Apologies one and all. I’m deeply sorry to have neglected this blog. I’ve been busy with work, living in Japan and writing on other sites. More to the point, I’ve been eating out a lot and have made very few “blog worthy” dishes that can be replicated at home – Japanese supermarkets have an abundance of things you just can’t get back home.
This tsukemen, whilst tasty, required 2 train rides, 3 obaasan and a flamethrower before it reached my belly.
I’ve also been totally transfixed by my latest cookbook. A Christmas present from my wonderful girlfriend, A Hip Hop Cookbook: Four Elements Cooking with Cutmaster GB is as far removed from How to Cook or Larousse Gastronomie as it is physically possible to be. Featuring recipes from Zulu Gremlin, Loomit, Zeb.Roc.Ski and countless other Dutch and German b-boys and turntablists who you’ve never heard of but who all claim to know Afrika Bambaataa, it is a glorious train-wreck of a book.
None the wiser as to how B-boying and graffiti will help in the kitchen.
So, here’s a roundup of what I’ve been doing:
- I wrote about the best albums of last year. I wanted to include Transcendental Youth but had to “keep it accessible”. Still, I think it’s a pretty good mix.
- The cold in Tokyo made me wish for Godzilla to rain fire down on the frigid megopolis. Light snowfall also made the trains hault in a move that was immensly annoying.
- Need a date film? Look no further in my Valentine’s day special. Whilst my girlfriend insisted that Project Nim merited a mention, I decided that Bob Ingersol and a chimp in dungarees are insufficient for ensuring smooching.
- Apparently I am now a sports writer. The Six Nations is the subject of my critical eye, with withering accusations being made against the entire French and Welsh teams (a step up from trash talking Tim Allen).
- I also wrote about how the “gaijin” “expat” “foreigner” community isn’t really a thing, seeing how it is defined in opposition to something rather than on positive terms.
High Maintenance Life 