Yes, the Christmas celebration has long since started here in Japan, irrespective of the fact that they don't believe in Christ and hardly even know who He is supposed to be. Still, they know how to say "Oh my God!" and "Jesus!" so it's like they're practically Christian. I mean, if they started saying "Holy virgin birth, Batman!" that'd practically be the Apostle's Creed (especially the part about Batman).
I never realized how great it is to have a commercial holiday only a month before Christmas - although Americans joke and complain about Christmas decorations and sales starting in October, in all actuality they are limited by Halloween and Thanksgiving. In Japan, and apparently Australia as well, they have no holiday big enough to forestall the juggernaut that is Commercial Christmas, so it's basically a free-for-all on when to put up decorations. As far as I noticed, Christmas decorations went up on November 1 here, and those untenably peppy and musically devoid midi-style Christmas songs started being played everywhere a couple weeks ago. I hate those instrumental songs so much that I am even tempted to call them "songs" in "the" "tradition" of "literary" criticism"."
I taught a Japanese friend to say "Aar, me mateys" today. No one here knows that pirates say "aar," and I find that it is extremely difficult to explain why they do so - it is just self-evident. Since the Japanese have a hard time saying the hard "r" sound, we're thinking of giving our English students pirate badges when they can say it properly. "Avast, me mateys, here come yon Japanese to threaten our booty. Aarr."
I feel like cheap white trash because I'm actually watching TV again for the first time in about three years. There is this show here called "London Hearts" where suspicious girlfriends get a group of comedians to hire a gorgeous actress to tempt their boyfriends into cheating, the entire process of which is videotaped. During the big date, the actress is bugged so that the lead comedian can suggest leading things for her to say to trap the unsuspecting horndog guy; it's a touching show about respect, trust, and duping the one you love into making an ass of himself in front of millions of people. It's completely scandalous, but I watch it religiously and couldn't love it more.
I learned how to say "scandalous" in Japanese a while back, and have started to use it as I do in English. I have no clue if the Japanese can make sense of it, but it makes me laugh and that's all that matters.
Avast.
- Gyaa! I'm give up
