no airplay

2009-12-07T23:55:00.004+09:00

the new site no airplay, check it out.

gonna do it

2009-12-02T17:45:00.002+09:00

i've decided to move the blog over to wordpress. it's time, I think
that many things have changed in my life since I started this back in
2006. hey, it happens. I think the blog is gonna take a bit of a
different direction, but just a bit.
I haven't posted anything on the new blog yet, probably get started
tomorrow, and I've decided not to import these posts over to the new
blog. I tried it, but it didn't seem right. think theses posts should
stay here. the new blog is gonna keep the same name and there will be a link on here once I get going over there. pretty easy to find it
though, if you've found this.
talk to you soon, more to come...

this is great if you've never seen it.

2009-12-02T13:44:00.000+09:00

another baby!

2009-12-01T15:34:00.001+09:00

seems like everyone is having babies these days, this time it's round-
face! his baby is a darling(apoc's is too)! congrats big-daddy!

moving?

2009-11-30T17:55:00.003+09:00

I'm thinking of taking this show on the road. I've thought many times
about moving this blog to a different site (mostly wordpress) and in
fact I signed up for a domain at wordpress a long while back but just
never got around to doing it. think there was a slight fear of losing
readers but, hey, who am I kidding? no one reads this. also since I
pretty much stopped doing podcasts I don't really care about trying to
set up a new feed for iTunes. I'm also thinking about not even
carrying previous posts over to the new blog, just starting anew.
we'll see. I'm gonna look a little closer when I get home and decide
what i'm gonna do then. one of the main reasons I'm thinking about
leaving blogger is because the three other sites I had on here (and
dude?'s) are all pretty much dead, but mostly because of the iPhone
integration. I mostly just post from my phone nowadays and posting via e-mail makes it look all funky. also, the blogger app is stupid and I don't want to pay to get the full version. wish I would just pay for a square space account but I really can't justify it.

frontale...

2009-11-28T12:48:00.002+09:00

2 games left in the season. today is huge. last week, frontale lost to
the lowly Trinita stoping them into second
place, 2 points behind kashima and just ahead of Gamba Osaka. today Gamba and Kashima play eachother and we are praying that Gamba wins.
but we really need Frontale to play well.
in a year where nearly every team I've ever rooted for has
disappointed me (the huskies still have a shot at redemption if they
beat WSU tomorrow and go CWU!) I need Frontale to win!!!

gamesradar

2009-11-28T00:59:00.002+09:00

gamesradar.com is a stupid site. what kind of site would hit you up with an ad before you even hit their homepage? I understand trying to get ad revenue, but save it until I`ve found something on your site that I want to see. stupid. doubt I`ll be back there.

holland???

2009-11-27T20:52:00.001+09:00

Who gave the Dutch courts the authority to rule on copyright cases on the internet? just curious...

thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T17:34:00.004+09:00

yesterday was thanksgiving here in Japan. didn't know? it's by far my
favorite holiday, love it! unfortunately I couldn't spend it with my
family, (miss you guys!) but I did get to spend it with the wife : )
after a morning out in Hiroo shopping and walking we made it back
home, took a break and got to cooking around 7. I was only responsible for one dish, something I've never cooked or eaten, green bean casserole. normally, I guess, it is made with French fried onions (?)but I don't eat onions so I tried some daikon. it worked alright, ended up a little soggy (think they are supposed to be crisp) but well enough. mornin liked it very much, I thought it could have been better. mornin handled everything else; pumpkin pie, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, biscuits, cranberry sauce and gravy.
it was awesome!
I ate a ton and gained 2 pounds... gotta work in that. I love thanksgiving! we also watched some Charlie Brown thanksgiving special.
man that animation is terrible!

happy birthday!

2009-11-22T04:07:00.001+09:00

congrats to Apoc D on the birth of his baby daughter! and, お疲れ
さま to his wife K for 34 hours of labor!!!

too many games...

2009-11-22T02:53:00.003+09:00

It's a hot time to pick up some sweet games. Recently I picked up Borderlands, Fifa 10, Forza 3 and Modern Warfare 2. All of them are highly recommended! Problem is that I don't have time to play all of them. Also I've gotten back into Fight Night Round 4. So much good stuff! Good thing though is that I think there's not really anything that I'm looking forward to between now and the end of the year. I should have over a month, and maybe a bunch of time during the New Year's break, to get my fill.

Chrome/Football

2009-11-22T02:13:00.006+09:00

The clock's ticked over to Sunday for me, right around 2:15am now. And it's time for some football!! I've got "the game" (Ohio St. vs. Michigan) going in a Firefox window but I'm writing this in a Google Chrome window. I think I might be switching to Chrome. It's pretty good. I used it briefly after it first came out but kinda fell back into Firefox. But now? There are a couple of things that I still seem to need Firefox for, but we'll see how that all goes. Oops, Mich. just fumbled, TD Ohio St.
This is a rivalry weekend for many schools (biggest one though is next weekend, the Apple Cup!) but the game I'm most interested in is Central Washington University vs. Tarleton State. Now, I'm pretty good with geography but, I've no idea where Tarleton State is... let me look that up... oh, Texas. Well, anyway, it's a big game! It's the second round of the division II playoffs and my school CWU is playing at home and ranked #1 in the country baby!!! Stupid daylight savings has pushed all the games back an hour for me putting the early games' starting times at about 2am and the CWU game at 5am now... I'm not sure if I'll stay up for it, but I may, and the best part is that I can check out the game live through the Penn Atlantic website. I've never watched a game on it before but a couple weeks ago I listened to a CWU game on there. It's great because it's free, but the sound quality was a bit iffy on the radio broadcast, wonder how the video will be... Oh well, go Wildcats!

Man, it's been a long time to post something on here from my computer, it's a bit weird...
couldn't leave without a picture, just looked naked, here's something:

grad

2009-11-13T16:43:00.001+09:00

here's a picture from mornin's graduation.
gorgeous!

work?

2009-11-13T16:39:00.001+09:00

what's up with my schedule lately? I'm getting worked (pun)! recently
about 2 or 3 days a week (especially Friday) have taken a huge hit.
I'm getting crushed! the late starts are much better than the long
breaks (both today) but, you know what's better than both of those?
money.
my theory is that part of the reason for the current slow schedules is
that the 英会話 (English conversation) industry lags behind the
real economy because most students are locked into contracts often
around a year or so. we are right around a year after last year's
economic colapse now and I feel like I'm being hit now. luckily, I'm
still one of the more popular teachers and I'm still getting more
lessons than most of the other teachers I'm working with but it's
gonna be tough if this continues too much longer. hopefully people's
situations will get better soon and they'll be able to invest in
English again, and of course, I'll get paid! dolla dolla bills
y'all!!! and I won't be so bored...

today's tanakaya haul

2009-11-09T16:26:00.001+09:00

the best iPhone app for studying/using Japanese

2009-10-30T21:52:00.001+09:00

if you have an iPhone and you are at all interested in Japanese, buy
this app. it's simply called "Japanese." best features are its ease of
looking up Kanji and it can help you study for the JLPT. it's a little
expensive, 2300 yen, but well worth it. I used to use a different
dictionary but I will never again. Japanese has tons more words and
tons more functions an is tons easier to use, get it!

is pepsi out of their ever loving minds?!

2009-10-26T15:34:00.003+09:00

yes. the latest in the pepsi flavor series, which has included; ice
cucumber, blue hawaiian, and shiso flavors, comes Azuki Pepsi. this is terrible. by far the worst tasting of the bunch. if you've never had
Azuki (or anko) just imagine dumping a bunch of sugar in a batch of
homemade refried beans, that'll give you an idea of the taste and
texture. it's bad.

So much stuff to catch up on...

2009-10-26T14:54:00.004+09:00

that I think I'm gonna skip most of it for now. This is like my "6 months lost" phase. I'm not gonna promise to get to any of it for now, i might, but most likely I won't. Think I'll post some of the better pictures on my phone from so of the stuff I haven't posted about sometime. But I think if I wait to post about what I've missed, I'll never get around to writing anything and this page will be stuck in stasis for a long time. Think I'll just go from here.

I'm pissed that today I don't start work until 6pm. Finish at 9:20. Means that I'm gonna travel 2 hours round trip for about 3 hours of work. Stupid. One good thing i guess is that I have to head into Ikebukuro to pick up a present that I had made for mornin's b-day. Took 2 weeks! Ahhhhhhh!!! Her birthday was actually last Tuesday and I ended up giving her 8 consecutive days of presents. The sad thing is that the best present will only be finished today, nearly a week late, but it will be worth it!In other news, hooked up the old laptop to the TV and now I can watch streaming video stuff on the big screen and it is awesome! Lately I've been listening to more music that I had been. I'd gotten into a podcast only rut for awhile but music is great. I forgot how much good stuff I had. I've also gotten some pretty good new stuff recently. Picked up the new Pearl Jam and Weezer (haven't listened to that yet) and also got a special edition of Pablo Honey that has about 20 extra tracks. It's much like High School again.

I finished playing Uncharted 2 and I must say that that is a really really good game. It's everything that Assassin's Creed could have, and should have been. Highly recommended. I ordered 4 games on Play Asia that I'm waiting for because I was tired of going all the way to Akihabara and being disappointed. Also, the most reliable store for import games has closed. A sad day.
The four games I'm waiting for are:
FIFA 10
Forza 3
Modern Warefare 2
Borderlands

Now some of them aren't out, but I can wait. Don't think I need all of them now anyway, don't have that much free time. I think FIFA 10 should be here tomorrow. Also should be getting Windows 7, hopefully tomorrow and I'm pretty excited to never use Vista again! Don't care if Windows 7 isn't the greatest thing in the world, I just know that it can't be worse than Vista.

Yesterday my sister-in-law (SIL) and her husband (HIL) came over and mornin and I made fajitas for them. Good times! They liked the food a lot and we had some wine and beer (got some Red Hook for my b-day) and played a little Wii.

Kawasaki Frontale sit in first place by 1 point and we are coming down to the end of the season! Next weekend might be my last chance to see them play this year so I think we might be heading over to Todoroki to see them take on JEF united Chiba. SOBs.
Guess that's enough for this post.
later

catchin up!

2009-10-03T11:11:00.001+09:00

so I know that there is a ton of catchin up I need to do, namely the
great Silver Week trip, and I'll get to it soon, don't you worry! just
haven't been in a sit down at the computer mode recently, pretty much
only been using it to get new TV episodes, movies, podcasts and to
watch sportscenter lately. probably find time this weekend, maybe not,
but for sue by Thursday next week. another thing on the list is
mornin's graduate school graduation! that was hot! stay tuned!

couple updates

2009-09-17T18:38:00.001+09:00

USC won! wahoo!
also, the controversial "finish" to Frontale game was voted on by the
J-league and the game will be played from the point at which it was
stopped! that means with Kawasaki up 3-1! beauty!
last thing is that mornin and I are heading out to meet dude? and his
lady out in Osaka, kick around there for a couple days and thenall
head off to Hiroshima for a couple days. pray for good
weather!

9 hours!

2009-09-13T00:02:00.002+09:00

man I'm stoked! 9 hours until the kickoff of the USC x Ohio State game. I hate Ohio St. I LOVE USC!
Many people know that I am from Washington, and I love my M's and my Hawks, my Dawgs, my Sonics and hey, even my Sounders. But the first team I liked in my life was the Trojans. As a kid, I moved around a lot. At the time I was coming into an age where I was starting to play and watch any sports, I lived in California. Actually, a few places in California. This is why I love me some USC, and some Dodgers. Of course a lot of my deeper connections with sports teams were formed later in life during the later 80s and 90s and the struggles of most of my local Seattle teams (except for the dominance of UW!). My first hat was a Dodgers cap. My first football had a SC logo on it. I'm stoked for this game! In the Horseshoe. True freshman at the helm. GO TROJANS!

OHHHHH MAN I'M PISSED!

2009-09-12T21:19:00.003+09:00

I was just watching the Frontale game against #1 Kashima Antlers at Kashima's home stadium. Frontale was just over 2 games back in 2nd and they will still be that way tomorrow. Why? Well, let me tell you. With less than 20 mins left in the game, and Kawasaki up 3-1 the ref decided that the pitch conditions were not playable. True, the ball didn't move much across the ground when kicked, but... So they sit around for 30 mins, he comes out, checks the field a couple of times and declares a "no game." I had no idea that this was even possible. Unreal. Poof, 70+ minutes of the game never existed. Tese's 2 goals, gone. No, "let's pick up and play later," just done. Unreal. Are you serious? I'm pissed. What a joke! The season is winding down, we could have been 4 points out of first, instead, we're still 7 back and now we've got a three way tie for second. Man they better give us another chance to take out those posing suckers! I F'n hate Kashima, and this just makes me hate them even more. That's right, mother nature made me hate a soccer team more. Live with it.

please don't make me do it!

2009-09-11T15:24:00.001+09:00

I swear to god that If another 'person' answers the question "what's new?" with "nothing" and then stops talking, i'm gonna scream and then rip their head off. and then eat it.

another one

2009-09-07T18:47:00.001+09:00

go hawks!

iPhone app

2009-09-07T18:46:00.001+09:00

an interesting little miniaturization effect done by an app I got for
the iPhone

my PC is F'd up!

