The Too Busy to Blog Blogger's Blues (try saying that 3 times fast)

iPod morning commute music: The Allman Brothers, Eat a Peach (1972)

What can I say? I graduated from high school in 1972, and the Allman Brothers Band was the hottest group in America. Duane Allman died in 1971, and this album was sort of a tribute to him, and his great guitar work. It is excellent all the way through.

One thing I learned from one of the many British music mags my friend Ian passed onto me was that it was Duane who came up with the killer riff for Derek and the Dominoes classic Layla (he played on the album as a guest). I also highly recommend the Allman Brothers classic 1971 release At Fillmore East [live], expanded in 1992 and issued as The Fillmore Concerts [live].

OK, I've gotten more than a little grief over the fact that I haven't been the best of bloggers of late. Thank you all for checking in on me. Basically, final exam season hit, and hit hard, bringing (almost) to an end one of the busiest terms I'm had since my rookie year here at the school. The seniors have all finished up (no classes third term), so I lose (in the best sense of the word) 6 of my 17 classes next term. That should free me up a little, and allow me to be a more consistent blogger.

I'll be leaving in 8 days for my 2-week visit to the States from Christmas with my parents and son. I hope the trip goes well. My mother's health has not been so good, mainly vision problems, so I think it's important that I get back for the visit. It is hard leaving my wife and daughter during the holidays, but they will be able to celebrate Japanese New Year (the most important of Japanese holidays) with my wife's family.

So a crazy term is coming to a relatively calm end. We put the Christmas tree last Sunday, so things are looking Christmasy in the home. I just hope the holidays turn out to be just that...holidays.

More later.

The Cautious Blogger

iPod morning commute music: N/A...I was exhausted, so I slept all the way in.

Two days ago, I spent quite a bit of time writing a blog, only to be unable to post it. Finally, the damn thing timed out, and I couldn't recover it. So this will be a short post.

The textbook I chose to use this year came with free software that was to enable me to create online activities for the students to use. Cool, I thought. Unfortunately, the program is so limited (it's a 'Light' version of the full program they want me to buy) that I can't really utilize it, which has me pretty ticked off. I'm in the middle of trying to solve the problem, dealing with both the software company and the publisher (who's sales rep wasn't aware of the severe limitations of the program). We'll see what happens.

On Sunday, my friend John popped over from Kobe on his motorcycle, and hour and a half journey on a cold and, around my house, rainy day. Being British, the first thing he asked for was tea. We had a good, but short, visit. I first met John at the 2005 JALT Conference, where they were selling some mean Margarettas. He, Brendon (who first turned me onto this blog site) and I drank our fair share between presentations. This year, met up again at JALT, and had a particularly good time at a publishers' dinner.

My son just wrote to let me know that Thanksgiving is a paid holiday for him (the grocery store he's working in is close that day). Lucky kid.

Let's see if this posts.

OK, it didn't. Let's try again.

Post Election Euphoria

iPod morning commute music: Creedence Clearwater Revival, various albums, songs shuffled

The is, in my opinion, no band that was more American than CCR. John Fogerty wrote songs that were snapshots of my country in the late '60s, early '70s (and still does today, as a solo artist). In the song, Green River, he sings (forgive me if I don't get everything right here), "Old Cody Jr. took me over, said, 'You're gonna find the world is smoulderin', and if you get lost, come on home to Green River.'"

America just came home. Having taken back both Houses of Congress in 2006, we now need to prepare to take back the Presidency in 2008. The world is smouldering, and we need to put out the fires.

The change has begun.

The Infrequent Blogger

iPod morning commute music: Fleetwood Mac, Tusk [expanded edition] (1979/2004)

After listening to Lindsey Buckingham's latest (Under the Skin), I decided I need to go back to Fleetwood Mac's Tusk and have another listen. Like everyone else in America, I owned Rumors, but for some reason I never bought Tusk. Maybe it was the hype (the first $1,000,000 album), the length (2 record set), or the title cut which, for some reason I can no longer remember, I didn't like. Regardless, this is a great CD. Remastered, it also has the album version of Stevie Nicks' song Sara (I according to allmusic.com, the original CD had the shortened single version in order to squeeze everything onto 1 CD). The 2nd CD is mostly outakes, demos, etc., but there's enough interesting stuff to keep someone like me listening.

Sorry I haven't been blogging. It's just been a busy time. The same excuses I've used in the past entries still hold true. Fortunately, the elections are upon us tomorrow, so I will take a break from Democrats Abroad Japan for a couple of months as I prepare for final exams and work on the first draft of the second TOEIC book, which we need to complete by Christmas.

This weekend, I gave a talk at the Japan Association of Language Teachers' (JALT) conference in Kitakyushu. It was the first time for me to present at an international conference. My collegue, Keiji, and I talked about what the Osaka Private Schools English Teaching Association is doing to affect change from the prefectural level. It went well, but unfortunately we were given a horrible presentation time (lunchtime, on the last day), and it was poorly attended. I think we'll try to come back next year and give a presentation on the same basic theme, and hope for more people.

Big news: I'll be returning to Seattle by myself to spend Christmas with my son, my parents, and the rest of my US based family. Unfortunately, Kaoru and Alisa can't make it. I'll be arriving in Seattle on Dec. 21st, and will return to Japan on Jan. 4th. If any of my friends are able to drop by Vashon for a visit, let me know, but the main point is to visit my family, so I doubt I'll be getting out of the Seattle area this trip.

Blogging Blues

iPod morning commute music: Lindsey Buckingham, Under the Skin (2006)

Lindsey Buckingham was the guitarist for Fleetwood Mac during their heyday in the late '70s early '80s. He is also a topnotch singer/songwriter. However, he hasn't put out much music as a solo artist, only 4 albums in 25 years, and this is only his second album since leaving the band (the first, 1992's Out of the Cradle, is excellent, though not many people seem to know about it).

Under the Skin is mainly acoustic. Buckingham plays almost all the tracks himself. He uses a lot of echo effects on his vocals, which my daughter finds distracting. Myself, it is an album I love. His original material is great, but so are his covers, especially his version of the Stones' I am Waiting, off of Aftermath. The guitar work seems almost classical; certainly this isn't your typical rock album. Highly recommended.

A couple of days ago I wrote a long blog expanding on the trip to Hokkaido I took. For some reason, it wouldn't publish, and I actually lost the damn thing. It is very frustrating to lose writing (Microsoft, are you listening? Word crashes WAY too often, and almost always during those rare moments when I forget to say every two minutes!).

So here is my short little entry for today. With luck, it will publish.

Back from Hokkaido

iPod morning commute music: Bruce Springsteen, Devils and Dust (2005)

Another one of Springsteen's quiet, acoustic albums, like Nebraska and Ghost of Tom Joad, not as good as the former, but I like it much better than the latter. It's not one of his albums that I play often. For me, the Springsteen of Rosalita is the one I like to listen to, when his music was fun. That said, I own everything he's done in one form or another, and all of it is interesting. Devils and Dust is, for the most part, somber stuff, but coming into school for the first time in a week had me in a pretty somber mood. Very good music.

Hokkaido came off without a problem. As I think I wrote earlier, I always have a better time once I'm on the trip than I imagine I will. The oddest thing that happened to me was on the last day, in the seaside city of Otaru. Everyone had 3 hours of free time to sightsee, shop and eat lunch before taking the busses to the airport to fly home. Each teacher was assigned an area of the town to go to at 2:30 to make sure the students got back to the busses on time. I had to search out students at a huge music box museum/store. I got there early, and was looking at their collection of antique music boxes (of which I knew absolutely nothing about), when I ran across one manufactured by the Regina Music Box Company out of Rahway, N.J., which was a city quite near to where I lived before moving west at the age of 12. My family always caught the train into New York City from Rahway. Anyway, I was shocked to see anything from N.J. in this museum, and I wrote down the name of the company to check it out on the Internet when I got home. It turns out it was (still is, though they went out of business years and years ago) a very famous company, with its music boxes still selling on eBay for thousands of dollars apiece. I also learned a bit about the history of music boxes along the way. Actually, it is a much more interesting topic than I ever expected.

Hokkaido on the Horizon

iPod morning commute music: Pat Metheny, Bright Size Life (1975)

I was surprised to find this on my iPod, but surprises are what you get when you let your 18 year old son program it for you. This is Pat Metheny's debut album, and it is excellent jazz, with Metheny on guitar and Jaco Pastorius on bass. I believe that I saw Metheny live at my first college back in the mid-seventies, but I really hadn't paid much attention to him. Obviously, that was a mistake!

The adjustment to the new language labs is getting better, but just when 1 thing begins to mellow around here, something else comes along to get you back on edge. Next Tuesday I have to go to Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, with our senior high two (juniors) students for 3 nights and 4 days. These short trips are really busy, and it isn't that fun to be with students (or responsible for students) all the time. That said, I usually have an okay time once I'm actually there, but it's still not something I look forward to.

My son got his Washington State Driver's License yesterday, so the primary goals of his gap year (job and license) have been reached. Next up is to finish the university application process and find out if they really will grant him state residency.

Yesterday's Blog Today

iPod morning commute music: Bob Dylan, Modern Times (2006)

Again. I actually have listened to other stuff since the last time I posted, but the Dylan keeps pulling me in. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

This IS getting stupid. I'm so busy at work I don't have time to post, and I'm so tired at night I don't feel like doing anything other than watching TV. Things are getting better at work, though: I'm about two weeks ahead of myself in planning.

Our TV went belly up last Saturday, so Kaoru and I had to buy a new one. With the move to complete high definition TV coming in 2011 here in Japan, it only made sense to but an HD TV. We ended up getting a nice one, a Hitachi Woo 37" Plasma with a built in 250 GB HDD. What the hell? We figure this TV will be with us for the next 10 to 15 years, so we went with a good one. It is cool.

Tatsu finally started working at the local Thriftway. I suspect it is strange for him to go from the life of a student to the life of a worker, Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week. I think it is a good job for him, though. The pay is above minimum wage, it's a union job, so he can eventually get health coverage (his Japanese insurance only covers the minimum overseas), and he can get to meet a lot of the local people. Also, when he goes to college, he can always look for part-time work in a grocery store.

For some reason, I couldn't publish this yesterday, so I copied and pasted it into a Word document and am trying again today. Hope it works.

There is an LL in the Word HELL

iPod morning commute music: Bob Dylan, Modern Times (2006)

A great album, unless you don't like Dylan, and then you will hate it. It's actually been my morning commute music for the last week or so. I'm listening to it at least once a day. This fits right in with his last two CD's, Time Out of Mind (1997) and Love and Theft (2001). Every song is cool. Way cool. Buy it. Unless you don't like Dylan.

