Live Streaming, Live Sparkling

Live Fireworks

Just in case anyone is reading now, there is a live fireworks display from Sendai through this link until about 1PM our time today.

Fishy

I'm seriously craving sushi, although not of the variety below. Can anyone recommend a good supermarket? M&S? Is it worth it?


Quite interesting, and that's what this blog aims for, nyataimori translates as naked sushi (more roughly 'worn by a beautiful woman') and I suppose it does exist although I never once saw a hint of it in Tokyo. Perhaps it's a Yakuza thing, or an International gimmick. Either way, I doubt very much a foreigner would be allowed anywhere near this type of event.

(The title makes me giggle.)

Taking Sides

Hokusai's "36 Views Of Mount Fuji" is quite famous, the most of which is Number 1. "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa".* Recently, I found a postcard I bought of this picture and studied it properly for the first time. Please go ahead, take a look.


I was so consumed with the wave (or tsunami as I imagined) that Fuji took a back-seat. Even later, I noticed the three boats caught in the tempest. With this perspective, Fuji looks tiny and it never occurred to me how ridiculous this disastrous event would be, especially considering it is the first graphic of the set.

Reading more, I realised that for a Japanese person who would look at the picture predominantly from the right side, the wave is much smaller and Fuji is clearly far in the distance; the wave is large but not catastrophic. Moreover, the size of the boat to the mountain reflects the proportions much quicker.

Regardless of how it is viewed, it is a beautiful image.

*Tsunashima was in Kanagawa.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

...to go back to this blog without a photo of a temple, I finally received Des's set of photos from Cambodia, in which I feature a bit more.

Image Of The Week #91

The new must-have accessories: multicoloured happy poos.

(taken in Odaiba - 16th July, 2008)

One To Watch

Dawkins on Darwin - a prize-winning combination., and two men on my 'dinner-party' list. (Along with Grace Kelly for a bit of glamour.)

'The Genius of Charles Darwin'
Channel 4, Monday 4th August, 8PM.

As we approach the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On The Origin Of Species, ethologist and writer Richard Dawkins presents the ultimate guide to Darwin and his revolutionary theory of evolution by natural selection. Dawkins considers this to be the most important idea to have ever occured to a human mind.

In this powerful three-part polemical series, Dawkins explains who Charles Darwin (pictured) was, how he developed his theory, what it is, and why it matters. He reveals how Darwin changed forever the way we see ourselves, the world and our place in it, and hopes to convince us that "evolution is a fact, backed by undeniable evidence".

According to recent polls, four out of ten British people still believe in God as the creator of the universe and everything in it. As a scientist, and Britain's best-known atheist, Dawkins believes that such people simply don't know enough about the evidence for Darwin's entirely natural explanation of life on Earth - evolution.

So now he retraces Darwin's journey as a scientist. He re-examines the rich evidence of the natural world - iguanas on the Galapagos Islands, giant fossilised sloths in the Americas and even pigeons back home in England - which opened Darwin's eyes to the extraordinary truth that all living things must be related and evolved from a common ancestor.

Darwin knew his espousal of evolution would cause outrage, challenging, as it did, the prevailing religious view of the world and our place in it. But, as Dawkins explains, it was really his theory of natural selection that undermined the notion of a benevolent God who designed all creatures great and small. Returning to his own birthplace, Kenya, Dawkins considers the brutal realities of the struggle for existence for wild animals on the plains of Africa. Here, he argues, we see the ongoing process of sex, suffering and death that drives evolution onward as the fittest survive to reproduce and the weakest perish without offspring.

And humans are not immune to the nightmarish Darwinian process. Dawkins travels to the slums of Nairobi where hundreds die of Aids each year. Here he meets prostitutes who seem to have acquired a genetic immunity to the HIV virus. This resistance, it seems, can be inherited and so, over time, will become more prevalent, shaping the community here. "This," Dawkins tells us, "is the unstoppable force of natural selection."

Finally Dawkins visits a state-of-the-art laboratory in America where scientists can now compare the genetic code of all living things, vindicating Darwin's theories, once and for all. "He showed us that the world is beautiful and inspiring without a God. He revealed to us the glory of life and revealed who we really are and where we've come from."

