SWINE PARTY

I have a cold. It's probably the pig flu. So I'm stuck inside combing the internet for part-time jobs. Bogus! What I need is a good party. Once I threw a Robots & Grapes party.




It was so cool. In Portland I always had theme parties at my apartment. My other favorites were Disco Party and Tecktonik Party. I also liked Goth Party because everyone was so disgusted by the idea that only four people showed up, and we all just sprawled around my candle-lit room in our goth outfits talking about depressing things.

In Japan you can't really have house parties. That's annoying. Getting people together is expensive because you have to go out to a bar or something. I want to throw a lot of picnics in May to get around this. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go google the symptoms for swine flu.

TEAM STRIPES VS. BIRTHDAY

I stole all these pictures from Ayabean

For the last couple of years I've had big blow-out parties on my birthday. This year I was just so over that. I tried to have a picnic but it got rained out. In the end I spent the weekend with Aya, Chie, and Kei. We had a takoyaki party Saturday night and spent Sunday in Kamakura. I was excited to see the ocean and visit Benzaiten's shrine with friends who are all into art and shit. It was such a perfect day. I'm lucky to know such brilliant people here.

It was the best birthday ever. I am really excited to be 24. I'm in such an impassioned and engaged state of mind and I'm so happy to be living in Tokyo. Right now there is just no other place for me.

Geez.

1. How much do you weigh?

2. Do you prefer strong men, or smart men?

3. Do you dislike marijuana?

10 year olds are hard-hitters at question time, man.

Samboさん、久しぶり！

I saw this mannequin on Takeshita Dori in Harajuku yesterday. People were laughing and clapping their hands and taking photos with it. In Japan you often see depictions of black people that would flip Westerners out. Japanese people are usually pretty bewildered when anyone takes offense. Then lots of non-Japanese people argue about it. Some people say Westerners are trying to impose their own ideas of political correctness on Japan, and that these depictions can't actually be racist because Japan has no history of racism involving black people like the US does. Most people agree this is an issue of ignorance rather than deliberately malicious racial stereotyping.

Of course I agree with the last statement, but it can't be left at that. I would call this mannequin thoughtless and insensitive. It is unequivocally offensive. I don't assume the people responsible for this mannequin are bad people, but it should not be difficult for them to understand how this could offend. This and other such grotesque Sambo images are accepted as depictions of black people in Japan. It's 2009. Time to get a clue.

It sucks because Takeshita Dori is usually such a refined and intellectually stimulating place.

Someone's got it in for me

It's been a long time since I listened to a song on repeat. 2 days ago I felt so miserable for Some Reason. I could barely move. I listened to Idiot Wind by Bob Dylan on repeat for over an hour. It was like the only thing I could do. The next morning I felt better but I did it again just to be sure.

Do you listen to songs on repeat? I used to do it a lot in junior high and high school. Now I have rediscovered the power. I'm not miserable now so maybe I'll listen to something else on repeat, like Fight For Your Right by the Beastie Boys. This whole post was maybe a ploy to show you this purikura.

can i get a tall iced americano

Aya grinding some Stumptown beans from PDX

Moving from Oregon to Japan is hard because in Oregon coffee rains from the sky and in Japan you can pay $5 for a teacup of halfheartedly drip-brewed bullshit. Sometimes people here say things like "Strong coffee hurts my stomach" and I kind of want to sock them in it. Once at school I brewed a great cup of coffee and when I went to throw my grounds away someone stopped me and said they'd use them because "First brew is too strong, second is perfect!" I will never forget this.

I am always looking for good places to drink coffee in Japan. I never get the right levels of taste, atmosphere, and price at the same time. One is always missing. I am resigned to the price, though, to some extent. I am willing to pay $4 for an iced americano if it is delicious and comes with a comfortable, interesting spot to enjoy it in. This is where you recommend good cafes in Tokyo.

CRACK THAT

I love my Chuo Line.

And, lately, drawing detailed faces on eggs. They are more fun to eat this way. You have to decide which one you want to crack open and spill the guts out of. Today my roommate ate hipster egg and I ate angry caveman egg. Now I'm really excited when one of us runs out of eggs because then I get to decorate new ones. I like making art that's gonna be cracked in half and thrown away. It's so stupid and relaxing. If I saved the eggshells it would not be fun.

I <3 Tokyo

I really do. Tokyo is like my Emerald City. I fucking love it.

When I was little I had intense metropolitan dreams. I loved driving into my rural town at night because the lights of the paper mill reminded me of a big city skyline. I was born country but I crave those urban jungles, man. I miss the ocean and my rainy Oregon forests but Tokyo at night makes me want to press my cheek against some concrete and close my eyes and sigh. It's that corny. It's that great. Can you believe I was up in those mountains all winter?

Whitney came to visit for 8 days. Aya took this picture of us drinking canned coffee in Asakusa and I'm in love with it.

Gyaruo: Preppy Style

So, the gyaruo are all doing this preppy thing right now and I can't quite decide how I feel about it yet. BON JOVI + ARCHIE ANDREWS = PRETTY CONFUSING.

Sorry I don't have pictures to share, but that should give you a pretty good idea.