a_malchik

From BoingBoing

Cory Doctorow:
The Ultimate RPG Gaming Table is a homebrew project from some serious gamer makers. The table sports dice pits, individual lighted player stations, a DM's station with a space for a computer, and a system of under-table tubes through which the DM can pass "message spheres" bearing s33kr1ts to individual player-stations. Woah. Link

Does anyone know how to join a community but NOT have each posting in that community show up on your "view friends page" ?

Just to catch my breath I will write in my live journal.

In the past couple of days i have been actively perusing lj communities like ysi_leftovers for new music. These communites are filled with people posting links to files (songs, albums, tv shows, etc) they have uploaded to Direct Download services. What a fantastic way to utilize a great online service for evil. This just goes to show that no matter how much governments around the world try to stop the sharing of digital media, we have gone so far with file sharing that people will always find an alternative. Personally, I feel much more secure going through a yousendit-type-site than downloading a ad-ware packed P2P program for music. The big difference I feel between the two is that on a bit torrent site you are searching for what you want while in (most of) these communities you get whatever people have posted already...

Now if only Apple would send out an update for iTunes 7.01 for Windows so I could upload this junk onto my ipod!

For Jarod

Last night I went to a 2-tone ska show at Shinjuku's ACB live house.

Yes:
-every song almost sounded the same
-by the end of the night the stage was a swamp thanks to brass excrements
-I counted 14 pairs of loafers
-almost all the billed bands start with "the"
-the cutest girl in the club was a trumpeter
-I would have felt under-dressed in just a shirt and slacks

I had met Yuseke from The Laurels about 3 months ago in my neighbourhood and promised him I would go to the show. The Laurels played a tight set considering they came all the way from Nagoya that same day (later in the night they would drive back home - wow!). Just so happens The Spyzz, a fun Tokyo 2-tone band were also on the bill. Fun show...

BANDS:
1. Jumpin' Boots (?)
2. The Spyzz (Tokyo)
3. The Scandals (Nagoya)
4. The Laurels (Nagoya)
5. The Clocks (?)
6. Skanky Old (Fukushima)

Images follow the cut...
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you're instant messaging a girl you don't really know and they call you "baby"?
It's not that cool...



On a totally different note:
Does anyone know a program that will let me send the same journal entry to multiple blogs sites with a click of a button?

Oh summer....

I won't bore you with stupid stories of why a girl threw her drink at me (first time in my life), running through airports almost missing flights, making out in taxi cabs, sleeping in 100 yen parking lots, puking on moving escalators, punching micky mouse in the face, or how I met Thurston Joseph Moore. All that shit's borring compared to last weekend's "KICK ASS!NEW ORDER'06" punk event held at Yoyogi Park in Harajuku...


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Leave your name and:
1. I'll respond with something random about you
2. I'll challenge you to try something
3. I'll pick a color that I associate with you
4. I'll tell you something I like about you
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on yours

Tonight I am going to see the 5,6,7,8's play in Shim-Kitazawa - wanna come?

My V603T would like to show you some things....

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No excuses for not posting.

I got a new job with Orbitune.

Mini Mini (Astroboy rip-off) helped me find a new appartment.

Uploaded some Chris Murray videos [1] [2].

When I turn my camera on it sounds like a space shuttle (I think it's broken).

Please don't think I have better things to do,
because I really miss you.

yes you.

Last night I saw Weezer in Tokyo and met Rivers....
and you didn`t! :P

It sure seems like I`m far far away from my life in Canada. I think since I`ve arrived my SIMS social bar has been 100%. I credit it to the humble Japanese mentality that the people here have. Theres no `I`m in the scene and you`re not` North American mentality that i despise of.

The other week I was walking down the street in Shinjuku and among the sea of short black haired Japanese people I see a head of red hair bobbing up and down. Lo and behold - Mel! OK maybe our meeting was not of chance, but still. We went to a going away party somewhere in Tokyo, Mell jet lagged and all, and had some drinks. Luckily there were some vegetarian dishes for Mel to devour. Then we hopped on a train to a sizzling down Shibuya and caught up while people watching. It was so great to see a familiar face (and red hair) in a city where I know almost no one!

Last night I finished my second Murakami book: A Wild Sheep Chase. Good read, but didn`t come close to Hard Boiled Wonderland. Ive been told to read Yukio Mushima, but I couldn`t find any egnslih titles at my local book store so I think I will stick with what I know until the well runs dry. I saw Feirenheit 451 and I wanted to pick it up but it was too expensive. Any suggestions?

Last week I went on a summer school program offered by my company. 4 teachers, 28 students filled a stinky bus and made it to Nasu. I had a lot of fun practicing my Japanese and playing around with the kids. All of them were well behaved and we didn`t have any troubles so it was kind of like a mini vacation. There was a hot spring connected to our hotel so after we put all the kids to bed the teachers snuck in for a quiet bath and had some beers. Not bad for `work` I say!

