Yeah, I'm not dead. Life's just gotten more mundane for me lately. Some commentary:
-Judo is going decently overall, but I need to get more fit. I've put on no fewer than ten pounds thanks to Naoko's cooking, and my aerobics haven't exactly improved as well. Fortunately, there is a weight room down the road which I'm going to start going to after school with some of the other judo guys.
-I've found some amazing arcades near by. The main game I've been playing is a Gundam game we all just call POD because it takes place in a capsule called the POD which supposedly simulates the inside of a mobile suit. Awesome game, but it's 150 yen per play which can get kinda pricey.
-This game has also led me to watch some Gundam recently. I watched the six-hour long compilation film series of the original series, which is generally agreed to be actually superior to the TV version due to improved animation and tightening of the original's storyline. I've started watching Zeta Gundam as well, which is generally agreed to be the best Universal Century series.
-I actually got around to buying some fashionable threads. High class men's clothes shopping is an odd experience, especially when it's being done multilingually. Also, having a clerk basically being my personal attendant for half an hour was kind of odd. I guess part of the high cost is buying customer service. Poor guy even carried my own clothes bag out of the store for me after I bought it. Also, Japanese metrosexuals are some of the skinniest men (besides Maasai warriors, Indian ascetics, and Thai boxers) on the planet. My American M size is an LL over here. My waist is barely even 34 inches (which is a 30 in most clothing lines, it should be noted) and apparently I'm huge. I guess my legs also have a ton of muscle mass, which doesn't help my case.
-My buddy Massud might be chilling out here in January. This could be epic.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
In a Bamboo City IV - The Greg
I was running late. I had to use the bathroom in the station really quickly, and I could swear I had told people to wait, but they left without me. I ran for my bike, which I had left in the parking lot.
Two or three city blocks later, I still hadn't seen anyone. I also had no idea where the sports center was. I pulled over a random local on a bike, and asked him. He actually offered to show me were it was. Nice guy. Got there without a hitch, minus being two or three minutes late. I found the judo dojo quickly enough, and joined up with anyone else.
Having not known anything previously about the sport, watching judo practice was interesting. Very definitely like wrestling, but with the added abilities to do things such as choke and legsweep in ways that American rules never allow for. There is also an emphasis on using the opponent's clothing for leverage. Some of the kids who take judo were actually surprisingly good at throwing their weight around. A small girl about a head shorter than my sister managed to throw a guy who was my height and probably even stockier. I guess it's all about leverage.
I tried out a judo-gi for sizing. The gi fits incredibly loosely. The fabric is ultra reinforced with as many as five sets of stitches on some hems.
I think I like it.
Two or three city blocks later, I still hadn't seen anyone. I also had no idea where the sports center was. I pulled over a random local on a bike, and asked him. He actually offered to show me were it was. Nice guy. Got there without a hitch, minus being two or three minutes late. I found the judo dojo quickly enough, and joined up with anyone else.
Having not known anything previously about the sport, watching judo practice was interesting. Very definitely like wrestling, but with the added abilities to do things such as choke and legsweep in ways that American rules never allow for. There is also an emphasis on using the opponent's clothing for leverage. Some of the kids who take judo were actually surprisingly good at throwing their weight around. A small girl about a head shorter than my sister managed to throw a guy who was my height and probably even stockier. I guess it's all about leverage.
I tried out a judo-gi for sizing. The gi fits incredibly loosely. The fabric is ultra reinforced with as many as five sets of stitches on some hems.
I think I like it.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Buddhist Ceremony
Yesterday at the temple, there was a special ceremony. My comprehension of the explanation was kind of muddy, but I'm fairly sure at this point it was a memorial service to the 1-year anniversary of the passing of the previous family patriarch, who it's pretty well implied was also the previous priest of Shinkouzen-ji. I'll explain what actually happened, at the very least.
We woke up fairly early for housecleaning. Hyden and I got put to weeding a couple large areas. And by large I mean half the yard. But hey, it need weeding. The rest of the family was cleaning everything else, so now the temple looks wonderful.
The next chore was kind of a fun one. Around 11, people began showing up for the ceremony. Pretty much everyone was a senior citizen. Anyways, Hyden and I had to deliver tea and little sweet cake things to every one of the sixty or so folks who showed up.
There were also about eight monks who showed up, decked out in full priest robes. A few (two or three) of the priests were actually little old ladies, but with their heads shaved and dressed in the exact same way. Genpou, my host uncle who's really more like a big brother in age difference (he's only about seven or eight years older than me, I'm pretty sure. But then again, my host parents themselves aren't much older than thirty), also showed up from Kyoto, where he's taking monk training himself.
The first session of the day's proceedings was a sermon sort of speech by one of the priests. There were a couple of sutras chanted at this point, too, but I forget exactly when they were placed because I was still running around and helping with chores.
Next was lunch, where I got tea and soup for people who were sitting down to eat. After lunch, we repeated the whole "tea and cakes for the incoming" thing. The lunches were completely vegetarian, if not even vegan.
After that:
The Really Cool Ceremony:
The nine monks march in. Four are on each side of the hotoke shrine, with Sessou-san in the middle. Kind of like this, with the dashes being each monk and the o being Sessou-san:
- - - -
o
- - - -
All of the monks begin chanting and opening Sutra volumes. Japanese sutras are folded like an accordion or those post-it notes with the zigzag fold. Actually, you know that thing people do with the zigzag post-its where they kind of make a post-it "waterfall"? Zen monks beat you to it by a thousand years, and they even know how to do a few tricks with it. Once they've waterfalled one sutra a couple times, they move to the next. There are a few small stacks for each monk. The combined effect of all this chanting and waterfalling paper is kind of stunning. In the meantime, Sessou-san is doing the chanting and sutra book play, and then occasionally walking to the altar and doing a small ritual with incense smoke and some food offerings. This whole thing kind of repeats on loop for a while with various subtleties and intensities before winding down, almost like a jam song.
Heck, I guess there were even a few solos in there, too.
After that was dinner, which was a fairly luxurious bento set. A few of the people from the service stayed for dinner, but I didn't catch who any of them were, really. Also, as a random thought, old people are a little frustrating sometimes because the almost seem to assume you either know all the Japanese or none of it. They're generally just plain hard to understand because they mumble like an English farmer.
After dinner we all had to move around the tables and chairs for clean up.
Pretty much the last notable event of the day was Naoko-san and Sessou-san (the host parents) congratulating Hyden and I on being incredibly helpful for chores. They also may have given us some cashmoney for the Kyoto trip under the condition that we get them a small omiyage of some kind.
We woke up fairly early for housecleaning. Hyden and I got put to weeding a couple large areas. And by large I mean half the yard. But hey, it need weeding. The rest of the family was cleaning everything else, so now the temple looks wonderful.
The next chore was kind of a fun one. Around 11, people began showing up for the ceremony. Pretty much everyone was a senior citizen. Anyways, Hyden and I had to deliver tea and little sweet cake things to every one of the sixty or so folks who showed up.
There were also about eight monks who showed up, decked out in full priest robes. A few (two or three) of the priests were actually little old ladies, but with their heads shaved and dressed in the exact same way. Genpou, my host uncle who's really more like a big brother in age difference (he's only about seven or eight years older than me, I'm pretty sure. But then again, my host parents themselves aren't much older than thirty), also showed up from Kyoto, where he's taking monk training himself.
The first session of the day's proceedings was a sermon sort of speech by one of the priests. There were a couple of sutras chanted at this point, too, but I forget exactly when they were placed because I was still running around and helping with chores.
Next was lunch, where I got tea and soup for people who were sitting down to eat. After lunch, we repeated the whole "tea and cakes for the incoming" thing. The lunches were completely vegetarian, if not even vegan.
