My 4th of July in Japan
It's been interesting to be in Japan during all the major American holidays, and see what it's like over here. Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Easter were no-shows, Christmas was just an excuse for department store sales and to decorate the town, and New Year's was a blast. Couples do stuff for Valentine's day, but I don't remember what exactly- I think you just buy chocolate for your loved one or something.

That leads up to the Fourth of July, which has become one of my more favorite holidays recently. For obvious reasons it isn't celebrated here, except on military bases. I didn't get on base this time, and we kind of got in trouble for fireworks earlier this year, so options were limited.

What I ended up doing was going to the "tanabata" festival. It has to do with the Milky Way, or something along those lines, but more or less it was thousands of people strolling around, eating Japanese fair food from stalls, and looking at extravagant laterns. Maybe I'll have some pictures up soon. It was pretty cool all around, especially with many people dressed up in yukata (summer kimonos). So, it wasn't exactly patriotic, but I did do something interesting on the Fourth of July this year.

Hope that everyone had a good Independence Day. Drop a line and let me know what you did.

First Summer Movie Post (It's about Time!)
If anyone knows me, they know, among other things, that I enjoy going my fried chicken hot and my beer cold. They also know that I love to see the latest summer blockbuster at the movie theater. Preferably, the more explosions the better. Spiderman 2, even though I only moderately enjoyed the first, looked at it had all the qualifications to be said enjoyable movie blockbuster. And then, lo and behold, I read this from imdb.com:

"Critics seem to agree: Spider-Man 2 (which opens at midnight tonight in most cities) is a marvel. Most of their reviews are packed with apparently shameless hyperbole."

Followed by glowing reviews from about every movie critic under the sun. So, even though we all know movie critics can be douchebags, I'm definitely looking forward to the film now. It hits in Japan July 3rd- movie ticket cost- about $15 bucks! Oh yeah, I'm there.

As an aside, anyone seen Farenheit 9/11 yet?

You are currently using 0 MB (0%) of your 1000 MB.
Cool. I got a gmail account, it's the new thing from Google. The main attraction is, of course, the whole gig you get for storage space. It's still in development, so you can't sign up for it yet. But if I get some invites and you want one, pass a note along in the comments and let me know.

In other news, got a haircut yesterday. It's always fun getting a haircut somewhere when you really can't communicate, and where the styles are different. Well, I guess that's what hats are for, right?

One more thing- just passed the one year anniversary of this blog. It's been quite a year.

Downright Inspiring
Go to cpanthers.com, and click on `Cardiac Cats: 2003 Panthers`, under the headlines section. As long as you are not a Dallas, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Philly, or Jacksonville fan, you will be glad that you did. Awesome.

I Knew It!
It's official- Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world. Read all about it here.

I've heard that salaries are often higher here to compensate for the costs, but of course since I'm not a salaried worker, or any time of worker actually, I don't know. I can't imagine living here to be too fun on the wallet though.

I'll try to draw up a 'most ridiculous' list of costs sometimes, if I can get the time.

Read this- "Mainly, the depreciation of the dollar makes it cheaper to send employees to American cities," said Jackie Barber, a spokeswoman for the survey."

I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of business, but outsourcing to America, that would be interesting.

The list of problems facing NHL
is long, complicated, and will be difficult to solve. Don't hold your breath to see the game anytime soon.

Read it and Weep

In another thing that makes you want to cry, Bill Parcells made an absolutely hilarious joke the other day. But since he said 'no disrespect', well, that makes it alright.
Read the whole sad story here

Hey, Bill, no disrespect, but you're fat and ugly.

In other, happier news, Van Halen Is Back!

Van Halen Reunion Tour Offers Old, New, 'Wacky'

Anytime 'Wacky' is in the headline, you know it's gotta be good.

Web Search Update
According to Lycos, Clay Aiken is now the #1 searched for thing on the internet. I am now speechless.

Another Weather Report
June in the Tokyo area is known as "Tsuyu", or just the Rainy Season. Basically, it rains all the time, and when it isn't raining, it's really muggy out. Guess that's a fair price to pay for a dry, snow-free winter and awesome weather day-in day-out in April and May. Once the rainy season ends in roughly Mid-July, Summer officially begins, and the heat hits in full force, and when we you have to walk and take trains everywhere I can imagine that it will be a lot of fun. Compared to the muggy NC springs and summers, I think I can handle it though.

The Airwaves In Japan
Are filled with a lot of crazy stuff. Japanese radio can be full of Bilingual DJs and eclectic content, and I would say that Japanese TV deserves its reputation.

But, since I need a break from the Japanese language sometime, I listen to the American Forces Radio here in Japan a lot. As you may know, this station (Eagle 810 AM) is broadcast by the United States Army from their bases in the Tokyo area. In general, it's very convinient, broadcasting a good variety of music, as well as news and occasionally sports in English.

One thing that I found surprising at first, although maybe I shouldn't because it is the military, is that during the week, Rush Limbaugh is played in the evenings. I find this surprising, because this is a heavily partisan political show, being broadcast on US- Goverment funded radio stations. There was an article about it here . Now, whether or not you think playing an hour or two of NPR is effective balance is a matter of personal opinion, but at least it contains a veneer of sanity and journalistic integrity. Hey, if it pulls in the ratings, what can you do? Because that's all that matters, right?

Popular in the United States


"Some were seen purchasing NASCAR sunscreen and toothbrushes"


Nascar fans, what can I say? Is this even newsworthy though? It's always interesting how the driver themselves become their own brand, which ties in with their brand sponsor... I'd like to see that, something on the marketing of Nascar drivers. Well, maybe.

In another "WTF" moment, somehow UNC Charlotte's own Clay Aiken is the #4 most searched for item on the web, according to this list here . That's above Britney Spears, Dragonball, Harry Potter, the Atkins Diet, and Pamela Anderson. Of course, the Nick Berg video is #1. Which is just sad. Let the man rest in peace I say.