But back in Britain, can Dawkins convince a year 11 science class that evolution is the truth? Fearing that "a few hours in the science lab is no substitute for a lifetime of religious indoctrination" he takes the teenagers to Dorset's Jurassic Coast to examine fossil evidence for themselves. But will this win over this sceptical audience?

In the next programme, Dawkins explores what evolution really means for humans and human society and how it's been misused to justify human atrocities.

Put The Petal To The... Blog

This week I've been mostly applying for jobs and reading course-related books in the garden (currently 'Wild Analysis' by Freud). My fingers are well and truly green, my thumbs too, and I've been documenting the flowers on the side. Everyday it seems like there're new varieties to snap away at. So excuse me if the flower photos are a little tedious:

More Train Posters

Following on from those great posters, I did a quick search to find more from the series. Not sure how many in total, but they're all fantastic:

Again, for each one, 'dochi ga hen?' - which one is strange?

It Came From Inner Leg

A bit of a gruesome and unsolved mystery: about a week before I left Japan, I noticed a little bump on Keiko's leg. A hard white point was protruding from the skin. I asked her what it was and she said it had been there a couple of months. Nothing like leaving a weird object in you. I asked her if it was Ok that I try and remove it and she replied that she'd tried quite a few times but to no avail.

Pulling at it caused some discomfort but I didn't realise how much it was hurting until she starting crying in agony. Was it a piece of bone? Some type of nerve? It was all quite gross, and consider that I'm a wuss when watching hospital dramas, I was pretty brave when I tweezered off some pussy bits. Told you it was bleurgh.

The object was more dislodged and looked like it could be pulled out, although we took a break when it popped back in.

We squeezed around it when suddenly...

Waaaaaaaaaaarghhhhhh

And that was me screaming.

I have no idea what it is, but the whole piece popped out. This is it straight after, and then removed:


Is it a claw from an animal? Dirt? An alien? I even considered putting some water on it 'The Faculty'-style to see if it reanimated. Whatever it was, it was in there for a loooong time.

Still to this day I have no clue. The pictures gross me out every time I look at them.

Tales From The Darkside

The following are four anecdotes to be read as a "The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror" episode, which rely on a conscious break from normality and subvert expectations.

For me, at least.

1. P's & Q's and FU's Too

I needed to pick up a few things from Boots, that national institution of all things healthy. The shop was empty and I was diverted to take my basket of essentials to the beauty counter. Two youngish women behind the till were busy chatting away about their families and how much they see them, and I excused them with a polite "Good morning". They turned and looked at me like I was, and pardon the Gordon Ramsay in me, a piece of shit. Neither replied and they continued chatting, running my purchases through a till and dropping them in a bag. One held out her hand to me for the money, and subsequently returned a receipt, their conversation flowing.

Neither said a word to me - aka the inconvenience - the whole time.

Keiko used to get angry at me for making her say please and thank you, and accused the British of being overly polite. Nothing wrong with good manners. That made me quite proud in a way. And that's what I thought. Until Boots.

2. Missed Moneypenny

I took the bus to see my Grandma in the nursing home this morning (which I had to wait 20 minutes for). The fee was £1.30 and I went into my wallet for some change. The pound coin wasn't a problem and then I went for 10p's. Only I kept picking up 2p pieces. I knew there was a problem but I couldn't for the life of me stop taking 2p's. I had to stop and really concentrate to work it out. A mental block in me had retained the similar 10yen piece and transferred the aesthetic to the 2p.


It was really bizarre - I guess like a Derren Brown hypnotic occurrence where you're powerless to rationalise.

3. Fashionistas

At the nursing home, I'd just arrived as nature called my Grandma away so I fetched a chair and waited for her. As I brought the chair back, two old ladies (the old didn't really need saying, did it) tutted at me. I spent the next few minutes listening in to their criticism of my apparently "special army trousers". Granted they're a bit torn and ragged at the bottom but they're hardly offensive. Yet they couldn't believe I'd venture out in them, blamed it on my bad upbringing, and thought people like me should be shot.

Whoah there! I had to sit and take that onslaught. I mean, fine, some unkempt clothes may not be to everyone's tastes, but this was hardly the biggest crime against fashion. If you want to get angry at someone, take it out on that hideous Gok Wan creature; a name that sounds like a stir fry sauce and believes that making fat women feel good is wearing expensive clothes rather than getting down to a gym. Hey, he put himself out there as a so-called fashion expert, so I'm allowed to scoff.

The women carried on the whole time I was there, chatting away to Grandma. Never once did they say "What a lovely boy coming to visit his Grandma". But they did call me...

meshuga.

And just before I left, I took the chair back and delightfully received a final...

tut Disgusting.

4. Service with a Smile

I thought I'd walk home through Meyrick Park and stop at Bournemouth Library to check a few books I needed for the Uni course. I "Good morning"-ed the man on the desk and asked him if I could please join. He gave me the form to fill out, checked the bank statement, with address, I brought along and gave me a card. I asked him a few questions about borrowing etc, and thanked him for his help.

I found three books on the reading list, so happily took them to the lending desk, whilst reclaiming my love of all things library. Coincidentally, the same guy stamped my books, so I said "Thanks so much for all your help" and as I walked away he turned to his colleague and groaned that I was an...

"Excruciatingly positive person".

(Which is ironic because I'm daily accused by someone of verging towards negative.)

As an epilogue, I stopped at Borders to check if they had any books I couldn't find so headed towards the Psych section. I'm not sure the health profession should be comforted that 'How To Look Good Naked' is positioned at the centre.

Neither do 'ADHD for Dummies' or 'Depression for Dummies' seem particularly sensitive titles either.

Flower Power

A few more (freshly-watered) flowers from the garden, to add to that Friday feeling:

Reverse Culture Shock

I fought over where to put the hyphen, or if it even needed one, so I left it out. There, I'm rebelling against the English Teacher I used to be. Now, I fink I'll talk all stupid, innit.

Which leads me to my first dislike of being back in England - the people. That's a bit harsh, and I won't go on about the appalling accents or grammatical disasters I've been exposed to (which if written down on a sign, would've made a good Image Of The Week - only how sad that the Japanese have an excuse). Nor will I mention the rapidly heaving size of people here. Instead, it's more my problem than theirs:

1. Sensory Overload.

In Japan, it was easy to blank other noise out. If I didn't understand what was being said, and even if I picked up a word or two, it lacked meaning in the contex. Therefore, I developed a 'blindness'*, if you will , to television programmes, announcements and conversations.

Here, I pick up on the smallest chatter, from the neighbours next door to people on their mobiles as they drive past. It's distracting and offputting, and not something I would have ever imagined a problem.

2. Convenience and Price

This one was obvious - where's all the public transport, the 24 hour opening times of shops? Heck, they don't even open until the middle of the day on Sundays. Food is double, public transport is outrageous (over £10 for a 30 minute train journey!?) and fruit isn't as cheap as I'd remembered (the saving grace I'd constantly support England with over Japan). I could moan (and believe me I will) but as I've been told, it's England and I'll have to deal with it. Or starve.**

3. Food

I've had good meals here, but I'm craving Japanese food so badly. There's a Korean store close by but it's sparse so I'll have to investigate elsewhere. Or butcher Keiko into sending emergency rations. On the flipside, it really is potatoes potatoes potatoes here, and as much as I don't want to, it's looking extremely easy to fall back into a chips routine. I wonder if there's a rice-cooker lying around somewhere...

*'Deafness' makes more sense but I like how the sentence flows.
**I won't starve, please don't worry.

As The World Quakes

Have you ever wondered if other people are like you? If we see the same colour they do? If they taste food the same? If they're all in on one big secret about you? From Descartes 'cogito ergo sum' to 'The Truman Show' I was left with a sense of paranoia; am I really living the life I think I am? Not that I consider myself special in that sense, but there's a possibility it's true for all of us, although only I know it could be true for me, as you know it could be true for you. I'm fairly certain everyone's considered this to some extent.

