Obama's speech may have been inspirational (and how about that wife!), but it was nothing compared to this illuminating bio piece from The Daily Show:
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Speechless
If someone were to tap into my brain to create a commercial, this is the advert they would come up with. I know I post a lot of crap on here, but I can say without a single shred of irony that this is the single greatest TV spot I have ever seen. No idea how I missed it for so long.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Looking out for truth...
...and for good journalism. From ESPN The Magazine:
A MESSAGE TO THE IOC
by Luke Cyphers
This is rich.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said Usain Bolt overdid it with his celebration following the most remarkable run any sprinter has ever had.
"That's not the way we perceive being a champion," Rogge said Thursday.
Just shake hands, hand the ball to the ref, act like you've been there before. Problem is, nobody had been where Bolt just went—9.69 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.3 in the 200, both world records, the second of which came on his 22nd birthday.
And while we can quibble over whether the lanky Jamaican merits a turn on "Dancing with the Stars," his celebrations should be a cause for, well, celebration.
Because what we saw was a breakthrough in post-contest partying. For the past dozen or so years, "fierce" has been the key to a victory dance, lap, spike. Pounding chests, dagger pantomimes, warrior looks, anger and spite and assertion of dominance.
Chad Johnson, Joe Horn and Steve Smith started the trend away from rage, but, like he does with everything else, Bolt took it to another level.
What we saw from Bolt was joy—pure, unadulterated, genuine. "Can you believe what you just saw?! Me, neither! Commence to boogie!"
"I like having fun," Bolt said.
So do we. So let him.
And one more thing, an FYI to the IOC: How about getting your own house in order?
Allowing Wallace Spearmon, Bolt's good friend, to get three-quarters of the way through a victory lap before disqualifying him, taking away a bronze medal and thereby embarrassing him on his sport's biggest stage, was a low-class, low-life blunder.
That's not the way we perceive being a competent organization.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3546147
A MESSAGE TO THE IOC
by Luke Cyphers
This is rich.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said Usain Bolt overdid it with his celebration following the most remarkable run any sprinter has ever had.
"That's not the way we perceive being a champion," Rogge said Thursday.
Just shake hands, hand the ball to the ref, act like you've been there before. Problem is, nobody had been where Bolt just went—9.69 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.3 in the 200, both world records, the second of which came on his 22nd birthday.
And while we can quibble over whether the lanky Jamaican merits a turn on "Dancing with the Stars," his celebrations should be a cause for, well, celebration.
Because what we saw was a breakthrough in post-contest partying. For the past dozen or so years, "fierce" has been the key to a victory dance, lap, spike. Pounding chests, dagger pantomimes, warrior looks, anger and spite and assertion of dominance.
Chad Johnson, Joe Horn and Steve Smith started the trend away from rage, but, like he does with everything else, Bolt took it to another level.
What we saw from Bolt was joy—pure, unadulterated, genuine. "Can you believe what you just saw?! Me, neither! Commence to boogie!"
"I like having fun," Bolt said.
So do we. So let him.
And one more thing, an FYI to the IOC: How about getting your own house in order?
Allowing Wallace Spearmon, Bolt's good friend, to get three-quarters of the way through a victory lap before disqualifying him, taking away a bronze medal and thereby embarrassing him on his sport's biggest stage, was a low-class, low-life blunder.
That's not the way we perceive being a competent organization.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3546147
Proud moments in family history
Just got these photos in my inbox, and can't say I didn't feel a swell of pride seeing big things happen for good people (ok, I'm a little biased). I'll be making a toast to the wiser, more ambitious, and ultimately more responsible half of the Oloizia spawn this coming weekend, but for now I'll just post these up to show why my parents continue to let me live out here.
6 more years of Oloizia!
with Gram and Gramp
6 more years of Oloizia!
with Gram and Gramp
Saturday, August 23, 2008
BREAKING NEWS!
I'm usually not one for celebrity gossip, but a good friend sent this to my inbox and I couldn't resist. What happens to Brookfield East alumni ten years after they graduate from high school? They date Jennifer Aniston, of course.
From theinsider.com...
Report: Jennifer Aniston Hooking Up with Matt Felker
"Now that Jennifer Aniston's magical romance with John Mayer has come to an end, she's supposedly rebounding - with model Matt Felker!
Matt Felker used to date actress Selma Blair, and also appeared in Britney Spears' sexy music video for her hit single 'Toxic.'
