Being Yourself In Tokyo

I'm glad today marks the end of August. Because that means we start to enter the season know as autumn, or sometimes fall.

Acutally, while autumn is the 'true' name of the season, I prefer to call it fall. The temperature goes down, the leaves fall off the tree, our summer activities wind down, and in general, I feel more relaxed about things.

And personally, fall has also always been the start of new experiences for me. I started school at the end of summer/start of fall, I first came to Japan at the start of fall, and as some of you know, my schedule is having a big change that I hope will lead to many new and varied experiences.

Wish me luck, and I already do the same for you,
Douglas  

So, this afternoon marked the start of the Azabu Juban Festival, a 3 day neighborhood wide end-of-summer celebration, and one of the biggest street festivals in Tokyo.

I visited it today on my lunch break, and already the streets were crowded at 4pm. I can only imagine what it will be like tonight at 7pm and then all this weekend. Crazy.

Since it was my lunch break, I wandered around looking for a stall to grab some food from. Saw the international section, the Meiji University Marching Band, no less than 3 stalls pushing Moet Champagne, and 1 big stall pushing Dom Perignon. At a street stall. Amazing.

I ended up buying a thing of yakisoba with more than I could eat even for a big dinner for 400yen. I should have been warned by it's big size- it wasn't that good. I also got a fair sized shaved ice cup with strawberry syrup for only 200 yen, so my stomach was satisfied. Great.

I was disappointed by the variety of stalls. 80% food, 15% carnival games (pop gun for a prize, capture a goldfish, etc.), and then 5% vendors selling things. I was hoping to see more like 20% vendors selling arts and crafts, especially with Jubans image as a more fashionable area of Tokyo.

Oh well, it's fun and I hope you get a chance to go.

Douglas  

Sorry for the lack of updates, just haven't had much to say recently.

Just thought I would tell you about a funny story I had happen last weekend.

I was teaching a class to Mr. K and Mr. Y when I said I wanted to talk to them about survival English, in light of the recent earthquakes and typhoons here.

Well, I had just started to introduce that lesson when you know what happened? An earthquake! Talk about a coincidence! There was a 2nd earthquake later that day when I was teaching my last class that day.

I'll try to get back on my once-a-week schedule. Next update will be after my doctors appointment next Wednesday. Will be the first time I go to the doctor and they DON'T take a pint(400cc) of blood! Woo!  

Unusual weather for Tokyo recently. Thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday, quite rare for Tokyo. The storm on Sunday was amazing though, the thunder really echoed (or more commonly, rolled) across the sky. Having grown up in Atlanta, thunderstorms are nothing special to me, though I admit sometimes I am still scared of a particularly large clap of thunder. But Sunday, it was just amazing to go outside and listen to the sound surround you from the heavens.

I had gone out to pick up some things from the local grocery store, and on my way back it started to rain heavily, and I saw a sight that really struck me. A lone crow, sitting on top of a water tank on top of an apartment building. He just sat there, looking around. Most birds find some kind of shelter in a dangerous storm like this. But there he (she?) was, sitting there like the storm didn't matter at all. I was struck by how often humans lump animals together but that even among "lesser" species there are those with different personalities.

Then on Monday, the storm didn't start till late, but the day was cool and so comforting despite being overcast. Really, it felt more like a day in England or Scotland than a late summer day in Japan. I think as I get older I am getting more tolerant of the cold and less tolerant of the heat, which is a change from my youth when I much preferred keeping warm to the outside cold. Still hate outright winter though.

Seemed to have reached an equilibrium with my roommate, but it is leaving me emotionally drained, as he is on a summer vacation with a lot more free time to be vigilant about keeping the rules at the apartment. We'll see how things develop over the rest of summer.

For entertainment recently I have been picking up old Playstation 2 games because now that the Playstation 3 is out and the Nintendo systems have become so popular prices on PS2 titles have been dropping, allowing me to get a very full collection at a signifcantly reduced price - and still saving me money overall! I saved an extra 10,000yen over my montly goal for July. Also, when I picked up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which I will probably re-read in a few weeks) I also grabbed a book on the Assassins (also called Hashshashins) and a supposedly complete history of Scotland (and it's a paperback tome, big and around 700 pages).