Posting has become difficult since the advent of our new Computer Aided Language Labs (CALL's) in action. On top of the learning curve and trying to get the part-time teachers trained and able to use the machines, the software seems to be full of bugs. Programs close all on their own! Others open in their place! Virtual tape recorders suddenly start playing for no reason! It is awful...teachers keep having to stop their lessons to bring back the student software programs (the entire class loses programs all at once).

When things work, the LL's are great, but they aren't working very well very often.

Tatsu is doing better in the States. He just landed a job at a Thriftway grocery store, which was the job he wanted (and I wanted him to get...there are grocery stores in every college town, and it would make a good part-time job when he is in university). Hopefully, things will continue to look up for him.

Sorry this is so short, but it's lunch time and I'm starving.

Keeping in Touch

iPod morning commute music: N/A

With my son, Tatsu, living in the States with my elderly parents, I was hoping to figure out better ways to keep in touch. Certainly phone calls have gotten cheaper since we got broadband and IP service, but still it costs money. When we bought Tatsu a computer for his graduation present, the fact that it came with a built-in camera for video conferencing intrigued me. My friend, Tom, now in Australia, and I messed around a little with CUSeeMe when it first came out, but my ISDN just wasn't good enough for decent quality. We all remember the herky-jerky movements from those days.

I decided that we should check out iChat, Mac's conferencing program. While I didn't have a camera, I figured we could just set it up for telephone chat. It turned out that Tatsu could actually send out video from his end to our computer, which was so cool I ended up heading straight for Osaka (a 90 minute journey 1-way) to pick up an iSight camera for my eMac (I know, there are WAY cheaper cameras on the market, but I just love the simplicity of Mac products, and it looks pretty cool, too!). Once we got it up and running it sort of took on a life of its own.

It was like having Tatsu in another room in the house. We basically ran it for 3 hours straight that first day, but we weren't nailed down in front of our computers. We wandered in and out, take breaks, whatever. It was cool.

Today was even better. Alisa was home in the morning, and when she and her brother started talking I left the room. In the hallway it sounded like Tatsu was in the study with Alisa! Weird in a good way.

So I went the next step and downloaded Skype's beta version of their Mac video conferencing software. This way, I figure, I can communicate with those living in the Windows world. Skype is certainly not as good as iChat; the motion is jerkier, and there's a longer delay in the audio, but hey, it's free and works pretty damn well for that price.

So, I'm up and running for any iChatting of Skyping any of my friends would like to do. It looks like a much better way of keeping in touch.

shave and a haircut, two bits

iPod morning commute music: Graham Parker: Passion is no Ordinary Word, The Graham Parker Anthology, Disc 1 (1993)

Yesterday morning's commute music, actually. I first got turned on to Graham Parker (and the Rumour, back then) in 1979, with his superb album Squeezing Out Sparks. But for some reason, that's as far as I went with his catalogue until this 2 disc anthology came out. My vinyl collection in the States had vanished by then, so the anthology became my sole Parker CDs, and they were revelatory! I prefer the earlier stuff found on disc 1, but the later stuff is cool, too. I finally replaced Squeezing Out Sparks with Arista's 1996 re-mastered CD which included, on the same disc, a live version of the same album, in the same order, referred to as 'Live Sparks'.

Today I don't have to go to work, as only the senior students have lessons, and I don't teach them on Fridays. Monday I'll need to go in, but Tuesday should be off as well. The rest of the students return on Wednesday, and from then on it's business as usual.

Yesterday I went for a haircut at the cheap barber located near Tenma Station on the JR Loop Line. On Thursdays, they charge only ¥1,800 (at yesterday's exchange rate) for a haircut, shampoo, mini-massage and and shave. As I've written before, I really enjoy this full treatment; yesterday, I was in the barber chair for over an hour. What's amazing to me is how in America this doesn't really exist. The emphasis is on speed, get it cut and get out ASAP. I know of no one in the States who has EVER had a shave at a barber shop. It's a shame, really, that this ritual, the shave and the haircut, is virtually nonexistent anymore.

Two bits, BTW, equals 25 cents. An old football cheer went like this: "2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar; all for Belvidere stand up and holler!"

I wonder if Americans still know what 2 bits are?

Teaching Again

iPod morning commute music: Elvis Costello, King of America, 1986

There really was no reason why I chose this classic this morning. I was actually feeling more like listening to Dylan, but this jumped out at me as I was scrolling down the playlists. Cool stuff, and a real harbringer for the kind of vocals Elvis would end up giving us today, the Burt Bacherach side of him.

Today we had first lessons for our senior students. We weren't able to use the new LL's yet, so my co-worker in charge of the year group, Bob, suggested a writing task. We brainstormed and he made a cool worksheet based on the results. What I like about the task is that it utilizes, on one sheet of paper, the basic writing process: Pre-writing, Writing, Evaluation, Re-writing. Obviously, we're talking about paragraph writing, not an extended essay! Spread out over two classes, it looks like it should work. Today we did the pre-writing task (a mind map) and the 1st draft of a paragraph based on 1 of 3 topics.

Also at work today: Someone drank my opened Diet Pepsi! I drank about a third of the bottle between lessons and put it back in the fridge. When I came down after my second lesson finished, I couldn't find my drink. I thought I was going mad, forgetting where I put it, so I searched around for it. "Hmm, did I forget to put it back?" Finally found it in the trash can next to the sink in the break room. Whoever drank it didn't even bother to recycle it in the Pet Bottle Bin! Unbelievable that anyone would stoop so low.

After work, I met with Jo, my co-author for the TOEIC books, to discuss the second book. We need to finish it by the end of the year. I'm sure we'll manage, but it will make for a tough autumn. We have no choice, as the book we've finished (on the listening component of the test) is pretty worthless without its companion volume (on the reading component). To sell the first, we need the second.

Once we get this initial set published, we can then concentrate on getting the second level written in 2007, then the third level in 2008. It is a pace that can be reached.

Tomorrow I only have one class, 6th period, meaning I can sleep in. Always good news.

Back in the Land of Wa

iPod morning commute music: Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, 1965

Without a doubt one of Dylan's (and Rock 'n' Roll's) greatest albums, the one where he went electric for good (or at least until after his motorcycle accident), the album opens with Rolling Stone magazine's #1 greatest rock song ever recorded, Like a Rolling Stone. I'm reading Greil Marcus' book, Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan at the Crossroads, so it seemed like a logical choice.

I got back home from the States late Tuesday night, back into the heat and humidity of the Land of Wa (as opposed to the cool, beautiful summer of the State of WA). It was a busy 3 weeks. Good but frustrating news was that Tatsu should be considered a Washington State resident since I should be considered a Washington State resident ("should" because we still have to wait for the paperwork to be approved). It turns out I was basically right all along: By keeping my WA driver's license and voter registration at my parents' address, I retained my residency. Tatsu still will take a year off, and will probably attend my first college, The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, though Western Washington University in Bellingham is still an option. The problem is that Western won't give much credit for Tatsu's IB Diploma, while Evergreen looks like they'll give a lot (45 credits, though again we won't know until the paperwork goes through).

Along with Tatsu's university dramas, he was/is learning how to drive. Our friend, Holly B., is a certified Drivers' Ed teacher and is giving him free lessons. Kaoru and I basically just let him drive us around everywhere, giving him chances to practice. His longest road trip was to Ellensburg, where we stayed with another friend, Mitch W. Had a chance in the 'Burg to visit a whole slew of the family who lived across the street from us. Tatsu's driving is getting very good, and hopefully he'll take his driving test at the end of August in North Bend, where my brother Mark lives.

Cliff and Holly from Alaska came to Vashon for a few days to visit. They were pretty stressed out over trying to plan back to back weddings for both their children, but I think we helped to relax them (all the Costco beer, wine and food that they brought with them contributed greatly to that cause). We also met my late friend Bob K.'s sister and fiancee for lunch and had a BBQ party at my cousin Juila's and her husband, Craig's place, where we got to see my ailing but improving Aunt Vera and my other cousin, Stacia, whom we hadn't seen for several years.

Nan W. took us to see a Seattle Storm (women's basketball) game. My friend since high school, Nan is an artist who has helped Tatsu over the years with her advice and guidance, and who recommended Evergreen's art program as one to be considered. Before the game, we made signs which, when put together, read "WE'RE STORMIN' MAD! Save our teams!" protesting the potential move of both the Storm and the Sonic to Oklahoma, and which got us on TV for a moment of glory.

Craig B., Holly's husband and one of my oldest and best friends (since 1972, when we were both 18 and in our first year at Evergreen) sailed back from Lopez Island to Vashon Island following a Latitudes and Attitudes party on Lopez. It was my first long sailing trip, and aside from hurting my ribs in a fall, damn near getting sick in the Straits, and getting the worst sunburn I've had in recent (20 years!) memory, I had a great time.

But mostly it was about family: My mom and dad both turn 80 this year; Kaoru, taking care of them while she was there; my brother Mark and I sharing wine on his back deck at night; long conversations with his wife Ann after Mark went to bed; Alisa, off to the Global Young Leaders Conference; Tatsu, staying behind with my folks for a year, realizing he will need to cook for them. It was hard to say goodbye to Tatsu when he and Mark saw me off at the airport. He turned 18 at the end of July, but it is difficult to acknowledge a child becoming a man. Our last few days together were spent with me trying to be a daddy one last time, to show or teach something to my son one last time, to try to make him see how much I love him one last time before flying back to the heat and humidity of Wa.

In Transit, In Korea

iPod morning commute music: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dirt Silver and Gold, disc 2 (1976)

Not really, but it WAS the last thing I listened to. I owned the original release, a 3-record set, the bulk of it a greatest hits, with 10 new songs. I discovered this new release (2003, on [I think] BGO, a British label) in Tower, in the country section, and had enough points on my point card to get it for free. I was surprised to see it in country, but that really is the best genre for the music, all of which is excellent. 37 songs total, I think, give a very good representation of the band's talent. It lived up to my memory, and it pleases me that I had the sense to buy it way back when.