Far from spending her days bumming around her sprawling LA mansion in a daze of self-pity, Jennifer Aniston is reportedly continuing on her soul-searching quest to feverishly screw away the internal strife find her life partner.
Basically, Matt Felker is the younger, edgier iteration of Paul Sculfor ..."
Which raises the question: Who the hell is Paul Sculfor?
From theinsider.com...
Report: Jennifer Aniston Hooking Up with Matt Felker
"Now that Jennifer Aniston's magical romance with John Mayer has come to an end, she's supposedly rebounding - with model Matt Felker!
Matt Felker used to date actress Selma Blair, and also appeared in Britney Spears' sexy music video for her hit single 'Toxic.'
Far from spending her days bumming around her sprawling LA mansion in a daze of self-pity, Jennifer Aniston is reportedly continuing on her soul-searching quest to feverishly screw away the internal strife find her life partner.
Basically, Matt Felker is the younger, edgier iteration of Paul Sculfor ..."
Which raises the question: Who the hell is Paul Sculfor?
Friday, August 22, 2008
How to beat Japan in soccer
In honor of Japan's participation in the Olympics, and in bitter resignation of watching the Japanese women take down the US softball team this evening, here's an old Pepsi commercial from the 2002 World Cup.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Awa Odori 2008
The drums have stopped and the lanterns have been taken down, but the memories and images still remain. Here's some shots from night 3 of Tokushima's pride and joy.
friends new and old
pausing for a group photo
JETs make the paper
another street crowded with dancers and spectators
friends new and old
pausing for a group photo
JETs make the paper
another street crowded with dancers and spectators
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Self-conscious musings
As published in the August 2008 issue of Awa Life Magazine:
The Sudachi Rolls On
The first thing I ever remember saying goodbye to was, oddly enough, a Native American rain stick. I was young, six or seven maybe, and my father had asked me several times to remove my souvenir, a shoddily made piece of wood likely crafted by vagabonds in Deadwood, South Dakota, from the family garage where I had left it. Eventually Dad’s patience ran out, and in frustration he snapped the stick and all of its racially exploitative powers over his knee. I cried like a damn fool that day, but I learned a lesson: I don’t take well to change. And I still don’t.
August is at once an exciting and wistful time for many English teachers in Japan as it marks a changing of the guard for the JET Program. A hefty rice scoop-full of sempai teachers are swapped out for fresh faces, and those of us who stay on in our positions are left caught between celebrating the new and mourning the old – much like attending both a baptism and a funeral on the same day, only with the added bonus of being able to poke the dead via Facebook after they’ve passed. Like John and Paul, we say hello while you say goodbye, but chances are we won’t reach a neat resolution to our feelings after only 3 minutes 27 seconds. And as someone who’s due to be directly affected by this scenario, I’m cautious.
Nevertheless, here’s what I’ve come up with. Embrace the new. Toast to the old. Take solace in the fact that there are those around you who have been through such a change before. Because no matter how strange it may be to walk back through the glass doors of Tokushima Airport to greet the new charges, it’s always going to be stranger for those walking towards you. There’s a good chance they just said goodbye to someone too - maybe in New York or in Sydney or in some other part of Japan, but the emotions make a common home. We owe it to each other to greet with dry eyes.
For most of us, change is nothing new. But somewhere along the timeline, a disturbance occurred, and instead of our parents or some outside force urging us to leave our friends and belongings behind, we started to do it to ourselves. We make decisions that, whether for the sake of a new job or a new challenge or a change of heart, pull us away from the people and places we love. Suddenly, the stick breaks over our own knee. It’s a crying shame, but at least at 24 I think maybe that’s just the way it is.
So if it’s true that you gain wisdom with time, here’s what I hope to have learned in my first year in Japan. Reach out to those who now wear your hand-me-downs. Ask for a ride from the person who now drives your best friend’s car. Take someone out for a welcome party, and for the love of God, offer to pay for their dinner. And if nothing else, send them to me. I’ve never been good at this change thing, and I’ve got some rather large holes to fill.
The Sudachi Rolls On
The first thing I ever remember saying goodbye to was, oddly enough, a Native American rain stick. I was young, six or seven maybe, and my father had asked me several times to remove my souvenir, a shoddily made piece of wood likely crafted by vagabonds in Deadwood, South Dakota, from the family garage where I had left it. Eventually Dad’s patience ran out, and in frustration he snapped the stick and all of its racially exploitative powers over his knee. I cried like a damn fool that day, but I learned a lesson: I don’t take well to change. And I still don’t.
