A Tale of Ordinary Madness:

flatlining!

2009-08-05T16:12:00.001-07:00

Through neglect, I've pretty much murdered my blog. My last post was... november? Ouch. But I don't feel this is MY fault--it's just the road life has taken me down lately. Put less romantically, my life has been boring as shit. Things like opinions, motivations, and emotions that were the fuel for this blog have completely run dry. I really would not be purposefully anti-social when people ask "Dan, what's up?" "how are you doing?" "what've you been up to lately?" and all i have to respond with is a shrug. The times i did get charged up, or i guess charged down, were when I'd get drunk enough and eventually get SUPER depressed-- during those moments i'd turn to a journal,scribbling quickly, angrily, and sloppily, not to a public blog. In some sense, my drinking had come full-circle. I was a madly depressed, self pitying wretch when i used to blog at Adventures In Adversity. ( the old pages from 2001-2002) I was a freshmen in college who stayed cooped up in my room, felt sorry for myself, and never drank once and didn't talk to anyone. Soon enough, obviously, i joined the human race and was pretty happy till about... recently.
Why was I getting depressed?

So I've begun these sort of science experiments on myself. The first was sobriety-- I am a believer in the zen view of life, i find a lot of value in the ups and downs. I like the diversity of experiences. I think transcience is beautiful. After all, that's life, right? Why deny it? When you are feeling shitty, or things go bad, you need to just experience it, fully. If you're down in the mud, just roll in it. It's a powerful thing, and makes the highs feel better. Those good days are just...GREAT. You know? The problem was there was nothing to feel "good" about. Nothing I wanted to do, nowhere i wanted to go. So sobriety was the experiment-- just.... flatlining. And it was/is weird. I kind of enjoy the massochism of it. It's also put things into perspective.
For one thing, I'm back to liking the little things. When you're living the up and down rollercoaster, you completely overlook everything in the middle. I wasn't reading anymore, I wasn't painting. Except playing D&D on sundays, which were secretly the only part of the week i looked forward to, I had basically abandoned the things which interested me. Like.. as i noticed having fun was slipping through my fingers i grabbed more and more, pushing it out faster. So, now i don't feel pressure to go out or else potentially miss out on meeting an amazing girl-- i'll stay in and read. I can sit around and focus on painting. So that's where I'm at. I'm pretty freaking anti-social, and not very happy about it. I had discovered that without beer I could give a flying fuck about meeting new people, and that's too bad. But I think I'm comin 'round. I got pretty drunk last thursday and it was super fun.

I've gotten a lot of painting done. I've read a bunch of books. I want to do more of both, and have started on polyphasic sleeping. That's probably what I'll be blogging about, but I think I'll save it for when I need something to do to keep me from falling asleep....

-D

yes, we did.

2008-11-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

And let's take a few things into consideration. I've been pretty up with the polls lately, but had absolutely no belief in the numbers ~ there's a point where fear, pessimism, and emotional guarding just take over. I think the negativity of this race has taken its toll on a lot of people, and in a lot of different ways, and not one way for the better.

Now that it's over, I hope that the Americans on the red side of this election can take in John McCain's words from his concession speech, in one of the few bits of election speech he has given that I approve of, because Obama's election is a huge step in world affairs, and in a way I hadn't noticed before he actually got on stage to give his acceptance speech. It's not just a victory in blue over red (if it was going to be, I would have voted for Ralph Nader again.)

I'm fucking ecstatic about this victory,don't get me wrong, but you know what? I'm not even really thinking about health care, the ending of the war in Iraq, or the economy. People compare Obama to the Kennedy political legacy, and for a few reasons~ youth, race relations, ideas, political energy; but honestly, Kennedy was a Catholic~ that was his most major hurdle, and now we have a black man, with a Kenyan father, who went to school in Indonesia who will be sworn in come January.

I could have cared less about the election, actually, until my english friend in Japan had me read "The Audacity of Hope: thoughts on reclaiming the American dream" by Obama, and what is SO significant about this election is summed up when he said to me "You realize if Obama gets elected it will be so f***ing cool to be an American", which was a slap in the face after being afraid to announce my nationality in public for 2 years.

Do you actually know what that's like? To live over seas during the Bush presidency, and be afraid to even say you're NOT Canadian? And supposedly foreign policy was MCCAIN'S strong suit?? I see that as the president's chief duty, and I saw the tables flipped on that one. When I saw the Obama family walk out as "America's new first family" I was thinking of that, I was thinking about the people in Kenya sitting around watching the American election, the people in Japan writing and recording music videos about him, his 95% approval rating in Europe, the middle-eastern rulers who respect him and whom we need diplomacy with BADLY, the 280,000 people who came to watch an american presidential candidate in Berlin, despite our crushed international opinion and problems.

Not to mention seeing the whites and blacks literally crying over the importance of this. Jesse Jackson with tears actually streaming down his face~ To see pragmatism mixed with ideals makes me want to continue this more in the tone of a political pundit, because honestly it has been a long time since i've had faith in any american politics.

think about this, in 1908 who would have taken the odds that there would be a black president before the Chicago Cubs won the world series again?

The American ideal is that you can "pull yourself up from your bootstraps", which is generally a republican saying. We have just seen the American dream. That's cheesy, super cheesy, but especially in a growing global community it is especially true. this is a man whose father was a kenyan immigrant, grew up bi-racial, who was poor growing up raised by a single mother who died early, then a pair of white grandparents, who literally had everything stacked against him, worked hard, got into one of the best schools in the nation, became the first of his race to be the president of the harvard law and review, turned down a salary of millions to help poor people organize in a community, ran for public office and wrote books to pay off his school debt. Is that not the republican dream realized? Talk about tax policies, if you think Reagan was a communist as well, or if you think the Bush economic policies were successful, but don't slander what is possibly one of the greatest american stories in a generation.

cars, trucks, and automobiles (and dominionism)

2008-09-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Let's get away from my "feelings" and take a non partisan look the future, and energy. Where is the REAL discussion on energy in this election season? Oh, it's there, if you rummage to the bottom of CNNs editorials, or spend awhile googling, but why isn't being covered by the television journalists rather than gallup polls, identity politics, and gossip news? I have large interests in some of the key issues right now -- the energy issue is probably the most important crossroads our country has ever come across in an election, and where is the information? and when i say "energy issue" I don't mean "gas prices"; I think 80% of Americans think they are the same thing. I could care less about gas prices-- in fact, jack them up higher, it will only do us good. But what about that stuff gasoline is made from...oil? and what happens when it's gone? and how do we pay to drive when it's going? You can hear plenty on CNN and FOXnews about drilling ("55% of americans are now in favor, etc..." "John McCain says that we will see results in two years" "Barack Obama does NOT support offshore drilling! What do you think?") But it's not the news' job to tell us what we're thinking, the news is supposed to HELP us think. So what about the rest?? Where do we drill? How much will it produce? How fast? Are you getting these facts from oil company CEOs? What does a scientist say? What does an economist say? How much oil do we NEED to drill to lower costs? Do we have that oil? How long will it last us? What happens to us after we start drilling? But all of that is second to... why would we even WANT to drill more oil?
Lets look at THOSE questions.

The fact of the matter is that the American style of living has to change, either stop using oil, or invent something else in its place. Our infrastructure doesn't fit into the space made for us by the rest of the world, you can't hammer a square block into a circular hole very far before it breaks -- it was sustainable for a short period of time, and it was nice. You could buy a big car, you could live in a suburb or, hell, even out in the rural area in a big house, and you could drive every day 30, 40 minutes to work, and your kids could all drive to school, and you could drive 10 miles to your favorite supermarket, and it could all balance out. We've taken ideas of comfort and turned them into what we think it means to be "American". Unfortunately it DOESN'T balance out -- people think that "energy issues" are about getting gas prices back down to maintain that balance again, but no matter WHAT, that model has to go. People are saying "DRILL, BABY, DRILL!", but what will that do??

According to the CIA world factbook, we have 1.6% of the world's oil reserves, and we use 25.9% of the world's oil.
Explain to me how we are going to drill our way out of this hole?
It seems to me like we have two options.
1. Drill (McCain stance)
2. Alternate Energy (Obama)

I mean, we CAN drill, because here's the argument: " We should keep more of our dollars here in the U.S., lessen our foreign dependency, increase our domestic supplies, and reduce our trade deficit ", but I can't understand why this is the REPUBLICAN stance, because this is what it means -- we turn the United States into San Francisco or New York City. We all move into apartments, ride our bikes around town and take the commuter train to work. Preserve oil, reduce plastic manufacturing, recycle your garbage or carry around a refillable nalgene bottle. So, lets raise gas prices, like I said, I think every city should be built like that, because that's the REALITY of what it takes to prolong our oil use. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be what would happen, would it?

So why is it on the Republican ticket?? Because it's good for business, in the right now. Lets say you are John McCain on the Republican ticket, and you are running for the incumbent party, and George Bush has built its administration on oil policies, and oil companies are more successful at the moment than ever in history. So now you've been given 49 million dollars to your campaign by the big oil companies. I have no doubt that they plan on competing in the new energy market, whenever that appears, because they didn't get rich by being stupid. But, if they can buy policy that allows them to sell more oil, right now the most profitable substance on the earth, that's what they'll do. It has nothing to do with the fact that oil is GOING to run out, and it's getting there, and it's hurting our country to continue its use; they want you to use it because it will make them money. You want to use it because they tell you that you don't have to get rid of that Ford F150 and big white house with a picket fence.
"My friends, we have to drill off shore. We have to do it. It’s out there and we can do it. And we can do that. The oil executives say within a couple of years we could be seeing results from it. So why not do it?"

via videosift.com
Why not do it indeed? If we open up drilling, it will be 2030 before what it yields starts affecting price, and if oil prices are rising a dollar a gallon per year (at least) right NOW, how high do you think they'll be by 2030? I'm guessing they'll rise by a lot more than our drilling will be able to offset, especially considering that the 3 billion people in India and China are starting to drive cars now, too. And even if the drilling we open up DOUBLES our oil production, hell, TRIPLES it, QUADROUPLES IT, we'll only be producing a tiny fraction (tinier by then) of what we consume.

Not to mention, when things start getting increasingly expensive, you're not going to give up your F150 and white picket fence house, you're going to lose them.

Option number two? Alternate energy. And saying "Invest in cheap, clean nuclear energy!" doesn't count because there's a secret you're not being told... your car doesn't run on nuclear energy, it runs on gasoline.

What scares people, but what HAS to be done, is huge government plan to get us energy independent, along the scales of what JFK proposed in taking us to the moon, and it WILL be that big of a project, if not larger. Since our infrastructure is built around oil, there is no other way to produce a turn around except on a federal level at the moment. Hey, here's an actual plan...
# Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
# Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
# Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
# Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
# Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
# Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

In other words, use technology that's being developed (and could have been developed 30 years ago) to make the ammount of oil we use equal to what we can produce, rather than trying the impossible policy of trying to make the oil we produce equal to what we use. Not to mention it's possible to produce these cars and technologies to cut our consumption before the yields of drilling are ever felt. If Detroit is making the most efficient hybrids and ethanol cars in the world, and the ethanol is being produced in Wyoming, those jobs aren't going over seas. Why on earth do we want to "lessen" the ammount of oil we're importing to use in Japanese and European cars, rather than eliminating both of those outsources of wealth?

Oh, and also, there's another small problem with the McCain energy policy -- if we try to continue our use of oil, it's going to be a lot harder to drill in Alaska when it's under water.

the 3:30

2008-08-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

numbingly bored today. Nothing to do at the office, I'm faintly looking forward to getting home and doing some painting, but just not feeling inspired in the least bit. Not in the mood to read. Don't feel like wasting time and watching TV, don't feel like going to a bar for a beer, not charismatic enough to call a friend. This might just still be my emotional hangover from the big week I had at squaw valley and san francisco, but I don't think that's it; this is what happens what I get sober for too long.
Now I know that sounds ridiculous, but I'm serious. I get completely lazy and totally devoid of any sort of "drive" to do anything. Nothing seems to matter, and I don't feel like wasting time or energy on anything. This is how I wrote depressing blogs through my freshmen year and played insane ammounts of Diablo II while barely passing my classes, not making any friends, and not even channeling my discontent into any sort of constructive art work, while everyone around me was drinking and partying wildly. It was an awful year. If you want to know what a prohibition version of dan is like, maybe you don't remember these old blogs.
I've decided to meet Adam in the break room and make myself a cocktail that I'm not really in the mood for.

my head's going to explode.

2008-08-15T11:32:00.001-07:00

dan-color
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

I've updated my blog. See? my profile picture now reflects the filty wreck I've grown up to become, the title is no longer "hiroshima" (ah, so sad to see you go old friend!) and it's now dedicated to being my normal blog. Psh, normal? Let's hope not! The word I meant to use was regular.

I might have to retire my old blog, and just link it to here. I'm at work, doing nothing. I'm bored, and everyone's moving places and my friends are moving from japan, or back there, or whatever, and it's driving me crazy with these internal dialogues! Am I reverse-home-sick? these internal dialogues: (stream of consciousness) ~~ I've got a life, yes, what am I waiting for? Should I be waiting for something? I feel like I'm waiting, but I mean to be looking. So I'm passively looking, how is that different than waiting? But the problem is I don't know what I'm looking FOR. Do I want a new job? Yes, but, not immediately. But why not immediately? I dunno, that just seems inconvenient. But if I'm in Reno why not keep this job? If I'm wanting a new job, does that mean i want to move? I don't know if I want to move, so I want a new job, or if I just want a new job, and that means moving. Basically, I am back in Reno, and everyone is practically married and I'm bored. I liked being the different guy everywhere I went. But I have some art commissions here, I could get more? I have a studio, and an easy job, and know everyone in reno, why do I want to move? Maybe I don't and I'm just "adjusting".
I should be saving money at this job though, I don't understand where all of it's going. I'm not really buying anything. Why on earth did I buy a NEW car? I feel like blaming someone for that, but how stupid would that be? It'll be smart in the long run, if I stay in the states, that is. I don't want a car, and don't want to live in a place that demands one. I want to take the subway, the train, the bike, the walk. Maybe a scooter, tops. Either way I feel like I'm wasting money, wasting time. I need to paint more, ride my bike more, eat less, or better anyways, buy cheaper beer, be more social, more confident, more personal, more relaxed. Those can be my immediate goals...

Junk like that, rubbish huh? and the worst part is that my most recent little mental trap is circular. It doesn't seem to have a root or solution, no clear circumstances that bum me out and toss me in those ruts anyways. I mean, within just the past two weeks I've been on the net searching for apartments in Boston, signed up for job-post emails from Japan, tried to apply to the JET program, told danny to find me a job in the UK, considered asking my boss to transfer me to the office in the bay area, and I almost flipped out at John's suggestion we move to fricking ANTARCTICA. But, do I even want to move?? Why am I doing this to myself?? Ugh, now i feel silly for writing such a dumb post. Maybe I just need to stop reading Kerouac. No moral lesson today, kids!

oh-eight unfolds

2008-07-31T14:49:00.001-07:00

I've been sort of re-locating my life. Not that I've been too "busy" to blog, but I sort of felt that now that I live back in Reno, there is no point to my blogging. This didn't really require any rationalization for me, but as I've gotten a little depressed , I had to give this some second thoughts. So, while you might not need "updates" on my life any longer, I shouldn't bump my life into a lower tier just because it's being lived in a different continent than before. Also, that's pretty vain of me to think I was only blogging because I had a group of fans or something that wanted to know what I was doing. So, instead, I am going to blog for myself. Yes, I will renew the celebration and chronicling of my life, a testament to its worthiness of being lived.

