beastie boys
Got up fairly early after going to bed late and had a productive morning; dry cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping (hit Nissin which we haven't been to in a while -- much nicer now that they moved the booze upstairs and expanded the grocery store.) Also cleaned out my closet, got rid of all my moldy comic books (150 yen and the used book shop!), threw out 2 bags of junk that's been sitting in the closet forever, and filled another bag with old clothing and jackets and stuff for the Good Will Donations drive at work.
Met Kev in Shibuya and we headed out the Maihama, met Stevie and Joel, got on the Disneyland monorail, and sped out to NK Hall to see the Beastie Boys close out the Free Tibet concert. They were great. Mix Master Mike is amazing, but they seemed a bit out of practice; kept dropping beats and missing intros, but it was fun and I got drenched in sweat crushed up at the front of the pit.
Coming back to Tokyo was a trip, too: half the train is Beastie Boys and Free Tibet freaks, the other half is Disneyland die-hards who stayed until closing and had bags of goodies and armloads of sleeping children.
Met Kev in Shibuya and we headed out the Maihama, met Stevie and Joel, got on the Disneyland monorail, and sped out to NK Hall to see the Beastie Boys close out the Free Tibet concert. They were great. Mix Master Mike is amazing, but they seemed a bit out of practice; kept dropping beats and missing intros, but it was fun and I got drenched in sweat crushed up at the front of the pit.
Coming back to Tokyo was a trip, too: half the train is Beastie Boys and Free Tibet freaks, the other half is Disneyland die-hards who stayed until closing and had bags of goodies and armloads of sleeping children.
friday fun
Went to iai -- last practice to be taught directly by Niina-gosoke, and it was wonderful as always. Afterwards Gosoke took us out to sushi under the train tracks, and during dinner we convinced him to not cancel the friday class!
Headed back to homebase, hit three gas stations before finding one that was still open (Eneos @ Tengenjibashi Crossing), then went up to Roppongi's Hobgoblin because Jen was in town again and heading back home tomorrow.
After a few minutes we went over to Sputnik in Omotesando for Chiori (and other)'s birthday party. Just got home with a scratchy throat from shouting over the noise, smoke-stinky clothes, and lots of pineapple juice. Neat place, though, and fun folks.
Headed back to homebase, hit three gas stations before finding one that was still open (Eneos @ Tengenjibashi Crossing), then went up to Roppongi's Hobgoblin because Jen was in town again and heading back home tomorrow.
After a few minutes we went over to Sputnik in Omotesando for Chiori (and other)'s birthday party. Just got home with a scratchy throat from shouting over the noise, smoke-stinky clothes, and lots of pineapple juice. Neat place, though, and fun folks.
head cold
Slept for 14 hours and feel much better.
Also found a great quote from an article by Max Tegmark in Scientific American:
"But an entire ensemble is often much simpler than one of its members. This
principle can be stated more formally using the notion of algorithmic
information content. The algorithmic information content in a number is, roughly
speaking, the length of the shortest computer program that will produce that
number as output. For example, consider the set of all integers. Which is
simpler, the whole set or just one number? Naively, you might think that a
single number is simpler, but the entire set can be generated by quite a trivial
computer program, whereas a single number can be hugely long. Therefore, the
whole set is actually simpler."
Also found a great quote from an article by Max Tegmark in Scientific American:
"But an entire ensemble is often much simpler than one of its members. This
principle can be stated more formally using the notion of algorithmic
information content. The algorithmic information content in a number is, roughly
speaking, the length of the shortest computer program that will produce that
number as output. For example, consider the set of all integers. Which is
simpler, the whole set or just one number? Naively, you might think that a
single number is simpler, but the entire set can be generated by quite a trivial
computer program, whereas a single number can be hugely long. Therefore, the
whole set is actually simpler."
ugh
The weather was beautiful on Sunday, so it of course dropped 10 degrees and was rainy and miserable all day Monday.
