Poke'-G Warlord

Avatar Comes Out in Less Than 24!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:24:20 GMT

Hey friends back home, sorry I haven't been posting so much. I've got another I'm working on that I should post next week. In the meantime, please enjoy this article I wrote for Shimane JET's magazine, the Black Taxi. It's all about James Cameron's new film Avatar, a film I have waited years for. If you're are a Shimane JET reading this on Facebook, there's nothing new here for this entry, but thanks anyways for checking the post out.

Enjoy!

Cameron’s Back!
What’s the big deal about Avatar?
By Jonathan Edwards

Anybody out there remember Titanic? You know, that movie that won five billion awards because Leonardo DiCaprio played this impossible romantic hero who died before Kate Winslet could find out it really wasn’t going to work out. Don’t get me wrong, Titanic was a good movie, but not sweeping the Oscars, highest grossing movie of all time good. Seriously, The Dark Knight was the biggest movie of this decade, yet Batman and Joker’s earnings didn’t even come close to what Titanic made. The movie has actually irked me the most not from any fault of the film itself, but because of the director, James Cameron. Not that I hate the guy, in fact I love just about everything he’s done. But the man hasn’t made a real film in the twelve years since Titanic’s release, just documentaries about underwater sea life… boring, boring sea life; which is tragic because Cameron is a fantastic film maker, giving film buffs amazing classics like The Terminator, Aliens, and Abyss. His name may not be as recognizable as the likes of Spielberg, Lucas, or Jackson, but his contributions to cinema are just as epic, and I’d say more important.

Many people associate Jurassic Park with the onset of modern computer special effects. Before that, dinosaurs, monsters, and other non-existent enigmas were manifested through normal animation, animatronics, or the now (sadly) ridiculed stop motion animation. In fact, Spielberg’s prehistoric epic nearly went with stop motion in its pre-planning stages, if not for Cameron’s influence in the special effects industry at the time. Cameron was the first to prove that computer generated imagery could create realistic images without being surreal or cartoony. With Abyss, he pioneered CGI to create a living tentacle of water, one that could mimic those it interacted with. The effect could have been done with hand drawn animation, but drawing water realistically is time consuming, not to mention nearly impossible. Simply put, Cameron had put into film a creation that no film maker before could ever have done. He refined the trick and created the shape shifting T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a character that baffled audiences a full two years before Jurassic Park. So with all that talent and creativity, why the twelve year hiatus after making the biggest movie ever?

Avatar. No, not that Nickelodeon cartoon that some of you might be familiar with. The movie for that one is titled The Last Airbender to differentiate the two. After Titanic James Cameron had an idea for a science fiction movie, one he felt he could not properly tell given the technology of the time. I remember reading way back when in high school (about seven years ago) about this science fiction story called Avatar Cameron wanted to do, and how he felt the character Gollum in The Two Towers showed him he could pull off his new creations. But still he would wait. CGI was only part of his vision; the other half was 3D technology. I laughed at the time, and thought he was nuts. 3D films are the stuff of 1950s sci-fi, a long lost zeitgeist (kick ass word, look it up) that just seems too cheesy to resurrect. They tried in the 1980s and failed. Yet in the past two years, more and more North American theaters have been building giant 3D IMAX screens with smaller ones converting to normal 3D projectors, and studios are pumping out movies that utilize them, far more than twenty and fifty years ago.

Unfortunately, the problem with most 3D movies is that the extra dimension is utilized solely as a gimmick, rather than an extension of the artistic medium. Film makers find any excuse to point and throw objects and characters at the screen for shock and awe value that quickly wears thin and becomes annoying. Until Cameron, no big name director has actually stated any vision of how to use the 3D potential to actually enhance a film, rather than supplement one. He has claimed his vision for the movie was one that could only be conveyed through the third dimension. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t give such a claim much weight. However, the trailer highlights a world with land masses suspended in midair, and a great deal of aerial machines and creatures. A good director could create some impressive perspectives in three dimensions, and Cameron’s created brand new cameras to do so along with a resume for technological innovation backing him up.

And so for several years I have paid close attention to what has been a very secretive project. The trailer I mentioned was not even released officially until mid September, a dangerously brief three months before the release. With that trailer, a sudden realization hit me. I am in Japan now, where international films are often delayed for months or even years, assuming they arrive at all (District 9 anyone?). Thankfully, Japan will be part of Avatar’s world premiere this month on December 18th. With that bullet dodged, I’ve run into one more problem: This is Shimane. Despite the physical size, you can count the prefecture’s movie theaters on one hand, none of which utilize the extremely new 3D IMAX technology James Cameron spent twelve years waiting for. In fact the nearest commercial 3D IMAX screen is in Osaka, and they might be the only ones.

Now I’m not so crazy as to say people should be making such an expensive trek just for one movie. Even a film buff would call that stupid. But any film buff will also tell you that this is a one time opportunity, as 3D IMAX cannot be duplicated in the home. Pirating the film or waiting for the DVD release will not capture the intended scale or effects, and theatrical rereleases are very rare. In fact, that’s the whole reason the movie industry is pushing this new format, to entice viewers back. So if you do find yourself in an area with 3D IMAX over the holidays or the month that follows with the time to spare, give seeing the film some consideration. Especially if you like Aliens or The Terminator.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:21:42 GMT

Man, I used to love doing this. I got bitter as I watched more and more friends slack, their updates becoming infrequent and scarce. Now I've joined the club, and I'm trying to figure out why.

Not that it takes a ton of retrospect, though. I think the varied reasons are fairly obvious.

To start, I have long been of the belief that one does not read a post if one does not leave a comment. While blatantly untrue, the mindset stands and I try to comment on every post I read, as best I can. Shorter entries are both harder to comment on and not as likely to garner interest, so I got into the habit of making long entries. After my last trip to Japan, making sure the post was saturated with photos joined that habit. From there, two problems arise. The first is that such posts take a significant chunk of time to do, with the other being that when I didn't have photos or they weren't uploaded and ready, I didn't feel like posting. Couple that with Facebook's ability to keep people up to date on little things, and it takes forever for the desire to post to coincide with having enough new meaningful material.

Which at the moment is ridiculous seeing that I'm living abroad. Really I should have more material than I could ever want.

Considering FaceBook, many people losing interest in LJ and checking infrequently contributes to a feeling of "What's the point?" I tried to fix that when I linked this up to FaceBook to post automatically (Something I think everyone should do). It's just too bad that FaceBook has such a shitty interface for blogs; all the fun html stuff I use is often omitted in the importation since they use the more "modern" version of html that eliminated scrolling, blinking, many size alterations, and such.

Of course, you Facebook people could always just click the link at the top of all imported blogs to take you to the source.

You know, just saying.

...

There's a better interface for commenting there too.

...

Did you click the damn link yet?

Also FaceBook revolves around tagging which gets annoying. I am of the opinion that tags are exclusive invites. If the poster bothered to tag people, and you were not among them, then the post was not for you and what business have you in commenting. With no tags, you place trust that your friends will see you have posted, read it and comment. Also, if tags are made, the people who aren't tagged are left to wonder why they weren't, wether deliberate or accidental. Thus with all that considered, I simply don't tag unless it's something important for an individual or group.

The reverse of this is what I really hate about tags, the desperate grab for attention. People who tag to the limit to remind people that they are there and making a post, or to maximize spread of a meme. It's worse when they acknowledge the previous mindset and tell people that they can comment even if they weren't tagged (And I've seen plenty of Facebook friends pull this). Sure, everyone blogs in hopes that people will read, but tagging like this is digitally screaming:

"LOOK AT ME, I POSTED!"

"SHOW AFFECTION!"

"LOVE ME!"

But then people are also leaving Facebook for Twitter, which really irks me. And I'll try and stop here before this segways from my original intent any further.

What was my original intent... ?

Oh, yes. So with an abundance of free time at work today, I decided to try and get back into the swing of things. In truth, just as I haven't been blogging myself, neither have I been reading others, and there are a few I really do want to follow. I've decided to try and readjust to primarily text based postings. Picture updates won't disappear, but I do want to eliminate the mindset that they are necessary to create a post at all.

And seeing as during my weeks at Higashi I have my laptop with no net (like today), I can just type up me blog in Notepad and post it when I get home.

Ha October, I've made a post before you passed.

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Also, it was late October five years ago when Saker, Chuck, and Andy first convinced me to blog. I wondered at the time if I'd still be using this five years later.

I wouldn't have believed the answer as "Yes, and from Japan too."

Along with that milestone, another more tragic one comes as well. Geocities goes offline today, and with it, much of my highschool experience. I saved what I could from LewisVerse and Pocket Gojira, but SLF was already gone, and there's no way to feasibly save QNA2K without access. When saving page by page without logging in, Geocities cuts off bandwith far too often.

Alas, I'll miss being able to reminisce every so often.

Still trying to bring one of those sites back via PHP. But that's a slow process thanks to stupid languages.

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And, since you were robbed of it in my last entry due to manga cafe time limits, I give you the return of:

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

Hello pre-made five dollar bentou box. I'm back in crazy land again, aren't I?

Omuraisu, which is a Japanese bastardization of Omelet Rice. Big ball of rice, wrapped in delicious scrambled egg. Often topped with ketchup as seen here, but I've seen other toppings.

Apparently melon soda is radioactive.

I did not know this.

Later.

(Hopefully another shall surface soon.)

日本 Yet Again...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:41:59 GMT

Whelp folks, as per the title I find myself in the land of the rising sun for the third and longest time yet. I've been here as a psuedo-tourist, an exchange student, and now I'm employed here as a full fledged immigrant.

I have a salary... damn that's bizzare to consider.

Anyways, this time around I am in a little place called Hamada in the prefecture of Shimane. To the geographically illeterate of America, I'm on the southern tip of the main island, seen here:

大きな地図で見る

The green arrow would be my apartment building. More on that in a moment, first I guess I should recap me summer.

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Holy shit, summer. I went all over the place and did many things. Went all over the state in one weekend to attend a few fellow BG Alumni's grad parties, both of which were worth the travel. RP'd quite a bit, which was fun to roleplay again although having scenarios taken out of the players' hands is never my cup of tea.

I've also been working on and off on a website, to help a friend and at the same time practice PHP. Regardless of whether or not the end product will be needed, at least I'll be getting practice in. Hopefully someday I'll have stuff to show, but for now, all I can say is linking up Apache, PHP, and MySQL is a gigantic pain in the butt.

But enough text, why type when I can show you my adventures!

The house for the early part of the summer was under much construction and remodeling. We managed to live through the mess, obviously.

Went to see "Evil Dead: The Musical" with friends. The show is interactive with splatter zones recieving much blood from the saga's trademark gratuitous violence. I had a very unlucky seat.

...or lucky I guess, depending on one's point of view.

There was also much hanging out with many friends, with activities like mini-golf, drive-in movies, bowling, and even water balloons!

There was also Saker being Saker.

And yes,

that is a comical stack of eight pancakes.

Jeff splurged on fireworks this year for the 4th, and Godzilla once again took on the army. There's a video too, if he who took it ever decides to upload/do anything with it.

And last but not least, Saker and I hit Cedar Point before I left. Ho. Ly. Shit, was that ever fun. We managed to hit... 12... of the supossed 17 coasters in the park, four of them repeatedly.

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And now for the part that I guess people will most care about:

Being back in Japan. Hello Tax Building, I remember you from last time I was in Shinjuku.

Funny story actually... last time when I was lost in Shinjuku, I passed that building. At that moment a tour bus on my left was letting out, and I took a moment to take in the ritzy, ritzy hotel. So ritzy that people like you and me don't stay in them.

Fast forward two years and guess where the above photo was taken from.

Life's fun, ain't it?

So I got in on Aug 2nd for orientation, which during the day was the dreariest, most useless formal gathering you could imagine. But at least the nightlife was fun. Night one fellow BG alum Sara (also one of my apartment mates last year), myself, and a few others wandered around Shinjuku, and I got to see many sights from before. It was strangely odd to be back in and be familiar with a popular area I thought I might never see again.

The above photo was Shimane prefecture's night out at karaoke.

This is my apartment, literally the one room pictured, a kitchen, bathroom and shower. That photo there is the majority of my living space (but it's a bit tidier now). Laundry without a drier has been fun, especially considering I don't have a balcony.

And sadly kids, I'm out of time. With no internet yet, I must rely on net cafes for decent LJ access (mobile version sucks). However I can get to my gmail, facebook, and phone mail with my new cell phone.

Later.

Guess Who's a College Grad.

Tue, 26 May 2009 18:37:24 GMT

Heeeeeyyyy LJ.

Long time no see, buddy.

Sssso, how was April?

...

Yeah, sorry about that guys. LJ definitely took a back seat this year, but I haven't given up on it yet. I'll try to get back into the swing over summer and be using it bi weekly once I go back to Japan in August.

Holy crap, August. I'm no longer a college student, and I have a teaching job lined up through JET. Scary and exciting times await. Life as I knew it for the past five years is about to radically change, and I could be outside the US for five years or more depending on how life stacks up.

Weirder still is this time I'll be in Japan with other people I know. Alicia and Bill of ANO fame are already there, Steph is studying abroad in Osaka, Dan (a friend from early BG) is also with JET, as is Sara (one of the room mates this past year).

And now even Saker has a shot at going there too.

Wow.

Wwwooooowwww.

----------------------------------------------------------

So my last real update was in January.

Alot has happened since then... alot. Overall, the year was pretty awesome. Even with it being my final year I still met a ton of amazing new people, and living with Steph, Sara, and Erin was fun. I guess the biggest news I just covered above, but what else happened...

Animarathon VII

We had over 1600 people attend, which blew all the officers away. We prepped badges on card stock for 1500 and felt that was a safe estimate considering the 972 from the year before. Personally I had hoped for a jump of around 200, so 638 really caught me off guard.

Good luck to next year's crew, as I honestly have no way of trying to predict attendance. Hopefully BG will have the kinks worked out of the store and pre-reg can be used as more than an experiment.

--------------------------------------------------------------

What else...

My home is being almost entirely renovated. The kitchen and bathroom were already done when I returned home this month, and they are completely different than what I've known for the past 21 years. The floors have been refinished, and currently we are repainting the living room, hallway, and dining room.

With moving two college students back in on top of all this, the home is literally a war zone. Neither of us had much of an opportunity to unpack and put away stuff before the next round of remodeling started, and so everything is piled all over the place.

But at least the kitchen and bathroom look nice.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I think I'll finish for now. Once I can hook my laptop up to the net I can post pictures and such in the next update.

Later kids.

Animarathon 2009 Rave: Ninja Rap

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:51:14 GMT

Ohayocon 2009: Saker Sings Snake Eater

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:51:31 GMT

Hey Everyone!

I'm testing out linking YouTube and Live Journal together, which in turn will probably wind up on FaceBook as a note through even more linking.

What an age we live in!

As for the Ohayocon post, that will come in the next few days. In the meantime you can check some of the photos I uploaded to FaceBook.

Later.

Hello World

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:05:38 GMT

Hey everybody!

What's up? Yeah, I figured I should try and do an update before January goes by.

I've begun my last semester at BG, which still isn't quite sinking in. Classes feel as though they'll go by without many problems, although picking Chinese back up after two years is a tad difficult. It appears I will manage though.

With spring semester in full swing, that also means Animarathon prep has gone into full gear. I've no idea what to expect this year, but as long as attendance goes up, I'll be happy. We've got some interesting plans put forward, and I hope they'll help improve the con as a whole. The big one we're looking into is using the university online store space provided to clubs to "sell" pre-registration, essentially just guaranteeing you a program and getting you a shirt for cheaper than you would at the con itself. That way we could start estimating attendance. But really, there's alot to cover, so who knows if we'll pull that off or not.

Speaking of anime, Ohayocon is tomorrow. Not only am I attending with many other ANO members, but am actually co-hosting a panel. Possibly two. Exciting to be sure.

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Life in the apartment has been enjoyable. One of the roommates had work done on her jaw, meaning no solid foods for six (three done as of now) weeks. It sounds miserable, but she's taken it fairly well, and the rest of us have tried to come up with foods/snacks that work out.

We've also left up our Christmas decorations:

Offhand, I'd say it was because we didn't have them up for that long, and all four of us enjoy the lights at night.

But really, we're just too lazy to take decorations down and just let the holiday seasons bleed into one another, as this picture shows.

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Break happened, that was alot of fun. It's crazy to have Saker permanently back, although weird to that be so while not having the group back together.

But that's not to say there wasn't comradery.
Adorable, adorable platonic male comradery.

Platonic.

Despite awkward abandonments by several, there was much hanging out and fun to be had, mainly by Chuck, Saker, and I. If I had to sum up Winter Break 2008 in one word, it would probably be:

Zombies.

Board games, video games, movies, we did alot of zombie related activities, and were they ever fun. Left 4 Dead is officially the game that made me regret not getting a 360.

It's holy shit amazing.

But alas, I must focus on financial survival for quite some time. At least the three console developers have for all intents and purposes said they're going to sit on this generation a while. A failing economy is good for something at least.

That and raiding failing businesses for dirt cheap stuff. Namely Godzilla figures and a working copy of Dynasty Warriors 5.

Alot of Godzilla figures.

Poor Baby Gamera had no idea he was in the wrong part of town.

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You know, I think I'll call that a night. I'll post meme stuff and more importantly an Ohayocon rundown later.

Later.

Platonic.

One Last Post for 2008

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:52:16 GMT

Yeah, I thought I'd do one last LJ post before the year changed over.

And what a year 2008 has been. At the Japanese equivalent of this time one year ago (so as to ignore time difference) I was on a subway in Nagoya bound for the legendary Atsuta Jingu, resting place of the mythical Kusanagi. What a crazy way to kick off a year, stuck in a crowd waiting to pray for luck, fortune, or what have you for the new year.

In contrast, this year I kick off the turn over relaxing at home, considering half my friends made out of town plans and the rest made it clear they want alone time. No big deal though.

