Monthly Archive for February, 2007

The World Must Know!

Published
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on February 28, 2007
in Food and Restaurants
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Here’s one thing the world must know:

Maybe you should tell the owner of the restaurant that ‘didi‘ actually means ‘elder sister’ in Hindi and Hindi-related languages such as Nepali and Punjabi. Daughter is ‘beti’. But it’s still a lovely word …looks like good food too, verrrry verrry healthy!

Thanks Adrienne, I’ll pass that on. (She knows what she’s talking about, does Adrienne).

And here’s another; in my continuing pursuit of new natto taste delights, I think I may have created a new culinary dish! When I was looking for new natto recipes last week, I kept coming across recipes for natto with advocado. They go together, it seems… “Advocado…”, thinks I. “Guacamole…”, thinks I. And before you know it I’m making Natto Tacos! Now normally making tacos I’d use a variety of beans (I’m a sort-of-vegetarian - no chicken or beef for me), so I figured I’d use a variety of natto today.

What you see on the left is the normal natto we all love and respect, and on the right black natto of which I am deeply in awe. Just look at how awesome it is:

Mix it up and awe some more:

Still, doesn’t look right for tacos though, eh? Let’s add some tomato puree…

A bit of taco seasoning (from a pack, I confess) and to bulk it up I added some rice:

Then cook it up with some of these: chopped onions, diced tomatoes, chopped apple (YES! APPLE!), and diced red pepper.

And when it’s done it looks like this:

You can serve it up with your usual toppings: guacamole, salad, taco sauce, sour cream, and grated cheese…

Slap all that in your taco shell and this is what you get:

The verdict? Well, amazingly, it’s not awful! In fact it’s good! But what with all those different flavors jostling for position within one taco shell, it’s hard to say that the natto really stands out as much as it normally would. The distinctive natto flavor is definitely there, and it does make a difference. But if you didn’t know it was there, you probably wouldn’t guess it. Which gives me an idea for when I next have guests… hehehe…

Anyway, here’s one happy and willing nattophile tucking in to tonight’s creation:


* * * * * * * * * * “It’s the other way around chuck!” * * * * * * * * * *

Burbling with Rik

Published
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on February 27, 2007
in Blogging, Buddhism and Friends
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Here’s a happy thing. Thanks to this blog, and their own fine internet search-skills, a couple of old friends have actually got back in touch with me after years and years and years. However there are still a few few friends I have sadly and shamefully lost touch with over the last decade or so. So I was thinking that if I put their names up here, then they might just one day google-search themselves, find me and get back in touch again, and that would be swee-t! Here they are:

Matt (Matthew) Fernyhough
Judith Cox-Rogers
Jonathan Irwin
Ester Fleischer-Brown

Oh GREAT and POWERFUL INTERWEB let your mystic magic work!
Now, let’s see what happens…

Here are some snippets of conversation/burbling with Rik:

DREAMS:
michael: I had a dream that I was waiting at a bus stop with HJ and there were bluebirds fluttering around a nest on the building behind us
what does this signify?
rikabel: er…love?
michael: nah
rikabel: a desire to actually settle down?
michael: hmmm
rikabel: you tell me, dream interpreter man
michael: erm…. currently waiting in transit between one part of life’s journey and the next… not sure when things will start up/settle down…. bluebirds signify happiness/freedom?
something like that
rikabel: ok - yeah

