A sequel to my dearly departed 8-year-old blog, Ä Canuck in Emperor Akihito's Court"(http://haruhiko.blogspot.com). Back home in Canada but still have those ties to Japan after 17 years' residency there.
Well, it's been a pretty quiet week although no less busy. I've gotten a fair amount of translation work in the past few days, and in fact, I even got to meet my fellow translators for a powwow last night over a beer. But it's been interesting now that I really no longer need to go downtown anymore....not too bad a thing considering that TTC token prices will be going up next year. Still, the odd trip downtown would be nice just as a bit of a respite for being at home most of the time. Did meet a bit of the urban residents before and after the meeting. While I was waiting for my two colleagues, a homeless man approached me for some money. Nice enough fellow and fairly erudite...I just gave him what little change I had in my pocket; I'm sure he didn't get nearly enough for that Burger King Whopper Set he was looking for, and I'm not sure if that's what he was aiming for, but at this time of year, I'm not gonna pooh-pooh a man for being hungry and cold. On the bus ride home, a clearly deranged lunatic was trying to pick a fight with the driver over some sort of "injustice"he had suffered in some sort of fight with another TTC employee which supposedly cracked the crackpot's tooth. I got off before anything major happened but considering I didn't see anything on CP24 this morning, I assume there was no other follow-up to the first fight.
Got the first of my Japanese CDs that I'd ordered through Amazon.jp the other day. Not nearly as easy to get them anymore obviously since I'm back in Canada but certainly far better than 20 years ago.
Speaking of music, my hat is going off to Dave Brubeck. I came across his surprise obituary in the Toronto Star today. He lived a good, long life. And he's part of the reason that I got into jazz, along with Bill Evans. I think "Take Five" is a great song to get into the genre with. It's probably one of the most recognized jazz songs for even non-jazz fans.
I only heard the news on NHK just half an hour ago, but kabuki actor Kanzaburo NakamuraXVIII passed away less than 6 hours previously in hospital. I was never a kabuki fan but his face and name were very well known to anyone who watches TV in Japan due to his fairly frequent appearances on talk shows and commercials. Of course, his stock in trade was on the stage portraying his various characters.
An acquaintance of mine back in Tokyo was his acupuncturist, and he told me that the actor had always been a very introspective deep thinker. The story of his death was the top story on NHK, and it looks like a lot of the commercial stations' morning shows were scrambling to get a fitting tribute story done for him. I was surprised to hear that he had passed since he was only 57 years old, although I knew that he had suffered from early stage esophagal cancer.
I think this video of him and his troupe performing in Berlin back in 2008 will give a tiny insight about his life as a kabuki actor.
Well, the mall Santas are out in force, the Xmas songs are blaring out, and I've started my shopping and sending out of cards. Must be the Yuletide, right? Someone forgot to tell the weather. Toronto didn't just break a temperature record.....the Big Smoke obliterated it like a phaser on full power. We got up to 16 C! Mind you, the temps are slowly but inexorably sliding now, but hey for December, this is practically Summer! Not really Xmas-y weather at all, but the joggers and, I suspect, most Torontonians are not complaining one iota.
Anyways, a couple of days ago, it was another anime and foodie outing with The Anime King. It's probably gonna be the final one for the year since most likely the 16th will be the dinner outing with the Anime Court, and then the King heads out for Japan and Vietnam for a vacation. We started out with a bit of brunch (breakfast for him) at Eggsmart. I'd already had my bacon and eggs back home, so I settled with the Fish n' Chips Platter. Not too bad...fish was a tad dry, though.
Back at the King's basement palace, we went through the latest of the "Yamato 2199" reboot. The first of the four episodes was basically a remake of the original contemplative episode following the ship's first major battle with the Gamelan gun base on Pluto. The crew made their final communications with family back on Earth, there was a celebratory party, and there was even a full reprise of the secondary theme song, "Bright Red Scarf". But unlike the original, there was quite a bit of fanservice, anime's version of cheesecake via the drunken nurse, Captain Okita actually widened his eyes, and there may be a love triangle of sorts forming amongst Kodai, Yuki and the ace female pilot, Yamamoto.
However, the highlight of the presentation was a show that The King has been raving about for the past few weeks: "Girls and Panzer". Over the past year I've been back in Canada, I've seen high school kids duking it out over supermarket lunches, a high school girl becoming the high priestess of a ghost-ridden temple, a family of orphaned teens involved in a mind-warping thriller with penguins, and teenage girls who become space pirates. "Girls and Panzer"is another one of those "Only in Japan"fantasies in which high school girls can choose to join tank crews in the same way that students can join the volleyball club or the band. This anime is the equivalent of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup: the anime otaku and the military otaku have found their Valhalla.
The video above is the opening scene from the pilot episode. I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the animation, and the details in the tanks. There is love in those studio hard drives. And the music brings back memories from just about every World War II epic made in the 60s: "Kelly's Heroes", "The Dirty Dozen" and even the TV sitcom, "Hogan's Heroes". Plus, there's the fact that the show has (at least) 22 characters....mind you, the five core girls are the ones that get the most characterization, but the fact that everyone gets seen at all in every half-hour is still something to be commended. And finally, I never thought I would ever hear a Donald Sutherland character get a shoutout in an episode.
Of course, all that viewing of tank battles can earn quite an appetite, so the King and I decided to drive out to Scarberia for dinner. We came across a modern strip mall underneath a condo around McNicoll and Midland where Toronto's only attempt at a Maid Cafe rose and fell several years ago. The restaurant there, Tasty Tasty, specializes in Szechuan BBQ, and came highly recommended by the King's brother.
We went with the large bowl of a soup called Fish with Salty Vegetables. Very savoury fare, and went well with the rice. However, the soup itself was much more on the sour side...quite a bit of vinegar in there. But it definitely made for a fine dish.
