As it was, A. and I were on a date, the first we’d been on in a very, very long time. It’s funny. Once you live with someone, you forget to spend time with them. Or you mistake being in the same room as “spending time with them.” It is not the case.

Last Saturday, A. and I decided to spend the night together, doing what we wanted to do. Because we are rapidly entering into old age, our night’s plans consisted of going to places “where we could use these coupons.”

It was a cold, crisp, dry night, and very, very dark. The prairies are falling into winter, into short days and long, freezing nights. This dictated our food choice, as we thought warm broth and noodles would warm our bellies, and our adjacent souls. We settled on Phobulous. We would finish the night with a cup of herbal or rooibos.

We did not expect much. A place that puns on the word pho in its title and menu items is, to our minds, trying to hide something. What else would explain it? But we had coupons, a buy 1, get another-type deal, and a bad bowl of pho would still be a hot bowl of pho, so off we went.

After a bit of driving and parking drama (honestly, Edmonton, it’s called city planning… you want to make your city alive and vibrant, freakin’ plan it!), we squeezed into a spot and settled into a 15 minute wait for our table.

Whenever I try a new restaurant, I like to try the staples. If they can’t get the basics right, I have a hard time trusting the more difficult items. I know, I know, pho is relatively simple, broth with noodles and protein. But getting broth right isn’t easy. Cooking the meat right isn’t easy. Getting the flavours from scratch is not easy. Do they use fresh sides? How do they make it worth my trip?

We ordered vegetarian spring rolls, full of onions, sprouts, herbs and, heavens be thanked, taro root. Our second course would be a shared papaya salad, classic Southeast Asian fare. I love this salad. At its best, is tangy, sweet, nutty, spicy and refreshing. At it’s worse, it’s a large, sloppy, sour mess.

I would finish with giant bowl of pho, made with brisket and rare skirt steak.

The room is very nice. Modern, clean, just enough tables to make it feel alive, but not crowded. I thought our table would be awkward, given that it backed into a long, high table, lined with stools. The height of the stools meant we’d have bum in our face all night.

But it wasn’t a problem. The spring rolls came really quick (we found out later that we had gotten another table’s spring rolls, ones they had been waiting on for 15 minutes), and we dug in. Like many simple, deep-fried, pocket-type pastries, spring rolls are easy to make, but very hard to make well. I am big believer in proper deep-frying. I think, if done with precision and care, deep-fried dishes are not only delicious, but they aren’t greasy. I’ll write a post about this some other time.

These spring rolls were perfect. They were delicious. Lightly flavoured with the fat they were fried in, stuffed with goodness, we ate them slowly, carefully, savouring each crunchy, oily bite. We were stunned. That it was unexpected was one thing, but these rolls were perfect.

The salad came eventually. Mandolined papaya, pickled carrots, strips of very dry, very tough jerky, peanuts, tiny bits of golden fried onions, dressed lightly in lime juice and finished with Thai basil and cilantro. Classic all around (maybe not the jerky – I thought it a questionable addition until I discovered the pleasure of moistening and chewing the hard, rubbery jerky with various liquids at my disposal, including lime juice, moisture from the vegetables, oil from the peanuts, etc), and very well done again. Cold, textured and refreshing, it is a great follow-up to the spring rolls. It has a satisfying crunch, a mingling of sour and sweet, and is just fun to eat. I’ve been meaning to add papaya salad to my home rotation, and this one is a good reminder why.

A. is a veteran traveller of South East Asia. She spent 10 months in Indochina, mostly in Vietnam, where she taught English and wrote for the ex-pat newspaper. I saw her falling back into her memories, smiling and remembering Hanoi’s busy streets, her favourite food stands, and the dainty little Vietnamese women who would polish of their gigantic bowls of pho in admirable flurry of gobbles and slurps. “I was twice their size,” she said, “but I could only finish half as much. Truly remarkable.”

It was in the middle of such musings that our (indeed, gigantic) bowls of pho arrived. With it, a second set of spring rolls, which were our actual order, but now got diverted to a table of probably disgruntled patrons. There was no mistaking it. It was pho, with all the trimmings. A delicious broth, white noodles and curls of beef throughout. A bit of rare meat lay above the surface, which I swirled in to the scalding broth so it would cook nicely. A hearty side of limes, sprouts, sarachi, and soy sauce followed, and we began our customization of our soup. I like mine to be as hot and acidic as possible, so in went the sarachi and the lime juice. I add the sprouts in shifts, so they don’t get soggy and lose their crunch.

“This is excellent,” A. muttered as she downed her chicken pho. “Delicious and authentic. This is the real deal.” I could not verify the latter assertion, but I agreed with the former. I wanted to swim in the bowl. The broth was perfect. It changed our moods. Where once were resigned to the cold, dark, howling night, we became defiant and joyous. As our bellies warmed, and with it our chests, limbs, and fingers. We smiled and laughed and marvelled at our good fortune, happy we were in this bright place, made brighter by the inky darkness outside. The food reminded us of other lands, stirring our desires and fantasies to visit them.

I couldn’t quite finish the bowl, which was better than A., who only got through about half. We slumped in our chairs, full, contemplating the rest of the night. We decided on tea and reading, which, again, given this city, was something we’d have to drive to.