Here's what has particularly inspired my blog, besides being bored at my cubicle;
Man decapitates passenger aboard Greyhound bus in Manitoba
Whoah! what's going on here? I remember, around the turn of the year, discussing that 08 was going to be a year "of big things". Important things, epic events, change. And not just Barack Obama-style change, but I feel like the stagnation of this country is catching up, and something is going to fall off. How long can the rest of the world go up in flames while we shop at Wal-Mart? How long can we be distracted by front news covers of petty crime stories and celebrity news, while our own disastrous war reports are buried on page12 next to the pet classifieds?? I dunno exactly, but I think you have a gist of what I mean. But either ways, 2008 seemed to be rolling in with powerful force, and my new years was the herald my prediction.

I'm not making a political point here, but I'm being proven correct-- once the gas prices soar and the economy shrivels, things start getting a little more acute, don't they? There are these "issues" all of a sudden. Things are evolving on a world scale, coming to a head, and we have these bizarre crimes developing in the shadows.
Back to the bus decapitation story.
"While we were watching the door, he calmly walks up to the front with the head in his hand and the knife and just calmly stares at us and drops the head right in front of us.[...] There was no rage in him. He wasn't swearing or cursing or anything. It was just like he was a robot[...] "

cue office e-mail conversation
cameron: Sounds a hell of a lot like the work of a nightbane to me… probably one of the dudes who stole a piece of Stonehenge recently…

me: Hah!! Someone stole a piece of Stonehenge? Dude, you think we have like an epic scenario playing out here? While Obama struggles to come to power to bring justice to the world, other darker and ultimately more important wars of power are happening unknown? Do you think the dude who got decapitated was unknowingly King Arthur’s last direct descendent??

cameron: Or possibly the GRAND DAUGHTER OF CHRIST or Dracula? I dunno man, sounds a hell of a lot like a movie/graphic novel to me.

me: right, what I’m pretty sure is happening is the Omega cult is making a sudden return. Generally they take a century or two to surface; the introduction of Christianity, the barbarian sacking of rome (very successful, as the dark ages lasted hundreds of years), the Inquisition, civil war, assassinations of the 60’s/9-11. But due to the global spreading of “hope” and “unity” they are forced to re-surface faster than they’d planned on? Drastic measures~ after the invasion of iraq and the code of Hammurabi stolen, along with the piece of stone henge and the head of last of the line of Alpha - heir of Alexander/Arthur/Abe Lincoln they can finally open the portal to the end of the universe?

And what about this?
NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell says alien Earth visits covered up
I mean, it might not just be a year of big things, but astronomical; are we not just coming to a head, but a horizon? Are our silent interstellar watchers going to finally pass judgement on our volitile, ambitious, race?

How sad that during this "important" year, I'm daydreaming about this shit in my cubicle, facing the reality that because his tax cuts will benefit the billionaire owners of cable television, the most likely next president will be the guy giving the press conference in the cheese isle, not the guy giving one simultaneously in the Temple of Hercules across the ocean. The audience of two in front of Schmidt's Sausage Haus, rather than two hundred thousand in Berlin. Sure, the epic 2008 I predicted might be happening, but it's being covered instead by pundits' slander regarding lapel pins, a presidential candidate looking too "presidential" to be president, political ads featuring Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
The, perhaps fortunate but ulimately more depressing, reality that it wasn't an ancient eternal cult of villians, working for a higher power, who stole the code of hammurabi, but some looters who ran rampant because:
"The Iraq Museum in Baghdad was number two on a list including the Ministries of the Interior, Defense, and Foreign Affairs. The first institution on the list was the Iraqi Central Bank, which was likewise not protected. Only the last institution on the list was protected--the Ministry of Oil."

I'm actually feeling sort of jealous for conspiracy theory nuts for once ~ at least they must be on the edge of their seats. I moved back to Reno hoping to get "involved", somehow reap full rewards of my citizenship which i felt was so dearly missed, but I'm in probably the dullest moments of my life since high-school. What can I do? i've got the ol' office job, and I'm trying like hell to make things happen, well, hitting the bar every night after work anyways hoping to make "contacts". Any ideas, anyone?

in limbo

2008-04-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

I thought I lived in the countryside, but I'm at Alex's house now (he's a JET) and he lives out in the middle of NOWHERE. Perched up on this hill, this tiny city was an hour and a half bus ride out from fukuyama. And it's still freezing here.
It took me some 20 garbage bags full of stuff thrown out to move out of my apartment, i mentioned some of this earlier, but they just kept coming! I got everything mailed home, and that cost about 550 dollars. So, after all of that, I am SO GLAD to be gone. I sat around in my empty apartment for a bit, thinking if there was something I had to do, and when I couldn't think of anything I walked out, locked the door and dropped the key in the mail slot. And I guess that's it? I guess I wasn't necessarily looking for some sort of closure, but... I feel like someone's going to find some excuse to charge me money or something like that.

Now I just have my backpack, my sanshin strapped to it, and my skateboard, and I feel pretty freaking cool.

I have today and tomorrow to kill, then friday i need to be in hiroshima to meet mikey. But what am I going to do? I sort ot of want to split this tiny town and see something more... seeable, but, I don't have anything in mind. I don't have anything to write, either. Welcome to my life. (which, right now, is awesome.)

packing panic

2008-03-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

3 p.m. Soon the sun will drop (Well, not TOO soon, but, you know. Soon enough.)
The more I deconstruct my apartment, the more complicated it becomes. Yesterday, I was pretty depressed about it-- not the complication, but the moving. You understand? You walk open a closet with all the stuff that marks you living here, and just shitcan everything. Toilet paper -- trash. detergent-- trash. cups, bowls, pans, pots --trash. razors, shaving cream, soap, -- trash. Then, by today, that became very liberating. Now I just CANNOT get rid of this last 5% of stuff, i don't know what the heck to do. I just want to burn it all or something. Plagued by a lot of loose ends right now, like books i can't fit, cases for my video games, CD cases.
someone save me!
a bundle of business shirts. I feel like I am obliged to keep them, you know, since i BOUGHT them, but.. i don't want them, and I've already thrown away plenty of stuff i still do kind of want. Yesterday was the worst for this, it's like some messed up psychiatric test -- "what does this person decide dictates his identity/future? uh oh... he kept his flask and 300 page 5 lb. video game manual, but threw away a .0001 ounce drawing of him done by a student? tsk tsk..."
Sorting through messages from kids, photos, every piee of paper or what have you from 2 1/2 years and having to decide "keep or trash?" cool stuff with japanese on it, but that's ultimately trash, you just become more and more efficient at feeding the dumpster, and that's where I'm at now. Just hoping for a fire to come through, because i don't even want ANY of this anymore!!
Well, I'd be mentally,(if also monetarily) relieved if the freakin post office was open today, but those lazy bastards are closed.
So, still got the weight on my shoulders. Just a little longer. When I can pack up this computer (the last thing) and toss it in my suitcase and mail the whole thing home (for like 300 bucks, definately)... then i will be a free man.

here's a couple vids that are keepin me chill~~ relish this guy's timeless coolness

the end of the year

2008-03-24T03:26:00.001-07:00

me mizuki marina and tiharu
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

well, tomorrow's my last day. I've got some pics up, and heres a video of the kids singing the japanese anthem before graduation ceremony. (i've been meaning to film it for awhile, it's a pretty moving national anthem in how it's melancholy rather than.. you know, triumphant? )
hm, i'll post more on here soon. of course. Check my flickr page, though!

å

uh oh

2008-03-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

so i looked at the top of my head with a couple mirrors, and my suspicions are true: i'm definately going bald. All around the top. It sucks because neither of my grandpas are bald, but i am hanging onto a few hopes:

1. I've been using shampoo from the dollar store for a year. I've discontinued as of today, and lets see if it stops or reverses.

2. Maybe I've been this thin for awhile and never noticed. From looking straight in the mirror i still can't tell. So maybe I've flatlined for awhile. This is suitable to me.

3. Maybe once my diet changes when i get back home, things will turn around. I definately get less protein here, but on the other hand my diet is overall more healthy i'd guess, so I don't like this option much, but we'll see how things pan out.

One thing is certain; if my future holds baldness, then I cannot pass up these few remaining years to liberate myself and the people around me by wearing long, badass rockstar, anime character, fantasy hero hair.

I've also decided that Kevin Costner, in "Dances with Wolves", is incredibly sweet. I think the civil war union uniform fashion is going to make a huge comeback somehow, they have tons of rad hats, and the cool sash with the sword and pistol tied over, cool jackets with total lord of the rings boots and gloves. (until he turns into a hippie at the end)

thanks for reading my 2nd most shallow post to date, and pray for my head.

the music of Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli　久石讓Joe

2008-03-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

How's Moving Castle

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro　となりのトトロ

Princess Mononoke もののけ姫

honestly, hang in there till about 5 and a half minutes

Spirited Away

花火
it's called "hanabi"、or　"fireworks" don't think this is from any film, but sounds like what he re-worked for howl's theme

अ फीलिंग

2008-03-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

why does this webpage keep automatically translating my blog titles into freaking draconic?
I was inclined to write a blog because I was inspired when I changed my facebook status. I'm totally, completely STUCK right now, and need to face it or completely disconnect with myself. In, basically, every aspect I can think of. work, money, social life, you name it. I've had this feeling lately, I'm not going to say for a matter of months, but for... a few months maybe. It's the feeling of generally increasing and unfocused discontent, and stagnation(maybe personal stagflation?). I don't have much of a social life, true, but that's not even it, I've finally figured. Also, whatever has been sort of bugging at me has come to a head-- here I am in kumano, japan; desperately, masochistically, and most important pointlessly following american politics, this is what made me realize it. I'm in the wrong place.
I am headed in to teach every day, though for me it's just marching to the wall of my finishing. I am the sort of person who figures, well, if I know I'm going to quit soon and go home, why stick around? Basically, I am wasting my time, and I pretty much have been for the past 6 months or more that I've known I am just done with teaching english. I've known this inside, but haven't really admitted it. I'm just... stuck here until april 20th.

Also, I'm stuck on this piece of art. Just sitting for hours and hours crunched over my laptop straining my eyes and back peering at this little screen trying to crank out art, that i'm not even succeeding at finishing. This has, generally, been my art process. I want to sit at a DESK. and work on a MONITOR. Agh, I'm excited to pick up an iMac when i get home... but until then I am stuck.

This one might be the most frustrating-- it's not something I talk about much, but that despite popular opinion, i AM interested in: girls. I managed to blow it with the only girls I met while I was here, but have met a couple promises, (of course) in the last month or so, but, I'm going home, so it's moot, fate's cruel joke. In fact, I sort of dread going out socially now, because i just KNOW I'll meet some super cute girl flirting with me and all i can think is "what if!" Like grabbing at smoke.

I wish, though, I could go out and enjoy this last month in japan. Hang out, visit restaurants, shoot the shit, go to bars, travel? But, I let my company stick me in this apartment, and stick it to me with their shit salary, and now I am stuck staying in and saving money.

So, here is what all of that ammounts to, psychologically, I think. It feels... emasculating. Just sitting around waiting day in and day out for your life to change. Also, it makes me depressed-- I'm still in a cool place, and I could be having fun, but instead I resent it. What's difficult about Japan is being totally alienated. You are alien by looks, culture, most importantly language. You have to get used to being around groups of people talking and laughing with each other while you stare at a wall. Now, it's not just the people, but my entire life here that is speaking a different language. I wake up, sit on the bus, plan classes, teach, go to the sushi-shop, and i feel alienated from my own life (which was once very fun) for all of the reasons listed above.

Basically, this feeling which has no outlet boiled up when one think I was waiting for hit another wall, when my man Obama didn't finish off the ice queen and the headlines pop up "long, grueling 7 weeks ahead." It's like... "YEAH, I KNOW. THANKS"

थे

2008-03-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

his is a pretty negative post, but lets face it. She's polarizing.

I am so thoroughly disappointed and depressed about the primary results, or, specifically and unfairly, the residents of ohio and texas~ why didn't you all just vote for obama and get this over with?? I've been anxiously following these elections, and increasingly disgusted by the mud throwing that the clintons keep starting. "Lets smear the person who shows very obvious signs of being our party's nominee!! Quick, dig up/make up something negative sounding, because it'll help us in the short run!" Now a long, grueling, 7 weeks of it? Ugh...

Whether you like clinton, obama, or neither, I feel like we're living in a monarchy in civil war in this country. The halo "red vs. blue" thing hits a little too close to home. I'm only 25, and 20 years of that has been all bushes and clintons. potentially 8 more? Then maybe jeb bush will run?
Clinton avidly hates and wants to "battle" the republicans -- it's the epitome of why so many people hate politics, and therefore choose dis-interest. Maybe that's the goal here -- "if everyone hates us enough, they'll stop caring, then we can do whatever the hell we want." It seems to have worked the last 8 years?
Anyways, it didn't work for democrats in 2004, when they only way to rally behind john kerry was under the slogan "fuck bush". I mean, sorry if i couldn't take that seriously. The thing is, republicans hate the clintons enough that we will see the same slogans i think, except this time it'll probably work.

looking in my crystal ball here is what i see -- we have 7 weeks, and all policy has been debated, 20 times actually, so clinton gets especially nasty here on out. More fear spread, etc... and of course obama attacks back, while the republicans can continue to watch and take notes. After a crippled, extended, negative campaign, half the democratic party is angry with the outcome, most have stopped caring and don't vote, but definately don't campaign in november, and the winner has been discredited enough that mccain mops up. Ugh, i mean, why on earth would clinton run that "3 a.m." commercial, preparing to run against a man with like 50 years of war experience? Yeah, let's focus more on the idea of everyone on the globe trying to kill us, and running around invading more countries.

I'm sick of feeling this way about my country. I wish I could afford some whiskey.

an odyssey

2008-02-27T03:52:00.001-08:00

an odyssey
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Well, an odyssey in that it was long, and filled with hardships. Maybe less so than everything else I've done though. Lemme explain the process, roughly, of doing this stuff in photoshop.

I sketched the dudes on paper, drew the ship on different paper, took pictures with my phone and uploaded them to the computer. Then i put the pictures on-top of each other and streched/rotated/scooted them around in photoshop, till i thought the guys and ship lined up how i wanted, then just had to drop the opacity of those photos to like 25% and trace right over them onto a new layer to get my main sketch. and all of that, i've found out, is the quickest, easiest way to do it. (I knew thats mainly what people did, but never actually gave it a try before. )
Before this I've always just drawn from scratch on the computer, looking at what i had on paper. That's difficult, by the way, because this file is like 3,000 pixels wide, and to fit that all on the screen you have to be all zoomed out to where you're looking at it at 20% size. So if you're drawing with a brush 3 or 5 pixels wide, basically not only can you not see your cursor, or the lines you're making, but the accuracy goes way down. Once you get zoomed into 100% the lines look like they were drawn with your left hand with parkinsons.
So, basically, you have to zoom in, zoom out, zoom in, zoom out. (while on paper you just look at it closer).

Anyways, I also dealt with more complicated colors on this picture. Meaning, for a lot of these effects I needed to make layer over layer over layer, and my computer just can't cut it. when hitting quicksave it takes a good 40 seconds to build the file every time.
i.e. this is what i mean by layers-- the green "paint" on their suits and the ship has to be a separate layer on TOP of the base color of the ship/their suits, but underneath the texturing (bumps, scratches, splots). (otherwise if you wanted to, lets say, make his helmet a bit darker, you'd draw right over the teal "paint", making it grey,and also wiping out the textures. then you'd have to go draw them both again, over and over as many times as you wanted to touch up/progress the picture. Also, i originally made the paint on his suit red, not green; but since it was its own layer, i just had to slide a bar to change the hue of the whole layer, rather than re-painting it to make it green. ) The same goes for the stars,and for each layer of clouds (there are 6), and for the little lights and plugs on their suits, etc...

Anyways, I always try to use the bare minimum of layers, because it's easy to get obsessive-compulsive about it (making a seperate layer for each piece of clothing, etc...) but mainly because it just frags my poor old laptop.
Well, when I get back, time to finally fork out the dough for a giant screened macintosh.

