A well-written introduction and shop guide pertaining mostly to the Tokyo area: Record Shopping in Japan In Osaka, I like browsing the Gorilla Records shop in the basement of the building next to Tower Records Shinsaibashi. The “Real Hip-Hop Americans from Lagos” on the street corners of Amemura, however, are sometimes more than one can bear. Forever Records, between Namba Parks and DenDen Town (down the street from an improbably-located 7-11), used to have a good selection, but I haven’t been there in eons… Pawning my 1200s when I was a student was a necessary evil, but it still hurts to think about. By far, the best deals on vinyl…

Last year I noted a fascinating article about US soldiers in Iraq passing the time by fishing the ponds at Saddam’s palatial estates: What to do when you’re bored in Iraq Today, via Instapundit, I was happy to see a related post by Bigwig: Fishes of Iraq: Aspius Vorax Wondering if I had missed out on similar content around the net, I did a hasty search and found some other interesting links: Donated Tackle Helps Troops Fish at Saddam’s Private Lake Cyprinidae Fishing Techniques Iraq Fisheries Data Fishing in the lake behind Saddam’s palace using MREs for bait: PRICELESS!

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Not like this guy. Whoa… That’s even more impressive than the parking cone collection I had in my college dorm room! I have a feeling that guy would feel at home in Akiba, for some reason. Useless factoid o’ the day: I went to middle school with the daughter of Sergio Aragones. Groo!

Back to work after a 3-day weekend (can’t be bothered to remember what Stupid Japanese Holiday it was). Mondays suck but I won’t bore you with the obvious. Much to my surprise I found a possible contender for Most Disturbing Headline Ever – go take a look for yourself: LINK

Too many beans in Chez Whitey’s burrito? UPDATE: Read the article in the extended entry.

This is your brain on rugby: OUCH.

1. “Scattered f***ing showers, my ass!” – Noah, 4314 BC 2. “How the f*** did you work that out?” – Pythagoras, 126 BC 3. “You want WHAT on the f***ing ceiling?” – Michelangelo, 1566 4. “Where did all those f***ing Indians come from?” – Custer, 1877 5. “What the f*** do you mean, ‘we’re sinking?'” – Capt. E.J. Smith of RMS Titanic, 1912 6. “It does SO f***ing look like her!” – Picasso, 1926 7. “Where the f*** are we?” – Amelia Earhart, 1937 8. “Any f***ing idiot could understand that.” – Einstein, 1938 9. “What the f*** was that?” – Mayor Of Hiroshima – 1945 10. “I need this…

I’ll let you in on a little secret: This is my official Monday morning search engine. Because on Mondays, you ALL be actin’ like beotches tryin’ to find shiznit.

Go forth, you hack: Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully: in Ten Minutes by Stephen King Obviously, I haven’t had time to read it yet.