DOWN-TIME





having recovered from my ultra-nasty bout with the stomach flu, i ventured straight back to the watering hole to replenish various alcoholic fluids.

activities engaged in this past weekend:







1. rum and lime, on the rocks.
"northern spice" and "lemon hart" are equally tasty.

2. late night bowl-o-rama
never mind the fact that it's been 2 years...sure enough, the rum made my score even worse.

3. a screening of "angel in the box."
independent film produced in hokkaido. nice scenery, and a plot with a warm, fuzzy feeling that was a good way to finish up this weekend...

HE-OF-THE-IRON-STOMACH


woe is me...
having been under heavy duress at the workplace, i haven't had a lot of time recently to do any good ol' home-style cookin'.

this leaves me with few choices:

a) running over to the local diner...
(quite good, but pricey)

b) scoping out the nearest ramen shop...
(your carbohydrate intake's worst nightmare...but terrific for hangovers)



OR...

c) the frozen food section at your nearest convenience store

unlucky me, i decided to choose the frozen stew.
after feeling relatively satisfied and warm, i began to notic a gnawing feeling in my innards. this progressed slowly to a rumbling tummy, a slight fever, and many trips to the can.
several days later, this pain and torture hasn't subsided, and i'm currently waiting for the nearest medical clinic to begin it's afternoon hours.
it's GOTTA be the beef!!!

in the meantime, here's something to keep your digestive juices flowing (you can click on the pic above as well).

PLANET OF THE APES



nope, not even divine intervention will save us from another agonizing 4 years.
just caught the news that the oh-so-festive inauguration will take place today.
the news out here has been following the youngsters on capitol hill recently, hinting that the general population is anxious for change (more power to ya, obama).

KILLA RIDDIMS, DEM!!!












osaka clubs have always been in touch the reggae/dancehall scene, as far as music goes. having gotten in touch with ragga and jump-up through my DJ'ing compadres, i've found myself steering away from the abstract records bins in and digging through the heavier drum'n'bass crates in the back. a lot of the stuff you get out here is U.K.-influenced, quite different from the "domestic" DNB i'd hear back in san francisco.

i'm currently back at the turntables trying to create TURBULENCE, my second attempt at a drum'n'bass mix...of course, prior selections are always available. hit me up with an inquiry and i'd be more than glad to send you a copy.

Zig-Nine's CURRENT HEAVY ROTATION

1. Calibre & High Contrast - Mr. Majestik (Signature Records)
heavy dub sample, coupled with a killa track laid down by Calibre and High Contrast. it's been smashing up the club floors out here for a lil' bit, either on mp3 or vinyl. Hospital Records definitely has some strong artists on its list.


2. craggz & parallel forces - fizzy piglets (VALVE RECORDINGS)
found it in shibuya during a christmas trek up to tokyo. VALVE has DILLINJA and LEMON D at
the controls, among a host of others. craggz and parallel forces come come through with a DJ MARKY-like tune coupling live brazilian guitar with rolling bass and sharp hi-hats. makes me crave that warm summer sunlight!!!


3. Total Science Vs Juju - no murder (C.I.A.)
clean intro. hides the true fury packed behind it. Juju puts together a crowd-ripper from Computer Integrated Audio, AKA Paul Smith and Jason Greenhalgh of london-based Total Science. their latest album "Good Game" has been around on vinyl since the end of last year. Juju spins out at The Phuturo in san francisco...well worth the peep!!!

NEW YEAR, NEW SHOW



with earthquakes and tsunami's, 2005 seems to be off to an ominous start...

as for myself, i was able to brave the streets of tokyo during a visit to see my friends up north. i also ventured into nagoya to look for housing, as i'll be making a move up there in april. i've spent the rest of this winter holiday resting up and partaking in the celebrations of the new year, japan-style.




so what's on the menu tonight???
i'm off to osaka for the third time in three days, this time to see DJ T-AK (in pounding drum'n'bass action tonight at club triangle.

hope things are alright in your neck of the woods!