April 1999

• I have given my Obon links their own page.
  (28 April 1999)

• Oil Done
  The Edmonton Oilers ended their 20th NHL season tonight with a heartbreaking loss to the powerful Dallas Stars in the third sudden-death overtime period of Game Four of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. Portland is a basketball town in the winter, so it is hard to find a sports bar that shows hockey on their TV. Thanks to the Internet, I was able to hear 630 CHED's Rod Phillips describe all of the suspenseful action live from the 'Chuck via Broadcast.com
  (27 April 1999)

• Oregon: Last Stand of the Gas Jockeys?
  On my trip across America last summer, almost all the gas stations I filled up at were self-service, even down to the payment, which was done with a swipe of a credit card. An attendant handled cash gas transactions at most places, though it seemed their primary role was to sell food and drink. I had a few lonely refuelings at card-only gas stations, where there was not another soul in sight. This may be the way of the future, as corporations strive to reduce labour costs -- except in Oregon, where a state law dictates that gas must be pumped by an attendant. Such human interaction is a bit of a throwback, but it is handy when one is wearing nice clothes. It can also be amusing, as was the case recently: Noticing the dashboard of my sedate Canada-bought 4-cylinder Honda Accord as he handed me my receipt, a gas jockey asked in amazement, "Wow, can your car really do 220?" I said, "No, the fastest I've gone is only 130 or so." He was still impressed. Then I realized he was talking miles per hour, while my car speedometer and I were referring to kilometres per hour.
  (25 April 1999)

• Jazz Behind Barbed Wire
  My sister and I went to Meany Hall on the University of Washington campus in Seattle WA to see the Asian American Jazz Orchestra and San Jose Taiko perform this project, which is funded by the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund "to create dialogue and increase public awareness about the Japanese American internment experience through the vehicle of jazz." I am not sure whether it achieves that goal. Though we heard in George Yoshida's spoken word segment how big band music was an important diversion from internment camp life, some audience members laughed at the train whistle used during the piece E.O. 9066, indicating they didn't understand how that sound signified transportation to the camps and the beginning of the Internment for many JAs. Those who came expecting to hear big band music or taiko were probably disappointed; their use was largely confined to short introductory mood-setting segments. The jazz was percussion-heavy, perhaps to be expected, since Anthony Brown, AAJO leader and artistic director, is a percussionist. Otherwise, it was jazz like any other -- which may be the point, after all -- although many unusual instruments were used, like the sheng (the Chinese mouth organ that one hears in Heian-period Japanese music) and the waterphone. Backstage, my sister introduced me to SJT's P.J. Hirabayahi, who was still perky, even after an energetic performance.
  (24 April 1999)

• Down By Law (USA 1986; Dir: Jim Jarmusch)
  Tom Waits, John Lurie and -- wait for it -- Roberto Benigni (!) play three escaped convicts on the run through the Louisiana bayou. The story has the shallow, improvised feel of a junior high school drama class project. Benigni's fish-out-of-water humour wears thin early on. One wonders whether director Jarmusch was having a laugh at the expense of the people who financially backed this film (not to mention those who paid to watch it). However deeper analysis reveals that it is actually a good film. The cast also includes Benigni's wife Nicoletta Braschi and Ellen Barkin -- who perhaps had arrived in Nawlins early for the filming of 1987's The Big Easy? Beautiful black-and-white tracking shots of New Orleans and the bayou. "It's Raining" by Irma Thomas is included in the soundtrack.
  (23 April 1999)

• What's in a name?
  Here is a fun website: The Anagram Genius Server is a computer program that analyzes all the permutations of the letters in a name. "Clint Eastwood" gives "Old West action", "Madonna Louise Ciccone" gives "Occasional nude income" and "William Shakespeare", "I am a weakish speller". The only coherent new sentence my name "Tadaaki Hiruki" becomes is "Aha! I audit Kirk". William Shatner had better hope he filled out his IRS return correctly ...
  (22 April 1999)

  

• Special Coupla Bits
  Today I got some special quarters as change from the OHSU library photocopying machine. They are part of the US Mint's 50 State Quarters Program, which began this January will continue until 2009. You can read more about the program at their website.* I have one Delaware and five extra Pennsylvanias -- does anybody want to trade?

