Bihaku (beautiful whiteness)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

    Greetings from New York City--my home, where I don't have a single friend!

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BIHAKU

    This is from WINDS (JAL in-flight magazine), April 2000, pg. 8, col. 1:

_White Wash_
     Don't expect to see too many tanning bodies on Japanese beaches this
summer.  The "orange girl" fashion--bleached hair, pink lipstick and a deep
tan--is being surpassed by a passion for whiteness.
     In marketing parlance, it is called _bihaku_ or Beautiful WHiteness.
The same cosmetics companies that made a fortune selling "orange-look"
products are now making a fortune with bihaku lotions and creams.  Tanning
salons are being passed up in favor of beauty parlors offering laser or
chemical-peeling treatments for the skin.
     As to what is behind it all, some experts say the thinning ozone layer
is finally getting some attention among Japan's younger set.  Fashion experts
say white skin reminds today's 20-somethings of their childhood.  Oh, and
let's not forget the accompanying trend away from bleached blond hair.  To
match their new white skin, Japan's youth are choosing a distinctly uncool
hari coloring--gray.

     (I noticed all this--ed.)

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ACHAMENTO

     From the FINANCIAL TIMES, 26 April 2000, special section on Brazil: 500
Years, page II, col. 1:

     Last Saturday (April 22), Brazil and Portugal celebrated, in their
different ways, the 500th anniversary of what the Portuguese are ciscreetly
calling the _achamento_, which, literally, means the "finding" of Brazil.
Although, for Brazilians, _achamento_ can also mean "a bargain," which, in
many respects, Brazil was--at least as far as the Portuguese were concerned.

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YUCA; ZOOM JUICE

     From U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, 24 April 2000, pg. 70, col. 3:

     YUCASs (young urban Cuban Americans) are fleeing pricey South Beach...
     They say food is the heart of Little Havana, and music its pulse.  (I'd
say _cafe cubano_, or "zoom juice"--equal parts espresso and sugar--is the
real heartbeat.)  The best entree into the community is Versailles, the
landmark eatery.  Despite its lofty name and multimirror decor, it's as
friendly as a diner.  The _ropa vieja_ (literally "old clothes") is a tasty
shredded beef dish.

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PLAGIARISM (continued)

    Before I left for vacation, I wrote a letter to Parks Department
Commissioner Henry Stern demanding some sort of explanation or apology for
its plagiarized Audrey Munson exhibit--something it should have known from my
"Popik pack" sent free of charge in 1997.
   I sent a letter to the editor of The New York Times Book Review outlining
the numerous horrible errors in its review of AMERICAN VENUS--a book
plagiarized from a New York Times article about my work.
   I wrote to the NYC media critics on the Village Voice and the New York
Press.
   Not a single person responded.
   Not a single correction or apology was made.