Nissin no Tongarashi-men / 日清のとんがらし麺

It's been a while since I featured some instant noodles, so here's another one I tried a few months ago. This is Nissin's Tongarashi-men (or Red Pepper Ramen made with African Hot Chili in a chicken broth). It says "very spicy" on the label and also comes with a chili sauce to add to as well.

久しぶりのカップ麺紹介です。今回は日清のとんがらし麺。激辛も書いてあるし、唐辛子ソース付きです。アフリカンホットチリ入りでチキン風味。

Looks delicious and tasted delicious as well, but not as spicy as the label made it out to be (or maybe I'm just too used to eating spicy foods).

美味しそうに見えるし、実際に美味しかった、でも激辛ほどの辛さは感じなかった。もしかして自分が辛いものに慣れ過ぎたかも。

Bon Appetit!

いただきます！

Ern's Monthly Page Turners (August 2010)

*和書の場合日本語の文章も書き込んでます

Well, it's not the end of October and I've just finished writing my reviews for the books I read in August. As you can see, this month I am only featuring three titles because I only read three titles. But as I've mentioned before, when I read a book that's not written in my native language, it takes me quite a while to finish. This month's theme is travel and food, two of my favorite subjects! Enjoy.

普段本に関するネタ日本語は書き込みせんが、今回紹介する本の二冊は和書なので、日本語の文章も書いたほうが良いと思いました。これは８月で読んだタイトルです。見てる通り８月は３冊の本しか読んでません。なぜと言えば、自分の母国語以外の本を読む時は凄い時間がかかります。読めない漢字や、自分にとって意味不明な言葉もいろいろあります。でもその壁をなんとか越えて、無事読み終わる事も出来ました。今月のテーマは自分の趣味と一緒の旅と食！楽しいんで下さい。




世界のどこかで居候 by 中山茂・坂口霞 [Sekai no Dokokade Isourou] by Shigeo Nakayama and Katsumi Sakaguchi - “Isourou” – a difficult word to translate in English. I went through a number of dictionaries searching for a word that would closely describe the form of travel that that author Shigeo Nakayama and cameraman Katsumi Sakaguchi created. I also checked with a few online dictionaries as well and most of them gave the same answer – “to lodge” or “lodging” which is close to what the two were doing but not exactly. A closer approximation would be “home stay”, but “home stay” usually applies to students and these two are far beyond their university years. One online dictionary gave the exact definition of what they were doing – “lodger who pays nothing for room and board”, but the other definitions that followed were “freeloader” and “sponger”. So the closest translation of the book title would be “Lodging for Free Somewhere Around the World”. Four years! Eight countries! Nakayama and Sakaguchi traveled around the world between the years 2004 and 2008. They set a standard rule for lodging with strangers. They would stay for no more than a week. They would not schedule their trip to coincide with any events or festivals, and they would not ask for anything in return, only for the families to live their everyday lives as if they weren’t there. They would sleep in the same rooms, eat the same foods, and work in the fields with their hosts. And there would be no guide or interpreters during their stay.

和書なので、日本語の文章も頑張って書きたいと思いました。洋書と違って、和書は大体帯が付くものですね。そしてその帯に軽く本の内容が書かれてます。いつもじゃないですが、今回はそうゆう風になってます。大きいく書いてるあるのは「旅ではない。居候である。」自分の下手の日本語より、帯に書かれたことを借ります：「図々しくも世界のどこかのご家族に「おじゃまします！」。一泊二泊ではお客さん、三日を過ぎて「いてもいなくてもどっちでもいい」と思われて初めて居候。モンゴル、イエメン、パプアニューギニア、インド、モロッコ、ネパール、カンボジア　－　リイター＆カメラマンの「居候」コンビが覗いた、世界のどこだのふつうの人のふつうの暮らし。」この本も漢字が多くて、ふりがなも無いので、苦労して読みました。自分の母国語以外で本を読むのはどれだけ大変だったか、言葉に説明出来ない。自分の叔父さん尊敬するは。日本人で英語やロシャ語の本良く読んでましたな。凄い。

You can read a more detailed review of this particular book on the “Asia by the Book” blog at http://www.asiabythebook.thingsasian.com/

THE LUNATIC EXPRESS : DISCOVERING THE WORLD…VIA ITS MOST DANGEROUS BUSES, BOATS, TRAINS, AND PLANES by Carl Hoffman – [Indonesian Ferry Sinks. Peruvian Bus Plunges Off Cliff. Kenyan Train Attacked by Mobs. Whenever he picked up a newspaper, journalist and award-winning travel writer Carl Hoffman noticed these news bulletins and was struck by how far removed the idea of tourism – travel as the pursuit of pleasure – is from the reality of most people’s experience.] If that doesn’t capture your attention, I don’t know what will. We’ve all read the same headlines. We probably all have the same bias towards transportation in the developing world. Heck, you know we’d rather drive our own car to the local supermarket than take the local bus to anywhere. And yet, thousands of people do not have a choice in their mode of transport. So Hoffman decided to take a trip around the world using “the most perilous means of transportation: the statistically most dangerous airlines, the most crowded ferries, the slowest buses, and deadliest trains.” His trip would start from his home in Washington, D.C. and take him around the world – but he would take only the most suspect of vehicles: “from Havana to Bogota on the notorious Cubana Airlines; across Bangladesh on overloaded ferries, which are responsible for the deaths of 1000 passengers a year; from Lima to the Amazon on packed night buses despite washed-out roads; through the urban morass of Nairobi by minibus; in Mumbai on commuter trains so jam-packed that hundreds perish daily; through Afghanistan as the Taliban closes in; and finally, scariest of all on his return home – Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. – by Greyhound.” This isn’t Theroux reliving his “Great Railway Bazaar” which is rather tame in comparison, but that was a different kind of trip to begin with. But don’t let the book put you off from traveling on local transportation as it’s the best way to get to know people in the country you’re visiting, and besides, Hoffman did return home in one piece!



