Some Japan Photos

In my 10 days in Tokyo, I only took a single picture.  Then my friend Nori Yasui got up in my grill about that, so I've been more camera-happy in Kobe (and Kyoto and Okayama).  And I have Nori to thank for the shots of me.

Nori wasn't happy I made him climb all the stairs to the top of this Kyoto cemetery (words were exchanged), but then he took this picture of what we saw at the top:

 Himeji Castle, where, thanks to a renovation, we were actually able to stand on a viewing dock and see the highest roof ornaments from only a few feet away (Nori poses with his mother, who, despite her size, is the reason I will lose no weight in Japan):

And speaking of which, we went to an oyster fishery a few hours from the house and lunched at a place where we just threw shellfish on the charcoal grill next to our table until they opened.  We were practically eating them right out of the sea.  After we couldn't eat another oyster (seriously, not a SINGLE OYSTER MORE--that's how many oysters we had), we took the rest home to eat with Kobe beef and other teppanyaki treats the next day.

Eat your hearts out, George Rhoads and Boston Museum of Science fans!!!!

in case you guys hadn't read this already, it's Taibbi's second installment on our new SEC chief, re-touching on her possible collusion with then-SEC head Paul Berger and Enforcement Head Linda Thomsen to effectively wreck the insider trading investigation of MOrgan Stanley then-CEO JOhn Mack.

Investigating SEC agent Gary Aguirre's criminal case is swapped out by SEC officials for a cheap civil penalty, Aguirre is fired for frivolously creating the hassle (he sued successfully for wrongful termination) and Berger lands a cushy job at D&P.

White observes that Berger's inclination to aggressiveness might have harmed his viability in the private sector, that they performed extensive due diligence to screen any for any backlash that might accompany his hire. 

Taibbi's theses remain:  SEC and Wall Street are thick with revolving door corruption, and the federal nomination of Mary Jo White has just brought it full circle.

Bring the pain!

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/new-sec-chief-mary-jo-white-thinks-the-government-should-bring-cases-to-a-point-20130130

I mostly forgive One Direction for all previous douchebaggery

(for previous douchebaggery see evidence a and evidence b)
But this video is the best.

It's a great pop song with a ridiculous music video that makes fun of pop videos. And look at their skinny little bodies! D'awww



And I'm not even sorry that 2 out of four of my blog posts have been about One Direction.  HBDGAF. Also, thanks for joining us, Will.

INAUGURAL ENTRY

Spacemen, brethren - I AM AMONG YOU.

more to come following my chat with sam, in tokyo.

Aaaand scene.  Pick out the original ladies!  I'll start you off: immediately to my right (from my perspective) is not an original lady.

The photo doesn't do the production justice.  In the space of an hour there were at least 10 costume changes, people on wires and trapezes, stage elevators rising between levels, rakes and fold-out staircases hovering in space, brief nudity, standup comedy, blaring 360-degree music, and lots and lots of second-rate dancing.  It was awesome.

The girl second from my right (again, my perspective) with the thousand-watt smile is Popla (she pronounces it "Po-pu-ra--my real name, not for acting--like the tree!").  We chatted before and after the show and she told me she was going to go to NYC this summer to study acting, singing and dancing, hopefully at HB Studio.  Suuuuuch a theater kid, seriously.  Everyone else was doing fine during the performance, but she was totally Anne-Hathaway-at-the-Oscars-ing it up, like, every second she was onstage.  Awesome. 

Hey guys, it's update time: a week in Tokyo has given me a whole lot of things to report, so I'm gonna share some of them.

Peeps say Tokyo is an expensive city, but I'm not sure they're right.  Movies are pricey ($18 or so in big city center theaters), but then again, I don't see too many theaters around.  Maybe they're all in the suburbs?  Scarcity/sample size may be to blame for the seemingly outsized cost.  And coffee is ridiculous (like the back of your head).  A small cup goes for $3.  On the other hand, though, little Starbucks shot-style chilled espresso/latte drinks (the sort that would cost an arm and a leg in the States) are on sale in every convenience store for $2.  Soooo . . . odd.

Other than that, it seems like visiting here should be no more expensive than vacationing in someplace like NYC.  One big thing to keep in mind is no tax & no tipping.  So a big bowl of pork belly miso ramen or a generous teryaki bento box will run you $8.50-$10, and that's all-inclusive.  If you want to eat cheap, there are plenty of options.

Which is to say I've already blown a shitton of money.

I think I told one of you already (or maybe it was Mom), but I tried a Big Mac here.  It costs $4.00 or so.  And it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.  The eeriest thing?  It came out of its box looking just like the ad.

Sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji fish market is just insanely good.  Dear, sweet 8 pound, 6 ounce baby Jesus, yes. 

Japanese chocolate?  Yes, please.  The $1.25 Meiji milk bars taste smooth and fruity, sort of like Lindt but with a little more character.  Ghana's good too.  That's another brand--I didn't take a side trip to Ghana.

Japanese whiskey?  I'm not a whiskey drinker, but I was lured by the sight of liquors unavailable in the U.S. and bought a 500 ml bottle of Nikka From The Barrel.  Damn.  I say, DAMN.  If I were liquor stores, I'd be buying it retail from European liquor stores and selling it at an inflated price.  Here, my bottle cost $26 or so, I think.

Oh, incidentally, there's an almost unsettling amount of liquor in Japan, Pee-Wee.  Convenience stores stock a whole beer-by-the-can wall, and even small grocery stores maintain an awfully comprehensive booze section.  Hence my whiskey purchase.  It felt like it ought to be part of the experience.

I've done a lot of walking and exploring and visiting and perusing, but my best adventure so far has been a trip to see a "new half" (that's the Japanese catch-all term for trans folks) dance show at Roppongi Kingyo.  And then I got a picture with the cast!  I'll try to photo the photo and post it on here.

Okay, I've got to turn over my laundry, so I guess this is goodbye for now.  Start posting, Will, you motherfucker.  Say what you want to say on Facebook here instead; it's mentally healthier.  I want this blog to turn into a conversation between us all.  Think a text version of the television talk show we totally ought to have.

Damn you, Kid President, for making me repost you after seeing a link to your video on Facebook, of all places. 

I mentioned this to Gena, but not to you, Will--see "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."  It hit me harder than any movies have in a little while.  Bet and I have been talking on and off about the idea that there is, in fact, something wrong with *everyone,* that trauma and inner pain and confusion are the rule, not the exception.  Well, this is a movie that has that idea tattooed on its forehead in big red sparkly letters.  Kinda blunt, maybe a little excessive, but still very poignant as these things go.