occupation, mostly post-korean war. I was very impressed with some of the paintings. As usual, I am often unimpressed by video art in galleries. Too often it's made by people who fundamentally don't understand the media, and don't take the time to study it. They just throw a video of a closeup of a caterpillar on a tv and call it an installation. Plus, I don't think video really matches well with a realist exhibit. Can video be considered realist art? I'm sure it can, there is realist cinema, after all- but I would question how well it fits into the same movement. Moreover, I didn't feel the video fit into the realism movement so much as the 'crappy made-in-2-hours-on-imovie' aesthetic.

I should post pictures of said shroud, but I've been bad about posting pictures lately.
Jul. 14th, 2008 @ 02:14 pm

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» (No Subject)

Animal crossing for the Wii has all but been announced. Next week there should be confirmation. It's likely coming out in time for christmas, as the rumors say that the game is, in fact, finished. This is good news, but still a little sad, as it reminds me of my poor animal crossing DS friends who haven't seen me since the cherry-blossom season.

Anyone else excited about a new animal crossing? Still feels a little weak for the Major announcement from Nintendo at E3. Perhaps they'll announce something else- something further off?

anyway.
Jul. 12th, 2008 @ 01:51 am

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» a post-post

so it's once again monday night, and it's time to ask Jeremy what he did with his weekend.

Lately it's been HOT and HUMID and I have had some trouble staying hydrated. I've been carrying around jugs of water wherever I go, but I need to drink it more often. It's only going to get worse from here. For the next 2 months I really need to stay on the hydration- or suffer a lot more headaches. I'm hoping for another few days of cool rain before it decides to be hot until september.

I'm currently making lists-- for those of you stateside (LA, SLO or Portland) what do you need from Japan? for those of you Japan side, what do you need from the states? give me a heads up! I'm planning on bringing back some books. english books are expensive here. like, 300% markup.

I've changed to 2 japanese lessons a week. I find that I only study when I have a lesson imminent, so the solution I have found is to have more lessons. We'll see if it works...

did you hear about the obama monkey commercial? you can watch it here if you like. It's for a minor cell-phone provider. The gist of the controversy is that the ad replicates an obama rally, but the speaker is a monkey- playing ostensibly on the traditional dehumanizing association between black men and monkeys. this controversy is furthered by the average Japanese person's total ignorance of world race issues. People all over the world have been upset by this commercial, and the company claims it has pulled the ad. However, although the TV ads may have been pulled, the print ads are still very much visible. I came across one in the foreigner-heavy station of Akihabara. It doesn't seem of any real consequence- but it's still interesting that Japanese advertisers repeatedly make decisions about creating ads with racial/foreign themes without consulting anyone, and then act surprised when people are angry.

also, I got glasses today. It was an interesting exercise. of course there was no one there who spoke english, and I didn't really ask for someone. The vision test involved a lot of reading of hiragana characters- which was a bit surprising, but it went fine. I wish there was an interesting story involving something I didn't understand, but it was actually pretty straightforward. Also, exceptionally cheap- I haven't had glasses in a few years- and it's nice to have them now.

have you ever seen 'the world of golden eggs?' It's an interesting show- mostly japanese, with some english subtitles, and a few english phrases. I'm not exactly sure why the show subtitles itself in english- but it does.
here's an example.
it's kind of funny- not really funny, but amusing enough. What I'm more interested in is the animation aesthetic. Most 3DCG uses a lot of programatic animation that smooths out the motion. This animation deliberately jumps from pose to pose, and I think it works very well. It keeps costs cheap without looking totally prefabricated.

while we're on the topic of animation I like- check this out- it's from a series called Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei ('goodbye Mr. Despair' with the 'mr' really being 'teacher'). It's got some interesting aesthetic choices. I understand that most people don't care about the aesthetic differences in japanese animation, as, on the whole, the character design often looks very similar, but I still think this is a series worthy of looking into.
Jul. 8th, 2008 @ 12:44 am

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» (No Subject)

so I have tickets for the states in August.

for those who are curious:
I'll be in LA on Aug. 10
in Portland on the 15th
and I'll leave to go back to Tokyo on the 17th-

so it's a quick trip- so I expect you all to plan your schedules accordingly.

Saturday I had a performance at a bar. Apparently I've joined a band. I'm the fill-in white guy for a british guy who went back home in February. They have a myspace page- in case you were eager to hear them. I won't be singing in the same style though...

it's looking to be a monthly event- so if you'll be in Tokyo around the 26th of July, you might stop in...

recently mango qoo has appeared in all the vending machines- but it's not particularly good...
Jun. 30th, 2008 @ 07:07 pm

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» (No Subject)

so a few days ago a well-dressed man came to my door. He told me something something about the internet, and that he was from some company. He knew I was already with a company, but impressed upon me the concept that I had to change due to some installation going on in the building.

