It's the end of the month and is time once again for my monthly book reviews. I wouldn't want to disappoint you without giving you a variety of literary and visual morsels to devour, along with some children's lit, travel essays, and a biography or two.
1. GREEN PARROTS: A WAR SURGEON'S DIARY by Gino Strada - More non-fiction on who suffers the worst from wars. This should be required reading for all politicians - especially the "chicken hawk" politicians who still currently lead our country. It's such a tragedy that the person who needs to read this the most is our bumbling, oil-loving, Prez-idiot Bush and to all the manufacturers of weapons. This diary doesn't follow any chronological order but was written about the forgotten sufferers of various wars - the people, mostly women and children, who by no choice of their own, find themselves living in the midst of a war zone. So, why such a cute title for heavy subject? Because the "Green Parrots" refer to a slang term for a small winged anti-personnel mine. They're shaped like a toy which children find irresistible, only to find themselves waking up in the next instant either in darkness or without a limb. You will be sad to read about the "collateral damage" from the Iran-Iraq war, mostly the forgotten Kurds, Cambodia, Peru, Afghanistan, the Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia. Oh, but the governments of those places will try their hardest to gain international aide only to have aide directed towards the military! Who even came up with that term - "collateral damage" as if innocent people were some kind of commodity? Also, don't you find it disturbing that when things get a little uncomfortable, the big name NGOs, (The United Nations, the International Red Cross, etc.) are the first to leave the areas of conflict when they're most needed? All you have to do is remember how the United Nations reacted to the genocide in Rwanda. "Oh, I think it's time to leave - and we'll only take European nationals with us!" Pathetic. It's as if they exist only to clean up the after effects of war. Pathetic. Thank god there are people like Dr. Strada who left the International Red Cross and started Emergency. A very non-profit organization that sets up hospitals in war zones. Do you want to hear more news that hardly gets aired in the U.S. How about General Colin Powell's response when asked about the Civilian Iraqi casualties during the first Gulf War? "Oh, we don't care about that!". And you can be sure Prez-idiot Bush won't sign the Ottawa Treaty (also known as the Landmine Treaty) for banning the production of anti-personnel mines, along with the other major countries such as China, Russia, North & South Korea (no surprise there), India & Pakistan (no surprise there either). Of course not. And do we know why? Because 80% or more of landmines are produced and exported by those countries. America as a leader in humanitarian aide? Please, just look below the surface at how our current administration handles our foreign policy. Pathetic! Pathetic! Pathetic! Oh, I still love my country - I just don't like its current administration. But be sure to read this!!
2. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID: TRAVELS THROUGH MY CHILDHOOD by Bill Bryson - A bit of light reading from one of my favorite travel writers. This time around, Bryson leads us on a trip through his childhood, which is about growing up in Des Moines, Iowa in the fifties - when life was simple (or so Bryson says) - when kids played outdoors, when doctors endorsed cigarette ads, the Golden Age of Comics, the beginning of the television age, and the scary prospect of Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. I imagine no one thought Bryson would become the world wide traveler he is known for today. Most entertaining.
3. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN by Morgan Spurlock - From the documentary film maker who brought us the entertaining exploits of eating a McDonald's only menu for an entire month and titled the film "Super Size Me" comes another companion book to a documentary in the making. Spurlock is about to become a father, but with the world being as dangerous as it is today with the Global War on Terror and radical Muslims wanting to become martyrs, he decides to go look for Osama to ask him why the bearded one hates us so. So starting from New York, Spurlock first heads down to Washington, D.C. to talk to Stephen Coll (Pulitzer prize winning author of "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001) to get an idea of what he's getting himself into. He also participates in a class led by a former SAS member on how to survive hostile areas. And then his search for Bin Laden takes him first to England (you will have to read this to find out why)→Northern Ireland (to talk to a former IRA member)→France→Egypt→Morocco→Jordan→Israel→The West Bank and the Occupied Territories→Saudi Arabia→Afghanistan→and finally to Pakistan and its frontier which the U.S. military refer to as Talibanistan and where he experiences having mortar shells explode around him, thus giving him the courage to give up his search for Osama and to head back to New York for the birth of his child!! Not a dull page in this book.
