New Phone: Sony Ericsson S001

Had a little bit of a mishap on Monday evening and gave my trusty cell phone a 40 minute dip in the washing machine. It came out looking all sparkly and shiny, but it didn't really feel like turning on.

And no, I hadn't backed up my address book.

So we headed over to the au shop in Tanashi on Tuesday afternoon to figure out what could be done. Apparently you can ship your phone off to the manufacturer, and they can often get the data off of a phone that has drowned. The service takes about a week and costs 10,500 yen (roughly US$100). But while we were chatting about what to do, and the guy I was talking to was explaining my options to me, my phone started to buzz as an e-mail came through.

It's alive!

Why the au guy hadn't bothered to check whether or not the data was retrievable is perhaps an issue for another time, but the good news is that he was able to get my entire address book out of it and onto my new phone.

And my new phone is the green one pictured above. It has an eight mega-pixel Sony Cyber-shot camera crammed inside it, and there seem to be a lot of bells and whistles that I still have no idea how to use.

The one thing that I don't like so much about it is the fact that the 'clear' button rests just slightly below the down button, so it's very easy for people with adult-sized hands to hit them both at the same time.

Other than that, I don't have any serious complaints as of yet. I never thought I'd buy a slide phone, but my options were a bit limited to be honest with you. I'm still a little bummed because I really liked my old phone. It had a scrollbar which made tearing through a long message or my address book very easy.

Oh well. That's life, I guess. I learned my lesson. I immediately backed up my address book, which was miraculously salvaged from my water-logged cell, when I returned home.

New Phone: Sony Ericsson S001

Ricky Roma Wins!

I'm very happy to report that Ricky Roma (Justin Berti) won a very tight contest in the Mr. Latin category of the Harlequin modeling contest!

He has already commenced his duties as "Mr. Latin", and I know that he's already been to a couple of events to help promote the Harlequin brand.

I'd like to thank everyone who voted on his behalf, and I'm sure that Ricky will second the "thanks" if he ever happens upon this post.

Ricky Roma Wins!

A long, long night at Takadanobaba station

This poor guy missed several trains, and I'd be willing to bet that he didn't make it home that night. I was on the evening's final train headed to Honkawagoe, and I nudged him as I walked by, but he was out cold. After this train there were only a few more left, and even money says that fellow passengers left him sitting right where he was.

A long, long night at Takadanobaba station

Robert Glasper Trio

If you don't listen to much jazz, you need to start doing so now. The Robert Glasper Trio is in Tokyo at the moment, and as you probably won't have a chance to see them perform at the Cotton Club this time around, you should make it a point to get your hands on In My Element.

Yong-nam and I went to watch the trio (Glasper on piano, Vicente Archer on bass, and Damion Reid on drums) tonight along with our good friends Dave and Hisae. It was a playful, euphoric experience that, without a doubt, won me over as a lifelong fan. I've just now downloaded Glasper's first album, Canvas, from iTunes and plan to pipe it through the living room system for the next several weeks to come.

Can't wait for the third album which Robert mentioned will drop in July 2009!

Check here for Glasper's MySpace page.

By the way, Robert Glasper was very gracious and signed autographs and took photos with anyone who asked. That definitely ain't normal.

Robert Glasper Trio

I found the colonel!

He's in Jingu Stadium near the center field entrance.

[If you don't know what I'm talking about, please listen to this podcast.]

I found the colonel!

JR Finally Bans Smoking on Tokyo Train Station Platforms

As of yesterday, smoking was completely banned on the platforms of JR train stations in and around Tokyo, Japan.

Many will remember that up until two days ago, anyone could light up in open-air smoking sections on many JR station platforms. If you happened to be in the train car that stopped directly adjacent to the smoking section, and had a little help from the wind, it was not uncommon for the smoke to blow inside the train. It was just lovely.

But those days are finally gone, and another small step has been taken to divorce Japan from its "smoker's paradise" moniker.

Japan's largest tobacco company, JT, which is partially owned by the government's Finance Ministry, has enjoyed a snail-paced assault on its profit model over the years by anti-smoking regulators.

Some have argued that this latest move is not big enough and took way too long to materialize, but I'm actually quite content with these small victories. It seems to me that this will further load the debate in non-smokers' favor as smoking becomes increasingly demonized in Japan.

JR Finally Bans Smoking on Tokyo Train Station Platforms

BBQ in the park under the cherry trees (hanami 2009)

We had our annual bbq hanami party at Koganei Park yesterday afternoon. The weather was beautiful, if a bit chilly, and the flowers were just starting to bloom on the cherry trees. We were a bit early this year, so the trees still need about a week to reach full bloom. However, I prefer the park when it's not quite as crowded. There's more space to pass out drunk (a la the guy in the photo on the left).

We played some Bristol Horseshoes and cooked up several kilos of quality meat. Adam and Sachi brought Ryuma out for what I believe was his first hanami party. Our friends Hiroshi and Kazue brought a magnum of Moet which, I must admit, was a first for me sitting in the middle of the park!

There may be more parties to attend this coming weekend, but we will have to wait and see. If, however, yesterday was my only chance at hanami this spring, then I can live with that. Everyone had a good time yesterday.

BBQ in the park under the cherry trees (hanami 2009)

New Movie: HAGETAKA

We just finished shooting a feature film about "vulture" investment funds and hostile takeovers. The film is called "Hagetaka" (the vowels are basically the same as in Spanish, so say it like that and you'll have the pronunciation right...four syllables), and it was shot in Tokyo over the past two months. Keiji Ohtomo directs.

This is the film version of a TV drama that was popular a few years ago. Many of the actors from the drama, such as Nao Omori and Chiaki Kuriyama (of Kill Bill fame), are also in the movie.

I play the young, straight-laced righthand man of one of the main characters (played by Tetsuji Tamayama) who heads a Chinese government-backed investment fund that is attempting to buy out a famous Japanese auto company.

The other actors that were major players in the Chinese fund were played by Joe Nakamura and Asuka Higuchi. Asuka is shooting a TV show in Beijing at the moment, but I was able to hang out with Joe this past Thursday night when NHK and Toho threw a party to celebrate the completion of filming.

Hagetaka hits theaters in Japan on June 6th.

New Movie: HAGETAKA