Sad To Say That...

Listening to:
倖田來未
TRICK
track: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

...it's finally happened. I recently came across "JUST THE WAY YOU ARE," a Koda Kumi song that I actually kind of like. It’s more the strings in the backing track than anything that Koda Kumi is doing, but it’s still a pretty solid number. If only she didn’t look and talk like a gorilla. Upon being subjected to a Koda Kumi interview on television, I usually turn on GTAIV, arm myself with a baseball bat, and go looking for a woman resembling her. I’m still trying to figure out whether or not Liberty City has a zoo that I can explore, because that would certainly make things a lot simpler. Koda Kumi has also unfortunately most recently released a song called "Bling Bling Bling," which I’m absolutely certain is the worst song in the history of music. No really, it probably is.

Bowling, Beer, Basketball

Listening to:
Murs
Murs For President

I went bowling with about a dozen other teachers from school, whom I’m now convinced are the rowdiest people on the entire planet. I bowled an 81 while sober, which is straight up embarrassing, but went on to bowl a 133 once I had a little beer in me. It's not a great score, but pretty damn good by my standards. I think I might stick to it and go bowling once in a while on the weekends, more or less because it’s a sport that requires minimal running, something that really isn’t my strongest suit.

I’d been jogging to keep in shape, but I ended up putting that on hold because it just got too damn cold in December. The good thing is that all that jogging paid off last month, since I had worked myself into decent enough shape to play a really good stretch of basketball when we had the district tournament for teachers. I suppose that there’s only so much that you can gather from me saying that I played “really good,” but when that fadeaway jumper is falling, believe me, it’s on. I probably should have been laboring out there, but you don’t really feel those tired legs when your students are in the stands yelling and beating on taiko drums. I unfortunately can’t get up nearly high enough to dunk, a point of great disappointment for the boy’s basketball team, but I managed to send the gym into a minor frenzy by blocking a bunch of shots emphatically. Let’s just say that I don’t bother to keep the ball in play. You know how I do. ;-)

An interesting quirk of Japanese society is that people treat you considerably differently if you do well in sports. Especially in a rural town, “cool” is measured not by the car you drive or the shoes on your feet, but by your skills with a soccer ball or your time in the 100-meter dash. Materialistic old me found it a little odd at first, but it’s actually kind of a nice, quaint way to go about living your life.

Walking On Sunshine

You'll have to excuse me for getting a tad sappy, but this is just beautiful:



I just hope that my future wife will let me rock my Old Love Jordan XX3s when we get married. Actually, since that’s apparently been done already, my plan is to wear Royal ½ Cents and get Black ½ Cents for all of my groomsmen. That’d be pretty insane, right? I’m having way too much fun right now being single to even think about a serious relationship, never mind marriage, but I’m honestly planning on putting ½ Cents in the wedding budget when that day comes. You probably think I’m crazy, but it’s going to happen.

That Salary Looks A Little Baggy On You

Listening to:
Lily Allen
It's Not Me, It's You

I was invited to sit in on an English department meeting at the local BOE the other day. When discussing the budget, the director offhandedly mentioned how much money I made over the course of the year, and one of the teachers from a neighboring elementary school gasped and sort of covered her face for the next five minutes or so. I’ve never ruined someone’s day before by merely being present, but I suppose that there’s a first time for everything. I really don’t feel like I’m making an excessive sum of money, but I guess that in Japan it’s a pretty hefty amount for someone my age. From the perspective of a Japanese instructor who’s likely been working hard for 10 years, it probably doesn’t seem fair that a foreigner in his twenties is making so much more than her, especially one with virtually no teaching experience and considerably fewer responsibilities. I’m not looking to renegotiate my contract or anything, but I can definitely understand where she’s coming from.

Oh, It Just Keeps Getting Better...

Mere days after deciding not to trade him, the Suns lose Amare Stoudemire for the rest of the regular season due to an eye injury.



Um, maybe the Bulls will decide to release Tim Thomas again? I guess the team just goes small and hopes that Barbs and J-Rich play out of their minds. I wouldn't sweat it if Boris were still around, but...oh well.

The Return Of The Phoenix Suns (Hopefully) & Junior

Joe Johnson posed an interesting question over the weekend: “Who knows how many rings we would have had (had the Suns re-signed him)?” Probably at least one. Even with Amare out for the 05-06 season, the presence of Johnson would have been enough to push Phoenix past Dallas, and they would have likely succeeded in running past Miami in the Finals. With Johnson on the payroll they wouldn’t have been able to ink a lot of free agents to fill out the bench, but some of the draft picks that they traded away for cash turned out to be solid players like Sergio Rodriguez, Nate Robinson and Rajon Rondo. With guys like those on their rookie contracts and the core still intact, they probably would have at least had a ring or two by now. Part of the blame goes to Mike D’Antoni for refusing to give minutes to any rookies not named Leandro Barbosa, but most goes to Robert Sarver for being unwilling to pay money to keep the team’s core intact, even when they probably had 4 of the top 20 players in the league on their roster. Worse still, he was largely responsible for chasing Bryan Colangelo out of town, which eventually led to the hiring of Steve Kerr. Of course, Kerr proceeded to do his best to destroy the team, and here we are today. At times I can't help but wonder if Kerr is still secretly working for the Spurs.

