August 18, 2008
(source: digitaltutors.com) So my appreciation for Anthony Bourdain has returned.  For a while, everything he was doing seemed too formulaic, and his show lost its edge and argument.  But then today - oh wow - I saw his episode from Tokyo.  Maybe it’s my love for Japan, or Bourdain, or both.  But it’s rare that a television show teaches me something about myself. What I learned from 44 minutes of television programming is that my inexplicable attraction to all things Japanese isn’t because things there are more aesthetic, or taste better, or are more exciting.  While interviewing a Tokyo journalist, Bourdain reveals a delicate-yet-poignant nuance of Japanese culture:  the attention to all details, and the relation of objects to one another, is of the utmost importance.  For someone who always thought they were a little wacky because a little, nagging detail seemed to disrupt an entire experience, it’s nice to know that an entire nation halfway across the globe agrees.  So the next time I search for the appropriate hot sauce for a dish (I have 7 kinds of hot sauce), use the proper wine glass (no, red and white glasses are NOT the same), or refuse to comfortable because something minute seems out of place, I’ll think of my friends in Tokyo.

(source: digitaltutors.com)

So my appreciation for Anthony Bourdain has returned.  For a while, everything he was doing seemed too formulaic, and his show lost its edge and argument.  But then today - oh wow - I saw his episode from Tokyo.  Maybe it’s my love for Japan, or Bourdain, or both.  But it’s rare that a television show teaches me something about myself.

What I learned from 44 minutes of television programming is that my inexplicable attraction to all things Japanese isn’t because things there are more aesthetic, or taste better, or are more exciting.  While interviewing a Tokyo journalist, Bourdain reveals a delicate-yet-poignant nuance of Japanese culture:  the attention to all details, and the relation of objects to one another, is of the utmost importance.  For someone who always thought they were a little wacky because a little, nagging detail seemed to disrupt an entire experience, it’s nice to know that an entire nation halfway across the globe agrees.  So the next time I search for the appropriate hot sauce for a dish (I have 7 kinds of hot sauce), use the proper wine glass (no, red and white glasses are NOT the same), or refuse to comfortable because something minute seems out of place, I’ll think of my friends in Tokyo.

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