MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hey everyone!

First off, apologies to everyone for not posting in a while! I wish I could say I had abducted by a giant sea serpant and held in an underground lair but in fact I'm just plain lazy!

But I just wanted to say MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!

There will be lots of new posts soon!

Alexx

xx

Gion Odori 2006: Acts Two and Three

Act Two: Okome. Okome is the Japanese word for rice (before it is cooked). The geiko Mariko, dancing as a Shinto priestess for a plentiful harvest of rice in early spring. In January, maiko wear a stalk of rice in their hair to celebrate the new year.

Act Three: Shidarezakura. Shidare zakura (from sakura), or weeping cherry. Before the famous weeping cherries of Maruyama Koen, near Yasaka Shrine, an elder geiko awaits her true love until she is discovered by her younger sister .

Uh oh! She recollectin' ya'll! Reading an unusually long rabureta (love letter) in the absence of her beloved.


I know that correspondence is often recommended to encourage affection, but this is ridiculous sis!

Don't make me...

I love the beautiful bend of their hands, so limber and graceful. It reminds me of the Apsara dance of Cambodia...

Gion Odori 2006: Maneki

Masayo and Miharu.

The theme of this year's Gion Odori, the fall dance performed by the maiko and geiko of Gion Higashi, was "Seasonal Glories of the Maiko's Hanakanzashi," or flowered hair ornaments.

Masayo and Fumiki.

In December, maiko wear the maneki hanakanzashi. This dance depicted the maiko attending the year-end debut of Kabuki actors at the Minamiza theater. A young maiko overcomes her shyness to ask her favorite actor for his signature "with her big courage".

Masayo, the highest ranking maiko in Gion Higashi, dancing during the opening act of this year's Gion Odori: Maneki. This years theme was hanakanzashi, the flowered hair ornaments worn by the maiko. Each dance reflected the meaning and seasons in which each hanakanzashi is worn.

During Kaomise (from about Nov.30- Dec. 26) , the names of the performing Kabuki actors are written on long, wooden boards called maneki kanban, and hung outside the theater. Maiko attend the Kaomise (face showing) Kabuki performances, wearing these Maneki hanakanzashi. Two small, blank tags are attatched, and maiko ask their favorite Kabuki actors to sign them afterwards.


Fukimi and Miharu strike a Maneki Neko, or beckoning cat, pose.


Fumiki and Umeha.

Gion and Guacamole

Geiko and maiko of Gion Higashi performing the Gion Higashi Kouta during the finale of the fall dance.

This is just one of the many images from my trip to Kyoto over a month ago that I still haven't managed to upload. More will be coming soon, assuming blogger will eventually allow me to add images to the blog again post haste. Come to think of it, I never even finished writing about my latest adventures in Cambodia, not to mention my trip to Vietnam almost a year ago! I'm working on it... In the mean time, feast your eyes on this: My third year elective English class' Guacamole extravaganza. Ole!

Etsuki, Nao, Chikako, Ami, and Shin diggin' in to the guacamole.

I have often expounded upon the virtues of guacamole to Kachi sensei, English teacher extrodinare of the Beautiful Mountain School and friend to many an ALT. During our humble Thanksgiving Fiesta, she experienced it's deliciousness for herself, promptly declaring it our sacred duty to share the gospel of guacamole among the Japanese people, begining with the youth. Thus, the concept of Guacamole 101 was concieved and carried out with great success.

No tortillia chips? No problem! Ole!

All of the students had eaten avacado before, but only in sushi form, with mayonaise and soy sauce (>.<)As they say, 'Soy sauce, seaweed and mayonaise do not guacamole make."

Not only were the students impressed with its deliciousness, but with the ease with which it is prepared. They all vowed to make guacamole again for their families. We made an extra batch for the teachers room, which, at first sight, seemed to scared many a sensei. It was, however, quickly gobbled up with shouts of "Umai!" and "Oishii ne!" immediately followed by "Wow. This would be perfect with beer or sake!" Even Kocho sensei (principal), staunch supporter of the superiority of all things Japanese, declared it to be delicious, followed by a rather spirited rendition of "La Cucaracha". The guacamole revolution has begun! Ole!

The Olsen twins are elderly!

Wow, ok, so it's finally easy to tell the Olsen twins apart..primarily because one of them looks like a 70 year old woman who lives by a disused rail crossing, and the other one looks like the 70 year old woman after she has died, been buried for 12 years, bitten by a vampire, and then been dug up again...



It leave it for you to judge which one is which...





Incidentally, Lindsay Lohan showed up at the same party looking like a bloated hooker

Nicole Richie arrested!

Nicole Richie was arrested at 4.45am this morning for driving under the influence of Vicodin and Marajuana!

TMZ reports "Her SUV was spotted by two motorists going the wrong way on the 134 Freeway in Burbank. The drivers called 911. When the CHP responded, Richie was stopped in the carpool lane and was alone in the vehicle. When cops approached the vehicle, Richie was on her cellphone.

Law enforcement officers tell TMZ Nicole Richie admitted she had taken Vicodin and smoked pot.

A preliminary alcohol screening device revealed that Nicole was not under the influence of alcohol."

