saxmanrandy wonders as he wanders

Vote For The Worst

2007-04-22T21:37:00.000+09:00

I don't know if the website Vote For The Worst has any appreciable impact on the American Idol voting or not, but you gotta admit, they are having an awful lot of fun in the process.

Now that Sanjaya is gone (my bets are on him shilling for shampoo or toothpaste- and real soon), the VFTW people have focused thier sights on Phil Stacey or as the pictures will show- "Nosphilatu"

Talk about separated at birth!

Thing is though, Phil really can sing, unlike Sanjayayas.

"Hanami" or Cherry Blossom time

2007-04-05T18:56:00.000+09:00

Today we rounded up all the kids at the middle school and headed off to the old Fukuoka castle grounds for a little time under the cherry blossoms.
The blossoms are past their peak of beauty, but not too far past it, and it is still quite beautiful. The weather was a perfect 65 degrees with a bright blue sky.
It was a lot better way to spend the afternoon than in a classroom~this was a unanimous decision!
This motley crew is the 6th grade class, most of which are in my ESL class, and all of which were in my charge today as John, their homeroom teacher had to stay behind at the school today.

My Mounties Won the NIT!

2007-03-30T17:26:00.000+09:00

My alma mater, West Virginia University, won the NIT tonight in NYC at Madison Square Garden by defeating Clemson 78-73!
It is the first time in 65 years that WVU won the NIT and was particularly memorable for me, as I was in the WVU Pep Band that traveled to the NIT in 1981 when WVU made it to the Final Four of the NIT.

A memory of Madison Square Garden in the 1981 tournament:
The crowd that came to see the tourney was decidedly non-partisan. There were few fans from any of the universities playing, so the crowd was pretty much rooting for any university that picqued their interest.

It is with this in mind, that makes my memory more sweet.

At the halftime buzzer of our last game (the consolation game), many people in the Garden started to rise from their seats and head to the exits for a break or food, etc...

At that moment, we launched into playing an arrangement of Earth Wind and Fire's "In The Stone". I noticed that most of the crowd stopped moving toward the exits and turned around to listen. By the end of the song, there wasn't a single person in the arena sitting! They were all on their feet and in the aisles, shouting their approval and giving us a standing ovation!

Still gives me chills- 26 years later.

Ruffing it Japanese style

2007-03-30T17:08:00.000+09:00

We packed up the micro van and headed for the mountains of Kumamto prefecture for 2 glorious nights and 3 days of camping.
We rented a cedar cabin that was spartan, but nice and clean and quite well sealed. This agreed with the 3 females of our group because it precluded bugs from entering into the equation.
They don't like bugs!

The campground was nice- even the tent spaces had running water, a sink and electrical outlet. The campground also had a coin operated hot water shower, washing machine and running water toilets.

Waka said she could see going back there again, which is good news for the financially challenged (ie: me!).
It was a good time, although the hard floor and sleeping bags did nothing for me except keep me rolling around all night to keep from hurting in one place only.

The drive around Mt Aso ( an active volcano) was spectacular and the grilled food wasn't bad either! It actually reminded me of West Virginia a lot.....ahh.....fresh air, few people,and no traffic jams.

The return to the traffic congestion and stale air of Fukuoka was really quite a spirit deflater....

Spring Break is upon me....

2007-03-20T14:59:00.000+09:00

My heartfelt thanks to blogger for making picture posting possible for compu-retards like me.

This picture is proof that there are somethings in Japan worth savoring. Natto is not one of them.

Switched over to the new blogger!

2007-02-15T19:39:00.000+09:00

Been a long time since I posted..we are now well into February and my wifes birthday is quickly coming up.....ahh...what to buy?
Suggestions anyone?

Christmas 2006

2006-12-26T18:18:00.000+09:00

Has this been a quick year or what?
Honestly....it is hard to fathom that this year is nearly gone.
In many ways it feels as if only a couple of months have past. This is a sure sign of growing old, or so I hear.

This Christmas found my wife slaving away on Christmas day at her job, and me trying to recouperate from 3 fiendishly long days as Santa at a local hotel (read last years comments for the details of what it is like being Santa).
The girls were up before the chickens and tore into their booty like the little love pirates they are.