2009-09-07T17:50:00.003+09:00

so, yes, my PC is experiencing a bunch of problemos. so I stopped by Bic Camera today and picked up this beast!that's right, 1.5Tb of hard drive storage action! I work late tonight, should be home around 11 and I plan to get to work on backing up all the important stuff (pictures, music, and videos) and then do a clean re-install. why couldn't thus have happened in about 2 months when I could get my hands on the new Windows 7? F! god, I wonder how long it's gonna take...
in other news, when i arrived home last week, I found a couple rolls of plastic wrap in the mail box along with a letter letting us know that construction would be going on for a couple weeks in and around the building. it started today. the plastic wrap was a consolation for being disturbed. ha! like plastic wrap is gonna come close to making up for a 9am wake-up call that sounds like someone is actually drilling into my eye.

de-railed!

2009-09-06T10:45:00.003+09:00

so, I went to sleep. Yeah, yeah, I know, that wasn't the plan. But starting at the beginning, I was all fired up to get the games on. I fired up Afrika... waaaay to slow. I was already very tired after having gotten up at 7am after about 4 hours of sleep and working all day. Afrika did me in. I did switch to Fight Night Round 4 after about an hour and a half, but the damage had been done. And then, College Football. Not the game, the sport, the real-deal, kickoff weekend! I got so distracted with all the different streams coming at me on Justin TV (and trying to fight through all the tech. issues). I ended up giving up and calling it a night. Went to be around 3 and just got up at about 10. Now I'm watching the VaTech and Bama game, pretty good, 17-16 at the half, but I'm excited (and nervous) about the LSU x UW game coming up in about 20 mins...
it's on!
I might get back to playing some games later...

10:40 kickoff!

2009-09-05T22:20:00.003+09:00

so a few bends in the road and it's now 10:20 and I have yet to start out the night of gaming! oh well, soon.
stopped at the lame festival on the way home and snapped a couple of pics.what to start with...?
actually, I'm really sleepy, need a second wind... maybe beer is the answer?

epic gaming weekend alteration...

2009-09-05T09:52:00.002+09:00

so my weekend gaming plan has been slightly altered. the main reason is because there is a festival going down in town tonight so I think i might spend a bit of time there before kicking off. that's it.

やる気がない！

2009-09-02T17:26:00.001+09:00

after a few weeks of all or not schedules, i'm spent. it's really tough to have such up and down days, impossible to get into any sort of mental rhythm. especially when i see certain names on my day's docket... that's where 'やる気がない' comes in. it means something like 'no drive.' that's how i'm feeling today. just wanna go home.
tomorrow's a day off. gonna go to see a doctor about my eye and get a blood test probably. also might get a new phone. thinking hard about the iPhone. i'll let you know how it goes. for now, 5 or 6 lessons to go...

could it be?

2009-09-01T01:30:00.005+09:00

Is it just me or is U2 somehow ripping off Coldplay (had to google that name)? Either way, they both suck.

that's right, i'm a nerd!

2009-08-30T02:25:00.003+09:00

MY EYE!

2009-08-29T00:06:00.002+09:00

my left eye is messed up! I'm worried...

here's a nice pic that melvis got at the envy show last night, good stuff!

another cellphone picture post...

2009-08-28T18:36:00.001+09:00

that's right, a garbage can that says 'don't throw away garbage' on it. i pray the Japanese will never lose their sense of humor!

epic gaming weekend!

2009-08-28T15:55:00.001+09:00

so mornin's gotta go out of town (think to Izu maybe) on a school/lab trip for a couple days (think the weekend of Sept. 5th), so i'm planning on tappin my eyes open, and ploppin down infront of the TV and trying to burn through some of the games i have yet to finish. i made a list awhile back, the games with the X have been finished. i don't think i'm gonna worry about the racing games, but here's the list:
�mirror's edge
dirt
�c.o.d. w.a.w.
�assasin's creed
skate 2
�c.o.d 4
dead space
forza 2
�fable 2
U.F.C
killzone 2
�ボクの夏休み 3
red faction
みんなのGOLF
Afrika
�call of Juarez
FNR4

so the plan is from the time i get home from work on Saturday, until mornin gets back home on Sunday, i'm going strait through the night and try and knock 3, 4, or 5 games off the list. think i'll start with Afrika, Dead Space, and Kill Zone 2. Grand Slam Tennis, UFC and Fight Night Round 4 will be the change of pace games. we'll see how far I can get!

envy show

2009-08-27T22:04:00.001+09:00

while i will say that this was by far the weakest envy show i've been to, it wasn't bad. envy rocks! yesterday, the drummer had an accident and could only play one-handed for the most part, and most of the songs were on the quiet side, the skill remained. i met a couple of real cool swiss guys, and it made me realize the differance between German-swiss and Frence-swiss. Opeth rocks! i would never hope that someone judges envy soley on today's show, but it was good. i've seen them louder, more intamate, and longer. envy rocks! tonight wasn't their crowd. also, if a bartender offers you a 'dog's nose' don't accept, it's just bad news!

cell posting...

2009-08-27T04:29:00.003+09:00

wanted to test out this posting direct from my phone thing, so here's a cell pic of Ikebukuro's world famous man-eating traffic cones:

Nippon ham getting swine flu?!

2009-08-18T23:03:00.001+09:00

Yes, you may call it coincidence or a twist of fate, I call it REVENGE!
This is awesome!

the problem of me...

2009-08-16T01:11:00.004+09:00

Googling your own name can bring about severe amounts of disappointment. Especially when it's my name... Here's a few characters who purport to be me...A sad sack of people if I do say so myself, not looking good...

ban it!

2009-08-14T12:38:00.001+09:00

When a batter steps into the box, he should be allowed to adjust his batting gloves no more than 1 time per AB. ahhhhhh!!!

L.W.O.D. '09 vol.1 (July 28 - Aug. 2)

2009-08-03T23:41:00.010+09:00

the 1st foray into the L.W.O.D. of this year was a success. dude? came into town in the afternoon on Tuesday and we hung around the house for a bit before heading into town to meet up with tigger, his wife and their friend G-cup. it was all their 1st time seeing a baseball game in Japan and G-cup and Mrs. tigger's 1st game ever! dude? and i showed them the ropes and eased them into the action by playing beer-an-inning. i was trashed after winning but unfortunately our Carp fell to the hated Swallows by some score (around 8-2?). wow, as i write this on the train, some crazy lady with a Mohawk, pink hair and tattoos (namally good) is doing some sort of splits thing on the floor of the train... will wonders never cease? after the game we came back to the butt? base in Kugahara and got some grub at a place called 大吉 (daikichi). it was pretty good, yakitori of all sorts and some other assorted sorts.after dinner, back to the butt? cave for some greatest game ever action! i smoked dude? pretty bad in 2 games which looked pretty ominous for the upcoming week, but when it mattered, we had 3 close games later.

day 2 kicked off the 1st day of the 3 day cricket-esque T.O.C. the 1st day featured 6 games, which will be recounted later, but i was the victor. in the evening we ate some tasty burritos and watched ナニこれ珍百景. it was good.

day 3, we started with a short bike ride for lunch then played 4 games for the T.O.C. and headed out to Jingu to meet mornin and take in our 2nd Carp x Swallows game of the week. neither dude? nor I could power up to do much drinking at the game this time, but the game was good except the annoying overzealous lady Carp fan to our left, the spooky puppet master to the right and the dude with the giant melon! in front of me. but the game itself was basically a reversal of the first game, not too much drama, but a solid win. on the way home, we stopped off in the old neighborhood for some Indian/Nepalese curry. it was a bit weird because when we walked up, it said it was open, but all the lights were off, crazy eco-Nepalese! but they turned on the lights for us and cooked up some good curry.

day 4, the 3rd and final day of the T.O.C.: cricket-esque version, was the big daddy. 10 games. day 1 was 6 because we got a late start, day 2 was shortened from 6 to 4 because of the baseball game, but day 3 was always 10. the most single day game total in T.O.C. history. remember people, each game, short or long is one 500ml can of beer. that's 5 liters of beer! (we actually drank 11x500ml+1 bottle of redhook ESB) it was a very hotly contested day with some very close and exciting matches, and all over fun. in the later half i started to really struggle after being so out of drinking practice since i got whooping cough, but eventually caught my 2nd win and finished strong and done! i woke up the next morning at about 7:30 because i had to work (originally dude? was going to leave on Friday, but his wife told him to stay away longer, but it was too late to take the day off) and i was dying! while i was at work, dude? took an adventure down to Odaiba to see the life-sized Gundam. still waiting on the picture. my train ride in was miserable and the 1st half of my day was just terrible, but eventually the sausage muffins kicked in and i got my groove back for the later half of the day. even though i wasn't able to take the day off, i could still close my schedule in the afternoon so i was off at 4 and made it home about 5 so dude? mornin and i could head over to Todoroki for a large, potentially huge throw down between our fighting Frontale and the f'n FC Tokyo. the Tamagawa Classico! it was dude?'s first J1 game, and oh what a game! the stakes were high, the drama was intense and the action was furious! there was also a HUGE dude sitting in front of dude?! coming into the game, Kawasaki was in 4th place with FC Tokyo in 5th and after a come from behind 2-1 win with our 2nd goal in the 90th (89th?!) min. and Niigata's tie and Urawa's loss (on Sunday), our Frotale took sole possession of 2nd place for the 1st time since the end of last season! we are 8 points (less than 3 games) back of Kashima, with 14 games left in the season, c'mon boys! we walked back from the stadium (took a cab there and our driver was totally inept!) and stopped off in Tamagawa for some Okonomiyaki before heading home.
day 5, dude? and i played another great game of プロ野球 (2-1 me!) then headed off to Kawasaki for some delicious California Pizza Kitchen and then off to Shinagawa and dude? was back to Osaka. the end.

T.O.C. cricket results:
dude?'s results butt?'s results
Day 1:
プロ野球: 0-1
Let's Tap: 7-9
Winning 11 2009: 0-4
UFC 2009: 3-2
NBA 2K7: 40-64
みんなのゴルフ 5: -8 -4

Day 2:
Dirt: 4:32:64 4:58:05
4:19:27 4:59:38
All Pro Football: 28-0
MLB the show: 8-9
Punch Out: 1-3
Wii Ski: X
プロ野球: X

Day 3:
NCAA 10: 15-17
SF4: 1-4
プロ野球: 1-2
Grand Slam Tennis#: 1-3
Wii Medley*: 3-1
MLB 2K9: 9-7
NHL 2K9: 1-2
Mario vs. Sonic: 1-1
Fight Night Round 4: 1-0
Tiger 10: -8 -4
(* Wii medley= 3 holes of frisbee golf, 1 game bowling, 3 point shooting, and 3 more frisbee golf holes)
(# during Grand Slam Tennis, 2.5 beers were consumed)

Day 1 game total: 2-4
Day 2 game total: 2-2
Day 3 game total: 4-5
grand game total: 8-11

Day 1 point total: 58-84

Day 2 point total: 43-12
Day 3 point total: 41-41
grand point total: 142-137

doin' work!

2009-08-03T00:51:00.002+09:00

all the news that's fit to print so far...

2009-07-26T22:32:00.003+09:00

As noted before, I've been pretty busy this month, moving and whatnot. But, what some may or may not know, is that another reason that I was busy was because I got married. Yup, how about that!? Things are good so far, actually not really any different as far as day to day operations from the past year or so. weirrrd. What's weirder is saying "my wife." I feel pretentious. I'm sure that will pass in time, but I think that the reason for it is that I've never been one much for fuss. The "congratulations" that accompany birthdays and the "condolances" that accompany deaths. That's been the one main reason I've held back on saying much about it, or hesitating, deciding what word to use when speaking of "my lady" to students. Anyway, it's all good. In fact it's pretty great so far! For the record, the deed was done on July 9th, easy for me to remember! Here's a picture we took after the visit to the ward office to ink the dealmore on this and everything else later, just wanted to get the 411 out there,

b

Hokkai-go! day 5/6

2009-07-23T23:57:00.002+09:00

Here we go, about a month and a half after the fact... there will be some new stuff coming soon though, look out!

June 6th.
off to Takikawa! we had breakfast (まあまあ) at the station and the boarded the スーパーカムイ train to Takikawa (滝川). スーパーカムイ is a combination of English/Japanese/Ainu languages that means 'super god!' but is just your average express train. we arrived in Takikawa with little fanfare and fewer people! around the station were old boarded up and broken down buildings and empty streets... like a ghost town. eerie. we dropped our bags off at the hotel and walked a different way back to the station to try and find life or a convenience store but neither were found... i did find an ATM so could get some money but that was about it. i sent a mail to tigger and he headed over to pick us up around 3 and took us over to the cabin he had rented for the wedding party. again, i didn't feel so good, so little drinking for me but it was a nice get together and it was nice to meet tigger and his lady's parents. as for Takikawa...probably the last time for me, lovely scenery, but not much happening...
June 7th.
got up early for the last time and jumped back on the スーパーカムイ headed to Asahikawa (旭川). we had lunch at the station and then went off to the city museum (旭川市博物館) to learn a bit about the native Ainu (アイヌ) folk. pretty interesting, love the designs! and that was about it. we went out to the airport super early, bought some souvenirs and just wasted time until our flight. all-in-all Hokkaido was a good time. beautiful scenery, open spaces, clean air, clean water, lots of stuff to see and do. just sucked that i felt crappy most of the time, and the weather was pretty crappy most of the time. it was good though. i highly recommend Sapporo but i think we tapped it out so next time Hokkaido is gone to, I'm thinking somewhere else will be on the itinerary.

