Screen capping the excitement

This is how I watched the Packer game today. Coincidentally, it's also how I spent half my work day. If these pictures could capture my emotions in real time, they'd be dripping in sweat and shifty from trying to appear busy and productive. Celebratory pencil twirls and subdued fist pumps for everyone!

Here comes the cold

The National Culture Festival comes to Tokushima. If it weren't for the beautiful fall weather, I'd swear I could hear the sleighbells already...

Movember

As someone who spends a good amount of his time pondering life's more inconsquential questions, I typically prefer not to trouble others with my views on the world's weightier issues and causes. As an example, in the past week I have spent exactly zero minutes thinking about global warming, and approximately 32 minutes convincing myself that the cheese in a ham and cheese sandwich is more complement than equal part. However, every once in a while, a cause comes to my attention that I feel is worth bringing to light.

Enter Movember. Beginning November 1, I will be joining thousands of men around the world in growing a moustache to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer. Throughout the month, I will be posting pictures and updates of both the mo-growing and fundraising efforts of not only myself but also my teammates in Tokushima. In exchange, I ask only two things: 1) you'll humour me by posting your mo styling suggestions in the comments section of this blog, and 2) you'll consider sponsoring my effort by making a donation. While growing a moustache may be funny, certainly the threat of prostate cancer is not. Consider the following:

- Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America.
- In 2007, more than 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 27,000 American men will die from the disease.

To sponsor my Mo and fight against prostate cancer, please go to http://www.movember.com/ex/donate and enter my registration number, which is 78359, and your credit card details. Or you can sponsor me by check made payable to the "Prostate Cancer Foundation," clearly marking the donation as being for my registration number: 78359. Please mail checks to: Prostate Cancer Foundation, Attn: Movember, 1250 Fourth St, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

All donations are made directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, which will use the funds for high-impact research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

So that's it. There will be no fundraising goals or ill-supported testimonials from me, only a sincere invitation to help me support a worthy cause while having a little fun in the process. All you have to do is think about it.

For more information about Movember and prostate cancer, visit www.movember.com.

Anatomy of a sunrise

Mt. Tsurugi, 10.21.07

On deck

Name: 剣山 Tsurugi-san
Elevation: 1954.7 meters
Location: Tokushima, Japan
Range: Shikoku Mountains
Type: upheaval peneplain



See you at the summit.

Why I love Japan - Entry 3

Seriously crazy TV game shows. Nothing in America comes close. Not even Slamball. Need proof? Check out Human Tetris.



Watch and repeat.

The greatest story ever told

If it's possible to recommend a book without actually having read it first, I would suggest taking a long look at Slash: The Autobiography, the forthcoming, umm, autobiography from longtime Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash. With passages such as this one oozing stories with as much subtlety as the book's title and the candid writer constantly finding ways to out-Hunter S. Thompson the late Fear and Loathing author, this might be the greatest rock n' roll biography ever written. Fingers crossed.

*note: Please do not read the excerpt linked above if your name starts with "Grand". Unless, of course, you`re Grandmaster Flash. Then, by all means...

Cont.

Three more from Friday's trip. Big up to the Josei staff for passing these along.


enjoying lunch


a native gets restless


mingling with the locals

Alive in Okayama

If this were a facebook album, it'd probably be called something like "Craziest Day Ever" or "It's the Freakin Weekend Baby," and I would feel compelled to tell you that the photos below suffice as a testament to how exceptionally wild my life is. Instead, I'll just call this Josei School Trip 2007.


Washuzan Highland Brazilian Park


"It's not that I don't appreciate you letting me on
the ride. I really do. It's just that your sketchy
appearance is making me extremely apprehensive."


the infamous Skycycle


serving Rocky Road and Baby Ruths 24/7


either this kid is really good at carnival games,
or he just threw down a whole lot of yen


samba anyone?


good clean Washuzan family fun


not one of my wisest decisions, judging by the rust


it held (beginner's luck)


this is why you go to Washuzan Highland


karaoke on the bus

Lifted from Rolling Stone

HOT INSTRUMENT: Reactable



Last year, Björk saw a YouTube clip of someone playing a strange instrument. The device triggered electronic sounds by moving blocks around on an illuminated table. Entranced, she flew to Paris to meet with the designers of the invention, called the Reactable. "After about thirty minutes, she said, 'I'm taking this one,' " recalls Sergi Jordá, who developed the Reactable with a team at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Jordá couldn't let Björk steal his contraption, since there were only two in the world, but he built one for her tour. Clips of Björk's set at this year's Coachella festival made the Reactable a YouTube sensation, with musician Damian Taylor furiously arranging and rotating the blocks, generating sound waves that come out as buzzes and beeps. "There's no sound on Björk's records that it's imitating," says Taylor, who uses the Reactable to add sonic texture. "It just has a certain je ne sais quoi." Taylor mostly improvises, partly by necessity: "They designed it to be random so it's hard to do the same thing twice." In a year or two, other musicians may be able to try the Reactable themselves: Jordá's team is currently working to make it available in stores. --ROBERT LEVINE

And back

Three days and 185 km later, I'm back home in Tokushima. Despite a couple small mishaps, I enjoyed a wonderful weekend tackling the Shimanami and relaxing in the onsens of Matsuyama. Some day when I make my list of truly awe-inspiring moments in my life, I suspect racing down a mountain with nothing but a cool breeze in my face and a sunset over open seas ahead will have earned its billing. Simply beautiful.

How many majestic views does it take to make a great weekend? Just one, but here's some more anyway.


the dinosaur park


one more bridge


morning in Onomichi


uh oh


victorious

Gone biking

Well, taking off soon to tackle the Shimanami Kaido, one of Japan`s premiere bike routes spanning seven bridges and connecting the main islands of Shikoku and Honshu via Imabari and Onomichi. Back on Monday with pictures and more.

Be good while I`m gone, and please take Max for a walk if he begins to bark. Thanks. Ok. Love you too.

Ben Hjelle?

Starry, starry night...