So, as I spend time in Japan learning all I can about the country, Japanese scientists spend time figuring out how to turn me into a battery. That's right, a battery...

Sound familiar? The article is a bit skimpy on details, but hey... have a look.

If I had to choose just one aspect of life in Japan that I would want other people to experience, it would have to be festivals. Japanese festivals are, in a word, incredible. It's a wild mix of costumes, music, beer, sake, and whatever float/shrine/deity/event the festival is designed to celebrate. So, last night being the local festival... I ( Read more... )

Well, Day Two wasn't quite as interesting as Day One, but I did have a bit of fun. Pepsi-Cola is giving away a free footbag (read: Hacky Sack) with every 500ml can purchase. I, for one, enjoy kicking one around immensely. However, the "instruction manual" (notice the quotes) that comes with the free ones consists mostly of the explanation: "You ( Read more... )

Well, I went to a university in Hirosaki City for a two-day shakuhachi teaching workshop. Hirosaki City is a beautiful town... complete with a traditional Japanese castle. I was pleased to discover that admission to the castle grounds was free. That is, until I got to the central part which suddenly became a pay zone. I would have gone in, but ( Read more... )

...but I'll try to make it there soon. My Monday was spent lounging around the apartment instead. Tuesday I spent teaching workshops for elementary school English teachers. The workshops went extremely well. Let me tell you though, a room full of teachers singing and dancing to "I'm So Happy" can be painful (in more ways than one). Here are ( Read more... )

We ran twenty kilometers (12.46 miles) on the weekend ( Read more... )

Living in a country that borrows so many words for English that they put out phonebook-sized publications detailing new loanwords, I have one more reason to not like the French (even though the main reason has nothing to do with the French, or France, but rather a French teacher...).

There is a nice article over at Gamespot on the Ultimate MMORPG. I'm pretty sure that with a few select friends I could get a pretty good team together to do whatever we wanted. If you're interested in playing, let me know ( Read more... )

Thankfully it wasn't until it was over that I found out the crowd was about 600 people (twice the number I thought would be there... at most!). The performance went fairly well, I was really nervous until I started playing. After that, it was just a case of either play it well, or don't. For the most part (and after listening to a recording) I ( Read more... )

Like the loudspeakers outside the apartments going off at 7AM on a Sunday morning announcing that cleaning day (where everyone goes outside to weed the lawn, sweep the stairwells, wash the road, pick up trash, yadayadayada) has been moved up one week, so get out of your beds and be cleaning by 8 o'clock or face the wrath of the Janitor! If you don ( Read more... )