Pictures as Penitence

In an attempt to attone somewhat for my lack of pictures and posts of late, here is a link to a plethora of photos of my neighborhood, taken by a friend of a friend when he visited recently.

These pictures are interesting because they show Japan from a visitor's perspective. I have lived here long enough that I am rarely surprised by things that would have once produced shock and/or uncontrollable laughter. I am pretty dang desensitized, I reckon.

Also, they will have sentimental value for Billy and especially Gomiyage.

For those of you who have never been to Japan, welcome to my world.

Bonus points if you can find the picture with me in it. There are also a few of my good friends Ian and Ulala, who recently became engaged to be married. I was there for the event with my video camera trained on them both the whole time, but later discovered that I hadn't actually been recording. Oops. But that's another story altogether. Oh my head.

Click on the title of this post to go to the pictures! And thanks to "DJ Bolivia" for all his hard work. His blog is pretty interesting too; you might want to check it out.

"Not now, Honey"

I snapped this shot on a weekday afternoon in an underground shopping area near a subway entrance. At first I was afraid to get too close to take a picture, but I eventually concluded that this couple was not only unconcerned, but most likely unconscious.

Now, who can think of the best caption for this post? I will arbitrarily choose the winner and honor him/her by using the caption as the title.

The Man in the Box

No, this is not a post about my apartment, though that too would be fitting, given the title. This is a post about a little Japanese TV I happened to see at nearly 2 a.m. tonight.


Picture this:

Two men. One cardboard box. One roll of tape. One timer.

Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Loser gets in box. Winner gets on top. Tape goes on box. Timer is started. Box tips to and fro, eventually toppling over. But time keeps ticking and Box Man cannot free himself. Tape Man finally removes some of the tape, then walks away laughing hysterically. Well over one minute has passed. Box which had been shaking violently is now barely moving. Tape Man stops laughing long enough to realize that perhaps Box Man cannot breathe. Panics. Moves to remove the remaining tape. Suddenly the box explodes open and Box Man emerges, disheveled and breathless. "I couldn't get any air! [gasp gasp] I thought I was going to die in there!" Tape Man remembers timer, dives to the ground to grab it as quickly as possible, and stops it. But then doesn't bother to read the time.

Crowd applauds with uproarious laughter.

Both men look at a large countdown timer visible on the stage and realize that they have only 7 minutes until the next commercial break. All is forgotten. Onto next bit.

What can we all learn from this? That it is worthwhile to practice Rock, Paper, Scissors, for one thing. It may very well pay off someday. Then again, some of us on the mere basis of size alone would never qualify to become Box Men. But better safe than sorry....

I Saw the Sign

I Saw the Sign, originally uploaded by Hack Rambler.

Only water? Yeah, right. I will write more when I can use my fingers too, and not just my thumbs.

Welcome to the Jungle

From my town's monthly English newsletter:

Be Cautious of Behavior of Crows in Their Breeding Season!
During the period of March-May for their breeding season, crows make their nests gathering withered twigs and piling them up on the tall trees in the parks, or trees lining a street and also on the telegraph poles. Their fierce caws like "Quwak Quwak" in this period are acts of threatening because they are brooding or raising baby birds. You had better part from them instantly, for they may assault you on the head in some occasions. When you are forced to pass near by, wearing a hat or using an umbrella will be helpful in lessening the damage.

Food for doves causes increase of crow individuals, so please do not leave the dove food, nor feed the crows.

Never Feed Wild Boars or Doves!
Wild boars make frequent appearances in populated areas during the night or early morning looking for garbage left for collection or food given to the homeless cats. They often run after people, dig the garden or flower beds over, and even break gates or fences, in serious cases. To prevent them from damaging, please put the garbage in the appointed collection station at the appointed time, and do not feed wild animals and birds like boars or doves.


Just finished reading: "Kafka on the Shore," by Haruki Murakami
Now playing: Frank Sinatra: The Complete Collection, 1943-1952

Feel Wood.

Feel Wood., originally uploaded by Hack Rambler.

On a lighter note....

Just What the Doctor Ordered(?)

Just What the Doctor Ordered(?), originally uploaded by Hack Rambler.

Anybody Hungry?

Anybody Hungry?, originally uploaded by Hack Rambler.

Feel like a Jackie snack?

Feel like a Jackie snack?, originally uploaded by Hack Rambler.

Whenever I see things like this, my first thought is "Why?" Then I realize that it is one of the many things I love about Asia.

Step left, around, and together with the right

Today I made Mexican food for a friend and myself and then crushed her at Mariokart Double Dash. She could not understand why victory, without exception, eluded her, and frankly I didn't want to go to the trouble to explain to her that I practically majored in Mariokart in college. I thought it best to humble her quietly, consistently, and relentlessly. The Mexican food, chimichangas, was dang good too, if I do say so myself. Of course I left the room many times in order to spare my friend the after effects (and myself the embarrassment). If there had ever been any danger of defeat, though, a potent secret weapon had I. Fortunately it was never necessary.

After that I had two classes, one with five elementary school girls, the next a private lesson with a rather eccentric young man who knows nearly everything there is to know about major league baseball. He is one of those people that is easy to caricature, even in a second language. I always look forward to our time together. It makes me wonder, though, if he might not be mimicking me to his friends as I do him. Am I a bad person? Yeah, OK.

Next I went to yakiniku (Japanese do-it-yourself bbq) and karaoke. I do these two things so often that I usually don't even mention them. This time I am mentioning them, though for what reason I do not know.

Moving on.... Picture if you will a covered street for pedestrian traffic only, with various and sundry shops on each side--everything from very sexually oriented bars, clubs and video viewing centers to Hello Kitty theme stores. Now on this street imagine thousands of people walking to and fro, on their way to who knows where, talking and minding their own business, trying to avoid bumping into the other people surrounding them. Kind of like the video game Asteroids, but instead of shooting all you can do is dodge. On second thought, more like Frogger. Right, so I have mentioned three video games, actually four, in this posting so far. Yet here I stand; I cannot recant. Anyway, on the street imagine a girl in her twenties with an open guitar case, a mic, amp, and her axe singing away to any who will stop, or for that matter pass, and listen. As she sings one person, and one person only, finally stops to enjoy her musical stylings. This person just happens to be in her sixties or seventies, wearing a white hat and a white surgical mask because she has a cold and wants to protect others from her virus-infected breath. She stops, listens, and before long begins to dance rather conspicuously, Pee Wee's Playhouse style, right in front of the performer; or should I say her fellow performer. For not long after the dance began, the onlookers, myself of course included, increased exponentially. Not only that, but the passersby could not help but rubberneck as they moved on, slowing down noticeably to take in the scene. I captured the whole phenomenon on video with my cell phone, everything from the growing crowd and double takes to the singing, strumming and dancing. It was, I must say, hilarious. It made me wonder what the dancing lady was like forty or fifty years ago. I would have liked to meet her. What am I saying? I would like to meet her now! It is people like her that add that indefinable flavor to the casserole of life. Though I may never be able to truly understand such spicy people, I hope I will always appreciate them. People like her amaze me. Their oddity is simultaneously thought provoking, instructive and unifying. (If you were to accuse me of overanalyzing, you would be in good company.) The most amazing part of all was not, however, the shamelessness of the old lady in a society that is in many ways ruled by shame, but the incomprehensible and commendable ability of the singer to keep from laughing as she performed, with the masked dancing grandma boogeying away two feet in front of her. Very impressive. Perhaps one day I will attach a photo. But probably I will not. Let your mind's eye take you there. Imagine your own grandma. She won't know.