Ern in Tokyo

*本に関するネタ日本語は書き込みません

So this year is Leap Year and it's the 29th of February.  In keeping with my promise from last month, I have written my reviews for books read in February.  An interesting variety this time around (actually I think I say that all the time), I like providing reviews for an eclectic collection.  This month features the life of an interesting couple, a journal of food writing and a history of American breakfast cereals, a young adult series who's main character is a paper finger puppet of Yoda from Star Wars, a debut novel from a young Chinese writer, music, and a children's photography book of lowriders.  Enjoy!


SONG OF HAITI : THE LIVES OF DR. LARIMER AND GWEN MELLON AT THE ALBERT SCHWEITZER HOSPITAL OF DECHAPELLES by Barry Paris – “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. Something like hell was created later by man, on a Caribbean island which heaven and earth had combined to make a tropical paradise before the Europeans arrived. By the time they withdrew, Haiti’s native population was exterminated, its land exhausted, and its brutally imported Africans left to rot in poverty.” This is just a prologue of the fascinating story of how Dr. Larimer and Gwen Mellon created the Albert Schweitzer Hospital of Deschapelles. I picked this book up for two simple reasons. One, it was a bargain book. And two, Haiti sounds like a fascinating place. I once watched a program where the object was to find out how many Haitian nationals were living in Japan (there were only 8 when this program was aired). And I had actually met one of them whose name was also Ernest. My sister also had a chance to go to Haiti with some medical doctors to help after a recent natural disaster (her husband forbid her, but I don’t blame him.) Anyway, I had no idea who the Mellons were, but Larimer’s great grandfather had founded a banking empire. His uncle had developed the Aluminum Corporation of America (Alcoa) and his father was the founder and president of the Gulf Oil Corporation. Larimer was born into money, but wealth did not satisfy him. In fact it rather embarrassed him. To try to separate himself from the wealth of his family, he first becomes a rancher in Arizona. But what changed his life was an article in Life magazine titled “The Greatest Man in the World”. It was about a medical missionary in Gabon named Albert Schweitzer. Following in the steps of Albert Schweitzer, the rancher Larimer gave up ranching and put himself through med school. His wife Gwen followed him into the health business and studied at becoming a medical technician. Once they graduated and Larimer finished his residency, they had traveled the world seeking a place that could benefit most with a new hospital. They had chosen the Artibonite Valley in Central Haiti. Follow their trials and tribulations having trying to set up and run a hospital in one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. If only the world had more people like Dr. Larimer and Gwen Mellon, the earth would be paradise indeed.



LUCKY PEACH Issue 2 : The Sweet Spot – This is a quarterly journal of food and writing and is edited by Peter Meechan, Chris Ying, and David Chang – food lovers and chefs in their own right, well David Chang is but I’m not sure about the other two! Two of my favorite things!! Seeing how this is a journal a.k.a. a magazine, you really don’t have to read from page one but can skip around and read articles which catch your attention first. However, I’m one of those people who even reads magazines from beginning to end without skipping around. It’s just me. Lots of fun articles on food, food, and more food. There is even an article by Anthony Bourdain writing about “Road House”? You know, that movie that starred Patrick Swayze as a bouncer and also featured Jeff Healey. The first article was awesome. A culinary journey starting in Kyoto and savoring kaiseki dining. And then on to Kentucky to visit the Van Winkle bourbon distillery. And then to Copenhagen where they met and dined with the chef from Noma, voted the best restaurant in the world for two years running by San Pelligrino. And speaking of world’s best restaurants, there is also an article about the man who changed the face of cooking. Of course you know who we are talking about – Ferran Adria of El Bulli fame and the introduction of foam into the culinary world. And of course there are recipes of all kinds. An article on the variety of misos. Also, the variety of apricots from Tajikistan, which is also produced at an orchard in California. And even more food related stuff – dry aging, Japanese knife making, ikejime. But wait, there is also something for the literary foodie as this issue includes excerpts from Russell Chathams’s 1988 book “Dark Waters”. I can’t wait for the next issue. I must also go in search of the first issue as well.


THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA by Tom Angleberger – Whenever I encounter anything “Star Wars” related such as the commercial for Cup Noodles featuring Yoda or the R2D2 happy meal toy (which I missed out on), or a book with a title like this, the first thing that comes to my mind is my good friend and self-professed “Star Wars” nerd and local music connoisseur – Matthew Brown. The strange thing is I was friends with his mother before we became good buds. He even bought my Hell Mobile which I don’t think he ever drove (and currently still does not have a license to drive). And whenever I see the “Star Wars” related merchandise, I find that I miss having a beer or two or three with my bud. The perils of living life as an ex-pat. Then again, he had also left the Pacific Northwest for a spell as well. Anyway, what we have here is a quick read and fun beginning to a young adult series. Our story starts with our main narrator Tommy. A sixth-grader at a middle school. He has decided to compile a case file to research the truth about “Origami Yoda”. “Origami Yoda” was created by Dwight, what everyone might call the class nerd. No one really likes and no one really hangs out with him, and certainly no one would ask his advice about anything. However, his classmates are willing to ask “Origami Yoda” and Dwight would respond in his Yoda voice and dish out advice. However, there is one skeptic, Harvey, who wants Dwight to admit that Origami Yoda is nothing but a green paper wad on his finger. So, is “Origami Yoda” real or not? You must read and decide for yourself.


DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK : AN ORIGAMI YODA BOOK by Tom Angleberger – It’s another year at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School and Tommy and friends are now 7th graders but there is trouble afoot. Origami Yoda wisdom doubter has gotten Dwight suspended from school and there is to be a private school board meeting on dispensing disciplinary action, which could mean Dwight being transferred to another school. Tommy once again enlists the help of his friend to create another case file to support Dwight and argue that he should not be expelled from school. Harvey, who has successfully gotten Dwight to admit the Origami Yoda is only a piece of paper has not created a rival – “Darth Paper”. Not only is he alienating his friends by telling them to join the dark side, he also plans on attending the school board meeting as well to counter Tommy’s case file. What’s going to happen to Dwight and Origami Yoda? A must read for the “Star Wars” nerd in you.