After that:
The Really Cool Ceremony:
The nine monks march in. Four are on each side of the hotoke shrine, with Sessou-san in the middle. Kind of like this, with the dashes being each monk and the o being Sessou-san:
- - - -
o
- - - -
All of the monks begin chanting and opening Sutra volumes. Japanese sutras are folded like an accordion or those post-it notes with the zigzag fold. Actually, you know that thing people do with the zigzag post-its where they kind of make a post-it "waterfall"? Zen monks beat you to it by a thousand years, and they even know how to do a few tricks with it. Once they've waterfalled one sutra a couple times, they move to the next. There are a few small stacks for each monk. The combined effect of all this chanting and waterfalling paper is kind of stunning. In the meantime, Sessou-san is doing the chanting and sutra book play, and then occasionally walking to the altar and doing a small ritual with incense smoke and some food offerings. This whole thing kind of repeats on loop for a while with various subtleties and intensities before winding down, almost like a jam song.
Heck, I guess there were even a few solos in there, too.
After that was dinner, which was a fairly luxurious bento set. A few of the people from the service stayed for dinner, but I didn't catch who any of them were, really. Also, as a random thought, old people are a little frustrating sometimes because the almost seem to assume you either know all the Japanese or none of it. They're generally just plain hard to understand because they mumble like an English farmer.
After dinner we all had to move around the tables and chairs for clean up.
Pretty much the last notable event of the day was Naoko-san and Sessou-san (the host parents) congratulating Hyden and I on being incredibly helpful for chores. They also may have given us some cashmoney for the Kyoto trip under the condition that we get them a small omiyage of some kind.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
In a Bamboo City III - The Sensei
Wednesday night, a group of the exchange students from that school down the road came to the dojo. One showed up a little late (by around six minutes or so), but he actually remembered to bow on the way in. Not too shabby. The gaijin kids acted interested enough. Their Japanese wasn't too great, but a few seemed to catch what I was saying. I couldn't help them for too long, though; I still had to teach some class. For pushing 65, I surprise myself sometimes. It takes some effort, even when you've been in the business longer than most of these kids have been alive.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
In a Bamboo City II - The Judo Kid
Wednesday night's judo class was interesting for the fact that there was a group of gaijin intently watching the class. They're probably interested in classes. Anyways, they were being taken care of by one of the sensei, so I decided not to get too distracted. Flipping a guy as big as Yamashita-kun takes concentration. Heck, getting flipped takes some concentration, especially on the ukemi. Breaking your fall right is critical.
Kendo, Judo
So I've begun looking at sports, which will probably start after the Kyoto trip. My two options I've chosen to go for are kendo and judo. Kendo is, for those of you unfamiliar with Nipponese sports, the rough equivalent to fencing. Judo is the rough equivalent of wrestling with a touch of MMA. Both are badass.
I'm covering my impressions of Judo in my Rashomon spoof, so pay attention to that. If you want a quick version of my impression, it's this: Judo looks pretty brutal and I think I love it. It's the only sport I know of where an eleven year old girl about five feet tall can flip over a two hundred pound man. It's also actually more brutal than American wrestling by a good amount.
Kendo looks pretty awesome. Tonight, a group of SYA students including myself went to the Sports center (about a five minute walk from my house, luckily) and watched a session. We were there for an hour, beginning with the last half of the little kids' class, and ending with the first half of the older student's session. Kendo looks fast paced, with a rather stylized and sporting version of kenjutsu as its core. However, if this were real kenjutsu most of these kids would have been meatloaf, so I guess bamboo alternatives to swords are a good thing. The fencing analogy is very appropriate.
Kendo has the major disadvantage of cost. If i do decide to stick with it, I can expect an equipment bill of around 700 dollars, minimum. Lesson costs are very low (around 22 dollars a month, same for judo) but the gear necessary is pretty costly. That could be an issue. If I can find used gear I can probably shave the cost down a couple hundred dollars, though. Still, that's a price that my wallet can barely at all handle. I may have to stick with just judo.
I'm covering my impressions of Judo in my Rashomon spoof, so pay attention to that. If you want a quick version of my impression, it's this: Judo looks pretty brutal and I think I love it. It's the only sport I know of where an eleven year old girl about five feet tall can flip over a two hundred pound man. It's also actually more brutal than American wrestling by a good amount.
Kendo looks pretty awesome. Tonight, a group of SYA students including myself went to the Sports center (about a five minute walk from my house, luckily) and watched a session. We were there for an hour, beginning with the last half of the little kids' class, and ending with the first half of the older student's session. Kendo looks fast paced, with a rather stylized and sporting version of kenjutsu as its core. However, if this were real kenjutsu most of these kids would have been meatloaf, so I guess bamboo alternatives to swords are a good thing. The fencing analogy is very appropriate.
Kendo has the major disadvantage of cost. If i do decide to stick with it, I can expect an equipment bill of around 700 dollars, minimum. Lesson costs are very low (around 22 dollars a month, same for judo) but the gear necessary is pretty costly. That could be an issue. If I can find used gear I can probably shave the cost down a couple hundred dollars, though. Still, that's a price that my wallet can barely at all handle. I may have to stick with just judo.
In a Bamboo City I - The Cyclist
(note: The next three posts and the one attached to this message are part of an odd little Rashomon-esque project to be done of this blog. Don't mind it too much)
The man got my attention with a simple "sumimasen". He looked worried about something, like maybe he was running late. I wasn't in too much of a hurry, for once, so I decided to stop very briefly to try and help. He was looking for the gym (yeah, running late), and so I pointed him in the direction he needed to go. In fact, I was heading that way, so I decided to take the turn into the back streets to point out its location to him, as it was very close and only added a few seconds to my journey. He thanked me, and I went on my way.
The man got my attention with a simple "sumimasen". He looked worried about something, like maybe he was running late. I wasn't in too much of a hurry, for once, so I decided to stop very briefly to try and help. He was looking for the gym (yeah, running late), and so I pointed him in the direction he needed to go. In fact, I was heading that way, so I decided to take the turn into the back streets to point out its location to him, as it was very close and only added a few seconds to my journey. He thanked me, and I went on my way.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Redline - A Review
Imagine if Heavy Metal and The Cannonball Run had a baby. That's about the closest thing I can think of to how to describe the new anime film Redline.
Basically, the premise is such: Eight racers, including the main character, JP, enter the galactic racing championship, the Redline. This race is held every five years, under mysterious circumstances only announced a few days before the race itself. This year, the Red Line is on the planet Roboworld. However, the government of Roboworld is led by a group of cyborg fascists who want no part in the race, making this Redline even more dangerous than ever.
Let me start with this: this is not a film about the plot or even the action, as good as both are. This is a film about the animation. Under the direction of Takeshi Koike (Dead Leaves, The Animatrix: World Record), this film took six years to make because every single frame is hand drawn. The only CGI ever used is for effects overlays on the TV broadcasts. This painstakingly, lovingly rendered cel animation is a joy to behold, and the designs of everything from characters to landscapes in the Redline universe are all unique and crazy but still cool. JP's hair is one of the most ridiculous pompadours in all of recorded history, but it fits with his greaser look. His rival/crush Sonoshee has two-toned green and pink hair and body proportions out of this world. And these are just the humans. Each alien has a unique and funny little quirk, and none ever feel out of place.
The artbook (which I bought) gives a good look at everything, with both cels from the film and concept sketches, and it's all incredibly detailed. And this is sitting still. The film is even more impressive in motion. The guys who animated the entire engine block whirring away in the opening Yellowline race scene must have had a blast.
The soundtrack by James Kimoji is also fun, though perhaps a tiny bit repetitive at points. It fits well, though, so no complaints. The songs are always well-timed with the action, though perhaps not to the extent of a music-driven anime such as FLCL, where the songs were actually the motive behind the animation. Even so, the soundtrack fits, and does its job. I'd buy it.
