29 posts tagged “frivolous”
As I write this, I'm preparing to board the ferry to Iriomote. A jewel of forest and sea, the place is often termed Japan's last wilderness. It's a real ecological treasure, and I couldn't be more excited to trek about in the jungles, seeking the yamaneko and dodging habu.
I'll be there for four days, camping for two. The guess is -- given that about 2,200 people live on Iriomote and about 90 percent of the place is jungle -- that I can't pop in to the Starbucks and hit up the wireless web. So no posts, probably, until May 7 or so.
As an interim amusement, I offer this story and picture. After snorkeling at Shiraho, home of rare blue coral, two boys besieged me on my way out of the water. With no bases down here, seeing foreigners at all is fairly rare, and white people are a peculiarity that engenders fascination. One kid wanted to hear the sound of English: "Eigo shite!" (Do English!) he kept shouting, and would laugh uproariously when I did.
The other kid, well, he was wearing a hat. But what a hat. A hat that required a photographic record.
If you have a tough time reading that even after clicking to enlarge, the hat says: "FILTH WEAR: Fetish fashion latex clothing, rubber boutique accessories."
That's right, even here, in remote Yaeyama, where gaijin are occasion for surprise and wonder, the six-year-olds are wearing bondage gear hats.
See you in a few days.
Vending machines are a fixture in the landscape here. So is coffee. On a trip up to Henoko yesterday -- posting has been slow because I've been trekking a lot -- I noticed a can of deep-roasted espresso in one of said mechanical beverage dispensers.
The thing is, it's pretty tough to fit "deep-roasted espresso" on a can. So you have to truncate. What does the new product's name manifest as?
Deepresso, of course.
What is there to say about the dolphin with the artificial fin? You know, the one at Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium that developed a rare disease, losing most of her tail?
I can think of three reactions: that's amazing and wonderful for the dolphin!; how was this feat of modern science achieved?; and most importantly, just think of all the awful, awful jokes I could make about this.
To honor this reaction, and to further emphasize the magical nature of things that come in threes, I have selected three facts from the news links and reproduced them in bold below. For each fact, I have produced three terrible gags that I could have worked into a post about this.
Which would have made the cut is immaterial -- they all would have, of course -- but what follows is an exercise in lowbrow humor for You, The Reader, a sort of Choose-Your-Groan Adventure.
Pick your favorite gag, pretend I didn't think of the others. At least it'll save my project budget money I would've spent on an editor.
1. FACT: Bridgestone Japan -- this country's equivalent of the American tire company, famous for its role in Formula One racing -- designed the dolphin's prosthesis.
a. "See where the rubber meets the road in a BBC video here."
b. "That's one tired dolphin."
c. "Isn't using rubber supposed to prevent rotting flesh diseases?"
2. FACT: The fin cost a reported 10 million yen -- roughly $83,000 -- to develop.
a. "The last person to spend that much money at an aquarium was Troy McClure."
b. "Forget the F-22 Raptor, Okinawa should recruit a hundreds-strong fleet of robotic dolphins with laser beams attached to their heads."
c. "Flipper better get some prosthetic hands next, because she's gonna be working in a sweatshop stitching soccer balls at six cents an hour to pay that debt off."
3. FACT: According to Churaumi's notes here, the aquarium is cooperating with the Institute of Cetacean Research to improve swimming speed for future designs.
a. "We can rebuild her. We have the technology. We can make her better ... stronger ... faster."
b. "No word on whether Bridgestone will sponsor the Physically Challenged Dolphin Prosthesis Olympics, but speculation that the races would get better TV ratings in America than Formula One races do is very reasonable."
c. "I'm bored with this already, so I'm going to go watch this video of the scuba diving cat and dog."
I'll be here all summer, folks. Be sure to tip your bartender.
Surprise is neither a positive nor a negative term, but I got some pretty great surprises over the last few days.
