The best thing about St. Patricks Day is NOT the beer.
The first time I took M to a bar on March 17, she just had to try the
green beer. Of course, there is nothing special about it. It doesn't
really taste green like a freshly mowed lawn or, I suppose, the 18th
green at St. Andrew's golf course. I explained to her that it's just
regular beer--probably the cheapest one on tap--with a little food
coloring. Still, it was novel enough for her to have a taste.

The best thing about this day is the food. Being the
carnivore that I am, I love to dig into that corned beef. Man, is it good. And I am a pretty big cabbage fan, so corned beef and cabbage sounds just about perfect to me. That and a pint of green beer. M-m-M-M-Mmm....

Oh yeah, a little FYI: cabbage is good for the digestion. Indeed, in Japan, it's the best thing to eat when you have a hangover. They even have an over-the-counter medicine called Kyabejin, which works pretty well when you have an upset stomach with that hangover. Come to think of it, when I eat cabbage while I drink, I don't have such a bad hangover the next day. Of course, I don't mean to suggest that you can drink an entire keg as long as you eat cabbage... of course.

Everything in moderation.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had received comments from some people I hadn't heard from in a long time--Tak, the Vixen. I was surprised, to say the least, especially since I don't post as much as I used to. That they would say something suggests they still read--at least occasionally. Anyway, it is nice to hear from them.

Anyway, spring break is here and I had plans to do a lot of things--grade papers, grade midterms, clean the closet, do taxes. Of course, as president of Procrastinators Local 72, I am no where close to accomplishing any of these lofty goals, except for the closet thing. M stood behind me drumming her fingers on her folded arms until I moved. *sigh*

But I have burned a number of DVDs so that those members of my family who are not very proficient at using media players on the computers can watch J-Drama--yes, this includes finger drummers. So I have Hana yori dango I and II (except the last episode that airs this week) ready to go on DVD. I also burned Karei naru ichizoku (again, except the last episode). This is in addition to this season's regulars, Haikei chichiue-sama, Imo tako nankin and Furin kazan. Being the anal guy I am, the menus of these DVDs are usually a screen shot from the drama, and after making sure the video and audio are in synch, I make DVD jackets for these which include a different screen shot as well as info about the drama gleaned from the Internet, usually Wiki-drama. I am creating quite a collection, and M's friends' are often flipping through the titles when they visit--Nodame Cantabile, Kekkon dekinai otoko, Yasashii jikan, Unfair, Ruri no shima, Orange Days, Trick (I, II, and III), Tiger and Dragon  and about 20 other titles. They comment that the quality is much better than the pirated J-drama video tapes available at the local Korean markets, but they never seem to mention how much cheaper it is too: $2.50 vs. $0.00. Hmmm...

Anyway, this is how I am spending my spring break, going through spindles of DVDs like M goes through a box chocolates. But I have to admit that I enjoy doing this. It gives me practice for when I start editing and burning clips from Japanese films for my classes--well, at least that's how I justify it to M...

I was surprised and quite flattered by all the comments and suggestions I received for my last post. Computer inquiries can be so boring but the PC vs. Mac debate is enough of a debate to stir opinions from people I haven't heard from in ages. It was nice to hear from some of you.

In any event, I went to work today... er... I mean yesterday--Monday--to turn in my request form for my computer. It was a tough choice. The varying opinions were pulling me in opposite directions. I had heard for quite a while that Macs are better for audio/visual editing. It is usually simpler and more "intuitive"--whatever that means. I had tried my hand at some video editing on my PC but with little success. I could not edit film into clips to show the similarities and differences between two movies, say "The Family Game" and "Tokyo Story". This would entail ripping the film from its DVD--or digitizing analog video tapes--into a computer file, then clipping those portions I could use in a lecture. I could do everything except the editing when clipped files would always seem to lose its audio synchronization. I eventually screened one film and required the other to be seen outside of class, comparing the two in lecture. It is, as you might guess, more effective and convincing with actual clips to show as I discuss the films.

