Shuffle Off to Buffalo!

Ah, forget Buffalo, Shuffle down to Shaft to enjoy Friday's latest Echophonyk extravaganza.

Check out the flyer (by clicking it )for details.

I'm Jack Bauer, Weak For My Daughter.

DJ Mixture, this is for you and your wife, the biggest 24 fans I know.

Just came across this odd advert for Season 6 of 24 on DVD. Right now, they're in their 3rd rerun of Season 4 on FOX right now, so I don't even know what happens in Season 5 yet. But if it's anything like this song, it promises to be exciting!



Here's a translation lifted from Japan Probe:

I'm Jack Bauer
Always in danger
I'm Jack Bauer
I never die
I'm Jack Bauer
I get pissed easily
I'm Jack Bauer
I'm actually a crybaby…

I'm Jack Bauer
To the guys who don't confess
I'm Jack Bauer
I yell at them from really close

I'm Jack Bauer
24th is 24's day
I'm Jack Bauer
Let's go to a rental video place

Song 2:

I'm Jack Bauer
I don't take orders from anyone
I'm Jack Bauer
And I drag everyone along
I'm Jack Bauer
I'm good with dealing with danger
I'm Jack Bauer
Weak for my daughter

I'm Jack Bauer
I'm an immortal man
I'm Jack Bauer
Sometimes I pass out
I'm Jack Bauer
My phone bill is crazy
I'm Jack Bauer
But my job pays for it

(ps. When does Jack go pee?)

"海賊のまねをして話ましましょう！"

"Kaizoku no mane o shite hanamashimashou!" OR "Let's Talk Like a Pirate!"

In honour of "Talk Like a Pirate" Day, I thought I'd bring the Classic Anime, どうぶつ宝島 (doubutsu takara jima or "Animal Treasure Island") to your attention.





Though it sounds like a cross between R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island and H.G. Well's Island of Dr. Moreau, Animal Treasure Island is actually directed by 池田 裕 (Hiroshi Ikeda), with much of the developing structure, characters, designs, storyboarding and key animating of pivotal scenes done by a younger 宮崎 駿 (Hayao Miyazaki).












It isn't a faithful adaptation of the story because I don't recall mention of Jim's bespectacled mouse friend, Gran and stowaway baby brother, Baboo. But with the map in hand, thanks to Cap'n Flint, they set off across the ocean in a wooden beer barrel. Shortly after their encounter with the porcine Long John Silver, they are clapped in irons, guarded by a fez-wearing hippo and are joined by Flint's granddaughter, Kathy and a sympathetic pirate walrus named Otto.

A slightly less cool cover of the DVD.


















Thanks to this guy for the screen captures that he scanned and I scammed.













































Here are the first few minutes, but go seek it out for yourself...



YARRR MATEYS, while you're at it, pick up "Puss & Boots"!

Snots trump Rabbits.

Mokugohan & Nori's team, the SNOTS beat the Rascally Rabbits last night in the Summer Tournament.










A hard hitting game was finally won 5-3. Neither Alex nor Nori scored a single point, though they did contribute to many a hit including a shmuck into the boards whereupon Alex snapped his opponent's stick in two!








Highlight of the game: The name of Player #11 is Takeshite but his shirt has no "E" on the end so it reads "TAKESHIT"! He don't TAKE SH*T from no one!
(He doesn't take sh*t from anyone! For purists.)







おめでとうごうざいます! (Omedetou Gozaimasu = Congratulations!)











This post has been brought to you by KitKat, Vanilla Beans flavour.

Pure Purikura.

プリクラ is a shortened form of プリント倶楽部 (purinto kurabu = Print Club) and at any given moment at school, you can see my students gossipping about their latest phone booth conquests, trading them back and forth and basically paying no attention to what the teacher is saying.

A few people enter the booth, do several different poses using various "blue screen" backgrounds and snap away.











Before printing, one can use a special pen, write messages on the screen and decorate the perimeter with swirls and hearts. One then prints off their masterpiece onto a 4X6 sheet, cuts them up and distribute them amongst one's friends.

I've indulged in this activity several times, though I haven't done it in a few years. (I had a mini-collection of prints kept in my wallet until I had my wallet ripped off in Calgary a few years back. I hate to think that someone is showing off MY purikura!)