The story itself is actually much stronger than I expected it to be. The beginning ten minutes and end fifty minutes are pure action, but that other forty minute act in between is actually pretty good at establishing all the characters. Most of the racers don't have a whole ton of personality beyond what we see in their introductions, but the two main characters, JP and Sonoshee, get a good amount of backstory and current-day exposition. Also prominent are Frisbee, JP's manager and childhood friend, and Old Man Mogura, an eccentric old engineer who builds JP a new Trans Am 20000 after his original one gets crashed in the Yellowline qualifying race. None of the characters are particularly strong, in that you wouldn't be writing an essay about how JP's crush on Sonoshee represents the modern state of masculinity or something silly like that, but for a film that is essentially style over substance, Redline could have done much worse in presenting a full cast of characters.
The last act, the actual race itself, is a mindblowingly fast paced action sequence full of awesome, awesome stuff which I'm not gonna spoil, and the end is pretty cool in that usual "the main character wins but just by the tip of his massive pompadour thanks to a nearly unforeseen Chekov's Gun" kind of way. The race does have the only real low point of the film, however, in that a previously almost-unmentioned-but-hinted-at but huge event pretty much stops the whole thing for ten minutes. I feel like the whole sequence could have been replaced with something much less out of place or perhaps greatly shortened for brevity and then filled in with more racing. Said sequence isn't necessarily bad, however, just a little out of place.
In short, Redline kicks all the ass. The animation is wonderfully smooth, the characters are pretty well developed for such a stylish piece, and the whole thing flows pretty well overall. It really doesn't feel like 100 minutes.
9.75/10
Basically, the premise is such: Eight racers, including the main character, JP, enter the galactic racing championship, the Redline. This race is held every five years, under mysterious circumstances only announced a few days before the race itself. This year, the Red Line is on the planet Roboworld. However, the government of Roboworld is led by a group of cyborg fascists who want no part in the race, making this Redline even more dangerous than ever.
Let me start with this: this is not a film about the plot or even the action, as good as both are. This is a film about the animation. Under the direction of Takeshi Koike (Dead Leaves, The Animatrix: World Record), this film took six years to make because every single frame is hand drawn. The only CGI ever used is for effects overlays on the TV broadcasts. This painstakingly, lovingly rendered cel animation is a joy to behold, and the designs of everything from characters to landscapes in the Redline universe are all unique and crazy but still cool. JP's hair is one of the most ridiculous pompadours in all of recorded history, but it fits with his greaser look. His rival/crush Sonoshee has two-toned green and pink hair and body proportions out of this world. And these are just the humans. Each alien has a unique and funny little quirk, and none ever feel out of place.
The artbook (which I bought) gives a good look at everything, with both cels from the film and concept sketches, and it's all incredibly detailed. And this is sitting still. The film is even more impressive in motion. The guys who animated the entire engine block whirring away in the opening Yellowline race scene must have had a blast.
The soundtrack by James Kimoji is also fun, though perhaps a tiny bit repetitive at points. It fits well, though, so no complaints. The songs are always well-timed with the action, though perhaps not to the extent of a music-driven anime such as FLCL, where the songs were actually the motive behind the animation. Even so, the soundtrack fits, and does its job. I'd buy it.
The story itself is actually much stronger than I expected it to be. The beginning ten minutes and end fifty minutes are pure action, but that other forty minute act in between is actually pretty good at establishing all the characters. Most of the racers don't have a whole ton of personality beyond what we see in their introductions, but the two main characters, JP and Sonoshee, get a good amount of backstory and current-day exposition. Also prominent are Frisbee, JP's manager and childhood friend, and Old Man Mogura, an eccentric old engineer who builds JP a new Trans Am 20000 after his original one gets crashed in the Yellowline qualifying race. None of the characters are particularly strong, in that you wouldn't be writing an essay about how JP's crush on Sonoshee represents the modern state of masculinity or something silly like that, but for a film that is essentially style over substance, Redline could have done much worse in presenting a full cast of characters.
The last act, the actual race itself, is a mindblowingly fast paced action sequence full of awesome, awesome stuff which I'm not gonna spoil, and the end is pretty cool in that usual "the main character wins but just by the tip of his massive pompadour thanks to a nearly unforeseen Chekov's Gun" kind of way. The race does have the only real low point of the film, however, in that a previously almost-unmentioned-but-hinted-at but huge event pretty much stops the whole thing for ten minutes. I feel like the whole sequence could have been replaced with something much less out of place or perhaps greatly shortened for brevity and then filled in with more racing. Said sequence isn't necessarily bad, however, just a little out of place.
In short, Redline kicks all the ass. The animation is wonderfully smooth, the characters are pretty well developed for such a stylish piece, and the whole thing flows pretty well overall. It really doesn't feel like 100 minutes.
9.75/10
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Morning Routine
So as of Friday, weekday mornings have a new special routine. We wake up at 6:30, do calisthenics based on a radio show that comes on that time, and then listen to Sessou chant out a sutra. The sutra is almost like a capella rap music mixed with a didgeridoo, plus the bells that he uses. After the sutra, we place incense sticks in the various shrines around the house. The final step to the routine, right as Naoko is finishing breakfast, is to sweep the courtyard out. The courtyard has both falling leaves and sand to clean up, but it only takes a few minutes a day. Waking up an hour early isn't inherently fun, but doing something fun in the morning is always cool by me.
Tea Ceremony and Lazy Sunday Thoughts
So this morning I woke up early because I had to go to a tea ceremony demo with Naoko-san. Hyden and I were probably the youngest people in the room by a good forty years compared to the average in the room. We were I got the seat next to the lady teaching/leading the ceremony, which was almost like cotillion, except with old people instead of pimply pre-teens and the anachronisms to two hundred years ago were Edo instead of English. Fancy china and Japanese pottery, bitter tea, and some mochi were all part of the deal.
Sitting Seiza style (legs folded under you with feet flat to the floor) is easy when your pockets are empty, but it still cuts off your feet. For me, it was my first time sitting seiza and actually toughing it out for the whole session, so I couldn't stand for a few seconds when we could get up.
Dead feet aside, the tea ceremony was cool.
Lunch was a Mos Burger. A little expensive and small but not bad.
Grabbed a thing of squid jerky, because that stuff is kinda nostalgic. Also goes with coffee real nicely.
After lunch/snack I did my math homework and some research on longboards.
I've ultimately decided on a Bustin Maestro, though I was also really considering an Earthwing Superglide or Miniglide deck. Bustin's shop is gonna take a while because they're backordered as it gets right now (two weeks), which was the big reason I was looking at other ideas, but I've decided to stick with it. Also grabbed their $5 random t-shirt deal while I was at it.
Sitting Seiza style (legs folded under you with feet flat to the floor) is easy when your pockets are empty, but it still cuts off your feet. For me, it was my first time sitting seiza and actually toughing it out for the whole session, so I couldn't stand for a few seconds when we could get up.
Dead feet aside, the tea ceremony was cool.
Lunch was a Mos Burger. A little expensive and small but not bad.
Grabbed a thing of squid jerky, because that stuff is kinda nostalgic. Also goes with coffee real nicely.
After lunch/snack I did my math homework and some research on longboards.
I've ultimately decided on a Bustin Maestro, though I was also really considering an Earthwing Superglide or Miniglide deck. Bustin's shop is gonna take a while because they're backordered as it gets right now (two weeks), which was the big reason I was looking at other ideas, but I've decided to stick with it. Also grabbed their $5 random t-shirt deal while I was at it.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Linkin Park: A Thousand Suns - A Review
There's a lot of nostalgia goggled controversy over the new Linkin Park album. I like the new direction, personally. Truth is, the first two albums had some really memorable moments for a twelve year old me, but they don't age well with a few exceptions. My December, Breaking the Habit, Session, Nobody's Listening, Forgotten (and it's remix), Pts of Athrty, and In the End are all classics in my book, but the rest is largely forgettable.
