November 1999

  • Born-again Nikkei-jin
    Have you ever noticed how some of the most vehement, fervent, strident anti-smokers are ex-smokers? The same thing can happen to assimilated people: having lived in denial or unawareness of their background, they start to learn about their heritage and the pendulum rapidly swings far the other way. Sometimes enthusiasm exceeds knowledge, as a recent exchange about Japanese Roots on the Ties Talk listserv illustrates. I hope the posts were educational.

    (30 November 1999)

  • There's an update at the Nikkei Nexus
    (29 November 1999)

  • Marcello Mastroianni: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
    The Northwest Film Center for the next few weeks is featuring a retrospective of the films of the late great Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni:

    • La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) (Italia 1960; Dir: Federico Fellini) ****
      Mastroianni plays a tabloid writer in early 1960s Roma who shuns domesticity and the love of a steady girlfriend in favor of a decadent life drifting from nightclub to party to party. At 172 minutes it is overlong, probably to accommodate its symmetrical story structure, but there are some unforgettable images, like the statue of Jesus flying to the Vatican suspended from a helicopter, and larger-than-life Anita Ekberg cavorting in Trevi Fountain. Fellini's earlier Le Notte di Cabiria (The Nights of Cabiria) (1957) has a similar plot, but a more sympathetic and engaging protagonist.
      Signs of the Time: DC-6 airplanes, reel-to-reel tape recorders
      Need to know: Was the name of Marcello's photographer friend Paparazzo where the term "paparazzi" comes from?

    • Mi Ricordo, Si Io Mi Ricordo (I Remember, Yes I Remember) (Italia 1997; Dir: Anna Maria Tato) ****
      This 3-hour documentary is like spending an enjoyable afternoon chatting with an interesting and wise uncle or grandfather. Mastroianni's reflections on a mostly successful career are intercut with illustrative clips from his most -- and least -- famous films. The great actor comes across as modest, thoughtful, easygoing and content but inquisitive. He turned 72 during the filming in 1996, and died later the same year. Oddly enough, the "Latin Lover" doesn't mention any of the women in his life, like Catherine Deneuve and daughter Chiara (she looks just like him!).
      Quote: "Memories are all we really own."

    • Divorzio all'italiana (Divorce, Italian Style) (Italia 1962; Dir: Pietro Germi) *****
      A 37-year-old Sicilian baron becomes infatuated with his teenaged cousin. Divorce is illegal by Italy's then-antiquated laws, so he sets about to murder his moustachioed, big-hipped wife. A comedy classic, from the baron's nervous tic and his frantic dashing about his mansion, to the lawyer's bombastic voice overs, to the plot twists at the end of the film. Nice internal reference to La Dolce Vita -- quite the contrast between cosmopolitan Roma and rural Sicilia.
      Need to know: Did the Ku Klux Klan get the idea for their hoods and robes from the Sicilian wedding procession outfits?
      Quote: "It's true -- life really begins at 40."
    (26-28 November 1999)

  • The Source (USA 1999; Dir: Chuck Workman) ****
    A fast-paced documentary look at the Beat poets and the beginnings of the counterculture movement in the 1950s, drawing on such diverse sources as interviews, archival television programs -- including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Flintstones, Happy Days and Saturday Night Live -- and readings by John Turturro, Dennis Hopper, and Johnny Depp. Educational for those of my generation and later, who only know of Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs as old men and Jack Kerouac as a 10,000 Maniacs song.
    (25 November 1999)

  • Evening in SE Portland
    My OHSU Medical Informatics classmate Jim and his wife were able to get a babysitter this evening, so they showed me around their quarter of Portland:

    • Saburo's Sushi House
      This tiny little restaurant fills up quickly after its doors open at 4:30 p.m., but people are willing to wait outside for a table long into the evening. The reason is probably their sushi, big slabs of melt-in-your-mouth raw fish on a relatively tiny dollop of rice. Their wasabi didn't work for me, miso shiru was average, gyoza uniquely deep-fried (rather than pan-fried) but flavorless. Budget presentation (chipped plastic dishes and such), but if that isn't important to you, it is a fairly good deal for the price. Service is slowwww, especially once it gets crowded. Be there early and stick to the sushi.
      1667 SE Bybee Boulevard Portland OR 97202-5700 (503) 236-4237

    • Marsee Bakery
      Escaping from under the gaze of hungry eyes in the Saburo lineup ("Not our fault, the food was slow to come!"), we went across the street to this open-concept cafe for after-dinner coffee. Lots of tasty looking desserts, but we were too full to partake in any of them. File this away for future reference, along with the many other restaurants in the area.
      1625 SE Bybee Boulevard, Portland OR (503) 232-0000. 11 other Portland-area locations.