Supposedly 2009 is the year of "change", and not because of some over used political slogan. I have five months left of college left, and then I'm done with undergrad studies. I'll be stuck in the real world with all its currently failing industries looking for employment. There was a point in time where I was considering grad studies, specifically Pop Culture at BG, but the current administrative mess at BG plus the question of paying for grad school put that on hiatus (hopefully not indefinitely).

Ironically, as I went from Japan to America in 2008, 2009 may reverse that and put me right back in Japan. That depends on a lot, but if I do go, when I might return is anyone's guess. Even if I don't make a return to Japan, a year from now I still don't know quite where I will be.

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The Year in Review

Here are the first sentences of the first posts of each month from 2008:

January:
Hey everybody, I hope all found some excitement or fun for New Year's Eve.

February:
Back, and less than a week later.

March:
Hey there everybody.

April:
And so here I am yet again.

May:
So my semester is over, and I have one lone final to do next Tuesday.

June:
Well it's June 16th.

July:
Nope, no siree.

August:
Holy crap man.

September:
Whoops.

October:
Considering I didn't even cover everything I wanted to last post, I should get to this before too much piles up.

November:
DID NOT POST BECAUSE ED:
A) IS A BAD FRIEND.
B) WAS ENGAGED IN EPIC BATTLE WITH JAPANESE BEASTS.
C) FORGOT.
D) POSTED, BUT YOU DELETED SAID POST BECAUSE YOU SECRETLY PLOT ED'S DOWNFALL. (ED WISHES YOU TO KNOW HE IS ON TO YOU)
Q) ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Your answer is worth 139% of your final grade. Choose wisely.

December:
I haven't posted since October.

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And lastly, a meme from months ago. So long that I can't remember who I took it from.

Hit forward and place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X
from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and send it
to your friends (including me). The questions cover your entire life!

( ) Gone on a blind date

(X) Skipped school

(X) Watched someone die
Only if videos count

(X) Been to Canada

( ) Been to Mexico

( ) Been to Florida

(X) Been on a plane

(X) Been lost

(X) Been on the opposite side of the country

(X) Gone to Washington , DC

( ) Swam in the ocean

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers

( ) Recently colored with crayons

(X) Sang Karaoke

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?

(X) Made prank phone calls

( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

(X) Danced in the rain

( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus

( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe

( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
Nope, have watched the snow fall though.

(X) Blown bubbles

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Been skinny dipping outdoors

(X) Gone to the movies

1. Any nickname?
Ed

2. Mother's name?
Sue

3. Favorite Drink?
PEPSI!

4. Tattoo?
I don't get the appeal of marking up your body at all.

5. Body piercings?
Not at the moment

6. How much do you love your job?
Not a whole lot, but it's just for the moment.

7. Birthplace?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKLAHOMA
WHERE THE WIND COMES ROARING DOWN THE PLAINS

8. Favorite vacation spot?
Um?

9. Ever been to Africa ?
Nope

10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner?
Probably

11. Ever been on TV?
Briefly, in the background.

12. Ever stolen a traffic sign?
No

13. Ever been in a car accident?
Nope, I'm a pretty good driver.

14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle?
4-door

15. Favorite salad dressing?
I'll say Italian.

16. Favorite pie? Ice cream?
Pumpkin. Vanilla Swiss Almond.

17. Favorite number?
25

18. Favorite movie?
Tough call... I'll go with Raiders of the Lost Ark

19. Favorite holiday?
Tie between Halloween and Christmas

20. Favorite dessert?
A treat known as the crunchy fudge sandwich (not actually a sandwich)

21. Favorite food?
If you don't know, you don't know Ed.

22. Favorite day of the week?
Friday or Saturday, I can't decide.

23. Favorite brand of body wash?
Body wash? Ivory soap.

24. Favorite toothpaste?
Always been partial to Crest.

25. Favorite smell?
Uh...

26. What do you do to relax?
Video games or Godzilla movies

27. How do you see yourself in 10 years?
With a time machine, duh.

28. What is your favorite kind of music?
Parody or video game remixes.
'80s hair metal is a guilty pleasure.

29. Furthest place you will send this message?
Well, it will show up on Facebook, and people in Japan can see it.

30. Who will respond to this the fastest?
Uh, no idea

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Post anything that you want here, and post it anonymously. A story, a secret, a confession, a fear, a love, what you think of me, your parents, anything. Just make it honest. Make sure to post anonymously and honestly. Post as many times as you'd like. Then, put this in your LJ to see what others have to say.

And so that's that.

I hope you had a fine 2008 as you sit back in retrospective, and best wishes for the coming 2009.

Later.

A POST! MUHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!!!!!!

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:11:37 GMT

I haven't posted since October.

OCTOBER!

Shame upon me, for I am a terrible friend. I used to be decent at this, and did not need photos to share with all around me.

But I digress. First order of business, FaceBook.

I do believe I have re-enabled commenting on FaceBook, as I disabled it long long ago, back when I thought I wouldn't use FaceBook that much, and didn't want to deal with two sets of comments on LJ and FaceBook.

Simply put, things change, it's a year later, and I find I use FaceBook more than enough to warrant comments being enabled.

Of course, it could be a mute point, but only time will tell.

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So how 'bout I fought in this grand ol' war of humans against zombie kind. Holy shit was it fun, and holy shit was it forever ago. Bowling Green now has one of the larger player bases in the country, and playing got insane for one week where a green bandana meant you were either a hunter, or the hunted.

Long story short, zombies completely annihilated the humans to the point where they started quitting in poor sport. The final extraction was nearly 200 zombies versus 74 humans, and only 14 survived after 15 minutes in the final hourlong game.

Do you know how much fun it is to charge a group against a wall and see the fear in their eyes?

View Larger Map

You see, the humans' mission was simple, get from start (not mapped) to point A (actually the white oval above the marker). As long as one third of humanity's last hope arrived at point A, a helicopter would be called in to point B (actually the X area directly left of the marker).

Simple enough plan, two stops, with at least 23 people, and humanity continues.

Yet humanity was slaughtered...

So it begins, the Zeds in three groups of 60-70 zombies strike out to engage the humans, whose destinations we do not know. The humans branch out in an unknown amount of groups, at least two of meritable size. I set out with group 2, and we head off the southern passes sending scouts ahead.

The humans also send scouts, and they head straight for their rendeveau point, and group 2 fans out around East Hall to catch them (I take the north path) and keep the southern areas occupied. Group 1 may have also fanned out, but they do help in taking out the scouts. A human group changes course to go around the south side of East Hall, while the northern human group is surrounded by group 3.

The northern human group is embroiled in a cacophony of chaos. I know not what occurred there, but let it always be known that there was a general large area of senseless slaughter, and the humans within were lost. Meanwhile, the southern group of 30-40 humans see a gap as the lower group 2 back away momentarily, unaware that the rest of group 2 and group 1 descends upon them from the north.

The pitiful band of humans is backed up against East Hall as two small hordes keep their distance to the west (my path) and south. The group slowly inches eastward, unaware of the large group waiting to charge around the corner.

The cry of "FOR THE HORDE" is given as the the waiting Zeds turn the corner, and all groups rush in on the last hope for humanity. Nerf weaponry cannot fire quickly enough, and for each Zed lost, two more are left unphased to take the reloading human down. The humans realize this before we even reach their huddle, and their weapons pull back as they embrace their fate with fear.

And it is over. A New Legion of Sufferance descends from the northern battlegrounds and sweeps the playing field to pick off the remaining scouts and humans who dared to strike out on their own. Only 15 make it to their destination, and the choppers refuse to select a landing point for a lost cause.

The sweet taste of brains and victory was ours that night...

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What else is new?

Let's see... I filled out and turned in the JET application, and what an ordeal that was. But, if it's all good, then I get to interview in February, and then potentially return to Japan for the third time.

I think my granddad thinks I'm an ex-patriot or something.

HEY, speaking of grandparents, the last of me dad's parents passed on about a week ago.

As such, I spent what may be my last time ever in St. Louis this weekend attending the funeral, which was fairly impressive. Since she served in the Coast Guard, she gets her own grave in a military cemetery next to her spouse, rather than on top as the case usually goes.

Just like the other grandparent, the lack of any consistent interaction didn't leave anything to really be missed. On top of that, being told "This is it." for about two and a half years or so kind of takes the impact out of it. A year ago it had been assumed I would be in Japan when it happened.

Go figure.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Break happened.

I got to hang with Saker, Jeff, and Chuck, while see very briefly Kat, Andy, and Brandon. Fun times.

We pulled out ye olde Perfect Dark on Katanaka and rediscovered what an amazing FPS it still is. Especially when I posses the nightmare gun that is the Farsight: the alien xray sniper rifle of doom and joy. Also went bowling for the first time since... nearly... two years. It's an activity the group doesn't do nearly as much as it should.

Wanted to roleplay, but schedules didn't quite allow a decent amount of time for play with everyone. Somewhat disappointed at that, but I will play Privateers with everyone sooner or later. Far too much work has been put into the characters, setting, story, and historical research to let the game just fade.

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Dear God,

Thank You.

Faithful Believer,
Ed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

And finally, a meme, for you all:

RULES:
1. Pick 20 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

1.)~~"I merely chewed in self defense, but I never swallowed"~~ - clnyboi232

2.)~~"My friends need to be punished."~~ - violetessence

3.)~~"Welcome to Earth."~~ - clnyboi232

4.)~~"If I were my real size, your cow here would die of fright."~~ - clnyboi232

5.)~~"Swingin' the chain. Swingin' the chain."~~ - jedite333

6.)"Your entrance was good. HIS was better."

7.)~~"Now I'm not one for blasphemy, but that last one made me laugh."~~ - clnyboi232

8.)"Good God."
"Yes, that's just what the Hebrews thought." - clnyboi232

9.)"You can't just go around killing people."
"Why?" - saturn_firefly

10.)"Hey Claudius! You killed my father. Big mistake."

11.)"I guess it never occurred to you that you might actually have to bleed to pull off this little coup. "

12.)"It's because I'm white, isn't it."
"Larry's white."
"Larry's not white. Larry's clear."

13.)~~"What's that odious stench? Smells like... teenagers..."~~ - clnyboi232

14.)~~"Do you guys remember a couple of years ago when that guy was lighting homeless people on fire in the subways?"~~ - jedite333

15.)"The word is no. I am therefore going anyway."

16.)"Ouch time."

17.)~~"I'd kiss you, but you're so damn ugly."~~ - clnyboi232

18.)"Now you deal with me, young prince. And all the powers of Hell!"

19.)~~"If you think it over, let me know. After all, I'm not in the book you know."~~ - violetessence

20.)~~"Talking... parrots?"~~ - clnyboi232

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Later.

Yay For October!

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:23:25 GMT

Considering I didn't even cover everything I wanted to last post, I should get to this before too much piles up.

I've really lost the rhythm for updating LJ, I need to get back into a bi-weekly grove (ideally).

As per the subject heading, it is now October. I am overjoyed in this fact as a year ago I was in a nation that doesn't properly celebrate one of the greatest month's ever.

Oh yeah, greatest month ever. I missed you cold nights and Halloweeny atmosphere.

But I get ahead of my self slightly, let us pick up where I left off once upon a previous entry.

Which in rereading, I find wasn't much outside of a tour of me place of residency.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Let's recap life through a photo blitz.

I visited one Labor Day Weekend, and Chuck learned the answer to the greatest question ever asked. And look how content he is now.

Around that time, the lot of us stopped a rabbit uprising.

On the BG front I attended a few festivals. This one being the Black Swamp Festival.

Attending Japanese Club.

And the more important anime club, Anime in Northwest Ohio. We're screening Macross Frontier, Soul Eater, and Scrapped Princess this semester. We've also had a few events, such as a theater screening of the first Browly movie, Rebuild of Evangelion, and Ghost in the Shell, and we've just started a Smash Bros. Brawl league that should last until the end of the semester.

What else is going on...

Went home for Fall Break a week ago, which went alright. I got to at least see everyone again and Step Brothers. I tried to get the lot of people to go to the Scaregrounds, but that ended in epic fail, and then I went home.

But I did get out to the haunted house held near BG in Maumee. That's where I took the above picture. I ended up going with a few members of the anime and Japanese club and most of the Japanese exchange students, and had a ton of fun. Terror Town has a few large animatronics, one of them a twenty foot devil, although the highlight was probably one of the Japanese guys, Rei, shouting "I have to pee!" over and over again after one of the displays jumped out at him.

If all goes well I'm going to a different event in Michigan with the housemates and a few different people this Saturday.

Man I've missed this stuff.

------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Chuck was the only taker of the last meme to ask back, and here were his five:

1.) Having completed the first of 5 presidential debates, as well as the first vice-presidential debates, where do you stand? I remember you were leaning toward Obama for a while, but you admitted that depending on the useage of Palin, you could be persuaded back over to the party you are registered with.

Well, to be honest, I did miss the VP debate. However I can say that the excitement and optimism I had for Palin when the announcement was first made has been whittled away. She may even be the biggest factor costing McCain the election should he lose.

That said, I still don't know who to vote for. I like both candidates and where one falters, the other makes up, so I'm pretty much stuck in the middle at the moment.

2.) What issues do matter to you in this presidential election, and why?

How the Hell are they going to manage the bailout and keep it from being the equivalent of this:

Withdrawing from Iraq without making the mess we've made worse.

While not a terribly pertinent issue, I like Obama's stance on healthcare.

3.) If asked by a romantic partner, who you trust, would you beat a homeless person for a Klondike bar?

Probably not. I actually don't like Klondike Bars that much. There are far better ice cream bars out there.

4.) How long has it been since you last lost the game?

I hate you.

5.) If, in a game of apples to apples, you were judging, and the green card "Flavorful" was drawn, which would you pick out of a)Angry Rhinos, b)Helen Keller, c) The Holocaust, d)The Great Depression, and e)Pokemon?

Poke'mon.

493 flavors and counting...

-----------------------------------------------------

While on the topic of Chuck Memes:

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...
7. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

Do note, my music folder is filled with all sorts of audible trinkets, as Evil and Angry Man Eating Flea should have let you know long ago. This meme further reflects this fact, and so...

Opening credits:
Metropolis Zone - Metaljonus

Waking up:
Audiotrack 20 - Gundam Wing Soundtrack

First day of school:
Remember His Name - Jurassic 5

Falling in love:
Hero - Machinae Supremacy

First Song:
Exodus From the Underground Fortress - Akira OST

Fight Song:
Chemical Juice - Jivemaster

Breaking Up:
Ghost Circus - MazeDude (Insanely fitting)

Prom:
Orson Welle's 1938 War of the Worlds Broadcast (all 57:09 of it, although it would make for poor dancing)

Life:
Water on the Dancefloor WIP - Akumajobelmon

Mental Breakdown:
A Few Words from the Bride - Uma Thurman

Driving:
Venus Signed Banana Peel - Injury and Aquas

Flashback:
Gerudo Peeples - Scott Peeples

Getting back together:
Doggy Dog - Yoko Kanno (What the Hell?)

Wedding:
McVaffeQuasi Ultimix - McVaffe

Birth of child:
Link's Underworld Pressurecooker - Wrenchpilot

Final Battle:
Matsuri Japan - Re-Venge (Excellent)

Death Scene:
Morning Sunlight - Sephire, Sirrus

Funeral Song:
Yoshi's Lullaby - McVaffe (again, fitting)

End Credits:
El Salsa - DJ Pretzel

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And one last one for the road:

1. Where is your cell phone? - In my pocket.

2. Your significant other? - In the space between spaces.

3. Your hair? - My head, face, arms, chest, legs, and... well you see where this is going.

4. Your brother? - In the space between spaces.

5. Your sister? - Case A) In her room, across the hall. Case B) Not far enough away.

6. Your favorite thing? - Faraway Monster Island.

7. Your dream last night? - Uh, my brain?

8. Your favorite beverage? - In the upstairs refrigerator.

9. Your dream/goal? - ABSTRACT THINGS CANNOT HAVE LOCATION!

10. The room you're in? - Bowling Green

11. Your ex? - Not up for discussion, sorry folks.

12. Your fear? - On Mars.

13. Where do you want to be in 10 years? - No idea, every place has its advantages and drawbacks.

14. Where were you last night? - Home.

~~15. What you're not?~~ - Where is What I'm not? This question sucks.

16. Muffins? - Not here, that's for sure.

17. One of your wish list items? - At a store, specifically their electronic section.

18. Where you grew up? - Hel... Youngstown, OH

19. The last thing you did? - I've never had sex with "things". Next question.

20. What are you wearing? - THIS IS NOT A "WHERE IS" QUESTION! YOU FAIL!

21. Your TV? - Off to my right.

22. Your pets? - Sadly far from here.

23. Your computer? - This question is so dumb I can't even begin to fathom the stupidity required to ask it.

24. Your life? - Earth, third planet of the Sol System.

25. Your mood? - Again, my brain?

26. Missing someone? - Another Logistics error, next question.

27. Your car? - Parked outside.

28. Something you're not wearing? - My closet.

29. Favorite Place? - Hmmmm, a tough question. I don't think I can answer that.

30. Your summer? - When, you stupid meme. This is a "when" question.

31. Love someone? - In private.

32. Your favorite color? - All around the known universe.

33. Last time you laughed? - My room.

34. Last time you cried? - My old, old room.

35. Who will repost this? - Where are they? I have no idea.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

AT LONG LAST

Spoiler free for your enjoyment!

I already have the Japanese version, as those of you with excellent LJ memories should remember. However playing it in a language I don't fully understand was slow and time consuming. Eventually I got to a major plot point and realized I had missed what had happened. I stopped, checked online, found out it was something of huge ramification, and then stopped lest I miss too much of the story. The point was delivered in round about dialogue, that didn't say exactly what happened, which is to say it did, but in doing so skipped over the basics which a student of the foreign language is looking for.

