Movies

I just wanted to post up my favourite movies of the last 12 to 18 months. So here are my top 10 films!

1. The Constant Gardener
Ralph Fiennes is the English diplomat in Africa investigating the death of his wife (an Oscar winning role for Racheal Weisz). Beautifully shot and acted with a political plot deftly directed by Fernando "City of God" Meirelles.

2. Syriana
George Clooney, Matt Damon and Jeffery Wright give wonderful performances in a complex, demanding look at the power of oil and it's effects and consequences.

3. King Kong
Peter Jackson triumphs again with the best popcorn blockbuster of the year.

4. A History of Violence
A return to form for David Cronenburg, and an amazing performance by Viggo Mortensen in a story of small town violence and it's effects on a family.

5. Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Majestic big screen outing for the plasticine pals, as Aardman delivers cinematic fried gold.

6. Serenity
Cancelled US tv show, Firefly soars, as creator/writer/director and all round genius Joss Whedon brings us an exciting, dramatic space opera thats the best space sci-fi movie since Star Wars.

7. Walk the Line
Biopic of Johnny Cash, driven by excellent performances from the leads; Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter.

8. Batman Begins
Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale bring Batman back from the dead and back to year zero in gritty, realistic style.

9. Land of the Dead
Zombie God, George A Romero returns with a scathing attack on current American policy...only told with Zombies...

10. Sin City
Cult graphic novel gets a beautifully realised vision. Violent, misoginistic and brutal, but breathtaking too.

"You can't eat that, Takuya!"

Takuya and his friend, Ritsuko try to choose a song to sing...

Well, when he stops eating the machine!

Derrick gets attacked by the dreaded Crocodile Fingers!

Watch out for Crocodile fingers!

Jin's (our local Okonomiyaki chef) girlfriend, Atsuko...

Beauty and the Beast

News from Saijo

Hey there avid readers of the "Great Japaneses Adventure". I hope that you are all doing well and that life is treating you kindly.

I thought I would post up what's being going on in my small world over the last week or so.

Ken

Ken, (for those of you who don't know Ken, he is a Japanese friend of mine and Evan's, and a good guy to boot) is in hospital over here. He claims it's to do with stress, but the poor guy has problems, so yesterday myself and Evan went into Hiroshima to visit him. We bought him some magazines and food, and he was happy to see us (even if he was a bit drugged up). He expects to be there for a few more weeks, however the good news is that he is moving to a different floor of the hospital which indicates an improvement...

GET WELL SOON KEN!

Contracts

My contract finishes up at the end of May. I can't believe I've been here nearly a year, it's gone so fast. Well, my decision is that I have decided to stay for another year. I guess it depends on what happens by I may be here for another full 12 months.

Jason, Jen and Suzette have all decided to leave. Jason will leave on June 1st (I guess he's homesick, and not being the centre of attention he's decided to skiddadled back to the States). Jen is leaving early to go to France and work. Suzette will work out the end of her contract, which expires in September.

It's hard for me and Evan. Not that I sad to see 'em go, but there will be new teachers, and extra work for me and him. BUGGER!

Karaoke and Lost Phone

We had another Karaoke party on Sunday. The biggest yet. Maybe 10 people turned up (and this was without the girls or the staff). Again we missed Ken, but myself and Evan sang a Metallica song in his honour.

I also left my mobile phone in the room afterwards and had to go back on Tuesday to collect it.

Muppet.

There should be some photo's, posted soon of another drunken singalong!

Jedi Skype 2

A thirty seven minute loosely structured chat with Dissident Vox in the north of England, and Jedi-Juzi in the south-west of Japan. Slight lag leads to occasional verbal confusion!

