I meet my nephew Max
Max and Mare
Maximilian Kenzo Ansel Wiseman. Born March 8, 2009 at 2pm New York time. He’s 8lbs 6 oz and looks teeny-weeny. I met him a couple of days ago and the kid is a charmer.
LENT (what to give up?)
In Greece this year, March 2 is Clean Monday or Καθαρά Δευτέρα which in the Eastern Orthodox Church is the rough equivalent to Ash Wednesday for the Western Church, the first day of Lent. One should give up meat, eggs, dairy products and such for Lent but seeing as how I’m not religious, I won’t adhere to that. However, this year I thought I might give up something for the duration of Lent, just for kicks. I have been thinking about what to sacrifice, here’s my list to choose from, and how realistic/unrealistic it would be to go without them for roughly a month and a half:
Savory steak?
1. Meat: In the tradition of Lent, how about Meat? This would be hard, but if we’re talking only red meat, I think I could do it no problem. Not that I don’t like it, I love hamburgers, steaks, pork chops, ribs, sausage, all that, but lately, I don’t eat that much red meat. I’ve been eating more fish and seafood, Greek island stuff. Meat, wouldn’t be that much of an issue. As long as I could eat chicken, because seriously, give up chicken? No.
Morning cup of coffee?
2. Coffee: This would be hard, considerably much more difficult than red meat. I don’t drink that much coffee compared to those proud, self-proclaiming coffee addicts no doubt. But I drink a cup daily, and that cup of coffee is often integral to my morning get up and get busy routine. Without that cup of Nescafe Gold (which, admittedly, many claim is not really coffee at all) my breakfast of Nestle Clusters and the occasional banana as I scroll through upcoming movie news and junkmail would seem sadly incomplete. It’s not a huge sacrifice, giving up my morning cup of coffee, but it hurts.
Educational, informative podcasts?
3. Podcasts: Now this one is a doozy. I love podcasts. I listen to podcasts a lot. Interviewers and commentators, talk show hosts and weekly roundtables, ultra polished, world famous nightly news anchors and geeky, obscure fanboys all transmitted through my computer or ipod — I get my world news, etc. from podcasts. Podcasts make walking to the supermarket, dishwashing, driving, jogging, all types of banal activity bearable in my book. I paint and listen to podcasts all the time. Take out podcasts and I’m left stupid about the world, bored out of my head with the menial tasks I’m doing and irritated to death with some horrible song stuck in my head. Giving up podcasts would suck. Don’t think I could do it.
Wicked, wicked booze
4. Alcohol: Not really a problem here. This past month in Paros I haven’t gone out to drink much at all. When I have it hasn’t been that big of a deal, I probably could have had a smoothie and been pleased as punch. I do like a nice glass of wine or beer with a meal sometimes but in the end, I might as well have a mineral water. I’d miss it for sure, but only slightly.
Lovable, reliable Frank's Red Hot Sauce
5. Hot sauce: This would be cruel. My philosophy is: add a little Frank’s (or Sriracha, Louisiana or Green Tabasco) and the grub gets right. Especially when you’re cooking on the simple side as I’ve been doing lately. Make some pasta, just noodles and sauce and we’re nowhere interesting. Add some hot sauce and it’s a whole new exciting direction, a thrill even. I could see this one playing itself hard as the days go by, not so much in the first two weeks, but into week 3 or 4. I’d come home, start baking up some chicken drumsticks in the oven. Get some potatoes going, maybe even a side of broccoli. Once everything is ready I sit down and reach for the salt and pepper. Three bites in to the chicken though and I’ve had it with the salt, I’ve had it with the pepper. I can’t stand the sight of my chicken as it is, all dry and tasteless and spice free. I crack. I find some tabasco. I coat the chicken with tabasco.
Delicious, delicious buffalo wings
6. Buffalo wings: An off shoot of hot sauce. Very difficult, sure. But I’ve made it for months at a time without eating buffalo wings. They were very sad, pathetic months to be sure, but there it is.