I told him that I needed to get his documents translated before I signed anything, but he continued to try to get me to sign things. I then told him 'goodbye' and closed the door, and he continuously rang my doorbell and kept knocking for a while. I eventually answered again, and he explained in no uncertain terms, that due to the new installation, my current internet service would no longer work. Long story short, out of frustration, I signed the documents.

I had one of my coworkers call the guy to confirm things. Eventually we found out that it was not, in fact necessary for me to switch- but that there was a 2 month free deal, but the terms of which could not be told over the phone, or in any of the paperwork.

so anyway- I shouldn't be signing documents that I can't read, and I shouldn't trust what the people say or what I think they say.
Jun. 24th, 2008 @ 03:12 am

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» (No Subject)

so I had a couple of birthday parties recently-- one with students and one without.
both were pretty good, one involved setting off fireworks in a public park. It's up to you to figure out which one.

also, the apartment is finally empty again. Mottmann left for Thailand or wherever yesterdayish. We went for okonomiyaki again before he left. Why don't they have such restaurants in the states? it's easy- and interactive. Plus it's foreign, so they could charge a lot for it. Anyone who wants to start such a business has my blessing to do so, provided that they give me some sort of discount.

otherwise- I've got a bit of a schedule down for the next few months. I'm coming stateside in August for about a week (very quick, whirlwind trip).

reading Timequake.
Jun. 13th, 2008 @ 12:08 pm

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» a bit confused

so while working today, I received a cryptic call, and could only decode the fact that the caller was from my choir (or possibly that she was asking if I was in such a choir- I just couldn't tell). Anyway- I managed to decipher that she had some sort of choir business, and that she would leave something in my home mailbox.

What was left were 3 pieces of paper- they are:
a map to Tokyo Gakugei university
a piece of sheet music titled 'Natsu no yuube' ('Yuube(?) of summer')
and a flyer and ticket for some kind of Bach lecture/performance tomorrow at 2.

Further inspection reveals that my choir is NOT performing, but rather, the Kokubunji Chamber choir will be performing tomorrow (quite a relief, actually, as I don't recall practicing any Bach).

at first I thought there was some sort of emergency choir performance- perhaps some sight-read Bach would be necessary. I always assume that being in a choir is a lot like being Bruce Willis without the bleeding. But upon investigation, I noted that the sheet music was not, in fact, Bach.

So I'm pretty sure I'm not performing, BUT-- I still have no idea what this is about, really. I've learned the music (I suppose, what better way to spend your birthday), but I can't imagine singing it tomorrow for any reason. I suppose I'd better show up regardless though... they DID send me a ticket...

I'm kind of hoping that they've just forcibly invited me to a concert with no warning, but if so, what the hell is the sheet music about?

what on earth should I wear to such a thing? suggestions welcome.
Jun. 8th, 2008 @ 01:34 am

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» (No Subject)
should be studying some stuff, but I'm not if I don't do it now, I'll struggle to get it done before my class on monday. anyway Jun. 6th, 2008 @ 01:55 am (1 comment \| Leave a comment)

» a few notable things

NHK came to my door this morning. for those not in the know, NHK is the national broadcasting system. Imagine the BBC- except more educational. Anyway- they are funded much like NPR except more aggressively. They come directly to your door at certain points in the year and demand payment if you have a television capable of receiving their broadcasts. I did not argue with the man- he looked official enough. I ponied up my ¥2,700, filled out some forms, and he went away. I was hoping this was a once-a-year occurrence, but according to the website, I paid the 2month cost, which seems exorbitant.

What do you think-- would you pay directly for government funded television? what if it was good- like a government funded NPR (but more entertaining)? How much would you pay?

Possibly more exciting to you, dear reader, is that I met a manga artist today. Actually, I had met him before- as I have been drinking with him for the last few weeks. I only recently found out that he was a mangaka. His most famous piece is called 'Ikigami.' It's about a possible near-future where the japanese government chooses one person every day to be randomly killed. This person is alerted 24 hours before hand, and has to choose what to do with their last day.