FEBRUARY FLOWERS by Fan Wu – This is the debut novel by Fan Wu and set in contemporary China. The story starts off in the present as a recently divorced Chen Ming talks to her mother on the phone. Her mother wants her go get re-married but Ming has other plans. She is headed to her university’s Alumni Administration Office to pick up transcripts of her grades as she is applying to a graduate school in the U.S. She meets another alumni who is planning on emigrating to Canada and finds that they were at university during the same time. And it’s here where the real story starts. The bulk of the story is about the relationship between the 17 year old first year university student Cheng Ming, an introvert who keeps to herself and lives in a world of books and innocence and 24 year old Miao Yan, a free spirit from Yunnan who is the complete opposite of Ming. It’s a story of love, passion, betrayal, family and friendship. I have mixed feelings about this story. At times, it seems Ming is the more adult of the two, yet her inexperience in life makes her actions annoying as hell as well. And although Yan is 24, she acts more like a selfish high school teen. Still, the story is well told, the city of Guangzhou is easy to imagine, and no matter how annoyed you get at the two main characters, the story keeps your interest.


THE GREAT AMERICAN CEREAL BOOK : HOW BREAKFAST GOT ITS CRUNCH by Marty Gitlin & Topher Ellis – While I was reading “February Flowers”, I was also concurrently reading this particular book as well. Great design for the spine (it mimics an actual cereal box complete with nutritional facts and ingredients. If you ask any American what would be a standard American breakfast, I imagine the majority of the responses would be cold cereal (especially if you were to ask any baby boomer). This is a great book on the history of breakfast cereals. It also a great design book as it features the packaging designs of the various cereals that were marketed. Here are a few things that you may not have known if you didn’t read this book, That the first cereal was created in 1863 at a sanitarium and called Granula. It was developed to give it’s a patients a more healthy diet. But it was William Kellogg that made it more available to the American public and he renamed his product Granola. Here are some other facts that my father would probably enjoy as well. Nabisco was originally called the National Biscuit Company. My dad’s favorite cereal – Wheaties was originally called Washburn’s Gold Medal Flour Whole Wheat Flakes and came out in 1922. The name was changed to Wheaties in 1924 (ha!, the cereal is older than my Dad!!). Then of course there were all the cereals I grew up with and ate – Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Trix, Rice Krispies, Super Sugar Crisp, Cap’n Crunch, Raisin Bran, Lucky Charms and my favorite – Buc Wheats (which I was saddened to discover went out of production in 1985). Of course once I graduated from high school I didn’t eat cold cereal as much anymore so I was never taken in by all the movie tie-in products. I think I may have to send this book to my father as I’m sure he will get a kick out of seeing illustrations of the packages of cereals between the years 1916 and 1948 (Dad was born in 1930). This book also lists the various spokes characters and slogans as well. Just a fun book to read and browse through.


CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS FILL YOUR HEAD WITH ROCK : A SELECTION OF THE WORLD’S BEST ROCK WRITING by Various – This small booklet was given away free with the February 2012 issue of “Classic Rock” magazine. It features excerpts from nine different rock related titles – “Butterfly on a Wheel : The Great Rolling Stones Drug Bust” by Simon Wells; “No Regrets : A Rock ‘N’ Roll Memoir” by Ace Frehley; “Jack Bruce : Composing Himself : The Authorized Biography” by Harry Shapiro; “Bad Reputation : The Unauthorized Biography of Joan Jett” by Dave Thompson; “Don’t Stop Believin’ : The Untold Story of Journey” by Neil Daniels; “Glenn Hughes : The Autobiography from Deep Purple to Black Country Communion” by Glenn Hughes; “You Really Got Me : The Story of the Kinks” by Nick Hasted; “Overkill : The Untold Story of Motorhead” by Joel McIver; and “Beatlemania : The Real Story of the Beatles UK Tours 1963-1965” by Martin Creasy. Great stuff – Ace Frehley talking about what a mistake it is to release something like "The Elder".  Lemmy getting fired from Hawkwind and decides to start his own band.  Journey's manager's decision to find a new vocalist, etc.  The booklet makes you want to buy and read all the titles. 


LOWRIDERS by Thomas Kristian Adamson – This book reminds of when I first moved to Japan. Lowriders? Japan? Let me explain. Back then I spent my weekends drinking and making merry with a bunch of my new friends around Shibuya. I don’t know about now, but back then there used to be these Japanese wannabe East L.A.ers who would cruise around in their lowriders. Yes! Lowriders in Japan!! I didn’t know if I should be awed or if I should laugh (I think I did a bit of both). These were incredible cars – Chevy Impalas with the whole hydraulics and all (but for the narrow road of Tokyo). Getting back to this book though, it’s a children’s book. Library binding at that (which just means it’s a hard cover) published by Capstone Press and is only 24 pages long and features full color pictures of various lowriders. You don’t have to be a fan of lowriders to enjoy the pictures. Or any cars for that matter, perhaps it’s just a guy thing.


YUKO-CHAN AND THE DARUMA DOLL : THE ADVENTURES OF A BLIND JAPANESE GIRL WHO SAVES HER VILLAGE by Sunny Seki – This is an interesting children’s picture book of how the Takasaki Daruma doll was created. For those of you who are not familiar with what a Daruma doll is, here is a short description taken from Wikipedia: [The Daruma doll (達磨 daruma) also known as a Dharma doll, is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Dharma), vary greatly in color and design depending on region and artist. Though considered an omocha, meaning toy, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. The doll has also been commercialized by many Buddhist temples to use alongside goal setting.] As to the goal setting, a lot of daruma dolls are sold with blank eyes. As one sets a goal, one of the eyes is drawn in. When that goal is met, then you would draw in the other eye. Remember, this is a children’s book, so this story is not the official history of how the Daruma doll came to be, but it does make for a nice story. Yuko-chan is a small orphan girl that lives at Daruma Dera in Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture. One day as she was travelling in the mountains, she stumbled and lost her way along one of the snowy cliffs. But she discovered something strange. The gourd which held her tea would always land right side up when she dropped it. The tea had frozen in the gourd. This inspires her to create the Daruma doll, which in turn became a success and saved from village.