Play the game and I can explain better after the first chapter.

Now I can play the full game at a reasonable pace, although I learned that, had I continued playing from where I left off in Japanese, the plot point I missed was kind of shoved in the face of the player. Extensively. So had I played for another five minutes or so, I would have figured out what happened.

On that note, I am a little over four hours into the game after a day, and wow. There are some obvious reasons I think Nintendo didn't want this one crossing the Pacific officially. Which is ultimately their loss. This game was a chance for Nintendo to show they're willing to push their audience, and if they had let the 64 (they are the same game, this has been well established) version run its course, Nintendo would have potentially had an RPG to challenge Sony with. Unfortunately I must say potentially, as Shigesato Itoi's skill at manipulating 3D scenes is untested. What we did get to see did show potential though.

Whatever, the case, we the Earthbound fans finally get to play the next chapter, sadly acknowledging Nintendo's loss. It's a good game, if only Nintendo didn't buy into the bullshit ideas that killed the Saturn.

Later kids.

September's Over?

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:52:01 GMT

Whoops.

Kind of let the entire month go by, almost without updating. Sorry 'bout that everyone.

So... what's been going on?

Ah, yeah, that's nice.

Really?

Cool, that's cool.

Me? We'll I'm well into Year Five I guess. It's not so bad, aside from being the final year, meaning I am supposed to have a halfway decent idea of what I'd like to be doing a year from now.

In the real world.

Which as of about a week ago became a very scary and financially unstable place.

At least classes are going alright. In fact, I am learning, or rather relearning, just how much I liked math. I'm back in Calculus (Calc 2 to be precise), and I am kicking its ass. Although it is giving the occasional headache in defense. It's a lot better than what I feared would happen, ie I remember nothing of Calc at all and fail the course viciously and humiliatingly.

Although the humiliation angle is still slightly there as every student but me in that class seems to be a freshman. And there are rough spots. We reviewed definite integrals today and the professor calls on me to get the problem started.

I explained I hadn't seen a definite integral in five years.

But life goes on.

Hey, here's an idea, how about a tour of the apartment.

As you may or may not know, I'm off campus this year sharing an apartment living with three lovely, albeit clinically insane, ladies.

This would be the kitchen, dining room, and half of the living room. Housemate Sara is sitting on the left, in the darkness.

Here is the reverse picture of the living room taken from the kitchen. Halloween is kind of a big deal for everybody living here. It is a holiday celebrating death and decay after all. As such the living room has been accordingly decorated.

The stairwell is also festively decorated.

And then you have my room, which for obvious reasons I share with no one. As you can see, I've made myself at home with a mini-horde to sleep among.

The room is an odd shape, so I can't get all the corners in two shots, but this is the best attempt at a reverse. That half of the room is so much cleaner.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Five Question Interview Meme is back. Alicia asked me five questions and I answered. Comment asking for an interview, and I'll give you five of my own.

1.) If you encountered Godzilla in reality, what would you do?

Did you see Cloverfield? Kinda like that, only I'd be chasing Godzilla down to film him.

2. If all the anime were to disappear off the face of the earth forever, except for one, which would be played on tv over and over 24-7, which would you save?

I'd say Akira, but it's much too easy for one movie to get old. This is a pretty cliche' answer, but Cowboy Bebop. Adult Swim has kept it going for a reason.

3. What do you like best about college life?

...

I

...You know... I have no idea. That answer changes depending on what's going on at the given time. College life sent me to Japan, gave some great experiences, and others I'd love to forget.

Running a con is pretty sweet. I'll go with that.

4. Would you rather be a pirate or a ninja, and why?

Pffft, ninja, duh. Why would I ever prefer drunken smelly buffoonery over being a disciple of the shadows and allied with mutant reptiles, Irish doctors, and Gray Fox.

5. What would you like to see as the next big advance in video gaming?

2-D gaming and simpler graphics to reemerge and become a constant and respected genre among the big three. If Mega Man 9 does well enough, who knows what could be next.

Mega Man X9?
Streets of Rage 4?
Super Mario Bros. 4? (Or 5 if you consider World to be 4, which it pretty much is.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why do I love making cookies so? I've already utilized the new kitchen once so far, and I immediately restocked supplies and am ready to make more at a moments whim.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I just got back from a screening of Nerdcore Rising, a documentary about MC Frontalot's first national tour (and nerdcore hiphop in general as a side). I'm not a fan of hiphop in general, so the content is really the only draw to the genre, but the film was really good.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

44 words

Typingtest

The PSP Campaign in a nutshell.

A nutshell you can take outside.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's all for now kids. Play the meme and I'll be back again.

Later.

Posting Before a Month Goes By

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:16:47 GMT

Holy crap man. I only posted once in all of July. Poor form, sorry folks.

What's been happenin'? A lot, actually.

Currently I'm posting from the Student Union at BG, seeing as I have so recently moved here and not yet have acquired the internets. We're working on that one.

What's new, well as I said, I moved back to BG where I'm sharing an apartment with Steph and friends. That's the biggest developement so far. That and acquiring the family Cavalier as mine own. That will greatly help out in ANO matters, and I guess Japanese Club too.

Oh, and I guess it means I could be stopping by every once in a while, and not just vacations. Could be. No guarantees.

Also went to St. Louis almost a month ago. Fun city, although visiting decrepit relatives hinders the amount of free time one has there. Granma isn't really in any shape to be leaving her ward, let alone visit the greatest free zoo on the planet. Yeah, that's right, free. I love St. Louis, they are what happens when townsfolk vote for their levies (happily and without communal blackmail) and park systems and republicans.

Okay, I'm not so sure on that last one, but Youngstown is the complete opposite of St. Louis, so it's a safe bet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

It's much more funny if you've seen Godzilla, King of the Monsters.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

So the other day I rented Earth Killer and went down to Columbus to pick up furniture from a relative. Earth Killer is the name I have dubbed the gargantuan truck required to perform said task. EK's floor started at just below my waist, and it's tires were even bigger. I won't even try to tell you the MPG it told me it got. Why any company would support such a helpful device in an anti-Gore monstrosity like that is beyond me. Any sane customer looking to buy a new vehicle would (or should) look at the read-out and refuse to drive it out of the lot.

On the reverse end, Earth Killer could crush hordes of cars in its wake, and I can't begin to tell you how tempting doing so is when some idiot in a Volkswagon is going 60mph in the fast lane. Perhaps this is what it feels like to pilot the Gundam, or maybe the Super X.

I wish I had taken a picture, but A)my camera is on the fritz and B) I'm using school computers which makes uploading time consuming and difficult.

It was one of these. Too bad there's no size reference in those pictures. Suffice it to say, they could rape Jeff's truck.

In summary, it was fun to drive for a day, but I weep for anyone who owns (or even wants to)one of these sins against humanity.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch now, more posts in the near future, preferable when I get internet.

Later. (and no, I'm not in A-Town til Saturday)

Mid July Means Not Much Summer Left...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:12:11 GMT

Nope, no siree. In fact it looks like I move back to BG Aug 11, which means I've got less than a month.

Wow.

----------------------------------------------

So, it's been a while. Even longer considering the last post I did (while hilarious at the time of posting) didn't say much.

'Cept I had me a ton of cookies.

Various stuffs been happening. I turned 23 a few weeks back; family and friends went out to Sawa's to celebrate. Tried to see Forbidden Kingdom but lack of time/interest prevented that. No big deal.

Fourth of July happened. Austintown lacks patriotism, and forced its residents to seek elsewhere for firework shows. Ended up in Canfield for a decent show.

Saker came back, twice. And last weekend's visit rocked this world. We ended up karaokeing out at Quaker Steak and Lube. Very few people signed up, and so we sang numerous entries. That alone made it a good night, but the guy decided to stay till close, giving us more time at the mic. I think I did seven songs in all... let's see...

Dare to Be Stupid - Weird Al classic, and a great warm up for me since it's relatively easy to sing.

Welcome to the Jungle - I had wanted to sing it in Guns N Roses high pitch, but came off really low in the first verse. Like, It's My Life low, and thus next I sang...

It's My Life - Saker demanded it, as Chuck has for quite some time. It's been ages, and I hadn't done that with my voice in so long I thought I would never do it again. After Welcome to the Jungle, it seemed plausible. Turns out I still can.

Turning Japanese - It's true. It's so true.

Love Shack - Two older ladies liked Saker and my theatrics so much they wanted us to do Love Shack with them. Slightly creepy...

Larger Than Life - Saker and I dueted. Holy shit I love singing this song.

Amish Paradise - I don't like repeating artists in one night, but man, we got to sing alot last Friday. This can't be it, as I do believe I'm forgetting something.

Still, Chuck, Saker, and I rocked the house like we used to long ago.

...

And I drank so much Pepsi I felt kind of nauseous and couldn't sleep til... sixish.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Man, what else have I been doing. In periods of boredom, I've been pegging at the LewisVerse, even putting some work into the old site.

I've redone one of the game logos while making a bunch of new ones, and updated the soundtrack page accordingly. I just found the Hold This soundtrack list tonight by chance, so I'll update that quite soon too.

I also made logos for quite a few games with unposted or no soundtracks, such as:

And even a few that have yet to be played (but should in the next six months), like

I'll show the others once they are more relevant. (Fever is imminent)

What else... I've upgraded my RAM finally. I went from 256 MB to 1.25 GB, and it's made a noticeable difference. For one, AIM doesn't run at a lethargic speed anymore. Everything I ask it to do, it does immediately. Even better, Adobe Premiere loads in a reasonable amount of time, and doesn't crash when loading pictures any more. It also can operate at a tolerable speed when moving clips around.

With that new found breathing room I've begun toying with Premiere again, and decided to splice together a few tidbits from Animarathon IV of 2006.

I've been going through all my videos from my time abroad, and I'll hopefully add a few more videos to my account before Fall Semester.

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Hey, I was in Japan, wasn't I? I kind of left you guys hanging, which is slightly rude.

I believe I left off in Tokyo with this image:

But where does this scenic road lead?

Why... it leads to this scenic museum!

Yes, as a part of my trip to Tokyo I took a lengthy train ride to check out the Ghibli Museum for Hayao Miyazaki's legendary animation company.

While I didn't take any photos inside, I did take a few around the outer premises, and from the roof.

Designed in part by the man himself, the museum is difficult to describe architecturally. It's definitely a place out of his movies and reminds me of Dr. Seuss.

The place also has a small theater where they show exclusive short films seen only here, including a sequel of sorts to Totoro. They cycle by the month, so I could only see a short entitled (translated) Koro's Big Walk, about a girl who loses a puppy.

And on the roof they had a garden styled after the movie Castle in the Sky, complete with ancient giant robot.

Even the entrance is weird. Not only is the first one pictured fake (with a Totoro sitting in the ticket booth), but the real one pictured here leads into a stair well that takes you below ground level.

Overall, it's a great site that I highly recommend even if you're not fully aware of Miyazaki or Ghibli. If you're an anime fan, then this place is a must.

After that it was back to Akihabara, where I did a little exploring of the larger indoor shopping areas.

And then hit up many of the stores I visited on my last trip and grabbed a few more games:

Pure gold sits on this shelf. One of the greatest games ever. Do you see it?

and for the Persona fans:

Something big was/is going on, since posters and such were everywhere, including this skyscraper sized edition.

Now this picture denotes a lesson I learned the hard way. I hate trains in Japan. Unlike subways, just because it's going the correct direction does not mean you will end up where you want, despite your stop being on the line. Some stations get skipped depending on the train you are on. That I knew and semi adjusted to. However, this is a new one for me. Every time on there with the naka kanji (中) means the train turns around at the station that has something to do with that kanji. Here I was napping, glancing up every few stops, and all was going well, until I suddenly noticed I was now going in the wrong direction.

Needless to say, I was a confused and angered gaijin, and Japan trembled in my wake.

And now I give you the last and final:

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

Tasty Cocoa Flakes, I'm pretty sure that's what the name translates to. This stuff is God damn awesome, and Kellog's is insane for keeping it from us. I... want... this cereal... so badly...

It's so good...

7UP, yes it does exist in Japan, but to find it is beyond rare. You have better odds of finding a blonde, blue eyed Japanese. It doesn't matter that I found 7UP twice, but stated Japanese mutant never, the odds stand. Being that 7UP is delicious, it was greatly enjoyed.

TAKOYAKI! Octopus is delicious. Octopus in deep fried bread balls smothered in takoyaki sauce, mayo, and other assorted health travesties is even better. And it's a Japanese classic.

And that's it. No more pictures of Japanese food in Japan. It won't be the last time I'll have this stuff, thankfully. In fact I enjoyed some sushi at the local Sawa's in Boardman. But the abundance and cost effectiveness will be long gone, lest I decide to return someday.

And while Japanese food is all well, delicious, and good, there were times that I greatly missed certain American entrees. Which of course upon my return I sought out and gorged upon. Such as that all American classic, favorite of turtles across this world, and 84.7% of my body constitution:

Hells yes.

THE END

(I'm well aware pizza is really Italian, but Italian pizza (which Japan mimics) tends to suck)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Later.

Long Ago...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:15:39 GMT

Once upon a time there was a tub of Crisco and butter. It lived a good life, relatively peaceful and easygoing, yet it was not happy.

Tub of Crisco and Butter loved another tub, filled with flour and baking soda. But because Tub of Crisco and Butter was so filled with fat in his eyes, he felt no love for her, and Tub of Butter and Crisco wept.

And so in desperation, Tub of Crisco and Butter sought out other means of attention and she mixed with Tub of Assorted Sugars in hopes of inspiring jealousy in Tub of Flour and Baking Soda.

And so did the two mingle. No longer did were Tub of Crisco and Butter's affections directed towards Tub of Flour and Baking Soda, but Tub of Assorted Sugars, and soon jealous rage overcame him.

Flour and Baking Soda sought out his friend Carton of Eggs to extract revenge on Tub of Crisco and Butter, who had mingled with Tub of Assorted Sugars, and they set out to destroy the pair.

Yet Tub of Crisco and Butter's friend, 36oz. Bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips heard of the hateful pair's plans, and set out to defend his friend.

And so there was a great struggle between the five. Hatred and wretchedness flowed from their conflict. But as all seemed lost and the friends were poised to destroy each other, Vanilla arrived and enlightened them upon their differences.

And thus a massive orgy occurred between them, and they achieved true love and happiness, one and all.

Then I ate them, for they were delicious.

...

And that, dear children, is how chocolate chip cookies are born.

Living in America

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:39:26 GMT

Well it's June 16th.

I once skipped all of June a ways back. It's something I shouldn't do.

What to update about?

Well, Steph is now in Japan, living only a ten minute walk or so from where I lived of all places.

I went to Wisconsin last weekend to see my eldest cousin graduate highschool. It was fun to see my mom's side of the family again. It was slightly sad though, as I think some of the family sees me as betraying my country and heritage to the Japanese. Not all of them, just one I hold a lot of respect for, so it is an unfortunate predicament.

Still, it's been two years since I saw them, so it was fun to catch up. My uncle also has a new sony digital camcorder, and he let me scour the graduation party with it which was loads of fun.

I went around getting testimonials from the party goers, that is until my cousin's ex crashed the party. He was kind of broken up over that and locked himself away in his room. My aunt had me and his brother go in and talk to him, and it went pretty well.

Then the lights flickered and there was this weird noise. We went outside to see what it was and the Statue of Liberty's head goes careening through the street. We figured the best way to stay safe was taking the Brooklyn Bridge, but that kind of backfired when something destroyed it.

We took subway tunnels to get to a military evac site, but were ambushed by giant insects that cause... balloon... syndrome. Anyways, it's gross and we lost a few to them, but we did make the choppers. Unfortunately whatever it was that was attacking the city kind of crashed our ride, and as I climbed from the wreckage it came over to investigate.

To make a long story short, it bit me in half and I died and now I'm up in heaven with St. Peter by the pearly gates, and its obvious he doesn't like the Nehru jacket that I'm wearing. He tells me that they've got a dress code. He lets me into heaven anyway, but I get the room next to a noisy ice machine for all eternity, and everyday Pete runs by screaming:

Everything you know is wrong
Black is white up is down and short is long
And everything you used to think was so important
Doesn't really matter anymore
Because the simple fact remains that
Everything you know is wrong just forget the words and sing along
All you need to understand is everything you know is wrong

PARTS OF THE ABOVE MAY OR MAY NOT BE FABRICATIONS PLAGIARIZED FROM FILM OR SONG

Man... my friends list is going to want to kill me for this one...

--------------------------------------------------------

So more Japan stuff... I left of at Yasukuni Jinja (shrine). That's the shrine wherein all of Japan's war dead are honored, regardless of their reasons for passing on. As such some names on there died after being hung for WWII war crimes. This doesn't make the shrine very popular for China or Korea, and it comes up quite frequently in Asian politics.

What it is very good for though, is a Japan centric view of history, especially through the early 1900s and World War II.

The grounds begin with a long walkway with a gigantic tori standing over either side.

Here's a slightly better shot for seeing the sheer scale of these things. They are huge.

The grounds are littered with various monuments to those who have died for Japan in some service. There are even three separate statues to commemorate the dogs, horses, and pigeons
who died for Japan.

The other tori at the end of the walkway.

This is the museum on the grounds with Japan's military history. While almost entirely in Japanese, it was still good to go through, especially to see their take on the events of World War II.

The west gate through which I left.

And the hour is late, so sadly I must cut short the Tokyo exploits yet again. But do know that they do continue down this road to places wondrous and amazing.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I've seen Kung Fu Panda, The Incredible Hulk, and 21 since the last update. All were awesome movies. Although 21 was slightly depressing since those kids really did pull that Blackjack stunt off, in college. Sure Hollywood glorified it, but only a tad, and they didn't even cover the stuff they did in Europe. Europe! Kind of makes you sit back and think about what you did in college.