BLOGGING:
rikabel : your blog is great man
michael : thanks
rikabel: i wish i had time to read it properly
michael: as do I…. by the way… I’ve been looking at Google Analytics
rikabel: go on
michael: I don’t understand the difference between page view and visit
rikabel : nor do i
michael: crap
ok well after studying all the different and very confusing data I think I’ve figured out that the vast majority of people look at my blog once and never return (although there was a remarkable upsurge of returnees last week)
also I think I have approximately 12 regular readers
considering the time I put into it this seems less than adequate
rikabel: you gotta keep on truckin’ dude
early days
michael: I think maybe I need to change tack….
rikabel: you just need one break to get a much bigger audience
maybe you need to refine your focus?
michael: I like burbling on about whatever though
However I have nothing to burble about today
rikabel: there’s always something to burble about
michael: I think I’ll just put up a list of people I’d like to get back in touch with in the vain hope they google themselves and find me
rikabel: what about ‘an inconvenient truth’ winning an oscar?
michael: for a song?
rikabel: what?
best documentary
michael : oh it got that too eh
cool
rikabel:yeah
michael: did Al Gore make an acceptance speech?
rikabel: dunno
michael （after a quick search）:
He said: “People all over the world - we need to solve the climate crisis. It’s not a political issue, it’s a moral issue,We have everything we need to get started with the possible exception of the will to act. That’s a renewable resource - let’s renew it.”
rikabel: what a dude
he gives me renewable wood
sorry, i mean sustainable wood
etc…

DIAMOND WAY BUDDHISTS

michael: why are you always meeting diamond way buddhists?
rikabel: yeah, i do
maybe i’ll become one
michael: gosh
how does one become one?
rikabel: go to a meeting i guess
and get inducted
apparently they have REALLY REALLY good parties

If we look at what the Buddha discovered about mind 2550 years ago, we find that he realized that mind is clear light. The mind hasn’t been born, and it cannot die. Even though bodies, thoughts and feelings appear, change and disappear again, mind itself, being open clear limitless space, can in no way be hurt or harmed.
So when the Buddha obtained liberation, he found that he was not the target anymore. He wasn’t that body which could be in trouble, nor was he those thoughts and feelings which could change and disappear - instead he was radiant awareness. This led to enlightenment, the realization that there is no separation between space and energy at any time or place. He knew and was aware of all things. He felt the great joy and expressed the great love which is the meaning of all things; which makes every atom stick together and vibrate and which makes all things happen in the world.

michael: did you just make that up?
rikabel: yeah
etc…

Didi’s

Published
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on February 26, 2007
in Restaurants
. 2 Comments

I had lunch at Didi’s on Higashioji Dori today. I’d always assumed “Didi” was the name of the owner. Not so. It means “beloved daughter”, as the mission statement below relates:
Now, I’m the sort of chap, who once he’s discovered one dish he likes at a restaraunt, will mindlessly order the same thing again and again - and never get sick of it. At Didi’s I’m mindlessly in love with their vegetable curry. Can’t get enough of it. But lately I’ve been pushing myself to be a bit more adventurous. And seeing as they do a special vegetarian lunch I figured I ought to give it a try. Here it is: dhal salad, tofu steak, whole grain rice and leak & burdock chinese miso soup…
Looks awfully healthy doesn’t it? It’s healthy alright. Yep. VERY healthy.

But I recommend the vegetable curry.

(They do nice samosas and scones and herb teas too, see previous post for more pictures.)

Anyway, if you’re interested, this is where it lies, just past Mototanaka station on Higashioji Street. Quite popular with the foreign chaps (and chapesses).
One last (entirely unrelated) thing. I spotted this lovely article on the Craggy Island Father Ted Fest currently being held over on the Aran Islands: HAVE A CLICK! GO ON! GO ON! YOU WILL!

(Update! Some time after writing this post I was eating in Didi’s when I saw a RAT - a BIG ONE! They know they ahve them too! Don’t eat there!)

For Goodness Sake

Published
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on February 25, 2007
in Art and War
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A GOOD PLACE
Yesterday HJ introduced me to a GOOD PLACE. I’m talking about a place that emanates GOODNESS and that is filled with GOOD THINGS. I came away from this place with a sense of hope and enormous well-being. The place is the house of Kawai Kanjiro, a leading 20th century potter who was also a writer and sculptor and it’s spookily close to where I work. If you click on the pictures below you can get a better look at his works (and there is some information about them too).

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There’s further information on Kawai Kanjiro here: GOODNESS.

LIVE PAINTING
Later that evening we proceeded to Gojo Guest House Cafe for Yui Katou’s Live Painting Event, some highlights of which you can see below. The fellow getting all avant-garde with the flute is Yui’s dad.

