December 1999

  • H a p p y H o l i d a y s !
    Not a flake of snow on the ground here in Portland, but not a drop of rain either!
    (24 December 1999)

  • Teremaakechingu
    A Japanese telemarketer called me this evening, selling cheap long distance phone rates to Japan. I was able to give him the brush-off (in Japanese) without too much trouble. I wonder if it is customary to use teinei Nihongo (polite Japanese) with telemarketers? I did, and he seemed a bit surprised. Or maybe he was just shocked that I wouldn't take him up on his offer of 15 cents/minute.

    The large number of Japanese and Nikkei-jin in the Pacific Northwest must make such a directed telemarketing effort worthwhile here. Apparently it is quite a frequent occurence in Southern California, home to the highest concentration of Nikkei-jin in North America. Having grown up where I did, this was my first experience with this sort of thing. The call tonight actually made me feel a bit special for a change, though I am sure the novelty effect would wear off after a few more times.

    I imagine that with the current high rate of intermarriage, less and less of the Nikkei community will be easily targeted by such telemarketing campaigns, since they won't have Japanese family names.
    (22 December 1999)

  • More Marcello
    I saw a few more films in the latter half of the Northwest Film Center retrospective Marcello Mastroianni: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of:

    • Ochi chyornye (Dark Eyes) (USSR/Italia 1987; Dir: Nikita Mikhalkov ****
      Tragicomic tale of a charming former architect (Marcello Mastroianni) who married rich and has spent the rest of his time enjoying the good life and cheating on his wife. Then, a chance meeting at a spa gives him a chance at true happiness. Set at the (previous) turn of the century, the film has luxurious sets and costumes, and is beautifully shot. The script is clever, though I guessed the ending -- or should that be "last scene"? The film wisely ends before the resolution of the story. "Sabatchka."
      (22 December 1999)

    • Cronaca Familiare (Family Diary) (Italia 1963; Dir: Valerio Zurlini) **1/21/2
      Sort of an all-male Betty Blue: At the urging of his grandmother, a journalist (Marcello Mastroianni) cares for his troublesome younger brother (Jacques Perrin), a layabout who then develops a mysterious and eventually fatal illness. The film's look -- grainy, overexposed, muted tones -- and pace -- slow -- recall this year's Wandafuru Raifu (After Life), especially the scenes that take place in institutions like the grandmother's rest home (prison?) and Lorenzo's hospital.
      (19 December 1999)

    • La Notte (The Night) (Italia 1961; Dir: Michaelangelo Antonioni) ****
      The impending death of a friend causes a married couple to assess what their relationship has become. Jeanne Moreau (speaking what sounds to me like perfect Italian) is convincing as the neglected wife. Marcello Mastroianni is suitably self-absorbed as the husband who just doesn't get it. (In real life, they were briefly romantically linked.) He makes several halfhearted, unsuccessful attempts to figure out what she is thinking. Finally she just tells him -- but he doesn't listen. Viewing this film would be good preventive care for a relationship. La Notte isn't particularly Italian -- the story and setting of modern Milano and its spacious suburban estates could just as easily be in America. The film shares some style elements with Antonioni's 1966 Blow-up, such as the sequence in which the wife wanders around town after escaping a noisy book release party.
      (18 December 1999)

  • Palm Age
    Christmas came early today! My new mobile computing device arrived: a Handspring Visor. The Visor offers as much memory as a Palm Pilot V for half the price, and has a special slot for software modules you might want to add. Also, it comes in different colors (mine is blue).

    (17 December 1999)

  • Hockey Informatics
    Informatics is finding its way into everything! Today Excite Sports has a feature article on Ron Wilson, coach of the Washington Capitals, the team I saw play in D.C. last month. He learned his informatics from the banking business as his playing career was winding down. Now it sounds like he is using data mining and other informatics techniques to help him manage the players on his team. His high-tech approach undoubtedly scores points with the team's owner Ted Leonsis, who also own America Online. Whether it has any impact in the win column has yet to be proved, much as with medical informatics.
    (16 December 1999)

  • Kariya Clash
    When I played minor hockey in Edmonton in the early 1970s, I was the only Asian player and there were no role models in the National Hockey League, which was pretty much all white (although there were several great Native players). From their last names, I wondered whether players like Chicago Blackhawks great Stan Mikita and Alan and Chico Maki were of Japanese ancestry. Maybe Brad Park had a Korean background? Not so! Then, in 1991 and 1992, Korean Canadian Jim Paek ( fan site) won the Stanley Cup with Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh Penguins, and went to the Finals with Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in 1993. Today, there are three Nikkei-jin in the NHL:

    Tonight was the first time for Vancouver's Kariya brothers to play against each other. I tried unsucessfully to find a sports bar in Portland that was showing the game (it ended 2-2; each was involved in one of their team's goals).

    The key to the success of the Kariya kyoudai is something typically Japanese: practice, practice, practice. (Though not specifically Japanese -- it is also how Wayne Gretzky became great.) Even though Paul is the captain and star of his team, he apparently stays out on the ice after practice longer than any other player, honing his game. Steve has said that he did not break through to a pro level until he dedicated time to skill development.

