Caleb Crane | Photography | Travels Currencies Spaced Repetition and Development

Study Japanese using Spaced Repetition

Travels Currencies Spaced Repetition and Development

Friday, March 20, 2009

So where have I been?

Still here. Still in Tokyo. Life hasn’t changed much over the past 7 months or so. I’m very happy. I’m also very focused.

More than a year ago I broke my leg. It was an extremely unhappy time for me. I basically live alone. I have a roommate, but he isn’t much for cooking, so besides a few pity-onigiri brought over by my neighbor I had very few chances for a meal. There are only so many times you can hobble yourself down the road for ramen before you loose all motivation to bear the armpit sores and leave the house. Every time I see someone on crutches now I feel very bad for them. When I was in elementary school crutches looked like fun. They are not. They are absolute evil.

Anyway, while I was housebound I sunk into a deep enough depression and self-pity-party that I used up my lifetime allotment of Television Days. I spent more than enough time laying on the couch in front of the TV. That way once I was rid of the crutches and able to walk with a backpack with only minimal chance of collapsing into a heap, I had more than enough motivation to head out for Europe.

It was a relaxing, exciting and wonderful time, but as always it was too short. Even in the middle of it I could feel the pull of my responsible life. While I was in Liverpool on my way to Scotland a customer called me back to London for a meeting. Ever been in a meeting with an Investment Firms CTO wearing a sweatshirt and hiking boots? It’s only slightly more than extremely embarrassing.

After Europe there was some work in Tokyo; a few trips around Japan; and one to the US. It was during my month in America that I recalled a problem I had wanted to solve for years. It is such a pain in the ass to keep track of your expenses when traveling in other countries. Carrying around a computer with Quicken or whatever installed on it is no fun. It is even less fun when you need to record purchases in multiple currencies. It bugged me so much that when I got back to Tokyo I almost immediately reintroduced myself to MooTools and Symfony. A few days later I had a prototype for web application that would make it easy to record my purchases from anywhere and in any currency. A few months later and I had the app in a complete enough state to let other people in on the fun. Give it a try if you find your spreadsheet frustrating and this economy intimidating.

The economy is indeed intimidating. Things are slow as all-get-out for Helix Industries. That and with my visa situation changing I suddenly found myself looking for a regular desk job in Tokyo. There are jobs out there, but it has quickly become apparent to me that - especially in this economy - having a at least a JLPT level 2 certification is necessary. No matter how good my Japanese is in person or over e-mail it is just way too easy for companies to say, “no thanks, come back when you have at least JLPT 2”. It makes no difference that I can wow them during the interview if I can’t even get in the door.

Lucky for me there is are JLPT level 2 and level 1 tests this summer. So about a month ago I sat down to make sure I’ve memorized all the necessary kanji and vocabulary for level 2. I did the usual bit of going over flash cards every day. Me being me, I quickly found paper flash cards limiting.

It stinks that there are only two sides. Japanese writing is naturally three dimensional: Kanji - Pronunciation - Meaning. Knowing the meaning of a kanji is great, but if you don’t also completely know the pronunciation, including when the o sound is extended or short, it doesn’t really do you any good. Especially since the JLPT tests you on all three dimensions. The same is true for vocabulary words. The other problem with paper flash cards is the very real inability to accurately track your progress.

So I spent some time looking around for an online system that would give me multi-sided flash cards and track my progress. If found some sites and programs that would do one, but not the other. So about a few days later I finished a prototype web application that gave me both features: multi-sided Japanese flash cards and accurate tracking of my progress. A few weeks later and now I am ready to let anyone that wants to use it, use it.

It’s a Spaced Repetition flash card application based on the Leitner Cardbox System with a pretty darn convenient search feature and JLPT practice tests. I’ve got all of the JLPT level 4 and level 3 kanji plus vocabulary loaded into the system. About 40% of the JLPT 2 kanji and vocabulary are loaded today. We should be at 100% in a little more than two weeks.

Users can even add tags and rate cards making it easy to find the best or most appropriate cards for your situation. The system even keeps track of kanji that are similar to one another, so you can practice kanji that are a real pain to tell apart at first glance.

And yes, you can use the study kanji and vocabulary on the train even when you don’t have an Internet connection.

After a while we’ll be adding in cards for other tests and subjects too. If you’re planning on taking Japanese medical exams this will be the system for you.

I’ll be publishing blog articles on the system’s most useful features as well as strategies and tactics for getting the most out of the system, so subscribe to the news feed, or just check the news page regularly.

Server Issues

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Just a quick note to let you know that my hosting company zapped some of my more important settings last night. You may find that certain photos or pages seem to be missing; or that the pages display very poorly. If so, please shoot me a message. I’ll get on it.

Everything You Never Knew You Wanted to Know About Me

Thursday, June 12, 2008

How's your Italian? Thanks to The Coolidge and Robert Benigni , I've got, "princess" down pat. A few months working in an Italian deli and I can bust out with, "toothpick" in Italian faster than in Japanese. I'm sure both words will get me far. *sarcasm*

So Ama's posted a three part (four if you count the translation) interview with yours truly. It covers a bit of my childhood, reasons for coming to Japan, photography, outlook on life and my business.
Part 1 - Living in Japan and Kendo
Part 2 - International Inclination and Photography
Part 3 - Helix Industries and Outlook on Life
And for those of us with limited - read no - Italian there's an English version

The London Cup Kendo Tournament 2008 Medalists proudly display their medals, awards and team trophy.

London Cup Kendo Tournament Team Photos

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Photos from the inaugural London Cup tournament are ready for your viewing pleasure. My net connection in Paris is making the uploading process tedious, so I've only got the dantaisen and awards photos up so far. Look for the kōjisen photos later on this week or perhaps early next week if decide to flee the city for parts north.

Photos are here: http://www.simulacre.org/.../album/721...948/

Contact me if you are in one of the photos and want your name on it.

Subscribe to the RSS feed for the London Cup photos or ask me to add you to the mailing list if you want to be notified when more photos are available.

American Adventure in Calais

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

My buddy Dave came down to London late Sunday to watch the last day of the tournament and have a few pints. Monday was a bank holiday in England, so he stuck around and we drove down to Canterbury to see the cathedral and just pass the time. He dropped me off, afterwards, in Dover for the 18:40 ferry to Calais, France.

None of the ATMs in Dover would spit out euros for me, but I was able to get 61 euros from the Bureu de Change on the ship. With my 13 euros left-over from Portugal last year I figured I had just enough to buy a ticket from the TGV station to Paris. Only problem was that the bus from the Calais ferry port to town had stopped running three hours before I arrived.

A quick call and 50 euros got me a taxi to the TGV station, but it had closed one minute earlier. I hopped out of the car ready to sleep in the grass bordering the parking lot when the driver told me that there was no ATM inside the station.

"Where is an ATM?"
"In Calais City"
"How much to Calais City"
"23 Euros"
"Crap ... ... ... merde!"
"Exactly.", the driver says back to me with a sly smirk

Back in the car, he rips down the road towards town stopping only once the meter has ticked off my last euro. He points to the right telling me to use the town center station to get to Paris through Lille at 06:00. Across the street is a cheap hotel. Down on the corner is a working ATM. Maybe the ATM works for him, but when I give it a try both my cards are rejected.

I'm down to the lint in my pockets and hundreds of miles from Paris.

I take a deep breath and head back to the hotel. Hopefully they'll take credit cards. Hopefully they'll take mine.

A quick question to the timid clerk behind the desk reveals that they take CCs. He swipes mine and I hold y breath waiting for his apologetic rejection. An eternal ten seconds later the machine shoots out a short slip of paper. He examines and hands it to me without saying, "I am sorry, but ..."

Sorted!

Now that I have a room to drop off my heavy bags - the bed is an unimportant incidental - I can settle my mind.

Nervously jingling my last 0.53 euro I wander around the empty town praying for an ATM that won't reject me. Twenty minutes later I've got 300 euro in my pocket and a confident smile of accomplishment on my face.

All important problems are inconsequential when you have enough money.

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Tuesday morning, I'm sitting on the patio of a restaurant waiting for the 12:39 TGV direct to Paris, which contrary to the Lonely Planet guide book leaves from Calais City station, I see a woman crossing the street with her two dogs. A sun-faded red BMW stops short at her feet. She angrily swats the car's hood with her rolled newspaper then walks on.

I am in France.

Trick'r Treating Pop - My father and his sister out and about for Halloween

When I Was Small

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I finally got around to scanning in photos from the album that I've been carrying around for well over a decade and maybe two. Many of the photos are of me as a short legged terror, but more than one are of my parents and their parents when they were small.

The rest are here.

Joey out on the beach after a Miss Boracay photo session

Joey Lives (in Boracay, Phillipines)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Just got back from Boracay, Phillipines to visit Joey after his temporary escape from KVH. He is alive and well and in the middle of opening up a Crepe shop on the beach. He's also quickly building up a reputation as a good photographer. The day I arrived he took me along on a shoot for the Miss Boracay Beauty Pagent.

A few of the photos I took during the week are up in the gallery.

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Teramoto Shoji displays his trophy after winning the 55th All Japan Men's Kendo Championship

55th All Japan Kendo Championship

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Select photos from the 55th All Japan Kendo Championships are up. Teramoto Shoji took the day’s top prize defeating Takanabe Susumu in the ﬁnal round. Take a gander at those photos and others in the Gallery/PhotoStream. In the near future you'll be able to order a print of your very own in sizes ranging from 2L to A3+.

The Shiozawa (Michinoko) Team participates in the 2007 Publishing Companies Tournament at Kodansha's Noma Dojo. Later this year the beautiful dojo will be demolished to make room for a new building on the high-value land.

Last Publishers Tournament at Noma Dojo

Monday, June 11, 2007

It looks like this past Saturday’s Publishers Tournament will be the last held at Noma Dojo. Kodansha is set to demolish the awe-inspiring hall towards the end of this year. Get a keiko in while you can.

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France Places First, Second and Third(shared) in the 21st EKC Mens Individual Tournament

Monday, April 30, 2007

I've uploaded fifteen photos from the Mens Individual Tournament of the European Kendo Championship.

Congratulations to France, which won first (Sicart), second (Yonnet) and shared third (Diebold) place.

Congratulations to Germany (Ulmer), which shared third place.

The rest of the photos are available here: http://www.simulacre.org/wordpres...157600141470590/ -----

21st European Kendo Championship Day 2 - Ladies Individual and Mens Team Tournaments

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Yesterday the German ladies set the tone for the day by handling nearly all of their opponents with ease and capturing the title. Their success seemed to carry over to the German men early on as they manhandled the Austrians and overcame an early deficit to the Hungarians in order to advance to the semi-final round. Unlike their long haired teammates they advanced no further due to the equally confident French team. To be sure it was a frenetic semi-final that required all five matches to determine the winner with players on the ground at various times. France eventually won through and went on to face Spain at the end of the day.

In that match France jumped out to an early lead with four quick points. In the following match Spain - to the delight of the crowd - answered with two points of its own. In the end, however, Spain couldn't stop France from running out the clock in the final match and holding onto victory.

In the Ladies Individual Tournament Hungary beat ~~Bulgaria~~ Belgium on a kote point early in the final match.

I'll upload photos from tomorrow's matches after the leaving party and all the rest when I get home to my wonderful fibre connection. Check here for more photos from the 21st European Kendo Championship

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Germany Wins Ladies Team Division at the 21st European Kendo Championship in Lisbon, Portugal

Saturday, April 28, 2007

The German Ladies Team (Safiya Fadai, Sabrian Kumpf, Susanne Aoki, Dance Yokoo, and Kei Udagawa) soundly defeated the Polish Ladies Team to capture the 1st European Ladies Team Championship this afternoon. As they did with all of their opponents, except the French, the German's dominated Poland nearly from start to finish. Even Sweden, which had managed to defeat Great Britain in three rounds, was only able to score a single kote (Komaki/Kumpf) and men (Gustavesson/Yooko) against the Germans. The French, however, caused the Germans a little bit of consternation and forced a stalemate in two of their matches (Kumf/Brunel and Yooko/Garcia). In the end the German Ladies Team remained poised and dominant advancing quickly past all their opponents to capture the day.

You could expect that winning the inaugural Ladies Team Championship will give the Germans a swagger and push them to perform strongly in Day 2 (Ladies Individual and Mens Team) and Day 3 (Mens Individual).

19th Annual Budo Seminar at the International Budo University

Thursday, March 08, 2007

This past weekend I spent four days at the International Budo University in Katsura for the 19th annual budo seminar. For just a little more than 5,000 yen I got to try out three new budo; sat in on budo lectures; was fed nine meals; had four nights of deep sleep; and best of all met nearly a hundred foreigner residents of Japan that practice a budo.

I tried out kyudo, naginata and judo. It was really tough to choose from all of the available budo, so I'm looking forward to next year for karate, aikido, jukendo, or sumo. In the meantime I'll need to find a judo, naginata and kyudo dojo.

Anyway, some of the pictures I took on the first night are in the photo gallery here: http://www.simulacre.org/.../72157594576954734/

Hip Deep in Powder, Again

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Just moved house yesterday and I don't really have Internet access plus I'm leaving for Thailand tomorrow morning, so pictures of my recent trip to Asahidake will have to do. Look for vidoes and a few cellphone pictures of penguins later.
For now enjoy:

Mayumi tearing down the face under the roapway

Mayumi ripping down the mountain through the woods.

Orimo ripping up some powder under the roapway

Orimo blasting through powder under the roapway

Freezing skiers ambling toward the roapway at the base.

Yoichi giggling his way down the mountain.