So with the "intuitive" programs and all its extra RAM and superior CPU, I was leaning toward the Mac until I got a number of comments reminding me of possible headaches--learning a new OS, learning new programs, and the biggest thing is buying new programs. I talked with a colleague and she says that the school will only supply basic programs, which include MS Office and iMovies. Well, the cost can be prohibitive, as they don't pay me a lawyer's salary, or even a law professor's salary, or even a law assistant professor's salary. So on Sunday, I started to lean back toward the PC. But I've always wanted to try the Mac. I appreciate and value all of your comments but the opinions on both sides are so convincing that I decided that I just had to become the decider--the addition of this word into our lexicon is the most positive thing I can say about President Bush.

So I've decided on the Mac. I've always wanted to try it, and I can try it on the school's dime. They will foot the bill for the hardware, basic programs and maintenance. If and when I become more familiar with it and want to try some more things, I will buy more programs. This is not too much of an investment to try something new. and I have my other two "older" PCs to fall back on if I get too frustrated. They can't do the video editing, but they sufficient to teach my courses, do my research, and burn DVDs of J-dorama for my family. Also, as one commenter mentioned, there is a program called Bootcamp that will allow the use to upload Windows XP onto the Mac. so I could end up having all the power of a Mac--2.16 GHz Intel core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 160 GB harddrive--but with all the convenience of familiar programs. The program is new and will likely have some bugs, but by the time I get my new computer in midsummer, it will have been out for a year, and hopefully most of the issues--if any--will have been resolved.

If all goes well, I may start referring to myself as MacNigiriman.

Every three years, the school supplies me with a new computer. It is not necessarily the most recent models, and it doesn't include the most recent software. But the machine itself is new, so that constitutes a new computer, I suppose. In any case, I have the option of getting a "standard" replacement, or a "non-standard" replacement. "Non-standard", in this case, means "more expensive."

This time, I have the option of using a Dell Latitude D620 laptop or an Apple Macbook Pro. I kn ow what I can do with the PC Dell as it is similar with the Toshiba I currently own, except the new one will have a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo and 1 gig of RAM, instead of the modest 1.5 FHz and 512 MB I currently run. Now, if this Dell came with Vista, it would be a no-brainer. But it runs on Windows XP so there is not too much difference with what I have right now. .

A few years ago, this would have been fine, but I am learning how to manipulate videos these days. The other day, we read a short funny essay by Endo Shusaku called "A Problematic Commercial" and so I found some funny or different Japanese commercials and burned them onto a DVD to show to the class after reading the piece. My students seemed impressed that I could burn a DVD, let alone know the difference between a CD and a DVD.

In any event, when I try to edit videos on my PC, I always seem to run into problems: resolution gets worse, audio synchronization gets messed up, etc. I've been asking around, and I've been told that editing video is not PCs forte. However, Macs don't seem to have this problem, so I was wondering if I should change to the Macbook Pro. The statistics are rather amazing: A 2.16 GHz Intel core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 160 GB harddrive. I would imagine that if I had this power in a PC, I would never have trouble manipulating videos.

But I am unfamiliar with Macs and would like the input from those of you have a Mac, epecially those of you who are familiar with both PC and Macs. What are the major differences? What makes one superior to the other? Any input would be appreciated.

Update: Did I call it or what--"it'll snow just enough to make things miserable, but not enough to close the school." Off to class now...

Today, I had at least three different students tell me that snow was forecast for the DC area. Most people who live north of us usually laugh at the paralysis that overtakes the DC metro area when as little as three inches of snow fall. But please remember, we are not used to it. We don't have the three-feet of snow overnight kind of snow here. I mean, I live in Virginia, and if I recall my high school Anerican history course correctly, Virginia was a member of the confederacy, i.e. The South.

It's supposed to be warm...

