Magicarp use splash!

thiscitycalledearth: Photograph by Peter Zeglis, Tokyo.

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:21:49 -0700

Photograph by Peter Zeglis, Tokyo.

New Student Opening Ceremony and Reception

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:40:25 -0700

The flags you see in the above picture represent the 39 countries students are from this semester at Kansai Gaidai. Of the 423 international students, 247 are from America. Other countries with large contingencies: the UK, Sweden, France, Norway, Canada, and Australia. The tough thing about being an international student at Kansai Gaidai is that all the classes are taught in English, which means students from places like Germany have to be studying English and Japanese simultaneously.

My friend William from Alabama, left, and my friend Clement from New Zealand, right.

The reception was filled with all kinds of delicious food. It ranged from traditional Japanese sushi and sashimi to more western foods like ice cream.

But what stole the show was this chocolate excreting fountain of deliciosity, placed right in the center of everything. It was tempting to try out chocolate-covered sushi, but I stuck to the standard bananas, pineapples, and marshmallows.

Japanese Dorm Room

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:02:32 -0700

This is the room I’m staying in this week before I move in with my host family. Japanese dorm rooms are not like American ones. You can tell right off the bat that the Japanese expect you to be extremely efficient with your space management.

Every night you have to unroll your bed to sleep on it. This is the best way to go around things, if we just left our beds out on the floor each day, there would be barely any room to walk.

It’s also extremely clean in the dorm room. We have to take our shoes off the moment we enter the building, so dirt never even makes it up to the 2nd and 3rd floors (I’m on the 3rd).

This is the view from outside our window. The windows don’t open very wide at all, so there isn’t much to look at.

Two days ago it went from completely sunny to instant downpour in a matter of minutes.

It cleared up about an hour later, and has been (way too) hot and sunny since.

lonelysandwich: Ken Cosgrove shows Harry Crane the future of...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:17:00 -0700

lonelysandwich:

Ken Cosgrove shows Harry Crane the future of television

From a behind-the-scenes photography set at Rolling Stone. This photo by James Minchin III. (thx, Greg)

inothernews: And here’s the proper way to hold a...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:38:06 -0700

inothernews:

And here’s the proper way to hold a videocamera.

(Photo of Tana the hippopotamus mugging for a cameraman at the Opel Zoo near Frankfurt, Germany on her 50th birthday by Frank Rumpenhorst [best last name ever or best last name ever?] / AFP-Gety via the San Francisco Chronicle)

Things are Small in Japan

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:37:54 -0700

Photos from around Hirakata.

Restaurants are very small. A lot of the ones I’ve been to have only 2-3 tables to sit at.

The sidewalk you see here is an exception to the rule; Japanese sidewalks are either very small or nonexistent. The road you see to the right is a very highly trafficked road, something that would normally be 2-3 times larger in America.

Japanese cars are very small. These are two Japanese Kei cars next to a Mazda 3, for size comparison.

I tried to capture the elusive fox bus yesterday, but it was a little too quick for me. All the school buses I’ve seen in Japan are brightly pastel colored and shaped like animals. This is one I’ve seen a couple times around Kansai Gaidai. It’s pink and shaped like a fox, complete with ears and tail.

On Top of Hirakata

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:09:00 -0700

Recently while I was walking around town I got a chance to run up the exterior flight of stairs on a Japanese apartment building and take a few photos of Hirakata city. I’m still not sure whether I was allowed to be there, but you can take it as a good sign that I’m not writing this from a Japanese prison.

Photos from Earlier

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:23:07 -0700

Earlier as in before I left for Japan.

More Photos from around Kansai Gaidai

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:19:33 -0700

The tall building is Kansai Gaidai’s main administration building. The glass building in the foreground is one of the dining halls.

A view of the campus from farther away.

On average, streets in Japan are much smaller than their American counterparts.

Spotted this in an alleyway in Hirakata.