Last weekend I caught the Chris Murray Combo play a secret show in Tokyo a day after his Fuji Rock Festival appearance. A packed bar (including 5 other native teachers I dragged along) danced the night away - Jamaican style. There were 3 Japanese jamaican-ska bands before Chris hit the stage who were good, but by no means great. Still, its always a chuckle to hear those cheezy Japanese keyboards on a roots riddim! Chris Murray played a ton of new stuff off of his recently released Japanese-exclusive LP entitled `Slackness`. The record has him backed by the infamous Slackers, with production credits going to Vic Ruggiero. On the album there are at least 5 songs that have been redone (One Everything, The Promise, Home, Rastaman) that are nothing to write home about, but the new tracks are hot. Anyways Chris played two of my requests (The Higher The Monkey Climbs and We Do the Ska) and finished off the night with a wicked version of `Let There Be Peace`. I recorded a short video of the show which I would be happy to post, but do not know where to post it (booty_brown help!) - pics will have to do for now.

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Go go gadget LJ

Having no internet access sucks! I have been keeping myself busy by: smoking, drinking, working, getting lost on trains, eating, and reading. My attention span has surpassed the "ADD" level because of my genki job personality and everything being so fucking cool.

I have also been spening some time with ninjas. They are skilled in the art of drinking and more drinking. One recently returned from a trip to the arcade, where he played a fighting game for 30 minutes only to realize that he died 5 minutes into it.

Last weekend I took a trip to Hiroshima to visit my friend Miho and her family. They have a toilet that make you feel like a jedi master; wave your hand over the seat and the seat cover automatically lifts! "This is not the shit you are looking for...". We took a ferry to a small island near Fukuyama and made Japanese pottery while singing unchained molodies with our shirts off.

The weekend before Hiroshima Kreate and I spent an awsome day in Tokyo! We walked around Yoyogi park and saw a Japanese punk band (who covered a green day song for us), a group of jivin greasers, some strange guy in a lion mask, and some avante-garde dancer. We followed some sweet reggae riddims from yoyogi to a reggae dance party in the park (japanese toaster and all!). We ended the day in Shimo-Kitazawa with yummy Thai food and a rainy walk to the train station.

Work is going pretty crazy. But whenever things are absolutely insane, a kid will do something that makes me stop and smile. Last week I was having a day from hell when Miyuu brought in a a picture she drew of me at home (in PINK nonetheless). It was priceless!

I have started taking Japanese lessons with a teacher I met while I was drunk. Luckily things are working out and my Japanese is improving.

If anyone wants to send me winegums (thank you______!) or a postcard I am have a semi-permanent mailing address - just drop me an email.

Heres some pics of my recent adventures:

(and oh im smoooooth like butta)
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This keyboard is really sticky and I am scared for my health.

Jordon
xoxo

I cant help from at least whisteling my favourite Vapors tune when walking the streets!

Things have been exciting! Ive been busy drinking with local Gaijin, smoking, and drinking more.
Last week a posse of us hit up the town for drinks and eats after work. A group of Japanese guys (who were sitting next to us) must have been celebrating a birthday because they had the coolest toys! One was a darth vader mask that you put on and it would transform your voice into darth vader-anese! So I put it on and repeatedly yelled at the top of my lungs - IM YOUR FUCKING FATHER BITCHES! Someone had to to it! The other toy they had was this plastic mechanism with 4 finger wholes and lights. After 4 different people put a finger in the finger cubbyholes and a button was pressed, lights would light up and slow down....then...ZAP! Japanese Russian Roullette - I love it!

Last Saturday I got to see the coveted Owen play his sad songs in Shibuya, Tokyo. It took me around an hour to find the venue (Japanese don`t like to name streets), after asking at least 10 people along the way. You should have seen my face when the doorlady told me that the show was a)currently happening and b)sold out. I started complimenting her (anata wa totemo kawaii desuyo), and even explained to her i was from Canada, but she just gave me this cute Japanese pout. So I settle in the bar with a beer and start talking with some people sitting next to me. I explain to them in broken Japanese that I really want to see the show but I it was sold out. They then take out two tickets and give them to me because they had to go home. YEOWZA! So I rush downstairs and catch the last 30 minutes of the show and the encore which included a smiths cover. YEAH!

Sunday was a busy day. In the morning I went to the Meiji Shrine entrance in Harajuku where Japanese girls dress up like black and look extremely cute and suicidal. Many of the girls were happy to pose for the camera in their costumes. There were also groups of girls dressed in a theme. It was really, really awsome. After Harajuku I walked to Shibuya to try and find the Shibuya branch of the Tokyo Vespa shop. After getting lost multiple times, I finally found my oasis and started to miss my scooter really, really, bad. They had at least 4 beautifully restored ET3s (with the japanese turn signals on the ends of the handlebars) and I chatted with the shop worker for a bit. The Piaggio helmets are so beautiful I think I have to buy one before I come home.

And to top off my awsome weekend I got a new cell phone! The things like a computer! It has web access (usefull for train planning), email, Karaoke (it gives you score out of 100 of your performance), Japanese-English / English-Japanese Dictionary, and 1.3 Megapixel camera. It can also flip the LCD screen and watch TV! Check it out here.

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Wow, people are actually reading my entries?

