« February 2005 | Main | April 2005 »
March 29, 2005
Japanese Invasion
Seems that Japanese popular music is making a comeback here. Lots of bands from Japan, from obscure to domestically-established, are touring the States (and stopping in Seattle), and making a sizable buzz everywhere. Pop princess (in Japan) Hikaru Utada has an album out here with all-English songs, SXSW apparently had a section called "Japan Nite."
"So is the day approaching when a Japanese rock band makes it big here?" asks music writer Peter Larsen("Japanese bands making a splash overseas", The Orange County Register).
Sure, punk-rock duo Shonen Knife has been on the scene for a long time, and I am not so surprised off-center bands like Guitar Wolf, Electric Eel Shock and Polysics are touring the States. After all, playing music for a living (whether you make money from it or not) appears to be much easier here than anywhere in Japan (outside of Tokyo, of course). However, bands like the Pillows and Puffy Amiyumi (of the anime by the same name) are of the true J-pop lineage, and I am somewhat taken aback that these guys are finding audiences here.
Maybe it's anime's (Japanese cartoon) recent surge into the mainstream, as a Shonen Knife member suggests in the story above. (I have heard office workers in this city citing Cartoon Network shows, with character names like "Mamimi" and "Naota", instead of Conan, HBO or Daily Show from the night before) Maybe it also has something to do with the popularity of Japanese movies, animated or not, in recent years.
Maybe, it's been long coming.
Japanese rock always looked to the West for inspiration. Now that Japan has sunk into depression similarly experienced in the punk-era UK, Japan's ready to infuse its own angst into the highly-polished sugarpop that has been the staple of the karaoke-driven music industry.
But then, you could say the US is now ready to accept J-pops, now that the likes of Jessica Simpsons are dominating the American scene. I am mixing up music and pop culture here, but the nature of this adulation towards Japanese culture makes it very hard to distinguish the two.
In any case, it certainly seems more people are aware of the Japanese popular music scene, many no doubt more aware and hip to the latest developments over there than this old geezer. I do think though that there are many I could teach something about J-pop to. You could be curious about some of the music, but may not have listened to any of it. Maybe you've gone to a show, and are curious to know more about their influence, background and whatnot.
So, I am proposing a series. Sort of an annotated Essential Listening list to better prepare the uninitiated and throw in a bit of contextual backdrop to the already converted.
I will pick an old album by a Japanese band each week, with comments on the surrounding cultural context, musical influences, and my personal flashbacks. I won't pretend that I know everything, but it will at least be a perspective from a guy whe spent his first 17 years there.
Posted by Akira at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2005
Sunset
The weather was pretty rough yesterday so I stayed in and had lots of tea with Akira. But today there was a clear moment late in the afternoon when the clouds parted. Some sun came through. I decided to take a walk, the long kind where you don't know where you'll end up, you just start.
Few others were out on Capitol Hill wandering about. Had they been, they'd see the bright clouds above Puget Sound fade away with evening. It feels good to move around, clear the head. Get a sense of the great wide open.
Grand stuff. Now I think I'll put on the kettle.
Posted by Dipika at 8:11 PM
March 26, 2005
あきらとさくら
こんにちは！Dipikaです。日本語で書いてみましょう。この写真はあきらと一緒にさくらを見に行った日のものです。University of Washington に結構有名なところ（The Quadといいます）がありますよ。日本からの観光客もいっぱいくるそうです。ちょうどいいタイミングでした。もう、さくらは終わってるかな。
きょうは雨の日です。二人で近くにある喫茶店でコーヒーとブラウニーをいただきました。店の名前はCafe Vitaです。コーヒーが自慢ですが、私達の意見では、ブラウニーのほうがおいしかったです。二階は広くて明るいので、そこで話しながらふらふらしました。