Grace got a classical guitar and Joy got her stuffed animals of characters from the Lilo and Stitch movie, Angel and Skrump.
If you ask me, Skrump looks like a voodoo doll, but hey, I am not going to ruin the moment for Joy!
They also got a lot of clothes and couple of DVDs, new boots, jump ropes, etc...
Santa was pretty generous this year.
Wifey got a Bree (German made) leather bag that cost a small fortune but made her happy, and that makes me happy! I got a MP3 recorder for recording live music and I am too a happy camper. Seems that we all had a good Christmas....and look forward to resting in the new year.

My wife will no doubt start her open the windows-toss out my stuff, stuff soon...but I am thankful that I got a headstart on it today AND that the weather is unusually mild.
She can't freeze me out this time!

Blessings abound and in the middle of it there is still hardship. W's mom was diagnosed with liver cancer 3 weeks ago and is going to have to get a kidney transplant early in January. W's sister is donating a portion of hers. This will extend mom's life by 15 years of more, if successful.
Both will need extensive rest time after the operation too.
Your prayers are needed.

What else? I look out at the world, I see the machinations of the Bush regime trying to find pretext for war with Iran, oil companies making record profits, and Christ being taken out of Christmas.

I think we all need to take a long vacation. We need to spend time with our loved ones. We need to stop thinking about what we want to get, and give of ourselves and love a lot more.

Take time to take time. Forgive your enemies and yourself.

Start fresh.

Billy Joel in Concert

2006-12-19T18:55:00.000+09:00

Wifey and I finally got to see Billy Joel in concert at the Fukuoka Dome. We had been waiting for almost 9 years to see this show and we got pretty darned good seats considering we were in the largest barn in Fukuoka Japan- 8th row back from the front. Not as great as it sounds...we were about 50 or 60 yards from the stage, to the left.

We decided to go, no matter what the cost. The way I figure it, a guy who likes to drink and drive and also has a passion for motorcycles (as Billy does), and a history of accidents...well....you might want to see him while you can!

What can you say about Billy that hasn't already been said? The concert was without a doubt one of the best I have ever been to in my life. He played almost every one of his major hits, but what really made me happiest was that he played a lot of the songs from his albums that I love-the ones that never had a chance on the charts but are etched in my mind as some of his very best. Songs like Billy the Kid, Vienna, Zanzibar....

Billy Joels concerts sound amazingly close to the studio recorded versions too, which in my mind is the hallmark of a true talent. I have only seen two other concerts like that in my life: one was Stevie Wonder, and the other was Joshua Redman.
For so many of todays pop stars, the artist is made in the studio. With Billy, you know the art was made in the studio by the artist.

My wife too seemed to be totally absorbed, enthralled, ecstatic. If you know her, these are not emotions she shows in public too much!

I came away thinking about the great talent that Billy joel is, how he has drawn so many fans from all ages into his often autobiographical tunes. He made us care about him and his trials, his loves, and we sang along all the way.

I came away thinking how odd it is that a man whom I have never met has touched my heart and made me care about everytown USA's Brenda and Eddie, or an Uptown Girl, or the eyes of his mother, Rosalinda.

How many people have actually done that in the history of American pop music? How many artists have you seen in concert that inspired you, moved you, to want to learn more about the person and where his music comes from?

Hats off to Bill.

Sports Day 2006 (or, east is east and west is....sensible?)

2006-10-09T08:23:00.000+09:00

On this day (well, nearly on this day) in 1964 the Tokyo Olympics began in, you guessed it~ Tokyo!

To commemorate the event, the Japanese government soon after decided that every October 10th should be forever referred to as "Sports Day" and has been turned into a Japanese national holiday.

Ask any Japanese person why they have "Sports Day" and most, if under the age of 40, have absolutely NO idea why.

But most will reveal to you in deepest confidence, away from any other Japanese person, that they hate "Sports Day".

Many of these people are teachers, parents, and even students at public schools.

Why?

The reason is clear as day to anyone who has lived in Japan, but for those of you who have never been through it, just imagine a day filled with fun and games, children marching around Hitler-youth style, with parents having to sit together, sardine-packed under a hot sun, waiting to make the obligatory video of their less than athletically ept spawn in competition with other children whom they care nothing about.
Then the parents have to wait 30, 40, 50 minutes or longer until the next event featuring junior.....only to find 50,000 other doting parents standing in your way, holding their cameras over their heads (and consequently, in your face) as you try to capture the pre-Olympic moment of your own budding Carl Lewis.