ザ・バーガーマップ by 松原好秀 [The Burger Map] by Yoshihide Matsubara – How can I not buy this book. When I first came to Tokyo, aside from the regular chains of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s (which pulled out of Japan earlier this year), I discovered local chains such as Mos Burger, Freshness Burger, and Lotteria. But if you wanted to upgrade to a premium burger, you would either have to go to Johnny Rockets in Roppongi (also no longer in business) or the Hard Rock Café. I’m sure there were a few other burger shops that I just didn’t know about yet. But in the late ‘90s early 2000s, the boom in gourmet burger shops has grown exponentially. Now, if I crave a burger, I don’t settle for McDonald’s, I treat myself to a gourmet burger. As you can surmise from the title, this is a guide book to some of the best gourmet burger shops Tokyo has to offer. This book features 38 shops in Tokyo, another 9 shops in Kanagawa Prefecture, and another 9 shops in Saitama Prefecture. Of all the shops represented, I have eaten at 9 in Tokyo and had at least 2 burgers from a couple of the Kanagawa shops that had a food booth at a Curry Festival I went to in Yokosuka a couple of months ago. For the curious, these are some of the shops that were featured: Fire House, 7025 Franklin Ave., Sunny Diner, Homeworks, AS Classics, Fellows, Brozers’, Trust Saloon, Zats Burger Café, Fungo just to name a few (and representing the ones I’ve actually been to). Two of my favorites may not have been represented, Eric’s Burger in Sangenjaya and Hawaii’s own Kua Aina (which is probably considered a chain now with all the shops they’ve opened in Japan), but that’s okay. Bon Appetit!

この本見た瞬間買うしかないと思った。日本に来てもう１５年以上が経ちました。最初に来たら頃マックドナルド、バーガーキング、とウェンディーズ（現在は日本から撤退してますが）はもちろん存在しましたが、他に出会ったバーガーショップは国内チェン店のモスバーガー、フレッシュネスバーガーとロッテリア。もうちょっと贅沢なバーガー食べたかったなら、六本木にあった「ジョニーロケッツ」や「ハード・ロック・カフェ」に行くしかなかった。（自分が知った限りは）。でも９０年代後半と２０００年代前半、東京でグルメバーガーブームがあって、ちょこちょこ新しいグルメバーガーショップが出来た。今、バーガーが食べたくなると、マックよりやっぱりグルメバーガーショップを選びますね。この本のタイトル通り、グルメバーガーショップのマップガイド。首都圏版です。東京に３８軒を紹介して、神奈川県と埼玉県は９軒づつを紹介されてます。東京で紹介されてるのが９軒。それと神奈川県の２店舗が横須賀カレー祭りに屋台を出しました事でその２軒のバーガーショップのバーガーを食べたことある。こうゆう店が本に載ってます：ファイヤハウス、７０２５フランクリン・アベニュー、サニーダイナー、ホムワークス、AS クラシック、ブロザーズ、トラストサルーン、佐世保バーガーザッツバーガーカフェ、ファンゴ等。（僕が実際に行ったことある店）。自分の気に入りのショップは紹介されなかったが、（三軒茶屋にある「エリックス・ハンバーガー・ショップ」とハワイ発症の「クア・アイナ」でも「クアアイナ」が段々新しい店を開店してるのでバーガーチェンになってる。でも美味しいから許す！いただきます！

Ern's Monthly Visual Victuals (August 2010)

*映画に関するネタは日本語書き込みません

As I slowly try to catch up with my book and movie reviews, I have worked up to the month of August. I know I'm still a couple of months behind, but at least I'm writing. I hope to be caught up by the end of this month. Nothing special to really recommend this month. I was just taking advantage of my rental DVD shop's "Rent 4 for 1000yen" campaign. I've been taking a break from watching the Japanese '70s hero programs as well. And so it goes:

THE MARINE 2 (2009) – As this is Part 2, I thought it was a sequel to the first one, wouldn’t you? However, this particular film has nothing whatsoever do with the first one. It’s just another excuse for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to feature another one of their members in their stable to become an action star. Then again it’s a DTV movie, that would “Direct to Video” so they could be forgiven. At least they can be forgiven when compared to all the rap stars that try to make it as an action hero. Anyway, in this generic but fairly entertaining and predictable action romp, Joe (Ted DiBiase) joins his wife who is working for some developer and is opening a resort hotel on a beautiful island. Joe isn’t particularly interested in mingling so he goes off to the beach on his own. And wouldn’t you know it, some local rebels take over the hotel and take all the hotel personnel hostage. As Joe’s wife is one among them, it’s up to Joe and his training as a Marine to save the day!


THE ART OF WAR 3 : RETRIBUTION (2009) – I will be honest, I just popped this in and let the film run its course while I either worked on my blog or surfed the net or whatever. As I mentioned above, rap stars just shouldn’t try to be action heroes, but does Hollywood listen to their viewers? Nope, so instead of Wesley Snipes, we get Treach. And the current baddie in any action flick in today’s environment is of course North Korea. I don’t even know what the plot was about, was there a plot? Oh yeah, secret agent tries to stop a North Korean terrorist (played by Sung Hi Lee) from getting their hands on a nuclear device. As this is an another Direct to Video flick, you’re better off just watching Parts 1 and 2.

PREMONITION (2007) – Kind of a strange movie that stars Sandra Bullock who plays a housewife who has a very strange experience. The previous day she is told by the police that her husband was in an accident and died. But the next day when she wakes up, her hubby is by her side healthy and alive as can be. But then the following morning, he is dead once again. And so it goes for who knows how many days. She realizes she’s living her days out of sequence. Can she save her husband from the fate that awaits him? Well, this wasn’t a bad flick and I know at least one friend of mine really enjoyed it, but I don’t think I can recommend it as a must see. You will have to decide for yourself on this one.

