A haiku

On the other shore

over valleys and mountains

home away from home

Summer movie recommendations

Just returned from a viewing of G.I. Joe. You may ask why...because we got free tickets. It was bad, really bad. Loud, pointless, bad dialogue and loud!

So if you like to watch movies at home (and have Netflix), it is a real joy to discover (and rediscover) the classics, not just English ones but films in other languages.

Here are some of my favorites (in no particular order):

La Strada and Nights of Cabiria directed by Federico Fellini (Italy)

Cafe Lumiere by Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Taiwan)

Harakiri and Kwaidan by Kobayashi Masaki (Japan)

The Double Life of Veronique by Krzysztof Kieslowski (Poland)

The 400 Blow by François Truffaut (France)

The King of Mask by Wu Tianming (China)

The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo (Italy/France/Algeria)

Central Station by Walter Salles (Brazil)

The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany)

The Burmese Harp by Kon Ichikawa (Japan)

Writing

A visiting friend asked me if I still keep a blog. The answer is yes, but I don't write as often as I did in Japan and in the year immediately after JET. The reason being I have been busy with school and then work. But I begin to think there is another reason--that writing is essentially an undertaking best done in a quiet and solitary environment.

Virginia Woolf talked about a room of one's own. When you're working or in school or doing homestay, you are not really alone. Not that being in school or working is bad, far from it both are beneficial life experiences. Solitude is not isolation or misanthropy, it is about being able to step away from the hustle and demand of everyday life, be in a place where you can call home, maybe with a nice cup of coffee or glass of wine, and most importantly without any immediate mundane obligations hanging over you. Then can you start to collect your thoughts and put something down. 

Transportation

Have just returned from a one-week vacation in Japan, I can't help but realize how hard it could be for travellers in the land of the rising sun who don't speak or read the language. Sure, if your itinerary involves anything but Tokyo, it could be a stress-free trip. 

Part of the stress that comes with a trip is the inability to figure out how to get from one place to another, and transportation is a big issue in Japan, not least because you enjoy much more if you could hop on and off trains to various destinations. Japan has perhpas the best and most efficient transportation system, but it can also be overwhelming and confusing, even for people who read Japanese signs (which do not always come with their English equivalent). 

In memory of the Master

I have just received the very sad news that Mr. Obara, the man behind the counter at Kitchen Jagaimo, a favorite JET pizza joint in Ishinomaki, has passed away.

Stepping into Kitchen Jagaimo, with its three small checkered-clothed tables and a dark wood counter, is like venturing into a different dimension in this back-water, industrial town in the deep north of Japan. Its warmth and welcoming touch is due not only to its intimate look but also because of Mr. Obara.

Mr. Obara was a somewhat plumb, but solid man with a jolly aura about him. I learned that he used to live in the states and was a fisherman.  He gave you an impression of strength but never brusqueness, of heartiness and gentility. 

May he rest in peace.

Max Pain

Does Mark Wahlberg ever play anyone other than himself? We rented Max Payne under the false impression that it would be a monster movie. We knew it would be silly, but we thought it would be an entertaining time killer--we had no idea it was this stupid and un-entertaining. Well, we should have been wiser. 

National Anthem

In Thailand, the national anthem is played through public loudspeakers at 8am and 6pm. Everyone is expected (or required, depending on who's enforcing it) to stand still until the song finishes. 

If you're a farang (Thai equivalent of gaijin, or foreigner) not in the know, you may be publicly reprimanded by a whistling enforcer. Of course, the rule is not consistently enforced. In a cafeteria, you may see the waitresses and janitors continue to go about their duties as the anthem plays. And I have seen people who are rushing to get on a departing bus who ignore this rule. And then there are those who seem to stop just because everyone else around them is stopping, so they obviously don't want to stand out and rock the boat.

All in all, it can be quite a sight (and photo opportunity). 

Amusing

With my Japan trip less than month away, I am now doing some research on places to go. One of the places I thought my group should go is Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, so I went to their website and voila, there is the almight Hillary in her blue pant-suit on the home page. Here's an exerpt from the description:

"When Chief Priest Nakajima explained that Shinto is one of the fundamental elements of Japanese culture and that one of the most important ideas in Shinto is "balance and harmony", she nodded strongly in assent."

That immediately got me giggling (or is it scoffing?).  I don't want to offend any Shintoist, but what is a "nod" really in politics? What was she really thinking when she was nodding. I think it was one of those "I kinda get what you're saying, I don't give a damn but I will politely feign interest" nods. But then, that's why I am not the webmaster for Meiji Jingu.

My cynical rant of the day. Banzai!

Just Tokyo

To add to the review I quoted in the previous post, I was glad it included a paragraph on a great film by Taiwanese director Hou Hisao-Hisen, made as a tribute to Yasujiro Ozu, considered a 20th century master in Japanese and world cinema. 

People talk about Lost in Translation as a mood piece evoking a sense of alienation, but what Hou's film, "Cafe Lumiere" is on a whole different level, that is neither judgmental nor eerie. It just feels like Tokyo without the usual cliches. It doesn't feel forced (as I thought Lost is at times), but evokes a natural stream of consciousness of an ordinary Tokyoite going about her business. 

Well put

From a movie review in the NY Times:

"Outsider perspectives of Japan are hardly immune from charges of Orientalism; take the exoticized kitsch of Rob Marshall’s “Memoirs of a Geisha,” to name a glaring recent example. But things are far from clear-cut when it comes to Tokyo, a city whose gridless sprawl and constant renewal can prove disorienting even to natives. If foreign observers have seemed particularly attuned to its secret life, it may be because this is a city that lends itself to the musings of strangers in a strange land.

What’s more, the image of Japanese culture as fundamentally alien is in a way consistent with how Japan sees itself. The notion of separateness or even uniqueness has long been part of the country’s self-image, going back to the centuries of isolation that ended only with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry’s American squadron in the mid-19th century. The topic of what makes the Japanese who they are, and what sets them apart from other Asians and Westerners, has a way of creeping into the national conversation. (A book arguing that the Japanese brain is different from all others was a best seller in the 1980s.)"

Full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/movies/01lim.html?_r=1

Loving your work

A coworker consulted me as to whether she should accept a job offer. There are many reasons to quit a job, not least of which is the extent to which you are happy about what you're doing. If someone is consistently unhappy at work and if the root of the problem is beyond his/her control (or that a reasonable solution is nowhere in sight), then it is a wise decision to quit.

After all, why keep on doing something that makes you unhappy, especially when you're young and single. If you have to quit, treat it as an opportunity rather than a loss and move on to greener pastures. 

Hard Time, Down Time

With the global economy nosediving by the minute, there is always an abundance of reasons to be pessimistic. Quite a few of my close friends have lost their jobs and many more have witnessed co-workers being laid off.

Losing your job is tough, very tough, but to look at the bright side, it brings free time and a chance for self-reflection and rejuventation. A very good friend who's lost his job is back home caring for his father and tomorrow will be visiting me. Another friend is applying for a new position in a whole new city that promises exciting change as well as serendipities.

We all will just have to ride this one out and in the mean time let's just enjoy when we can do when we're not busy planning other things or slaving away. 

A New Dawn Has Come

Finally we will see an era of new leadership, and let's hope it will be one driven by reason, pragmatism, progressiveness and hope, instead of fear, hate, ideology and division.