"So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye..."

And on Saturday night we had our farewell gala for a bunch of our local crew - Kathy, Elaine, Andy. The standard Fukutsu event - Bagus + karaoke.

Little commentary required, as the pics speak for themselves. Good food, good drinks, and most of all - good people.







Jon and his evil shot-drinking plans. Tequila sucks. Hard. And one day I'll be strong enough to resist peer pressure. [But then I won't be cool and people won't like me.] But jesus god almighty do I hate tequila.



Kathy and her crazed look, having cleverly found a way to avoid the evil shot.



My sempai.



Kathy is "this many" years old. [Actually, this is when Kathy defends from stalker paparazzi like me.]



"Bad Boys."




ALTs in Japan. Corrupting young minds, drinking all the alcohol.




On to karaoke!






I've never loved Anton more than when he picked up the tambourine.



Mike has never seemed happier than when he was able to sing Gundam karaoke. Otaku Pride!




You know, I'm clearly punching above my weight in this marriage.



"Only you can prevent forest fires."



Singing their little hearts out.





"Bad Boys, pt II."




Even Anton sings. "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees. [That's not very punk rock, young man.]



How I'll always remember Kathy... mysterious and sophisticated. No wait... I meant slightly silly. :)



Even more photos here:

2008-07-27

"Time keeps on slippin... into the future."

Summertime in the JET Programme, so changes are afoot.

I'm staying for my fourth year, having just finished up my third, but the two other ALTs at my Board of Education are heading back stateside, including my "sempai" Kathy, who's cheerfulness, optimism and thoughtfulness never failed to help make my time here in Japan a little better.

Along with these two vanishing back into the gaijin wilderness, it tends to make me take stock of where I am and what I'm doing. Starting my fourth year, which is 90% certain to be my last year, barring unforeseen circumstances... and despite the occasional desire to choke a random disrespectful yanki student or two, I'm still really enjoying my job. And as I've pontificated before, enjoying the job and the kids a lot more than I ever anticipated. And thinking about leaving next does pull at the heartstrings and tighten the chest up a little bit. So I'll bury that down deep via my powerful denial abilities...

But, with the passing of the year and the departure of personnel, that means farewell enkai parties. On Friday eve the Board of Education held the farewell enkai for our two returning ALTs, Kathy and Teresa... and this is the photographic tale.

Catching our last enkai bus together, me and Kathy.



Catching their names in lights, if you can read Japanese, that is.




Former Board of Education members returning for a final farewell.



Our supervisor, Terashima san, kicks things off.



Farewell speeches, an obligatory Japanese enkai requirement. I dread having to work mine out next year, as sad as my Japanese is...





Kampai!



Appreciatory-ness [it's a word.]

Biking pictures while riding "no hands" and freaking out kids and elderly Japanese women.

Testing out the ISO setting on my digicam, while fishing out the camera from a pocket "no hands" while getting a feel for the new bike. I perversely enjoy the shouts of "abunai! [dangerous] that the kids yell out when they see me so callously disregarding safety. I've never been able to figure that out... in a nation where they make all the kids play on unicycles at elementary school. Ah, well.







Rice growing season - that's some powerful green...



2 hand, over the head, no look photo... gone horribly wrong, obviously. But now I see why all the children wish to rub my shaven dome. That's some attractive smoothness right there.

"...every conceivable action can be justified as 'maximizing value shareholder value.'

The absurdity of the "logic" of business.

On the absurdity of "maximizing shareholder value" - Boing Boing:

"Over on Crooked Timber, Daniel Davies has uncorked a hell of a rant on the fatuous absurdity of the old saw that 'corporate officers have a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value.' He starts off by pointing out that you could maximize the profits of the company for this quarter by, for example, firing everyone -- but that the next quarter would be pretty dismal. Then he gets into the meat of it, how every conceivable action can be justified as 'maximizing value.'"

Training 110-112.

3 days, 2 enkais/farewell parties, junk food, alcohol and recovery. No training, lots of junk... Basically the anti-healthy training program.

And with Thailand coming up on Thursday [to Monday] the next week or so is gonna be tough. What I can when I can.

Someone give this man a job and a bus route, please.

Man stole buses, drove them on routes, returned them at night - Boing Boing:

"The 18-year-old is accused of stealing at least three Miami-Dade Transist buses, and driving them on their routes.

Poilice say Harris wore a Miami-Dade Transit employee uniform, did not steal the fares, and returned the buses to the depot each night.

He's been charged with three counts each of third-degree grand theft and burglary of an occupied conveyance."

"Fuck Pride."

Overheard in New York | Where Fox Does Its Recruiting for Moment of Truth:

"(two guys coming out of the bar bathroom)
Guy #1: I'm taking another shot.
Guy #2: What have you got to lose? Pride? Fuck pride.
Guy #1: You're right man.