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (2008) – I have yet to be disappointed by a Kevin Smith film and this one is no exception. And since it stars Seth Rogan, that’s an added bonus. Zack and Miri have been friends since junior high or high school. Their relationship has always been platonic and as adults, they share an apartment as well. But as they are having a hard time paying their bills, they’re being threatened with eviction. How are they going to make money and save themselves from getting kicked out? Why, by making and starring in a porno movie of course. As they get their friends involved and the film rolls along, they discover that maybe they have even deeper feelings for each other. Will the film ruin their relationship? What’s going to happen. Nerds and shy guys will love this, because Zack isn’t the most handsome of dudes, is living with a hot babe (and don’t read the next line if you plan on renting this)…and gets the babe in the end!


DUPLICITY (2009) – I’m sorry but this is just awful. The fact that it stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen is no help at all. And since I really hated this film, I’m just going to borrow the reviewer from the Internet Movie Database by one: Ray works for MI6, Claire for the CIA. She burns him in Dubai. Jump ahead five years: he sees her in Grand Central and confronts her. Both now work in industrial security for corporate giants whose CEOs hate each other. Flashbacks fill us in: is it coincidence that he sees her in Grand Central? In about a week, one of the firms is going to announce a revolutionary product. Under the guise of helping that corporation's rival, can Ray and Claire work their own theft and find an independent buyer? To work together, using the corporate rivalry to their advantage, they would have to trust one another - difficult, if not impossible. Or, is one playing the other?] The characters were just annoying as one trying to outwit the other. It reminds me of that remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair” which I also thought was awful. Roberts doesn’t seem to have a decent film since “Erin Brokovich” which came out in 2000. Of course I have yet to see “Eat, Pray, Love” which seems to be getting fairly decent reviews. Of course when you learn that her character’s publisher paid for the entire year, it doesn’t make sound quite so exciting.

アイ・アム [I Am] (2010) – A Japanese film I doubt that you will find this in any of your foreign film sections at your local DVD rental store but that’s okay. It isn’t something I would recommend anyway. I only checked it out because it stars Asami Mizukawa, a young actress who is very cute that I like. The story isn’t that original either. Another “Bicentennial Man” or “AI”. Mizukawa is a Nurse Robot who begins to question her existence and wonders if she is real or not. There is the usual, “she’s not human, don’t let her touch me!” etc. Still, not bad as this is Mizukawa’s first starring role in a movie. She’s mostly known as a television actress. But she’s also quite entertaining when on variety shows.

Ern's Monthly Page Turners (July 2010)

*本に関するネタ日本語は書き込みません

I'm still playing catch up with my book and movie reviews. Yesterday, I finally got around to writing my reviews for the books I read in July. By the time I work on my reviews for the month of September, this month will probably be over and I will still be behind schedule. Oh well. My reading pace drops drastically for August and September so I should be back on my normal schedule soon (not that I really have a schedule to begin with). I'm fortunate enough to have friends who actually enjoy my book and movie reviews. This month features a couple of James Bond related items, a galley (which is book talk for uncorrected proofs of a forthcoming title), a subject dear to my heart and a cute little horror/fantasy story by Neil Gaiman.

THE BOOD OF BOND by Alastair Dougall - "The name is Bond. James Bond." Any James Bond fan would love to have this book in their collection. It's a short history of every Bond film from "Dr. No" to last year's "Quantum of Solace", every actor who played Bond from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, and they didn't leave out George Lazenby either! I enjoyed the Roger Moore Bond as well. Pierce Brosnan? Timothy Dalton? Well, I’m sure they have their fans as well. Each page has a short synopsis of the movie along with quotes from the films as well and is filled with black and white and color photos throughout the book. All encompassed in a moderately sized cloth binding.



BOND CARS & VEHICLES by Alastair Dougall - And with every Bond movie, you cannot forget the cars and other vehicles that are part of the movie franchise. Every cool car or vehicle is featured from all the films, once again from "Dr. No" to "Quantum of Solace". Some of the featured models are the Aston Martin DB5 (the most famous of which I have a miniature of, unfortunately collecting dust at home in the States). The BMW 750iL which could also be remote controlled from “Tomorrow Never Dies”. The Lotus Esprit S1 which can turn into a submarine from “The Spy Who Loved Me”. Some of the other vehicles used in Bond movies and featured in this book are the moon buggy from “Diamonds Are Forever”, the ultra-light or rather the gyroplane from “You Only Live Twice”, and the book even adds the Bell Rocket Belt which was featured in “Thunderball”. Published at the same time with the above mentioned title in the same format.



LIGHTS OUT IN WONDERLAND by DBC Pierre - Beware of book reps bearing false praise for writers in their stable. Recently, a book rep had given me a galley to the forthcoming release of DBC Pierre's new book, scheduled for release on September 2. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Pierre's debut novel, "Vernon God Little" and had recommended it to many friends as well, I was totally disappointed with his sophomore work "Ludmilla's Broken English". Perhaps it was due to the pressure of his publisher or agents wanting him to crank out another mind-boggling bestseller. Alas, that was not to happen. So when said rep who admitted that his sophomore work wasn't that great but had great praise for this, his third book, even saying "It might even be better than "Vernon God Little"! So hoping that Pierre is cured of his sophomore slump, with delight and anticipation did I dwell into this tome. What's this? Much better than "Ludmilla's Broken English?" Even better than "Vernon God Little"? I think not!! No no no no. In fact, I can tell you right now, this is even worse than his sophomore effort. I don't know what to make of it, except perhaps that first book wasn't really written by him. Can it be so? I haven't read anything so atrocious since Wendy Holden! It’s as if some drugged out college student had too much time on his hands and thought he wrote the masterpiece of the 21st century! And the amount of footnotes in a fictitious story does not add to the mystery, it only adds to the aggravation of reading this piece of drivel. This slice of garbage, this waste of trees. Need I go on? The protagonist is unlikable and you cannot sympathize with him. The story had such promise with "There isn't a name for my situation. Firstly, because I decided to kill myself". Alas, he not only ruins his life, but seems intent on ruining the lives of others. You might want to kill him yourself before the end of the story. Not even the setting at such locales as London, Tokyo, or Berlin are enough to save this piece of fecal matter.