But hey, Japan's better than legally scamming casinos out of their ill earned money and living the Vegas high life on weekends.

Right?

---------------------------------------------------------------

Saker comes back Tuesday night. I will be making calls. Group fun times will be had.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Memes, then sleep.

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	High
Schizoid:	Moderate
Schizotypal:	Moderate
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	High
Narcissistic:	Low
Avoidant:	High
Dependent:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Low
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

1. I've come to realize that my first kiss... was a lie. Karma would punish me for that ignorance and naivety.

2. I am listening to... nothing at the moment.

3. I talk... about geeky things like Japanese monsters, history, and space.

4. I love... a pepperoni pizza.

5. My best friend... changes depending on the terms defined.

6. My car is... non-existant, although this may change in the very near future.

7. My life is... a... life? What the Hell do you want from me, Meme?

8. I hate it when people ask... what I want to do with my degree. I really have no set idea. Life will be quite the adventure a year from now.

9. Love is... such a simple concept, and yet so difficult and incredibly complicated.

10. Marriage is... pretty controversial as of late.

11. Somewhere, someone is thinking... about you.

12. This weekend... I did lots of barbecueing.

13. I have a secret crush... this is a true statement.

14. I can't handle... telemarketing.

15. My cell phone... doesn't usually turn on until noon or later.

16. When I wake up in the morning... I roll over and sleep for another hour or so.

17. Before I go to bed I... roll over and sleep for another hour or... hey wait a sec...

18. Right now I am thinking about... many roleplaying ideas.

19. Babies are... delicious, depending on the species of discussion.

20. I get on Facebook... far too often.

21. Today I... barbecued chicken.

22. Tonight I will... update LJ.

23. Tomorrow I will... sleep, make some phone calls, walk the dog, eat, maybe sleep some more...

24. I really want to be... a were-creature. Lizard is preferred, but wolf is cool too.

25. My heart is... Well this statement is simply too vague. Do they mean my heart heart, which is probably fine, although all this pizza can't be too good for it. Or are they wanting some introspective on one of the various abstract definitions.

My spiritual heart? Is a kung fu fight between Jesus and Bhudda healthy for that?

Emotional heart? Well that's just a train wreck that no one would possibly care to hear about.

...

*cries*

26. My friends are... few but fairly close

27. My family is... a rag-tag assemblence of loners.

Ten things you wish you could say to people right now (mostly generalized):
1.) Dude, get out more. Make plans for once.
2.) You are a beautiful person with an amazing outlook on life. I wish we could hang out more.
3.) Yes, I'm still religious. It's just that how we see our religion has become very different.
4.) Learn Huttese, I beg you.
5.) Something very private.
6.) Leave him alone already. Jesus, I leave for nine months and the group shatters.
7.) You're better than that, why would someone as nice as you waste your time with the scum of humanity.
8.) Hey! Hey! You! You! I don't like your girlfriend. No way! No way! I think you need a new one.
9.) Grow the damn afro back. It's your destiny, face it.
10.) I'm having the dog stuffed when he dies. Then we can love him forever.

Nine things about yourself:
1.) Nearly 23 years and kicking.
2.) Me middle name is ancient Whelsh for my first name, go figure.
3.) I have probably spent too much in my life on Godzilla. Probably.
4.) Martians terrify me.
5.) Shake my hand and you've shaken hands with George Bush once removed. The other George Bush. The good one.
6.) I think I'm supposed to be nocturnal, but the body's love of Vitamin E conflicts with that theory.
7.) I really see nothing wrong with cannibalism in a controlled, consensual enviroment.
8.) I saw the Star Wars trilogy backwards. I think I missed out on something by doing so.
9.) I enjoy making cookies. It is a peaceful and delicious pastime.

Eight ways to win your heart:
1.) Godzilla (Gamera and dinosaurs are acceptable for substitution)
2.) Pizza
3.) Godzilla and Pizza
4.) Charmander
5.) Video Games
6.) Serious discussion about Asian culture
7.) Serious discussion about Sci Fi
8.) I would say touching the hair, but recently I've discovered this has not erased disdain for certain parties. Ironically they are the only party to do so without asking for permission first (weird, but everybody does that).

Seven things that cross your mind a lot:
1.) Godzilla
2.) Poke'mon
3.) Friends
4.) Friends imbued with super powers
5.) LewisVerse stuff
6.) The Future
7.) Reganomics
Six things you wish you never did:
Five turn-offs:
Wait, what?

Uh... men.

Five of these?

Pigtails.

I'm done, next subject!

Four turn-ons:
1.) Godzilla
2.) Pizza
3.) Fur (not the fur of PeTA's bane, if you're still clueless drop the subject now lest you be lost down the dark path that dominates mine own destiny)
4.) Cuba Gooding Jr.

Three things you want to do before you die:
I'm going to swing to the serious side with this one, and then it becomes rather private.
I would like to return to Japan at some point though.

Two smileys that describe you:
I hate smileys.

One confession:
I threw sand at this one kid when I was, like, fourteen. Yeah, I feel like an ass about that now.

Later kids.

I'll try and be back with another update sooner, and preferably with a better degree of seriousness, but hey, it's 3:00 AM.

To Quote That There Sam Fellow...

Tue, 27 May 2008 01:26:54 GMT

"Well, I'm back."

Indeed, the nine month odyssey has been over for almost a week now, depending on how you look at it. Whether or not you consider being on the plane the end or not changes the phrase ever so slightly. The trans-Pacific flight was fun, as I got to see Cloverfield four times in a row. For those of you unfamiliar with me and my irrational love of giant monsters, reptiles, and dinos, no, that wasn't sarcasm. So far my record for spotting the Tagruato satellite is 3/7.

Reverse culture shock? Yeah, a bit. Every drink I get here is so... huge. Enormous. A Japanese large can't even compare to a small drink here. I swear they got larger while I was gone. American food is really greasy too.

I've seen most A-Town people, save... three, and for the two of you being across the state, that's understandable.

The whole Wedgewood/Iron Man reunion bit ended in fail, but not epic fail, as Chuck and I still saw to it that it was done. To counteract I tried organizing a large group to see a midnight screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which fared far better. In fact, out of everyone I contacted, only one didn't reply.

On both accounts, the movies were phenomenal and greatly enjoyed. If you haven't seen either, I do highly recommend.

Being an anime buff, I also made a point of seeing Speed Racer, which is much better than current public opinion seems to let on. Corny and cheesy as all Hell, but so was the show, and thus the film is authentic and hilarious. Chuck, Brandon, Crystal (or however that one is spelled), and I were enthralled and laughing nonstop. If you wrote the movie off as bad and not worth your time, you are missing out.

I also went karaokeing with Chuck and Andy at Quaker Steak on Friday where Chuck and I dueted Weird Al's "Dare to Be Stupid", which went over really well. I also tried to sing "Larger Than Life" with Andy, but my mic gave out shortly in. Sorry, no "It's my Life" this time, I usually have to wear out my voice before I feel I can pull that bit off. It was fun to karaoke again, but I really miss the Dash. It was also weird to see Andy do anything other than "Little China Girl".

---------------------------------------------------------

So Japan.

Seeing as the last night was for packing, I spent my second to the last night on my balcony for about an hour or so just staring off at the skyline. It's cliche' but I did meet so many new and unique people, Japanese, American, and other, some of whom I'll miss quite a bit, along with Japan in general.

One Nanzan student is actually coming to BG in August though, so that's kind of cool.

It's weird being back now, feeling almost as if none of that had happened. Home's pretty much the same way I left it. I wonder how different BG will be since most of my classmates will have graduated.

It's also dominated by nasty Coke products now.

Anyways, while I may be back, I haven't chronicled the last of mine adventures, which I left you as a cliffhanger two entries ago.

I believe this was the picture I left you with...

So, as my last major hurrah before the end of my stay, I returned to Tokyo for one last go.

So this time around I decided to forgo the night bus and take the Shinkansen for the fourth trip in me life. Cut the traveling time in half and then some, the bullet train is insanely convenient.

So I got into Tokyo Thursday evening and decided to head out to a little place out by the harbor known as Odaiba. Part of the fun of going there is that the only access method of convenience is the linimo line, an elevated skyline that goes through the city and across the rainbow bridge.

It's also known as the loop line as the tracks pull a large circle before crossing the bridge which gives a good view of the harbor, bridge, and Odaiba.

Now some of you (or all) are probably wondering "Why Odaiba?". The name certainly isn't that famous outside of Japan. It certainly doesn't have the recognition of districts like Roppongi, Shinjuku, or Akihabara. Well, like many places in Tokyo, Odaiba is a shopping district, one with two distinct features. One...

The Fuji TV building.

With it's unique design, the Fuji TV station is pretty hard to forget once seen. For me, I remember the station when Myotismon and his lackeys took over the place in his bid to rule the real world.

...

...yeah... it's from Digimon...

But Digimon rock and so I had to see where the original eight Digidestined once theoretically lived. And besides, there were lots of other things to check out there. Such as...

I thought it was an arcade. It wasn't, and there was some large admission line, so I ended up not checking this place out. But Sega dude, they still thrive despite their fall from the console market.

A decent into paradise...

Yes. There was much frolicking.

Also inside the Toys"R"Us there was this $40 puzzle. The image was too epic not to share. Being a Wood Ox, I guess I'm supposed to root for the tiger, but c'mon, that dragon is totally going to kick that cat's ass. And besides, it's a dragon.

And of course everyone is very familiar with Japan's most famous and absolutely Japanese landmark, the Statue of Liberty.

Absolutely Japanese!

While on the topic of not quite Japanese things in Japan...

And yes, it was delicious.

No matter what the product, Japanese commercialism must make anything and everything within their grasp cute and adorable. It takes a moment to comprehend what those are, and then you realize, apparently condoms are no exception. But to those of you well aware of the full Hello Kitty product line, this really shouldn't be surprising.

If you are not aware of the full Hello Kitty product line, you'll probably want to keep it that way.

So the Odaiba shopping mall has a real, official shrine on it's roof.

And the Japanese say they're not religious.

So anyways, that's Odaiba. It was tons of fun to see and shop there. And while I enjoyed my time there, I would be lying if I said a part of me wasn't hoping to hop off the train and see a few Digital Monsters running around.

But that's just silly. The rational part of the brain quickly kicks in and reminds the five year old portion that sentient animated computer beings can't possibly...

be...

I've got to cut back on the Pocky...

To Be Continued...

------------------------------------------------

The Things of Which Ed Ate

Not many of these left, are there?

This, is Japanese style barbecue. It is glorious, and it is delicious.

Meat in just about all forms come conveniently sliced in very small, thin slabs. When barbecuing, the grills are fired up and you take what you want an throw it across and reclaim it about two minutes later. It's alot of fun.

Also different, are the barbecue sauces used. When I was invited to a barbecue three years ago, I made the mistake of not remembering the awesome sauce used, and regretted the likelihood I would never see it again. Luckily, these guys had it too three years later, and I would not make the same mistake again.

--------------------------------------------------

So how about my parents are celebrating their 25th in Hawaii for an entire week. Steph and I went shopping for survival at Super Wal-Mart, and left with about as much junk food as real food.

Not a good sign for this Fall.

Anyway, something I do quite often when I return home is make chocolate chip cookies. It's fun, easy, and delicious. Super Wal-Mart was out of normal 12oz. chocolate morsel bags. BUT, they did have triple sized 36oz bags.

No problem, as the solution is quite simple; just use triple the rest of the ingredients.

Steph came up with the crazy notion of just measuring out a third of the bag, but that's just silly. Why make so little when you could make so much. Clearly we have been given a sign from the divinities that an epic amount of cookie dough must be prepared.

We are going to have so much cookie dough in the very near future.

Later.

And So the Adventure Ends.

Sun, 18 May 2008 15:57:56 GMT

I'm in Japan for less than 24 hours at this point, and I've said bye in person to as many people as I could.

It's funny, I found myself scrambling to say bye in the same fashion as when I first left America, to the same degree of limited success. Only this time around it is slightly worse, seeing as I have no idea when, or if I will return.

I head out at 4:00 in the afternoon, meaning it will be 3:00 in the morning for you guys. The trek will end and I will be home probably between 9:00 and 9:30, depending on whether or not there is consumption of food post airport but pre home.

Regardless, Tuesday I want to get pizza for lunch at Wedgewood, and see Iron Man, which is supposedly the greatest movie ever made if the internet speaks true. I put this info up to some of the Youngstown people on Facebook too, so some of you will hear about this twice. If you want in on either event, get back to me. This is moreso for Jeff and Andy, who have not the Facebook account for convenient messaging.

------------------------------------------------------

This has been an amazing nine months, and I will miss this place and some of the people I met very much. I do not look forward to the reverse culture shock in coming home. I got it last time after only a month away, and I hate to think what 9 months could do.

I already feel like I'm stepping out from limbo back into existence. Life's gone on and changed back home while I kind of just sat on the side watching from afar.

Anyway, I have more to do at the moment before I leave, so I shall expand upon this later. I just felt it necessary to do one final post from Japan before the laptop shuts down.

I'll leave you with a micro entry in The Things of Which Ed Ate saga.

The legendary Teriyaki Burger, from McDonald's. It's no secret that the chain extensively regionalizes their menu, even within our own country. The BigMac is about the only constant worldwide, which is true even here where half of the menu are Japanese appealing burgers. The tastiest and staple of McDonald's Japanese entrees is this baby. A burger soaked in teriyaki sauce with lettuce and mayo. Simple, but popular and good.

And that's that...

Later, Japan.

Passing the Time...

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:47:09 GMT

Life.

To seek answers is a daunting task, for there is neither origin nor end. Yet this is something we all do at some point in time, and some shape or form. From studying the extent of universe, to contemplating one's own purpose. To question why. Why in events. Why in appearance. Why in others. Why in chance. Why in being.

Is life limited to that which is around me. Everything I perceive, in truth, is chemical and electrical reactions, the very same that cause thought and realization.

Is there any difference between what I envision and what is before me?

What is the extent of human power?

What is our purpose?

What is my purpose?

I sit back and think about the things I've done and people I've met, and the ironies and coincidences behind them. Life at times, seems to fall into place, other times a cruel joke. How much control do I have? What must I accept unquestionably, and what can I mold for myself?

What causes my contentment?

I know when I am content and at peace, but not why?

To stare off and lose myself in the falling snow, vast forests, the stars in the sky...

I seek answers I may never find.

----------------------------------------------

What's up kids?

Where did I leave off with you guys? Ise... the dance... alright then.

Wait...

Ise!

I found out what it was, and I feel retarded. Ise is the shrine of Japan, dedicated to Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess and Japan's reason for being. It also houses one of Japan's three imperial treasures, the Sacred Mirror. I've already been to Atsuta Jingu right here in Nagoya where the Kusanagi is kept, another of the imperial treasures.

Although that's what the shrines claim, as there existence is legend and none are allowed to see the treasures.

I wish I had known this about Ise at the time. Oh well, it was still fun.

So about a week ago (a little over I guess), I returned with a friend to one of the sites I saw on my trip three years ago. In 2005 Nagoya had the honor of hosting the World Expo (aka World's Fair) with a theme of the coexistence of advancement and nature. I found out that the park still exists and is now known as Morikoro Koen, after the Expo's mascots Morizo and Kikoro (who were extremely popular).

The park is very different now that all the exhibits are gone, with only a few permanent structures remaining and a few new sport related complexes and fields. The grand circular walkway, which was this giant bridge-like... thing is gone and the park feels only about half of the size it once was. The lifts are all gone two, but the massive ferris wheel remains.

The forest end of the park on the other hand is virtually unchanged.

In fact the biggest difference is that the once sapling trees in the garden valley have grown quite a bit.

As such, the garden looks even better than it did the last time I was here.

They even left up the replica of Satsuki and Mei's house from Tonari no Totoro, and even still give tours apparently from a schedule we found.

Like before, I was content just to see the place.

-------------------------------------------------

What else have I done? Well with time dwindling I've been hitting places in Nagoya, with more to come.

Currently I've hit places such as...

The Gunpupra Expo, a grand and glorious history of Gundam toys and the Gundam series all navigable in about thirty minutes. I was kind of surprised by the diversity of the crowd, gender-wise more than age.

I also went back to Oasis 21 to visit ye olde Poke'mon store and...

...the Shonen Jump store...

...which of course contains more Shonen Jump properties than you could shake a stick at.

----------------------------------------------

PEPPERMINT TIME!

Look at me. I'm Andy!

------------------------------------------------

While on the topic of food (sort of?)...

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

Behold, nabe. A bunch of random vegetables thrown into a pot with meat and tofu and boiled. It's good, oh so good. The dorm gets together to make it every now and again.

Behold... this photo is so old I know not what it is. I believe it tasted of cheese and rice. It was probably delicious, and judging that I am standing before you now, not poison.

Yukimidaifuku, a delicious commercial dessert item fashioned in the likeness of mochi rice cakes. The mochi stuff envelopes an ice cream center, and is lightly powdered with sugar. Good stuff.

Lunch at Nara, long ago. There were soups and tempura and sushis and veggies and I remember the occasion being slightly rushed due to time constraints. At least we were indoors and far from Japan's evil Shikakuza. Stupid greedy deer.

--------------------------------------------------

What's this, running out of time.

Where on Earth has Ed headed off to now?

Will he reveal the location?

Stay tuned for the next episode of Edgonball Z: Ed Reveals the Location!

Later.

The End Approaches, Yet the Adventures Continue...

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:10:55 GMT

So my semester is over, and I have one lone final to do next Tuesday.

This leaves quite a bit of free time, and I've been formulating plans on what to do with it. I will share on them in time, but first, I might as well cover up to the end of the semester, which is one Hell of a recap.

Where to start?

Perhaps with Ise Jingu.

Ise Jingu was the last major CJS field trip, and unlike the Nara trip, there were actually Japanese to tag along this time.

