A GRAND DAY OUT


koshien...lovely 

it fits 54,000 fans, and the hanshin tigers have sold out pretty much EVERY GAME this season at koshien stadium. lucky for me, bella rockwell was able to procure some much-valued tickets to yesterday's festivities.

several hours and twice as many beers later, the tigers were spanked 4-0.
not to worry. they bounced back today with a 12-5 trouncing.

and even better: i get to do this all over again next thursday!!!


our faithful crew 

ZOMBIE TV



it's finally happened. yours truly has succumbed to the cable gods and installed 50-some channels of absolute chaos.

yes, i know that the boob-tube is pure evil, but you can't beat watching the cartoon network dubbed in japanese.

DELINQUENTS


it all started rather innocently, with a famous japanese actress appearing in a commercial where she urges the public to pay for public pension premiums. after appearing on billboards and on television for a few weeks, word got out that the spokeswoman herself had been skipping payments for quite a time.

the media scoffed at the ad, put out by the leading opposition party in japan, and public crusaders from all sides in the government vowed to get to the bottom of this pension problem by launching full-scale investigations.




the witchhunt that ensued has so far claimed the poltical careers of the chief cabinet speaker as well as the leader of the opposition party; both are quite visible in the japanese media.

for more information, visit here and here.

idiot lawmakers are the same in whatever country you may live...
albeit grudgingly, at least i pay my goddamn taxes!!!

WHIRLWIND TOUR


the beginning of may in japan is known as GOLDEN WEEK, when three national holidays appear consecutively on the calendar. it's at this time that people seem to go berserk, packing their bags and heading off to vacation spots both overseas and domestic.

seizing the opportunity, i had the rare chance to catch the esteemed bullet train not once, not twice, but four times between kobe, fukuoka (southern japan), and nagoya.







fukuoka city is full of great places to visit both natural and man-made, terrific food, powerful drink, and down-to-earth people.
all through the city, there are food-stalls called yatai which are run by the locals. it's great being packed next to other out-of-towners and neighborhood regulars, and the cuisine and liquor is excellent.
needless to say, i got blitzed off of the local brew and have moved one step closer to being a fat bastard by consuming too many deep-fried chicken wings, beef stew, and home-made ramen.
all of this was courtesy of mami-chan's yatai, smack in the middle of the city.




and now, i'm in a deep-fried southern funk because golden week is a thing of the past...
i owe, i owe, it's off to work i go...