For one thing, I spent last night in the company of the local Fulbright club. Got to meet some amazing people: the former President of the University of the Ryukyus, the past head of Japan's Coral Reef Society, a woman whose husband is the grandson of the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and a fellow Fulbrighter who did her trip to my home state of Oregon. Had to give a speech in Japanese, which was as embarrassing as it was exhilarating, and threw in a few words of Okinawan for good measure.
Got another surprise -- a good one -- that I'll save for a few days.
Sadly, these events have had me busy, killing my plan for a long post today. It's already the weekend here, when I typically do a frivolous post of simply post a few photos. So that's what I'm going to do, just post a shot of this caterpillar I saw at the cherry blossom festival:
The trend of longer posts, which I'm enjoying writing, will continue. I'm working on one for tomorrow. Today, though, I spent a while doing business-side stuff (trying to sell books and articles) and composing a long post at USS Mariner, my first post over there in a long while.
If you're unaware, USSM is the baseball blog I help write along with three other guys. Lately, it's been the Derek Zumsteg show, which is great for the readers and not so great (I assume) for Derek. While over here, I've sworn off all sports except for baseball, and even the yakyuu has taken a back seat to my other projects. That'll change a little bit when Japanese baseball spring training begins here next month, but not overmuch.
To be clear, I'm on a strict no-sports-news regimen. Unless a famous athlete decides to retire to spend time in Okinawa, I don't want to hear about it, so please refrain from emailing me links. Yes, even if OJ Simpson bites the head off a live baby.
As for that post, it includes three stories, one of which is directly linked to my life in Okinawa. It doesn't include statistical analysis or too many inside jokes, so you don't (I hope) have to be a baseball fan to enjoy it. Anyway, check it out. It's different from what I usually do here.
With visitors from the mainland staying at my place this week, we've been witness to some of the differences between Okinawa and yamato Japan. For one thing, geckos! We got geckos!
This comes as a surprise to those who, say, have placed their bathroom products and enter, sleepily, to witness the tiniest gecko you've ever seen:
That's a razor he's sitting on. Yes, he's that little, but like Shakespeare says, "though he be but small, he is fierce." The fearless little guy even let me pick him up.
I muttered an explanation about how they're cute, eat bugs, and even sometimes sing to you. I got the wide-eyed look of "uh oh, we're staying with a lunatic." Maybe so, but the more I see of Our Friend The Gecko, the more I like.
In another vein, but keeping with the frivolous nature of my weekend posts, here's another picture. A friend of mine (who has dubbed herself my "Okinawan mommy") did this calligraphy for the New Year. It's currently over my writing desk.
This blog is not about music. Neither is the baseball blog I contribute to, although you might have seen my list of favorite albums from 2006 over there.
This blog isn't about Christmas, either. But it is Christmas, at least over here, (and have a merry one, by the way). As my Christmas present to myself, I'm taking a few minutes to catalog my favorite albums and songs of the past year.
Don't take the list as canonical (not that anyone would). How does one evaluate whether M. Ward's post-rock, soulful storytelling is "better" than The Coup's funky, rollicking political rants? It's impossible. Best to think of this as a snapshot of my writing and running soundtrack.
For the singles, I'm not allowing myself to use any songs from the top 15 albums. It's a way of writing about the best bits of the albums that didn't make the cut, or just discussing a song I really like.
TOP 15 ALBUMS OF 2006
15. The Long Winters, Putting the Days to Bed
A rock album in the best sense of the word, The Long Winters' latest isn't afraid of big guitars or quiet moments. There's some great songwriting here, especially on the upbeat but restrained "Clouds." Just when you think you have the warm major-scale chords read as indicators of happiness, though, they'll flip it on you. Catch yourself singing along with "Ultimatum" (you will: "my arms miss you, my hands miss you/the stars
sing i've got their song in my head"), but be prepared when the rug gets pulled out from under you lyrically.