シアトルに喫茶店が多いということは、皆さん、もう知ってるとおもいますけど、それはそうです。５分で歩いていける喫茶店だけでも５つか６つあるのです。アイルランドのものすごく小さな町からここにくると、本当に感覚がちがいます。人口が５００，０００人くらいで、東京なんかとはくらべものにならないけど、私達には”大都市”って感じです。
Posted by Dipika at 4:02 PM | Comments (0)
ムービーリビュー： Millions
タイトル: Millions (2004)
鑑賞日時： ２００５年３月２６日 Egyptian Theater (Capitol Hill)
主演： Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon, James Nesbitt, Daisy Donovan
監督： Danny Boyle
"Trainspotting"、"The Beach"、"28 Days Later"等のダークなヒット作でおなじみのDanny Boyle監督、主役が子供二人のファミリー映画（PG−13）。ということで、どんな映画になるのか、期待と不安半分で見に行ったのですが、面白かった！
場所はキャピトル・ヒルのEgyptian。フリーメイソンの集会場を改築したアートデコ調の由緒正しい劇場で、シアトル国際映画祭のメイン会場にもなっています。インディーシアターなんだけど、どういうわけか僕等はここで子供向け映画を見る事が多い。
ともあれ、ストーリーはスコットランドから北イングランドの郊外住宅地に引っ越してきた一家に、ひょんな事から大金が舞い込んで。。。というお話。説教臭くなりがちな設定を、７歳のデミアン君(Alex Etel)の視点にこだわったビジュアルや会話でうまくユーモアあふれるエンターテイメントに仕立ててます。
新しい家の建つところを兄弟で想像したり、引っ越しで出た段ボールで自分の基地を作ったり、ませた仲間の説明でお金の出所が判明する、という場面でのBoyle監督らしい奇抜な映像。ちょっとシニカルな兄貴との会話や、次から次へと出てくる聖人（デミアンの趣味は聖人トリビア！ なんかアイリッシュっぽい設定ですな）たちの訳の分からない助言に笑いながらお金の価値、寄付の意味などけっこう深く考えさせてくれるストーリー展開。最後まで飽きさせない、でもちゃんとメッセージもあって、久しぶりに見応えのある映画でした。
前に見た、"In America"（社会派監督ジム・シェリダンの自伝的ストーリーで、やっぱり子役が印象的）とか、「隣のトトロ」（なぜ？）なんかもちょっと思いだすような。でもBoyle監督、「子供の無垢な良心」をテーマにして映画を作るような人だとは思わなかった。
Posted by Akira at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)
Carolina
Didn't see the Carolina game, but did see Duke and N.C. State losing simultaneously. It was the first time in a long time there were so many people watching basketball with me, but when I looked closely I saw they weren't really paying attention to the games. No one was there to catch b-ball. They were there to be with co-workers and get beers. Well, that's cool, but why hog up the best tables if that's the way you're going to be.
Anyways, Carolina is the only one left from the ACC, as everyone already knows so I don't have to point it out. Funny, people here say "North Carolina" for Carolina.
There will be no State-Carolina showdown of the sort we used to see when I was at Rosewood Elementary and they'd cancel class, and wheel in the video. ACC ball and snowflakes meant no school.
Getting back to the men's college tourney, I never thought I'd say, "Go Carolina," but I guess, since y'all are representing the ACC now, y'all Go.
Posted by Dipika at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)
Happy Holi
Around this time of year people in India celebrate Holi. You get these colored powders and throw them at your friends and family, a very popular scene in Bollywood movies. Holi's supposed to be a right good time, but I wouldn't know, having only been to India at school holidays. Kids seem to like it best.
Posted by Dipika at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2005
ムービーリビュー： The Wedding Date
タイトル: The Wedding Date (2005)
鑑賞日時： ２００５年３月２３日 Pacific Place 11 (ダウンタウンのショッピングモール内）
主演： Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, Jeremy Sheffield
監督： Clare Kilner
というわけで、息抜き（何の？）のラブコメ映画デートしてきました。ついでに映画評論しちゃいます。まあ、デート映画としてはよくできてるんじゃない？というのが結論かな。
あらすじは簡単で、ニューヨークに住んでるシングルガールが、妹の結婚式に出るためにロンドンへ（結婚式のベストマンである元彼氏への腹いせのために、男性エスコートも一緒）。結論はまあ予想がつきますよね。
Debra Messing（よく知らない人だけど、なんかこの役Jennifer Anistonに当て書きしたんじゃ？というくらいよく似てる。役者自身の写真を見るとそんなでもないんだけど）はまあまあかわいいし、Dermot Mulroneyもはまってて良いんじゃないでしょうか。同じくダーモットがおいしい役の「My Best Friend's Wedding」にちょっと雰囲気も似てて、まあカリスマ女優（と、それを食ったゲイの脇役）がいない分インパクトに欠けますが。ディピカは結構気に入っていたみたい。
Clare Kilnerというのがイギリスの監督らしい、ということと、ロンドンロケ、という事もわざわざ見に行った理由だったのだけど、う〜ん、まあ、ピクニックやらカントリーサイドの荘園ホテルやら地元のパブやら、そういう雰囲気はあるんだけどねえ。でもロンドンで育って、Hen Partyで、夜のピカデリーサーカスをリムジンで走り回るか？ あまりにも陳腐だよねえ。
現実味のある人物がいない、とか、いろいろいちゃもんをつけ始めるときりはないけど、１時間半（もっと削って１時間でも良いかも）ちゃんと楽しめて、疑似イギリス式結婚式まで体験できる、という意味でまあ良いのかな。
でも、個人的には同じラブコメだったら先週借りてきてみた「50 First Dates」（2004、Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore）のほうが全然おすすめだなあ、うん。
Posted by Akira at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2005
How to build cardboard furniture (1)
We had a lot of cardboard from the furniture we bought since we moved into this place. Didn't have the heart to throw it all away, but it was becoming an eyesore, building up in the corner of the room like an ancient shellmound.