Dangerous YouTube
7. YouTube: This is I’ll be doing, Lent or no Lent. The amount of time I waste on YouTube watching adorable baby animals and news bloopers is shameful. Curse you YouTube, addictive like crack cocaine.
And so…as I write this, I’m sipping a nice, warm, refreshing mug of mint tea. I opted for it this morning in case I might go with giving up coffee for lent. Mmmmm. It’s pretty darn good. Perhaps coffee it is, maybe I’ll get by for a month and half.
If you want to be a photographer, look here
Shot by Nick Onken
My photographer buddy Nick Onken has a great blog that all with even a slight passing interest in photography should check out: Nick Onken Shop Talk. Nick is a very talented photographer who has traveled all over the world shooting pieces for a host of impressive clients and magazines. He was recently featured in Communication Arts magazine and currently working on a book on travel photography. In his blog he writes about the ins and outs about what it takes to be a successful photographer. Through reading his blog I’ve really come to appreciate what drive Nick has and how it’s not just about being able to shoot beautifully but having the work ethic and business acumen to do it. Nick, who is a self-taught photographer, got his start in the business as a graphic desiger and also knows a thing or two about branding and design and how important that is to maintain your own business image. I heartily encourage anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in photography to look towards Nick’s blog. It’s a fantastic resource.
Development of a Painting: Herakles and the Nemean Lion
Detail of Herakles and the Nemean Lion
I am currently working on a series of paintings based on Greek myths that have been a lot of fun to work on. The myths are exciting and dramatic and they lend well to personal interpretation. It’s no surprise that artists through out the ages have been inspired to recreate the myths in their own eyes — Titian, Velazquez, Caravaggio, and Botticelli just to name a few.
Among the paintings I am working on are the twelve labors of Herakles. The twelve labors interest me because of the wonderful array of challenges that Herakles faces. Each adversary is so colorful, often times more interesting than Herakles himself. It also fascinates me how Herakles, the greatest of heroes in Greek mythology, takes on so many different roles throughout the twelve labors. Whether he is a hulking brute, a cunning strategician, a sly charmer, an overwhelmed underdog, or a menacing predator Herakles always comes out in the end as the heroic champion.
Herakles first labor is to hunt and kill the Nemean Lion. Of course, Herakles is successful in his mission, and from then on wears the lion’s own impenetrable pelt (which he skinned by using the lion’s own claws) for his subsequent adventures.
For this painting I had the idea of the two figures of Herakles and the lion interlocked in some type of circular formation that would somehow fit nicely in the rectangular compostion of the frame. I first started off with a few thumbnail sketches:
First thumbnail sketch
Second thumbnail sketch
Third thumbnail sketch
Sketches of big cats
Prepatory Sketch: ink wash on paper
Judo sketch 1
Judo sketch 2
Judo sketch 3
I continued this and tried to substitute one of the figures with a lion to see how that would look:
Judo sketch 4 with lion
Judo sketch 5 with lion
I liked the very first judo sketch so I tried to place it in a composition with some aspects of a surrounding environment around the two figures:
Judo sketch 1 with surrounding environment
Kolimbrithes, Paros
Judo sketch 1 with lion and more detailed background
I didn’t take any pictures as I was actually making the painting, mostly because I worked too fast. Since I was painting pretty loose with a lot of paint thinner, I had to work fast because although it was an oil painting it actually was drying quickly. I ended up doing the painting in one shot over the course of a day. My objective was to move and push the paint around in a way where it didn’t seem too controlled and it retained the energy of a sketch, while having the resolution and impact of a finished painting.
Herakles and the Nemean Lion, oil on canvas, 2009
Paros Sketches
Windmill at the Port in Paroikia
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I’m currently in the process of revamping my website www.junpierre.net. I’ll be including new work and I plan to continuously update the site whenever I have new pieces to post.
There will be a lot more sketches in the site. I’m still not sure how I will organize them all, since there are so many. I see that I have distinct categories of sketches, from sketches of people, sketches of landscapes, anatomy studies, prepatory sketches for future works and reproductions of old master drawings. I don’t know if I will group the sketches on my site in such a way, but perhaps I will have some collections up on my Flickr account. For starters, here is a selection of sketches showing different views of Paros.