STEAK : ONE MAN’S SEARCH FOR THE WORLD’S TASTIEST PIECE OF BEER by Mark Schatzker – Here’s a book you can sink your teeth into. A subject that’s dear to my heart as well! How can you not agree with the short blurb written on the inside sleeve of the book – [While Scotch lovers have long had their tasting clubs, cigar aficionados their magazines and specialty shops, and oenophiles and elaborate culture of wine appreciation, the same degree of serious attention has yet to be devoted to a cultural cornerstone that is centuries older and stirs yet greater passion : steak.] By the way, oenophiles are lovers of wine (yes, I had to look it up as well). But according to the author and other steak enthusiasts, believe that the flavor of beef has waned in recent years. To get to the root of the problem, Schatzker travels the world in search of steak in all its forms – rib eye, flank, porterhouse, strips, sirloin, prepared in all kinds of different ways. Starting with the big beef business in Texas, then heading across the Atlantic to France, Scotland, and Italy. And since he is writing about beef, he cannot leave out the Kobe and Matsuzaka brands of Japan, or the meat-loving country of Argentina. By the time he reaches South America, he has “crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean three times, the Pacific Ocean once, and logged more than forty-five thousand miles, consuming somewhere on the order of fifty pounds of steak. Some of it was lean, and some was jubilantly fatty. Some of it was rare, most was medium, and the odd steak was well done.” It’s kind of sad that the United States rated the lowest in taste from all the countries he visited, saying it probably has more to do with making the cows bigger for more profit. In the end, Schatzker decides to make his own steak from scratch as well by purchasing a couple of cows and raising them on his own. He would also take responsibility for “finishing” them (getting the cows fat and ready to be slaughtered), will do the slaughtering on his own as well. As a lover of steak, I found it fascinating to read about, but I don’t see myself going to that extreme. Just take me to the nearest Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus or even the Outback!



CORALINE by Neil Gaiman – As I had been looking forward to watching the film adaption but not yet being available for rental at the time, I decided to read the original story. Actually I’m one of those people who like to read the original works before seeing the film version anyway, so that perhaps it was a good thing that I hadn’t watched the movie yet. Some people have compared the story to Louis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” which you cannot blame them as Coraline does find her way into another world through a small door that had been wallpapered over in her new home. Being a bit lazy (as I’m writing this at 2:30am), I’ve decided to borrow from Wikipedia – [Coraline Jones and her parents move into an old Queen Anne style house that has been subdivided into four flats. The other tenants include Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, two elderly women retired from the stage, and the Crazy Old Man Upstairs (later, he is revealed to be named Mr. Bobo), an eccentric acrobat who is training a jumping mouse circus. During a rainy day, in which Coraline is not permitted to explore outside (her favorite pastime), she discovers a locked door in the drawing room, which has been bricked up. As she goes to visit her neighbors, the Crazy Old Man Upstairs relates to her a message from the mice: do not go through the door.] Of course she pays him no mind and unlocks the door when she’s at home alone and finds that brick wall is no longer there. There is a long corridor that leads to an apartment that’s just like hers with her “Other Mother” and “Other Father” – the difference being they have black buttons for eyes. She has such a great time in the “Other World” that when the Other Mother suggests to Coraline that she stay forever, Coraline gives it some thought; however, there is one catch…she would have to have buttons sewn into her eyes!!

Ern's Monthly Visual Victuals (July 2010)

*映画に関するネタは日本語書き込みません

Now that I had finished writing my book reviews for the month of July, I thought it was time to catch up on movie reviews as well. August was vacation month, which turned into an extended break from writing book and movie reviews through September as well. Following this review, I am planning on writing up another two book reviews for the "Asia by the Book" blog. I think I have taken a long enough vacation from there as well. Mostly foreign films this time around with the exception of "Role Models", "Bolt", and "Ninja Assassin" which stars popular Korean idol Rain. I left out "The Departed" on purpose as well since it is a remake of a Hong Kong film. Anyway, enjoy.

L’INSTINCT DE MORT (2008) – A French film (obviously!) and not one that fits the image of your typical French flick. The English title is “Mesrine : Killer Instinct”. The film is based on the real life criminal Jacques Mesrine. I knew I just had to watch this. Why? How the heck do I know who Jacques Mesrine was? Well, the reason has nothing to do with French films. You see, in the early ‘80s, I used to buy a lot of import albums. One of those being a French rock band called Trust. One of their songs was used in the soundtrack for the original “Heavy Metal” movie (the animation one). The record I bought was “Repression”. The last tune on the B-side of that album is a number called “Le Mitard” which is also sung in French (the album I bought is the English version and this is the only song that is in French). There is also a tune called “Instinct de Mort” which was the title of Mesrine’s autobiography. The subject of those songs is Jacques Mesrine. As a lyric sheet was also included with the album and included a translation of “Le Mitard” in English, I found it to be about one of France’s notorious criminals, sited as Public Enemy No.1 by the French Police, who spent time in a prison called Fleury-Mérogis. Some books refer to Mesrine as the “Robin Hood of France”, while others say he is similar to US criminal John Dillinger. This first movie (the Mesrine story is in two parts) are about his early days. The simplest way of describing this film is calling it a French version of “Goodfellas”.


L’ENNEMI PUBLIC NO.1 (2008) – This second movie opens with the French police pulling in front of the BMW Mesrine was driving with his girlfriend, while 19 shots were fired through the windshield killing him dead! The second part of the story of Jacques Mesrine, titled “Mesrine : Public Enemy No.1” in English. As described above, the French government under President Giscard labeled Mesrine as “Public Enemy No.1”. Not only was he known to rob banks, he was also accused of numerous burglaries, kidnappings, and according to his own autobiography he wrote in prison, that he was responsible for up to forty murders. Having been caught numerous times and then escaping from the authorities, the French police were made to look like fools. The French Minister of the Interior forced the police department to put more effort into capturing Mesrine. Both movies star Vincent Callo who gives a great performance. If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Jacques Mesrine than I highly recommend both movies. In a side note (taken from Wikipedia), “French police announced the operation a success and received congratulations from President Giscard. Afterwards there were complaints that Mesrine was not given any warning, that the police had not acted in self-defense, and thus that Mesrine's death amounted to an execution.” You will have to watch the movies and decide if the police were in the right in their methods.


