I don't want to get too much into John Updike's life because he was a very polarizing figure (the New York Times obituary noted that he was called a misogynist, racist and apologist for the establishment). But one thing is certain: John Updike was a literary giant. He wrote the the best piece of sports writing I have ever read, and I strongly urge you to read it. Even if you don't like sportswriting, give it a chance. It's that good.
You can find the story in it's entirety here.
1/28/09
1/27/09
That's it. I'm declaring culture war.
Not really. But I do have a few things to complain about. Before I get into this, I want to say that I really like Japan. I like the people, I like the food. I like living here. I really do. But there are a few culture differences that drive me insane. Well, really I have two pet peeves.
My first pet peeve is old Japanese men staring at me. I'm used to be stared at. It's happened everywhere I go. People, no matter their culture, always say the same thing. I know you think I can't understand you when you whisper just after passing by me. But I know. It's difficult for me not to realize it. And if you whisper and laugh, well, I'm not an idiot. I may be large and I may be foreign but I can damn sure do a Rubik's cube faster than you, and that must count for something. Haha. I digress.
Old Japanese men love to stare at me. Some stare in wonder, some stare because I'm so unusual, and some stare at me like I abducted their youngest grandchild and used them as a dart board. And I'm getting sick of it. I do have a theory about this. I believe that the old guys have no shame about staring because respecting your elders is such an important part of the culture here. It gives them a little more leeway on things. Which is fine.
But staring at a person like they aren't wearing any clothes is not ok. It's dehumanizing. And I'm sick of it. With this in mind, I've declared a staring war on all old Japanese men that stare at me. This means I am going to have a staring contest with them. Few blinks, no facial expressions. And I won't stop until it's necessary or they've given up. I know I'm living in their country and I should try and assimilate and all that jazz, but once you get stared at like a three-armed monkey at a zoo for six months, well it gets kind of annoying. So from here on out, it's on old Japanese guys!!
My second pet peeve is related to my bicycling adventures. Japan usually has nice wide sidewalks, and they're usually lined with ridges in the middle for blind people to navigate with. Which is great. My problem comes with the way Japanese people walk. I'm not sure if they all have something wrong with their inner ear or they have no proprioception, but Japanese people can't walk in a straight line. They'd be sober and fail a DUI test, and not because they were nervous. It's unbelievable.
What makes this worse is that the Japanese people subconsciously realize that they can't maintain a steady path. So they walk in the middle of the sidewalk. This would be ok if they walked straight, because there is enough room for someone to pass (on a bike) on either side of them. But what makes it so tricky is that it is impossible to tell where they are going to weave next! It's like they have no idea that people are anywhere around them. I frequently find myself riding my bike somewhere and weaving through people. I haven't hit anyone full on, but I've definitely brushed past people. Which is dangerous for them and for me.
I would like to reiterate that I sometimes get carried away in hyperbole, so these things may be a bit over-dramatized. But they certainly are frustrating.
My first pet peeve is old Japanese men staring at me. I'm used to be stared at. It's happened everywhere I go. People, no matter their culture, always say the same thing. I know you think I can't understand you when you whisper just after passing by me. But I know. It's difficult for me not to realize it. And if you whisper and laugh, well, I'm not an idiot. I may be large and I may be foreign but I can damn sure do a Rubik's cube faster than you, and that must count for something. Haha. I digress.
Old Japanese men love to stare at me. Some stare in wonder, some stare because I'm so unusual, and some stare at me like I abducted their youngest grandchild and used them as a dart board. And I'm getting sick of it. I do have a theory about this. I believe that the old guys have no shame about staring because respecting your elders is such an important part of the culture here. It gives them a little more leeway on things. Which is fine.
But staring at a person like they aren't wearing any clothes is not ok. It's dehumanizing. And I'm sick of it. With this in mind, I've declared a staring war on all old Japanese men that stare at me. This means I am going to have a staring contest with them. Few blinks, no facial expressions. And I won't stop until it's necessary or they've given up. I know I'm living in their country and I should try and assimilate and all that jazz, but once you get stared at like a three-armed monkey at a zoo for six months, well it gets kind of annoying. So from here on out, it's on old Japanese guys!!
My second pet peeve is related to my bicycling adventures. Japan usually has nice wide sidewalks, and they're usually lined with ridges in the middle for blind people to navigate with. Which is great. My problem comes with the way Japanese people walk. I'm not sure if they all have something wrong with their inner ear or they have no proprioception, but Japanese people can't walk in a straight line. They'd be sober and fail a DUI test, and not because they were nervous. It's unbelievable.