BTW, Obama is Gonna Win (And Here’s Why)
September 2nd, 2008
1. It’s a year for the Democrats, the youth vote, Bush’s unfavorables, etc. etc. blah blah blah
2. Corporations want Obama to win.
Check out the DNC sites’ list of sponsors and the RNC’s list (also, notice how on the GOP convention’s page just how hard it is to find out who the sponsors or “Official Providers” are). The many corporations supporting this year’s DNC know that as a brand, Obama sells, and he sells to a largely young, enthusiastic, affluent voting group. Corporations are assuming that by investing in Obama, his good brand name will rub off on their own, and attract just some of the many inspired youths in support of Obama. Also, as a brand, Obama’s tie to “Hope” and “Change” is pretty well established, and in the current economic depression, an Obama win could mean a positive “rebranding” so to speak for American products and corporations as a whole.
The corporations want Obama to win and if Obama has the corporations, then Obama’s got the presidency.
3. Sarah Palin is, well, a train wreck apparently.
It’s pretty clear now that McCain didn’t properly vet Palin in choosing her as his V.P. In choosing Palin, John McCain may have made the most reckless decision of his political career.
Here’s a nice little rundown from Talking Points Memo of what’s up with Sarah Palin that we know about, so far.
Weird ass, ridiculous, Alaskan, night-time soap opera political psycho drama.
Just what in hell was McCain thinking?
The Family Videos (Round 1)
August 31st, 2008
While I was back in Minnesota this summer I made it one of my goals to try to do something about all of the home videos we have lying around my dad’s house. These videos date back up to thirty years. There are boxes filled with old football and soccer games, birthdays, family vacations, proms, get-togethers with friends, even births (in my case only–since I’m the youngest in the family, I’m the lucky one who has my whole life on film). It’s your average archive of family footage. Of course, these videos represent a treasure trove to my family, on the very top of the list of things to retrieve if my dad’s house is on fire.
Right now, the issue in our family regarding our home videos is: should we pay someone to convert all the films to dvds or should we just do it ourselves? After I looked in to how much it would be (around $10,000 for the service given the amount of films and tapes we possess) I realized the family would just have to take it on ourselves.
Part of the problem is that with the changing times, my father’s video capturing devices have evolved. In our possession we had 8mm film reels as well as various super8 cassette tapes. Some of the cassette tapes were filmed in an analog manner while the latest tapes were filmed in a digital manner. This is a problem because the latest camcorders often can’t play back the analog tapes (as we would soon find out later).
Immodestly, I figured that the task of converting all of these old reel to reel, high 8, analog videos to a digital format would be, however time consuming, one I could handle and easily. I assumed that it was mostly a matter of having the right hardware and time. We didn’t have the right hardware at our disposal, but I did have time. As I was on summer break from my teaching job, I was spending most of my time watching the complete series of “The Wire” in a mad, obsessed, season after season watching spree (side note: you can now place me firmly in the ‘Wire is the best tv show of all time’ camp). So it was just a matter of finding the right hardware. I went to Best Buy.
At Best Buy it seemed as if most of the people working there were around 20, male, with a goatee and glasses. They could tell me just about everything I needed to know about the newest Ipod features or the differences between Blu-Ray and HD DVD. But when I asked a courteous Best Buy employee about how to convert 8mm film reels to a digital format, I realized that in mentioning “8mm film reels” I might as well as have been asking why my trusty phonograph wouldn’t play my beloved 45s anymore. He paused, looked at me apologetically and said, “uh, man, yeah I don’t know, you might have to look on the internet for that.”
On the internet I found that the easiest way to convert old reel to reel videos is to simply film them while they’re being projected with your newer digital camera. Thanks to this video from the “Digital Dad” for that one. As it turned out, we had just about everything we needed: the films, an old film projector, a camcorder and a film editing software (IMovie). I was psyched and ready to start the process already. I ran downstairs in to the basement armed with a camcorder and the intention to record all the footage anew.