  * You will also find information about the new one dollar coin, to be introduced in the year 2000, in honour of Sacagawea, a Shoshone native woman who was a guide to the Lewis and Clark expedition.
  (21 April 1999)

• Spring Suds
  Beermaking was brought to America from Europe, but somewhere along the way the major breweries forgot how to make good beer. The last fifteen years or so have seen a grassroots rediscovery of quality beermaking. Oregon is a major center in this craft brewing renaissance (See my new Beervana page). This afternoon I stopped in at the 5th Annual Spring Beer Fest out at the Expo Center just north of Portland. Fifty brewers, mostly from around Oregon, brought 100 different beers for sampling. For $10, I received a handsome gold-rimmed commemorative glass and four tokens, each good for a 0.0813 L (3 oz) sample. Additional tokens were $0.50 apiece, which works out to about $2.50 per pint. My favorite was Doryman's Dark Ale by Pelican Pub and Brewery of Pacific City OR, near Cannon Beach. Like the Mt. Hood Brew Pub, it is affiliated with a local inn (a similar kind of arrangement was common long ago in Ye Olde England -- interesting how ideas come around again). I was impressed by the size of the crowd at this event and its composition -- lots of young people and a significant percentage of women. The appeal of microbrews is evidently not limited to middle-aged men anymore!
  (17 April 1999)

• Gretzky Gone!
  

  The Wayner, as I will always remember him.

  The Canadian media have been abuzz all week with speculation that Wayne Gretzky, probably the greatest hockey player ever, would be leaving the game. This afternoon he finally confirmed those rumours with his retirement announcement.

  Some have said that he quit because playing for a bad team wasn't fun. If that is the case, I can empathize -- my recreational hockey team finished the season last weekend at the bottom of our league, and it was hard to get motivated for the last few games. Still, I plan on being back next season because I can always get better! The Great One had nowhere to go but down.

  Growing up in the 'Chuck meant I was able to watch the Wayner and his high-flying Edmonton Oilers teammates in their Stanley Cup prime. Thanks for the memories, Number 99!

  Goodbye to the Greatest from the National Post newspaper
  Hockey Sweater 99: Fabric of a Nation
  "So much changed the day of The Trade"
  (16 April 1999)

• Lungta (Windhorse) (USA/Tibet 1998; Dir: Paul Wagner)
  For many weeks now, on the latenight National Public Radio program Echoes, I have been hearing parts of this film's haunting soundtrack by Tommy Hayes, a Celtic musician inspired by traditional Tibetan songs.

  The story is that of three young Tibetans who deal in different ways with the occupation of their country by Communist China. One learns Chinese, gets Chinese boyfriend, and sings propaganda songs as the mascot of "the new Tibet". Her brother retreats into drinking and idleness, convinced that nothing he can do will change things. Their cousin becomes a Buddhist nun, loyal to the Dalai Lama. The three are brought together physically and, eventually, idealogically by the actions of the Chinese and their Tibetan collaborators.

  The occupational forces are shown as brutal and all-pervasive. This film was written and produced with the help of the exile Tibetan community in Nepal, so one might wonder whether the perspective is balanced. Given the history of Tienanmin Square, the portrayal likely has validity.

  The film's title refers to the Windhorse, a mythical Tibetan creature that combines the speed of the wind and the strength of the horse; it carries wishes written on prayer flags and pieces of coloured paper from earth to the heavens. (This idea is similar to ema (picture horse tablet) of Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan.)
  (15 April 1999)

• Two minutes for spearing
  Asparagus has been ridiculously inexpensive at the grocery store this week, a sure sign of spring. Asparagus recipes abound. The simplest way to prepare asparagus is to boil the spears for two minutes, drain and enjoy. Delicious, with or without butter! And healthy.

  One consequence of "spearing" is pungent urine. The smell is due to sulphur-containing alkyl compounds identified as methanethiol, dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl disulphide, bis-(methylthio)methane, dimethyl sulphoxide and dimethyl sulphone. The production of these substances from asparagusic acid is genetically determined, an autosomally dominant trait reportedly found in about 40 percent of the population. The ability to smell the substances is also genetically determined and is present in about 10 per cent of people. Again I find myself in a special minority!