I'm in Korea's seriously beautiful and new Seoul/Incheon International Airport. So far the flight home is going well. The limo bus took only an hour from the closest pick up point to my house. I don't think I've forgotten anything, I got the house shuttered down, powered off (except for the scheduled recording of Lost (season 2 in Japan). Flying Korean Air seems like a great idea so far. The service was great on the short flight from Osaka, with five flight attendants (yes, young, attractive pleasant women, and yes, in economy) bending over backwards to get the snacks out and the beers served. The connecting flight's gate was only a 5 minute walk from the arrival gate. One piece of advice: Get out of the duty free area, which is crowded and expensive (there's a Internet lounge where you have to buy a prepaid card to log on) and go up to the level denoted as Transit Hotel and Airport Lounges, where the Internet's free and the restaurants empty. They even have showers, which I may take advantage of on the return flight.

It has been a crazy week. The last day at work (Thursday) was just jammed with cleaning and packing up the LL's for the move to the new school. I got there at 7:50 am and finally left after 4 pm. Yesterday was spent cleaning the house and packing up. Today it was up at 6 am and out of the house by 8:20. It's just about 5 now. My flight leaves at 6:20, and then it's 10 hours till home. I can't wait.

Finally, it looks like the Seattle flight has individual entertainment systems for ALL the passengers (at least, Korean Air was advertising it on the flight from KIX). That would be nice, if true.

OK, time to let others get on line.

Still in Japan, Wanting to Leave

iPod morning commute music: N/A; Driving to JUSCO shopping music: R.E.M. Reckoning (Import w/bonus tracks), 1984

R.E.M. was a band I missed in the States. Their debut album, Murmur, came out in January, 1983, when I was eking out a living as a substitute teacher in the Seattle area. In November of that year, I moved to Japan. As I mentioned before, I became a fan in the early '90s. This is a CD I've been meaning to get for sometime, and it is great. It is sad that I missed out on the band for so many years, but one of the wonderful things about music is it's never to late to go back and explore. Highly recommended.

Obviously, I'm not posting often these days. Saturday I went into work for a PTA (Perfectly Torturous Activity) meeting, then packed up my work area for moving to the new school. Afterwards, I escorted my club students to a prefectural level meeting, then went out in Umeda with another teacher and good friend, Keiji, for beers, pizza, and nachos.

Sunday afternoon, I met my friend Dave for beers and conversation in Kawanishi. I also talked to the family in the States, and did so again today. It's amazing how much meta-language I lack in English. I tried to help Tatsu get hooked up to a DSL Internet connection, but I just don't understand the on-line questions. I think I understand them, but I can't be sure. In Japan, when we decided to get broadband, we looked at the cost, picked a company, and Kaoru got them to come in and do everything. But I have no idea of what they did, other than...hook me up for broadband! In the end, Tatsu and I had to give up. He'll talk to my good friend, Craig B., when the family goes to their place for a BBQ tomorrow night.

Five more days and I'm out of here! At least the weather cooled down as the remnants of a typhoon moved over us, dropping down a load of rain (though South Korea appeared to get the brunt of it). I can't wait. As Paul Simon once sang: "Oh, homeward bound, I wish I was...."

Finishing Up the Paperwork

iPod morning commute music: Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings, disc 2 (1990)

This was the first box set I ever bought. I was so dumb, I threw away the box, saving the booklet and the discs in their jewel cases. Just wanted to save space. These two discs contain everything Johnson record, all in the mid-1930s. Just the man, his voice, his songs and, most importantly, his guitar. The myth is that he sold his soul to the devil down at the crossroads in exchange for his blues guitar playing. Extremely important music.

Got my marks in the computer, and will return the tests shortly. Hopefully, I'll be finishing up today. Then I just need to pack up my desk and things for the move. That job will get underway on Thursday, after the senior high students get their test back. Tuesday and Wednesday I'm taking a holiday.

I'm shipping two boxes of books back to my house, a 20 volume Japanese dictionary styled, I guess, after the Oxford English Dictionary. They're for my wife, of course. It'll cost about $25, but each book weighs about 5 lbs., so I think it's worth the expense.

Tonight I'll be meeting my friend Gib for some beers, maybe a bite to eat. Should be fun. He's getting back from a conference in Kyushu, so he should be all dressed up. Poor bastard, in this heat.

Alone again, naturally

iPod morning commute music: N/A.
Saturday drive to JUSCO for a bottle of red for tonight music: Ray Davies, Other People's Lives (2006)

I've always loved the Kinks (perhaps my first iPod morning commute music entry), saw them a couple of times in the '70s, and this solo effort by Ray Davies (main songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist for the band) is a welcomed addition to my collection. It's wonderful to hear someone who hasn't lost his wit or his eye for observation. He makes you both tap your foot and smile. Not many artists can do that.

My friend Gib just started his own blog, and wrote to let me know AND remind me that I haven't posted for over a week. What can I say? Monday was the start of first term final exams, so I was proctoring tests and trying to finish writing my senior high one (sophomores, for those of us in the U.S.) test. Tuesday was dedicated to getting the family to the airport and on the plane to Seattle via San Francisco (I took the day off work). Wednesday was spent proctoring and finishing the test, getting the listening sections recorded. Thursday I had my English for Academic Purposes exam, and had to mark my senior high three (yes, seniors for all you bright Americans out there) tests. I also went out with for dinner with the sales rep (and friend) from one of the major textbook publishers. Friday was more proctoring, my SH1 test, and getting paperwork done. And going out for dinner at a new Portuguese restaurant with my travel agent (and friend), an ex-co-worker (and friend) and the owner of the main foreigner bar in Umeda.

Today was laundry and dishwasher day. I'm finally sitting back with a beer.

I did get very good news late Thursday night: my son's IB scores were posted, and he did exceptionally well. When he goes to university in 2007, I'm sure they will waive enough courses to basically allow him to enter as a sophomore (second year student to all of you NOT from the U.S. I talked to everyone in the States today, and we are all so proud of Tatsu's achievement.

Time to bring in the laundry and start marking tests.

Fried Friday

iPod morning commute music: Beck; Sea Change (2002)

Readers of this blog have probably picked up on the lack of any true rap/hip-hop music in my collection. I do have some, but it is not a genre I love. Beck, I love. I bought Odelay after it won a Grammy just to see what all the hype was about, and quickly "two turntables and a microphone" got stuck in my head forever. Sea Change is something else again, a sad but beautiful album about breaking up. Mature music from a maturing (32 at the time) Beck. Soft, haunting stuff.

Yesterday I was too busy to blog; sorry about that! I was working on final exams, plus had to take a business trip with another teacher to visit a junior high school to help promote our school. Not one of my favorite things to do, but infinitely better than going to the dentist, where the treatment for my infected gum was to cut out the infected gum (OK, area of the gum). The dentist called it cleaning, but trust me, it was NOT cleaning. I have to go back today to have it disinfected again.

This afternoon, Tatsu is hosting 12 of his classmates for a BBQ party at out house. Both Kaoru and I are working, so he's on his own. I just hope it doesn't rain, and that he can manage to get the charcoal lit.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, but know it will probably be anything but. The family flies in four days.

It's Getting Better All the Time

iPod morning commute music: Electric Light Orchestra; Definitive Collection (1999)

This is a so-so greatest hits collection out of Holland, and is the only ELO I own, which is surprising since they were a pretty good group. I even saw them once, opening for Wishbone Ash at Central Washington State College's (now University)Nicholson pavilion (a gym by any other name!) when I was a high school student, 1971 or 2. They did Roll Over Beethoven, I remember, and we thought it was pretty damn hot. So why didn't I buy any of their albums? Maybe because most of their hits sound pretty much the same to me. Regardless, they were a good band, and this is an OK disc, though I understand through the All Music Guide that is isn't the best ELO greatest hits around. I should probably spring for a better CD in the future.

I'm feeling better today, thank you. My eye problem has cleared up, my tooth isn't so achey, and I don't feel quite so drained of energy (maybe sleeping from 9:30 last night helped). I'm also encouraged about my "diet": I'm down 4 kilos (about 9 lbs) in 6 weeks. It's a slower weight loss than when I did eDiets 5 years ago, but as I've mentioned before, it seems to me to be a more realistic diet, since I'm eating whatever I want and allow myself to drink beer and wine on the weekend, which for me these days begins on Friday night.

On a sad note, the Language Lab for junior high students broke down yesterday. Since we're in our last week of lessons for first term, and since we'll be tearing this one down in September when we move into the new school and the new Computer Aided Language Labs (CALLS), there's nothing we can do but work around the machines that no longer work. I taught a junior high lesson today with a portable tape recorder and survived the experience. It's strange to go so low-tech when I know we will be going high-tech in a few weeks, and kind of a weird way to end the term.

Breaking Down on Tuesday

iPod morning commute music: Elliott Smith; XO (1998)

Lyrics have always been important to me, hence my love of Bob Dylan's music (most of it, anyway: I still can't stand Man Gave Names to All the Animals!). Elliott Smith wrote (he committed suicide in 2003) some of the most depressing but literate lyrics dressed up in some of the most lovely melodies on record. This is the only album I own by him, and I really should buy some others. Beautiful music from an obviously tortured man.

I feel like my body is breaking down today. News from the dentist last night was not good, and today I'm having a problem with my eye, either something in it or the beginning of a stye. The weather doesn't help, very hot and humid today.

I'm also beginning to go into my I'm-going-to-get-depressed-because-my-family-is-going-to-the-States-and-leaving-me-behind mode. This is, of course, total BS; they go early because it saves us money and they can spend more time in the States than I can. I think part of it is I hate having to totally fend for myself. I love it that Kaoru gets up with me in the morning (at 5!), and makes my breakfast and lunch for me while I shower, shave and get dressed. I hate having to get up earlier to do all this myself. Ditto for dinner: I usually get home at 7:30, and it's nice that dinner is waiting for me.

That said, we've been doing this for years, ever since the kids have been in school. I always manage, though my dinners do suffer. I just eat cereal for breakfast, buy a sandwich for lunch, and make fast food options (we don't have American-style TV dinners in Japan, but some things come close)for dinner. In reality, I survive. It just isn't something I look forward to.

One of those Weekends

iPod morning commute music: Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship, Hits, disc 1 (1998)

Jefferson Airplane was a favorite of mine in high school. In fact, when my good buddy John B. and I were in Radio Production Class in our junior year, we actually produced a radio show about the band which was broadcast over our local station KXLE. We were really pleased because we managed to get the song Volunteers aired over that conservative station even though it contained the word "fuck" in its lyrics. Yes, we were radicals back in those days!

This double CD collects the greatest hits from all three incarnations of the band, with disc 1 covering the Airplane proper. It's great stuff, and this is probably the best introduction to a great band. I also own their box set, Jefferson Airplane Loves You (1992) which is recommended if you are already a fan.