Hope you learned something about the... diligence of artists, if you had the diligence to make it through this whole post . (and keep in mind i'm still pretty elementary with this program)

2008-02-26T04:33:00.000-08:00

"It sure is cold today, you don't want to go out there without your Barack Obama"
"I was feeling a little stuffy, but since popping a couple Barack Obamas, I feel pretty good"

maybe that's pushing it, but here's a widget showing all the words that have been "officially obamified" by slate.com

Things to do& the "future"

2008-02-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not used to being in this predicament ~ I mentioned in an earlier post how I look around my apartment and can't fathom how I'm going to get all of this home. It's worsening; before, I saw everything as just balls. You know, big, black, immovable cannonball looking things. Now there are chains attatched to my ankles. I've devoted today to cleaning. I dunno, it might help somehow.
Sorry, I'm not going to talk about sci-fi. So if all of my shit is a fat ball and chain around my ankles, the future has it's needy hands around my throat, pulling. I am trying, but not trying hard enough, to get a good portfolio together. There is this "concept artist" job at bioware i want, badly, to apply for, but basically I don't have a portfolio. I realized I have just barely learned to color. I mean, I've been drawing my whole life, but i really have nothing to show for it. So, now I have 2 pieces that i'm willing to submit. A measly TWO. It's hard to get this shit together when I don't even have a desk.
Anyways, here they are.

oata archmages
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

valentines
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Now, I need to get some life drawings done, which is easy, and i need to show my ability to draw "architecture" and the evolution of a drawing from idea to finish, and nature together with structures, and my ability to draw in all genres (a.k.a. i've gotta draw some sci-fi. I'm working on sort of a steam-punk picture now.)
So the art thing, i love it, but i'm stressed because it's already been a month, and i'm not even close, and i know that job position will be gone soon.
Besides that, I'm leaving april 20th, but they're telling me i need to be out of my apartment march 31st. So... um.....
I need to get mikey's visit organized, and i can't afford to stay at hotels/ryokans/even internet cafes for a whole 17 days.
On the bright side, obama seems to be taking the lead. God, I wish I made more money. I spent like 40,000 yen last weekend on my birthday. (tattoo plus everything else) Although I usually don't leave my apartment, and just eat peanut butter sandwiches and ramen, I make such measly money, and japan is so expensive...agh.

P.S. notice i changed my banner、which had actually turned embarrassing a long time ago. I had the little "Aeon" logo up there, from when i made this page before i started work, about 2 1/2 years ago.. I was feeling so full of japan frenzy, excited to start work over here, but let me make clear I have hated that company for a full 2 years at least. Anyways, well over due. Enjoy.

rave reviews

2008-02-13T01:43:00.000-08:00

Hear what people are saying about dan's new tattoo:

"AWESOME!!"
and
"Your hair looks so good like this!!!!!
Don't cut it ok??"
-maresa

"o - m - g
that's the most awesome shit ever
[...]
your hair is getting badass too
man, that makes me wanna get a sweet ass tat"
-bilge

"holy shit
[...]
it looks awesome
probably the best tattoo i've ever seen
that is nuts
and you have a lot of hair"
-mikey

"dan.... that is insane. it's freaking huge and it looks freaking sweet. "
-Cam

a chill pill or 4

2008-02-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

After that beer I mentioned, and a few more, I've mellowed out, and am going to make a post chronicling the music that's I've been diggin for the past couple months.
I'm at the end of the stretch here in japan, I've just realized it'll very soon be march, my last month here, then my ass needs to be out. I have no idea how to reverse the moving in process i've done into this country. I'm looking around my trinket-stuffed apartment, looking at my guitar and sanshin and x-box and wii and boxes of junk and i feel like something just got wedged into the gears in my brain.
So, I also bought a melodian, which the kids here play in school. Here's what finally pushed me over the limit and made me buy it.

that's ratatat, head to www.ratatatmusic.com and DL their remix2 album for free~ they toss their music behind some rappers, here's their version of jay-Z's "allure".

Jay is a pretty great rapper but his beats are usually shit. Danger Mouse was also kind enough to re-do one of his tracks. This one is from the grey album, danger's remix of jay's black album and the beatles white album

Also, 9th wonder also re-did the black album, called "black is back". But I'm not gonna post anymore of that.
I'm getting really stoked to come back to america, and am trying to get into the spirit of the country reading politics, etc, so lets take it back from those guys and show an american hero. Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin On?" has made a full circle, sadly, in it's cultural importance. Please sit through this whole track -- it actually is two. What's goin on, and what's happenin brother. I wanted to post "Inner City Blues (make me wanna holler)" cause that's my fav. track on there, but this live is out of this world, so here you are.

here's a pretty famous MC named Insight, who put out an album with this japanese DJ Shin-ski. Dunno if he was just here long enough to get the album together or what? But this video's taped in japan. The 2nd track on this vid is good, Early Days Amazement, but they have this song called "passin by" i really like but couldn't find.

and finally probably the hottest of the lot, MF Doom, the mad flows supervillian, I love this super low production, like he's rappin into a mic over the soundtrack of some 80s show on his VHS, and the vids got the same quality

he's also got out these instrumental volumes, called "Special Herbs" and instrumental stuff is my heaven so these albums are gonna get a lot of listens, i bought vol 4,5,6 on iTunes (Thanks mom!) Here's some samples~

alright, i'm out for now

elections?

2008-02-05T23:48:00.000-08:00

So, in my news scouring of super tuesday, I came across someone's mention of "NSPD-51" or national security presidential directive #51, which gives bush the power to halt elections, if he feels like stepping the war up a notch. Here is an article about it, which wasn't reported in LA, or New York, but the chattanoogan.

President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement, on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial powers to the office of the president in the event of a national emergency declared by the president.

The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.

That job, as the document describes, is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.

The directive loosely defines "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."

When the President determines a catastrophic emergency has occurred, the President can take over all government functions and direct all private sector activities to ensure we will emerge from the emergency with an "enduring constitutional government."

Translated into layman's terms, when the President determines a national emergency has occurred, the President can declare to the office of the presidency powers usually assumed by dictators to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over.

Ironically, the directive sees no contradiction in the assumption of dictatorial powers by the President with the goal of maintaining constitutional continuity through an emergency.

The directive specifies that the assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism will be designated as the National Continuity Coordinator. Further established is a Continuity Policy Coordination Committee, chaired by a senior director from the Homeland Security Council staff, designated by the National Continuity Coordinator, to be "the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination."

Currently, the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism is Frances Fragos Townsend. Townsend spent 13 years at the Justice Department before moving to the U.S. Coast Guard where she served as assistant commandant for intelligence. She is a White House staff member in the executive office of the president who also chairs the Homeland Security Council, which as a counterpart to the National Security Council reports directly to the president.

The directive issued May 9 makes no attempt to reconcile the powers created there for the National Continuity Coordinator with the National Emergency Act. As specified by U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 34, Subchapter II, Section 1621, the National Emergency Act allows that the president may declare a national emergency but requires that such proclamation "shall immediately be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register."

A Congressional Research Service study notes that under the National Emergency Act, the President "may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens."

The CRS study notes that the National Emergency Act sets up congress as a balance empowered to "modify, rescind, or render dormant such delegated emergency authority," if Congress believes the president has acted inappropriately.

NSPD-51/ HSPD-20 appears to supersede the National Emergency Act by creating the new position of National Continuity Coordinator without any specific act of Congress authorizing the position.

NSPD-51/ HSPD-20 also makes no reference whatsoever to Congress. The language of the May 9 directive appears to negate any a requirement that the President submit to Congress a determination that a national emergency exists, suggesting instead that the powers of the executive order can be implemented without any congressional approval or oversight.

Homeland Security spokesperson Russ Knocke affirmed that the Homeland Security Department will be implementing the requirements of NSPD-51/HSPD-20 under Townsend's direction.

The White House had no comment.

Matthew Hine
Chattanooga

I'm guessing around summer '08 would be a good time for him to carry on a nuclear strike on Iran, and the ensuing catastrophe would be a perfect time for him to declare himself dictator of america. Literally, did you catch that part about congress? and how it negates it? You can find the real thing on the whitehouse webpage, but it's basically written in code.
And he's got the 2008 budget all worked out, at 3.1 trillion. (note, he was the first to propose a 2 trillion budget) Here are some of the programs that will get burned in order to make room for more military spending.

– “$77 billion in funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years, and $280 billion over the next 10.”

– $223 million in funding cuts (4 percent decrease from this year’s levels) to the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

– “$4.9 billion, or 8 percent, cut in education, training, employment and social services” grants.

– $100 million cut for Head Start, which provides child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families.

– “$2.4 billion cut in community and regional development grants — which often provide funding for low- and middle-income communities — to $16.5 billion from $18.9 billion.

– $400 million — 18 percent — cut in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, “which provides $2.2 billion to help people pay heating bills this year.”

– $172 million — nearly 25 percent — cut in funding for housing for low-income seniors.

Also, tax cuts will remain for the wealthiest people in america. The rest of us are screwed.
Meanwhile, the projected deficits do not even take into account funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. CongressDaily (subscription) reports this morning that Bush "is expected today to ask Congress for $70 billion to cover" the cost of the wars "for the first few months of FY09 -- a request that, if approved, could ultimately push the total amount of supplemental spending for military and civilian needs over the $1 trillion mark over the life of this administration." (more)

I'm starting to remember why I usually ignore politics. Time to have a beer.
:(

p.s. i'm reading barack obama's "the audacity of hope" and it's pretty brilliant. He is genuinely interested in closing the chasm, which is full of boiling lava and fire, between the red and blue. You know, healing our country, and stuff. Maybe I'll read it later for a little bit of optimism.

ROFL

2008-02-01T22:57:00.002-08:00

today's penny arcade made me laugh so hard, out loud, that I almost rolled on the floor. Well, not quite, and i still hate the expression, but here you are~

I don't actually know what it would look like if a lightsaber cut through a chunk of red crystal embedded in a mound of onyx. If you were to simulate it, as long as things are mostly lining up I'm going to accept it and move on. Same goes for a set of plasteel blast doors crumpled by The Force. Actually, most materials can be simulated in such a way that the mind could carry the one and make it work, in science fiction especially. But when people move in ridiculous ways, all the hard work you put into the rest of that world is obliterated. If a crate hits another crate, that's fine. If a person tries to grab a crate, that is also fine. The trouble comes when people grab onto other people and pirouette off into infinity.

ROFL

2008-02-01T22:57:00.001-08:00

today's penny arcade made me laugh so hard, out loud, that I almost rolled on the floor. Well, not quite, and i still hate the expression, but here you are~

I don't actually know what it would look like if a lightsaber cut through a chunk of red crystal embedded in a mound of onyx. If you were to simulate it, as long as things are mostly lining up I'm going to accept it and move on. Same goes for a set of plasteel blast doors crumpled by The Force. Actually, most materials can be simulated in such a way that the mind could carry the one and make it work, in science fiction especially. But when people move in ridiculous ways, all the hard work you put into the rest of that world is obliterated. If a crate hits another crate, that's fine. If a person tries to grab a crate, that is also fine. The trouble comes when people grab onto other people and pirouette off into infinity.

2008-01-28T00:26:00.000-08:00

So the music teacher at school gave me one of the recorders today, an alto. I'm pumped to play it, though recorders aren't quite the coolest instruments ever. I've been youtubing them, and here is my inspiration.

I reckon if i could lay it on like this guy, I could totally swoon the babes. Especially with my long hair, I could get a sort of kenny-g thing going on?

man... I wasn't the coolest kid in the dorms, but at least I wasn't videotaping myself playing celine dion on the recorder. Wonder who this guy's poor roommate is.

It's snowing like crazy here, and I'm torn between things to do. I have like 2 months of pictures to get up, so be on the lookout for those. I also have an art commission, and still need to get my portfolio together, and have also started reading barack obama's "the audacity of hope". But it's hard not to just turn on the x-box and run around with my redguard hitting monsters in the face with fireballs and my mace.
so, within the next day I will either a.) be rocking the flute b.) have a good portrait finished c.) have some good stories documented or d.) be archmage of the mage's guild.

i'm sorry about this~

2008-01-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

there's some issues i don't agree with, and i hate to bring up politics (really hate) but i've become genuinely fascinated with this man. I'd heard his name and thought it kind of tabboo, but finally caved and watched some videos.
I would support obama, or clinton, or maybe edwards in office, but anyways, i think ron paul's changes are a bit more important. the video's a bit cheesy, the music cliche, but the quotes you read are genuinely backed by his records ever since he's held office, and most of these quotes are taken from the middle of debate, not prepared speeches.

Basically, the US foreign policy... living overseas, let me tell you, is a bitch. Everyone hates us. I'm young, and when I think of our country I've always feared the future. What?!? That's horrible! think about it. I have never met a non-american (besides japanese) and not gotten shit for my country. Never. I actually shrug when I meet people here, "yeah, i'm american (what can i say?)" it's the worst feeling ever, but if you don't do it you get attacked. i feel like abortion, immigration, and all of those issues that everyone debates over are just a candidate's way of getting you to vote against your own interests, and are just dividing our country. Basically, that sort of stuff we get so fired up about should be decided on a state level anyways, (ron paul has made me realize.)
well... watch it. I won't argue with you on anything, that's not really my field, but i think he needs some exposure that's been denied him by his own party. (scumbags)

men with long hair

2008-01-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

just a little bit of inspiration for us out there. (i now, proudly, have to use the women's haircuts for my Mii.)

(made using Mii Editor

http://menwithlonghair.blogspot.com/
also... this page cracks me up.

New Years Resolutions

2008-01-05T00:02:00.001-08:00

Kirin Beer in Hiroshima
Originally uploaded by Jippolito.

I've not been a very active blogger lately, and when I have the content hasn't been very hearty. I know... I know. Just "check out this videogame picture" etc...
Thanksgiving, christmas, new years, all come and gone! Now we start the hard part of the festiveless, cold brutal winter. I hate the months January, February, and March. They are total shit, and even though my birthday is in february, so is valentines day and I dread it. So let the blogging begin! Let's steel ourselves, readers (mom)!
* note to kurt, you also read my blog! And I haven't replied to your kind message. Long time no talk, eh? I will. Just a sec.
Mikey is coming to visit me at the beginning of april when I finish my contract, and we're gonna go on a rock star tour of japan then head back. Then I'll be home. For reals. I never give anyone a definitive answer as to what I'm doing, cause I don't REALLY know, ("you're leaving april dan?!?" "nah, i'm sure i'll still be here..") I dunno, I'm loyal. Or cowardly. Can't tell. But, I need to be home, I need to have a normal life with friends, be able to buy soda and play dungeons and dragons, have people to play games with. Games in ENGLISH. stuff like that.

What's your new years resolution? I've decided it's time to get my tattoo. I've wanted one for... 7 years? I WAS waiting until i turned 18, when I'd get one, but it never came. So, I've sat on it long enough and need to get one while still in japan. I always figured "when i see it, i'll know it" like... true love or something? I learned to give up on the "true love" finding you, so I don't know why I still desperately clutched that "the true tattoo design" concept with such desperation. So it's been my art project for the last month or so, and will be the direction we take with this post. I'm super excited about it now that I am taking art more and more seriously.
First of all, I've decided to get a kirin. You can read about them here.
Wikipedia
or this crazy tattoo guy's page
it's also a good memento of hiroshima (main picture of this post). They're the spawn of a phoenix and dragon i believe? Anyways, if I were to have gotten a tattoo, without coming to japan, it probably would have been a dragon anyways, so it's perfect. And after drawing dozens of these buggers over the past month or two it's really grown on me.

Here are some of the pics I've done...

I have done a LOT more than that, but it's come down to the first and last one basically. I've worked out the colors pretty well, the bulk dark part will be super dark brown, with light brown for the "shading" and the light yellow and purple highlights.
I really like the design where there's two of them, (there's a brief explanation for that, too, if you check it on flickr.) but it would have to be huge, and i don't want it that big. And, yes, the ”キリン” will be hidden in there. Or, not really "hidden", but in there anyways.

the clock's ticking, gimme some input if you have any?