    When I talk to Japanese people about the recreational sports I am involved in, they are amazed that the teams just play and never practice or do karaoke or any of the other post-game socializing that recreational teams in Japan do. The emphasis is on playing here in North America, and there is just less groupthink, I guess. In that way, Toronto's Canadian Japanese Hockey League is more Canadian than Japanese (or at least was by the time I played in it in the late 1990s).
    (08 December 1999)

  • From Monet to Moore
    This afternoon I stopped by the Portland Art Museum to view this touring exhibit of 52 works by Impressionist and Modern painters and sculptors. The collection was amassed by industrialist Nathan Cummings (1896-1985), an Ontarian who went bankrupt in Canada before moving to the United States and founding the Sara Lee Corporation (famous for its frozen cakes) and its parent Consolidated Foods, a business conglomerate that also includes Gant, Coach, WonderBra, Popsicle and Electrolux.

    This tour will be the last time the collection will be displayed together before the works are given away to various museums in celebration of the millennium. The display was complemented by Early Modern Prints.
    (08 December 1999)

  • North By Northwest (USA 1959; Dir: Alfred Hitchcock) *****
    This mistaken identity thriller masterpiece holds up fairly well 40 years after its original release. It can't match today's blockbusters effect-for-effect, but should it? The story unfolds at a human pace and so is more believable. Middle-aged Cary Grant plays the romantic lead opposite young Eva Marie Saint, showing that this kind of casting is far from new, despite what those who complain about the recent appearances of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery opposite starlets would suggest. Their racy dialogue must have been considered scandalous at the time. The tourist area at Mount Rushmore didn't look familiar -- it had been extensively renovated by the time I visited during my 1998 trip across the USA.

    (05 December 1999)

  • Into the Fold
    This chilly, overcast, rain-threatened day was perfect for the 11th Annual Origami Workshop, presented by the Consulate-General of Japan in Portland. Families stayed dry and warm in rooms of the World Trade Center in downtown Portland, as they sat around tables learing how to make hats, cranes, boxes by folding squares of colored paper (oru = to fold; kami = paper). This Japanese art can get extremely complex, as shown by a dragon and a figure of Yoda the Jedi master from Star Wars fashioned by local artists Portland Oregon Paper Shapers. At the side, there was a display of Hakata ningyo, ceramic dolls from the southern Japanese city.

    (05 December 1999)

  • Matrimonio all'italiana (Marriage Italian Style) (Italia 1964; Dir: Vittorio De Sica) ***1/21/2
    A long-suffering loyal mistress ( Sophia Loren) tricks her womanizing patron (Marcello Mastroianni) into marriage and supporting her three illegitimate sons, one of whom is his (but which one?). Strong lead characters. The plot has some resonance with Loren's own problems with Italy's then-antiquated marriage and divorce laws. Memorable images: Wide shots of Loren striding proudly around Napoli, wedding pictures at the end.
    (04 December 1999)

  • Beers of Winter
    Beer isn't just for the sweltering days of summer. "Winter warmers" have a higher alcohol content (6 to 7%) and can help ward off the cold months. Portland's Holiday Ale Festival is an annual showcase of these seasonal beers.

    Once again, the event was held in heated tents in Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. This year, the central tent had a clear roof, allowing the Square's giant Christmas tree to shine some light on the proceedings. The event seemed bigger than last year, at least in terms of attendance. Men and women of all (legal drinking) ages stood in long lineups for a taster ($1) or full mug ($3) of the offerings from 24 regional microbreweries.

    Old favorites were back, like Saxer Brewing's Doppelbock and Full Sail's Wassail, and there were several new creations, like the critics' favorite, Portland Brewing Company's BobbyDazzler Winter Ale. I also enjoyed Pittock Wee Heavy, a Scotch ale from the Mt. Hood Brewing Company in Government Camp OR and Auld Nutcracker, a strong beer from Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse in Cannon Beach OR. All were dark, complex, full-flavored beverages.
    (04 December 1999)

  • JGSO Geijutsu-sai
    This evening I stopped into the 8th annual Art Festival and Sale put on by the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon at (where else?) Portland's Japanese Garden. Artists and craftsmen, Nikkei and otherwise, local and from as far away as Vancouver BC, displayed their Japan-inspired pottery, sculpture, paper and fiber arts, glass, prints and jewelery. I liked the gyotaku (fish prints) of Pacific Northwest salmon, and the colorful mosaic stepping stones with koi (carp) motifs. Unfortunately I don't have wallspace or a garden!
    (03 December 1999)

  • Ruth's Chris Steak House
    Great steak, huge portions, and attentive service. This steakhouse chain does one thing and does it well (or rare, if that is how you like it). Portland's branch is located downtown in an historic old stone building with high ceilings, subdued lighting and dark wood accents. Fellow diners included a lot of what appeared to be company outings, as well as couples. In the "private" meeting room, a part of the dining room partitioned off by dividers with windows, there was a "drug dinner", an information session for physicians hosted by a pharmaceutical company marketing an anti-depressant.

    I have always wondered where the strange name of this restaurant originated. The website explains that the founder was Ruth Fertel, who in 1965, as a single mother with two young sons, mortgaged her home and put up $18,000 to purchase an existing steakhouse in New Orleans called "Chris Steak House." The restaurant was an immediate success. But when she opened some new restaurants, she was prohibited from using the original name. So, she added her first name to it and "Ruth's Chris" was born.
    309 SW Third Avenue (at Oak), Portland, OR 97204
    (03 December 1999)

    BEST
    of POD

  • Web Recognition II
    The Runker Room has received its second award! Welcome to Vinotopia - The Runker's Wine Page has been selected Best of Pod in the Wine Aficionados Pod at Tripod for the week of 30 November 1999.
    (01 December 1999)

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