Today

Believing that anything is possible is not the same as believing anything can happen.

Shall We Clean the Toilets?

I got an amusing notice on my desk last month that stood out among the usual boring ones I get regarding school schedule changes and such.  The heading said トイレ掃除に参加しませんか？ or literally, “Won’t you participate in toilet cleaning?”  However I prefer to use the less literal “Shall We Clean the Toilets?” because it has a nice ring to it.

To Students and Guardians,

Shall We Clean the Toilets?

We previously discussed the cleaning of the school toilets at the beginning of Winter Vacation.  ”Meeting to Learn How to Clean *** City” will commence with toilet cleaning at our school during the times listed below.  People who wish to participate should fill in the following application form, detach it, and submit it to their homeroom teacher.

1. Date/ Time: February 1st, 2009 at 8:30 AM

2. Place: Student Entryway

3. Bring: Inside shoes, slippers, boots, cleaning towel, 300 yen participant’s fee

4. Etc: Please wear clothing which is easy to work in.  Everyone will clean with bare hands, but you may wear rubber gloves if you wish.  This is up to the individual participant.

I’d like to mention the origin of such a bizarre ritual as mass school toilet cleanings.  It is in fact the students who clean the school in Japan every day, not a separate set of staff.  Presumably in an effort to prevent accidents with harmful chemicals, the students do not clean the floors and surfaces of the toilets with soap or chemicals, they use only water.  

Hence, the toilets are left for upwards of 6 months used day in and out by 800 students and over 50 staff without being disinfected or sanitized.  So much for that image of Japan being obsessed with cleanliness.

I was roped into cleaning the toilets with sanitizer once after an outbreak of the flu cancelled classes and we staff had to disinfect the school with buckets and rags.  I can assure you that is not a job one wants to do bare handed.  

I wouldn’t pay 300 yen to have the privilege to clean some toilets.  I would however pay 300 yen as often as necessary for them to hire some staff to do it for us.  I’ve been told they don’t have the budget for things so frivolous.

Avril vs. the textbook

Once again popular culture has proven to be a better teacher than the ones who make it their job to stand in front of classrooms full of students every day.

The typically unintelligible and extra-syllable laden speaking tests delivered to me by the students had a lone girl who stood out with nearly perfect pronunciation, however quite imperfect grammar.  

I was completely astonished.  Was she taking extra classes outside of school?  If so, why wasn’t she delivering the typically rhetorical machine-gun speech like most of the juku students?

We got to the last question on her test: “What do you like to do in your free time?”  She answered: “I often listen to music.  I like Avril.”

I have detested Avril Lavigne since she invaded my aural memory when I was in junior high.  And for the first time since Walmart forced me to listen to her, she has my gratitude.

black and White

Interesting how this article about lingering confederacy controversy from the almighty AP refers to blacks and Whites.  

“White” is capitalized, “black” isn’t.  

The word “black” appears 6 times, the words “slave” and “White” appear only once.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081104/ap_on_re_us/confederate_controversy

The Definition of Hatred

This video demonstrates one of the reasons I no longer live in America.

There are Japanese people who hate foreigners.  

But they don’t hate them quite like this.

From a McCain/Palin rally, if it wasn’t obvious.

You’re an idiot, Glenn Beck

Where is the comments section on this editorial??  Why can’t I tell Glenn Beck that he’s an idiot?

Commentary: Voting against Obama doesn’t make you a racist

I had to brush off the old “WHA—–T??!??! ME??!??! RaCiSt??!??!1″   U.S.A dunce cap before I could make even the slightest bit of sense from this diatribe.  

I might have agreed with the headline had I not actually read the article.

Sometimes I wish I was a member of a racial majority again, but would make me broke and potentially jobless, wouldn’t it.  

Fuck you Glenn.

Obama ‘08

Niigata Jazz Street Festival

I was profiled on the blog “Bean’s trio and friends”:

(English and 日本語)

http://trisa.exblog.jp/i6/

More pictures of the performance here: http://trisa.exblog.jp/blog.asp?iid=6&acv=&dif=&opt=2&srl=7378165&dte=2008%2D08%2D08+08%3A38%3A00%2E000

(Japanese only/日本語だけ)

The Jazz Street Festival in Niigata City was held July 19-20 and I performed twice on the 20th; once with pianist Yuichi Sato, singer Keiko Fumita, saxophonist Nagasawa Yoshihiro and drummer Ataka Minoru, and again with piano and singer alone.

Butoh and Bass

I’m currently working with Hisako Horikawa to put on something this year and it looks like I’ll be able to perform with her in November at a show she has coming up in a town called Maki.  I will be playing free improvisation along with a saxphonist from Niigata.  

Here are videos of her on YouTube; I’ve only seen her dance live once for about 5 minutes, so these videos were an important find for me.  

With Tristan Honsinger of ICP Orchestra in Amsterdam

Solo in Barcelona

Hisako was originally a vocal improviser, which is why she sometimes sings during her dances.  She told me she studied vocal improvisation with Takehisa Kosugi, and went on and on about him before I realized she was talking about the brilliant violinist-composer who works for Merce Cunningham Company I had seen perform back in Ann Arbor a few years ago.

She studied butoh with Tanaka Min, and like him she enjoys dancing in nature, carrying the audience with her as she performs.  The place where we will perform in Maki has a bamboo forest which I can play in too, if I want.  I’m looking very forward to it.

I Heart Bass

Recently I’ve been spending way too much time on Etsy browsing adorable handmade items and convincing myself that I need them.  Today I decided to look up bass-related items.  I was saddened to see how many more listings there were for bass the fish, but I still found some awesome items.

Pure Music Sterling Bass Clef Pendant from ccj2

I Love the Bass Player T-Shirt from PickChick

Bassist Original Print by Fiddlebones

I Heart Stand Up Bass Earrings from lizardgirl

Bass Player Stained Glass Panel by divafern

It’s been a while

…since I’ve posted anything.  

But there are times when one cannot ignore a call to action.

“Tuna-flavored” Cat Smack.  

Clearly this cat’s had his share.