RIP Alex Chilton 1950 – 2010
Goddamn it – I just found out that Alex Chilton died. It’s probably more appropriate to post a video of Chilton’s own work, but for some reason it seems proper to send the guy out courtesy of The Replacements. Our younger readers will probably only be familiar with Chilton from the song ‘Through The Street’ which was the theme song for That 70’s Show (although the tune was performed by Cheap Trick in every season but the first).
We’ll miss you, man…
Here’s an NPR story on Chilton and Big Star.
Washing the Dog
Ah, America. Where people want to have pets but are too lazy to take care of them.
Apparently it’s the same in Japan.
Poor dog. I used to work at a kennel, and just dumping water on a dog will not get it clean- you have to get in there with your hands and really scrub those suckers. Not to mention that using your hands tends to traumatize a dog less than sticking it in a box and dumping water on it.
Plus, if you never wash your dog yourself, it will never slip away and race through the house trailing soapsuds, so you miss out on good pictures/video/stories/movie scenes.
In Communist North Korea, Cell Phones Kill You!
I hate cell phones. Sometimes I still work at the bookstore, and I fucking hate those idiots who stand in line yapping about stupid shit while you’re trying to check them out. I hate idiots who drive while babbling on their cell phones. Worst of all I hate the cretins who just absolutely have to have intensely private conversations about their colonoscopies or fight with their boyfriends in really loud voices in public. Once I heard a woman ordering something, giving her credit card number very loudly. I wrote it down and considered giving it to her but got distracted. At least in North Korea you don’t have to worry about that crap. You do, however, have to worry about being executed for calling a buddy.
No Cell Phones in North Korea!
(note: this is from The Daily Mail, which loves to outrage people, so take that as you may)
World’s Shortest Man Dies
He Pingping, the world’s shortest man, has passed away.
This really sucks. Not only did he have to live with being less than 2 1/2 feet tall, he also died at 21. What an adorable guy, though.
Highway to Hell for shamisen and accordion
The ever-talented Kevin Kmetz and a willing cohort rock out AC/DC’s Highway to Hell on shamisen and accordion.
Sweet Thai Tats
I love tattoos. I don’t have any myself (It’s not that I’m a baby about pain- trust me, after labor and a c-section I cannot be fazed, pain-wise- it’s just that I have other things I would rather spend my money on) but I like to look at other people’s. And if you tell people you like their tat, they will usually tell you why they got it and what it means to them, which is usually interesting.
But in Thailand, tattoos are more than body art…they can make you rich, get you laid and possess you.
And of course anytime celebrities see something pretty and cultural they have to get in on it, so Angelina Jolie has some. I’m not that impressed since this is the same woman who walked around with a vial of her then-husband’s blood around her neck. Her tattoo must have the power to attract children since she has about 10 or so now.
Mizuno Does Faith No More
Junko Mizuno, Japan’s queen of adorably fucked-up shit, has designed a promotional poster for Faith No More\’s 2010 tour. They broke up in 1988 but are getting back together, probably because they realized they can’t do anything decent on their own.
It’s not as adorable as a lot of her stuff but is definitely fucked-up.
Galactic Heroes Live!
The anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes is probably one of the greatest anime never released in the U.S. Maybe because it’s about five billion episodes long. But it’s really great if you like space opera/military sf/incredibly complex plots/dudes in fringey uniforms with capes (and if you can find it subbed online…).
Anyway, it’s based on a series of novels and now there is going to be a stage play. I have no idea how they plan to condense the story and shrink the cast enough to fit onto a stage, or how they’ll do the awesome-looking spaceships.
There will be a website about it up on April 10th so maybe there will more information then, unless of course the website is in Japanese.
Wakaresaseya
In Japan, you can hire people to seduce your spouse so you have a reason to divorce them. And they even have a job title that isn’t ‘prostitute’ or ’skank’!
Kuwabara approached the 32-year-old mother in a supermarket in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in the guise of a chatty stranger, and asked her if she could recommend a place that sold good cheesecake.
