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Tanuki no Boushi狸 の 帽子 June 28 Michael Jackson The news about Michael Jackson just blows my mind. I don't know how to feel about it, honestly. I am almost sad, but then I recall the weirdness over the past 15 years or so, and that sort of taints the moment. Still, it can't take away from the fact that he was once the most loved individual on the planet. It is hard to even imagine how successful he was in the music industry, and then to contribute so much to humanitarian causes on top of that... Simply amazing. The song, We are the World, is one of my favorites. I heard an interview with Lionel Richie the other day, and he talked about how they sat down to write that song and realized that neither of them could read or write music. Hours later... The song was finished, and being sung by the greatest musicians of the era. That was just Michael Jackson being Michael Jackson. Certainly, we all recall the craziness associated with this guy. I remember the baby dangling. I remember the Corey Feldmans and the Macaulay Culkins. I remember the accusations. I remember the plastic surgeries and the lavish spending sprees. I remember masks and pajamas in the courtroom. I remember his "marriage" to Lisa Marie, and how that kiss made me feel like I wanted to vomit. Still, one cannot forget all the good memories this man brought to so many. I remember having an elastic Michael Jackson belt with a silver glove on it. I remember going to Disney in the early 80's and seeing the Captain EO ride. I remember playing Michael Jackson's Moonwalker for SEGA. I remember listening to ABC over and over again at my friend's house. I remember playing the Thriller album on an old record player in the basement. I remember SWV sampling Human Nature. I remember thinking that the moonwalk was the sickest thing I had ever seen in my life. Still seems so strange... Michael Jackson dead at the age of 50.  My brother David with MJ, date unknown. June 23 June Ramblings -My father recently was diagnosed with cancer, and miraculously recovered after having a brief surgery in which they removed one tumor and could not even located the other. It is truly a blessing--my thanks to everyone who was praying as it made a great deal of difference. -The Penguins won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1992. I have to say, I am still in shock... Totally awesome. -Gran Torino might be my new favorite Clint Eastwood film... Right up there with Unforgiven. -I have not done well in my last two fishing tournaments, and with only three left, I have a lot of catching up to do. Next up is Rush Lake. -Some parts of Minnesota reached 105 degrees today... I don't know what else to say about that, but I'm glad our AC works. -I am nearing the completion of my Japan photo upload project on Flickr. I should have all the photos from my last trip up sometime by the end of next week~ June 12 Game 7Hockey is a great vaccination for boredom. Life is hard and cruel. Leaving childhood, leaving adolescence, entering middle age and moving slowly into the autumn of our years is all taxing and sad -- not to mention dealing with the tragedies that happen along the way that chip away at our spirit. All we can do is keep moving, keep skating and keep living the best we can, selflessly and passionately, until the final buzzer sounds. Just like the players in Friday's Game 7. -John Buccigross Congratulations to the Penguins on their first Cup since 1992~ April 16 No Garnett It was reported today that Celtics All-Star forward and future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett will probably miss the entire 2009 playoffs. Hours later, Celtics' GM Danny Ainge had a heart attack... Literally. This is the worst possible news. Today is not a good day. We should all take turns calling Simmons to make sure he doesn't committ suicide during the night. April 12 Easter Today is undoubtedly the most important day of the year for Christian people around the world. While Christmas gets more attention due to the gift-giving phenomenon, Easter holds great significance because it is a representation of everything Christians believe. What distinguishes Christianity from other belief systems is the figure of Jesus, the son of God, dying and rising three days later. The Bible makes this point in a very simple manner in I Corinthians 15:3-5: For this is of first importance, that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. I would never claim to be perfect, and certainly I'm a sinner like everyone else... But, that is just the reason why today is so important. A gentleman at church had a powerful testimony today. His wife passed away from a disease last year and he showed the congregation a ring which she always wore which was inscribed with the words "fear not." It was her philosophy of life that because of the very thing Easter stands for, there was no reason to fear death. It was truly a powerful moment. I will leave you with a one minute video I saw today--I thought it was hilarious. It's a short conversation between Jesus and the Easter bunny. Have a wonderful, blessed Easter, everyone. March 11 Curse lifted The Colonel has been found after 24 years in the nasty Dotonbori canal. It was discovered by divers on March 10-11, 2009. These dates might become historically significant depending on what happens with the Tigers. Below is the original