    • Hawthorne Street
      Slightly scruffy but interesting area with pubs, cafes, and bookstores, much like the Annex in Toronto.

    • Lucky Labrador Brewing Company
      No-nonsense cavernous alehouse, like an upscale version of Toronto's Ye Olde Brunswick House with much better beer. On the wall, patrons can post photos of their labrador dogs, or of themselves wearing a Lucky Lab T-shirt in exotic locations all over the world. One photo had been taken in front of the Daibutsu, the giant statue of Buddha in Kamakura, Japan.
      915 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97214 USA (503)236-3555

    • American Beauty (USA 1999; Dir: Sam Mendes) ***1/21/2
      Nasty story of middle-aged angst and what one man does about it. Kevin Spacey is great as an emotionally dead magazine writer who wakes up to the emptiness of the suburban American Dream and regains ownership of his life. The supporting cast of teenage characters is strong. The other adult characters are a bit too cartoonish.

      (We saw this at the Moreland Theatre 6712 SE Milwaukie Avenue, Portland OR 97202-5697 (503) 236-5257 The owners must know something about their customers -- they have no late show, just an early and an earlier show!)

    (20 November 1999)

    A Trolleytracks Hockey Site O' the Day!

  • Web Recognition
    The Runker Room has received its first Internet award! Trolleytracks Hockey, an alternative hockey media weekly launched a daily page last month, which features a different website every day. Today The Runker's Hockey Page is their Site O' the Day.
    (18 November 1999)

  • Part-time Taiko?
    Tonight I attended one of the Community Workshops that local Asian American drumming group Portland Taiko hosts from time to time. It was a good refresher of things I learned at the taiko course I did last summer, a great workout, and an opportunity to chat with these dedicated people. We learned that PT members practice at least two and preferably three nights a week for several hours at a time. That is why they are so good!

    There are people who are interested in taiko, but don't have quite so much time to devote to playing. Right now, there isn't any place in Portland for them. Maybe it is time to start a part-time taiko group?

    If you want to try some drumming, PT still has room in the workshop they will have on Tuesday, 16 November 1999. Call (503) 224-1458 to register.
    (11 November 1999)

  • D.C. Ice Follies: NHL in Washington
    While in Washington for the AMIA conference, I took the opportunity to see an NHL hockey game at the new MCI Center.

    I bought my ticket in Portland last week over the Internet (my first e-transaction!); the arena website showed me the view I could expect from my seating section.

    Getting there was simple -- the arena is right downtown, at the convergence of three subway lines. Unlike old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, there was no phalanx of scalpers outside the entrance shouting "Who's selling?" (translation: "I have tickets to sell"). Ticket reselling is a federal offense or something, and the FBI Building is just around the corner!

    The opposition was the cellar-dwelling Tampa Bay Lightning, which probably explains why the arena was half empty. They had a roster of mostly no-names, with a few familiar faces -- Mike Sillinger, Stephane Richer, Petr Svoboda, Fredrik Modin -- who once skated for proud teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. They also have recent high draft picks Vincent Lecavalier and Chris Gratton, but neither impressed me. Tampa Bay must truly be considered the Gulag of the NHL!

    The talent level on the home side was significantly better. The Cap's roster has a heavy European flavour: Bondra, Mironov, Gonchar, Johansson, Dahlen, Nikolishyn, Bulis, Zednik, etc. Though they were clearly the superior team, it was still hard to believe they were Stanley Cup finalists just two years ago.

    There was no lineup for beer or pizza at intermission time on this night. A booth called "Hockey 101" was set up on the concourse, manned by an attendant with a whiteboard and NHL rulebook at the ready to explain "icing" and other novel concepts to the uninitiated -- there is no need for this service at Canadian arenas!

