Tokyo Tales

While my first visit to Tokyo was exhaustively blogged, this last trip will be summarized more concisely...

I went to Tokyo with the express purpose of relaxing and getting away. I wanted to breathe clean air, walk a lot, and enjoy more of those yummy sandwiches in 7-11. I'm not being facetious; I really like them!

I left Hong Kong at approximately 2:00AM last Wednesday morning (Tuesday night?). The plane was late, but I had been mysteriously upgraded into a business class seat, so I said nothing.

I tried to sleep, but...Read more

Yo Ho Ho and Feed the Sharks

Crime doesn't pay, and apparently piracy's no longer a free ride either.**** From the AP:

Somali pirates vow retaliation after captain freed

By MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED and MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR, Associated Press Writers Malkhadir M. Muhumed And Mohamed Sheikh Nor, Associated Press Writers – Sun Apr 12, 9:17 pm ET

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali pirates on Monday vowed to retaliate for the deaths of three colleagues who were shot dead by U.S. Navy snipers hours before in a daring nighttime assault that freed ...Read more

Help a fellow AnDer out... It's not me!

Jon Tse has asked us to fill out a survey. He needs more respondents.

If you will, please allow me to try and convince you to help him.

First, he needs mostly people outside the US. That relieves many of you from the task.

Second, I am a trained researcher. I know how hard it is to create viable surveys, how hard it is to get people to respond, and how useful the data is. The larger data set you have, the better. Size matters.

You don't even have to talk to anyone on the phone,...Read more

Tokyo II

Too tired to blog anything profound. So the highlights will have to suffice...

Day 1 (Wed.) Arrived 6:30 AM. Saw Mt. Fuji from 30,000 ft. It was incredibly impressive (have photo). Went to Ueno park to take sakura pictures for my mother. Took 100. Found a file saw. It gives me wood, which I can use the file saw on. Ouch. Went to Shibuya to achieve phoneliness. Failed profoundly. Looked at guitars in Shibuya. Went to Ochanomizu. Looked at guitars and the ESP shops. Have photos and stories. Went back to my hotel at 6 to check in. Ate dinner tw...Read more

RESPECT MY GANGSTER

Weird thoughts. I am sitting in the departure lounge waiting for a red-eye to Japan.

I've apparently been bumped to Business Class, but I am unsure why, or even if it is true. I will arrive in Japan at dawn, and must stay awake until 4pm, when I can check into my room. I will sleep, and bathe, though not in that order.

I will go to Shibuya and look for a SIM card for my phone. It's important to have a phone in Japan. Because then I can prove that I never get calls in two countries. F@#$ off.

Dinner with Nan...Read more

Back to Shinjuku, Literally and Figuratively

For a movie I didn't much like, I seem to be devoting a lot of time to it...

Patrick and I have been discussing this film, and so I figured I would try to clarify my view of it.

The film is not, I confess, as explicitly anti-Japanese as it is implicitly so. It has to do with the way the film is structured.

For better or worse, this article that is in the AnD news section helps me make my point.

I will...Read more

Horsing Around With Pigs and Monkeys

I was in Allied Plaza in Mong Kok a while back and ran into someone I know.

He's an AnD member too!

Ever see these signs? Know who that is?

It's Sidney Chan, my goddaughter's father He used to work for the HK PPRB (Police Public Relations ...Read more

Movie Review(s): HKIFF 2009

First, let me give a HUGE thank-you to the Movie Night folks in general and to Kevin akaThe Golden Rock in particular.

Without their encouragement and help, I'd have spent another year NOT going to the HKIFF, one of the reasons I ostensibly MOVED here...

Kevin booked the tickets for me, and it turns out that all my viewings were things he wanted to see too. He was kind enough to put up with me for a lot of evenings in which he had a fair share of my foibles foisted on him.

No, that's not a euphemi...Read more

Super Typhoon Prequels?

Check out the advertising tag line for Super Typhoonon the poster: I think they're recycling promo materials, because I've seen that particular line before: In fact, I've seen it twice: Read more

It's different in Japan

Apparently, only heterosexual otakuare at risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Check out these 'ergonomic' mouse pads:

Call me all the names you want, but I'd love to see a homosexual version of this. Fair is fair.