2 days and counting...

2009-07-13T02:53:00.002+09:00

2 days until NCAA 10 comes out! Why not a look at one of my favorite plays from last year's edition?

EA Sports: NCAA Football 09 Video

My favorite video of all time?

2009-07-12T21:30:00.001+09:00

I loooooooove this video, just watch it all the way through, no skipping!

ya-ha-!

2009-07-06T23:07:00.002+09:00

so it's been a good, nearly 4 days since i moved and i haven't gotten to finishing the Hokkaido posts, sorry but i wrote them all at the same time, just gotta sort out the pictures. I've been busy. the new place is super awesome! i f'n love it! it's nice and cool, convenient, and surrounded by nature. there's tons of insects in my 'garden' and last night, i saw a HUGE toad in the front. other than moving, been working, getting stuff for the new place, playing fight night round 4 and call of juarez, celebrating the 4th of July and watching my Frontale come away with a disappointing tie last night...
the Hokkaido posts will be coming soon, but I'm still gonna be pretty busy for the next couple weeks (more on that later) and pretty much for the rest of the month. for now, adieu!

delays...

2009-06-28T15:06:00.002+09:00

Sorry about not getting these posts up earlier, just been real busy lately. Work has been busy and home has been busy as mornin and I were looking for a new place and are now getting ready to move... also MJ's death took a toll on me... not sure if I'll be able to put up the last 2 days of the Hokkaido vacation before I move, but I might. If not, they'll be up sometime shortly after moving day, July 2nd! More info on the move after i finish the Hokkaido posts. later,
b

Hokkai-go! day 4

2009-06-17T23:56:00.015+09:00

June 5th. the last day in Sapporo was jam packed with action. we (again) got up early and headed to Maruyama Zoo (円山動物園).

it was fairly fun, the walk from the station was nice, the zoo itself was fine, a little sad... a lot of solo animals and all the elephants had died. i did see my 1st タヌキ (raccoon dog) and some other stuff.bad combo...
after zooing out, we grabbed a cab (because it was raining) and went over to the white lover factory (白い恋人). Shiroi koibito is a very famous treat from Hokkaido and it's basically a little sandwich cookie with white (or milk) chocolate. pretty decent, but the factory is set up a bit like a little theme park,no rides, but a kind of animated display about the process of making chocolate and (for some reason) a toy museum with pictures of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa... after the little self guided tour of the factory we went over to the office to have our picture taken for our own box of white lovers (gotta be one of the all time top 10 worst pics of me) and while we waited the 40mins it takes to personalize the tin, we went across the street to a place called Owl's. (click the pic to see it better)Owl's is rad! i highly recommend it if you go to Sapporo. it's named so because the J league team that reps Sapporo (コンサドーレ札幌) has an owl on its team crest. the reason that's important is that the restaurant looks out over Consadole's practice field, kinda where you would expect a press box to be. it's really, really cool! although the team wasn't practicing that day, and the food was just a'ight (i had teriyaki tacos) the location is off the charts! I'd freakin love it if Frontale had something like that!
after lunch, we went back to the factory in an absolute downpour! got our tin of cookies and then bellied up to a cake buffet that mornin was all about! pretty good i must say
after we had our cake and ate it too, the weather had turned beautiful so we took a couple shots amongst the flowers:
we stopped off at the little clock tower (時計台) in town. fairly unimpressive, but historical i guess.
to round out Sapporo, for dinner, we dined at the Kirin beer garden near our hotel where i had crabs!
actually, just parts of one crab... also, feeling pretty bad, i could only muster up about 4 beers :(

Hokkai-go! day 3

2009-06-17T23:55:00.012+09:00

June 4th.got up early again and headed to sheep hill observatory (羊ヶ丘展望台) to see some sheep, and then eat them... also saw the famous statue of professor Clark, famous for the quote 'boys be ambitious'.
once we made it back to Sapporo we took a look at the TV tower (テレビ塔) took some print club (プリクラ) pictures, went all up in it, and then strolled through Odori park (大通公園), took a ride on the Ferris wheel (観覧車)and had a cheese packed dinner at Cheese Cheese. we could draw on the table!

Hokkai-go! day 2

2009-06-17T23:44:00.007+09:00

June 3rd.
i guess i should mention that the whole trip, i was sick. i had a pretty high fever and a terrible cough. now, nearly 2 weeks later, the fever is long since gone but the cough is still hanging on... but, my spirits weren't dampened! for day 1 in Sapporo we got up early and went over to the Sapporo beer garden (札幌ビール園) to have a delicious lunch and i had some beer! because i didn't feel so well i only put down about 3 or 4 beers (very sub-par for the locale). one of them is only available in Hokkaido, and one of them was only available at the beer garden, the were both pretty good. they also have a museum that was pretty cool and informative, but the cool part was the old style red brick buildings, signature of the frontier days of Hokkaido.after the beer garden we made our way to the Sapporo dome (札幌ドーム) super early to check out the place and get in line.we ended up with pretty good seats (2nd row) and Sapporo dome was pretty decent, wide aisles! but the selection of Carp goods was limited... i couldn't get the road jersey i wanted :( probably gonna have to wait until September.The game was really good, a little back and forth action leading to a 2-2 tie until Brown decided to take Lewis out of the game and our reliever promptly let up 5 runs in the 8th...

Hokkai-go! day 1

2009-06-17T23:27:00.011+09:00

how they swangin ya'll? it's been awhile i know, but I've been busy. since i got back from Hokkaido (北海道) first, i bought a PS3 and some games; killzone 2, Afrika, みんなのGOLF5, and ボクの夏休み3. those have taken up some of my time, but the updates and downloads have taken up more (it took around 4.5 hours to download the online golf updates!), PSN sucks! also mornin and i have been looking for an apartment, it's time to move. melvis is apparently looking to move too. enough about that, lets get to why we are here, the Hokkaido trip!

June 2nd.
mornin had to give her graduate thesis presentation (one of them at least) in the morning so sometime in the early afternoon we hopped on the train headed to Haneda 'international' airport (羽田国際空港). i use ''air' quotes' because it's 'barely' international (however it is expanding). to get to the airport we used the monorail, which always reminds me of Seattle, even though I've only used it like twice. we got to Haneda waaay early so we poked around and had a pretty decent lunch, i had a ham and cheese!we had time to get a massage before our flight too! 10min for 200円! not bad.
the flight from Tokyo to Sapporo (札幌) was only about an hour and a half and i actually slept a bit!when you arrive in Sapporo at new Chitose airport (新千歳空港) you realize that you are far from Sapporo! gotta take a train into town and by the time we made it to our hotel near Nakajima park station (中島公園駅) it was nearly 11pm. there were no eateries available around the hotel so we hoofed it to one of Sapporo's most famous districts, Susukino (すすき野). basically the Ginza or Shinjuku of Sapporo. we ended up on a ramen street (ラーメンの横丁) and had to wait a bit to get inside a place called toraya (とらや). it was bitchin!that was about it for the day.

Art Archives vol. 6

2009-06-02T05:55:00.003+09:00

I'm off to Hokkaido until the 7th to see some baseball, eat some ramen and attend Tora's (Tigger's) wedding party, so I thought why not take a quick dip into the Art Archives pool? One of my favorites from the BSS days, enjoy, see you back here next week, hopefully I'll have some good pics and stories!

the greatest game ever made!

2009-05-25T23:40:00.007+09:00

let me tell you how happy i am... actually, words can't capture how I'm feeling right now. the greatest game ever made, プロ野球チームであそぼう (let's play with a pro baseball team), is up and running! it wasn't until last night that i tried it out. i had tried it on the old Aquos and gave up because the lag made the game intolerable to play. the timing in the game, particularly when batting, is incredibly important. with the new Aquos i figured it would be the same story, however it wasn't. last night, just for fun, i plugged it in and i was off! i love this game so much. I've spent more hours playing this game than any other game in my life. 1st, most baseball games are like the real thing, slow paced. プロ isn't. you can play a normal game in about half the time of something like MLB 2K. there are no replays, cut scenes are few and quick, and the pitcher throws right away. the ball travels quickly and fielding is responsive and because throws and what not aren't canned animations (like every other baseball is) the defensive action is fluid and engaging. one of the best things about the game (and another thing that drives me nuts about 'normal' baseball game) is the camera angles. when batting, the angle is the typical umpire's view but you can also see the catcher's mitt and hand. however, where プロ shines is the defensive camera angles. unlike other games, which just pan out and give you an overhead view of the field making fielding the most boring part of every game, プロ puts you in the action by putting the camera right behind the fielder. if there's a hot shot down the 3rd base line, the camera jumps behind the 3rd baseman and you must react quickly. like real baseball. on a crushed home run the camera goes behind the outfielder as you watch helpless. it's awesome! the only baseball game I've ever played that made fielding exciting. there are so many good things about this game, the fluidity, the pace, the commentary, the atmosphere etc., the single best thing about the game, and only possible on the dreamcast is the pitching/hitting mechanic. when pitching, you look at the VMU to select your pitch then select your location. it's beautiful, it's simple. when playing against a human opponent it's perfect. they can't see where you're aiming! when hitting, after the pitch, the VMU tells all kinds of useful information; pitch location, swing location, swing timing, and power. power is decided by timing. you have to hold down the right trigger to ready your swing just before the pitcher comes forward in his delivery and release to swing as the ball comes in the zone. the better you time the pitcher, the more power you generate. once you figure out a pitcher's timing, you'll be spraying the ball all over the yard. some pitchers have hitches in their delivery that make them really hard to time, just like real baseball. timing. all though the game is now 9 years old, I've never played a better baseball game, and probably another game that I've been so attached to. it's dated graphically, i mean, all the players don't have arms or necks or legs (and that's why it's so fluid) and it's limited to exhibition games, a tournament and a single season mode, but it's perfect. it came out before the exodus of Japanese players to the U.S. so Ichiro (イチロー), and Matsui (松井(both of them, Kazuo and Hideki)) and Shinjo (新庄), and Matsuzaka (松坂) and Sasaki (佐々木) are all in the game along with the best team of all time, the Kintetsu Buffaloes (近鉄バファローズ)! if you can get it, get it!

I`ve done it!

2009-05-24T01:35:00.007+09:00

I just googled myself, well, "No Airplay" at least. When I google myself I don`t come up with anything that I would be proud of... I did it, I hit #1! I don`t know how I did it, I guess it`s probably thanks to me. God knows no one else reads this, so following my own links has brought me fame beyond my wildest dreams! #1 on the google rankings! Don`t know if there is anything else for me to accomplish.. maybe this is where it should all end? I guess, might as well just keep plugging along until I reach the coveted Wikipedia page. That spawns the question of which is actually more a nod to "you`ve made it!"? What do you think? #1 result in Google, or your own Wikipedia page? What an age we live in! What a joke of an age that allows my blog to be the #1 result of any search in a world with a population of nearly 7 billion people. In other news, it`s 9 days until mornin and I head off to the great north for a few days of relaxing, drinking beer, eating good food, sightseeing and a wedding party. Also, it is Melting Faces` birthday! Rock! Happy b-day brotha! Cabana Boi! Anyone feeling the Ricky Ricardo vibe? Is that just me?

b?'s E3!

2009-05-21T16:08:00.004+09:00

E3 is coming up shortly, actually June 2nd-4th. I'll be out of town so probably can't get too many updates on what's happening, but I'm pretty excited to see what comes about from it. For now, there are 4 games coming out this year that I'm particularly looking forward to.
The only current game I'm thinking of getting is the new UFC 2009 undisputed.
I've played the demo, it's pretty cool, a cross between boxing and wrestling. I heard a bit about it on the giant bomb cast today and watched a review from game trailers and it seemed like it's probably pretty good. I might pick it up this weekend... or maybe when I get back from Hokkaido?
The 1st game I'm looking forward to, Fight Night Round 4, is coming out June 30th. I've been pumped for this game for quite some time as I've been a fan of the series. I played the crap out of Round 2, especially against my brother-in-law, and enjoyed Round 3, but while it took a step forward in the graphics department, I thought that it took a step back in terms of "fun."