    There were lots of timeouts for television commercials. In the Globe and Mail's Hockeynomics series, the new owner of the Washington Capitals explains how broadcasting is an important part of his plan for business success. During these breaks, funny video clips are shown on the scoreboard -- you can download them from the official team website. Watch the one featuring "Kono" (Portland Winter Hawk alumnus Steve Konowalchuk) and a teammate at a restaurant table for two!

    In the end, the Caps prevailed 2-1, though it would have been 4-1 if not for two goalposts. On the way out, I looked up at the NHL team banners hanging from the rafters, including those of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild, yet more expansion teams set to join the league next season. I wondered how much further the "Bettman Hockey League" can dilute its "product" and still retain fan interest. Maybe I am spoiled by having grown up watching the 1980s Edmonton Oilers?

    • The Death of Hockey
      How a bunch of guys with too much money and too little sense are killing the greatest game on earth -- and how the fans can save it
    (09 November 1999)

  • Capital Inspiration
    I am just back from the 1999 AMIA Annual Symposium in Washington DC. The title was "Advancing Health Care Through Information Technology", and discussion centered around four thematic pillars:

    • Representing Knowledge - Ontologies and standardized nomenclatures
    • Acquiring and Presenting Information - User interfaces
    • Integrating Information - XML and other data exchange strategies
    • Managing Change - Handling the human effects that new information systems have on health care organizations

    Big at the meeting were implementations on handheld computers, software to help with the administration of clinical trials, and consumer health information resources.

    The informatics learning didn't stop at the conference. On my flight back to Portland, the business channel of the audio program included a profile of 4healthyLife.com, a new company that services the emerging trend of patients keeping their own secure, Internet-based, centralized medical record. By doing so, these people can bypass the squabbling HMOs that refuse to share information, and the backward hospitals that still haven't got electronic medical records. Their medical information is thus available where and when they need it -- people are travelling more often and have a one in 15 chance of ending up in an emergency room (4healthyLife's statistics). The service is also useful to those who cannot communicate well in English. It is even extended to pets!

    Also on the audio program was a feature on Paul McCartney's latest release, Run, Devil, Run, a collection of newly recorded 1950s oldies. Sure, it maybe signals his artistic bankruptcy and yes, he is just doing the same thing John Lennon did twenty-odd years ago with the Rock 'n' Roll album, but it is nice to know the old Beatle can still have fun.
    (07-10 November 1999)

  • On a Mission
    I finally made it to the Mission Theater and Pub tonight with my OHSU Medical Informatics classmates Jason and Pat. It is a grand old theatre in which most of the seating has been replaced with tables and chairs, and the refreshment counter also serves alcohol. There are a few of these combination pub/movie theatre venues in Portland -- the idea may have even started here. You order your food and get a drink (a pint of one of McMenamin's fine house brews) then take your seat and enjoy the film. About halfway through your food is brought to you. My burger tasted good, although I couldn't see it.
    1624 NW Glisan Street, Portland OR (503) 223-4031
    (06 November 1999)

  • Ties Talk Archive: Update and New Look
    I finally got around to updating this archive of messages from the Nikkei listserv I belong to. The messages are now on smaller pages with more detailed topics, grouped into directories of general subject areas. Hopefully you will find it easier to use.
    (05 November 1999)

  • Japanese Broadcast News Online
    Since moving away from home 13 years ago, I don't hear Japanese spoken very often. In the past, to hear about happenings in Japan in Japanese one had to have a shortwave radio or live in a place with a large enough Japanese population to support Japanese-language radio and/or television.

    Things are different in the Internet age. I don't know how long these have been available, but I just found out about some Japanese channels on RealPlayer this weekend.

    RealPlayer is an application that allows your computer to receive and play "streaming" digital audio or video broadcasts from the Internet. It is like getting radio or TV through your modem. This is how I have been listening in on Edmonton Oilers hockey games for the past year or so.

    You can download RealPlayer software for free from the RealNetworks website: www.real.com. Click "Add New Channels" and you can select the following video webcasts:

    • FNN: Fuji News Network (in Japanese)
    • MBS WebChannel (in Japanese)
    • News TBS - Cutting-edge Online News (in Japanese)
    • NTV News on Demand (in Japanese)
    • Otenki Jyouhou (Weather Information) (in Japanese)
    • Web Gendai (in Japanese)
    • Yomiuri NewsStream (in Japanese)
    • Yomiuri Daily (in English)

    Japan is closer than ever!
    (01 November 1999)

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