No Regrets for the Enlightened

Almost a year ago, I was taking a course on body politics in Japan and a fellow graduate student criticized our readings for the week which dealt with post-war humanism. His contention was that humanism was utilized as a masked form of nationalism during the post-war period. Although his comment was too general for me to completely agree with, I felt that he did have an interesting point. I should also note that he finds pleasure in pushing ones buttons – so I believe that he presented his concept in an oversimplified way just to offend certain members of the seminar.

Anyway, I was reminded of his idea while watching Kurosawa Akira’s No Regrets For Our Youth (1946, Waga seishun ni kuinashi). Although the liners for the DVD of No Regrets… (released by Eclispe/Criterion’s Postwar Kurosawa set) address the anti-nationalist content of the film, I felt that, akin to my peer’s beliefs, what Kurosawa presented in this film was not anti-nationalism but a counter-nationalism. What was posited in this film was the conflict between an unenlightened majority (those accepting the ‘official’ agenda) and the enlightened minority (anti-imperialism), which results in the progression of this minority into the majority after Japan’s defeat. I remember a scene in Okabe Michio’s Crazy Love (1968), screened in Irvine last year, where a police officer reminisces with a student activist about his days as a leftist – after which the student sings The Beatles’ Yesterday and they venture out on the street, holdings hands. While that scene appeared to humorously comment on the similar mob mentalities and age-specific obligations inherent in both conservative authority and leftist activism, Kurosawa’s presentation of both is simplified into factions of the ethical and the corrupt and he is light on the criticism of those shifting to the humanistic paradigm at the end of the film. A historical narrative is portrayed where the progression to a humanist-collective is valorized as the true and contemporary spirit of the nation in wake of the US occupation. Of course, we have to also consider the constraints put on this film by the occupying nation’s review board and other outside influences. Nonetheless, a great degree of the ideological suggestions found in No Regrets… is in harmony with the bulk of Kurosawa’s output. It is a shame as well, since formally No Regrets… is one of Kurosawa’s most adventurous films.

Duchesse De Bourgogne

Brouwerij Verhaeghe's Duchesse De Bourgogne

Specs: 6% alc.
Style: Flemish Sour Ale
Country: Belgium


I first tasted this last month at Stone Brewery's 12th Anniversary Celebration and felt that it might have been the best Flemish sour I ever had. Duchesse had the normal sweetness and acidity of a sour, but the taste of fruit was more crisp and, in turn, subdued some of the sourness - finishing with a balance of all the flavors tasted throughout (which I felt was quite a feet). The brewery's literature notes that Duchesse is fermented in oak barrels and a combination of 8 and 18 month-old barrels are blended together. You really can taste this process, as two similar flavor profiles emerge - one that is more tart and another which is more balanced. It seemed that the taste of Duchesse was a progression from the strong taste of the young brew into the more stable older version. So, enjoying this beer as much as I did, I purchased a bottle last week. However, there is a big difference between the bottle and draft versions of this brew. Unfortunately, the more accessible version is also the less impressive. The bottled Duchesse just doesn't seem to have the ebb and flow of flavors that the draft version did. What results is a more balanced beer, but also one that doesn't have the strong tart fruit (cherry?) flavor or the distinction between the old and new barrels. That said, the bottled Duchesse is the most session-like of the Flemish sours (I do mean that as a compliment) that I have tasted and would be the right choice for someone who desires a very smooth and balanced sour.

Rating: Draft - ****1/2
Bottle - ***3/4

WON Hall of Fame

After finishing the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s yearly Hall of Fame issue, I can’t help but feel that this year’s small amount of inductions (Paco Alonzo and Martin Karadagian) are a sign of things to come in the future years of the hall. It seems that the bar is being slightly raised each year for wrestlers, where a 1996 induction (like Vader for instance) would have a hard time making it in now. Thus, the only two entering the hall are there because of their business prowess. Although one can argue that all legitimate histories of professional wrestling are marginalized in one way or another, the induction of Martin Karadagian represented the WON’s most obscure and fascinating one to date. I felt that it was one of the most interesting reads of all the hall of fame bios throughout the years and I can’t see anyone finishing it without conceding that Karadagian diserves to be in the hall and probably should have been voted in much sooner. In a lackluster year for inductions, Karadagian’s bio helped this year’s issue stay on par with ones from the past. Most of the credit should probably go to Kurt Brown and Steve Sims who helped recover a history (for the U.S. readers at least) that diverts from the dominance of US, Japan, and Mexico in even the most comprehensive accounts of the business. Now I want to dig up all the footage and gimmicks from Titanes en el Ring that I can find.