2008-01-02T01:28:00.000-08:00

don't know how long this is gonna be up, but that album i mentioned earlier? radiohead did a free internet new years concert. you can watch it here, but i don't know for how long! enjoy it while you can ~
http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16102804>1=7702

happy new years~ i sense that '08 holds large things, actually. Brace yourselves!

2008-01-01T03:15:00.000-08:00

i couldn't help it, i had to buy this game.

but, i'm sure not going to understand most of it...
also, happy new years!

The details of sushi

2007-12-06T23:34:00.000-08:00

You all should know this. hah, it's obviously overdone, as it's a comedy group, but still awesome.

Nude

2007-11-12T01:59:00.001-08:00

incase you haven't bought that album, even for 0 cents, like i told you to... here is a taste anyways

2007-11-09T03:48:00.001-08:00

Your Score: Song of Ice and Fire
Your world is 57% Sophisticated, 49% Unconventional, and 56% Intense!

You have the dubious honor of residing in Westeros. I say dubious because while your world is very intense at times, and has tons of cool-yet-mostly-generic noble houses and knights and evil Others, it is also sophisticated and very, very real. Main characters have no innate protection against untimely death. None at all. Protagonists drop like flies. In fact, the only characters who die more often than protagonists are... everyone else. That's right. You'll starve, be raped, dismembered, frozen to death, or thrown off a thousand foot precipice. If you're lucky you'll just have your face split in two by an axe and live to tell the tale. But it's sure going to be fun for us to read about.
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Sophisticated

You scored higher than 99% on Unconventional

You scored higher than 99% on Intense

^ _ ^

2007-11-09T01:50:00.001-08:00

This is an interesting article, and it's odd I ran into it today without looking for it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18614086/
here's a bit

"Culture is a huge factor in determining whether we look someone in the eye or the kisser to interpret facial expressions, according to a new study.

For instance, in Japan, people tend to look to the eyes for emotional cues, whereas Americans tend to look to the mouth, says researcher Masaki Yuki, a behavioral scientist at Hokkaido University in Japan. (...)

So when Yuki entered graduate school and began communicating with American scholars over e-mail, he was often confused by their use of emoticons such as smiley faces :) and sad faces, or :(

"It took some time before I finally understood that they were faces," he wrote in an e-mail. In Japan, emoticons tend to emphasize the eyes, such as the happy face (^_^) and the sad face (;_;). "After seeing the difference between American and Japanese emoticons, it dawned on me that the faces looked exactly like typical American and Japanese smiles," he said."

The third grade class at my elementary school is doing a little play in english, (an old folk tale "momotarou", if you care, about a boy born from a peach who fights demons) and I was helping them with their lines today. I was trying to teach them how to say "What is it?!? It's a huge peach!!" and the teacher kept telling them "Look at his eyes! Look at his eyes!" and it really threw me off. hah.

lumbadafollower
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Anyways...
I'm loving the new radiohead album (though I wouldn't pay 80 bones for it, hah!) and i got this picture cranked out. Looking for inspiration right now for something new... and stumbling across articles about smiley faces.

In Rainbows

2007-11-08T01:32:00.000-08:00

In Rainbows

new radiohead album available, download only.
Click on the link, go to checkout. Price = ____ (you decide)

something needs to change in the music industry-- i'm glad that it's radiohead doing it, because i was sure enough of their music to support them. Honestly, I think Radiohead is the only band that's put enough progression and innovation in their music to rival the beatles. Get the album! Pay 5 cents for it if you want.

-D

daft hands

2007-11-06T02:42:00.001-08:00

at first i was unimpressed by this, and then once the lyrics came on, it kinda blew me away. Check it out.

marijuana

2007-10-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

Everyone in kumano is burning like the leftovers of what they don't harvest of the rice or something, and this entire town smells strongly like weed. It's kinda relaxing, I wonder how long it'll keep up?

I've been drawing like crazy.

Irihama Beach

2007-10-05T18:58:00.001-07:00

Irihama Beach (Miyajima) from lovegrove on Vimeo.

the hippie fest last weekend. put some flickr pics up too

keep on keepin' on

2007-10-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in an odd flux. I've never felt less inspired to write a blog, which doesn't explain why i'm doing it now for the first time in months.
There's probably no one around who read my first blog back when i started it 2001/2002. It was a morbid thing, I was disappointed with a lot of things that turned out different than my expectations, and really didn't snap out of that year long depression until I decided to start drinking, and join the rest of society my age.
I went, from there, into about a 4 year "up" where I was never depressed, no matter how hungover I was, and now I am pretty sure I've regressed back into another anti-social sobriety. I need booze to keep myself social, but out here in this town, there is no one to meet in the first place, so no reason for me to leave my apartment. I mean, I don't even WANT to. I've read three books in a week, and tonight,(it's friday) I FORCED myself to get out the door, thinking "I'm going to go find a new place to grab a beer (non existent), get drunk, and be social)
I failed, I just rode my bike around for a little over an hour with headphones on.

It was nice though, it is getting cool and I got to wear pants. Reminds me of the last season, when i still had a lot of energy and enthusiasm. With the change in weather, I'm anticipating a turn around.

Still, when I go out to hiroshima, I usually meet up with friends, and have a lot of great adventures and drinks. Check my flickr page.
Also, you'll see some artwork up there, which has been completely enveloping me, especially for the last week or two. Finally have a good creative output for a lot of the things I've wanted to do for the last 3 years, as cam and I are creating a campaign setting.

Also, I went to an overnight music festival on miyajima last weekend. I remember at the time thinking it was probably the greatest nights I've had in japan, or therefore ever (I've had a lot of most excellent times here. Novel-worthy, other-worldly, floating spirit world time adventures) but somehow it didn't change my outlook, it just managed to stand contrast to where I am at instead.

Read a confederacy of dunces, Hiroshima, motorcycle diaries, and am thick into American psycho. Jesus, I'm realizing that book list is... well, good, but besides that you know...

Flight of the Conchords

2007-08-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

oh man, pure romance

2007-07-31T02:55:00.000-07:00

whoah....

anyways, see you tomorrow in reno!

FINALLY

2007-07-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

my god, this was a long game. But, it is finished. I was an evil gnome wizard named Babbs Belmfrick. Actually, I was a druid, but got sick of it after the 3rd chapter, and just made a new character and used cheats to hack me up to where I was before. I lost out on a lot of good items, but whatever. Wizards are so insane.
I'm going to start Hordes of the Underdark, as a fighter I think.... with a healer henchmen. I am tempted to keep babbs, but.... I dunno. Maybe I should. I'm fidgety.
The point is: that list of things to do when I am home? Play D&D!! Thats what I forgot!!

Soil & "PIMP" Sessions

2007-07-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Soil & "PIMP" Sessions (case and character sensitive, there btw).
You might scoff the silly name, you might scoff their crazy style, but if you do you're a FOOL. If you like Jazz, lend your ears here.
this band's the freshest thing in the genre in the last 20 years. ( maybe an overstatement there, but prove me wrong if you can) Still shocked to see these cats in a blinging moving schoolbus, putting ghostriding the whip to shame, sporting afros and pimp costumes wailing such genuine jazzy jazz-felt jazz.. Or, maybe, who else COULD do it? Anyways, I, personally, love that ability the Japanese have to take our usually dumb genres and puke them back on our own silly faces, but with a lot more earnesty. Like, in their misunderstanding, something genuine was brought forth.
Get your grubby mitts on an album, preferably Pimp Master, or Pimp of the Year. They go under the genre Death Jazz, and I swear to christ they've got more heart and funk than a barrel of jimmy smith, besides some melodies that i'll take in lieu of even davis' Kind of Blue. Either way, I'm addicted to their energy. If you don't like jazz.... you should anyways. check out their other vids on youtube

good (and bad) reads

2007-07-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

BREAK! woo woo

2007-07-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

I just finished my last class, and am hijacking the computer to let you all know. I don:t have to teach another class until sept 9th! September 9th... that leaves me, well, more time off than I even had between jobs. There are a few things I wanna get done when I am home:

1. borrow a library of gamecube games to play on my wii once i come back. (cory, cam, could you brush the dust off of some of those titles for me maybe?!?) there were a few great RPGs i missed out on, mainly thinking here of the LOTR game and more specifically Fire Emblem.

2. maybe i can squeeze in 4 hashes? doubtful but who knows.

3. ummm

I was sure there was more on that list, but I don`t necessarily like lists anyways. I should feel a little more liberated right now, but I still have a trillion things to do while I`m here in japan. worried about my re-entry permit, and though I shouldn`t stress it, it feels like I`m not done with work because I have a couple drinking parties to go to. What else?
Oh yeah, MONEY. that adds the edge to a few things, too.

Even though this is probably the easiest job I`ve had besides cashiering the pool... I need this vacation BAD. I`m getting as anti-social and depressed sometimes as before I started drinking alcohol, but am still drinking, so where does that leave me? I don`t feel like going to see my friends, I don`t feel like even leaving my apartment; for anything. I`ll have 2 classes, or none, and think it`s a pain in the ass.
Anyways, I need to come home, I hope I can handle it.

NO red mage?!?

2007-07-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

So I picked up that new Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP used. After my first 5 minutes, i realized it was a stupid idea since the game is so freakin complicated, and there's more story than I though (which i'm a huge sucker for)
BUT! After some (not so)intense internet browsing, I found translations online from the original one, and after hours of play i've got the game system down.
Anyways, this entire post is going to be about this videogame, and it's battle system. You might not care. There's my warning. I've always KNOWN this game was a classic, and even though i got hooked on the GBA version, i dunno, i didn't expect it to be this... GOOD.
I think as I've gotten older, I just want to dig my hands into the meatiest form of battle. I want to liberally switch job classes, I want full flexibility in my abilities, I crave those 100% successful hits and the job points that pop above your head afterwards. This game seems to be perfect.
Lemme go over some of the best points of the game, because I'm gonna get to one simple and fatal flaw that may prevent me from playing it at all.
So, everyone knows that the jobs (ninja, samurai, dragoon, black mage, white mage, etc...) are the coolest part of final fantasy. To me, anyways. And the great part about it, is it's not a character class -- in most games, you choose your class, then that's it.(usually a fighter is just a fighter, right? You choose that class and you can kiss magic out the window) But with a "job" you can take it up and leave it, so your character can be max level in all of those jobs, and switch between them whenever you feel appropriate. So for every successful action you take in the game, you earn job points. For example, i switch my white mage to a black mage, so my main action changes from white magic to black magic. Then I successfully cast fire with my black mage. I earn some job points for it, which i can use to buy blizzard, thunder, etc.. Then after the battle I switch my character from black mage BACK to white mage. Now my action is white magic again, but I have a 2nd one that's empty, and since i LEARNED fire and thunder, I can put black magic there. Now i have a healer who can cast black magic spells. There are also a few other types of abilities you can swap, like responsive and move abilities. you could next switch to a thief, and learn "catch" as a responsive action; then if someone throws a shuriken at me or something, i will automatically catch it. That is a different slot than black magic (response, not action) so i have this ultimate magic user who catches shit.
Anyways, this is all perfect. And the game is freakin hard, so you need this versatality and power to be successful, and you need to be smart with it.
But...
Death. it's permanent.
So, when you go unconscious, in most games you stay at 0 points and lay on the ground, and you can be revived, or if you're not, your character is still at 0 points after the battle, and then you can use items or magic to revive him out of battle. Anyways, if you survive the battle, you can always bring your characters back.
But not here. Once you KO, a timer starts above your head, so you have like 3 rounds to revive that character or else they disappear forever. You can win the battle, and they're just gone out of your party. It's stupid. It's not "fair" like it seems on the surface, let me explain.
I already went into how thick the system is. So, you put a lot of time leveling all of your characters, switching their jobs around, learning abilities, etc... They are NOT disposable. It's just not acceptable. I already mentioned the game is challenging, so in order not to get totally screwed, you're expected to win every battle flawlessly?? I mean, you have those 3 rounds to revive them, but that means I have to put item use or white magic as the 2nd ability on almost every character, rather than I want or what would be best for them. Lets take that to the next step. I want white magic or item use on all of my fighter type characters. So to do that, which is stupid in the first place, now I have to switch ALL of my characters over to chemist or white mage and earn them the job points to buy the ability in the first place. It's fucking stuuuuuuuuuuuuuupid!
And I'm gonna backtrack on my save point (Because 2 of my characters are non existent now) and log another 10 hours into this game, then I'll update you with whether i can stand it or not. I dunno. When i found this out late last night ("so THATS where my characters went!!! WTF?!?") I almost threw my PSP out the window; i had to settle for punching the wooden floor with my bare fist, which i'm regretting today.

and i'm still pissed about it....

oh, also, my FAVORITE final fantasy class is red mage, and they're not in the game!! that peeves me a lot. That's not a fatal error like the previously mentioned one that would ever make me quit the game, it's just...it just makes me sad and a little frustrated, because they would be SOOO good in a strategical RPG like this.

Anyways, i KNOW one of you knows dave baryeuther(sp?)'s email address, you know, hairy dave. I'm ashamed to say that i don't, so can someone tell me? I gotta talk to him.

~D

wow.

2007-05-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

crazy otaku and their wii

the amazing spiderman

2007-05-29T05:10:00.001-07:00

the amazing spiderman
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

So, I have these laminated cards i drew of famous characters everyone knows, like naruto and sasuke, goku and vegeta, pikachu and totoro. Well, one of them is Superman. A cool picture that i posted up on here awhile ago. I made them so when we play games kids can be team Goku, rather than team 1. Anyways, whenever they draw the superman card they're like "AAAAGhh!?!? Superman?!? " when, it should be the coolest one. So, with spiderman 3 out, i've really been trying to push his popularity lately. Here's some pictures.

While on the subject of dorkdom, I bought a Wii sunday. I've been looking for one for a couple months -- finally shun called up a neighboring places electronic store and they were like "we have 5, hurry up and come" we got right in the car, and 20 mins later when we got there i grabbed one of 3 left. Geez. I mean, sitting in the office at work, i was eavesdropping on the other teachers-- you know, 30 40, 50 year old women, and they were talking about the Nintendo Wii and DS. I am going to go on a japanese culture tangent here, since that reminds me of one.
So I was at Alice garden after skating with jerico, you know, 4 p.m. or so, and a band is getting fired up there. Jerico went off to play hackeysack with some marines that were there (?) and i was sitting on the steps and some girls said "hello" to me, you know, in english. So i started talking to them, and offered them a few cold ones. So we were there in the park drinking some beers, listening to music, and the conversation gets around to "how old are you?" and, they are all 18!! Christ, giving alcohol to minors, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the busiest part of town. But we're in Japan, where it would have never mattered -- this country is crazy.

back to games ~ I got elebits (Which i regret, shoulda gotten wario-ware) and some golf game. Golf on the wii is very satisfying, even though the game i got could be played with a normal controller, you swing just to gauge your swing, it's not too sensitive to the swing itself. Meaning your aim, spin, swing power, etc... are all controlled elsewhere. Still, the execution of those decisions using the wiimote thrilling. I can't imagine what can be done with a dedicated golf sim. It's a very japanese game, which i don't imagine hitting the foreign shores anytime soon; meaning right now my focus is leveling up my clubs, buying stat-modifying clothes (like my cowboy hat that gives +1 to control), finding potions, and gaining access to caddies with different magic abilies. My backswing and slice don't rank very high in the game's priorities.
Resident Evil 4 Wii edition comes out the day after tomorrow (thursday) and i am DYING to play it. Or maybe I will die playing it. I couldn't play that game drunk, because it was too frightening. (if you're not familiar with this game... go here
and watch some videos. )
That game had my heart racing so hard, back on the gamecube. I'm afraid of what it's going to be like in shun's dark cave-room, playing it projected on the entire wall; panicked, and feebly waving my wiimote at an onslaught of hungry, angry zombies. Sweaty hands shaking, finger desperately pulling the well-placed trigger on the back of the remote, I am going to be in (some sort of twisted) heaven!!