Then a few problems occured which I’ll list in chronological order.
1. Our camcorder, a Sony DCR-TRV240 was old. As it happens, it can’t play back footage well, it’s choppy, and the audio goes in and out. We wouldm’t be able to use it.
2. We purchased off Ebay a reasonable camcorder to serve the same function. However instead of getting the Sony DCR-TRV40 we get the Sony DCR-TRV280. Although it’s not the same camera, we assume it can do pretty much the same thing. As it turns out, unlike our old camcorder, the TRV240, this camcorder will not play back tapes that were filmed analog. Of all the family videos we have, perhaps 60% were filmed analog.
3. Of the tapes that were filmed digitally, the new camcorder can play them back. Although this last group of videos consist of just about 20% of our video collection, at least we could could transfer these to dvd as well as film the older 8mm film reels and then transfer those to dvd using the new camcorder. However, for some inexplicable reason, IMovie does not recognize the new camcorder when we hook it up the computer. Even if we could properly film the 8mm film reels we still wouldn’t be able to transfer them onto the computer.
By the time I realized this last bit about the camcorder (after spending a couple of hours chatting with a Sony tech service rep for assistance) I was just about out of time. I had to soon depart Minnesota and head back to Europe.
So the boxes of film reels and cassette tapes are still there. Days of footage are still not transferred, unwatchable in any kind of dvd format. Old Sony camcorders have been discarded and newer, from Ebay purchased Sony camcorders seem useless. I tell my dad to bring the new camcorder to Greece with him when he comes to visit in October for some kind of reconciliation.
Admittedly, as far as summer time projects, this family video thing kicked my ass. I feel humbled and vexed. I feel like it’s just the beginning though–this is a project that needs to be done and one that I can’t back away from. In December, when the family regroups at my Dad’s place in Minnesota, I will be facing those boxes again, dukes up, ready for some film reel to dvd conversion.
Article on Dad
August 24th, 2008
This came out last week so I’m little late with this post but…
Here’s an article from the Twin Cities daily newspaper, The Star Tribune, about my dad, Mr. Ko-ichi Shiozawa. It’s pretty good and goes in to what he does at Aveda, his goals there and the art of perfuming.
The Aegean Center Site
June 15th, 2008
Whew! I haven’t been posting on my blog too much. But I have been working on web stuff a lot lately. Mostly the new design and launch of the Aegean Center for Fine Arts site: www.aegeancenter.org We also added a blog there as well. The main goal is to make the site (with the inclusion of the blog) more interactive and dynamic within the Aegean Center community: students, faculty, alumni, guests, current students, prospective students and just those who are curious. Please check it out!
Games
April 1st, 2008
In to games, summer camp kind of games
Here at the school, the students and I get together at least once a week and have a group potluck. The potlucks are amazing, everyone comes up with some delicious dishes, there’s always too much food to eat and it’s generally just a great time. They tend to get loud, rowdy, people tend to dance, and the potlucks move along quickly. We also play games. Basic summer camp games.
If there’s some people gathered around, with or without a full stomach and the drinks are a-flowin’, then I highly recommend playing a good ol’ fashioned summer camp style game. Like the kinds camp counselors play with their campers in order to pass the time in the cabin, with no tv, no video games, no internet. Which is more or less what this school feels like this semester — an artsy, Greek version of summer camp. When we’re all gathered around at the potlucks sitting around amusing each other, the games inevitably are brought out.
Some of the games I’ve picked up here and there, from friends, usually European, after cozy dinner parties. Maybe you can call them parlor games. But that sounds too much like something straight from Victorian England, it’s too rawkus for that. I’ll be honest, I tend to push the games on my fellow potluckers who may or may not want to participate in such borderline juvenile activity. Whether everyone wants to play or not, the group tends to move as one, and sooner or later, most everyone is involved.
The only games I know, and from whom I learned them, many compliments to them.