Intro
Hello Mate!
Missing Match of the Day!
Quite and Loud. (Draconian Britain)
Political Japan - Thoughts on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
Communists, liberals, and socialists
Civil Liberties and Agendas
Japan and the United States
Fingerprinting Foreigners and the Alien Registration Act
Japan, Korean and Chinese Foreigners
'Alien' perceptions
China, Japan, and Taiwan
US Footholds and recent history
Women and Japan
Pride and Shame & Deference
Japanese humor
Korean soap
Ichiro Suzuki (Japanese sporting God)
J-Pop and Brit-Pop
Language & Alphabets
Generation Y and Z
Robots. Gadgets and Games
Doraemon the blue robot cat
Anpanman - Sweet Bread Man!
Justins blog
Outro


MP3 File

A Busy Weekend

This weekend, has seen a healthy consumption of the above due to two nights out.

Saturday night was Suzette's 25th Birthday, so we went to Gochia (one of my favourite izakaya's). The food here is really nice, however I burnt the inside of my mouth on "The Potato Man ". Derrick, Evan and I, got together and bought her a nice watch, although and I don't know if she is one of those people, she seemed a little blase and ungrateful about it. She never said thank you either, now I think about it...

Derrick mentioned to me on the same evening that he'd noticed since he left that the girls were becoming more and more distant from the rest of the office. It might be to do with the fact they are leaving in the near future, or something else, but it is kind of sad. Personally, I just wish they would leave. Jen has a massive superiority complex and Suzette is really ignorant of this culture.

Anyway, last night, us guys had to pay our bowling dues. So the two girls, Yukiko and Yuka, and the four lads went to Gyu Kaku, a Yaki Niku resturant.I'm not usually a big fan of meat, but it was absolutley fantastic food. Me and Evan, were trying to start a fire on our oven by putting fatty meat on it. If you don't remember, Yaki Niku is a Korean style of cooking, where raw meat and vegetables are bought to you, and you cook them to your wishes on a kind of small circular barbeque.

My favourite thing here though was "Babimba ". No it's not a Latin American dance, but a mixed dish of egg, rice and vegetables.

The wierdness of White Day and the sounds of Hugh Grant

Well yesterday in Japan was "White Day". No for those of you unfamiliar with this special day (ahem), it is the direct counterpart to Valentine's Day. You see, in Japan, Valentine's Day is when women give their boyfriends AND male co-workers gifts, usually in the form of chocolates.

White Day, however, is when the boyfriends and co-workers return the compliment, and it usually, as is the case in Western Countries costs us guys more than chocolates.

Some Japanese find this a direct attempt at commercialism, I mean who needs two Valentine's? Yet, as I found out yesterday, this is also the sole reason that Christmas is "celebrated" here. In a lesson, I asked my students, why in a Buddhist/Shintohist society do they observe a Christian festival. "So we can spend money" came the answer.

Yesterday in Voice, I was also told by three older ladies that it was easy for me, being a Gaijin, and more impressively, a British Gaijin, to find a Japanese girlfriend. They also said my accent was like Hugh Grant...

Crap.

Crazy Weather

Well, last week I thought Spring had finally broken here in Japan. In Saijo anyway. The Sun was out, the temperature was pleasently warm, and my cold (which I am now convinced is some kind of pollen allergy) was in full swing.

However yesterday, the temperature dropped back down quicker than a fat lady on a trampoline. Minus 2 degrees, biting winds that made my eyes tear like a baby, and snow. Bloody snow in the middle of March! Madness.

One of my students, Satoshi said to me today, "Saijo has only 2 seasons. Summer and Winter. No Autumn or Spring".

Fantastic.

Less is More

The people of Iwakuni (famous for the arching bridge) have voted overwhelmingly to stop an expansion of the US Marine base stationed there.

Iwakuni which on the other side of Hiroshima, would take on a Naval airwing, totaling 57 planes and 1,600 personnel as the US attempts to decrease it's forces in Japan.

Now, either I'm stupid or this doesn't seem like decreasing armed forces.

The US plans to move 8,000 of it's 18,000 troops stationed in Okinawa (where there is a strong opposition to the military presence) to Guam. However, is this clever manuevering, by restationing some of your troops to another base.