No matter. I paid the bill (happily noting the Vietnamese women working in the kitchen), and we were off. The night had gotten even darker, if it was possible. We felt like it was 10 pm. It was, in fact, only 8:30. It made us tired.

Parking the car at home, we made our way over to Steeps. This little tea shop, the original in a now not-unsuccessful chain, is fine place to spend an hour reading or scribbling. We chose our tea (a lavender rooibos for me, which was not very good, and an excellent East Frisian tea for her), and settled in. She was reading John Hersey’s Hiroshima, soon to switch over to People magazine, and I was starting Evan Wright’s Generation Kill.

The night would’ve ended like this, uneventful, simple, relaxing, had it not been for the very obvious first date that was transpiring behind us. This guy had brought this girl to this slightly run-down, wooden, comfortable tea shop, scoring many points in the thoughtful/cool/interesting category. She was impressed, I think, and would have remained so if he had not begun bloviating on his personal history.

My, was he ever loud. I’ll admit to eavesdropping, but really I couldn’t help overhearing this guy go on about the troubles, tribulations and triumphs of his life. Some gems, most likely paraphrased:

“I grew up Christian. Really Christian.”

“I found myself if Bible college, and then I went to Kimberly. There I had an epiphany. I started questioning myself, my father. I’m not that way any more.”

“I love to read. I read as much as I can. I really like the new Ondaatje (which he pronounced “on-daat-ja”). Um. Also, I like Douglas Adams. Yeah. You know, A Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy? I think all of human philosophy is represented in those books.”

“I also like A Fine Balance. It’s Indian.”

“Oh, I can’t forget, Lewis Carroll’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I really enjoy those books.”

Really. You enjoyed perhaps the most famous Christian allegory of modern times, after telling this girl you spent considerable time and effort extricating yourself from Christianity. Quit while you’re ahead, tea-drinking cool dude. Quit while you’re ahead.

I smiled. I hooked my hand under A.’s knee, and found a comfortable angle in my armchair. I hope you get to do this, friend. I hope you get past your first date.

Hiroshima si Nagasaki acum 64 ani si azi…

Hiroshima, Nagasaki
1945

In 2009

Der Kalte Krieg zwischen den Bündnissen "NATO" und dem "Warschauer Pakt"

Der Kalte Krieg, der indirekte Kampf zwischen den Westmächten (hauptsächlich durch USA) und dem Ostblock (Sowjet-Union), ein Thema das sich in Form einer großen Mauer gezeigt hat. Die Sowjets wollten im Grunde nur einen Grund für Krieg, die USA wollte einen offenen Krieg vermeiden, jedoch wurde auch versucht, abzuschrecken. Welche Methoden auf beiden Seiten geläufig waren und was genau in diesem “Kalten Krieg” passiert ist, dass könnt ihr im gesamten Artikel lesen!

Begonnen hat der Kalte Krieg eigentlich schon sehr früh, im Jahre 1917, als Lenin an die Macht kam. Dadurch wurde ein Bürgerkrieg angezettelt, in Russland, der von den Westmächten gegenrevolutioniert wurde. Eine Unterbrechung dieses Streits fand mit der Anti-HitlerKoalition (1941) statt.

Nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg begann der eigentliche Akt. Die zwei Siegermächte teilten Europa in zwei Hälften. Die eine Regierung wollte ihr Konzept durchbringen, die andere deren Konzept. Um auch militärisch gewappnet zu sein, wurde die NATO gegründet. Der östliche Bund hieß Warschauer Pakt. In Süd-Ost Asien wurde mit der SEATO ein ähnliches Bündniss geschaffen.

Sowohl politisch als auch ideologisch wurden hier deutliche Unterschiede bemerkbar. Man wollte mit den einzelnen Staaten versuchen, verschiedene Wirtschaftssysteme aufzubauen und jeder woltle auch militärisch protzen. Fast wie ein kleiner Streit und Geschwistern, nur noch sehr viel gefährlicher. Im Westen wollte man eine Marktwirtschaft, im Osten Planwirtschaft. Auch stand sich die Demokratie mit der Diktatur im selben Schema gegenüber.

Die Westmächte versuchten den Krieg mit Waffen zu verhindern, allerdings sorgte das Wettrüsten z.B. in Hiroshima mit einem Atombombenanschlag für erste Gewalt. Das Verursachte die erste Androhung eines Atomkrieges, wobei die Selbstvernichtung der Menschheit mit betroffen war. Ein Glück das es damals nur Androhungen zur Abschreckung waren und nicht bitterböse Wahrheit.

(Videodokumentation auf Englisch zu Hiroshima)

Nach diesem grausamen Ereigniss kam es dann dazu, dass die USA mit der UdSSR verhandelte, jedoch wurde das Wettrüsten nicht gestoppt. Beispiel: Im Vietnam-Krieg war die USA beteiligt, die UdSSR lieferte als Rivale dem Gegner Geld, Waffen und mehr. Nicht nur das. Auch Bürgerkriege unterstützte man beiderseits aktiv.

1949 merkte man auch in Deutschland etwas von diesem Kalten Krieg. Zwei Staaten hatten sich gebildet, die Bundesrepublik Deutschland und die DDR. Anerkannt wurde die DDR übrigens von der BRD erst, als Willy Brand Bundeskanzler wurde. Die DDR dagegen wollte bei der Bundersrepublik das “Deutschland” nicht nennen und ernannte Berlin als Hauptstadt der DDR, obwohl Berlin in zwei Sektoren unterteilt war und der eine Sektor nicht zur DDR gehörte.