14. Loose Fur, Born Again in the USA
The first of two alt-country supergroups involving Jeff Tweedy listed here, Loose Fur are the more experimental of the two. At least, they were. This record is much more song-focused, and that's a good thing, since it leads us to a song like "The Ruling Class." It's good to know that handclaps haven't totally fallen out of fashion. It's unfair to say that this is merely going to tide me over to the next Wilco record, since it's a fine effort in its own right. It's true, though.
13. Madlib, Beat Konducta, Vol. 1-2
For some reason, Madlib hasn't won the hearts of literati in the same way that DJ Shadow did some years back. His output is certainly more impressive, more eclectic (he remixed the Blue Note catalog, put out a reggae disc, collaborated with MF Doom, and sucks down helium to rap as Quasimoto) and weirder. If there's a criticism of this CD, it's that the beats don't last as long as you might like them to -- just as you're into the groove, often times, the groove shifts you right out of it. But you're still happy the groove was there, and that's the test.
12. Nouvelle Vague, Bande a Part
A multilingual French music collective that recasts new wave and punk hits in bossa nova fashion. If you're not sold yet, what's the matter with you? Go out and get this, even though it's not quite as good as their previous release. Amazing musicianship cut with a good-time ethic.
11. The Pernice Brothers, Live a Little
This may be the perfect pop band, or at least the perfect bittersweet pop band. The songs, replete with shimmering guitars and sweet vocal harmonies, are gorgeous. They sound like the soundtrack of summer love and hugging a warm puppy until you listen to the lyrics. Smart, sardonic and tuneful music. Plus, I hear a Pernice song was featured on something called "The O.C.", so they gets the seal of approval from at least one of my pals.
10. Snow Patrol, Eyes Open
As I hint at in the previous entry, not having a television or listening to much radio means you avoid drinking from the same cultural stream as most. This is good and bad. It means you miss out on many in-jokes and shared referents, but it also means you don't get sick of things that others have shoved down their throats. I haven't had a TV for nearly 10 years, so the fact that one of these songs was evidently featured on a popular show means little to me. What matters: there is no song here to rival "Run," but it's an endearing album from stem to stern.
9. Viva Voce, Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
I'm a sucker for husband-and-wife bands (see Mates of State, below), and Viva Voce fill the bill. This is their strongest effort yet, although I've got to say that I prefer individual songs on their earlier releases to any one track contained here. The subject matter is darker, but all the elements I love about this band still survive -- fuzzy guitars, alternating male and female vocals, catchy hooks that drag you in and won't let you leave.
8. Soul Position, Things Go Better with RJ and Al
I already name-checked "Things Go Better," the title track of the record, on this blog. The song is Blueprint's personal narrative of the group's career, and it's confessional, inspiring and is powered by a bass-heavy RJD2 beat. The catchiest song, though, is "Hand Me Downs," which features well-placed horns and a perfect Flavor Flav sample. Their best effort to date, it's a complete album that features two big winners.
7. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Neko Case is the real thing. "Hold On, Hold On" is probably the best track she's recorded yet, and with a voice like that, you can't help but wonder what else she's capable of. If this is it, it's enough.
6. The Brazilian Girls, Talk to La Bomb
My gut tells me to rank this higher, but I just don't see what it's going to bump. This multilingual combination of rock and electronica might well be the most interesting disc I've heard this year, and I don't mean "interesting" in the value-neutral sense you use to describe your buddy's awful poetry. The sonic terrain they explore is different on each song, and the vocals from Sabina Sciubba are more prominent than on their mellower, eponymous previous record.
5. Asobi Seksu, Citrus
Call
it shoegaze. Call it twee. Call it another term I don't understand.
Call it a name in English, call it a name in Japanese (it's another
record with vocals in more than one language). Just listen to its
landscapes of sound and find that it's rewarding in the background and
even more so with an intent listen.