Iwakuni was taken over by the Americans after the war, and used during the Korean War.

Links below

HTTP://NEWS.BBC.CO.UK/1/HI/WORLD/ASIA-PACIFIC/4798086.STM
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/03/12/japan-base060312.html?ref=rss

Iwakuni Military base -
http://www.iwakuni.usmc.mil

A Lone

It's Friday night. I've tommorrow off thanks to a shift swap with Suzette to allow her to travel back to the States last month. And even though it's late in the day, I don't know whether this a good or bad thing.

Work consumes my day. Surrounds me with distractions. The worries and frailties of my students. Perhaps it makes me aware of my own power. I don't know. But a day off, leaves me alone with nothing but the unflinching honesty on the face of a ticking clock and my own thoughts.

I feel that this blog needs an honest post.

The recent stuff may have been worthy, informative and bubblegum fun, none of it has truly tapped my mental state of the last 4 or so weeks. Perhaps that is why I avoided the blog for so long. Afraid to bare my soul for those people who dare read this expose into my Fish out of water lifestyle. Afraid to let people worry about me. Thinking that they have more important things to worry about.

Well, it is probably the two (small sized) beers I've consumed this evening (that or the cheese!), that I feel that some sort of confession is in order.

I feel isolated. Despite my friendship with Evan, Ken and Derrick. I feel as empty as I did back in Weston. And it all stems to my psychological impotence in function without that missing piece of the jigsaw; a woman who I can share with.

It doesn't help that I get pressure from my Mother (God Bless her, I know she worries). Being the only child to be in relationship limbo only adds to the emotional pressure. Plus my 30th Birthday looms like 2001's monolith over my existance at present. I am the male Bridget Jones.

I walk this path alone. I always have. I don't invite pity. I don't welcome sadness. It is who I am.

Perhaps that is why I chose to isolate myself from my own culture.

Keep on rockin' in the Free World (your own heads) whilst you can.

Justin x

I'm forever blowing bubbles...

This Beluga Whale at the Hamada Aquarium in Western Japan, has developed a unique trick; blowing bubbles. Aliya has been wowing crowds, by taking air from Scuba Diving equipment and blowing rings back at the excited audience.

The Link below contains more of the story and a video...

http://today.reuters.com/TV/VideoStory.aspx?storyid=c8dc1e901a6331daef1c64362393575335141f2a

Movie Review

Popped to the movies today, and caught the recent Oscar winner, Syriana. Below is a review.

Syriana

Sharing a similar sprawling tapestry as the screenplay he adapted for Traffic, writer/director Stephen Gaughan, attempts another big subject, namely America's dependance on Middle Eastern oil resources. Adapted loosely from Robert Baer's book "See No Evil", Syriana is a difficult, thought-provoking analysis that attempts a multi-faceted, multi charactered approach.

Whilst this will confuse many (Characters, situations and places are suddenly introduced with no formal cinematic language), it is too the credit of Gaughan that he believes his audience will have intelligence. This is no Vin Diesel no-brainer. Deaths and explosions here have real consequences.

The narrative is driven primarily by four characters, all representing different aspects of US involvement in the Middle East. Rightly so, that acting honours went to Clooney, his CIA agent, Bob Barnes is a man who begins to question his loyality, unable to understand his role in events. And when he does, even he is ultimately flawed.

But this is no means his movie. Excellent turns by Matt Damon, Jeffery Wright and Alexander Siddig colour this movie with shades of flawed humanity.

Syriana is demanding viewing. Both in terms of story (sometimes words are unheard/dialogue is left untranslated), and in it's unflinching realism.

8 out of 10

http://syrianamovie.warnerbros.com/

Fingerprinting Gaijin!

So, Japan seems to be following the lead (under pressure ???) of Big Brother, America by approving plans to fingerprint and photograph ALL foreign visitors to the country.