The Wolf Game or Mafia (Karim Triki)
There’s a village, and it’s being attacked by wolves. The wolves are killing the villagers, the villagers are in a panic, and they need protection.
Living amongst the villagers is a wolf hunter, a sorcerer, and a fortune teller. Each of these individuals have their own special power to use to help protect the villagers. The object of the game is for the villagers to kill the wolves before the wolves kill off the villagers.
In the game, each member receives their role on pieces of paper that they do not show to anyone else.
The roles are:
2 wolves (working together can choose to kill a villager, every round)
1 fortune teller(can view any other players’ role)
1 wolf hunter (can choose to kill who they think might the wolf, but only one time)
1 sorcerer (can choose to resuscitate someone who has been killed off, but only one time)
the rest of the players are villagers
*Little Girl (can open her eyes, as inconspicuously as possible, when the wolves are called, to see their identities)
*Optional
There is also a narrator who more or less controls the flow of the game. The narrator can not participate in the game, but simply guides the game along through each round. The rounds change from night to day. When it is night time, everybody closes their eyes. The narrator calls first on the fortune teller to open his or her eyes. The fortune teller points at the player whose paper they want to see. As inconspicuously as possible, the narrator shows the chosen player’s paper to the fortune teller. Then the fortune teller closes his or her eyes and the narrator calls on the wolves to open their eyes and decide if they want to kill some one. The wolves silently work together and point at the player they want to kill. The wolves close their eyes and the narrator calls on the wolf hunter to open their eyes, and to decide if he or she wants to kill someone. After the wolf hunter chooses, he or she closes their eyes, and the narrator calls on the sorcerer to open their eyes. The sorcerer may choose if he or she wants to resuscitate someone (only one player). After the sorcerer chooses and closes his or her eyes, the night has come to an end, and everyone opens their eyes.
At this point, the narrator declares if or if not anyone has been killed, and who the victims are (without revealing their roles). The players (including the victims) then have approximately three minutes to discuss and debate who they think are the wolves. After discussion, each player (except for the killed off player(s)) individually votes for who they think is a wolf and should explain their decision. At the end of the voting, the player with the most votes is killed off, revealing what his or her role was. If two players have equal numbers of votes, then everyone votes again, but only selecting one of the two. The victim(s) who had been killed during nightfall, explain what their roles were as well.
The game continues until the wolves are discovered (and killed off) or until the wolves are able to last until the final round with out being discovered, effectively killing off all of the villagers.
Random figure out the thing in 3 different Stages Game (Julie Cutelli and Kris Digiacomo)
There are two teams. Each member from both teams has three pieces of paper. They must write a word on each paper– anything they want: a person, place or thing. Then fold it up and place the pieces of paper in a hat.
The object of the game is for the teams to be able to guess the most words from the pieces of paper. The game is divided up in three rounds:
Round 1: One member from each team has 30 seconds to explain the words with out actually saying the word itself for fellow teammates to guess from. After the 30 seconds, the teams switch. The teams go back and forth until all of the items have been guessed.
Round 2: One member from each team has 30 seconds to do “charades” to show the word — that is, by using only body language for fellow teammates to guess from. After the 30 seconds, the teams switch. The teams go back and forth until all of the words have been guessed.
Round 3: One member from each team has 30 seconds to sum up each word in one other word, only for fellow teammates to guess from. After the 30 seconds, the teams switch. The teams go back and forth until all of the items have been guessed.
Through out each round the same batch of words are used, so the players must try to remember the words as they continue through each round.
Guess my Identity (Michaela Ripplinger)
Each player sits in a circle and writes a person’s name (alive or dead, real or fictional) on a post-it note and puts it on another person’s forehead with out that person seeing the identity on the post-it note. Then the players have to ask yes or no questions to try to discover their own identity. If the answer is no, then the player stops asking questions and the next person has a turn. Play until everyone has guessed their identity.
These games are good fun. Any others out there?
Greek Independence Day
March 25th, 2008
Today is Greek Independence Day, celebrating Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire which they fought for during Greek Revolution from 1821-1829.