What makes this worse is that the Japanese people subconsciously realize that they can't maintain a steady path. So they walk in the middle of the sidewalk. This would be ok if they walked straight, because there is enough room for someone to pass (on a bike) on either side of them. But what makes it so tricky is that it is impossible to tell where they are going to weave next! It's like they have no idea that people are anywhere around them. I frequently find myself riding my bike somewhere and weaving through people. I haven't hit anyone full on, but I've definitely brushed past people. Which is dangerous for them and for me.
I would like to reiterate that I sometimes get carried away in hyperbole, so these things may be a bit over-dramatized. But they certainly are frustrating.
1/23/09
Strange things in Japan Part II
As you may recall in our last episode of Strange things in Japan I talked about small dogs in diapers. In this version we'll stick with the small but change mammals.
Young Japanese children are mad cute. While calling anyone or anything cute goes against all tenants of being a a macho professional athlete (Yeah I said macho, wanna fight about it?), I have no reservations about calling Japanese kids cute. Much cuter than American kids.*
Of course Japanese children get a head start on American children in cuteness due to their relatively small size. Their small stature is highlighted by their cute little eyes.
So Japanese children do have the genetic advantage. You are probably (well...probably not) saying to yourself, "Yeah well American kids have the cultural advantage!" This too is untrue. Due to the typical American diet (McDonalds, fried foods etc) American children are much more likely to be little fatties. This does not enhance their cuteness. I will not argue this, just because some little kid has 6 elbows doesn't mean he's cute. It means he's at risk for heart failure. Put your kid on a treadmill, seriously (not really. But maybe less McDonalds).
The second part of the cultural advantage comes in behavior. American and Japanese behavior are inherently antithetical, at every stage in human life. Where Americans are taught individualism and to work hard for themselves, Japanese are taught to respect their elders and subjugate their personal desires for the sake of their family/team/group. Americans are taught from a young age to show confidence because confidence is important to self-reliance. Japanese who display confidence are looked down upon as being cocky and out-of-line. (Edit: I don't mean to say Japanese don't have confidence, just that they don't openly display it like Americans.)
While neither way of teaching is superior, one thing is certain. At the young stages of behavioral development Japanese children are much more affable. They are very respectful and not loud. American children are quite the opposite; Obnoxious and always on the prowl for some cockroaches to eat.**
The third and final arena where Japanese children dominate American children is fashion. They look so cute in their ridiculous little outfits. If I saw a small Japanese child in a ninja, sumo or samurai costume I think I'd lose it. I haven't been so fortunate yet, but I remain hopeful. Even without these costumes Japanese children play the Luis Vuitton to American children's Wal-Mart.
*I'm dealing in huge generalities here. Of course there are cute American kids, and uncute (what's the word for this...insubordinate, beastly, aggravating??) Japanese kids. My argument can best be summed up as the average Japanese child (years 0-4) is cuter than the average American child.
**I don't mean to suggest that every American child eats cockroaches. But one of my parents two children did, so using my family as evidence, approximately 50% of American children snack on cockroaches.
For the few of you who remain unconvinced by my words, I offer a photo-essay:
I win.
Young Japanese children are mad cute. While calling anyone or anything cute goes against all tenants of being a a macho professional athlete (Yeah I said macho, wanna fight about it?), I have no reservations about calling Japanese kids cute. Much cuter than American kids.*
Of course Japanese children get a head start on American children in cuteness due to their relatively small size. Their small stature is highlighted by their cute little eyes.
So Japanese children do have the genetic advantage. You are probably (well...probably not) saying to yourself, "Yeah well American kids have the cultural advantage!" This too is untrue. Due to the typical American diet (McDonalds, fried foods etc) American children are much more likely to be little fatties. This does not enhance their cuteness. I will not argue this, just because some little kid has 6 elbows doesn't mean he's cute. It means he's at risk for heart failure. Put your kid on a treadmill, seriously (not really. But maybe less McDonalds).
The second part of the cultural advantage comes in behavior. American and Japanese behavior are inherently antithetical, at every stage in human life. Where Americans are taught individualism and to work hard for themselves, Japanese are taught to respect their elders and subjugate their personal desires for the sake of their family/team/group. Americans are taught from a young age to show confidence because confidence is important to self-reliance. Japanese who display confidence are looked down upon as being cocky and out-of-line. (Edit: I don't mean to say Japanese don't have confidence, just that they don't openly display it like Americans.)