Hierbei wurden dann schon Mittel wie Spionage oder Sabbotage verwendet um zu “siegen”. Es wurde z.B. festgestellt, dass die DDR terroristische Gruppen in Westeuropa unterstüzte. Die Gladio (Geheimdienstvereinigung von CIA und anderen) war als terroristische Gruppe tätig, um den Gegnern dies in die Schuhe zu schieben. Der Kalte Krieg endete erst 1991 nachdem Gorbatschow an die Macht kam und das langsam dafür sorgte, dass das gegenseitige Wettrüsten aufhörte. Auch wurden die Staaten des Ostblocks wieder unabhängig und die Sowjet Union wurde letzendlich aufgelöst.

Un japonez a luat-o de muiere pe una. Una asta nu e adevărată, e un personaj al unui joc Nintendo de agăţat. Şi, fiindcă Nene Anegasaki (aşa o cheamă pe pokemoana asta) era singura lui cucerire din ultimul timp, a luat-o de muiere. Slujbă cu preot, prieteni şi din partea lu’ generică şi din partea miresicii, tort, tot ce trebuie la o nuntă.

AVANTAJE

Nene este sigur virgină;

Este foarte ascultătoare;

Merge peste tot cu japonezul;

Nu îmbătrâneşte;

Nu are soacră;

Nu vorbeşte mult. Şi dacă vorbeşte, poţi să scoţi boxele din priză;

Nu îşi aduce phoenul, fardurile, pensetele, cremele, gelurile de duş, chiloţii, papucii cu cap de broască, măstile de păr şi faţă, zecile de încălţări în intimitatea ta;

Nu trebuie să păşeşti încep pe parchet când vii la 6 dimineaţa cu chiloţii rupţi şi ruj pe gulerul cămăşii;

Nu uită să se epileze pe picioare;

Cel mai important: NU ÎI VINE CICLUL.

DEZAVANTAJE

Moare sigur virgină;

Se combină cu oricine are un calculator pe care are instalat jocul ăsta care se numeşte Love Plus. Care vreţi să-i luaţi muierea japonezului, fuga pe DC++ sau trackere!

Nu găteşte;

Nu mătură;

Nu face sex oral;

Nu spală vase;

Nu poţi să-i altoieşti una pe şale din dragoste;

Nu poate să plece la mă-sa.

Filmul nunţii

Hiroshima 6 augusti 2005, 60 år efter den första atombomben.

English. 日本語 (Google) På onsdag kommer min motion om att ansluta Göteborg till organisationen Borgmästare för fred upp till behandling i kommunstyrelsen.  Alla fredsvänner i Göteborg uppmanas att kontakta företrädarna för det parti de röstade på 2006 eller tänker rösta på 2010 och framföra att de vill att det partiet skall stödja motionen.

Lanternor flyter förbi framför Hiroshima Dome. Atombomben detonerade nästan rakt ovanför.

Som en del av fullmäktiges ansvar för göteborgarnas väl och ve bör även vi ansluta Göteborg till organisationen Borgmästare för fred. Sedan jag skrev motionen har ytterligare 94 städer anslutit sig. Idag är 3,241 städer från 134 länder medlemmar.

Om klimatförändringarna är det allvarligaste hotet mot mänsklighetens överlevnad är kärnvapnen de mest akuta hoten mot mänsklighetens överlevnad. Dagens kärn­vapen­arsenal överstiger 20 000 stridsspetsar. I dagens värld kan vi heller inte utesluta risken för kärnvapenterrorism. Även en mindre kärndetonation i Göteborg skulle få katastrofala följder.

Eftersom 11 städer i Sverige, bland annat Stockholm och Malmö, redan har anslutit sig och de som anslöt sig senast gjorde detta i år bör det inte råda några tvivel om att ett medlemskap är förenligt med kommunal­lagen. Medlemskapet är inte förknippat med några ekonomiska åtaganden eller årsavgifter. Ett aktivt deltagande, vilket är önskvärt, från Göteborgs Stads sida innebär självfallet kostnader.

Jag har flera gånger besökt Hiroshima och Nagasaki, bland annat vid 60-årsdagen 2005. Utställningarna där är nedslående och upplyftande på samma gång. Det är bedrövande att se förödelsen de två bomberna skapade samtidigt som det är glädjande att se kraften i fredsrörelsen.

Hiroshimas borgmästare Tadatoshi Akiba 2005.

Läs mer om motionen här. Läs mer om högtidlighållandet i Göteborg av Hiroshimadagen här. Läs mer om Yrkesgrupper mot kärnvapens aktiviteter på årets Bok & Bibliotek här och här. Läs stadskansliets tjänsteutlåtande här. Läs även mer om motionen på partidistriktets hemsida.

Idag kom även nyheten att Japan och USA har haft en hemlig atompakt som gjort det möjligt för USA att transportera kärnvapen via Japan. Detta trots decennier av förnekande från Japan. Efter valet, som jag skrev om här, tillsatte regeringen under ledning av premiärminister Hatoyama en utredning för att gå till botten med transporterna av kärnvapen.