Currently working my way through the book on the Assassins. So very interesting. The first group in history to really focus on murder as a tool of political and religious advancement is really a history of the differences in beliefs that still plague modern Islamic nations. Their main target was the Seljuk Turks who were ruling the Arab Caliphate at the time, as well as the rise of Saladin (who was a Kurd from Tikrit! It is a wonder that the Kurds have not had more pride on that particular subject), and the Crusaders from Europe. Really amazing how they are similar yet different from our modern terrorists. For those wishing to understand how our modern terrorists orginated, this is a good book to read. Forgot my copy, so you will have to forgive me for that, I will add it in later.

Bit long today, sorry for that. Hope you all had a good weekend and enjoyed the weather like I did, regardless if it wasn't good for outdoor activities.

Take care until next time~  

So, yes, I am a big Harry Potter fan. Not enough to buy the book on Quidditch or wait in line for the final book, but still big enough.

Thus, this past Monday I took the time to see movie #5 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Fun movie, will definitely pick up in a few months on Blu-ray (if I don't decide to wait for the inevitable collectors box after movies 6 and 7 come out), but it definitely shows the problems with taking a long running story and converting it into multiple movies. Changes they made in the earlier movies had to be continued but while some of them did enhance the dramatic elements of the movie version, they sometimes open up plot holes or leave too much for the viewer to assume. This is especially obvious in #5. Won't give details, I hate spoiling things for people and I hate spoilers, but just be aware when you watch the movie.

In related news, I should be getting my UK Childrens-cover version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Shadows hardcover this Wednesday. Went to try and get it Monday after the movie only to see an amazing 5 boxes of the US and UK versions behind the counter (both childrens and adult covers) that they would not let me touch. This being Japan and I already have to pay an often 50-100% markup on English books I decided not to try and bribe my way into one. Still, employees at the Shinjuku Kinokuniya - hide your stock better so customers don't get so depressed.

Anyway, nice to see that books are still alive and healthy in our digital age. Sure, I like technology and I want me some eletronic paper, but only for news and as a notepad. Novels and stories I love having in book form, just makes it feel more engrossing.

Regarding the title of this post, I have been regularly going to Siddique, an Indian/Pakistani (see, they can get along!) restaurant chain here in Tokyo. They have a small stand near my apartment that is quite tasty and amazingly priced. A mid-sized bowl of curry with 1 naan is only 780 or less, which is about $6.50. So much healthier than McDonald's and almost the same price (for me)! Visist their website here.

So, next week is Transformers the movie, and then after that, Movie Night #2! This is a call to any of my students to sign up, we will be going to see Oceans 13 on August 11 (Saturday). Deadline is July 31. Hope to see you there!  

It's time for the 2nd movie night with me!

This time we will be headed off to see Oceans 13 on Saturday, August 11.

For more details, check the sign-up sheet next to the bulletin board.

Aiming for 6 people, but if we get more I think that will be O.K.

Also, Harry Potter movie #5 this weekend, definitely going to see that Sunday!

Take care!  

So, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Things have been busy.

I had a 2nd bike accident, 2 days after my last post (on the 6th), where I crashed trying to go over the ridge seperating the road and the sidewalk (Japanese sidewalks ramps are not flush with the road to prevent flooding, though it does it make it harder for bikers and handicapped people). Skinned up a small patch on my left knee, a long 3 inch scratch along my left arm at the elbow, and a small patch on my shoulder. There's still a small scar on my elbow, but otherwise I'm all healed now.

Also, I went to see Die Hard 4.0 this past Monday, after the rather poor typhoon had passed, which I quite enjoyed - an excellent summer movie. Light on plot, great on explosions. Bruce Willis has aged better as an action star than a lot of his other 1980s era action companions.

Finally, I had a big fight with my roommate this past Tueday night about cleaniness and housework. Apparently my carefree attitude was pissing him off. I don't care if dishes sit un-washed for 2-3 days as long as mold doesn't start growing. He can't stand dishes sitting for more than a few hours. Comprimise? None, he threatened to beat me up or get me kicked out of the apartment if I don't follow his way. He's supposed to be my roommate and we are supposed to share, yes? No, it's his house and I should just consider myself as a long term guest.