But I won't get my hopes up... AGAIN! There will be no paralysis for me. I will go to school. I will hold my regularly scheduled class. I DO NOT expect that coveted snow day. I will not slack off with preparing for class because with my luck, it'll snow just enough to make things miserable, but not enough to close the school. So I hope whoever it is that's in charge of snow realizes that I DO NOT expect enough snow to close the school, because--and this has been proven time and again--whenever I expect it to snow a lot, it never does. So please hear me, Director of Snow up above, I'm telling you that I am now preparing for my 5 PM class tomorrow. I am re-reading the stories I assigned by Akutagawa--The Martyr, Kesa and Morito and The Dragon--and considering good questions in the hopes of arousing a spirited discussion on the lack of an absolute Truth, on the idea that Truth is an individual thing often bolstered by sensory evidence and group mentality--I mean, if enough people believe it, it must be true, right? So, yes, it is nearly 3:30 in the morning and I am preparing, because I DO NOT expect snow to close the school. It has been scientifically proven that when I think it will snow and I slack off, 100% of the time I will be caught unprepared. So please know that I will be prepared for class; maybe not now, maybe not at 6 AM, but soon... or at least in time for class... because I DO NOT expect it to snow enough to cancel class.

I will be prepared, I will be prepared, I will be prepared.

(Please snow, please snow please snow... I'm beggin' ya...)

As I get older, time goes by so much faster. I remember back when I was a kid, Christmas felt as it it were seven years from September. It would take another seven to get to summer vacation, then zip summer would go by in a flash and school would start again.

That is no longer the case, of course. While the relatively free time I have over the weekends or during winter break still go by in a flash, the regular days go by just as fast. With work piling up, and deadlines fast approaching, there are never enough hours in a day. Last week was a good example.

Besides the quizzes to grade and classes to prepare for, I went through a short stack of applications for a position we hope to successfully fill for next Fall. Some applications are easy to read. Often a glance at a resume will tell me a lot about a person: where they went to school, how much work experience they have, and most importantly, a well organized picture of the applicant. A good resume will allow me to see his or her strengths and almost guide me through the other material submitted, whch can a times be voluminous, which can be overbearing. A sloppy resume makes it hard to gauge the person, and usually, the sloppines extends to the other submissions. In either case, easy to read or not, it takes time to go through all the information and come to some sort of conclusion.

I also had that chart to make justifying the courses we offer. I get the feeling that the powers that be are trying the figure out which courses are not "absolutely necessary" and and start cutting back. That makes me, a teacher of classical Japanese poetry, very nervous. I ended up making two charts for our Japanese program. I was a bit late for our meeting on Friday, and the Boss let me know that they hadn't started because they were waiting for me. The trains were running late and I called saying I'd be about 5 minutes late, so they should start without me. But no. They were waiting for me because they knew I was the only one to have actually made a chart. None of the other languages had anything prepared. I suppose these very important professors are far busier that me, the lowest guy on the totem pole. From what I gather, they are using my chart as a template and simply filling in the blanks. Now there's an idea...

So anyway, the busy work from last week basically fucked up my schedule. M was laughing, marvelling at the fact that I must be busy since I'm not even watching J-Drama. Omigod! No J-Drama! The earth as just bumped off its axis. Well I saw some drama this weekend, but I haven't caught up as I am still trying to catch up with my work. I wish I had money for a secretary. Anyone wanna be my coolie?

Life is hectic as usual. It is the midle of the semeser, and I am being bombarded by requests for letters of recommendations, even as I try to find time to grade quizzes, read papers and generally try to do the things college professors do.

This week is particularly bad. The school is trying to figure out a way to cut back the number of courses offered. They are trying to "streamline" the curriculum, but we all know they are trying ways to save money. Less courses, fewer new hires and part-timers. I have to cobble together a chart that will somehow justify the courses we offer. Geez, there are only two of us full time and they are complaining about us? Well, maybe not about us, perse, but I still have to put this thing together... by Friday. Of course, I found out about this last Thursday. Also, we are looking at a new hire for a langauge-teaching-only position. There is a push to get language teachers as they seem to be a money generator. The search is being handled by committee led by the Deans office and the Language Center. All I do is ask, "Did you find any one yet?" Well, there is apparently a pool of candidates now for Japanese and I was just informed yesterday that I am to be a part of the selection committee... and we have to decide who to select... tomorrow! Of course, I was told of the deadline... today! I think I will go out of my mind... but I think I have to wait for spring break to do that....

