Atypical Tipples

Today i spent a couple hours going over recent additions to my beer label collection.  Sorting, peeling, glueing, etc. I don't know how many i have.  Indexing is the next step in the process. I estimate close to three hundred, though.

A few of the brews i've sampled of late:

Kona Brewery continues to impress with their line of handcrafted Hawaiian beers. This is the Wailua Weizen brew, with Passion Fruit flavour.   I've had this one before, back when it started as a limited release. I can understand why this became so popular and they brought it back as part of their regular lineup. Fruity but not overpowering. Very good for a summer afternoon.

Every year Kirin Brewery (Japan) releases an autumn brew called "Akiaji" ( 秋味 ). It's pretty good for what it is. Smooth, not too hoppy, not as sweet as some Japanese beers.
Best drunk very cold. 6% alcohol.

Three German brews i picked up at our local import shop. All from Max Leibinger, Ravensburg. The Seeweisse German Wheat Ale was particularly good. The Leibinger "Edel Spezial" was a bit too hoppy for my taste but i know people who would really enjoy it.  And the Zeppelin Ale was good but not particularly noteworthy. The label however is fantastic!

Symian is: sipping and savoring a rare day off. 

Currently Reading: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells

Currently Listening: Fountains of Wayne

Kanji of the Day: 味／あじ／flavour

Kooza and Osaka Walkabout

   We went and saw Kooza by Cirque du Soleil today. They're in Osaka for a few months on tour. Ulala and i saw Kooza a few years ago in Toronto and we really enjoyed seeing it again (this time with Japanese jokes and comments thrown in, which was nice).  We went with our good friends Emi and Masako. After the incredible show, we had a late lunch at Dojima River Forum Cafe nearby. Then Masako went off to meet another friend and Emi, Ulala and i decided to take a leisurely stroll along the river up to Tenmabashi.  I took a lot of pictures because it struck me how that part of downtown does not feel "Asian."  I'm not even entirely sure what i mean by that, but we had a wonderful walk and it felt like it could be New York or Buenos Aires or London or Toronto. Sometimes i get so used to living here in Osaka that i forget to keep my eyes fresh and my mind open.
   We had also planned on going to the lantern festival at Osaka Castle around 8pm but Ulala, being 8 months pregnant, was thoroughly worn out by the afternoon, so we just headed home. I cooked tomato cream sauce penne with shrimp and vegetables and we watched True Grit, which had been on our list for quite a while.   Pictures from the day:

Symian is: still in awe of the Kooza performers!

Currently Reading: The Island of Dr Moreau

Currently Listening: The Morning Stream with Scott Johnson (podcast)

Kanji of the Day: 曲芸／きょくげい／circus

Parenting Class

   We went over to St Barnabas Hospital today for a parenting class. We got a tour of the hospital and delivery areas and viewing rooms.  We practiced coaching, breathing, and went over all the stuff that we need to know / bring when the big day arrives.  Then we practiced bathing a baby doll. There were 11 couples in our class and most of them seemed cheerful and eager. One or two of the fathers seemed nervous. The poor guy sitting at the table with us (two couples per table) was so nervous he was shaking as he lifted the doll and tried to position himself over the washbasin.  I had fun learning some of the useful tips about how to handle the baby, how to avoid slipping or getting water in the ears, how to lay out towels and fresh diapers for ease and efficiency.  No doubt the only real experience is real experience, but it was a useful learning day.

   Afterwards, we sat outside on some benches and ate lunch from the supermarket bakery, enjoying the breeze and talking about what it will be like to have a newborn to care for.  No worry, no complaining, no fear. Just excited and hopeful about our new adventure. 

Ulala and i comparing our bumps.

Naoshima, Day 2, In Which Ulala and Ian see some art but generally take pictures of Other Things

Day 2 was museum day. Up with the sound of cicadas and the Seto Sea, we started out after a Japanese style breakfast of fish, rice and miso soup. First we went to Benesse House via their free bus (very nice of them not to ask if we were actually guests of the Benesse Hotel, which we were not).  Lots of "modern art" at Benesse House; some of it thought provoking, much of it puzzling and strange, some of it just plain stupid. They have some very famous artists' work in their collection, but decidedly not their most famous or best works. They have a George Segal piece that made me want to rush to the ticket office and demand my money back because it was so incredibly lame. And Jannis Kounellis' three "Untitled" pieces were atrocious.  But i enjoyed Richard Long's "Inland Driftwood Circle" and "Full Moon Stone Circle."   I also had fun with Yukinori Yanagi's works, like "Banzai Corner."