4. Mates of State, Bring It Back
The consensus best track from this album is "Fraud in the 80s" (the catchiest tune Mates have recorded), but there are easily four other songs that approach its charms. For the first time, the piano-and-organ duo use guitar to flesh out their sound, and it works. The added element isn't overused, and the harmonic strengths are still in play on tracks like "Like U Crazy," "Beautiful Dreamer," and "For the Actor," a personal fave. "Nature and the Wreck" is a ballad that makes me melt every time.
3. Golden Smog, Another Fine Day
Golden Smog are a collaboration among alt-country stars featuring one of rock's signature voices, Gary Louris, late of The Jayhawks. After loving the last two records, I picked this up with some trepidation, knowing that there would be less of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy than last time.
Months later, I think that this is a spectacular record, as different from earlier Smog efforts as the Smog itself is from the members' individual bands. It has rockers ("Hurricane," a Dan Murphy song) tender ballads ("Cure For This," featuring vocals from Muni Loco, wife of the album's producer), a cover ("Strangers," originally composed by Dave Davies of The Kinks) and more. "Corvette" is simply one of the best songs of the year, and the only one I'm actually going to post. When the chorus hits ("The dream is never over"), you actually believe it.
This is American music in the best sense of the word.
2. The Coup, Pick a Bigger Weapon
Everyone is ready to hand Ghostface the hip-hop album of the year crown, and some are ready hand him two crowns, one for "Fishscale" and one for "More Fish." Where is the love for the latest from Boots and Pam? The beats are funky, the skits mercifully short and relatively amusing, the verses equal parts political and party-riffic. The album opens with the blistering "Bullets and Love," where Boots declares "I'm a walking contradiction, like bullets and love mixin'/slur my words with perfect pitch and I'm guilty of my convictions."
I love Ghost, but if you get only one hip-hop disc from 2006, get this one.
1. M. Ward, Post-War
When I got this record, I would never have guessed it would be No. 1 on my list. I liked it immediately, but I didn't think it compared to "The Transfiguration of Vincent," Ward's 2003 opus. That's still his best work in my opinion, but with songs like "Chinese Translation," opener "Poison Cup" and follow-up "To Go Home," Post-War still beats everything else released this year in my estimation.
My favorite track, though, is "Requiem." Ward's greatest strength is his ability to take spare, simple lyrics and make them resonate. Requiem's refrain -- "He was a good man, and now he's gone" -- is a heartbreaking case in point.
15 SONGS FROM 2006
Again, these are songs unrepresented in the top 15 albums.
15. Bruce Springsteen, "O Mary Don't You Weep"
I love Springsteen, and I love Pete Seeger, and you'd think I'd love a record of Springsteen covering Seeger. You'd be very close. I only like the record very much. This is my favorite track, soulful, driving, and engaging.
14. Fujiya & Miyagi, "Collarbone"
This song is only good for dancing, in the same way that a cheesegrater
is only good for grating cheese. Not my favorite genre, but boy, does
it serve its intended purpose.
13. Jon Auer, "Four Letter Word"
If this world full of bitter breakup songs were a garden, this song would be the goya -- the bitterest fruit of the bunch. The title comes from the lyric “I’m not ashamed that I treat your name like a four letter word now,” and that's one of the kindest parts. Former Posie goes vindictive. Hide the children.
12. The Mountain Goats, "Woke up New"
People either love or hate John Darnielle. If you love him, I don't
need to convert you. If you hate him, I'm not going to convert you, and
I wouldn't care to anyway. Try it, and you'll know one way or the other.
11. Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins, "Handle With Care"
It's an unexpectedly delicious cover of the Traveling Wilburys tune, featuring M. Ward and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst. The record is good, albeit up and down, but this is the highlight.
10. Aqualung, "Brighter than Sunshine"
A British guy writes a poppy ditty about love. What decade is this?
9. Lupe Fiasco, "Kick, Push"
His disc is good, but this song is the one
that makes you want to play it over an over. A hip-hop skateboarding
romance, it will help you wash the memory of Avril Lavigne's paean to
skateboarding romance out of your yearning ears.