My guitar, which i fixed again, is holding up. I put in freaking screws and bolts, and although it startles me awake in the night sometimes, thinking it some sort of frankenstein's monster, it sounds fine.

Um...
email me? leave flickr comments? I dunno.

-D

I could have sworn...

2007-05-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

that i looked more around 80% like lindsay lohan...

spiderman 3

2007-05-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

saw it yesterday, all of you mongrels should do the same in a few days ;)

Yura Yura Teikoku

2007-04-26T02:40:00.000-07:00

LOVE this band/video. Stick it out and watch it all. probably the coolest video i've found on youtube ever.

and here's one for the older folks. When I was at karaoke with the co-teachers, someone sang it. apparently it was a big hit in america. It's probably one of the sweetest,best songs i've ever heard, isn't it?!?

got one day of work in the next 8. hmm.... plans....

2007-04-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

so it didn't take me long~~ 3rd day at judo and i already sprained my knee. Or, stressed the ligament, or something like that. whatever it is you do to it that prevents you from walking. Of course, it was totally my fault. I can't tell you how naturally awful i am at judo. I just don't get how to move my weight, and other people's around in the right way at the right time. Cant keep my feet and arms coordinated, i'm trying so hard to thinka bout it "okay when i spin my foot then i ahve to pull his arm then i have to move my other foot over then move the other foot over a little more..." rather than just doing it, cause i'm all nervous about it and trying to perfect it. It's stupid. I am remembering cameron's hamstring injuries, and am praying that doesn't happen to me, christ. But luckily no classes today, which is why i'm sitting here typing up a blog-- i wrapped my leg with a hankerchief last night, and hobbled to work where the shcool nurse fixed me up with some wrap and cool pack stuff. Got 4 classes tomorrow, then a 3 day weekend. hopefully by monday i'll be walking.

The other night I was sleeping, and was startled awake at 3:30 to this thunderous BWAAAAANG!!! It was awful, i swear to christ my heart almost tore itself out of my chest, it was SO loud in the dead of night. It was the head of my acoustic guitar finally giving and just snapping off. It was like the sound that it makes when bugs bunny breaks a guitar over elmer fudd's head. It just freakin...broke. sitting there.

Then it's starting to get warm, so i was going to start airing my futon, and there's already mold on the bottom. So.... that sucks.

my futon, knee, and guitar are all broken. luckily i fixed my computer *knock on wood*

I seriously have nothing to do at work today~~ i finished the board game i was making yesterday. I'd just play with kids and help...garden and stuff, but with the knee i'm stuck sitting at my desk trying to look busy but not knowing how. Which is awesome, but.... what on earth am i going to do?

your truly
-D

Spring Fever

2007-04-23T06:41:00.001-07:00

A happy family
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

It's good times again -- for someone who stays indoors 23 hours a day, i'm freakishly connected with the weather.

I'm speaking of winter, and how much I hate it. It's hard to stay in good spirits when you're alone in the cold, you know? Maybe it's just that loitering is something that comes very natural to me, and walkign around killing time, or sitting at park playing videogames or harmonica, is so great in warm weather and so awful in cold. Also, Kumano has just gotten a hell of a lot prettier since it turned green, it's unbelievable. I can't even listen to happy music in cold weather, i spend all winter listening to emo and bumming myself out, i just can't help it. Or I'm too spoiled to fend off uncomforts without great effort. Long story short, went to my first carp game!!
they lost.
Which lost us a bit of money on beer at Marumiya afterwards. When the carp win, they have 71 yen beers (opposed to 500). Brilliant way to build up a loyal fanbase huh?!?

What else has gone on? I went to another hanami the week before that, here in kumano, which may have been one of my most pleasurable days in japan so far~ Here's some pics.

Met this guy there who is a judo teacher, and he says "you should learn judo", probably half or more in jest, but i spoke in my last post of never rejeting invitations, so now I am taking Judo class. And, god, i am sickeningly weak. Most of you know that, but not the full extent of it. I don't feel like I'd ever have a chance at being good at this sport unless i put on 30 pounds(which i don't want) or shrunk town (center of gravity yeah), but it's cool because i don't have to punch or kick anyone, and i come home sore in muscles i didn't know existed. Lots of elementary school students.... which is....wierd....

Well, speaking of not refusing invitations, I played in a dodgeball tournament in yamaguchi prefecture sunday. The winner of the dodgeball tournament won "delicious meat". Which made more sense when we had a BBQ afterwards,

but, it was still a pretty freakin wierd day. I felt even cooler, if possible, when we get there after an hour of driving and i know one of the hot chicks playing.

I want to thank cam, dave and matt and mikey dikey for filming me those clips.You might have been mocking me about the blogging thing, but I'll take it to heart. I always thought mat looked pretty sweet with longer hair and a beard, but he always childishly insists on cutting his hair. Don't even think about it dude. Also, kinda cory was in the video, though you could just see his hand swatting the camera then hear a drawling "I know you know i know i don't give a f**!" hahahaha

One last note. I was about 5 days late hearing about the virginia thing, but to make it up to the karmic wheel I will see Spiderman3 four days before the rest of america. Wait, 5 if you count the fact I also live a day in your future.

2007-04-03T04:11:00.000-07:00

Casimir Pulaski Day

Jacksonville

Come on! Feel the Illinoise!
part i: The World's Columbian Exposition
part ii: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream

a bit sloppy live, especially the last track, it's total studio music. but you can get the gist~

Spring has Sprung!

2007-04-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

It's time for Hanami, or flower viewing. I'm STILL on spring break. Which is good, but I was sore about it in the beginning~ the day before it started i get told, offchance by one of the teachers not even from my company, that i had the next 13 days off. WHAT?!? I mean, that's a NICE surprise, but i shouldn't get my 2nd largest vacation as a surprise.
Anyways, I kicked around for a few days doing not much, then decided to up and go somewhere.
Got on the train. Ended up in Okayama.
So, I was waiting to hear from Mat. I wanted to visit his country hovel out there, but he wasn't feeling like checking his email, so i was stuck in Okayama city for a night. Shouldered my giant rad backpack (thanks maresa) and hit the bars.
Funny story, I got about 4000 yen of free drinks from a girl! Hah
So, she was talking to me, and being SUPER flirty. We sang duets on the karaoke machine, and everything. I was buying her drinks, feeling good about myself. Anyways, later on, when i was drunk, she mentioned something about leaving to meet her boyfriend, or something, and i was angry. I called her a liar, for letting me buy her all those drinks, and for being so flirty when she had a boyfriend. I said but it's okay, it was nice to meet you and you're welcome for the drinks, in my cold disappointed attitude i have sometimes -- that one that really hurts girls feelings when i'm not trying to. Anyways, she covered our tab, which must have been pretty lofty. Thank god. The next day i felt pretty guilty about it, but not TOO guilty.

So, the next day, I tried like hell to win robert a mario question mark block from this stupid machine, but couldn't do it.
Finally, Mat called, and i went out to his country home to spend a couple days.

Crazy, so, he lives with his girlfriend in her dad's old house, neighboring her parents house. And good thing, because they have no electricity or running water in that old place. Which is really awesome, and a cool way to live for awhile, but i couldn't tough it out. And those walls are japanese style, which means they are literally paper. During the winter, when it's freezing here, i have NO clue how they got by. He said it was hell, that doing ANYTHING was soooooo difficult, and they ended up spending most of their time at the parents house.
I can't get you to understand how cold it must have been. Also, being in that big room is freaking SCARY at night. Sooo creepy, he was telling me about how the night before his girlfriend was out, and he had to go to sleep alone and was horrified.
Anyways, enjoy this video tour. Mat is also a vegan, so, throw out your respect to the man.

Mat's House Tour on Vimeo

oh yeah, together we went to Naoshima, which is like... art island. Check that webpage. It was really awesome. I took a crapload of pictures.

Finally, Hanami. Which was yesterday. Which was so fun~ jerico invited me along, and we partied it up with this super hip group of kids, and a heck of a lot of cuuute girls. It sounds pretty pathetic, but i was/am pretty excited about it. I only hang out with 48 year old men anymore. I'm serious~ kids after high school and before marriage don't live in Kumano. Contacts in Hiroshima are always "busy". Anyways, it's been sort of a tough couple months for me.
Last year, I had this sort of fiery energy-- ANY little ammount of time i had off, which wasn't a lot, i desperately and actively pursued fun. Justin once gave me a little speech along the lines of partying -- he said he will always go out when invited. Even if you don't want to, because you might end up having a great time. You'll always have tests, and homework, or be tired, or hungover. Right? It's true, those things are neverending, and not what i want to base my actions around. But I almost ignored those words, which would have been awful, and i wouldn't even know it!
This year, my job is freaking great, but i don't feel like doing anything anymore except coming home and drawing, or reading.
Anyways, I went, met cool people, had a blast.

Also, I made my first money panhandling! After the party, I'd missed the last train/bus, and was deciding what to do, and i was pretty drunk so i ended up sitting in front of the convenience store playing my harmonica with my hat out like a dork, and some dudes tossed some money in, then brought me inside and bought me booze (that i definately didn't need at that point)
But, we hung out drinking outside the convenience store, and i was drunk enough to give them a little concert.
Good times this spring break, except the small fortune i've spent. Ouch.

Comment for me.
-D

2007-03-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

Last night, friday night, I went to bed at 9;30, woke up at 9 this morning. Whats up with that? I am sleeping a LOT lately -- a frightening ammount. Every night I get a solid 10. Went 7 thursday night, and friday i felt so rotten. I wonder if I:m sick? As long as I get my fix though I feel fine...
Anyways.
Finished the Earthsea books, and they were surprisingly good. They were more about people than some crazy save the world from evil storyline like all fantasy books. Theres a studio ghibli (princess mononoke, spirited away, howl:s moving castle, etc..) movie based on them (did i mention that last time?) that I:m desperate to see now. Anyways, check them out.
I actually bought some sherlock holmes stories to read next. Wasnt much selection, but they:re classics so what the hell? I just can:t get the cheesy stereotype out of my head.
Bought an iPod, I:m hooked on it. It:s a black beauty named `Smapdi`. Which was the name of my Charazard in Pokemon in high school.
Drawing a lot.
Weather:s picking up.
Gonna party tonite.
Saw Daniel Radcliffe`s penis.
Gonna go meet a girl, or jerico for an afternoon beer~whichever.
<3 dan

ばか日本のキーボード！！

2007-02-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

I am about to smash this keyboard through the monitor. That:s right, they are seperate, because I:m at a desktop in an internet cafe. Went to Seattles Best as usual, internet wasn:t working (just as it doesnt in my house, or at both schools for no reason) so here I am at the internet cafe. Wanting badly to go buy an apple so I:ll have a computer that actually works like it:s supposed to. Typed up a blog, went to turn the volume up, and apparently the volume program is a reset switch, because it restarted the computer.
So, you don:t get to hear about my birthday unless I get in a better mood and decide to retype it. Blasted computer!!! Stupid technology!! I need to get back to the countryside I guess.

The kids, I really love them, but they are vermin. I am now surrounded by hundreds, not dozens of them and I:ve caught one of their nasty bugs. Then I had to go out for my birthday and drink my body into submission of it~
and as unlikely as it sounds, I am running in a race tomorrow with some teachers from work, and this week we had a couple training sessions. Hah. Anyways, I wasn:t feeling too bad until after that, when my lungs filled with the cold evening air, which felt like molten lead that i couldn:t cough up no matter how much i tried.
I:m trying to bolster my body:s immune system, give it a good cheer. Been sleeping like 10 hours a night (9:30 or 10 until 7), eating lotsa veggies and of course my daily nutritional school lunches. Alcohol? haven`t touched the stuff (cept for last night, when some old people dropped a few free glasses of shochu on me, which felt like 8 after i drank them)
anyways, feeling okay today except for my anger at microsoft, and my PC platform.
reading the Earthsea chronicles, which the new studio ghibli film is based off of. Pretty cool, realized more of what an unoriginal book Eregon is (i thought the true language concept in it was cool, but it was taken EXACTLY from this book, and I mean EXACTLY).
i`ve bought a Hammond A harp, and agolden melody C harp. Wow, I just noticed how much cheaper the golden melody was, it actually plays better (maybe because i have it broken in so much more). I swear they were more the same price here? Anyways. That:s about it for my life.

Coffee Break

2007-02-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

I've pretty much resolved to let my internet stay broken until it fixes itself, and keep it a weekend engagement to look forward to. Actually, I am sort of afraid that if I don't have this extra thing pushing me onto the bus to hiroshima, I'd stay in my quaint little town, in my quaint little apartment, doing my quiet little things,and eating my (frighteningly)simple food. Let me put some meaning into that, I think I'm naturally a pretty base person -- I don't have a lot of ambition, or need much else besides coffee or beer and a book or pen and paper to keep me occupied; in other words, I'm afraid my youth is going to slip away living like that. That one day soon I'll meet with someone young and fiery, and have nothing in common with them.
So here I am, in the bustling city, where I plan to go buy some snazzy clothes, a hip new CD, and save as much vital information as i can from the internet to my hard drive.

What's bugging me about not having the internet isn't the lack of communication, but the fact I can't ever look anything up! Like, if i had access only to www.wikipedia.com then i'd be fine. I was thinking about what people did before the internet was around, and I guess they bought gigantic sets of encyclopedias. You'd start with "A", and as you could afford it, you'd work your way up to "Z". Then you'd have a limited set of knowledge about some miscellaneous things. How barbaric.
So, of course, that's out of the question.

My job is pretty darned easy. I stress, a little, because I am new still; still doing things for the first time. But, I can tell it's temporary. And maybe what I'm feeling isn't stress, but just slight hangovers, who can really tell?
I wake up at 6:00 or 7:00, depending on which school i'm going to, get home at 3:30 or 5:30, depending on what bus I can catch, I make myself something stupid for dinner. Listen to Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" again, eat my food, wash the dishes, then do something for a little while until I give up and fall asleep. It's a wierd lifestyle for me. Sometimes I go to the nearby park (or, dirt field with a few benches) and play harmonica until it gets too cold.
There are a couple of girls that I'm trying to date, but that's not going anywhere yet. It's hard to tell where friendship ends and hospitality takes over.

I go to one of two nearby little snack shops, which is where people drink, and order some snack and a drink, and some older man always ends up paying my bill, and forcing more drinks and some wierd type of seafood on me. It's not a bad deal, but I have to tuck away in my apartment for the night if I don't want this to happen.

Finally, It is just so damned cold there's not much I can do. I look at the tilled brown rice fields everywhere, the dead grass, and blow out a frozen breath of air wishing summer would come so I could DO things. Driving me crazy!!
Well, I have, what, a month and a half or so? Then it'll start warming up. God I can't wait.

I took some awesome vids and pics, but forgot to put them to my computer from my memory card before coming here, so they'll have to wait.
Oh, but I found some pics from Kyoto when Maresa was here that I never uploaded. I think I've only put about 50% of the pictures I've taken on flickr. It's a daunting task, but check them out.

Kumano Two

2007-01-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a busy place, for such a uninhabited eventless place. Or maybe it's just me.

That frightening afternoon on Vimeo

there you go. It's that TV show I talked about, I caught it with my camera, so sorry for the quality!! It didn't turn out as bad as it could have I think.

I am quickly running out of batteries and time, i've been HAULING trying to get all these pictures and videos up, but work is going great. I haven't taught a class since my last post, because of this school concert thing, check out the vids, but here is the song that us teachers sang.

