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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 21, 2003

Mysteries along the Mekong

BANGKOK 8, by John Burdett. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003, 318 pp., $24.00 (cloth). WAITING FOR THE LADY, by Christopher G. Moore. Bangkok: Heaven Lake Press, 2003, 342 pp., $24.95 (cloth). Can a Western author convincingly put himself inside the mind of a Thai cop? Writing in the first person in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Dec 4, 2003

"Lionboy," "The English Roses"

"Lionboy," Zizou Corder, Puffin Books; 2003; 352 pp. How old do you have to be to write your first book? Thirty years old? Twenty? How about 10? If you're Isabel Adomakoh Young, 10 is as good an age as any.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 27, 2003

Hobbit's-eye view of world

You cannot put yourself in Frodo's shoes as Hobbits walk barefoot. You can, however, walk in Frodo's virtual footsteps.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Nov 21, 2003

Lowdown on the Top End

One interesting thing about Darwin is how often this city in the so-called Top End of north tropical Australia has been destroyed. Indeed there are those who contend that this is the only interesting thing about Darwin.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 16, 2003

In the realm of catwalk queens

Lipstick, potato chips, box lunches, duct tape, clothing racks, paper cups, hairspray, mascara, big round mirrors facing every which way like satellite dishes, trays of fake finger nails, an arsenal of makeup brushes, Tully's coffee, Marlboro Lights, Frontier Menthols and lots and lots and lots of smoke....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2003

War dead said to haunt Iwojima

IWOJIMA ISLAND -- At 2:30 a.m., Yoshikatsu Takeda was awakened by a knock on his door. He knew no one was there, but he got up and opened it anyway.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 18, 2003

"Ruby Holler," "The Robodog Superhero"

"Ruby Holler," Sharon Creech, Bloomsbury; 2002, 310 pp. How do you reform a pair of 13-year-old twins who spend every spare moment breaking, spilling, throwing or dropping things -- and cursing loudly when they're caught?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 24, 2003

Dancing hands are guides along path of healing

Ray Baskerville is tall, lean, articulate and easy to talk to, and his hands weave mysterious patterns in the air as he heals clients back to physical and spiritual well-being.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 30, 2003

The young, the beautiful, the talented

COLLECTION OF BEAUTIES AT THE HEIGHT OF THEIR POPULARITY: A Novel, by Whitney Otto. New York: Random House, 2002, 283 pages, $23.95 (hardcover) When we think of Japonisme, it is primarily in the decorative arts -- a painting of a European woman holding a Japanese fan or wearing a kimono, some oriental...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2003

Video shorts become cafe fare

OSAKA -- The 20-odd people sipping coffee and tea in a shop in Chuo Ward here haven't come in just for the beverages. They also want to see free short videos made primarily by amateur filmmakers such as high school students and citizens' groups.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 3, 2003

Chic eats for the months ahead

It's prognostication time again and, just like Janus (after whom this month is, after all, named), the Food File likes to look ahead by surveying all that lies behind.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 28, 2002

Three baas for the year of the sheep!

Baa-aa! Yes, you herd me right -- it's almost the year of the sheep. It's going to be a long year of itchy sweaters and mothballs. So put on your woolies and finish writing those New Year's cards.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 2002

'Mongrel' seeker after new self-understandings

"One day, people will realize they are a mongrel people with a mongrel history."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 1, 2002

A look at the trials of the uprooted

Though so-called international marriages continue to become more commonplace in Japan, the authorities still treat them as glaring exceptions that call for special treatment. If you're not a Japanese national and you want to make sure you can stay in Japan in the event you divorce your Japanese spouse,...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2002

Shocking raids open new era in Australia

SYDNEY -- In dawn raids across Australia, gun-toting security police bashed down doors, questioned Indonesian residents, then carted off private papers to check for suspected terrorist activities. Surely this is Hollywood? No, it's "she'll be right, mate" Australia.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 28, 2002

