Horrors!

A tragedy has struck here in the LotRS. Possibly due to the economic downturn, or to general holiday ennui, a terrible event has unfolded at the local (and only) good bar here in Tsu.

A big screen TV has been installed over the bar at Hatchs.

All us foreign types usually congregate at Hatchs on the weekends to mull over local developments and to wallow in good dorky english conversation. As I'm sure you are all aware, a television is the antithesis of good conversation...a konversation killa. For four years we've been going and talking all sorts of inane BS, but now there is some doubt.

My favorite bars in Philadalphia are all TV free, as the point of going out is to talk to people. If one wants to drink beer and watch TV, one stays home...right?

Well, its early going in the TV debacle, we will see how it plays out.

Happy Festivus!

Cruising full speed into the Christmas season, and there is much news to be passed along. I finally got my driver's license here in the LotRS...four years of no wheels and now I can cruise about in the family Benz, Daddy's Porsche, or our own cute little Peugot.
Also, I finally threw around enough high school kids to qualify for my Black belt in Judo. All I have left to do is the formal Nage No Kata test, and then I'm all set.
There's been alot of Japanese study as well...the Japanese Language Proficiency Test was this past weekend, and I think I did ok. Of course, I thought that last year as well, and ended up failing by two points. I have been reading the penultimate Harry Potter in Japanese, and am fairly confident in my Skilz.
We are winding up the term at school as well...I have a week to coast through, and then its Christmas and New Year...Skiing in Nagano! Yea!
K is doing just fine...champing at the bit for her shot at motherhood...not happening yet, but we will be ready when the time comes.
Not much else than that, but I figure even though it doesn't add up to column inches, its enough for right now. Murray Christmans!

The Sheriff is near!

"He rode a Blazing Saddle...he wore a silver star..."
Tonite we are all citizens of Rock Ridge, and gleefully so. God Bless the USA for finally getting it right. This stands as a rebuke to the Hedley Lamars of the world that we are through being railroaded and are ready to work together for the good of the community.

Awkward yet apt metaphors aside, good job everyone.

Prego!

When we were back home, I pestered my father relentlessly about giving me the family copy of The Romagnoli's Table. Finally he relented and I carried home my prize.
You may wonder why I was so intent on having this particular cookbook...almost as old as I am... Well, let me tell you. Growing up in Tennessee and Virginia, some of the first Italian food I ever had was made by my mother and father, from recipies in this book. It has shaped the way our family cooks, defined the parameters of my palate, taught me what good Italian food was before I realized it was something to be learned.
All this said, the first few weeks home I left the book on the shelf due to the myriad other things that demanded my attention. Recently I've had a bit of leisure and so have turned back to the Romagnolis. I've cooked out of the book about five times now, each meal a resounding success. I've made butter and tomato marinara, eggplant sautee, a wonderful pork roast. My proudest moment was my triumphant chicken cacciatore...a taste that I've grown up with and which colors my culinary sense on such a basic level that it is part of my being. It came out pretty damn fine.
I've not used recipies so much in the past, but I have had an Italian epiphany...thank you Dad...thank you thank you thank you!

Campaign Time

Parliamentary elections are looming here in the LotRS, and the posters are going up thick and quick. Politicians here are mainly limited to 1950s tactics...posters being by far the most popular. Funny thing tho...they all have thier faces featured prominently, fixed in some awkward leer. This guy is one of my favorites...

from Wikipedia

I know that the MOST awesome way to resume posts after a long absence is with an impersonal list of links to other sites...and I am awesome....

When I was home, my father asked me for some recommendations of Japanese authors to read. I sat down, thought about it, came up with a good list, wrote it all down for him. Unfortunately, random bits of paper have a nasty way of disappearing, as we all know, and this bit of paper suffered that very same fate. Thus I am inscribing this list on the everlasting electronic ether, making it available to all the fine folks who have given up on this blog long ago. Enjoy!

Authors!