The third album, Minutes to Midnight, was a choppy mess. The best thing that came out of that era was New Divide, which had some kinda cool progressive bits, which kinda brings us to the direction of the new album, A Thousand Suns.
Thousand Suns, despite the Rubin production, is not at all like Minutes to Midnight. This is a billion times smoother (when listened to as a straight track, it all flows near perfectly) and more organized than Minutes to Midnight, and thus much more listenable. It's also got their strongest lyrics ever, which is cool. Chester actually has something to sing about besides his own self loathing, and Mike is capable as both a singer and rapper.
This album is exactly what I wanted it to be: stronger than Minutes to Midnight, and going in a new direction yet still keeping hints those elements that made Hybrid Theory and Meteora such nostalgic albums several years later.
And even though they had Rick Rubin producing, it's got quite a few touches of a **** The Record Label album. A few songs are radio friendly, but overall you get the feeling that this was made as a concept album first and a singles collection second.
I've listened through this album a few times, and it's holding together pretty well
Song by song (For a benchmark 7 is average, 5 is listenable):
Requiem/Radiance: Sets the pace for the album. A little long for an intro on such a short album, but not bad. Recalls nuclear themes and specifically the Bhagavad Gita quotes made famous from the Manhattan Project. 7/10
Burning in the Skies: A slower song, and the only one that really recalls the old Chester's Self Loathing Ballads of old. However, there's a certain magic to this one that makes it much stronger than stuff like Shadow of the Day; the lyrics are somewhat mystical, the melody holds together really well with the vocals unlike most Linkin Park songs, and it generally just holds up. Mike Shinoda's singing sounds great, and even CHester isn't too whiny, which is relaxing. A few of the lyrics do stumble over awkward metaphors, however, and it could be a little bit shorter, which is a general flaw with a few of the songs on the album. However, it's not so repetitive as to be awful for it. 8.5/10
Empty Spaces: A filler track with some military-like samples. Not long enough to make an impression at only about 19 seconds, really only makes sense when listening as an album. No rating.
When They Come For Me: Effectively Nobody's Listening with a tribal drum beat instead of a sampled Japanese flute. This is filled in with some heavy drone beats and a sampled organ. This is some of Mike's strongest rapping. He makes a few metaphors about the direction that Linkin Park is taking. There's also a chorus of some interesting sounding Indian-style singing. Around 3/4ths of the way in, Chester makes his obligatory entrance as the song goes into the "final minute wind-down". Ends on a heavily Indian-styled fuzz note, which sounds awesome. Ultimately, this is a fun song and one of my favorites on the album. 9/10
Robot Boy: A slow soft piece, evoking images of the old instrumental song Session, but with vocals added. Nothing too special, but it's nice and calming after the violent throwdown from the previous track. A little repetitive, but deliberately atmospheric. Kicks into a higher gear midway through to stay interesting. 7.5/10
Journada del Muerto: My favorite filler track since Tool's Eon Blue Apocalypse. Despite the Spanish title, the lyrics are in Japanese. Leads into Waiting For the End. 8/10
Waiting For The End: This is an interesting song. It starts off with what basically amount to 90s pop vocals, but for some reason this is not necessarily a bad thing. Mike and Chester kick into a duet for the middle verse. Mike finishes off with a rap. This is a song that evokes a few of the cliches from the old style Linkin Park lyrics, but with a more inherently positive twist and more variety. It's strange but pulled off well. 8.25/10
Blackout: The first half: Sounds like a NIN remix of a Mindless Self Indulgence song. This would be the least out of place on Hybrid Theory or Meteora out of every track on this album, mostly for the lyrics. Not particularly strong, but not unlistenable. The second half: Mike Shinoda sings what feels like the second half of Robot Boy but with a heavier beat and this song's piano part. If it were two songs split along the middle breakdown, it'd be better, but ultimately it's not very strong. 5.75/10
Wretches and Kings: Begins with a sampled speech, and then kicks into another tribal-beat rap. Evokes the old reggae-numetal band Skindred. This is not a bad thing, because I loved Skindred. Hearing Chester rap in that reggae style is a little odd, however. This song feels a little forced after the superior and less repetitive When They Come For Me, but it's arguably the most single-worthy song on the album. 7.5/10
Wisdom, Justice, And Love: A rather beautiful filler piece sampled from a Martin Luther King Jr speech. However, the end could have been less staticky and drawn out. 7/10
Iridescent: Continues the piano piece backing the previous filler piece. A little cheezy; continues the "reaching out" lyrical theme from Robot Boy and Waiting For The End. Still kind of a cute song, and the vocals are nice, so I can't really hate it. 7.25/10
Fallout: Repeats the chorus line from Burning in the Skies as an atmospheric mantra. Blends from mechanical to non-distorted for a cool effect. 7.25/10
The Catalyst: The lead single off of the album thus far. The somewhat common theme of Sigur Ros-like repetitive vocals for atmosphere kinda peaks here, but in terms of abuse rather than quality. It's a decent song in the flow of the album, but it's too repetitive to really hold up on its own, even with a minute chopped off for the single release. 6.75/10
The Messenger: The only acoustic song I know of by Linkin Park, though I could be wrong. Another cheezy "Reaching Out" song, which ties in nicely with the last few. However, it's an odd note to end the album on, and conflicts with the song just before it. Your Mileage May Vary is in full effect here, and you'll either hate it or think it's decent but ultimately a bit out of place. At least it's short. 4.75/10
Ultimately, this is Linkin Park's strongest album. It's not perfect, but Linkin Park has matured and found a new direction a good six or seven years after nu-metal grew passe, saving themselves from dissolution. This album manages to experiment and genre bend while knowing what it wants, which was the third LP's major flaw. At the same time, there are still a few throwbacks to 2003, reminding you that this is still the same crew that gave you good times and fun tunes back in the day. I hope their next album sees even better songwriting and fluency, because this is almost exactly where I was hoping Linkin Park would go.
8/10
The third album, Minutes to Midnight, was a choppy mess. The best thing that came out of that era was New Divide, which had some kinda cool progressive bits, which kinda brings us to the direction of the new album, A Thousand Suns.
Thousand Suns, despite the Rubin production, is not at all like Minutes to Midnight. This is a billion times smoother (when listened to as a straight track, it all flows near perfectly) and more organized than Minutes to Midnight, and thus much more listenable. It's also got their strongest lyrics ever, which is cool. Chester actually has something to sing about besides his own self loathing, and Mike is capable as both a singer and rapper.
This album is exactly what I wanted it to be: stronger than Minutes to Midnight, and going in a new direction yet still keeping hints those elements that made Hybrid Theory and Meteora such nostalgic albums several years later.
And even though they had Rick Rubin producing, it's got quite a few touches of a **** The Record Label album. A few songs are radio friendly, but overall you get the feeling that this was made as a concept album first and a singles collection second.
I've listened through this album a few times, and it's holding together pretty well
Song by song (For a benchmark 7 is average, 5 is listenable):
Requiem/Radiance: Sets the pace for the album. A little long for an intro on such a short album, but not bad. Recalls nuclear themes and specifically the Bhagavad Gita quotes made famous from the Manhattan Project. 7/10
Burning in the Skies: A slower song, and the only one that really recalls the old Chester's Self Loathing Ballads of old. However, there's a certain magic to this one that makes it much stronger than stuff like Shadow of the Day; the lyrics are somewhat mystical, the melody holds together really well with the vocals unlike most Linkin Park songs, and it generally just holds up. Mike Shinoda's singing sounds great, and even CHester isn't too whiny, which is relaxing. A few of the lyrics do stumble over awkward metaphors, however, and it could be a little bit shorter, which is a general flaw with a few of the songs on the album. However, it's not so repetitive as to be awful for it. 8.5/10
Empty Spaces: A filler track with some military-like samples. Not long enough to make an impression at only about 19 seconds, really only makes sense when listening as an album. No rating.