THE DEPARTED (2006) – It was aired on network television and since I really enjoyed it the first time I had seen it, I had to watch it again. The 2007 Oscar winning film by Director Martin Scorsese. It’s an excellent remake of the Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs” (which I can’t believe the Internet Movie Database site doesn’t credit). Now I have seen all the “Infernal Affairs” movies (there are three) that when I heard Hollywood was going to a remake, I thought, “Oh no, Hollywood is going to ruin another great flick that doesn’t need to me remade!”. It appears my fears were misplaced. Although I’ve seen this film when it first came out, it is worth watching over again and again. Jack Nicholson is the Irish Mob Boss, Leonardo DiCaprio is the undercover cop and Matt Damon is the mole in the police department. With star power like that, this makes it a Hollywood winner in the “name game” but how is it movie-wise? EXCELLENT! Great storyline. To put it simply, two men from opposite sides of the law are undercover giving information to the mob and police. When their identities are about to be discovered, it’s a race to see who is the spy in the police department and who’s working as a spy in the mob. Now, you all go do yourselves a favor, look for and rent the original – “Infernal Affairs” series. You will be glad you did.


NINJA ASSASSIN (2009) – Just in case you didn’t know, the star of this blood-letting action extravaganza is Korean pop star idol Rain as Raizo. That particular line in the movie gave me a good chuckle when Raizo is captured and chained to the wall and one of his captors says, "He looks like he should be in a boy band." Too damn funny, before going solo, he was part of a boy idol band called Fanboy. And deviating just a bit from talking about the movie, my wife is a big fan of his and I was forced to go to his concert last year at the Saitama Super Arena. I couldn’t believe the number of elderly women who attended is show. Anyway, back to the movie. Raizo was raised in an orphanage run by the Ozuno clan where all the orphans are trained as assassins (hey, doesn’t this sound like “Azumi”?). Anyway, he turns his back on the clan and now seeks them out and kills them for their merciless murders. Catch Rain in his latest music video “Love song” and get a good laugh at his dance.


MAN SOM HATAR KVINNOR (2009) – Based on Swedish novelist Steig Laarson’s bestselling book. The Swedish translation of the original title is “Men Who Hate Women” however the English title of said book and film is “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. And although I praised “The Departed” as a Hollywood remake, I have heard rumors that Hollywood is also planning on remaking this film as well. Be sure to check this out before you see some lousy imitation that Hollywood thinks will sell to its gullible public. This is an excellent story. A mystery. Harriet Vanger, the daughter of one of Scandinavia’s wealthiest families has been missing for over forty years. But even after all these years, Harriet’s uncle still seeks the truth into her disappearance. He hires a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist, who had recently been lost a libel suit, to investigate the matter. Blomkvist is joined in his search by Lisbeth Salander, “the girl with the dragon tattoo” of the title. I also haven’t read the books – the Millenium Trilogy which also includes “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” (also turned into films as well), but will do so in the near future.


ROLE MODELS (2008) – A friend of mine sent me this as part of my birthday package. As it hadn’t been released in Japan yet, it was a treat to watch. Damn funny! Two guys in their 30s, Danny and Wheeler, work as a rep for an energy drink. Danny is sick of his job and has a dim outlook on life which in turn drives his girlfriend away. Wheeler loves his job and chasing women and probably hasn’t grown up since his high school years. When they get into a fight with a tow-truck drive, they are given a choice – go to jail or do community service. They opt for the community service in which they have to become Big Brothers. Danny becomes Big Brother to Augie, a total geek who is into a weekend medieval role-playing re-enactment society. Wheeler becomes Big Brother to a potty-mouthed kid with a bad attitude. These two goof-balls need to be “Role Models” for the kids. Can they do it. You know what’s really great about this movie though? Using KISS and KISS tunes to explain the meaning of life to the foul-mouthed kid. Any KISS fan should watch this flick.


KONYEC – AZ UTOLSO CSEKK A POHARBAN (2007) – This is a cute little Hungarian film. Yep, I know, I like to be adventurous in what I choose to watch. The international English title of this movie is “The End” – not to be confused with the long forgotten Burt Reynolds flick. An elderly couple is living on a retirement income which is not enough to pay the bills. The man has one item he refuses to part with – a classic Soviet vehicle which he hasn’t driven in ages. At things reach a boiling point, the man takes his car out for a spin. Inside the glove compartment, he has kept a gun as well. On a whim, the old man robs a store. As he gets away with, the police try to get his wife to co-operate with them as they imagine he will call her sooner or later. When he finally does, the police encourage the wife to meet him and plan to arrest him then. What the police didn’t count on, was the wife running away with her husband. They become the elderly “Bonnie and Clyde”. But can they continue to escape the police? This really is a great movie so you should make the effort to go find it in your foreign movie section of your local DVD rental shop.


BOLT (2008) – Hey, it’s Disney! You’re guaranteed a happy ending! An animation flick featuring the voices of John Travolta (as Bolt) and Miley Cyrus. Bolt is the star of a popular science-fiction/action show and believes his superpowers are real. Bolt witnesses his co-star Penny being taken away and believes it’s up to him to save her. When he busts out of his trailer home and heads out into the real world, he feels his superpowers are not up to speed. It isn’t until he meets a couple of other characters who inform him that he is just a television star and that he has no real superpowers. Of course, Bolt doesn’t believe them at first, but little by little, he discovers that they were telling the truth. However, being the loyal dog he is, he still goes in search of Penny. Predictable but fun.