Edogawa Ranpo wrote detective fiction of all sorts.

Natsume Soseki is one of the fathers of modern Japanese literature and beloved by most folks here.

Yukio Mishima had a short but intense career...Shiosai (Sound of Waves) is his most accessible work and by far the most popular amongst the Japanese...but his suicide by ritual seppuku at the JSDF Headquarters eclipses his body of work in most people's minds.

Banana Yoshimoto is widely translated in English and apparently more important than I initially gave her credit for.

Haruki Murakami is much more popular abroad than he is in Japan.

Kobo Abe wrote an almost Kafka-esque book called The Woman in the Dunes. His wikipedia page offers a very tantalizing list of surrealist fiction.

I'm sure I'm leaving a few people out, but that'll get you started.

We are riding the Suzuka Circuit 8hr Enduro today. Its a three man team...me Ks brother Shingo and a friend of his. 

We went hard all morning, but now everyones tank is empty...but there are two hours left to go.  A nasty headwind kicked up around lunchtime too...yay.

I did it! I passed the level one rank in judo! Next stop black belt!

Found this at school today. Fantastic, yes?

The Illuminati Game

I've been reading hippie psychedelic mystical conspiracy fiction...namely the Illuminatus! trilogy. Got me thinking in strange ways and wikipedia-ing...and we all know what happens when you combine wikipedia and mountains of free time....synchronicity!

Check this out! Illuminati conspiracy alternative indie hiphop!
http://www.myspace.com/7lesoteric

Also here....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El-P

All came from this article, which I never thought would lead to Hip Hop....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weishaupt

They LIVE! Alert Rowdy Roddy Piper!
-Hail Eris!


And on further reflection, I'd have to recommend, on the strength of their samples and their beats...7L/Esoteric. Fatty and geeky and grok. Rule.

Good and Bad

News. I've got both. The trip to Shodoshima was lovely. K's grandparents were very glad to see us...her grandmother is especially spry at the age of 80-something...still working the orchards and running the hills. We stayed at a nice hot spring resort, had a mediocre 'french' dining experience, and an interesting, if odiferous, visit to the monkey park. Mission Accomplished.

Today, however, I sup at the trough of failure. I went to take my practical driving test, the final hurdle on the way to a provisional learner's permit. I failed. Badly. Didn't even get to complete the test. Why? Overshot the stopline at the only stopsign on the freaking course. Completely my own fault...which makes the defeat all the more galling. Having been a licensed driver for 14 years simply adds vinegar upon the salt on my wounds. Gotta go back next Wednesday and try again. Never EVER let your driver's license expire.

SMALL BEANS BIG BOAT

We are off to visit the mother-in-laws old home town and to visit K's grandparents.

They live on a little island only accessable by sea.. .so we are on the ferry. Its a beautiful day for a cruise...the Inland Sea is smooth as glass. The crossing takes about 90 minutes...or about two beers. We are about halfway there.

The name of the island is Shodoshima, which translates to Small Bean Island. Theres not much there except olives, oranges, monkeys, and old folks. We plan on seeing all of the above.

Fifth time is a charm I guess...I finally passed the first Japanese drivers license test.
It took me a week and cost 150 bucks, but I DID IT!

Next is the road test, which aint gonna be no fun either...then I get my learners permit. yay.

I might actually have a real license by Labor Day...if Im lucky.

Just took the preliminary drivers license test. True false tests are much harder when you don't understand the questions...

Bush baby...

I've been reading about the Bush administration and its unbelievably horrible record of stripping away consumer protections, shifting the tax burden to middle and low income people, raping environmental law, ruining American prestige abroad, and generally being bad people.

I, of course, had made up my mind about Bush a long time ago and was saddened but not surprised to read the litany of depravity, wanton malfeasance, and greed
that constitutes his presidency. I kept seeing references to his "fanatically loyal" followers tho, and I got to thinking.