Kona Yuki on Vimeo
that clip is of us singing the song i embedded below.
Okay, my batteries are gone now, gotta go!!
peace~

Lovely Kumano

2007-01-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

So, I live here now. If there was some confusion on that last post, let me clarify. In April, I have the opportunity to switch schools and then maybe it would be easier to commute to Kumano from Hiroshima city, but as it turns out, it really won't be. Well, it would require catching the 7:30 as opposed to the 8:48 (or riding my bike) bus. I think I'll settle in Kumano for the time being. Sitting in the coffee shop in hiroshima. Downtown hiroshima is a cool 45 min. 620 yen bus ride, so i can come everyweekend, drink my self silly, and crash at a friends' or wait for the morning train/bus. Not so bad.

hustling bustling kumano on Vimeo
Kumano is a little busier than that video makes it seem, I just thought it was a cute little location. I bought a memory card for my amazing cell phone, so I can liberally take pictures (up to 2048 x 1536 resolution), videos like you see above, and listen to mp3s. I forgot to upload the pics i took with the camera onto my PC so you can't see them now, but they look pretty good.there's a low res pic i took of my school lunch. Eating Japanese style again, I think I've almost lost that 10 lbs i put on stateside. Yeah, in like 8 days. That pink package of stuff is natto.
So I've only just begun, but working at the elementary school is SO awesome. Basically, at amity, I hated work with all of my being, but at the school it's actually FUN. Yeah, you heard me, fun. The kids worship me like a superhero, and follow me in lines. It's not all stressful because it's the home-room teachers class, not yours, so you just go in and do a presentation, and I only have the same class maybe twice a month so it's not like I'm all responsible for their english greatly excelling. All in all, I work half as much, for half as long, and it's infinately more fun, and a quarter as stressful. Also, I've spoken more japanese in the last 3 days than I did in 2 months last year.
Here's a picture of my school -- i've yet to work at the other one (though i've seen it).

and here's some of the town.

Basically, I'm pretty sure I am the only foreigner living in town. Actually, I am very sure. So I mentioned earlier, or in the video or something, that 80 percent of brushes made in japan come from here. Wierd, I know, but wierder yet is that they are just releasing a set of brushes made for writing english. Err, roman characters anyways. So, when i met the board of education they explain this to me, then that the japanese national broadcasting system (NHK, like imagine if there was only NBC in america. I don't reallly understand how their broadcasting works, but everyone gets and watches NHK and it's always them filming lame stuff. like...reality news basically, or else cooking shows) is doing a thing on it. So...they want me to come and use them for the camera and give my impressions. Okay. I get there, in between classes on my 1st day living in this town, and there's this circle of tables, and all of the brushmakers of the city in chairs around it. I come in and just have enough time to snap this picture

Then, I walk in the door while they film me, shake hands with all of these dudes while they give me their business cards and stuff, like I'm some professional brush tester, then I sit down and they're like "okay, write something and give us your impressions" And they're hovering this camera alternating from 3 inches from my face and my paper. I start to write my name in you know.. normal letters. Shit, I don't know how to write, and i told them that. I figured they're film me writing for a few seconds (not the paper) and then use it as background footage for their thing. But, they're like interviewing me, and then they ask me to, you know, WRITE my name. I haven't written cursive since like 3rd grade so i give it my dumb signature, and i wasn't used to this paper, or the brush, or how slow to go, or how much water and how much color to use (you have to work a bit to get a feel for that stuff, you know)
Anyways. Then they want me to draw a picture. I can't do it under the pressure, i color a circle, color around it, make some stupid lines, the whole time going "oh wow, I can hold it like a pencil. We're not used to writing with brushes in the west, so this is a big step" and "this is great how i can taper a line with the same brush, that kind of control is really impressive" in DEAD SILENCE. it was hell. The result is this stupid thing that looks like a yellow comet with brown streaks (i was going to draw a sunflower before i freaked....) and they had me freaking SIGN it, and it's going to be on national television. I almost asked them to stop the camera so i could jump out the window. To finish it off they asked me how they could SELL it in america. Shit. I don't know? I said some junk like "it's really important that these are actually made in this little town in Japan, not some big factory in china or something. It's like going back in time." that's right. It's like going back in time. Then all the brush dudes had some meeting and i had to sit there and put on a serious face and listen to them and nod and stuff. I couldn't handle it and started laughing, and gave the camera a thumbs up.

Anyways, that's over, and it airs the day after tomorrow, i'll try to film the TV with my camera.

Then, i went for a few needed beers after work, met a girl, got her number and when i tried to meet up with her last night, she was there with her MOM. so, they're like playing host to me. That was wierd, too.

Wierd little town is freaking me out. Also, I am going to run in a town relay race thingy in a week or two. I'm learning a thing or two here about nerves, if not japanese.

well, this post has gotten long. I'm gonna order another coffee, then maybe consider a recap of my stay in reno, which i miss sorely living alone in the mountains.

Horse

2007-01-19T18:42:00.001-08:00

Its whats for dinner

back again

2007-01-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I`m back in Hiroshima again. Some dude got sick and I`m back over, sorry if you didn`t get the memo. Anyways, living in the `Hiroshima Intelligent Hotel` right now, which kindly offers this PC in the lobby I am using, while the women at the desk stare at me. Ends up I`ll be living in the countryside, in Kumano from tomorrow forward, about a 50 minute busride from the city. Luckily, I get off work about 5 hours early than I did at Amity so it still makes up for it.(not so so bad since the last bus leaves to kumano from downtown hiroshime at like 11.30 p.m.)
Anyways, living a hermitlike existence in the peaceful countryside, not only will my Japanese start to rule, but I will have a lot of free time to uhh, meditate, draw, and practice the guitar. And my apartment out there is actually really sweet. Now is busy, and the first week or so of work is going to be frightening, teaching entire classrooms of kids as opposed to 1 to 4. Not to mention today I have to go meet the board of education, and introduce myself to both of the schools. Ugh!! Still, it will be so much nicer- i had my coordinator drive me to both of the schools yesterday, and they are so awesome looking! Buildings situated throughout tightly packed traditional style japanese homes, futons hanging out to dry. Stuff like that.
I think I will be the only foreigner living in the town. Crazy.

In limbo
-Dan

Total Santarchy

2006-12-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Santa Crawl on Vimeo

"'Twas the week before Christmas,
when all through the town
Santa was trying not to fall down.

The sleigh had been filled;
the elves all on break.
Santa took to the streets.
There was merry to make.

I had wondered myself
how one guy and one sleigh
pulls off world distribution
all on one day.

But now that I've seen
the Santa Pub Crawl,
I know just how Santa
conquers it all.

It's true what they say:
Santa's jolly, all-knowing.
But the guy's basic secret
is actually cloning.

Last Saturday night,
the streets were a-swim
with not one red clad Santa--
but hundreds of him!

They wandered the city
by pick-up and bike.
Neither slick roads nor snow
impeded their hike.

They dropped by the jazz bar,
Basque club, and casino,
filled 29 bars in downtown Reno.

With elves and Santas,
the thruways were thick,
and I learned a few things
about old Saint Nick.

He works hard, as they say.
He's crafty and arty.
But when chores are done,
Man, Santa can party!

He may wear a toga, so debonair.
He sometimes sports fishnets.
He could have green hair.

Sometimes he's a pirate
loot and all, matey.
He may dress in drag;
He might be a lady!

But compared to Ms. Claus,
Santa's fashion's a flop.
She bought her red suit
at the lingerie shop.

At nightclubs and bars,
Santa sings out of tune.
He sips a Bud Light.
He howls at the moon.

So many temptations.
Will he stay in line?
I think I heard Santa
say, "Hey what's your sign?"

Santa and pals frolic--
a lot.
They smile for reporters.
They pose for group shots.

Ol' Santa cuts loose
but just once a year.
His ulterior motive
(besides his own cheer)
is to rouse up some funds
for Nevada Food Bank.
This year, it was nearly three grand
Hey, Santa, Thanks!

So, back to the North Pole,
for one more night cap,
two Alka-Seltzers,
and then a quick nap.

He must clock back in,
ready for the big flight;
fill his sack up with coal,
um, I mean toys. Right."
from Reno News & Review

Happy Holidays!! Reno has met me with a lot of good times, free, cheap beer, and already one hell of a merry christmas. Santophilia, Santarchy, Santism, I'm not really sure how to explain the onslaught of Santa going on in that video, but that's from the Santa crawl!! Everyone stormed the bars for about 20 or 30 mins at a time then flooded the next -- man I hope I can make it again soon! here's another video, where the crowd breaks out into a round of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" also, check my flickr page!!

Total Santarchy on Vimeo

2006-12-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

missing this place already!

I made it home safe, sound, and sober to good ol' Reno NV. I had the most killer time on my first night back!! But, I didn't have my camera. Bummer.

p.s. john i stole your video up there, sorry.

Yep.

2006-11-27T02:38:00.000-08:00

Yep.
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Happy "Turkey" day! whether you like it out of the oven, or out of the bottle. Also check out the videos I took at the park the next day, cheers! 2 more crazy weeks left.

Thanksgiving on Vimeo

on the final stretch

2006-11-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

CIMG3045
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Coming home soon -- 14 more days of work! (which is where I need to go now actually...) But, I went to Fukuyama with a couple families from work.

Fukuyama shrine on Vimeo

And then that night was a big festival. Please check my Flickr page for the set "Fukuyama" and the tag "ebisu matsuri"

Gotta run -- see you soon

Just because...

2006-11-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

Amazing
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

.. it's the coolest picture ever created

up to nothing

2006-11-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

wrensketch
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

sketching. Packing. and listening to Maze. (so hawt, bring it!)
Did I mention I'd be home Dec 11th? Don't remember, but I am. Get ready!!

whoah...

2006-11-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

whoah...
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

if you look closely, you'll see I'm NOT drinking beer.
Thank god for some crumby weather. I'm getting really tired of feeling guilty about not doing anything. I feel like I just spent a week of soul searching-- but instead of coming down from some sacred mountain, I'm just coming down off of about 4 packs of beer.
Actually, I'd kick them back as i read, or drew comics, all day. Then darkness would roll around, and I'd switch to coffee. Rinse and repeat.
Today has been give and take so far-- i was given a contract to sign, and they took a significant load of stress from me.
Phew.
not sure what's next just yet-- just gonna keep dancing as long as the music plays

cheers

2006-10-29T21:41:00.000-08:00

cheers
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

had fun drinking with a couple of the fathers of my students sat. night. And, happy halloween!
So, I have all this week off-- i HAVE to get my future cemented for the next ... 17 months of my life. Here's why, and everything I'm kicking around

snwmanST: what are ur options
danimal519: well

danimal519: my friend owns a yatai in kure (kure is the town name, real close, and a yatai is like a little restaurant/bar on wheels that is set up daily)

danimal519: and he wants me to, and i want to, go work for him there

danimal519: but if i sign this contract starting in april, that means i'd only be there for about 2 months

danimal519: and april is when he's goign to start to get busy you know? I'd want to start teaching sometime in july or august maybe. I dunno.

danimal519: If i can even support myself for what little he's going to pay me

danimal519: So...

danimal519: when i start work at this company, i'm gonna need about 500,000 yen, or 5,000 dollars

danimal519: because i won't get paid untill 2 months after i start, and am going to have to throw money down on an apartment and everything

danimal519: so... then i'm going to have to crunch and see if i will have enough money to fly home for christmas/new years, then fly back, then be here for 2 or 3 months, and still be able to start there

danimal519: so... i would just think, sign the contract, and if things are going well in kure i won't start at the school

danimal519: but this company sounds pretty sweet, if i don't start in april i'd maybe want to some day in the future so i don't want to break contract with them

2006-10-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

Ratatat has a new album out, and it's better than the first. I went nuts over the first one, and I'm still flipping over this one!
It's a flurry of electric guitars laid out over electronica hip hop beats. I dunno, it's like if Daft Punk, Jay-Z, Pink Floyd, and Mozart had a baby.
Anyways pick it up, and if you can't, get it on iTunes or something.
You can also check it out here.

おしっこちゃん

2006-10-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

06-10-15_10-22~00
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

うまい！”おのみち”に行ってマートを会った。でも十三時にマートがかえたら一人で飲んだ。。。ちょっとさびしかったね。

gala

2006-09-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

gala
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

So as you may or may not know, kayla has brain cancer-- there is going to be a concert to raise money for her. I recommend you go if you live in the Reno area. I dunno when it is or anything, but just as strongly I recommend you buy a t-shirt, too. I just finished this design for her, and here it is. So buy a really cool t-shirt and help the cause!

沖縄へ行ったよ！

2006-09-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

CIMG2747
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

よかった！ I went to Okinawa, and although a little emberrasing to let out my pale flacid husk of a body, it felt damned good.
Listen, I've gotta blog more later, i'm still busy as of now. Maybe tomorrow night I can get around to it.
Also working on some art lately, having a couple girl issues, and been way too addicted to 24. Sheesh, let's not start on that.
Just, do me a favor and check out my photos over at flickr, okay?
much love
-D

Catching up...

2006-09-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

CIMG2728
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Okay, I have been incognito for awhile, but just from the internet really. And my camera, which is a shame. I went to Tokyo, I have been worried about going because of the prices, the pressure to "do tokyo" and all of that, so i finally just caught a train and went. Now when people will eventually say "Japan huh? How was Tokyo?" I can have an answer.
Honestly, I can't completely understand the size of that city. You get on the train, and go from station to station and each one is like a completely different city-- Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, it is like some one team of people specifically designed each section to function as it's own stereotype. Difficult to explain, but they are all one, enormous, Tokyo.
I mentioned I've been away from my computer, but I have been keeping a real life journal ( or should I call it a diary?) for the first time in my life. I will call it a diary, because looking at it now there are things I definately won't post up here as I had planned.

My post in Japanese is unimportant, it says "it's been awhile, sorry. I've been busy with yukie lately-- going to kure, drinking beer, watching carp games, and other things I don't have time to write about." Something like that.

I have a few stories to tell. Of bathrooms, of painting, of traditional homes lined up narrow, treacherous, unplanned and winding stone steps, the hiroshima carp, the yatai, and of american television show addictions. And Superman.

Has to wait... again. Time is money, I wish I had more of both. I need to get a handle on the money I'm spending-- I have a really important 3 months ahead of me. I need to find a new job, find out WHERE it is, find an apartment there, find a plane ticket back to Japan, and most importantly find out how much money i am going to need to find all of this and then get it. Gah -- It's times like this I wish I was my father. I've been thinking about these things for a month, and haven't gotten anywhere, but I will and I will keep you updated.
~~
I will be putting up my old journal entries soon. Sorry If they are quite personal, though I'll do my best to edit them out. Take care!

Holy cow!

2006-09-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

ひさしぶりね！ごめんね。僕はゆきえｃひゃんのいっしょに忙しかったよ！カープをみったってたくさんビールをのんだって呉へ行った。もっとやったけど今時間がないから明日もっとかきてよていですよ。とりあえず、おやすみね。
ｐ。ｓ。しゃしんはどうぞ

in 5!....4!....3!.... _.....__.....

2006-08-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

in 5!....4!....3!.... ___.....____.....
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

it looks like I was really part of the action, huh?
Nah i was just lurking.
I spent a long time out that day, august 6th. I walked around and around that dome/park for a few hours, and i got to feeling pretty lonely. It's odd, i rarely feel lonely here (one of the few times was mentioned a couple blogs ago i believe), but i definately spend a lot of time with my own thoughts here. No matter how much time i spend around other people. The nature of the day, also, added to these feelings.
It was a sad day, but a really beautiful one-- and those two overtones really make you wish for some company.

I have noticed this want i have lately, and it's not as much of a "want" as a "need" -- i have this unquenchable want for anonymity. I will go to a bar, and truly enjoy it, but if i meet the people who work or own it, i just can't bring myself to go back. Like I feel that if i befriend them, then i OWE them my return service, on a fairly regular basis. I don't feel like they expect this from me, but i feel like I owe it.
And i can't stand it, it feels like shackles.
I'm realizing i feel this way not with just bar/restaurant owners, but every person that i meet -- when it comes down to it, i don't see how a relationship is ever possible with that attitude.
I go out, almost every day, because i want to meet people-- but then once they become an acquaintance, i am sort of afraid of running into them again because i will owe them some conversation, and what if i'm not in the mood?