The rest of the pictures from my second trip to Asahidake in Hokkaido, Japan are here:

http://www.simulacre.org/.../72157594529176908/

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個人戦 USA (Yoo) versus Japan (Hojo)

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Photos from the individual match between Yoo (USA) and Hojo (Japan) are here: http://www.simulacre.org/.../72157594478283481/

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Individual Matches - Korea vs Japan

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Photos from the individual matches between Korea and Japan are up. The shots from the semi-final matches that pitted Gil-Hyun Oh against Tanaka Takeshi and Sang-Hoon Kang against Hojo Masaomi are in the semi-final set. The photos from the earlier match between Young-Dae Kim and Takeshi Tanaka are in their own set. Shots from the semi-finals are here: http://www.simulacre.org/wordpress/photos/album/72157594433954511/ Photos from the earlier match are here: http://www.simulacre.org/wordpress/photos/album/72157594434059085/ Only another five hundred or so more pictures to process, so we're getting close to done. Subscribe to the RSS feed, distribution list, or just check back regularly.

American Movies in Japan

Friday, July 14, 2006

One of the things that drives me nuts about living in Japan is the artifical delay attached to movies. Superman Returns doesn't open until August 19th. I guess I should count myself lucky considering that the new X-MEN movie doesn't open until September.

I've had Fever Pitch - and I wouldn't if I wasn't from Boston - on DVD for about six months. I just saw an advertisement for it in a theater in Shibuya.

I guess you have to live in a nation famous for distributing illegal copies of movies in order to see them at the same time that they're released in the US.

Agility versus Commitment

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Keep your promises. Those that can't adapt die. Once you've made a decision, stick with it. Quickly admit your mistakes and move on. Which one is it? Are they mutually exclusive? Must you always hold true to your decisions? Must you always turn around when you think you're heading in the wrong direction? Extremes are generally bad. If seems to me that you should analyze your decisions and reverse them if they were incorrect/ineffective and don't compromise a promise that you've made to someone else. Moreover, it seems like a good idea to hold off on reversing a decision for at least a few breathes. A big decision naturally leads to anxiety and that can be expelled by simply letting go. Breathing deep for a bit helps. Extreme physical activity seems to help too.

Vermont and Depression

Sunday, July 09, 2006

What is the deal with Vermont? Why is it that you just know it when you see it? Why does it bring back a feeling of mild depression without all the negative aspects of depression? Is depression ever a good feeling? Sometimes when I get depressed I actually revel in it; I actually look forward to it. Importance isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind. Thanks Chuck. That brings up another point. I can often feel it coming on. I can often predict the onset a few days in advance. What I can't predict is how deep it will get and how long it will last. When you're depressed do you feel the same way that I feel? Am I unique? Am I really depressed or is it some other emotion that I've associated with the word? Do you see the same purple that I see? You know, the most out of touch question to ask someone that is depressed is, "why are you depressed". People that are depressed, at least the way that I am, don't know and don't really care about why. It's a general malaise. Sadness, heart break and even fear tend to be specific. Chronic depression doesn't seem to be very specific at all. If I can say that I'm depressed that a parent died then it's probably more sadness that I'm feeling and not so much depression. Depression for depressions sake is pretty common. The source is not so easily identified. Sure it's triggered by something, but that something probably doesn't make sense to the depressive let alone the questioner. Even if you could pinpoint it I don't think it would help. Examination doesn't bring about an epiphany. Comprehension doesn't cause relief.

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Shared bookmarks for del.icio.us user simulacre

Article: What's shooting a Geographic story like? -- Tagged as: [geographic national photography]
Japan National Tourist Organization -- Tagged as: [festivals travel 日本東京]

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Who says Japanese People Don’t Drink

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

A guide for izakayas where you can drink from the morning. A guide for izakayas where you can drink from lunch time. hmmm... Me thinks there might be a bit of a drinking culture in Japan. -----

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Shared bookmarks for del.icio.us user simulacre

NÆRFOTO Bjørn Rørslett -- Tagged as: [Nikkor Photography blog camera digital nikon]
The Luminous Landscape -- Tagged as: [Photography digital landscape reference reviews technology]
Photo Safaris - Ultimate Antarctica -- Tagged as: [Photography antarctica tour workshops 旅行]
Workshop and Tour Calendar - RPPhoto.com -- Tagged as: [Photography workshops]
Lorelle on WordPress » Technical Tips for Publishing a Series of Articles on Your Blog -- Tagged as: [blog plugins series wordpress writing]

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Yakult Swallows vs. Chunichi Dragons

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Am I so drunk that I lack anything remotely approaching accurate sense or does baseball contain ridiculous amounts of emotion? Pete, out of the kindness of his heart, organized a trip to the Jingu baseball stadium to watch a Swallows game. It was such an event that we arrived expecting to see the Ham Fighters, but were instead greeted with the Dragons. Thank you for the introduction Mr. Baseball. Regardless of our expectations we had a great time. Alex was a laugh a minute and explaining baseball to a group of Indians that had no idea was an entertaining task. Exactly how do you explain the idea of an out without introducing unintelligible baseball jargon? Anyway, take a look at the pictures of the Yakult Swallows vs. the Chunichi Dragons and let me know if I'm an idiot for wanting to invest my money, time and attention in sport photography. -----

Traveling the World

This is so very, very much what I want to do. At least that's what I feel until I give it significant thought. When you read over his posts it seems like he always on the move and never settled for any length of time. I'd like to see a lot of different countries and throwing it all away to travel for months/years at a time sounds wonderful, but it must be a bother in its own way. A friend of mine recently went on a round-the-world self discovery trip. It sounded like a great idea at the time, but she was so concerned with money and time that she only spent about one day in each city/country. It seems to me that self discovery kind of requires peace and quiet. If you're constantly looking for your next plane ticket then how can you possibly create a real connection with the places that you're visiting? Won't all you're memories be just one airport/train station/bus stop after another. Regardless, I want to go to Antarctica!

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Shared bookmarks for del.icio.us user simulacre

Study Abroad in Kyoto, Japan Ritsumeikan - Study in Kyoto Program, -- Tagged as: [日本日本語言語学校]
Advanced Composition – Part I -- Tagged as: [Photography composition]
<ruby><rb>団体戦</rb><rt>dantaisen</rt></ruby> Kendo Team Tournaments -- Tagged as: [system:unfiled]
the best brands of the world -- Tagged as: [art culture design logos tools]
Illustrator Business Card Templates and Tutorial -- Tagged as: [business cards design illustrator]
National Press Photographers Association -- Tagged as: [Photography journalism]
Rob Galbraith DPI: Home -- Tagged as: [Digital blog photography reviews]

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Recognizing and Reacting to Bias: Keys to Japanese Conversations

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Last time we talked about you. This time we’re going to talk about THEM. Often times it feels like we are the reason that we aren’t communicating in Japanese. It seems like we can never do anything right. It seems like we can never remember the correct words. It seems like we can’t stop thinking in English and start thinking in Japanese. Our conversation partner must be noticing our problems. That’s why they aren’t speaking to us in Japanese; right? Wrong. Your conversation partner has their own agenda. You want to practice Japanese and maybe they want to practice English. Maybe they just don’t believe that non-Japanese can speak Japanese. Maybe they’re assholes and lack the patience that is often required to speak with someone that isn’t fluent. It doesn’t matter. The problem is theirs and not yours. They are the one carrying the bias. They are the ones that refuse to help you become fluent by speaking to you. The sooner you realize this and stop doubting yourself, the sooner you’ll become comfortable speaking to people. I’ve noticed four motivations for people that refuse to speak to me in Japanese

They want to practice English
They don’t believe you can speak Japanese
They want to impress you with their English speaking ability
They want to impress their friends with their English speaking ability

But what can you do to get these people to speak to you in Japanese?

Speak to them in Japanese: if they speak to you in English, respond in Japanese. If they ask you to speak English laugh and respond in Japanese. If they keep conversing with you then go with it, but don’t switch to English.

Speak to their friends in Japanese: you can’t always judge a person based on the friends they keep. Sometimes people that are willing to help you practice Japanese will have friends that aren’t. If you meet the latter then talk to their friends in Japanese in front of them. Do it relentlessly and the group’s language will become Japanese. The person that was trying to make you an outsider will now be an outsider and they will eventually switch.

Nothing: the first time you got dumped someone told you some trite shit like there are more fish in the sea. Well, it’s true. If you meet someone that, for whatever reason, won’t speak to you in Japanese then move onto another person. Mingle. You’ll eventually come upon someone that is willing to speak in Japanese with you. Of course their motivation may not be altruistic either…

Urban Landscape During the Magic Hour in Minami-Aoyama, Japan

Saturday, June 17, 2006

magic hour is, in this case, the half hour before the sun falls below the horizon. It's a much better time to take outdoor photographs than the middle of the day because the light is not nearly as harsh; shadows and colors are much more interesting. The second half of the magic hour occurs during the half hour after the sun breaks the horizon. One of the great side-effects of hanging around for the sunset is that you can continue to chill and occasionally get even more visually stunning shots. Consistently getting shots during these times requires a slighly atypical schedule and is another example of why perseverance is such a valuable personality trait. -----

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Shared bookmarks for del.icio.us user simulacre

In-House Photo Studio | Fred Showker | & Fotographic -- Tagged as: [photography studio]
Studio Photography -- Tagged as: [photography studio]
Maine Photographic Workshops -- Tagged as: [Maine Photography workshops]
Ethnography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -- Tagged as: [cultural ethnography reference research travel writing]
Lorelle on WordPress » Using Author Template Tags Outside of the WordPress Loop -- Tagged as: [authors wordpress]
artforum.com / IN PRINT -- Tagged as: [art urban]
This Blog Sits at the: The problem of partial ethnography -- Tagged as: [cultural ethnography reference research travel writing]
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団体戦dantaisen Kendo Team Tournaments

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Kendo tournaments can either be organized into team or individual matches. The friendship tournaments that I’ve been to lately have all been setup as team tournaments. The configuration of a team and the method of elimination can be a little confusing at first, so below you will find a short explanation. Teams are made up of five members. The kendo teams can be mixed sex or single sex depending on the kendo tournament organizers wishes. Each position in the team has a name and players are either referred to by their name or the name of their position.

先鋒senpo : is the name of the first position. Being the first player to fight, the senpo sets the tempo for the rest of the team, so they are expected to be extremely energetic.
次鋒jihou : occupies the second position on a kendo team. The jihou and the senpo are both expected to have their men on and tied before the judges call for the team match to begin.
中堅chuuken : is the third, or center position on the team. In many matches that I’ve seen the senpo and jihou are junior members, but the chuuken is expected to be quite experienced. Because matches are made up of five players, if the senpo, jihou and chuuken all win their matches then their team will automatically win.
副将fukushou : literally translated is the second in command. This position isn’t defined simply by being in the fourth spot by, but being the second to last player on their team. Even if the outcome of a match has already been decided – by the first three players all winning or losing – the fukushou will still fight and is expected to fight hard.
大将taishou : is the last position on the team and can be considered the captain. The senpo’s attitude determines the tempo of the kendo match, but the taishou’s performance quite often determines how the kendo match is remembered, or in the case when the team has won, the attitude that will be carried over into the next team match.

So kendo teams are made up of five players. Each player will fight their counterpart on the opposing team. Kendo players never fight more than one opponent at once. In each of the five fights the player that scores the best of three points within a time-limit will win their fight. Fights that end in a tie are not awarded to either team. If, after the taishou fight, each team has won an equal number of fights, the teams will send a representative to fight a 代表者戦daihyoushasen , or a tie-breaker match. The daihyoushasen is a single-point elimination rather than three-point elimination match. The taishou is usually the strongest player on the team, so they are often the chosen representative. There are actually a few variations details above. For instance a kendo team can be made up of three, five or even seven people. There are even some kendo team tournaments in which the players will fight more than one player on the opposing team. In the US, I’ve seen a daihyoushasen (tie-breaker match) that was three-point elimination rather than single-point elimination. The methods described here are those that I’ve most often encountered in kendo tournaments in Japan. -----

Perseverance and Explanations: Two Keys to Japanese Conversations

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

The more successful people are in life -- and I've found this to be true -- have this resiliency about them, where no matter what comes down the pike, they're not going to quit. They're not going to be blown out of the water, and they're not going to exit from the game, unless it's their choice. And if it's their choice to exit from the game, they're exiting because they've got something else to do.

- Julius Erving a.k.a. Dr. J, enshrined May 10, 1993 in the NBA Basketball Hall of Fame The first barrier to entering into and maintaining Japanese conversations is you. If believe that you can’t maintain a conversation then you won’t. If you convince yourself that you do possess enough ability to speak in Japanese then you will be able to speak in Japanese. You will find a way to express yourself even if you don’t know the most appropriate or accurate way of expressing your thoughts. Speaking ability isn’t dependent on the exactly correct word, phrase or grammar. Many times during every day and every conversation you will find yourself unable to remember, or you’ll never have learned, the pieces of the language that most appropriately express your thoughts. It doesn’t matter. You can explain the word that you can’t recall using simpler words. You can use a word that is similar in meaning. You can use a phrase or grammatical construct that isn’t appropriate, but is just close enough. Your counterpart will figure out what you are trying to say. The truth is that you can communicate with people in Japanese as long as you don’t give up even if you’ve forgotten a word or grammar. If you do give up then you’ll never have the conversation. It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ll fail to express yourself, the conversation will end and you’ll walk away knowing that you can’t hold a conversation. It will be harder next time. If on the other hand you convince yourself that you can keep a conversation going then you’ll find a way and you’ll walk away knowing that you can hold a conversation. It will be easier next time. Just this past weekend I was in my doctor’s office trying to say that his good mood had infected me; putting me in a good mood. When I got to the point where I would have used the word infected, I stopped. I tried the trick of pronouncing the word as if it were Japanese. Of course it didn’t work. After a few moments thought I tried to explain it using an example. I said something along the lines of, “if a person near you is sick you might also become sick”. He immediately blurted out 伝染病densenbyou, which helped him to understand my original point, keeping the conversation going. If I had given up the conversation would have terminated and I would have been hesitant to start a conversation later. So today you get two tips for the price of one:

Explain words you don't know: If you don’t know the word or phrase that expresses your intention most effectively then explain the word using simpler words or even examples.