借りぐらしのアリエッティ [Karigurashi no Arietti] (2010) – The latest film produced by Studio Ghibli, home to Hayao Miyazaki and credited with such gems as “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, “Ponyo”, “Spirited Away” and others. As this has not yet been released in the States, I’m not sure what the title might be. My guess is “The Borrowers”, which is based on a Mary Norton book of the same title. Arietti, along with her father and mother, Pod and Homily, are little people who live below the floorboards of a normal house. They live by borrowing what they can from the big people’s who’s house they live in. The only rule that Arietti’s father instills in her is not be seen by any of the big people. Arietti’s father is worried because there is a new resident coming to the house. A small boy. Arietti has just turned fourteen and wants is about to go on her first “borrowing” adventure. Everything seems to have gone alright but no, she’s been seen! By the boy. When she tells her parents, they are shocked. The father says they can no longer live safely in the house and forbids Arietti to see the boy again. Homily is fearful and doesn’t really want to leave the only home she’s known but will follow Pod. But Arietti being young at heart and a pure spirit, she grows fond of the boy and a relationship blooms between the two of them. But the house-keeper who has also seen Pod, wants to capture them and show them off to the world. What will become of the “borrowers” if they’re caught? Will they be caught? Will they escape? Cute movie, but the ending leaves you kind of hanging. This can’t be helped as even the powers of Studio Ghibli couldn’t possibly cram the story of all five books into one two-hour long animation. So, if you feel a little let down, then read the following books that follow the first.

少年メリケンサック [Shonen Merikensaku] (2008) – Another fun comedy from Kankuro Kudo and starring Aoi Miyazaki (who’s just too cute for words!). This particular movie reminds me of the British film “Still Crazy”. This was released internationally as [Brass Knuckle Boys]. An office lady working at a record company discovers the band Shonen Merikensaku while surfing the internet. She thinks they’re the next big thing to happen and wants to represent them. What she neglected one vital point – the video was of a live performance some 25 years ago. She tracks down the members only to find that the members are these washed up middle-aged men and not the cool band members she saw in the video, however contracts had already been signed and her job is on the line. But if you want my honest opinion, the British film “Still Crazy” is the better of the two, even if it doesn’t feature someone as cute as Miyazaki

Korean Diner [Kanton no Omoide] / 韓国食堂 「カントンの思いで」

Today, I thought I would make my mother jealous by writing about the Korean restaurant we recently went to in Tokyo's little Korea Town of Shin-Okubo. We've been wanting to go to Shin-Okubo again for a while and now that we have a day off together again, off we went. We also bought my wife's nephew an Official Tour T-shirt of BigBang (very popular Korean pop band) who he is a fan of. Afterwards, it was time for lunch. We found this small but crowded little restaurant and thought if people are lined up here to eat, then the food must be pretty good. Outside of the restaurant is a wall featuring pictures of the many Korean and Japanese stars who have also eaten here. The food on the menu looked delicious too. We had already made up our mind on what we were going to order - Samgyeopsal!

今日はちょっと自分のお母さんにちょっとしたいたずらで、お母さんが羨むネタを書くの決めた。ネタはこの間新大久保の韓国料理店に行った事。妻が結構前からまた新大久保で遊びに行きたいと言うので、一日の休日もまた一緒になった事もあって、いざ新大久保へ。妻の甥っ子がK-PopのBigBangのファンで、韓国公式のT-シャーツを買ってあげた。その後昼食の時間になった。見つかったのは店の外に行列が出来てる所。店の外側の壁に来店した韓流スターたちや日本の芸能人の写真が貼ってあった。メニューに載ってる料理も全部美味しそうに見えた。私たちは店に入る前に何を注文するも決まり‐今日のランチはサムギョプサル！


Why there is a Thai tuk-tuk in front of a Korean restaurant is still a mystery.

タイのトゥクトゥクがなぜ韓国の料理店の前にあるのは謎。

Wall of Photos of Famous Patrons / 芸能人来店者の写真が貼って壁

Samgyeopsal！ What is it? Nice thick slices of pork belly!

The other food items look great! / やっぱり他の料理も美味しそう！

Before the samgyeopsal is ready, we were served a variety of dishes - tofu covered with some type of sauce, macaroni salad, kimchee, Korean-style takuan.

サムギョプサルが出来るまで、付いてくるものが先にテーブルに運ばれた。豆腐、マカロニサラダ、キムチ、韓国風のたくあん等。

Some salad, the large lettuce leaves are to wrap the samgyeopsal / 他にサラダも付いて、大葉とサンチと肉のタレもあって、あとはサンギョプサルが出来上がるのを待つ

The making of samgyeopsal / サンギョプサル

Stage 1 / ステージ １


Stage 2 / ステージ ２


Stage 3 / ステージ ３


Stage 4 / ステージ ４


Time to eat! 食べ頃だ！

Delish! / 美味しい！

And we downed our meal with some Korean beer!

料理と共に韓国ビールも飲んだ！

Bon Appetit!

いただきます！

Ern's Monthly Page Turners (June 2010)