Behovet av en stark fredsrörelse har inte minskat. Om kärnvapnen skall stoppas måste hela världen agera på alla plan. Göteborgs Stad kan bidraga genom att ansluta sig till Borgmästare för fred. Du, fredsvän, kan göra ditt genom att kontakta dina företrädare i kommunstyrelsen.

Här är kontaktuppgifter till kommunstyrelsens ledamöter och ersättare

Anneli Hulthén (S)
Ordförande
Tel: 031-368 00 85
E-post: anneli.hulthen@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Jan Hallberg (M)
Vice ordförande
Tel: 031-368 00 34
E-post: jan.hallberg@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Owe Nilsson (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 89
E-post: owe.nilsson@kommunfullmaktige.goteborg.se

Agneta Granberg (M)
Tel: 031-368 00 45
E-post: agneta.granberg@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Helena Nyhus (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 74
E-post: helena.nyhus@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Helene Odenjung (FP)
Tel: 031-368 00 11
E-post: helene.odenjung@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Dario Espiga (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 84
E-post: dario.espiga@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Kia Andreasson (MP)
Tel: 031-368 00 26
E-post: kia.andreasson@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Susanna Haby (M)
Tel: 031-368 00 40
E-post: susanna.haby@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Marie Lindén (V)
Tel: 031- 368 00 94
E-post: marie.linden@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Jonas Ransgård (M)
Tel: 031-368 00 32
E-post: jonas.ransgard@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Marina Johansson (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 71
E-post: marina.johansson@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Carina Liljesand (KD)
Tel: 031-368 00 17
E-post: carina.liljesand@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Ersättare

Ann Lundgren (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 90
E-post: ann.lundgren@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Kristina Tharing (M)
Tel: 031-368 00 38
E-post: kristina.tharing@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Mats Arnsmar (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 55
E-post: mats.arnsmar@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Mikael Janson (FP)
Tel: 031-368 00 12
E-post: mikael.janson@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Anna Johansson (S)
Tel: 031-368 00 52
E-post: anna.johansson@stadshuset.goteborg.se

Intressant? Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Japan, atombomb, kärnvapen, krig, fred, borgmästare, göteborg

Ping: GP, GP, GP, Dn, DN, Svd, Svd, AB, AB,

jumaat malam aritu buat keja gila, diskus tak sampai 5 minit terus buat keputusan nak pi Hiroshima. bertolak dari Ube pukul 11:30 malam then sampai Hiroshima dalam pukul 2:30 pagi. on the way tu seperti biasa ada ja masalah. tp small matter, petik kacang ja. Navigator keta aku takle guna kat Odessey. pastu ETC(macam smart tag) pun tak le guna. rupa-rupanya tempat cucuk rokok dalam Odessey tu rosak.

sebelum bertolak tu risau la juga kot-kot bangunan tu dah tutup lampu ka, sebelum pergi siap check kat internet tapi tak jumpa pun. untuk pengetahuan semua, hiroshima memorial park atau orang jepun panggil “genbaku dome” ni adalah tempat masa amerika bom jepun dulu tahun 1941 kot. ala dalam buku teks sejarah form 4 ka form 5 ntah ada tulis. ada 2 tempat, satu lagi kat Nagasaki. tahun depan la kot pergi nagasaki pulak.

lepas dah puas bergambar situ, bertolak ke rumah awek Asnizam. dapat makan nasi kerabu yang top marveles.

The documentary over First Ever used atomic bomb over HIROSHIMA.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a laboratory experiment for US officials who wanted to see how their new weapon would work, said Episcopal priest and historian Philip Wheaton.

15th November 2009

Following a lovely first evening in Hiroshima, featuring our first taste of delicious okonomiyaki and a trip to the ‘Dreamination’ light sculpture festival on Peace Boulevard, we were still gushing about what a delight Hiroshima is as we walked through Peace Memorial Park – all fountains, polished granite and forgiveness – and up to the A-Bomb Dome. The Dome was one of the only buildings left standing by the Atomic Bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima at 8.15am on August 6, 1945. Although it was gutted by the bomb and subsequent fires, most of the structure still stands and is preserved by the city of Hiroshima and UNESCO as it looked immediately after the blast, including the debris collected around the base of the building. As upsetting as this sight is, the music wafting over from some flautists performing across the river did something to take the edge off.

While we were at the Dome we were approached by a woman (we later learned that her name was Machiko Yamaoka) who wanted to give us a free tour. Her mother, she explained, was a hibakusha (A-bomb survivor) and had recently gotten sick. As she was no longer well enough to tell her own story, Michiko felt that it was now her responsibility to make people aware of Hiroshima’s past and the importance of the city’s quest to eliminate all of the world’s nuclear weapons.  And so our tour of the other, less peaceful, less happy-smiley Hiroshima began.

Michiko’s mother had been outside the city when the bomb exploded but her sister was not so lucky so she rushed into the city to find her. It took her a week to track her down and take her home, where she soon died. While she was combing the streets, she saw exactly what hell looks like and Michiko’s bedtime stories seem to have been anything but the norm as a result. As painful as it was, her mother felt the importance of teaching her children about the horrors of war.

