Spacemen, brethren - I AM AMONG YOU.
more to come following my chat with sam, in tokyo.
more to come following my chat with sam, in tokyo.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
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.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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.
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.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
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.
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