Rafting

Had a great time rafting on the Yoshino River this weekend and Mike from Happy Raft was cool enough to send some photos my way. Enjoy.


Team Sponge in our trusty vessel


taking the flop


Casey in free-fall


getting a faceful


a bunch of happy rafters

Out of context thinking

Rolling Stone made a grievous error while compiling their list of "The Top 25 Music DVDs of All Time" by failing to include Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Make no mistake, Block Party is first and foremost a concert film, and a damn good one at that. My only regret is that it took me over a year to see it. Go rent it now; it's the feel good movie of this summer and last.

Well, behind this of course.

Lost in translation

I just got a stack of quizzes back today in which I asked the students to write me a small message, in English, at the bottom of their papers. Scattered amongst the pile of "Nice to meet you"s were the following. These are, in descending order, the top 10 student responses from the self-introduction quiz:

10. I love you!!
9. I CAN FLY
8. I can't speak English but I want to good time.
7. Nice to me to.
6. Hello Jeff. I like ice!!
5. Let's fight and good job.
4. I want to go your house!!*heart*
3. Nice jod!
2. You can fry!!*picture of an angel*
1. shank you

Kids just say the darndest things.

Hifana - Wamono

Very sweet video from a killer breakbeats duo out of Tokyo. Best turn the bass up for this one.

Preposterous Dan Brown quote of the week

"The lights over Langdon's head were brighter now, sterile. He was on some kind of examination table. He smelled astringents, strange chemicals. Someone had just given him an injection, and they had removed his clothes.

Definitely not gypsies, he decided in his semiconscious delirium. Aliens, perhaps? Yes, he had heard about things like this. Fortunately these beings would not harm him. All they wanted were his-

'Not on your life!" Langdon sat bolt upright, eyes flying open.

'Attento!' one of the creatures yelled, steadying him. His badge read Dr. Jacobus. He looked remarkably human.

Langdon stammered, 'I...thought..."

'Easy Mr. Langdon. You're in a hospital.'

The fog began to lift. Langdon felt a wave of relief. He hated hospitals, but they certainly beat aliens harvesting his testicles."

hmm...

Holiday

Went south to Kochi over the weekend to get in a little surf and check out some music, art, and waterfalls. Not at all a bad way to spend a three day weekend. Here's some pics.


another day, another first place finish


Sakura, my future wife*


watching the storm roll in


hiking the trail to Mordor

*photo by T. Kaneshiro

What I do on Tuesday nights

es·o·ter·ic
–adjective
1. understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions.

35-13

From an ocean away...

Final Destination 4

Well, I bought the tanuki. A good purchase, I think. Solid.

And on a completely different note, I found out that I'll be headed to Washuzan Highland Brazilian amusement park in Okayama prefecture in October as part of the Josei Junior High School grade 3 class trip. Once the initial word was delivered to me and my confused excitement started to wear, I set off researching in hopes of learning more about the park. My initial search bore little fruit, as the park's site was written exclusively in Japanese (and what makes it a "Brazilian amusement park" is beyond me, other than the fact that there were quite a few out-of-place looking Brazilians in the site's pictures - there for the park opening, no doubt), but that was before I discovered this baby:



Witness The Skycycle, a pedal-powered roller coaster and perhaps simultaneously the greenest and most dangerous coaster on the planet. All was well and I even had a good laugh until a sudden worry popped into my head - "What happens if the two 'cars' in the picture collide with eachother? Surely there must be some sort of emergency brake system." Then I saw the following picture of the carts, and my question was answered.



Some rust, two shaky looking seatbelts, a pink basket, and no brakes in sight. Am I frightened by this ride? Quite frankly, yes I am. But will I go on it? Absolutely. As the saying goes, you only live once, and if the principle of roller coasters holds true that thrills derive from fear, then this one could be a classic. Here's some more pictures.


apparently dubbed "the third corner of fear"


glimpsing Elysium before the fall

*all pictures courtesy of www.treehugger.com

Unfiltered thoughts

Copied straight from my journal:
9.13.07

- Played soccer and basketball this week and the exercise felt GREAT.
- I need to eat better.
- I've been getting these stabbing moments of longing for Kopps burgers and Trader Joe's. I miss hummus.
- Really excited for the next few weekends.
- I'm concerned about my inability to wake up with my alarm. I think I need to get to bed earlier.
- The jellyfish stings (bites?) feel better today. I hope they go away.
- I can't stop watching The Office.
- I should buy that ceramic tanuki. It's only 800 yen.

Preposterous Dan Brown quote of the week

"Langdon's first realization was that the air inside was thinner than he had anticipated. The Vatican, it seemed, took their archives a bit more seriously than most. Langdon fought the gag reflex and relaxed his chest while his pulmonary capillaries dilated. The tightness passed quickly. Enter the Dolphin, he mused, gratified his fifty laps a day were good for something. Breathing more normally now, he looked around the vault. Despite the transparent outer walls, he felt a familiar anxiety. I'm in a box, he thought. A blood red box."

Holy shit.

Chuckleworthy

Jeff sensei: Ok class, repeat after me - Green Bay Packers.
class: GREEN BAY PECKERS!

Sweet

Just a friendly point in the right direction...

The reflective practitioner

Highlights from the first week of teaching:
- the opening ceremony of my school's culture festival, during which a student wearing a spideman mask inexplicably ran through the crowd shouting in random Japanese
- being bum-rushed by four male students who proceeded to pet my arm hair until their teacher asked them to stop
- mistakenly answering "Monkeys. I've always wanted to see one in the wild," when asked by a student in front of the entire school what my favorite anime was
- seeing a Japanese teacher from my school at a karaoke bar and having him shout "We are co-workers!" as he bought me drinks

Never a dull moment.

This is where I live

One month and two days in and starting to put the landing gear down. Every day feels like change and possibility. Don't worry though; I'm still the same guy as I was before. I just know how to say "Where's the toilet?" in Japanese now.

For what it's worth, this is what Tokushima and the surrounding area looks like to me.




downtown


view from my apartment


Kuramoto Eki


Ozaki


friends

Good morning

Shirahama Beach, 9.2.07

Preposterous Dan Brown quote of the week

"Now, despite the contentment in his loins, the Hassassin sensed another appetite growing within him. He had killed last night, killed and mutliated, and for him killing was like heroin...each encounter satisfying only temporarily before increasing his longing for more. The exhilaration had worn off. The craving had returned."