Water + So(u)l

Trainride from Kyōto to Kansai Airport

2012-01-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Instead of posting a traditional final blog from Japan, I decided to make a short slideshow instead of my fotos from our (sad) train ride on the Haruka limited express train from Kyōto Station all the way to Kansai Airport. The music, by the way, is also me. So, do me a favor, scroll to the very bottom of this blog, on the right side + pause the music on the player + then, enjoy the slideshow:

Amida Buddha, Malls + Melonpan

2012-01-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

LB + I decided to keep our shine/temple visiting today low-key since:

1. Yesterday, we walked like motherfuckers
2. We're leaving Nippon tomorrow, a fact which continues to depress us every time one of us brings it up to torture the other person

So, we decided to take the bus to Kinkaku-jin where I learned that you board a Japanese bus in back + also pay your fare at the end, just before you get off. Another thing, bus stops, at least the ones in Kyōto, have these little traffic boards with cute bus icons letting you know how far away the next bus is + how many minutes the wait will be--so fucking considerate + smart. Kinkaku-jin was fucking amazing, absolutely one of the most striking temples/UN Heritage sites I've ever seen, so beautiful in fact, that you feel as if you're peering at some collective mirage. I must have taken 25 pictures, each time trying to capture the magical floating above water + each time failing. After receiving beautiful goshuen calligraphy stamps in our goshuen-cho books, we ate tempura udon for lunch (always fucking satisfying!) + then walked to daitoku-ji, which is this beautiful, slowly disentegrating Rinzai megatemple with a number of subtemples inside of it, each one with its own character, style, aesthetics. Eventually, after petting a cat with a mustache, we took the bus back to Shijo-Kawaramachi, walked around the covered shopping malls in the Teramachi Shopping Arcade--by the way, between stores, there are these sudden Buddhist temples that come out of nowhere--before we walked to 7-11 (which are really cool in Japan, by the way), lingering there as if we weren't ready to say good-bye to one of our favorite countries in the whole world. I ended up buying some adolescent male magazine with pulp style manga drama, tasteful Moe centerfolds + lots of gadgets. And then, after buying a melonpan that was fucking delicious (the kind with the sweet, gushing custard inside) we walked back to our hotel + moped, sad, pissed off, bummed out.

Here are the pics, first starting with Daitoku-ji:

Kinkaku-ji:

Teramachi Shopping Arcade:

Buddhist Temples, Snow + Conveyor Belt Sushi Restaurants!

2012-01-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

Today was a day of Buddhist temples, snow + conveyor belt sushi. Based on Eikichi's recommendations (+ serendipity), LB + I definitely got our walk on today, walking first from our hotel in Nakagyo-ku into the majestic Chion-in totally by accident, where legend has it that Honen, the founder of Jōdo Schū (pure land sect Buddhism) first taught chanting namu amida butsu as an exclusive vehicle for spiritual salvation. From there, we walked to Maruyama Park into Yasaka Shrine where nihonjin were throwing coins, following Shinto prayer formulas while families ate melonpan + various yakitori.

From there we walked through old Kyōto, which was definitely one of the most charming + quaint parts in all of Kansai with its tiny cobblestone streets, multitudinous ocha, fan + mochi shops + dessert cafes, sushi restaurants + udon joints (where LB + I ate hot, delicious tempura udon + fresh ocha--nothing like it in the whole world on cold winter days!). Eventually we ended up at Kodaiji temple where we got to peer into old Buddhist meditation halls + old monastery dormitories before walking through a bamboo grove.

And then it was time for even more walking as we made the longer trek to Kiyomizu where--miracle of miracles--it started snowing! It's been four years either of us has even seen snow + it was so fucking majestic, beautiful + auspicious, the snow falling down in big, fluffy strands of cotton from the sky, covering everything in an ephemeral blanket of soft, plush white snow. After taking a short amasake break, we walked back to the hotel. Forty minutes later, we returned to Nakagyo-ku where we ate sushi from conveyor belts + poured our own tea. Today was nothing short of epic. There can never be another day like today, which makes me sad in a way, but also so deeply grateful too. I have to say, I love old Japan as much as I love new Japan, each for different reasons. Here are the pics:

Chion-in:

Maruyama Park + Yasaka Shrine:

Through the Streets of Old Kyōto to Kodai-ji:

Through the Old Streets Again to Kiyomizu:

Conveyor Belt Sushi Restaurant!:

Lights, Kimonos + Shrines of Kyōto

2012-01-03T01:05:00.000-08:00

Considering how amazing it was spending time with my Japanese family, leaving Ōsaka was a bummer. It was sad times, man, it really was. But after getting over our initial shock that it was only ¥400 per ticket to travel from Ōsaka to Kyōto on the Keihan line, we walked from the Sanjo station, checked in our luggage at the wrong hotel (which was called the Kyoto Royal Park Hotel + we were looking for the Kyoto Royal Hotel + Spa), bought some nori senbē, ate a fantastic lunch of udon, osushi + tenmpura, then returned to the wrong hotel to reclaim our luggage before realizing we were in the wrong hotel, then after getting directions from the kind woman behind the counter, we walked to the right hotel, checked in, dropped off our bags + then took the subway to Heian Jingu Shrine + gave donations, clapped + bowed our heads, received goshūin calligraphy stamps in our booklets + then took the subway back to the City Center, walked around Nakagyo-ku + smelled yakitori + shabu shabu joints, explored the Kyoto Marui (Oioi) department store before settling for a light dinner + going to bed early.

Pictures from Lunch:

Snacks:

Heian Jingu Shrine:

Walking around Nakagyo-ku:

Hideyoshi's Castle, Texting Ōsaka Girls + My Family Reunion in Japan

2012-01-02T04:06:00.000-08:00

Today, I really connected with my Japanese roots. After seeing Eikichi, Megumi again (always great), and then meeting my sobo's sister Shizuko + her daughter Chie for the first time at our hotel, Eikichi, Megumi, LB + I walked around Ōsaka + eventually ate okonomiyaki for the first time at this famous place in the middle of a mall. Fuck, it was amazing! After lunch, we took the subway to Ōsakajo (Osaka Castle), pushing our way through gaggles of stylish, cute, texting Japanese girls before finally climbing inside the castle, inside of which is a museum. We drank sweet, non-alcoholic sake + inhaled the panoramic view from the balcony of the castle outside. Pretty dope. But it gets better . . .

