I decided to move the blog to a new location at http://yokohamabrad.wordpress.com/
It has better stats and a cleaner interface that Blogspot.
So once again, all new posts will be at http://yokohamabrad.wordpress.com/
Friday, September 5, 2008
New Blog - Fine Filter
I just started a new blog today called Fine Filter. The slogan is "Awesome shit from the world of entertainment" so if that kinda thing interests you then check it out.
I have a ton of posts ready to go for this blog so I plan on doing another post-marathon tomorrow morning/afternoon.
I've been working on the new blog for hours now and it's time to go to sleep.
Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool
I have a ton of posts ready to go for this blog so I plan on doing another post-marathon tomorrow morning/afternoon.
I've been working on the new blog for hours now and it's time to go to sleep.
Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Second Fireworks - Enoshima
Over the Summer months, hanabi (fireworks), is a very popular pastime in Japan. During Erin's visit we went to two hanabi, one of which was at Enoshima. Fireworks here differ greatly from those that I've seen in America. While most fireworks in the U.S. last for only 15 minutes or so, here they can last for upwards of two hours.
When we first arrived there were so many people that it overloaded the cell phone towers so I wasn't able to get in touch with Rory to find out where to meet. Just as we were about to leave the beach to check the local surf shop, I saw a pirate flag and remembered everyone's obsession with pirates and knew that it had to be the place. As luck would have it, I was right and we were instantly greeted with cool drinks and food.
After several hours of watching fireworks, Tetsu, an old friend from months ago, broke out the guitar and I played a few songs for everybody. At the end of the night, Tetsu gave a speech and then proceeded to lift everyone up in the air. The night concluded with some guy who was too drunk to stand trying to pee completely naked. Good times!
Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool
Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool
Japanese Lingo - それがし
There are plenty of resources online where you can learn "regular" Japanese, so here I decided to let you know about words and phrases that I learned not from any textbook, but during conversations with native Japanese speakers.
それがし, pronounced "So-Ray-Ga-Shi," is how samurai's used to refer to themselves. As cool as it may seem to use the same word for "I" that the samurai's did, often times people won't understand this word because it's so old. Once they do understand it, it probably won't even get a laugh unless you're talking about samurai's at the time.
I learned it from a guy at T.G.I. Friday's during happy hour if that helps paint the picture any better. Whatever...I still think it's pretty cool.
Here's a quick example sentence:
Kanji: それがしは食べたいです。
Hiragana: それがしはたべたいです。
Romaji: Soregashi wa tabetai desu.
English: I wanna eat.
それがし, pronounced "So-Ray-Ga-Shi," is how samurai's used to refer to themselves. As cool as it may seem to use the same word for "I" that the samurai's did, often times people won't understand this word because it's so old. Once they do understand it, it probably won't even get a laugh unless you're talking about samurai's at the time.
I learned it from a guy at T.G.I. Friday's during happy hour if that helps paint the picture any better. Whatever...I still think it's pretty cool.
Here's a quick example sentence:Kanji: それがしは食べたいです。
Hiragana: それがしはたべたいです。
Romaji: Soregashi wa tabetai desu.
English: I wanna eat.
Japanese Music - The Band Apart
From time to time I'll bring you a Japanese musical artist that catches my attention and would probably be worth your time to listen to. For the most part, don't expect many Japanese people to know about these artists since I tend to like some pretty weird and rare music.
I first saw The Band Apart play in Nashville for only $5 at The 5 Spot and it was a great time. Their music is poppy yet intricate and smart. I had the chance to talk to them and try out some of my Japanese skills for the first time after their show and they were really nice people. I found a flyer for one of their shows in Japan recently and the price was a staggering $50-$70.
Here's the video for my favorite song by them called "Still Awake." It's kind of a boring video, but a great song:
Here's the link to their Myspace page.
I first saw The Band Apart play in Nashville for only $5 at The 5 Spot and it was a great time. Their music is poppy yet intricate and smart. I had the chance to talk to them and try out some of my Japanese skills for the first time after their show and they were really nice people. I found a flyer for one of their shows in Japan recently and the price was a staggering $50-$70.
Here's the video for my favorite song by them called "Still Awake." It's kind of a boring video, but a great song:
Here's the link to their Myspace page.
Another Enoshima Day
After a usual day of drinking and swimming at Enoshima beach with Rory, we later met up with Shaun, another teacher from our company. We walked around the beach for awhile and ended up at one of the many bars on the beach for a few minutes. With surprising ease, we were able to talk the bar hustlers down from $7 tequila shots to a mere $3...at which point we drank many.
Rory and I were quickly in the mood to find a party after that, but Shaun went home so we went to the other side of the beach where we rarely go and had a blast. I talked to a group of about 10 girls from Tokyo for awhile and we lit off some fireworks. When Rory came back from wherever he was, we went to hang out with a group of about 15 dudes who were way too excited to have the day off. We later met yet another group of people and drank Sho-Chu for awhile. I left to catch my last train not too long after that, but Rory stayed since he lived in the area.
Here Rory and I are making the "I have no idea what's going on" face:
Rory and I were quickly in the mood to find a party after that, but Shaun went home so we went to the other side of the beach where we rarely go and had a blast. I talked to a group of about 10 girls from Tokyo for awhile and we lit off some fireworks. When Rory came back from wherever he was, we went to hang out with a group of about 15 dudes who were way too excited to have the day off. We later met yet another group of people and drank Sho-Chu for awhile. I left to catch my last train not too long after that, but Rory stayed since he lived in the area.
Here Rory and I are making the "I have no idea what's going on" face:
Volleyball At The Beach
A couple weeks ago Erick, Rory, Nana, Craig, and I decided to play some volleyball at the beach. We rented a ball from somewhere and played for about two hours. It was a great time but for the next two days I was in intense pain since I normally don't do any physical activity of any kind.
As we were playing, one of the major TV networks was shooting a bunch of famous people who I didn't recognize playing volleyball. We had to take pictures of them in secret and were turned away when we tried to get autographs. Apparently, you can see us playing volleyball in the background of several shots and we were in the commercial for the episode for a second! If I remember correctly it aired this past Sunday but I didn't get a chance to see it.
Here's one of the pictures that we managed to get:
We later met up with Kazumi at Free Culture for a couple drinks and went home.
Here's one of the pictures that we managed to get:
We later met up with Kazumi at Free Culture for a couple drinks and went home.
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