新世紀コーヒー

You can tell that the second Neon Genesis movie is coming soon, because Eva crap is for sale everywhere down here. How I like my coffee:



Asuka on one side...



...Rei on the other.

Working That Magic

I caught games 2 and 3 of the ECF, and I have to say, Orlando is a really, really interesting team to watch. They run tons of screen/rolls like New Orleans or Phoenix, except they do it with huge guys like Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. The chaos that ensues when defenders switch is really something to see. Hedo is especially confounding to watch, as he actually moves like a point guard, sometimes dipping and dropping away from traps on the perimeter, sometimes tiptoeing the baseline under the basket for kick-outs.



Doug Collins compared Lewis’ and Hedo’s ability to run the screen & roll to Grant Hill’s, and while neither of those guys are even close to being as good as Hill was as a Piston, they do possess a couple of qualities that set them apart - 1) they both pretty much have infinite range, and 2) they’re both 6’10”. Lewis was always a little overrated (and clearly overpaid) in my opinion, faster and more driven than a Tim Thomas, but lacking the craftiness and overall skill of a Dirk Nowitzki. Hedo on the other hand, is the real deal as far as I’m concerned. A power forward’s size, a point guard’s instincts, the ability to get up shots at will, and absolutely CLUTCH. In a pair of conference finals featuring players like Big Shot Billups, Kobe, and LBJ, I’d have to put Turk up there as one of the guys that I’d want to take the last shot in a game. If it’s any indication of how good he’s gotten, he only made one bucket the other night but was still probably the 3rd or 4th best player on the floor. The thing about the run & gun teams of recent years like Phoenix and Golden State is that while they had the right idea in wanting to have versatility at every position, they eventually began to overstock on swingmen. Orlando is fortunate enough to have a pair of 6’10” sharpshooters to create matchup nightmares for opposing teams, but they’re big and mobile enough to not be total liabilities on the defensive end.

Of course, LBJ is the league’s ultimate matchup nightmare, so you’d have to be crazy to write off the Cavs just yet. Regardless of who comes out on top this year, I think it’s safe to say that LeBron James and Dwight Howard will get their rings eventually. The last time we got to say, “Wow, this guy is a freak of nature,” was when Shaq came into the league, and now we’ve got two of them playing against each other in the East semis. Simply put, guys that are built like LeBron and Howard should not be given the ability to fly. It’s not fair to everyone else.

True Blue III

Rumor is that a retro version of the True Blue Jordan III will be coming in August. That would be #3 on my list of all time favorite Jordans.



Again, I'm not that big of a Jordan head, but these I need.

Oh Weekend, Where Art Thou?

Listening to:
Do As Infinity
Yesterday & Today

One of my kids decided to swipe some porn from a convenience store, so I ended up going with him to apologize to the store manager today. Which is fine. What isn't so fine is the fact that tomorrow is Sunday, and everyone has to go to school and teach observation classes for the PTA. I generally like to have a Saturday or a Sunday to not think about anything related to work, but I guess that it isn't happening this week.

I'm actually bummed because I had been planning on going to see ARIA ASIA play live tomorrow, but it turns out that I'm stuck working instead.



I think I'd get chills like crazy if I heard her play Yesterday & Today in person.

UFC Undisputed 2009 Apparently Pretty Good

Somewhat surprisingly, UFC Undisputed 2009 has been getting some really good reviews. But if you think about it, there’s no reason why you can’t make a decent MMA-style fighter by combining elements from a good boxing game and a good grappler, and THQ apparently did just that.



I’m thinking about having it ported it over from the states since it’s possible that the game won’t see the light of day down here, but I’m also tempted to just wait a year for THQ to iron out some of the rough gameplay wrinkles with Undisputed 2010.