The good news is that it looks like the Suns have dusted off the old 7 seconds or less philosophy, but the bad news is that there’s just a shade over 30 games left in the season with the Suns sitting in 9th place. I still have faith that this team can make the postseason and do some damage, especially since it’s apparent that Alvin Gentry still remembers how to run D’Antoni’s sets. They say that defense wins championships, an adage so routinely repeated over the years that it's become banal and commonplace, but it doesn't take a genius to see that some teams are built to play defense, some are built to run. I mean, if you're going to drop 500k on a Ferrari, you'd may as well let it loose. Beating a shorthanded Clippers team twice is nothing to to celebrate about, but scoring 140 and 142 points in regulation certainly is, if only because it means that the old Suns are back, hopefully for good.



It’s gonna be cool seeing Ken Griffey Jr. in a Mariners uniform again. Now we won’t have to worry about Nike putting out the Air Griffey in Atlanta Braves colors. Hopefully he’ll still be playing when they inevitably release the classic Griffey 2.

Turmoil, All-Star Festivities In Phoenix

Listening to:
MF Doom
Nastradoomus

So, it looks like Terry Porter could be out as Suns' head coach come Monday. I've never been a huge advocate of mid-season firings, but the players have clearly stopped responding to Porter, and really, the team's record is unacceptable given the assemblage of contracts and talent. Unfortunately, this doesn't change the fact that the team's GM has no clue what he's doing. A lot of Amare Stoudemire trade rumors have been floating around, some interesting, some laughable. I would have been happy with the Amare for Marion/Beasley trade (not happening with Trix in Toronto), and a swap with the Pistons involving Sheed, Jason Maxiell + draft picks also doesn't sound too bad right about now. Should be an interesting couple of days.

I'm not a real big Nate Robinson fan, but those neon green "kryptonite" Foamosite Lites on his feet during the dunk contest were wild.



They probably won't see a general release, but I imagine that the sneaker community will be buzzing about them for a while.

Street Fighter IV First Impressions

Playing:
Street Fighter IV
(PS3)

First off, SFIV's graphics are absolutely off the charts. From Chun-Li’s fluid, mesmerizing fighting stance to El Fuerte’s Ultimo Dragon-esque jukes, the fighters are a sight to behold from the moment that the round opens. Never has a simple quarter circle motion produced effects quite so dazzling, and blitzing your opponent with your character’s unique Ultra Combo is immensely satisfying. Aside from the spectacular graphics, the new Revenge Gauge is probably the best new thing about the game. Upon filling your meter and connecting with an Ultra Combo, the camera will zoom in on the action, giving you an up close view of the over the top violence that your character inflicts. The basic movesets of the OG characters remain essentially unchanged from their Super Street Fighter II days, so it’s a treat to watch Ryu charge up his fireball Dragon Ball Z style, or see Vega (M. Bison) take his hapless victim vertically into the air with a Psycho Crusher and bring him back down to earth with a vicious stomp to the chest.



Although the lack of new moves is initially a little disappointing, a lot of the properties of the classics have changed, which is enough to give a fresh feel to everything when coupled with the overall speed of the game. For example, poor Guile is still saddled with his same two special moves, but his flash kick now also moves forward instead of just vertically, making it one of the game’s most effective moves. The EX attacks have made their way over from Street Fighter III, but the parrying system unfortunately has not, replaced by the interesting but less versatile Saving Attack system. As a result, IV isn’t quite as deep of a fighter as Third Strike or Alpha 3, and as of right now, I can’t realistically place it any higher than #3 on my list of favorite SF games. Time will tell. SFIV is a breathtaking visual assault, capable of producing the type of epic spectacle that the Tekkens and Virtua Fighters of the gaming world are too grounded in reality to produce, but it's also one that was clearly geared towards the more casual gamer. The cinematic feel of the game will suck in the casual and hardcore fighters alike, but it’s more of a pick up & play title than one that you spend hours honing your combos at. I was honestly hoping for something closer in feel to Third Strike, but I quickly found myself loving this installment as well, albeit for different reasons. There’s nothing quite like parrying all of your opponent’s projectiles or dizzying someone up with Alex en route to some flying powerbombs, but in its own way, tearing shit up with Crimson Viper’s flaming kicks can be just as fun.



The long loading times between fights kind of stink and the animated cutscenes are flat out terrible, but other than that, Street Fighter IV certainly does not disappoint. Definitely check it out.