4. LOVE AND FREE: NEW YORK EDITION by Ayumu Takahashi - After starting and running a company for three years, Takahashi resigns from his position and with his new bride who also quit her job as an OL (office lady), the newlywed embark on an adventure that will take them around the world. From November of 1998 until June 2000, their travels will take them to Australia, Southeast Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Africa, South and North America before returning to Japan. Their only rule was to spend at least a week in each place before moving on. This book is a collection of Takahashi's thoughts and pictures that was taken during the trip. Originally published in 2001, Takahashi had his book reprinted in a bilingual edition - hence the New York edition moniker.
5. 別冊Lightningハンバーガーの本 [The Hamburger Book] - Here's a subject dear to my American heart. Apologies to all vegans and vegetarians but I love my charred flesh! And what is more American than hamburger? This isn't exactly a history of hamburger mind you. It is a guide to the gourmet burger shops of Tokyo and its surroundings. Of course the book covers the major multi-national chains (McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's) as well as local favorites (Mos Burger, Freshness Burger, Lotteria). Ah, but it's the gourmet burger shops that will have you salivating. There is quite a few shops I have yet to try out. The owner of one of the burger shops listed in the book (Baker Bounce) lives in the same apartment complex as I do, and he recently opened his second shop in Roppongi's mega-trendy Midtown area (he must be doing pretty good). It was in this book where I discovered the Village Vanguard and already experienced their Harvey Pekar burger. Of course I will post my burger experiences on my blog once I've had a taste of the various shops. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at things) me and Mikako's favorite burger shop wasn't listed (Eric's Burger). Meaning it still won't be overcrowded with burger enthusiasts and for the time being will remain a local secret (although I've already written it's praises on my blog! Silly me - sometimes you just have to share wonderful secrets).
6. WORKING STIFF: THE MISADVENTURES OF AN ACCIDENTAL SEXPERT by Grant Stoddard - Here's a light-hearted little story of an English chap who wins an online quiz where the prize is having sex with a married woman!! To begin with, I shall state that the following is not suitable for young children or immature dweebs. The married woman in question is Lisa Carver, who is a writer for the online sex magazine Nerve.com. Stoddard is in his twenties, living in New York and wants to stay, but his visa is rapidly reaching its expiration date. But with a recommendation from Ms. Carver (who he does have sex with) he lands himself a job with Nerve.com and becomes a sexual guinea pig for a section called, "I Did It for Science". He is a braver soul than I as he experiences everything from bondage to sploshing, to orgies and gay sex, and test runs a variety of sex toys and ointments and whatnot. One of his last assignments for Nerve.com was to make a plaster cast of his own thang and have a girl-buddy give it to him - giving new meaning to the term, "go f&#k yourself!".
7. SEEK: REPORTS FROM THE EDGES OF AMERICA & BEYOND by Denis Johnson – A collection of non-fiction essays covering everything from a Christian biker rally, panning for gold in Alaska, and experience the Rainbow Gathering of hippies in the forest of North Central Oregon. But what makes this book most interesting are his dispatches from outside the U.S. Covering war ravaged Liberia and having an audience with then president, Charles Taylor. Hanging out in Saudi Arabia on the dawn of the first Persian Gulf War, being the last American in war torn Somalia after the “Black Hawk Down” incident, and being in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban. Oh my, reading about African politics in Liberia and Somalia, is like reading something beyond science fiction or fantasy. Somalia is still without a stable government and yet it survives. One wonders why idiots like Robert Mugabe are still in power too. So many beautiful countries, yet so dangerous with the politics of it all.
8. MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers - Pretty intense young adult novel. As most of you know, I have no qualms about reading children's literature and quite enjoy it. This title caught me surprise as it's quite a powerful story. Steve Harmon lives in Harlem. He's young, black, and on trial for murder...and he's only sixteen! The book is written from Steve's perspective. He is writing about his trial in the form of a screenplay. The books is also interlaced with Steve's own thoughts as if he wrote them down on a legal pad. The writer has the prosecution and defense present their case and leaves the verdict a little ambiguous so that it would get you to thinking how you would respond if you were one of the jurors. Very good!
9. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SONS by Khaled Hosseini - I'm nearly finished with reading Hosseini's second book and I must say, it's as intense or perhaps even more so than his previous effort, "The Kite Runner". The story is about the tragic love story of two women in Afghanistan and covers the years from 1974 through the Soviet invasion and withdrawal, to the bitter fighting of the mujaheddin, to the rise of the Taliban and their incomprehensible edicts. Their lives will tear at your heartstrings and upset you over the injustices done to them and the hardships and cruelty they endure. When a book brings out this much emotion in me, I know I must recommend it to others (and I haven't even finished it yet!)
10. KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL: AN AMERICAN WOMAN GOES BEHIND THE VEIL by Deborah Rodriguez - After reading the fictitious and tragic but somewhat hopeful love story set in Afghanistan, I now find myself reading about a woman who desperately wanted to help the women of said country and after the fall of the Taliban, wheedles her way into an NGO as a volunteer , although the only skill she possesses is as a hairdresser. But as she gets settled in Kabul and makes friends, a light bulb pops up in the air above her head. She will use her skill as a hair dresser to start the only beauty school in Kabul. As an idea, it may sound simplistic, but Rodriguez has determination. If you think Japan is chauvinistic society, you only need to read about plight of women in Afghanistan. Just because the Taliban was ousted doesn't mean that they are free to do as they please. When it comes to women's rights, Afghanistan is near the bottom of the pile. This is country where women are beaten and put in jail just for running away with a boyfriend or running away from an abusive husband. A woman is practically worth less than a slave. But a beauty school is one place where men don't venture. And from a shaky start, Rodriguez hooks up with a larger NGO and finds funding for the school. She also marries an Afghan man and really does take us behind the burqas of how Afghani women struggle to survive. Highly worth reading, and maybe it will be a reminder to Americans that we still have troops there and no, the war there hasn't ended and that we haven't forgotten them.
11. BAD BOY: A MEMOIR by Walter Dean Myers - I so enjoyed Myer's "Monster" that I wanted to read more of his material. This is the story of his life from living in West Virginia, then moving to New York's Harlem where he finds that he has an affinity for books and reading. But he must overcome his speech impediment which causes him to become violent against people who make fun of him. He's also black and being black in Harlem with his nose stuck in a book, leads to more teasing and fights. But somehow he manages - by playing basketball and acting macho on the surface and hiding his poetry and book loving persona on the inside. It's almost surprising that he managed to survive his childhood before enlisting in the army when he was seventeen. I may have to read some more of his books, even if they were mostly written for young adults.
12. AA GILL IS AWAY by A. A. Gill – I just can’t stay away from my favorite genre of travel writing. I love Gill’s approach, this is a quote from him, “My editor asked me what I wanted from journalism and I said the first thing that came into my mind – I’d like to interview places. To treat a place as if it were a person, to go and listen to it, ask it questions, observe it the way you would interview a politician or a pop star.” One of the first things you need to know about A. A. Gill is that he’s a Scotsman who is the tv and restaurant critic for the London Sunday Times and is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. He has divided his book of travels into the four corners of the world – south, east, west, north. In the South section Gill will take you to a refugee camp in Sudan, vacationing in the Kalahari desert, a walking safari through Tanzania, helping to cure sleeping sickness in Uganda, and to take part in a funeral for a nearly forgotten emperor of Ethiopia. In the east, he will be our guide through Bethlehem (the one in the Middle East, not Pennsylvania), the virtually vanished Aral Sea in a place called Kara –Kalpakstan (an autonomous region of Uzbekistan), some forgotten town in Russia, praises the Taj Mahal in India, and is a little bit harsh with his impressions of Japan which I can’t agree with, (then again, I’m quite biased when it comes to Japan as this is my adopted country for the past 13 years now). For the west, he isn’t kind with Los Angeles, also writes and directs a porno film in the U.S., gets to do what most Americans still aren’t allowed to do – visit Cuba as a tourist, and takes us to Buenos Aires and Patagonia for a taste of South America. Northward bound is a fashion show in Milan, Italy, Berlin and a small village that was home to Buchenwald in Germany, the excess of Monaco, a return to his native Scotland, sniper school in Wales, and back to jolly old England with an agricultural show and finally on owning a little something called a Rolls Royce. Sorry, it seems I just gave away the entire book but I just didn’t want to leave out any of the places that talked to him.