I just came out of a very busy weekend. Saturday, I had to come in to work for an International Studies Committee meeting, after which I met Tatsu and Kaoru in Umeda to buy Tatsu's graduation present, a new MacBook computer. We got him the white 2.0GHz with a 13" screen and the Superdrive, upgraded to 2GB SODIMMS memory. This is not just a gift from us, but from my parents, my brother, and anyone else who wants to chip in! It is a really nice computer, and Tatsu's thrilled with it.

We then went to a farewell party for our good friends Maria and Andreas G. and their two daughters who are the same age as Tatsu and Alisa. It was a street party in the neighborhood next to the International School where so many of the families who are sent abroad live in huge, American-style houses. It was a great party, and it honestly felt like we were in America! Alisa was at another farewell party for a classmate, but it finished early and she was able to join us. I only wish that we lived closer to the school and could have attended more functions like it.

On a bad note, I have an infection in my mouth, an old tooth (capped) that probably cracked. I had to go in for emergency dental work yesterday (Sunday) morning, and have to go back this evening at 6:30. God knows how many times I'll have to go to get this problem fixed. I just want to finish up before heading to the States on the 22nd.

Finally, this is our last week of classes before final exams begin next Monday. I just want to get this term over with, and get back to Seattle for a little R & R.

Well There Ain't No Cure for the Samurai Blues

iPod morning commute music: Joe Cocker, With a Little Help from My Friends (1969)

This is just a wonderful record! I think with the advent of the Beatles, rock music moved towards bands that wrote their own songs, which is fine. Joe Cocker co-wrote a couple on this album, but he OWNED the covers! My wife always says that any Dylan song sounds better when someone other that Dylan is singing it. Listen to Cocker's gospel-like interpretation of Just Like a Woman, and you would damn near have to agree. One of the great debut albums of all time, this never fails to amaze me when I hear it. Just an extraordinary voice and an extraordinary album! A must in ANY decent rock 'n' roll collection. Seriously.

Well, Japan's World Cup hopes were dashed 4-1 by Brazil. The "Samurai Blue" as they were known as here in Japan are now singing the Samurai blues (apologies to Eddie Cochran). It was another game, like the first against Australia, where they held there own in the 1st half (1-1), only to fall apart when Brazil scored in the 2nd. I was planning to get up at 4:00 am to watch the game with the family (I even took my morning shower before going to bed), but it turned out no one was willing to get up with me, the only family member with no samurai blood in his veins, so I said to hell with it and stayed up till 11:00 watching CSI, and got up at my normal time, 5:00, and watched the second half, which was more than enough.

Today is moving slowly towards the weekend. I've taught 3 classes, and have 1 more to go. For those readers outside of Japan (both of you), one of the biggest differences between Japanese high schools and American are the number of classes taught per week and the number of meetings held per week. Out of 37 periods (7 periods per day M-F, 2 periods on Saturday), I teach 17. I also average about 5 meetings per week. Yesterday, as I wrote, I had 2 after school, which finished up at 6:30. However, I do have a lot of time for lesson planning and, er, blogging.

Tomorrow, I have to come in from 1:00 till 2:00 for an International Committee meeting with parents and students involved in the Australian homestay/study program. Other than that, my weekend is free. It's been a long week, and I can use the rest.

You Can't Get More Humid Than Rain

iPod morning commute music: John Fogerty, Centerfield (1985)

Creedence Clearwater Revival (known only as CCR here in Japan) was one of the great bands of the late '60s, early '70s. John Fogerty, of course, was their lead singer/songwriter/guitarist, not necessarily in that order. After CCR broke up, he released one album and disappeared for 10 years, before returning with this disc. It made you wonder why he'd gone? The music here is so alive! The title cut, of course, can be heard at any Major League Baseball Park across America, but the album hasn't got a bad cut on it. If you were a CCR fan, you want to own this.

Today, the high humidity of the past week gave way to the 100% humidity known as rain. It's pouring down. Coming from Seattle, I don't mind rain, though I have to say that the monsoon downpours we have here are nothing like the generally gentle rains of the Pacific Northwest. I quickly learned to use an umbrella after getting to Japan, something no true northwestern would usually think of.

My weight has begun to drop again. I lost a kilo (2.2 lbs.) so far this week, and it's only Thursday. Maybe walking is helping, but my guess is that my body just kicked back into weight loss mode.

At work, it's a combination of finishing up last lessons and writing final exams, which start on March 3rd. I'm just about finished with my study guides, which need to go out from Monday, and should have the listening tests ready to record by the beginning of next week. I'm actually a bit ahead of schedule, which is good.

Two teachers' meetings this afternoon put more of a damper on my spirits than the rain. The first is a 'jinken' (loosely translated, discrimination) study meeting for 1 hour followed by a regular teachers' meeting which will last for, hopefully, no more than 30-60 minutes. Regardless, I will be getting home late.

Tomorrow morning at 4:00 Japan will play and probably lose to Brazil in World Cup action. I'm planning to shower this evening and get up early to watch the action, and then be exhausted (and most likely depressed) all day along with most of the other teachers at my school.

Random observation: Japan's coach, Zico, looks a lot like Dubya, with those eyes just a little too close together. One more reason why Japan will probably lose.

Walking Off the Bacon Cheeseburger

iPod morning commute music: Keren Ann, Not Going Anywhere (2003)

I bought this CD for my wife, who loves folk music and Suzanne Vega. Keren Ann grew up in France, and her first albums were in French. This was her first English album. It is soft, beautiful music; her voice is terrific. Much of the CD is acoustic and very understated folk. Perfect for background music with dinner, or a morning commute.

Yesterday, I was on my own for dinner, and copped to a Wendy's classic bacon cheeseburger set, with fries and a Diet Pepsi. It was great, my weekly taste of fast food. No beer or wine. I got home just as Kaoru and Alisa were arriving back from a party held for some visiting friends from Thailand.

At 9:30, Kaoru and I decided to go for our second evening walk in as many days. Our neighborhood is actually great for walking, quiet streets running up a hill. Yesterday, we walked to the top of the development, then back down side streets to our house, about 35 minutes in all (compared to 25 the day before). I have to admit I worked up a sweat, but we were walking at a moderate pace. It felt good.

When I weighed myself this morning I was pleased to not my first slight drop in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the walking will help. I know the bacon cheeseburgers won't, but the whole point of this diet is to eat what I want in moderation, and to limit alcohol to the weekends. So the burger is OK...once in a while. Especially if followed by a nice walk on a summer's evening.

Just Another Tuesday

iPod morning commute music: Moby Grape, Moby Grape (1967)

This is one of the best albums to come out of the San Francisco psychedelic music scene in the late '60s. What I like about it is the three guitars and the harmony vocals. It's happy music, and interesting. It also holds up well almost 40 years down the road. It was their first, and best album (the band had all sorts of bad luck), but it would probably be good to invest in a greatest hits album as well.

Nothing much new or exciting today. My main goal is to begin work on my final exams (which I should be doing now) and get my study guides printed up. The hot, humid weather here is beating us foreigners down (Japanese people seem to adjust much better than we do, or they just don't bitch and moan as much).

I'm trying to start setting up dinners for when Kaoru, Tatsu and Alisa are in the States (from July 4th). I join them on the 22nd, so for 18 days I have to fend for myself for meals. I figure I may as well try to meet friends for at least a few of the dinners. The problem is trying to be good with my diet during this time period.

It looks like I have to put exercise back into my life if I want to continue weight loss. I've been pretty level the last couple of weeks, not a good thing. Last night, Kaoru and I took a 25 minute walk after dinner, not much but a start. I'm actually a better walker than Kaoru, mainly due to my commute, walking to, through and from stations, up and down stairs, etc.

Tonight I need to fend for myself for dinner, so I'll probably eat out before going home. NOT good for the diet, but if I can refrain from alcohol I should be OK.

Another Muggy Monday

iPod morning commute music: R.E.M., Out of Time (1991)

I became an R.E.M. fan about the time of this album and Automatic for the People (1992), and they remain my favorite albums by the band. Losing My Religion is just a great song, a classic in cryptic lyrics. I later went back to buy Green (1988)and Murmur (1983, the year I came to Japan), and also bought Monster (1994) and New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) when they came out, but I never enjoyed the newer stuff as much, and stopped buying their CD's. For me, R.E.M. remains, primarily, and early '90s band.

Tatsu's graduation went well. All the students made short (2 or 3 minute) speeches, and he did an especially nice job. Kaoru, Alisa and I were very proud of him. Afterwards, Tatsu went to a private, all night party in Osaka, while we went to a friend's house for a private party of our own, mainly consisting of parents who had children at the international school from kindergarten like ourselves.

Saturday I had to come into town to escort some of my ESS Club members to a meeting, then came home. I watched the USA/Italy World Cup game early Sunday morning, slept in afterwards, and then took our Mazda MPV in for a recall, something to do with the power steering. It wasn't much of a Father's Day at my place, but I did call my dad to wish him a happy one. Finally, last night Alisa and I watched the Japan/Croatia World Cup game from 10 p.m., though I'm afraid I slept through the second half.

And now it's back to work in a hot and humid Osaka.

Tatsuhiko's Day

iPod morning commute music: The Allman Brothers Band, The Fillmore Concerts, disc 1 (1992)

The Allman Brothers Band really shouldn't need an introduction. This is an expanded reissue of the 1971 classic At Fillmore East. One of the greatest live rock 'n' roll sets ever, and one of the last with the late Duane Allman's masterful guitar playing. It sounds as good today as it ever did.

Just a short post today. It is Tatsuhiko's high school graduation day. I love my son so much, and am so proud of him. Kaoru and I did our best to raise him to become a good person. I think we succeeded.

And now we let him go.

Thursday Thinking Weekend

iPod morning commute music: The Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady, UK version (2001)

OK, I just picked this up yesterday afternoon and it isn't on my iPod yet. I did listen to it on my drive to the station this morning, so at least it's morning commute music.

This is a CD I've been meaning to buy for the last several years, but because it's music that I never actually heard before yesterday, I just kept overlooking it. Not wise. This is really good punk rock, not angry but anguished looks at love. This collection of singles was originally released in the States in 1979 to support the Buzzcocks' first US tour. This UK reissue includes 8 bonus tracks. I have yet to listen to the whole disc, but what I've heard so far is just great, more Clash than Sex Pistols.

