Check it out! Now available at your nearest Tower Records (as long as you live in Tokyo): Avant Garde's first mini album, "Just a Dream"
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Chuchu and popo for prime minister
This photo reminds me of Prime Minister Koizumi's poster when he was running for his office in 2001, the one with the caption "さあ！変えよう、自民党”which translates to "Come on, let's transform the Liberal Democratic Party!" or something.
Rue Favart
Ai and I discovered a cozy and chic restaurant in Ebisu. The ceilings were painted with bright red poppies, butterflies and bees, and from the third floor window-side table where we had dinner, we had a cool view of the entrance to Garden Place. What a find!
Friday, March 25, 2005
ooh la la
Be careful, because you just may be blinded by what is in that unmistakable seafoam blue bag from Tiffany.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Birthday dinner
Ai is 27!!!!!!!!!! Still in her 20s, DUDE. HK made steak, pasta gratin, salad, tofu with wasabi and ginger, and also ham with avocadoes. It was a feast! it was delicious!
Monday, March 21, 2005
watchful protector popo
Ai has been sick in bed for the past few days, but is feeling better. just in time for the big B-Day!!!
Saturday, March 19, 2005
what's cookin'
It's ホルモンat the tented yakiniku restaurant in the Akabane arcade. What's ホルモン、 you ask? you may not want to know, but it's tasty and fun to cook. At the end of the meal, Hiroshi wanted to heat up his soup, so he put the metal bowl right onto the hibachi. just don't ask the waiters for extra plates...
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Chuchu post-salon
Recently my life has gone from a lot of cats to a lot of dogs. I still consider myself a cat person, but when they are as cute as this guy, it's hard not to love them.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
playing with phones
I love my cellphone. It is my hobby. I never had a cellphone in Seattle but I use it every 5 minutes in Japan. Notice the goth rhinestone cross cover on my phone, a gift from my sister. It has generated many compliments, my favorite so far being, "Nina, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."
no idea who the guy in the back is
Out for lunch on a recent sunday in Marunouchi with the Buerges. Food, weekend, fun city, great company. What's not to like?
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Ato-manx?
There are four types of Manx cats, called (I love this) the stumpy, rumpy, rumpy-riser and longy. With long hind legs, a prominent tush, round eyes and face, extra-thick coat, rabbit-like hop and unusually small meow, doesn't it remind you of certain black kitty seen bopping around Seattle?
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Keep looking up
I was taking a walk late last night and noticed an especially bright star that twinkled and sparkled as spectacularly as any rock that J.Lo's got. The whole night sky, in fact, was aglitter with stars. It reminded me of a funny scene in "The Lion King", where the warthog Pumbaa and meerkat (apparently a relative of the mongoose and prarie dog. Neither a cat, a goose, nor a dog. Dicuss.) Timon are lying in the grass, looking up at the stars.
Pumbaa: Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don't wonder - I know.
Pumbaa: Oh, what are they?
Timon: They're fire flies - fire flies that got stuck up in the big bluish black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh. I always thought they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, with you everything's gas!
When I got home I looked at a chart of the winter night sky, and found out that the sparkly dot was Sirius, the Dog Star.
Pumbaa: Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don't wonder - I know.
Pumbaa: Oh, what are they?
Timon: They're fire flies - fire flies that got stuck up in the big bluish black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh. I always thought they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, with you everything's gas!
When I got home I looked at a chart of the winter night sky, and found out that the sparkly dot was Sirius, the Dog Star.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
a film to see
I have just one full week left in Seattle before I leave for Tokyo. I'm very glad that I decided to take my mom's advice and planned to stay in Seattle for about 6 weeks before leaving. It's given me time to digest the upcoming change and get things in order without feeling the need to rush. Also I have plenty of time to take advantage of the things I will miss about Seattle, like beautiful crisp air and inexpensive produce and libraries where I can check out excellent movies like "Touching the Void" and CDs like Radiohead and make MD copies to take with me.