She told her about people wandering the streets, their skin literally melting off as they walked. Other people, burned beyond recognition and parched with thirst, went in search of water – jumping into the river and water tanks, only to send their bodies into immediate and fatal shock, leaving every source of water strewn with decaying bodies. One woman was walking around with her baby still strapped to her back. She had not yet noticed that her child, black with soot, had already perished.

On our tour of the city, Michiko showed us the hospital that was at the epicenter of the blast and the shop where one lucky man had wandered down to the basement for papers and, protected by a wall of steel and water, had emerged to find every building for blocks completely flattened. She also showed us the graveyard nearby which had survived although the marble headstones had little holes punched in them – in three seconds the immense heat of the blast (6,000 degrees Celsius) had done what takes 20 seconds with a blowtorch in a workshop.

Dazed and more than a little grateful to our obliging tour guide, we headed for the Peace Memorial Museum, wondering how the picture could get any bleaker. But it did. After a strange entrance building outlining, in ridiculous detail, Japan’s entire military history, we got to the main exhibition space. Here there were various items on display, from baby clothes to bits of skin and warped roof tiles, each of which was attached to a placard outlining its origin. Walking from one to one it was pretty difficult not to give up all hope for the future of humanity and sit on the floor crying. This tricycle was one particularly upsetting example:

The placard said:

Shinuchi Tetsuntani (then 3 years 11 months old) loved to ride his tricycle. That morning, he was riding in front of his house when, in a sudden flash, he and his tricycle were badly burned. He died that night. His father felt that he was too young to be buried in a lonely grave away from home and, thinking that he could still play with the tricycle, he buried Shinichi with the tricycle in the backyard.

Children’s Peace Memorial

The most upsetting element of the Peace Memorial Park for many however, is the one memorial with a face – the Children’s Peace Memorial.

This memorial was built for Sadako Sasaki who was 2 years old when Hiroshima was bombed. Although she was in Hiroshima at the time of the blast, it seemed that Sadako had escaped with only surface wounds and so she lived a normal childhood, excelling at athletics and gathering a big gang of friends in elementary school. Ten years later however, Sadako became ill and was diagnosed with leukemia as a result of her exposure to such massive quantities of radiation.

She was hospitalized and while there she saw all the origami paper cranes that were sent to patients as omens of good luck. She heard somewhere that folding 1,000 paper cranes could make a wish come true and became convinced that this was the answer to her plight.

Although she managed to reach, and far surpass, her target, Sadako soon after. At her funerals her family handed out a lot of the cranes she had folded to guests – some of them were large and some were so small that she had used a needle point to fold them. Every one, however, had been folded with care and imbued with her fervent wish to live.

News of Sadako’s tragic death and her cranes spread around Japan and touched something in the public consciousness. Schools petitioned for a monument honouring her and all the children killed by the bomb. Eventually, with the help of people across the world, they raised enough money to build their own. Meanwhile, in a more personal tribute, kids started folding their own paper cranes and sending them to Hiroshima, a practice that still exists today. Millions of these cranes, pasted into pictures and hung in long strings, now make up the Children’s Peace Memorial in Peace Memorial Park.

More pictures of Hiroshima are available in the gallery.

By no ways a complete list, but here is a timeline of some highlights of world history.

Japan-related dates are written in red.

• 1281: Mongolia was conquering most of Asia. As the Mongolian Navy was heading to Japan to invade, a giant typhoon sunk their entire fleet. Thus saving Japan.
  That typhoon was called 「神風」 (“Kamikaze“), which means “Divine Wind“, in Japan.The World War 2 Kamikaze pilots were named after this typhoon.
• 1346: The Black Plague started and eventually killed nearly half of Europe’s population.
• 1492: Christopher Columbus lands in America. But he believed he was in India and called the inhabitants “Indians“.
• 1603: 「江戸時代」 (The “Edo Period“) begins in Japan.
• 1680: The 将軍 (Shougun), Tsunayoshi, loved dogs and enacted a number of laws protecting dogs and making harming them a criminal offense.He is therefore often called “The Dog Shogun”.
• 1776: America declares it’s independence from England.
• 1789: French Revolution began.
• 1804: Napoleon became the Emperor of France.
• 1854: U.S. Naval Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open to trade with the West.At first Japan resisted and the island of Odaiba was built in Tokyo Bay to defend Japan from the American forces. But Perry’s fleet of black ships were too intimidating and Japan enacted law to allow trade with the West in general and America in particular.The resulting influx of American goods and culture sparked Japan’s “Westernization”.

An Ukiyoe portrait of Cmdr. Perry. His name is written as 「ぺルリ」 ("Peruri") because that's what it sounded like to the Japanese when Perry said his name with his American accent.

1995 January 17: 「阪神淡路大震災」 (Hanshin-awajidai-shinsai), (“The Kobe Earthquake“) destroyed the city of 神戸 (Kobe, Japan).

A collapsed overpass after the Kobe Earthquake; 1995 January.

I know that I left out many important dates. Feel free to write any that you can think of in the comments section of this post.

And did you witness any historic events?

Fuck you Dolphin…Fuck You whale…Fuck u Usa

In poza este unul dintre (putinii) supravietuitori ai bombei aruncata de Usa peste Hiroshima

During a browse around Borders, I noticed a newly minted edition of John Hersey’s Hiroshima featuring a colour-enhanced photo of the skeletal, eerily beautiful Peace Memorial Dome that survived the bomb. Finding this 2009 edition was a matter of days after Barack Obama accepted the invitation from the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be the first US President to visit the two cities hit by atomic bombs. The date has yet to be fixed, as his recent Asia tour wouldn’t allow sufficient time to do such a historic visit justice.