Yesterday was our senior high Sports Day, held in a city-run sports stadium. It went well, but the gym was hot and humid (as was the weather outside). You could feel the low pressure system moving in, and sure enough, today is rain. Not a good day for doing things, but a great day for looking forward to the busy weekend.

Today I plan to pay for our plane tickets to the States. Between international school and flights home every other year, it's no wonder we can't save any money! This year the tickets are even more expensive due to the high cost of fuel. I know, bitch and moan, sorry.

I'll just try to get home and put on the Buzzcocks. That'll make me feel better!

Soccer Sadness

iPod morning commute music: Stephen Stills, Manassas (1972)

I picked up this CD at Christmas, and I believe I've written about it once before. I owned the original double album back in '72, the year I graduated from high school. This is easily Stills' best 'solo' album (Manassas was the name of his band), and holds its own 34 years down the road.

Japan played Australia in World Cup action last night. After leading one nil for the bulk of the game, Japan gave up three unanswered goals in the last six minutes. It was total meltdown. My 16 year old daughter, Alisa, was most affected by the loss. She really identifies with her Japanese side, and was angry with me when I said the game was embarrassing. Afterwards, the USA team 'played' the Czech team (a game that I, mercifully, didn't see as it started after midnight), losing 3-0 in an ugly fashion, according to the news accounts.

This is a strange week. Tomorrow (Wednesday), our high school has its Sports Day; I'm one of two teachers in charge of the students keeping score. Then on Friday Tatsu graduates from high school. The ceremony starts at 6:45 pm, but there is a reception for the grads and their families from 5:30. After the ceremony, my family will join a few others for a party in Umeda.

It seems surreal that Tatsu could have grown up so quickly, and these days I think both Kaoru and I are slipping into memories of his childhood. I guess there is just a point where you have to concede he's grown up and no longer a child, but I haven't quite gotten there yet. It is still hard to imagine my house without my son around. After 18 years, you just sort of get used to having him around.

Alive and Kicking

iPod morning commute music: not applicable

This morning was just not a music morning! All I wanted to do was sleep on the train, and I didn't need rock n' roll to keep me awake. I read a little bit before crashing, but crash I did.

One of the nice things about my commute is that I can crash, as I've mentioned before. My station is the first (or final, when coming home) station, and I ride the train to the last (or first, when coming home) station. In the rush hours there is an express train which runs station to station, so I don't have to change trains. It takes 45 minutes, plenty of time for a good nap.

Today, it was a nap I needed! Yesterday was busy, with my daughter's classmate's birthday/sayonara party at the Hard Rock Cafe (cocktails), followed by a Democrats Abroad Japan/Kansai meeting (beer). I met Kaoru and Alisa after the meeting at the beer stand in front of the station (more beer). We got home, and I relaxed (red wine). I think this will be an easy week for not drinking alcohol!

The Seattle Mariners are doing so well I hesitate to write about them as there is no wood to knock! They swept the Angels, and their bats seem to have come alive. Of course, here in Japan it's World Cup Fever, but fortunately the Cup games are on in the middle of the night, with baseball on in mid-morning. I saw Friday's game (Saturday here, and half of Saturday's (Sunday's) game before heading out for the Hard Rock; I got to see Sexson's grand slam, but missed Ichiro's 3-run homer.

And now back to work.

Finally Friday

iPod morning commute music: Solomon Burke, The Very Best of Solomon Burke (1998)

I picked up this excellent greatest hits CD several years ago when I was in one of my soul music phases. I'd never heard of Burke before, but I read something somewhere and began to research his music for a good first purchase, which turned out to be this. It is superb, but you have to like classic soul. There is very little pop/rock crossover appeal here. Burke's voice is wonderful, the songs are cool, and he's another great singer most people have never heard of. Well worth having.

It is finally Friday, and I've decided to take tomorrow off, so it's a big 2-day weekend for me!

Now, not to sound sexist, but the following has to be a woman's thing. Tomorrow, my wife is going to drive 2 hours to go to a beauty parlor near her parents' house. She refuses to get her hair cut anywhere else. 2 hours there, then 2 hours back. For a haircut. I know of no guys who would do this. Me, I either go to the closest place, or the cheapest, as long as it's not out of my way. Anyway, I don't want to sound critical, but considering the price of the highway tickets, gas, etc....oops, I'm beginning to sound critical.

On Sunday, Kaoru, Alisa and I will go to a farewell party at the Hard Rock Cafe for one of Alisa's classmates, Jonathan, who's been at the school with her since kindergarten. We're not particularly close family friends (we simply live too far away from each other), but we do know the family and want to attend. It's always hard to say goodbye to the only school you've known, so I'm sure it will be tough on Jonathan and his mom.

After the party (from 2:00-4:00) I have to head over to the Blarney Stone for a Democrats Abroad Japan-Kansai general meeting which starts from 5:00 (the officers/activists meeting begins at 3:30, but I'll miss most of that), so Sunday will be a busy day.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

The Slow Slide Down Thursday

iPod morning commute music: Ringo Starr, Ringo (1973)

I actually like Ringo, not enough to own a bunch of albums (only 2, to be exact, this and 1992's Time Takes Time), but enough that he's on my iPod. This album is a lot of fun, and he has a lot of support (John, Paul, and George all help out, and also Harry Nilsson, members of The Band, Steve Cropper, Billy Preston [who just passed away yesterday at 59!] to name just a few). Produced by Richard Perry, it has the same sort of weird tinges that the Perry-produced Nilsson albums Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) and Son of Schmilsson (1972, which featured 'Richie Snare' on drums and 'George Harrysong' on slide guitar). Fun music.

Today, we met our new Language Lab assistant, a nice woman, first name of Sae. She's replacing Yoko, who started in April and is resigning to move back to the States to work for Disney World or Land or whatever. The LL assistant has a hard job, about to become harder when we move into our 3 new computer aided LL's in September. I hope Sae will stay for awhile; it's hard training new assistants.

I guess I should confess that I'm back on the Craig Diet, and have been for just over 3 weeks and have lost 2.6 kg. (around 5 lbs.). For those who don't know, the Craig Diet says I can eat anything I want for my meals, but can't stuff myself. I am not allowed to drink alcohol Monday~Thursday, and snacks after dinner are discouraged. Friday~Sunday, no rules apply. Escalators, while not forbidden, are frowned upon when stairs are available.

Such is life.

Another Hump Day Almost Done

iPod morning commute music: Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam (2006)

I remember the first time I heard Pearl Jam's debut album, 10; I thought I was hearing Jim Morrison reincarnated. Smart, somewhat subversive music, grunge with hooks, Jeremy...I loved it! I bought the next few CD's, but somehow I lost my taste for them. I know this makes me sound lazy, but they became sort of challenging to listen to; I had to be 'in the mood'. This CD, however, puts me in the mood. Some of the songs feel like rock anthems, and the band is pissed off again (a good thing), not at Ticketmaster, but at Dubya, at the war, at the state of America in 2006. This album rocks, and for some reason I felt like rocking this morning. And it felt good.

It was good to have Tatsu back home from Thailand. He looked tanned and fit, and was in a pretty good mood (for a teenager!). He brought back souvenirs for everyone. Kaoru got a really nice scarf (I think; a beautiful piece of cloth), Alisa some jewelry, and I got 4 DVD's: Sin City, Munich, Backbreak Mountain and Pride and Prejudice. I hope they play OK on our system.

My lessons today went very well, but the humidity is trying its best to drag me down. Summer in Japan just sucks, and summer has only now begun! I'm really really really looking forward to getting back to Seattle for a three week vacation.

And now, back to work.

Leach Stories, Wedding Anniversary, Scary Date

iPod morning commute music: Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (2002)

Is there anyone who doesn't know this album? Quiet, acoustic, jazzy but tinged with country, pop and a little soul, it is extremely nice morning music (for some reason, these days I want quiet morning commute music; I just keep skipping over Nirvana!). I keep wanting to hear country group she's in, The Little Willies, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I talked to my son last night, when he called from his grandparents' house near the Kansai International Airport. It sounds like he had a pretty good time in Thailand. He did somehow get 5 leaches on him, and said he actually lost blood because of them. They must have been pretty mean leaches.

I remember getting leaches on me only once, and for the life of me I can't remember where or when. What I do remember is they were small, gray, sluggish looking things that dangled from my legs. We got them off by lighting a match and touching them with the hot match head; they just dropped off. I don't remember any blood, and they were disgusting enough without the blood.

More on Tatsu's trip later. I'm meeting him in Umeda late this afternoon, and we'll come home together (along with Alisa, who will meet us at our station).

Today is my second 19th wedding anniversary, our formal Japanese church anniversary: June 6th, which of course in 6/6/06 or 666, satanic happenings! Fortunately, my wife is no devil.

Finally Saw a Movie...

iPod morning commute music: Nick Lowe, Labour of Lust (1979)

Nick Lowe has long been a favorite of mine, first and foremost for the single Cruel to be Kind off of this album. My brother, Mark, used to play a lot of Lowe's stuff from this album, his first solo album Jesus of Cool (1978) and Seconds of Pleasure (1980), the lone album by Lowe's band, with Dave Edmunds, Rockpile. All three are great discs. Later, I went back to Lowe's days with Brinsley Schwarz, one of the classic British pub rock bands. Lowe also had some claim to fame as a producer, particularly with Elvis Costello's early albums. I saw him with Elvis once in Kyoto, Japan, a weird concert, just the two of them on guitars (I believe it was billed as Elvis Costello, Almost Alone)in the mid '80s. A fun artist, quirky, and a fun album.

It was a strange weekend. Friday was a holiday, so I hit Costco and bought meat for the barbecue, came home, did some yard work, and barbecued. Saturday I had to come into work and teach an open lesson for elementary school girls, mainly grade 6, who are interested in attending our school and their parents. It went off OK. Then on Sunday I finally got my wife to go see a film with me. The Constant Gardener finally made it to Japanese screens, and finishes its run tomorrow. I've been wanting to see it since it first was released in the west. I'm glad I finally got the chance. A very fine film.

Wednesday and Hot as Hell in Thailand

iPod morning commute music: Jem, Finally Woken, 2004

Another attempt by my son, who is hot as hell in Thailand, to try to keep me up-to-date in the music world. Jem, from Wales, does have a nice voice, and her themes are better than a lot of what I hear in modern rock, but this is still a little too electronic for my everyday consumption. The title track is pretty cool, though. It's worth a listen.

It's another hot, humid day in Osaka, the kind of day that makes you feel lazy, not at all like working. Of course, I have 4 lessons, all different lesson plans, just to make my life happy. I'm really ready to go home now, but it isn't even lunchtime yet. Sigh.