August is at once an exciting and wistful time for many English teachers in Japan as it marks a changing of the guard for the JET Program. A hefty rice scoop-full of sempai teachers are swapped out for fresh faces, and those of us who stay on in our positions are left caught between celebrating the new and mourning the old – much like attending both a baptism and a funeral on the same day, only with the added bonus of being able to poke the dead via Facebook after they’ve passed. Like John and Paul, we say hello while you say goodbye, but chances are we won’t reach a neat resolution to our feelings after only 3 minutes 27 seconds. And as someone who’s due to be directly affected by this scenario, I’m cautious.
Nevertheless, here’s what I’ve come up with. Embrace the new. Toast to the old. Take solace in the fact that there are those around you who have been through such a change before. Because no matter how strange it may be to walk back through the glass doors of Tokushima Airport to greet the new charges, it’s always going to be stranger for those walking towards you. There’s a good chance they just said goodbye to someone too - maybe in New York or in Sydney or in some other part of Japan, but the emotions make a common home. We owe it to each other to greet with dry eyes.
For most of us, change is nothing new. But somewhere along the timeline, a disturbance occurred, and instead of our parents or some outside force urging us to leave our friends and belongings behind, we started to do it to ourselves. We make decisions that, whether for the sake of a new job or a new challenge or a change of heart, pull us away from the people and places we love. Suddenly, the stick breaks over our own knee. It’s a crying shame, but at least at 24 I think maybe that’s just the way it is.
So if it’s true that you gain wisdom with time, here’s what I hope to have learned in my first year in Japan. Reach out to those who now wear your hand-me-downs. Ask for a ride from the person who now drives your best friend’s car. Take someone out for a welcome party, and for the love of God, offer to pay for their dinner. And if nothing else, send them to me. I’ve never been good at this change thing, and I’ve got some rather large holes to fill.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
At the cinema
The sheer awesomeness of seeing The Dark Knight twice in the last two weeks had me scrambling for new movies to look forward to, and just when I thought all hope was lost, I stumbled upon this sure-fire classic. When the raging flames of love come crashing down like a house on fire, who would you call? Fireproof's answer: Kirk Cameron.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Summer Sonic '08
Just came back from two days of sweating it out in Osaka for the Summer Sonic festival. Excellently run concert on all fronts, but the memories I take with me will be of what happened when the stages faded away and only notes and words remained. Nearly impossible to pick a single highlight, but it'd be hard to argue against finally hearing "Bittersweet Symphony" live (check that one off the bucket list). Here's just a small sample of the other sights and sounds that made an impression on me.
MGMT on the Sonic Stage
Bedouin Soundclash
sunset over the Ocean Stage
The Verve, pre-Richard Ashcroft meltdown
cooling off in front of the misters
Viva La Vida
MGMT on the Sonic Stage
Bedouin Soundclash
sunset over the Ocean Stage
The Verve, pre-Richard Ashcroft meltdown
cooling off in front of the misters
Viva La Vida
Monday, August 4, 2008
Words that inspire
On a sailboat I am
slowly floating nowhere
Lost in memories of where I am and why
Black ocean churning
a million stars are burning
planetariums were right about the sky
Once upon a day I set off on the journey
Wishing on the wind take me far from home
Now I'm on the waves
And I'm taking on water, hard to see,
I won't always be alone
slowly floating nowhere
Lost in memories of where I am and why
Black ocean churning
a million stars are burning
planetariums were right about the sky
Once upon a day I set off on the journey
Wishing on the wind take me far from home
Now I'm on the waves
And I'm taking on water, hard to see,
I won't always be alone
Friday, August 1, 2008
Mid-summer sweat
I went for a run at 3 AM last night because it's just too hot to exercise during the day right now. The humidity is just about peaking and it's forcing me to double my laundry loads and sweat out just about everything, including seeing my friends go...Saw a worthwhile flick last week called Be Kind Rewind that had me singing the Ghostbusters theme song for days...And heading to the Yoshinogawa Festival tonight to show the new ALT, Lindsey, around, and to enjoy some food and beers down by the riverside. These days I'm anxious and relaxed and pensive and motermouthed all at once, but on a Friday I'm just looking forward to my weekend. Hope you enjoy yours too.
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