Next game on the list that I'm suuuuuuuuper amped for is NCAA 10 on July 14th! What can I say, I've loved this game since the beginning, loved last year's incarnation, but better than last year is the promise of fixed bugs in the on-line fantasy dynasty and the ability (finally, again!) to create your own schools! This was always my favorite part, but it had been taken out of the last couple editions. Welcome back Ellensburg Ragin' Crackers and the Lomita Drunkin' Injuns! Best part of the new "create-a-school" feature is that they are gonna make it available before the game actually hits the shelves. Starting next month, you can go on-line and create your schools and then download them into the game once you get it. I just worry that my two favorite teams won't be PC enough to take on-line...

Red Dead Redemption, Fall 2009. I've talked about this one before, and I'm still looking forward to it.

Finally, I'm very interested to see what comes out of E3 about the new Tony Hawk called "Ride". With its peripheral, it could be great, or it could fall flat...

On a completely different note, mornin and I finished watching the finale of American Idol tonight. It was a good season (not that I can compare it to any other season...) and the guy that I had picked to win it all months ago, Kris Allen, came away as the champion. I feel satisfied. Proven right again!

an April/May punch to the face of info!

2009-05-13T00:18:00.023+09:00

I'm back! i know i haven't been gone, i mean i put up a bunch of pics of sorts and shouted out about America's racism, but it's time to get down to what's gone down for me since the incident last month.
after getting out of the hospital i had some sweet meatloaf for the 1st time in ages!and then a crazy window washer outside my classroom:a picture from that bad ass curry shop in hatanodai (旗の台) i mentioned in 'the happening...' post:stuff is taaaaaste! mornin's insisted on going there like 3 times since we stumbled upon it the 1st time. it's cool, it's scrumpin good(soon)! i mentioned in that same post that I'd be going to my 1st baseball game of the season. i did. and I've been to 3 others since. I've had a rough year. 4 games, 4 L's... the only saving grace was the Frontale game mornin, meltin and i rocked during golden week, 4-1 beat down! back to the 1st game. mornin, melvis, his lady (we'll call her K2) and i headed to Y-town for a baystars x tigers throw down. didn't turn out for the good guys (sorry deuce!) all because of our starting pitcher, Fukuhara (福原), going too long. F'n new manager, Mayumi (真弓), has made a bunch of bad calls so far this season. It was pretty cool because somebody wrote "しね" on the Giant's mascot! Ha!Ha!
Don't forget to get yourself some Tigers P.C.P.2nd game i went to was for round-face's wedding party. it was good times, first time I've sat home side at jingu (神宮) in about 3 years, and 1st time I've ever rocked my Aoki (青木) jersey. another loss at the hands of B-stars... I'm for sure a much bigger B-stars fan, but since it was round-face's day, it was still a let down (again, sorry deuce!). i did hear some great news that day that I'm not sure if it's cool to post here now, but good news! congrats round-face! get your katsup here!
onto golden week... i had 9 days off, and the 1st was spent watching Frontale whoop Kyoto with a massive 2nd half performance! I expected more from a team that's all about the "Hardcore Naked!"my boys! (they had a big 3-2 comeback 2 days ago over 1st place, and hated rivals, the Urawa Reds, in Urawa! their 1st home loss of the year! Forza Kawasaki!)　before the season opener melvis, mornin and i had our pic taken for a game day program but we couldn't go to the game that it was for because it was a Wednesday. luckily, mornin found a back issue at the 2nd game and POW! there we were:Too bad the reporter messed up and said that we were from Kawasaki city, Ota-ward (川崎市大田区)... It's actually Tokyo (東京). Which we told her.
tight! right? for the next couple days mornin and i just hung out, watched some TV and that was about it, it was good times.
next, i found some Jesus Body, just read it, and be amused:melvis and i tried a mini-T.O.C. with dude? and melvis failed! next time bro! mornin and i next headed out for a game up in Saitama (埼玉), her 1st trip to the stadium since it had a dome put on it. i wanted to get one of the new Lions jersey and it is sweet! but we were there to cheer on our Golden Eagles!Stupid lady in the bottom walked to much, otherwise the pan-o-rama woulda been a bit better... another loss... next couple days dude? and i rocked another mini-T.O.C. and mornin and i just chilled some more. to wind up golden week, mornin and i went over to Jingu for a Tigers x Swallows game in a (at times) driving rain. another loss... so to quantify my record on the year is 1-1-4... my next scheduled game isn't until June 3rd up in Sapporo, our fightin Hiroshima Carp taking on the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. hope i can get another win on the board!
most recent action was Mr. infidel's going away party. he's heading back to the U.S. to hit up law school, go on boy! the party was intense, some dancing, some capoeira, and a ton of drinking! as far as i can remember, my final count was: 3 tall boys of beer, 2 tall boy chu-his, 3 cups of beer, 2 cups of something called 'reggae punch', 3 cups of vodka and some juice and a shot of tequila... it was a wicked night. gonna miss Mr. infidel, but i know in a few years i'll have a lawyer who'll hopefully hook me up pro bono! bu-ya!

Art Archives vol. 5

2009-05-12T02:35:00.002+09:00

Do I think I'll do a pretty wicked long(ish) post tomorrow, but one more from the archives for now. One of my favorites. Not sure why, I guess I'd say it's the color contrast, and shape contrast that makes it pop for me. Not sure.

Art Archives vol. 4

2009-05-09T07:36:00.003+09:00

Just something to put up in the downtime... I'm gonna do some posting sometime pretty soon... but for now I thought I'd just throw up a picture I did during my photo manipulation/blind spot studios phase. Just one I always liked. Simple, comic booky.

B.N.A.P. vol. 1

2009-04-30T19:08:00.004+09:00

For my 300th post I thought I would introduce a new No Airplay feature (inspired largely by the recent "Art Archives" feature). B.N.A.P. (Before No AirPlay) is gonna basically be a section (?) where I will post pictures that came about before I started this blog. That covers a pretty large expanse of time, however, as I was growing up, I didn't take so many picture, and didn't have so many taken of me, and of those pictures, I hold very few of them. My sister has most of the family album stuff now. So, the breadth and scope of this idea will mostly be relegated to some fairly recent stuff. Stuff that was captured before I had this medium to share with the world. For the 1st edition, why not go back to the beginning? My first B-Day! What better place to start? I guess a shot straight out of the womb would be nice, but I don't have one of those, so here ya go, B.N.A.P. vol. 1's 1st picture:Ah, good times! Chubby cheeked little bastard! Sweet overalls and so ready to unleash terror upon the world at such a young age!

Art Archives vol. 3

2009-04-30T01:03:00.006+09:00

I just finished the 1st of my 9 days off and I plan to do some posting about what I'm up to these 9 days, but for now I'm just gonna throw up a picture for the "Art Archives." This is something I did at a point in college and this is probably my single most famous piece. It's a take on the NBA logo, what is happening in the picture is up to your own imagination... Blind Spot Studios is a name I took (trademarked thank you very much (had my own business license (above my toilet) and everything)) from my first ever comic strip that I came up with when I was in elementary school. I gave up on it (the comic) when I learned that there was a photography magazine by the same name, but I kept the name in the back of my mind for years and then established "Blind Spot Studios" years later when I was in college. Most of the work I did was photo manipulation, almost exclusively photos of me, and although this example is pretty easy to tell that it is of a person, some pictures that I will put up down the line will not be. But trust me, it's probably based off an image of me. During my "Blind Spot" phase, I probably produced the single greatest "period" collection of my life. There are countless pieces that I came up with during this period, some of which have become widely know, some of which haven't. As the "Art Archive" expands I'll introduce some more of my favorites from this period. I also had a similar experience where, in High School, I had a band called "Surface" but abandoned it when I learned of the existence of an old singing group by the same name... lame, we could've been huge!

Art Archives vol. 2

2009-04-29T00:13:00.005+09:00

Here's something i did a bit more recently than the previous Art Archive entry. I think this was done in late Jr. High or maybe in High School. Can you guess who it is?Yup, Mick Jagger. Breaking out of an egg... yup. Why? I don't know, just what it turned out to be. Think that the quality is a bit low, I was never good at incorporating color in my work anyway, but I just like this one because of the pure absurdity of it. I might try to re-work it in photoshop some time. For now, enjoy.

my "i've got the next 9 days off!" playlist!

2009-04-28T23:20:00.000+09:00

1. Redman / smash sumthin'
2. Nirvana / D7
3. Weezer / buddy holly
4. CCR / bad moon rising
5. Mos Def / the boogie man song
6. Bad Company / can't get enough
7. A Perfect Circle / magdalena
8. Envy / testimony to the existance
9. Pennywise / the world
10. Kanye West / getting out of the game
11. 7 mary 3 / my my
12. NoFX / zyclone B bathouse
13. Talib Kweli / work it out
14. Between the buried and me / colorblind
15. Radiohead / bones
16. The Roots / we see you
17. Green Day / jaded
18. Weezer / tired of sex
19. the dillenger escape plan / lurch
20. Notorious B.I.G. / juicy
21. Outkast / we love deez hoez

Art Archives vol. 1

2009-04-23T23:44:00.006+09:00

I've recently been re-bitten by the art bug and I've really been feeling like I need to be creative. I tried to pick up the guitar about a week ago for the first time in awhile and promptly gave myself a wicked blister on my left ring finger... Haven't been able to play since. It's almost healed now! I've been trying to do some drawing and haven't really found my direction just yet, but I'm plugging along. It all got me looking at some of my old stuff and I decided that I should put some of it up for all to view. The first installment in the 'Art Archive' is from way back, seems that Napoleon Kaufman played at the UW from 1991-1995 so this could have been done any time between those years, but I have a feeling that it was probably around '91 or '92. So, I was around 11 or 12 years old, man this drawing brings back memories! I remember it most because I did it for my orthodontist, he was a huge UW fan, and a season ticket holder. Anyway, I know it's shit, but oh well:I cropped it a bit from the original, think it looks a bit better this way. The facemask and the left arm are pretty messed up! Anyway, I'll try and upload some other favorites in the near future...

America is racist!

2009-04-23T23:13:00.005+09:00

There's only one simple answer to the question, "how was Anoop eliminated from American Idol?" America is full of a bunch of racists. That's it, that's the only possible answer. There's no way that Matt is better than he was. Why was Anoop in the bottom 3 like 4 times? Racists! Yeah, I've never watched American Idol until this season because mornin wanted to check it out, but hell, I'm into it now, and I'm pissed! Anoop dogg should still be in the running... I know, when he started he had some wicked eyebrows and he looked more like he should be programming at Microsoft than singing on American Idol, but he made some serious strides in the competition and he actually had a 'personality.' Anoop!

vol. 4.20

2009-04-20T12:23:00.004+09:00

Today's show is all about how I've hurt myself over the years... enjoy!

the happening...