*本に関するネタ日本語は書き込みません


Wow, it's been four months since I've posted my last book review. If I were a real author, I imagine my editor, agent, or whoever, would have been on my case about not meeting a monthly deadline. Good thing I write these for my own pleasure. To be honest, I had taken a long break from reading books as well. That's not entirely true. The last few books I've read have all been in Japanese, and because Japanese is not my native language and there are quite a few kanji characters I cannot read, finishing a book in another language takes a bit of time. I have also been choosing Japanese books that do not have any furigana (hiragana printed next to some of the more difficult kanji characters). Also I have been choosing essays over manga. I considered consolidating all the books I've read between June and August and titling the post "Ern's Summer Reading" reminding us all of a time when we were given a "summer reading list" from school. Then I came up with another idea. A lot of my regular blog readers are also friends with me on Facebook. So, taking a hint from the title of a current book called "Four Word Film Reviews", I took a stab at writing my own "Four Word Book Reviews". I don't know how many total FB friends have read it, but at least two people posted a comment. One gave me comments on specific titles she found amusing. Another said he enjoyed them, but not to make a habit of it. Or else he would twist my arm and make me cry "uncle", then would threaten me with telling the world that lately I have been hooked on K-Pop and would refuse to help teach me any Korean so I would know what those K-Pop bands are singing! Okay, he didn't he really say any of those things aside from not making a habit of writing just "four word book reviews". You see, he is an avid reader himself and says he enjoys reading about what I have to say on the books I've read. I would say he one of my best friends and critics as well. I think everybody needs a friend who can discuss, debate, and argue different points of view of certain books or movies (or certain movie directors!). Anyway, I apologize to the avid readers who look forward to my book reviews. The reviews for July, August, and September will follow shortly (at least that's my plan). Now enjoy!



FAULT LINE by Barry Eisler - Now that John Rain has retired (for the time being), a new hero is needed. And that would be Ben Treven. But before we meet Ben, we must talk about his younger brother Alex. Alex has been working for the same high-tech law firm for years and is hoping to become a partner. Alex believes that he has finally found a person who can help him achieve that goal – he is counting on his client’s innovative technology that he has invented. But as his client is late for a meeting to discuss terms, it is discovered that the inventor has been murdered! Alex himself nearly gets killed as well. With things looking rather bleak, Alex makes a call to his long-estranged brother – Ben. Unknown to Alex, Ben is an elite undercover soldier working for the United States on their war on terror. When Ben receives the call from Alex, he hurries to help him out. But apparently Alex isn’t the only one who is aware of the creator’s invention, there is also a colleague, Sarah Hosseini, who is an American-Iranian that Alex has had a crush on and that Ben immediately distrusts. However, it’s up to Ben, Alex, and Sarah to find out who’s been trying to silence the three of them. Another action-filled romp from my favorite author.


I AM OZZY by Ozzy Osbourne – Written by the Madman himself, the “Prince of Darkness” – original vocalist of Black Sabbath and still going strong as a solo artist – Ozzy Osbourne! Another timely book to read as Ozzy will be headlining this year’s “Loud Park”, an annual heavy metal festival held in Tokyo in October. He also had released a new album this year as well titled “Scream”. As I’ve been an Ozzy fan, or rather a Black Sabbath fan since the 5th grade (“Paranoid” was the first record I bought with my own money!), it was without question that I would read this. I had read previous books written about Black Sabbath, such as “Wheels of Confusion” (which I lent to a friend and have yet to see its return) as well as a book written by one of Ozzy’s former roadies – “How Black was My Sabbath” which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also have Joel McIver’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” waiting to be read as well. Ozzy talks about his life from being a petty thief to hooking up with Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Tony Iommi – the most infamous and original members of Black Sabbath. He is candid about the money and success which led to days, months, and years of boozing and drug abuse, to finally being canned by the other members. Then starting his own solo career. He writes about the tragedy of Randy Rhoad’s death, his marriage with Sharon, the biting off the head of a live dove at a record executives meeting, the biting off of what he assumed was not a real bat at one of his shows, his nearly fatal accident with an ATV, and the long-awaited reunion with the other Sabs. Of course the Osbournes became a household name when their reality show was aired on MTV (which I had only seen one episode of, as I had already moved to Tokyo before being oversaturated with reality tv). I mean, if you’ve been a Sabbath fan for as long as I have and continue to listen to Sabbath and Ozzy albums, of course you’re going to want to read this. I’m really looking forward to seeing his performance at “Loud Park” this year.



FLASHFORWARD by Robert J. Sawyer – I think most of you know that my first love of books started with science-fiction and fantasy. Every now and then I like to go back to my roots and read one. I will not say, “Oh, I’ve grown out of s-f”, as people who like to say “Oh, heavy metal? Yeah, I used to listen to that as a kid. I grew out of it”. Stupid f*#$&s (in my opinion anyway). I still love s-f, fantasy (and heavy metal as well). This is an interesting concept of a story (and was also turned into a short-lived television program – which I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing). Something about the show being cancelled after the first season doesn’t really motivate me to go out and rent it (even though one of my favorite Japanese actress’, Yuko Takeuchi, has a guest role in it). Now for the actual story – a couple of physicists create an experiment that unintentionally shuts down the consciousness of the entire world and transports people twenty-one years into the future for a two and half minute span. When people regain their senses, the world is in utter chaos as people who were driving plow into other cars, surgeries go awry, the simple act of walking down a flight of stairs lead to injuries. When the chaos has calmed down, only then do the people realize that they had a glimpse of their future. Some good, some bad, some who didn’t have any (assumed they might be dead within the next 21 years). One person learns he has been murdered and is determined to find his killer. An excellent story which may get you to thinking, what would you do if you had a glimpse into your future twenty years hence for only a couple of minutes? Would you be resigned to fate? Would you try to change it? Would you try to prove that there is no free-will as one of the physicists intends to do by replicating the experiment another twenty years hence? I love these books that make you question your own beliefs long after you’ve finished reading them.


THE BELIEVER No. 71 Odradek – Yes, yes, I know this is not a book, but as I mentioned on a previous note, I think literary magazines which are full of new fiction, nonfiction, essays, reviews, short stories, poems, novellas and whatnot are deserving of being reviewed as well. Wouldn’t you agree? “The Believer” is no exception. This is one of my favorite literary magazines I like to read from time to time; however, I don’t read each and every issue. I can’t remember if it was with this issue or the previous one, but after a long hiatus, “The Believer” welcomed the return of Nick Hornby’s “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” column which I rather enjoy. His column has already produced three books as well – “The Polysyllabic Spree”, “Housekeeping vs. The Dirt” and “Shakespeare Wrote for Money”. I had read the first collection and was entertained and thought, hey, I do that as well with my monthly reviews I write on this blog (of course I’ve been a bit behind schedule, as these titles are what I read for the month of June). This month’s issue includes pieces by Griel Marcus – “Real Life Rock Top Ten”, Stephen Phelan – “Ninjas I Have Known” which I thought was really interesting. Also includes one page reviews of “Other Flowers” by James Schuyler, “Never-Ending Birds” by David Baker, “Three Delays” by Charlie Smith and more! Always a fun magazine to read.