Winners never quit and quitters never win: If you quit then you have no chance of getting your point across. If, however, you maintain your confidence and refuse to quit then you will eventually be understood.

Second Sighting: Space Invader in Jingumae Shibuya, Japan

Monday, June 12, 2006

I spotted this guy on one of the buildings that line the trendy avenue behind my building. At the time I didn't realize that it was part of a series throughout Tokyo and the rest of the world. If you click on the image above and mouse over the resulting larger image, the mosaic will be pointed out. -----

30th Publishing Companies Kendo Tournament at Noma Dojo

This past weekend Noma Dojo hosted the 30th Publishing Companies Kendo Tournament in Tokyo, Japan. Eighteen companies sent a total of thirty teams to the tournament, which lasted over four hours. Michinoko dojo, participating under the Shiozawa publishing company, registered three teams two of which made it to the round before semifinal stage. Kendo World, an english language kendo magazine publisher, also threw its hat in the ring with three teams. Though they didn't do as well as they would have liked they put on a killer party afterwards. The injury filled final match ended with the Fuji Xerox Tokyo B team taking the cup over an enthusiastic Dentsu A team. In the semi-final round the Dentsu team won a significant number of fans by by tenaciously battling their way back from a deficit which started with their sempo failing to win his match. The Dentsu jiho then lost a point to begin his match, but showing incredible tenacity took the momentum back for his team by dominating his opponent. That match and the three subsequent matches were as energetic as a bottom of the ninth come back victory in Fenway Park. The mood was so infectious that you could nearly smell the adrenaline. Once the semi-finals concluded the two courts were reconfigured as a single court at the center of Noma Dojo. The fans that Dentsu won during the semi-final round saw the same incredible guts at the start of the final round. The Dentsu sempo obviously injured his left elbow to the point where he could barely move his arm or fingers. The match was stopped several times while the head judge asked if he was alright. Clearly he wasn't well, but he refused to forfeit the match. Several people in the crowd shouted for him to continue and he didn't disappoint. When the match was over he moved back to his side of the court and sat with his teammates; all the while his left arm remained mostly motionless. By the end of the final, however, the Dentsu team appeared to have lost a good portion of its new fan base. The judges refused to call a few points that the Dentsu team thought they had won. They handled it by becoming more aggressive, shoving their opponents to the ground and pushing them away with the tips of their shinai. In the end the taisho was fighting for a tie, but time literally ran out before he could get a point on his opponent and force a single point elimination fight. Fuji Xerox Tokyo B team won the 30th Publishing Companies Kendo Tournament at Noma Dojo in Tokyo, Japan. The photos from the kendo tournament are here. The photos of the participants in the kendo tournament from Kendo World are here. The photos of the participants in the kendo tournament from Michinoko Dojo are here

Photo Galleries are Down

Thursday, June 08, 2006

The photo gallery on this site is tightly coupled with flickr, so it will be down for a while due to maintenance on flickr. http://blog.flickr.com/flickrblog/2006/06/scheduled_maint.html

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

Shared bookmarks for del.icio.us user simulacre

Author Templates « WordPress Codex -- Tagged as: [authors design multiple wordpress]
Tutorials - The RAW File Format -- Tagged as: [digital photography raw]
A RAW deal: Using the RAW image format -- Tagged as: [digital photography raw]
RAW, JPEG and TIFF -- Tagged as: [digital photography raw]
Plugin API « WordPress Codex -- Tagged as: [Wordpress api plugins programming]
Zilla Smash! » WordPress, LDAP, and Playing Nicely -- Tagged as: [authentication ldap plugins wordpress]
Sports Photography by Jerry Lodriguss -- Tagged as: [Photography sports work]
How to Write a Simple WordPress Plugin - Asymptomatic -- Tagged as: [howto plugins programming wordpress]
SportsShooter.com - News: The Great Workshop Hunt -- Tagged as: [photography sports workshops]
Photo Gallery © 2005 Ken Rockwell -- Tagged as: [Photography gallery photographers]
Welcome to Mountain Light Photography (Galen and Barbara Rowell) -- Tagged as: [gallery photographers photography]
Speed Test | Home -- Tagged as: [technology tools web2.0]
Sports Photography -- Capturing the Fleeting Moment -- Tagged as: [Photography sports]

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Classic Grilled Piadina Sandwiches in Tokyo

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Giorgio's PiADiNA Italian Cafe opened several months ago down the street from my office with a purpose: the owner wants to bring fresh delicious Italian food to Tokyo, but won't to require a two hour commitment from patrons. Anytime I've gone to an Italian restaurant in Tokyo, unless it's McSpaghetti, the meal has taken several hours. The food at such places is down right great, but there's no way, no matter how fast you inhale, to get it down before the lunch hour is up. PiADiNA is a different breed of Italian restaurant. If they're not packed to the gills during lunch you can get in and out in under a half hour with a smile on your face. Enough about the speed, what about the FOOD? Well, it's superb especially for a weekday lunch. Pick a lunch set and you can choose between the salad & sandwich combination or the pasta & sandwich combination for 800 yen. Throw in an extra 100 yen and you can get coffee (iced or hot) or tea (iced or hot). I go for the espresso every time as it motivates me to get out of my seat and back to the office. Anyway, the FOOD! The pasta sauce varies with the day and I haven't been let down once. The focal point of the restaurant, however, are the piadina sandwiches. Piadina has been a Romagna speciality for more than 700 years. It's basically a thin disc (~20cm diameter) of pasta that is grilled, folded in half and filled with cheese, meat and/or vegetables. Apparently the authentic version requires prosciutto, but you can get basically any filling under sun at Giorigo's PiADiNA. The menu lists fourteen different filling combinations, but the lunch special is limited six. When the plate arrives at your table, it's pleasantly warm and stays so all the up until the last bite. Both the pasta and sandwiches are filled with all sorts of wonderful flavors that always take the stress out of the morning. If you're feeling brave ask for the hot garlic sauce, which you can drizzle on as you see fit. Check it out during lunch on a weekday and sit on the terrace for a nice break from reality. Don't forget to sip an espresso. Location: [tag]Minami Aoyama[/tag] next to Aoyama Itchome Station - take exit 4 turn right. The restaurant is 100 meters down the street on the right. Address: #6-113 1-3-6 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0062 Style: [tag]Italian[/tag] Hours: 08:00-23:00 M-F, 10:00-22:00 S&S Service: [tag]Attentive[/tag], friendly and informative Tabacoo: [tag]Smoking permitted[/tag] with a [tag]Non-Smoking section[/tag] Atmosphere: [tag]Midrange[/tag] with a terrace and [tag]outdoor seating[/tag] Party: 10 person or less [tag]party appropriate[/tag]

Choose Your Language: Japanese Conversation Strategies & Tactics

If you've been following this blog - the writing not just the pictures - for the past week then you know that I had a great time at the NYC Kendo Club 30th Anniversary Tournament. You also know that a major contributing factor to that good time was speaking in Japanese with a lot of people that I'd never met before.

Over the past couple of months I've slowly, but steadily been getting better at inducing people to have Japanese conversations with me. It really hit a head during the weekend of the tournament; probably because there were so many new faces and I spent almost no time in the English speaking bubble.

One of the primary complaints that I used to hear from other gaijin and utter myself, is that it is so difficult to get Japanese people to speak to you in any language other than English. Well, the truth is that it actually isn't all that difficult to do, but it does take an effort to induce them to stop seeing you as an English slut.

Over the next couple of weeks I'll post some of the strategies and tactics I've been using and observations that I've made about breaking down barriers and going from a free English lesson provider to a free Japanese lesson consumer. So check back next Tuesday for the first installment and leave comments with your own observations.

Let's have a conversation (in the language of our own choosing)! ;P

Good Greek lunch food under my nose in Tokyo

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Convinced that I couldn't get them in [tag]Tokyo[/tag], for more than two years now I've been craving gyros. During the three days I was in Honolulu I had gyros no less than three times, just because they were available and it had been so long. Well it turns out that there is in fact a place in Tokyo that serves *affordable* gyros. Spyro's in Omotesando/Harajuku sells three different types (Chicken, Salmon and Beef) with great fries during lunch. I'd been there for dinner last Valentine's day, but wasn't impressed enough to go back again anytime soon. Dinner was cheaper, but not quite as good as at The Agean in Shibuya. Anyway, at a 550-650 yen for a gyro it is well worth a lunch trip now and again. Order the drink set on the weekend and the price bumps up to 650-730 yen. If greek food doesn't suit you then there's a great taco place across the street. Location: [tag]Omotesando[/tag]/[tag]Harajuku[/tag] plus another shop in [tag]Roppongi[/tag] Style: [tag]Greek[/tag] Service: Slow, but friendly Tabacoo: [tag]Smoking permitted[/tag] Atmosphere: [tag]Midrange[/tag] with a view of the street from above; [tag]not romantic[/tag]; Party: 10 person or less [tag]party appropriate[/tag]

13th World Kendo Championships

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Next Saturday Michinoko dojo is participating in the tournament at Noma Dojo behind the Kodansha building. Anticipation for that event hasn't stopped me from getting excited - 6 months in advance - for the World Kendo Championships. This year it's being held in Taipei with matches from December 8th (Fri) through December 10th (Sun). The women's individual and team matches are on Friday while Saturday and Sunday will respectively be used for the men's individual and team matches. Check out the announcement for more information and I hope to see you there. Don't let my overly phalic zoom lens intimidate you. -----

Added ahem functionality

As you may or may not have noticed, this blog is something of a work in progress. Well from now on if you have any feedback that you don't want to leave as a public comment you can send it directly to me. Just click on the mail icon with the word, "Contact" next to it at the top of this page. You'll be presented with an ugly form to submit, which will then send your message on to me. If you want to contact me immediately, but you can't find that little mail icon at the top of the page - maybe you need lasik - then just click here. I hope to hear from you soon. -----

Insomnia Sucks

But at least it get's me out of bed early enough (03:30) for sunrise. It's too bad that the sky was coverd in clouds though. It's been a while since I've woken up for sunrise in Boston, but if my recolection is acurate, the sun comes up much much later there. Anybody got a suggestion for dealing with insomnia? Jeff had it all through college. He didn't deal with it so well: just drank a lot of Mountain Dew and looked for pictures of parasites on the Internet. -----

British Illustrator works in Japanese Manga Style

PingMag has yet another great article up. This time they've interviewed Gez Fry a British animator that went from zero to hero by teaching himself not only how to illustrate at all, but to illustrate in the manga style. He completely switched career paths, focused on what he wanted to do and has achieved incredible success in a short time; gives me hope. At one point in the article he comments on the sorry state of the comic industry in America and even mentions that it doesn't compare to twenty years ago. That's one point for my generation. Haha suckers!

[In America] they have an assembly line to make the comic: 6 different people each in charge of different aspects of the comic, which then often feels a little disjointed. In Japan there is quite a hierarchic system: one boss having a vision and a style telling all his assistants exactly what to draw… which seems to work better for the story in the end.

Anyway, read on for his comments on breaking into the Japanese market; using photoshop for drawing; the state of comics in America and Manga in Japan; as well as character development. http://www.pingmag.jp/2006/06/02/how-japanese-style-illustration-works/ -----

Clearly my writing sucks

Thursday, June 01, 2006

At least my photos appear to be interesting. -----

NYC Kendo Club 30th Annivesary Tournament

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Here I am returned from overseas for the second time this month. This past weekend was a Japanese style (little time and lots to do) trip to New York City for sightseeing and a Kendo Tournament. The NYC Kendo Club celebrated its 30th anniversary by hosting a friendship tournament for paticipants from around the world. Teams from all over the US and Canada sent representatives along with a few teams from Asia and one from Panama. The Asian Samurais (an all Japanese team) sent people from Japan, Thailand and China. Michinoko sent along 12 guys including moi. The community in NYC is certainly going strong. 片岡先生かたおかせんせい started his 道場 with 6 students thirty years ago. On Sunday more than 50 of his students participated bringing the number of attendees up to somewhere north of 250. One of the more entertaining events of the tournament was a 鎖鎌くさりがま demonstration and 試合しあい by 片岡先生 climaxing in a near wrestling match: photos/tags/kusarigama,nyc/. Michinoko dojo sent eleven participants and because teams are made up of five people and I signed up late I was listed as an alternate. Lucky for me one of the members of the Asian Samurais wasn't able to make it, so I ended up on their B team; still the only white face on a Japanese team. The Asian Samurais B team, aside from me, was incredible. I lost every single match, but they owned the competition in their matches. Well, up until we went up against the JCCC team from Toronto, which featured two 5-dan's and a 8-dan. We didn't get our asses handed to us, but we did lose. In addition to the great time I had at the tournament, I got really juiced up hanging out around NYC with the guys from my dojo. It was quite an otherworldly experience translating for 11 guys, especially while being sleep starved. Standing in a maelstrom of Japanese language with non-Japanese speakers nearby lead to quiet a few strange looks and grins. Aside from getting a little more comfortable with competitions my biggest chest puffing accomplishment of the weekend was speaking in Japanese with the completely fluent English speaking Japanese people in NYC. It was quite an ego boost that they chose to speak with me in Japanese rather than English. I'm sure they didn't actually understand a word I was saying though... Anyway, photos from the tournament start here: photos/tags/nyc,tournament,30thanniversary/. Photos of sights and people - mainly from Michinoko dojo - start here: photos/album/72157594150289943/page/8.