2009-04-16T18:12:00.002+09:00

well it's about time! I'm feeling good, today's the 1st day I've gone back brace-less since the 'incident' and most days I've been too medicated to concentrate enough to write anything for this blog. sitting at the computer and writing was not really possible and most of the time i just use my cellphone (that's why i don't capitalize much) on my train rides but i just couldn't be bothered.
it all began one Thursday, actually, Thursday the 2nd of April. a beautiful spring day, the cherry blossoms were near full bloom and i was planning to do some viewing at a place near my place but wanted to meet my friend S-G and he suggested Yoyogi park (代々木公園). to start things off, mornin and i headed over to the Hatanodai (旗の台) area to a great Indian curry spot called 'Raj.' super taste! we met up with melvis and mr. infidel and after lunch we parted ways and mornin and i headed over to Yoyogi to meet S-G and do some hanami (花見) action. it was good fun, we enjoyed the blossoms, some beer, music and some hacky-sack. there were tons of people for a Thursday afternoon, but we got a good spot and i got a bunch of good pics, check em out:after the park, we hoofed it over to Shibuya and the infamous HUB. a British-ish pub popular for foreigners all over Japan. on the way over, mornin decided she had to go home to prepare for a meeting the next day, so she headed off and the rest of us all posted up near the entrance waiting for a table and enjoying happy hour. we got a table and sat down and S-G and i struck up a conversation with a nice guy whose name i don't remember and had a good time. here's where our story takes a tragic turn... a little background on the layout of the HUB in Shibuya is necessary. 1st, it's small, with narrow paths between the main, center table (where we were seated) and the surrounding tables. 2nd, the tables are tall with tall bar stoolesqe chairs with rungs between the legs to rest your feet seeing as the chairs are tall. follow me? so, as i am apt to do, i decided it was time to order another beer so i stood up headed for the bar. ahhhhggg! as i stood up, my right foot slipped off the rung and got stuck inside the legs of the chair and i took a dive. with the short distance between myself and the chair i crashed into, there was no time to brace myself. i turned my body at least so that i didn't bust my face open on the chair, but i did bust my back and elbow as i crumpled to the floor. my initial reaction was pain. it hurt, but i jumped up, said i was ok and walked up to the bar to get my beer. the pain wasn't unbearable, it hurt, but there's been worse, and i figured that, like most times i hurt myself, i would be feeling fine after 10-15 mins. after sitting back down and even finishing my beer the pain had slowly built up, still, not that bad. i decided to call it a night and bid my buddies adieu, grabbed my bag and headed to Shibuya to catch the train home. on my way to the station the pain in my back grew and grew, mostly focused around my right kidney and spinal area but really the whole of my back. by the time i made it to the station i was in some serious pain. i sent some mails to mornin and she came to meet me at Gotanda (五反田). Gotanda has no escalator or elevator connecting the Yamanote (山手) and Ikegami (池上) platforms (which the should) and by the time i got to my train going home i was having trouble moving anything and even keeping my eyes open. to make this part of a long story shorter, i made it home and i was hungry so i had mornin order me a pizza and i laid down in the bedroom. everything hurt. i couldn't move, and i so didn't want to move. eventually it was decided that i should go to the hospital so an ambulance was called. somewhere during the wait i fell asleep and awoke to about 6 paramedics surrounding me and taking the sliding doors off the bedroom so they could put me on a stretcher and haul my ass out of the apartment down 4 flights of stairs and to the waiting ambulance. those boys earned their money! it wasn't an easy fit going from the living room through the kitchen and out the front door. and the stairs man, the stairs...
once in the ambulance, one of the paramedics got on the horn and called around for an available hospital for me. after several mins i was cleared for takeoff to Tokyu hospital (東急病院) over in Ookayama (大岡山). we arrived and i was taken to the x-ray room to have several x-rays taken. that's all fine and good, every time they moved me for another shot, i felt intense pain, but the worst part was when a nurse came in asked me to give a urine sample... since most of my pain was centered around my kidney, they wanted some pee to see if there was any blood in there. normally i have no problem with giving up some pee, but there, laying on my side, in an x-ray lab, with a nurse and a lab tech, an environment that your mind and every fiber of your being tells you is not a place to take a wazz, we had problems. i tried and tried and tried and after a few dribbles, the nurse gave me the OK.after the x-rays and the pee, i was carted off to a hospital room, my own private room. i was put in there because it seemed that all the free multi-rooms were full. man! if you get the chance, hit up Tokyu hospital in Ookayama and get yourself a private room, they are pretty sweet, bigger than some hotel rooms I've stayed in, bigger than the average apartment in Tokyo. laying in bed, still in tons of pain i needed some meds. as i am semi-allergic to aspirin, the nurse said the best, fastest acting stuff they could give me was 座薬(ざやく)... i didn't know what that meant so i asked mornin what it meant and (i think) after checking her cellphone's dictionary, she came back with 'suppository...' "Noooooo waaaaay!" i said. the nurse said it was best and i was in so much pain that when she rolled me on my side and slipped my pants down, i couldn't fight back at all... i was essentially raped by a nurse... not at all how I'd hoped. the medicine didn't even help... eventually i nodded off forabout 2-3 hours after getting some sleeping pills but woke up at around 4 in the morning. mornin was gone (i learned later that she was at home getting some things) and i was already going stir crazy. i hate hospitals. that's where i see people die. i wanted out. they wouldn't let me leave though and i would have to wait until the afternoon because the doctor would be in surgery most of the day and wouldn't be able to check my test results... again, long to short, i spent the day freaking out, laughing from the pain, taking meds (痛み止め), IV drips (点滴), rolling around in a wheelchair　(車椅子), experiencing horrible pain, taking x-rays (レントゲン), giving urine samples and enjoying some top notch hospital food! finally, i got out in the afternoon sometime around 4. i took the day off of work that day and the next. Sunday was a normal day off and i just spent the whole time 'resting.' i probably moved around a bit more than i should of, but despite the pain, i just couldn't sit still. Monday, i headed back to work, i picked up a 100円 pillow and kept myself highly medicated. it's not real easy teaching when you only hear about 2 of 10 words someone says. i was pretty zoned out. but, oh well made it through. so the results of my x-rays came down to a cracked rib, and a strained back. i think that there was some serious bruising, maybe on my kidney (there was a little blood in my urine, just a bit though) maybe on my spine, and definitely on my lower back and elbow. i probably should have had some more tests done, but while the nurses at the hospital were awesome! my doctor was pretty lame. when he proposed a cardiogram (心電図) i had had it. i felt he wanted to run up the cost and wasn't listening to what i was saying. maybe it was just claustrophobia setting in (i wanted out!) but i thought an MRI was reasonable, but why a cardiogram?
oh well, after almost 2 weeks (actually now that I'm posting it, it's over 2 weeks), I'm rolling without my back brace, I'm down to 1 or 2 pain killers a day and I'm feeling tons better. i don't walk like an 85 year old man anymore. i still have to take it easy, I'm dying to play catch, i even bought mornin a mit! Akahoshi model (赤星モデル). I hope the weather is nice this Sunday, going to my 1st game of the baseball season, Baystars X Tigers in Yokohama, should be beautiful, the tulips should be out and since i have unreserved seats, I'll have plenty of time while waiting in line to play catch!

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #1

2009-04-02T12:08:00.008+09:00

This was supposed to be up yesterday, I ended up in the hospital (more on that another time) so it is a little late, sorry!

#1: Koshien Stadium　
阪神甲子園
Location: Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Pref.
場所：西ノ宮市、兵庫県
Team: Hanshin Tigers
チーム：阪神タイガース
Capacity/定員: 46,229
Opened: August 1, 1924

It was destiny. It was manifest destiny. It was preordained before we even started on this journey. Coming in at #1 on the stadium tour is none other than the wonderful, spectacular, stadium-of-stadiums, Koshien! Koshien, which is located in Hyogo Prefecture (not Osaka), is the oldest active NPB stadium in Japan. It is the equivalent of Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field. It is the field of dreams for H.S. baseball players around the country. It is my field of dreams. At the end of last season, Koshien underwent some renovations (extending the roof behind home and removing the obstructive outfield lights) that will probably take it to a new level, unmatched in the whole of Asia. From the first time you set eyes on Koshien, you can feel its magic. It's got freakin ivy covering the outside! How cool is that!? The last time I was there the Ivy was down and a picture of the ivy was up in its place... strange, but that's how iconic it is. While they were renovating the building, they had to put up a picture of the ivy that was missing! Although the stadium itself is a bit on the inaccessible side, especially when compared to Osaka Dome or either of the 2 here in Tokyo. It's worth the trip out to Nishinomiya though. Oh, the trains are stupid crowded before and after the games, think rush hour on the Yamanote-ish. When it comes to concessions, who cares! I don't even remember if I've eaten there, it think there are some decent choices, but that's not why you go to Koshien. You go to see the most loyal, crazy, and dangerous fans in all of Japanese sports. You go to see the dirt infield that H.S. players take home in jars and bags after they've been eliminated from the championship tournament. You go to see the ivy. You go to see a team that has been associated with "the curse of Col. Sanders." You go to hear and sing the most famous baseball song (this side of "take me out to the ball game"), "Rokko-oroshi (六甲おろし≪颪≫)." You go because. Security is off and on, usually not too bad and if you are a Tigers fan, people will give you beer anyway. And sometimes ask you to talk to their wife at home... or give you hamburgers... it is a strange group. Koshien did have some obstructed seats but with the removal of the old outfield lights, that should be taken care of. What still must be changed is the fencing on the outfield walls, tear it down! One thing to note is that it is nigh impossible to get tickets (at least 2 or more together) in right field, but don't worry, everywhere you sit is Tigers territory! Fure, fure, fure, fure!
location: +3
history: +10
fanmasphere: +10
concessions: +2
smoking: -1
bathrooms: -1
sight lines: +4
field surface: +10
outside: +10
surroundings: +2
seats: +2
atmosphere: +10
security: +4

total: +65

Good Lord!

2009-04-02T00:42:00.003+09:00

Are you serious with this????A link to the 2 places I found this, here and here...

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #2

2009-04-01T23:59:00.008+09:00

#2:Meiji Jingu Stadium　明治神宮野球場
Location: Tokyo, Tokyo.
場所：東京、東京都
Team: Tokyo Yakult Swallows
チーム：東京ヤクルトスワローズ
Capacity/定員: 37,933
Opened: 1926

Down to the final 2, and, as it should be, it comes down to East vs. West. Several of the top stadiums reside in the Western parts of Japan but coming in at #2 is the highest and last representative from the East! Jingu Stadium! Probably the biggest reason it's here is because it is the most accessible (good) stadium in all of Japan, as it is in central Tokyo. Jingu has its faults; artificial turf, lame home team!, but after its renovation before last season (switch to field turf, concourse upgrade and new video screens) Jingu has stepped its game up. Easy access from several stations (I use Gaien-mae (外苑前) on the Ginza line (銀座線)) but stock up on beer and other goodies before arriving as convenience stores are few and some don't sell alcohol! In this day and age!? One of the best factors that Jingu has is the outfield section which is fairly flat with a large open area behind the stands and wide aisles. The whole stadium is enclosed by a fence which is both strange and cool for some reason. Jingu however, has the same problem as nearly all other stadiums in Japan, fencing on the top of the outfield walls. I'm not sure why Japan likes this... maybe it's for fan safety? maybe it's for player safety? or maybe it's so fans don't mess with the game? Whatever the reason, tear them down! Jingu has a perfect balance of a very old, beautiful outside especially the promenade where you can wait in line before a game (except tigers games where the line stretches out for miles) and a comfortable, modern interior. For Eastern Japan, Jingu is by far and away, the best stadium to take in a game on a summer day, or an autumn day even. In summer, they even have fireworks (kinda weak though). Concession selection is good and there are plenty of beer vendors to quench your thirst, but security is pretty lax so bring your own! Hey, when it all comes down to it, it's the 2nd oldest (pro baseball) stadium running in Japan, and it's a gem!
location: +10
history: +10
fanmasphere: +1
concessions: +3
smoking: -2
bathrooms: +4
sight lines: +5
field surface: +2
outside: +4
surroundings: +3
seats: +3
atmosphere: +2
security: +4

total: +49

What may be vol. 42!?

2009-04-01T00:38:00.003+09:00

I actually recorded a "show" today! I talked about my mostly boring month of March, my probably busy month of April, the games that I've been playing, and I called out Apoc D! By the way, I didn't listen to this, so I could be guilty of exactly what I called him out for...

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #3

2009-03-31T22:55:00.011+09:00

#3: Hiroshima Municipal Stadium　広島市民球場
Location: Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Pref.
場所：広島市、広島県
Team: Hiroshima Toyo Carp
チーム：広島東洋カープ
Capacity/定員: 31,984
Opened: July 20, 1957

We've made it to the final 3, and you can't go wrong with any of them. the final order took some serious thought and I'm sure it will be up for debate but with this selection, it is set. 3 stadiums left, 3 days to 1st pitch, get your tickets now!
so at #3 we have Hiroshima. My experience with Hiroshima is a bit tainted because i had a horrible sunburn from waiting outside before a game last May. But, the only reason Hiroshima was destined for only 3rd is that it no longer exists (for the sake of argument). After 51 years of service, Hiroshima Municipal Stadium (Also refered to as Hiroshima Civic Stadium) has been retired in favor for Mazda Zoom Zoom! Enough about that.One fault Hiroshima has is that it feels (and was) thrown together quickly. It was built in only 7 months! there are very few concessions available and about 2 tiny bathrooms for the entire left field section! What Hiroshima lacks in building planning, it makes up for in charm. From its retro-dirt infield to its minor-league dimensions to its reddish-orange foul poles it feels like a wonderful place to watch a game. it feels very intimate. Hiroshima also has a big advantage in that the team name does not (usually) contain a company name (along with Yokohama) and is owned mostly by the city. This leads to Hiroshima having some of the best fans in Japan, loyal to the end with one of the best chants in all the land. However, it is a bit overused. Hiroshima is also the only place where you don't actually need to leave the stands to smoke, just climb to the top of the bleaches and fire it up with a nice view of Hiroshima castle. Ah, location. Hiroshima municipal stadium had the best location of all. A perfect downtown spot, across the street from the A-bomb dome (原爆ドーム).This is a huge loss for the new stadium, however, it will be a bit more convenient as the new stadium is placed right next to the tracks at new Hiroshima station (新広島駅). The new location will be much better for out-of-towners, but it will lose a lot of its atmosphere. I'm sure the carp fans will still show up in force. I'm excited at the prospect of visiting the new stadium because it's a unique design and from what I've heard, it'll be more like a U.S. stadium as it's gonna be the only stadium in Japan with different distances to the right and left field walls! crazy! I'm not sure what the plans are for the land on which Hiroshima M. Stadium stood, but I'm sure it will not be nearly as interesting, nor have the cultural significance of Hiroshima Municipal Stadium For all its faults and because all of its charm, Hiroshima M. Stadium will be dearly missed. お疲れ様, 広島市民球場!

location: +5
history: +4
fanmasphere: +3
concessions: -4
smoking: +10
bathrooms: -4
sight lines: +4
field surface: +5
outside: +5
surroundings: +5
seats: +1
atmosphere: +4
security: +5

total: +43

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #4

2009-03-31T00:36:00.009+09:00

#4: Skymark Stadium スカイマークスタジアム
Location: Kobe City, Hyogo Pref.
場所：神戸市、兵庫県
Team: Orix Buffaloes
チーム：オリックスバファローズ
Capacity/定員: 35,000
Opened: 1988