When They Come For Me: Effectively Nobody's Listening with a tribal drum beat instead of a sampled Japanese flute. This is filled in with some heavy drone beats and a sampled organ. This is some of Mike's strongest rapping. He makes a few metaphors about the direction that Linkin Park is taking. There's also a chorus of some interesting sounding Indian-style singing. Around 3/4ths of the way in, Chester makes his obligatory entrance as the song goes into the "final minute wind-down". Ends on a heavily Indian-styled fuzz note, which sounds awesome. Ultimately, this is a fun song and one of my favorites on the album. 9/10
Robot Boy: A slow soft piece, evoking images of the old instrumental song Session, but with vocals added. Nothing too special, but it's nice and calming after the violent throwdown from the previous track. A little repetitive, but deliberately atmospheric. Kicks into a higher gear midway through to stay interesting. 7.5/10
Journada del Muerto: My favorite filler track since Tool's Eon Blue Apocalypse. Despite the Spanish title, the lyrics are in Japanese. Leads into Waiting For the End. 8/10
Waiting For The End: This is an interesting song. It starts off with what basically amount to 90s pop vocals, but for some reason this is not necessarily a bad thing. Mike and Chester kick into a duet for the middle verse. Mike finishes off with a rap. This is a song that evokes a few of the cliches from the old style Linkin Park lyrics, but with a more inherently positive twist and more variety. It's strange but pulled off well. 8.25/10
Blackout: The first half: Sounds like a NIN remix of a Mindless Self Indulgence song. This would be the least out of place on Hybrid Theory or Meteora out of every track on this album, mostly for the lyrics. Not particularly strong, but not unlistenable. The second half: Mike Shinoda sings what feels like the second half of Robot Boy but with a heavier beat and this song's piano part. If it were two songs split along the middle breakdown, it'd be better, but ultimately it's not very strong. 5.75/10
Wretches and Kings: Begins with a sampled speech, and then kicks into another tribal-beat rap. Evokes the old reggae-numetal band Skindred. This is not a bad thing, because I loved Skindred. Hearing Chester rap in that reggae style is a little odd, however. This song feels a little forced after the superior and less repetitive When They Come For Me, but it's arguably the most single-worthy song on the album. 7.5/10
Wisdom, Justice, And Love: A rather beautiful filler piece sampled from a Martin Luther King Jr speech. However, the end could have been less staticky and drawn out. 7/10
Iridescent: Continues the piano piece backing the previous filler piece. A little cheezy; continues the "reaching out" lyrical theme from Robot Boy and Waiting For The End. Still kind of a cute song, and the vocals are nice, so I can't really hate it. 7.25/10
Fallout: Repeats the chorus line from Burning in the Skies as an atmospheric mantra. Blends from mechanical to non-distorted for a cool effect. 7.25/10
The Catalyst: The lead single off of the album thus far. The somewhat common theme of Sigur Ros-like repetitive vocals for atmosphere kinda peaks here, but in terms of abuse rather than quality. It's a decent song in the flow of the album, but it's too repetitive to really hold up on its own, even with a minute chopped off for the single release. 6.75/10
The Messenger: The only acoustic song I know of by Linkin Park, though I could be wrong. Another cheezy "Reaching Out" song, which ties in nicely with the last few. However, it's an odd note to end the album on, and conflicts with the song just before it. Your Mileage May Vary is in full effect here, and you'll either hate it or think it's decent but ultimately a bit out of place. At least it's short. 4.75/10
Ultimately, this is Linkin Park's strongest album. It's not perfect, but Linkin Park has matured and found a new direction a good six or seven years after nu-metal grew passe, saving themselves from dissolution. This album manages to experiment and genre bend while knowing what it wants, which was the third LP's major flaw. At the same time, there are still a few throwbacks to 2003, reminding you that this is still the same crew that gave you good times and fun tunes back in the day. I hope their next album sees even better songwriting and fluency, because this is almost exactly where I was hoping Linkin Park would go.
8/10
Japanese McD's and the Aquarium
Every time I sit down to write one of these, I feel like Lt. Winters in the episode of Band of Brothers where he sits down at the typewriter to consolidate an incredible amount of experience into a logical written format. Just a random thought.
Anyways, I tried McDonalds in Japan today. Besides the M-Saizu drink being an American Small, there wasn't much different. The meat is probably a little better quality. My SYA buddy Shelby, who has some experience with farm life, tells me the beef that American McD's likes is the worst quality possible. You don't want to know. Apparently Burger King buys the best cows out of all the major fast food chains in that part of Washington state.
Also, Japanese mayonnaise is delicious. And I don't really like mayonnaise at all outside o tuna salad at home, so when I go for it you know it's gotta be better. It's more savory.
We also went to the Gifu Freshwater Aquarium. Lots of Japanese river fish (apparently trout come in every shape and size here), Chinese fish, a whole hall of Japanese salamanders and frogs in every shape and size, and several continents of exotic fish. From SE Asia and India, there was a tank of Meikong Giants and a couple Goonch catfish (the Goonch is the mother of all nightmare fuel after that episode of River Monsters. The biggest ones feed on people.). From the Congo, a bunch of weird catfish and other giants, plus a tigerfish (also nightmare fuel after watching River Monsters). From the Amazon, they had the two most beautiful fish ever, the Arapaima and the Flatheaded Sorubim. There was also a close relative of the Flatheaded Sorubim that was staring at a Japanese couple and just kinda nodding its head. This amused them. I brought my camera but it died before we even got to the aquarium, so no photos, sadly.
Also went to an old tea place that seemed right out of the Meiji era, mainly due to the extensive Victorian architectural influence. They had delicious cake. There were a ton of Victorian photos and posters, all originals, on the walls.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A Salute to Stale
This one's not about me.
There's a guy I know, goes by the name Stale on the Penny Arcade forums.
Stale's taken a lot of crap over the years from his body. He's basically had every disease known to man. This has left him with a rather minimal degree of walking ability with out cripple sticks. He also fought a zombie possum once. Anyways, his teeth have begun to abscess recently, meaning Stale's getting them taken out pretty much any day now, bottom row first. After that, he's stuck on liquid food for ever. This is arguably his most dangerous surgery ever; everyone at PA is kinda worried about him. His insurance isn't the best either, so he's had a lot of difficulty in getting the whole thing done. He was actually supposed to get the surgery done as I write, but he couldn't get the right antibiotics from his plan. Apparently he got pretty mad over that one. I quote:
"I was not pleasant. Nor was I professional. I was country.
"*censored*" may have been shouted into my phone in the middle of a very nice sushi restaurant I was having soup in."
Normally, he's a little more civil about his discourse. Anyway, it should be done sometime next week. Should be. It's already been two weeks delayed.
Good-news-everyone-Edit: He found a dentist who cares
But there is a cool story to this. Stale got his last meal. Basically, even without the surgery, regular eating is just getting painful. Right now the man is in the market for a good blender.
Basically, he started a discussion on what his last meal should be. A general agreement was steak. And eventually, some of his friends in meatspace got Stale's story out to one of the top chefs in Atlanta. Stale got his steak.
And it looks like it was delicious.
Here's another little slideshow:
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd66/zerogummi/The%20Last%20Meal/?albumview=slideshow
Godspeed you, Stale Gummibear*
*because nothing is tougher than a stale gummi bear.
But seriously, keep Stale in your prayers and hopes and meditations and Satanist rituals. He really needs it.
There's a guy I know, goes by the name Stale on the Penny Arcade forums.
Stale's taken a lot of crap over the years from his body. He's basically had every disease known to man. This has left him with a rather minimal degree of walking ability with out cripple sticks. He also fought a zombie possum once. Anyways, his teeth have begun to abscess recently, meaning Stale's getting them taken out pretty much any day now, bottom row first. After that, he's stuck on liquid food for ever. This is arguably his most dangerous surgery ever; everyone at PA is kinda worried about him. His insurance isn't the best either, so he's had a lot of difficulty in getting the whole thing done. He was actually supposed to get the surgery done as I write, but he couldn't get the right antibiotics from his plan. Apparently he got pretty mad over that one. I quote:
"I was not pleasant. Nor was I professional. I was country.