What is a 6'3" Daddy to do but hold his camera over his head and snap away, only to find later that you got a nice shot of the mens room on the second floor of the school?

Lest I forget the female perspective of this family affair....there is the LUNCH. Every mother, on Sports Day, has to get up at the crack of dawn and start preparing this enormous and decorative picnic lunch for the family to eat at the school athletic grounds, in the blazing sun, at exactly 12:00.

Now I have never been one to complain about a good lunch, and this certainly ranks up there with the best of them (on an annual basis) but the amount of preparation and time spent on making it LOOK good (because the watchful eyes of other mothers will always be checking yours to see if it is up to snuff) is yet another reason that parents, and especially female parents, don't like Sports Day.

And lastly, Sports Day is not even on Sports Day anymore!
It can occur any weekend in the month of October.

And it continues....year after soddy year. No one likes it, hardly anyone understands why they do it, hardly anyone in this country of sheeple is willing to speak up and END THE MADNESS.

So, my dear bloggers, this is my vent, my safety valve of venom. My refuge in a storm of sushi-slurping stupidity.

So, today, to commemorate the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the wife and kids and I are going into the country side to pick figs and grapes and eat some barbeque. We will take pictures, unfettered by the masses. We will have a barbeque lunch prepared by minimum wage workers who care nothing about how pretty their food is. We will stretch our legs, breathe in clean air, eat some great fresh fruit....and put Sports Day and the sheeple behind us.

Amen and amen.

Is this really a blog if you don't write often?

2006-10-08T16:32:00.000+09:00

Several months have passed..wondering if any of you guys are even reading this anymore?
Getting too caught up with daily life, care for the family and my own selfish pursuits are but a few of the big reasons.

Lets see, the brief update:

Since my last cyber-missive, I have had the opportunity to go to the US for a month and play my horn at big band camp, reunite with 2 of my old band members in Boston (Johnny One Note- see previous entry for details about those guys), see the family and my neice get married, and generally get a good reality adjustment. After spending a few weeks back home, for the first time in a VERY long time, I am considering employment there, or at least somewhere else off this golden sushi archipelago.

Before I left for the US my father nearly bought the farm with renal failure. They put him on dialysis, and miraculously, he came off of it! he had to stay in the hospital over a month.

After my trip to the US, I came back to start a new school year. Things have gone pretty well this first 6 weeks, and I am enjoying work more than I ever thought I could. Compared to last years stress-0-rama, this year is a cakewalk.

Meanwhile, Dad was hospitalized with near heart failure. This put him in for 3 weeks. He has been out almost 2 weeks now and is doing ok, but as can probably be seen by all reading,he is not doing well overall....

Wifey is studying and working like a dog. The company owns her soul, evidently and we are looking for a different job for the spring for her. Hopefully the Lord will open a door by then. I am in charge of dinners during the weekdays and she does the breakfasts.
I always liked cooking!

I have given the heave-ho to my salsa band and my big band...the former rather gladly and the latter rather reluctantly. I am forming a band with professionals so that we will not have to deal with people who cannot really play their instruments, bozos, ego-maniacs and can enjoy our efforts to the fullest. So far I have landed a Japanese bassist who studied at Berklee, a pro pianist/percussionist who is from the US and a vocalist from the Phillipines. Need one or two more people to make it complete.

What else?

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Japan and I plan on taking a....HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Let me hear from you!

I live, I teach. Who will buy?

2006-05-29T20:12:00.000+09:00

Been a VERY long time since I have checked in here. My humblest apologies to all you who have been waiting for an update.
As the title would suggest, it seems that I am caught up in the drama of simply living and working- so much in fact that little else gets done.
Since my last missive, my wife has taken on a full-time job, which has really made things a lot more hectic for yours truly. I now get to do a good bit more cooking, shopping and child care related duties. Plus my dearest is in a masters degree program that she goes to on the weekends.

My job is winding down now...summer vacation is just around the corner and I am champing at the bit to get it started. As is usual for me, I have already mentally gone on vacation. This leaves 3 weeks for my body to catch up with my mind.

What else to tell you all...Dad is the same as always, the girls are growing at an astonishing rate, and I have a ton of saxes for sale.

Wanna buy one?

I am NOT paranoid! Really!