White Plate Envy

Listening to:
MEG
HEART

I probably should have seen it coming, but my plans to get the RAV4 fell through. I just couldn't bring myself to drop a couple large on repairing a car before even driving the thing. If I'm going to be throwing around that kind of money, I figure that I may as well save up for a bit and get after a whip that I actually want. A Toyota マークII is looking like a serious possibility. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but the whole Skyline thing just seems a little played out. Of course, I'll inevitably entertain the idea of getting one of the cars that I've always wanted:



Fairlady Z32

OR



6th Gen. Celica

We'll see. People are telling me that I should just get a Honda Fit, and that seems like a very sensible, teacher-like thing to do.

Mirko Cro Cop To Fight At UFC 99

Mirko Cro Cop says that he’s heading back to the UFC, where he was a rather underwhelming 1-2 through his only three fights. According to Cro Cop, he was fighting injured during his initial UFC run, which may or may not explain the two losses. You could make the argument that Cro Cop simply got caught by the Gonzaga kick, and that he was just unable to get any offense going against Kongo after taking all those knees to the junk, but either way, it’s impossible to deny that Mirko looked nothing like the dominant fighter that everyone feared in Pride.

BUT Dana White is pretty good about recognizing when fighters have nothing left in the tank, and he apparently thinks that Cro Cop still has some juice. Along with BJ and Rampage, Cro Cop remains one of my favorite fighters, so I'm really hoping that we'll see him return to form at UFC 99.

DPOY > The President

The Pittsburgh Steelers' James Harrison will again skip the team's visit to the White House. Says Harrison:

"This is how I feel - if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. As far as I'm concerned, (Obama) would've invited Arizona if they had won."

Um, well yeah. That's sort of how it works, James. It was cool when he ducked the White House visit in 2006 when Bush was around, but now it's just kind of weird. I guess that maybe he just doesn't like presidents. Or perhaps he simply isn't as bright as your average linebacker.



On the other hand, I appreciate the fact that my Steelers are still finding ways to entertain me in the off-season.

AND1 Tai Chi

Reportedly making a comeback soon: the AND1 Tai Chi.



CLEAN. People actually still wear AND1 on the courts here in Japan, but I would definitely cop a pair of these if I were still stateside, just to be different. Some ten years ago, this was arguably the most iconic basketball sneaker in a hoops world dealing with MJ's second retirement. If And1 is $mart, we'll see the colorway that Vince Carter rocked when he blew our minds during the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest.

Bobby Lashley (3-0)

Bobby Lashley defeated Mike Cook by submission to keep his undefeated record alive. According to reports, Mike Cook was clowning around and came to the ring with a Rey Mysterio mask on, obviously taking a shot at the fact that Lashley was a former WWE pro-wrestler. This seemed to tick Lashley off, as he refused to touch gloves with Cook before the bout, then proceeded to choke him out in a mere 24 seconds. While professional wrestling is certainly scripted, it's kind of funny that some fighters are still questioning the legitimacy of guys like Lashley and Lesnar. I guess it's fair that they want to make a name for themselves, but damn, if I were going to rile up someone, Lashley would not be my first choice.

Next up for Mr. Lashley:



Bob "The Beast" Sapp. That'll be a sight. Sapp can still be a scary striker when he isn't acting all goofy for the Japanese cameras, so it could get interesting.

When You Hit The Bricks, New Whips...

Listening to:
Slumdog Millionaire
OST

I’ve realized that I’ve been pretty careless with my money over the past few months. Um, that is, even more so than usual. I was going to take this RAV4 off of a friend’s hands, but when I brought it to the shop to get the inspection done, I found out that the cost of some repairs, the vehicle tax, insurance, and the inspection fee would set me back a cool 2 grand. It’s not totally beyond my budget, but I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit of an excessive sum to be throwing away directly on the heels of a lengthy vacation. I’m still on the fence about it because I’ve really been wanting a smallish SUV, and that RAV4 is the perfect size. Another option is that I could just save that money now and potentially throw it at something a little nicer later on in the summer. When that summer heat starts to come on, I’m going to want a vehicle that can manage to get up hills with the air conditioning running. It’s kind of sad that that’s even a problem, but such is the harsh reality of owning a tiny Japanese car. Time to curb that gratuitous spending. Contrary to what JD and Jay-Z told me all those years back, I guess that money is a thang after all. Who woulda thunk?