Tatsu sent me an e-mail from Thailand. He says it's very hot...3 times in an eight line missive. And humid. However, the Prem Center where his class is staying is like a "college campus" and the food is "OK". It's just very hot. And humid.

This week is just dragging, and I really don't have that much to write about. Hopefully something exciting will happen to me between now and tomorrow's post, or I'm afraid both of my avid readers will fall asleep in front of the monitor, and we don't want THAT to happen!

Just Another Tuesday, Ruby

iPod morning commute music: Jeff Beck, Blow by Blow (1975)

Jeff Beck is one helluva guitarist, and this is a great instrumental album. My only other Beck album is a greatest hits, The Best of Beck, though he's of course on my Yardbird's compilation, Ultimate. Why don't I have more? I guess Beck's a little quirky for my taste. Regardless, Blow by Blow is a great set of songs, and a worthy addition to any collection.

I'm really feeling lazy in today's heat. I taught 4 so-so lessons, not bad but not great. The students' energy levels are down, too. Two student teachers observed my second period class, which was at least better than my first period class, when I taught the lesson for the first time and made adjustments to the lesson plan on the fly.

A friend of mine contacted me yesterday. He wants to talk about problems at work. I'll try to meet him this afternoon. Joe's a nice guy, and we rode the train into work together for years, but since April Japan Railroad changed their schedule, and suddenly my commute became hell. My solution? Change the commute. I'm now taking earlier trains, so haven't been able to meet up with Joe. Routines are meant to be changed, or they become ruts.

100 Posts and Still Counting

iPod morning commute music: Jack Johnson, Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

My son, Tatsu, likes Jack Johnson a lot, and put a couple of his albums on my iPod. Today was the first time I actually listened to a whole album. I have to admit, he's good, but I think I prefer hearing his songs one at a time, in shuffle mode, then as a whole album. There is a sameness there. Still, it's good morning music, quiet and bluesy.

A short weekend, having worked on Saturday, where I read in the International Herald Tribune that the tax cut Congress extended and Bush signed into law increases taxes for ex-pats like myself (actually, it's hard to say if I will really be affected by this). It is unusual for an industrial country to tax its those living abroad, as we have to pay taxes in the country we live. In effect, we are being taxed twice on a single income.

Last night, Tatsu departed for Thailand for 8 days (returning next Monday evening). 15 students and 2 teachers went to a school called the Prem Center in Chiang Mai. They will do quite a bit of sightseeing, but will also spend 2 days in a tribal villiage doing community service, helping to build a road and a drainage system. The weather there doesn't look particularly great for their visit, but I'm sure they'll have a great time.

Finally, this is my 100th post. Amazing anyone is still reading them!

Friday and the Dentist

iPod morning commute music: The Grateful Dead, Live/Dead, 1969

I was never much of a Deadhead. I got into their music when I was a student in the early '70s at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA (the place says a lot about why I would get into the Dead at that time). I saw them live once, at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, and it wasn't one of my most memorable concerts. But even for a quasi-Deadhead, once a Deadhead, always a Deadhead, and I certainly own a lot of their music, both albums and a box set. This still remains, with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, (OK, and Dick's Picks, Vol. 4) one of my favorites. It was their first live album, and it still sounds great...er, grate...er...Grateful Dead.

Not much to write about today. Just a couple of observations. First, I have a dentist appointment today, the old routine checkup, only this guy wants to schedule them once every four months, not six like I grew up with in the USA. I don't really mind, as this is a vast improvement over most Japanese dentists ("Come in again when you have a problem.") and he actually does clean the teeth. Still, I wonder if this is the new norm, or just a way to get extra money out of me.

Finally, several months ago I posted about single spacing versus double spacing following the end of sentences. I want everyone to know, especially Ron, that I have pretty much mastered the art of single spacing. I've adapted to the computer age. Applause, please.

Tomorrow I have to come in to proctor one last mid-term test. Sigh...I hate coming in early on Saturdays. Actually, I hate coming in anytime on Saturdays, but this is Japan. 'Nuff said, to quote Stan Lee.

Cornerstone

iPod morning commute music: The Go-Betweens, 1978-1990, disc 1 (1990)

As many of you already know, Grant McLennan, half of the songwriting team (with Robert Forster)of the Go-Betweens (and, in their latest incarnation, just simply half of the Go-Betweens) passed away on May 6th of this year. He will be missed. One listen to this best-of CD and you will understand why.

For the past couple of days, construction workers had been jackhammering away at the main existing building of our school, just outside the window of one of our two language labs. It turns out they were opening around the cornerstone of our school, dated 1935, behind which were two time capsules filled with school memorabilia from that time. We had a small service at 4:00 yesterday afternoon, hymns and prayers, and then they opened the time capsules. It was strange to stand there holding photos of students who died in a typhoon that blew down one of the original buildings and newspapers (including one in English!), knowing that 70 years ago teachers from the school put them there. It really felt like holding history in your hands. Of course, part of it is knowing that we are creating our own history, with the new school building opening in August, followed by the raising of the building which housed the now-opened time capsules. In my 21st year here, I realize that I'm becoming part of the history of this school.

Today is the second day of mid-terms. I should be able to leave by noon today, maybe drop by Tower Records on the way home. It will be nice to have the afternoon off.

Mid Term Blues

iPod morning commute music: George Harrison, All Things Must Pass, disc 1 (1970)

This is, of course, considered Harrison's best album, and remains very listenable. This morning, I was struck (for who knows what reason) by how good the song Wah-Wah is. Most of the songs are leftovers from his Beatles days, but perhaps that was when his songwriting was at its peak, as he competed with John and Paul for disc space. He never made an album as consistant again, though he came close on his swan song, Brainwashed in 2002 (Cloud Nine from 1987 wasn't too shabby, either). Good morning music.

My wonderful half-day mid-term test period has gotten off to a lousy start with an emergency teachers meeting at 4:30 today. Instead of getting out of here by 1:00, I've been stuck in limbo.

Not stuck, exactly; I did get down to Nipponbashi (Osaka's main electrical appliance/computer etc. shopping area) after lunch and managed to pick up a used compact digital camera, a Canon S50 (their first 500 mega-pixel camera in 2003) for about $140 ($699 new, but these things depreciate in value almost as fast as my Japanese house). With Tatsu going to Thailand this weekend, and Alisa to DC/NYC this summer, we figured they need a small camera the could easily stash in their pocket.

Oh, I even got a 1-month guarantee on it! Whoopie!

On a serious note, my sister-in-law, Ann's, father died last week. I found out from my folks when I talked to them last Sunday. I called Ann and talked for awhile that same day. You could hear the sadness in her voice. I sent her a quote from John Steinbeck's To a God Unknown in which he writes quite movingly about death. She wrote back that she will read it at the service (or Mark will, if she's too sad). I wish I could be there.

Tatsu's Last Test

iPod morning commute music: Essra Mohawk, You're Not Alone (2003)

What, you don't know Essra Mohawk? Neither did I, but she's been writing, singing and recording since 1964. She was Uncle Meat in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention (all this info is courtesy of allmusic.com). I'm not sure where I first heard of her, but I hit Tower Records looking for Primordial Lovers, recorded in 1969 and named as one of the top 25 albums of all time by Rolling Stone. What, you never heard of it? Neither had I, and Tower didn't have it in stock, but they did have this, her latest release. Pretty cool stuff, bluesy, reminds me of Bonnie Raitt a little. Her voice is excellent, though some of her lyrics grate on me a bit. Great guitar work throughout. Recommended, and it's always cool to have someone in your collection no one has ever heard of!

Today my son takes his last IB exam, in Japanese. This means he is essentially finished with school. Graduation is June 16th, but he has no classes between now and then. He will be going to Thailand at the end of next week on the Senior Trip, but basically, he's finished. Hard to believe.

I been over this theme before, and recently, but it is weird to feel something you know all caring, loving parents must feel at this stage in their child's life, when he is quickly leaving childhood: Helpless. I remember when I was his age and I thought I was so goddamn smart and my parents so goddamn stupid. I wish I could get Tatsu to understand how (mostly) wrong I was.

But it can't be helped. Hopefully, Tatsu's armed with the social and educational skills to go forth and succeed. I guess the final task of parenthood is letting go, and I'm sure I'm not the first parent to discover this.

His last test started at 11:00, and it's just after noon now. He's spent 13 years at the same international school, K-12. His life is just getting started. Godspeed.

Confessions of the Barbecue King

iPod morning commute music: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (1978)

I don't know why I don't give this band more respect. I like funk, and your don't get much funkier than this. I suspect it has to do with my general dislike of disco, though what I hated in the '70s I can tolerate today. Regardless, this album is pretty cool, but it only covers their early stuff, which may be good for me in a way. I probably should cough up the bucks and get a newer, more inclusive compilation such as 1998's Greatest Hits. Very good music to commute with.

This weekend centered around the barbecue. My local store stopped stocking American charcoal this (for years they had Kingsford Matchlight, which was great since you can't buy starter fuel in Japan), so a couple of weeks ago I broke down and bought some cheap stuff manufactured in Malaysia from the same shop. Awful stuff, just clumps of blackened wood, irregular sizes ranging from little chips to chunks of logs, impossible to create an even bed of coals. So on Saturday I headed over to Costco, where they had (note the use of the past tense) 2 large sacks of regular Kingsford charcoal bundled together. But not now. So I spent $200 on things other than what I wanted, and drove home, stopping at three more stores before finding something that looked vaguely like the charcoal Americans all know. They were cylinders, hollow in the middle, about 2-3" long.

Then on Sunday I became the Barbecue King. This is my major contribution towards dinners; I barbecue enough for four or five meals at a shot. First, I prepared two pork tenderloins, one seasoned with garlic and pepper, the other slathered with Dijon mustard, then marinated them separately in white wine, lemon juice, and olive oil. Next, I cut up 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) of boned chicken breasts and marinated them in tandoori sauce (Sharwood out of England makes a great tandoori base, 3 tbs. of which mixed with 3 tbs. of plain yogurt creates the marinade). I then made 4 hamburgers (450 g. [1 lb] of lean ground beef, 1 egg, some chopped onion, a quarter cup of dry bread crumbs, some Worcester sauce, salt and pepper). I then prepared 3 large top round steaks (Australian beef, American beef still banned)with salt and pepper.