Her booking details give her height as 5ft 1ins and a weight of 85lbs! My god! who knew such a little body could handle drugs? Surely thats like injecting a Siamese kitten with heroin and expecting it to be able to walk across a tightrope?

Not that I've ever tried.

Paris backs up Britney!

Paris Hilton has come to the rescue of Britney Spears by attempting to clear up some rumours about her behaviour since the two have become friends. Paris posted this message as a Myspace bulletin:

"I told Brit I’d write a bulletin on here to try to clear some news to atleast the people who are on my list…

Lately, you’ve been seeing pics of me and Britney partying (blah blah) and she knows that some of her fans are very upset about what they call her “behavior” and sadly they’re blaming the issue on her being friends with me. Yeah, me and Brit have become really close in the past few weeks, and we’ve gone out alot in the past few nights, but I never influence anything she does, and neither does anyone else.

Brit is her own person and she deals with her own things everyday. For people to call out her parenting skills on behalf of her partying ethics is appalling. Britney loves her kids to death, and I know for a fact that it truly hurts her when she sees these cruel things being written about her.

She goes home every night to her babies and partying has not come in the way of her parenting.

Anyone who has called her out on this should really be ashamed. There are thousands of mothers out there who like to go out and have a good time. But, you do not see people out there calling them “bad parents” She’s young, and if she wants to go out and have some fun, let her. Just because she does these things does not mean she doesn’t care about her children. For the sake of Britney and her kids, be kind

Love,
Paris"

This comes in the wake of allegations made in 'In Touch' that Britney has entered a drink and drugs spiral. On November 27th Britney dined out at Dan Tana's restaurant and a source who stood next to her in the restroom stated about the contents of her bag:

"It looked like a pharmacy in there - I have never seen so many pills."

"There was a bottle of Paxil (an antidepressant) and a bottle of Xanax (for anxiety) that she took out and put on the counter."

Later that evening Brit was spotted carrying a glass of wine to her car, where she proceeded to get behind the wheel and drive to a club. Britney has also been accused of choosing to stay the night at hotels rather than go home to her two sons.

Maybe its me, maybe I've been reading too many of Lindsay Lohan's issued statements but I'm bowled over by the coherency of Paris' writing!

Although, having said that, I'm pretty amazed that she even managed to type anything on a computer without mistaking it for a toaster, falling off her chair and setting her own feet on fire.

tomFAT!

It looks like Tom Cruise has been studying at the Mariah Carey school of cookery...



Where the number one rule is that lard and cream are your friends...



Lets hope that he is bulking up to play Roseanne in a new biopic..

Ice Skating Super Stars

BMC (Beautiful Mountain Crew) representing Kita Chu at the 2nd annual ice skating lesson. #7 Shin, #17 Takayo, #2 Yuya, #13 Shu.

Autumn has officially ended, and winter is in full swing. That means two things: Being able to see your breath indoors (especially at school), and ice skating! After dazzling both sensei and student alike last year with my mediocre skating skills, I was invited once again to join my most beloved sannenseis (third years) for the 2nd annual, educational trip to Ena`s nearly brandspanking new ice skating rink: Crystal Park.

Ganbatteiru ne! Giving it all they got, Japan's future speed skating dream team: Shu, Naonori, Kento, Ryo.

For many of my students, this was only the second time in their entire lives being out on the ice. The girls were all given figure skates, of course, while the boys had to struggle with speed skates that many of them had trouble even standing in (note Kento in the picture above). After a 30 minute "lesson" in which the instructor skated around the students in circles telling them to do the same, few were brave or able enough to stray too far from the bars. After a few basic explanations by yours truely, kids skating frontwards, backwards, and trying to spin!

Ami and Mio...

All in all it was an incredibly fun adventure. I felt so blessed to be able to spend this time with my students, and the best part about it is that they were sincerlely happy to be with me, too. When they started getting the hang skating or spinning, they'd call me over excited. "Melissa! Watashi wo Mitte ne! Mitte! (look at me! look at me, Ok?)" or skate up behind me an take my hand. Even the boys would be like "oh! Melissa! Look! Wonderful!" or "Watch us! Who`s faster?" When I assumed they were getting sick of indulging me, I`d skate off on my own, but they`d always call me back (^-^) What am I going to do when they graduate? (i0i)

The Amazing Amis collide.


"It's cool. We meant to do that!"

If Victoria Beckham were a drag queen...

Janet Jackson decided to turn up at the Billboard Music Awards looking like a cross between an extremely shoddy female impersonator and Victoria Beckham..I'm not quite sure what look she was going for but when you make Victoria Beckham look feminine and natural in comparison you know you went wrong somewhere..










The inspiration!

Back to Basics

Last night I was lucky enough to see Christina Aguilera live at her final date in London on her Back to Basics tour.

So far the reviews I've read have been pretty mixed...either AMAZING or TERRIBLE! All I can say is that anyone who gives this tour a bad review probably thinks that Daphne and Celeste are the pinnacle of musical achievement.

If you have the chance to see this tour then definately go for it! I don't want to give too much away but the highlight for me is when she gets an audience volunteer, quite possibly the most i have ever laughed during a concert!