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.