Of course, there was also our more conventional choice of Stir-Fried Bok Choyand Garlic. No less delicious, though. Both dishes were great on a much cooler night. Both the King and I were thinking about having the year-ender with the rest of the guys at Tasty Tasty, but there are plenty of other choices out there.
Yesterday, I met up with The Wild Guy for the first time in a little over a month. I think the last time I caught him was back in Chinatown in October before he took off for Japan to pick up his family in Osaka. At his recommendation, we went over to Jetsun's Juicyburger, north of North York Centre.
When we got inside, we didn't see a soul. The Wild Guy had to ask me to make sure that we hadn't come in before opening time. Well, the sign said that it opened at 10:30, and it certainly was an hour later. We needn't have worried. Within a few minutes, the high school crowd literally flooded the zone. We were lucky to have placed the order as early as we did.
As hamburgers go, the Juicyburger was fine, nothing spectacular. It was your typical burger joint with homemade patties, and with your choice of toppings. Fries were OK too with the complementary jellied gravy. On a cold day like yesterday, I'm sure Jetsun's Juicyburger can make a pretty penny.
As usual, The Wild Guy was venting about his usual frustrations at work....we never even touched upon the trials and tribulations of Toronto's mayor.
Yup, the Xmas season is once again upon us. The weather is cold outside but very little snow....just some white embedded in the sidewalk cracks, and that'll be disappearing by tomorrow due to a jump in the temperatures. (Up to 11 C?! Good Grief!) However, just about every shopping mall has got its Santa taking care of terrified moppets, and the annual Christmas Market has started up again down at The Distillery.
It also means for me that urge to watch the old black-and-white films on TCM; it's kinda like the urge for adult salmon to swim upstream again to breed. Whenever the Yuletide is nigh, I gotta watch Bogie, Bette and Cary again. Not sure what it is...perhaps it's that psychic connection amongst old movies, Xmas and jazz that gets me.
I got started a day ahead of schedule with a 1949 flick that wasn't quite a Film Noir....more of a Film Grise. Titled "Red Light", it starred George Raft and Virginia Mayo. However, I was quite surprised to also see a young weasley Colonel Sherman Potter and burly psychopathic Perry Mason up to no good. Yup, Harry Morgan and Raymond Burr had supporting roles in villainous roles before they became good guys on television. As I said, it wasn't quite the Film Noir that it had hoped to be. For one thing, not all of the roles were irredeemable, and there was a definite good end. Not a particularly great film, but it does its part on a cloudy day.
Then, this morning I caught "The Judge Steps Out" with Canadian actor Alexander Knox as a burnt-out Boston judge who just ups and leaves his high-class family and finds bliss as a short-order cook in desert California. I had thought it would be another one of those romantic comedies with the improbably happy ending, but it actually did so on a very bittersweet note....stress on the bitter. As one commenter put it, it was ahead of its time.
And I caught another one in the RKO movie series of "The Saint" by Leslie Charteris. Decades before Roger Moore ever put on the halo, George Sanders played the suave antihero. I never caught his Oscar-winning performance in "All About Eve"; I remember him from his guest roles on TV playing Mister Freeze on "Batman" and another nemesis for Jim Phelps to put down in "Mission: Impossible".
Give it another few days. I'll probably be catching "Holiday Inn" and "Miracle on 34th Street" in no time. Ah, there are also the various episodes of Xmas for "SCTV".
This entry is frankly for the "Doctor Who" fans, really. Some weeks ago, I went on a bit of a rant about how lousy the final episode for Amy Pond and Rory Williams as Companions for the current Doctor was (look up "Doctor Who-ops!" in the TV section). Still haven't changed my mind about it, but I kinda know how it feels to be a stalwart supporter of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford right now....somewhat in the minority but still defiant.
Then, I came across this video on YouTube titled "P.S.", and it is a four-and-a-half minute excerpt of what could have been filmed but was ultimately cut out of "The Angels Take Manhattan". And after viewing it, I just wondered what those editors and Moffat had been thinking by not including this scene and including some of the other extraneous stuff at the beginning.
Well, just glad that it's now up and running. At least, there was one good thing about this disappointing sendoff. And I can only imagine how many boxes of tissue the fans who actually loved the episode must be going through right now.
Had another round of translations yesterday. Got those done and may get another assignment in an hour or so. Not too, too difficult but the feedback can always blow back any satisfaction.
Yup, the geek inside me....80%; the other 20% is makeup....got some intriguing information via the movie site "Dark Horizons". I found out that the two British thespian knights, Sir McKellen and Sir Stewart, will be coming onto the next "X-Men" project. Of course, I'm thrilled since when those two were in the original trilogy (overall, a mediocre trio), any scene that involved them was easily up there with the best scenes. But at first, I had wondered how they were going to be shoehorned into this new series; then I realized that the title was "Days of Future Past". Somewhere in one of the filing cabinets, I have the original comic books for that story arc, and everything started to make sense....or as much sense as that story had.
Then, came the rumours about this supposed "Justice League" movie that's in the works after the success of "The Avengers" this summer. Apparently Joseph Gordon-Levitt may be playing the new Batman (not Nightwing?!). If this is actually true, then "The Dark Knight Rises" served to be a launching point for the new Caped Crusader.
And of course, news on the new "Star Trek" movie had to come out. Once again, another threat comes to Earth which means only the Enterprise can save the day. Well....not exactly news there.
All I can say is that millions of "Big Bang Theory"-like kaffeeklatsches (kolaklatsches?) of geeks are probably going into heated discussions over their cocoa right now. After reading some of this, I'll take mine with a huge crystal of salt.
Hey, can't wait to see the new "Doctor Who" Xmas special. I still think the swan song for Amy and Rory was ugly....