"*censored*" may have been shouted into my phone in the middle of a very nice sushi restaurant I was having soup in."
Normally, he's a little more civil about his discourse. Anyway, it should be done sometime next week. Should be. It's already been two weeks delayed.
Good-news-everyone-Edit: He found a dentist who cares
But there is a cool story to this. Stale got his last meal. Basically, even without the surgery, regular eating is just getting painful. Right now the man is in the market for a good blender.
Basically, he started a discussion on what his last meal should be. A general agreement was steak. And eventually, some of his friends in meatspace got Stale's story out to one of the top chefs in Atlanta. Stale got his steak.
And it looks like it was delicious.
Here's another little slideshow:
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd66/zerogummi/The%20Last%20Meal/?albumview=slideshow
Godspeed you, Stale Gummibear*
*because nothing is tougher than a stale gummi bear.
But seriously, keep Stale in your prayers and hopes and meditations and Satanist rituals. He really needs it.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bike
My bike (which I just realized I have no pictures of) is my primary means of getting around town. And my host family bought it for me, which was awesome.
It's still a piece of overweight steel. All Japanese bikes that aren't a gajillion yen or more tend to be. This one was about 12800 yen. And for some reason, even though the Japanese have the most disposable income on the whole planet per capita, they like really cheap bikes. A Japanese bike is like an American muscle car, decent enough in a straight line, but try throwing it into a turn without being careful and you can/will eat asphalt. God help you if it's not fresh asphalt. The thing is top heavy, especially with a six foot gaijin on top, and has absolutely no shock absorbers. So it's not even really the best in a straight line. I guess I could trim a few kilos by taking off the wheel caps and the basket. The brakes would still be a little sticky, the gears would still all feel sloppy, and the frame would still be hugely overwrought, but a little bit of weight goes a long way, and I think the handling improvement would be half decent. I would also not have to push as much torque into the initial few pedals, which tend to be a strength test on even the lowest gears. A set of much wider tires would also be nice. These dainty little road tires make the whole overweight affair even less stable and therefore infinitely more awful.
Remember the bikes in Tanzania, family people? Next step of quality up. At least this baby has brakes.
Thank whatever deity that, at the very least, Ichinomiya has absolutely no hills. If I threw this bike into a few of the 90 degree uphill turns I abuse my Gary Fisher with at home, I would be more scarred up and broken than the time I forgot to wear skate pads and bombed Conservation Avenue's Far Side.
But hey, it was free. So I can't complain.
Dinner was the Japanese equivalent of a casserole, with a schfancy bento on the side. Not bad.
It's still a piece of overweight steel. All Japanese bikes that aren't a gajillion yen or more tend to be. This one was about 12800 yen. And for some reason, even though the Japanese have the most disposable income on the whole planet per capita, they like really cheap bikes. A Japanese bike is like an American muscle car, decent enough in a straight line, but try throwing it into a turn without being careful and you can/will eat asphalt. God help you if it's not fresh asphalt. The thing is top heavy, especially with a six foot gaijin on top, and has absolutely no shock absorbers. So it's not even really the best in a straight line. I guess I could trim a few kilos by taking off the wheel caps and the basket. The brakes would still be a little sticky, the gears would still all feel sloppy, and the frame would still be hugely overwrought, but a little bit of weight goes a long way, and I think the handling improvement would be half decent. I would also not have to push as much torque into the initial few pedals, which tend to be a strength test on even the lowest gears. A set of much wider tires would also be nice. These dainty little road tires make the whole overweight affair even less stable and therefore infinitely more awful.
Remember the bikes in Tanzania, family people? Next step of quality up. At least this baby has brakes.
Thank whatever deity that, at the very least, Ichinomiya has absolutely no hills. If I threw this bike into a few of the 90 degree uphill turns I abuse my Gary Fisher with at home, I would be more scarred up and broken than the time I forgot to wear skate pads and bombed Conservation Avenue's Far Side.
But hey, it was free. So I can't complain.
Dinner was the Japanese equivalent of a casserole, with a schfancy bento on the side. Not bad.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Pokemon Black - Initial Impressions
So once again, the world finds itself with a new iteration of the best-selling monster series. Pokemon Black and White are the fifth generation of such (in the main line of games, spinoffs don't count), and have what actually amount to some pretty significant upgrades under the hood. The most noticeable is the graphical engine, which runs a billion times smoother while looking much better than the previous DS-platform Pokemon games did. The camera also switches angles every once in a while from the standard 3/4ths isometric view, which is a cool touch. Anime cutscenes take place when you are on the phone and in several story points, which is nice looking and actually lends more flow to the whole in game phone affair compared to a tiny dialogue box that prevents yo from walking. Pokemon are also much more animated in battle.
The second big one is that the battles themselves flow much more quickly than ever, and in a game where you have thousands of battles, this can actually shave off a hundred or more hours. The whole interface is nice, and I've managed to figure out most of it despite my very limited Japanese. You also get your Pokemon, running shoes, and the Cut HM very early on. I am also fairly sure TMs are reuseable.
The third, which some people will be very happy to hear, and has the most profound implications, is that the competitive game has been incredibly streamlined. It used to be, for the last few games, that Pokemon were created along very complex guidelines called IVs which influenced each stat on a 31 point scale. Along with EVs, which were influenced by battles, and natures, which are also inheret and affect IVs directly, there was a lot of stuff to juggle in creating the perfect mon. All of that still exists, but IVs are on an 8 point scale and once you beat the game you can go into a place called the Dream World where you can effectively tailor your own Pokemon. However, this requires some online janks I haven't figured out yet, but I imagine I eventually will. You can also import old Pokemon from the GBA and DS games using a feature similar to the 4th generation's Pal Park. I have yet to do a lot of research on the other new features (I'm not very far into the game itself yet, so this isn't a review) but they are there.
I like what I've seen so far. The new Pokemon are generally well designed, and you never see any non-Isshu region pokemon, which is unique to every Pokemon game except for the obvious exception of the originals. Pokemon's been around for a long time, but it seems like this time around, GameFreak has managed to completely revolutionize what many were believing to be stale.
The second big one is that the battles themselves flow much more quickly than ever, and in a game where you have thousands of battles, this can actually shave off a hundred or more hours. The whole interface is nice, and I've managed to figure out most of it despite my very limited Japanese. You also get your Pokemon, running shoes, and the Cut HM very early on. I am also fairly sure TMs are reuseable.
The third, which some people will be very happy to hear, and has the most profound implications, is that the competitive game has been incredibly streamlined. It used to be, for the last few games, that Pokemon were created along very complex guidelines called IVs which influenced each stat on a 31 point scale. Along with EVs, which were influenced by battles, and natures, which are also inheret and affect IVs directly, there was a lot of stuff to juggle in creating the perfect mon. All of that still exists, but IVs are on an 8 point scale and once you beat the game you can go into a place called the Dream World where you can effectively tailor your own Pokemon. However, this requires some online janks I haven't figured out yet, but I imagine I eventually will. You can also import old Pokemon from the GBA and DS games using a feature similar to the 4th generation's Pal Park. I have yet to do a lot of research on the other new features (I'm not very far into the game itself yet, so this isn't a review) but they are there.
I like what I've seen so far. The new Pokemon are generally well designed, and you never see any non-Isshu region pokemon, which is unique to every Pokemon game except for the obvious exception of the originals. Pokemon's been around for a long time, but it seems like this time around, GameFreak has managed to completely revolutionize what many were believing to be stale.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Fashion wa Zetta Takai neee
So I went to Aeon Mall today. Actually, the whole Pokemon thing was a little anticlimactic, as my buddy Nick put it. Very, very few people in line, and the event going on outside of Toys R Us was not Pokemon, but the local baseball team from Nagoya. I bought the game, and then explored the mall a little. Winter fashion is beginning to hit the stores.