Then, we took a take to the Umeda Sky Building, which is this amazing futuristic-looking building where you take an elevator to the top, ride several escalators further up that look + feel like just part of Space Mountain + then you walk up even more stairs until you're at the very top of the building. The view outside was these things in this order:

1. Fucking amazing!
2. Fucking insane!
3. Fucking cold as shit!

After taking a tea break, we eventually left The Building of the Future + took the subway to Kishinosato + met up with everyone at Shizuko's apartment. And I have to say, I really love my Japanese family. I really do. This was the first time we've been reunited. Ever. And it felt amazing, sitting with my family, talking to Shizuko + Chie + Eikichi in Japanese, playing with Eikichi + Megumi's puppie Linchan (who bites like a scorpion), eating Makizushi, sipping on sweet sake, drinking ocha, learning the tea ceremony from Shizuko on the room with tatami mats, playing a John Lennon duet on the piano with Chie, just being there with LB + connecting with my family in Japan. It helped me understand who I am, where the Japanese side of my family comes from + where my grandmama lived for much of her life. I feel like I understand my life better, as if the Asian side of me has become real now, not simply a cultural fairytale of rice + high-tech gadgets that I've been told since I was little. Today, I feel like I literally saw the future.

Kami Messengers in Nara, A Karaoke New Year + 108 Bell Rings

2011-12-31T01:09:00.000-08:00

I've spent a lot of kickass New Year's Eve's, but this may be arguably be the coolest one yet. LB + I anxiously waited to meet Eikichi (my Japanese cousin) + his globetrotting wife, Megumi in the lobby of our hotel in Shiromi, Osaka, for the first time! And I have to say: It was fucking amazing! I've been looking at pictures of Eikichi since I was a bambino + growing up, my sobo used to talk about him + show us updated pictures of him + the rest of the family for as long as I can remember, so finally getting to spend with him was fucking cool as shit!

After the initial meet + greet, we took the train to Nara, had a light snack. Then, LB + I gave them all of the half-ripped gifts we'd carried with us all the way from LA. Two hours later, we made our way into Nara Koen + fed the deers little cakes they sell on the side of the walkway. Eikichi bought both of us little prayer books, which are sort of like spiritual passports that you can carry to each temple/jinja to receive a sort of prayer written in exquisite calligraphy as well as an original temple/jinja stamp. And you can collect these go-nyūshu, slowly turning the book into a good luck amulet! After walking all around the park + seeing the Kasuga Taisha, the massive Buddha at Todaiji, the largest wooden building in the whole world, located inside the daibutsu den (sugoi!), getting our fortune taken at the Kasuga Shrine where LB + I both received a "Great Good Fortune" where we learned that our desires will come to pass in accordance with our dreams + then taking a million pictures of the five-story pagoda (Sarasawa no ike), we took a little break, ate zenzai sweet beans that were fucking delicious, + eventually made our way to the train.

We returned to Ōsaka + walked through Dōtonbori again where we ate soba noodles for the new year at this tiny noodle joint on the second floor off the main drag that reminded LB + I a lot of La Valle in Microcentro. Afterwards, we sang our asses off at Karaoke (our first time together), then took a taxi to the Shitennoji shrine where we lit incense + thanked the Buddha/cosmos for all of the many blessings given to us + then, we spent our first new year in Japan listening to a 108 bell rings, giving donations + asking for blessings of prosperity, protection, fertility + success for the coming year. It was one of the most amazing new year's yet. And now, for pics:

In Nara:

Break time!:

On the Train back to Ōsaka:

Back in Ōsaka:

At the Noodle Joint:

Back in Dōtonbori:

At Authentic Karaoke. The Real Deal, Man:

At Shitennoji Temple

Hip-Hop Bohemia +The Consumer Maze (Shinsaibashi, Amemura + Dōtonbori)

2011-12-30T05:38:00.000-08:00

LB + I are exhausted from a day of powerwalking (getting our asses lost) in Osaka, which included buying groceries (+ then dragging our crap around for 9 hours), getting lost in Esaka, walking through Shinsaibashi, a covered outside mall that went on forever like a consumer labyrinth, gazing at chocolates + moshi kits at Daimaru department store, trekking through the bohemian, hip-hop-loving streets of Ame(rica)mura (yes, the only black dudes I've seen in Osaka were both standing in front of a store called Brown Sugar, + yes, that is a statue of liberty). We ate takoyaki + walked past the canals in the busy streets of Dōtonbori, bought English translations of Haruki Murakami novels at the Junkudo bookstore, ending up accidentally in Pachinkoland (aka Namba). Here are some highlights:

The View from Our Hotel:

Taking the Osaka Subway:

After Getting Lost x100, We Ended up in Our Favorite Japanese Store, Tokyū Hands:

Here's Amemura:

Inside Daimaru デパート(Department Store):

Walking through 心斎橋 (Shinsaibashi):

Here's Dōtonbori:

And Suddenly, We Were in Namba, Surrounded by Pachinko Parlors

First Day in Osaka

2011-12-29T03:41:00.000-08:00

After an exhausting 24 hours of travel, which included driving from K-Town to LAX (with 3 hours to kill), flying from LAX to Beijing (with 4 hours to kill + a nasty chill pouring in through the glass in the terminal), Beijing to Osaka, taking the Haruka Limited Express to Tennoji, the JR Osaka Kanjyo to Kyobashi + then asking for directions like 10 times, we finally made it to our hotel. But that's the short version. Here are a few photos:

Waiting for the Haruka Train

Kansai Airpot

Aboard the Haruka

Radiant LB

Kansai Countryside

Kansai Countryside 2

On the JR Osaka

LB, Contemplating her Existence

Walking around Shiromi + Katamachi

Inside a Shopping Mall, Still Trying to Understand What the Hell We Were Looking at

Nothing like Your First Bowl of Hot Shrimp Tempura Soba on a Cold Night in Japan

Amazing: A Café/Store where You Pay to Hang out with Dogs

LB Doing her Ramen Grin

Back in the Hotel

I Fucking Loved this Elevator

About to Collapse, but First:

A Foto of Osaka at Night

Last LA Blog Entry of 2011

2011-12-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

Recent highlights of life in LA include: A visit from the SWAT Team, awesome homemade ramen, a bath + a book, tortured pooches dressed up as elves + reindeers, USC football, our beautiful Christmas tree, getting stranded at The Grove (yet again) + much, much more!

