July 19, 2022 — By Adam Brownstein Here in the epically gorgeous Wasatch Mountains (my high and dry hideaway from the sultry dog days of Tokyo Summer), I have a very bad habit. Most afternoons between Zoom marathons, I like to take 20 minutes to hike, clear my mind and breath in the last vestigeContinue reading “Something I Learned: The “Search” for Meaning”
Homecoming
June 1, 2022 — By Adam Brownstein The first real time I spent outside the United States was the Spring and Summer of 1992. Whitney Houston’s crooning ear worm “I Will Always Love You” (oooo-ooo-ooo) was #1. A blueblood President from Texas (by way of Kennebunkport) toasted the end of the Cold War (also knownContinue reading “Homecoming”
What’s Nu – Tokyo April 2022
With the last of the cherry blossoms clinging to branches we usher in the warm caress of Spring in Tokyo. Here’s a curation of what I’m reading, watching, listening to and experiencing. On the Nightstand – Books Go Back to Where You Came From And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by WajahatContinue reading “What’s Nu – Tokyo April 2022”
Downhill
“I’ve made a huge mistake” G.O.B. Bluth’s catch phrase, swirled through my head as I gasped for air and stared at my nemesis. The subject of my panic was beyond the pale of human treachery. It was a field of “competition approved” moguls on Kagura Mountain in the heart of the Japan Alps. At theContinue reading “Downhill”
In the Queue
By Adam Brownstein Every year the first part of December ushers in beloved traditions in our family. There is the task of cleaning latke-detonated oil patches on the caesar-stone counter. With it, the sobering endeavor of excavating wax from our armada of menorahs. Every season, we commit ourselves to memorizing Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Sony”, althoughContinue reading “In the Queue”
Comedy of Errors: Our Summer Holiday
By Adam Brownstein Seven hours into our week-long family summer vacation, we found ourselves in the Emergency Room awaiting the doctor’s assessment. The over/under for an ER visit was three days, casting a disparaging light on odds makers everywhere. Sitting in the waiting area of Karuizawa Hospital, I found myself cursing my election to takeContinue reading “Comedy of Errors: Our Summer Holiday”
The Family Estate by Adam Brownstein
On a recent sunny Spring morning in Japan I found myself in prison confounded by a monkey on my back. The jailhouse, as it were, was the first floor hallway of my in-laws’ infamous condominium building in Niigata Prefecture. I had been banished there per a losing effort of paper/scissors/rock to look after our two-year-oldContinue reading “The Family Estate by Adam Brownstein”
Fat Chance: My losing battle with the Japanese BMI Index (by Adam Brownstein)
Each February the chilly weather systems ushered into Tokyo from the Sea of Japan inspire me to search for a future summer holiday. As I sit in my darkened office drenched in woolens, a muffler and even a hat I dream of stroking the warm sand with my bare toes, Graham Greene spy novel inContinue reading “Fat Chance: My losing battle with the Japanese BMI Index (by Adam Brownstein)”
Hostage Situation by Adam Brownstein
According to my childhood friend Will, an accomplished publisher, 2020 was a banner year for book sales. He is not alone in his view, given both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal ran long form articles noting that the 8.2% CAGR was the “. . . best year in a very long time.”Continue reading “Hostage Situation by Adam Brownstein”
Is it safe? My trip to the dentist
The list of Nazi villains in motion pictures is long and dubiously distinguished. In the Honorable Mention category there is Henry Gibson (of Laugh-in fame) and his cheeky turn as the leader of the Illinois Branch of the Nazi party in The Blues Brothers. You have, also, the Ronald Lacey who’s scorched hand will foreverContinue reading “Is it safe? My trip to the dentist”
The Tokyo Yenta 