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Caution, subtitles
In video stores in Japan, foreign movies make up the bulk of films for rent. And they come in two varieties: dubbed in Japanese and subtitled in Japanese. Which means the unwary English speaker sometimes ends up with a subtitled movie where the original language isn’t English. As an example, we rented Jackie Chan’s Accidental…
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Tax office efficiency
Yesterday I went to the tax office; I needed to pick up a copy of a form I’d failed to fill in at tax time. I pondered for a moment over which office to enter–the none of the complicated kanji combinations on the directory in the lobby exactly matched the one on my letter–and finally…
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Tod’s new toy
Tod’s new toy–a blowtorch. It’s the perfect partner for our grill. Although it looks like he might be about to scorch the swordfish he’s cooking for our dinner, really the blowtorch is just for lighting the charcoal. This is a cleverly designed device. It’s a torch head that fits onto a standard “gas bombe” canister.…
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Tropical tastes
I think we’re in for a tropical summer. First, Mango Colon. Now the candy shelves are crammed with tropical fruit flavored goodies: Pineapple KitKat is pretty tasty. The pineapple flavor is strong and a little plastic, but not bad. I like KitKat and this is a nice change. Mango Cream Pocky is excellent. Pocky is…
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My head hurts
Today I’m going to complain about the symptoms of migraine, since that’s pretty much all I can focus on this morning. I am nauseated, everything sounds too loud, and light is much brighter than it ought to be. On top of that, I feel stupid and slow. Don’t ask me to remember anything important, to…
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BSE again
Just when I was starting to think it might be safe again, another Hokkaido cow tested positive for BSE. It’s been five or six months since the last known mad cow. Good thing I’m not overly fond of beef. But I was looking forward to some yummy yakiniku on our grill this summer. Oh well,…
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Cat in peril
5 am. A cat is crying outside. Its wails echo through the neighborhood. My dark, sleepy mind conjures a sad scenario–a young cat, abandoned by its owners, stuck in the gully where the Marunouchi line runs, unable to climb out. The trains haven’t begun for the day. I imagine phoning 119 to report this. Then…
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While Snow
In a tiny alley bordering Kausuga 2-20, is the White Snow restaurant. The noren was out as we walked past at lunchtime yesterday, so we slid open the wooden door, ducked under the curtain and tried our luck. What a delight. It’s a classic place that could be 50 years old, or five. An L-shaped…
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Stepped Down
Today I breathe a sigh of relief. Last night, I stepped down co-leader of DigitalEve Japan. I’m so proud of what the group has apccomplished during the last fifteen months. We’ve grown hugely from 90 members to almost 450. We hold events at least twice a month, publish a newsletter, manage a library of technical…
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Custom birthday gift
<kuri> devin, my mother would like a hint about what to get you for your BD. <devin> oh, ok… um… <lyd> elephant beer steins <Nemix> elephants would be good as a beer stein. <lyd> filled with Stein’s elephant beer <devin> hmmm <devin> a pair of shorts <devin> or a book <lyd> or a short pair…
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