Back to the book: I found my own copy at a vintage bookshop in Chichester, with the iconic original 1940s Penguin cover (orange bands top and bottom). I was surprised to see a fresh edition on the bookshelves, and a quick check of the publishing dates explained why. The two most recent ed’s were in 2002 – when I emigrated to the UK – and 2004 – the year I was married. I wasn’t likely to be scouring the bookshelves as I normally like to do during those years. This being my first experience with a copy yet to be coffee-stained or have its spine broken, it was like fresh hope for a whole set of new readers from 2009 onwards.

The new edition also resonates well with the US President’s pledges regarding nuclear disarmament. He reiterated this desire in his speech in Tokyo last weekend; the assembled great and good appeared relieved at the mention, though there was the now typical reserve of enthusiasm that meets any promise made by both Obama and PM Hatoyama. Both men are dealing with nations that suffered from too much of the same, for far too long. But I digress…

Hersey’s Hiroshima is a straight up, intensive, quick read that has left its recorded memories in my mind for good. WWII is by far the most difficult subject of my Japan reading, and I can’t even get started on the movies. Well, about 8 years ago I saw Sayonara with Marlon Brando and the Oscar-winning Miyoshi Umeki but it was more gorgeous than genuinely upsetting (daringly so on both counts, considering it was made in 1957).

For a first-person look at modern Hiroshima, you can check out Lioness in Japan’s blog about her October trip to the area. I know it sounds soppy, but you do wonder at the ability of human civilization to flourish and progress so beautifully after something so devastating. Alright, attempted poetic moment over.

Note: the coffee-stains on my Penguin vintage editions are my way of showing love to them…and making them smell good forever

12h04 – É Seu Direito – Gastrite

12h40 – Urbanidades – Violência no Trânsito

13h40 – Tempero da Terra – Panqueca de Siri

– Sabe Como? – Celin

– PR399 – Umuarama

– Tá na Lei – Eleição para Diretores

14h00 – Tribunal de Contas ao vivo

16h30 – Onde Você Estava? – Bomba de Hiroshima

– Aqui é Assim – Comitê de Imprensa

– Essa Casa Tem História – Solar Jesuíno Marcondes

– Serviços Públicos – Polícia Federal

– O Dono da Rua – Machado de Assis

– Tá na Lei – Lixo Tecnológico

– PR399 – Palmas

– Sabe Como? – Passaporte

– Tempero da Terra – Pirá de Foz

18h00 – TelejornAL ao vivo

18h30 – Assembleia em Debate – Repasses da União

19h30 – É Seu Direito – Gastrite

20h05 – Sessão gravada

21h30 – Urbanidades – Violência no trânsito

22h30 – Tempero da Terra – Panqueca de Siri

– Sabe Como? – Celin

– PR399 – Umuarama

– Tá na Lei – Eleição para Diretores

23h00 – Cine Pinhão – Romance Edmottês

23h30 – Reprise TelejornAL

– Perfil Parlamentar – Waldyr Pugliesi, Péricles de Mello, Luiz Fernandes Litro, Dr. Batista

I’ve actually been lying fairly low the last couple of weeks, due to lack of expendable funds – but this past Wednesday I got a text message from the Yamamotos, a kind older couple that I met at Osako-san’s October BBQ party. The last time we spoke in person, we got onto the topic of cooking, and I mentioned that I wanted to learn how to make tempura at home – mine never seems to turn out right, even though it appears such a straightforward process. Ms. Yamamoto offered to teach me, but up until recently they were actually out of town visiting one of their daughters (turns out the reason was she fell down the stairs in her house, and had to get a neckbrace… scary. She’s okay though.) This text said they were back, and invited me to come to their house on Saturday.

During the negotiations on when and where to meet, I admitted I really had nothing at all planned for the weekend and so could go wherever, whenever. This reminded Fumiko-san that the community center near their house was having a neighborhood matsuri, so we could have lunch there, and then explore a shrine just up the hill. Festivals and shrines always being an easy sell for me, I happily agreed, and we met at noon to drive into Fuchu Town. Japanese Wiki entry here.

The matsuri was very small and homey, held in the center of an apartment complex’s courtyard around the corner from the community center. There were a lot of happy kids running around playing with balloon animals, and four or five small food stalls selling hand-made treats: we started out with the udon line being manned by about a dozen obaasans, and then picked up some takoyaki and dango mid-meal. The dango were really good, and of a type I’d never had before: the fresh, sticky skewered rice balls were coated in a sweet soybean flour called kinako. Like Wiki mentions, it kind of tasted like peanut butter. The Yamamotos were impressed with my taste and knowledge about Japanese food (though that’s a typical compliment for foreigners, admittedly) and we chatted about my upbringing in an internationally-minded house in Alaska.