13. CHINESE WHISPERS: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND BRITAIN’S ARMY OF LABOUR by Hsiao-Hung Pai – When you think of Chinese laborers, the first thought to come into your head is probably 1800s America and the building of the railways. But as you can see from the subtitle, this isn’t about America. This is about Britain. And it’s not about the late 19th century, it’s about the current state of affairs of undocumented migrant laborers and their lives. You may say, but they’re illegal immigrants. That may be true, but to treat them like something below animals or slaves is unforgivable. I recently watched a movie about migrant laborers in the Middle East – “James’ Journey to Jerusalem” which gave me a small idea of how migrant laborers are used and exploited. Reading this book gave me a better understanding of why so many people protest the G8 Summits and how rich countries and big businesses are trying to decide the economy of the world. This is also unforgivable. The author wanted to give a voice to these people, without which, the big businesses would lose some of their profit. What really motivated her though was the tragedy of Morcambe Bay in 2004 where 20 undocumented Chinese laborers lost their lives. These people had no health insurance, are paid far below Britain’s minimum wage, and work extremely long hours without any sort of training and no warnings about the dangers of working in the bay. The domestic workers are in high risk situation for rape and assault and prostitution. Four years after the Morecambe Bay tragedy, the lives of undocumented workers haven’t improved much. Britain’s immigration policy has become more Draconian, and the Chinese people who are already in Britain are having a harder and harder time making ends meet. Reading this book should really piss you off. It makes me sad that I own a Samsung VCR who’s business policies use this hidden army of labor (not that they would openly admit it). They go through a labor provider who usually charge anywhere from 50 to 200lbs. to the migrants who are usually dismissed from their jobs after a month or two and must pay a new fee to find another job. It’s sickening and unethical. And just when Britain was about to vote on a pro-worker initiative giving the migrant workers a small improvement, who should put pressure on Britain not to pass it? U.S. Corporations and investors led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in China (and backed by who else but the Bush administration!). So once again, it’s really our country and the current administration meddling in other countries affairs leading to more poverty in third world countries. Oh, when companies dismiss these workers without notice, citing the new immigration laws as a reason yet they make no complaints about working them nearly to death for pennies, it makes you wonder at the state of the world. A line in an old Ted Nugent song says it all, “They couldn’t see pass the billfold.” In this case, the “they” being big business and international corporations.