A little more about "Touching the Void". Have you seen it? NO?? Never has a movie left me with (sorry for being un-lady-like) trails of snot running down my nose from crying. I remember seeing previews for the film last year and thinking, "I will never watch this, I hate scary people-falling-into-bottomless-crevasse movies like this." Oh how wrong I was. It's based on a true story about a mountain climbing adventure gone very unpleasant. There's re-enactments with actors, using very little dialogue. Nothing is melodramatic, even though it's a weighty and existential story. The breathtaking mountain scenes and landscapes do so much in communicating the loneliness and struggles that the characters go through. But the real show stopper is what's said in the on-camera interviews from Joe, Simon and Richard, the actual people. I really can't describe it, it's just amazing.
Oh, and the score is beautiful too.
A little more about "Touching the Void". Have you seen it? NO?? Never has a movie left me with (sorry for being un-lady-like) trails of snot running down my nose from crying. I remember seeing previews for the film last year and thinking, "I will never watch this, I hate scary people-falling-into-bottomless-crevasse movies like this." Oh how wrong I was. It's based on a true story about a mountain climbing adventure gone very unpleasant. There's re-enactments with actors, using very little dialogue. Nothing is melodramatic, even though it's a weighty and existential story. The breathtaking mountain scenes and landscapes do so much in communicating the loneliness and struggles that the characters go through. But the real show stopper is what's said in the on-camera interviews from Joe, Simon and Richard, the actual people. I really can't describe it, it's just amazing.
Oh, and the score is beautiful too.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Groundhog Day
It's that special day again - did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow? Will there be 6 more weeks of winter?
Judging from the spring-like weather in Seattle these past few months, the answer is no.
"Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray and Andie Macdowell is one of my favorite movies. It's hysterical. Bill Murray is genius!
"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."
Deja vu, anyone?
Judging from the spring-like weather in Seattle these past few months, the answer is no.
"Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray and Andie Macdowell is one of my favorite movies. It's hysterical. Bill Murray is genius!
"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."
Deja vu, anyone?
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
career week
Last week I went to many panel discussions set up by UW's 6th annual Career Discovery Week. They were all very interesting and helpful in giving me ideas about careers, and I was able to make some new contacts, too. Networking is always stressed as the most helpful thing in finding out about jobs and careers, and I am getting better at it.
Most of all, though, it was good to hear how people's career paths are very unique, and the most rewarding things are to continue to pursue your interests, and keep meeting new people and staying in touch with them, and keep an open and optimistic mind.
isn't she lovely?
the Spirit of Massachusetts, where I spent 4 amazing months in 1998.
Most of all, though, it was good to hear how people's career paths are very unique, and the most rewarding things are to continue to pursue your interests, and keep meeting new people and staying in touch with them, and keep an open and optimistic mind.
isn't she lovely?
the Spirit of Massachusetts, where I spent 4 amazing months in 1998.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Life of Yann
I went to see Yann Martel, the author of "Life of Pi", speak at the University Bookstore yesterday. He was reading from an older book of his called "The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios" that is being republished, but he answered questions about "Life of Pi" too. He was funny and very calm and looked a little bit like Aidin Quinn. His next book is about a talking donkey and a monkey that live on a shirt?
Getting ready to move out of my apartment is a hassel but since I don't have a lot of stuff it should not be too difficult. I reserved a truck and hopefully the unit will get rented out soon. I LOVE my apartment and if I weren't planning on moving out of the country I would like to stay there. Huge windows, lots of light, great manager, walking distance to downtown, landscaped courtyard... I lucked out.
Getting ready to move out of my apartment is a hassel but since I don't have a lot of stuff it should not be too difficult. I reserved a truck and hopefully the unit will get rented out soon. I LOVE my apartment and if I weren't planning on moving out of the country I would like to stay there. Huge windows, lots of light, great manager, walking distance to downtown, landscaped courtyard... I lucked out.
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