On the main streets of Parikia, Paros’ main port town, kids were dressed up in tradional Greek garb, school uniforms, and karate outfits, strangely enough. I learned that the flag bearer in each group is the top student of their class. As each group passed by, the other groups cheered and clapped for them. The high winds made it tricky for a lot of the women in skirts, but they sure made the Greek flags flap nicely.
Teaching!
March 20th, 2008
Last summer I received an atomic bomb of an email in my inbox. It was from Jane Pack, my painting teacher at the Aegean Center for Fine Arts in Paros, Greece. The Aegean Center is where I learned all the core fundamentals in my painting, and gave me the confidence to pursue a life making art. To put it simply, it changed my life in a big way.
Jane wrote to invite me to teach for her through out the spring semester, 2008. Atomic bomb. I was so bewildered and taken aback by the proposal that I kept it a secret for a long time from even friends and family. Didn’t want to jinx it.
I’m teaching painting, drawing and figure drawing at the Aegean Center now. I’m having a fantastic time, and I’m learning a lot. The students are great and it’s really humbling to be working alongside all of my former professors. I’m still in a state of shock to be honest.
So, for kicks, here’s a sampling of one of the hand outs I gave to my painting students. It’s a little step-by-step approach to painting in the earth palette.
I’m Back Baby!
March 18th, 2008
And I’m in Greece!
Olive trees and Cherry Blossoms, how do you like them apples?!
Today in Japanese Class
June 20th, 2007
One of my classmates, Xiong from Beijing, was scolded for drinking Chu-hi in class. Chu-hi is a popular alcoholic drink often used for cocktails. It was 9:03am. Judging from her size I’m guessing she already a pretty good buzz on.
Mejiro to Shin-Okubo:12 minutes
June 19th, 2007
New record today: made it to school today in Shin-Okubo in 12 minutes from my house in Mejiro. Felt pretty good. I was resigned to being late for the 8:40am start, but punched my card at exactly 8:39am on the nose. On my way there, on my bike, I almost hit 8 people and was almost hit by 3 cars and one other biker. I also sang a Prince medley since I’m able to really belt out the notes on the empty road along side the train tracks, where there’s usually not too many people. I love my bicycle and I’m loving that the rainy season really hasn’t been rainy at all. It is a bitch to bike with an umbrella in one hand.
Side note: My friend from work Hannah said she could bike from Waseda to Ikebukuro in 10 minutes. That is just utterly preposterous. No way in hell. NO WAY.
Love that Karaoke
April 24th, 2007
I am a freak, a kareoke freak. I’ve gotta get me a membership card to some kareoke box and quick for all the money I’ve been spending on that tricky kareoke. But if someone’s up for doing a little singing, then I’m in like flynn, and so help me it’s hard to get a control over myself when that she-devil Kareoke jumps on my back.
With fam in town, and friends from Paris and that States in town, I hit the Kareoke boxes 5 times in the past two weeks. It’s getting out of hand. Here’s a partial list of my kareoke faves that I inevitably end up belting out:
1. Let’s Stay Together, Al Green
2. Under Pressure, Queen and David Bowie
3. Hey Ya, Outkast
4. Lately, Stevie Wonder
5. Losing My Religion, R.E.M.
6. Rapper’s Delight, The Sugarhill Gang
7. Sexyback, Justin Timberlake
Holla!
Fam
April 24th, 2007
My family has been in town and it’s been great and busy busy having them here. Mika came first, then my mom, Mare with baby Sophia and finally my dad. As their visits have been staggered one after the other, I pretty much had ‘the fam in town’ for a good month. It’s been nice, super nice and I loved having them around. It kept me busy too, making sure that they had something to do, helping them out if they needed any, taking them to places. Good busy of course, but busy. So now that they’ve pretty much all departed, save for my pops who leaves tomorrow, I feel like I have I have lots of free time on my hands. What to do with myself? What was I doing again?
Pics from the Show
April 15th, 2007
Check out the pics from the show last Wednesday, April 11.