Yes, this is the way to get a woman to fall for you. Talk about cheesecake. Oh, yes. <– sarcasm
Great interview with Tokyo Vice writer Jake Adelstein
Boing Boing’s Lisa Katayama posted part one of an interview with badass reporter Jake Adelstein (Tokyo Vice), who is equal parts Hunter S. Thompson and Bunta Sugawara.
In April 2008, I was trying to figure out how Goto knew that I was writing a book about his liver transplant. There was a yakuza real estate broker; he was a good source, and I had paid him. I remembered having a conversation with him a few months back, and he was asking how my book was coming along — I suspected he might have been sounding me out for information. So I went to his office and said, “Listen, did you sell me out on Goto? Did you tell him I’m writing a book”? And he said, “Yeah of course. He pays much more than you do. Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like we’re friends. It’s nothing personal.” He didn’t even try to deny it. So I said to him, “Remember a couple years ago when Sugiura got hit? I’m gonna tell my friends in the Sumiyoshi-kai that you gave away his location. They may not believe me, but they might come ask you some questions, and when they do I don’t think they’ll be very nice to you. Nothing personal.” And as I turned my back to leave, he jumped on me. He started hitting me really hard and kicking me. So I ran to the corner of his room and got a golf club, and kept hitting his knee until his knee broke. I was just running around in circles aiming at his knee. Even after his knee broke, he was still crawling at me. I was like, god! Why don’t you just give up?
This is apparently just the beginning of a slew of Yakuza-centric goodies that Katayama and Adelstein have planned in the near future. Should be fun…
Joining a Fan Club!
Two of my favorite bands – Jellyfish, with their song ‘Joining a Fan Club’, and the cover by Japanese pop-rock duo Puffy (or Puffy Amiyumi, if you prefer).
The sweet sounds of victory…
If this doesn’t make you grin, you clearly need more quality time with your Playstation.
(Linkage from Boing Boing)
9 Asian-Type Kiddie Books
We’re readers. When we moved a couple years ago Shapiro Keats did a quick count of our books; it was something like 1,700 and since then we’ve bought more. Gohan is quickly amassing collection to rival ours, though. At least they don’t take up as much space because they tend to be very short.
Here are the Asian-themed picture books he has:
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This little kid goes with his grandpa to a library in the middle of the woods. He takes along his red fish in a bowl (no small feat considering they are riding a bicycle). The fish hops out of its bowl and into a book. A trippy sequence ensues as the kid chases his fish through the book. It’s all very surreal. This book is gorgeous. Best of all, I got it for free from my friend who picked it up at a librarians’ conference. |
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Yoko is an anthropomorphic cat who likes to chill with her grandparents in their ultra-traditional Japanese garden. But when Yoko’s family moves to America, can she keep in touch with her roots? Of course she can, it’s a kids’ book. The cool thing about this book is that the drawings of Japan reselmble Hiroshige paintings, and a lot of the clothes and stuff are made with cutouts of patterned origami paper. |
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This is pretty much “Beauty and the Beast” but in China and with a dragon. The heroine is so virtuous you kind of want to puke, but I guess it’s good for kids to emulate good people. There’s a lot of text so wiggly older kids probably won’t sit still for it all, but Gohan is still immobile so he’s hostage to my whims. The illustrations are really vivid and realistic (except for, you know, the dragon and the people flying on clouds and all). |
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Nara is a famous artist known for his sullen-looking, creepy-ass little girl drawings. So it’s no surprise there is a sullen-looking, creepy-ass little gitl in this book. Poor puppy. No one ever notices him. Not because he is tiny, but because he’s huge- like, front paws in New York, hind paws in Russian huge. Then the little girl sees him and climbs up his leg and they play and go flying in space and shit. What I want to know is, if that thing is a puppy, how big will he be when he grows up? |
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This is pretty much the saddest story ever, packaged with elegant illustrations. In this version, the husband is kind of an ass. The Decembrists did a good album based on this story. Again, there’s a lot of text and the pictures aren’t quite primary-colored enough to keep Gohan’s attention right now, but maybe someday if I think he’s too happy I will read this to him. |
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Like “The Crane Wife” isn’t depressing enough. Here is the story of a dog who waits in a train station for his dead master for ten years because he doesn’t realize his master is dead. When we went to Japan I made Shapiro Keats go to Shibuya Station with me just to get a picture of the Hachiko statue there. I can’t read this to Gohan without crying. So Shapiro Keats will have to read it to him. Same thing with “The Mightiest Heart”, “Black Beauty” and the chapter where the White Witch kills Aslan. |
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I have no idea why I bought this. Wait, yes I do. It was on remainder and I had some idea about not shielding kids from difficult subjects because they are smrter and tougher than adults think. I still have that idea but even I find this book disturbing. It’s about a little girl and her parents who manage to flee Hiroshima with radioactive fire on their heels and the horrible things they see on their way out of town. And escaping doesn’t even save them because they all get radiation poisoning. It’s going to be a long time before Gohan gets to look at this one. |
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Again, lots of text but nice illustrations. I think Gohan needs to learn that girls kick ass as soon as possible. Because I heard cootie immunizations cause autism and I don’t want him to do that.