I'll start this off with a simple statement. Skymark is only #4 because it has a short history and it really doesn't have a "home" team as the Buffaloes play most of there games in the Osaka Dome nowadays. It's really too bad, this is one of the real jewels here in Japan. I'd say that it is the most American-like stadium of them all in Japan. Skymark is a in an unfortunate location, it's pretty far from downtown but surrounded by trees in a pretty scenic area/sports complex. The old name was "Kobe Green Stadium," which was fitting because the seats are all green, and the surrounding area is, well, green. The entire stadium is well designed with a wonderful concourse behind the outfield seats that offer a really good selection of foods, I highly recommend the giant cheese-dog! Orix fans have some of the best chants in the game and they do a Soccer-esque towel chant sometimes that is pretty original and hard to follow, luckily they give you an instructional guide (which more teams should) for the un-initiated. The views are perfect, baseball sight lines. The only obstructed views are from the concourse, something they could fix, but they would lose some advertising space. I've being trying to think of something negative to say about the place and it's hard. It's far. And I guess the seats don't have any backs, but other than that it is near perfect. I just wish that the Buffaloes would play more games there, like all of them. This year they are only scheduled to play there 13 times this year... sad. I'm glad that I had the chance to visit and if only it had a little more history and tradition (remember the Orix Buffaloes are a merging of the "Orix Blue Wave" and the "Kintetsu Buffaloes" in 2004).
location: -0
history: -2
fanmasphere: +3
concessions: +5
smoking: +2
bathrooms: -1
sight lines: +5
field surface: +5
outside: +3
surroundings: +2
seats: +3
atmosphere: +2
security: +4

total: +31

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #5

2009-03-29T00:38:00.010+09:00

#5: Kleenex Stadium Miyagi　クリネックススタジアム宮城
Location: Sendai City, Miyagi Pref.
場所：仙台市、宮城県
Team: Touhouku Rakuten Golden Eagles
チーム：東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス
Capacity/定員: 23,000
Opened: 1950

At #5 on our tour we head to the most northern stop on our journey to the city of Sendai (仙台) in Miyagi prefecture (宮城県). Until the last moment Kleenex Stadium Miyagi was sitting pretty at #2. what, you ask, caused me to knock it down to #5 then? well, it was a tough decision. I guess it comes down to accessibility. it's just in a far off land that most people wouldn't care to visit normally. I think it's a wonderful stadium with a longer history than you would guess (especially because there was not a pro team there until 2005?). After the Touhoku Rakuten golden eagles(東北楽天ゴールデンイーグルス) moved there, the stadium went through several renovations to create a very unique stadium. There are more seating choices than any other stadium in Japan and also unique is that the home fans' main cheering section is in left field. The stadium is a short bus ride from Sendai station and buses are frequent. What makes k stadium stand out also is the number of quality restaurants around and in the stadium. There are tons of great choices and i recommend the beef tongue curry (牛タンカレー), a local specialty. Security... Kleenex Stadium Miyagi is the only stadium that I've sat anywhere besides the outfield and if you sit in the infield, be ready for a strip search! they are serious! i also sat in the outfield and that is pretty average as far as security goes.Also, it should be noted that you can freely come and go from the stadium after receiving a simple hand stamp, something i haven't seen anywhere else.
Eagles fans are good. They've really rallied around their new team and are very supportive however, because it is still a new team, most of the cheers are pretty generic and the team song (sounds very classically right-wing-ish) is played over the loud speakers complete with words during the 7th inning stretch. Another reason i knocked this one down, lack of tradition. Still, one of the best/most interesting/unique baseball stadiums in Japan. Oh, did I mention that it is named "Kleenex Stadium Miyagi"????????

location: +1
history: -0
fanmasphere: +2
concessions: +5
smoking: -1
bathrooms: +2
sight lines: +3
field surface: +1
outside: +2
surroundings: +5
seats: +3
atmosphere: +2
security: -0

total: +25

WBrC in Cincinnati!

2009-03-28T19:59:00.002+09:00

anyone? anyone? the WBC is all over. didn't know? you don't live in Japan. it was ridiculous. people all around the country, people who couldn't care less about baseball the other 51 weeks of the year were geeked for the WBC. it was pretty exciting. one thing that was funny, and apoc touched on this a bit on his show, was that students were pretty surprised when i told them that Americans don't care about it. i was asked by nearly every student (especially after the U.S. lost) who i was rooting for in the Japan x U.S. game. i told them that i was rooting for Japan because i like the players better, and because i think it's more important for Japanese people. Americans don't care. i also thought that it was a good thing that the U.S. lost because (i hope) it will embarrass them and (hopefully) make them take it more seriously next time. i think that if the U.S. had won either of the 1st 2 WBCs we would keep sending out the same tired old slobs like we did in basketball. until we got embarrassed and then got serious. hopefully, we'll get serious next time...
anyway, MLB is more important. let's see, over 130 years of history vs. 3...

although there were several (most) games that were unwatchable blowouts (there are fewer "called" games in little league!), there were also a few really good, classic games. the 2 best games would have to have been the 2nd match up of Holland and the Dominican Republic. a great game with great drama. also i gotta say the title game between Japan and Korea was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen. that being said, there need to be some changes... 1st: the double elimination format is stupid, at least for the entire tournament. what's wrong with a round robin format for the 1st couple rounds? it's good enough for the world cup. I'd also like to see Japan play someone other than Korea (5 times!) and Cuba. they were in the same groups as 2 teams they never played (Taiwan and Mexico). there's been talk of expanding the number of teams for the next WBC with play-in round(s) and i am down with this! why are there only 3 countries from the Caribbean? and one from South America? finally, don't ever again put 2nd round games in Dolphins Stadium! it's a freakin football stadium! it's built to hold 80,000 people and when you have a game between 2 teams from different countries in a country that doesn't care about the WBC to begin with, 78,000 empty seats doesn't look good on TV. how about letting another country hold the 2nd round? or how about all of it? at least keep the games in baseball stadiums...
by the way, no games were actually played in Cincinnati.

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #6

2009-03-27T23:05:00.008+09:00

#6:Yokohama Stadium 横浜スタジアム
Location: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture
場所：横浜市、神奈川県
Team: Yokohama Baystars
チーム：横浜ベイスターズ
Capacity/定員: 30,000
Opened: April 4, 1978

I know deuce is gonna be disappointed that Yokohama stadium would show up this early in the countdown but it was only a last minute change that got it this high. I ended up moving Seibu Dome down a spot because it does have some security and a roof. Yokohama does not have the disadvantage of a roof. It also all but lacks the "presence" of security which is awesome! You can pretty much walk right in with bags of beer. A huge plus! What Yokohama is lacking is much personality. It's fairly generic. The most remarkable feature of the ballpark is the oddly shaped lights. The concessions are sparse. I mean, really sparse. There's like one place. Pretty weak. Another problem is that in the outfield, the stands are stupid sharply angled. During a rain game I bailed on my ass while walking down the stairs, and I bailed hard, it was hilarious. You'd think that this would give you some decent sight lines, however, take a look at this view...Although these obstructed view seats aren't numerous, they are pretty lame. The one good thing that Yokohama has to offer is that you are very, very unlikely to end up with one of these seats because one thing that Yokohama doesn't suffer from is what you might call "crowding"yeah, this is actually during a game...
I will say that I do enjoy Yokohama, it's convenient for me (easy to get to from the Keihintouhoku line via Kannai station (京浜東北線、関内駅) and of course it's also located near Chinatown (中華街), Minatomirai (みなと未来), Yamashita Park (山下公園), Foreigner Cemetery (外人墓地), and the bay. It's a good place to spend a summer day with smuggled beer and some homies. There is a very high chance of rain as it seems 99% of Baystars games experience some amount of rainfall... odd.

location: +4
history: -2
fanmasphere: +1
concessions: -5
smoking: +1
bathrooms: -2
sight lines: -0
field surface: +3
outside: +2
surroundings: +5
seats: +2
atmosphere: +2
security: +5

total: +16

Call of Duty: World at War, check!

2009-03-27T22:53:00.007+09:00

alright, so riding the train home now and i thought it was about time to get to this review. i think i finished COD WaW over a week ago and it was seeming that i might never get around to reviewing it, but here we are now.

so, WaW is a good game. the graphics are great, the sound is awesome the levels and missions are well designed. there's not much negative to say about the game except that it's fairly short. dude? and i ran through almost the entire on-line co-op campaign in a night, and the single player campaign isn't too much longer. that said, the game is intense! tons of action and periods of adrenaline pumping fire fights, and pant peeing banzai charges. the sound of the game is wonderful and really puts you in the action, super-great if you rock some surround sound headphones.i do also have to say that the "variety" missions, where you are a gunner in a plane or a sharpshooting sniper, seem to have been more of an afterthought and aren't done nearly as well as COD4. i think they might have been better done as loading sceen mini-games. the exception to this was the tank level that provided some sweet explosions and good action. i would have liked to have had an option for an in-the-tank view but oh well. alltogether, WaW is a rockin good time, just 3 pieces of advice to the makers: make variety a priority or leave it out. make it longer. make it fully on-line co-op!

score:
a one cup ozeki and a bottle of bitberger

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #7

2009-03-26T19:05:00.007+09:00

#7: Seibu Dome 西武ドーム
Location: Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture
場所：所沢、埼玉県
Home Team: Saitama Seibu Lions
チーム；埼玉西武ライオンズ
Capacity/定員: 35,655
Opened: April 14, 1979

At number 7 on the countdown, we stay in the Kanto (関東) area but head slightly north to Saitama prefecture. Although this stadium has been through several name changes in its day, it is the Seibu Dome. Ah, a dome... but! It's not what you have come to expect from a dome, it is actually really cool. There's no air conditioning! The reason is that it is not completely enclosed. Although the roof covers the entire field and stands, beyond the stands the walls don't touch the ground. It's pretty cool. It lets the breeze flow in and lends to the possibility of balls actually leaving the yard. The concessions around the stadium are pretty nice with a decent variety of food. The security at Seibu dome is a bit on the strict side so hide your beer well! Seibu Dome is also a bit different than a lot of other stadiums around here in that it's not really near a big station but this seems to keep down on unnecesary crowding from passengers that haven't just left the stadium. The closest station is Seibukyujo-mae (西武球場前) and the stadium is surrounded by trees and a sort-of theme park. The stadium itself started out without a roof and remained that way for nearly 20 years before the roof was completed in 1998. The most unique feature of the stadium the the outfield which only has a few rows of bleachers behind a sloped, astro turf hill where people can throw down a tarp, kick off their shoes and set up a little picnic like atmosphere. Don't let the shoes go to far away because they are great beer holders since it is sloped, your beer will fall over if you set it down. Seibu fans are pretty loyal eventhough many of their best players have left over recent years and they have some of the best cheers of any fans in Japan. Catchy!

location: +2
history: -3
fanmasphere: +2
concessions: +2
smoking: +2
bathrooms: +2
sight lines: +1
field surface: -5
outside: +2
surroundings: +2
seats: +3
atmosphere: +3
security: -3

total: +10

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #8

2009-03-26T00:19:00.005+09:00

#8: Chiba Marine Stadium,
千葉マリンスタジアム
Location: Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture
場所：千葉市、千葉県
Home team: Chiba Lotte Marines
チーム：千葉ロッテマリーンズ
Capacity/定員: 30,000
Opened: February 2, 1990

Chiba Lotte Marine Stadium is just a short trip out of Tokyo but it's a world away. The stadium is accessed by using Kaihin Makuhari station and then a decent walk towards Tokyo Bay. The surroundings are a stark contrast to what you would leave behind in Tokyo with no skyscrapers and expansive views in all directions. The stadium is located near the Makuhari Messe conference complex and not too much else. It is one of the stadiums with any decent parking available near the stadium, but of you're walking, you'll be doing a lot of it compared to what you can expect from most stadiums here in Japan. Marine Stadium has a couple of things going for it: it's near the ocean, it has a unique design (for Japan) and the Marines fans are some of the loudest and most loyal of all in Japan. However it has several things that don't much go in their favor: concessions are few, the fans look and sound more like a combination of soccer and racing fans than baseball ones, the outfield stands are near vertical and it has astro turf... astro turf... It's not a terrible stadium, I mean it's pretty average though, remenicient of the cookie-cutter multi-purpose stadiums built in the U.S. in the '60's and '70's. It's unique location is a plus, but the biggest thing it has going for it is that Bobby Valentine is the manager of the team... It doesn't have a dome! But, astro turf...

location: +2
history: -3
fanmasphere: -0
concessions: -2
smoking: +1
bathrooms: +1
sight lines: +2
field surface: -5
outside: +1
surroundings: +2
seats: -0
atmosphere: +1
security: +5

total: +5

b?'s magical mystery stadium tour! #9

2009-03-19T12:26:00.007+09:00

Roll up, roll up for the stadium tour! The crack of the bat, the smell of the grass, it's spring again. Ahh, it's spring again! Although the 1st pitch of the 2009 NPB season is still a few weeks away, it's time to start rolling out my "b?'s magical mystery stadium tour!!" To start, here's a list of the stadiums I have yet to visit here in Japan:
*note: I will visit Sapporo dome in June, and I will try to visit the new Hiroshima stadium this year. Other than those, all remaining stadiums are stupid domes...