Tomorrow, LB + I are taking a midnight flight to Ōsaka--we're so fucking stoked about going back to Nippon we could scream. Anyway, It seems like only a few weeks ago that we'd bought our tickets, made our hotel reservations + only a few months before that I'd made contact with Eikichi, my cousin on my sobo's side, + Megumi, his amazing wife, for the first time. Suddenly, we've accelerated through the holiday blur, passed through Christmas + now we're preparing for our vacation to Kansai. So, before we leave tomorrow night for Japan (where I will, of course, post pics of Osaka, Nara + Kyōto), I want to post one more LA entry for 2011 before the new year begins. So here goes:

Sometimes when It's Really Cold Outside, it's Best to Take a Warm Bath + Read

LB in Silverlake

Almost Got Run Over by the Trolley

Look, It's an Edible Gingerbread Land with Lifesize Elf Tourists!

What Do These Magazines Tell You about Me?

NCAA, You Can't Take This Away from Us, Motherfuckers!

Counting Touchdowns

Bright Lights, Saturday Night

People Tailgating on Campus

The Score Says it All

SC Fans Going Crazy

Pic # 1 of the SWAT Team in Front of Our Apartment

Pic # 2 of the SWAT Team in Front of Our Apartment

Things for Field Exams: A Book, Ocha (Mug) + Water

Zoe + Gogo! Looking Depressed for the Holidays

Our Beautiful Christmas Tree

Note The Home-made Snowflakes LB + I Made

At Iota Café, Listening to Christmas Music, Watching K-Pop Videos Playing on the Wall

This is What Homemade Ramen Looks like, People

Is this a Fucking DMV, or a Drive-Thru Fast Food Joint?

Stunning Skylines, Epic Football Games, Vegan Nirvana + Beautiful 1/2 Marathons

2011-10-31T09:38:00.000-07:00

Let's DO this

Our (Exhausted) Joy before the Race

Warming Up

My Gangsta I-just-Finished-My-1/2-Marathon Running Pose

My Not-So-Impressive Time--but Who the Fuck Cares?

Ahh, Here I Am

Bling

One of the Best Vegan Taco Salads I've Eaten (+ I Made this Bitch)

LB Laughing to Herself at the Bourgeois Pig Café

Locali Makes One of the Most Amazing Breakfast Sandwiches in the Whole Fucking World. Even Better: It's fucking CALLED the Badass Vegan Breakfast Sandwich. Eating This Was like Getting the Egg McMuffin Back in My Life

Fight On, Beautiful Bug!

LB + j1b = LB2J or B2Lj or Whatever

Late Night Game at LA Memorial Coliseum

The Restlessness that Comes from Watching a Triple Overtime Game

And of Course, a Teletubby

Wait!: Is that the Japanese V for Victory Pose? SC's Fight On? Or Peace?

A Technique for Counting Touchdowns

Indian Food at Electric Lotus in Los Feliz

The LA Sky during Our One Day of Rain

Double Rainbow in K-Town

Supergogo!

Gogo! in a Sailor Costume + Zo in a Princess Sweater

Highlights of a LA Summer (Part 2)

2011-09-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

I'm particularly grateful at how mild the weather's been in LA overall. With only a week or two of 90-degree weather + absolutely no days in the 100's, I couldn't have have asked for a better summer in LA, the ozone + particle pollution + the insane, irrational + dangerous traffic + the lingering heat in our old apartment in K-Town notwithstanding.

Here are some more highlights:

Going to the Horse Races in Del Mar with Mom

Kitchen shot of our Place

Office Shot of Our Place

Gogo! + Zoe Waiting for Their Morning Walk Treat

Gogo! Portrait

Zoe Portrait

The Gang's All Here

My Summer Obsession with Macross Frontier

Dinner in Echo Park

LB's Radiant Smile

After a Little Walk, This Vista from Angeleno Heights

LB + the Mural in Echo Park

LB + the Ghetto Blaster

LA Mural

Sage Vegan Bistro (Try the Club Sandwich, it's Fucking Amazing)

Aren't They?

One of the Strange (Wonderful) Windows in Echo Park

This is the Kinda Shit You See in WeHo

Fight On, Motherfuckers!

The SC v. Minnesota Game

Goodbye Party for Emily + Nick at the Cat + the Fiddle in Hollywood

Great Fucking Concert at the Hollywood Bowl

Neko Case

Sharon Van Etten, Who Is Now One of My Favorite Indie/Folk Singers

Holla Back at Electric Karma

A Few Dates with LB

2011-08-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

I think It's Especially Important to Keep Going out on Dates When You're Married. LB + I Make Sure We Do This Every Single Weekend, which Sometimes Includes Amazing Indian Food at:

During our Postprandial Stroll Through WeHo:

After Brunch at Café Flore, We Had Tea at Intelligentsia in Silverlake

LB's Birthday Dinner at Bulan:

My First Concert at the Hollywood Bowl

2011-07-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

After talking about it for a year now, LB + I finally made it to the Hollywood Bowl, which is crazy charming: Tons of 30-something+ classical music aficionados, Europeans, old people, practically everyone drinking wine, eating top-shelf deli food on paper plates, drinking overpriced cabernet sauvignon from plastic cups. But what really mattered, what really enchants, is listening to Dvořák's New World Symphony + Sibelius's Violin Concerto outside, as LA is slowly grinding to a halt and the light slowly loses its edge, the sky filled with music notes that rise up Hollywood Hills, filling the air with folk songs and accented strings. Such a simple + perfect joy.

Hiking to the Hollywood Sign

2011-07-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

LB + I have been wanting to Hike up to the Hollywood Sign since last summer. But between grad school, writing, our jobs + traveling to China, something always seemed to get in the way. Finally we woke up early on a Saturday morning, put on some comfy clothes + old gym shoes + climbed behind + in front of the Hollywood sign. The truth was, the view up there was fucking amazing. Almost made LA feel panoramic + tranquil. Take a look:

Highlights of a LA Summer (Part 1)

2011-07-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

LA Summers are a unique beast: Full of glitz, long legs, smooth cars and exploding colors assaulting your brain. While it can get sticky + dirty in LA--now + always--there's a particular flavor, a specific color scheme of LA that is vibrant + overwhelming. Take a look:

Vintage Car Show at The Grove:

Gogo! + Zoe:

Sunbathing

Sniffing (Kissing) Each Other

Smiling at Mommy

Sleeping/Resting on Daddy

Finally Opening that Bottle of Bordeaux We Bought in Paris in 2009 with Some Vegan Cheesecake from Café Gratitude:

Making an Offering for my Obāsama:

And Many Dates with LB in:

Silver Lake

Silver Lake 2

Amoeba Records

Amoeba Records 2

Though I Ended up Buying an Obscure Blonde Redhead CD, I Made a Mental Note to Buy/Download This Junior Boys Album too

Passing the CNN Tower in Hollywood + Witnessing History in the Making after Coming from:

Where LB + I Saw "The Beginners"

Reading Angela Carter at Brickes + Scones

Having a 4th of a July Picnic in SaMo with:

My Spunky Mom

The Ever-So-Beautiful LB, to Name just a Few

Finally Getting my Contributor's Copies of:

Capturing the Sun + Grooving in the Boutique Bar

2011-05-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today, we bought souvenirs at the Friendship Store + then went to the Sun Temple (Ritan Park, otherwise known as 日壇). After taking a nap back at the hotel, we took a taxi to meet our friend Anne Li + Judy B. at the Bookworm bookstore, a favorite haunt for anglophone expats in Chaoyang Qu. From there we went to a hip Boutique Bar (where you could order Japanese food--holler!), drank stiff, pricey cocktails + then walked through expat alley before saying goodbye to our friends + really, Beijing.