Ise is semi-secluded in the midst of the forest. Semi as there is a town nearby, but you wouldn't tell while on the grounds. As such the nature here is unbelievably beautiful.

This is the shrine where all entrants must wash their hands, which just about all shrines and temples have.

Unfortunately, we were kind of rushed through Ise, so I actually don't know a whole lot about it, other than it's a popular shrine in Japan, and it's fairly large, with pathways cutting through the forest to the various buildings there.

The scenery is awesome though.

After the shrine, they let us explore the town on our own, and we broke up into groups.

While browsing for a place to eat lunch, we came across a Japanese taiko group, ironically smaller than Bowling Green's.

We found this awesome ramen shop with a lot of outdoor space to eat. The weather was unbelievably nice considering the nonstop rain Nagoya had the two days prior.

After the town, we toured a museum for pearls, which also has its own oyster farm, which is what those wooden things floating in the water are. Oysters are placed in nets and hung from the devices for easy retrieval.

Then on the trip home our bus got stuck in a traffic jam. Jeff (not pictured above at lunch) and I started waving incessantly at the other tour buses we passed. The reactions of a normally quiet and disposed culture to two smiling gaijin waving and giving the Vulcan sign for "Live long and prosper." kept us well entertained in the 5mph traffic.

------------------------------------------------------

Being the end of the semester for us, but the start of the new school year for the Japanese students, my dorm held its fundraiser dance again. Here you can see everyone being given the rundown before the event starts.

While I'm not one for dances, unlike last Fall I knew some of the Japanese students who came, so I spent a lot more time in the main area talking to them.

Take a guess at whose sober.

After the party ended, I went out to Lawsons to grab some food to bring back to the community room post cleanup. I also grabbed another issue of Hobby Japan, and found that two of the new Japanese residents are fellow anime obsessed dorks.

------------------------------------------------------

So recently a crazy announcement was made. Midway acquired the DC Comics license, and taking a page out from Capcom's playbook, they are making Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The part of me that loves crossovers is ecstatic. The part of me that loves good crossovers... not so much. No fatalities, and let's face it, you'd rather see DC take on Marvel and Capcom rather than the Kombatants. There's even a MUGEN project out there that tried to do it, and was authentic enough in what they had done to fool me into believing the DC characters actually had a 2D fighter out there.

But regardless, it got me to thinking about all the crossovers I've seen, and there have been quite a few. The Mask and Ace Ventura met up once, simply for sharing the same actor, and the Turtles took one the Power Rangers in Space. I wrote up a list of every crossover I knew of, and of course it pales to the real number, and ranked the top 10 greatest crossovers.

Great encompasses both personal joy caused at seeing the pairing, and overall impact to crossovers in general. The crossover must be official (although not necessarily cannon), and the properties origins cannot originate from within the same company, which tosses out crossovers like The Avengers, Destroy All Monsters, Smash Bros., and Flintsones Meet the Jetsons. If a company created them, they're going to do a mashup sooner or later, it's their obligation.

However, a company can purchase the rights from previous owners, that's fine. So Batman (having been created by Bob Kane) and Superman (by Jerry Seigel) being united after their creation under DC actually works, although it did not make the top 10.

So enjoy!

#10 - Nike Goes Plum Loco

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Basketball was America's greatest sport. Why? The sport simply had the most superstars to offer. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and the legend himself, Michael Jordan are only a few of the personas that graced the public image. Basketball players did endorsement deals to death, and the sporting companies of course loved it. The most recognizable Basketball supporter: Nike. Basketball and Nike were inseperable at that time, and Nike pulled out all the stops to keep that attention. Thus the world was treated to Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny teaming up for two commercials, which would inspire Space Jam. Thanks to Space Jam, everyone remembers this as the prime NBA crossover, forgetting that Nike pulled a similar stunt pairing up Charles Barkley and Godzilla.

Sadly the film follow-up has yet to develop, although Dark Horse obliged with a comic book. I'm still hoping.

#9 - The Impossible Movie

When thinking of crossovers, I always forget about this one. However, its importance should never be taken for granted. Warner Bros. and Disney are two gigantic corporations who answer to no one. NO ONE! Yet the impossible happened and Warner Bros. licensed out their characters to Disney for a movie about cartoon characters being real. Yes, I speak of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Corporate egos were cast aside for an idea that just appealed, and helped make the film as real as it could be. And so audiences everywhere got to see the battle of the Ducks, and the companies' two mascots Bugs and Mickey, on screen at the same time. Quite literally as equal screen time between the two was a prerequisite for the deal.

#8 - The Greatest Fighting Series Ever

Street Fighter was an awesome game that I played all the time with my friends. X-Men was an awesome show that I watched all the time with my friends (cause I didn't have cable). They were two of the defining parts of my first grade year. Eventually, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, the Power Rangers, and the Biker Mice From Mars would all throw these two awesome things out of the spotlight for a few years.

Then, late in fourth grade while browsing the Southern Park Mall arcade, a deep triumphant voice shouted from behind.

X-MEN

VS

STREET FIGHTER

Those of you who know the game know the call I speak of. I spun around to be greeted by the image or Ryu and Cyclops locking hands in an eternal friendship that blew my God damn mind. I was unaware of Street Fighter Alpha at this point, and the new gameplay, graphics, and super moves that could obliterate certain stages, complete with X-Men authentically ripped from the TV series was beyond fun, and I found myself reintroduced into the Street Fighter series.

The two teams would later invite their friends for two equally amazing rounds of Marvel vs. Capcom, but X-Men vs. Street Fighter was the first, the proof of concept, and the one that took most of my quarters.

#7 - The Illogical Crossover

I use the word illogical here not in a negative sense, but in the completely out of the blue never in a million years would you have put these two things together sense. Yet one day while sitting in 10th grade biology, Andy passes me his gaming magazine to point out Kingdom Hearts.

Disney and Square Enix were making a video game together, and Final Fantasy VII characters were going to be in it. While the game is primarily based around the Disney universes and some original characters, the inclusion of the FFVII cast make it a true crossover that spawned two more games that crossed over even more by throwing in more Final Fantasies and some of Disney's live action films, namely TRON. God. Damn. TRON. TRON 2.0 may have failed to become a movie, but the spirit of that crazy film lives on. I've got my fingers crossed for a Black Hole world in Kingdom Hearts III.

#6 - The Comic Giants

Comic books. They're everywhere, and their influence is seen throughout American, and even worldwide, society. While there are numerous comic book companies, only two have a history spanning 50 years, and thus are understandably the largest and most powerful, controlling the most, and most recognizable, heros and villains. Marvel, and DC.

I could go any way with this, and talk about any of their many crossovers, including the card game VS., in which you could unleash an army of MIGHTY SENTINELS on Bruce Wayne's poor butler Alfred.

Sense?
None.

Fun.
Hell yeah.

Name any DC hero/villain (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Joker, DarkSeid, Justice League), then any Marvel hero/villain (Spiderman, IronMan, X-Men, Dr. Doom, Avengers), then have them meet up, and you have yourself an epic winner. The ridiculous simplicity of the formula is what kept it from being higher on the list. That and the fact that as long as Warner Bros. hangs on to DC, we ain't seeing filmed versions anytime soon. They can't even do a normal DC crossover right, and they've held the reigns for over twenty years.

#5 - The Debate of Our Childhood is Settled

Growing up, video games rocked. Pre 1989, there was only one name that graced the mind when video games were brought up, Nintendo. True, there was the Master System, but that failed miserably stateside. Then came the Sega Genesis, Sega's entry into the 16 bit generation, followed by Nintendo's own entry, the Super Nintendo. Sega, to push it's name out of obscurity and become a threat created a campaign to trash Nintendo's family image. Sega was cool, and Nintendo wasn't, or at least that's what they wanted you to believe. To counter Nintendo's iconic Mario, Sega created the lightning fast, fast talking Sonic the Hedgehog. Throughout the 90s, you either took sides, or bought both systems like I did. Even when taking that easy way out, I longed to see the two companies go at it with their mascots, but aside from low blows in commercials and gaming magazines, it was all but a dream.

Until 2008. Though the days of Sega consoles are long gone, a horde of gaming fans remembered the ancient rivalry, and when Nintendo opened it's doors for a third party character to enter the formally Nintendo only arena of the Smash Bros. world, there was only one choice. One.

Sonic crushed opposition in the polls, and Nintendo lived up to its word and held secret meetings with the heads of Sega over a licensing compromise. While we still were unsure of the legitamcy of Nintendo's poll, Sega announced an Olympic themed crossover between Mario and Sonic, and our hopes and dreams suddenly gained a new momentum. Then in late 2007 Nintendo countered Segas announcement with their own, Sonic was in Brawl.

And now in one of the greatest fighters of our time, every gamer who was a child in the days of Super and Genesis can relive the greatest rivalry they have ever known right in their own home.

God bless you, Sakurai. Bless you.

#4 - The Grand Daddy of Them All

If doing a top ten crossover list, an obligatory space must be reserved for the one that started it all. Long, long ago, movies were popular. You could go out on the town, pay a nickel, and see five cartoons, two moving pictures, eat a tub of popcorn, and have a pair of sodas for you and the missus. Even then, in the early days of cinema, there were characters so beloved, either in full length features or shorts, that they would return again and again.

Then one day Universal Pictures had an idea. It was a crazy idea, unheard of... unfathomable even. They would answer the ancient and age old question: Who would win in a fight between Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. Universal was in the midst of their golden age of horror pictures, and as such held the rights to both characters. Thus a canon story was whipped up, serving as a true sequel to both monsters previous film. The success of this novel idea resurfaced in more crossover pictures with other horror icons, and even Abbot and Costello.

They laughed, laughed and scorned, but Universal showed that the world would pay to see pop culture icons go at each other on screen, and paved the way for every other entry on this list. Including the next three, which beat this only for achieving better name recognition as the pinnacle examples of crossoverdom.

Who's lauging now?

So then, let's recap:

10) Nike Ads
9) Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
8) X-Men vs. Street Fighter (and sequels)
7) The Kingdom Hearts series
6) Anytime Marvel and DC go at it
5) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (specifically the guests)
4) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

And so without further ado I give you...

#3 - The "Dream" Bout

The 80s. Those were the days, weren't they? Among the hair bands, neon lights, video games, Reganomics, and ninjas, a new film genre was taking stride and amassing a body count that puts every serial killer in history combined to shame.

The slasher flick was in.

The idea was simple, a bunch of lazy irreverent oversexed teenagers are stalked by one crazed supernatural being and killed off one by one. The last survivor, industrious, pure, and not oversexed manages to overcome said being and live off the rest of their life in therapy.

A simple cookie cutter concept, with the only real differentiating factor between them being what was doing all the gruesome over the top brutal murdering. Many slashers have come and gone, with really only four staying in the public's mind (five if you count Chucky, who sold out in the new millennium), and among them two stood out as the kings of terror and produced sequel after sequel. Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th, and Freddy Krueger of Nightmare on Elm Street. Both are fiendishly brutal, heartless, and easily recognizable; Jason with his massive build, hockey mask, and machete, and Freddy with is striped sweater, gruesome disfigured face, and that massive claw.

Jason's image would become the stereotypical association with the slasher genre, while Freddy Krueger would be the name of terror in pop culture. You wanted visual fear, you wore a hockey mask. You wanted fear via association, you name dropped Freddy Krueger. Incidentally, this worked interchangeably for badass imagery as well. Not seeing any slasher films as a child, these two figures were still recognized, and no others.

As a fifth grader, I first heard the rumors that these two beings of teenage bane would fight each other in film. Was it possible? Could it be? Robocop and Terminator had a go in comics and video games, along with another infamous pair, and these two, born from the same genre had much more of a right to fight each other than any of those.

Seven years later, after an epic trek through Production Hell, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees beat the "living" shit out of each other and their teenage prey.

Four years later, Ash Williams would don his chainsaw once again and join the fray in comic form, and rumor abounds that the fight isn't over yet.

#2 - The First Franchise

We see crossovers all the time. While all are good, as is the nature of a crossover, they usually do not last. There is, however, one shining example that two seperate ideas can join together and be redifined and marketed as a new story line.

Once upon a time, Dark Horse noticed that among their many film license rights, they possesed two species of extraterrestrial beings, the Xenomorphs of the Aliens saga, and the Yautja warriors of the Predator series. Both of these rights came from the same company, 20th Century Fox. Phone calls were made, and a miniseries was born whilst both Alien 3 and Predator 2 were in the works. The Predator 2 staff would catch wind of this and place an alien skull in the predator ship, and a legend was born. The clever and resourceful Predators hunted much more than man, including the ancient heartless threat of the alien swarms. Man's extraterrestrial foe angainst man's extraterrestrial foe. Hunter against beast. Franchise against franchise.

The battle between Alien and Predator began some 18 years ago, and the battle has raged non-stop ever since. There have been comics, novels, toys, beat'em ups, first person shooters, and at long last even films. And not satisfied kicking eachothers ass, they've even taken on the likes of Superman and Batman, alone and together.

It's just a shame the first film didn't deliver, but did decently, while the second went far beyond my expectations, and NOBODY SAW IT! You should be ashamed. Thankfully the rest of the world picked up your slack and Fox isn't ruling out round 3. Sooner or later this could bring back their individual series too. You got to think ahead guys, and pay your dues now.

#1 - The Iconic Match Up

Well, if you know who I am, and you take a look at ten through two, you know what's going here. And for good cause. As I said in #4, the top three are the shining examples of crossover. The titans of a genre with no real connection other than that, and thrown against each other to the delight of the masses. All are name droppable as a typical crossover idea. This one, is arguably the most famous of all. This was more than a battle of iconic titans, this was a battle between nationalities. America's Kong vs. Japan's Godzilla.

This was back when the only known crossovers were owned solely by Universal, and so, when Willis O'Brien dreamt up a third sequel to King Kong wherein he fights a giant being sewn together from African animals, and called it Frankenstein, he had trouble finding a producer. A guy named John Beck took his idea, cast him aside, and shopped the idea around for cheap ways to perhaps pull it off.

Monster movies on a budget? Then there's only one place to go. For Toho, getting to use American properties was a wet dream, as Japan eats anything remotely American alive, even today. They were quick to toss Frankenstein aside (but save him for later) and put in their own titular creature, the mighty Godzilla. And so nearly twenty years after the end of World War II, America and Japan would once again come to blows, this time through the fists of two 150 foot monstrosities. The pairing could not be more poetic, not only was this America against Japan, but the father of giant monsters against the Japanese ode, mammal against reptile, old versus new, giant against giant, legend against legend. The rivalry was so strong that a widespread urban myth came to be wherein the victor changed between nationalities. Kong won in America and Godzilla in Japan. My dad never followed Godzilla, and he was the one who introduced that myth to me, if that's any indication how popular this bout was in mainstream society.

Incidentally, when brought back to the states for distribution, Universal picked up the rights and thus continued their old habit of putting out crossover films.

King Kong vs. Godzilla is the highest grossing Godzilla film ever, even forty years later. While Toho tried and failed to make an immediate sequel, this was the first ever vs. movie, and Toho would repeat the formula in an epic line of Godzilla vs. WhateverThreatensJapanToday films, and vs. would become the standard for any epic property facing off against another, rather than "meets" as used by the first crossover. So important was this film that Toho tried to remake it in 1990, only to be stopped by an evil Ted Turner. He was willing to let Toho use Kong, but for a fee far outside of a Japanese studio's feasible range. When they made vs. King Ghidorah instead, his CNN blasted the movie for being anti-American and helped create a stigma kept the film and those that followed from American shores for nearly eight years. When you're six, and have to wait until you're twelve, that's an eternity.

And thus I fully support Rupert Murdoch and FOX News over the whiny and biased CNN.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Batman vs. Whatever the Goddamn Batman Wants

Batman is Batman, as he always so eloquently puts. As such, Batman with his mighty intellect and utility belt (which contains ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you can think of) can take on anything the punks at DC dare throw at him. Currently he's gone 4-0 against the Preds and 3-0 against the Aliens. Most of those stories are fantastic, and I'd would love to see Bale take on a Predator. Since Christopher Nolan wants to fuck up Batman by making him more realistic and therefore more gritty, the least he could do is throw the most gritty foe possible at him. I'd pay good money to see a Predator take on Batman, and the beauty of it, is the simplicity of the idea. Nobody on this planet, not even The Great Naysayer of Crossovers Andy, can say it doesn't make sense. Predators hunt one thing, and one thing only: worthy prey. And what could possibly be more worthy than The Batman (save Superman).

Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue

Kids, Drugs are bad. You know why drugs are bad? Because Alvin, Simon, Theodore, Kermit, Gonzo, Piggy, Slimer, Winnie the Pooh Bear, Tigger, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Michaelangelo, Alf, Garfield, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and The Smurfs say they are.

I kid you not.

Battletoads & Double Dragon

The games subtitle says it all "The Ultimate Team". I love playing beat'em ups, especially when they're good. This game made by the Battletoads makers perfected what they did with the first Battletoads game and created a slugfest that was actually playable beyond two levels. The icing on the cake was that the Dragons Jimmy and Bimmy Lee were along for the ride, complete with their own lineup of baddies.

Every once in a while the game's base beats pulse through my memories, and I miss it so terribly. Long before the teamups of Capcom and SNK, or Nintendo and Sega, we saw the legend of the Battletoads and the Double Dragons come together in harmony and bliss. Gaming's first true crossover.

League of Extraordinary Gentelmen

The movie sucks, so purge all memory of it (save Sean Connery) from your mind. Now picture every classic (CLASSIC, NO PREPUBESCENT WIZARD LOSERS) literary figure you can coexisting together. That's quite alot of villainy to deal with, now isn't it. Never fear however, for Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), the Invisible Man, and others have banded together to fight whatever evil may come their way. That is, until the Martians invade and tear the group apart in Volume Two. The fact that they fought the War of the Worlds is the reason this series made the honorable mention.