But going to Japan has shown me how impossible this is; no-one could set up such a huge operation, especially considering the spontaneity of some of my trips and number of 'actors' they would have had to supply.

So I guess the answer is conclusively that none of us are being filmed a la Truman (unless, of course, I'm double-bluffing one of you out there; you know who you are, or do you?)

This has spiralled way off track and too far down into my psyche. The point was, events never stop happening all around the world, whether we're there or not. Or even if we find out about them (from this, yes, trees do make a sound). And the big earthquake today in Japan goes to show this. Just under a 7, I don't think there have been any casualties, but from this diagram, the reddish-orange is visually alarming:

Image Of The Week #90

A compendium of train posters.

The first I took and kindly Keiko sent me the latter two this morning, which I guess have gone up recently. I would've loved this new campaign - they're funny and affecting.

(taken in Toyosu - 13th July, 2008)

It makes me laugh - do what exactly at home? Wear headphones over your ears at home? Stick fingers in your ears at home? Try to stick fingers in your headphones at home? Either way, just do it!

The sentence in the posters below is actually my favourite phrase (not famous, but I have it on a bookmark) and it says 'dochi ga hen' which means "Which one is strange?". I love how the answer is not eactly what it should be:

Bloomin' Bournemouth

The hydrangeas have followed me back here. No temples or shrines, but somewhere to lie and read a book. A wasp dropped dead next to me today, what does that mean?

Sunny Sunny Bournemouth

Still waking up at odd times. Some nice things are that I've seen most of my immediate family, eaten some lovely home-cooked meals, and the sky has been an endless blue. It doesn't get dark 'til about 9pm here which is oddly disconcerting - the first night I thought my clocks were all wrong.*

A garden is nice although the increased amount of space - from a hallway to the lack of people on the streets - takes some getting used to. Both positive and negative, I think I miss the bustle.

Three main points have lead to the reverse-culture-shock guaranteed. I'll let you consider what they are and write them up tomorrow.

Nothing new on the job front, and I'll let you know when I hear anything. Fingers, and computer cables crossed.

The view from my window; blue sky, and not a block in sight:

*I guess a higher latitude and DST are the reasons.

On The Other Side

Who knows which side is which anymore. Everything is confused, not the least my body clock which is winding further and further back. I woke up at a grand old time of 4am this morning and waited for the Sun to go for a run down to Meyrick Park. And here's the strangest thing: I didn't see a single person, all those CGI post-apocalyptic guys would have had a freebie this morning. And the cats. So many cats. No cats in Tokyo (a very few).

The flight back was fine, and I'm glad I arrived in Southampton as it meant a quick final stretch home. Although transferring at CDG2 in Paris on the first plane in, with no staff around, no lights up, and no direction of which gate to go to is a perfect mindbender. Or horror setting.

I've seen most of the immediate family, been to the beach, and had proper fish and chips. Cooked fish. Which have all been lovely.

But it hasn't sunk in yet and it would be a lie to say I'm perfectly happy to have returned. Which is why my suitcase is still unpacked, although that's probably more to do with laziness. But it will sink in, and it will become more normal. And if not, I'll have to deal with it in a way that is worthwhile: get stuck into Uni, and a job, and pass the time.

For now, I have quite a bit of free time while job hunting, so if anyone fancies food or a movie, I'm all yours. Unless you're reading this in Japan, and all I can offer is Skype.

And as I was greeted in three different languages on the flight, I'll finish with a few key phrases:

おかえり
Bienvenue
Welcome Home.

Graduation Fugit

Congratulations Oli on graduation! - I'll be somewhere in the sky, thinking about you.


Once again - see you on the other side.

See You On The Other Side

I leave here Thursday night, and have been cramming as much sightseeing and food down my throat as possible. Too much of the food cramming if I'm honest. Loads to write up, but still too much to pack and two days left of being a tourist so I'm not sure I'll have time to add anything. But I've decided to keep things going on here as and when I bother as there are more stories I have yet to tell.

If you want to read them, that's your business. But if you do, they'll be here.

I managed to fit in a quick festival tonight, my favourite Summer Matsuri at Yasukuni Shrine.


Back in Bournemouth on Friday morning. Ho hum...