Sorry, they’re a little fuzzy. I’m going to try to upload more as people send them to me.
Thanks again to everyone that showed!
Show at RBR | The New Center for Creative Arts
April 11th, 2007
Here’s the postcard. Show went up on Tuesday, yesterday was the opening and it was a fun time. Almost too fun. the kind folks at the RBR Center waited patiently as the show that should have finished at 9:30 slowly trickled too a close by 10:30. Lots of different people showed, old friends, new friends, friends in the making and so on.
Also: my family is amazing. They hooked it up for me big time. From my mom and Mika cooking up huge amounts of delicious bruschetta, potato salad, wakame salad, guacomole and so on, it was incredible. Ken was huge in that he brought the wine, and plastic plates, chopsticks, napkins and so on. Mary-Anne was amazing for helping out with hanging right after coming off the plane from NYC. Plus it was great to see my cousin Daisuke and his girlfriend Aya come by as well as my poor aunt Satsuki who (due to a poorly designed map on my part–see postcard) was unfortunately lost for a good forty minutes. Lastly my niece Sophia, whom I did the portrait of (on the postcard) was the ultimate star as tons of strange big people reached for her and cooed at her. She made it 2 hours into the show, when finally she had enough, had to bail, fly the coop. She was a trooper.
Thanks also to the many folks that came, and especially to Joy, Yoko, Aya, Maki and Jamie for helping out with bringing stuff and cleaning up. Thank you so much!
Lastly a big thanks to the RBR Center for letting me have the show in their great space!
Pics will be up soon!
京都 (Kyoto)!
April 8th, 2007
美香ちゃんと（姉ちゃん）京都へ行って、二日がいた。
火曜日２３時１５新宿駅からバスで行って、京都に６時半に着いた。早くコーヒを飲みながら京都ガイドブックを読んだ。それから、いっぱいお寺や神社 など訪れた。寒いのにたくさん歩いた（たぶん歩きすぎた）。奈良で鹿をみて、チョコレートを遣った。私たちは疲れたになってでも嬉しかった。
今朝東京に着いた。美香ちゃんはやっと京都初めて。
Mika and I went to Kyoto. We stayed there for two days.
We left on Tuesday at 11:15 from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. We arrived in Kyoto at 6:30 in the morning. We quickly drank some coffee and read through a Kyoto guidebook. From there, we visited a bunch of temples and shrines. Even though it was cold, we walked a lot (maybe walked too much). In Nara we saw deer, and fed them chocolate. We were really tired by the end but really happy.
On Friday morning we returned to Tokyo. Mika finally got to see Kyoto.
¥4000
March 30th, 2007
Stupid. Walked out of a restaurant without receiving back the change owed to me. Not too much, not too little. Just enough to piss me off.
¥4000 JPY = $33.83 USD (2007/03/30 rate)
Next morning having noticed my empty wallet, I quickly proceeded to slap my forehead. I knew where and when I lost the money–what a dope!
I informed Ayumi what was up and then figured well, time to try, to attempt to be less retarded in the brain for the rest of the day, that was the plan.
But then Ayumi and I conferenced. We could remember to the yen how much we ordered, ate, drank, reordered and spent. We made up a list of everything, plus tax. Came out to just about what the bill was.
But wtf I figured. It’s ¥4000–not a big deal. I figured maybe I could head back and check in. Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not.
Nah, fuck it. What’s the point? Who wouldn’t pocket some chump’s forgotten cash? They have every right to capitalize on such a gaff.
But then, on the other hand, cripes, if the folks in the service industry here have been anything to me, it’s straight up decent. Cheery, prompt, clean, sharply dressed, enthusiastic, hardworking decent folk. They deserved the benefit of the doubt.
I had to go to work, but during my lunch break I decided to haul ass to the restaurant and attempt to explain the situation. Ayumi and I timed ourselves to meet up right on the way to the restaurant so we could have as much time before I had to go back to work.
The restaurant looked closed. It was in fact closed. But the front door was open, and we sneaked in.
