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During the Gulf War,
During the Gulf War, I was part of an IRC-based news network. Dozens of us each took a radio station, TV station or other source and parroted back what they were reporting. People from all over the world participated, sharing news as it was reported. I never thought I’d be doing this again but when…
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Food for thought today.
Food for thought today. Why does the Japanese government say nothing is wrong when Japan’s first case of mad cow disease has been found? Last month, a cow in Chiba Prefecture mysteriously fell over and could not stand again. It was slaughtered and sent for testing. Results were positive for BSE, mad cow disease. Mad…
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The weather outside is
The weather outside is frightful. The air is heavy with humidity and heat. Typhoon 15 is heading towards Tokyo, so far only a steady rain without any wind. Today is a good day to stay inside but my schedule isn’t going to allow me to do that–I have things to do! So I will grab…
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As we conclude Disaster
As we conclude Disaster Preparedness Week, our neighborhood supply shed has been cleaned out. In every train station, disaster maps are posted that show evacuation areas. Our first refuge is across the street in the tiny play park. From there we and the neighbors proceded to the large botanical garden if necessary. A team of…
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Mom always said pretty
Mom always said pretty on the inside is pretty on the outside. So now I know that she was right. Everything inside me is normal, my doctor tells me. And that’s good news. But look at me revealed by magnets and radio waves–what a horrifying mug with those googly eyeballs! I’m ready for Haloween any…
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Another autumn treat–wonderful menus
Another autumn treat–wonderful menus of fall foods. Kushikyu, our local pub, held a Kinoko Matsuri (mushroom festival) yesterday. We ate seven different mushrooms prepared as kushiyaki (skewered and grilled). I’d never eaten so many different kinds at once and it was a great opportunity to compare flavors. Earthy shiitake and woody maitake are my favorites.…
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Last night I heard
Last night I heard crickets chirping and realised that autumn is upon us. The late-summer hum of cicadas is over. Where did they go? They must have vanished during the rain. The whole world feels a little bit cooler as the crickets’ syncopated beat breaks up the silence.
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I must be the
I must be the only busybody in the neighborhood. Or maybe I’m the only one at home during the day. Yesterday afternoon, two cars collided at the intersection outside our house. Hearing the thump and crunch of metal, I leaped from my desk and threw open the window. A man was stepping from his crumpled…
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The weekly classified in
The weekly classified in Tokyo are often strange. In addition to the lonely hearts ads, the transient foreign population has an abundance of sayonara sales to sell off everything in an apartment before moving from Japan, and plenty of individual appliances, computers and furniture for sale. But most interesting ads are in the Help Wanted…
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Ah, I didn’t win
Ah, I didn’t win in the Kamo-Mail lottery. Kamo-Mail is a summer greeting postcard sold by the post office and sent mainly by business to their customers. We received one from Inoue-san, our realtor. The postcard is imprinted with a 6 digit number and yesterday (lottery day, remember?) the winning numbers were announced. Very cleverly,…
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