I asked him if his manga was famous (as I had not heard of it- but that only means it's not famous in the US), and he said 'no,' but the bartender jumped in and told me that the film version of his comic comes out in September. So famous must have a different meaning than I've come to understand. here's the trailer

Otherwise, Will went home, things are a little quiter...
aside from some major snags, things are going pretty well.
Jun. 5th, 2008 @ 01:16 am

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» (No Subject)

So Will and Mottmann were here for a while- they've left for now, but will likely be back soon. We've had a pretty good time- checked out some museums, other nondescript stuff...

they went to the studio Ghibli museum the other day. For those who aren't 'in the know,' there is a museum for Studio Ghibli, and it's rather nearby me. Unfortunately you can only get tickets at 2 places. 1 is 'not japan' - as in, anywhere but Japan. The other is in your friendly neighborhood Lawson's convenience store. But pause for a moment- you can not merely walk into a Lawson's and shout at the clerk "I'd like 2 tickets to the Ghibli Museum please! and a Crunky bar!" (or the Japanese equivalent). No that doesn't work. instead there's some kind of crazy computer system- all of it written in some crazy language with crazy characters all over it. You must push the correct buttons to make it understand your desires.

Some of it I could read, some of it I could not. Much of my use of the system was much like the game 'Dragon's Lair' where you must choose to go right or left, and upon choosing have a 50% chance of being dead. Then you start all over and try the opposite choice. Anyway- it took a while.

but they succeeded in going, so I guess it all worked out.

I'm contemplating upping my japanese lessons to 2 per week. Does this seem like a bad idea? Weigh the pros and cons and get back to me...
May. 29th, 2008 @ 11:26 pm

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» (No Subject)
So I have 2 guests coming this week, and staying for a while. It should be a lot of fun, BUT this will bring a whole new meaning to the concept "lack of personal space". The next couple of weeks should be a blast- but it's true, I'll probably be desperate to get out for a little bit. otherwise, what have I been up to? absolutely nothing. you? May. 12th, 2008 @ 07:30 pm (Leave a comment)

» (No Subject)
Just so you know- the 6.7 quake hit Ibaraki prefecture, NOT Tokyo. They just like to say that for the headline. Where I am it was quite mellow. Nothing fell over, power stayed on, etc. have a nice day May. 8th, 2008 @ 09:44 am (2 comments \| Leave a comment)

» Nagano

going to nagano tomorrow. What shall I bring?
dunno. Clothes, I guess.

not actually Nagano city, in case you were wondering, more like Matsumoto city.

what would you do in Matsumoto city? Me? I'd see the castle. Also, there's a few museums to go to.

Also, the place I'm staying at has one of them thar Onsen public bath thingees. I'd be lying to say I was completely comfortable with the idea, but we're gonna try it anyway and see how it goes. If it goes especially embarrassingly, I'm sure you'll hear about it, dear reader.

anyway, off to bed- early morning of sleeping on a train.

Additionally, my mentor's new book is coming out soon. Buy it- I'm supposedly in it. Especially the chapter about Pixilation. go buy it
Apr. 30th, 2008 @ 12:58 am

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» New Words for a new something something

So I'm on vacation- so of course I'm thinking about linguistics.

a few new words for y'all- try it. It'll be awesome.
Nomu-nication: an increase in communication ability due to the imbibition of alcohol. An inter-lingual portmanteau (interlinguamanteau) between the Japanese word 'Nomu' (to drink) and 'communication'

Interlinguamanteau: see above.

Scape-Guinea Pig: A test-case who you can blame if the experiment goes wrong. Example dialog:
Scientist: Here- try my latest extremely dangerous invention. It'll be awesome.
SGP: ok.
(moments later)
Scientist: It didn't work, and now it's broken. For some reason, I blame you.
SGP: (sad)

Yummy-Yaki: (Also see okonomi-yummy) more interlingamanteau. fried things that taste good.

and a question-
is it just me, or is the phrase "me too" (as in "I like ice cream" "me too!") exactly the kind of thing Tarzan would say? Should it technically be "I too"? I assume that 'I' is the subject of the sentence, as in "I, too like ice cream" instead of "me, too like ice cream."

I think we should start a campaign to change this phrase from the offending 'Me too' to the more proper "I too"- just to piss people off. It'll be awesome.
Apr. 28th, 2008 @ 09:30 pm

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» (No Subject)
new copy of the metaphysics analysis engine fixed the thing that prevented it from actually working before. Tell me if it appears to be 'not-working.' It's also possible that 'not working' and 'working' could be the same thing. also- my father took a picture in Ueno Park that ended up in the LA times. Take a look. Apr. 23rd, 2008 @ 02:19 am (2 comments \| Leave a comment)

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