Foot and Fire

I celebrated my 18 years of lifework this year as a public defender and finished rereading "To Kill A Mockingbird" with different set of eyes.  I read this when I was in college when lawyering was still floating on jute (Galutaw pa sa tugabang, as we Ilonggos say) or when I still has no idea I would go to law school after college.  First, it is still entertaining and I now recalled the "events" which I already forgot from my first reading as Scout is the best narrator. Second, it is full of devices that illustrate prejudice and racial discrimination, and full of questions that can hover above us.  But one hovering current event I wanted to  write something about is on Israel and Palestine and the Hamas. I wanted to grab again Yuval Noah Harari's book on challenges for 21st century (he is an Israeli political svience professor). I wanted to understand, but most of all I wanted to condemn violence.  I don't care what the Bible and what ...

And your bird can sing A review by Gerlie Uy "Why watch this film?," JFF asked. And I answered, "I watched it because I fell in love with Hakodate in Hokkaido during my recent trip to Japan." So, while watching the film, I spotted three familiar spots, the train station, the railway of the tram along the main road, and the spiral walkway leading to the skywalk and overlooking the ocean. I was happy to spot these three because I knew them when we were able to circle Hakodate's main thoroughfares at night. Of course, I was expecting more scenes featuring the place but the film is something about feelings, not visuals. My impression of the Japanese when I visited is that they were polite, kind and helpful. In my two-week vacation, I am in awe with their attitude and consideration of others. But I also observed shady nightspots in Shinjuku when in trains Japanese men are polite and even look sideways when we accidentally look eye to eye, side dishes ...

Lonely Glory A Review by Gerlie Uy This film is about a sister whom we may call ambitious as she is the type who goes out of the house early on in her life and venture outside.  She is also a machiavellian type as her actions gear towards the end justifies the means even if it can be in utter disregard of the other person's feelings for which the Japanese are known to be very considerate of. The supposed "attitude" portrayed at her workplace in the introduction is not enough reason for me to create a judgment whether she is "user-friedly" kind of person. But when it was followed by the fact that she missed her father's burial and she went home when her mother died because she had to settle the inheritance affairs so she she could get a share and start her business venture, I got the impression. But wait, I actually started to rally behind her at this point. The movie started with the main character saying "I don't know anymore what I...

OTARU, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN. What we missed that day (and more photos of Otaru)!!!  We were early in arriving at the train station but the 8 am sunlight was so intense at the Otaru canal, the heart of the city, we missed many things to do by avoiding the sun. So on your own trip, please nevermind the sun and do these three things we missed right away as they vanished at around 3pm when we returned. Our bad!!! 1. Have your portrait with the canal as background sketched by the Japanese artist. If  I still recall it correctly, he only asks for 1,000 yen and it could be done in 10 minutes. This could have been a great trip souvenir. Grrrr!!! 2. Buy a stained glass art with the canal view as subject made by the artist himself right there. Sells affordably too but I needed more time to choose and thought that I would do that later. Ugggh!!! The music boxes @the music box museum. Your box, your music as it can be custom-made. 3. ...

1 kilo radish 1 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp turmeric Wash, peel and Slice the radish for about 1/16th of an inch, not too thick and not to thin is what we like. Wash again and let drain. Set aside. In a glass or plastic bowl, combine water, vinegar, sugar and turmeric. Stir until lump disappears. Transfer in a coated pot (not steel) and let boil in medium heat while stirring from time to time for about 20 to 30 minutes. In glass jars, arrange the sliced radishes until all are set.  Pour the liquid mixture in the glass jars with radishes and seal with lids. Repeat until all are covered. Let cool and refrigerate. This keeps long in fridge, (but it won't as I eat them faat) serve as refreshing and crunchy side dish. 

One of the things we enjoyed in Japan was the stamps upon arriving at the train stations. Some stamps are in plain sight after the gate but some stamps have to be asked from the train attendant or officer manning the gate booth.  Eki is the japanese word for it but I failed to use that word as when I say stamp with a gesture of a fist over an open palm, they easily understand me! Stamps are available for ordinary train stations but there is no stamps for shinkansen or the bullet trains. The Japanese would cross their arms each time to tell you "No."  At first, I was able to label the stations we were in but later, I got a few unlabeled ones. We uncovered that not only do train stations have stamps but also the Information Centers, and some of the sites itself.  Sometimes, we just enter a building and our moods lighten up every time we see a stamp.  We did not take the Hakodate Ropeway because we wanted to explore its vicinity at night but we w...

I am no egg lover but in Japan, eggs are tasteful and creamy you can just add it to your rice so I was converted. They call this scrambled egg but it has yolky creaminess in it, a far cry from my own scrambled egg.  I was not expecting that the buffet breakfast in Japan would comprise some soup, salad fried noodles and eggs. I thought it would just be a simple coffee and toast. They serve it at 6.30 or 7 am to 10am so we can always have it for 15minutes before starting our wandering. This baked egg or steamed egg is good too but I dont like the sweetness added to it.  Egg Quiche is tasty too but I still miss the "scrambled egg" the Japanese Style. Our view while having a very quick breakfast from our Keisei Narita hotel The Japanese-style scrambled egg Radish in the salad Memories of our breakfast

I MISS THE JAPANESE WAY.  Shizouka Tea Museum is 2.2km away from the train station and this guy who manned the parking lot instructed me to call three numbers for the taxi by using the payphone (we have no local cellphone). I did contact one out of the three numbers but using the payphone with cobwebs lingering on my ear, I could not book as the lady on the next line cannot speak English amd I can't speak Japanese. He made a call through his own cellphone and the guy he was talking to gave up his convo with him to enable him to help us.  The Japanese made it casual to help, and a way of life to help and concede to others or adjust especially when I walk on the right side. This is only one story but this happens all the time in the train station or Family Mart. I miss the people, equally as the sights in Japan.  As a Filipino, I became accustomed to being individualistic and expecting for a big thank you for every gesture I gave out and felt bad whe...

I am sharing our Japan Food List here. We got everything in our list covered, and more. I tasted fresh fig there at last!  ✅️ sushi from a conveyor belt which we did in Hakodate, Hokkaido ✅️ sushi to my heart's desire from a grocery store in Hakodate, Hokkaido as it is the place with live King Crab and giant clams so I had the freshest salmon, tuna, flat whitefish and mackerel on top of my sushi ✅️ onigiri, that triangle rice with filling inside and a cut of nori sheet outside to hold it, is a life saver everytime we have to catch a train. I love the salmon onigiri. ✅️Dotonbori bowl with raw egg in Osaka is what I want to have more ✅️ Kobe Beef, the tenderest ever, is a bit steep in Ueno, Tokyo ✅️ Lamb but got lamb sausage only in an Izakaya in Otaru, Hokkaido ✅️ Grilled Mackerel which I ate using my survival chopstick skills, Asakusabashi, Tokyo ✅️ Grilled Eel (I thi...