A few other things I’ve noticed in Beijing:

17. I may have written this already but it’s worth repeating: I feel like Chinese people stare a lot. And while I’m pretty much unfazed by it + have been since living in West Africa (salut, tubabu!), still, sometimes I’m amazed at how blatant the staring is, especially at LB’s pretty face + her little flowers in her hair

18. Some of the scams you read about in Beijing are totally true

19. I’ve seen people with totally mutilated bodies lying on the sidewalk with tin cans held up in the air + it just fucks with me. I feel bad + confused + manipulated + concerned + bad ad nauseum.

20. Not only do many Beijingese spit all the time, but I’ve seen quite a lot of throwing up, by businessmen, babies, you name it. Maybe it’s just my random experience. But still.

21. Another cliché that’s not a cliché: The Chinese really do love to smoke.

22. I’m not gonna lie: I really miss my diet back in LA

23. I’m astonished (horrified) the way some Beijingese treat the sidewalks like their trashcan. We’ve seen families holding their infant in the air as he pisses onto the sidewalk, I’ve seen people throw away cigarette wrappers + corn-on-the-cob + plastic bottles on the sidewalk when often there’s a trash can three feet away. I mean, LB + I actually saw people littering the Great Wall of China, which is one of the seven wonders of the fucking world!

24. The Chinese are really loud. I can’t tell when they’re animated + when they’re arguing because it sounds the same to my untrained ear.

Pics of Chaoyang Qu, the Cool Boutique Bar We Went to + Our Friends, Anne Li + Judy B.:

Silk Markets, Cross-Dressing Dancers + Imperial Gardens

2011-05-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

We took a taxi to Baita Si Dagoba, the white stupa in Beihai Park, which is surprisingly tranquil, lush and beautiful in the middle of Beijing’s chaos, dust + endless construction. Our driver used his two sentences of English on me (which is more than the Mandarin I know). Then he started to sing Chinese songs. Then hum. After walking around Beihai Park + crawling up rocks, we ate Japanese food at Ajisen Ramen inside a fucking mall in Xidan that had the worst service I’ve ever received in my entire life (China or elsewhere), then we tracked down a café that LB had marked in one of her Beijing guidebooks where we realized it had gone out of business a long time ago + nothing had taken its place since then. We also almost got mugged/ripped off/scammed by a Beijing “artist,” + the worst part is, we were already familiar with the art scam. We honestly believed this dude was an artist about to visit Berkeley until he tried to drag us to his sketchy “art exhibition,” which had been hand-painted on the wall of a cell phone store. That’s when I told him we were leaving. We just walked away, quickly, back to the subway + got the fuck out of there. Finally, now masters of the Beijing subway, we took the train to Chaoyang Qu, ate unhealthy fake meat dishes at Loving Hut + then came home + watched Greenberg on HBO in our hotel room. This was one of the first truly relaxing days we've had since we got to China.

Here are the pics:

Climbing up the Great Wall of China

2011-05-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Today, LB + I took a local bus to the Great Wall of China at Badaling + walked all the way up to the top, which makes us feel kinda like badasses, to tell you the truth. Even though I'm pretty sure that I took the same fucking foto like a 100 times, here are the pics of our day trip to the Great Wall + back. Holler back, world + thank you universe!

Back in Beijing:

Hutongs, Lakes, Temples + Towers: The Day We Took Beijing by Storm

2011-05-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Today, even despite the large, puffy blisters on our feet, LB + I were crazy fucking ambitious:

We took a taxi to the Nanguanfang Hutong, walked around + did some shopping at Houhai Lake, harassed at every corner by pugnacious rickshaw drivers, then we walked + climbed up both the Drum + Bell Towers. After taking a little break at a café filled with old New Yorkers that expats had probably left (hence, the dog-eared covers), we walked to the subway + finally located the Lama Temple, which, in case you didn’t know, is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist temples in the whole frigging world where we got to, among other thing, watch Tibetan monks chanting—it was fucking amazing. Deliriously cool shit, man. As it turns out, LB + I had walked into the Lama Temple before, several days ago, but when we didn't see any signs, we assumed we were wrong + turned around. That’s when all of our problems began. Today, it was so fucking easy I felt like we had newly acquired superpowers. After inhaling incense for three hours, we walked right to—believe it or not—the fucking Confucius Temple. And now I understand why it was so hard to find it, there are no signs or anything anywhere until you’re already there. After walking through many courtyards, reading an abridged biography of Confucius’s life, separate into tiny moral lessons, we walked virtually across the street and ate an early, superdelicious, vegan dinner of sweet and sour chicken, sautéed roasted seitan pot rost, sticky rice in Taro leaves + a light, delicate chocolate mousse at this restaurant called Xuxiangzhai. After buying some tea, we took the subway back to Dongchen, bought some breakfast stuff, snacks + water at Henderson’s Market + came home + watched Chinese music videos + a TV5 French documentary about Egypt in the post-revolutionary stage. A fantastic, highly efficient, picture-crazy kinda day. Even better, my feet haven’t exploded in my shoes either.

A few other things I’ve noticed in Beijing:

13. Speaking even one semi-decent sentence in Mandarin is a fucking liability. The instant a Beijingese thinks you can speak Mandarin, they really let it flow + then you’re really fucked.

14. While many Chinese look like well-fed bamboo poles, I’ve seen more than a few Chinese fatties, which is amazing to me. To be honest, I’ve never seen so many overweight Asians in my entire life, at least not since the last time I’d visited Houston (okay, I just made that shit up because I’ve never been to Houston but I know it used to be the Fat Capital of America before Miami snatched the trophy from Houston’s lip-smacking jaws). My theory? China’s diet has many similarities to America’s + as more + more Chinese drive to work instead of walking, as globalization begins indoctrinating fast food nation into every country, more + more Chinese begin to eat + live like the fattest fucking people on earth!