I am a Nation State

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

My most memorable classes at Saint Lawrence were the ones in which the prof required us to think analytically about everything including out textbooks. The short paper below sparked a class long discussion questioning our primary text on International Politics. It (my paper) wasn't particularly well writen, but it was fun to have everyone yelling, "you don't really belive this do you" at me. I hadn't had that much fun in class since the time I questioned the existance of Jesus and God during a summer school history class in Northern Virginia. In that case the teacher stopped his, "The Causes of World War I" lecture to allow all the other students to disprove my contention. Anyway, I am a Nation State Nations are entities made up of an arbitrary number of people that recognize a common history, culture, or some other type of shared bond. States are legal entities which recognize no legitimate higher authority. Nationhood and statehood are relative terms. The government of Taiwan asserts that it is a state. The majority of the world does not agree. In order to prove that nationhood and statehood are relative terms, I will prove that I am a nation state. I am a nation state. I recognize a shared history and culture with myself. I do not recognize any other nation as sharing this culture and history. My history is my personal history. Only I grew up in West Virginia with my father. Only I moved to Boston with my mother, etc. No other person, or group of people share this exact history with me. I have my own culture, which is not shared with anyone else. My personal culture is an amalgamation of my beliefs, ethics and behaviors. In my culture, people (me), like to snowboard, play with computers, are agnostic, believe that the government which governs least governs best. Other cultures may share some of my beliefs, ethics and behaviors, but no culture on earth shares them all. There is no one out there that is an exact duplicate of me. I have sovereignty over myself. I do not recognize any higher authority as legitimate. I owe neither allegiance nor obedience to any higher authority. Unfortunately I am not a completely independent state. I am dominated by my neighboring state, the United States. I adhere to its laws and pay its taxes because if I don't I may be invaded by the US. If I chose not to pay the US taxes, that is my right, no one can force me to pay them. I must, however face the consequences of not paying my taxes to the US. If I do not pay, the IRS will attempt to audit me and eventually arrest me. Just as China tried to defend itself from Japanese aggression in the early twentieth century, I will try to defend myself as well. Like China I will probably fail, but the choice to yield will be mine and mine alone. I posses territory. My territory is my body and the space that my body is occupying. There is obviously contention about the latter statement because other states claim the area that I occupy as their own territory. My territory changes with time because I am a nomadic state. When I move from one area to the next, the area that I previously occupied becomes the territory of another state, usually the United States. As I occupy new territory I claim it as my own. Therefore when I travel to Ottawa the land that I occupy along the way is claimed by the Canadian government. I however make the contention that I own the land that I am standing on. In order for another state to claim it as their own they must remove me from said land. The same thing is true for other larger states around the world. Throughout history land which has been claimed by one state has been taken away from it by another more powerful state. A group of people calling themselves the Tibetan government claim an area of land on the Asian continent as their own. The more powerful PRC claims that land as its own. The Mongolian government also claims land in Asia. During World War II a large part of that land was taken away by the Soviet Union and the PRC. Any large state can remove me from the area that I posses, but no state on earth can take my body away from me without killing me. I, therefore, posses territory, my body and the area of land which it occupies at any given moment. My state has a population of one. In order for a state or nation to exist it must have population. Rourke fails to give a minimum number which qualifies a population as a state or nation. There is one person in my state, me. It is possible that other people could join my state if they wanted to and I allowed it. My state would, however, probably cease to be a nation state at that point. I am diplomaticaly recognized by other countries. My friend Tim recognizes that I am a nation state, and I recognize that he is also a nation state. Just because the US, Canada, UK, etc. don't recognize me does not mean that I am not a state. Taiwan is not recognized by the majority of countries around the world, but its people still claim sovereignty and independence. States must have an internal organization, and my state is not an exception to this rule. Internally there is a structure to my decision making process. When I am faced with a problem there is an internal process which dictates how I will decide to combat my problem. I will consult my history in order to find similar problems which I faced in the past. I will then consult my ethics and logical imperatives in order to make a decision. There is clearly an internal organization to my decision making process. All members of my state are consulted in the decision making process. There may not be many members of my state, but they are all consulted. I most definitely have domestic support. I am loyal to myself, and I will support any decisions that I make. I grant myself legitimacy to make decisions which affect myself. I have satisfied all of Rourke's criteria for statehood. I therefore conclude that I am a state. Statehood and nationhood are totally relative terms and are therefore always changing. Discussing the international political system by examining state interaction is therefore flawed. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in World Politics -----

Shibuya Spring 2006 Juniors Tournament

Monday, May 22, 2006

Yesterday I spent the morning and a good bit of the afternoon at the Shibuya sports center. This time I wasn't competing; that comes next week in NYC. Michinoko dojo sent around ten juniors to the tournament and had a pretty good showing, highlighted by one of 永島先生's daughters placing second in her division. Followed closely in accomplishment by 平本先生 making it through his ordeal as a judge with no blemishes other than the sweat stain on his lower back. One of the most exiciting moments came when an unevenly matched kid scored a do strike with little or no warning. Take a look at the pictures here: photos/album/72057594140871434/

Mustone: East Shibuya Art - Monsters

Saturday, May 20, 2006

So I found Mustone's exhibit out next to the Ginza tracks in Shibuya. It's a long wall with several subjects including cats and rabbits in addition to the monsters. Take a look at the rest: http://www.simulacre.org/wordpress/photos/tags/mustone/. -----

Japanese tagger Mustone uses monsters as primary subject

Earlier this year he had a traditional exhibit in Shibuya at the Nanzuka Underground gallery with other nearby publicly displayed works. The article in Ping Mag also discusses live performances i.e. drawing on large canvases for an audience. Apparently he's modfied the format a bit by having a second artist color the drawing in realtime. This, along with drawing to music, apparently keeps the audience interested enough to stay through the entire exhibition. Other points of interest are a comparison between oil chalk and traditional tagger tools. The article in PingMag: http://www.pingmag.jp/2006/05/19/mustone/ Mustone's website with upcoming event information: http://x3x.tc/mustone/ -----

Kendo Tournament: NYC Kendo Club

Friday, May 19, 2006

I'll be back in the US for a few days at the end of the month and hopefully not make a fool of myself too often. If you're in town and want to see how poorly I've progressed give me a call or shoot me a mail. New York City Kendo Club 30th Anniversary Friendship Tournament Date: Sunday, May 28th, 2006 Location: John Jay College of Criminal Justice The City University of New York 899 Tenth Avenue (b/t West 58th & 59th Streets) New York, NY 10019 click here for more info... (PDF file) -----

Japanese and Crowd Behavior

Am I crazy? Am I just a jackass or do Japanese people - at least in Tokyo - tend to behave like a pack of mentally deficients when walking in public? I just don't get it. You're walking down the street. If you're on a sidewalk then there are piles of bikes or other Tokyo-natural obstructions on one side and buildings housing retailers on the other. In front of you is an ocean of people. At least once a day one of those nameless people in front of you will suddenly stop where in their tracks, reverse direction (into you), shuffle from one side of the sidewalk to the other and back again, or otherwise act as if there couldn't possibly be a crowd of people behind, in front and next to them. As if there is no danger anywhere they walk; as if there isn't even the slightest possibility that a bicycle could be bearing down on the air gap between the shuffler and building to their right; as if that car crossing their path is just a figment of everyone else's imagination. I can't count the number of times I've been cut off by someone exiting a shop without bothering to look in any direction except for directly ahead of their feet. One of my mates could go on for 30 minutes on this subject. We debated why people in this country seem to behave so inconsideratly in crowds when they seem so much more considerate than other peoples in one-on-one situations. The text book reason popped into my head, "In crowds they are invisible from the standard heirarchy, so they use it as a release and behave badly". He had a much more insightful take on it: they're super polite on the surface and non-confrontational with strangers, so when someone behaves badly in public they just suck it up and move on. No one smacks the idiot over the head and tells them that they've just acted like a twit. This legitimizes their behavior and allows it to proceed. Is he right? Are we both correctly noticing this type of behavior? I've seen people behave like this in Boston, but it doesn't seem nearly as prominent. Is that just because I walk or ride a bike to get from A to B in Tokyo, where as I would drive in Boston?

Cobwebs

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

If you stink at 剣道, like me, or you've been away from 稽古 from a while, sometimes you can get stuck in a feedback loop with your 元断ちもとだち. You'll attack and end up in not quite つばぜりあ. The next thing you know he's hitting you over the head over an over again. The problem is that he's wicked close to you, but everytime you back up to get more room he hit's you again and again and again. Soon you're just kind of swinging the 竹刀 around without much affect other than you getting hit more. Well, apparently the problem is that your 竹刀 is too much to either side and it needs to be in the center. Don't shift it when you see an attack coming, just keep it firmly in the center and respond with 引き技ひきわざ. Other Cobwebs:

Getting timing back after a long break can be a bit difficult. Today I found that when I was put through a fast paced 掛かり稽古かかりげいこ I stopped thinking about timing and it mostly came back to me.

Don't forget to scare the ever loving shit out of your opponent. When you go after them crash into them and keep your arms up and firm. Imagine that they are a brick wall and you need to break through them.

Everything needs to flow...

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Noma 道場

Sunday, May 14, 2006

http://www.kodansha.co.jp/dojo/noma_dojo.html Behind the Kodansha building (東京都文京区音羽2-12-21) Get off at 護国寺駅ごこくじえき , use south exit 6. Don't forget to sign-in and bow. If you're coming from 表参道 it'll take about a 19 minutes by train using the 半蔵門線, with a switch at 永田町 onto the 有楽町線.

	6:11発	表参道	地図 \| 時刻表 \| 乗車位置


△6:15着	6:19発	永田町	地図 \| 時刻表


△6:30着		護国寺	地図 \| 出口

Practice starts at 07:00 and runs for 1 hour. After the hour expect a 30 minute lecture; at least on the weekends. Update: after walking up the stairs for exit six you're deposited on the street. Continue walking straight down the street past the 講談社こだんしゃ building and the fire house; both of which are on your right. At the next intersection take a right and begin walking up the hill. A full fledged sidewalk is on the left side of the street. As you walk up the hill you'll eventually see a thin, but long non-descript driveway on the right side running perpendicular to the street. Walk up the driveway until it opens up on a parking lot. Immediately on your right you'll see a shrine that is facing down the hill. The entrance for the dojo is on the left and in front of the shrine. Before entering the dojo bow to the shrine; turn, face the dojo entrance and bow. After enter, take off your shoes and put them in the shoe rack. Move to the steps and bow to the dojo again. Climb the steps and sign in on the guest sheet (it's the one that asks for your address). There are changing rooms on your right, but I go down the left and change in the area where people hang their dogi and hakama. On your way to this area, which is at the end of the building, make sure to turn and bow to the front of the dojo through the doors that are on your right before you turn. At 07:00 the drum will be rung followed by meditation. Once meditation ends, go through the normal, "thank you" for the 先生s and quickly put on your 面. The pounding of the drum, otherwise complete silence and garden that is visible outside the 道場 during 稽古 sets the stage for one of those, "I'm really in Japan" moments.

A monk walks directly into the throngs - off camera - of tourists

Vietnam and Cambodia Trip Report

Thursday, May 11, 2006

So I got back home on Tuesday morning with a little more and a lot less in tow than I'd had when I left for Vietnam and Cambodia two weeks ago. The extra stuff was not much more than a few shirts, some pictures and about three kilos of dirt. The missing stuff was the contents of my stomach, intestines and about a kilo of body fat.

Aside from the food poisoning, Cambodia was a lot of fun. We stayed in Phnom Penh on the first night at the California 2 Guest House right on the edge of the river. The guest house was crazy with nutty girls and older men that should know better, but the food and beer was great. I haven't seen $0.75 beer since college or great Mexican food since Anna's.

In the afternoon our personal Tuk Tuk driver took us to the S21 prison and the Killing Fields. S21 is a school that was converted into a prison by the Khmer Rouge in '75. In the next four years more than 10,000 men, women and children were passed through S21, to be tortured for long periods, on their way to the Killing Fields. Once the prisoners were released they were bludgeoned to death and buried in mass graves at places like the Killing Fields. Even more disconcerting than the before-and-after pictures of the prisoners were the still partially buried clothes at the Fields.

The government also put many of the skulls on display in a mausoleum like structure at the mouth of the Killing Fields. The skulls are on shelves mostly surrounded by glass at the center of the structure. You could actually touch the skulls if you wanted to ignore the placard requesting that you don't. Apparently some Cambodians believe that the spirits of the dead need to be able to get back to their bones on occasion, so they must not be completely encased, which may explain why it's possible to touch them.

After the fields and S21 we went back to the hotel for lunch; the best tacos I've had in a long time. I'm glad that I had a chance to get Mexican food again, but I regretted it when we took a stroll up the street and found that all the restaurants in the area serve great western food in addition to the Khmer staples.

Anyway, next day we woke up early for our 45 minute flight to Siem Reap. There's not much to say about Siem Reap other than it is clearly growing due to the tourist industry. Five star hotels surrounded by dirt fields and shacks are kind of surreal. We found ourselves a hotel and headed out with our new personal Tuk Tuk driver to explore some temples. Angkor Thom and Angkor Watt were our primary stops for the first day.

