-
Hamster’s Lunch
Hamster’s Lunch. “Seed shape rice cracker and hamster figures will provide you a enjoyable tea time.” The box also explains that there are 12 different figures and each comes with a Hamster Facts card. The rice crackers are shaped like sunflower seeds and are made of 100% mochi rice, in case you should mistakenly think…
-
Early summer fashion report.
Early summer fashion report. Gleaned from the streets of Omotesando The ethnic look: peasant blouses and long pairie/gypsy skirts. Next year, I expect to see a revival of “bistro print” skirts (the sort with French-looking bottles of wine and luggage labels). Why? Because that’s how it went in the 80s. Stripes: clean, crisp cotton (or…
-
DE-J meeting
I’m not sure what we were thinking, but it is not a good plan to have a meeting in a British restaurant on the opening night of the World Cup. The DigitalEve Japan steering commitee got together last night at Pizza Express, a British pizza chain, in Harajuku. We arrived at seven and had the…
-
Desk Inventory
I should be polishing an article that’s due, but I’m distracted by the number of things on my desk. Here’s an inventory: laptop scan converter digital camera DV camera remote telephone memo holder file box full of notebooks and maps keyboard wacom tablet flatpanel monitor on top of cardboard box card file four dictionaries wooden…
-
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup starts tomorrow. The papers are full of articles about hooligans and what’s being done to avoid trouble. Extra police are on alert, of course. To support that, pachinko parlor owners have agreed not to install any new machines during the World Cup because the law states that police must be…
-
Container gardening
The joys of container gardening are not to be overlooked. On my tiny balcony, I’ve got a healthy dose of nature. And most of it is edible: mint, rosemary, sage, basil, marjoram, thyme, parsely, bay. What’s not edible is flowering: daisy, lavender, marigold, impatiens, pinks, petunia. It gets my attention every day. I water it,…
-
Unveiling mediatinker
It’s been well over a year since I registered my domain but haven’t worked on a site for it…the shoemaker’s children and all that. Today I’ve completed my professional website, to complement my personal site and this one. I’m pleased to unveil media tinker. It needs some additional tweaking, but it’s “done enough” for you…
-
Sapporo Lion Ginza
From the street, it’s pretty unremarkable, just another Sapporo Lion beer hall with a display of plastic food in a big, modern building. But stepping inside this place was a surprise. This beer hall was designed and built by Eizou Sugawara in 1934. It’s gorgeous. It’s an art deco cavern. At the far end, a…
-
My kitchen sings
My kitchen sings a symphony of morningtime domesticity. The watery swish and thump of the washer sets the tempo for an 18 minute concerto. The coffemakers clucks and chirps melodiously. The psst of spray cleaner on the countertop, whisper of sponge, and the legato smoothness of water from the tap join in the chorus. The…
-
Get me out of here
I’m itching to get out of Tokyo for a daytrip. In the first two years we lived here, we often went for hikes or short trips on the weekends. We travelled all over Japan on these little jaunts. But the last two years have been more settled–on the weekends we have social engagements, work commitments,…
Archives