Jibunsagashi

"In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and blunt the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dull and know I had to put it on the grindstone again and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had something to write about, than to have it bright and shining and nothing to say, or smooth and well-oiled in the closet, but unused."

-Ernest Hemingway
From the preface to The First Forty-Nine Stories

Check out these fun Yoga pictures that my friend Takashi and I took the other night! They're on my Facebook site, so click the link to see them!! Here's a preview:



http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013892&id=1514685992&l=ddf24

Wow!! I just found this on my friend's site. This is mind blowing. You've never considered the size of the universe until you've seen this. Maybe you think you've considered it, but you've been WAY underestimating it. I know I was!... and I bet I've thought about it more than the average human. Check this out.

Well, this year I wanted to be a ninja, but I started on my costume way too late and ended up choosing some easy accessories to mask my appearance instead of becoming someone else. In the photos below you'll see a Super Afro, huge sunglasses, and a Gaijin (foreigner) Nose. These are the noses that Japanese comedians wear when they want to pretend they are westerners. Personally I think it all makes me look frighteningly like Weird Al Yankovic.

While not political, it is a current even of sorts, so I'll discuss my thoughts on this new TV series.

*Nerd Alert!* This is all about a fantasy novel series and it's TV adaptation. If you liked Xena and Hercules, continue. Otherwise, skip it if you're not interested.

This show is based on the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. It has been adapted for TV in a way that each season is based on one of the books of the series. This first season has been adapted so that even if no other book is adapted, there is no open story line. While a good idea if the series doesn't take off, it does change a few things that fans of the book might find annoying. Still, I think this first double episode was done quite well, and there are really only two things that I found to be stretched unnecessarily far from the book.

First, in the TV series Richard and Zedd had absolutely no contact before Kahlan comes to Westland. Correct me if I'm wrong, it has been years since I read Wizards' First Rule, but didn't Zedd teach Richard about reading the clouds and about making natural medicines? I thought this was a step away from the book that was just a little too big and seemingly unnecessary.

Second, the Book of Counted Shadows gets burned at a battle near the barrier. What tha! Richard never even got the chance to memorize it! Can you imagine the trouble that is going to cause the storyline if they continue beyond the first season?? Even in the final books Richard's memorization of the Book of Counted Shadows is a major part of the story.

These two things are really the only major flaws I found in this first double episode. Like I said, as far as TV adaptations go, it's a good one. Any other small annoyances are just nitpicking really. Like the actor who plays Richard should have had a little more outdoors experience if he's going to be playing someone who is supposed to be a woods guide. Kahlan's part was cast well, and perhaps the book paints an unrealistic picture, but I just assumed Kahlan would be a little more beautiful. Still, she's well cast. The acting is good and she's still beautiful.

Well, those are my thoughts. If you've seen the show, let me know what you think.

*End Nerd Alert!*

Obama did it!!!! One of the best days of my life!! I'm so happy!!!

YES WE CAN!!!!!!

The other day I was taking my garbage downstairs to the little garbage building outside of my apartment building, and I found this guitar just sitting there propped against an old rusty refrigerator. You might think I'm lucky to have found it, and I would agree, but this type of thing is much more common that you might at first believe.



Once I got it back to my place, all I had to do was clip the strings off and spend an hour scrubbing. Most of that time was spent removing gunk from the fingerboard. What little research I found on the net indicates this guitar was made between the 60's and 80's. At least 20 years of use can really gunk up the fingerboard.

After it was clean I spent 400 yen on strings (on sale @ 1/2 price), 200 yen on 2 picks, 500 yen on a strap, and 500 yen on a capo. 1,600 yen total (around $16) for a guitar with a beautiful sound is definitely worth the effort!

In Japan, if you don't use it any more and you don't want it to take up room in your house any more, you throw it away. I found 3 bookshelves and a coffee table in that same little building, and they were all in good shape and for the most part only needed a wipe down. The coffee table needed the top glass replaced, but 1,400 yen worth of Plexiglas solved that in no time. If you go out on trash day in a nice neighborhood, there is no end to the found treasures. (and I live in a run down part of town!)