Originally posted 2009-10-10 at https://inpixels09.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/%e3%83%86%e3%83%ac%e3%83%93%e3%80%80/

Yesterday, the government put out a typhoon warning such that the trains stopped, stores closed and my school, along with many others, closed. We had a massive downpour for about 3 hours, early in the morning- I was still asleep at the time, but when I woke up, I went for a walk and found myself surrounded by puddles, and puddles.

My host parents both had left for work despite the warnings (or after, im not sure) and my sister had just left for Tokyo to see a boy-band concert. When I got up, I was the only one in the house, except for my younger brother, who was studying silently.

The Japanese don’t necessarily encourage ‘kids’ of my age to go out, either, (or allow it) so I found myself with 10 hours and about 3 ways to spend it. After a vocab session and a bowl of rice, I switched on the telly.

For my family, and, as far as I can tell, the inhabitants of the valley and beyond, TV is a constant part of life. most any time I am in the house, the news, baseball, the Disney channel, sumo, game shows and on act as the centerpiece of the family meal, upbeat entertainment, or as a soft background of reassuring, brightly colored conversations. We don’t have to talk, when the TV is on.

I told myself it would be listening practice, or a day spent to the best of my ability. soon, though, i was too comfortable, and resembled a radiator beyond the point where i wanted to write down words and memorize them. I was taken in by what was bright, moving and warm before me. would you like to hear my impressions, on Japanese TV?

Every morning and night we see the news broadcasted from Tokyo. Its a quick paced preview of your day, rain and everything, but the guy who throws it all down for you in high-powered tokyo slang makes it well worth it. elderly japanese dude, swept back black hair with gray roots, wrinkles only where it feels just right… sexy smooth…

he does this thing, (i love this thing) where they have boards with the day’s stats written on the back that pivit around their vertical axis drawn down their middle, and he just flips them around and reads his words like such a casual sonuvagun…

I actually do like him, and see him in my dreams from time to time. there are few men so directly in my life right now, but if i ever had a question about girls, the human anatomy or how to throw a baseball, id probably write him a letter.

It seems a staple of modern life on the isles (yeah, we have our own lilo and stitch) is the japanese drama, a rotating feature of a persons life, dreams and romance put to j-pop. they saturate it like a pressure canon, though, so the amount of emotion poured out in every episode is twice that of any one person’s extended life and what seems like ten times that of the studious and silent crowds. until a week ago, ‘Tsubasa’ featured tears of happiness and life-threatening crises interspersed between, in every episode. And so, i dont think i can trust these things because they dilute where i might put the emotions i might feel, at some time.

(korean dramas are quite good, actually)

a distinctly japanese thing is the ‘shocked’ face closeup, stepping back with a chinese drum sounding inbetween. you look at a guys face, his mouth drawn down to his chin and his eyebrows pushed up, (bong) his shoulders, (bong) and it returns to the scene. if i ever direct a tarantino-style film, l would abuse the hell out of it.

following my favorite news cast is usually a human interest story, which usually features a gross human (or animal) defect and a tour of their life, or a supermodel who died young, or americans being total tools. as i watched last time, it was a dubbed reenactment of a texan mother attempting to murder another texan mother because texan mother prime’s daughter was a better chearleader… the day before that it was on siamese twins connected at the skull, and i remember one about a korean woman whose face was inflated like a balloon. we are… all unique? arent we? i mean, that proves it, right? its diversity!

I spent the rest of the day formulating a plan- create a small cartoon character with neon-colored fur and a 3-syllable name that can be clipped to every cellphone in japan. I actually went for another walk and then read a book, then had dinner and my family switched on the television again. I think i actually had a pretty standard day, not by my standards, but this is japan. I think this is what kids do on their days off, or at least those in my life. Ill look into it-

-J

Comments (2)

Tomicka — 2009-12-07

NEVER KNEW YOU WROTE SOOOOOOOO WELL!! I am very impressed.

Jay — 2009-12-07

tomica! how ya been? good to hear from ya, glad you like what i have to say. love to correspond, if you have time. hit me up on email!