15. Contrary to my worst nightmare, the majority of travelers in Beijing aren’t American or European, they’re Chinese from other cities + provinces.

16. The kind of looks that Chinese women give me run the gamut between the following:
Sheer disgust/horror/primal fear/hostility (aka the White Barbarian has arrived) to mild disgust/mild horror/mild fear to indifferent to neutral to slightly intrigued (which country did this white ghost come from?) to smiley in a pitying/ethnocentric way to coquettish/fluttery to hey baby, is it true what they say about white men?

Here are the pics:

Snacks we Bought at a Supermarket Called Henderson's:

Wandering through a Hutong:

Here's another Hutong that's Really Dope, Especially at Night:

Houhai Lake:

The Drum + Bell Towers:

In the Streets:

The Palace of Peace + Harmony Lama Temple (Yonghegong Temple):

The Confucius Temple:

At Xuxianzhai Restaurant

Back out in the Streets:

The Beijing Subway:

Back in the Supermarket:

Blueberry-Flavored Potato Chips + the Summer Palace

2011-05-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today was simple + satisfying. We went to Henderson’s Shopping Center to buy snacks for lunch (where we discovered that the Chinese like some crazy-ass potato chip flavors) + then we went to the Summer Palace + walked around for hours with blistery feet that kept screaming, too much walking!, too much walking!, before we discovered another beautiful Buddhist temple + a view of Beijing that was stunning + insane + magical.

A few other things I’ve noticed in Beijing:

9. I’ve noticed a lot of hacking, coughing + spitting in Beijing + it's got to be the air pollution. According to the World Bank (an organization I don’t generally like quoting in any capacity), 16 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China. If you think about it, that’s a lot of phlegm for one country.

10. The Chinese stare. Alot. I’ve noticed quite a few dudes copping my style or looking at my tats. I’ve seen old women glance at my Japanese poem tattoo on my forearm. And I’ve also noticed a lot of Chinese girls staring at LB, checking out her lashes, her clothes, her skin, her big, beautiful, Peruvian eyes. It’s kinda fascinating, to be honest.

11. I’ve never been in a city before where old people push me as much as they do in Beijing. What’s up with that? Talk about taking advantage of the Confucian hierarchy + the rectification of names.

12. Taxi drivers in Beijing can be nice + they can also be total assholes. Two days ago, we were carrying groceries + I asked two taxi drivers in row if they’d take us to our hotel + they shook they head + kept talking. When I thought I was overreacting, our friend Anne Li said: No, they’re notorious for that.

Here are the pics of your day:

The Irritating Irony of Getting Lost while Looking for a Taoist Temple + the Temple of Heaven

2011-05-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

LB + I like to walk + walk we fucking did. We walked to the subway, from the subway, back to the subway, through a street market, around landmarks we couldn't find an entrance to or didn't understand culturally, we wandered around--by accident--looking for temples + street signs + got lost the whole fucking day. All in a good day's walk.

Eventually, after spending several hours trying to figure out where the fuck it was, we saw the White Cloud Temple, which is one of the most important Taoist temples in all of China (not to mention, Taoism is the only truly indigenous religion here, unless you count Confucianism, which many don’t). It was pretty fucking dope. Not only were there a million little miniature temples + courtyards within courtyards, but we got to see a group of Taoist monks (one of them was passed out on a chair in one of these temples). I kept thinking about the 7 Sages of the Bamboo Grove, how taken I was with them in college: Their eccentricity, self-awareness, their tranquility + unorthodox devotion to the Tao.

Because everything always takes longer in a country you don’t know, especially when you can’t speak the language almost at all + often there aren’t street signs, or the street names change every three blocks, or you have to walk a mile just to see the name of the street you’re walking on before you realize that you’re walking on the wrong fucking street, or because five different people give you five different directions to get to the same place (four of whom are right + one of whom, is not, but you don't know that because you can’t speak the language, the Mandarin tone system fucks with you + often times there aren’t any addresses, or the street names sound like the one you're looking for but they're actually different), we were several hours behind schedule in every possible way--spatially, existentially, metaphysically. Out of desperation + extreme hunger, we decided to eat at the first decent-looking restaurant we saw, which ended up being fantastic.

By this time, we had abandoned hitting the Temple of Heaven because we’d read that they stop selling tickets into the temple at 4:30 even though the temple is open until 6 o’clock. At 5:20pm, well past the window, we decided to walk to Tiantan Yuan (the Temple of Heaven Park) anyway, just to spend some time there. Miraculously, after we pleaded with the woman at the exit door to the temple, she was kind enough to let us into the courtyard of the Temple of the Heaven, even without tickets to the temple (after 4:30, tickets are only sold for entrance into the park itself, not the temple). I have to say, the Temple of Heaven was fucking amazing. Even despite the four blisters on my right foot, today was worth every step of fire in my shoes.

A few other things I’ve noticed in Beijing:

8. For some reason, it seems like little Chinese kids (1-2 years old) are forced to wear these weird, crotchless pants where their bare ass cheeks + tiny genitalia stick out. Must be cold.

Here are the pics:

Our Walk from the Beijing Subway:

White Cloud Temple:

Lunch:

Pics of Tiantan + Tiantian Yuan (the Temple of Heaven Park):

The Story within the Story within the Story of the Forbidden City

2011-05-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

We walked so much today our toes were fucking throbbing in our shoes. I don’t know why LB + I insist on doing this shit, but for some reason, when we visit another country, we walk our asses off until she ends up getting a blister + I vow never to walk again. And then we do the same shit the next day because that’s how we do.

Today we started things off in style: We walked from our Hotel to Tiananmen Square, people-watched + then we walked through the entire Forbidden City, which is like a never-ending story, the stuff of Sheherazade + fractals + hyperlink mazes. It really is. You think to yourself: Okay, this is the end of it. And then the Forbidden City just keeps going on and on. Then you think: Okay, that’s the exit over there, it’s finally over. And then it’s not. Part of me never wanted it to end + another part of me wanted it to stop.

From there, we walked to this little vegan joint called Fairy Su on Yonghegong Avenue + ate mock duck + spicy fake chicken stir-fry with watermelon + coconut/papaya juice.