CLUSTER
In the news today I read that 46 nations of the world have agreed to push for a global ban on cluster bombs. America, Russia and China however are still resisting because they value military strength over human rights. Here’s why cluster bombs should be banned:

A GINGER. NOT A WHINGER.
Former teenage dope-fiend Harry Windsor, (previously famous mostly for not looking much like his Dad) is off to Iraq. I have mixed feelings about Ginger Windsor going to Iraq. On the one hand I’m inclined to think: “Good! Now send the rest of them over there too!” On the other hand it’s a wonderful propaganda tool for the establishment, promoting all those old irrational beliefs in duty and service and the glory of a righteous war etc. You know, all those fine ideals that get good people killed or maimed every day, when they could be working and raising families and living for their country instead of dying for it. There’s a line in Brecht’s Galileo, Galileo has recanted his theories under pressure from the Inquisition, and his pupil laments:
“Pity the country that has no hero.” Galileo replies: “Pity the country that needs a hero.”

Clever that.

All New Natto Cuisine!

Published
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on February 23, 2007
in Food
. 1 Comment

I have written previously on the delights of natto, Japan’s gift to the world, the fermented bean. (Click here and scroll down to “Beans” if you’re really interested). Pretty much the standard way to eat it is simply mixed up with piping hot rice, chopped scallions and (for the fearless) a raw egg. I’ve gotten bored with that and have decided to try something new. And after a quick search on the internet I found a lot of recipes that with but a few modifications of my own, had me quite excited. Last night I made natto spaghetti. Here’s how. Most natto you get in Japanese supermarkets is pretty much the same but the variety above is organic and therefore good for your soul and the soul of the world…. They say natto should be mixed (exactly) 424 times for perfect results and then left for 20 minutes. Check out that squishy natto goodness: Here are the main ingredients: chopped scallions, tuna, spaghetti and of course natto. I also added chopped onions, garlic and seasoning… The seasoning is a secret.

And this is the finished result, served up with a nice glass of “Trapiche” Cabernet Sauvignon… The culinary magic that goes on in between is of course something you can work out for yourself.
Let’s take a closer look at that… Notice the tasteful garnishing with chopped scallions and nori seaweed. I recommend the nori. The more of it the better.
Hyon Ju all ecstatic over that funky natto taste. It actually does go surprisingly well with tuna, not a sophisticated taste, more of a homely country-fare type taste.
And here is my plate 3 minutes later. (You’ll be needing plenty of tissues when you eat this by the way).
This morning: Natto Pizza Toast! The ingredients are plain sliced bread, chopped onions, red pepper (that’s a magic touch that is!), tomato puree, pizza cheese and sloppy gooey natto gunk. I added some sliced tomatoes as well.
Abracadabra!
And lets take a closer look again at that cheese-coated natto topped toasted bed of taste-sensations!
Again, I was surprised. Tomato and natto go really well together. It’s a strong taste (not for the faint of heart) but I liked it. The natto is still fairly slimy but not as stringy as it normally is. The grilling does that. And this isn’t a crispy pizza, but it’s not too squidgy either. A very healthy breakfast dish! Here’s my plate 3 minutes later.
Stay tuned for further natto adventures!

Plum Blossoms

Published
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on February 23, 2007
in Flowers
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Here are some more plum blossoms form my neighborhood. Just double-click on the pics for a better look. This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog There’s a definite spring-like feeling in the air these days… birdsong is noisier. Students are friendlier, in fact… everyone’s friendlier… and livelier and sort of… bouncier. Yep, it’s spring all right, There’s a strange magic in the air.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of pollen in the air too and since yesterday I’ve been Mr. Sneezy with the itchy eyes. Anyway, I have plans for this weekend. Exciting plans. Be prepared. All, will be reported.