What can I say about the temples? Not much as temples don't intrigue me enough to learn the vocabulary that would enable me to analyze them. They were impressive and different from anything temples I've seen before. Each one definitely has an atmosphere of its own.

At the end of the day we ended up on a boat in the middle of the Floating Village, which is apparently occupied by hundreds of immigrant Vietnamese. They seem to make their money from fishing and begging. One woman sent her two naked children out in floating buckets without clothes to request money from passing tourists. Another group of three kids maneuvered their long boat along side ours as we passed and latched on as if they were pirates about to board us. The hung on for a while looking sad and destitute while holding out their hands. The poverty in this area and the shanty town on the bank of the river is apparently horrendous. Strangely enough that didn't stop someone from installing a television in their shack for the rest of the town to use.

Day two took us to a few smaller temples and Ta Prohm (the same temple in the Tomb Raider movie). It also took us to whatever restaurant gave me food poisoning, yummy!

Day three saw me out of bed and the bathroom long enough to catch a flight back to Phnom Penh, into bed at the new hotel and asleep whenever I wasn't driving the porcelain school bus.

So now I'm back, mostly free of illness and ready for my next trip to somewhere with poor sanitary conditions! All in all I enjoyed Cambodia (even the food) more than Vietnam. I would, however, like to go back to Vietnam and explore more than just Hanoi. I imagine that getting off of the tourist track would bring better food and a bit more fun. Well, that's not fair as diving head first off the top of the boat in Halong Bay reminded me a lot of West Virginia (懐かしかった). My entries from Vietnam are here:

My pictures from Vietnam are here: http://www.siulacre.org/.../72057594130548973/

And my pictures from Cambodia are here: http://www.simulacre.org/.../72057594130544830/

The memorial building at the Killing Fields in Cambodia contains the remains of many murdered men, women and children

食中毒

This past Monday was not very fun at all. The day before we explored Ta Prohm and a few other temples interspersed with moments of eating. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I should have selected something else from the menu. Sometime around 01:00 on Monday I woke up and deposited the contents of all my Sunday meals into a plastic bag and the toilet... at the same time. The next 24 hours were spent mostly in or near a bathroom. I wouldn't have left the hotel except we were flying to Phnom Penh that day at 08:00. Yes, I was sick on the plane and in the terminal before getting on the plane.

After returning to Japan I'm still not eating normally, but at least I'm not causing myself more back spasms. Going 36 hours without anything actually in my stomach and intenstines is a disconcerting feeling. I wonder if the abdominal pain is because of that or something else.

It was either the eggs or the shrimp.

-----

Vietnam - Halong Bay

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

On Monday Mark and I, as we have done every day, caught a tour bus. This one was a bit differnet in that we weren't going to return on the same day. We stayed over in Halong Bay for two nights met a bunch of backpackers and drank too much. The first day was utterly forgettable, but yesterday was great. We went for a three hour trek in the jungle and nearly lost every ounce of liquid in our bodies. Everyone, except our guide, looked like they had just come out of a shower. Of course, the smell was something different. Anyway, after that and lunch we headed onto a boat, swam at "Monkey Island", and cruised around the bay during dinner. I fell asleep for about an hour on the top of the boat before stumbling to my bunk. This morning we all woke up at at about 07:00 to a breakfast of bread and butter: yummy. Before lunch we had just enough time to go diving off the top of the boat. All in all Halong Bay was very beautiful, wasn't covered in trash and very relaxing. The real value of the trip was, however, hiking and just getting to relax on the boat. As Mark said, "too much organized fun is exhausting". Pictures to come... -----

Vietnam Day 2 and 3

Sunday, April 30, 2006

So yesterday was our first full day in Vietnam. We took advantage of the great day to get the hell out of the city and into the "country-side". Our hotel arranged a trip to one of the old capitals of Vietnam followed by a 2 hour canoe trip through rice fields. The tour of the capital was what you would expect. A few temples, some open sky, mountains and old ladies pushing water and soda. It was, however, great to breath some fresh air. The canoe trip was a bit more fun in that there weren't as many people pushing junk on us. The canoe that Mark and I rode in was powered by a 54 year old women and her 42 year old friend. The kept us entertained by teaching us a few Vietnamese words and telling us about their daughters that are apparently looking for husbands (go figure). We had relative success with our tour yesterday, so we contracted the same company to take us to the Perfume Pagoda. It's not so much a pagoda as a couple of temples carved into the side of a mountain. Apparently during Tet the place is flooded with about 20,000 Vietnamese that come to pray. Judging by the amount of trash that's been disposed of on the side of the mountain, the number of Vietnamese pseudo-pilgrims must be far larger than 20K. The entire mountain is a vertible garbage dump. The only indication that the Vietnamese even care about keeping their environment pristine are the dilapitated signs urging hikers to dispose of their trash in the designated place. I guess their designate their trash areas with a few starter bottles and bags of junk. There certainly isn't any trash removal going on. Oh well, hopefully Halong Bay will live up to its reputation for beauty. Maybe we'll get lucky and find that it lives down it's reputation for pollution too. Last thought: Japanese tourists seem to be everywhere. I feel kind of guilty listening in on their conversations when they don't know that I understand what they are saying. -----

Vietnam Day 1

Saturday, April 29, 2006

So we made it here just fine in under 24 hours. The Transit Hotel in the Singapore airport is wonderful. It's not nice at all, but there's nothing better then getting a full night sleep and shower while you're layed over for 10 hours. Anyway, we made it through to Hanoi around noon yesterday. The immigration officials were like every other immigration official I've ever seen: the friendliest people on earth. So far we've been stuffing ourselves with food anytime the mood takes us; not really paying attention to meal times. Today should be different. We've had fairly good luck at avoiding the gaijin restaurants, as we've only seen them in and around our hotel. It pays to walk out of the Old Quarter. Transportation here is like most other SE Asian countries. It is clearly and evolution of bicycle culture. Take one two wheeled vehicle and add a motor. The motos outnumber the cars by around a factor of 25 to 1. It is absolute bedlam trying to cross the street. Anyway, pictures to come when I get the chance. -----

Outtie

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Today I continue my tour of Communist countries! -----

Earth Day

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Indians in Japan; who would've thought it? -----

火事

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Pug, him he, saw that there was a need and satisfied the need that was recognized by bringing upon the earth, FIRE! And then Pug, him he, saw that the fire was good and so it was that he placed vitals near the fire until they were warm and tasty. http://www.flickr.com/photos/simulacre/tags/火事/ -----

San Francisco

Monday, April 17, 2006

The 桜前線 hit 東京 exactly the day I left for Boston and departed a few days before I returned. Lucky for me Japan Town in San Francisco has a few trees. -----

Asahidake Videos and Photos from Mayumi

Thursday, March 09, 2006

I grabbed Mayumi's photos and videos today. Take a look and laugh at me behaving poorly. -----

旭岳 Asahidake - powder to the abdomen

Monday, March 06, 2006

I've been snowboarding for about ten years now. I'm by no means an expert. I'm not even very good, but I have been to many of the well known places in the US. Ever since my first winter here in Japan, I've known that the mountains around here offer much better snow than anything in New England and powder that's comparable to Utah and Colorado. The resorts are, however, much more crowded and don't provide a great amount of variety or challenging terrain. The best time I've had up until now was at a mountain a few hours outside of Tokyo during this past New Years Eve. Orimo, Mark and I spent hours among the trees in powder that came up to our shins. We had a great time, but it doesn't hold a candle Asahidake in Hokkaido. Asahidake reaches an elevation of 2,290 meters and is famous for the rare plants and animals that populate it during the summer. In fact, it is much more popular as a hiking mountain than a ski retreat. As a ski mountain it is on par with nothing else that I've ever seen or heard of before. It is a true local's mountain with all of four runs (A,B,C and D) and a single gondola from the base station to just below the summit. On the busiest day of our visit (Saturday) there were maybe 45 skiers and riders on and around the trails. The locals often asked us where we were from; not because there was a gaijin in our group, but because they, the locals, outnumber everyone else by such a wide margin that they simply have to look at your jacket to know if you're an outsider. The entire time I was on the mountain I felt like I was in a friend's backyard. To say that Asahidake is a local mountain doesn't mean that it lacks variety or challenging terrain. On the first day we kept mostly to and around the four courses. During the first run on the second day though, Mayumi, shot straight off the side of B course and headed for what looked like a cliff. Orimo and I followed her to find ourselves in the middle of a powder glade. We spent the rest of the trip away from the courses often waist deep in powder and steaming down the sides of what seemed like seventy-degree cliffs daring avalanches to bury us alive. Avalanche beacons are a must and cheap to rent at the visitor center. Basically Asahidake is backcountry boarding with gondola access rather than helicopters. And oh yes, the amount of snow on the mountain is astounding. Just take a look at these two pictures: 1 and 2. That's the same building from the side, which means that when I took the second one there must have been around ten feet of snow on the ground. I mean the entire first floor of the lodge is just gone... Anyway, I'm not really capable of expressing how insanely incredible our three days of riding in Hokkaido were. All I know is that I wish I were there now. So since you can't be, take a look at: my photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/simulacre/sets/72057594075342681/ Orimo's photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/simulacre/sets/72057594075891531/ Orimo's videos - http://www.dailymotion.com/simulacre/Asahidake+Orimo 教訓　Lessons I learned in Hokkaido: 1. Bring a shovel and snowshoes 2. Don't stop ?3. Mayumi is damn good 4. Use the correct metering or your pictures don't turn out well 5. Go back, Go Back, GO BACK

Rorschach Life

Friday, February 24, 2006

Tell me, what the fuck the point of it all is? Where am I going and where do I want to go. I know that at the moment I'm not really going anywhere, but to a place with a reasonably funded bank account and a typical job. I know that there is something missing and I know what it is. Most people would call it excitement, but that is the wrong way to think of it; at least in my case. What is missing for me is the thing that causes excitement; the thing that comes before excitement. It's called interest. It's called motivation. It's called desire. I get like this every once in a while. Usually after about six months of being around something new. When it takes hold then I just want to get the fuck out. I think that I need to stop being responsible for a while. Actually, I'm already not responsible. I'm already fucking off when I shouldn't. What I need to do is to embrace my irresponsibility. I need to accept it and allow other people to see it. I need to acknowledge it and stop caring if other people notice it. There are a number of ways that I can do that, but the one that I keep coming back to is the most extreme: stop working all together; just pick up and leave. For once in my life just have no plan to keep money coming in an guarantee my safety. I should just pack a bag and get the fuck out. I've been nesting lately and it's getting to me. I came to Japan with a secondary motivation of freeing myself from my things; getting rid of the unecessary stuff. That was a major motivation. It was also a major friction point between Reiko and me. She did the natural thing and started buying baubles for our apartment. I think her taste is pretty childish, but that's not really the point. The point is that she was settling down and trying to establish a life. For most people establishing a life means surrounding yourself with objects. I saw that and I participated in that, but somewhere in the back of my head was that piece of me that moved here to get rid of objects; to stop the cycle of acquisitions, so I was resistant. Then Reiko moved out and I was happy to live in my apartment without a lot of objects, without a lot junk. I was happy to live a bit like a gypsy. I had sold my house in the US along with some of my stuff and stored the rest. Then I packed everything that I wanted to bring into two suite cases and a number of boxes, already to much, and moved over here. She was gone and so was a bunch of her stuff. But then I started feeling lonely. I started having people - mainly girls - over and they started asking questions like, "how can you live like this". I felt like I needed something to occupy me. I needed something that would take up my time the way a girlfriend or wife normally does, so I started adding hobbies. I already had kendo, but I added photography and cycling. Scuba diving has been there on the periphary and now it's coming more into focus. Traveling in general and the associated guidebooks are starting to take up space in my life and my apartment. In short, I'm building up a new pile of junk so that I can attract new people, feel less lonely and less like a loser. That little personality in the back of my head that hates having junk and accumulating stuff is making itself known again in different ways. I'm getting pissed off at people. I'm missing my old friends that live far away. I'm feeling let down and unmotivated at work. I'm feeling angry with myself and questioning my future. I'm considering the most extreme of changes - selling my shit and moving away again - in order to escape again. What I really need to do is recognize the cause of the anger. I've acknowledged it here, but that's not good enough. I need to learn to deal with it. I need to decide what is the best method for that and act upon it. Will another change make any real difference in the long run? Does it even matter if it doesn't make a real long-term change? Maybe life is just supposed to be about going from one major change to another; a string of near 180 degree turns that add up to some ink blot of a life. -----

Grug Lives

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

I just renewed my contract and agreed to stay at KVH for another 12 months. It took not a little bit of introspection to decide to forgo re-establishing my life outside of Japan. Probably the most compelling reason for staying was the notion that if I had left now, many opportunities would have remained behind. Well, this past weekend I took advantage of one of those opportunities by sitting on a plane for seven hours on Friday night in order to meet up with Josh in Thailand. The last time I saw Josh it was August, the temperature was well over a hundred and we were surrounded by fat white people. Las Vegas wasn't much fun, but Thailand sure was. I arrived in Bangkok at about 23:00, met up with Josh and his girlfriend at the airport after a bit of searching for one another. We jumped into a limo and headed into the city. Rather than do the sensible thing and go to his apartment to drop of my stuff, we immediately hit the clubs. I didn't end up in bed and asleep until about 09:00. During that gap of 10 hours we did a little bit of dancing, mingling with lady boys, eating and wandering. The next night was spent pretty much the same as the first and caused me to crash on Sunday night at 20:00 before waking up at 04:00 to get breakfast and head to the airport for my 08:00 flight. So for those that know him, a little information on Josh. He's doing well; has a nice big apartment; loves Thailand and probably won't ever leave for good; has a girlfriend that he enjoys being around; speaks Thai well enough to live on his own after only four months of study; is pretty much nocturnal; knows where to get DVDs for cheap and is basically the same old grug just with less hair. The rest of the pics are here -----