“すみません！(Excuse us!)” we called as we creeped into the main bar area. One of the chefs was prepping the bar. Ayumi took over and in lightning quick, yet oh so sweet Japanese she described the situation to the chef. I understood four, maybe five words in the exchange.
The chef excused himself and we heard him calling out to someone. A girl’s voice replied. The chef came out and nodded to us. Then the very same server who we had the night previous came out as well.
She ran to us (I mean literally ran to us) apologizing profusely the whole time. Even if we tried we couldn’t have stopped her from repeatedly asking for our forgiveness.
“I’m sorry I didn’t return the money back to you fast enough–I felt so bad when I saw that you both had left” she exclaimed.
She brought us to the register where she then handed us a neat brown envelope with the exact ¥4000 in change and the receipt inside. She bowed slightly as she gave it to us. I was baffled and speechless and nodded stupidly. Ayumi thanked her, backed out, and I followed. The waitress, thanked us on top of apologizing some more, and then bam we were out the door.
I looked at my watch. I still had plenty of time left before I had to get back to work. I looked at Ayumi who had the same silly grin that I’m sure I had on my face.
¥4000–not too much, not too little, but just enough to be dazzled by the human decency you can find around these parts.
Friday Favorites
March 23rd, 2007
Favorite News Correspondent: NBC News Middle East Bureau Chief Richard Engel.
This guy’s story is incredible. In 1996, fresh out of Stanford with a degree in international relations, Engel moved to Cairo with only $2000 in cash in order to become a free-lance journalist. There, Engel learned Arabic living in a ramshackle neighborhood while doing some free-lance reporting for various news agencies.
In 1999 Engel was sent to Jerusalem by Agence France-Presse to cover the Palestinians and the intifada protests. “I spent the next three years on my stomach, getting tear-gassed and shot at with rubber bullets.”
Then came the Iraq war. Even with his Mid-East credentials he couldn’t find a sponsor to assign him to Baghdad. So he snuck in by bribing an Iraqi official to let him in the country before the Americans attacked. When the Americans finally did attack in 2003, most of the big news press actually ran for cover, fleeing Baghdad. Engel was one of the very few that stayed.
Engel was soon after made the head of the NBC Middle-East Bureau. He has stayed longer in Iraq longer than any other TV Correspondent. He’s survived three hotel bombings and two attempted kidnapping attempts, not to mention the war cost him his marriage. He’s also only 33.
Check out his amazing video diary “Richard Engel: War Zone Diary“.
And here’s the Washington Post article, “In Iraq, Journalist Richard Engel Sticks to the Story” by Howard Kurtz.
Ken and I Grabbed Dinner Tonight in Mejiro…
March 18th, 2007
Pretty intense.
Thanks for the dinner btw bro.
Laugh Your Ass Off
March 16th, 2007
Interesting article about laughing from the NY Times: ‘What’s So Funny, Well Maybe Nothing’.
Turns out people don’t laugh just because something is funny. In fact we rarely do.
“When Robert R. Provine tried applying his training in neuroscience to laughter 20 years ago, he naïvely began by dragging people into his laboratory at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to watch episodes of “Saturday Night Live” and a George Carlin routine. They didn’t laugh much. It was what a stand-up comic would call a bad room.
“So he went out into natural habitats — city sidewalks, suburban malls — and carefully observed thousands of “laugh episodes.” He found that 80 percent to 90 percent of them came after straight lines like “I know” or “I’ll see you guys later.” The witticisms that induced laughter rarely rose above the level of “You smell like you had a good workout.”
“Most prelaugh dialogue,” Professor Provine concluded in “Laughter,” his 2000 book, ‘is like that of an interminable television situation comedy scripted by an extremely ungifted writer.’”
Also, apparently we tend to laugh less if we’re higher in the social hierarchy and more if we’re at the bottom. From the article:
“When you’re low in the status hierarchy, you need all the allies you can find, so apparently you’re primed to chuckle at anything even if it doesn’t do you any immediate good.”
No wonder so many upper-management and high powered individuals believe that they’re funny ass comedians.