TIN HOUSE No.43 Games People Play – And yes, this is yet another literary magazine which is published quarterly by McCormack Communications. This was the first time I had ever read this magazine and thought it was a little more erudite than “The Believer”. This issue was rather timely as well since the theme was “games, play, and sport”. I say timely because the World Cup was held this year and one of the pieces included was titled “Total, Utter Madness : A Story of Soccer” by Michael Agovino who writes passionately about why Americans seemed to be “confused by the sport the rest of the world follows fanatically.” Another one of those interesting pieces I found was “A Tin House Compendium of Oddball Games” listing many games from around the world I’ve never heard of and a couple that I have such as sepak takraw (which I’ve also seen an exhibition of at the Thai Festival I went to some years back) – described as a combination of soccer and volleyball. Elephant polo I’ve also heard of. Buzkashi sounded interesting as well and was banned by the Taliban in Afghanistan but has currently returned. It’s a game that’s played on horseback where the goal is “to drag a headless goat carcass across a field”. Um…okay. Fiction by Martha McPhee, Jennifer Egan, Steve Almond and more. An interview with Heather Desurvire, a “playability expert” – a job that pays you to play a video game. Essays by Lord Whimsy on Cricket, David Mamet on “Hunting Instincts”, Blake Eskin on “The Seriously Fun World of German Board Games”. If you’re a gamer or love sports, this would have been the issue to read.


SH*T MY DAD SAYS by Justin Halpern – I couldn’t help myself, the title just called out to me and said, “Read Me!”. This was just too damn funny. We all know that a lot of books were spawned by the Blog phenomena but this, it was created from Twitter! Halpern, who was 29, found himself moving back in with his parents. As he was working from home writing for Maxim magazine, Halpern found he had a lot of time on his hand. And since his father was retired, he could see his own dad through adult eyes and not fear him as he once did. His father is a Vietnam vet and retired from working in nuclear medicine (whatever that is). Halpern decides to start taking notes of the uncanny but funny things his father says. He even decides to take things one step further by sharing them on Twitter (without his father’s knowledge). When he is offered to have a book published from the contents of his Twitter site, he finds himself dealing with his most nerve-racking experience, asking Dad if he doesn’t mind being the subject of a book. But reading this book was making me laugh and had me thinking about my own “fatherisms”. Unlike Halpern’s father, who uses a fair amount of expletives, I never heard my father swear even once while growing up, but he did have some choice annoying phrases he constantly used (I find them rather endearing now, but when you’re a kid, sometimes you have no idea what your Dad is telling you). Here are a few of my own “fatherisms”. Accidently dropping a fork or spoon at the dinner table – “That’s it! Throw it on the floor!” Asking what time is it? – “It’s time for you boys to behave.” Saying, “Huh?” or “What?” – “Take the dirt out of your ears”. And one I didn’t know the meaning of for the longest time. When asking, “What for?” – “Cats fur for kitten britches”. I think I’ll call home tomorrow just to talk to my Dad!


GANGS by Ross Kemp – This book was spawned from a television show on Sky-TV in the UK with host Ross Kemp. A book about gangs? Now? We Americans may have forgotten about most of them as we don’t hear too much news on Bloods and Crips and there is no longer an excess of Gangsta movies a la “Boyz in the Hood”, “Menace II Society”, or “Colors”. That doesn’t mean gangs have disappeared though. Ross travels the around the world and talks to current gang members and locals who are affected by the gangs, and to the authorities who fight against them – from the Favelas of Rio to the Neo-Nazi’s skinheads in California. He also introduces us to Mongrel Mobb, a Maori gang in New Zealand, to the current gangs in London, and also talks about a teenage gang called the Blaenau Gwent. He realizes that all these gangs have one thing in common – poverty! I’ve never had a chance to watch the television series, but this book is a fascinating account of the current state of gangs around the world. There are a lot of not so nice people out there that would kill you just for the sport of it. A not so pleasant line of thinking. Apparently the television show, originally titled “Ross Kemp on Gangs” started airing in the US on the Investigation Discovery Channel (there’s such a thing as the Investigation Discovery Channel?) in 2009 with the show being featured as “Gang Nation”.


GANGS II by Ross Kemp – Kemp is back with another book to fill us in on the world’s gangs. This time his travels take him to El Salvador where he introduces us to “MS13”, more neo-Nazis in Russia, Polish football hooligans, and doesn’t forget the most well known gangs of the US – the Bloods and Crips, but not in L.A. but rather St. Louis, and meets with the Numbers gang in South Africa. The gangs featured in this second book are as hardcore as the first. These are the kinds of people you would not want to meet in a dark alley, or anywhere for that matter. La Mara Salvatrucha or “MS13” is probably one of the worst and most violent of the new crop of gangs. They make the Blood and Crips seem like Boy Scouts in comparison. Just reading about initiation into their gang will wish you wanting to never have to confront them. Most of us will likely not encounter the Numbers gang from South Africa, as most, if not all, the members are in prison. They pretty much control a prison called Pollsmoor in Cape Town, famous for being the place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated. This is definitely not a place you want to be sent to!



And there you have it. To mimic Nick Hornby, this was a post of "stuff I've been reading". Or rather, to be just a tad different from Hornby, this was a post of "stuff I've read". But as this is for the books read in June, I'm still three months behind schedule. But as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I haven't been reading as many books as usual because I chose books that were not written in English. I think I might even be behind in writing film reviews as well. I will have to double-check to make sure. Okay, time to check how many books I read for the month of July. No worries - I will have them posted long before another four months pass by!