Give me SPAM

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

-----

So good to be home…

Sunday, December 25, 2005

I loved visiting my family and friends in the US for these past two weeks, but I'm so very happy to be home now. All I can say is that ALL japanese food in the US is dissapointing. Anway, Audrey graduated from Prescott college. I showed up and met her and my parents a few days ahead of the graduation so that we could have more time together. We spent most of our time driving around and taking pictures of funny colored rocks. David, Brauna, Bill, Ellen and everyone else showed up a few days later. Pics from Arizona: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/1593033/ Two days after Audrey's graduation I said, "Aloha and Maholo" to everyone and got on my way to Colorado. Tim (different Tim) met me at the airport and we hung out until Tore arrived (10:50P). The next three days were spent in constant mirth and girlie bars with a few minutes of skiing/boarding in between. Pics from Colorado ski trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/1651630/ Well, I really feel like I've left a bit of me back in Arizona and Colorado. It's too bad that my family and friends won't move to Tokyo. -----

Distance

Returned from the US on the 23rd. Good thing too because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to have a video chat with my family on Christmas day. -----

Disney Birthday

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Pictures from our trip to Tokyo Disney for Towa's birthday. http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/1455772/ -----

Smells and Orchards

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Years ago Josh was really into colors. He used to go on about nice blues that he'd see while driving around. He even planned on taking an overdose of viagra because he heard that 1% of the user population would see yellow spots. Increasingly, I find myself into smells the way Josh used to be into colors. If I'm feeling stressed or lonely at work I often sniff my tenugui. Instantly I'm in the dojo and at peace if only for a few seconds. Tonight I grabbed an apple on my way home and for some reason I held it to my nose and inhaled. I haven't be on a fork lift in Ronnie's orchard in West Virginia since I was about 8, but that was were I was suddenly. I could almost feel the temperature drop as if I had just entered a cold storage room filled with crates of apples. I wonder if I'll be able to remember WVa so vividly when/if I make it to 80. -----

Three Good Men

Tonight I had three good men hits. The first was comforting only because my feet were in perfect time with my hands. The next two came against Abe-sensei and were satisfying because they were clean hits that didn't result in a simultaneous strike by him. They took him and me by surprise. It's such a good feeling to accomplish something. Of course they were balanced by my continuing habit of over using my right hand; not using my left at all in fact. I need to come up with some way to utilize my left arm more. I guess if I just keep a loose grip with my right that it will all work out in the end. Actually there were four good men hits. The last was a gift from Nagashima-sensei. He nailed my good on my right side. Why is it that pain can feel so good? When I was young I was scared to death of any pain whatsoever, but as I get older I'm tending to embrace it; even relish it. -----

Do you want to see my pictures from China?

Sunday, September 11, 2005

So I've been in Japan for more than a year and a half and I only just visited another country in Asia this past weekend. Of course, it's a country I've already lived in for a while. Regardless, it was still a good trip. We left and arrived late on Friday night and eventually found our way to the Hyatt, which is out on the fourth ring. Location could have been better, but cheap taxis made rather unimportant. On Saturday we toured the Ming Tombs (pointless), a jade shop (tourist trap) and the Great Wall (always hilarious). The Ming Tomb number 13? contained nothing but a hole in the floor and a bunch of red boxes. The highlight was watching Mark dealing with a middle aged women trying to sell him her 16 year old daughter. Our tour guide took (hijacked) us to a nearby jade shop that charged international prices. I got the sales women to cut the price of Reiko's omiyage in half, but I know that I still paid at least 4 times what I should have. The wall was, the wall. We got out to one of the non-restored sections, but found that it was walled off. Apparently the government doesn't want people on it anymore. Every ten feet we were bombarded with hawkers pushing junk. Mark got a Chinese Rolex for about 11 dollars and we all bought little red books for about 3 bucks. The woman selling them was hilarious and insisted on having me repeat her favorite sections back to her in Chinese. On our way back down she demanded that I recall them from memory. I failed. I had a great time with the language. First thing is that my Chinese vocabulary sucks. I seriously doubt it was ever any good, but a lot of words did come back to me. During conversations I recognized/rememberd a lot of words as people used them. Even more strangely I naturally and correctly used words that I didn't remember until after I had used them. One very annoying thing was mixing Japanese up with Chinese. I couldn't ever fully switch out of Japanese. Every time I spoke to someone Japanese words would be interspersed with the Chinese. People didn't seem to mind or notice too much. That probably means that they simply didn't understand me at all. Anyway, when I got back to Tokyo on Monday I found myself a lot more confident with Japanese. It still isn't as natural as my crappy Chinese, but I'm making progress. I've got to stop working in English. On Sunday we ditched the tour guide and went to the Forbidden City. I didn't get a chance to visit the City my first time in Beijing because of a discontented stomach. I didn't much. If you've seen one temple you really have seen them all and the Forbidden City just feels like one enormous temple. Afterwards we walked around a bit and eventually had Beijing Duck for dinner. Louis and Mark continued on to Tienanmen, but went back to the hotel and eventually got a little bit of sleep before we took off on Monday morning for the airport. It was a quick visit, but well worth the time and money. And oh yeah, a lot of Beijing really has changed. Lots more nice cars and fewer bicycles. You can still find a lot of streets that appear to be perpetually under construction, but they seem few and far between. Anyway, here are my pictures from China: Ming Tombs - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/892930/ Jade Workshop - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/892922/ The Great Wall - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/892910/ The Forbidden City - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/892864/ Beijing Buildings - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/892839/ Random Shots - http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/892944/ -----

Unbeknownst

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

I'd like to say that people do strange things when they don't know that they are being photographed, but something tells me that these two would be even more outlandish if they were posing. I can say that even though I have no skill to speak of, the D70s takes damn fine pictures. Now all I need is that 4GB card. -----

稽古

Thursday, August 25, 2005

There's a typhoon dumping tons of water on Tokyo and I decide to go to keiko. What the heck is wrong with me. I get there and I'm the only one in the dojo, so I decide to suburi for a while. Well a few people were downstairs deciding what to do and when the heard me their decision was made. A near hour of continuous keiko ensued. I haven't done significant keiko in two months. My arms are about to fall off yet still I can type? On the plus side it feels good and I'm reminded of how much it hurt when I first started kendo last year. Of course the mame on the bottom of my feet are going to explode sometime tomorrow and I'll be a hobbling wreck. What makes me think I'm going to go to Shiohama tomorrow? Read lots of walking, or in my case feet shuffling. -----

震度６

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Longest and strongest earquake so far, yet all is fine. -----

富士登山「２」

More pictures from Mt. Fuji: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/761372/ -----

富士登山

Monday, August 15, 2005

I've been in Japan for 19 months or so now and I only just climbed Mt. Fuji this past weekend. We got absolutely drenched when the spikets turned opened up on Saturday afternoon. Lucky for us we were able to crash in a dorm at station 8. It's meant for grabbing a few hours sleep, but the close quarters, uncomfortable slave ship like decks and loud neighbors kept me awake until the 02:00 departure hour. Lucky for us the rain gave up and never returned on Sunday, so we had a spectacular view of the sunrise and 雲海 on our way up to the peak.

It was long and arduous (probably the toughest hike I've been on) but it was well worth it. I hobbled away with even greater admiration for Tim's Appilachian Trail adventure.

Anyway, take a look at the pictures I took along the way. http://www.flickr.com/photos/87871204@N00/sets/757635/ -----

Boston and Tokyo

Monday, August 08, 2005

I've been struggling with your question regarding the difference between Boston and Tokyo. I guess you are referring to atmosphere which would be comprised of architecture, historic connections, people's demeanor and other intangibles. As far as architecture is concerned Tokyo and Boston are almost completely different. They are similar in that any fauna in the downtown area is isolated in parks. Otherwise there is very little space in between building in Tokyo. There are high-rises everywhere you look and the funny thing is that even the short building (less than 9 stories) contain shops on almost every floor. When you are walking down the street looking for some place to eat you need to keep looking up. When I first moved here I missed a lot of good places because I kept looking at street level or below. Tokyo, obviously, has a lot of connections to history. The Alias, however, bombed the city to dust, so most of the buildings are relatively new and anything that looks old is probably a rebuild. There are lots of historically important temples and of course anything used by the Imperial household is well connected to the history of Japan. In regards to people�s demeanor, the Japanese are everything you expect when you read about the sociology of the country. They are very kind and conscientious of their friends and acquaintances, but they are downright rude to strangers. The customer service is on the face great, but if you need anything out of the ordinary it is atrocious. In contrast to nearly the whole of Las Vegas and some areas of Boston I feel safe just about anywhere I go. If you feel claustrophobic in crowds, never come to Tokyo. If you can�t stand 40 degree heat with oppressive humidity, don�t come to Tokyo. If you love food and are willing to experiment, but can live without buffalo wings and great bagels, never leave Tokyo. If traffic jams make your blood boil, never come to Tokyo. -----

適当な表現

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

So I'm in the US on a business trip until this Thursday. Ever since I arrived I've been craving basic no frills Japanese food. It was impossible to find in Las Vegas, so I was really looking forward to going to Porter Square yesterday. I wasn't disappointed. I had lunch at the usual place; Cafe Mami, but not in the usual way. This time, unlike 2 years ago, I was used to hearing and using Japanese. I ordered in Japanese and said thing to the waitress in Japanese without noticing or really intending to. It's not exactly a great feeling, but I guess it is satisfying. Anyway, as I was leaving I said goodbye in the standard fashion without much thinking about it. One of the staff was surprised and giggled a bit. I noticed it and suddenly felt self-conscious. All of a sudden all my feelings of progress evaporated. I was suddenly nervous and wondering if I had made mistake. It was the same feeling I have in Japan in irregular situations. I'm sure I know how to get my point across, but I'm not sure which words or phrases are the most appropriate for the situation. It's a problem of culture not of language if you can actually separate the two. Anyway, I didn't make a mistake it was the correct thing to say in that situation. She just didn't expect to hear it from me. My chiropractor back in Tokyo has told me on occasion that he's been amused with me when hearing me speak very simple and regularly used phrases, without looking at me he's mistaken me for a Japanese person. I wish I could feel like this is a sign of progress, but the phrases are so simple that if I couldn't pronounce them correctly by now, I may as well just give up entirely. -----

Forgetting it all

Monday, July 11, 2005

The human brain can't think of two thoughts at the same time, so the fight is a place where you can lose yourself. -----

Amazing, but true�

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

I’d heard about it, but I always assumed it was bullshit, or rare at least. The idea that people that come from two different cultures can have trouble getting along, or feel animosity towards one another because of a communication failure. They even acknowledge that the problem was a translation mistake, but they still feel angry and upset. They put the onus on the other person by complaining that the other person should have understood them. They even go so far as to say that the other person isn’t trying to understand them. Now I sometimes feel this way when I’m speaking in Japanese. I feel like the Japanese person that is listening to me isn’t trying very hard to understand what I’m trying to say. Getting angry at a Japanese person for not understanding my English is a far different matter though. -----

Lost

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Tim is a long way from home. And I hope he doesn't break a leg. -----

One toe in it…

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

I don?t feel any more tired at 27 than I did at 21, but I definitely feel closer to the grave. It must be that once the new things become old you start to feel old yourself. Complacency is evil. Comfort is a prison. -----

It’s the little things

Monday, June 13, 2005

All of a sudden, even more than buffalo wings, I miss boxes of take-out chinese food. -----

Candor

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Why is it that some people will disclose their financial details at the drop of a hat? Are they bragging? Are Americans prone to this behavior? And why does Safari keep switching focus to the tabs that are loading?! -----

Happy me

Best day of the week because I get to hear the last two innings of the red sox game via my computer. For free! I can almost feel the leather seat of my car under my ass. It's as if Boston is out my window. -----