Monday evening both Hiroko and I were feeling a bit sick, and by this morning we both had sore throats and headaches. I stayed home and alternated between working on the PC and napping on the couch. Of course I had to teach iai, so I went to class in the rain, ran a couple of the beginners through the basics for two hours, and came home (did I mention it was raining?), got on a conference call, had dinner, hit the bath, and slept.
Nyquil is the nectar of the gods!
Monday evening both Hiroko and I were feeling a bit sick, and by this morning we both had sore throats and headaches. I stayed home and alternated between working on the PC and napping on the couch. Of course I had to teach iai, so I went to class in the rain, ran a couple of the beginners through the basics for two hours, and came home (did I mention it was raining?), got on a conference call, had dinner, hit the bath, and slept.
Nyquil is the nectar of the gods!
chop chop
Cutting practice, and things actually went reasonably well (click on the file called 'jinrai'; 4MB avi.) Amazing what soft rolls will do for the ego!
kouseikai
Cruised up to Minami-Hatogaya in Saitama to practice at Tanaka-sensei's Kousei-kai.
Oki-san showed up first, and then Tanaka-sensei came and we started practice in the loft area above the gym floor. Exposed I-beams on a low ceiling in a narrow room made distance a key factor in all techniques. Kanai-san and Yokoshima-san showed up later, and with five of us on the floor it was just right. Good two hours of practice; basic warmups and all 20 kata five times each. Wasn't too hot nor too cold, and by 9pm my arms were tired and I was feeling good. Also had a mirror on one wall, so I could see, first hand, just how lame I am.
Oki-san showed up first, and then Tanaka-sensei came and we started practice in the loft area above the gym floor. Exposed I-beams on a low ceiling in a narrow room made distance a key factor in all techniques. Kanai-san and Yokoshima-san showed up later, and with five of us on the floor it was just right. Good two hours of practice; basic warmups and all 20 kata five times each. Wasn't too hot nor too cold, and by 9pm my arms were tired and I was feeling good. Also had a mirror on one wall, so I could see, first hand, just how lame I am.
rain and wind
Miserable weather, and no one showed up to practice. So I had the whole place to myself and spent it in front of the mirror, trying to figure out how use more hips and less arm. Needless to say, I continue to fail miserably, but sometimes it's nice to have a chance to practice with no one around.
After practice met Hiroko and folks for dinner at Lucky. Laurie, friend of pa, is in Japan this week, so we saw that she was well fed.
After practice met Hiroko and folks for dinner at Lucky. Laurie, friend of pa, is in Japan this week, so we saw that she was well fed.
inner techniques
I got my Okuirisho and practiced the okuden and naiden (advanced "inner" and "secret" techniques) for the first time. Wow, those are some neat forms and they give a glimpse into the skill of truly gifted swordsmen. Someday I might be able to do one of two of them without cutting off my own foot...
Jorge is in town this week, so we had dinner at Bo in Nishi Azabu. Cool Japanese place, reasonably priced and very stylish architecture. Modern concrete and black stone mixed with traditional wood and good food on cool plates. Nice bathrooms, too.
Jorge is in town this week, so we had dinner at Bo in Nishi Azabu. Cool Japanese place, reasonably priced and very stylish architecture. Modern concrete and black stone mixed with traditional wood and good food on cool plates. Nice bathrooms, too.
demographics
Went to Tsutaya (Americans, think Blockbuster) to rent some DVDs, specfically, Clerks. I knew what I wanted to rent, the problem is Tsutaya is organized into sections like "Actors", "Actresses", "Human Drama", "Still Popular", and New Releases". I wanted Clerks. Is that still popular? Who's in it...that guy, Kevin-something, Silent Bob of Jay And fame...so I ask at the counter, but don't notice that I've asked the dude with the "In Training" badge. So eager to be helpful, he doesn't close his register as he searches on the computer for Clarks? Cloaks? Clerks? Finally he finds it, and we go over to the "Comedy/Life" section and...can't find it. I wander about looking at Japanese Yakuza movies, and finally he comes back with the tape. Lovely, how about the DVD? So back to the computer and yes, they have 2 DVDs, neither of which are rented. Problem is, where are they? Listed under Kevin Smith? Nope. Human Comedy? Nope. Young Life/Comedy? Nope...finally we find them under the "Hot Writers/Directors Older Works" section.