Then things got interesting. Feel free to skip this extended version if you’ve maxxed out on it’s-really-difficult-to-get-anywhere-in-a-foreign-country-when-you-don’t-speak-the-fucking-language-stories.

A few other things I’ve noticed in Beijing:

1. We saw a dude shitting in the middle of a lawn. Not even behind a tree, just squatting there in front of the whole world

2. The Forbidden City was ironically chaotic (especially near the Temple of Tranquility) because there were so many damn tour groups, each cicerone of each group with her own mic + speaker.

3. Beijing is a tale of 2 cities: Some neighborhoods are superdeveloped, modern, sleek + spacious + other parts feel very 3rd World (e.g. construction everywhere, broken sidewalks, vacant merchant space, small sidewalks, the smell of sewage + dust)

4. Riding the Beijing Subway at rush hour is like taking the Subte in Buenos Aires

5. Chinese people totally cut in line, push you out of the way + elbow you. And some of the biggest culprits are the oldest.

6. Beijing’s blocks can be really fucking long.

7. There’s a security check for everything, from visiting Mao’s rising mausoleum, to visiting parks to taking the Beijing Subway. It’s as if Beijing is in a state of perpetual vigilance.

Here are the pics:

The Story within the Story within the Story of the Forbidden City (The Long Version)

2011-05-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

Then things got interesting. Feel free to skip this paragraph if you’ve maxxed out on it's-really-difficult-to-get-anywhere-in-a-foreign-country-when-you-don't-speak-the-fucking-language-stories.

We tried to walk to the Lama Temple but somehow missed it completely. There’s so many temples, pagodas + gated tourists sites, that when things aren't clearly marked, it’s anyone’s guess what you’re walking into. Eventually, we thought we’d found it, but it turned we’d just paid to enter a park. It was pretty and calm—the perfect respite from dusty, loud, insane Beijing—but still, we realized really quickly we weren’t any closer to the important Tibetan Buddhist heritage site at all + had no way of knowing where it was without a better map, so we decided to abandon the Lama Temple + asked the security guard at the random/pretty/calm park for directions to Confucius’s Temple instead. She pointed + we walked, uncertain. skeptical. Then we asked a woman inside a convenience store who gave me instructions in spit-fire Mandarin that sounded like angry darts. Later, after walking through a park filled with homeless guys + old people, we got desperate + asked a salesgirl inside a cell phone store. Out of Confucian tradition, she deferred to an older woman who told us to stay on the same side of the sidewalk we were already walking on + soon we’d find the temple.

—Big door, she said, motioning a big door. Then she paused. —Big gate, I mean.

Well, we didn’t see the big gate. Or the small gate. Or the big door. Or anything resembling a gate or a door—with Beijing’s bustle, heat, dust, somehow we missed it entirely. Or did we? We must have walked for at least another mile before we gave up. Eventually, we decided we would take the subway to this health store called World Health Store we’d read about on Happy Cow (a vegetarian website) to buy food for breakfast since the Chinese aren’t big on breakfast. So we walked in the wrong direction (it was hot, we were parched, confused, feisty, dust was going in our mouth, up our nose, in our ears). Eventually, we figured it out, walked another 10 blocks to the nearest subway station according to one of our laminated maps. Then we transferred easily from Beixinqiao on the 5 line to Guomao on the 1 line at the transfer station Dongdan, got off at the station closest to the scribbled circle on our map the concierge had marked for us in the morning. After walking maybe another 15 blocks, accidentally mistaking the Silk Market for the SoHo Shangdu Tower, we kept pushing + pushing. Our feet were really starting to kick our ass, but we just kept soldering on. Breakfast, after all, especially in a foreign country, deserve its own place in the hierarchy of needs.

Eventually, LB noticed a tower in the distance that said SOHO. We weaved around several ancient houses, through some gate, into a miniature park, then took a right until we’d arrived at the building LB had pointed at. Ignoring the security guard who politely pointed in another direction when I’d asked for SOHO Shangdu, we entered this SOHO building and took the escalator up + walked past every single store before I got so desperate (feet pounding, an insane thirst burning my throat) I asked this little girl who was sitting behind a desk, waiting for her mom to come back. In my mind: Maybe Shangdu is like part of the Chaoyang district, I thought. You know, a small, hip, upscale subculture of Chaoyang. Anyway, the little girl, who spoke as much English as anyone else we’d met, smiled and told us we were in the wrong building. We walked back down through a counterintuitive maze of energy-efficient escalators that accelerate once you step on them. I asked the girl at the information desk if she’d heard of SOHO Shangdu. She nodded, pointed in the same direction as the security guard had earlier. Oh right: Him.

After walking for another 20 minutes, and just about when we’d given up, we spotted the sign for the garage: SoHo Shangdu. I almost screamed. Turns out: There are three fucking SoHo buildings in Chaoyang, so confusing it’s murderous. So we walked through what looked like a bank, but was actually the mall’s entrance before discovering that there were two towers in SOHO Shangdu, North + South + of course, we were in the wrong one. Finally finally finally we made it to the World Health Store (it wasn’t about the goddamn store anymore, it was about the principle, like finding the Temple of Confucius—see where that got us?). And this is where the story becomes ridiculous: We quickly discovered the World Health Market was a vitamin store, not a health food store. Or if it was a health food store, everything was dehydrated or in powder form. Not exactly what you’d call fresh.

On the flipside, we did discover a cute little teashop where we drank tea with one of the saleswomen who spoken English quite well. She had a friend in Santa Barbara, she explained. If we had more time, she said, we should stop by again + drink tea with her. We were quite fond of her. Eventually, I bought a nicely decorated tin of Taiwanese green tea. Then we walked to Jenny Lou’s, a Western kind of supermarket the salesgirl at World Vitamins had been kind enough to point out to us + there we bought a bunch of snacks:

Rolls, juiceboxes, preserves, nuts covered in nori, Japanese Pringles, bananas + Mandarin oranges (kinda ironic). It's like we were in college all over again.

Then we took a taxi back to the hotel, which was another adventure. At this point, I’m thinking: Fuck I love adventures as much as the next traveler in love with the world, but I don’t want another one fucking adventure right now. Give me anything but another goddamn adventure. After the taxi driver took us to the Silk Market by accident—that place again—eventually, I grabbed the map + said the name of the street that our hotel was on + everything clicked into place, until it was time to sort out the payment. The meter said 13 Yuan, so I forked that over but the taxi driver kept shaking his head. He motioned for more money, I didn’t understand, he grabbed three 5 Yuan bills from my hands, put one back, grabbed another bill, put it back, then he put all of the bills back in my head, shook his head, motioned for something else, eventually, he took a 20 Yuan bill and a five + then gave me back 10 Yuan in return. I had no idea what the hell just happened. It turns out that the meter said 13 + there was a 2 Yuan surcharge, all of which makes sense retrospectively. But why he didn’t just accept three 5 Yuan bills to start with makes no sense to me. Twenty minutes later, we were inside our hotel room. I was chugging mango juice + LB was rubbing her feet.