The festival also featured a flea market, so we waited in line for the next opening to see what we could pick up. It was actually pretty hard to scramble through the jostling obaasans all looking for a deal, but I got a cute Hello Kitty plate for 10 yen since I’ve been needing another at the apartment. When we came out, though, I was astonished to see an authentic kamishibai storyteller performing in front of the steps outside; she even had the traditional bike, with the small wooden “stage” box mounted on it to hold and display the pictures. As she narrated and provided the voices for the characters, she pulled the panels out one at a time and rotated them into a separate compartment built into the box. The illustrations for her tale were lovely, they looked like original oil paintings or maybe pastels, and mostly featured Starry Night-style forest-scapes. I have no idea what story it was (it didn’t look like one of the traditional tales – caught the title just for a second and it was ’something something チの木’) but I was thrilled just to get to see her. I thought that performance art had died out entirely in the 60s.

Next was Take Jinja across the street. It’s Shichi-Go-San time right now, and we saw a couple of cute kids hauling “thousand year candy” and being taken for their shrine visit by kimono- and suit-clad adults. There were also a couple of priests performing rites for the children inside the main honden building, which we walked all the way around. Seems like it might be a popular or provident shrine for kids, since there was also a monument on the grounds dedicated to the practice of taking a picture every year to see how much you’ve grown: a big stone set in the ground, with a graduated line on it for one to put their back against.

Inside of the community center itself, I was delighted to find a fantastic and well-hidden museum dedicated to the nature and history of the area. The first floor has displays of stuffed local wildlife, and explanations of the ecology in the nearby forest; but upstairs is the real treasure, a whole floor of antique instruments and displays explaining many aspects of traditional Japanese country lifestyle. There’s even a bit of signage in English! The insides of two old farmhouses have been transplanted into the museum, along with cooking implements, furniture, and other perfectly preserved relics. (I’m definitely going back with a camera, so I’ll go into more detail in a future entry – Fuchu Machi itself has many more shrines and locations to offer, so on the way out I grabbed a couple of maps so I can come back and do some detailed exploration.)

Also, Mikumarikyo Gorge, a large park and collection of hiking trails, is only a little ways up the road – we went and walked around the very bottom part of the park for a few minutes, and it’s gorgeous, full of waterfalls and tall trees. I think I’ll be happy to make a day or two of Fuchu and walking the mountain in the near future.

The Yamamotos’ house is actually up the side of a mountain, five minutes away from the entrance to Mikumarikyo, and they have a ridiculously stunning view of Hiroshima City and the bay beyond. You can see all the way out to Miyajima and Iwakuni from their front porch. Hopefully Mr. Yamamoto will be able to send me some pictures he took of the sunset soon, though I will have to go back and try for a nighttime panorama too, because I was just blown away.

The Yamamotos are so easy to talk to, and it’s great practice for my Japanese even if we sometimes have to resort to the dictionary (A-san got really good at using it on-demand, so Fumiko-san put him in charge of vocabulary checks while we were doing our cooking lesson.) I really had such a fantastic time. Of course, we talked about food a lot! So here’s some wisdom I gleaned during our time.

~ Although it’s possible to make tempura 100% “from scratch,” the pre-mixed batter powder is, quite simply, better-tasting and easier to control.

~ If the ingredients are already cold, it’s not necessary to keep the batter in ice-water. But if they’re at room temp, put the batter container in an ice-water bath.

~ Don’t mix the tempura batter 100% smooth. Leave some lumps and powder in it. Just stir enough to bring the water and the batter barely together. The overall consistency should be thin enough to coat the food evenly without thickly “breading” it.

~ Don’t mix the batter ahead of time. If you do, the starch will start to dissolve into the water and the consistency will come out wrong. It’s better to mix a small amount of batter just before you’re about to fry; if you wind up need more during the cooking process, keep adding new powder and new water little by little to the batter bowl.

~ The ingredients need to be very dry before you batter them. Pat dry any veggies, even scrape out as much moisture as you can from the shrimp tails.

~ The oil should be hot enough that when you press a bamboo chopstick against the bottom of the pan, it will start making bubbles boil up around it. Also, concerning oil temp, most things should go in, cook, and come out within very little time. You want to always be busy rotating items through, unless you have something pretty thick, like lotus root, which has to stay in for a little bit.

~ Rather than trying to time it scientifically, just look at the color of your food to know if it’s done or not. Tempura is best if it’s pure gold, maybe with just a tiny touch of brown at the edges.

Also, here are some recipes for a really fast lotus root side-dish, and a fast spinach side-dish, which we also had at our dinner.

Lotus Root with Bacon

- about half a lotus root bulb, boiled and sliced
- a small piece of bacon or ham
- grated Parmesan cheese
- salt (+ spices, i.e. garlic powder)
- soy sauce
- cooking oil (+ sesame oil)

Chop the meat into small strips, and also cut the lotus root into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in a pot or pan over a high flame. Put in the meat first, just for a few seconds, and then add the lotus root. Saute, stirring constantly, as you add the cheese, spices, and just a small dribble of soy sauce. Cook until the lotus root is a pleasing texture, soft but with a bit of resilient crunchy chewiness – about 5 minutes.

Spinach With Sesame

- four bunches of whole, raw spinach
- whole sesame seeds
- Japanese flavoring broth (tsuyu or dashi)
- a Japanese mortar and pestle

Put the sesame seeds into the mortar and grind them against the edges until they reach a slightly pasty consistency. On the stove, bring water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Turn down the heat and put the spinach bunches into the water until they are soft (only a minute or two); then extract them again and wring out as much water and juice as possible. Chop into bite-sized lengths, and then mix with the sesame paste. Add a small amount of tsuyu for flavor and to help the sesame adhere.