So I give him my membership, my third, because I have to sign up for a new one every year. Which means I get a brand new membership ID, and fill out all the information from scratch, again. I wonder, why don't they just keep using my first id number? That way they can build up a nice big, juicy file of my rental habits and profile me to perfection?
As I'm showing Hiroko the DVDs and spouting off about the above two points, she answers them:
1) They don't arrange DVDs and videos in order by title because in Japan often the titles are slightly different or even totally changed, and people tend to say "That one with Kevin Smith, the old one, about the dude working at the convenience store" instead of "Clerks". Besides which, the more time you spend wandering looking for your movie, the more likely you are to go "Oh Kevin Smith was also in..." and end up discovering more movies to rent.
2) Tsutaya might not know my personal total rental history, but they have the trend data for my demographic, and that's who they market to: 30 year old males who rented Clerks and live in Minami Azabu. Amazon needs to know me personally to give me my recommendations, but Tsutaya just needs to know the general trends of my demographic to push specials and move merchandise. Very "Japanese" if I may say so, in that the individual information is less important than the general trends and patterns of the larger group.
Damn, but Hiroko is a smart girl.
So I give him my membership, my third, because I have to sign up for a new one every year. Which means I get a brand new membership ID, and fill out all the information from scratch, again. I wonder, why don't they just keep using my first id number? That way they can build up a nice big, juicy file of my rental habits and profile me to perfection?
As I'm showing Hiroko the DVDs and spouting off about the above two points, she answers them:
1) They don't arrange DVDs and videos in order by title because in Japan often the titles are slightly different or even totally changed, and people tend to say "That one with Kevin Smith, the old one, about the dude working at the convenience store" instead of "Clerks". Besides which, the more time you spend wandering looking for your movie, the more likely you are to go "Oh Kevin Smith was also in..." and end up discovering more movies to rent.
2) Tsutaya might not know my personal total rental history, but they have the trend data for my demographic, and that's who they market to: 30 year old males who rented Clerks and live in Minami Azabu. Amazon needs to know me personally to give me my recommendations, but Tsutaya just needs to know the general trends of my demographic to push specials and move merchandise. Very "Japanese" if I may say so, in that the individual information is less important than the general trends and patterns of the larger group.
Damn, but Hiroko is a smart girl.
lunch
Had lunch with Ben Miller. Curry in Meguro, coffee surrounded by salarymen. Only blogging about it so that Ben can be a part of the great blogosphere. Then he'll be so grateful to me he will be driven to buy his girlfriend something nice.
cherry blossoms
This week the sakura are in full bloom.
Of course, the cold rain last night did its damage, and most blossoms won't last until this weekend, but as the old saying goes "The cherry blossom is most beautiful as it falls from tree."
Of course, the cold rain last night did its damage, and most blossoms won't last until this weekend, but as the old saying goes "The cherry blossom is most beautiful as it falls from tree."
lack of g.y.m.
Note how GiveYourMeat is decidedly absent from this list of expat bloggers in Japan. I guess I'm just not prime time yet.
In other news, Lee finally got a job. He's Global Head of somethingsomething over at Deutsche Bank. Now if only Stevie could get a job...
In other news, Lee finally got a job. He's Global Head of somethingsomething over at Deutsche Bank. Now if only Stevie could get a job...
nice weather
I hereby officially acknowledge the beginning of spring by wearing, for the first time this year, a linen shirt.
mugairyu videos and text
Lovely folks over at The Iaido Newsletter did a review of our videos and text. Damn fine of them.
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