擬音語。。。

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

The Sound Symbolic System of Japanese: Studies in Japanese Linguistics, Vol. 10 The book bridges a theoretical gap by identifying linguistic properties among an extensive body of Japanese sound-symbolic expressions commonly known as giongo/gitaigo/giseigo mimetic words. It also demonstrates that some of these properties are significant not only from a synchronic perspective but also from a diachronic perspective. http://www.gwu.edu/~eall/faculty/hamano.htm --- Exploring Creative Uses of Japanese Onomatopoeia http://www.sedl.org/loteced/scenarios/japanese_onomatopeia... --- Japanese Sound effects and what they mean http://www.oop-ack.com/manga/soundfx.html --- Japanese mimetics are usually grouped under the generic heading of giongo. There are basically two classifications. The first one, frequent especially in more traditional approaches in Japanese linguistics but accepted also in more recent works (eg Maynard 1991: 175) classifies mimetics into giseigo "phonomimes" and gitaigo "phenomimes". This classification parallels another approach in terms of sound symbolic words divided into onomatopoeia and ideophones (see, for instance, Mester and It� 1989: 267, Tsujimura 1996: 93). I would include here: Teramura (1991: 283), Kindaichi (1991: 166), who also distinguish two classes although they do not use any cover term and refer to "phonomimes" with giongo; McClain (1981: 202) and Izumi (1990), who distinguish giseigo and gitaigo; Makino and Tsutsui (1986: 50), who distinguish giseigo and gitaigo but who translate gitaigo as "phenomimes" or "psychomimes". A more refined approach is exemplified by Shibatani (1990: 153-154) who identifies three classes of sound-symbolic expressions: giseigo, gitaigo and gijogo "psychomimes". Giseigo are defined as "conventionalized mimetic expressions of natural sounds": wan-wan "bow-wow"; gitaigo are said to depict "states, conditions or manners of the external world": yobo-yobo "wobbly" while gijogo symbolize "mental conditions or sensations": zuki-zuki "throbbingly". Not surprisingly, as with all classifications there are also borderline cases such as kan-kan "ding-dong", ie a giseigo, or, when added to the verb okoru "get angry", a gijogo (for many such examples see McClain 1981: 202-207). Morphologically, many giseigo typically involve reduplication while many gitaigo have the ending -ri. Syntactically, mimetics function more often than not as adverbs (usually with the particle to or ni) as in niko-niko to warau "smile", yobo-yobo ni naru "become wobbly"; much less frequently, mimetics may function as noun modifiers (with no or na) as in pika-pika no kutsu "shiny shoe" or as predicates (compunding with the verb suru or the copula da): zuki-zuki suru "ache throbbingly", nuru-nuru da "be slippery". Let me note, in passing, that since in most cases mimetics function syntactically as adverbs, some authors overlook other uses. Thus Makino and Tsutsui and Makino (1986: 50) explicitly state that "each sound symbolism is an adverb associated with a specific verb" while Poser (1990: 94) writes that "mimetics are usually treated as adverbs". We have already noticed the existence of some disagreement with respect to the classes of mimetics as well as some rather hasty generalizations. However, it seems to me that they pose no serious problems and that one can safely conclude that approaches to the classification, morphology and syntax of Japanese mimetics are essentially similar. A rather different picture emerges when we turn to discussions of the place of mimetics within the overall phonology of Japanese, which reflect, to a fairly large extent, a certain bias. A number of authors tend to stress the necessity of assigning a 'unique'status to mimetics. A tentative list would have to include, among others: Kuroda (1965: 205-206); McCawley (1968: 62-75), who even suggests a total partitioning of the Japanese lexicon based on four features, [Yamato] ie the native stratum, [Sino_Japanese], [Mimetic] and [Foreign]; Shibatani (1990: 163), who also insists on reference "to the four lexical strata of the Japanese vocabulary"; Poser (1990: 94), who writes that "[m]imetics have a number of properties that distinguish them from ordinary words" and Tsujimura (1996: 147), who says that "[m]imetics [�] have their own properties that make them separate from other types of morphemes". I do not intend to entirely refute the idea that the Japanese lexicon has indeed a stratified structure since there do exist various types of phonological characteristics and constraints that are stratum specific and hold of a particular morpheme class. Thus, the voicing restriction allowing a single voiced obstruent per morpheme (the so-called Lyman's law) holds of the Yamato stratum: futa "lid", fuda "sign", buta "pig" but *buda (It� and Mester 1986: 55, It� and Mester 1995: 819). Sino-Japanese stems (see It� and Mester 1996) must be (underlyingly) monosyllabic: |root| = s, where s: syllable (It� and Mester 1995: 819). Mimetics have a bimoraic canonical shape (Mester and It� 1989: 267) which is the minimal word in Japanese, ie of one bimoraic foot (see Poser 1990: 94, It� 1991, It� and Mester 1995: 819): |root| = minwd = F (= ��), where minwd: minimal word, F: foot and �: mora. http://www.opensys.ro/rjjs/nhtml/frameset1.html --- cat - nyaao ; (purring) gorogoro dog - wan-wan ; (growling) uuuu mouse - chuu-chuu horse - hi-hiin cow - moo sheep - mee-mee pig - buu-buu chicken - (clucking) kokkokko rooster crowing - kokekokkoo duck - gaa-gaa sparrow - chun-chun owl - hoo-hoo fox - kon-kon elephant - paoon monkey - kyakkyaa --- Giseigo karikari: crispy garigari: crunchy gyugyu: squeak; creak guigui: gulp down kusukusu: giggle; snicker guzuguzu: complain; grumble korokoro: rolling over and over zakuzaku: walking on gravel or similar surface jabujabu: splash and play in water janjan: clang-clang; a jangling sound dondon: beating (drums); heavy rainfall batabata: flap; to bustle about bishobisho: drizzle; soaked pichapicha: water lapping against a shore or object berabera: chatter; jabber potsupotsu: (rain) falling in drops Gitaigo iraira: to be impatient gyugyu: to squeeze; pack guragura: loose, as in a loose tooth gungun: steadily sakusaku: a light crispness sarasara: light; smooth; dry zarazara: rough, like dry skin or sandpaper sansan: to shine brilliantly jimejime: damp; wet; moist soyosoyo: gently; softly sowasowa: to be restless tsuntsun: to be stuck-up; stiff-mannered dokidoki: nervousness; a fast heartbeat nukunuku: warmly; snugly; comfortably hakihaki: quick; smart; brisk harahara: to be in suspense; thrilling bishibishi: severely; rigorously pichipichi: lively pyonpyon: hop; skip along hirahira: flutter hirihiri: smart; tingle; burn piripiri: to be on edge; testy furafura: to feel dizzy or light-headed fuwafuwa: light; soft betabeta: to feel sticky perapera: fluently hokahoka: warm botsubotsu: gradually hodohodo: in moderation mukamuka: to feel sick; be disgusted meramera: go up in flames meromero: to be terribly upset wakuwaku: to be excited --- achi kochi here and there ban ban plenty bari bari the sound of tearing (e.g., paper), also used to describe being very busy. bara bara scattered basa basa unkempt hair bashi bashi the sound of smacking someone on the head bera bera chatting, rattling bichi bichi flopping, smacking bishi the sound of coming to attention, coming together, or getting into the proper order boin boin a well-endowed woman boki boki cracking a twig or one's knuckles bo bo the sound of a fire burning boko boko the sound of hitting something (someone) hard. boro boro the sound of a large object (like a barrel) rolling; also ragtag, or worn out bura bura staggering around busu busu the sound of stabbing butsu butsu mumbling, whispering chika chika flickering light (see pika pika) eyes tired from too much computer or TV chaku chaku steadily choko choko always moving around, toddling deko bako bumpy doki doki the sound of a heart beating fast from excitement (at one time Megumi Hayashibara had a radio program called ``Doki Doki Station'') don don building up of events, progression of events, little by little dosun the sound of something falling with a thud dosun dosun the sound of stomping fusa fusa a full and attractive head of hair fuwa fuwa fluffy, but also cozy, pleasant gaku gaku knees shaking in fear gara gara almost empty gari gari the sound of grinding or scraping gasa gasa dry, rough skin the sound of leaves or papers rustling gata gata trembling with cold (humans) vibrations gatsu gatsu hungrily, voraciously gaya gaya crowded gera gera loud laughter gero gero ``ribbit'' --- the sound a frog makes (in Card Captor Sakura a pun on gero gero is applied to Kero-chan's name) giri giri just barely, just in time, ``by the skin of one's teeth'' gito gito being oily gocha gocha the state of disorder common to apartments nagging gohhon the sound of someone sneezing goro goro (boro boro/poro poro) to laze about, the sound of an upset stomach, the loud rumble of lightning or an avalanche goshi goshi the sound of washing clothes vigorously by hand gucha gucha soft and wet, an awful mess guru guru going around and around in circles guzu guzu lazily, slowly guu guu the sound of snoring; also the sound of stomach rumbles gyaa gyaa the sound of a tantrum hara hara heart going pit a-pat, nervousness (see doki doki). The sound made when one is swaying, about to faint. hou bou here and there (everywhere) iki iki vividly ira ira the state of being frustrated iro iro this and that, variety, variously. iyo iyo more and more (at last) jime jime clamminess jiku jiku oozing jiro jiro to stare kacha kacha/kata kata the sound of small things clattering kan kan very angry kara kara very dry kari kari the sound of someone scratching their head in puzzlement kera kera/keta keta laughter kira kira glitter and sparkle kokekokko cock-a-doodle-doo kowa kowa From kowai, scared. An expression of being scared. kusu kusu giggling kuyo kuyo worry about, mope, brood kyoro kyoro looking around restlessly mago mago confused masu masu more or less, increasing mecha mecha messed up, illogical, unreasonable meki meki the state of making rapid progress mera mera the sound/state of a fire blazing up meso meso sobbing, sniffling miin miin cicada mishi mishi the sound of creaking mogu mogu the sound of eating (perhaps the source of the name of the character Mogglemoggle in Dokkoidar, or at least the source of one of the ways his superior mis-remembers his name). mori mori doing something willlingly moto moto originally, by nature, from the start mou mou the sound a cow makes muka muka a sound someone makes when they are disgusted niko niko smiling nita nita smirking niya niya grinning nyao the sound a cat makes pachi pachi clapping hands paku paku eat in big mouth fulls, take big bites pan pan pounding (see pon pon); also, a full stomach pecha kucha chattering peko peko to be very hungry pera pera fluent in a language (pera pera appears in a joke in Azumanga Daioh: a foreigner approaches Nyamo-sensei and Yukari-sensei and tries to talk to them. His speech consists solely of "Pera pera" repeated over and over again). pero pero licking (e.g., lollipops). Perhaps the origin of the name of the Miyazawa dog in Kare Kano? pichi pichi the state of being young, fresh, vigorous pii pii pii whining, puling (also used to describe bird-song) pika pika glitter, twinkle (spic and span) piku piku twitching piyo piyo chirping of small birds pocha pocha splash in water poka poka the state of being nice and warm pon pon the sound of drumming. The Takahata film ``Pon Poko'' is named after the sound that tanuki are said to make by drumming on their rotund stomaches. poro poro (goro goro/boro boro) the sound of small objects (pebbles, raindrops) rolling down. In the title of Takahata's film Omohide poro poro it is memories that roll down like raindrops. potsu potsu the state of small drops falling sporadically pun pun A strong smell. Also an expression of anger, like saying "boo, hiss" (or, I suppose, "This stinks!"). raku raku easily riin the sound/state of someone staring saga saga the state of being sarcastic shiku shiku the sound one makes when crying tama tama unexpectedly teka teka greasy hair ten ten like dots ton ton (pon pon) the sound of someone knocking on the door tsuru tsuru slippery, smoth tsuya tsuya glossy uro uro stumble wai wai noisy exhuberance wan wan the sound a dog makes zuki zuki a painful condition http://web.mit.edu/anime/www/onomatopoeia.html --- bachin-bachin heavy typing Kishida-san baku-baku quickly (eating) Hiromi bara-bara scattered, loose thduggie bari-bari tearing, crunching thduggie becha-becha chattering, prattling, gooey, messy thduggie bera-bera nonstop rapid talking Anna beron-beron very drunk Olivier beta-beta sticky Tsuri-san, Suzuki-san beto-beto gooey Hiromi betsu-betsu separate textbook biri-biri like an electric shock Stef bori-bori hard to the bite Hiromi boro-boro rumpled, scuffed, slightly damaged thduggie bota-bota drip(ping) Santa and her friends boto-boto drip(ping) Santa and her friends bura-bura idly, aimlessly (strolling or walking) Stef, Anna buru-buru shaking, shivering with cold or fear Robert butsu-butsu grumbling, complaining, muttering thduggie byuu-byuu whistling (wind) Ohashi-san chiku-chiku prickling pain Stef choki-choki snipping, cutting Kinjirou, Tsuri-san dan-dan slowly but surely textbook dara-dara lazy, sluggish, prevaricating thduggie doki-doki excited, nervous (esp. in romantic situations) thduggie doku-doku gushingly, profusely thduggie don-don quickly textbook fura-fura meandering, without direction (walking) thduggie, Mishima-san fuwa-fuwa cushy soft thduggie gachi-gachi chattering (of teeth), thinking hard Mieko gara-gara clattering, rattling thduggie gari-gari scratching, clawing thduggie giri-giri just barely thduggie, Stef gisu-gisu strained (atmosphere), thin and bony thduggie goku-goku quickly (drinking, swallowing) Okaasan goro-goro idle, relaxed Stef goro-goro thunder Stef guden-guden dead drunk Olivier's dictionary gun-gun rapidly, smoothly (aircraft, boats) thduggie guru-guru turning round, spiraling Santa and her friends, thduggie gusha-gusha flowing slowly thduggie ? gutsu-gutsu simmering Olivier's dictionary hara-hara uneasy thduggie hiku-hiku sniffing, twitching thduggie hiri-hiri hot, burning feeling (sunburn) Hiromi iro-iro various textbook jan-jan a lot thduggie japan-japan (sic) splashing (water on oneself) Kishida-san jari-jari crunchy, grainy (to the bite) Matsuo-san jiro-jiro (miru) staring, scrutinizing thduggie jori-jori to shave Mieko kachi-kachi ticking (of clock) Hiromi kan-kan (okoru) very (to get very angry) thduggie kara-kara thirsty Hiromi, Okaasan kisu-kisu kissing (duh) thduggie kocho-kocho secret Naito-san kocho-kocho (suru) to tickle Naito-san kori-kori crunchy (e.g. biting on cartilage) thduggie koro-koro rolling (small, round object) Stef kotsu-kotsu clicking (of high heels) Kishida-san kuta-kuta dead tired thduggie masu-masu more and more thduggie mecha-mecha lots, very Chiharu, Nami misu-misu under one's nose thduggie K muki-muki suitability thduggie K muzu-muzu itchy, impatient thduggie naga-naga very long Stef naka-naka hardly thduggie - naka-naka quite, rather Ohashi-san neba-neba sticky, viscous thduggie noro-noro slowly Stef nya-nya cat Nakagawa-san nyoro-nyoro slithering Mishima-san pachi-pachi dripping wet Chiharu, Nami pachi-pachi shutter-snapping Hiromi pachin-pachin small, cute Kishida-san pari-pari crispy (e.g. potato chips) Santa and her friends pasa-pasa dry (hair, cakes, etc.) thduggie, Santa and her friends pata-pata pattering (feet) Hiromi peko-peko very hungry Olivier peko-peko apologize excessively, with bobbing head Hiromi pera-pera fluent(ly) Anna, thduggie pero-pero lapping (like a dog) Hiromi peta-peta pressing repeatedly thduggie ? pichi-pichi fresh, lively thduggie pika-pika bright, flashing, sparkling Stef piri-piri hot (in taste) Stef, Hiromi pocha-pocha elastic (skin) thduggie poto-poto drip(ping) in large drops Santa and her friends potsu-potsu bit by bit, spotty thduggie potsun-potsun first raindrops Hiromi puchi-puchi popping (e.g. ikura, bubble plastic) Nakagawa-san puri-puri angrily thduggie puri-puri smell(ing) strongly thduggie rabu-rabu romantic (love-love) Stef saku-saku crunchy, eating noisily Santa and her friends, Hiromi sara-sara fluently, smoothly flowing thduggie sara-sara dry, squeaky clean thduggie sawa-sawa soft?, patting? thduggie ? shaa-shaa shamelessly, carefree thduggie shari-shari luxurious Naito-san shiba-shiba often, frequently thduggie shibu-shibu reluctantly Hiromi shiku-shiku crying Santa and her friends shito-shito raining Santa and her friends shiwa-shiwa (very) wrinkled thduggie sowa-sowa nervous thduggie sura-sura fast (writing) Hiromi suru-suru (to) nimbly (small animals, etc.) thduggie tabi-tabi often, repeatedly Stef tama-tama occasionally thduggie teku-teku walking, footsteps Kishida-san toku-toku pouring quickly, in gasps thduggie, Mishima-san ton-ton patting shoulder Ohashi-san toro-toro drowsily Stef tsuru-tsuru smooth to the touch Hiromi uro-uro loitering, aimless wandering thduggie uzu-uzu itching to do something thduggie waku-waku nervous, excited, trembling thduggie wan-wan dog Nakagawa-san waza-waza go to the trouble of, expressly, intentionally thduggie zaa-zaa pouring rain, rushing water, white noise Santa and her friends zabuun-zabuun pouring water (on oneself) -- Obviously I have nothing of value to say.