  Aparagus Facts from the National Asparagus Festival
  Planet Science: Your Body More interesting facts about ... YOU (13 April 1999)

• Bon Odori (Japanese festival dance)
  About Obon passed the 2000-visitor mark over the weekend. Some of the people who saw my photo essay asked questions about the festival, so I have updated the Q and A page. I even got the JA*Net Ties Talk e-mail list involved -- the discussion of Bon Odori ranged far and wide, from Japan to Hawai'i to California to Brazil, as well as across generations. You can read the archived posts on the Bon Odori page
  (11 April 1999)

• Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief) (Italia 1948; Dir: Vittorio de Sica) [ STILLS]
  In desperately poor early post-War Italy, Antonio is lucky to get a job pasting movie posters around Roma. When his unattended, unlocked bicycle is stolen on his first day on the job, he and his young son Bruno set out to find it. This is an Italian father-son story, like La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful), however unlike Roberto Benigni's Guido, this film's Antonio is a failure on many levels: as a worker, as a helper, as a provider, as a protector, as a moral example. This is a man's nightmare. I kept wondering why the English title of this film wasn't "The Stolen Bicycle". At the end, the reason for the Italian title, correctly translated as "The Bicycle Thieves", became apparent (the plural is important). This movie was influential, not only for its style, but also its images. The cavernous pawnbroker's storeroom is similar to the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the brothel into which Antonio chases his suspect was replicated in Lina Wertmuller's Film d'amore e d'anarchia (Love and Anarchy).
  Roger Ebert review of The Bicycle Thief
  Lock It Or Lose It: How to Buy and Use A Bike Lock
  Bicycle Safety and Security (07 April 1999)

• Slimming down
  The format of this webpage, that is, not me! ;-) I recently had the opportunity to view the "What's New?" section on a REALLY BIG monitor for the first time and realized that when shown on such a wide screen, the entries suffer from "page creep", with lo~ng, hard-to-read lines of text. The ideal column width is said to be about 10 words or 400 to 500 pixels, so I have added some extra formatting to make things easier on your eyes. Let me know what you think!
  (06 April 1999)

• Spring Forward -- Japan Daylight Time?
  Today we in North America make our annual switch to Daylight Saving Time, setting our clocks one hour ahead so that more of the longer summer day occurs during waking hours. The Americans introduced the idea of Daylight Savings Time to Japan after World War Two, but the practice was discontinued there when the Occupation ended in 1952. Now the idea of Daylight Saving Time is being discussed in Japan again, not because they want to be more like America, but in an attempt to stimulate their moribund economy. Those who support this measure think that with more "after 5" daylight, people will be more inclined to stay out and spend money on leisure activities. I wonder if it will it work -- the average Japanese sarariiman finishes at the office long after 5 p.m., and after-work entertaining is often just an extension of work anyway. The time devoted to holidays and leisure in Japan has been slow to increase despite the government's establishment of a Leisure Development Center.
  (04 April 1999)

• Foil Anniversary: TV Dinners Turn 45
  I heard on National Public Radio that today is the anniversary of Swanson's introduction of TV dinners in 1954. As is often the case, necessity was the mother of invention. That year, Swanson's had a surplus of turkey crisscrossing the country in refrigerated train cars for lack of storage space. Critics who say that TV dinners "appeal to the palate of an 8-year-old" don't know how right they are -- the Swanson's employee used his son as a menu consultant.
  • Clarence Birdseye - Inventor of Retail Frozen Foods
  • The Fifties - A Brief History
  • The Century of Convenience
  (03 April 1999)

• JA = AA ?
  Most people categorize Japanese Americans as "Asian Americans". Yet not all Nikkei feel that way, whether it be because of attitudes brought from Japan, the experience of the wartime Internment, assimilation or mixed heritage. The Nikkei are the most assimilated Asian American group, but will they ever be regarded as "Americans" by mainstream society? These topics recently came up for discussion on the JA*Net Ties Talk e-mail list. You can read the archived posts on the Are JAs AAs? page and the Can JAs Ever Drop The "J"? page.
  (03 April 1999)

• Happy April Fool's Day!
  The best story I heard this April Fool's Day was on the National Public Radio evening news: they reported on a breakthrough in computerized speech recognition systems that allows pet owners to understand what Fido's bark and Kitty's meow mean! (At least I think it was a joke ...)
  (01 April 1999)

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