What I've Read - The Adventures of Johnny Bunko - the first American manga career/advice guide.

Comic books and career/life advice? Sold. Fun, quick read. Good advice. Entertaining.

Author Dan Pink's site:

"Meet Johnny Bunko. He’s probably a lot like you. He did what everybody – parents, teachers, counselors -- told him to do. But now, stuck at a dead-end job, he’s begun to suspect that what he thought he knew is just plain wrong. One bizarre night, Johnny meets Diana, the unlikeliest career advisor he's ever seen. Part Cameron Diaz, part Barbara Eden, she reveals to Johnny the six essential lessons for thriving in the world of work

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is America’s first business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga – and the last career guide you’ll ever need."

Website: http://www.johnnybunko.com/

*Updated* with the points from the book I personally need to remember - "There is no plan" [not quite 'There is no spoon' but still...] and "Persistence trumps talent."

YouTube Trailer for the book. [Which is a brilliant idea, btw. A trailer for a book.]

Enkai Everlasting.

Let's see, 2 weeks ago, trip with Bachan... last weekend, an enkai, a wedding and a nijikai... yesterday, another enkai and another nijikai... [and next weekend, school sports day, the week after that a community pot luck dinner and concert, and then the week after that the community Kuju trip.]

My dance card is, as they say, full.

Anyways, yesterday was the enkai for the Board of Education. It was good, standard enkai fare. Food, liquor and happy people.


Kicked off with a speech by our head of the BOE. My big boss.

Some things are universal... no matter what country, the tall guys with the good hair get the leadership jobs.

Leaves me out as long as I keep razoring everything off my dome.



My supervisor on the right, and his supervisor on the left.

Both super nice guys.

And both, for whatever reason, seem to get a kick outta learning English, which helps mute how dumb I feel for my lack of Japanese ability.



This dude is forever getting liquored up at the enkais and trying to kiss everybody.

Below is proof positive from the enkai nijikai, where he claimed another victim [albeit a happily intoxicated one.]


Went to the afterparty, not under duress exactly, but one of the guys from the BOE has been going on forever and a day about us going out drinking sometime, and our schedules never quite matched up.

So when he invited me out, it was the least I could do to go, seeing as how good they've been to me.

I really didn't need anymore food or drink, but we did manage to rock a pretty good version of Sinatra's "My Way" on the bar's karaoke machine.



Your entirely too extreme close up pic of the evening.

What happens when you give your camera to the most intoxicated person in the room.

Harsh, but still funny.

Overheard in New York | Because I'll Swallow Anything:

"Guy: That's the house George Washington grew up in.
Girl: Wait, really?
Guy: No, you dumb bitch. Why did I ever marry you?

--70th Ave, Forest Hills, Queens

Overheard by: emma"

Presidential candidate Mike Gravel does the Soulja Boy Dance.

I kid you not.

Positively surreal.

Via Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > Mike Gravel Crosses Over

How to really understand the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Funniest thing I've seen all week.

In the words of the website I found it - "This is mean-spirited, unfair, and profane. I loved it."

Ditto.

Via Reason Magazine - Hit & Run

“In 1945, the Nazis went to the Moon. In 2018, they are coming back…”

This looks very cool.

Via Warren Ellis

Training 33.

PT
Abbreviated AM wkout because of an enkai right after school. Strength training first thing in the morning blows.
Lunges - 15/15
Swings, single arm DB - 15x25
Seated dips - 15/15
Pushups - 15/11
Row, single arm DB - 2x15x25
Snatch, single arm DB - 2x15x25
Seesaw - 1x15x15, 1x15x17.5
Calf raises - 2x15x105

Food
Lg cup coffee w/equal, cream, coconut milk
Shake - 4 eggs, inst coffee, cream, equal, coconut milk
4 salami sticks, string cheese.
780ml diet soda
1L water
Enkai food smorgasbord extravaganza + beer + saki
Subway tandori chicken wrap

Economically sound thinking.

Overheard in New York | The People Who Film and Distribute It?:

"Teenage girl: But she sucks a lot of dick for money!
Teenage boy: At least she's getting paid! You suck a lot of dick for free! Who's the winner in that situation?

--153rd St & Amsterdam Ave

Overheard by: Emily"

Best Divorce Ever.

Overheard Everywhere | To Recap: I Rock, You Suck for Money, I Get Laid for Free:

"Ex-husband: I can't believe you brought a date to our divorce hearing.
Ex-wife: Fuck you! You hooked up with a girl in court.
Ex-husband: I didn't 'hook-up' with her, we made plans for lunch today.
Ex-wife: And that's better?
Ex-husband: Actually, it's quite impressive. I rock, you suck, I'm getting laid tonight.
Ex-wife: I got laid last night.
Ex-husband: That's because you are a dirty hooker.