I asked him why he lives in a shared apartment he doesn't own if he has to control the whole thing, to which the response was `mind your own business.` A very unusal man.

He also said I had to respect him because he is 15 years older than me, which I disagree with. Respect, in my view, is always earned and never given but grudgingly with strings attached.

On a lighter note, I have been stopped by police twice now checking to see if I am using a stolen bicycle or not. On the same day. Amazing, they almost never check a Japanese person, but since I am white, that means I'm likely doing something wrong. Thankfully, the police have been nice and friendly and they only delayed me a few minutes total.  

So, I was making good time last night on my bicycle from Juban to Shinjuku. I was halfway between Shinjuku-dori and Aoyama-dori on 319 when wham! I hit a concrete block as i tried to pass some slow moving people. I was going to make it back to my apartment in 40mins, my fastest time yet, but this accident made it so that I took a full hour.

What did hitting the block do? Well, it caused the bike chain to come off the gear. But since my bicycle has an enclosed gear and chain system, I couldn't fix it without some tools that I wasn't carrying. So I had to walk the rest of the way back with my bike except on the few downhill areas where I could coast along.

This afternoon I took some time to figure out what happened and to fix it. Now it is mostly fixed, but the right pedal turns in a way that is a bit uncomfortable, and it makes a lot more noise too. Also, I think the tires need more air now and the alignment seems off.

I guess I will use the big thursday and see how it does. If it's ok, I will use it friday, and then get a pump this weekend. If it's not ok, I might just buy a new bike. A lot less hassle, and hopefully I can get a bigger basket to use for carrying stuff.

Yes. I use a ママチャリ. It is quite useful. Since I live alone, when I go shopping or such it helps a lot. Don't underestimate the ママチャリ！  

So yesterday a friend of mine gave me her bicycle as she was leaving Japan to move back to Korea.

As of last night, I started bicycling every day to and from work. Not because it's healthy (which it is), but because it's cheaper than trains and, once I get used to it, just as fast!

Last night was the first time, and it took me 1 hour. I started in Azabu Juban, and planned to follow 319 all the way up to Shinjuku-dori and then cut west into Shinjuku before heading north to my apartment.

However, I turned too early at Aoyama-dori and ended up taking a long detour around Meiji Jingu Gaien - past the rugby field, both baseball fields, and around Tokyo Gymnasium. It was a little tiring, but I enjoyed myself and it felt good.

This morning it took me 50 mins, and I followed the route correctly. I am sure there are a few shortcuts, but I will find them later. I got slowed down by people and by a staircase(!) where there should have been a pathway. Turns out that just past Roppongi Hills(when heading north from Juban) where the surface road turns into a freeway, the road goes out across a bridge while the pedestrian path goes down some stairs. Once down the stairs it's easy, but it's a bit annoying to take a bicycle up and down stairs everyday!

I'll want to make a short movie of my commute, but I need to get a video camera first.

Also, why are many Japanese people walking so dangerously? Many people do not look up when walking, so I have to shout or use my bell a lot, even if they could have seen me from a distance. Most Japanese I have seen do no look both ways when stepping out of a building, which is quite dangerous when a biker or a walker almost hits you. In America most mothers say "look both ways before you cross." I was also told that it was normal in Japan for people to walk on the left side, but on todays streets it's just anything goes! I say 'sumimasen' to people as i try and pass them, and sometimes they move left, sometimes they move right. And finally, please try to avoid walking in the middle of the path. It's so hard to try and pass someone when they can't make up their mind about being on the left side or the right side! Maybe we should start teaching manners when walking?

If you have any suggestions for a quick route, please email me at wattdouglas@gmail.com. Comments are still turned off because of spam comments.  

Finally, after weeks of promising, here are pictures of my new room! Took them with my cellphone, and some of them are a bit blurry, but they should still give you a good idea of what my room is like.









And for good measure, here are some pictures from a week ago Sunday, the Wind Festival in Ueno Amphitheatre:




And the T-shirt I got there:
  

Contruction in Japan is very different than contruction in the US.