In any event, I've been pretty busy and that seems to have elicted the following email:

It's been a while since you've updated your xanga... I hope everything has been going well in life and in academics. I stopped in to check and make sure something hadn't gone wrong with my account settings, but it looks like everything's okay on that front.

Well, thank you S, it is nice to be remembered. Seriously.

Now that I think of it, I haven't posted since the beginning of the month. So let's see....

Well we had another bout of snow. I have a directed readings class--and I NEVER do directed readings--but the sole student for this "class" was promptly a no-show when the school called a Snow Day for classes after 5 PM. A class is just a class, I guess, even if it's offered on my own time.

Let's see... oh yeah! For Valentine's, I got M some chocolates, dangling sterling ear rings, and a sterling and onyx bracelet. She likes sterling silver because it has more of a dressy casual look to it than gold. God knows I don't take M to very many fancy shmancy places anyway, and sterling is significantly less expensive than gold, so my wallet can give a sigh of relief. But she has hinted that she wants to eat sushi. Buying gold ear rings might be cheaper....

Unfortunately for me, there is not enough snow on the window sill to justify more time in bed, as Dad imagined back in 1956. If there were a few more inches on the ground, a few more clouds threatening to disrupt traffic, then there would be a chance for school to call for a snow day. But that seems unlikely at the moment. The ground outside is white, but I can still distinguish the lines separating the sidewalk from the lawn, a telltale sign that there is barely an inch of snow on the ground.

Born and raised in sunny California, I often wondered what it was like to look forward to snow days as a kid. Would I meet my friends for a snowball fight? Could I make a snowman in my front lawn? During the winter months, the only precipitation we saw was rain. And you cannot do anything with rain.

But it did hail once; I think I was in the 7th grade. Now, the upper stratosphere over LA could reach freezing levels, surprising us occasionally with a smattering of hail that usually melted on contact with any earthly object. But this 7th grade hail was different--at least for a few moments. I was bored, as usual, trying my best to entertain myself by printing words in the margins of my notebook. I printed in a faux-gothic style the word "Fickle Finger of Fate", a phrase I had picked up from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. I have never been accused of being artistic, but I have always liked texts, not just to read, but to look at. Script, fancy print, even signatures have always caught my attention, and I fancied myself a competent copier of them. At the moment, I was admiring my latest artistic rendering of the "Fickle Finger of Fate" when I heard screams and cackles from the outdoor second floor hallway. Immediately drawn to a new distraction, I rushed outside to see others pointing to the ground. I pushed my way to the chest-high wall and looked over the ledge and was shocked to see a ground that was completely white.

"It's snowing" I squealed along with everyone present. But one of the teachers, obviously more knowledgeable about things meteorological, set us straight. "It's hail," she said. "It's probably cold enough for it not to melt right away, that's all."

She was very matter of fact in her attempts to quell our excitement, but her words went unnoticed. The ground had turned white, the Earth seemed to have bumped off its axis.

"It's snow," I thought, even though I knew it was hail. I wanted to run downstairs and grab my first fistful of snow. I wanted to taste it. I wanted to make a snow angel. Unfortunately, our teacher herded us back into the classroom, assuring us that the "hail" would still be there when school let out in another thirty minutes. But when the school bell rang at 3:20 PM, the hail had turned to rain and the school ground had reverted to its asphalt black.

It's now 4:44 AM and I can still see the outline of the sidewalk outside. It has stopped snowing and the likelihood of a snow day seems as remote as ever. I wish it would have snowed a bit more so I could enact what my Dad composed some fifty years ago. But as I peak through the blinds of my second floor bedroom window, I remember the feeling that my first "snow" aroused. I find it pleasant and perhaps a bit reassuring that now, having grown up to be a teacher, I can still find the prospects of snow exciting.

Computer Query

I have a few AVI files that play adequately on any of the media players I have on my computer. However, when I try to burn them as a DVD Video, the audio is not in synch with the video. It isn't great, maybe 25 milliseconds or so? If you're not paying attention, and have bad eye sight, and the speaker has his back to the camera,it probably wouldn't make that much of a difference, but if you actually watch the characters as they speak, it can be quite annoying. The bilabial sounds--M, B, P--are the most obvious when not in synch.

