Hatsumi Interview

Found an interview with Ninjutsu teacher Dr Hatsumi on the Tokyo Journal website: www.tokyo.to/stories/ninja/index.html

Meeting Wamono

I spent most of the day doing nothing. I had planned to have a haircut, do some exercise, write some of my film script and save the world, but instead I just sat around, watching anime and surfing the Net.

In the evening I met two people from Wamono, a new England-language magazine published in Tokyo. I was very nervous at first but I soon managed to relax. We went to a very pleasant restaurant in Shibuya and discussed many things. I hope to get involved with Wamono is some small capacity, for example as a proof-reader. Check out the Wamono website: www.wamono-web.com

Thai Festival

An early start. I went to Tower Records in Shibuya to get the free weekly English magazines. In an unprecedented departure from the norm, I actually bought some stuff at Tower. I got a copy of Tokyo Journal and JSelect.

I met up with my friend Tomoko and we wondered around the Thai Festival in the rain. It had grown considerably since the last one I had been to, which was seven years ago. We ate various Thai foods and tried to avoid the rain. We had some coffee at a doughnut shop then Tomoko headed off to a Linux meeting.

I went round the Thai festival again with Chi-chan and Pasinee, a Thai friend. It was raining more heavily, so when I finally went home I was cold and wet.

Stuff I Read And Why

M0oo...
UK-based hacker BigM000 always delivers entertaining tales of his daily life, seeking work and adventure in and around Sunny Norwich.

Tomoko's Blog
Tomo-chan candidly explores the role of women in Japan, while struggling to understand the OSI 7-layer model of networking.

WAMONO BLOG
Wamono Magazine aims to take Japanese culture "from Japan to all the places in the world". This is the Wamono staff blog.

Sungypsy
Damon Coulter is a professional photographer who happens to live very close to me. His photos and insights are well worth checking out.

Citizen Reporter
Bicycle Mark reads news from around the world so I don't have to bother.

Whining About Wine

I'm starting to enjoy teaching a lot more recently. I had a discussion lesson this morning which went pretty well. In Japan it's always hard to get good class interaction. When I asked the class to suggest a topic for the next lesson they remained silent so I just said "Plan a bank robbery". I look forward to seeing what they come up with.

My next lesson was with a new student who works as a wine waiter in a famous Italian restaurant in Tokyo. I couldn't bring myself to tell my student that I don't drink. Instead, I pretended to be interested in issues such as plastic-cork technology, emerging markets for Australian wines and the amount of alcohol Japanese people are able to consume in a typical evening.

My last lesson of the day was to coach a university student for the TOEIC English exam. TOEIC is a stupid exam, but the lesson was still fun. Cynical readers may wonder how two hours with an 18-year old Japanese cheerleader can be anything other than fun...

Best. Book. Title. Ever.

"If You Liked School, You'll Love Work" by Ivine Welsh. It says it all. I haven't read the book, and I'm not going. Fuck work.

Video Killed The DVD Star

VHS is so cool and retro, like my beard. I bought 4 ex-rental videos from a stall outside a supermarket today:
(1) Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1989)
(2) Roger And Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
(3) The Way Of The Gun (Christopher McQuarrie, 2000)
(4) Gummo (Harmony Korine, 1997)

Please watch all four films if you haven't already done so and post your comments here.