tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36073122024-10-24T11:19:57.453-06:00All the cool of Japan, without the Kanji!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-12176004269723354642010-02-14T21:01:00.009-06:002010-02-14T21:37:21.015-06:00

Last night I was talking to my friend Gini who ran around with me in Japan for a couple of weeks after I left Midorikai and I suddenly remembered this AWESOME pic she took with her iPhone of these stupid eastern European tourists we saw on the train going out to Nikko...no comment necessary.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-81038987374932517442009-03-28T03:41:00.005-06:002009-03-29T04:49:10.640-06:00

Apparently the Japanese can render anything "cute". This time it's bondage theme keitai (cellphone) charms - this Kewpie montage says it all...

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-60193714098092484002009-03-26T06:54:00.005-06:002009-03-26T07:17:50.161-06:00

Uh - I'm not really back, actually, I'm kind of not here right now - I'm in Kyoto and have been for the last six months. A long, strange story, but hopefully I can begin to fill in the gaps now that I have some reliable internet action going again. Those stories you've heard about Japan being this super-advanced high-tech country? A myth - not true - at least if you're in the sleepy north

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-39784073812874228762008-06-01T07:20:00.004-06:002008-06-05T07:25:22.506-06:00

Take one inexplicably sweet character, cross it with Japanese keitai (cellphone) culture, add a dash of pragmatism and you get - Juju-chan! She's a plushy cellphone charm, shaped like a steamed bean jam bun. With a winsome little smile, she's on a mission to keep your phone make-up and face-grease free - but most of all - she's FREAKING CUTE! Get her at www.strapya-world.com - but be warned,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-48843508499818255162007-10-14T08:33:00.000-06:002007-10-14T09:04:39.860-06:00

Stephen Colbert is caught, RED HANDED, in Maureen Dowd's (op-ed) SLOT!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-80546679458100758222007-09-01T23:30:00.000-06:002007-09-02T00:17:31.308-06:00

This IBM breakthrough will soon have us computing on an ATOMIC level. It's so 21st Century it makes me dizzy.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-41582968140179553372007-05-22T21:19:00.000-06:002007-05-25T11:50:47.363-06:00

I'll settle!Steven Colbert rocks the house!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-9996415894997448222007-05-18T15:18:00.000-06:002007-05-18T15:23:22.690-06:00

The Inner Life of a Cell

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-2629057506659652572007-03-28T19:43:00.001-06:002008-05-20T20:27:19.579-06:00

I love Google. I really love Google. Since the twilight years of the 20th century, there's been no other search engine for me. I sampled all the early search engines during the free-for-all 90s, when everybody and their dog was launching an internet start-up, and they were all pretty much the same; usable, sure, but overly commercial, busy and distracting. Then Google came - as a revelation,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-86843547004231120082007-02-23T21:25:00.000-06:002007-03-18T09:31:46.669-06:00

So I finally figured out why my hit count has been so unusually high lately - people are searching for Charlie Price and his online appointment scheduler and amazingly, the first ranking link on Google is my blog entry from 2005.Well, Charlie's got his own setup now, called - appropriately enough - Hair by Charlie. The grand opening was last night and plans are already afoot for a second salon

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-13872967980346785692007-02-17T19:16:00.000-06:002007-03-25T10:09:07.779-06:00

The Top Sushi Restaurants in Dallas, in no particular order:Ino BistroJinbehSushi SakeKampai SushiBest Groceries:SuraShop Minoya 99 Cent PlusSeabose Sakanaya

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-80304234014656238062007-02-16T23:12:00.000-06:002007-02-23T22:26:38.424-06:00

I am just DROOLING over some of the beautiful kimono I'm seeing lately on kimonoichiba.com! I've been looking for a slighty more formal kimono and the choices come down to mainly tsukesage and houmongi (visiting wear) Check these out:Just LOOK at the shimmering weave on this houmongi! Have you ever seen a more gorgeous bokashi-gradient effect!?View more shimmery details here.Shibori Alert!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-44151449287533417232007-01-06T13:37:00.000-06:002007-01-07T12:44:14.111-06:00

About 3 years ago I made the switch from coffee to green tea. Since then, it seems everywhere I turn I see another news story touting the health benefits of green tea, and how it does everything, from shedding fat and boosting brain power to fighting every cancer known to man. There's no doubt that green tea is the best thing EVER and I am a true believer, but lately I've noticed a lot of strange

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-21512459958085289562006-12-13T18:55:00.000-06:002006-12-13T19:17:06.190-06:00

It is with deep regret that I report the demise of one of the first English kimono sites online, Moto-ya.com. I bought my first uchikake from Moto-ya, as well as numerous obi and kitsuke accessories. The owners were always very helpful and polite and the quality of presentation & packaging of purchased items was second only to the folks at Ichiroya. There's not much left on the site now, but