By the way, if you don’t have any sort of grinding device to make up the sesame paste (I actually don’t at my house) I theorize you could get most of the same flavor by adding a little sesame oil to the spinach, and then sprinkling on whole sesame seeds at the end.

Llegamos al ecuador de nuestro viaje por las tierras niponas, y tras un viaje en tren desde la estación de Kyoto llegamos a la triste Hiroshima, campamento general durante los siguientes 4 dias.

Al llegar a Hiroshima lo primero que nos sorprendió gratamente es que la temperatura era mucho más fresca a la del resto de ciudades por las que pasamos,agradecimos de verdad no estar sudando como cerdos las 24 horas del dia.

Para mi éste fué uno de los dias en que más nervios pasé, llegamos al hotel justo a la hora de descanso de la recepción, con lo que nos dirigimos a un cercano restaurante a zamparnos un okonomiyaki estilo hiroshima, (que para mi gusto le da mil patadas al que nos comimos en Osaka) antes de hacer el cheking y dejar las cosas.

Un par de fotos que hice, el de Osaka con verdura e intento de cara nyappy XD, el de Hiroshima con fideos ñam!.
Hiroshima en general me pareció una ciudad muy triste, llena de calles de aspecto abandonado con un aire muy melancolico, y muchas zonas reservadas al recuerdo de la gran tristeza que sus gentes sufrieron y sufren debido a la trajedia de las bombas atómicas.

Aún y así una de las cosas que más me impresionó de la ciudad fué la gran pasión por el beisbol de sus ciudadanos. Nada menos que dos estadios y miles de bares ambientados en el deporte rey de los japoneses ,me pasé el viaje alucinando con lo mucho que les gusta a los japos el beisbol, tendríais que verlo para creerlo, yo creo que és más exagerado que en españa con el fútbol.

Y… porqué decía que fué un dia de nervios?? primero porque ese dia, dia 15 de agosto de 2009 será recordado por mí para siempre como el dia en que porfín pude ver a The GazettE en directo, pero para poder llegar al concierto, ¡¡primero tenía que conseguir mis entradas!!, la mitad las habiamos comprado en un lawson, entradas de pie para los chicos,en el gallinero armando barullo, pero la de rinoa y la mia las habíamos comprado centricas, de los asientos del club de fans via internet con bastante tiempo de antelación, así que en teoría estaban esperando en un sobre enviado al hotel, pero aún no había podido comprobarlo! y quedaban apenas unas horas para el concierto!!!! imaginaos, ya me veis amí esperando a que se hiciera la hora para poder preguntar por ellas imaginando a Ruki y al borde de la locura XDDD,

No sabéis la sensación de amor hacia la nación nipona que tuve al comprobar que las entradas estaban esperandonos en recepción, le pedí al chico que me explicara la numeración , ya sabéis que en japón los lives se suelen hacer en salas tipo Hall, donde cada uno tiene su asiento, y el chico muy amable me dibujó en un papel la explicación para que supieramos cuales eran las indicaciones de fila, pasillo etc..

Un obstaculo menos!! asique subimos a makearnos a toda prisa, porque a las 17:30 hora nipona comenzaba EL CONCIERTO (una mierda de no poder makearse agusto y como dios manda) así de madrugadores son los japos, Asi que salimos disparados en busca de la sala, el increible Halsok Hall.

Desde que salimos del hotel hasta la movida del concierto ya la conté desde la terraza del hotel en el propio Hiroshima, voy a aprovechar para actualizarla con unas fotos del merchan.
Ésta es la camiseta de la gira, con el sello Black Moral, por delante el titulo de una de las canciones del nuevo cd, por detrás el logo y la gira.

Lo otro es el nuevo cd (DIM, quien no lo haya escuchado tarda!) y el pamflet que te dejan en el asiento en los lives de la psc, con la promoción de todos los grupos y novedades PSCeras, si alguien tiene mucho interés en verlo puedo hacerle unas fotos, una lástima que Miyavi ya no saliera en él. (Kazuu el tuyo te espera en mi casa!)
Puede parecer raro, pero en ninguno de los merchandising que vimos en los lives pone el nombre de los grupos, no es como en España que cuando traen algo suele venir el nombre del grupo en grande y ya, allí se promocionan más sus marcas y sus propios diseños que los nombres de los grupos.

Eso es todo sobre nuestro brutal primer dia en Hiroshima,que ya se hace demasiado largo,me da una nostalgia acordarme Y___Y quiero volver a verles!!

*En la cabecera Inoue en Hana Yori Dango

I have been living in filth.

My Korean sister called it Hiroshima, when she saw the state of my room. She went as far as to say in Korean that it was ‘the real Hiroshima’.

But today I blitzed it. I think that watching 2012 last night spurred me into the mindset of preparing for the apocalypse. I would rather meet the end of the world with some semblance of normality.

I have made plans to go hiking next week. That will be fun. I still didn’t join a health club (gym) this week. Maybe Thursday afternoon.

I am reshuffling files between my hard drives. It is a hobby of mine. I have a meticulous back-up system.

I am about to hang out the towels and tuck myself into bed, which I am now at liberty to fold the covers nice and tight, just the way I like.

Just so you know.