For one thing, most construction in a residential neighborhood doesn't start until about 10am, but here in Japan it seems to often start before 9am!

Since I don't wake up until 10am, this is a big problem for me! Today, some workers came in around 9am and took over my bathroom! I couldn't use it at all, and was almost late for work as a result. What's worse is that they didn't even tell me that they were coming, so it was a big surprise!

But that construction should finish today, so I will finally be able to take some good pictures of my apartment this weekend, I hope!

Also, recently I have been getting a lot of spam in my comments section, so I am turning off comments for this month and see if that fixes the problem.

Douglas@Coper  

I just recently moved from my old room above work to an apartment in Kita-Shinjuku, which is why I haven't updated recently.

Any move can be upsetting and disruptive of your normal life, but my move has been doubly so. My apartment is still undergoing renovations!

When I agreed to move into the room back at the start of May, I was told that the construction would be finished by June. Today is June 6th, and now they are saying that they do not know when they will be finished working!

Since I am a late riser, frequently sleeping until 10 or sometimes even 11am, this is very bad, as the construction crew often starts work around 8 or 9am, waking me up early and ruining my sleep.

A plea to Japanese construction companies: Plan better and work more efficiently so I can sleep longer!

On a different note, this is my first time living in Kita-Shinjuku, and I have never visited the area much either. If you have any advice for me or recommendations of tasty restaurants, please let me know!

I'll post some pictures in a day or two, my room is still a little messy.

Wish you all the best,
Douglas@CoperEnglish

P.S. My new toothbrush is great, so far. We will see what my dentist says next time I meet him though!  

According to many dentists in the US, you are supposed to change your toothbrush every 3 months.

Well, it has been 5 months now, and today I bought a new, very special brush.

As you will in some oddly sized images, the brush looks like a...brush! It is made with horse and goat hair. You know the brushes some men use to polish their nice shoes? That is what it looks like and feels like to your hand when you touch it. But what about when you use it?

Well, I have used it one time so far, and it was an odd feeling. A normal toothbrush feels to me like you scrape your teeth. This new brush makes me feel like I am actually brushing my teeth. It is not a bad feeling, just very different.

I will give a review in a few days when I have used it more. But at less than 400yen, it's not a bad stocking stuffer or other small gift.

Here's the pics:

Front
Back  

Those who know me know I love movies. I collect them on DVD and Blu-ray, I go to the theater regularly (at least once a month).

Well, my favorite movie of 2006 was by far Casino Royale, the latest movie in the James Bond series. The movie was stylish, well produced, with a solid story, and Daniel Craig is the best Bond yet - he really feels and looks like secret agent who will kill with no regrets to get the job done.

Well, it was just released one DVD and Blu-ray in Japan, so to celebrate (I'm buying the blu-ray this weekend) I would like to share the opening credits from the movie.

They are very well designed, and fit the theme of the movie quite well.

Enjoy!  

普通に英語だけなブログを書いてますが、今回は特別です。

読書クラブはどうですかね？英語を勉強するために。

私が考えているのはこうです：

１．1ヶ月に1回会う、第3日曜の午後で。
２．本一冊を読む。
３．約３－５ページな感想文を書いて貰う。
４．本は自分で手に入れる

会う時には1時間ぐらいにすると思っています。前に読んだ本について話して感想文を私に渡して、そして前回の私が直した感想文を返す。

本はほとんど小説にすると思っています。ジャンルーは何でも有り、でも最初はちょっと楽のを選びます（１００か２００ページのね）。でも、できるだけ文学系を皆に紹介したいと思います。

もちろん、全部英語で！

どうですかね？皆さんの心から良いか悪いか、「こうなったら参加する」な事を教えて下さい！


Douglas＠Coperより  

The world's largest and most international music contest was held earlier this year, as I mentioned in an previous post. To be honest, I totally forgot about it for a while, and was reminded of it about 3 days ago.