** I don’t believe vaccinations cause autism and I think Jenny Mccarthy is talking out her ass. The only study that ever showed a link was recently discredited. Gohan has gotten his shots and will continue to get them. ** |
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This book is awesome. An old lady obsessed wtih cooking rice balls falls down a crack into the underground world of the oni, who make her cook rice balls for them until she launches a daring esscape. This book rocks because when you read it you can give the old woman a really high voice and make all the oni have weird accents. Also the oni kind of look like this really evil math teacher I had in high school. Mr. R, if you’re reading this, you can suck it. I have never had to use algebra in my adult life so there.
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I feel like I should have one more to make a round number but we only have nine. I’ll get on finding that tenth Asian-themed book right away.
Kid Gets Bullied, It’s Major News
So the adorable daughter of Japan’s Crown Prince is getting bullied in school. Not like that ever happened to me. In Catholic school. For about 5 agonizing years.
But my mom couldn’t exactly pull me out of school. Nope, I had to endure it until I escaped to high school.
What seems weird about this is the statement of a school official:
A school director told reporters the princess had been frightened on Tuesday when a boy had run out of a classroom, which “must have reminded her of the rowdy behaviour of several boys in the past, who may have thrown things and made her uneasy”, Kyodo says.
“Must have’? ‘May’? Maybe her mom is so nutty she can’t stand to have her kid in school and away from her. Who cares? It’s their business. But people are nuts about their royals…no wonder Princess Masako is going crazy.
JAL stewardess uniforms feared hot item on black market
Already engaged in a struggle to emerge from bankruptcy, Japan Air Lines is now engaged in a fight of a different sort: Keeping the stylish outfits of laid-off flight attendants off the black market and out of the hands of uniform fetishists.
A jacket alone can fetch several hundred pounds, while one site is presently advertising a full set for more than £2,000. JAL’s domestic rival, All Nippon Airways, has a similar problem and an ANA stewardesses’ uniform is also on sale on-line for £3,745. Items that have been worn command higher prices.
“We have very strict rules on our uniforms and when people leave the company they are required to return them,” a spokeswoman for JAL told The Daily Telegraph.
“It’s a question of security, as anyone wearing a JAL uniform at an airport could quite easily access restricted areas, but we also do not want people misrepresenting the company or damaging our image in any way,” she added.
Actually, the bit about items that have been worn commanding higher prices was a bit too much information.
(via MetaFilter)
Update: USA Today reports that the problem is worse than initially thought. The uniforms might go not only to individuals but to the sex industry.
Scott Mayerowitz of ABC News reports that “in Japan plenty of people are willing to pay top dollar for an experience with a club entertainer clad in an authentic Japan Airlines flight attendant uniform.”
Of course, you can have an experience with someone clad in an authentic Japan Airlines flight attendant uniform for the price of a coach ticket, but she’ll only bring you a ginger ale.
