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Broadcasting to an audience of three (and a goldfish)...
Comment, ramblings and musings... life through the eyes of a Japanologist...
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Monday, July 22, 2002 |
 Today's natto: spicy cod-roe natto. Pleasant, but had I not read the packet I wouldn't have known it was mentaiko...
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According to the Hiroshima news, tomorrow is Toge Sankichi Day. Toge Sankichi was a local poet who wrote a volume of poems called 'Genbaku Shishu', about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He was also the subject of my studies in Hiroshima University. I'm going to Hiroshima tomorrow, so I'll wander along to the Peace Park, and see what they're doing there to mark the day.
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When I got home this evening, a man from JA was waiting in his car outside the apartment. As soon as he saw me, he got out and asked me to pay my gas bill. Well, I wasn't late with payment or anything- the bill only came a few days ago- so, while paying in the car park was certainly more convenient than going all the way to JA, all the same I'm not happy about the way someone was waiting outside the apartment to look for me. I know one thing for certain- I won't be paying like this again.
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My plan to use as many days of holiday as possible continues. I've taken tomorrow and the day after off. Daring!
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Some things just beggar belief. I just had a phone call from Keizai
Shunju in Hiroshima about the article I'd been asked to write. Anyway,
the man who phoned asked straightaway how to write my name in kanji!
Well, given the fact that foreign names are not written in kanji, the
stupidity of this question is astounding; hopefully the tone in which I
told him that there were no kanji for my name should have made
him realise quite what an idiot question he'd asked. In addition, he
compounded his fault by then calling me 'Duck' for the rest of the
conversation!
I should make a new rule stating that anyone who is
impolite enough not to check my name before calling me will
automatically be turned down, no matter what they're asking me to do...
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Web articles worthy of mention...
An article from February 21, 1998, about the premiere of Elgar's
Third Symphony, completed by Anthony Payne. I have to say that for me,
the article's title- 'Complete majesty of new Elgar'- sums the piece up.
Leaving aside the question of just how close the piece is to what Elgar
himself would have written, it really is a majestic piece, up there with
the Second Symphony. I think that Elgar's feelings as expressed in his
music are in fact quite close to the sentiments of some Japanese
haiku; an interesting thought that sooner or later I want to look
at more closely.
There's also an interview with Anthony Payne himself in today's Telegraph.
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Web articles worthy of mention...
An article about the man-made beach on the banks of the Seine in
Paris.
Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they
say. We had 'Nottingham-on-Sea' how many years ago now?
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It seems really odd to bike to work when there are no elementary school
students going to school; almost as if it's a Sunday...
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Breakfast Show Staple Randomhaiku of the day (from The Genuine Haiku Generator)
flailing viper prowls
ocean rumbles, snoring frost
snores, gruff rough boatmen
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Another morning, another building being knocked down. My conviction that
this has to be the most future-proof job in this town grows stronger
every day...
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Talk about Raiders of the Lost Ark! They could film this in the
staircase of my apartment! And what's more, they could do a different
version every morning! This morning there was a huge (dead) spider just
hanging in a huge web across the first landing; I'm going to start
carrying a cutlass...
(But what's really scary is to wonder what
killed the spider?)
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There was an article on NHK this morning about the possible introduction
of identity cards in the UK. Well, most of they mentioned I'd already
seen from the BBC website or from the
Electronic Telegraph, but
they'd interviewed a couple of 'citizens' for their thoughts. One of
these people (from her accent more than likely not British) commented
(as a reason for introducing them) that that the Europeans had them.
Yes, but that's entirely the point: that the Europeans have them is
precisely why we should not!
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© Copyright 2003 Nathan Duckworth.
Updated: 8/1/03; 8:22:12 pm.
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