I'm a rock, I'm a mountain, but I think I'm a silly one.
The moral of the story is that I'm getting pretty sweet on Yukie, although I can think of about a thousand reasons not to be.

I put up a lot of photos, of the 6th and the day there-after when i went to takehara with jess. It was an adorable little town, I could just eat it up i'm freakin serious. Or drink it up, there was a sake factory there after all.

p.s. i owe everyone an apology. Either you can't read japanese, so my japanese posts are stupid. Or you CAN read japanese, in which case they are a whole hell of a lot stupider. That is, to say, if you can make heads or tails of what i'm trying to say. Either way just let me have my practice~
-D

2006-08-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

すでにブローぐするのわすれた。（やっぱりでしょ）
ごめんね！
今日ジェシカのいっしょにいろいろの広島のところへ行くんです。楽しみ！ジェシカはあんまり会いません。

僕のアパートはほんとあついだよ！しにたいと思う！

昨日は８月６日だったらへいわこえんはすごいいっぱい人がいました。行った。あの日のついてにかくのはむずかしけどきれいだった。

everyday

2006-08-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Dscn0968
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

毎日ブローグするよていです。ほんとだ。　今日の日本語のクラスに先生はおすすめしましたけど、むすかしいよ！
今週しごとは大変です。いつも大変ですけど今週はすごく大変！今はなつやすみだったら”セミナ”がある。きらいよ。アミティがきらい。僕は子供たちもきらくなりました！（じょうだんよ）
今夜すごい雨がふった。　
あの写真はえと島から。ゆきえのいっしょに行った。あの写真をおしたらゆきえの水着を見えますよ。　；）
じゃあね～
弾先生

I'm going to blog every day. Seriously. (I'll try. ). This morning my japanese teacher recommended it, but it's so hard! (of course it'll always be in japanese, and maybe here i'll put a translation. So my blog will always be stupid like this one will be)
This week work sucks. It's stressing me out. It's always stressful, but now we have summer seminars so it's even more stressful. I hate it!
Today it rained so hard! (it flooded!)
That picture is from etojima, i went to the beach with yukie (and her friend, and her friend's daugher and dad, and her sister, and her sister's daughter. )
If you click that picture, you can see yukie (and unfortunately, me) in a swimsuit. ;)
Okay I'm off!
Dan sensei

I don't know

2006-07-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

i don't know
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

There are better photos I could have chosen I guess, to kick off this post, but this is what you get to pique your interest. Yes, that is the beach!
I missed swimming, I missed it bad.
As a lifeguard, 4 years of it, (or more?) my most fundamental everyday goal was to stay the hell out of the water, but in this dry urban last 7 months my body remembered what made me start that line of work (besides the girls in swim suits) and it was that i freakin' LOVE SWIMMIN
G! It was soooo good to get out in the water, and out of the classroom, out of the suit, and be at i didn't even know where at i didn't even know what hour swimming in the ocean with i don't know whatever monsters lurking in the blackness under me trying to play footsie with me.
No, the monster thing wasn't cool, but luckily it was just my imagination.

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. You get some photos every once in awhile and a summary of where they came from, but that's not a blog-- that's , i don't know, camera maintenance? I don't know.

Really It's just been like I'm in this wierd flux of nothing happening at all, but way too much happening to blog about. How to explain that...
Work is either all I think about, or think about avoiding i should say, or else i've succeeded in escaping it, and therefore my daily life, in such an extreme that i'm totally out of touch. I'll go weeks at a time where i like pop into work, my brain goes to robot mode, get out and do stuff, end up in my apartment just to sleep, drink like crazy or travel on the weekends, and rinse and repeat. Or else I'm stressing it and then if i'm stuck in the apartment the last thing i want to be doing is posting and writing.

But today i was feeling lonely for maybe the first time since i've been to japan-- kat left last night, but also my weekend was SOOO great!
I mentioned the beach thing. That was just when i arrived sat. night after work. We then lit fireworks like crazy, caught, just barely caught, the last train into kobe, and sang karaoke until the sun came up, i slept at shuko's apartment, for like 2 hours.
Karaoke is magic, here it is. Some people hate it, i can't figure out why.

I figured out why i have come to hate blogging, because i do so much, then i'm stuck having to follow this dialogue to blow through it
"i did this, then this, then this, then this" it's either that or leaving stuff out. Time for a quick jot of run on sentences to get you through my weekend, and try to get it out of my head so i can go back to normal life.
International food stands at the festival in kobe, sitting around in the RV's they had on display boiling in the heat, daydreaming about how were were going to quit ____, pitch in all of our money, get an RV and live in it and drive every inch of japan, napping in shuko's apartment watching disturbing flash cartoons and chuckling at them while the girls put on yukatta's, walking down to the train station and catching the 5 dollar 1 hour train into kyoto starting off being the only people, and the only gai-jin, in yukatta and jinbe, untill we were squished arm to arm and everyone is blinging in their traditional wear, the festival, the one beer i had that was so delicious it got rid of my stomach ache instantaneously, the canopy of umbrella that appeared over us when it started to rain we were so tightly packed in crowd. That was sunday, and sunday was great.
We turned jill's apartment floor into one giant futon, crashed, woke up, hit starbucks, went through the fish market in the rain while live octopus crawled out of the baskets and grabbed at our feet, bought some badass geta, made an offering at the tako ferry shrine, rode that tasty boat to this island under the world's longest suspension bridge, walked around the island till we found the swimming beach, it was raining but who cares? Ninja'd into the beach area, stripped down, jumped into the ocean and swam in the afternoon in the rain while being cold for the first time in 2 months. Decided on finding an onsen, walked half naked, wet, muddy and as gain-jin as possible into the police office to find out where the nearest onsen was, all in bad japanese while shuko sat behind us pretending not to be/speak japanese. I guess they fell for it, and we made it to a dodgy onsen. Dodged it. Went to a nice onsen, shed our old damp tired skins and sat around naked for an hour or 2 in hot water, hotter water, hotter water outside, freezing water, comfortable showers, and sweltering saunas. Had enough of that, went back to town, where we ate amazing curry in a closed indian restaurant listening to the doors untill we realized, shit, it's 9:40 monday, we're in akashi, and dan has to catch the last shinkansen to hiroshima from nishi-akashi at 10:03. Ran. Farewelled. Got home midnightish, hung out with kat, sat in ceasar's apartment in a massage chair watching jimmy fallon and queen latifah in "Taxi", the worst movie ever, woke up, had the most depressing day of work ina long time, and came home and wrote the longest blog in the world.
Did you catch any of that?

Happenings

2006-07-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

Ojii-san 1
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

So things are going well lately. It's soooo hot and humid, yesterday I went to kure, and riding my bike to the international center to return my book at like 10:30 in the morning, I thought I was going to die. My shirt felt like a damp rag, dang.
Oh so Kure, you should check my flickr page. Just click that picture of me and the old man. There was an art market, which was awesome, I took some videos and pictures~ here is a video for you from it. It's an Aibo, which i want horrendously bad. Too bad they are like 2 G's(!!!) 二十万円はすごくとても高いよ！

CIMG2238 on Vimeo

Anyways, I also went to the yamato museum. Which wasn't very cool because it was all in japanese. I got an english audio tour player, but it was pretty much just a kind gesture on their part. So Imagine a wall, crammed with artifacts, graphs, photos, information, and a whole hell of a lot of writing- you turn to the audio track and it says "Under the influence of Mathew Perry's american fleet, japan started industrial advancement"
Anyways, it was still pretty cool. Got some good pictures. Killed some time. Not that I have a lot of time to kill...
went to yatai with yukie, that's where they set up tents on a daily basis and serve food. We went to an Italian one, actually, which is probably the only italian yatai in japan i'd guess. It was delicious, and really cool to sit outside with a pretty girl, a glass of wine, and some mushroom and shrimp creme sphaghetti.

Children's Memorial

2006-06-10T03:41:00.000-07:00

Took this video the other day at the Children's memorial at the Peace Park. Group after group of kids visiting the park from different schools stopped to sing songs at it. Not to sound like a wuss or anything, but it was really touching.

Children's Memorial on Vimeo

Kame and Yuki

2006-06-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Kame and Yuki
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

ああ, also i realize i used the word "lax" twice in the last post. I know. Silly. Here's Kame and his girlfriend Yuki at the yukata festival. P.S. click the pic to go to my flickr page now. i went pro so soon everything will be there, and now i can make unlimited sets, and boy oh boy this is going to be swell!! P.P.S. work has gotten a lot worse since my last post this morning. The only thing keeping me from quitting is my laziness and humanity because although they apparently think i don't know what I'm doing and i'm totally irresponsible, they need me so so bad. God I hate _____.

Ooooold pictures!

2006-06-09T05:15:00.000-07:00

CIMG1479
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Okay, working on getting all of my pictures up from when maresa was ere and we went to osaka and kyoto. Unfortunately, my flickr bandwidth ran out so i guess i need to go "pro". I'll also get pictures up from universal studios the weekend before last, follow up training and the kraziness after this weekend, and I believe I have some of mom and pops' visit.

No one is renewing at _____, and a huge ammount of people are quitting early. Work is seriously sucking SOO bad lately, we get busier and busier with no relent, how are you supposed to plan 34 lessons a week in 6 hours of scattered time?? Basically the answer is that all of my lessons suck really bad, and it's stressing me out. And everyone else.

That's enough about work~ I'm headed back to okayama this weekend for two of the trainers' going away party. There is a rock'n' roll party at alcoholiday tonight, and i'd like to go but the thought of another beer makes me want to cry. I'd like to make it out to kure, I met the cutest girl in the world from there, but now that was like 4 weeks ago so maybe it's getting to late to follow up on meeting up with her? I dunno.
Check my Vimeo page too! I've been lax with pictures, but doing okay with videos. I have a really touching video form yesterday of a group of school children singing to the children's memorial at the peace museum, a funny video of kevin kissing budd at his birthday party, and what else? Oh!! The yukata festival!! That was so great! I have some pictures up from it, too.

Soon kat leaves and her replacement (who has been pretty incognito) will show up. Lets cross our fingers.

Life's been wierd lately, I've been so busy but doing nothing, my japanese learning has been so lax! I need to kick myself into gear.
God I want to leave ____.
-D

cleverness

2006-05-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

cleverness
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

I love engrish.

Men-Men, Nocchi, and Kame

2006-04-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

Men-Men, Nocchi, and Kame
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

found kame's photo blog. He's the dude sleeping. Some pics of us gambling/at tsukemen(spicy noodles).

Getting frustrated here lately, mainly due to the language thing. Hopefully it'll blow over soon.

Sakura

2006-04-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

Sakura
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

The cherry blossom trees are in bloom, I went to my first Hiroshima Carp baseball game yesterday. They won, the excitement was high, watch the videos, Look
at the pictures. Dave Glodowski got engaged, i bought a nintendo DS lite, a sly mongoose and yura yura teikoku album, got healthy again, had a mom breast feed her baby during our private lesson, and some other things. That's a quick summary. Basically, I am still thinking about tackling the, literally, hundreds of pictures I have of when maresa was here, and how to get them to you all with the proper respect and presentation they deserve.
Seriously, so many pictures. I need to upgrade to flickr pro. This site is really great, take advantage of the tags okay? Just click that picture to view my pics. See you at the bar.
-D

Kyoto, and all kinds of things~

2006-04-01T04:27:00.000-08:00

CIMG1392
Originally uploaded by mrlovegrove.

Check my video and Flickr page. I haven't begun to scratch the surface of the pictures I have to put up, but i am SO sick, and soooooo tired I can't imagine doing it right now. I went on the shinkansen that weekend to okayama,came back monday night, maresa came on tuesday after work, went next weekend to kyoto, nara, miyajima, another week, then had to hop the shinkansen sat. night after work to osaka, came back monday night, and had 39 classes scheduled this week. This week was hell and I am really sick, but the last three weeks were really fun and action packed.
Now I just hope my lungs are still in my chest tomorrow morning.

okayama sluber parties

2006-03-13T03:42:00.000-08:00

So I had training this weekend in Okayama on sunday. Everyone new to ____ from west japan did ~ Mat lives there so i hopped on the shinkansen after work and stayed sat. night there.

Kampai!

Then sunday we had training, then i went to izakaya and karaoke with the trainers and mat. First off, we all know that izakaya is great so there's not much more to say about that. We all got a big room at karaoke, and the minute we walked in we took out our drinks we stashed, jumped up on the couches, and just started wailing!! It was one of the best times ever! Then that night I slept at peter's apartment. Quick summary there but it does the job ~ the point is that having to work on my weekend should have sucked but it ended up being an awesome weekend!!!

Tomorrow I work. After work maresa will get here. Let the good times roll! I can't wait to experience someone's first reactions to this crazy country. I'm not joking when I say it seems like I get more confused the longer I stay here, it can really be so wierd that I have to stop something I'm doing, and just think to myself "what on earth is up with Japan??" I'm not sure I could ever figure it out, but I love it.

2006-03-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying that isn't my sushi, unfortunately, I didn't eat it. Although Jessica did!! Wow. It's Japan's largest sushi, apparently. It's amazing.

But today I did have a wierd happening, I was going to get a haircut and heard a huge commotion. I jogged over just in time to catch these dozen or so girls in glimmery schoolgirl uniforms singing some j-pop. I even caught this moment of discovery on video, so check it out! They do this dance and everyone in the audience goes along like it's the macarena or something... It was so great!!

Also, you may have noticed I'm switching to Flickr. Don't have time right now, but as you can see it's MUCH better. I might even go "pro". I'll probably spend the majority of tomorrow switching over all my photos, setting up my profile, tags, and sets. It's going to be great. Also, this is my last weekend before maresa comes!! So, i'll be forced to finally thoroughly clean my apartment and it's a good excuse to give KAT all of her CRAP back that she left in my apartment!!! Are you reading this kat? You're getting your 3 bags of garbage, box of toys, and 15 fans back.

-D out

2006-03-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

danimal519: i had the most severe okonomiyaki craving i've had yet, went to okonomiyaki, and DIDNT order okonomiyaki on accident
jmrenonv: what are you talking about???!
danimal519: instead i got some chicken and rice and misu soup and potato salad, which was all good, but i had to sit there and eat it while i watched everyone else in the restaurant eat okonomiyaki
danimal519: i was about to stab myself with my chopsticks

Miyajima and back again

2006-02-27T06:33:00.000-08:00

So matt came back to 'Shima, we went out with budd, met that cutie there named yoko, then went to miyajima today. I need to blog about it in detail, but i'm sooo tired, and it's taken long enough getting all of the pictures and videos up!! My archives are packed with new material so you're just gonna have to check it. This trip to Miyajima was very new to me, we ropewayed up to the top and it was really incredible, the photos or videos don't capture what it was like just walking around in the sunlight looking down at the surrounding islands. For some reason Mat and I always end up doing really ... romantic type things together. But it's cool, we're grown men and can handle it.

A long time ago when I wrote about Shichimi, and said one thing spoiled the atmosphere i'd mention later, i forgot to mention that. It's that 101 dalmations was playing on the TV. or "hyaku ippiki wan-chan". It's apparently a popular movie here... I'm talkign about the live action version, folks.

Yoko is a major babe, and I got along well with her. There's a slight problem in the fact that she doesn't speak any English, though, and I'm not sure how fluent my Japanese is when I don't have a few in me.

Also, photobucket seems to be auto-resizin my photos smaller and smaller. I'm gonna have to switch to Flickr soon.... Leave me some feedback yeah?

oyster FEST '06!