2006-02-18T22:37:00.000+09:00

OK, I know most of you probably will respond to this by thinking, "He is really paranoid.." but I swear it is true....

Everytime I get in my car and pull out, back out, make a turn onto any street, stop at a an intersection, at any hour of the day or night, no matter what kind of weather, there is ALWAYS someone there, stepping RIGHT in front of my vehicle!!!!!!

I swear it is true.
There is always someone directly in the path of me at the EXACT moment I am making the aforementioned movement.

At first, I thought I WAS paranoid!

Then I got my wife to notice it.

The population density here is so incredibly high that you literally will run into people everywhere, all the time.

****************

About 20 years ago I visited a buddy's place (in Kurume Japan) and I had to go to the toilet while there. As I sat down on the throne, at eye level, pinned to the door of the loo was a clipped headline from the Japan Times.

It read, "The Only Place in Japan You can Be Alone"

No truer words....

And even more strange to this interloper is the FACT that Japanese people WANT to be in close proximity to one another, preferrably when the temperature reaches 27 degrees (celcius) and higher. They WANT to cram together into a small space and sweat together. there is a mass psychosis here that compells every last Japanese person to hurl themself into the biggest, stinkiest, sweatiest, most crowded possible situation in order to relax" and "enjoy" their day off or holiday.

As a matter of fact, the average Japanese response to wide open quiet spaces (like countryside), especially at night , is "kowai!" or "scary!"

Makes me realize that east is east and west is west....

All roads lead to Rome....and thanks for waiting.....

2006-02-06T20:55:00.000+09:00

It has truly been too long since I wrote. Thanks for all your compliments on the blog and emails.
It is encouraging for me and I hope that you continue to drop in and read from time to time.

About 12 days ago my life changed.

My wife and her sister headed off for an 8 day trip to Rome, hereafter to always be referred to as "Waka's Roman Holiday".. That left me with the task of preparing all meals, shopping, washing all dishes, getting the kids ready for everything, working with them on homework, shuttling them to ballet and swimming and grandmas. Plus I still had to go to work too....

To say that I have a newfound appreciation for my wife, is more than an understatement!!

I have decided to from now on, always be more helpful and sympathetic to her cause. She has far too much to do. and I need to do more.

The Bible says a good woman is more precious that jewels. I truly believe I am sitting next to a treasure chest.

Cult of "Me" vs. Cult of "We"

2006-01-12T21:21:00.000+09:00

Thanks for your patience while waiting for the update. I started back to work this week, and like anytime you start back to work after a long break, it is pretty tiring getting back into the groove.

For the better part of the last 20 years I have been working with Japanese people almost exclusively.
That means that I have gotten use to a communication style that is very nonverbal, vague and roundabout when compared to that of Americans.
Now that may sound like a negative to most of you, but once you get to the point where you can understand the nuances of Japanese communication, interpersonal communication and coworker interactions actually become more predictable and easier to handle. You'll notice I am NOT saying preferrable.... there is a lot of superficial nonsense to deal with in Japan and of course, maintaining the heirarchy and pecking order here is maddening at times.

Japan is a seniority based society, not a merit based society.

Still dealing with something that is familiar and predictable can sometimes be better than the opposite.

So, it was with some trepidation that I enbarked on my new career at the International school. For the first time in a veeeery long time I would be working side-by-side with other expats like myself, 9 to 5 everyday.

I must say that I did look forward to it while being a little worried.

I mean, I should be able to communicate directly and openly with my fellow expats. This would, I thought, be a very refreshing change. I was looking forward to having meetings in which something was ACTUALLY accomplished, rather than meetings with Japanese coworkers in which group consensus was goal to be reached after all the decisions had been made by the "guys upstairs" prior to the meeting.

I should add that Japanese meetings are insufferably long- especially when you consider that nothing is actually decided of importance during said meetings.

Well....I was right about the directness of my fellow expats. Their individuality was not just evident in interactions, but it was more like it was splayed across the room in large garish orange neon.

I AM A UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL! YOU WILL HEAR ME! YOU WILL SEE ME! YOU WILL... ad nauseum....

It was as if I had left the "cult of "we" and traded it for the cult of "me"!

A large, flashing neon "ME" at Idiosyncracys-R-Us!

What is particular disturbing to me about this is that I am put off by it.
This is no doubt a true sign of "you've been in Japan too long when...."