But what we really came to see was Ando Tadao's incredible architecture and the spaces it creates. The three main museums of Naoshima are all designed by Ando, with his flat walls of concrete and sweeping curves, acute angles and perspectives. It is unlike almost anything else in contemporary architecture. I wouldn't want to live in it, but it really does its job of making you appreciate and think about the spaces and surfaces and light. You may notice that there are no pictures of the museums themselves or the art.  You can look them all up with a simple Google search. 

After Benesse House we hopped back on the bus and over to the relatively new Lee Ufan Museum; a collaboration of sorts between the Korean minimalist artist Lee Ufan and Ando Tadao, who created the museum specifically for Ufan's works. They are simple and stark and quite moving when placed against the backdrop of the Seto Inland Sea.  They have an organic, natural quality that emerges from their extremely simple execution.  We noticed many people rushing through the museum in "tourist" mode. I would highly recommend taking a lot of time and really gazing at and wandering around the pieces, to see them from many angles and take in the play of light and shadow.

After that we headed into town but decided to save the Art House Project until tomorrow. We did however check out Go'o Shrine, which is fascinating. We also got eaten alive by mosquitoes going to and from the shrine, so we spent the evening by the ferry port eating "sanuki udon"(the local specialty), enjoying the amazing sunset and the big red pumpkin.

Ulala dubbed this "Hershey Kiss Island."   One day we will go there, hike to the top and plant a big white banner to complete the image.

At the Lee Ufan Museum:

The Monet Garden at the ChiChu Art Museum:  ("chi-chu" literally translates as "in the earth" - the museum is built into the hill so that only pieces of it stick out above the surface and yet most of the museum is lit by natural light.)

In town:

Go'o Shrine. The glass steps continue underground, accessible via a VERY narrow tunnel in the side of the hill. All very mystical and whatnot.

The big red Pumpkin by the ferry port:

Symian is: full to the brim of art and enjoyment.

Currently Reading: Inspector Imanishi Investigates

Currently Listening: --

Kanji of the Day: 地中／ちちゅう／chichu / "in the earth"

Naoshima, Day 1, In Which Ulala and Ian arrive at Naoshima

Sorry for posting this late...

Ulala and i had a light breakfast and headed for the bus terminal at OCAT.  We took a highway bus departing at 10:30 and arriving at Takamatsu at about 1:45. Then  we wandered around the overly new seeming Takamatsu port area for a while, grabbing a quick bite to eat at a Freshness Burger and a couple of HelloKitty straps to add to my disturbingly large collection.  We took the 3:40 ferry and dozed off promptly, arriving at Naoshima's Miyanoura Port roughly an hour later.  We took a few pictures, took a ¥100 bus to Tsutsuji-so Lodge, where we checked in for our Mongolian-style Pao Yurt.  Yes, my wife is pregnant, but SHE is the one who booked the trip - bus, pao, and all - despite my constant nagging of "Are you really gonna be OK?" She's tough when she ants to be, i guess.  After checking in, we wandered over to the big yellow pumpkin sculpture that is on many of the postcards, took a few more pictures and enjoyed the view. We did a lot of enjoying the view during our three days.  There are a lot of nice views.  We ate a dinner that was satisfying on far more levels than mere gustatory and followed it with pumpkin ice cream (served in a hollowed out little pumpkin) and then enjoyed the sunset and the stars and teh sound of the Seto Sea and its many freighters and ferries.  Tomorrow: art, art, and more art!

In Takamatsu Ferry Terminal:

Art starts early when you get to the ferry terminal:

Not our ferry but one very much like it. The ferry network among the Japanese islands is actually quite impressive. Almost as impressive as their "trains-that-run-on-time" trick.  You should check it out.

There are in fact only two things to do in Takamatsu and this is the least offensive of them: (my apologies to anyone from Takamatsu who may ever read this...)

Ulala on the ferry as we got close to Nasohima. This is one of the only ferry pictures because we fell asleep mere moments after boarding.

Ulala in front of the Mongolian-style Pao Yurts we spent the night in. We got lucky number eight, with a nice view of the shore and the yellow pumpkin.

The pao, much like the Tardis, it is bigger on the inside:

The aforementioned yellow pumpkin:

What else is one to do with a giant pumpkin, really?

 Then we had a wonderful BBQ dinner outside near the beach (but with table service)

 This is the view of the Seto Sea from our table:

 And this is the pumpkin ice cream we had for dessert, served in a small pumpkin, which actually seems ind of gruesome now that i think about it.  At the time it just seemed delicious.

 Sunset on the beach in front of Tsutsuji-Lodge (which also has the paos). We stayed awake watching the stars and listening to the waves for a long time.

Symian is: reliving a very happy, peaceful evening.

Currently Reading: Inspector Imanishi Investigates, by Seicho Matsumoto 

Currently Listening: The Seto Sea and crickets

Kanji of the Day: 蟋蟀／こおろぎ／cricket