Soul Calibur II

Pleasant surprises are fun. Namco pull a doozy a few years back when they decided to stick Spawn and Link into the Soul Calibur series. People went wild, and much love was felt for Namco and their beloved swordfighting series. Many new fans were made, especially amongst X-Box and Gamecube owners.

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With time running out and a backlog of items to show to you, today we shall have an extended episode of...

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

Go to any convini and there will be a plethora of bread, sandwich, and hot dog related items. This hot dog-esque delicacy caters to Japan's obsession with mayo, which goes on everything they can put it on.

This is delicious. Maabouhan... or something like that in English, they write it like this: マーボー飯 and since it uses katakana it means it's a foreign word. Whatever it is, it's a spicy sauce with tofu and hamburger over rice. I can't begin to describe how good it is. In fact, I'm hungry just looking at it.

SSSUUUUUUUSSSSSHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
I doubt this needs any introduction.

So America has Gatorade and Powerade to cater to the thirst of athletes. In Japan, sports drinks are clear liquids with really awkward tastes. This here is Coca-Cola's bid in the market share, Aquarius. Like Gatorade, the thirstier you are, the better it tastes. The peculiar taste leads one to question the name of Aquarius's competitor, Pocari Sweat.

Japanese naming conventions need some work.

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Make sure you see parts 2 and 3, they get a lot better.

And with that, I'm out hipcats.

Later.

The End is Nigh

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:34:23 GMT

Sad but true. My time here in Magic Land is almost at an end, now with only three weeks left until I must leave.

On a positive note, it means assignments are all but done. I just have a few tests to knock out of the way and BAM free time for me.

Speaking of assignments, last night was and was not fun. I had a paper to write, and a presentation to prepare. Why was I doing them in the same night you ask? Talk to my family, and you'll probably figure that one out.

Anywho, the fun:

AJ is going "oishisou, nomitai" there near the end, which cracks me up everytime. The video evolved alot as we made it, going from 50s educational film ending with the disposal of a room mate after he tried it and died. He got back late and we went ahead with making it without that scene. Then we couldn't find any good 50s style instructional music. You figure it would be all over the web as public domain material, but that's somehow not the case.

So we ripped the beginning off of a song by Victor Vaughn and made the video as corny as possible.

I also learned that the current version of Windows Movie Maker is tragically better than the version of Premiere I have. If I can get a decent job over the summer, I will be getting Adobe CS (at least Photoshop and Premiere) before I graduate (and some more RAM to better support it). College discounts are win.

Then, in writing a paper on the Japanese Military Alliance, my web searching consisted pretty much of:

Why am I listening to the Soviet National Anthem?

The transcription says this version is different, but it's the same damn song.

Crazy Russians with their subtle relapse into Soviet pride.

Why is Kimi ga yo so controversial?

Damn that's a short anthem.

Mamluk is a crazy name for a slave warrior class.

So it's really Mujahideen, not Jihadist.

Is that where we get hospitality and hospital from.

I should work on some of my ideas more.

Shit, 5:00 AM, but I only have a page done.

Sleep now, paper later.

And what a crappy paper it was.

THE END

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So, it has been two weeks since the last update. I am shamed. Much has happened. I didn't even bring you guys up to speed in the last entry. So here goes, first up...

Kabuki.

Yep, I got to attend a live Kabuki performance. And being entirely in Japanese, I had nearly no idea as to what the Hell was going on. It didn't help that the actors were using the Japanese equivalent of Shakespearean, which is awkward enough even when you know the language. The professor who organized the trip thankfully had handouts with the basic rundown of the three stories we would watch, but it was still difficult.

Still, it was fun, and I was glad I got to go. The first play was a spin off of the 47 Ronin event, about a lord who was confused about the signs leading up to the groups vengeance... or something like that. The first was by far the hardest to follow.

The second was about a hawker(do they really exist, I thought they were all falconers regardless of bird) who goes to Hell and convinces the great demon king (ie Satan) to release him to Heaven because his hawk did all the killing in his life, and the meat he makes is delicious. This story, being a dance, is the closest to what I originally thought Kabuki was. Well sort of... that fan art is kind of embellished, but Kyoshiro of Samurai Showdown is pretty much the image I had. That and Jiraiya of Naruto. Incidentally that is not the case. Kabuki is much more theater and simple dress than extravagance and dance.

The final was about forbidden love screwed with by the Yakuza and reunited years later. It was also the highlight, I think, as the audience did the most shouting during that performance. I should explain that in Kabuki, the audience supports the actors by shouting out their "special" stage name (different from their actual stage name) at critical points in a monologue. There was a lot of that in the third play (the shouting, not so much the monologuing).

Afterwards, the patron professor gave us a tour of the stage and backstage area, which was also fun.

--------------------------------------------

This relates to the video I posted above...

As an assignment for the Japanese 400 level, students must pair up and go interview an assigned shopkeeper in the Kakuozan district of Nagoya, which is fairly close to Nanzan. I paired up with classmate AJ and we struck out for Sumiyahonpo.

Sumi is Japanese for charcoal, which this shop treats as the cure all for everything from bad smells to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Well, maybe not HIV, but the little pamphlet I have treats the stuff like a miracle drug.

One of the most hilarious uses is as a soap and/or shampoo. That body soap on the left there says CHARCOAL POWER on the bottom. With how dirty charcoal is, you really, really have to wonder who the Hell thought to experiment with making a soap out of the stuff.

Then again, soap's made out of fat and stuff, so maybe that's not so weird...

Oh, and the charcoal water is actually pretty good, but I'm not going to be tossing any Kingsford briquettes into a jug anytime soon.

--------------------------------------------

Let's see, what else am I way behind on...

How about hanami.

Hanami is an activity where in people just go out and look at all the blooming flowers in the area, similar to how people in the Midwest go out in the fall just to look at the autumn leaves.

Unlike our autumn however, hanami only lasts about two weeks from start to finish, and everything blooms pretty much on cue, together and in mass. It is extremely pretty and there are places everywhere where people go to see the flowers and relax. But because of the short time span, the crowds are pretty dense. The above picture doesn't even begin to show the crowd at the Nagoya Castle Park.

The rest of the pictures are of the trees right here at Nanzan, which for a week or so I photographed daily to try and get the best possible photos.

Enjoy.

--------------------------------------------

And here's a meme I took weeks ago. The names are selected at random, but they came together quite nicely, I do think.

Click here.
Take the quiz.
Post your results.
1) What would endy_n_omni do differently in your shoes? Not go to Denny's.
2) What planet should bleucitrus be from? Middle Earth. Does that count?
3) If kdizzogg was a superhero, who would be his/her archnemesis? Leatherface
4) Are teh_cliffery and animagus4080 going out? Awwww, wouldn't that be cute? No.
5) Is dianabunny introverted or extroverted? Extro
6) Is endy_n_omni a nerd? Hell yes.
7) How long have you known everyl? About three years.
8) What color should betadynamic dye their hair? That's a good question, computer.
9) How tall is kdizzogg? Shorter than me.
10) What video game does geekbitch remind you of? ...uh ...uh Katamari Damacy?
11) Is everyl 1337? Sort of? He's a programmer, so yeah, why not.
12) everyl's eye color? You know, for some strange reason, I never bothered to check.
13) Could you see jedite333 and clnyboi232 together? Heh, no.
14) What is teh_cliffery's favorite color? Yellow methinks.
15) What is coldflac's favorite food? I have no idea.
16) What rank would bleucitrus have in a giant robot army? The pacifist monarch. Stalker complex optional.
17) Is animagus4080 dead sexy? Sure.
18) Did clnyboi232 break up with you? HA, no.
19) What animal should brandon_hay be combined with? A monkey, perhaps.
20) How would everyl conquer the world? With a D20.
21) Are haddle_john and lilliea going steady? Nope, never even met.
22) Would you set up betadynamic and animagus4080? ...skipping...
23) Would betadynamic and bleucitrus look good together? ...skipping...
24) Would bleucitrus be a better ninja or pirate? Well, she likes One Piece...
25) What languages does lilliea speak? Not enough English.
26) If kdizzogg commanded an army, who would be his/her followers? The noble creatures of the Earth. And Buddhist warriors.
27) dianabunny's hair color? Depends on the cosplay.
28) Is violetessence athletic? DDR
29) What word best describes coldflac? Gay
30) Is jedite333 related to shuppie? Nope
31) If bleucitrus and kiwi_escapism were siamese twins where would they be joined? Oh God... I have no idea.
32) Would brandon_hay and dianabunny make a good couple? Nope.
33) Is brandon_hay popular? He was. Haven't seen the bloke in quite some time.
34) Does brandon_hay travel a lot? Not as much as he says he's going to.
35) Does brandon_hay smoke? Yep.
36) What do you disagree with kiwi_escapism about? Uhmm... politics?
37) Is geekbitch friends with teh_cliffery? Sure, why not.
38) What mental disorder does teh_cliffery remind you of? Acute Hutt Schizophrenia
39) What is lilliea's shoe size? Why would I know that?
40) How would dianabunny kill betadynamic? With a massive hug.
41) What is animagus4080's favorite movie? An Inconvinient Truth
42) Is kiwi_escapism a high school student? Nope
43) Where did you first meet betadynamic? Junior High
44) Is brandon_hay a college student? Nope
45) What would you do if you found out geekbitch has a crush on you? Debate on relaying info to Saker
46) Have you flirted with lilliea? Maybe, I'm not a good judge of that.
47) How many monkeys could anakedg fight at once and win against? Circa five.
48) Do betadynamic and animagus4080 go to the same school? Once upon a time.
49) Where would teh_cliffery most like to visit? Japans
50) Does everyl have a crush on geekbitch? Never met, and he's married, so no.
51) Is animagus4080 an emo? Every once in a while.
52) Is lilliea related to you? In a round about way.
53) When did you last call clnyboi232? Mid April
54) Where was teh_cliffery born? Youngstown I think.
55) Do you have a crush on dianabunny? Not really.
56) Would you make out with kdizzogg? Absolutely
57) What animal does bleucitrus remind you of? A deer?
58) Do you have geekbitch's screenname? Nope
59) What is bleucitrus's favorite game? I feel like I should no this, but I don't. It probably changes constantly anyway.
60) Would anakedg go out with geekbitch? No idea.
61) Is everyl single? Nope
62) How long would brandon_hay dating kiwi_escapism last? Not long... not long at all.
63) Does betadynamic have a dog? Nope
64) Have you ever dated kiwi_escapism? Nope
65) What is geekbitch's biggest flaw? ...skipping...
66) What song/movie would you recommend to dianabunny? Something akin to visual sugar probably.
67) If kiwi_escapism had a superpower, what would it be? Telepathy
68) Would you wrestle violetessence in jello? She's married, no. I'd feel bad.
69) What is teh_cliffery's favorite band/artist? Why, none other than Weird Al Yankovic, of course.
70) Is lilliea in a relationship? Not to my knowledge
71) What would you do if animagus4080 died? I don't know... dance on her grave?
72) Does dianabunny have a big secret? Yes, actually.
73) What exotic animal would anakedg like as a pet? A wookie.
74) Are coldflac and clnyboi232 married? HA, no.
75) Which president would coldflac be likely to idolize? Ronald Reagan
76) If dianabunny took over the world, who would suffer? The jocks and frat boys.
77) If bleucitrus took over the world, who would be happy? Deviants
78) Which of your friends should jedite333 go out with? OU Erin. Why how convinient.
79) Has kdizzogg been to your house/dorm? No
80) Thoughts on everyl? He's a cool chap, that Bill.
81) Would you ever date violetessence? Can't.
82) Does brandon_hay do drugs? Yep
83) Does shuppie go to your school? Yep
84) Has anakedg dyed their hair? Yep
85) What is bleucitrus allergic to? The gathering darkness...
86) What flavor of jello would geekbitch be? Some fruit I've never heard of
87) What comic book character would animagus4080 be? Mary Jane Watson
88) Does haddle_john drink? Yep
89) Is geekbitch your best friend? Nope
90) What do you agree with kdizzogg about? The universe
91) One thing you can't stand about geekbitch? Insufficient data, haven't met her that much.
92) If geekbitch and everyl were spliced together, what would it be like? Awkward... extremely.
93) What would everyl give violetessence for his/her birthday? Awwww, no idea, but it had better be good, for his sake.
94) If haddle_john and brandon_hay were spliced together, what would be its name? Mr. Muscleplex, Harbinger of the Coming Apocolypse and Snapper of Necks
95) What would lilliea think of kiwi_escapism? Cool beans?
96) If endy_n_omni were hanging off a cliff, what would dianabunny do? Panic
97) Does everyl know haddle_john? Nope
98) Where was kiwi_escapism born? No idea.
99) One quality you find attractive in animagus4080? The hair
100) Do you think bleucitrus is hot? At times.

----------------------------------------------

Man, sorry about waiting two weeks for another update. There's alot I wanted to post but there's both too much, and some stuff I forget in all the chaos of life.

Part of that is simply the classic end of semester, so with that out of the way, I should get a few more of these in before I come home.

I'll guarantee two, and if lucky, three.

Enjoy Iron Man for those of you who are going to go see it. Just know I'll be dragging whoever I can to see it again May 20th.

And one final note, none of the stone_fans got my nudge in the last post.

New York, New York. See where that gets you with those lips.

Other than that, good luck on your finals to you whom it applies.

Later.

I Saw It! It Was Alive and It Was Huge!

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:44:11 GMT

So, as everyone should know, I worship Godzilla and his related ginormous brethren.

As such, I guess none of you should be surprised that I saw Cloverfield.

Or that I saw Cloverfield twice.

Or that I saw Cloverfield twice and had I the free time, damn straight I'd be back in line to see it again.

I love Japan and the stuff they sell at the movie theater. It's like every trip is a premiere. It's a shame I won't be around for a Poke'Mon movie, where they hand out legendaries.

Aside from having interviews and cast photos and such, the Cloverfield pamphlet also has some kickass screenshots in the middle "Top Secret" file, sealed by a sticker.

Eeeewwwwwww. The debate rages whether that's just fluid buildup, or the parasites are capable of something like the Xenomorphs.

AWWWWWWWW, isn't he cute? I just want to pick him up and give him the biggest hug. After all, he's just a poor lost giant... thing... in a mean world that doesn't understand. Godzilla can relate.

Well, except for the being carpet bombed part. Japan hasn't tried that one on him yet.

Speaking of Godzilla, the fanboy wars are already raging. I'm on "The odds are even." side.

Not only is this a giant monster done right (ie, it takes a beating and does the thrashing), it's also one of the first in a long time to throw a sense of awe and fear into the genre, something that really, only the two Gojira films really did.

The other fascinating part of Cloverfield is that the actual story of the film isn't the film. There is this huge grand backdrop that's being treated as a real world event in the best ARG I've ever seen. There's alot of bias in that statement though, as I don't usually care for ARGs, and this one ties into a daikaiju plot. But I do believe to be truly unique, is that unlike other ARGs out there, this one is for something that is the biggest playing piece, not some entertainment piece whose purpose is not for the game (LOST, Halo 2, A.I.).

Cloverfield is the game. All the main characters have MySpaces:
Rob Hawkins- The "protagonist" in a vague sense. He's the newly appointed VP of the Japanese Slusho! corporation.
Beth McIntyre- Rob's girl, sort of.
Jason Hawkins- Rob's brother.
Hudson Platt- The film's main cameraman (and for those of you who have seen the film, check out his body height. It makes me giggle.)
Lillean Ford- Jason's girlfriend, and the potential sole survivor
Marlena Diamond- Hud's crush. Unlucky. Seriously unlucky.

Jamie Lascano- What's that, you don't remember her? Well she was at Rob's party passed out on the couch. She just broke up with an eco-terrorist who learned alittle too much about the Cloverfield monster.

All these characters (known as "The Slusho 7") would return comments to strategically made comments treating them as real people who have not yet gone through the events of the film. Surprise surprise, they all stopped as of 1-18-08, the film's release date.

Other pieces of the puzzle:
Tagruato- A Japanese drilling company that owns several subsidiaries, including Slusho!, Rob's new company. Apparently they've stumbled onto a miraculous new substance dubbed Deep Sea Nectar or Seabed Nectar in English, or Kaitei no Mitsu in Japanese. The company claims it's revolutionary, and it is believed to be the deep sea ingredient put in Slusho drinks. It's current CEO's mother founded Slusho. They have drilling stations around the world, with Chuai being the newest, off the coast of Canada/Northern US. Incidentally, it has been destroyed. Hmmmm...

Slusho!- The company who was first discovered and associated with the whole ARG, and prompted me to believe they were going with a plot fashioned after Rampage (still a possibility). Slusho! is Japan's answer to ICEE, only we've no idea what's in it, and their shoddy website only raises more questions than it answers. Rob was going to work for them.

Jamie And Teddy- Jamie Luscano's role in the Slusho 7 is made clear through this website. She dated a guy called Teddy Hansen, and their relationship is chronicled, often annoyingly, through videos on the site. The password is jllovesth (Jamiel Luscano loves Teddy Hansen).

TIDO Wave- A group of eco-terrorists trying to stop Tagruato and their drilling operations. What began as your classic hippie vs. conglomerate battle evolved when, for once, a corporate entity really did have something incredible to hide. Teddy Hansen is a member, and currently MIA, after finding out something afoul at Chuai station.

1-18-08- Essentially the nudge site. Shake the photos to flip them and see what's written on their backs. It's still being updated, the story's far from over.

These sites chronicle the game (the first is the best):
Cloverfield Despoiler
Cloverfield Clues
Cloverfield Wiki

Other signs the game is still afoot. How about the garbled message at the end. Played forward it apparently says "Help us." Rob? Maybe. Backwards it plays "It's still alive." Operation Hammerdown failed.