--Bar, 35th & 3rd"

Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Trailer - via ComicMix news

It's no Batman: The Animated Series a la Bruce Timm, but this looks pretty groovy.

ZEN.

Overheard in the Office | Where's Your Serenity Now, Suzy?:

"Account chick: Okay... Who wrote 'boobs' in my zen garden?

Salt Lake City, Utah

Overheard by: Minding my own business"

10m of Geek Awesome - "The Website Is Down: Sales Guy vs. Web Dude."

This was 10min long, but pretty damn funny.

Joe Rogan continues his philosopher-king wisdom.

Just cracks me up.

Entertainment: Joe Rogan experiences fatherhood, Zen, UFC - OCRegister.com:

"Turning 40 hasn't fazed Rogan a bit. He says he's not the type of guy to complete or set any sort of goals by these age milestones.

'I think it's all nonsense and our calendar years are silly,' Rogan says. 'You are what you are – how old would you be or feel if you had no idea how old you really were or if you didn't have some sort of chronological time table to follow? People fall into traps because of work obligations and they feel they have to get serious and grow up or act more mature, it's a bunch of (bleep). We live and then we die, we are temporary beings and you should enjoy it to the fullest. If you're 60 and you wanna go to an amusement park, go to the (bleeping) amusement park, if you want ice cream, go get an ice cream if you want it. It really doesn't matter.'

... We're (humans) the craziest little weird talking monkeys ever, these weird animals riding around on this rock that's spinning through space – there's always something to talk about.

...The only reason why I did acting in the first place was for money and I really don't enjoy working with actors. It's not fun. I loved the people I worked with on "NewsRadio" but that was more the exception than the rule... It's an annoying existence to be working with a bunch of people who want attention and want to be praised for being good at pretending because that's all acting is, pretending. I don't hate all actors, I've worked with some great ones, but most of them aren't cool and the idea of working in an environment where 70 percent of the people are nightmares, I'd much rather not do that."

Pictures from last weekend's DREAM 5 event.

Alvarez Vs Kawajiri was fight of the night, imho... those two were just swinging for the fences.








But the Tokoro and Aoki matches were pretty damn good as well.






Pics via Sherdog.

Rick Steves on tasty travel.

I'm looking forward to hitting Thailand next week.

Rick Steves: Blog Gone Europe - Shrimps on the Barbie...We Must Be in Denmark:

"When you travel, you find the enthusiasm of locals for their national dishes rubs off on you...and you fly home with more favorite foods. Travel makes life simply more tasty, and history more poignant."

Anger for the day.

You know, I honestly don't know why I read this stuff sometimes... so much stupidity in the world, it makes my blood boil. I've yet to develop the capacity to completely ignore these people.

Fucked up prosecutors and legal system: Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > This Week in Innocence:

"DNA testing finally exonerates a Texas man for a rape he always said he didn't commit. Unfortunately, Tim Cole died in a Texas prison nine years ago. Another man confessed to the rape in 1995, but authorities ignored him."

Price gouging fear mongering douchebags: New York Yankees ban sunblock "to fight terrorism" -- sell replacements at $5/oz - Boing Boing:

"The NY Yankees banned sunblock at Yankee stadium 'to prevent terrorism.' On a blistering hot day. And sold high-markup, crappy sunblock inside the gates. You know, as soon as we said 'There is no price too high to pay in the war on terror,' we lost -- and every sleazy con-artist, profiteer, greedhead and crook won."

McCain losing his damn mind: Crooks and Liars » Time to start rationing veterans’ healthcare?:

"It seems hard to imagine a presidential candidate, running in the midst of two wars, openly speculate about cutting back on veterans’ healthcare. And yet, here we are.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain appeared Tuesday to suggest rationing of veterans’ health care may be needed so combat veterans can receive the care they deserve."

No freedom of assemby for you: Obama Berlin Speech: US Foreign Service Workers Instructed Not To Attend:

"Although it appears most of Berlin is heading to Obama's speech today, US Foreign Service personnel will be banned from the event. And they are not happy. The American Foreign Service Association, a union of Foreign Service workers are opposing the rule.

...The U.S. Embassy in Berlin has instructed Foreign Service personnel stationed there not to attend Sen. Barack Obama's public rally today, which the State Department this week labeled a "partisan political activity" prohibited under its regulations for those serving overseas.