14. J-ROCK GROUPIES: 200 PHOTOGRAPHS OF UNIQUE JAPANESE GIRLS - This can be another companion volume to "Fruits", "Fresh Fruits", and "Gothic and Lolita" featuring more Japanese women and they're outrageous fashion although this particular book was not released by the same publishers as the previously mentioned titles. "Fruits" and "Fresh Fruits" put the spotlight on Harajuku - the neighborhood Gwen Stefani sings about in her song "Harujuku Girls". If you've seen the movie "Kamikaze Girls" (Shimotsuma Monogatari - Japanese title), then you'll be familiar with the Lolita fashion - the Gothic fashion isn't all that different excet for the excessive use of black. This book features the fans and fashions of visual-kei bands. Bands that emphasize more on their looks then their music (although some may disagree with me on that) or glam-rock on acid might be a better description. The title of the book may be somewhat misleading as J-Rock groupies are not the same as the American counterparts who just want to bone the band members. These girls want to dress like their favorite band members or at least dress outrageously so the band members would notice them. The featured girls are fans of these not yet major visual-kei band - Atelier, Undead, Sinner, Rutira, Maverick, lilyspider, and cinema-s' trip (I'm sure you've never heard of any one of them). Seeing a visual-kei band in concert is like being transported to another planet - it's like a cult where the ecstatic fans all move to the music in synch and sometimes they are dressed more radically than the bands they're seeing. How do I know this? I've been to one major visual-kei band's concert (Malice Mizer) and I have a friend who plays guitar for a visual-kei band which I've seen many times (Celestial Gate). It really is an entirely different world!
15. FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER by E. L. Konigsburg - This is the Newbery Award winning novel for 1968. It's the story of 12 year old Claudia and 9 year old Jamie who run away from home and hide out in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. While hiding in the museum, they find themselves trying to solve the mystery of a newly acquired art piece which has been the subject of a controversy on its authenticity. For Claudia, what started out as an act of punishment against her parents and siblings for the injustices she feels she's suffered, her adventure becomes a journey of self discovery. Damn, I just love kid's books. I can never get enough of them.
16. FROM THE DUST RETURNED by Ray Bradbury - This book was expanded from a short story called "The Homecoming" that was published in Mademoiselle magazine in 1946 and the jacket features art work by Charles Addams. Mademoiselle loved the story so they created their October Halloween issue around the story. "The Homecoming" was also published as part of Collins Design WISP series (Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces) with artwork by Dave McKean in September of 2006. The story centers around an unusual family of ghouls, vampires, mummies, and others with special talents who all gather at a mysterious house located in upper Illinois for the "Homecoming". However, A Thousand Times Great Grandmere senses that change is about to take place and the mood after the Homecoming is one of foreboding. I've always had a fondness for Bradbury, ever since I had to read "The Martian Chronicles" for a class in school.
17. WALTER THE FARTING DOG: TROUBLE AT THE YARD SALE by William Kotzwinkle - Being a kid at heart, how can I not love a farting dog. Kids will be kids and we know they will all laugh if someone says "fart", "poo", or "booger". And now we have Walter. In this adventure, the family is having a yard sale and while their neighbors tables are full of people, nobody has come to the table where Walter sits and farts away. The kids having nothing to do, go out to buy ice-cream. While they're away, one man comes and offers money to buy Walter. Father gladly sells him and as he's counting the money the kids come back and ask where Walter is. Well, it seems the man who bought Walter was going to use Walter's farts and rob a bank. He gets away with it to but leave it to Walter to save the day!
Until next month,
HAPPY READING!
Onion Salad
Grilled head of yellowtail
Assorted sashimi platter
Assorted yakitori platter
"HELP! They're eating my body!" cried the mackerel.
Tomorrow we leave for the Boso Peninsula. We tried to go to sleep around 1:00am but one of us would not let us sleep. Not intentionally of course, but Yukio had the loudest snores I've ever heard. I don't think Mikako or Yukio's girlfriend could really catch a wink. To think, my snoring used to be just as bad according to my family and friends. I must ask for their forgiveness!! If I knew Yukio's snores were going to be this loud, we should have caught the first train in the morning on Sunday!
Above is the ticket stub for the second time I saw KISS. Check out the stadium? I saw the in New York City at Madison Square Garden. I spent the summer of '79 in New York, staying in my uncle's 34th floor apartment on 10th Ave and 51st Street.
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This is our friend Hama-chan. She works as a care giver for the elderly and lives a hop, skip, and a jump away from our apartment. I've known her for about six or seven years now and am always entertained with her with and charm. And when it comes to beer, she would put a lot of my friends to shame.
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