Scots Taffer on 9/9/2006 at 13:34

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Well, we need some freaking rain at the moment... it seems we're going to up our drought restrictions again next month. :(

I would fuckin' beat the idiots who built this state's dams.

demagogue on 9/9/2006 at 18:24

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If you go to Kyoto, though, don't kid yourself by saying "oh, let's go see all the temples today..." :o Trust me ... if any city could temple you to death, it's this one. But of course, a nice regimen of 3 a day works pretty well.

Ok, now that I've started thinking about it, I have a Kyoto story I want to share. It's the best (and most literal) clash of cultures story I've ever been witness to.

So, during the summer break while I was teaching in Japan, I took a trip with my family through a lot of Japanese cities, including Kyoto. One night me and my brother went to the main street in Kyoto, next to the river, with all the member clubs ("membership" being a less than subtle euphamism for "no whities"). Anyway, one ingenuitive guy set up his own bar in the alleyway between buildings, catering to young Japanese and western tourists. The guy was very Western looking, but he was native in Japanese and while he could speak broken English it was definately as a foreigner speaks it ... apparently he was half-American, half-Japanese. The American part stood out, but of course he lived his whole life in Japan. So that in itself was an interesting thing to notice (since it's rare enough to see a Western-looking person fluent in Japanese, much less one that is fully, 100% native).

Anyway, his "bar" was really no more than a few card tables set up and a cooler full of beers and plastic cups which he sold in this alleyway. He decorated the "walls", which were just the two surrounding buildings, with lots of hip-hop looking artwork on posters that he said he drew. And on the street side he erected a graffitti'ed looking basketball hoop. It was a perfect scene of urban ghetto America right in the heart of Kyoto. So me and my brother took a seat and started drinking and laughing with the guys there.

So while we were all hanging out, he grabbed a basketball and started dribbling around, talking, and taking shots at the hoop. But suddenly, while he was getting ready for a jump shot, a geisha started walking towards us, actually technically what's called a maiko, which is a geisha-in-training, the girls that have the full-on white makeup and deep red lipstick, the fantastically put-up hair, the pins, the intricate kimono gown with an obi belt in an impossible knot, the 8 inch clop wooden shoes, the tiny steps, the works (geisha themselves just wear simple kimonos without the makeup, etc). So just as this guy takes a jump shot, she suddenly walks (pitter-patters) out from the street right under the hoop with her tiny quick steps, and we call out to her "Kyotsukete!" / "Look out!" and she looks up and there's a basketball bouncing off the backboard and flying down towards her, and she literally LEAPS out of the way screaming onto the sidewalk, hobbling on 4s for a little, and getting up and running off.

And then I turned to my brother and said, "Man, that's like the most hard-core clash of cultures I've ever seen in my life." All he could do was nod thougtfully and say "Yeah," laughing. It was like witnessing some event of great cultural significance played out right in front of us.

Mr.Duck on 10/9/2006 at 06:05

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:cool:

Going my way, cutie?

demagogue on 16/9/2006 at 19:00

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We should all drink a can of Asahi at midnight (GMT) and call it even.