Still, though, I am slowly getting used to it and learning how to work around it.

My co-workers, while small in numbers, are a fairly clickish lot. Socializing with them has proven interesting.
I have managed to step on a few toes in the early 20's to 30's-single-and-wanna-drink beer crowd, so they don't invite me out, but I tend to get invited to gatherings for "the guys". Having a beer with the guys allows all ages to participate, because no matter what your age, you can still tilt back a beer and add to the commentary on the workplace.

No one invites the headmaster to these gatherings, which is a shame...but I guess the power thing is a lot larger a hurdle than the age thing.

Being 43, I feel like I can fit in anywhere with most any age group. It is interesting that the younger age groups don't feel the same way about me.

The Japanese staff, I think, like me a lot. When we communicate they feel at ease speaking Japanese to me and I don't go into the office yelling screaming, or showing anger....
I am more predictable....and there is a certain comfort that it brings.
Maybe that is why I like talking with them too....

Ringin' in the New Year, kind of....

2006-01-06T16:04:00.000+09:00

To all the friends and family reading, I hope the coming year is a blessed one for you. For those of you I don't know, well, write something and let me know who you are!

For the first time in a long time, I was able to stay at home with my wife and ring in the new year. Last year on the 31st I was playing in near 0 temps outdoors on a stage in the mountains near Iizuka in a snow storm!
This year, however was much more enjoyable.

I spent the first day doing what one should do during New Years Day....eating and sleeping and just generally being a lazy sod.
On day 2 we met up with the in-laws and went out for lunch at the family fav, MK Restaurant.
Now if you don't know what an MK Restaurant is, it is a place where you can get all-you-can-eat dim sum or shabu-shabu (basically thinly sliced meats and veggies that you boil in a pot on your table).
The kids are absolutely gaga over this place and so is my father-in-law because it is so cheap. My FIL is so tight, well, imagine getting diamonds from coal and you are getting the picture...
After lunch the kids whined their way into staying at the grandparents' house for one night....so wifey and I had a nice evening alone.
The ensuing 3 days saw me locked to the TV to watch the BCS bowl games. The first game was the ND game. Thanks to the great QB in the sky for not letting those overrated jugheads win. I am sure someone will rank them in the top 10 for next season.
The PSU/ FSU game was entertaining, but it was hard to decide to root for as I was a student when FSU rolled WVU in a bowl game and of course, almost anyone is preferrable to Penn State (affectionately known as "Penn Snake" in WV). I ended up rooting for FSU....some memories are more bitter than others.....
Then the national championship game, which made me happy. I honestly didn't think Texas had a chance considering how loaded USC was.
Shows you what pride will do to ya....

The ONLY BOWL GAME NOT TELEVISED WAS THE WVU GAME!!!!
To say that I am incensed is to put it mildly.

Nevertheless, A hearty congrads to my alma mater and their 38 to 35 whippin' that they put on Georgia! Seems that WVU has finished the season 5th in the AP poll, which is as high a rating as I can remember. I expect the team in 2 years to be nat'l champs. Next year, they will be good too.

Well the 3 week vacation is almost over. I am looking at starting back up on Monday...still a pile to do here at the house that I managed to put off thus far. Hopefully I will accomplish a bit more in the next 3 days.

New Years resolutions....why bother?

Nevertheless, I have set myself on a path to lose a good bit of weight, read more and do internet less. Also I plan to pick up on my baritone sax playing a bit more.

Winding down without winding up

2005-12-30T20:34:00.000+09:00

Here I sit on the cusp of 2006 and the years chores are almost completely done. The only major thing left for me to do is to finally get the last car load of stuff out of my old office at the university. That happens tomorrow, the 31st.

My dear wife has penned her last New Years card and I have dutifully mailed them all. The kids are in bed, and well, there is a sense of completeness to it all-no, more like relief.

I will really sigh in relief once the moving is finished tomorrow.

We do not celebrate the New Year in the customary Japanese way here at our house, and my wife is not killing herself to make all the special New Years foods that look so beautiful but frankly speaking, taste pretty darned awful.
We don't visit her parents or other relatives on the 1st either, and of course we have no need to go to the Shinto shrine to pray to the pagan gods for luck either.

So it looks to be about 4 or 5 days of serious laziness!

I think Shakespeare would have termed us as "slug-o-beds" for the upcoming holidays.