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1164086187890738422006-11-20T22:59:00.000-06:002006-11-21T10:06:35.223-06:00

Just got back from a 6-month prison sentence. I mean, of having no internet at home. GOD, it was horrible. The landscapers accidentally cut the phone lines to our building this spring, and for multitude of mundane reasons, I never got the DSL turned back on. Mainly, because I heard Verizon was laying fiber optic in my neighborhood, so I thought, "Oh, I'll just wait for fiber, it won't be long

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-63847874777174570672006-09-11T23:07:00.000-06:002007-02-23T23:11:23.363-06:00

Mistress G is SO dead-on with her Five years ago: where were you when it all went down? I couldn't possibly have said it better myself.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1147730585991974002006-05-15T15:48:00.000-06:002007-01-07T12:47:24.516-06:00

A lovely May evening in Dallas tonight – clear and breezy with a bright full moon. It was the perfect setting for an Arts and Letters Live evening with Liza Dalby and Arthur Golden at the Dallas Museum of Art. Moderated by Sylvia Komatsu of public broadcasting affiliate KERA, it was an interesting conversation on the Memoirs of a Geisha book and film.Gini and I started it off with some Sapporo

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1145672479360859372006-04-21T19:48:00.000-06:002006-04-21T20:21:19.373-06:00

I try to keep the political stuff to a minimum on this blog, but I just gotta to give a shout-out to Mistress Gee over at Mascorrolandiafor her eye-searingly hysterical rant on gas prices and "pig sluices," not to mention the next EXCELLENT viral MP3 to sweep the internet....pour ON the juice, baby! I'll light the match! ;)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1144932913018015212006-04-13T06:50:00.000-06:002006-04-13T19:14:22.620-06:00

Just received word that Liza Dalby will lecture at the Dallas Museum of Art on May 12! Together with Arthur Golden, they'll be talking about the their experiences as consultants for the film, Memoirs of a Geisha.Our Ms. Dalby is a Stanford Ph.D in anthropology and is the only non-Japanese woman to have ever worked as a real geisha. Her book Geisha is a highly detailed and sensitive account of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1144287984393995532006-04-05T19:26:00.000-06:002006-04-05T19:59:39.723-06:00

For matcha:Any Marukyu KoyamaenHojin no Shiro and Matcha-Banreki no Mukashi (Zabousai okonomi) at Ito-enAny Kanbayashi

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1143509809509771702006-03-27T19:25:00.000-06:002006-03-28T16:11:58.516-06:00

Fans and contributors of one of *my* favorite blogs got a nasty surprise today when http://www.japundit.com was pointlessly defaced by hackers. Why anyone would target this site is beyond me...To the "BrEakerS":I'm sure you think the shout-outs to "All the Muslim hackers" really lends your little circle an edgy, dangerous cachet, but you'll probably regret that, sooner or later. You might also

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1142998819580285782006-03-11T00:33:00.000-06:002006-03-21T22:09:59.060-06:00

That was the opinion handed down by Sensei when I showed her my Nezumi "mouse" Shino chawan.I was so proud to show her my cute little tea bowl, but it seemed like I saw a momentary expression cross her face, like a nervous parent might have when the toddler starts running around with the Baccarat. It must be very old, she said, because there is no maker's signature. "furuimono desu" - antique

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1141615579622134532006-03-05T21:24:00.000-06:002006-03-28T20:04:20.130-06:00

I was flying out to Kansas City late last year on business when I noticed that the December issue of Vogue had a "behind the scenes" article on MOAG - so of course I had to have it. On reading, I noticed that in the Health and Beauty section where they were highlighting some MOAG product tie-in they dropped the term "yuzen" with no explanation, as if everyone is familiar with this term. Then

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1142995116565133402006-03-04T20:00:00.000-06:002006-03-23T19:20:20.180-06:00

Meet my new girls, a Taisho-era (1912-1926) trio of Sannin Kanjo court ladies join the growing Hina population in Dallas.In Japan, March 3rd is celebrated as Girl's Day, or the Peach Blossom Festival. Dolls mimicking characters of classical Heian court culture are displayed in hope that the girl of the house will grow up beautiful and marry well. Of course, it's also a great excuse to dress up

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607312.post-1127277595543054452005-09-20T20:16:00.000-06:002005-09-23T22:02:32.653-06:00

Having checked into the hotel, Taj and I headed over to the JapanTown Mall. As a Japan-fanatic, this was a delightful but extremely dangerous place for me to be.Genji Antiques is located on the edge of the Miyako Mall and is a veritable wonderland of tansu, ranma (transom), pottery, dolls, kimono and some surprising items I have never seen before - I defy anyone to step foot in this shop and not

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3