So, I thought I would post here a link to the winner and the complete top 10 singers and their videos:

Winner - Serbia, "Molitva" by Marija Serifovic. I disliked this song, I'm not quite sure why it won.
#2 - Ukraine, "Dancing Lusha Tumbai" by Verka Serduchka. This may be the most interesting performance from this year!
#3 - Russia, "Song Number One" by Serebro.
#4 - Turkey, "Shake it up Sekerim" by Kenan Dogulu.
#5 - Bulgaria, "Voda" by Elitca and Stoyan. An unusual song for Eurovision, but the female singer has a very nice voice.
#6 - Belarus, "Work Your Magic" by Dmitry Koldun. Actually a quite nice power ballad.
#7 - Greece, "Yassou Maria" by Sarbel. A pretty standard pop song, but quite enjoyable!
#8 - Armenia, "Anytime" by Hayko. Interesting musical arrangement, but it just felt like another overly dramatic love song to me.
#9 - Hungary, "Unsubstantial Blues" by Magdi Ruzsa. Quite rare to see a blues song, which is an American style of music, in the Eurovision! Quite a good singer and overall a good song.
#10 - Moldova, "Fight" by Natalia Barbu. She's quite good looking, but the song is only OK I feel.

I also liked the entry from Georgia, though it is nothing special I enjoyed it immensely. It got 12th place. Romania, #13, is also quite a touching song, though I am a sucker for acoustic guitar. Not going to link it, but Sweden's entry of a cross dressing classic rocker was inspired but the song is only OK. THe band is called The Ark if you want to check it out.

FInally, the French entry did poorly, coming in at #22, and it just proves the French may be the weirdest country in Europe.

I think my favorite song was either the Ukraine entry or Yassou Maria from Greece. Who do you like?  

HD! HD! Full HD! HDTV!

Tired of hearing about HDTV? Don't see the difference between DVD and Blu-ray(HD)?

Take a look at this website: http://www.haloapplications.com/hd/hddvd/kingkong/

Using the movie King Kong, you can easily see the difference just by using your mouse!

Today's quote from Benjamin Franklin: "If your head is wax, don't walk in the Sun."  

I was given a pocketbook of quotes from Benjamin Franklin's famous Poor Richards Almanack. Franklin, as you might know, is considered one of the idealogical fathers of the United States.

I think that from now and continuing for a while, I will post 1 quote or so from this book with every post I make.

Today's quote: "Well done is better than well said."  

Have you heard these jokes? They start out with a normal comment, but then the joke comes from a weird reversal involving Russia (or Soviet Russia). The most famous of these jokes is:

In the US, you can catch a cold.
In Soviet Russia, cold catches YOU!

Another good one is:

You drink vodka, but in Russia, vodka drinks you!

Anyway, if you are interested in seeing interesting pictures and little interesting bits of Russian culture and history, I recommend this: English Russia

Enjoy the vodka!  

Celtic music, in English or Gaelic, has had changing levels of popularity in Japan for many years now, especially with all the Irish pubs in Tokyo that play such music.

I thought for those interested I would offer you a quick introduction to the basics Celtic music, which is something I quite enjoy and am learning the mandolin to play:

There are many styles of Celtic music, but the most famous are the Celtic dances, most notable of which are the jigs and Reels.

This is a video of some jigs from the Irish group The Bothy Band. They no longer play, but this clip shows them playing 3 different jigs, and serves as a good example of what Celtic dance music is about.

Celtic music uses many different instruments, from violins, guitars and madolins and their cousins, keyboard instruments, flutes, bagpipes, accordins, and even harps. In the Bothy Band clip I linked above, they are using a keyboard, a guitar, fiddle, uilleann pipes, flute, harpsicord, and bouzouki(the mandolin-like instrument).

Listen to this clip by a talented young harpist. She is from Alaska, but has moved to Scotland to study. She plays a jig first, then two reels. Can you hear the difference in tune between a jig and a reel?

Finally, much Celtic music, even today, is performed in Gaelic, which is the language of Celts of Ireland and Scotland. While Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are a little different, the languages are like twins with different personailities.

Listen to up-and-coming Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis from the Outer Hebrides in north Scotland. No, I do not know what the song is about, but it sounds quite nice, doesn't it? Apparently Ms. Fowlis only sings traditional songs - I read in an interview that the newest song she sings is over 100 years old!

And just for fun, take a look at this little performance trick: The Octopus Jig!