Ranting today

Published
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on February 22, 2007
in Teaching and Whales
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SCROTUM
I was reading Neil Gaiman’s journal today. You come across interesting things when you read Neil Gaiman’s journal. For instance, today he talked about how librarians up and down America were refusing to stock an award-winning children’s book that made mention of (HORROR OF HORRORS!) a dog’s scrotum. Quite rightly, Neil Gaiman was dismayed by this. I am too. I mean, what are we doing? Pretending dogs have no balls? Like kids don’t know? Recently I found myself bowdlerizing “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen so I could use it in the classroom. I actually changed the words “sex machine” to “six machine”. Ridiculous right? But I didn’t do this because I wanted to protect the innocent wards in my care. I know they know sex exists, they talk about it and think about it all time (they’re 14 - that’s probably all they think about). It was the adults I was worried about; the parents and the teachers who can’t handle the idea of being honest and forthright about this kind of thing in front of children (which is far healthier to my mind) and would probably give me a very hard time about it. Seems pretty immature to me to be honest, but as a foreigner, on a one-year part-time contract, I’m in no position to buck the system. Once a student asked me to use Avril Lavigne’s “Don’t Tell Me” in class. I’m not a big fan of Lavigne’s (let me assure you), but “whatever works”, you know. If the students like it they will learn. Anyway, the song is basically about a girl who is telling her boyfriend to clear off because all he wants to do is get in her pants (so you know, probably a good message, right? “Girls be strong! Be assertive! Don’t be pressured into doing that-kind-o’-thing before you’re ready!”- type of message, right?). I thought I would have a crack at translating it, but when I asked a Japanese teacher to check my translation he seemed perturbed.

What does “it” refer to in this sentence? he asked me

I’m guessing sex. I said. But before I had a chance to explain futher:

Sex!? No! No! Not sex! Not sex to junior high school students! No way! etc…

The mere mention of sex (never explicitly mentioned in the song) had him in paroxysms! I mean, I can understand my aged Irish-Catholic parents having weird puritanical attitudes, but you know, they are from a different era. We live in the 21st century now. Why can’t we just be honest and take all the mystery (and the associated sniggering and the misinformation and the hang-ups, and the FEAR) away? Then kids would have a more mature understanding of things… And I think we would too.

ANYWAY:
Here’s something else I found on Neil Gaiman’s super site. It’s art that you can play with. Basically collages of old 19th century prints, that you can click and effect weird changes upon. If you click on it in the right sequence you discover the next tableaux: CLICK TO ENJOY!

WHALES:
Here’s this week’s “Whale-Love” video. This week, Yuki and the token foreigner meet up with Mr. Nagaoka who was a whale harpoonist back in the 50s and who looks fantastic for his age. (Must be all that whale meat keeping him young…)

FINALLY:
It’s official. Youtube has gone over to the dark side. Since Google took over I’ve been reading about these insidious changes going on. About the major record companies demanding that youtube remove copyrighted material etc. But it didn’t hit home until I realised today that over half the music videos I’ve posted on this blog are no longer available. Including one I posted but 11 days ago! Tell me what harm does it do to have say a “TalkTalk” video from 1986, that can no longer be seen anywhere else, freely available on the internet where people can find it and might possibly think: “Ooh, I like that. Maybe I’ll click over to amazon and buy the record…” Hmm? STOOPID! My good friend Rik Abel recently wrote on his blog about Youtube plans to give video makers a share of ad-revenue: “w00t! Revver has been offering ad revenue share for quite a while, but this is exciting news cos like YouTube is obviously the 800lb gorilla and it’s high time they decided to ‘reward creativity’. “

I beg to differ Rik! It’s another sign of the crass commercialization that has irrevocably swallowed up the sweet naivete of the original youtube ideal! There was a place for that - it was Revver. Youtube was a place free from that, that horrible money-stuff. Ach! No more! No more!

But all things must pass.

Sheesh.