Slowly, we decided to eat Japanese food at Sakuraya (located on the 3rd floor of our hotel) + I have to say that even though it was lazy of us + crazy expensive too, it felt so good to suddenly be able to speak a language I could do something with. Japanese was a place I could call home for a little while.

A few other things I've noticed in Beijing:

1. We saw a dude. . .

The 8-Step Program: Getting to Beijing

2011-05-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

It seems simple enough: LA to Beijing . 1, 2.

But when you factor in dropping off Gogo! + Zoe at my mom’s place in North County + taking a shuttle to LAX + the Beijing International Hotel, the schematic changes to this:

1. LA to Solana Beach (driving)

2. Solana Beach to LA (driving)

3. LA to Chez Nous (driving)

4. Chez Nous to Air Park LAX (driving)

5. Air Park LAX to LAX (shuttle)

6. LAX to Vancouver (flying)

7. Vancouver to Beijing Airport (flying)

8. Beijing Airport to Beijing International Hotel (shuttle)

That's 8 steps from our apartment in K-Town to our hotel in Dongcheng.

Here are some highlights:

And here are a few things that needed cultural translation:

1. Our door key is also the thing that turns on the electricity in our room

2. Inside our closet, There's a Gasmask in a Can, in Case of Emergencies, Fires or a Sudden Invasion by the White Barbarian

Birthdays, Books + (Distant) Beaches

2011-05-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks have been a blurry, pretty little mess of everything: Grading final portfolios, writing my final paper on Joan Didion for my Post-Western Representation class, waking up early on Saturday morning to go to the LA Times Festival of Books where I bought the new McSweeney's + Granta, attended a forum on literary journals with the editors of a Public Space, Granta, Black Clock + saw Tom read his short story, "The Lie." I also celebrated my--gasp!--37th birthday + went to Santa Monica with LB where we loitered around and smelled the Ocean air + bought a couple things for our upcoming trip to Beijing.

Here are a few highlights:

Gogo! Doing Yoga with his Daddy

LB's Genius for Gift-Wrapping

B-Day Vegan Cupcakes

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

Proof that Part of America Still Reads Books

The Entrance to Bibliphilia

LB Magnetically Attracted to the Kinokuniya Kiosk

Where Cute Plastic Things Come to Be Reborn

Makes Me Dizzy

Tom Representing at the Bing Theater

Listening to the Enemy: Literary Journal Editors

The Endangered Species: Homo Literarius

Santa Monica Outdoor Mall

Love the Open Space

A Photographic Journal of a Weekend Bohemian

2011-04-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Being in a PhD programs means lots + lots of reading, more reading than you can possibly deal with. You read until the words start gagging you. But since the weekend is the only time I get to spend quality time with LB, often I take my show on the road. In that light, restaurants, museums + cafés in LA start to have a whole new meaning.

Only Jeff Koons Would get Paid Thousands of Dollars by LACMA for Sticking a Bug Raft into a Ladder

For Some Odd Reason, this Made Me Think of Gangland

This, However, I'll Defend

My Broken Egg World Reflected back at Me

This is When I Realized I was over Jeff Koons

2 Minute Hate, or the old MTV Logo?

Somehow, this is Connected to the Cultural Amnesia of the West Coast

Huh

What's Really Cool about this Installation is that if You Took 20 pictures in Three Second Intervals, You Would have a Different Picture Every Time

Depends on Who the Author is. . .

Aimee Bender Showed Me This + I was transfixed. It's Two Miniature Elevators, Both of Which work: the Doors Open and Close at Different times, the Elevators Go up + down Floors at Different Speeds, Sometimes Lingering on a Floor for a Second. When We Got on Our Hands + Knees + Looked up inside the Elevators, They even Looked real.

Maybe It's Narcissistic (Don't Hate), but the Natural Light outside was Perfect for a Self-Portrait

The Wilshire Entrance of LACMA

The Breezeway at LACMA

LB + I Ate Dinner at Café Gratitude when they were a Million Indie Songwriters Getting Drunk on Organic Wine + Talking Really Loud. This is a Picture of a Bunch of People (Jason Mraz + his lyricist, being two of those people) Dancing + Singing Happy Birthday

Meanwhile, back at our K-Town Apartment, Zoe is Busy Pondering the Meaning of the Universe as Philosophy Pooch

Downtown LA

I Think There was a Huge Pillowfight Last Night

One of the Random (Read: Sweet) Messages My Students Left for Me on the Blackboard

Gogo! + Zoe, each with His/Her Own Toy

LB + I Eating at Café Flore in Silverlake

These Eyes Kill Me Every Time

LB Looking Hip at a Barnes + Nobles at the Grove

LB Absorbing the Light at One of Our Favorite K-Town Cafés

Delicious (Expensive) White Tea

The View from the Balcony

LB Fiddling with her iPhone at Bricks + Bitches (Bricks + Scones) Café

A Day in the Halo of Santa Monica

A Small Triumph of the Digital Era: Finding my Japanese Family on Facebook

2011-04-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

１。Yesterday, I got back two letters in the mail that I'd sent to Japan two weeks ago--my first genuine effort to write my cousin Eikichi + my Great Aunt (grandmother's sister?) in nihongo (Japanese). More than anything, I wanted to make they were okay in light of the tusnami, the daiichi reactor fallout + the multiple earthquakes. Something about all of those disasters affecting my Japanese family--even if I had never met them--really upset me.

2。I have to say, my heart sunk a little bit when I saw those two letters returned because I didn't have any other leads to contact them. In a way, I felt as if Japan was somehow rejecting me + since I'm the only person in my family who speaks Japanese + who celebrates the Japanese heritage of my family at all, this was a crushing loss to me. The only thing I had to contact my family was an old list of addresses of my family in Japan that my sobo had written down with pen on a piece of lined paper years ago. As I've written before, my Japanese is pretty bad: barely functional, barely there, syntactically, kinda like a college student trapped inside a 4-year old's brain. Out of the three foreign languages I speak/write, it's by far the worst + also (not a coincidence) the most difficult to master.

