Sake Tasting on WLTV

Posted on November 26th, 2007 in Culinary, Customary Drivel by Deas

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I’ve been watching Wine Library TV recently (it’s even on the Non-Japan Blogroll), and I was stoked to see that just before reviewing Thanksgiving wines, Gary Vaynerchuk decided to taste test sake. Normally he does your classic reds and whites. He’s hilarious, pretty hyper, very casual, and descriptive. He combines 80’s cartoon characters, action figures, buddy buddy language, in-jokes, NFL football, second generation Russian family-oriented tomfoolery, archaic pop culture references, and more when reviewing his wines. It’s pretty accessible. Similar to Alton Brown of Good Eats, but not quite the same polished style. I like his method, though. I even forgive his abominable pronunciation. Part of that might have been the alcohol taking effect…hahaha. Thought I’d share it. Dunno if anyone else is into wine, but I recommend podcasting his show via RSS or iTunes. I’d like to see him break down and do more levels - nihonshu, shochu, etc. And heck - get some other country-specific liquors on the show. (Shochu vs. Soju!) So, who wants to find out which sake, in Gary’s opinion, tastes like a peach/orange creamsicle dipped in Ben Gay? Alright then. Watch. (And for a fun intro - check out Gary’s run on Conan O’Brien’s show after the fold. Click the continue reading button right next to the comments link. Just didn’t want to clutter the front page.)

Apple Pie Wontons

Posted on November 23rd, 2007 in Culinary, Customary Drivel, Media, Photos by Deas

Yay Oshima. To celebrate Thanksgiving Day, they wanted to make some food. They settled on apple pie and pumpkin pie - both of which are amazing when done properly. I had my mom email her recipe a while back and, armed with it, I headed to school. Guess what? We merely heated up some frozen products, and there wasn’t a single pie anywhere to be seen. Clearly, there are some issues with cross cultural definitions. At the end of the day, it was still yummy. The apple pie wontons were too crispy and didn’t taste much of apple, though they were still pleasant. The pumpkin was my favorite, although in classic San Marco Chocolate Croissant fashion, the melty interior wasted nuclear war on my mouth. After sipping lots of tea (also hot, but less hot than the pumpkin paste), and watching others make the same mistake, I made them go around the table and say something that they were thankful for. I started by saying I was thankful that the old dude who crashed in front of me the other day will be ok. I also said I’m thankful that I am a foreigner with a good job in Japan - all of the NOVA employees were so screwed over. I think between the betrayal and the new stance against foreigners in the body politic, I lucked out to be placed in a good area with a good job. So for that, I’m thankful. (I’m also thankful that I get to visit home so soon! And maybe eat real pie…and other delicious things.) That’s all for today. Happy belated Thanksgiving.

(One week till my novel’s over and I’m failing the JLPT! AAAAAAAAGH!)

Parking Ticket

Posted on November 22nd, 2007 in Customary Drivel, Media, Photos by Deas

Ha ha ha ha. Got a complaint from a parking cop for the first time. Thought I’d share my red card warning. Ha ha. It says - as near as I can read - 「どうしてこんな所にバイクを置くんですか？」 or in English, “Why did you leave your scooter in such a place?” Ha ha ha. I love it. There’s just the slightest bit of annoyed mother in the tone of the message. Yes, it was likely written by a policeman, and yes, I parked in a questionable area. As I left for an out-of-prefecture trip (lasting 4 days) I was dismayed to find the Imabari Station bike parking lot jam-packed and spilling into overflow. I parked as close as possible to the entrance without blocking it, and not in any of the “no parking” designated zones. I just love that he took the time to chide me with a little red card note, but didn’t issue me a fine or something. Maybe he can’t technically, so this is just some low power slap-on-the-wrist social enforcement? Usually the bike parking cops literally re-organize parked bikes. Scooters, not so much. I found 2 other scooters with red cards wired to their handlebars nearby, so I wasn’t alone. Anyway, I’m sorry for grieving you, Mr. Policeman, and I acknowledge my questionable parking. Thanks for the note! I’ll watch it next time. :-D

Note: I have just activated the Comments Luv plugin on this site, and if you add a comment with a URL included, it will try to link up to your last blog post. Test it out if you like. That’s what I’m doing - trying to decide whether or not to keep it. Feel free to offer feedback.

Token Cultural Sharing

Posted on November 21st, 2007 in Customary Drivel, Unsolicited Commentary, 日本語 by Deas

Ok, maybe I’m frustrated pretty badly with Japan at the moment. Maybe I’m annoyed that the temperature has dropped severely. Maybe a survey I just answered about living here for the local non-profit organization dredged up some lousy memories. (Might post about that later.) Maybe the whole fingerprinting all foreigners deal to “prevent terrorism” still seems pretty raw to me. Or, maybe I’ve always been slightly put off by well meaning, but patronizing, one way cultural sharing. If this post is slightly snarky, it’s me - so please forgive the cynicism.

Japan Content on iTunes U

Posted on November 20th, 2007 in Customary Drivel by Deas

iTunes U, the newest branch of the iTunes online audio store, is starting to have some items of interest to me as a graduate of an Asian Studies undergraduate program. Unfortunately, the ITMS Link Maker does not seem to be updated to search iTunes U content specifically, so I cannot yet provide you with specific links to items available in the store.

I can point out that other than some cool for kids stuff (loads of Japanese Fairy Tales, courtesy of Yei Theodora Ozaki, for instance), there is also some neat stuff for those with a more academic interest. I found a cool lecture by Mr. Salil Mehra on The iPod Tax: Why Japanese Law Professors Rejected the Digital Copyright System of American Law Professors’ Dreams. Video and audio of the 22 minute lecture are free. Cool. American Public Media released a 50 minute piece about Japan’s Pop Power, for which audio and a transcript are available - also free. Another one that caught my interest was a piece by Mr. Futato Huang entitled Undergraduate Curricula in China and Japan: Styles, Changes and Choices. This is neat - I can get at lecture type stuff I might have elected to attend while at college, even though now I’m far, far away. I can’t promise that quality stuff will come out - I’m rather skeptical of that myself - but if you’re interested, hit the iTunes store and search for results related to Japan in the iTunes U section. Thought I’d pass it along. That’s all. Yup. :-)

Chuck and Huck

Posted on November 19th, 2007 in Customary Drivel by Deas

Whoa-kay…remember those Chuck Norris jokes? They just became part of a political ad for Mike Huckabee…weird… Just thought I’d pass it along. Hat tip to Allahpundit, who appropriately notes that Mike Huckabee’s approach to border enforcement is actually less appealing than his joke about sending Chuck out there. Strange on strange. With almost a year left to go before elections, I don’t know if anyone else is following the race just yet. But since this is a real ad, I guess that makes these jokes officially old… :-D

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