But recently I snapped a few with Fumika, a friend's friend's friend whom I've dated a few times. Click on the mini-pic to Jumbo-size it.

I have a bunch more somewhere and once I find them, I'll post them for posterity.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T!

Today is a National Holiday called 敬老の日, (Keirō no Hi or Respect for the Aged.) I'm older than most of my friends, but do you think that entitles me to any respect? (I don't think so...they made me buy the beer after the SNOTS won their hockey tournament last night!) Yet, sure I may be old but I'm not as old as these really old people!

So as a tip of the hat to ALL the old folks out there, here's a little Respect for you!









ps. Though I've mentioned it before, I'm IN this movie though I defy you to find me!

Ontario Jones and the Temple of Zoom!

A while back, a fellow Torontonian, Derek, asked me if I'd substitute for him and give a speech about Canada to a group of Anglophiles in Matsushima. I said sure and soon after meeting the organizer, I regretted it. She's a little intense to say the least and I wasn't sure what I'd gotten myself into. (I bumped into Derek at the Jazz Fest and it was the first time I'd met his family outside of a phone-photo.)






But today was the day, so leaving everything to the last minute, yesterday I photocopied a lesson I gave to my students 2 years ago and whipped off a quick "Why I'm Proud of Canada" diatribe.










The crowd was lovely, and my speech went off without a hitch. I wowed them with my wit, educated them with my entreaty, charmed them by crooning-Oh Canada and belted out a few ballads.









They took me out to lunch at the uber-posh Century Hotel.


















I had the colourful variety plate, and though it looks purty, isn't much to speak of. The Seafood Curry looked much yummier.











Then I was given a tour of the Zuiganji Temple & Art Museum.

The ever-friendly Goodwill Guide was Yoshio Ohura (022-354-3678), call him if you ever want an informative educational tour of the place. As with most temples, photos are verbotten, but I snapped lots around the place. Here's a sampling...
























Not looking forward to another speech, but I will be returning to Matsushima someday.

Shiver Me Timbers!

Avast there mateys! Talk Like a Pirate Day is here on Wednesday. (Ye can read last years post here.) Yo-ho ye landlubbers, get ye ready by watching this video to prepare ye-self. (Let's practice, shall we: Yarrr!)

But it isn't Wednesday yet, so I don't have to do this entire post in Pirate-speak. I would like to show you one of the treasures I collected recently. This Mini-Cosbaby is adorable. It'll do my father proud to be named after this Davy Jones figure.















Other Booty that I'd collected (on sale, wouldn't pay full price for this swag) includes Ms. Swann.

















And Will Turner.















Last year, you may recall that I went to a Fancy Dress ball as a Computer Pirate, Cap'n StarHacker. We hope to have this year's party on the 27th of Oct, but have yet to find a venue. Any hints?

Yo-ho, It's the Pirates Life For Me...I'll leave you with a picture of Nori hanging out in Jack Sparrow at Tokyo Disneyland (lucky bastard.) There better be some Rum in that Apple juice!

Mmmm, Sukiyaki Django.

The latest hot movie in North America is a Western called 3:10 to Yuma starring Batman & Cinderella Man (now that's a Dynamic Duo!) It's taken the #1 spot away from Rob Zombie's Halloween and that must be some accomplishment. Check out the site and see what all the hubbub is bub.



But this western looks pretty damned cool, too. スキヤキ・ウエスタン ジャンゴ, (a remake of an old Spaghetti Western, Django) is directed by 三池 崇史 (Takeshi Miike) so you know it's going to be violent. Surprisingly, the dialogue will all be in English! Less surprisingly, Quentin Tarantino has a cameo in it. Let's hope his previous super-sucky onscreen portrayals were a fluke and he's actually good in this.



You can always play the game if you're so inclined. (Type what you see on the screen to shoot the bad guys. Warning: it is case sensitive, so you must Capitalize letters, but you don't have to worry about the space bar.) I made it to level four before I died. The theme song that plays when you visit the site is extremely catchy. It has now become my screen saver.

By the way, my mom used to make Sukiyaki when we were kids. It was pretty yummy, though I suspect it wasn't totally authentic. For one thing, I don't think you should use Uncle Ben's Instant Rice.