This year was the closest that Fabulous Moolah came to being inducted. In the future, I really hope that she stays below the 60% needed to be voted in. A monopoly does not constitute a legacy. Also in the upper echelon were the Midnight Express, Jesse Ventura, Carlos Colon, and perennial borderline pick Dick Murdoch. This could have been the easiest year for any of these five to be inducted, but it seems that voters want to stick to a high standard that is increasing every year. Sasaki Kensuke may very well be the last active Japanese worker with a chance to be inducted, yet was 23 votes shy of induction. Yes, Japanese wrestling isn't drawing well right now and may never will again. But, Sasaki was a name throughout a boom period for New Japan, headlined several Tokyo Dome shows, has been voted MVP in the puroresu magazines, and still is one of the few bona-fide draws left in Japan. Still, there is a great chance that Sasaki will never be voted in. Thus, any of the current young stars (Tanahashi, Nakamura, Morishima) probably have no chance at all in the future. This may also be a trend in other regions as well. If voters keep to a standard that worked until the late-90s, but really is obsolete now, does any worker from this era have a chance? Career longitivity and drawing power are entirely different standards now. I’m not saying that the Cenas, Batistas, or Tanahashis deserve a place in the hall (they obviously do not right now), but Rey Misterio does. And it's a shame that he isn’t in there already.

My 2008 ballot (if I was given a chance to vote):

1) Rey Misterio – if we use the example of Dynamite Kid, then Misterio is a no-brainer. Misterio is a bigger draw than Dynamite Kid was and his work is arguably on par with Dynamite. Although, Tom Billington helped revolutionize the business in Japan with his series with Tiger Mask, the same could be said of Misterio’s work in the late-90s.

2) Sting – I still don’t understand why he gets so few votes every year. He was one of the top babyfaces in the US for years and was a decent worker. Although in the early-90s there was a question of his ability to draw, can Sting really be wholly blamed for WCW’s small crowds during that era. What I think it comes down to is that during the hottest period in the modern era, with WWF and WCW competing for supremacy, Sting drew WCW’s highest ppv buyrate and was the focus of the company’s biggest angle.

3) Dick Murdoch

4) Paco Alonso

5) Kenuske Sasaki


Btw, I would have voted ‘yes’ to remove Chris Benoit from the WON hall of fame. If this hall should be on par with others, a double murderer cannot be in it. That said, with Chris Benoit still in the hall of fame (as he received less than the 60% of the vote to remove him) – I see no justification for not voting Carlos Colon in.

Lagunitas Round-Up

About a week ago, I purchased a multitude of beer at Hollingshead Deli. So I thought it would be a good idea to start taking notes and post some reviews (more to aid my own memory than anything else). So here are the first two, both from Lagunitas Brewery and both with similar flavor profiles.


Lagunitas' Maximus IPA

Specs: 7.5% alc., I.B.U. 72.41, O.G. 1.080
Style: India Pale Ale

A somewhat unique tasting IPA. The nose was sweet and citrus-y, with the hops smelling more grapefruit than floral. It was surprisingly reminiscent of a Flemish sour. The taste was consistent with its smell: a sweet sugary citrus front that finished with an abundance of hops and a coffee-like flavor (which soured the initial sweet taste). This tastes very much like an IPA version of Lagunitas' "Brown Shugga" Barleywine style ale.

Bottom Line: This is definitely a sipper. Although Maximus is a complex and original IPA, the mix of flavors become a bit unsettling towards the end of the bottle.

Rating (on the Meltzer scale): ***1/2 (out of five)


Lagunitas' Lucky 13 ("A Mondo Large Red Ale")

Specs: 8.3% alc., I.B.U. 76.92, O.G. 1.085
Style: American Amber/Red Ale

I preferred Lucky 13 over Maximus, due to its drinkability. However, there were quite a few similarities in both beers. Lucky 13's nose is sweet and coffee-like with some hints of toasted malts. Like Maximus, the range of flavors turned from sweet to bitter. 13 started out with a light, roasted chocolate and coffee taste that finished with a rush of hops (close to an IPA). Again, this tasted somewhat like Brown Shugga (but without the intense sweetness and alcohol heat).

Bottom Line: Similar to Maximus but superior and more balanced.
A decent quality ale that is deceptive in its alcohol content.

Rating: ***1/2