This legislation still needs to be approved by the Japanese Parliament and has already caused controversy, as the Human Rights v (apparent) National Security issues raise their heads.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said in a statement, " Not all terrorists are foreigners, and even if such a foreigner tries to enter Japan, we may not have physical information about the person in advance,".

Justice Minister, Seiken Sugiura argued on Tuesday that the controversy was worth it.

"There may be a problem [with human rights] I think. But domestic policies to reduce illegal immigrants and anti-terrorism measures are more important," he told reporters.

Full story here - HTTP://NEWS.BBC.CO.UK/1/HI/WORLD/ASIA-PACIFIC/4781260.STM

Tadaima

Like Lazarus (pictured above) I am back from the bloggin dead.

Apologies for those who have checked this site regularly and found nothing but I needed a few weeks privacy with my thoughts, gather my collective mind and return feeling refreshed (although still bitter...wink wink)....

Holiday Hell

Well, firstly work has been insanely busy. Both Suzette and Jason returned to the States for a break at the same time (although not together....he he he). This has meant extra work for the staff left behind. Jen worked 15 days without a break, and I've just finished a 9 day stretch. Suzette only went home for a week and has been back for about 5 or 6 days. Of course because her break home was covered by shift swaps it means she now has to work an awful lot. 16 days I think...

Here's an amusing story about Jason, that highlights the kind of guy he is. Well, when he got to Kansai airport, he realised he left his passport back in Saijo! What an arse! I mean surely Passport, Tickets and Wallet take top priority when you have to take a flight! He had to cancel the flight, and come all the way back to Saijo, loosing a day of his break!


Gym bound

Yes, I have finally gotten around to joining NOAH, the local gym. I joined up last week, and have only been twice because of work and having a shitty cold and feeling shite. But I ran 1.5 km both times, 13 km on the bike and then did weights for 30 mins. I felt better afterwards.

They even have a pool, although my quest for trunks has been rather fruitless. I have found women's costumes, and I don't fancy looking like some reject from the WWE...

Another nice quirk from the Gym is how they spelt my name;

Jostin Richard Backley

Sayonnara Derrick

On Sunday, Derrick, the branch AT (kinda my boss), left NOVA after 3 years to teach at a private Kindergarten school in Kure. He will be missed, because he was such a laid back and neutral guy. He is still staying in Saijo, so it's not really goodbye, although there will be a huge vaccuum in work.

At his "Farewell Voice" on Sunday, 31 students turned up. It's a school record I think, and he recieved some lovely gifts.

I wonder if I will last as long as him ?

Myself and Derrick went for Okonomiyaki at the usual haunt on Saturday, and ended up at Karaoke until the wee hours with a fantastic group of Japanese guys and gal (yes, just one).


Drunken Shenanigans at Evan and Kaori's Housewarming

Well, Sunday night saw the above event take place. Much fun was had by yours truly, although for the first time in my illustrious affair with alcohol, I have fuzzy moments in my memory.

I remember Evan and Kaori being suprised that myself, and the girls had bought House warming gifts. I purchased a bottle of bubbly, 2 wine glasses and a set of towels....not very original I know, but hey I have been working lots...

I also remember talking to a group of really cute Japanese girls who worked with Kaori at JAL. Most of them left at around 9:30 ish, but I do recall talking most of the night with a really pretty girl called Shiho. After she left I was told she had a boyfriend...GOD DAMN IT! I think I have about as much luck as a stowaway on the Titanic.

I apparently was very mean to Suzette. Well she told me this, although I have no idea what I said, or why. Evan told me, he remembered her taking the piss quite viciously out of my accent, to which I said nothing. Ah well...

I didn't leave until around 4 ish I think...Evan passed out. And I spoke for about an hour with Kaori, (God knows what about though!) until I drunkenly rode my bike home.


Well folks, as the heading of this blog states in Japanese

I'M BACK