The first shop I went to was King's Road, a Gothic accessories shop. Lots of pretty good quality Sterling silver merch, including a couple showcases of New York and London designer jewelry. Lots of skulls, crossbones, and general awesomeness, if you have the cash. Also a 9800 yen t-shirt.
Next was Union Station, a pretty decent punk store. A little expensive, but most of the merch was pretty nice quality. I might pick up some of it later.
There was a Studio Ghibli merch shop. I looked through it, but doing so was so incredibly overpowering that I probably teared up a little. So much nostalgia. Also a thousand dollar, five foot tall Totoro plushie.
Another two cool stores were Semantic Design (more punk and gothic stuff) and Method (kind of a cross between hip hop and punk, plus a shelf of One Piece merch in kind of a hip hop style. It's as cornily awesome as it sounds).
Village Vanguard is a bit like Japanese Spencers, but change the sex toys section into an anime merch section and you've pretty much got it. They also had a rack of customized Zippos and rarer, more eccentric lighters.
Lunch was Takoyaki. Takoyaki are doughballs with minced and diced Octopus tentacle.They are also covered in delicious barbecue sauce, mayonnaise (Japanese mayo is infinitely better for some reason), and bonito flakes. Oishiiiiiikataaaa neeeee~
The first shop I went to was King's Road, a Gothic accessories shop. Lots of pretty good quality Sterling silver merch, including a couple showcases of New York and London designer jewelry. Lots of skulls, crossbones, and general awesomeness, if you have the cash. Also a 9800 yen t-shirt.
Next was Union Station, a pretty decent punk store. A little expensive, but most of the merch was pretty nice quality. I might pick up some of it later.
There was a Studio Ghibli merch shop. I looked through it, but doing so was so incredibly overpowering that I probably teared up a little. So much nostalgia. Also a thousand dollar, five foot tall Totoro plushie.
Another two cool stores were Semantic Design (more punk and gothic stuff) and Method (kind of a cross between hip hop and punk, plus a shelf of One Piece merch in kind of a hip hop style. It's as cornily awesome as it sounds).
Village Vanguard is a bit like Japanese Spencers, but change the sex toys section into an anime merch section and you've pretty much got it. They also had a rack of customized Zippos and rarer, more eccentric lighters.
Lunch was Takoyaki. Takoyaki are doughballs with minced and diced Octopus tentacle.They are also covered in delicious barbecue sauce, mayonnaise (Japanese mayo is infinitely better for some reason), and bonito flakes. Oishiiiiiikataaaa neeeee~
TGIF
I think I'm gonna list what I had for dinner that night at the start of some blog posts, since I tend to write these at about 9:30 or so. Also, because Naoko-san's cooking is delicious.
Spaghetti with pea soup
Dessert was a fruit tart. pie thingy.
Autumn is coming, which means I'm not marinating in my own sweat anymore, which is nice. In a few weeks I'll bet it's gonna be pretty terribly cold, however.
Three day weekend. I need the RnR. Japan's been amazing but draining. My friend Helen has dubbed it Transitional Exhaustion. I like that term.
PokeMon Black/White comes out tomorrow. Aeon Mall is gonna be hectic. Screaming Japanese kids everywhere.
Spaghetti with pea soup
Dessert was a fruit tart. pie thingy.
Autumn is coming, which means I'm not marinating in my own sweat anymore, which is nice. In a few weeks I'll bet it's gonna be pretty terribly cold, however.
Three day weekend. I need the RnR. Japan's been amazing but draining. My friend Helen has dubbed it Transitional Exhaustion. I like that term.
PokeMon Black/White comes out tomorrow. Aeon Mall is gonna be hectic. Screaming Japanese kids everywhere.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Legend of WheelStand
I was thinking about talking about Japanese fast food, but I haven't eaten at Mos Burger yet so I can't quite comment just yet.
So I'm gonna tell a little story.
This is about a week ago.
Buncha us SYA kids are walking to the station, and I've got my bike with me.
Ty, our resident motorcycle racer and general crazy guy/daredevil, asks me for my bike. Something about a trick. Says it's called a wheelstand.
I figure "why not?"
He rides up about twenty meters, turns around back to ride at us, and then does a wheelie. On the front wheel.
Now, this bike is weighted kinda strangely. It's a cheap piece of Chinese steel, with a rather heavy frame and a surprisingly heavy basket.
Ty kinda realizes this as he's popping the wheelstand. It's impressive, but very quickly he overtilts. There's kind of an "oh crap" look on his face as he yells "WHEELSTAND!". By this point, he's going too far forward, too fast.
Ty flips forward, pretty much faceplants. The bike follows him, and comes down right on top of him. I wish I had gotten video. I'm almost kinda worried (helmets don't exist here), but then he's fine, so we all get a good laugh.
So I'm gonna tell a little story.
This is about a week ago.
Buncha us SYA kids are walking to the station, and I've got my bike with me.
Ty, our resident motorcycle racer and general crazy guy/daredevil, asks me for my bike. Something about a trick. Says it's called a wheelstand.
I figure "why not?"
He rides up about twenty meters, turns around back to ride at us, and then does a wheelie. On the front wheel.
Now, this bike is weighted kinda strangely. It's a cheap piece of Chinese steel, with a rather heavy frame and a surprisingly heavy basket.
Ty kinda realizes this as he's popping the wheelstand. It's impressive, but very quickly he overtilts. There's kind of an "oh crap" look on his face as he yells "WHEELSTAND!". By this point, he's going too far forward, too fast.
Ty flips forward, pretty much faceplants. The bike follows him, and comes down right on top of him. I wish I had gotten video. I'm almost kinda worried (helmets don't exist here), but then he's fine, so we all get a good laugh.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Dude It's been three weeks
Yup, three weeks since I stepped on the plane from LA. It's been long and short at once. I guess that's what you call average time flow. So now for some random thoughts I've had or am having:
-Coffee Boss is my hero
-Ichinomiya would be longboard paradise if it weren't raining
-I miss my old Damon Ferrari Custom mask
-My mom probably tore apart my room trying to clean it
-Watching Wee Man skateboard dressed as an Oompa Loompa on Jackass is just as funny as it was in 2000
--Actually, Jackass 3D looks like it could be epic.*
-My desktop has an SoC Gunbuster on it
-YAKINIKU IS THE BEST OHMYGOD
--Except for Naoko-san's cooking, which is awesome
-Dealing with a pregnant host mom is gonna be hell
-For a Buddhist monk, my host dad sure drinks and smokes
-Public baths are less awkward than you'd guess. just keep your eyes away from a certain latitude.
-Hiro Protagonist's U-Stor-It under the LAX taxi lane really exists.
-Mr. H is gonna kill me for missing a couple blog posts
-Usavich is the best MTV cartoon since Daria
*Warning: This Blog Contains Sentences Either Written by Abroad Students or Under the Supervision of Japanese. In either case, GREGTV insists that neither you or any of your dumb little buddies attempt the nerdy crap in this show.
-Coffee Boss is my hero
-Ichinomiya would be longboard paradise if it weren't raining
-I miss my old Damon Ferrari Custom mask
-My mom probably tore apart my room trying to clean it
-Watching Wee Man skateboard dressed as an Oompa Loompa on Jackass is just as funny as it was in 2000
--Actually, Jackass 3D looks like it could be epic.*
-My desktop has an SoC Gunbuster on it
-YAKINIKU IS THE BEST OHMYGOD
--Except for Naoko-san's cooking, which is awesome
-Dealing with a pregnant host mom is gonna be hell
-For a Buddhist monk, my host dad sure drinks and smokes
-Public baths are less awkward than you'd guess. just keep your eyes away from a certain latitude.