It is quite liberating to NOT have to jump through all of these cultural hoops while in Japan.
Also, driving around town during the New Year holiday is a real treat....no traffic hardly, and seeing the streets for the most part traffic-less, well, it is almost eerie (in a good way!).

Down time (IE: not being so busy) in Japan is a rare thing, so I plan to enjoy it. I am looking forward to ONE thing, however....

The big event: WVU is playing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl!

Am I the only one?

2005-12-28T19:05:00.000+09:00

Todays post is going to be rather short.

Am I the only person who thinks that Will Ferrell is completely untalented?!

And in the same vein, do you know anyone (that is not constantly plugged into the TV) that truly likes Bjork or Beck?

Discuss, discuss.....

The grinch of Christmas present- Santa opens up to Geraldo

2005-12-26T18:04:00.000+09:00

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to you all!

For the last 8 years I have spent Christmas eve and Christmas day dolled up as the man in red.....usually I appear at a local hotel lobby and restaurant or in some cases, at a shopping center. Heck, I have even made appearances at the boat races, which further confirms to all children who gamble that Santa is, indeed, everywhere.

Besides the rather unbelievable financial rewards of donning the red sweatsuit of happiness, I do enjoy seeing the little kids reaction and listening to them tell me what they hope for. I had a pack of them hugging me around the knees and seeing the joy on their faces was worth all the hassles that wearing the outfit entails.

For those of you who have never been a "professional" Santa, here are a few facts and reminders:

* The suit is thick and hot. Think sweat lodge and you are beginning to get the idea. If Santa is indoors in this suit, Santa is sweating and very uncomfortable.
* The beard and wig are made of polyester, which is like putting an itchy heating pad around your face and on your head- Santa is sweating and very uncomfortable.
* Smart Santas are wearing only shorts and T-shirts under the costume. If wearing more than that- Santa is sweating and very uncomfortable.
* Santa does not want to hold your screaming kid. If the kid screams, discerning parents with slightly higher than 2 digit IQ's will know that THIS IS A SIGN THAT THE KID DOES NOT WISH TO BE NEAR SANTA and then, you the parent, must hold said screaming spawn. Remember- Santa is sweating and very uncomfortable.
* Santas beard is attached to his face by elastic bands that criss cross his scalp. If you pull Santas beard, the top of Santas head is severed by said bands. Remember-Santa is sweating and very uncomfortable, already.
* Santa doesn't like to get patted down by adults (unless they are adult females and very cute) so please keep your hands off Santa- Santa is already in a bad mood because Santa is sweating and very uncomfortable.
* To the lovely children: when Santa gives you something from his big bag, don't tell him you don't want it. He is just doing his job and the presents are what the cheapskate promoters gave him to pass out. Take the present, and pretend to be happy. You are probably better off than 85% of all people on earth as it is.
* To the lovely parents who foster such attitudes in your children: Teach your children respect, compassion and generousity. Teach them it is better to give than to receive, that they should show gratitude to those around them and above them.
Teach them by example that sharing is the norm, not the exception. Take your children out and show them charities at work helping the homeless or shut in. Get them involved.
Show your kids that Christmas is about giving, and that giving feels better than getting.

And someday, when you parents are older, you'll be glad you did.

Port Caffeine: Coffee, coffee, lonely people

2005-12-20T22:46:00.000+09:00

Never really liked coffee.

I can say with some certainty, that prior to my 24th year on this rock, I drank about 1 cup of coffee a year; and then it was heavily sugared and creamed.

I suppose I had an aversion to it because I associated it with my father and cigarettes- the latter which I abhor and well, when you combined coffee and cigarettes....let's just say Godzilla probably had better breath than my Dad.

Even during finals week at college I usually didn't drink coffee.

But NOW I drink coffee; black, with cream, with a little sugar, or any assortment of liquors....cafe, java, joe, courage, go-juice, whatever you wish to call it- I like it now.

The reason? It beats the hell out of green tea, and there are nice little coffee shops tucked away in every town and neighborhood in Japan.
These little shops are like a quiet port in a storm of noise, heat and frenetic activity (aka: JAPAN).
I pop into a coffee shop ("kissaten" in Japanese) and let the opressive heat and stress just melt away like the whipped cream topping my drip-brewed-Kilamanjaro-blend-cup-of-happiness.

