Lunamania

Nowadays the global commercialization of Tokyo is complete. It's evidenced in the Starbucks on every corner, those Gap ads with Seal and that wrinkly puppy are emblazoned all over Shibuya, and being hounded by Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" in Harajuku. Actually, with Tokyo pop driving American trends, I guess we're reaching some new level of global culture. For example, punk and goth sort of slipped out of the mainstream in the U.S. In Tokyo though, the goths continue to keep the fun in funeral. Check this.

The text is a bit illegible, but it shows three women in different styles labelled from the left, "Cute and Casual", "Sporty and Glamorous" and the prize here, "Punk Goth Lolita." Punk goth lolita--the amazing thing is there are whole floors of department stores and countless boutiques dedicated to supplying the punk goth lolitas of Tokyo.

Back in the day, one could find random examples of Engrishu in Japan. English words were mostly incorporated to imply some hip factor to the product. The Japan of today speaks advanced Engrishu 2.0 which is not simply decorative, but a language unto itself and has its own rules. Like Starbucks and The Gap etc., Tokyo-ites have made Engrish into a whole new and awesome language. Check this sign walking me through the process of buying new eyeglasses.

Contrary to popular belief, not everything is more expensive in Tokyo. Eyeglasses are much cheaper, come in more styles and can be made to order in less than an hour--including an eye exam.
I can get a new fashion, get it lapped and ask the store clerk about the whole experience--or anything else I want. I sense Engrish coupled with descriptive icons will be the universal language...

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Konichi-PON! Haro-ha! Yao, from the land of my peoples.
The last few weeks were packed with holiday happenings, pre-vacation work wrap up, 4 little earthquakes, and general freak out as we prepared for our trip. The rush of events sort of made me lose sight of The Prize/s.
After politely fending off airplane seat conversation with some dude who wanted to marvel at how brave I was to live in "crime ridden Oakland," I finally began my entry into the decompression chamber. I heralded the event with an appropriately Japan Airlines beverage.

I'm now in tail-wagging excitement mode as I look forward to:
1. 3 weeks of Eat and Soak! The Travel Monkey and I are on a 3 week adventure to Tokyo, Seoul, Kwangju, Kyoto and Tadeshina. As with all endeavors, domestic or abroad, good eats are a key goal. Soaking in as many hot springs as possible will also be part of this mission. Our first day, we soaked mostly in the rainwater of a winter Tokyo storm, but it was a great reason to eat hot pot and soba:

2. Adventures with Miscellaineous! I'm so excited about seeing E-thec and visiting Korea for the first time. I realize it's mostly for my own amusement, but I picked up a phrase book yesterday. Japan is in the midst of a Korean craze. As all tourist and voyeuristic relationships between a former colonizer and occupied country are, it's simultaneously disturbing and intriguing for all its complexities. The upshot of the immediate task was that I was faced with an expansive selection of Learn Korean books. I bypassed the "Korean slang so you can watch dramas and sing!" series as well as the disturbing looking hot pink book with a woman in bra, boots and not much else on the cover. Staying on mission with my Eat and Soak Korean style mission, I chose the book with useful phrases such as "I would like some kalbi," and "My skin is delicate, please do not scrub too hard."

I'm going to try to post frequently, so come back and visit!

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The "tree" at my office. Click for a holiday treat.
Off to a different time zone. Stay tuned for updates!

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I'm totally jammed trying to prepare for 3 weeks away from work and home. I'll be heading to Tokyo on Sunday and then to Korea to visit Miscelaineous. It's going to be a No End to the Fun adventure, but first I must get myself ready. It's boring to read about another person's stress.

So listen to this once again late Wednesday tune. In the spirit of heading to Japan, here's a song by Mr.Children, Innocent World. Lemme know what you think.

Posted by at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm late a day, but figure no one cares right? So here's the promised Les Nubians track. Demain. I'm posting this as a special study break to Nobuko, my favorite demographer, as she finishes her semester. Listen and be enraptured.

On a music related note, just wanted to give a big cyberspace shout out to all my peeps who came out to chill and dance last night. What a fun vibe full of down women of color. Hopefully we'll be able to make it a regular gig. Dream EZ, 2nd Wednesday of each month at Easy Lounge.

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I kicked off the weekend at the Les Nubians concert at the Shattuck Down Low. The show started 2 hours late and was preceded by a 90 minute wait in the rain. Somehow pho with friends and anticipating a good show made it all ok. Sadly, our whole crew did not endure the rain and long line with us die-hards, but in spite of the bouncer who displayed escalating levels of idiot behavior throughout the evening, Nobuko, Joannie and I made it into the club and scored a great little spot. Many thanks to the kind souls who either gave us or sold us their extra tickets. I vow to keep the good concert karma flowing. And read on for a link to a bootleg recording posted especially for those folks who didn't make it to the show.

Nobuko captured the experience best when she said, "you know when a dog finds a patch of something it likes and then it just rolls around because it wants that feeling all over itself? that's how it felt to be in that concert." I agree. I couldn't take my eyes off the stage. It was kind of a spiritual experience. Of course, this could be attributed to a mild contact high. People were blatantly flaunting the "No Smoking of ANY kind" admonition all evening.

Demain and Sugar Cane were highlights, but their encore and most awaited performance of the night was of course, Makeda. Click the image below for a grainy live recording from my camera--don't watch the video because it will make you sea sick. And for those who can't view it, this Wednesday's track will be a Les Nubian selection. Yes, it was one of those concerts that make me want to listen to their music all day.

It was a friend and fun filled weekend and part of Sunday was spent mastering the art of flipping takoyaki--little tasty octopus balls. This is street and festival food in Japan--which usually means "do not try this at home." But our foodie crew was determined to make use of Boyoung's long neglected and mysterious cast iron device. After several rounds that resulted in octopus mush (it was tasty tho), the pan was seasoned and Nobuko and Boyoung produced these masterpieces.

I'm making myself hungry. Having so much fun over the weekends makes the work week even harder...

Posted by at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I sense that many readers may deed an antidote for that earworm of this fall/winter. I know I shouldn't do it, but..."to the left, to the left." WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM? Replace the irreplaceable with this.

Posted by at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

whoa...that's a lot of food and it doesn't even include the turkey and desserts.
Many thanks to my parents for hosting, everyone for cooking, Jack for being snarfle-y, and for good friends and family. I realized that I was too busy eating to really get pictures of people...and then too stuffed to get any pictures of dessert.
Sorry about the blur in many of the photos--low-light camera shakes... Click below for more photos!

Posted by at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry about the bugginess of the comment function. Been playin with the spam filter and caught some stuff. It's fixed now.

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