8. The Hold Steady, "Stuck Between Stations"
Besides being a sucker for
"Greetings From Asbury Park"-era Springsteen, which is a strong
influence here, I have to love any song that includes the lyrics "Sal
Paradise was right."
7. Jose Gonzalez, "Stay in the Shade"
Somnolent vocals, gentle guitar, atmospheric music for candlelit contemplation. Lovely.
6. Clipse, "Hello New World"
The half-singing on the hook sells it.
5. Pigeon John, "Do the Pigeon"
Hip-hop that makes you smile. "I
know it gets rough, but you gotta let the sun shine in, just a
smidgen." Summertime, windows-down music that says don't think too
much, it'll only hurt the ballclub.
4. The Decemberists, "O Valencia!"
"The Crane Wife" should probably be in the top 15 albums, but I like previous Decemberists releases so much more, I'm afraid it colored my perceptions. Nevertheless, this is a well-constructed pop song that sounds about as gleeful as any tragic love story can.
3. Denizen Kane, "Lastchild Speaks"
It wasn't a banner year for album-length hip-hop in my ears, at least not compared to 2K5, but a lot of worthwhile tracks got me bobbing my head or shaking my fist. This does a little of both; the beat is smooth and buttery, and while the flow isn't particularly innovative, it does exactly what it needs to to deliver you where you need to be.
2. Peter, Bjorn and John, "Young Folks"
Scandinavian pop music with hand claps. It is the wave of the future. Resistance is futile. If they ever figure out how to incorporate hip-hop into this sound -- and if they do, I presume Busdriver will be involved -- it will all be over.
1. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"
Shut up, indie boy, you know you like it
too. I prefer Danger Mouse's collaboration with MF Doom (Danger Doom)
to this collaboration with Cee-Lo, but it's undeniable that "Crazy" was
among the best singles of the year. And remember what I said about not
having the same music shoved down my throat as everyone else?
Let me end by plugging a compilation album, Live at KEXP Vol. 2, that not only supports Seattle's listener-powered radio station, but includes live music that's truly worth having. Versions of some of my favorite songs ("Crooked Teeth" by Death Cab for Cutie, "At the Bottom of Everything" by Bright Eyes), some of which actually outpace the album versions (Common Market's "Connect Four," Lyrics Born's "Callin' Out.")
May 2007 be even better.
Yes, I've paid $200 for a pair of jeans. No, I don't still own them. It's a long story and involves African war orphans. (No, really).
The look on my face after forking over the two Benjamins must have been roughly equivalent to what this lady in Nago City came with after trying on her own ill-advised adornments. It was worse for her. I just got stung by a family called Nordstrom; she got stung by a scorpion.
It's not lethal, though they did take her to the hospital. The Chinese bark scorpion isn't native to this island, and probably came along with the jeans when they were imported from China. That's what the authorities say, anyway. My money's on "vengeful ex-boyfriend."
In an unrelated story, the Cowboy Junkies have a song called "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning." If you get the right cadence, you can change the chorus to "Sun Comes Out, I'm Going Snorkeling."
And so I am.
On occasion I will cover odd intersection points between English and Japanese. These intersection points also occur between both languages and hip-hop culture. Look what my local grocery store has begun stocking:
No, not "Crunchy," although if the flash had not obscured the subtitle, you would notice that it is indeed "crunchy chocolate."
We're talking crunky as in crunk. Or, as Webster's would have it: CRUNKY: [kruhn-kee] -- adjective, crunk·i·er, crunk·i·est. "Possessed of the qualities of crunk."
tʃiAt a time like this, only one question comes to a young professional's mind: Can I wash this down with L'il Jon's Crunk Juice? Rest assured, if my apocalyptic computer crash earlier this month had not glassed my copy of Photoshop, there would be a picture of L'il John on the side of that chocolate bar right now.
As a postscript, I'll note without comment: Crunky also comes in Vanilla White.