While neither way of teaching is superior, one thing is certain. At the young stages of behavioral development Japanese children are much more affable. They are very respectful and not loud. American children are quite the opposite; Obnoxious and always on the prowl for some cockroaches to eat.**
The third and final arena where Japanese children dominate American children is fashion. They look so cute in their ridiculous little outfits. If I saw a small Japanese child in a ninja, sumo or samurai costume I think I'd lose it. I haven't been so fortunate yet, but I remain hopeful. Even without these costumes Japanese children play the Luis Vuitton to American children's Wal-Mart.
*I'm dealing in huge generalities here. Of course there are cute American kids, and uncute (what's the word for this...insubordinate, beastly, aggravating??) Japanese kids. My argument can best be summed up as the average Japanese child (years 0-4) is cuter than the average American child.
**I don't mean to suggest that every American child eats cockroaches. But one of my parents two children did, so using my family as evidence, approximately 50% of American children snack on cockroaches.
For the few of you who remain unconvinced by my words, I offer a photo-essay:
I win.
1/21/09
ninja's any one
So, what to do in Japan you might ask?
Well, me, Brayden and our tour guide Shinya Ogawa had the bright idea of going to a old ninja house. I mean who has not watched a ninja movie or dreamed of actually being in a ninja movie. So we had a day off on Monday and decided to check it out among other things. It was an awesome experience and one that I along with Brayden will never forget. The place was absolutely amazing and the best part was we got to throw ninja stars. So, i felt like a real ninja for a day and it was the greatest.
Well, me, Brayden and our tour guide Shinya Ogawa had the bright idea of going to a old ninja house. I mean who has not watched a ninja movie or dreamed of actually being in a ninja movie. So we had a day off on Monday and decided to check it out among other things. It was an awesome experience and one that I along with Brayden will never forget. The place was absolutely amazing and the best part was we got to throw ninja stars. So, i felt like a real ninja for a day and it was the greatest.
1/19/09
I apologize
Sorry for not coming on here regularly, it has just been tough between games, practice and days off to come on here and write a cool blog. But I'm coming back with a flurry of great post.
1/15/09
All Apologies...
Sorry I haven't been updating recently. There was a lull in between games which makes it pretty boring over here. And we've been losing a lot lately, including two crushing defeats at home this weekend. When we're losing like this it makes me physically sick, I feel restless and a sense of emptiness. Nothing crushes your whole week like losing both games over the weekend.
Our two losses last week came to the team who is right behind us in the fight for the last playoff spot. They were behind us by two games. And we were at home. We lost the first game by two, and the next game we lost in overtime by four. The kind of losses that feel like a quick punch to the gut.
Our next games are away, at Okinawa. Which is going to be nice because of the weather (think Hawaii). But it's probably not the best thing for us right now because we are struggling. Okinawa is, hands down, the best team in the league. So we'll see how this weekend goes. We need to win, if only for the sake my mental and physical health.
Our two losses last week came to the team who is right behind us in the fight for the last playoff spot. They were behind us by two games. And we were at home. We lost the first game by two, and the next game we lost in overtime by four. The kind of losses that feel like a quick punch to the gut.
Our next games are away, at Okinawa. Which is going to be nice because of the weather (think Hawaii). But it's probably not the best thing for us right now because we are struggling. Okinawa is, hands down, the best team in the league. So we'll see how this weekend goes. We need to win, if only for the sake my mental and physical health.
1/4/09
New Year's and Osaka Castle.
Happy New Year everyone. Ok now that that is over...
Osaka castle rocks. Really sweet. Osaka itself rocks. For anyone on the fence about visiting Japan, just know that Osaka is considered the food capitol of Japan and Kyoto is considered the clothing capitol of Japan. And they're 40 minutes (Osaka) and 10 minutes (Kyoto) from me. So yeah, my location is killer.
Osaka Castle took fifteen years to build, reaching completion in 1598. Interestingly enough, the guy (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) who had it built died the same year it was completed. His son didn't seem to have the leadership abilities of his father. He pissed somebody off and 17
years later the castle was overrun and the Hideyoshi clan was no more. Lightning struck the tower twice in a span of five years, exploding gun powder on one occasion and burning down the main tower on another. America did it's part in 1945, damaging the castle yet again. It was restored in the late 90s.I was going to write more, but MTV Japan is showing 100 Best Songs of the 90s. So yeah....I'm gonna have to check that out.
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