AEROSMITH : THE ULTIMATE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE BOSTON BAD BOYS by Richard Bienstock – My first exposure to Aerosmith was when my brother came back from New York in the summer of 1976. He was 16 and spent the entire summer with our uncle who lived in Manhattan. Which means I was 13 when he brought back 3 or 4 albums that he bought in New York. “Aerosmith”, “Get Your Wings”, “Toys in the Attic”, and “Rocks”. I was still a diehard Sabbath fan at the time but my love for hard rock and heavy metal would soon grow, mostly because of my brother’s influence. My first Aerosmith concert was for the “Draw the Line” tour in 1977 where I skipped school and went with my brother’s friend. We were at the front of the stage for that show. I even remember the opening act – Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. I bought Mahogany Rush’s “Live” album the next day. Also, as a wedding gift from one of my good friends, my wife and I were given tickets to an Aerosmith show that was scheduled the day after our wedding ceremony. That would have been the “Honkin’ on Bobo” tour with Lenny Kravitz opening the show. So, as you may have surmised, Aerosmith has been a part of my life for quite a while. The excellent illustrated hardcover coffee table book covers Aerosmith’s career from Steven Tyler’s Chain Reaction days to Tyler becoming a panelist on the popular American television show, “American Idol”. Of course it covers all their albums from their 1973 through “Honkin’ on Bobo” and of course the Perry and Whitford-less “Rock in a Hard Place”. And as this is an illustrated history, the book is filled with full color pictures! A must have for any Aerosmith fan.  And speaking of Aerosmith, I had to pick up Steven Tyler's autobiography, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You" and have started reading that as well.

*本に関するネタ、日本語は書き込みません

I suppose you book reading fans of mine have been wondering what happened to my "Monthly Page Turners" posts as I haven't written one since last June.  It's not that I haven't been reading any books, it's just that I had let the reviews fall by the wayside.  And since I haven't renewed my new year's resolution of reading at least 100 books, I've decided that I should at least try to write my monthly reviews on a regular basis.  I'm not so sure about my film reviews although I will try to update those as well.  Only five books featured this month as one of them was a monster at 627 pages and was a chore to read.


MY DAYS, MY DREAMS : STORIES FROM A BOYHOOD IN NORTHERN JAPAN by Yojiro Ishizaka – My wife and I headed to her hometown for the New Year’s holidays. We spent New Year’s at a hot spring near Hirosaki. The following day we went to Iwakiyama Shrine for hatsumode (the first visit to a shrine in the new year), then off to a place called Neputa Mura which features displays of the Neputa float. So what does this have to do with this book. Well, after our visit to Neputa Mura, as we were wandering in their gift shop, I came upon this book. Yojiro Ishizaka is probably unfamiliar to American readers as hardly any of his titles have been translated, yet there are at least eighty movies or more based on his stories in Japan. This a collection of short stories all set around the area of Tsugaru (present day Aomori Prefecture) long before the industrial revolution. What I found great about this book was the fact that most of the stories centered around the places I had just visited – Iwakiyama Shrine, Dake Hot Spring, and although it wasn’t the season for the Neputa festival, it is featured prominently in the first story. I also enjoyed the story with the American missionary as it reminded me of a short trip I took to this place called “Kiristo no Haka” which translates to “Christ’s Tomb”. And no, I’m not making that up. These stories just showcase everyday life in Tsugaru.



SURFACE DETAIL by Iain M. Banks – My favorite genre to read when I was in junior high was science-fiction and fantasy, much to the annoyance of my mother. Although my tastes in reading material has expanded, I always enjoy going back to my reading roots every now and then so this month I started off with this monster of a book by Iain M. Banks. You know, I made up my own reading rule, if I wasn’t enjoying the book after 100 pages, then I would have no problem tossing it aside and look for a new title. Unfortunately, I was nearly 300 pages into this book and not at all enjoying it (and there was still over 300 pages to go). One – I am not a fan of cyberpunk. William Gibson, Neal Stephenson do not interest me. Super techno-cyber babble also makes me lose interest in the story (and this was full of it). But as an avid reading friend of mine mentioned to me, I will read it for the review. So taking his advice to heart I continued to read through this. I’m sorry but this was just awful. It was another “Culture” book (I haven’t read his previous Culture book so I didn’t know what to expect). However, I did read his debut book, “The Wasp Factory” and really enjoyed that. But this, “The Culture” reminded me of those first few episodes of “Star Trek : The Next Generation” with that annoying know-it-all character, Q. And all these sentient rocket ships with their avatars was just too much to follow. And the sub plot of these artificial “heavens” and “hells” just totally turned me off. I know I won’t be reading another “Culture” book any time soon. Oh, how I long for the days when science-fiction didn’t need to be so technical. Give me Robert Heinlein or Frank Herbert over those cyberpunk authors any day.


HUNTING WITH HEMINGWAY by Hilary Hemingway and Jeffry P. Lindsay – Hilary Hemingway is the daughter of Leicester Hemingway, who is the younger brother of world renowned writer Ernest Hemingway. Yep, that would mean Hilary is Ernest Hemingway’s niece. This is part memoir, part fiction? Why the question mark. I will be getting to that soon. But first, this book starts off with the death of Hilary Hemingway’s mother. Her father, Leicester died fifteen years earlier (by his own hand no less). And although I’ve read a few of Ernest Hemingway’s books, it saddens me to admit that I did not know that he took his own life as well. In Hilary’s mother’s last will and testament, Hilary was left with an audio cassette tape. When her siblings asked if she was going to play it, she said she would once she found a cassette player. Currently, they only had a CD player. Hilary remembered they she had bought her daughter a Barney cassette player. When she popped in the cassette she was surprised to hear her father’s voice. The content of the tape was of her father telling some professor stories of hunting with his older sibling Ernest – tracking crocodiles in the Nile, trying to catch wild ostriches to start an ostrich farm, battling wild dogs and baboons just to name a few. Hilary and her writer husband, Jeffry thought the stories would make for a great book, and if they were true, would make them even more interesting. But we will never know. Even they aren’t true, they make for great stories though.