story I wrote on Flickr regarding the events that took place prior to this amazing discovery. Many of you know the story... But for those of you who may not know, Colonel Sanders plays an important role in the history of Japanese folklore, specifically regarding one of Japan's most famous baseball teams--the Hanshin Tigers. Perennial losers, the Tigers finally took the series in 1985 with the help of former Minnesota Twins player, Randy Bass. Bass had one of the best seasons in the history of Japanese baseball while leading the Tigers to the championship. Now, Osaka people are known for being a little... Nuts. This specifically goes for Tiger fans. After winning the series, they found members of the crowd that looked like each Hanshin player and they called out that players name as they jumped into the filthy Dotonbori canal. Of course, lacking a bearded foreigner... They had to substitute Randy Bass with a Colonel Sanders statue, stolen from KFC. The bottom line is that they never recovered the statue despite dredging the river and even diving for it. Hence, the "curse of the colonel" lasts even now as the Tigers haven't won since. KFC counters this behavior now by actually bolting Harlan Sanders to the ground and/or bringing the whole thing inside the restaurant. Anyway, it is a great story. I suppose I would feel differently if I was a Tigers fan. February 27 To filter or not to filter... I recently purchased a Kenko Pro1 circular polarizing filter with dual multi-coated glass in an effort to improve my photos. Hopefully, you will see the difference on Flickr in the near future. However, as I was browsing filters, I came across this eBay auction for a skylight filter, and it has to be the worse advertising I have ever seen. The two photos are supposed to show the difference between the use of the skylight filter and without the use of the skylight filter. The only difference between the two is the fact that the lady is smiling in one pic, and not smiling in the other. If you are going to try to pull off some subliminal advertising, at least humor us by not making it so obvious. It's like those weight loss commercials where the guy is sad, frowning, pale white and hairy; and then using maxi-slim he is happy, smiling, tan and completely waxed. February 10 H-O-R-S-E What is up with the NBA's All-Star Weekend? First it was the old-timers game which was a slew of once dominant players cavorting around the court with braces from head to toe suffering debilitating injuries, and then it was this rookie game phenomenon which isn't the least bit exciting. Of course, if you recall they even had a race between Charles Barkley and Dick Bavetta at one point--an event for which I have no words. Adding to the excitment of it all, this year there will be a game of HORSE. I can see this taking longer than Nate Robinson's final dunk attempt. As T.O. would say, get your popcorn ready... And make it a double. February 07 The Quest for G If you haven't seen the new Gatorade Quest for G commercials, you are really missing out. I have seen a lot of great Kevin Garnett commercials over the years, including the Fun Police ones that I had the pleasure of being in myself, but these new ones take the cake. They are a take-off on Monty Python and the Holy Grail which has provided decades of one-liners. The commercial features Garnett as the king, and also includes Derek Jeter, Jimmie Johnson, the volleyball duo of May/Walsh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Usain Bolt, and Alicia Sacramone (that one took me awhile to figure out, since her hair is darker than it was during the Olympics). Check out the dance sequence... That's priceless. Now, compare that to some of the commercials KG did earlier in his career--a harcore vibe for sure. I think have a championship has calmed the guy down... Off the court anyway. Not that he hasn't always been a mild-mannered dude, but I think this takes him to another level. Compare that to this Gatorade Rain commercial, or this And1 commercial produced by Timbaland from a few years back.  February 03 Thoughts for February -February 3 is Setsubun in Japan. I just wrote my latest article for Gaijinpot on that topic and it should be up shortly. In the meantime, please support me by checking out my articles on there when you have a free moment. -Clint Eastwood has been in a number of great films and is a fantastic director, but his best movie is Unforgiven which he starred in and won an Academy Award. -I recently recalled one of my all-time favorite commercials. It is a Labatt Blue spot that they used to run during NHL hockey games. -Did you know that Captain N-The Video Game Master is now on DVD? Who would ever think... -This is more serious... But I just have to say how much of a douche Rush Limbaugh is. The latest line comes from an interview in which he said he hopes President Obama fails. He then went on to talk about how racist people are. Yeah. Coming from a proven racist and an admitted drug addict, this shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did. Did I vote for Obama? No. But seriously, no one has galvanized the hopes of a people facing crisis in this way since FDR (it should be pointed out that Rush has similar warm and fuzzy feeling about him as well). Give credit where credit is due. A vast majority of people wanted him, and they got him. It was a historic occasion. Embrace it. Support him. And for God's sake, pray for the man--he is up against some long odds. January 22 January I just saw one of the most hilarious product ideas ever... For all the Wu-Tang and Jay-Z fans out there, I present the Ghost Faced Killah action figure. Recently, I realized that Ayumi Hamasaki did Hi-Chew (ハイチュウ) TV spots... Where have I been? In this one, she appears to be the magical heron kami of delicious Hi-Chew making. Who knew. Hi-Chew is just about my favorite Japanese candy with a diverse mix of regional flavors. Ive noticed a barrage of new grocery goods at the store in the past few trips which is interesting considering the economy. I guess trusted brands can afford to go for it even in times like these. Kellogg's new Jumbo Multi-grain Rice Krispies with a touch of honey are excellent, as is the Campbell's V8 southerwestern corn soup. I guess that's not new new, but relatively speaking, it is. The other is the new McCormick cinnamon and sugar grinder which I'm anxious to test out this weekend. I have been given a "job" writing for the new Gaijinpot website--a site pertaining to all things Japanese. It used to be primarily a job and appartment search site, but since they are expanding, I am volunteering my writing services. Check it out and give me some love--pay is based on popularity. January 07 Tuna-masters Seeing how much money these Bassmaster guys are making these days is pretty nice. The sport of competitive fishing has really grown with all the huge TV deals and sponsorships and it has made becoming a pro bass fisherman a reality for many people. But, after seeing what people pay for crab and other seafood, it makes me wonder if there is a more lucrative way to go about things. It was reported today that a bluefin tuna was auctioned off in Japan for 9.63 million yen ($104,000). The 282 pound tuna was shared between two individuals and was the highest price paid for a fish of it's kind since a similar bluefin was sold for almost double that amount 8 years ago. Now, I like sushi as much as the next guy, but this stuff better be orgasmic for the prices that they will be charging. But on a separate not, maybe getting into the tuna fishing business isn't such a bad idea. January 02 Decorations I realized recently that the influence of my mother's love for Christmas has affected me to the point where I am running out of storage space. Not only do I have a more than complete set of Christmas dishes, but I have decorations and ornaments to put together two color schemes for almost any tree around. I even had to organize things today to fit the boxes under my bed because I have an additional storage bin for wrapping paper, and another for gift boxes, cards, and misc. goods. All this got me wondering exactly how many ornaments a person needs and if there is a formula similar to the light formula to determine how many should be on a tree of a given height. I found a site that helped me out and I realized that maybe I hadn't gone too far overboard with the whole Christmas decor thing. I figured that if I get a 7' tree, then I would need 118 ornaments and 135 feet of lighting. Maybe pre-lit is the best way to go after all. December 24 Merry Christmas And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed (and this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria). And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into
Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he
was of the house and lineage of David) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And
she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them
in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." And
it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:1-20 (KJV) Merry Christmas~ December 21 No McLuvin' at McDonald'sThe other day, I went to McDonald's with my brother for a few sandwiches and just for the general relaxation after spending several hours shopping. As I checked the receipt, I noticed something strange at the bottom. There it was, below the sub-total, the eat-in tax. What the heck is an eat-in tax and why are they calling it a TAX? This is more like a FEE. It would make me furious if they are charging an extra fee for food purchases. They already replaced the double cheeseburger with the McDouble on the value menu. What next? No apple pie? Now, I have heard that this is just a way to denote the sales tax, but there are conflicting reports on this since some states call take out food groceries and are therefore not subject to taxes. In either case, I really hope they get some signage in the restaurants to explain this properly. December 17 Holiday Season Thoughts Recently, I came across a video on YouTube of the Disney 30th Anniversary Celebration. I remember seeing that as a kid and watching the VHS tape we made several times over. It brought back a lot of mid 80's memories despite the fact that I was rather young. The host Drew Barrymore and it featured such performers as Jilian Lennon, Donna Summer, David Hasselhoff, and Marie Osmond. Those were the days. Suntory, a Japanese beverage company has come out with a new line of Final Fantasy inspired "potion" drinks. I thought it was worth mentioning. Christmas is about a week away... I hope everyone out there has a wonderful time and enjoys every moment of the time leading up to the big day. Don't stress about business and presents--just take it all in. It is truly a wonderful time of year. Also, let's remember why we have this celebration in the first place... Not just on Christmas day, but every day. December 06 ShamWow! I am fairly confident most people have seen the info-mercial for the ShamWow. The guy on that advertisement is awesome, isn't he? Even though I know the thing would never really soak 50 gallons of soda out of a piece of shag carpet, he makes me feel like it actually could. Seriously, that's more entertaining than David Copperfield, real or not. However, I discovered the best thing about the ShamWow... The same info-mercial is on the Spanish channel, and it's NOT dubbed! The same guy does the same routine entirely in Spanish. Now that is entertainment at it's finest. I didn't know whether to be impressed or to laugh. December 05 My microwave is a cold-blooded killer Ever since we got our high-powered microwave, it has totally killed my internet connection. I thought it was just me, but apparently not. The waves emitted from the microwave run on the same frequency and have been known to do this--described here. I checked the microwave leakage with a special gauge my grandfather gave us years ago. It showed a very tiny movement, but nothing out of the ordinary. I'm guessing I could try switching channels on the router, but other than that, I have no idea. November 30 Gas Prices If it wasn't abundantly clear before, the resent drop in gas prices should be testament to the fact that gas prices are manipulated by the system. It is such a farce I can hardly believe it. However, when the prices are as low as the $1.53 per gallon I saw last week, I can't complain too much. If you include the maximum of three CUB Foods coupons for gas at Holiday stations, you can save an additional 90 cents per gallon--a significant savings. Over the summer, I paid $4.10 per gallon. That is an insane drop in price... But the increase before that was even more insane. I hope it stays reasonable for awhile. November 29 Black Friday Black Friday is usually pretty crazy, but I think this year with the economy being the way it is it was even more so. My mother and I went to Kohl's and Herberger's at 4am yesterday only to find a full parking lot at 4:02 and a line 3/4 of the way around the Kohl's store. On the way there, several people were cutting other people off and nearly getting into some sort of fender-bender. As a testament to this, I saw at least five police cars and one ambulance in the immediate vacinity of these stores. I was dropped off by the door so I could run in and grab the KitchenAid knife block that was $200 marked down to $70 with a $20 rebate. I grabbed it and managed to get out of there by 4:45. We proceded to Ritz Camera where they had advertised a 3-pack of 4gig SD cards for $60 with a $60 rebate. I was the 3rd person in line, so I figured I was good. The first person didn't get one, but the second guy did... I felt confident at that point. However, they then told me they were sold out. So... They had one set of three at the store and it was on the front page of the ad. Nice. Back to the craziness though. Apparently a Walmart employee in New York was trampled to death on Black Friday. Not only that, but there was a shooting at a Toys R Us store in New Jersey. I know my brother had to scratch, claw, and fight people off for his 42" TV. People are crazy, aren't they? November 26 Black Friday It is about 2:30am and I just can't seem to fall asleep, which sucks since today is the big Thanksgiving prep day. I think I am ready to get back into bed, but I thought I'd share a great site I found dealing with Black Friday Ads. They are available online so you can plan ahead for the big day. There isn't really anything I'm looking for this year, but who am I to pass up a bargain? Originally, Sam's Club had advertised a Wii for $224 with 3 controllers and 3 games, but apparently it was a misprint. I almost got excited there. November 17 November ThoughtsSeveral random things today... Bear with me: -McDonald's in Japan now has a bacon/potato pie. Oh, they also have a double McRib now. -I saw on the Food Network that there was a restaurant that specializes in cereal. Cereality is only located in certain part of the country, but there is one in Mankato. I asked my brother about it and apparently it is way over-priced. Still, it sounded like a good idea. -Starbucks has something called a Gingersnap Latte this year... I have yet to do ample testing, but so far, it doesn't appear to be as tasty as the Gingerbread Latt they had the past few years. Hopefully, they still have their gingerbread with frosting and candied ginger. That is good stuff. -Last night's NOOMA video was called Luggage. It is a powerful message about forgiveness. I couldn't find it on Youtube all-together, but here is part 1 and part 2. If you watch it, watch the whole thing--something profound happens at the end. -At work, I saw a magazine in the break room. It wasn't too exciting, but I noticed that there was an advertisement for "North America's finest Japanese garden." -I got a new video game... Infinite Undiscovery. So far, it's really good. I was so mad that GTA4 died on me right before I beat it. November 10 You can give without loving, but you can't love without givingI was particularly appreciative of the sermon Sunday at church. It seemed to go along very well with a lot of things I think several people are dealing with in our financially crunched society. With all that's going on, it's easy to lose focus I think. Statistics show that Christians, as a whole, give about 2.5% of their income to charitable causes. I'm sure that number has gone down recently too. According to our family tax guy, few Christian people actually tithe. I guess I'm not surprised really. Our nature as humans is to think about ourselves first, and it's rare that you find people who have experienced the joy of giving and being a giver. I mean, yes it is a Biblical commandment to the first 10% of your income to the church or other charitable cause whatever that might be... But, shouldn't we want to anyway? I just felt the need to think of ways I can bless those around me after hearing the message last weekend. I also felt that of all the years that I have tithed, I have never once missed that money or wish I hadn't given it. Kinda along these lines is another NOOMA video that I recently saw--I really enjoy this series. It was hard to find on Youtube, but if you can bear with the Portuguese sub-titles, you are welcome to watch Kickball by Rob Bell. I felt that this went hand in hand with this whole concept of giving. Most people are always talking about what they want, and they are frustrated when they pray for things and don't get the answer they are looking for. I've been there. When I think about it in the way the video presents, I just have a better mindset about it all. Basically, I just want to throw out one final thing. For about 5 years I have participated in a ministry called Operation Christmas Child. If you don't know what it is, I highly recommend checking this out. I have had a blast doing this, and I look forward to it every year. If you are looking for a way to give to someone who would really appreciate your gift, this is for you. Get a plastic box or shoebox and fill it with toys, candy, puzzles, etc. (I go to the dollar store). These boxes are shipped all over the world to kids who would otherwise never get a Christmas present. I have seen the video footage of kids in Africa when the boxes arrived. It's amazing how something that costs $5-10 can make someone's holiday special. The list of appropriate items to pack and the forms should be on the site. I got my box yesterday and I'm ready to start filling it up! October 09 10:18 I remember the night my grandmother died. It is a vivid memory--being awakened in the middle of the night, and being told to come out to the living room where my mother had been providing hospice care. It was the only time I ever remember crying over someone's death. I was very close to my grandmother, but I was happy for her in a way as I knew if anyone was worthy of a special place in heaven, it was her. She had suffered for many years with various ailments, and often woke up in the middle of the night in pain. She always said those times were God's reminder for her to pray for people. She taught Sunday school at Morrison Baptist Church for over 70 years, and touched numerous lives. In the final days of her life, so many people came by the house to see her. People prayed and sang with her. They talked and reminisced about this time and that time, and there were even some confessions of misbehavior by my uncles. It is the way I think anyone would want to spend their last days. In a material sense, she lived and died a poor woman. But in greater sense, the outpouring of love in those final hours made her the most wealthy woman on earth. Last night at 10:18, my grandfather passed away. He was 94 years old. Admittedly, it was difficult to gather will power to go to the nursing home when my mother called me. We knew he was about to pass, but somehow my heart wasn't in it. You see, as much of a saint as my grandmother was, my grandfather was just the opposite. He was verbally abusive to my mom and grandmother. He was never grateful for a single thing. He was mean and rude, and probably cheated on my grandma on a number of occasions. Yet, somehow my mother was there at the end, still taking care of him, and still shedding tears in those final moments. I wish he had been a better man for my mom and grandma, because he has such potential and talent--skilled at mathematics, music, and a number of other things. But in the end, it was just the four of us in a dark room. There was no reminiscing and good times to be had, no crowds of visitors. The contrast in the way they lived, not surprisingly, mirrored the contrast in the way they died. October 06 Rhythm Last night at Crosswalk (a contemporary music service at Cornerstone Church), they showed an excellent video that was part of a series we have been going through. The short videos are in place of what would be called a "sermon," I guess. These short videos have been quite good, but I think the 12 minute video from last night was the most profound. Speaker Rob Bell manages to sum up everything the Christian experience should be about in a clip called Rhythm. The DVD can also be purchased for $10 from NOOMA. Now, I do not claim to be a great Christian... Although I'd like to be. I struggle as much as anyone. Sometimes I don't know the right answer, and perhaps even more frequently I do and just choose not to do it. But, I think it's important to realize that being human is about imperfection, and living the Christian life is no exception to that. |
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