J-Media

Nothing but bills in the mailbox yesterday.  

I got caught up at a late doctor appointment last night and dealt with a wild, attention starved two-year old for the rest of the evening.  While at the doctor, I was reading a very interesting book about Japan called Shutting Out the Sun by Michael Zielenziger.  This got me thinking about some of the other media I've been exploring in advance of the trip.  

As I've been getting ready for the possibility of going on the JFMF trip, I've been reading a few books to try to understand more about the culture of Japan.  Confucius Lives Next Door by T.R. Reid has been one of my favorites.   It's an enjoyable read that made me more than ever want to visit this wonderful place. Reid shares the positives of the interconnectedness of the Japanese culture, the relative safety of travel for individuals, and the remarkable collaboration in the face of pressing economic hardship.   It's the polar opposite of Shutting Out the Sun, which focuses on the low birth and high suicide rates, depression, alcoholism, and other social problems plaguing the Japanese.  Both of the books have been extremely informative, but they approach many of the same topics from such different viewpoints that I'm more interested than ever to travel to and learn about Japan for myself.  (In fairness, I've not yet finished Shutting Out the Sun, so I don't know if it ever steps away from its negative tone.)

I also explored two other books about aspects of Japanese culture that I'm interested in: anime/manga and baseball.   The book on anime was called Wrong About Japan by Peter Carey and it wasn't that great, interested readers won't be missing by skipping it.  I did enjoy You Gotta Have Wa, a book on American baseball players trying to survive and thrive within the big leagues of Japan.  Wa was written by Robert Whiting and published in 1990, so it is very much out of date in terms of players that I recognize.  The history of baseball in Japan was a satisfying section and the main reason I bought the book in the first place.    I did see cultural elements from both Confucius and Sun in the book, especially when discussing the collaborative aspects of the game. It was strange to read that ending a game in a tie is a desirable result, as no one has to lose. The last (and only) baseball game I saw that was a tie was a Spring Training contest between the Braves and Yankees at Disney that was called because there was no more room on the scoreboard for extra innings.  It didn't matter that the game didn't count, people were about ready to go out and tear down the backstop!  Whiting has another book out called The Meaning of Ichiro that I'm going to try to find before June. 

I've found that Netflix has a pretty good collection of Japanese films and anime.  I've searched mainly for media that speak to the school experience in Japan.  In anime, both Azumanga Daioh and Cromartie High School have given me a few (humorous) social and cultural insights that I haven't gotten anywhere else.  Below is one of my favorite scenes from Azumanga Daioh, and it is possibly one of the strangest:

Yeah, weird, I know.  But the whole series is hilarious and will grow on you.  I've rented a number of films, but my two favorites have been Linda Linda Linda and Train Man.  If you get the chance of see either of these, you'll be in for a treat.  Another great but heartbreaking film is Nobody Knows.  Have a box of tissues handy.

I found a fan made trailer for Linda Linda Linda on YouTube:

I'm tired of typing.  This blog thing is tough.  I have no idea how my wife keeps up so well and includes so much information in her posts.  

Back to the window to faithfully watch for the postal truck.  Sayonara!