TRACKING THE SERPENT : JOURNEYS TO FOUR CONTINENTS by Janine Pommy Vega – Another one of my favorite genres to read is travel essays.  After Vega recovers from an accident, she decides to make a pilgrimage to Glastonbury, considered a power spot where there is a ancient maze representing a snake coiling on itself. Walking through this maze is called “threading the maze” and believed to hold some mystical power. Her next journey takes her to the jungles of the Amazon. From the Amazon, her next journey takes her to Peru and treks through the Andes while trying to avoid the “Shining Path”. On her final journey, she heads to Nepal and treks the Annapurna. The narrative of the treks were fascinating but I really didn’t need to read about her various conquests on her pilgrimages. I didn’t feel they added to the story any. Maybe I’m just old fashioned. Her pilgrimages were chosen so she could go and find the sacred spots of the Goddess, but her talk of the Goddess seemed to be entwined with having sex with different people. Perhaps she wanted to have the subtitle read as “Journeys to Have Sex in Four Continents”, although she refrains from that activity in Nepal. Who knows. Still an interesting read.


ANVIL : THE STORY OF ANVIL by Steve “Lips” Kudrow and Robb Reiner – “At fourteen, they made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it.” If you’ve seen the movie then you must read this book. If you don’t know who or what “Anvil : The Story of Anvil” is, go to your nearest DVD rental shop and go watch it now. Then read this book. Anvil is a heavy metal band from Toronto, Canada. They were playing speed metal long before Metallica, Anthrax or Slayer came on the scene. This documentary was released in 2008 and first shown at the Sundance Film Festival. You could consider this a companion piece to the film, even though the story of the film or the director of the film, Sasha Gervasi doesn’t appear until halfway through the book. Of course I was familiar with the band and of course I watched the film. I’ve been listening to hard rock and heavy metal ever since the fifth grade when my first ever record I bought with my allowance was Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” album. I also have a brother three years older than me who was into rock and metal as well. He had bought Anvil’s first album “Hard ‘n’ Heavy”. This book tells the story of Anvil’s beginning, their struggle for success, and is also about friendship, loyalty, and family and their comeback at Japan’s Loud Park 2006. Even if you do not like heavy metal, this makes for a great story. And if you haven’t seen the film yet, I highly recommend that as well. You won’t forget the beginning of the film – Super Rock Festival 1984 in Japan. Five bands on the bill, all of them went on to make millions of dollars and became successful in their own right, all but one – that band was Anvil! Just for you trivia buffs, the other bands on the Super Rock bill were The Scorpions, Michael Schenker, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi.

*日本語は一部で書かれてます

To be honest, I didn't read a lot of books for the month of May.  I was too excited about going to Maui for vacation.  Although I packed a couple of books as always thinking I may read them on the plane or at least read a chapter before going to sleep, but you know what, all the times I've brought a book with me on vacation, I don't think I've opened a page.  Picture taking and writing take precedence.  Well, actually having fun takes precedence over everything.  So this month will be unlike most months.  Of all the titles featured, only two are what you would call books.  One is a literary magazine, another is a magazine, and a couple of other items are free papers.  But then again, the title of my monthly reviews is "Page Turners" and not exclusively books.  But no worries, I won't go so far as to review what's written on the back of a cereal box (unless it's really interesting!).  So sit back, read and enjoy.


QUIET ADVENTURE No.1 – Taking a hint from Yataro Matsuura, editor of “Kurashi no Techo” and author of quite few books, including two volumes of book essays, I’ve decided to provide reviews of all the things I read, including free papers and magazines. Matsuura wrote quite a few reviews of Small Press books, such as handmade poetry books that are only a page or two long. This is an extract from “Spectator” magazine from their “Wild Wild East Taiwan issue” giving a summary of what you will find in the regular issue. Short blurbs on Taiwan’s Native culture, surf culture, mountain culture and bicycle culture. Where and when to go and how to enjoy it.

「暮らしの手帳」の松浦弥太郎の真似をして、フリーペーパーや読んだ雑誌の感想文も書くようにした。とりあえず、面白ければ、紹介しようと思う。これは簡単に言えば、次発売する国内雑誌「Spectator」の予告編みたいな感じ。そしてテーマは台湾スペシャル。台湾の原住民や、サーフカルチャー、マウンテンカルチャー、自転車カルチャーといろいろ紹介するものです。


EATING WITH THE PILGRIMS AND OTHER PIECES by Calvin Trillin – And yet another title in Penguin Books “Great Food” series. I can’t believe I haven’t read more of Trillin’s writing. The pieces are hilarious and fun to read. Every article is a masterpiece. From “An Attempt to Write a Short History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing” to “Eating with Pilgrims” where Trillin campaigns to change the national dish for Thanksgiving from turkey to spaghetti carbonara and travels down to the Bayou to eat some real boudin sausage in Cajun country (which I recently wrote about as I reviewed “World Food : New Orleans”. But the blurb on the back of the book says it best: “Eschewing fancy restaurants in favour of street food and neighborhood joints, Trillin’s writing is a hymn of praise to the Buffalo chicken wing, the deep-fried wonton, the New York bagel and the brilliant, inimitable melting-pot that is US cuisine.”


CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS AOR #2 – The second volume of the highly anticipated AOR issue. The featured band is Toto! We all know their big hits, “Africa” and “Rosanna”, but my favorite is still the first single I heard of their debut album, “Hold the Line”. But that was it for me. What’s great about Classic Rock Presents is the free CD that comes with the magazine. This second issue features new tunes by the likes of Journey, Toto (of course), Little Caesar (wow, haven’t heard from that band in ages, and some other favorites such as TNT and Black ‘N Blue, the revitalized Mr. Big and John Parr:s “Naughty Naughty” plus a few other bands. The title of the freebie CD is “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” and the jacket cover is an exact replica of Loverboy’s “Get Lucky” album. Heck, I’ve seen them in concert too! Articles on FM, Journey, Miss Behavior, Amanda Blue, Vega and more. And do you know who Bridget McLellan is? I wouldn’t know the name, but she’s the babe on the jacket of the first Firehouse album. You know, the band with their hits, “All She Wrote” and “Don’t Treat Me Bad”. Also included is an A – Z of AOR. Ooh, Ten is back with a new album as well. It was also after I read the review of Uriah Heep’s new album “Into the Wild” here that I had to purchase it the following day as I slowly buy back a lot of CDs that I had parted with for one reason or another.