3。So, after weeks of dramatic anticipation, rejection + then the swallowing of my sadness, as a last effort, I decided to look up Eikichi on Facebook. And of course, in ten seconds I found him, just like that. In his profile picture, he's standing in front of a car like a businessman-gangster. I recognized the school he'd graduated from (Chuo University), noticed he was from Osaka. I just knew it was him. I don't know how, but I did.

4。What this means: In other words, where letters (+ other concrete objects, written documents, tiny cultural productions like a letter) can fail in some definite sense because they're slower than the speed of culture, slower than the speed of human migration, slower than the speed of technology, social media can cross geographical + cultural boundaries in a flash. What letters fail at, this digital era redeems instantly.

In any case, here's the deeply flawed + badly written email I wrote him last night on Facebook. I know my Japanese is really bad--don't hate!--but here it is:

角家栄吉さま、

失礼ですが、でも、角家栄吉さんは、角家静子の息子ですか。私の日本語はだめだと知っている、でも、私のそぼは　金橋（漢字は、違う？）ゆきよだったので、彼女の大坂のご家族を　見付け出しているんです。。。とにかく、ぼくは　彼女のアメリカ人まごです。。。時間があったら、E メールでご返事ください。

お返事をこころまちにしています。

―ジャクソン　ブリす(aka　ジョナサン）

p.s. ところで、これは　私の祖母の写真ですから。。。（ぼくの母と兄とぼくものですよ。）

FYI: Here's my mom, my sobo, me + Chad, my older brother, at my Oberlin graduation back in 1998.

Even more amazing, not only was it the right Kadoya Eikichi, but he already wrote back. Here's his response:

Dear Jackson

That's right.
I am a son of Shizuko Kadoya（角家静子）.
It's after a long time.
How are you?
I actually also wanted to contact you.

Sorry, I'm not good at English.
However, because English is skilled to the wife, you may give the reply in English.

角家栄吉より

And here's the response I sent Eikichi:

Eikichi!

Holy Shit. やった！！！！I finally found you. Yo, that's amazing. I've been trying to find you for years + last night, in a moment of desperation, I find you on facebook. Crazy!

Listen, there's so much I would love to catch up on, about you + your life, your family, your life in Tokyo, your wife--all of that stuff. But for now, can I ask a favor? Can you give me your address + your mom's address? I tried writing both of you letters in Osaka but they both got sent back. I used the 1-丁目 . . . 西成区 address, but both letters were sent back. Did your mom move? I considered sending you a letter at your Shinjuku address that my sobo saved, but I didn't know whether you still lived there or not.

For now, please give me your address + your mom's address so I can at least resend the two (sad little) letters I'd written earlier. ところで、一緒に日本語や英語で書きましょう、ね。お互いに私達は進んででしょう。

Great to finally be in touch with you. Please give your wife my regards.

Peace, Blessings,

--jackson

p.s. Please call me Jackson if you don't mind. Jackson was my middle name, Jonathan was my first name but now I go by my middle name, Jackson. . . just so you know. Of course, when my grandmama said my name, Jonathan became Jonasan.

p.s. 2 Erika, my wife and I, have been thinking about going to Tokyo for Christmas. If we do, we should definitely all meet up. How fucking cool would that be?

p.s. 3 By the way, check out my writing/culture blog. I posted an entry about us recently finding eachother on facebook. Also, if you look on the right column under "Asia," I've posted pictures of our honeymoon that we spent in Tokyo last may. For now, start with this:

(for a strange case of déjà vu, click here)

The Red Cross of Japan Writes Back

2011-03-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Jackson Bliss,

First of all, we thank you very much for your expressions of concern and offers of support to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

The Japanese Red Cross Society has started its disaster relief response, however, the whole picture of the situation is not yet clear and the JRCS is continuing its assessment of both the situation and the needs of the people in the affected areas, at the National Headquarters level as well as its local Branch level.

Therefore, we are afraid that JRCS is not accepting any volunteers from inside and outside the country at this stage. The update information will be available on our website: http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.html
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also provides the information on Red Cross responds to this earthquake: http://www.ifrc.org/en/

We would highly appreciate your understanding.

Thanking once again for your kind offer, we remain with best regards.

Yours sincerely,

International Department
Japanese Red Cross Society
Website: http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.html

From: jackson bliss
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 4:04 PM
To: kokusai@jrc.or.jp
Subject: volunteers in May?

- Ocultar texto citado -

Trying to Volunteer for the Red Cross of Japan

2011-03-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Since LB + I have been planning on go to Japan this summer for awhile now, we've talked about finding a way to volunteer or help in some way with the massive humanitarian crisis there, so I wrote the Red Cross of Japan last night to see if they needed volunteers for mid-May. Here's the letter I sent:

dear sir/madam,

my wife + i are planning on coming to japan sometime in may. we were wondering whether you might need any volunteers + whether you can train those who have not volunteered for the red cross before? she's a RN + i speak a little Japanese. i realize you're terribly busy right now, but we wanted to see what we could do to help. please write back when you can. i completely understand if it takes you a little while to get back because of the enormous humanitarian crisis in japan. it goes without saying: please focus on helping the Japanese people first + write back only when it's convenient for you.

i wish you luck with everything you must tackle in these trying times.

peace, blessings,

--jackson bliss

Japon, Je Pense à Toi

2011-03-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

My thoughts + prayers go to Japan right now. 私達はここから日本の安否を祈っています。どうぞお大事に。

Chau Stella

2011-02-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

Hace unas horas, murió la gatita de mi mama. Se llamó Stella: era blanca y negrita, con patitas rosadas, y un lunar blanco chico sobre los labios. Era muy amable y tenía un espiritu muy dulce tambièn. Te voy a extrañar a vos, Stella: el lunar blanco chico sobre tu labios y tu miau, si suave, casi silencioso como si abrieras tu boca para cantar y luego, perdiste las palabras. Te amo Stella. Descanse en Paz, Stellita. Me vas a accompañar para siempre.

Il y a deux heures, la chatte de maman est mort. Elle s'appele Stélla: elle était blanche et nègre, aux pattes roses et au petit grain de beauté au-dessus de ses lèvres. Elle était très sympa, très gentille et elle avait une esprit très douce aussi. Tu vas me manquer, toi, Stélla: le petit grain de beauté au-dessus de tes lèvres et ton miaulement, si doux, presque silencieux comme si tu avais ouvert la bouche pour chanter et puis, tu as perdu les paroles. Je t'aime Stélla. Repose en paix, ma chèrie. Tu m'accompagneras pour jamais.