The anti-Bush community is large and becoming more and more vocal on the internet and on TV. His popularity and approval rankings are in the toilet and have been for some time. Yet he still manages to get some things done, he still has support. Where does this support come from? I googled "support our president" and found some eye opening (for me) stuff.

Pray for the President is more or less exactly what the name says, a perfect indicator of Bush's popularity among America's traditional Christian voters.

More politically oriented is Free Republic (an), a site dedicated to "grass-roots conservatism"...interesting look at the other side of the fence...

Curious how these folks are still behind Bush, after all his conservatism is a thin veneer concealing good old fashioned meanness and avarice and a basic lack of the "compassion" he tries to lay claim to. As for the religious right...well, as long as they are in the upper tax brackets they should be happy enough, but most rural churchgoing folks I know aren't really in a position to take advantage of the myriad tax dodges for millionaires Bush rammed through Congress...

Zowie!

K and I have been bandying about the notion of buying a house...she really wants to settle in, but I keep balking at how much homes cost here and the fact that they are like cars...once bought they depreciate immediately.

I related to her that in the US, homes are considered investments...built to last and usually worth more when it comes time to sell than when you bought it. Then I saw this. Funny thing is, we used to live just down the street from that house...25 years ago...
All of a sudden, Japanese real estate ain't looking so bad.

Caption Contest Anyone?

Came across this picture posted in the hall of the hotle we stayed at in Nagano last weekend. I can't love it any more than I possible do right now...but I do wonder what exactly is going on ...

I'd love to hear what you folks out there think the folks in there are saying....

Now I can post from my phone!

We went skiing last weekend and I'm still alive!

Third time's a charm!

I've been learning judo for about six months now. Its a lot of fun, a good workout, and a very good way to meet interesting folks. I've lost some weight, learned some things, and hurt some people.

Funny thing about that.

In the six months since I started, I've had three fairly significant injuries. First, I pulled my groin doing practice falls...I was scared and tense, and just pulled it. That sidelined me for a week or so.
Then, on about christmas time, I stepped funny and bent my big toe back under my foot, spraining it pretty badly. It took a little over two weeks before I was ready to try it out again.
Just the other day, training at the local prison, I got my third, and arguably most serious injury. The prison is run by the prefecture, and as a public institution, its gym is open to the public...kinda. The prison guards are required to practice martial arts a certain number of hours per week, and as long as you know a bit about what you are doing, you are welcome to join in the practice sessions. Wednesday was about my fourth time out to the prison...I was getting better...getting some confidence....when BAM! a stocky little dude tossed me on my shoulder, dislocating it. Hurt like a @#$$@##%.
Apparently, a dislocated shoulder is one of the most common injuries in judo, and just the week before at the prison, I had done basically the same thing to one of the guards...tendon Karma perhaps. I'm taking care of it tho....

One problem....tomorrow is skiing in Nagano, the last trip of the season...and I can't not go....its gonna be interesting....

sKIING

Skiing was great! We went up to Gifu Prefecture, near a town called Takayama, and stayed at a hot spring called Fukuchi Onsen.
We had iffy weather on Saturday, but we got out early enough
that we had no problems. Some other people were supposed to meet up with us later, but got caught in the BLIZZARD that hit central Japan on Saturday afternoon.

Now, when I say blizzard, I'm merely repeating the terminolgy used by the local news media to describe the weather event. What happened...what caused trains to suspend service and highways to close...was simply snow. Here in Tsu, where everything ground to a halt, the accumulated snowfall was ONE CENTIMETER. Half an inch...and the world stops. In Nagoya, which is about 50 miles north, there was 11 centimeters of snow...less than 6 inches.

Huh.

Worked out great for us tho, we skiied in the snow, and relaxed in the open air bath under the still falling snow, and on Sunday, when many of the highways were still closed (!), we had fresh powder to ski on and few other skiiers to compete with. It was great.

We skiied on Monday morning too, then backed up and headed home, stopping off in Takayama to drop Dr. Ferrari and his son off at the train station and to nosh on some Hida Beef sushi (deeeeevine).