THE PUFFIN CYCLOPEDIA OF CHILDREN’S CLASSICS – Another free give away by Puffin Classics to gain more readers and to provide information on their line of titles. The cover says it best with “Meet the Classics cast and crew: Villains, Beasts, Pirates and more!” “Exclusive articles and interviews by Louise Rennison, Meg Rosoft, Cathy Cassidy, Darren Shan and more!” “Charlie Higson chats Heroes”. Plus quizzes, extracts and much more. Also includes “Author Profiles” of some of your favorite writers – Anna Sewell, Rudyard Kipling, Kenneth Grahame, Mark Twain, E. Nesbit to name a few. Classic trivia and celebrity favorites as well. People such as Tony Blair, Eoin Colfer, J.K. Rowling, and even Steven Spielberg share some of their favorite childhood reads. I may have mentioned this on many occasions but some of my favorites were Roald Dahl, Madeleine L’Engle, and Eleanor Cameron’s “The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet”. I can still remember my second grade teacher reading “James and the Giant Peach” to class which also captured my attention. Of course there is E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web”, “Stuart Little” and “Trumpet of the Swan”, even though some of the titles I mentioned are not Puffin Classics. And hey, it’s never too late to read Puffin Classics or any children’s book for that matter!


FREMAGA VOL.13 – This is another free magazine edited by popular Japanese talent Megumi. This volume has the subtitle of “Akarui Mirai” which translates to “Bright Future” which Megumi chose as the theme for this issue. One month after the March 11 9.0 Magnitude earthquake and tsunami, Megumi went to visit a friend in Ishinomaki, one of the hardest hit cities. What impressed Megumi the most was that the people she met were in high spirits, some even thanking her for coming to visit from Tokyo. She had asked her friends in the entertainment business - creators, artists, designers, photographers, models, actors, actresses, etc. to provide pictures of the laughing or having a good time, all in support of helping the Tohoku area. Hey, even the Assistant Manager of my place of employ is featured!

またまたフリーペーパーです。タレントのMegumiが編集してるものです。３月１１日に起こった東北大震災と津波の約一カ月後、Megumiが被害にあった知人を会いに岩手県石巻に行ってきて。Megumiが印象に残ったことが被害にあった人たちなのに、その方々の明るさ。冗談を言ったり、笑ったり、そして、非難場所を訪問してるのに、“遠くからありがとう”と言われた。それで緊急この号のFREMAGAを発行することにした。テーマは“アカルイミライ”。著名人の人たちに声をかけ、女優、写真家、クリエーター、アーティスト、モデルなどの皆さんに提供して頂いた一枚の写真。タワーレコード渋谷店の副店長も載ってます！


MONKEY BUSINESS : NEW WRITING FROM JAPAN Volume 01 / 2011 – This is the first English language version of a popular Japanese literary magazine called “Monkey Business” created in 2008 and named after a line in a Chuck Berry tune. The Monkey Business Manifesto states that “Monkey Business is a newly founded journal of new writing from Japan and abroad with a few not-so-new works strategically slipped in.” It’s my belief that literary magazines deserve as much attention as novels as they are usually full of short stories, novellas, poems, and reviews of upcoming titles as well. Published by “A Public Space”, also a literary journal and edited by Ted Goossen, translator of Japanese publications into English and Motoyuki Shibata, known for his Japanese translations of contemporary authors such as Thomas Pynchon, Steve Millhauser and Paul Auster to name a few. This issue has been compiled by pieces from the first year in publication and translated into English. The magazine includes short stories, essays, poems, manga, interviews and more. Goosen and Shibata do not limit their pieces to Japanese writers, they also feature a few foreign writers as well. For a more complete review, check out the “Asia by the Book” blog at http://asiabythebook.thingsasianpress.com/


THE CHEF AT WAR by Alexis Soyer – Back to Penguin Books “Great Food” series again, this time with Alexis Soyer, a well-known Frenchman and chef living in Victorian England. This book was about his experiences in the Crimean War where he was so appalled by the food the soldiers were eating, he requested the British government to send him to the front so he could improve the food of the soldiers. A noble cause this may be, but I believe he had an ulterior motive. He needed a place to test his field stove which was gas-fueled and light for easy carrying. The stove was such a success, that armies had used it up until the Second World War. So, not only to we get to learn about the Crimean War, we also get a lesson in history about a much neglected subject, how to feed a thousand soldiers at the front. Quite interesting.

*本に関するネタは日本語書き込みません

As I'm still behind on posting my book and movie reviews, this is another break from our Hawaii trip as I provide you with reviews of the books I read in April. As always, another eclectic collection of reading materials. Books on business, art, sports, humor, food and Japan. Also included is a review of a magazine I found really entertaining. Enjoy and happy reading:



POKE THE BOX by Seth Godin – Business man and entrepreneur and author of a bunch of bestselling books. Why am I reading one? Simple answer really. It was a really short book and the cover was really cute. Yep, that’s it. I had no other reason for reading it. So, what’s it about. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “think outside of the box” or “thinking outside of the box”. Well, this is a motivational book about “starting” something, anything. It can apply to life as well as business. It’s about taking initiative. It tells you to get over your fear of failure. Of conforming to the status quo. To just keep “poking the box”. Or as Godin says, be the person who says, “I want to start stuff.” So, if you want to write a book and get it published, don’t sit on your ass and rationalize all the reasons why you shouldn’t – nobody will read it, it won’t get published anyway, I don’t really have any talent. I suppose it should motivate me to write that book I’ve always wanted to, so we will see how that goes.