Starbucks has really made the experience all the more enjoyable by having the shops completely non-smoking and also having very comfy sofas and chairs to sink into.

I popped into a Starbucks downtown this evening to meet with another sax playing friend of mine. Sitting around me were maybe 8 or 9 girls in their 20's, all reasonably attractive in their skirts, black leather knee boots and sweaters (in case you have never been to Japan, this is the official winter uniform of all 20-ish single Japanese women)...and all very much alone.
They all pull out their cell phones and lay them on their table, as if awaiting a call; calls that never seemed to come.
Their eyes wander to me, they smile as if they want me to approach. One girl even changes her seat to sit nearer to me after making eye contact several times.
Of course I don't respond to her gestures, (married and happily so) but it struck me that with Christmas coming up, a lot of these girls are eager....no, desperate to have a "romantic" Christmas.

Any port in a storm, I guess....
Lookin' for the Love Boat in all the wrong places.

I guess with less than 5 full days to go, they better get crackin'!

Busking along, singin' a song....

2005-12-20T14:00:00.000+09:00

I have never really done much busking with my sax....and I really don't know why that is, but about 2 months ago, I got the bright idea that my alto student should start practicing some jazzed up Christmas tunes. I half jokingly said, ..."and then we'll go out on the streets and play!"
She (lets call her "Vixen" to keep in the holiday spirit) immediately perked up and said, "Really!? Really!?".
When I saw her response there was no choice- I had to do it.

For the last 2 months worth of lessons she has been plugging away, working on articulation, intonation, synchopated rhythms....and today was the big day (or night, I should say).
We met in the passage of the subway station and donned our Santa caps, set up the boombox and minus one CD, music stand, opened the case and put a "Help feed the reindeer" sign inside the case with a 500 yen coin to start the ball rolling.

Vix was a bit nervous, but soon settled into it and did pretty darned well. I should also mention she is a heck of a lot cuter than me.
We played about one hour before the cold got to be too much and pulled in about $12.00 US (after I withdrew my starter 500 yen).

It beats the hourly wage at McDonalds, right?

And I have to wonder how much I would make without her standing there in her white getup and boots and the cute Santa cap?

Funny experience playing Christmas tunes in Japan. It seemed that only the young and quite old showed much interest. Also there is literally no Christmas spirit here~` Japanese Christmas is celebrated in much the same way Americans celebrate Valentines day, only without the chocolate.
About the only quasi-vestiges of an western-style Christmas are that parents are coerced into shopping at Toys-R-Us for their young children, anorexic Santas standing on every street corner passing out flyers or free tissues, and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" or Wham's "Last Christmas" blasting from every store's sound system. I am convinced that Mariah's song becomes the Japanese national anthem at Christmas time and that Colonel Sanders statues dressed up in red Santa suits beckoning all to come in and get a Christmas chicken are as about as real as it can get.

By the way, most Japanese people think the Colonel is Japanese and that KFC is a Japanese invention.

That's OK....most Americans think Bayer aspirin is an American company.

And that is where I am heading right now, for one of those grand, all-American conforts, the Bayer aspirin bottle.
Six more days until the fat man cometh.

End of the year Oh-souji (That's "cleaning house" to we lesser mortals)

2005-12-18T12:02:00.000+09:00

Being married to a very unconventional Japanese woman has it's advantages.

One of the things I love about my wife the most is that she doesn't feel so terribly bound by the customs and traditions of Japanese society. For those of you who know little or nothing about Japan, let me just say that life can be pretty oppressive for a Japanese woman living in Japan. Social rules/conventions, superficial human relationships and the constant watchful eye of others who will quickly inform you that you are sticking out (when you should be fitting in) and disrupting the group harmony are the main reasons- in a nutshell.

But my wife, she really doesn't have much truck with Japanese society simply because she avoids it in most cases.
Knowing Japan and Japanese people as well as I do makes her all the more astounding. This of course makes life a lot easier and smoother for me too.

But on occassion, my dear wife "Japs-out" and one such time of the year is the end of December, when she, usually on the one day I want to rest or nurse a cold, decides that the entire house must be purged of the following:

1. Everything (materially speaking) that I hold dear.

2. All the warm air inside the house (something else I hold dear when it is 35 outside). She opens all the doors and windows.