Propagation

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

How do you measure the propagation rate of a virus? http://math.furman.edu/~dcs/book/ -----

Polymorphism

In macro viruses: http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1635 http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1638 Seems like little more than source code obfuscation. Something with which Department of Defense contractors apparently have a lot of experience because they must include source code. Thus ensuring a support contract. I wonder if non-macro based virus polymorphism is more sophisticated. Of course how else would you apply polymorphism to viruses. If they attempt privileage escalation are they still viruses? Basically do viruses use different infection vectors? Questions, questions, questions. Where are the answers? -----

Choosing

Do you do that which is more likely to keep you safe, or do you do that which allows you to become more than what you currently are? How comforting is comfort? -----

いろいろな意味

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Yoroshiku is such a strange word for me because it is used in so many disparate situations. It is often used when a person has volunteered to do something for you in the future. Instead of responding with please or thank you, the word yoroshiku is apparently the appropriate response. Often times when I meet people that know my wife, they will tell me to say yoroshiku to her for them. For some reason I couldn't find a way to glom onto the meaning of the word in this situation, but today I finally figured it out. They are saying, "give my best to your wife". やった！ On a different subject, shishitsu 脂質 is the word for fat. -----

Tunnel Vision

Monday, April 25, 2005

I'm awful at kendo and I'm especially bad at competitions. Yesterday was my fourth individual competition and it was over in less than forty-five seconds. In all of my competitions so far I've scored a total of one point out a possible eight. The thing about it is this; it doesn't matter very much because the feeling I had during those forty-five seconds is almost indescribable and mind altering. The first time I had to fight, I received no warning whatsoever. I showed up to the dojo looking forward to the first day that I would get to wear my men and train like everyone else. That is to say hit other people and be hit too, but in a pseudo slow paced light stress atmosphere. Nothing like an actual tournament fight, which is what I stumbled into. I was like a fish out of water. The men wasn't on correctly. I couldn't see and I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up breaking my shinai on Yoave's head. I lost. I had a little more warning for my second fight during summer camp. I still didn't really know what I was doing, but I managed to score a point. The third fight was crap. I didn't see any of the hits coming and I was trounced by my opponent. Yesterday was pretty much the same, but I noticed a not very subtle difference. Before each of my fights mentioned above, I was nervous and looking for it to be over quickly, but something happened during those fights that I wasn't really aware of until yesterday. Up until the moment I stepped into the ring, I felt awful, completely exhausted and kind of irritated actually. Once I got put my first foot in the ring though, everything went away. I was no longer aware of anything except myself and my opponent. I didn't really see, hear or even realize that other people were in the building let alone around the court. We both yelled at the same moment, but the only evidence of his was that his mouth was open. I heard nothing except my own voice. Anyway I lost, but I felt great. For the next two hours I was bouncing off the walls. I was happy, energetic and friendly. I don't know if it is kendo in particular or just all competitive sports, but that feeling was great and I wish it could be mine more often.

Method for initiating an attack on men, kote or do

Monday, April 04, 2005

An attack toward your opponent should begin and follow the same line the center of the opponent’s body regardless of whether you are attacking men, kote or do. In fact you shouldn't be planning on striking any particular target. The part of the body that you attack should be determined by how your opponent reacts. Raise the shinai above your head and start fumikomi while brining the shinai down along the vertical center line of your opponent's body. Before you bring your foot down, your opponent will react. Depending on the reaction either strike men, kote or do. If your opponent tries to protect their kote, go after their men. Continue to bring the shinai down straight for the men, or make slight trajectory modifications in order to hit either side of the men. If your opponent tries to protect their men or go after yours hit their kote. Make slight trajectory modifications with your right hand so that you will hit your target. If your opponent raises their hands high in the air to strike your men and protects their kote, go after their do. Continue to bring the shinai down in a straight line until the time is right, then cross your right hand over your left, and hit their do with a diagonally downward motion. Use fumikomi and suriashi to follow through their body. -----

Quick men hit during shiai

From chudan no kamae when the time is right, push your shinai forward and slightly up so that it ends up above your opponent's men while executing the beginning of fumikomi. As your right foot comes down to the floor, strike your opponents men. The point is that you shouldn't raise your shinai any higher than is strictly necessary. -----

Method for hitting kote from tsubazeria

While in tsubazeria using a spinning motion, move your left hand up so that the fist of the kote contacts the opponent's right kote. Continue the spinning motion and push their right kote down and away. Once their right kote is exposed, quickly hit it. -----

Snapshots

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

We'll post the videos and professional photos later, but here are a few snap shots to hold you over. 令子's photos of the wedding, dinner before the wedding, Maui trip and Molokai trip. Photo album by Caleb's parents. Photo album by 健 Photo album by 貴子 Photo album by 綾子

Sportsmanship

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Just like sumo a kendo match ends with neither combatant indicating the outcome of the match. Both players move away from the court in the same way. Kendo teaches players to regard victory and defeat as the same once the outcome has been determined. -----

Timing

Friday, February 04, 2005

Torikai sensei is simply an amazing teacher. During keiko many people have told me that I need to improve my timing of my fumikomi and strike, but no one has showed me how. Last night Torikai sensei had me do uchikomi with him. I got through the men portion just fine, or so I thought. He stopped me after my first kote and gave me a little bit of advice about snapping the strike down. I tried again and then he noticed what everyone else eventually notices; my fumikomi timing was off in relation to my shinai strike. Torikai sensei told me that my timing was off and then he demonstrated. First he showed me how it should be done and then he showed me how I did it. His ability to demonstrate both is itself incredible. Next he held down my shinai with his own while I was in kamae and told me to raise and extend my right foot first. As I started to fall forward he let my shinai go free and I slammed it down on his head at exactly the same time that my right foot thunderously slapped the floor. It felt great! Of course you're not supposed to do this in competition or during keiko. If you visibly raise your right foot first then you're going to get hit first. He went on to tell me just remember or imagine my foot coming up first.

grunt

Friday, January 28, 2005

Contrary to popular belief, not all Japanese people study a martial art regularly. Almost everyone has studied a martial art for a year or two in high school, but they appear to study it the same way most people study everything else in high school. That is to say, with little enthusiasm. Because most people don't study a martial art, most people are only slightly familiar with the associated terms like zanshin. I admit it; most foreigners don't know what ramen is let alone zanshin. I am not most foreigners and I am prideful, so I take offense at being treated like an ignorant foreigner. It is particularly irritating when someone implies that I couldn't possibly know what zanshin is yet they themselves don't understand it. I don't expect to be an accepted part of this culture anytime during my life, but I do get pissed off when my progress is not acknowledged or otherwise marginalized.

Today’s notes

Thursday, January 27, 2005

All about 敬語 http://www.jekai.org/entries/aa/00/no/aa00no31.htm --- 一目惚れ（ひとめぼれ） --- SEEMS ../LIKE .../AS IF よう／ように／ような example: この問題はちょっと難しい（むずかしい）ようですね。 example: トニーさんはスーパーマンのような人です。 example: トニーさんはカステラさんのように走ります。（はしる） SO THAT ../IN ORDER TO... Verb (plain) ように example: 雨が入らないように窓を閉めてください。（まど） example: 漢字を覚えるように毎日勉強しなければなりません。（おぼえる） http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/j_gram_summ.html -----

同化の段階

Monday, January 17, 2005

This past Saturday I was reading an article in the latest metropolis regarding remaining an outsider regardless of the amount of time spent in Japan. Most articles about this subject argue that the Japanese intentionally rebuff foreigner's attempts to assimilate in Japan. This article didn't refute that, but instead stated that there was not only nothing wrong with that, but that it was actually good for Japan and in the end good for the foreigner to remain separate. In regards to remaining separate from Japan and the Japanese, I liken his point to the notion that you can never become Japanese and never will be a part of Japanese society as a whole if you are not from Japan therefore, you should stop trying. Once you accept this fact you will stop worrying about assimilating and will then stop feeling hurt about being an outsider and not allowed to take on the persona of an insider. Your life will, on the whole, be better because you will be happier. Ignorance is bliss... As I learn more Japanese and become more comfortable speaking, reading and listening, I've become increasingly irritated whenever I encounter a person that is behaving as a road block to my continued progress. Reiko tells me to dismiss these people and forget about them. That is probably better advice than simply stopping the assimilation and learning process. Dismiss the road blocks, not yourself because contrary to Currie's statements there is no end to the learning process. http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/recent/lastword.asp http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/564/lastword.asp -----

Travels Currencies Spaced Repetition and Development

Server Issues

Everything You Never Knew You Wanted to Know About Me

London Cup Kendo Tournament Team Photos

American Adventure in Calais

When I Was Small

Joey Lives (in Boracay, Phillipines)

55th All Japan Kendo Championship

Last Publishers Tournament at Noma Dojo

France Places First, Second and Third(shared) in the 21st EKC Mens Individual Tournament

21st European Kendo Championship Day 2 - Ladies Individual and Mens Team Tournaments

Germany Wins Ladies Team Division at the 21st European Kendo Championship in Lisbon, Portugal

19th Annual Budo Seminar at the International Budo University

Hip Deep in Powder, Again

個人戦 USA (Yoo) versus Japan (Hojo)

Individual Matches - Korea vs Japan

American Movies in Japan

Agility versus Commitment

Vermont and Depression

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

Who says Japanese People Don’t Drink

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Yakult Swallows vs. Chunichi Dragons

Traveling the World

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Recognizing and Reacting to Bias: Keys to Japanese Conversations

Urban Landscape During the Magic Hour in Minami-Aoyama, Japan

LinkoRama: This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks

団体戦dantaisen Kendo Team Tournaments

Perseverance and Explanations: Two Keys to Japanese Conversations

Second Sighting: Space Invader in Jingumae Shibuya, Japan

30th Publishing Companies Kendo Tournament at Noma Dojo

Photo Galleries are Down

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Classic Grilled Piadina Sandwiches in Tokyo

Choose Your Language: Japanese Conversation Strategies & Tactics

Good Greek lunch food under my nose in Tokyo

13th World Kendo Championships

Added *ahem* functionality

Insomnia Sucks

British Illustrator works in Japanese Manga Style

Clearly my writing sucks

NYC Kendo Club 30th Annivesary Tournament

I am a Nation State

Shibuya Spring 2006 Juniors Tournament

Mustone: East Shibuya Art - Monsters

Japanese tagger Mustone uses monsters as primary subject

Kendo Tournament: NYC Kendo Club

Japanese and Crowd Behavior

Cobwebs

Noma 道場

Vietnam and Cambodia Trip Report

食中毒

Vietnam - Halong Bay

Vietnam Day 2 and 3

Vietnam Day 1

Outtie

Earth Day

火事

San Francisco

Asahidake Videos and Photos from Mayumi

旭岳 Asahidake - powder to the abdomen

Rorschach Life

Grug Lives

Give me SPAM

So good to be home…

Distance

Disney Birthday

Smells and Orchards

Three Good Men

Do you want to see my pictures from China?

Unbeknownst

稽古

震度６

富士登山「２」

富士登山

Boston and Tokyo

適当な表現

Forgetting it all

Amazing, but true�

Added ahem functionality

擬音語。。。