CAUGHT INSIDE : A SURFER’S YEAR ON THE CALIFORNIA COAST by Daniel Duane – Here’s something I figured out, and I’m sure many other readers have probably come to the same conclusion. That it takes forever to read a book in which you have absolutely no interest in the subject. I’m not a surfer, I don’t watch surfing films, so why am I reading a book that I really have no interest in reading? Okay, it was to fulfill one of my new year’s resolution from who knows how many years ago. Lonely Planet published a series of travel essays books called “Lonely Planet Journeys”. One year I decided that my resolution would be to read all the books in that series which consists of thirty some odd titles, I think. Although I must have read at least ninety percent of the series, some titles just didn’t appeal to my taste. And then, some titles started to go rapidly out of print. I managed to pick up a few titles that were marked down in price (of which this was one). All I remember is that the author decided to ditch his nine-to-five job in San Francisco and moved to Santa Cruz so he could surf all day, all year, whenever he wanted to and talks about the history of surfing, surfer legends and other surfer lore. Almost as difficult to read as Eric Newby’s “The Last Grain Race” with all the surfer lingo, long boards, short boards, hanging ten,


SAY SOMETHING DIRTY TO 45 FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND MAILMEN by Brook Lundy & Duncan Mitchell – This is one of those books I just breeze through so I can count it as part of the 100 books I’ve read which is my rotating New Year’s Resolution from a few years ago. It’s a novelty postcard book. Puritan and clean artwork that looks like they were designed in the fifties are given new meaning when some naughty words and phrases are added to the images. Of course if you have no sense of humor, then you should not read this. What can you look forward to reading? How about gems like this, "If there was a Zagat guide for penises, yours would rate high on both service and decor." Or how about, "I love to watch you sleep before I wake you up and nail you." Now, it’s just a matter of who are you going to choose to send them to.


PULP ART BOOK : VOLUME ONE by Neil Krug – Interesting photo/art book. Video artist and photographer started taking pictures of his wife, super model Joni Harbek with Polaroid film long past its sell date and started posting them on Flickr (which is one of the “best online photo management and sharing application in the world”, it says so on their website. The photos drew such a large response that they have decided to assemble them into a book, and thus we have “Pulp Art Book : Volume One”. The title gives you a hint of the types of photos you are likely to see. Krug’s inspiration is drawn from the pulp novels of the fifties, B-movies, and old record covers. The pictures have a kind of sixties and seventies flavor to them as the photos themselves are kind of grainy and look dated but also seems to tell a story. Not your typical photography book, that’s for sure.


WORLD FOOD : NEW ORLEANS by Pableaux Johnson with Charmaine O’Brien – The other series I enjoy reading which is also published by Lonely Planet. I can you not love a series about food and travel with nice full color pictures. This book featuring the cuisine of New Orleans means you can now know the difference between Creole and Cajun food (in case you thought they were one and the same). Published five years before Hurricane Katrina hit so some of the places listed might no longer be in business. But the book doesn’t focus on just Creole or Cajun cuisine. The title does say New Orleans. So that includes southern comfort food as well, or what’s commonly known as soul food. Collard greens, corn bread, hush puppies. And you have your gumbo, jambalaya, grits, crawfish, and mustn’t forget the catfish! I must get my sister to take me to the “Southern Kitchen” the next time I’m in town because you cannot find a decent Cajun or Southern food restaurant in Tokyo, not to my knowledge anyway. There was a Cajun restaurant in Harajuku but it went out of business some years ago.


ATOMIC SUSHI : NOTES FROM THE HEART OF JAPAN by Simon May – I admit my title of choice may seem to be in poor taste because of the current nuclear power plant crisis in Fukushima Prefecture, but I assure you, this title was released long before the March 11 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami which caused the disaster. First published in 2006, this is a collection of essays that British national, May wrote while serving as a visiting professor of philosophy at Tokyo University. Or as the professor says in his own words when he was unexpectedly invited to teach, his first thoughts were – “The Sushi!” First of all, we must acknowledge that Japan’s bastion of education – Tokyo University or Todai as its locally known—is one of the most prestigious and also the most difficult of all Japanese educational institutions to enter. It is considered the training ground of Japan’s bureaucrats, the elite of the elite, a closed system that’s virtually impossible to penetrate, especially for foreigners. May informs us that he was “…apparently the first British professor of philosophy since 1882.” A more detailed review is posted on the "Asia by the Book" blog at http://asiabythebook.thingsasianpress.com/


A MIDDLE EASTERN FEAST by Claudia Roden – Speaking of food series, Penguin Books has just released twenty titles in their new series, “Great Food”. Of course you know I’m going to buy them and read them. I decided to start off with this title on the Middle East. Most of my close friends would know why, and if you still haven’t guessed, it’s because Middle Eastern cuisine is my favorite. I rate it above Italian and Chinese. It all started with a meal I had at a Lebanese restaurant called “The Sahara” which was located in the University District in Seattle. I had ordered a dish called dejaj mashwee, it was a char-broiled chicken marinated in lemon and garlic and topped with garlic sauce. Oh heaven! This is where I had my first taste of hummus, tabouleh, baba ganoush among others. I could go for a nice Lebanese mezze right now! So, what the heck am I talking about? Well hummus is a dip made with mashed chick-peas, and blended with tahini (sesame paste), olive oil, salt, and garlic. Tabouleh is a Middle Eastern salad made with romaine lettuce and bulgur wheat, with chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, onions and seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. Baba ganoush is another dip with the main ingredient being aubergines (you know that’s the other word for eggplant!). It might be difficult reading this series on an empty stomach.


LOVE IN A DISH AND OTHER PIECES by M.F.K. Fisher – I couldn’t honestly call myself a “foodie” without ever having read M.F.K. Fisher. But now that I’ve remedied that situation with this title, another one in Penguin Books Great Food series, I suppose other “foodies” will forgive me. And just to educate you a bit, Fisher is known as one of the greatest food writers of the twentieth century. However, I really like John Updike’s description of her as he had referred to her as the “poet of the appetites”. That does have a nice ring to it. This book, as the title suggests, is a collection of some of her best articles and also includes excerpts from a few of her books as well. Some of my favorite pieces were “I Was Really Very Hungry” (which I can relate to and originally appeared in “The Atlantic Monthly”; “How Not to Cook an Egg” excerpted from “How Not to Cook a Wolf”, and “Love was the Pearl”, excerpt from “Consider the Oyster”. But all the pieces are entertaining and makes for a great collection of food articles.