But a sequel doesn't even have to play out another attack. Millions of people live in New York, New York (cough*STONE*cough) and Hud filmed several others filming that night. Abrams and Reeves are already on that possibility, cryptically talking of sequels, and they've set up a website for people to upload their own experiences. So far they suck, and one of them wasn't even done as a homemade video. How stupid could you be?

In more real world related matters, that nine minute piece during the credits is called ROAR!, as has yet to be officially released in any form. I have a pretty good MP3 of it that someone recorded straight from the film. There's been a backlash from the demand for it, so hopefully it will be on the upcoming DVD release, or be released as a single, or even a download. It seems kind of dumb to create an orchestrated theme and not think to release it to the masses. They have this dumb Party Mix of all the music from Rob's party, what the Hell?

Also, FYE is getting the Steelbook Special Edition on April 22nd.
I need an errand boy/girl!
I need this Special Edition, as I do not want to miss out on any potential info on the Cloverfield story. The help of you, my dearest and loving friends, would be most appreciated in this endeavor.

Dearest and loving friends.

Also, Japan is working on a four part manga called Cloverfield/Kishin (whereas the movie posters here say Cloverfield/Haiksha) about a Japanese highschooler with a connection to the monster. Need to find it, working on that. Hopefully it finishes soon, only three have been released so far.

Enough of Cloverfield.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Kat gave me the letter N. Now I am to name ten things that start with N that I like. The first is pretty damn obvious.

Nintendo - I am Nintendo's whore. They are the only solely video game company left in the console war, so it is in their interest to do their best, whereas Sony or Microsoft could tank the industry without any real damage to the rest of their company.

Yeah, and I geuss Star Fox, Poke'Mon, Fire Emblem, Metroid, Zelda, and the like have a little to do with it too.

Just a little.

Nukes- OK, maybe this one is a little mean, but anyone whose played an RTS knows exactly why this is on the list. The pleasure of obliterating an opponent from the other side of the map while all your soldiers (humans, robots, aliens or otherwise) sit all nice and safe inside your base is undeniable. Total Annihilation made it even more fun, as the screen would shake slightly with every detonation, so when an atomic rain of death is unleashed, that coupled with the grand orchestration... simply unforgettable.

Ninjas- Do you even need to ask?

Ninja Turtles- Cheating? True their true name starts with a 'T', but everyone knows them by the "Ninja Turtles". The mean green fighting machines have been kicking ninja ass for over twenty years, and after the success of TMNT, it looks like they're going to keep at it for a little while longer.

Nagoya- I've lived here twice, so it's safe to say I've grown attached.

Nautolans- The race of Kit Fisto. Needs. More. Coverage. Dreadlocks rule.

Nack the Weasel- A lesser villain in the Sonic the Hedgehog series who debuted in Triple Trouble. While Japan seems to have forgotten Fang the Sniper, Archie's series still uses him, and occasionally pull off some awesome stories. Sonic even got robotocized once thanks to that ass. He's way past due to show up in another game.

Night- I'm nocturnal, what can I say?

Naruto- While I've fallen out with the series and acknowledge its fanbase is comprised 90% of idiots, I cannot deny the series is epic and filled with awesome characters, including the titular character himself. How could you not love that little delinquent? Or Rock Lee? (mandatory name insertion)

Neecro Andar- Who? I love the name. Neecro is the first Railien to appear in the LewisVerse, way back in Swiss Project when the party traveled to the Rail/Koine dimension. I loved the character and regretted cutting the two dungeons he was supposed to help the party through. I eventually developed the back story of his race to explain how they came to populate the LewisVerse and start the Raelien cult through the rivalry between Neecro's descendant Philaleen and the corrupt Sylg Tyroon. Randu Tendo would be the first to show up in a game on Earth in Breakfast Bites Back.

So that's 10. Ask for your own letter, and I shall give.

---------------------------------------

You know what sucks.

Getting sick in Japan. Throughout highschool and college, I rarely get sick. In fact, I only ever missed one day of highschool. In college I've only ever been bed ridden once, my freshman year, and that was only for one day. Usually when I feel under the weather, a few doses of NyQuil and a weekend of sleep cure that right up.

Needless to say, I've come to feel like I've got Superman's immune system. That is until I come to a country where my magical NyQuil is illegal, and I've no idea what any medicine does. Not to mention, in the US, when you need drugs, you just go to the supermarket, which is not the case in Japan. Their strict medicinal control results in kusuriya (medicine shops) all over the place, which I recently learned. Unfortunately, while I was able to describe the type of symptoms I wanted to treat, I learned that Japan's strict medicinal rules also result in Japanese medicine being worthless.

So now in fighting a severe cold, I really get to put the idea of having Superman's immune system to the ultimate test. I'm pretty much taking this on with shitty $14 IB Profen (sp?), and a ton of sleep, OJ, water, and sun (Vitamin E baby). I felt like crap last weekend, but am improving. It will be impressive to kick this on sheer body power alone.

Of course if it gets out of hand, I've got Japan's mandatory health insurance on hand, and know where to use it.

Also, it came to my attention that Andy recently felt like the graveyard next to Wendy's. Thus I blame you for this Andy. You and theoretical temporal mechanics.

Damn you theoretical temporal mechanics.

--------------------------------------------------------

So... I went to Fuji over break.

Let me chronicle that for you. As quickly as I can though, cause unfortunately it's getting late. Talking about Cloverfield took longer than I thought.

So.

This is a Japanese trainstation. Oooooh. Aaaaaah.

Going from Nagoya to Kawaguchiko by normal trains takes eight horrendous hours, but allows the viewing of breathtaking scenery.

This is the Hostel where I stayed. Cheap like a capsule inn, just colder, and with a kitchen, and a TV room with lots of pirated movies.

So there are five lakes to the north of Mt. Fuji, the closest being Kawaguchiko, which has an identically named town built on it's shore.

So my trip lasted only a day in the town itself, which didn't leave a whole lot of time. I woke up fairly early to explore a tad and head out to the smallest mountain in the area, Kachi Kachi, as it has a cable car taking people up to the top to view Mt. Fuji.

The top of Kachi Kachi has an awesome view of Fuji, the town, and Kawaguchiko. In this shot, you can see Mt. Kenashiyama on the right in the background. Relevance to come later.

Now this would be an awesome view of Fuji, if it weren't for that damn cloud.

Again, awesome view, damn cloud.

So with the weather not cooperating, I explored a little more and gave some time for the morning's cloudiness to dissipate.

And now, for you, the only caring about video games people:

Kawaguchiko has a pretty awesome arcade. Complete with Lost World and House of the Dead, Sega's two best shooters (and sadly not on the Wii, unlike HotD 2&3), as well as this amazing racer. Playing F-Zero in a moving cockpit with a steering wheel has completely changed F-Zero for me. Holy shit is AX beyond fun.

Also at the arcade was this little diddy, Sonic Blast Man. I haven't seen this since I was in Niagara Falls at seven years old. Put in your coin, select your scenario (Mugger, Truck, Fortress, Giga Crab, Asteroid), up comes the pad, and you have to hit the pad back down as hard as you can.

...

I couldn't even beat level one, and I'm willing to give the machine the benefit of the doubt that it's still measuring accurately after all these years...

So after that I set out to climb Kenashiyama, which officially begins with this little shrine. Now, I decided to climb a mountain. While I made this decision, I figured it would be like hiking. I didn't take the sheer steepness involved into account. And so with naught but a jacket and sneakers I set out on this journey. And what a journey it was.

Snow. Melting snow. While shoes and snow can get along reasonably, shoes and melting slush do not. I also learned that snow does not imply coldness, as I found myself overheating while wearing a winter coat. Keep in mind the winter coat was necessary back on ground level. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

While climbing, I thought about the classic rolling snowball trick. If one starts a snowball rolling down a mountainside, it should become a massive town obliterating katamari by the bottom. So with little regard for the safety of Kawaguchiko, I started rolling a snowball up the mountain to unleash upon the world, whilst humming the Katamari Damacy theme pleasantly to myself. As you can see from the photo, once I let it go, it didn't go very far, and my dreams of saving the cosmos were shattered.

Near the top the climb reached 70 degree angles, cutting away trees and offering an awesome view of Kawaguchiko.

And then, after two hours of painstaking (for a geek) effort, I reached the summit. I'd say it was well worth it.

The peak also offered a good view of the neighboring Saiko.

But unfortunately, while the clouds had cleared up, they had not cleared up enough, and Fuji was still obscured. I climbed back down the mountain in utter failure.

I did however take the time to document some of the trip. I found that, while climbing a mountain alone, I was talking to myself. It helped keep my mind off of exhaustion and the like, and after a bit, I decided to video tape some of it. Unfortunately I lost the first part through accident. Enjoy.

As it would turn out, over night the cloud cover would completely vanish. While I couldn't get a picture from any summit, I did take these before I left.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

And so I bid you adieu, my friends. I'll try not to take two weeks again, but I've got projects and papers coming up, so we'll see what happens.

Later.

The Poeple Won Meats In One's Travels...

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:36:21 GMT

And so here I am yet again. I find myself upon a train bound for the other end of the country. As always, I'm not sure why I'm here, or why I've decided to make this journey, let alone what lies in wait. Is it wise to move on like this, to cut short, or, really, to completely alter my current plans. I'm risking alot by doing this, my final year, and even my chances at coming back here, in a way.

I here the people there are nice, and it's very easy to make a living there. I've already made arrangements through a friend in Nagoya who knows a local shopkeeper with a spare place. Still, it's not going to be easy, and I question my sanity in making this decision. This is the first I've mentioned of this plan, my family doesn't even know yet. Am I cra...

Crazy?

"..."

...

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

You... you... you're not rea...

"Oh No! I've done it again, haven't I? I'm so careless with my face. I washed it clean right off."

Uummmm.

"Look... I know this is terribly inconsiderate of me to ask like this..."

"...but could you perhaps draw another face for me."

Well, okay. But I've got to tell you, I'm no artist.

"Are you all finished? Whew! I feel so much better now! And I have a feeling I LOOK better, too!"

Yeah, I think you'll be just fine.

Oh Those Ornery Japanese

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:28:49 GMT

Hello kids. It's been a bit hasn't it? Well not quite two long, but we're approaching two weeks since the last entry, and I hate leaving that much gap during this trip.

Anywho, last time I left you guys with a meme of movie-ish relation, and it was almost thoroughly destroyed by you guys and your prime trivial knowledge. Almost, as the line "All that intravenous stuff's no good for you. Stick to smoking." had you stumped.

The line in fact comes from Col. Goda in Godzilla vs. Biollante, one of my favorite scenes from my favorite film. The guy literally shoots Godzilla in the mouth point blank with a bazooka, says the line, and then has the upper half of a building dropped on him.

In fact, that scene is at the Osaka Business Park that I took a photo of entries back.

That line aside, you guys cleaned house:
clnyboi232 - 6
jedite333 - 3
anakedg - 2
betadynamic - 2
lilliea - 2
teh_cliffery - 1

Thanks for playing!

------------------------------------------

Speaking of movies, check out the list of films coming this summer

May 2nd - Iron Man - Love Iron Man, must see.
May 9th - Speed Racer - Anime based Wachowski Bros. movie, must see.
May 22nd - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Dr. Jones, nothing more need be said.
June 6th - Kung Fu Panda - Jack Black in a comedy making fun of Karate and Asia.
June 13th - The Incredible Hulk - Hulk made Ed cry, Marvel states this shan't happen again.
June 20th - Get Smart - Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart, genius.
June 27th - Wall-E - Pixar has only disappointed me twice in 13 years, and this is Sci-Fi.
July 11th - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Liked Hellboy, trailer looks incredible.
July 18th - The Dark Knight - It's Batman.
July 25th - The X-Files 2 - I remember that show!
August 1st - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - The Mummy was full of awesome characters, action, and slick one liners; it's been too long since II.
August 15th - Star Wars: The Clone Wars - *drool*

These are the movies I want to see... that's insane! To my knowledge, there has never been a summer packed quite like this before.

Thank God Dragonball got pushed back to April 2009. I can make an ANO event of it, too.

--------------------------------------------------------

So a week ago was Nanzan's Spring Break for the exchange students. As such I did a few things. In between relevant Japanese-related events, I found Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan at the local rental place after realizing during the movie quote challenge, that I had never seen it before. Problem remedied, and I'm very glad I did; Khan actually lives up to the hype.

Now as for actual Japanese happenings, I started out break heading to the Nagoyan suburbs to witness a legendary ceremony.

The Japanese have matsuris (festivals) for just about everything, if the Naked Man festival hadn't already clued you into that. However, nothing really had prepared me for this one.

Take a wild guess at what the celebration centered around. You can see it there in the pedestal the priests are carrying.

It's getting closer...

Is... that...

A giant wooden penis...

Yes, a festival to celebrate the penis. Apparently erect ones, as all the town's decor would seem to imply.

And with a festival in action, once again I found streets littered with vendors selling all sorts of food, only this time many of them were deliberately penis shaped. Penis sausage on a stick. Penis corn dog on a stick. Penis bananas. Penis popsicles. All sorts of stuff, some of which is for the many children there. At one point I was going to take a picture of a child eating one of those popsicles, but in pulling the camera forth, I suddenly felt very dirty and thought better of it.

So the festival lasts an entire afternoon, and consists of a grand procession from one shrine to another several blocks away. The procession carries several sacred replicas of a penis, along with two trees adorned with paper charms, each of them surrounded by tubs of sake which is distributed to the masses en route.

And these ladies are among the procession, letting all the onlookers rub their smaller giant wooden penises, probably for fertility.

I would hope for fertility.

Please God, let it have been for fertility.

One of the most amusing parts of the whole parade was that the priests carrying the giant penis would often stop and "dance" with it. As in they would rock the shrine back and forth and spin in a circle to the bemusement of the Japanese around them, and the bewilderment of the gaijin around them. Well, the sober gaijin at least. Also amusing was the large group of politicians taking an honorary part in a parade dedicated to male genitalia. This is usually the last thing politicians want to be associated with.

At least for the Republican ones. *rim-shot*

This was also perhaps the largest concentration of gaijin I've ever seen outside of Nanzan. I guess that shouldn't be so surprising though. The Japanese are used to their numerous festivals, while news of giant penises in the streets is pretty rare, and I guess exciting, to gaijin.

The entire event culminated at the destination temple, where the politicians and priests climbed onto catwalks above the crowd and pelted the masses with rock hard old mochi. They were also standing in the sun, so I couldn't see any of their projectiles coming at me.

----------------------------------------------------------

This is going to slightly 180 into a related topic. I am overly amused that I started break out attending a Shinto festival for the penis, and ended it on Easter attending an Easter service with the same group that had the Christmas party I talked about back in mid-December.

When it comes to religion, Japan is one incredibly jumbled mess. The country is littered with Shinto and Buddhist monuments and customs, yet ask most Japanese about religion and they'll proudly tell you Japan is a modern Atheist country.

That's by far not the case. While that is a typical answer you will get, there is also a saying here along the lines that one is born Shinto, lives Christian (western), and dies Buddhist, which is reflected in the average Japanese life which begins with Shinto ceremonies celebrating birth and childhood, lives in a western style, and likely has a Christian wedding, and then a Buddhist funeral. The contradiction doesn't stop there, in general one can observe a very superstitious culture here in Japan. Words and items are symbolic of something else. For example, coin purses are often made in the likeness of frogs because the word for frog and return are similar in Japanese (thus your money will return) and hospitals do not put any patients on their fourth floor, ever. The Japanese word for four, shi, is also the Japanese word for death, shi.

Many small shops have a Shinto shrine somewhere on their premises to bless the shop, and when faced with a test, game, business ordeal, date, or any important event, there is some shrine, often selling the relevant charms, related to that event where the person can go to receive good fortune for their undertaking. Simply put, the Japanese don't consider their country religious because there's no organized ceremony on some regular interval as found in the Judaic religions and some others. The Shinto way of life is very apparent to the informed observer, and the beliefs are still fervently practiced and honestly believed in.

I went to one of Nagoya's shopping districts last night, known as Osu Kannon, and you have to pass through a shrine to get there. Passing through there were Japanese who took a moment to face the shrine, clap their hands, and bow their head in a short prayer.

The irony goes further as Japan has a history going against the more organized religions. Christianity's original foothold several centuries ago ended when they were wiped out for becoming too threatening to the Tokugawa shogunate. Far more recently, a fringe religious group called Aum Shinrikyo caused havoc in the country about a decade ago when a few members attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin gas. Aum had fervent and outgoing beliefs not typical of Japan's usually subdued culture and they were quickly ostracized, harassed, and evicted from their locales regardless of affiliation to the attacks, which had caught many members off guard. As such, any religious groups that come off as overt or outward nowadays aren't very popular.

That's a crazy round about way into saying this, authentic Christianity in Japan is rare. As such this small group I've found in Nagoya was quick to point out the odds of stumbling upon them, especially given the background I gave them through casual conversation and practice.

And so I find myself both bemused and bewildered, questioning exactly why I am where I am. While it's easy to explain the basics of my religious background to them, especially considering that they stem from the same movement my family has, trying to explain my beliefs as they stand now is far more tricky, especially in Japanese.

Basically, I do and I don't believe in what I was raised in. Life isn't the result of pure chance, but this per se, isn't entirely it. And you can see the problems of one religion often repeat themselves elsewhere. Christianity is plagued with pseudo-commercialism, protestant and catholic, and here many Buddhist and Shinto sites come off as pure tourism, which is somewhat hypocritical of me to claim as I have enjoyed my chances to see some of these amazing places. It's just that some of them feel, I guess, robbed of their purpose. They do have an apparent connection with nature, which I love, and occasionally that shines through. I've watched a sunset from a zen garden before, which is indescribable.

I don't know. It's late, and I'm starting to fall asleep as I type, which considering what I'm typing about at the moment means I'm exhausted. I'll end with this...