I piled up the strange charcoal in the chimney starter, lit it, and then the problems began. The bottom charcoal burned up before the top charcoal caught, and they just were too big, meaning too few, to make an even bed of coals. It just wasn't hot enough. Tatsu ended up helping me break up the Malaysian charcoal into chunks, which we then put on top of the new charcoal. Finally I had enough coals to cook with. In the end, everything got done. It only took twice as long as it should have.

Once a Fool, Always a Fool

iPod morning commute music: Buddy Holly, The Buddy Holly Collection, disc 2 (1993)

I ended yesterday's comments about disc one with a big, "Rave on!" Unfortunately, Rave On isn't on disc 1, so I just had to listen to disc 2 today. Everything I wrote about disc 1 remains true for disc 2. Except disc 2 has Rave On. As Stan Lee would say, 'Nuff said.

Last night I went to the Blarney Stone for my free beer and to meet with one of the authors of a new textbook I'm using. I get there and immediately run into an old friend, Robert H., who used to work for one publisher but who switched over to Macmillan several years ago. We started talking about the book I'm using in junior high, and he asks me a question about one of the components, a mini dictionary of sorts. I haven't used it, and said why, and offered my ideas for improvement. Robert then tells me the publisher will be coming into the pub in a few minutes, and would I pass on my comments to her.

So in she comes, and I get introduced. We start talking, and I broach the subject of the textbook when my mind blanks on the title of the damn book. All I can remember is blahblahblahStarter. The publisher (a really attractive woman dressed fine and smiling and looking right at me) was waiting for my incisive comments, so I blurted out the title, "Get Ready Starter", and she just looks at me. There is no such book. "You mean, Get Real! Starter" Euan, our local rep, helpfully corrects me.

I did. I blamed it on the beer. I blathered on. The expert. Can't even remember what book he uses.

Once a fool, always a fool.

TGIF

The Blarney Stone's (Osaka) 3rd Anniversary

iPod morning commute music: The Buddy Holly Collection, disc 1 (1993)

This is great rock 'n' roll. Buddy Holly has to be, deserves to be, listened to. His music is timeless, his genius undeniable. There was a point in my life where I'd heard the various covers that I just needed to hear the originals. Fortunately, this double CD exists. Brilliant stuff. Rave on!

Tonight, The Blarney Stone Irish Pub celebrates it 3rd anniversary. Back in its first year, I threw myself (selfish, I know) a 20-years-in-Japan party there. Bob K., my late friend, egged everyone into buying my more beers than anyone should drink. Fortunately, I had arranged for my wife to pick me up at the station that night. And that was really only my second or third time in the pub; I usually drank in the Umeda Pig and Whistle, now closed, and to this day don't know why I chose the Blarney over the Pig for that party.

Now the Blarney has become an important meeting place in my life. Democrats Abroad Japan-Kansai holds both its monthly meetings and movie nights there. Book publishers hold events there (free beer!); Macmillan will be there tonight. And my co-worker, Martyn N., will be part of the Irish band playing there tonight.

So I guess I'll be dropping in myself after the teachers' meeting finishes. It's on the way home, I know the band, and the beer will be free. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Alisa's Birthday

iPod morning commute music: The Dixie Chicks, Home (2002)

Sometimes I feel like genres should be classically recognizable; jazz should sound like Blue Train, not Bitches Brew. This record is classically country in its sound and feel. Dolly Parton would own this. The lyrics are great as well. There simply isn't a bad song on the record. If you like country, you'll love this. If you think you don't like country, have a listen. It might change your mind.

Today my daughter, Alisa, turns 16. This is hard to believe. I guess when sons grow up, fathers don't feel so protective. It's more like, OK, go on out there, make your mark, and remember to use condoms. With daughters, though, it feels way different. I know part of this is the sexist in me, lurking behind the politically correct trees in my mental forest, but hey! I can't help it. I hate to see my little girl grow up.

Three or four years ago, we were in park, and Alisa got on a swing and asked me to push her. I thought for an instant, "You're too old for this," and then thought, "This might be the last time she asks me for a push." I pushed, and I was right; she never asked again.

I wish she would.

Happy birthday, Alisa. You're growing up in a way that makes Mom and me proud. And always remember, we love you very much.

You, too, Tatsu; just don't forget the condom.

Midterm Reflections

iPod morning commute music: Brian Eno, Another Day on Earth (2005)

After getting all hyped about Paul Simon's new album (see yesterday's post) with Brian Eno a major contributor, I decided to check out this disc. It's OK. Eno's moving away from ambiance: these songs have lyrics and form. But they just aren't as substantial as those on Simon's Surprise. Nothing grabbed me. He last worked this territory in 1975's Another Green World. If you're interested in Eno, I start off with that.

Busy days at work. Next week, midterm tests start, which will be good; I'll be on basically a half day schedule for a few days. Maybe I can get a bit ahead of things. One positive is that I like the new textbooks that I chose for 7th and 10th grade classes. Both seem to be working well for the students, and I like the challenge of working with new materials. Sometimes, teachers (myself included) get so used to a book that we can teach it on auto pilot. It's nice to change, to look again at the needs of the students. When it works, it feels great.

The reality of heading back to the States is beginning to slip in. I'm contacting people, and their contacting me. My friend, Nan, wrote that it was good I was coming back because I "need a break." The understatement of the year! It will be great to see her, and my all my other family and friends again.

90th Post

iPod morning commute music: Paul Simon, Surprise (May 9th, 2006)

This CD has knocked me for a loop. My brother put things in sarcastic perspective: "What a surprise. Paul Simon made a great album." True, he's made great albums throughout his career, but this just feels braver. Having Brian Eno add what the album refers to as "Sonic Landscapes", Simon seems to be taking a huge risk, but it all works so well! I can't seem to get enough of this disc. Beautiful, moving music.

I hope all of you mothers out there had a great Mother's Day. Kaoru has to wait till next weekend for her special dinner (the request was tandoori chicken), as I had a Democrats Abroad Japan-Kansai meeting last night in Umeda. The meeting was held in the Blarney Stone Pub, and went well. It looks like the place we'll be meeting in the future.

Oh, our cat is OK. She was actually in my son's room, sleeping in an opened drawer, unnoticed. Everyone is relieved.

Slowly I've been contacting people about my Seattle visit. I called my folks on Saturday (Japan time) to let them know. They were happy. I'm glad that everything worked out the way it did.

Finally, this is my 90th post. Not one of my better ones, but hey, it's a Monday! What can anyone expect?

Good news

iPod morning commute music: Badfinger, The Very Best of Badfinger (2000)

Why is it that Badfinger always sounds good? This greatest hits is a good compilation, covering both their Apple recordings and their later albums. Of course, their story is one of tragedy (two band members committed suicide), but their music is still great. Of course, their two classic albums No Dice (1970) and Straight Up (1971) are essential recordings, but this disc is thoroughly enjoyable.

The good news is that it looks like I'll be getting back to the States this summer even though the Canadian business trip fell through. I really think I need the break. My parents are getting older (both turn 80 this year), and the thought of staying in Japan for 6 weeks alone (the wife and kids will be stateside from July 4) just wasn't appealing. Fortunately, the school was generous and gave me permission to leave on the 22nd (I was told originally that I had to stay through the end of July), so I'll get in just over 3 weeks. I'll call my folks this Sunday (Saturday in the States) to let them know.

Maybe some bad news: our cat didn't come in last night, and wasn't to be seen this morning. Very unusual behavior on her part, and it has me concerned. Hopefully, she'll show up later today.

Back to work.

A Muggy Tuesday

iPod morning commute music: Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits (1968)

I can never get enough of this album. The Rascals were a great blue-eyed soul band from the '60s, and this is a great compilation. My co-worker, Bob, has a double disc anthology that would flesh out the 14 hits here, but still, you can't go wrong with this set, which includes Groovin', Good Lovin', You Better Run, and Mustang Sally, to name a few of my favorites.

Warm, muggy weather has settled into Japan. Still, it's nothing like summer! One of the things I hate more than anything is getting stuck in Japan for the summer, with its heat and humidity. Doing anything is more of an effort than it's worth (with the possible exception of drinking ice-cold beer).

It looks more and more like the family's trip (sans Dad) is set. Kaoru, Tatsu and Alisa should all arrive on 7/4, with Tatsu staying for the long haul. Alisa will head to DC and NYC for her conference on 7/30, and then stay a few days with her cousins in NJ/PA before flying back to Japan on 4/14, the same day Kaoru leaves from the west coast. Now, if only I can get out of here!

Monday, Monday

iPod morning commute music: The Mamas and the Papas, Creeque Alley, disc 1 (1991)

Yes, I really did listen to Monday Monday this morning. I wrote about disc 2 of this greatest hits package before, so no need to repeat much. Good, happy music, perfect for a Monday morning commute.

Yesterday was spent finishing up two short papers for the Osaka Private Schools English Teaching Associations (OPSETA) in-house journal. The first, on the Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT) conference which I attended last fall (and which, indirectly, led me to starting this blog), and the second on a lecture the OPSETA sponsored last spring on Extensive Reading. Both were late, but I really had been busy with the British visitors and the start of term.

This year's OPSETA lecture will be this Wednesday, on Immersion programs here in Japan. I met the speaker at last year's JALT Conference and recommended him to the group. I know he's a good speaker, and the topic is relevant, but it sounds like the program won't be very well attended. It's hard to get teachers out in the middle of the week, especially for an afternoon event.

Lunchtime! Have to run.

An Awful Saturday

iPod morning commute music: Not applicable. Coming off a 3-day holiday with having to work on a Saturday, all I wanted to do was sleep on the train. That said, I won't leave you without some musical reference. Neil Young's new album, Living With War, isn't on the shelves yet, but you can listen to it in its entirety streamed on the following site:

http://www.hyfntrak.com/neilyoung2/AFF23130/

I particularly like track 6, Flags of Freedom, but the whole album is vintage Neil.

Golden Week has pretty much come and gone for me. Today I had to come in to help escort students to a church service in the morning. I have a PTA (Perfectly Torturous Activity) in the afternoon. I'm wearing a necktie. It's awful.

Yesterday I washed and waxed my car before firing up the first BBQ of the season (steaks, tandoori chicken, burgers). A fitting end for the holiday. Now, I need to book my family's summer vacation flights, and I know I'm late and Ray, my travel agent, will moan about it, rightfully so. Of course, I still have no idea if I'll be sent to Canada by my school this summer or not, and if not, I don't get back (if they do send me, I'll be able to squeeze in a 2 week visit to Seattle). Old news, I know, but on my mind.