MENTAL FLOSS June issue [Our 10th Annual 10 Issue] – You shouldn’t be surprised by now that I also review magazines that I’ve read from cover to cover. A regular customer at my place of employ recommended this title. Said it was a rather entertaining mag. So what kind of magazine is it? One that covers a favorite subject of mine – trivia. In fact, their website states that it is a magazine of trivia and interesting facts. This issue is Mental Floss’s 10th annual 10 issue. Highlights include 10 Celebrities Who Spied on the Side. 10 Surprising Things Thriving in Death Valley. 10 Shocking Secrets from the Wonderful World of Disney. 10 Things about Britain more interesting than Will & Kate (this issue was released right before the Royal Wedding). Also 10 Awful Ideas from the World’s Craziest Dictators. Fans of trivial pursuit might find this to be a valuable asset to add to their knowledge of useless information. I don’t know, I may become a regular reader of this rag. It’s just too fun! Maybe even more fun than Mad Magazine or National Lampoon.

*本に関するネタ日本語は書き込みません

A short break from my vacation posts as I try to catch up on posting my book reviews.  These are the titles I read in the month of March.  Only four titles this month (and I wasn't even on vacation yet).  But then again, I have been watching an excessive amount of movies.  So, without further ado, check it out:


THE LAST GRAIN RACE by Eric Newby – I had been meaning to read this title for quite some time as I’ve read almost all of Newby’s other titles that were published by Lonely Planet Publications. When Newby was eighteen, he signed on for a round trip from Europe to Australia in what was one of the last commercial sailing fleets. This is his story of working aboard a four-masted barque called Moshulu on its last voyage of the Australian grain trade. Not being a sailor or familiar with the different types of mast ships, it was a difficult read for me to understand. Just looking at the picture diagram of the Moshulu was enough to make my head spin. Sails (mizzens, top sails, spanker, topmast, jibs, etc.) and running rigging (brace, jiggers, foresail sheets, etc) – I have no idea what Newby was talking about. Of course Newby probably had an even more difficult time as the Captain of the ship and most of the crew didn’t speak English but Finnish. Getting over the technical terms though, makes for an interesting glimpse into a strange new world.



MY BEST FRIEND IS A WOOKIE : ONE BOY’S JOURNEY TO FIND HIS PLACE IN THE GALAXY by Tony Pacitti – I was going to read this last November in tribute to my friend who turned forty and is a self-professed “Star Wars” nerd. If I didn’t know better, this book could have been written by my friend. It just seems that Tony Pacitti beat him to the punch. As a young boy in a new town, he is pelted with mud balls. In order to comfort her son, Tony’s mother lets him watch “The Empire Strikes Back” which changed his entire outlook on life. The parallels to my friend’s opinions are uncanny. The adoration of the first three movies, his reaction to the prequels – “six years and seven-ish hours of crap nowhere near justified by 20 minutes of “kind of neat”. Even if you’re not a “Star Wars” fan, you will be entertained by this coming-of-age story. Okay, so I was a few months late to read it as a tribute to my friend, but I would like to take this opportunity to say to him, “Welcome to the 40s!!”.


MARK SEIBOLD PRESENTS QUINCY, HOBBY PHOTOGRAPHER by Mark Seibold – Author of the “Mr. Lunch” series, “Monkey Business” and other great children’s book. Although this title has gone out of print, I find it to be pretty entertaining. Blending real photographs with children’s book illustrations, our protagonist Quincy gives advice on how to take great pictures or rather as the book’s subtitle suggests, this is “the complete do-it-yourself guide to dog photography”. Quincy gives great advice like “you can stop to smell the roses, but dogs don’t hold their poses.” A great book for dog and photography lovers alike.




THE WINDUP GIRL by Paolo Bacigalupi – It’s been a while since I read any science-fiction but this came highly recommended to me by a friend who is a big fan of the genre. Back in my early teens, it was also my favorite genre to read, along with fantasy of course. This was the 2009 Nebula Award winner and the 2010 Hugo Award winning novel (along with China Mieville’s “City and the City”. However, in all the books I’ve read, I don’t recall a story that was specifically set in Asia. The time is the future. The oil industry is of the past. The world is now run by Calorie Companies and Anderson Lake is a company man working for AgriGen in Thailand. He is working undercover as a factory manager and is searching the streets of Bangkok to discover the secret of how Thailand is able to produce foods that were long thought to be extinct. It’s also in Bangkok where Anderson meets Emiko. Emiko is a “Windup Girl”, a bio-manufactured entity who was programmed to satisfy her owner. Not human but not robot or android. She is one of the “New People”. However, Emiko has been abandoned by her owner on the streets of Bangkok and is forced to perform acts of deviance on a stage. Some consider “New People” abominations and should be destroyed. Will Anderson discover Thailand’s secrets? Will Emiko free herself from bondage?

Yes, yes, still working my way through unwritten book reviews.  Here were the tomes of my choice for the month of February.  A classic, a guide to more curry shops in Japanese, a couple of rock star biographies, a visual book, and a fable for children and adults alike.  Well, I'm going to try to write the ones for March and April before leaving for vacation on the second week of May.  Where am I going?  That will be for future posts.  So enjoy my literary choices:


THE ODYSSEY by Homer – Considered to be the first book ever written, as well as the first travel essay (and you might as well throw in the first science-fiction story as well) with all the nymphs, Gods, Cyclops, and six-headed serpents being part of the story. The Trojan War is over, it’s been ten years and all Odysseus wants to do is leave Troy and head back home to his wife and child. Unfortunately, it takes Odysseus another ten years before he sees his three island home of Ithaca. Back in Ithaca, his queen, Penelope is being courted by so many men who try to convince her that Odysseus is dead and will never come back. This story is believed to have been developed over three thousand years and is actually an epic poem attributed to Homer, who is also believed to have written “The Iliad” as well. The introduction states that the original versions of both “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” are over ten thousand lines long. As this is the Puffin Classic version (Puffin being Penguin Publishers line for children) it is written in simple and easy to understand English and has less than one-hundred pages.