-Hiro Protagonist's U-Stor-It under the LAX taxi lane really exists.
-Mr. H is gonna kill me for missing a couple blog posts
-Usavich is the best MTV cartoon since Daria
*Warning: This Blog Contains Sentences Either Written by Abroad Students or Under the Supervision of Japanese. In either case, GREGTV insists that neither you or any of your dumb little buddies attempt the nerdy crap in this show.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tiny cars
This should be obvious by now: cars are smaller in Japan.
Well, okay, things in general are smaller. Drinks, roads*, dogs, my ego, department store corridors, etc.
The only things I've seen that tend to be really big are my room, Tokyo, and price tags on anything that isn't ramen, cigarette, or beverage related. Also 100 yen shops, which whup the ass of American dollar stores by a million miles.
But yeah, small cars. The average size around here tends to be in the old-school Mini Cooper and Fiat 500 range. Basically, this means anything the size of a shoe. Also, cars like the Nissan Cube and Scion xB are huge here.
Japanese minivans look much cooler and have much better handling than they do in the states.
Honda Civics and similar cars are huge looking here. A Mercedes E class is enormous.
The only truly big cars I've seen have been either Toyota Land Cruisers or the following list: a pimped out Chevy pickup, two H2 Hummers, and a jacked-suspension F350. The F350 is pretty ginormous even in Eagleland, but when one drives down the streets of Ichinomiya, you can hear Godzilla, Rodan, Ultraman, King Ghidora, and Jet Jaguar all yelling "Oh, crap, a new Enemy of the Week!"
I could get into detailing the implications of such an F350 and the self confidence/masculinity of the owner, but I have family who read this blog and so it is therefore not worth it.
Next Time on Tokusatsu SUPER - Gaijin Special: Godzilla and Anguirius - Ultimate Team Up! Fight Against The Yankee Vehicle Monster, Effu Suri Fifuchi!
*Though sidewalks tend to be massive. Dad, find a skateboard box please
Well, okay, things in general are smaller. Drinks, roads*, dogs, my ego, department store corridors, etc.
The only things I've seen that tend to be really big are my room, Tokyo, and price tags on anything that isn't ramen, cigarette, or beverage related. Also 100 yen shops, which whup the ass of American dollar stores by a million miles.
But yeah, small cars. The average size around here tends to be in the old-school Mini Cooper and Fiat 500 range. Basically, this means anything the size of a shoe. Also, cars like the Nissan Cube and Scion xB are huge here.
Japanese minivans look much cooler and have much better handling than they do in the states.
Honda Civics and similar cars are huge looking here. A Mercedes E class is enormous.
The only truly big cars I've seen have been either Toyota Land Cruisers or the following list: a pimped out Chevy pickup, two H2 Hummers, and a jacked-suspension F350. The F350 is pretty ginormous even in Eagleland, but when one drives down the streets of Ichinomiya, you can hear Godzilla, Rodan, Ultraman, King Ghidora, and Jet Jaguar all yelling "Oh, crap, a new Enemy of the Week!"
I could get into detailing the implications of such an F350 and the self confidence/masculinity of the owner, but I have family who read this blog and so it is therefore not worth it.
Next Time on Tokusatsu SUPER - Gaijin Special: Godzilla and Anguirius - Ultimate Team Up! Fight Against The Yankee Vehicle Monster, Effu Suri Fifuchi!
*Though sidewalks tend to be massive. Dad, find a skateboard box please
Friday, September 10, 2010
Ramen
Ramen are actually Chinese noodles, oddly enough, but this hasn't stopped them from spreading across Japan. There is one big reason for this: pork broth is delicious. I've been to three ramen shops in Ichinomiya so far. On the first day, we went to one, a tonkotsu ramen place in south Ichinomiya. For lunch a few days ago, Hyden and I went to the one right by school for some Shoyu ramen (soy sauce ramen, my favorite). Then today, we tried Hakata Ramen at Baribarai-Baiken, a decent shop just past school. Hakata ramen is made by allowing the broth to get every nutrient and bit of pork possble, so the broth turns white. I guess it's the Guiness to regular ramen's Budweiser. Baribaribaiken has had probably my favorite atmosphere. The kitchen is wide open to the world, so you get all the noise and rush of the ramen chefs. Bo Jovi, Rolling Stones, Offspring, and other rock pours through the speakers. I think I'm getting a little less pretentious about my rock music, because a year ago that combination would have driven me crazy before I could wolf down my noodles. Also, Baiken allows you to select the toughness of your noodles (I recommend 3 or 4 out of 5) and, even better, buy a second helping of the noodles to put in your still piping broth for just 120 en, a killer deal.
Long story short, real ramen is worlds away from cup ramen. Too bad real ramen-ya are almost unseen in most of the USA. Also, for SYA people, check out Baribari Baiken.
Long story short, real ramen is worlds away from cup ramen. Too bad real ramen-ya are almost unseen in most of the USA. Also, for SYA people, check out Baribari Baiken.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Manga
Slight confession, which should be fairly obvious to most: I like anime and manga, though I don't consider myself obsessive. However, since I'm in Japan, I do bother to indulge in the nerdiness just a little bit. Probably the biggest thing that the Japanese love, even though it's a bit less common in America, is manga (pronounced, for those of you unfamiliar with the subject, mahn-guh, not mann-ga on mayn-guh). There are reasons why it's so popular here. For one, a volume, or tankobon, is about half the price. North American fans can expect to part with anywhere from eight to eleven dollars. In Japan, expect to lose anywhere between 400 and 575 yen. Also, Japanese manga come in a massive variety of sizes (there are large print volumes, valuable for series with massive spreads, and mini pocket volumes, along with a typical trade paperback size). Another big difference is the feel. American manga volumes tend to be fairly rigid, while Japanese style manga will bend to your hand readily and then return to their previous shape. Far more comfortable. I just hope you like reading Japanese.
My host family owns a decent library of manga, so I've been checking out a couple, especially Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) and Paradise Kiss. I also bought volume 59 of One Piece yesterday, because that arc was HOLY CRAP levels of insane awesome, and because 400 yen is payable in pocket change.
My host family owns a decent library of manga, so I've been checking out a couple, especially Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) and Paradise Kiss. I also bought volume 59 of One Piece yesterday, because that arc was HOLY CRAP levels of insane awesome, and because 400 yen is payable in pocket change.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Opening Post - Irrashaimasse!
Welcome to my blog, the only official website of Greg Steffensen. This will be a pretty much daily record of thoughts on living in Japan, and also part of a writing grade in my English class. Maybe some language, but nothing NSFW.
The name Redneck Katana refers to Neal Stephenson's post-cyberpunk work Snow Crash, where at one point in the book the main character Hiro Protagonist is seen training his kenjutsu forms with a meter long rod of iron rebar, wrapped on the grip end in gaffer's tape, which he nicknames the Redneck Katana. It's a heavy, imprecise training tool that requires a lot of effort to master, but his training with the tool saves Hiro's life several times during real fights with real weapons in the penultimate battle sequence of the book. I think this serves as an adequate metaphor to my life in Japan: often clumsy, but ultimately enlightening, albeit after some effort invested.And it's a Snow Crash reference, which is always welcome.
The name Redneck Katana refers to Neal Stephenson's post-cyberpunk work Snow Crash, where at one point in the book the main character Hiro Protagonist is seen training his kenjutsu forms with a meter long rod of iron rebar, wrapped on the grip end in gaffer's tape, which he nicknames the Redneck Katana. It's a heavy, imprecise training tool that requires a lot of effort to master, but his training with the tool saves Hiro's life several times during real fights with real weapons in the penultimate battle sequence of the book. I think this serves as an adequate metaphor to my life in Japan: often clumsy, but ultimately enlightening, albeit after some effort invested.And it's a Snow Crash reference, which is always welcome.
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