Religion
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Buddhist

Buddhist

90%

Christian

75%

Catholic

65%

Cult

65%

Jewish

60%

Anarchist

35%

When going back through my entries I found this quiz on one's religious standing. When I took it three years ago, Christianity took top spot. Now? It's just a meme, but it shows stuff has at least changed.

I know I addressed religion months ago, I think for Chuck and Katie, but over the past two or three weeks I've been re-reflecting on everything.

----------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the incoherency.

Next entry I'll talk about Kawaguchiko, which consists of hiking, hostels, and fun.

I'm also going to see a Kabuki performance this week, so I'll share that with you too, hopefully sooner than later.

Animarathon happened, and it sounds like it went amazingly, which is good and bad. Awesome that it went so well, yet unfortunate that my participation was slightly more than zilch.

Regardless, good job guys.

Later.

Memes, Trips, and Various Other Picture Postcards

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:59:44 GMT

Hey gang, back again.

First up, I will yet again put the nod out to stone_fans. We post pictoral puzzles for the masses to solve. So far only one unsolved photo is up, my Puzzle C:P. Post your guesses and find the items that may or may not be relevant to the puzzle (Clever, Too Clever), the painfully relevant (Close, So Close), and in time, even the answer itself. Check out some of our older ones and their answer posts to get the hang of the logic involved.

It's fun.

--------------------------------------------

Other items... how about a meme or two. I hit up a meme by Amanda and another by Jarrod, and they are:

Post a comment, and I will...
1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a colour, a photo, a word etc. And a Poke'mon*
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favourite user pic of yours.
7. In return, you must post this in your LJ.

*Added by me.

Rules:
1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

1.)~~"You should not eat talking trees. Nope, nope nope."~~ - The Land Before Time - anakedg/clnyboi232

2.)~~"Geez, I thought you would have a sense of humor. After all, you married her!"~~ - The Mask - clnyboi232

3.)"Two thousand Indians? How many men for Custer?"
"Two hundred and eleven."
"I like this General Custer." - The Last Samurai - clnyboi232

4.)~~"Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?"~~ - Batman - jedite333

5.)"They're not stupid, they're infants."
"Bang..."
"Okay, we'll they're stupid infants..." - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze - betadynamic/clnyboi232

6.)"All that intravenous stuff's no good for you. Stick to smoking."

7.)~~"Stupid! You so stupid!"~~ - UHF - jedite333

8.)~~"In the event of a water landing, I have been designed to act as a flotation device."~~ - Star Trek: Insurrection - anakedg

9.)~~"Look, I have one job on this lousy ship. It's stupid, but I'm gonna do it, okay?"~~ - Galaxy Quest - teh_cliffery

10.)~~"I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne. Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky... "~~ - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - clnyboi232

11.)~~"What have they got in there, King Kong?"~~ - Jurassic Park - clnyboi232

12.)~~"I'm out of it for a little while, and everyone gets delusions of grandeur."~~ - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - lilliea

13.)~~"Hey, I'm going to give you to the count of ten, to get your lying, yellow, no-good keister my property, before I pump your guts full of lead! One, two, ten!"~~ - Home Alone - jedite333

14.)"I have never lost a fight."
"Except to a crippled old man, just now." - The Mask of Zorro - lilliea

15.)~~"I am thinking that she is a virgin, or at least she used to be."~~ - Short Circuit - betadynamic

Do note, they aren't necessarily my favorite movies, but are definitely ones I like.

------------------------------------------

So onto various adventuring in Japan. As you know, I've visited quite a few arcades over my stay, and a few weeks ago I set out to find some of the ones I went to ~~two~~ (wow, time's flying) nearly three years ago.

Namely...

A) It's a Club Sega (not to be confused with Sega's other chain, Sega World)
B) When I went once upon a full moon long ago, they had King of the Monsters in one of their candy cabinets.

Sadly, over two years they cut back on their retro section, and King of the Monsters was gone, but they did have something else I never thought I'd see again.

Okay, maybe that's a little over dramatic, but make no mistake, pinball machines are nowhere near as common as they once were. The few I have found are often broken or poorly maintained. Incidentally, that was the case for the LotR machine, but Spider-Man worked, and was it ever fun.

Another semi-blast from the past was the long awaited sequel two After Burner II, After Burner: Climax. While it is a sequel with pretty HD graphics and music, the play is unchanged from the days way back when, only with louder and better rock music and a matrix-effect booster.

------------------------------------------------------

The next day I went on a CJS trip to another locale I visited on my first Japnese excursion.

Nara.

Nara is a significant tourist stop in Japan not for it's size or amount of attractions, but its age. Nara is Japan's first capital, before even Kyoto, and has some of Asia's most notable religious sites.

Pictured above is Todai-ji, the largest wooden structure in the world. And it's built to that size to accommodate the world's largest indoor Buddha.

The picture doesn't capture the size at all, but for reference, that hand is bigger than I am. And Buddha's not alone either.

He has two equally enormous guardians standing watch over the temple from behind him. Which is interesting as they look more Shinto in appearance, but I have no idea if there is Shinto influence behind them or not. It's possible, Japan is littered with an equal number of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and even this mighty Buddhist structure is only a ten minute walk from Kasuga Shrine, and extremely famous Shinto site for it's many stone lanterns. Todaiji itself even sells Shinto charms and decorations. Japan's take on religions is fairly interesting and diverse, maybe I'll go further into that in another entry.

Also in Todaiji, is this hole cut into one of its supporting pillars. That hole is the size of one of Buddha's nostrils, and if you can pass through unassisted, you gain enlightenment for your next life. That hole is a tight fit.

But I was able to pull it off.

Todaiji, Kasuga, and several other lesser sites all reside in one large park area. In Shinto, deers are holy messengers, and as such, for centuries the park area has been one of Japan's safe havens for deer. No malice can be done to them while on Shinto holy ground. As such...

There are alot of them, and they know no fear of man. The vendors in the area sell feed for them too, which gives the deer incentive to stalk, or swarm tourists.

Off the grounds, on the other hand... my roommate Kar Wai gets alittle vengeance.

At least it's better than the island of Miyajima. The entire island off the coast of Hiroshima is holy, and being an island, the deer wander off into fair game territory. The population therefore is hilariously out of control.

Elsewhere in Nara is Horyuji, Asia's oldest wooden structure. Unfortunately, my camera's batteries died in Todaiji, and so I couldn't get any pictures of the Buddhist complex's five story pagoda.

------------------------------------------------------

This time on...

The Things of Which Ed Ate

Hey, it's a bento. I've shown one of these before, but that one was fresh and hot from that bento shop right outside my dorm. This one one the other hand is cold, purchased from a shop that makes them early in the day to sell them throughout. Bento is more often thought of and treated as a packed lunch, seen with this example, rather than what I showed you some seven months ago.

Janbo. I. Love. Janbo. Crispy waffle outside. Vanilla on the inside. All covering a solid chocolate center. With the cold of the past few months, it's been a while since I've had one of these. With the new warm weather that's hit, I should grab another one of these on one of my outings.

Feeling down 100 HP or so. In America, you're screwed, but here in Japan you can just pick up a Final Fantasy Potion at the local convini. Do-do-do-do doo-do do-do-dooooo.

Now if only you could by potions in a Poke'mon style bottle.

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Saw the original Mewtwo Strikes Back in Japanese, so I've re-entered a slight Poke'Mon kick.

Later.

いろいろな物に考えています　Thinking About Various Things

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:46:12 GMT

Hey there everybody.

So BGSU is on break, with OU to follow next week, while YSU is either this week or next, I don't remember. Either way, everyone enjoy your breaks all around in whatever fashion you spend it. I'll get one too once all yours are finished.

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It's crazy to think I've got less than three months left here. Sometimes I forget just how far removed I am from home while here. Everything around me is real and tangible, (even though I can't communicate normally with an overwhelming majority of the population) while everybody and everything I've ever known are literally half the world away.

Are you guys really there, or did you stop being the moment I stepped on that plane in Cleveland, or even sooner. Is reality only what we perceive? We no longer share a state, region, or even the same landmass anymore, Earth itself excluded. Being on the opposite end of the globe means we cannot even view the moon at the same time; the sky I see is completely removed from what you see. Home and all of you have become the intangible data like that of any textbook or the news. Growing up, we read about all these different places, and see them on TV, yet that is all they ever are; pictures and words in a book, or images on a screen. What we read, see, and hear in relation to our own home on the other hand is directly experienced. But now such events, the WGA strike, Obama and Clinton, or the various shootings, all are going on, yet I only see it in passing like one views news about Europe, the Middle East, or China.

So how real is it? Again is reality only what we perceive? Is it only the mind's (or soul's if one would prefer) direct interpretation of anything and everything that has come into direct contact with us?

I can flip the argument. I'm 6600 miles removed from you at the shortest distance (meaning you fly over Canada and the tip of Alaska [That's a straight line, trust me]). I can write what I see, and even show you through picture and video, but for you, that's all it is. Am I real to you anymore, or have I become a story that pops up on the internet every so often. The only assurance you have that any of is real is because I said it is real, and I am someone who was real to you at some point in time. You read these words and see the pictures and (I assume) place it to my voice and mannerisms, which may or may not even be accurate, depending on how long you've known me.

And in less than three months time, I will return to your reality (most of yours, or relatively close enough to earn the benefit of the doubt) and all that is real before me know will return to images and words, backed up only by my own memory.

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So how about I got to see a rare Japanese pre-wedding ceremony.

Well, from what I was told, the way weddings used to go in Japan, the entire community would come out the day of the wedding and visit the home of the bride. The bride gets to sit in the visitor room of the home and greet everyone who comes to pay their respects, give their blessing, etc. These people then escort the bride and her family to the nearest shrine for a blessing before she goes off to the actual ceremony.

As I said, this is apparently how it used to go, and the practice is now quite rare, or so I was told. I never got the reason why this family decided to do a wedding semi-traditionally, considering their home was deliberately American save for the mandatory Japanese style room every home must have. As such, only the bride and what I assumed were something along the lines of bridesmaids were in kimono. The rest of the family and all men were in fancy western attire. On top of that, the food handed out was a party style grab bag with various cookies, crackers, and chips. So for reviving an old tradition, there were quite alot of non-traditional elements tacked on. It was amusing to say the least.

I didn't see the wedding itself, so I can't say whether or not it was a Shinto ceremony or a Christian one (Christian weddings are adored for their extravagance and being romantic). They were heading to Atsuta I believe, which is the legendary shrine I went to for New Year's if you remember. That would most likely mean they had a Shinto ceremony.

The bride (with the headdress) leaves her home...

..and everyone follows behind. Even though the distance is short, it takes a while because walking in a kimono on geta is pretty difficult.

The crowd stopped at the entrance to the community shrine.

And then they return to wait for their ride to the next stage in the wedding.

Overall, it was an interesting way to spend the morning.

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Another Japanesey tradition I bore witness to was the Naked Man Festival, about two weeks ago.

Although it's called the "Naked Man" Festival, there's only one completely naked man, the shin-otoko. The rest wear the white loin cloths seen here.

Although, seeing as it is a mass of extremely drunk men, and some children, some of those loin cloths weren't tightened very well.

So what's the purpose. The dating "market" from ages 20 to 40 is seen as extremely competetive, and the festival helps to boost one's dating fortunes and sexual prosperity. Or that's what the ryugakusei came to gather once the day was done.

So around the shrine where the festival is held are many shops selling food and charms to the masses, and late in the afternoon the naked men start arriving in groups. By 3:00, when we arrived...

...there were alot of naked dudes crowding the street. While you can't see the end of the naked horde in this photo, you can't even see where it turned the corner.

At 4:00 all the men proceed group by group into the shrine to receive blessings from the priests there, and once all the groups have passed through, they pack the street in front of the shrine in wait for the shin-otoko.

The shin-otoko is a young priest who has spent the day cleansing himself, and will make a trip to the shrine completely naked. Being in this holy state, he is not supposed to be touched, but doing so is apparently supernatural Enzyte. Thus the shin-otoko is escorted through a sea of naked, extremely drunk guys, whom believe touching him is a cure for all their lady problems.

Naturally, chaos ensues.

Buckets of freezing water are dumped on the horde to keep them at bay (this is mid February mind you, which is still cold in Nagoya). This doesn't do much, and a 10 minute walk becomes a 90 minute battle through a gauntlet of intoxicated testosterone clamoring over one another to touch a naked man.

I never saw the shin-otoko, but knew where he was due to the "moving" circle of people. He almost made it to the temple gate at one point, only to be shoved back a hundred feet or so. Mind you, while this is going on, there is an equally massive amount of spectators lining the street to watch, and I often found myself involuntarily propped on one leg. Some ryugakusei said they stopped touching the ground at times. And as the shin-otoko got closer, the shoving of the horde swayed the audience as well. I don't think the sardine analogy is even close to describing the experience.

It sounds amusing, and granted it was, but some people got hurt pretty bad. Some are hit accidentally, and there's a huge danger of being smothered in the chaos. There were cops and medical personnel everywhere and the crowd was forced to part occasionally to allow the injured and/or unconscious to be salvaged.

Over all though, it was alot of fun.

And then on the train ride home, our train stopped at a station for a good half hour or so. We were wondering what was going on, and we watched other trains pass through the center tracks (for skipping stations). Then the conductor finally comes on over the audio and everyone starts to leave. However, the audio being in Japanese, and very polite Japanese at that, we had no idea what was going on.

I turned to the lady next to me and ask この電車が壊したか。 "Did this train break?"

She answers, in broken English.

"Someone... fall... on tracks."

Ooooh, I turn to the others, "Someone killed themself." I didn't bother to give a minor lesson to the lady over the nuance between falling on train tracks, and jumping. And so the lot of us got to see a real part of Japanese society first hand. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and using the train system is a common way of bringing the end.

The amusing thing is, everybody is so cool with what's going on. The only ones wide eyed and in disbelief are the four gaijin standing on the platform going "Now what?" We watch one of the cops who had arrived scanning the edge of the platform for body parts, and the fact that Japanese pop culture just became reality sets in for us. The rest of the station seems to take it in stride.

We get outside, and there is a literal army of squad cars, fire trucks, and ambulances around the station for the death of one guy. It was more than alittle overkill, especially considering the guy is without a doubt dead. You don't live through being crushed by a train, nor do you get through it in one piece. In that light it was hard not to laugh at the stretcher we passed when leaving the station, it was brought back a bit later, and surprise, it's empty.

Luckily for us, the chap decided to kill himself one stop over from where we needed to go, so we just walked back to Nagoya station.

Fun times.

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THE THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

We have here another self made donburi. The last one I showed you long long ago was Gyudon, or beef. This one is Sukiyakidon, which has all sorts of food in it. Mushrooms, tofu, noodles, and it's quite good too. Like the other one, it's fairly hassle free... to... ma, what the Hell?

Oh God, it's Gyaos, Shadow of Evil, Devourer of Humanity, Threat to Dinner!

Ha-ha, but the Gundams Virtue and Exia arrive on the scene. The might of Earth's armies pales against the Gundams, surely they are more than a match for Gyaos.

ZZZZWWWWWWAAAAAAARRRRRRRNNNNNNNNN

PYEW PYEW PYEW
^^assorted laser noises^^

Well, shit. I guess not.

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAAYY! Can no one save us?

IT'S GAMERA!!!! The tides have turned, vile winged beast of evil. Let's kick his ass.

Gameraaaaa!
Gameraaaaa!
Gamera is really neat,
Gamera is filled with meat,
We've been eating Gameraaaaa!
Shells, teeth, eyes, flames, claws, breath, scales, fun!

...wait.

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So I found a rental place near my dorm, and learned a very awesome thing. They rent CDs. I've found stuff by Orange Range, FLOW, TWO-MIX, Hound Dog, and an assortment of anime soundtracks, including the original Cowboy Bebop OST with the male recording of Rain. For the longest time, I could have sworn there was a male version, but for the longest time the only one I ever heard was the one that appears in the show, sung by a woman (I don't think it's Kano). Glad to know I didn't just dream it up.

If anyone has any suggestions on obscure Japanese groups or anime soundtracks to look out for, I'd be glad to take them and listen to them for you. *nudge* *nudge*

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The stone_fans are reborn.

The rules are simple, check out the picture and post words that have to deal with the clues given, which are anything dealing with the picture, links, title, script, all. Some answers (The Clevers) are fairly obvious and have little to do with the answer to the puzzle. Others (The Close) are extremely relevant to the solution. Team up with us to take on our puzzles or contribute to the community and make your own. Check out some of the older ones to get the hang of it.

The more players, the more fun everyone has.

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That's all for now.

Later.

Poke'-G Warlord

Avatar Comes Out in Less Than 24!

"SHOW AFFECTION!"

"LOVE ME!"

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

日本 Yet Again...

Guess Who's a College Grad.

Animarathon 2009 Rave: Ninja Rap

Ohayocon 2009: Saker Sings Snake Eater

Hello World

One Last Post for 2008

A POST! MUHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!!!!!!

Yay For October!

AT LONG LAST

September's Over?

Posting Before a Month Goes By

Mid July Means Not Much Summer Left...

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

THE END

Long Ago...

Living in America

PARTS OF THE ABOVE MAY OR MAY NOT BE FABRICATIONS PLAGIARIZED FROM FILM OR SONG

To Quote That There Sam Fellow...

To Be Continued...

The Things of Which Ed Ate

And So the Adventure Ends.

Passing the Time...

The End Approaches, Yet the Adventures Continue...

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

The End is Nigh

THE END

I Saw It! It Was Alive and It Was Huge!

The Poeple Won Meats In One's Travels...

Oh Those Ornery Japanese

Memes, Trips, and Various Other Picture Postcards

The Things of Which Ed Ate

いろいろな物に考えています Thinking About Various Things

THE THE THINGS OF WHICH ED ATE

ZZZZWWWWWWAAAAAAARRRRRRRNNNNNNNNN

いろいろな物に考えています　Thinking About Various Things