Sapporo Dome, 札幌ドーム
Location: Sapporo、Hokkaido
場所：札幌、北海道
Home Team: Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
チーム：北海道日本ハムファイターズ
Capacity/定員:　53,845
Opened: June 3, 2001

Fukuoka Dome, 福岡ドーム
Location: Fukuoka
場所：福岡、福岡県
Home team: Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
チーム：福岡ソフトバンクホークス
Capacity/定員: 35,695
Opened: April 2, 1993

Nagoya Dome, 名古屋ドーム
Location: Nagoa, Aichi Prefecture
場所：名古屋、愛知県
Home Team: Chunichi Dragons
チーム：中日ドラゴンズ
Capacity/定員: 40,500
Opened: March 15, 1997

Kyocera Dome, 京セラドーム
Location: Osaka
場所：大阪、大阪府
Home Team: Orix Buffaloes, Hanshin Tigers
チーム：オリックスバファローズ、阪神タイガース
Capacity/定員: 36,477
Opened: March 1, 1997

the countdown from 9-1 begins now!

#9: Tokyo Dome, 東京ドーム
Location: Tokyo
場所：東京、東京都
Home team: Tokyo Yomiuri Giants
チーム：東京読売ジャイアンツ
Capacity/定員：: 55,000
Opened: March 17, 1988
By far the worst stadium I've been to in Japan. It's not close. It's a dome. The seats are small, the aisles are narrow, the walls are high, obstructed view seats and steep slopes in the outfield... shame, shame. Tokyo dome, aka the big egg, is located in Korakuen (後楽園 (aka Tokyo dome city, an amusement park)) in central Tokyo with easy access from Korakuen (後楽園駅) and Suidobashi (水道橋駅) stations. Concessions are decent and one of only a few stadiums where you can see the field from the concourse (excluding the outfield). Tokyo dome is pressurized so you are sucked in and blown out of the revolving doors. The biggest negative (aside from the roof and the overall forgetfulness of the stadium itself) is the security. Security is very strict so you'll either be paying inflated prices inside, or you'll be carrying 5 cups to your seat. Oh yeah, and it's the home of the most annoying fans in Japan with the most annoying cheers for the most annoying team. At least there's never a rain out...
location: +5
history: -2
fanmasphere: -5
concessions: +3
smoking: -2
bathrooms: +2
sight lines: -2
field surface: -5
outside: -4
surroundings: +3
seats: -5
atmosphere: -5
security: -5

total: -24

Mexico's uniforms and Korean pitcher's heads wreaking havoc on advertisers everywhere...

2009-03-17T00:54:00.003+09:00

i just thought this was funny...

1, 2, 3, da!

2009-03-17T00:27:00.004+09:00

Sunday night mornin and went out to Shinjuku to party it up with a couple of her old classmates. normally i don't fancy going out to the big city on the weekend, more specifically, when i don't have to work there. but this time i was pumped because we were going to a place called アントニオ猪木酒場 (Antonio Inoki saka-ba). Antonio Inoki is the Hulk Hogan of Japan, by far the most famous wrestler of all time here, and he opened some wrestling-themed restaurants around town. the food is a mix of Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian (apparently, his second home). the food was decent, a bit on the small side if you're sharing between 4 people but the beer is good. i ran through about 5 big mugs (大ジョッキー) before getting in deep with some tequila... poor choice as always. i got way too drunk... luckily i didn't have to leave to work until 5pm today. the one disappointment i had was that i couldn't get beer in what the called the "super heavy class (スーパーヘビ
ー級)" mug. for some reason, the only let u get wine and crap like that in the big glass. what's the point? overall a fun time, i recommend the "1, 2, 3, salad" the staff does a little speech for everyone who orders it.

assassin's creed, check!

2009-03-16T23:56:00.004+09:00

let me get this out of the way at the beginning because i really only have one nice thing to say about this game. the visuals are great. ass creed looks fantastic. the city detail and building detail is beautiful, the lighting is nice, and the characters are well designed. now for the rest...

game play:
drags on and on, and as dude? said, when you've finished the 1st level, you've played the whole game. there's simply no variation. what ass creed wants you to do is sneak around from rooftop to rooftop (something mirror's edge did soooo much better) which is clumsy at best, climb up to the top of buildings to view the city. although it is beautiful, it gets old pretty quick. the fighting in the game is terribly boring. there are some really cool animations when you kill someone, but, this too gets really old, really quick. the fighting is very frustrating because the best course of action is to just wait for the opponent to attack and then counter, over and over. being proactive is a waste of time seeing as the opponent will block every single attack you throw at them... ahhhhh! bosses are no more difficult to kill than a regular character, they just have a bunch more people surrounding them that get in your way. it's all together frustrating. the worst single aspect of the
game is the crazy bums and beggar ladies that constantly get in your way. the bums push you and the ladies stand in your way and follow you around. it's needless. i hate it.story:
to be honest, i don't remember. i stopped paying attention after the first couple cut scenes. oh god, the cut scenes are loooong, booooring, and freeeequent! ahhhhh! i got to the point of taking bathroom breaks during the cut scenes becuse i didn't need to understand the story to progress in the game at all. the story was boring, and convoluted. forgettable.
there is a 2nd ass creed in the works and I'm not sure what it's gonna be like. if the game play questions are fixed, the cut scenes are shortened and the graphics are equal i might be willing to give it another shot. i think the next one will be taking place in Japan or China because of clues at the end of the 1st one. it might make for an interesting dynamic and might cut down on the crazy Templar based confusing (stupid) story crap.
score:
a bucket of ice cold water to wake them up.

the ol' poo shoe...

2009-03-15T14:04:00.009+09:00

Thursday night i was up late doing something, i think watching the baseball game i had recorded or something when sleepy time rolled around. i headed to the bathroom to take care of business before bed and as i walked in, an overwhelming stank smacked me across the face! after i sat down a voice from the adjoining stall called to me. it was asking me for a hand... although i thought it was strange, i pulled up my pants and opened the door to find none other than t-fizzle on hands and knees, pants down, struggling to get up. an unfortunate situation for sure, but my eyes immediately picked up on the location of a bathroom slipper hanging precariously over an open Japanese-style toilet, full of poo... the following played out in my mind as if on a movie screen in crystal clear detail seconds before it came true in real life on grainy home video. that was lame. as i helped t-fizzle up to his feet, the left slipper dragged through the poo and then made contact with my right foot
... ewwww! now, i don't know what caused t-fizzle to be in the original situation (drinking, or a bad back or leg or something like that) or how long he'd been there (I'm thinking awhile), but what i do know is that the toilet should have been flushed before i arrived... poo foot, gross.
now for something completely different. this weekend was good. by weekend, i mean of course, Thursday. i woke up at about 6:30 to watch Holland vs. Puerto Rico (lame), U.S. vs. Venezuela (lamer) and then Mexico vs. Australia (lamest). i ended up taking a good nap during the final game and afterwards, mornin and i headed out for some food and some hot sauce. for food it was to T.G.I.Friday's! I'd been wanting to make a visit for some time, and it was good. had some tasty fajita action with a ridiculous brownie deal for desert (note: don't order the full size!).mornin ordered a crazy cheescake thingit was all very tasty but stupid filling and put me into an immediate food coma. after lunch/dinner, it was off to find me some hot sauce! i re-upped on my death sauce (f'n love it!) and picked up a couple others so this is the full array of my hot sauce stash:after getting back home it was time to lay on the floor for a few hours and so we watched "what happens in Vegas" starring Cameron Diaz (hate) and Ashton Kutcher (no opinion). it was pretty formulaic and the story was boring but it was decently funny because of one guy from the daily show, and some guy with a beard so, overall watchable. girls'll like it.we also watched a new episode of the amazing race and an episode of no reservations and then i was back to my game quest, this time with assassin's creed. it'd been so long since I'd played it that I'd forgotten what to do and how to do it... gonna finish that B soon!

They found the cornel!

2009-03-11T01:42:00.006+09:00

Cornel Sanders (カーネルサンダース)　has been recovered from the Dotonbori River (道頓堀川)after 24 years! After the Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガース) won the 1985 Japan series (日本シリーズ)to become the champions of Japan, some overzealous fans decided to dump a statue of Col. Sanders (they stand in front of all the KFCs here in Japan) cursing the much beloved Tigers to a lifetime of sadness. Much like the "curse of the Bambino" for the Bo-Sox, and the goat thing for the Cubs. Today is a day to celebrate! I didn't catch the whole story but a guy (I think a city employee) was trolling the Dotonbori River and came across what he thought was a big drum of some kind but when he pulled it up, he found none other than the famed statue of Mr. Sanders. Tigers fans across the world thank this guy for his diligence.

In other news, some playlists for you! I woke up at the godforsaken hour of 9:30 this morning and thus I listened to all the new podcasts before I was out the door.
the way into work sounded like this:
1. ゆず / 四時五分
2. Black Star / yo yeah
3. James Brown / night train
4. Gang Starr / intro
5. Pearl Jam / why go
6. Metallica / (anesthesia) pulling teeth
7. Melechesh / unnamed
8. Alice in Chains / i stay away
9. Nirvana / smells like teen spirit
10. Modest Mouse / fire it up
11. 8-ball & MJG / nobody but me
12. DJ Diplomat / white day 2007

man, i was having flashbacks with Pearl Jam, A.I.C. and Nirvana all making appearances on the countdown. Sea-town holla back!

and the way home:
1. Audioslave / shadow on the sun
2. butt? / no airplay vol. 20! (skipped this one)
3. コブクロ / どんな空でも
4. Matisyahu / got no water
5. Gnarls Barkley / gone daddy gone
6. Incubus / track 8
7. NoFX / juice head
8. Stone Temple Pilots / pretty penny
9. Incubus / rogues
10. Nate Dogg / your wife
11. INXS / the gift12. 50 cent / high all the time
13. Jimi Hendrix / all along the watchtower
14. Kurupt / loose cannons

let the games begin!

2009-03-09T23:15:00.006+09:00

oh baby! it'd been a looooong winter, and with Saturday, that all came to an end, the flowers came out, the birds sang, the bees buzzed and it was good. although fall and winter belong to football, in japan football is unwatchable. all winter i was a caged animal. I'd been yearning to get out to the ballpark to enjoy some cheer, and beer and some sports action. Kawasaki Frontale X Kashiwa Reysol got me out. mornin and i headed out around noon, we stopped off at a grocery store called Otento to get some food and beer. i picked up a sweet chicken cutlet sandwich (チキンかつサンド) and some fried chicken (から揚げ), both of which were very tasty. we got to the stadium at about 12:30 and settled down in a little park across the street at a picnic table to eat and wait for melvis. melting faces came around at about 1:15. 1:50 rolled around and we headed back over to the stadium to get in and get some seats. surprisingly, they had opened the gates before the scheduled 2pm time and so we got a bit hosed with our seats. we ended up sitting on the corner, pretty decent, but far from the supporter's section, and thus, a bit quiet for my taste. oh well. we had 2 hours to kill so there was a lot of drinking done. i made it through a 6-pack before kickoff. also, when we walked in, we received a wine glass featuring the 'comedy' duo ......... and inside the box both mornin and i won a chance at a prize. we headed out of the stadium and around the corner to test our luck with the raffle. nada. we both got a cheap bag. it's a kinda cool design, but i wanted a free jersey...
kickoff! buya! the game was a bit slow, we didn't set ourselves up for as many chances as usual and it was pretty obvious that some opening game jitters and rust was effecting our play. Reysol put a sloppy goal in early in the 2nd half and later, my boy, Chong Tese put in an equalizer and that was it for the scoring. a 1-1 draw to start the season. damn. well, it's a long season, but i hope we can get 3 points out of the next game. there was an adorable little girl sitting in front of us, she provided a lot of entertainment for us when the game got slow.
after the game we all were heading back but i had some trouble with my front tire. no air. i pumped it up once but it went flat again. i tried and tried to get air in, but it just came pouring out again and again. i gave up and just rode home on a flat tire. i was exhausted. there is a pretty decent amount of hillage between my place and the river and on a flat tire, it is not fun.after getting home, it was time to watch the WBC match up of Japan and Korea. it was a slaughter. the game was called in (i think) the 7th inning because Japan was up by more than 10. amazing, considering in the 2006 WBC Japan lost to Korea twice, and more recently, lost to them in the Olympics. mornin and i headed out around the 5th inning to get dinner, some tasty okonomiyaki at 浜しん.
Sunday was a good ol', mostly lazy day. the morning (afternoon) was spent doing a little neighborhood shopping with a lunch at the high noon cafe in 御嶽山 (ontakesan) where we grubbed on some tasty sandwich action. after lunch, it was back home for call of duty, American idol, Korea vs. China (another blowout), tasty ravioli dinner and finally some amazing race! a full, and exciting day!

call of duty 4, check!