Better make that call to Ray.

Ready for the Holidays

iPod morning commute music: Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto (1963)

Almost everyone of my generation knows of this great album ("Beyond essential" according to AMG) if only for the classic Girl from Ipanema. Bossa nova as jazz, whatever, this is stunning stuff. Getz on tenor sax, Gilberto on guitar, Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, and with Gilberto's wife, Astrud Gilberto, providing the understated vocals for Girl from Ipanema, this is a masterpiece. Everyone should own it. Beautiful.

My house is in disarray. Tatsu is starting his IB exams today, and loses his entire Golden Week holiday. Kaoru is still suffering from a horrible cough which, when it hits, incapacitates her (and can wake me up in the middle of the night). Alisa came down the stairs this morning with a 38.1 degree fever, and is home sick. I'm ready for the holidays to begin.

Tonight, one of the publisher reps is taking me out for a beer. I switched over to his company's books this year for both my 7th graders and my 10th graders, a huge chunk of business. Anyway, Euan's a nice guy, and I'm looking forward to getting to know him outside of the professional sense.

And then, Golden Week starts. Hopefully, I can catch some extra sleep, watch a few Mariners' games (they won again today, 3 in a row now, an 8-2 over Minnesota, with Joel Pineiro pitching a complete game), and watch some DVD's. Drink some wine. Eat some food. Did I mention sleep?

Easing into Monday

iPod morning commute music: Roy Orbison, For the Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits (1988)

I didn't connect it until the music began, but choosing Roy Orbison after a day of listening to Bruce Springsteen is no great leap. The Boss has often claimed Roy as a major influence, a goal as it were, to sing like him. Not hard to see why. I didn't own any of Roy's music until I got The Traveling Wilburys, with Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Roy. Then, of course, he died, too young at 52 (I'm 52!) of a heart attack in 1988, the same year Rhino put out this great compilation.

It was an easy commute today, with many companies celebrating Golden Week (GW) even though the actual national holidays were this past Saturday, then Wednesday through Friday of this week (see my previous post). The crowds just weren't there. I can remember a time when I really resented having to come into work when others had the time off, but time has mellowed me. This is my job, and I just have to live with it.

Yesterday, I left the house with Kaoru to go shopping with the Mariners losing to Baltimore 4-2. The M's aren't off to a particularly strong start this year. The offense has been less than stellar. Even Ichiro slumped, though he appeared to be coming out of it. Beltre is a particular concern to me; he's being paid mighty big bucks to be batting under .200. Anyway, returned home to find they'd won 8-6. I could have kicked myself. And they did it again today, 4-3, handing Moyer his first win of the season (amazing, considering his respectable 3.55 ERA; as I said, there's been a remarkable lack of offensive oomph). Hopefully, they can catch some momentum out of this.

Golden Week Begins

iPod morning commute music: Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)

OK, technically NOT on my iPod yet, but well worth mentioning. This is really good, unusual music for the Boss. First, it is an album of all covers, tunes from Pete Seeger's vast catalogue of recordings. Second, they were all recorded live and unrehearsed, in his farm house in upstate New York in three 1-day acoustic sessions, with a group of up to 13 musicians playing horns, fiddles, a washboard, drums, accordions. Finally, it is a happy album, fun and loose, full of different styles ranging from folk, country, bluegrass and gospel. I swear, Springsteen is one of those few artists who can record any damn thing he wants, follow any whim he wants, and at least here get away with it. A great album.

Golden Week is a week in Japan where national holidays fall on 4 out of 6 days, with many companies giving employees all 6 days off. Not so with schools. We have only the actual holidays off: April 29th, and May 3rd, 4th and 5th. I'll be in school on Monday and Tuesday, as well as Saturday the 6th. We don't have any real plans to go anywhere. Tatsu has 12 IB final exams throughout the holidays (he is NOT happy), Kaoru is sick (she went to an allergies' doctor yesterday, who took some blood and is running tests). Besides, it is a horrible time to travel, with nation-wide traffic jams. So Tatsu, Alisa and I went down to our local video shop and rented 5 DVDs. It's time to hunker down to serious TV time.

Yesterday, I went on a hike with the entire high school junior class to Mt. Koya. Most of the day was spent in transport: I left my place at 6:10 am, and arrived, by train and bus, with the students at the starting point at 10:30 am. The actual hike was only 2 hours and 15 minutes, after which we ate our box lunches, goofed off, and then reboarded buses at 2:30 pm to begin the long trek back home. It was a gorgeous day, sunny but not hot on the forest trail up the mountain. The students were, for the most part, in good spirits. My job for the day was photographer, which always makes one popular with the kids. All in all a good day.

Now, back to my start of Golden Week.

Getting Better all the Time

iPod morning commute music: Miles Davis, Bitches Brew, disc 1 (1970)

More jazz, but sort of wasted on me this morning. I slept pretty much the whole way into work. A very important album, but...I still prefer yesterday's Blue Train.

Yesterday's headache came under control about 2:30, so I was feeling fine as I made my way with a group of teachers to my school's welcome party for new teachers, held in the Osaka Hilton. Seating is always by the luck of the draw, so people don't just sit with their friends. I got lucky and was at a table with a number of English speakers. The food was also good, with grilled salmon and beef tenderloin making up the two main dishes. Beer and wine flowed freely all evening. Then, I actually was a winner at Bingo, and received an electric takoyaki cooker. Takoyaki is hard to explain, but basically it's a ball of cooked dough with a small piece of octopus in the middle. Sweet sauce is on the top, and it's a favorite snack food in Osaka. I got home and showed Kaoru; she thought it was funny. I asked her if she knew how to make takoyaki, and she said, "Of course!" In 19 years of marriage she's never made it, but I guess if you're a woman from Osaka, the skill is genetic.

The new Springsteen album is out in the States today, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Reviews have been very good. It sounds like a fun album. I may look for it today on my way home.

Teaching with a Headache

iPod morning commute music: John Coltrane, Blue Train (1957)

Sometimes, it has to be jazz, and jazz doesn't get much better than this CD. It's hard to believe I was only 3 years old when this came out; it sounds like it was recorded last night. Essential music.

Last night, I went to the Blarney Stone Pub in Umeda to meet with some Democrats Abroad Japan Kansai people. We're in the process of setting up an online voter registration system using the DA web site www.votefromabroad.org on their computer. It was also DA Movie night. To make a long story short, I had a couple of pints of Guinness, then headed home for a late dinner and some wine. Today, headache. Not a splitting headache, just a dull one that won't go away. Never fun for teaching.

There is a lot of work being co-national chair for voter registration (VR), but I like doing it. Hopefully, once we get the system in place things should mellow out a bit.

Finally, tonight is our annual school welcome party for new teachers, a nice one as the school pays for everything. This year, it's being held in the Hilton, and looks like a great menu. Hopefully, the headache will be gone by then, or it will be the old hair of the dog.

Felt Better

iPod morning commute music: Passion is No Ordinary Word: The Graham Parker Anthology 1976-1991, disc 2 (1993)

Graham Parker and the Rumor first blew me away with 1979's Squeezing Out Sparks. Parker always struck me as a mix between Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. His songwriting skills are excellent, matching rocking melodies with biting lyrics. But that was all I bought back then, and it wasn't until this double-disc anthology came out that I gave him his due listen. It's really good stuff, particularly disc 1, his older stuff. However, disc 2 holds its own. Intellegent music.

I've been suffering from a cold since Tuesday. I hate colds. Tomorrow (Saturday) I'm taking a half-day holiday and will stay home, sleep, maybe go see a doctor if I don't feel better.

Am reading Alex Kerr's Demons and Dogs, The Fall of Modern Japan. It's depressing stuff about just how horrible Japan is politically, economically, and environmentally. Yet it is easy to live here. There's a contradiction somewhere.

Have to teach. Have a good weekend.

He's back, and blogger than ever!

iPod morning commute music: Bob Dylan, Before the Flood, disc 2 (1974)

Not much to say about this one. Dylan and The Band, live, with Dylan reinventing his songs and The Band playing gamely along. The Band has a set of their own stuff, followed by an acoustic Dylan solo set. This really set the pattern for Dylan's future never-ending tour. Very good, unless you don't like Dylan.

I'm back. It's been a helluva start to the academic year! The British kids and their teachers came on the 2nd and returned home on the 15th. It was a very successful program, but I regret missing the first 2 days of classes. Things are also heating up with the voter registration gig. I'm beginning to feel that political pulse again. I'm hyped.

This week has been busy trying to catch up on all the paperwork I should have done last week, coupled with lessons. In a way, it's kind of exhilarating to be so busy, on some edge, and yet everything works. My new students seem nice, my new textbooks good. Of course, it has only been a week.

Yesterday, our school had their welcome assembly for new students, with school clubs performing, trying to recruit new members. My club, ESS (English Speaking Society), did a very good job, and I'm hopeful we'll get some good new members.

Finally, sorry for the lack of posts over the last 3 weeks, but I hope you understand. I'll try my best to keep this blog up and running from now on.

God, I Hate Cleaning

iPod morning commute music: N/A

I did pick up The Byrds: Untitled/Unreleased (1970). Actually, it was just "Untitled" back then; the "Unreleased" is a bonus disc of, you guessed it, unreleased material. The original release was a double album, with the first record live recordings, and the second record studio stuff. Only Roger McGuinn remains from the founding members, but the rest of the band is very good, particularly Clarence White on lead guitar. The live stuff is, for the most part, classic Byrds, and therefore suffers without the vocals of Gene Clark and David Crosby, but the 15 minute version of Eight Miles High is pretty cool, though the extended bass/drum duet in the middle wore on me a bit. I haven't heard the unreleased disc yet. Maybe tomorrow as we head to the in-laws.

On Sunday, students and teachers from our sister school in England arrive for a two-week stay. I spent today cleaning out the study so the teacher I'm hosting has a room to himself. We have a futon couch in the living room, but I just assume he would rather have the privacy of the study, which doubles as our junk room. The junk now moves up to the bedroom. Cleaning is finished except for vacuuming. God, I hate cleaning.

The worst news finally arrived concerning my son and university: he isn't classified as a Washington State resident, which means no matter where he would go to university in the States, he would be considered a non-resident. And since he went to an international school in Japan, which is not recognized by the Japanese government, he would be considered an international student in Japan, not a Japanese student. It looks like he'll be taking a year off to work in the States and gain residency.

Finally, I have been appointed national co-chair for voter registration for Democrats Abroad Japan. We're hoping to register 12,000 Democrats to vote in this year's election.