I was whupped today tho, and had an off night at judo practice (still going!). Its going to take a few days for the old body to recuperate, I think.

Had a big-ish fight with K tonite. Seems like our blowups always come over dinner, and are usually about dinner. This time, the kernel, the basis, was ketchup.

The last time K made spaghetti, she took a very nice sauce that I had made...ground beef, mushrooms, fresh garlic, etc...and added canned tuna and ketchup. I was very angry that she had chosen to take something I had made and without even tasting it adulterated it and, in my view, ruined it. Ketchup, for gods sake.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything, but that being said, I do know some things very well. One thing I do know is that you don't put f-ing ketchup on yer pasta. I mean, you can...and some people do...but I like to think that no one I know would consider that acceptable. Ketchup is a condiment, not an ingredient. It goes great on french fries and on mediocre hamburgers, but if what you're eating is up to par, ketchup is really not necessary... Am I wrong?

Now, K has taken it upon herself to become a first class stay-at-home wife and mother. We have no children, so the mother thing is on the back burner. As a wife, she has a kind of 1950s ideal...do the laundry, cook and clean, take care of her man like his mother used to do. All well and good I suppose...not the path I'd prefer for her to take, but this is what she wants. To that end, she prepares all the meals (I'm no longer allowed to cook...she takes it as a personal insult
when I take up pan and knife). The problem is, she is still deep in the learning curve in the kitchen.

Most of the time she comes up aces, especially when she is cooking in her comfort zone...japanese and korean stuff she can turn out with aplomb. She also does well improvising in that vein. No complaints here. The problem is when she turns her hand to more western fare.

There is an axiom amongst westerners in japan that if you serve up authentic fare to Japanese, they will politely tucker in, but will not come back for seconds. Reason being, and I guess rightly so, that the flavor palette of western cuisine and japanese cuisine are so different that if you don't take pains to tailor your cooking to japanese tastes that the Japanese will not go for it. I've seen this in action at countless restaurants...K's father will not eat Fench food, even japanese french...pizza comes with tuna and corn...you get the idea.

While I'm prepared to accept this fact on a cultural level, in my own home on my own table is a different story. Right or wrong, some thingsw I simply like the way I like and that is it. Pasta, case in point. I've lived alone for years, done all my own cooking, and enjoyed the fruits of my labours. I can cook the heck out of some pasta...a myriad of sauces and treatments at my disposal. Thus, when something comes down the pipe that I deem sub par, I feel free to say so...the old "if you don't like it, make it yourself" assault my dearest hope. Seldom do I get that opportunity tho.


Instead, I get sulking and evil looks...the fact that I didn't like what was for dinner K takes as a personal insult. I can understand her point of view here as well, but we are in the early going here, and if I don't make my preferences known now, I face a lifetime of politely nibbling and going away hungry. I don't want that, and I know K wants to make food we can both enjoy, but it is such an ordeal every time.

Ketchup has become the scapegoat...I don't like mayonnaise either, and K has taken that to heart...a big sacrifice in her mind, seeing as how mayonnaise figures heavily in westernish japanese popular cuisine. Some people even put it on their rice (gah!). She even whipped out some (japanese) cooking magazines to prove to me that ketchup is an ingredient in many recipies. Fine...but really...in minestrone soup? Its a short cut for the lazy and inept in my opinion...put it on my fries but never in my soup.

These cooking magazines are awful anyway. She has dogeared stacks of them...they are famous, she says....they are popular, she says...to which I say (to myself) is the reason they are crap. I know I can be a bit of a snob...but I'd prefer to have something a bit different than what millions of other 20something housewives are serving up, regardless of whether it is in a magazine or not. Indie rock cuisine for me.

She has been sulking for the past two hours, but seems to be coming out of it now...eating ice cream. I've apologized for dissing on ketchup and not eating my spinach twice already tonite... I hope she works this through by tomorrow, because we are off skiing in the morning. Yay!