2006-02-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

Hey, I'm super tired, and so this blog is going to suffer, but i finally got my pics up from the oyster mania. I really only ate 2 oysters, but they were damn good oysters. I have some cool videos too! The guy fighting the snake... it was a wicked battle, and of course i don't know what it was about, but i took a lot of video from that too. I need to play with them and figure out how to get them as one or two files before i get them up though ~ so just watch the others.
Things are happening now, big things, and I want you all to know exactly what is going on ~ but i am just TOO TIRED!! They are mainly naked man festival this weekend, my couch coming also this weekend, and my severe frightening addiction to Battlestar Galactica.

My passionate cravings to learn japanese are becoming so strong they are burning ~ but my inability to study is still proving the stronger. I bought some manga with furigana, so I figure that'll be a great way to pick up some verbs and kanji! That's my plan before bedtime.
D out.

2006-02-08T04:10:00.000-08:00

I'm having a great week at work, today was fantastically easy. Didn't have a class till 3:30, then I had my least favorite class, got that out of the way, flew into 3 of my favs back to back then I finished. Tomorrow I finish my last class at 5:00!! Man. Then, after that it's friday and saturday. Those days are really busy, but I like the students, and even though I work saturday, friday is still friday. Weeks fly by here in the most serious way.

This morning before work I went to Yesterday cafe, it's a coffee shop by the hondori entrance. Don't ask me how I haven't been there yet, I just haven't. It's a beatles themed coffee shop. Always playing beatles. It's.... well, it's hard to explain how much I like it without using swear words. Just a simple place, but with the beatles everywhere. I took a picture of the stairs leading up to it ~ on the picture it says "imagine peace". There's an abbey road painting on the outside. Hard to miss.

Then I went a few yards up to Parco, hit the 9th story while gawking at another flurry of snow, and picked up a Yura Yura Teikoku live album for 10 bucks. I heard them playing in a used clothing shop a couple days ago, and although they didn't have the album I was looking for (me no car, if you can find it) it's still pretty decent. Man, my hands are itching for that album though.
They are sort of like a simple garage guitar band turns psychadelic, grabs some midi mixers, and then turns around and goes back into their garage. The tracks on their webpag are decent, they're old and jsut what some english company could get some rights to. Download Evil Car somewhere on the net, it's a good tune and really freaks out at the end if you're into that. My fav. track i have is off this CD called "bando wo yatteru _____ (can't read that kanji)."

One of our JTs is leaving soon ( :( ) so they're doing interviews. This girl Kanae is a prospective hire, and let me tell you the hiring for the JTs is MUCH tougher than it was for me! I don't know why, i'm the one they had to risk getting a visa for, and all of that. But she had to take written test, interview at a branch with a NET (native english teacher, like myself) then i'm not sure what, then she's here at ____ all week observing and training and stuff, and today I gave her a 50 minute lecture on pronunciation and classroom english, phonics, etc, then tomorrow she has to do some trial lessons with my J-staff, and THEN after that if they still like her she has to go to Okayama to honbu (HQ) and do a week of training or something. After that week they decide whether or not they will hire her. She can do all of that and not even get hired. BRUTAL!! She's stressed, though i don't blame her, but I think she gots what it takes. Her english is good, and the moral of the story is that she's cute.
Talk to you all soon

matta ne
-D

Iwakuni and back again

2006-02-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

So Iwakuni was a cool place, fun day. Jessica, from Reno, is working with Aeon and is stationed(?) there. It's a 740 yen train ride, takes about 40 mins. Nothin', yeah? We checked out the huge cool bridge there, and had plans for the castle as well. Well, we missed the cutoff for the ropeway so saw the white snakes instead. (Man, it is snowing like hell here by the way)
We were eating at this very japanese place, and there was only one other person there, this 60 something year old drunk guy.

He bought us some sake, we thoroughly thanked him, and i talked to him in japanese for a bit. Talking isn't really the correct word.. more like i listened, and didn't understand. Anyways, then this tray of fugu comes to us that's from him! Fugu is the blowfish, pictured below.

It's super expensive, and super poisonous. We had it raw, too. Afterwards my cheeks were burning, and i felt sort of dizzy and high. But not really in a good way ~ i dunno. It was awesome though. So we're trying to leave, he's spouting off stuff, and jessica says "I think he's saying something about a taxi..." and sure enough we go outside to head to our bus and there's a taxi there. He's like "dozo, dozo, dozo, shinpainai yo!" "here you go, please, don't worry!" I shrugged at Jessica, and we got in the taxi, sort of asking each other if we had any idea of what was happening. Then he says "my house is near, don't worry" so i'm like "holy cow jessica we're going to this guy's house!"
Well we got there, he tells us to wait, disappears for a few minutes while we're hanging out in the taxi, then he runs out with his little old lady wife in an apron and stuff and he said "we're only going to have a few drinks"
So we pulled up to this little bar with this stereotypical looking japanese izakaya owner (pictured below) They tried to get us to eat more, i had some sort of "delicacy" which was this long thing in this brown sauce. I think it was some sort of fish guts soaking in it's own feces. It was probably the most disgusting thing I've ever had, because it really tasted like fecal sauce, but i had to chew on this slimy thing with my mouth full of it. It was awful, they're looking at me and i'm telling jessica in english "this is the most disgusting thing i've ever had, just don't eat it. I might throw up right now" dead serious. Ugh. Anywys, the shochu was good, and of course it was all paid for. And what a bizarre day that was!!

2006-01-31T06:37:00.000-08:00

hey! check my videos and pictures. I'm too tired to blog now, it's late and i've killed the whole night on the computer, but I went to Iwakuni and had some cool adventures! All week of work ahead of me, and my WORST class tomorrow, and my 2nd and 3rd worst classes the next day. Ugh....

p.s. i've been seeing, or NOT seeing, very discouragine ammount of comments.

p.p.s. = things are good.

on a new note

2006-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

So last night I went to this little yakitori hidden in the neon depths of the nagarekawa. I snapped this with my keitai (cell phone), it fails to capture the whole atmosphere, but let me tell you it is very cool. (but for one exception, which i'll talk about later) And very japanese. I drank and talked with Keisuke, Akira, and Eiji all night. Eiji is the bartender/owner or whatever, and Akira works there too but it was his night off.
Eiji kept pouring us free shots of sake, and he never fails to correct my americanisms. Like standing at the bar, or taking my shot with 1 hand. He says "You're in Japan!"
of course, that's one of the few things he says i can actually understand. Eiji is all about the "kitanai nihongo", or dirty japanese. When he talks it sounds like someone is holding down a fast forward button.

Things are well. I work a lot. It's very beautiful today, it's pretty warm, and just super gray outside. I'd go somewhere... but i don't know where to go, and I think I'm going to do laundry and play videogames today. It's tiring, and stressful, how i live. It's like an extended vacation basically ~ I think having a couch would probably fix my life. Or a nice desk and cozy chair. Well, I guess this bottle of wine and box of pocky is going to have to cut it instead.

matta ne -d

peace memorial

2006-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

So I went to the peace memorial museum the other day and took the tour. I took a few pictures and put them up, but there was a lot of things I couldn't really bring myself to photo. Photos of people, ragged bloody torn up school uniforms and the stories of kids who, with charred faces and limbs, managed to walk home to their parents' house before dying that day or the next, not knowing what happened to them. A sandal of this little girl was all that her mom could find of her, but she knew it was hers because of the homemade straps she made from her old kimono. The whole sandal is black except for a white area in the shape of a tiny foot. Things like that, and things like hair, and fingernails from victims.
Hiroshima was chosen because it had a military headquarters, although a large portion of the cities population were school children because it was one of the few cities with a higher education building. Also, because it hadn't been air bombed at all it was a good city to see the results of the bomb in ~
People's skin and hair dripped off of them like hot wax, and most died like that. When the black rain fell a half hour later, people drank it thirstily because they were so desperate from their burns, lying there in the august heat.

Well, i'll talk about the paper cranes later. Check out my pictures! and videos. I have a cool video of right when i came out of the peace memorial, at the park, but i don't have enough space to upload it yet. maybe the next time you check!

off to work. I got internet in my apartment.

"From Letter to Hairy Dave" enjoy....

2006-01-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

umeshu is japanese plum liquer. It's about 15% alcohol and very delicious. It's sweet, and although i hate sweet drinks it's not a SUGARY sweet. Shochu is basically japanese vodka. I've been working hard to figure this out...so in america we buy sake, right, which is rice wine. But HERE there is no sake ~ sake is a term used to mean alcohol, not any specific drink. But i KNOW there is "sake tasting" and stuff. Very confusing, so what i've been able to peg down from some japanese is that "sake" (or, formally, o-sake) refers to all liquer, but what we call sake is nihonshu.so we have nihonshu (sake to us) which is rice wine, and shochu. Shochu is either distilled from mugi (wheat) or imo (potato) and sits around 25-30% alcohol. There are other kinds, but those are the two prominent types. It is drank mixed, with water, or usually on the rocks (As i drink it)It' a preferred drink by lots of japanese, it's very pure, so there are no calories or hangovers from good imo shochu. BUT, it tastes VERY alcoholic! 25% is not much, but at first it almost tastes like you are drinking straight vodka. After about half the cup though you adapt and some of the ice melts and it's not harsh at all. Bizarre. So it's delicious with certain foods, and horrendous with others. It's delicate like that. I bought a bottle that i have at home, but it's awful. I can't even drink it and that's saying a lot. It tastes like everclear. So I need to find out what's good. It's hard since the bottles are all in kanji.

2006-01-22T00:21:00.000-08:00

Hey, I put up some super cool videos! Make sure to read the descriptions. I got my software for internet, and have my computer here at kat's apartment. I get internet the 24th!!
Today there was a big marathon here. We saw them out the window. It ends at the peace park, i'm probably too late to catch the ceremony, or whatever they do, but I think i'm about to head out and try.

I have a cold sore. :(

I was sort of stressed out this week for some reason, that might be why.

Thanks for the feedback grandma! I have you all in mind.
~d

new years

2006-01-18T04:35:00.000-08:00

I guess lemme tell you a bit about what I did over break. I basically stayed in Hiroshima, and rode my bike everywhere!! I got hiroshima maps, and went all around the city on my bike. I'd pick two points furthest from each other and just go. You can really make it anywhere on your bike here, it's flat, not geographically large, and interesting. There is something in every inch of the city. I saw the peace park, bu thte museum was closed so i just walked around the park. I was actually sort of relieved because i'm not sure if i want to go through the museum yet. I went to the international center and got papers with all the municipal facilities, english TV programs, japanese lessons, events in hiroshima area, places where you can use visa at ATMs, and all kinds of cool info. Also, that day I went to the rest house where they gave me info on a bath house, the train to get there, the bus to get there from the train station, etc... so i went to the station, hopped on a local train and went down to a public bath house. It was pretty wierd being naked around a bunch of men, but i figured they're all japanese and i can't even talk to them and will never see them again, so it's a good time to get used to it, because i want to start going to onsen. Google search onsen if you don't know what they are, but there are a million to discover, and it will be the perfect weekend hobby!!I also went up to the top of the mountain behind the station and hiked down through the shrines and 100 tori-i gates with emma, tomo, greg, vernon, and kate. There are picture of all of this, I may not be the most reliable blogger about my adventures here, but i am proving to be a fantastic photo journalist!Also, I went to Miyajima, which is amazing. We didn't get to hike to the top, though, so next time we'll have to leave earlier.
Work is work, it can be really fun, but also it's so hard because i work 50-60 hours a week. It will just get easier, though, so hopefully soon i'll only be there the time that i SHOULD. Don't take this as complaining, i hope i never complain about work because the JTs (japanese teachers) work sooooooooo much harder. they have to have meetings about the profits, they have to answer phones, they have to call all of my students' parents when they're absent, or call to arrange classes for me, everything. They do everything, but since we are just gai-jin and don't speak japanese, and aren't expected to, our only real duty at work is to teach our classes. So long hours, but the work isn't too bad and it's getting easier and easier.Now that i'm familiar with the area, I'm devoted to saving money during the week and taking weekend trips (maybe to onsen, or to okayama, whatever.) Mat, my friend from training, came down this weekend from okayama and totally inspired me. He just grabbed hsi sleeping bag, caught a train over and slept on the ground, and we hung out and saw stuff then he went home today. It was fun and made me actually realize that i can do that sort of thing easily, too. There's no need that working at ____ has to be my life, it just does tuesday through saturday! I mean, it's easy to forget that the reason i'm doing it is to SEE japan. I've drank and ate away a lot of money the last month, although i don't regret it or anything, because i've made a lot of friends, learned my city, learned a LOT of japanese, and had a great time. It's just time to move on is all. Next weekend if there's room I might go with him and the trainers to a vila, villa, i'm not sure if it's the spanish word or some japanese take on it, anyways thats what it's called. You get a bunch of people together, rent some house in the middle of nowhere for the night, and bring your own food, rice, stuff to prepare, sake, or whatever, and make a dinner in an old traditional home, and have this house to yourself to stay up all night and party or chat in. (usually they are located near onsen to go to, etc...)

Last night mat and I were looking for a good okonomiyaki joint to eat in, because the one we wanted to go to was closed, and I ran into this mom and kid from _____. So we said hi, and i asked "doko e oishii okonomiyaki ha taberemasuka?" (where can we get some good okonomiyaki?) and we chatted for awhile, and she ended up inviting us with her to dinner! So we went with her and this kid, who is like REALLY cool, to this place that was basically a cafeteria. There are shelves of stuff, and you pick them up and toss them on your place. Like you pick up an egg, put it on, some natto, tempura yam, whatever, and everything is like 60 yen so it comes out really cheap! I don't even have this kid as a student, but i told him that he should take lessons with me, and i think he will. It was really cool getting to just sit around and chat with this family. Yuudai, the kid, like i said is really cool ~ he's one of those people who enjoys talking to anyone; i see him in the lobby very animated just talking to 4 or 5 adults who are listening, and nodding, like engrossed by whatever he's telling them. I figure I'm going to have a full schedule teaching no matter what, so I might as well PICK my students, yeah?

well, check my videos and pics!! (right hand side there)

2006-01-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hey! I added links to my friends blogs on the side. In the links section. Hooray!

Check out my new photos!

2005-12-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

I just posted about 20 more photos. Check 'em out!
Dan's photobucket

A Tale of Ordinary Madness:

flatlining!

yes, we did.

cars, trucks, and automobiles (and dominionism)

the 3:30

my head's going to explode.

oh-eight unfolds

in limbo

packing panic

the end of the year

uh oh

the music of Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli 久石讓Joe

अ फीलिंग

थे

an odyssey

Things to do& the "future"

rave reviews

a chill pill or 4

elections?

ROFL

ROFL

i'm sorry about this~

men with long hair

New Years Resolutions

The details of sushi

Nude

^ _ ^

In Rainbows

daft hands

marijuana

Irihama Beach

keep on keepin' on

Flight of the Conchords

FINALLY

Soil & "PIMP" Sessions

good (and bad) reads

BREAK! woo woo

NO red mage?!?

wow.

the amazing spiderman

I could have sworn...

spiderman 3

Yura Yura Teikoku

Spring Fever

Spring has Sprung!

ばか日本のキーボード！！

Coffee Break

Kumano Two

Lovely Kumano

Horse

back again

Total Santarchy

Yep.

on the final stretch

Just because...

up to nothing

whoah...

cheers

おしっこちゃん

gala

沖縄へ行ったよ！

Catching up...

Holy cow!

in 5!....4!....3!.... ___.....____.....

everyday

I don't know

Happenings

Children's Memorial

Kame and Yuki

Ooooold pictures!

cleverness

Men-Men, Nocchi, and Kame

Sakura

Kyoto, and all kinds of things~

okayama sluber parties

Miyajima and back again

oyster FEST '06!

Iwakuni and back again

on a new note

peace memorial

the music of Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli　久石讓Joe

in 5!....4!....3!.... _.....__.....