Japanese Things

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:19:00 -0700

Japanese power plugs are 100% compatible with American ones, except they don’t allow a third prong.
Everybody bikes here. And even though I have yet to see a bike lane, while walking down the street I’m continually passed by bicyclists, from young children to women wearing kimonos to elderly people. And there is almost no variation in their bikes. Just about every bicycle I’ve seen in Japan looks like this:
The first day of school is Monday, September 6. Before that, we go through orientation week where we take placement exams, fill out forms, and do other generally boring stuff.
I move in with my host family this Sunday. I still don’t even know who they are. I think I find out in the next couple of days.

Breakfast Lunch

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:11:00 -0700

Breakfast

Lunch

Every Time Zone

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:00:00 -0700

Every Time Zone:

Use this to find out what time it is in Osaka, Japan.

On Google Maps you can tour the Kansai Gaidai campus.

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:19:00 -0700

On Google Maps you can tour the Kansai Gaidai campus.

Traveling to Kansai Gaidai

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:19:00 -0700

Beijing Capitol International Airport at 4:30am.

Control tower. I win.

Beijing Capitol International Airport at 6:00am.

I flew in on this 747-400M.

Chinese Vitamin Water. It was a little more diluted than its American counterpart.

Air China was stupendous in that it exceeded my subterranean expectations. Here is my brief review of Air China.

The flight attendants are militaristically efficient. They dispensed beverages faster than a Seven-Eleven on July 11th.
Their airplane food was actually edible. I had chicken with noodles for our first meal, and then beef with broccoli for our second. Both were delicious. Best airplane food I’ve ever had.
When a baby started crying and/or screaming, the flight attendants actually went over and tried to calm the baby down.
For the price, Air China absolutely cannot be beat. The trip was 75% cheaper than all the other airlines’ lowest tier of service.

We learned today that communism can produce extremely cheap and efficient air travel as long as you never speak out against the regime.

When I arrived at Kansai International Airport in Japan, I went through customs and met up with a couple other Kansai Gaidai students. We took the Kansai Gaidai shuttle bus to Seminar House 4, where I’m staying right now. For dinner, I went out to a hole-in-the-wall noodle restaurant with a few other new guys whom I’d just met.

I met a lot of really neat people today. I just got back from a little tour around the area that included a visit the local supermarket. Nothing is really planned for tomorrow. I’m most likely going to tour the Kansai Gaidai campus and study for the placement exam.

Konnichiwa

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:28:32 -0700

My journey to Japan is 7,365 miles and will take me from Los Angeles International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport, and then to Kansai International Airport. From endpoint to endpoint, this trip will take 23 hours. I will then stay in Japan, living with a host family, study Japanese, and meet a lot of people. When I return in 112 days, I will possess a greater understanding of the Japanese language, and if I’m lucky, Japanese people, the world, and life in general.

This journey will begin in approximately 30 seconds.

A Letter To My Students

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:34:02 -0700

luckyshirt:

by Michael O’Hare, Professor of Public Policy, Berkley

The budget deficit that’s paralyzing Sacramento is about $500 per person; add another $500 to get back to a public sector we don’t have to be ashamed of, and our average income is almost forty times that. Of course we can afford a government that actually works: the fact is that your parents have simply chosen not to have it.

Read this. All of it. Right now.

fuckyeahdementia: meanwhile in australia…

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:05:00 -0700

fuckyeahdementia:

meanwhile in australia…

Seeing if full-width images work. Photo by Jake.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:18:00 -0700

Seeing if full-width images work.
Photo by Jake.

List of helicopter prison escapes

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:20:19 -0700

List of helicopter prison escapes:

readmorewikipedia:

France has had more recorded helicopter escape attempts than any other country, with at least 11.

The record for most chopper escapes goes to escape artist Pascal Payet, who has used helicopters to escape from prisons in 2001, 2003, and most recently 2007.

According to this, your chances of successfully escaping from prison in a helicopter are about 76%.

jakecarp: The quest to aquire tweed was a sucess! but suddenly...

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:23:18 -0700

jakecarp:

The quest to aquire tweed was a sucess! but suddenly we got a call from the 1930’s….it seems they want their clothes back….