Smoke baby pt. 1

Japanese warning signs tend to be less direct than those in Western nations. Whereas "Keep out!" is a staple in North America, the English version in Japan might read "Please do not come in." Although smoking is largely banned at home, non-smoking signs usually have a threatening quality, by stating potential fines or punishment. Japan however is a place of subtlety and beauty. It's also a very clean place, which may be due, at least in part, to the poetic requests of ashtrays.

Sloth


Greed


Gluttony

Smoke baby pt. 2

Pride

Lust

Wrath

Envy

On the topic of tobacco, I pass this sign every day on my way to work. It reminds me of simpler times, of sock hops, poodle skirts, and segregation.

Found in Translation

Teaching English in Japan is a highly competitive business. One of the biggest English schools in Japan recently went out of business and forced a lot of hardworking gaijin (foreigners) to pack their things and go home. Each company is looking for an edge, that extra creativity that will separate them from the competition. The following television programs have definitely found a way to stand out from the crowd.



This one combines the allure of the geisha with the idioms of a prostitute. "Come on Toshie!"



The glasses and suit jacket give the instructor credibility, but the sexy sensei are really just Russian call girls whose English is worse than that of their students. The skit at the end is beautiful though. "You are good at blowing job aren't you?"



There are several videos in this series, and it's so ridiculous that even CNN showed it.The glasses on the two men scream intimidating.

Here's my other two favorites from the series:

When you gotta go...

I'll be back

Companion

Japan is forever linked with the image of Geisha. As living art, they embody a beauty and precision that has long captured the world’s attention.

Although Geisha have seriously declined in numbers, hostess clubs and their prostitution based counterparts are commonly available for similar, though generally less artistic entertainment. Generally speaking, in Japanese society, mistresses and extramarital female companions are a less stigmatized concept than in Judeo-Christian cultures.

Over the past couple of days I’ve encountered this cultural aspect in three separate people, one of whom I have grown to expect this from, one of whom I had no preconceptions of, and one of whom I least expected it from. I’ve listened to a blend of justifications, philosophies, anecdotes, and how time can make all of these moot. I don’t know if I feel my faith in monogamy has been shaken, or my faith in people. But something is unbalanced. Maybe it’s me.

Boys gone wild

I'll always have a soft spot for the boy bands.

Probably the biggest one in Japan is SMAP. They're not so much a band (their singing is far from stellar) as they are a brand. Each member appears in commercials, movies, several variety shows each week, and my personal favourite, on vending machines.

So what happens when East meets West? An unstoppable harmony machine? Sex on 20 legs? Or is it merely a watered down version of a syrupy love song? I'll let you judge.



This one's goin out to Paola

There is no spoon

I saw the craziest thing today. I was walking home from Kanazawa Castle and it was simultaneously raining and snowing. Since the snow was falling more slowly than the rain it looked like time had actually slowed. It was like being in a video game, or a music video, or perhaps... the Matrix.I'm gonna go follow the white rabbit.

From the Makers of ‘Haiku’

The wonderful thing about incorrect English is that it sometimes lends itself to such art forms as music and poetry. Where it might take a skillful artisan to create the perfect sonnet or an upbringing in an impoverished neighborhood to develop first rate rapping skills, sometimes non-native speakers create beautiful lyrics completely by accident.

I have one student, who I would describe as a sensitive and artistic soul, who is especially skilled (or accident prone, depending on your interpretation). Let’s just call this found art.

“But All people very kindly so I doing full complete every day.”

“Now I have sensitive making because of grow native place life.”

“Happy is drawing so that various tool and color touch and it spend creation every day.”