I play video media using ffdshow codec, and Nero to burn video DVDs.

Does anyone know why audio/video would be in synch as an AVI file but get screwed up when converted into a DVD video file?  Is it the codec that Nero is using? Wouldn't Nero--or any other DVD burning program--use the codec I have on my computer? Is the codec I'm using unreliable?

Any words of wisdom or advice would be much appreciated.

Publish or Perish

As most of you know, my field is premodern Japanese literature, but my actual specialty is late Heian court poetry. I usually focus on its reliance on context, especially the reader's context, and as such make much ado about its intertextual qualities. This focus carries over to other poetic forms as well, including linked verse. Some of my students may be interested in perusing a new book called Matsuo Basho's Poetic Spaces edited by Eleanor Kerkham. The book centers on a poet from the Edo period, hundreds of years after the period I study, but there's a chapter on renga that reflects many of my views, so perfectly, in fact, that it's scary.

Playing Demon

In Japan, there is a game little kids play called Oni gokko--literally, playing demon. When I first went to Japan, my then little cousins said lets play. I didn't really know what the game entailed, but it sounded interesting so I said, yeah, why not--in Japanese, of course.

Well, I soon learned that the demon designate had to chase the others around in an attempt to catch them. Once someone was caught, that person became the demon and had to catch someone to pass on the "demon" label. Hmmm... After running about for a few minutes, I realized that I was playing a game of Tag. But instead of being "it" the person was a "demon", which kinda seemed a bit more colorful and tangible, unlike the amorphous and abstract "it" that one became after being tagged.

Well, thanks to Starberri, I am "it"--or as the Japanese would say, the "demon". Yes, she has tagged me again. Grrrrr.....

So here are the rules:

6 Weird Things About ME:

THE RULES: Write ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to choose 6 people to be tagged in turn.

Well, some of the weird things about me are usually gross things, so if you are one of my students then you can stop reading NOW. If you know me personally and are embarrassed to hear gross things about me, then you can stop reading NOW. If you know me in any fashion and enjoy reading about gross things, then be my guest and READ ON, although I think that if you do know me, you might already know most of these things. You have received fair warning.

1. I was Dagwood Bumstead in a previous life. You'd have to know the comic strip, Blondie, to understand the reference, Dagwood Bumstead was Blondie's husband who was always rushing in the morning, running to catch the bus and ultimately late for work. That, as M and many of my students will attest to, is me. I'm always--everyday--rushing to the station to catch the Metro. I reach my office out of breath, gather up my books, and run to class. I worked with a girl back in the 70s who once said that she could imagine me as a college professor rushing across campus to class. She must have been clairvoyant.
2. If I don't have my daily constitutional, I cannot leave the house. I don't know about you, but I would rather not sit on a toilet seat on which total strangers (plural) have placed their bare ass. Maybe the guy before me had a boil on his ass. Maybe the guy before me wiped his ass messily on got some of his shit on the toilet seat. Maybe the guy before me stood and pissed into the toilet without lifting the toilet seat and splattered his urine all over it. Even if he wiped it clean, I doubt he is walking around with disinfectant. I use the paper toilet seat covers when possible, but it just doesn't seem like enough protection to me. So I would rather make sure I finish my business at home and not have to deal with the unsanitary conditions of a public toilet. How do you women do it? Someone told me once that women "hover" to avoid contact. Isn't that like doing squats? That's pretty impressive.
3. At a urinal, I will flush before I use it, usually while I hold my breath. I want to avoid the plume of moisture droplets containing the piss of the persons (plural) who used it before me.
4. I cut finger nails only during the day. This is a recent habit of mine. M tells me that cutting your nails at night will offend the gods or place a curse on your family... or something like that. I am not the superstitious sort, but I figure its no big deal to cut my finger nails during the day, so I do what she says...
5. I do my best thinking when I'm sitting on the can. Sometimes I sit so long, I can create a butt ring.
6. I cannot resist playing tag. *sigh*