Starbury Sighting

I don't care particularly much for Beantown, but for one reason or another, I'm still a fan of Stephon Marbury after all these years.



I had to sit and think about it for a minute, but here are 5 things that I actually do kind of like about the Celtics:

1) The fact that they beat the Lakers last year.
2) Steph.
3) Eddie House's mouth, and the silly things that often come out of it.
4) Sugar Ray Allen's jumper. It's a beautiful thang.
5) Paul Pierce's nickname.

I suppose I'm just still reeling from the fact that the Suns drafted Rajon Rondo and traded him away for virtually nothing. I mean, 17.3 ppg, 10.1 apg, 9.5 rpg? That's absurd.

UT x Japan Game

I was walking through UNIQLO the other week, and I noticed that they had a bunch of shirts with designs inspired by popular video games. I just had to get me this Tekken one with Kuma.



Other featured games include Biohazard, Bomberman, Street Fighter, Rockman, and more. Check them out.

Back To Reality...And Reality Ain't So Bad

Listening to:
木村カエラ
BANZAI

So after nine days in Hokkaido, where our biggest problems revolved around which bar to hit next, I woke up this morning with a serious case of the Mondays in the real world. It only took me about half a class to get my mojo back, but it's always a little rough trying to shake off that post-vacation rust. I played basketball for the first time in a few months with the kids until 7:00 this evening, and quite nearly killed myself in the process. When I got back to the teacher's office to pick up some things before heading on home, I noticed that a few of the students who had graduated in March were hanging around near the entrance. It had only been about two months since I had last seen them, but one of the girls literally started crying when she saw me. I'm not going to lie and pretend that I'm a real great teacher, but I honestly do love working with the kids.

My last principal, who left the school a month or so back, once said this to me:

"When you look at the students, you look at them with very kind eyes."

You know, that may not seem like much, but coming from a guy who carried himself like he did and only seemed to say incredibly profound things, it really meant the world to me. I'm not here just to teach kids grammar points and collect a check, so it's always nice to see my efforts to build a meaningful rapport pay off. I could certainly do without making teenagers cry, but I guess you can't have everything.

Sharpshooting

I've been jonesing for a pair of nylon Dunks, and these are absolutely flawless.



I don't think they have an official nickname, but I'm going to go ahead and dub them the "Hitman Harts."

Hokkaido

Nine days might have been a little excessive, but it's been a while since I've had that much good food and beer. It's also been a while since I've spent that much money, but I suppose I'll just worry about all that later. Hokkaido was freezing in May, so I can only imagine how cold it gets in the winter. Instead of buying warmer clothing, we simply elected to drink lots of whiskey...not that I'm complaining. I probably could have payed next month's rent with the sum of money that I spent on alcohol in Hokkaido, but at least we had ourselves a lot of fun.



From sakura trees...



...to snow-capped mountains. It felt more like Aspen up north.



Sapporo = BEER. The Sapporo Beer Factory is quite possibly my new favorite place in the world. A 3 beer sampler for a mere 400 yen, believe it or not.



Tokyo was good fun, but Sapporo is more my speed. If it weren't for the cold winters, I'd love to live there.



We pretty much stink at karaoke. But we do kick some serious ass with Weezer joints.



My first onsen experience...and I think I may have taken things a little too seriously. The hot springs are awesome if you can get past all the public nudity.



Oddly enough, most of the bears that we saw were of the polar sort. The Asahiyama Zoo was a little disappointing, especially after hearing people rave about it for so long.



John holding a glass of whiskey next to a picture of John holding a glass of whiskey.



Overall, Hokkaido was pretty incredible. I'll be back.