"Tis nothin personal, squiddy, I heard you had a pot of gold in yer belly."

So the first ever footage of a live Giant Squid has been captured by two Japanese scientists. What's really cool is that it was done in the Ogasawara Islands, where I am headed in November. No, I don't expect to see one unless I decide to cover myself with shrimp mush and throw myself to the sea but it's pretty nice that a live one has finally been seen. Can't wait to see the video.

A Dick on the Train

Yep, that's me! Not for any specific reason it's just my how I feel as the foreigner who will never be content to just look out the fucking window.

I haven't really been paying too much attention to this blog in the past week or so because we're nearing the end of our intensive period and I'm trying to focus as much energy on learning all this stuff. At any rate we're headed south to Hiroshima and Nagasaki next week so I'll at least eventually return with some more good pictures.

I beg you God
if you have the knives
please find your heart
and take my eyes

Who We Be

Elsewhere in Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Taisha

The worst place to pick up women

I would assume it would be a "babies R Us" such as the one that recently opened along my bus route to and from the train station. I want to take a picture of it and share it, lovingly, with you all. I'm so happy for it.

So on the TeeVee last night the news was recapping this crazy race taking place between different teams comprised of a bunch of guys ferociously pulling a shack (don't know the actual name) around a winding route while a half naked man dances on its roof as though taunting the inertia and gravity that seeks to add a bit of red to his flesh. It was all good fun until a clip was shown of one group plowing head on into a pole on the side of the street. I kind of stopped paying attention after that but I don't think any serious injuries occurred. At any rate it was more entertaining than NASCAR.

The phrase "same old same old" may pop up again and again in separate posts but I want to make it clear that I type it with utmost joy. I love the routine I have in all its "Dailyness." It's really going to suck when it ends because as much as I don't see it on a day to day basis my Japanese is improving; though in a race between it and a cadaver I'd probably hold off the betting until a few laps in. Oh man Beat Takeshi just showed up randomly in this music video and pulled a gun on the band. That's pretty cool. Anyway I also feel that I could eat Japanese food for the rest of my life. I've even grown to enjoy Eggplant. EGGPLANT. I will admit though that I have yet to brave the infamous Natto that I have heard about.

I wish I had some more interesting stuff to wring out of my brain but as I said: 'Dailyness'. This Saturday we are all going to
a supposedly beautiful place known as Fushimi Inari, which holds a famous Shinto shrine among other things. I'll definitely bring back some pictures for all your greedy eyes.

It took about three hours to write this post so I'm pretty winded. Oh by the way: anyone looking to procure some damn fine music I recommend without any hesitation picking up the new Calexico/Iron & Wine collaborative EP, "In the Reins". I just picked it up and it is really a spectacular album. Also for those who are (and perhaps understandably) jaded toward the latest Oasis album "Don't Believe the Truth" definitely give it a try. It's so astonishingly good. Okay bye.

"The scenes then became one like two colors on an artist's palette"

Your feet never touched the ground

Yeah so it's been a while since I've posted actual sentences on this here ...blog so before I crash for the night on this fine Sunday I figured I'd take the time out of your busy schedule and waste it. I realize that there's been some, for lack of a better word at this our, totally fucking nutso goings on in America these days but I'll stick to my stay abroad for this post however meaningless it all is in comparison to an event that reveals the wrath of Earth and the awful nature of greedy man. Aw shit I already fucked it up.

Kyoto is amazing. I think that everyone who visits Japan and only goes to Tokyo doesn't really visit Japan. Tokyo represents the pinnacle of Japan's ability to hyperize the West and while it is certainly an incredible city it just doesn't have the creamy filling of culture nestled within Kyoto's delicious Boston cream donut. A few of those pictures I posted the other day is a testament to my claim. I love Kyoto but I am also looking forward to further travels around Japan in the near future.

My home-stay family is great. It's just a couple whose kids have all grown up. I'm so scared that I'm always offending them because our pseudo-orientation was concerned primarily with the fact that American's can and will insult everyone everywhere. I understand their concern, though, based on some of the horror stories our professor has told us about. It's incredible how narrow minded people can be. Selling your soul isn't the only way to get rid of it.

I've also been able to find a social nerve here in the city too. The area is called Sanjo and it is a blast. You can drink outside in Japan too so last night sitting by this river with all sorts of people around too while enjoying a beer is incredible. Oh Yeah! I also saw the Japanese Guardian Angels-they're like a peacekeeping task force, not government run, who help people out and stuff-which was pretty cool. If I had my camera I would have gotten a picture with them. Speaking of pictures I'll post more in a day or two. Perhaps of the area in which I live. Perhaps.

So my friend and I had a great time chillin in Sanjo gettin our white boy groove on meeting some great people and enjoying the night. The train system shuts down at midnight so we decided to stay out until five when it started back up. It wasn't too bad of an idea but I couldn't get my bus back from the train-station so I had to walk about 2 miles back home, up hill, both ways, on fire. Well maybe not on fire but certainly beat.

So yeah I going to go sleep and probably have some sort of horrible nightmare involving priests or something. I can't exactly say why but it I know I'm due for some sort of violent pedophile sequence. I'll be ready though. I bet I'll have a bucked of Ozzy's sweat that I can use to melt those freaks. I can only hope.