Over Christmas, we went to a chic Japanese restaurand in downtown L.A. called R23 (a snazzy flash site, wish there were some pics) and they had all these cardboard chairs like Frank Gehry's infamous "cardboard furniture" line that they actually used for guest seats, and so we thought, 'Hey, we could DO that!'
Well, three months later, I have finally gotten off my butt and built a few things that hold things instead of just taking up space. Pictured here is a horizontal bookshelf with three square compartments.
I reasoned that three or four layers of cardboard, bound or glued together, could be as strong as a plywood piece of the same size, at least to vertical forces. So then I just drew some sketches and went straight to cutting the boards to my specs. The hardest part was to cut these things straight and exactly the same size, as I only had a 24-inch ruler and a utility knife.
Experimenting with smaller pieces of paper would have been smarter, as I noticed that my design had a fairly serious structural flaw (can you guess what it is by looking at the pic? it's pretty obvious) once I cut the pieces and glued them together. So I devised small supports of wooden dowels along the underside of the shelf where it meets the vertical 'column'(or sidewall)s through drilled holes on these columns.
Once the pieces are cut, glued together and the holes are drilled, assembly is fairly simple and easy. When the holes are snug, the boards tend to stay in place because of their natural elasticity, so there's no need for more glue or nails. It's easy enough to take it apart when you don't need it anymore, or when you are moving.
The result? Well, it's no Frank Gehry, and it's not that pretty either, but as a bookshelf it functions all right. We already crammed it with books and it seems to be taking the load quite happily (pictured right. There's also a lightstand in the foreground, also made of cardboard that came with, surprise -- a lamp -- and put together in less than half an hour with what was around). I named it "Clutzy" in the spirit of Swedish furniture-making tradition.
Here's a picture of my other masterpiece, "Chubb" coffee table (the top sheet's not glued on yet). The legs came just like that in a furniture package as a filler/cushion, I just cut them to the length I wanted. The top is four sheets cross-glued, with the bottom two sheets cut out for the legs to slot in. It's stable enough for me to sit on! I designed it to go with the low sofa/futon we bought, but once put together, it reminds me of those traditional chabu-dai (low, portable dining tables for small meals) I used to see on television dramas in Japan.
I am contemplating a few more pieces, maybe paint the ones I made so they look less cardboardy and ghetto. I will report any progress if there is anything noteworthy.
Posted by Akira at 10:51 AM | Comments (4)
March 17, 2005
"Happy Irish?" Huh?
These people at the Frames concert yelled "Happy Irish." That was late last week, but I think they were just getting psyched up for today. Someone had shown up with one of those hats that are dark like Guinness, but fuzzy.
All kinds of lines were getting started after work at Pioneer Square. Bar people in kilts were giving out round green buttons that had squarey shamrocks on them.
Bagpipes were going all day today outside the window. After a while they started to get really boring. Those lads are probably still there, serenading the drunken masses.
Okay, no, you don't have to be in Ireland to enjoy Paddy's Day. But if you don't have the craic it just ain't jack. I didn't mean to not wear green today. Red, yes.
Posted by Dipika at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2005
Hours
Well, party people. I’m a bit nervous. Seven hours to go to the big 3-0. Four if you are on the East Coast. I never thought I’d turn into a blogger for the big day, have I turned over an electronic leaf?
I used to have plans for my 30th. I always figured I’d take a trip to London. Said I’d save that city for a time when I’d be able to appreciate its art, music, and culture.
But now that I’m here and carving out roots, it’s less enticing to pick up and make a transatlantic shift, if even in the spirit of adventure. London’s cool. But so is Vancouver, B.C., which is closer.
It seemed to have the same feel when I was there, nevermind the favorable exchange rate. Can I say favourable? That makes me feel like I’m already on vacation. Er, holiday.
Posted by Dipika at 4:51 PM