Random Holidays, Dreams

Listening to:
GReeeeN
歩み

Yesterday we had another one of those random Japanese holidays that seem to pop up once every month or so. I think it was National Foundation Day or something. It’s kind of weird having a Wednesday off, but it’s always nice to be able to wake up at 9:30 and cook yourself a real breakfast. The night before, I had this strange dream where I was at the recreation center under the bridge back home. I was taking part in a lightsaber competition, but I was almost disqualified because I had apparently started smoking reefer again. I was eventually allowed to participate, but I ended up getting killed because I was high out of my mind and everyone else brought their lightsaber A-game. I usually don’t remember my dreams, but I’m beginning to think that I’ve probably just been subconsciously willing myself to forget them.

I drove straight from work to get my hands on a copy today:



I’ll probably have some thoughts up in a day or two after I’ve spent a little time with the game.

Serious Japanese, Serious Boredom, And My 37,800円 Mirror

Listening to:
Teriyaki Boyz
Serious Japanese

The last couple of days have been dreadfully slow at work. The 2nd year students are all up in Kyushu for their class trip, and all of the 3rd years are busy studying for their entrance exams. As a result, I’ve taught a grand total of two classes over the past two days, and while it’s somewhat nice to get paid to sit at my desk and do nothing for a change, I’d much rather have a task of some sort to engage myself with. It doesn’t help matters that it sounds like the 2nd graders are having the time of their lives skiing and seeing the sites up on the mainland. As an instructor, the one thing that you should never be is jealous of your students, but there it is. Oh well, I’ve got a three day weekend coming up next month, so maybe I’ll fly somewhere and be a tourist for a few days.

I’ve had my PS3 for a while now, but I’ve been too caught up with Persona 4 to give the thing much run. I may not play it a lot, but I do spend a lot of time looking at the thing because it’s quite the sexy, sexy machine. Or maybe that’s just my reflection in it.



The one game that I have been able to spend a little time with is Portal. I went in with the understanding that Portal was a sophisticated, FPS style puzzle game, but it’s also pretty much the funniest thing that I’ve ever played. I honestly don’t know if I’ll be playing much of Half Life, if at all, but for 20 bucks, the Orange Box is worth it for Portal alone. I’ve actually never had a video game backlog quite like this before – Grand Theft Auto IV, Little Big Planet, Midnight Club Los Angeles, Bioshock, Soul Calibur IV, and Chrono Trigger DS – but I guess it’s a welcome dilemma. Street Fighter IV drops on February 12th down here, so I’ll likely end up pushing all those titles another notch down the list when I get my hands on a copy.

木村カエラ「どこ」

木村カエラ
「どこ」

無邪気に笑うって楽しい
強がってみせたって空しい
優しくされると嬉しい
そう当たり前のこの感情

戻らぬあの日々愛しい
失って気がついて哀しい
今でもあなたが恋しい
なぜ忘れられないこの恋情

世間の目はいつも厳しい
傷つけ傷ついて苦しい
そんなのなんだかおかしい
でも変わらないんだこの実情

気持ちも疲れ果てて
押さえきれないのなら
溢れ出る涙で洗い流してしまえば
くるおしい思いでも
また癒える

笑顔は誰だって可愛い
しょげてるばかりじゃ悔しい
思いやれるのって素晴らしい
もう忘れたくないこの温情

心よ今日はどこ向かうのだろう
悲しいのなら泣いてもいいよ
ほんの少しの幸せでいいんだ
そのきっかけを探してるよ



さすが。

Pittsburgh Steelers Champs Again

It’s funny, I was sitting at my desk taking care of some work this afternoon when one of the history teachers walked by, and in Japanese, informed me that the Steelers had won the Super Bowl. There’s something markedly strange about finding out in Japanese, at work, on a Monday, who won the big game, but the peculiarity of the situation was quickly superseded by the thrill of hearing that the Steelers had won. Despite being a lifelong sports fan, my teams have a history of not winning championships, but with two titles over the past four years, the Pittsburgh Steelers are pretty much the exception to that rule. Not being able to watch the game live was a huge bummer, especially considering that people are hailing it as one of the best Super Bowls ever, but I suppose I’ll live. Big up to Big Ben, Santonio Holmes, James Harrison, and the rest of Steel Curtain 2K8.



I was also planning on tracking down the St-Pierre/Penn fight, but I didn’t bother since it sounds like Penn lost pretty convincingly. BJ is still tops at lightweight, so that certainly counts for something, but I guess the moral of the story is that you don’t mess around with multiple weight classes. That is, uh, unless your name is Anderson Silva. Somewhat ironically, now the fight that most people want to see is the aforementioned Silva versus St-Pierre. On paper, that’s one of the few fights that could potentially top GSP/Penn in terms of hype, but you inevitably run the risk of killing a title holder’s mystique when you have these champ versus champ fights. Not that I’d be against a GSP/Silva bout, but just for the sake of keeping the title holders looking strong, it might be a good idea to restrict champions to fighting within their divisions.