東京カレー旅行 [Tokyo Curry Ryoko] by les deux (滝村美保子・松尾ミユキ) & others – The title of this book translates to “Tokyo Curry Trip”. A very self-explanatory title. A couple of years ago I wrote a review of a book titled “カレーになりたい” by Jinsuke Mizuno who’s book title translates to “I Want to be Curry”. Well, the writers of this particular book don’t go as far as that but they do provide us with a handy guide to some of the best places to eat curry in Tokyo. Miyuki Matsuo, an illustrator along with Mihoko Takimura, owner of a general goods store formed a unit called les deux and created the Tokyo Trip Series featuring various neighborhoods of Tokyo. This is a special edition. Les deux along with their friends comprising of eight other women from various walks of life but sharing a common love for curry introduces us to their favorites. Not all the curries featured are from curry shops but includes curries from cafes, diners, and bars as well. The women give us fifty shops to check out. Also, as they were creating this book, they discovered that men and women have different tastes when it comes to curry. Their goal was to make a simple guide to curry shops from woman’s point of view. Of course they hope that men will read this guide as well and hope they will discover something new as well.

本に付いてる帯でこういう事が書かれてます、「東京を旅する理由がカレーのためだっていいじゃない」。私もそう思う。以前カレーに関する本を紹介しましたが、カレー番長の水野仁輔が書いた「カレーになりたい！」みたいな感じまではいかない。イラストレーターの松尾ミユキと雑貨屋の店主滝村美保子がコンビでles deux （レドゥ）を結成。二人がまだあんまり知られてない東京の街を紹介するガイドブック「東京旅行」シリーズを作りました。今まで５の街を旅して紹介された。どの街でも必ずどこかで食べるのがカレー。そしてこの本が誕生しました。東京旅行シリーズの特別編。Les deux以外に他の女性８人も加え、約５０店舗を紹介されます。前書に書かれた様にこの本はカレー専門店だけではなく、カレーが美味しいの喫茶店やバー、食堂なども含まれてます。全員が女性なので、紹介する店はほとんど女性好みで女性が一人で気軽に入れる店を案内してる。彼女たちが男性でも読んで別の視点でカレーの魅力が発見出来る事も願ってます。自分も男性なので、結構気になる店はいっぱいありました。今度の休日に、この本を持ってどかかの美味しいカレーを食べに行ってみたいです。


TATTOOS & TEQUILA : TO HELL AND BACK WITH ONE OF ROCK’S MOST NOTORIOUS FRONTMEN by Vince Neil – First, there was “The Dirt”. Then came “Tommyland”. That was followed by “The Heroin Diaries”. And if you still don’t know what I’m talking about, then you must not be a true fan of Motley Crue! This book which is also the title of his latest solo album is written in Vince’s own words. “The death of Razzle, the death of Skylar, the broken marriages and children left behind, there still is, a lot of grief inside me. It would be years before I would realize the toll of a lifetime of strife. It’s not easy for me. They flew me to yet another rehab…” Any rock fan knows that Razzle was the drummer for Hanoi Rocks. I even remember the headlines from some of the papers after that particular incident – “Drunk Killer Vince Neil Sentenced to Touring World with Rock Band”. And then there is Skylar, his daughter who passed away at the tender age of four You know it’s such a shame that the stories of some of my favorite rock stars are full of tragedy. Of course most of Motley’s antics were already described in “The Dirt”. This is more of the story of just Vince and those closest to him. He talks about being kicked out of Motley Crue, starting his own band, being asked to rejoin Motley, although he was pretty unwilling at first but since it made business sense, there you have it. Which is probably why I haven’t bought any of their latest albums. But hey, aside from the band, Vince has his own tattoo parlor shop, he has this book deal, he still fronts Motley Crue. It’s too bad these rock stars have to fall rock bottom or lower before they turn their lives around. Or as Vince states near the end of the book, “These days I’ve got businesses to run. I like the action. Something to get your heart pumping. Healthier than a syringe full of cocaine powder like I was doing back in ’81 with my girlfriend Lovey, that’s for sure…But you got to admit…those days are a lot more fun to talk about…”


GUS VAN SANT : ONE STEP BIG SHOT by Gus Van Sant – Yes, that would be the director of such movies as “Drugstore Cowboy”, “Elephant”, “Paranoid Park” and “My Private Idaho”. This is a pretty clever visual book. It’s a collection of Polaroid pictures of actors and actresses that Van Sant had taken at casting calls. You will find some early pictures of Keanu Reeves, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, and John Travolta to name just a few before they became the big names that they are now. This books was published to coincide with an exhibition titled: “One Step Big Shot : Portraits by Andy Warhol and Gus Van Sant” at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon.



MUSTAINE : A HEAVY METAL MEMOIR by Dave Mustaine – And yet another rock star biography. This time from one time Metallica member and founder to leader of the successful thrash band Megadeth! As with Vince Neil of Motley Crue, Mustaine’s rise to fame was not an easy road. I think the blurb on the sleeve of the book pretty much covers his entire life – [Impoverished, transient childhood? Check. Abusive, alcoholic parent? Check. Mind-fucking religious weirdness (in his case the extremes of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Satanism)? Check. Alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness? Check, check, check. Soul-crushing professional and artistic setbacks? Check. Rehab? Check (seventeen times, give or take). Near death experience? Check that one too.] It sounds like the plot of some Afterschool Special. And although I never saw Motley Crue in concert, I can say that I have seen Megadeth!! But like all my favorite rock stars, their demise is of their own doing. They have no one but themselves to blame for the times they’ve hit rock bottom. Mustaine’s bitterness at being kicked out of Metallica still shines through. You may remember that he took part in Metallica’s documentary “Some Kind of Monster” but felt he was duped into participating. He talks about the various members that took part in the band. I can tell you all that Marty Friedman appears on Japanese television quite often and event toured with a favorite Japanese artist of mine, but I digress. This book and Vince Neil book are only for hard core rock/metal fans.


AHMED AND THE OBLIVION MACHINE : A FABLE by Ray Bradbury – I picked up this title in a bargain bin. A fable it says. Um…I didn’t get it. At all!! You know, I love Ray Bradbury – “The Martian Chronicles”, “Fahrenheit 451” and such, but this. Ahmed is the twelve-year old son of a caravan leader. On one particular day, he falls off his camel and finds himself lost and alone in the desert. As Ahmed’s prospects look bleak he begins to cry. His tears awakes a God called Gonn-Ben-Allah, Keeper of the Ghosts of Lost Names. Since Ahmed has woken the god from his slumber of 10,000 years, the God gives the boy the gift of flight and takes him on an incredible journey. Um, okay.