San Diego Family Court
San Diego, California

Overheard by: Sean"

"Don’t you have anything positive to say? If not, why don’t you shut your mouth?"

Hallelujah and Amen.

RossTraining.com Blog » Longevity, Negativity, and Positive Thinking:

"We all know some negative people. These people bitch and moan about the world to whoever is willing to listen. They complain about the government, gas prices, the economy, their job, their life, their neighbors, other drivers, their pets, other pets, etc. It is a never ending whine-fest about how bad the world is and how bad their life seems to be within it...

What purpose does the whining serve? Does it bring about change? Or does it simply bring everyone else down around you? Think about it… I’m not happy about the rising gas prices, but what good is it going to do to cry about it all day? Will I wake up tomorrow and find free gas in my car? I doubt it.

So why waste your time complaining about the world every chance you can? Don’t you have anything positive to say? If not, why don’t you shut your mouth? Have you ever thought that maybe some of the people that you whine to don’t want to listen? Perhaps they don’t want to be tainted by your constant negativity?

We all know that there are problems in the world. Go watch the evening news. There are some true scum bags in the world. I don’t need to be reminded of it every minute of the day. Sure, there are assh*les out there, but there are also plenty of good, honest people. Why not focus on of the good? I don’t need a doctor to confirm that constant negativity and stress are far from healthy. Mr. and Mrs. Negative need not spread their poison to others. Stop feeling so bad about yourself and the world around you and do something positive with your time… because guess what? That time will expire at some point. That is one guarantee that I can make to everyone on this planet. Time is limited, so stop wasting it by bitching and moaning about everything that is wrong with the world.

Life is what you make of it, so start making it more positive."

One more stop till he opens fire.

Overheard in New York | Would It Be Feasible for Me to Throw Myself in Front Of My Own Train?:

"Conductor: This is a Manhattan-bound number three train; next stop is Sutter avenue-Rutland road; stand clear of the closing doors please.
[Doors close and open again.]
Conductor: Please do not block the doors, stand clear, please.
[Doors close and open again.]
Conductor: Do not block the doors. Stand clear, please.
[Doors close and open again.]
Conductor: For the last motherfucking time, do not block the fucking doors! I know you ghetto-ass niggas don't care about school, but some people want to get the fuck to work! Stand clear!
[Doors close and open again.]
Conductor: I can't fucking take this shit.

--3 Train

Overheard by: Morel Farember"

It's true.

Overheard in New York | Or Straight:

"Boy: You know what, I don't know anyone who has such good taste in fashion as me, and I'm only twelve!
Mom: Honey, stop saying those things. People will think you're arrogant.
Girl: It's only arrogance if you're wrong.

--McDonald's, Times Square"

Police lie, shoot themselves, kill 92 year old woman.

The Atlanta Kathryn Johnson case.

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > Back to Atlanta:

"A former Atlanta police officer testified Thursday that narcotics officers routinely lied under oath when seeking search warrants, a practice that led to police killing a 92-year-old woman.

...In the raid, police fired 39 shots. Junnier was shot in the face, chest and leg. Two other officers were also wounded. Investigators determined Johnston had fired one round from a revolver; the officers were shot in their own crossfire.

Junnier described entering Johnston's house: "She was still alive. She was gasping for air. I heard ... the order to cuff her."

Later that day, he said, the cover-up began."

Stickin' it to the Man.

Overheard in the Office | ...the Color of Pressed Ham:

"Smoker #1: See this tie? Got it for $1.49 at Jewel.
Smoker #2: Jewel sells ties? It's a grocery store.
Smoker #1: I say fuck 'em, if I have to wear a tie it's going to be a $1.49 Jewel tie.

Wacker
Chicago, Illinois

Overheard by: I hate my tie too"

How very awesome.

Finding Inner Strength - New York Times:

"Melanie Roach is a former gymnast who owns a gymnastics facility. Her husband is a state legislator. At 33, she is the mother of three young children, including 5-year-old Drew, who is autistic. And she can lift 238 pounds over her head.

All of which makes her one of America’s most unlikely Olympic hopefuls.



For a start, Roach, who is 5 feet 1 inch and 117 pounds, looks nothing like a weight lifter. She was a gymnast until 10 years ago, when she left behind a middling career, took up weight lifting and in 1998 set an unofficial world record by lifting twice her body weight, a first for an American woman.

But she hyperextended her right elbow four months before the world championships in 1999 and had a herniated disk in her back eight weeks before the Olympic trials in 2000. She attempted to compete despite the injury, only to end up crying in the stands.