I write to you from an scuzzy internet cafe located on the 7th floor of a Shibuya building in Tokyo. Most of the internet cafe`s ive visited so far on my trip have been of the same design: comfly reclining leather chairs (with footstool), a wide variety of free beverages, expensive earphones, and adequette computers, enclosed with dark wood walls with open tops (like office cublicles). On a recent visit to the bathroom I got curiuos and peaked my head into one of the stalls. Inside I see a silloutte of a Japanese businessman looking at porn. I got even more curious. porn, porn, and more porn. It turns out that these internet cafes are a great place to look at porn. Now I know what the Kleenex boxes are used for (and its not to wipe the sticky keyboards)!

I`m starting to really enjoy myself. Yesterday I took the Yamanote train line which circles the surrounding area of Tokyo during the rushiest of rush hour. All the tales are true - being packed like sardines in little moving tins! The faces of the people being squished for dear life are comparable to eating 4 Big Macs in one day and taking a really really stuborn `McShit` - or would that be a McRiver? Actually it feels like youre in a hardcore moshpit at a Yonni concert (thanks to the occasional cheesy music). At some points I couldnt even breathe. When everyone first started pushing their way into the train car I got squished so bad I couldnt stop the hysterical laughter from the insanity of it all. I managed to snap a picture which is posted below.

This morning I was on my way back to Tokyo for my work orientation when I saw the funniest thing: two business men dashing for a coveted seat on the train. The guy who got the seat won by simply placing his index and middle finger, face up, on the seat. I don`t know about you, but I`d rather start my day off WITHOUT having two fingers up my ass, thank you very much. But the kicker was that the guy who had to stand stood beet red, in his defeated position, for 2 stops before running off in shame.

Wait a second, why the hell am I writing in my LJ in Tokyo?

Pics after the jump.

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So Ive finally made it to Japan!

Luckily someone from GEOS (the company I am working for) picked me up from the airport and dropped me off at my temporary flat - it would have taken me days. Getting there was no an easy task either. With Hong Kong being the unoficial shopping capital of the world, I had travel 40 minutes on 3 different trains with two heavy suitcases and my backpack. I was 12 pounds over my check in baggage allowance! After all was said and done and I was relaxing on my bed, I found some stretch marks on my arm from my bag. eeewwwwwww.

Im currently staying in the company dorm, located in Mitsudo City, while GEOS figures out my appartment details. 20 minutes walking along the canal (which goes through the city) brings me to the centre of the city. I`m slightly dissapointed in the crazy Japanese fashion I was hoping for, but I`ll hold off on conclusions until I hit Tokyo tomorrow. My Japanese is not as sharp as I was hoping, so needless to say its been a challenge: asking directions, replacing a cell phone recharger (that was the worst!), and exchanging my travelers cheques.

The one thing that keeps repeating in my mind is - I cant believe how different this place is! Forget driving on the wrong side of the street; the big thing for me is the communication barrier and conversation differences. Workers in shops (if there are any*) will constantly bow and appologize. Appologizing! Everyone is appologizing for everything they do and DONT do - ie. I called the operator because I was having troubles calling Vancouver and she appologized to me for holding on the line for less than a minute.

There`s some photos after the jump if you`re interested,
or you can check out my Flickr album...

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Time is slowing down and I'm getting antsy to leave. I've scattered what's left of my stuff onto my floor and have started s-l-o-w-l-y packing. My life has been nothing BUT s-l-o-w packing! I realized that I've gone from 15 boxes, down to 3 boxes, down to 1 box (suitcase). Speaking of my suitcase I picked up a real gem today from a liquidation place. It's really shiny and has a hard outter shell. Holy shit this is so fucking interesting!!

I read a really funny email today from my friend Sarah. She writes about her new job: " so today i got a job farming.. right now we are planting in ecinasea fields.. 2 cents a plant, and i made almost 80 bucks in 5 hours and was a ball of mud on my way to the car. i like it so far.. today, i was pretending to be an exploited mexican with no immigration... senarios like this make any job interesting."

I laughed till the cows came home with that one. Then I started thinking about my friend Pedro who is an exploited Mexican citizen in the reborn ghost town of Real de Catorce working 12 hour days to feed his 10 kids and 2 wives. Shit ain't easy. Lord it ain't easy.

So tomorrow I'm heading down to the United States of Whatever so me and my pal Dre can pick up some IVARS. Ivars is this chain of fast food seafood joints scattered around Washington. I think the shit's par, but Dre goes Lindsy Lohan on that chowder. It's really funny cause when we order our food we're pretty excited (seeing we drove across the border to eat at a food court Ivars) and the people there don't give two flying shits. All hail the fast food nation.

My mother lives in the stone ages and doesnt have internet.
Sean Connery is staring right at me with this pedophile grin.
I tried to play Settlers of Catan with myself last night and the "got any wood?" jokes were STILL funny.
Thanks to everyone for an awsome weekend!

Jordon

babysat loki_poki twice this weekend already. he is my favorite kid. i found his happy place - toot! toot!
he could be frustrated to hell with something and all you have to say is toot! toot!, and he drops what hes thinking and has this grin and soft laugh. and the more you say it, the happier he gets. its kind of like what 5cent candies are for me.

i now hate livejournal.