Words of wisdom on U.S. interventionism

NEW YORK -- Searching the Internet for information on immigration in the United States, I came across President Grover Cleveland's message to Congress on Dec. 18, 1893. In it he detailed his opposition to the annexation of Hawaii. At the start of that year, a self-styled Committee of Safety, led by foreign...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 13, 2002

School festivals of fun in the name of sport

Autumn in Japan means much more than cooler temperatures and colorful leaves. It means . . . sports!
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2002

Seniors' Net clubs give elderly way to reach out, enhance life

With more than 40 percent of Japanese now using the Internet, an increasing number of elderly people have found a new way of enjoying life by opening their own home pages or establishing Net clubs for seniors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 1, 2002

How much do you really need to know?

The choice of yeast in sake brewing exerts marvelous leverage on the aroma and style of the final product. And, while creativity and diversity lead to better sake over time, things can indeed get out of hand. Today, there are so many different yeasts -- and ways of combining them -- that it almost ceases...
COMMENTARY
Aug 11, 2002

U.S. may manage Kashmir row at best

NEW DELHI -- Every regional crisis seems like an opportunity for U.S. policy to advance its interests. This has come out starkly since 9/11, as Washington has gone about extending its influence and building long-term strategic arrangements with nations across Asia, from the Caspian region to the South...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 8, 2002

Debunking strange Asian myths: Part II

This story began over a beer in a Kabukicho restaurant, when an adventuresome Canadian lassie named Christine, who had requested a tour of Shinjuku's sleazier hangouts, leaned suggestively across the table and asked me in a husky voice if I had ever eaten monkey brains.
COMMUNITY
Jul 28, 2002

Finding my Berings

Imagine traveling halfway around the world overland, building a ship, then being the first to navigate an unknown sea . . . only to have your sponsors disbelieve you. That was the fate of Cmdr. Vitus Jonassen Bering, the Danish seafarer whose name lives on in those of the Bering Sea, the Bering Straits,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 24, 2002

Evoking the mystery of the world

René Magritte's mustache, torso attached plunders a wet hat. "Negative Scenery" (1992) by Shozo Torii
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 5, 2002

Swallowtail

* Japanese name: Kiageha * Scientific name: Papilio machaon * Description: There are several species of swallowtail butterflies in Japan, all of them easily recognizable by their swallowtails -- the tail-like appendages on the edge of the hind wings. Body length is 36-70 mm. Swallowtails have fully...
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2002

An opportunity for peace in Indo-Pakistani faceoff

Once again, India and Pakistan are drifting toward war. New Delhi and Islamabad could, however, convert the present crisis into an opportunity to work toward a genuine peace.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 21, 2002

Veteran lensman sets his sights high

After 30 years, Takashi Iwahashi hasn't lost any enthusiasm for his work. Even at age 57, he spends an average of 120 days a year on the world's mountain peaks and ridges, capturing their beauty on film.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 24, 2002

Some gaijin pitfalls into which few have not plunged

I heard once that art is 2 percent creativity and the rest "derivativity."
LIFE / Language
Mar 22, 2002

The boy who's been everywhere

Over the last 73 years, this boy's been everywhere. He's zoomed to the moon in a red-and-white checkered rocket, trekked snow-covered Tibet in search of the yeti and has been saved at the last minute from being sacrificed to the Sun God by angry Aztecs. For all his hair-raising adventures, he hasn't...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Mar 10, 2002

A few blooming good wines

The month of March moves us toward spring and the brilliant profusion of cherry trees in bloom. During the gray, damp days on the late edge of winter, we daydream of hanami parties. In Tokyo, we'll play a guitar on a blanket in Inokashira Park, eat sushi rolls under the tunnel of blossoms in Aoyama Cemetery,...
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENS FOR ALL
Feb 28, 2002

Ferns: as mysterious as they are ancient

Ferns are very old plants that long predate the dinosaurs and were already abundant during the Carboniferous Period 350 million years ago, when many species grew in treelike form. Nowadays, they are perfect for bringing a natural feeling to gardens, and complementing trees and shrubs.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji