Category: Chillin’

This is the best movie I’ve seen in a long, long time. Although this is partially because all other movies I’ve seen the past year or so sucked, it really was a damn good movie. Anthony Hopkins is the man. Simple story, simple plot, simple dialogue, flawless acting, no bad guy, no glamtastic CG, excellent cinematography, and just enough racing/greasemonkey scenes (like watching Hopkins cast his own pistons).
Just a hunch, but I think gearheads like Gen and Gaijin Biker would especially get off on this movie if they knew that the bikes filmed on the Bonneville flats were Ducatis (not to dis the featured Indians or Triumphs, though).

Last night I watched a documentary on Flight 93, one I hadn’t seen before. Every time I see photos or footage from 9/11, it still makes me tear up a bit…
Right after it finished, I watched the new episode in the great adventures of Jack Bauer. And suddenly, I understood why I’ve liked the show from the first episode I ever watched.
There are some seriously evil fuckers in this world who just need killing. And I wish someone would hurry and send Jack after them.

Definitions
Natto: Traditional samurai food, made of fermented soybeans. Known for preventing heart attacks and strokes, as well as food poisoning and intestinal disorders.
Hamburger: Traditional cowboy food, made of buns, lettuce (or sometimes in Japan, shredded cabbage), tomatoes, onions, pickles, and ground meat patty. Known for causing heart attacks and strokes, as well as food poisoning and intestinal disorders.
Nattoburger: A hamburger topped with natto; a perfect blend of east and west, yin and yang, dogs and cats sleeping together!
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History of the Nattoburger
On March 19, 2006, Justin A. Yoshida was perusing the menu at the JOYFULL family restaurant located on route 169 in Tenri, Japan (just down the street from the highway entrance).
“I want to eat a hamburger,” he thought.
Then seconds later, “and yet, I also want to eat natto.”
At that moment, heaven and earth became as one before his very eyes, and Divine Truth was bestowed upon him:

A star was born! In the months that followed, the Nattoburger became a cult favorite and started popping up on menus of a thousand mom & pop sushi bars, takoyaki stands, and shaved ice vendors. Its popularity grew and grew, until this very day, when you can walk into a McDonalds in Podunk, Idaho, and order your very own fermented soybean-topped McNatto(TM)!
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Additional Images

The inventor of the nattoburger having a feed. “It just came to me one day.”

In between RGB-to-CMYK travails for our wedding thank you cards, I watched the last episode of season 2 Battlestar Galactica and the first episode of season 6 Sopranos head-to-head last night. All I can say is, AWESOME!
Battlestar has turned out to be one of the best series of the past couple years, and of course the Sopranos never disappoints – and as it turns out, I’m not even sad that it’s ending. It is time.
Everybody’s making predictions about Tony dying and Paulie taking over the gang and selling the whole biz to the Russians, but that’s just superficial shit. I think the big point here is what happens to Dr. Melfi and Carmela. That’s the shit that will make you cry.
I’ve noticed something interesting the past few years: Television has gotten better than the movies. I’d much rather sit down to a new episode of, say, the Shield or 24 than I would any of the new movies – the chances of watching a good movie are just so slim these days… I mean, I saw Brokeback Mountain on DVD the other night and it had some beautiful shots of sheep and all, but like, I’m not from New Zealand, man! That shit doesn’t count as foreplay in my book. It sure didn’t set up the grunty sausage-fumbling in the middle of the night tent scene for me, so there was a certain sense of disconnect about the whole thing… Maybe television is just making me a simpler bastard.
Sure, I like a well-crafted story and interesting dialog as much as the next guy, but at the end of the day, I want my fix of good ole JB.
Suspect won’t talk? Shoot him, Jack.
Terrorist won’t surrender? Shoot him, Jack.
Old friend betrays the country? SHOOT THAT MOTHERFUCKER, Jack!
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Like I keep saying, Kiefer should legally change his name to Jack Bauer. Also, it pretty much goes without saying that he should quit acting as soon the series ends.

Two days ago it was like spring had been kickstarted, sunny and warm (so sunny and warm that it created a huge fogbank on the coast, where it met with the cool air – it was like a huge cloud had set on the city).
Yesterday it was cold, winter cold.
Today it is sunny. Well, it was sunny fifteen minutes ago. Now I’m looking at a full-blown snowstorm outside the office windows.
Mother Nature sure can be a fickle bitch.
UPDATE: Now it’s sunny AND snowing. Which is actually kinda cool.

At the end of last year, Nam interpreted in Bangkok for a famous Yoshimoto comedienne, High Heel Momoko. They ended up hitting it off, and Momoko invited us to dinner this past weekend. This is how I, the guy who basically holds Japanese TV responsible for the heinous dumbing-down of the past few generations, found himself in a room full of famous people and their agents on Saturday night. It was thoroughly enjoyable.
Momoko and her entourage are a close-knit group and at first there was of course a lot of industry talk going on, which was interesting in the sense that people who work in television are always viewing the world around them through a virtual camera lens. “Wouldn’t this make an excellent filming location,” and, “isn’t so-and-so getting their own series this year.” That kinda stuff. Later, though, we chatted with Momoko and I did the inevitable by asking why she originally took on the High Heel moniker.
The main reason was very simple, that girls like high heels and she wanted to appeal heavily to females in the audience during her standup routines. She then went on to explain that you need two shoes to have a complete pair and manzai is also like this because there are two parts to the act (the tukkomi and the boke). Also, comedians often employ contradictions (two contrating points) to make people laugh. Her point was later illustrated when Kuro-chan, from a comedy troupe called Yasuda Dai Circus walked through the door. He’s a big fellow who looks like a mean skinhead until he opens his mouth and his tickle-me-Elmo voice bursts forth – “Kuro-chan deeeeesu!” That guy had me laughing all night, because I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that that was his real voice – of course everyone asked him if it was, but you can never tell what people will do to make it in television, right? I wanted to hold him down and tickle him to see if his voice would shift to a baritone, that’s how ridiculously high his voice is.
All in all, it was a fun dinner.

Nam just finished her last interview and it looks like she’s set to receive her PhD in March! ALL THESE YEARS OF STUDY AND WAITING ARE FINALLY GONNA PAY OFF!!!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
I AM SO FUCKING HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m alone tonight (she’s staying out in Nara), but I think I’ll drink to that anyway…

This quick Skype dialog made me feel like this year will be a good one.
J: how’s your obachan?
T: She is immortal. She had a fever 38 degrees for 1 week. But now, no fever. Came back to normal.

I did something quite strange this year. I bought a Christmas cake, and ate it.
I have officially been in Japan for too long.
The cake was tasty, though.

Why is it even news that Toyota is expected to overtake General Motors as the world’s top automaker?
I don’t think anybody can dispute that Toyota makes better cars, or that they are the healthier company.
The market wins out, right? Besides, GM has been shooting itself in the foot so persistently for so long, they might as well switch over to shoemaking.