It's almost been a year in Japan...

In honour of my first anniversary in Japan, here are the Top 4 (non-Japanese) things I’ve discovered during the past year. These are in no particular order.

Knowing Me, Knowing You
BBC Radio 4 comedy program, circa 1992. I found the cassette version of the first series in the first company vehicle I inherited from Bowers English School. And considering I only had a cassette player in that car, I listened to them… a lot! Comedian Steve Coogan plays fictitious radio talk-show host Alan Partridge, a bumbling buffoon, whose only real apparent skill is singing ABBA songs, hence the title of the program. Damn funny!

Growing my own herbs
I’ve tried unsuccessfully in the past to grow house plants, often because I often forget to mind them. But recently, mostly because of all the home cooking I’m doing, I’ve really taken to my herb stock – daily water, lots of sun, having conversations with them and playing music for them (they dig on Chet Baker and DJ Krush best). I’ve even given each plant a name. And it’s pretty easy to figure out the inspiration for their names.

Sweet Basil: Fawlty
Lemon Thyme: Ray
Parsley: P-Funk
Rosemary: Whole Lotta Rosie
Peppermint: Wrigley
Greek Chive: Greco
Italian Parsley: Stallion (unfortunately, Stallion died recently)

One of my adult students went to a specialty herb shop in Hamamatsu City last week to try and find me some Cilantro and Dill, my favorite herbs. However, tisn’t the season, so I’ll have to wait for spring to get some.

Nick Tosches
The foul-mouthed, Italian-American writer from Jersey penned the no nonsense Sonny Liston biography The Devil and Sonny Liston. In addition, Tosches (I think it’s pronounced “TOSS-kus”) also wrote, among other books, Unsung Heroes of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a collection of short biographies of (mostly) unknown musicians and their contributions to the pre-Elvis world of rock and roll.
Thanks to my friend Neill Cunningham, owner of Pandemonium Books in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto, for turning me on to these books while I was home on vacation in July.

Bit Torrents
I’m still not sure how safely the technology works and I know I’m breaking every copyright rule, but I’ve used bit torrents to download full seasons of my favourite TV shows (WKRP, Chef at Home) and other assorted favorites like Inside the Actors Studio (Dave Chappelle and Robin Williams episodes) and the Classic Albums series which looks at the making of essential rock records (Catch a Fire, Dark Side of the Moon, Electric Ladyland and Joshua Tree). If it weren’t for Bit Torrents, I would gone crazy and/or home a long time ago.