3. All the stuff she should toss out during the whole 12 months preceeding this fateful day, but failed to do.

4. The last 3 weeks worth of dirty laundry.

Following said purging, a terrrible cold or headache soon follows.

Now I realize that this end of the year stuff is a Japanese tradition and all, but coming from my wife, well, it makes it all the more strange. It is as if she has been repressing her need for fullfillment as a Japanese national all year and then lets go with a vengeance!

I guess I shouldn't complain about the house getting cleaned.

Even stranger is that I am somehow infected, or rather influenced by all this frantic floor sweeping. Three weeks of free time are staring me in the face. I have to do something~ cleaning, organizing....

Maybe I will sell off some stuff on Ebay?

Johnny One Note: December 16th and all is quiet on the home front....

2005-12-17T04:55:00.000+09:00

Had a very interesting experience last night.
I was watching the Brad Anderson movie, Next Stop Wonderland on DVD.
Near the end of the movie there is a scene on a crowded train and in that scene I spotted who I thought was the front man for a band I belonged to in Boston in 1993 called Johnny One Note.
I checked the credits and sure enough it was our bands singer, James O'Connell. Even more surprising to me was to see a Johnny One Note song, "Johnny The Bat" listed in the credits (but not appearing in the soundtrack, alas).
Jim is friends with director Brad from way back, evidently.

Johnny One Note started in New York with Jim, Hugh and Rob Speck around 1990 and reformed in Boston with a new guitarist, Ron Kuper (of Cakewalk software fame). Never got to meet Hugh personally, but heard a lot about him from the guys.
There were several bassists, whose names I don't recall, so if any of you guys are reading this, be sure to fill in the missing info! I know one of them was Jim's girlfriend ;-)

J.O.N. recorded an album (on cassette) right before I joined and evidently made songs for Brad Andersons seminal work, "Frankenstein's Planet of Monsters" (also right before I joined).

In 1993 I moved to Boston to go to Berklee and got part time work teaching English at a school where Jim worked. He invited me to come sit in with the band and soon after I became the 5th wheel in Johnny One Note.

I think the addition of sax to the mix really worked well, and Johnny played several local gigs during the year I was in Boston. We also recorded a lot of material on 4 track tapes for a new album, but alas, I have never heard the finished product, although Ron did run me off a rough mix tape one snowy night in January 1994.

I am not sure how long Johnny continued on after I left in 1994, but sadly, I don't think it was too long. I think careers and personal lives took the members in very divergent directions.
Hey...I ended up back in Japan, married with 2 kids!

I think our two biggest claims to fame were: 1. JFK Jr. was fan of ours, and 2. we were 1st runner up in Music Magazine's "Best Amature Band in America" contest.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing to me about Johnny was that it was a true ensemble. The sum of its parts were far greater than any one member. When a group like that comes together, musical magic happens.

Johnny One Note goes down in my memory as the BEST playing, sounding, original, talented and enjoyable band I have ever had the privilege to participate in. I have searched long and far for another Johnny, and am still searching.

I only wish that we could have continued on. All amateur bands dream of making it big; but I am certain that Johnny had the stuff to actually do it, and do it well.

My hat remains forever tipped to you Johnny One Note- the best band I ever played in and the best bunch of guys I ever knew.
What do you think guys, reunion this summer?

FIRST post.....

2005-12-14T13:00:00.000+09:00

Today my oldest and very innocent daughter (8) was dragged into a fray on the playground. A big boy, who is a bully (and I believe slightly retarded-hereafter to be called "mongo") had been picking on her friend and my daughter's friend decided that she should get a small gang together and go beat mongo up. She dragged my daughter along....

They did. Not seriously at all mind you, but enough that I don't think mongo will be terrorizing them anymore.

So where does that leave me?

Well, I am not happy about my daughter being in a group that kicked a bully's butt. I would probably have been ok with it if it had been her against the bully....but I am left in the dubious position that I shouldn't condone any violence (even if a kid has it coming). This kid, mongo, REALLY had it coming.

So we have given her the non-violence lecture, she wrote apology letters to her teacher and mongo.

How do I teach my kids to turn away from violence, but not be doormats?
(Rhetorical question here....)

*******

Next, who really will read this blog? I can not even begin to imagine...let me know who you are.
As I progress, I will be adding pix and links....etc....

And as cap'n Kirk once screamed in a fit of over-acting,

Khan!