A New Hope

Akemashite omedetou!! Happy New Year!! Hope this New Year finds everyone content and well-rested! It's been a month since my last entry, so there are a lot of things to talk about. First off, enjoy these photos from my New Year's Day in Yokohama with Akemi's parents. The first is New Year's Day sunrise over Yokohama from my inlaws' balcony. They live in a "mansion" (i.e. condo building) on the 11th floor. The second photo is of me and my little pumpkin Luna at the local shrine for New Year's Day prayer. This year, by the way, is my year -- the year of the boar (1971; also, 1983 and 1995).





Now, let's cover the front in pop culture. I've seen a couple of really great movies. The first, "Little Miss Sunshine", I watched on the plane ride home from Jacksonville to Tokyo. It's a (dysfunctional) family drama/comedy based around a road trip between Phoenix and L.A. The ensemble cast, which includes Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, and Toni Collette ('nuff said!), is incredible and so believable without force-feeding a Lifetime Network-style melodrama to you. There are too many subplots to cover here so I won't go into detail. Just trust me and rent it. It will deserve hands-down whatever accolades are bestowed upon it at any upcoming movie awards. While you're at it, check out the accompanying soundtrack beautifully written and composed by Devotchka, an interesting folk/ethnic/electronica outfit, and the dreamy Sufjan Stevens. As soon as I heard it I knew I had to have it! And I have never been a huge fan of movies scores in the past.



Along those same lines is another amazing sleeper called "Thumbsucker". This is directed by Mike Mills. That name may sound familiar to you and you may not know why. For one, he has directed numerous commercials as well as music videos for many alternative acts (Kids! Try this at home - look him up on Wikipedia). The band, Air, also named one of their songs off their last album "Walkie Talkie" in honor of him. Apparently he's really big in France (NO! Not in a Jerry Lewis-kind-of-way!) This is also a familly/teen drama, a coming-of-age story, but not only for kids but also their parents. The movie has an ethereal feel to it that makes it seem like it wasn't set in the U.S. There's nothing really distinctly "American" about it. Maybe that's why Mike Mills is a hit overseas. I'm hooked on this film! There's so much going on underneath its quiet demeanor that I'm sure I'll have to watch several more times before I catch all of the subtleties. The star is newcomer Lou Pucci who plays Justin, the 17 year old with the title's oral habit. It also stars Vince "Beautiful Babies" Vaughn, Tilda Swinton, and Keanu Reeves in one of his best roles ever (not that there are many good ones!) as a crunchy Zen Orthodontist! Good stuff!



And the soundtrack...

Must be a good time for movie scores because this is another winner. I immediately bought this one too after I found it on iTunes. Mike Mills originally intended to have the entire soundtrack done by Elliott Smith, but this plan was waylaid after Smith's untimely death in 2003. The soundtrack still includes three beautiful songs by Smith, including "Thirteen" which was also covered by Garbage a couple years ago, but the majority was done by Tim DeLaughter of The Polyphonic Spree. Now I had heard of them a fews years ago and I even had one of there songs ("Light and Day"), but I had never really paid attention to them. Until now. The 20+ member group, often accused of being a cult, was started by 3 members (including DeLaughter) of Tripping Daisy after the death of the 4th member. The sound is so original and captivating, knocking you down with a "wall of sound", yet also so optimistic, bright, and shiny. Maybe that's where the cult insinuations come in (that, and the fact, that all members wear flowing multicolored robes!!) My taste in music must really be evolving because I don't think I could have really appreciated this group even 10 years ago! If you're interested in them, also check out "Together We're Heavy". Just stay away from the Kool-Aid!



On the game-front, I am now officially addicted to 'Animal Crossing' for the Nintendo DS Lite. It's basically an RPG, where you are a human occupant of a small town inhabited by a whole host of cutesy animal characters. I don't know why I am so obsessed with the game, because really it involves doing mundane tasks such as buying furniture, making deliveries for other characters, earning money, paying a mortgage (!), writing letters, and fishing. Maybe because it is so charming and the town and your house develop the more effort you put into. There are also many "Japanese-y" elements that American players may not pick up on, such as Cap'n, the kappa (Japanese mythological water creature) that drives the cab, and Tom's Nook store which is run by a raccoon, or more specifically another Japanese animal called tanuki -- hence, the play on words - 'Tom Nook'/Tanuki. The movie has a pretty huge following here in Japan nowadays because there's actually a full-length animated film coming out based on the game. I've already seen numerous Animal Crossing toys for sale at 7-11!



Toys. Am I a geek or what? You may have seen my collection of Japanese food miniatures from a few posts back. Recently I was excited to find that the company, Re-Ment, that makes those now has a line of miniature carousel sushi sets, including all of the different colored plates corresponding to the prices, containers of wasabi and gari (pickled ginger), and ocha (green tea) cups. Check 'em out!



Speaking of toys, also check out this cool Ren action figure that I just received from my friend David.



Lastly, I want to mention a couple great books - "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell and "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" by Frank Rich.




"Blink" is an absolute page-turner! I almost finished the entire thing on the flight from Tokyo to Houston. It discusses the psychology behind first impressions and split-second decision making, including multiple antecdotes from several walks of life including speed-dating, marriage counseling, wartime strategy, advertising, research of facial expressions, and police protocol. I'm still only about a third of the way into "Greatest Story", but it's also very interesting. It's an account of all of the media manipulation that went into the current administration's "selling" of the war in Iraq to the American public. Warning: Do not read this book if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Bush lover. In fact, I was reading this book on my flight home to Japan and it attracted a lot of "attention" from the good ol' boy oil rig equipment salesman from Atlanta that I was sitting next to.

Last but not least, check out this pic of our babies in their new "pup" tent!



That's enough for now! Catch you slackers later...