The back injury bothered her for seven years — through three pregnancies and three times as many comeback attempts.

“She rose to greatness so quickly, and then all of a sudden it was over,” said Roach’s training partner Alexis Reed. “You almost asked yourself, a year or two later, ‘Did that really happen?’ ”

...The first comeback, in 2003, lasted seven months before the back pain returned. She describes it as “way past 10,” worse than childbirth, and she notes she had her three kids naturally, at home.

“The best way to put it is as volatile as you can imagine,” said Greg Summers, Roach’s chiropractor. “I see four to five herniated disks a week, and hers is the worst I have ever seen.”

...At the world championships in October 2006, Roach finally told the team doctor about the herniated disk and three fragments imbedded in the nerve. The doctor recommended a surgeon in Los Angeles.

Five days after surgery, Roach was lifting weights without bending her back. Seven months later, she won her seventh national championship.

She later won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games and regained her No. 1 ranking among United States lifters.

“Amazing,” Dan Roach said. “We literally went from the world championships to the operating table and back in less than a year.”"

WTF?

Reason Magazine - Brickbats:

"Warren Blackwell spent three years in a British prison after being falsely accused of rape. After an appeals court freed him, he expected to get some compensation for being wrongly imprisoned. Instead, he got a bill for nearly £7,000 for “board and lodging.”

...Maria Carrasquillo went to the Kissimmee, Florida, police department to get fingerprinted, a requirement for employment as a licensed practical nurse. Instead, police arrested her on an outstanding drug warrant. She spent nine days in jail before police checked her identity and found that the warrant was for another woman with the same name."

Even Will Wheaton hates Hillary Clinton, the "psycho ex-girlfriend of the Democratic Party."

And you know Wesley Crusher likes everyone.

Too funny.

WWdN: In Exile: hillary clinton: the psycho ex-girlfriend of the democratic party:

"...over the last 10 weeks or so, I've gone from respecting to feeling sorry for to actively despising Hillary Clinton.

It's over. She knows it's over. It's been over for almost three months, but she's been moving the goalposts and cynically and cravenly pandering to voters in a way that's not only insulting, but is embarrassing. John Cole frequently says that he can't believe he ever supported Bush, and I can now join him in saying that I can't believe I ever supported, defended and believed in the Clintons.

The thing about all of this is that, with a Clinton victory in the primary about as likely as jumping off the roof of your house and landing on the moon, it's become clear that this whole thing isn't about Democrats or beating McCain (who is inexplicably running for Bush's third term) or saving our country from the catastrophic failure of the Bush years. No, it's all about her. It's about her ego. It's about refusing to admit that she did her best, but voters (except those encouraged by Rush Limbaugh to cross party lines and fuck with our primary) have pretty clearly said "No thanks. You're a good senator, but we want something different now."

It's been crystal clear for weeks, yet she refuses to put party and country over personal ambition and drop out of the race, forcing Barack Obama to not only run against McCain and the Media, but also against her. It's particularly galling, because she can only win if her campaign can force Democratic superdelegates (one of the worst creations in the history of politics) to tell millions of Democratic voters -- many of them first time voters who, like me, finally feel truly inspired by someone -- to go fuck themselves."

Training 32.

PT
30m Rutten MMA Wkout/Thai Boxing, 2m rounds

Food
LG coffee w/equal, coconut milk/cream
1.5L Water
1.3L diet soda
4 cheesesticks
3 cuts of steak

Bed @ 2230+20m guided med/relaxation

"Some China firms outsourcing to USA to cut costs - Boing Boing"

Ironic, yet hopeful. Kinda cool too. I wonder if the Chinese are gonna start complaining about Americans taking all their "good jobs."

Some China firms outsourcing to USA to cut costs - Boing Boing:

"Liu Keli couldn't tell you much about South Carolina...

But Liu is investing $10 million in the Palmetto State, building a printing-plate factory that will open this fall and hire 120 workers. His main aim is to tap the large American market, but when his finance staff penciled out the costs, he was stunned to learn how they compared with those in China.

Liu spent about $500,000 for seven acres in Spartanburg -- less than one-fourth what it would cost to buy the same amount of land in Dongguan, a city in southeast China where he runs three plants. U.S. electricity rates are about 75% lower, and in South Carolina, Liu doesn't have to put up with frequent blackouts."

Cleveland does not, in fact, rock.

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run > I'll Need to See Your Permit:

"I don't know which is worse, that the city of Cleveland requires a 'music permit' and a 'pool table permit,' or that failing to obtain one is a criminal offense."