Unbelievable

I used to work with Craig and would sometimes go out with him for beers. He wasn't married back then. His story is heartbreaking.

I Survived A Fake Japanese Game Show

We're watching "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" right now. While it's awfully cool to be hearing Japanese come out of my TV on a network channel here in New Hampshire, so far the show seems kind of lame.
I read somewhere that it's not an actual Japanese game show, but a game show put together by ABC that was filmed in Japan with a Japanese host who is based in L.A. So it's more "faux reality".
I'm finding the fake over-reactions of the host and the Japanese audience annoying. But then again, mochi has finally made it to American prime time.
Mostly I'm bracing myself for all the questions I'm going to have to answer from my newbie students in the fall about stupid crap from this show.

My Asia Perspective

With the popularity of G4's nightly broadcasts of Ninja Warrior, aka Sasuke,and MXC (which I can't stand) I suppose it was only a matter of time before something like ABC's new show called "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" came along.
It's so odd how Japan has become so popular and mainstream now, about 20 years after its global political and economic relevance peaked. Don't get me wrong. This burst of popularity certainly works for me and my chosen careers and I won't deny how fascinating Japan is, but if I were young and starting out on my path, I'd be learning Chinese. As a matter of fact, despite my mid-pathness, I am learning Chinese. (It gives me something to do with my brain while scraping paint from the house. Think global, work local?)

Wow!!

I just had a surprise visit from a student I taught five years ago. He was in the first group of kids I ever taught here and transferred out to the University of Hawaii to major in Japanese the following year. Now he has graduated and is back in New England and pretty damn fluent in Japanese! I was only one of many teachers he had along the way, but I am so incredibly happy and psyched to see how far he has come. We just chatted for about 30 minutes non-stop in Japanese. And what's even better, he did his study abroad in Kobe and speaks Kansai-ben!
Yeah, I really do like this job. The results can be so rewarding.

What a Year in Japan

The top Kanji of the Year have been announced at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, Japan and judging from the top three selections, it appears not to have been a very auspicious year in the Land of Wa.
Number one was 偽 (nise/gi) which means fake or deceptive. This came from a string of scandals about fake news reporting, fake brand name goods, fake expiration dates on food and such. The second choice was 食 (shoku) meaning food. This is connected to the first choice, since food sold as one thing often contained something else all together (ground pork sold as beef by Meat Hope) and well established food manufacturers being exposed for using expired ingredients in their products. The third choice was 嘘 (uso) means lies. Politicians lied. Businesses lied. Nothing new, of course. They've all been doing that for years.
I wonder if anyone is going to take the words of Kiyomizu's chief priest to heart and use the disgraces of this year as an opportunity to turn things around in the coming year. It would be wonderful if they did, but I won't be holding my breath.

Holy Crap!

Toto wants to convert you to that Happy Washlet Feeling.
Because apparently, we all deserve to be pampered that way.
Personally, there are many other things I'd rather spend $1,000 on.

Thou Dost Protest Too Much

Since it's NaBloPoMo and I signed up for this pony ride and don't have all that much to say, I'll take the old "comment on someone else's blog post" tactic.
During my daily check of Japan Probe I clicked on a Latest Japan News Headline link and ended up on this post by Ampontan. I think I've run across the author on a translator's mailing list or two and my recall is that he's generally a pretty smart cookie, so I was kind of disappointed to see him appearing to flog the old "American women are jealous that I chose a Japanese one" stereotype. I honestly haven't heard that line in years and even still, most American women change their point of view once they hear that Japanese women control the family finances. (Money is power, after all.)
I really didn't understand his cringing response to the feedback an American family got when they announced to friends that they were moving temporarily to Japan to advance the wife's career opportunities. I believe that most Japanese couldn't even imagine moving abroad for the wife's career advancement.
In the end, I just don't get the need for so much justification of what is ultimately a very personal decision. If you are happy with your partner, no matter what nationality, personality, occupation, station or gender, then good for you. You don't need to sell the rationale your choice for anyone else's approval.

Happy

Wow. I was going to try to be eloquent and write gracefully about my ex-mother in law, but I'm feeling too happy for eloquent execution right now. My former mother in law has called me recently because of some paperwork she needed me to sign regarding some investments she made in my daughter's name. With the divorce and all I hadn't spoken to her for a couple of years and knowing the typical Japanese reaction to divorce and the acrimony of my ex, I figured the whole family probably hated me.
I was wrong.
My mother in law called last week, and along with discussing the business part of things, we also did a lot of catching up. She told me she still considers me her daughter (she grew up the youngest of five or six girls and then went on to have two sons herself) and invited me to stay at the house when I visit Japan next summer. It made me very happy to talk with her and to hear that she is well and doesn't have any hard feelings.
She called again this morning to let me know she received the documents I sent and to thank me. We chatted some more. She told me again that despite the divorce, she still thinks of me as her daughter and once again said to come stay with them next summer. At the end of this call I had my wits about me enough to ask her to give my regards to her husband.
My ex-father in law and I have had some rough moments. I've spent a fair amount of time being pissed off at him for blaming me for his dissatisfactions with his son. I kind of figured we were definitely on the outs now, no matter what my mother in law said because I know she's the kind of person who will do as she wishes even if it rubs him the wrong way.
Well, after I said "please send my regards" she put him on the phone. He sounded healthy and cheerful and , dare I say it, happy to be speaking with me! He also told me I was their daughter and to stay healthy and come stay with them next year.
This whole development really blows my mind. In a good way.

I Hate Pretentious Japanophiles: Part 7 Million

Sushi for Two - New York Times
Oh, let's be pretentious and stupid! Obviously this guy hasn't taken check of the Japanese sushi restaurant industry in the last 20 years because in this article he is completely ignoring the proliferation of cheap kaiten sushi restaurants (the conveyor belt places) that have brought sushi to the level of the masses in Japan. I suppose while we're discussing enforcing cultural correctness overseas, the Japanese really ought to do something about their interpretation of ice cream and pizza. ("Ideal taste of sea goodness and mayonnaise" anyone?)