2009-03-09T03:02:00.005+09:00

well game 3 on my list has been crossed off. i put in a couple of days of work over the weekend and that was enough to wrap it up. i started this game so long ago that i had forgoten most of the missions that i had played previously. the infrared, bombing people from an airplane mission was rad, but it totally slipped my mind until the closing credits. the game overall is excellent. there are a few frustrating parts here and there, but checkpoints are updated frequent enough that even if you make a little progress you will be rewarded with not having to repeat too large of an area. what really is the golden point of the game is the variety of action and the pronounced lack of crappy bodygaurd missions. from what i've heard, the best part of the game is the online play, however since there is no online co-op for dude? and i to rock, i've only done a bit of it. overall, a top notch shooter, one of the best ever probably.
rating:
headshot, the good kind!

March Maaaadness!

2009-03-07T00:58:00.004+09:00

join the NDL tourney challenge? just send me a mail or leave a comment if you're interested, the more the merrier!

fable II, mirror's edge, check!

2009-03-06T22:54:00.007+09:00

Note: I have a new rating system. It is the idea of "what I would like to do" to the maker of the object that is being reviewed.

on my day off i got down to biznass! I'd been working on finishing fable II for a couple weeks. i did take some time off when i got sick, but I'd say i put a good 20+ hours in on it, maybe 30 or more. i got home at around 10:00 Wednesday then had dinner, watched some TV and then it was game time! i ended up playing fable until about 8am. but i finished. i only finished the main story, there are several side quests yet to be done but not sure if I'll get around to those.
after sleeping until 3 and having lunch etc., i set my sights on mirror's edge. i had finished 3 chapters already but got stuck on a part and became frustrated so i gave it up. after checking a walkthrough to establish that what i had been trying was actually right, i finally completed the move with unprecedented skill and was off! several hours later, at about 2:30am, i completed chapter 9, and the game.

fable II review:
I'll start by saying i don't like RPGs. I've only liked one ever, the Dreamcast's シェンムー (Shenmue). that one can barely be thought of as an RPG though. fable II is probably one of the most playable RPGs around, but that didn't make it much more fun for me. it was OK, it provided a good amount of play time but that play time wasn't all that fun. most of the fighting is just a hindrance to what i am actually trying to do. meaningless fights just pop-up from time to time. most of the enemies are boring. the one cool enemy type in the game is the giant troll thing that tends to be mostly just frustrating because targeting the little bugs on it while avoiding the chunks of earth it flings at you is a pain. the final major boss you encounter, an upside down triangle this, is just annoying, and beating it isn't satisfying, just a relief that you don't have to keep fighting it and waste more time. the final-final boss is a joke. you hold up a music box which takes on his power... then you blast him one time with your gun, or ranged weapon, and it's over?? so lame. i admit that i did enjoy parts of the game, but, overwhelmingly, i just wanted it to end so i could move on to something fun. if you like action RPGs, i would recommend it, there's probably a ton of fun to be had. i just wish they would work on the character design a bit more.

rating:
kick in the nuts

mirror's edge review:
after my suffering and toil at the hands of fable II, i was in the mood for something fun. MI delivered on that fun. after i passed the part i had been stuck on, it was a race to the finish. MI is a sweet platformer with nicely animated cut scenes.the main story is about a girl who is a messenger in a future city devoid many colors other than primary ones. her sister is captured (i think she was framed for something, kinda didn't pay attention to the 1st part of the story) and our heroine is hellbent on getting her back. some friends get killed too. often MI is compared to prince of Persia because of the wall running and whatnot, but i think it'll go down in history with some of the genre defining games such as Super Mario bros. and mega man. it's really a good time. there are a few frustrating parts, but when you pass them, you feel like you've accomplished something. sometimes it's a little tricky figuring out where to head, but most of the time the "runner's vision points
you in the right direction. the game can be played without shooting anyone (it'd be hard), but sometimes it's pretty satisfying disarming someone then blasting his friend. the shooting dynamic isn't as polished as pure shooters, but decent enough in its own right. the only real problems in the game are that it's a little short (probably can be finish in less than 10hrs) and the final boss confrontation is super easy. but i can see myself playing this one several times probably.

rating:
high 5!

a horrifying first for me...

2009-03-06T22:49:00.000+09:00

while nose picking (and often the subsequent eating of the claimed gold) on the train here in japan is somewhat of a pandemic (i once saw 3 of 4 people sitting in front of me going at it), this morning, i saw a picking of a much more disturbing nature. a lady, admittedly probably a bit crazy to begin with, repeatedly scratched her head through her fingerless gloves and then placed her dandruff encrusted fingernails into her mouth... over and over... i hope i can sleep tonight.

Manny man!

2009-03-05T15:43:00.006+09:00

Oh yeah! Did you hear? Manny finally signed with my Dodgers! Wahoooooo! I love Manny! He's suck a dick, but he's also the best right handed hitter (along with Edgar) in the past 40 years. I do sometimes wish he was a little bit more "role modelly" but I love his fun natured play style.He's a hitter and only a hitter, but with the way he hits, that's enough. I always knew he would be back with the Dodgers, but I must admit that I was a little worried... just a bit...

While I'm at it, Hooooooooouuuuuushhhhhhh! TJ Houshmanzhada (or something like that... actually, it appears to be TJ Houshmanzada. Damn I was close) has signed with the Hawks! Welcome to town! Over the past few years the Seahawks have become a heaping pile of receivers from all around the league, and last year we were plagued by injuries, I heard on one of the podcasts I was listening to yesterday, maybe 7 injuries for the receiving core last year... I'm happy to have Housh back in the great PacNW! This does beg the question about Crabtree, the Texas Tech Uber-menche, freak of nature that many experts had going to the Hawks with the 4th overall pick in the NFL draft... he woulda be nice to have... are we still gonna take him? I'm thinking that with the acquisition of Houshman, we might end up trading the pick to avoid paying top 5 rates for a college kid... T.O.'s on the market... he's a cancer, but he's a damn fine receiver...

Photos procured from Google

Playlist party!

2009-03-04T00:26:00.002+09:00

The ride to work today...
1. Nappy Roots / life's a bitch
2. NoFX / re-gaining unconsciousness
3. Melvis / melvis the destroyer
4. Boris / ibitsu
5. Gorillaz / starshine
6. Asian Kung-fu Generation / say no!
7. Okuda Tamio / tattatta
8. John Forte / we got this (feat. DMX)
9. Stevie Wonder / lately
10. Tool / 4゜
11. Foo Fighters / statues
12. Green Day / walking contradiction
13. Melechesh / whispers from the tower
14. I Am / dangereux
15. Asian Kung-fu Generation / 桜草
16. Linkin Park / from the inside
17. Nirvana / all apologies
18. Marvin Gaye / if i could build my whole world around you
19. Envy / shield of selflessness
20. DJ Quik / so many wayz

it was a pretty good playlist today, good variety and some unexpected picks. my ipod wasn't being recognized so no new podcasts to listen to, but it turned out fine.

The ride home...
1. Greeeen / 道
2. Sublime / let's go get stoned
3. Red Sparowes / アザザブラックウィンドウィザーズインザスカイ
4. Death Cab For Cutie / pity and fear
5. Nappy Roots / country boyz
6. A Tribe Called Quest / like it like that
7. Our Lady Peace / lying awake
8. Busta Rhymes / genesis
9. Nirvana / blandest
10. Outkast / bombs over bahgdad
11. Asian Kung-fu Generation / 新しい世界
12. Sphere of Influence / janglish
13. The Living End / monday
14. NoFX / american errorist
15. Naughty by Nature / poor man's poetry
16. Van Morrison / dweller on the threshold

i forgot...

2009-03-03T01:23:00.002+09:00

I've also got a twitchy eye... It's driving me nuts! It's been a full week now. I'm not sure why it started, I imagine it's from stress or something but whatever the cause is, I wish it would stop! It's seriously driving me nuts! It seems to have slowed down a bit since last week and I feel that it kicks on more often when I'm at the beginning of a lesson... maybe that's the root of my stress... I need a vacation!

splat!

2009-03-02T01:50:00.003+09:00

my knee still hurts, i got sick again, and i don't know if fable 2 has an ending... on the bright side i've almost recovered from my cold! and next saturday i'll be at the frontale game with mornin and melvis! i'm psyched! this time of year is pretty boring. football ended and soccer and baseball haven't started yet. we've got hockey and basketball, but without the sonics i don't care too much about either of those until the playoffs. college b-ball until march madness. selection sunday is in 2 weeks! and the dawgs clinched at least a share of the pack 10 championship! i have been watching Japan's warm-up games for the WBC, but they are pretty boring. the real thing will be more interesting but nothing compares to actually being out at the stadium, watching a game with a smuggled beer or 7. other than that, life's been pretty average. just lots of working. i need a vacation i think...
Good news! There's gonna be a sequel for Red Dead Revolver coming out this year (Fall) called "Red Dead Redemption." I'm looking forward to that. The first one was pretty good, pretty original idea at the time and pretty decent game play. I hope the sequel ends up being just as good.

my bum knee and a semi failed T.O.C.

2009-02-24T11:19:00.002+09:00

so it's been a few weeks since i went ice skating and suffered a stupid knee injury causing me to refrain from jogging until it healed. it had progressively gotten better and for a couple of days i thought it would be back to 100% shortly. however, starting Friday night and continuing through today the pain is back... f.
on a lighter note, i had no real plans yesterday so i decided to get drunk and what better way to do so than to play video games while i did it. thus the T.O.C. was proposed and i accepted. this time's T.O.C. was a bit different than normal seeing as i wasn't restricted to sports games. this time i chose to play all the games i haven't yet finished, which amounted to 10 games in all. here's the games:the tasks varied from completed levels to number of races to challenges etc. i didn't complete my mirror's edge task because i got stuck again and i ended up skipping fable 2 because after a fantastic tortilla soup dinner, made by mornin, i apparently passed out for a couple hours on the couch, oops. i totally don't remember lying down... i did end up finishing 8 tall boys and 8 challenges+. however i think i gave up on assassin's creed too because i got totally lost about what i was doing, oh well, at least i made some progress in some games that i haven't been playing really. i think that starting tonight I'm gonna get down to business with fable 2 and get that shit done! it's just so hard for me to get into RPGs... I'll try.

did you ever know that you're my hero?

2009-02-20T10:36:00.005+09:00

OOOOOOOHHHHHHH baby! Did you hear the news? My idol growing up(aside from Edgar Martinez and Steve Largent) has returned! Like Moses! Like N.K.O.T.B.! I'd been following the story for awhile and last I knew he had basically inked the deal with the (hated) Braves... but it's not so now! So here he comes, back to Seattle, bring back memories of the Kingdome, the yellow "S" on the cap, and the '95 miracle season. Did that 2nd picture make you cry a bit? Oh wait, who dat cheater hanging on my man?
F the Yankees by the way!

really?

2009-02-18T11:09:00.002+09:00

so Austen Powers is a person's name? And he's playing ball out of that Sea-Town? Obviously he wasn't named after the movie character, "Austin Powers," but I can't tell if this is a cool thing, or is it really lame?

episode... feb. 17th

2009-02-17T16:08:00.004+09:00

an epic break today. but it was actually an hour shorter than I thought, good thing I went back to work early! Disappointment all around, didn't get a jersey (Lions) and didn't get my tickets (Frontale). I did kill some time though.
Here's my sweet new dictionary!

yo

2009-02-13T18:43:00.004+09:00

This morning I made a sweet design for my board that I can use in Skate 2.I haven't been able to get it to go actually in the game, but I'll work on it tonight.

I also finally got that elusive picture of a guy with his boots outside his pants. What a jerk!I actually got this picture a few weeks ago, but just got around to putting it up now.

建国記念日 rocks!

2009-02-13T16:49:00.008+09:00

This year's 建国記念日 was off the chain! I got up early because I had to work (boo!) and mornin got up even earlier, she had to cook. She made a very nice traditional Japanese breakfast consisting of natto (納豆), rice (お米), miso soup　(みそ汁) and some salmon　(鮭) (for me).After breakfast I headed off to a boring day at work where I tried to convince all of my students to celebrate the holiday like myself to mixed responses. I also wore a silly 鉢巻き that says "神風." No good pics of that though.
6 o'clock came and I was out the door and off to 新大久保 for the evening's rock! Envy was playing and they played hard! They sounded great, the sound system wasn't the greatest and the place was tiny! But once my ears were a bit numb, it all sounded a bit better. They played for about 2 hours, a lot of old stuff too. The place was a little strange and the stage wasn't very elevated so it was really hard to see anything going on on stage if you were more than 3 people back. At one point in the show the singer said something funny as I was taking a drink and thus I spit water all over the people standing in front of me, sorry! The show was really really good and I can't wait to see them again in April!Yeah, that's the best/only picture I took of the show.
After the show it was back to tradition and mornin and I headed to 五反田 to hit up the standing sushi bar. It was really good and I tried a bunch of stuff I haven't before. Here was some of the goods:Finally we headed off for カラオケ and rocked out for a bit, but I lost my voice a bit from screaming at the concert and then after my first couple songs so I couldn't really sing near key for most of the night.
It was a good day.