Published
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on February 21, 2007
in Friends, Kyoto and Politricks
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Today the weather was fine and spring-like so HJ and I climbed up to the top of Daimonji and looked at Kyoto all strewn out white before us like a field of polished bones, and we climbed up a bit further to the top and listened to tiny little birds pat-pat-pattering against the branches of the pine trees, and we watched the sun sink and get fatter and redder and it’s reflection on those distant white rooftops shimmering like it would on a lake and for a moment we felt just a wee bit at peace. Which was something we needed very much as the evil bureaucrats at the Immigration Office have turned down HJ’s request for a student visa and quite frankly we don’t know what to do about that now…

Happier news is that one of my first students from 10 years back in Fukushima, dear Hibari, has had a baby girl and her name is Kanon. Congratulations!

And this I just read and felt encouraged: “…a survey released on Tuesday showed most Japanese voters agreed with Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma when he said U.S. President George W. Bush was wrong to start the war… starting the Iraq war was a mistake and its foreign minister called the U.S. occupation strategy “immature”.”

Hurrah - A Japanese Defence Minister with SPINE!

And YUI just sent me a mail with lots of unbelievable chalk drawings by one Julian Beever. Click on that link and be amazed.

And here’s a message for CARRIE VAN HORN should she google her name again: Oi! Send me your email address so I can reply to your message properly!

Yui, Masumi and Setsuo WORKS ‘07

Published
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on February 19, 2007
in Art
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I popped over to Gojo Guest House Cafe on my way home yesterday to check out the exhibition and naturally took a lot of pictures, so here you are folks:


In addition to Yui’s pictures…


…there are felt works by her mother Masumi…

…and dinky little wooden thingies by Setsuo (who I’ve not met, but he’s very nice apparently).


I find that Yui’s pictures grow on me over time. The more you look at them, the more you see. This one is called France. Why? Because she made it in France.

Check out the exhibition while it lasts. 13:00 pm - 21:00 pm till Sunday February 25th (the last day). Yui’s works in particular are selling like hot cakes!

And don’t forget that on Saturday from 19.30 pm, Yui’s father will be playing the flute, accompanied by guitar and didgeridoo, and Yui will be doing live painting along with the performance.

Here are some more pictures. If you want a closer look just double click on them as they scroll by…

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Manga Museum

Published
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on February 18, 2007
in Comics and Friends
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First off, a quick reminder that our friend Yui Katou’s exhibition started today at Gojo Guesthouse Cafe. She wrote to tell me that:

AH, WHAT ABOUT YOUR SCHEDULE FOR NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT??
THERE WILL BE A LIVE CONCERT AT GOJO AND I WILL DO LIVE-PAINTING WITH
THE MUSIC :) THAT’S SATURDAY THE 24TH!!
IT STARTS FROM 19:30 AND MY DAD IS PLAYING THE FLUTE AS WELL!

Now that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Yui’s exhibition is from 1 p.m to 9:00 p.m. and will run until Sunday the 25th of February.

This next bit is going to make Kumar very very jealous. Yesterday HJ and I went to the Kyoto International Manga Museum that opened up here in November. What a top place! They have an massive manga collection you can sit and read at your leisure. There are also some foreign comics (I read a whole copy of Hellblazer ). There’s a very nice children’s library too, which is really wonderfully designed. There’s a sort of well in the middle with soft flooring the kids can sit in while they read. It’s just the sort of thing kids love to sit in and it was quite moving to see all these little boys and girls in there with their noses buried in their books… Another great part is the 紙芝居 (kamishibai) performances which continue throughout the day. Kamishibai is an old form of storytelling using illustrations in a wooden frame. I’d never had the chance to see it before, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Well, finally we had our pictures drawn by a nice young chap called Seibi. And you can see a video of that below.


So, I’m a blonde, blue-eyed 16 year old apparently… After the Manga Museum we got a bite to eat and a few pints of the old Guinness at Field and there we met and got talking to a very nice Finnish chap by the name of Mika. And he gave us our first lesson in Finnish:Kiitos! - Thank you!
Hyuvaa Paivaa! - Good day!
Nakemiin! - Goodbye!
Kippis! - Cheers!

But I think the best quote from Mika last night was “I like some Irish… They are weird like Finns.” If you are reading this Mika, I hope you had a safe flight home and be sure to get in touch next time you visit!


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