Government employees serving in the United States are permitted to attend such events under the Hatch Act, which bars other partisan activity, such as contributing money or working in behalf of a candidate... "

The drug war is retarded... drug "warriors," morons: Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > Anti-Heroin Hero Explains Why Afghan Flop Is Everyone Else's Fault:

"...Thomas Schweich, a former State Department counternarcotics official, asks, "Is Afghanistan a Narco-State?" Schweich takes 5,500 words to tell his tale of how the good work of brave, committed drug warriors like himself was stymied by "an odd cabal of timorous Europeans, myopic media outlets, corrupt Afghans, blinkered Pentagon officers, politically motivated Democrats and the Taliban." But the short answer to the headine question is yes. A more interesting question, one that Schweich never asks: Why is Afghanistan a narco-state?

...critics of Schweich's gung-ho approach, including American and British military officials, view the anti-drug fight as not just distracting but counterproductive, alienating Afghan farmers and strengthening the Taliban. Schweich reports he was astonished to discover that "British forces—centered in Helmand—actually issued leaflets and bought radio advertisements telling the local criminals that the British military was not part of the anti-poppy effort." Schweich brags that he put a stop to that. But is it really so crazy to reassure people whose support you're trying to win (or whose violent opposition you're trying to avoid) that your aim is not to deprive them of their livelihood or to wipe out half of their country's economy?"

According to Dr Edgar Mitchell, sixth man to walk on the Moon - Aliens are real, there has been a cover-up.

One part batshit crazy, one part 'you know it's true.'

The Astronaut, the Aliens, and the Hype | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History:

"Dr Edgar Mitchell, sixth man to walk on the Moon, has set tongues a'wagging all over the world with his revelations in a radio interview that Earth has been visited by aliens, and that the government has covered it up (not to mention, 'I think we're heading for real disclosure'). Rick and RPJ covered it over the past couple of days, when it was an 'underground' thing, but now it's hit mainstream - check the frenzied press coverage via Google News.

...NASA's response ('Dr Mitchell is a great American, but we do not share his opinion on this issue.').

It should be an interesting story to follow."

6th man on moon says space aliens are real - Boing Boing:

"On July 23, 2008 Edgar Mitchell was interviewed on Kerrang Radio. Mitchell claimed the Roswell crash was real and that Aliens have contacted humans several times but that governments have hidden the truth for 60 years stating 'I happen to have been privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited on this planet and the UFO phenomena is real'."

Elementary School Jōruri Performance and Chorus Group *UPDATED* with the video of the full performance.*.

So I got an invitation to check out some of kids from one of my elementary schools giving a Jōruri performance. Which is, if you're uneducated in the ways of Japanese culture - like I am - via Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Jōruri (music), a type of sung narrative with shamisen accompaniment, typically found in Bunraku, a traditional Japanese puppet theatre."

The kids were really, really good. Talented and adorable. Japan will rule the world, clearly.



*UPDATED* with the full performance below:



As an aside, "Jōruri" is an incredibly difficult word to pronounce. It doesn't sound like you think it does, and I have it on good authority - from everyone who heard me try to say it - that you're doing it wrong.

I was going to make a joke about how all this video equipment is oh so typically Japanese, but parents are the same in the States. And who am I to talk? I was snapping vids and pics the whole time as well. Ah well, less funny but more truthful.



Apparently, the performance was in support of an awareness meeting for a future Red Cross Blood Drive [I think - interpretations by me are always at risk of being amazingly wrong].



So there were other groups/performances, including a youth chorus from the area I've seen, maybe a half dozen times by now. But have failed to every actually get their proper name, despite several Christmas and Spring Break shows I've attended. Didn't look like the full complement today, kids are always busy with a million different things here in Japan in the summer, but I was kinda surprised to notice that about half of the kids in the chorus were or are my students. Graduates, elementary school and Jr high are all represented.



And one of the numbers they did was "Do-Re-Mi." And I figured, since the Mrs forces me to sit through "The Sound of Music" EVERY. DAMN. THANKSGIVING. that it'd be worth a taping. Didn't get 100% of it, but given the lag time between realizing what they were singing and firing up the video, got most of it.

Talented kids, so here 'tis

Japanese Youth Chorus Performing Do-Re-Mi from Rob Pugh on Vimeo.

And that is an afternoon of work during summer vacation. My job, it does rocketh.

Training 109.

PT - AM - Hindu pushups 10, Hindu squats 20, Pullups 4, Pushups 10, Squats 20, Glute ham bridge 10, Bridge 20count
PM - 30m Rutten MMA wkout/boxing 2m rounds - 10m relaxed kicking

Nutrition - coffee w/cream, equal - shake w/peanut butter, eggs, equal, cream, water - 2 diet sodas - steak/mayo - jerky - 1L water

Go Chimp Go!

Chimpanzee escapes from zoo, battles zookeepers | Japan Probe:

"At Ishikawa Zoo, western Japan a 42-year-old chimpanzee named Ichiro led the audacious break-out from his pen and refused to come down from the roof."