Star Ocean 3

And speaking of good podcasts, Dave Dameshek's show is cool. He's part of the circle with Bill Simmons, Carolla, and the like. Maybe he's too silly for most people; the show really isn't very serious, but doesn't try too hard with the comedy, either.

I had the strangest dream last night. Now, I can't remember it perfectly, but I was observing a meeting of the Ducks. I think it was in a coffee shop. Their sitting order was arranged as if they were doing Bible study night or something. Teemu Selanne was there, wearing all black, explaining his reasons for not deciding on retiring. Then the other players started arguing with him on how his stance is detrimental to the team. I think it ended with Teemu yelling a lot. I would take this to a dream specialist here, but the Japanese don't really know hockey. Anyway, if anyone else has had some cool dreams involving the Mighty Ducks, feel free to share.

Max left ATH in part because he wanted to give his opinion. In that sense ATH wasn't really the best fit for him. I, Max was cancelled once it slipped away from its original humorous format and tried to be a serious show.

I study the Japanese language now as an exchange student at a university. The plan is to enter a music school here eventually, to learn traditional Japanese music, and continue composing classical. Most people go to Europe if they're going to study abroad anywhere for classical music, but I think there's something interesting here with the way that scene is developing. Plus, I was doing a whole lot of nothing in LA, and needed a change. I don't remember seeing any sailor suited schoolgirls, but the ones with those ridiculously huge socks are everywhere. Also, even though it's freezing, they still have to wear those skirts. Even midnight on New Year's I saw girls walking around in short shorts. It was, like, 30 degrees F. Everyone I've asked about this says it's all about fashion. I guess if you're legs have no feeling in them, then the cold doesn't really matter. But since I mentioned New Year's, the ritual for that here is strange in that it brings out how the ancient mixes with the new. It's weird enough going to some old temple, where it's quiet and feels like you're a thousand miles away from civilization, then walking out five feet into an ultra modern city. On New Year's they all go to a shrine, and are supposed to participate in a Buddhist ritual that involves clapping and praying. But the inside of the shrine is like a festival, with food booths and Wiis being given away in raffles. I don't know if even half the people that go are actual serious Buddhists or not. But at least the food's good. Japanese people also really wealky yell when the clock turns midnight. I could hardly even tell.

I remember Adam Carolla telling a story about him meeting Max Kellerman at a movie festival. Adam had a movie, The Hammer, about a boxer with that nickname. He started talking to Max about it, and Max, ever so politely, declined to watch the movie. I think it was then that Adam remembered that Max is the only person on the planet whose brother was killed by a boxer with a hammer as a weapon. Only in a thread like this will I deliver a coincidence like that.

Oh, did I offend you, princess? Ruin your neat and tidy thread older in the folder? Suck it, toolshed. Nothing stops Max talk.

Max Kellerman has a podcast on the ESPN page now! Finally! =)

good guy, he

Ah, the beer. Alchohol flows like water here. There are many vending machines with beer in them, and anybody can purchase from them. Apparently they reduced the number of beer vending machines because of drunkeness, but they're still not hard to find. In general, alchohol is easy to get. I've gone to izakayas, the Japanese style bar/restaurants with my classmates, most of whom are under the legal drinking age, but nobody checks ID. I've never seen it. The all-you-can-drink deals are pretty common, and just stupid cheap, too, but I'll save that for another time.

I'm in Kyoto, the city with a thousand temples and shrines, but only one place to hang out at during night. Unless you're fine with neighboorhood bars or things like that, Shijo, past the downtown area is the only area in the city that will actually have people in it at night. Most people rely on the trains to get home. There are a lot of cars, and tons of bicycles, but the usual method of transportation seems to be the trains. But since they all end at around midnight, if you miss it, then you either take a taxi, which is ridiculously expensive, or wander the streets. But you can also pick my favorite, which is staying overnight at an internet cafe or karaoke. Unless you're really anal about being about to shower or something, those are really great places to stay. Actually, the internet cafes have showers-not enticing ones, but at least they're there. It's also really cheap. You could stay overnight in karaoke for 15-20 bucks, and the cafe could be less than that. And then there's always McDonald's. The ones with 24 dining areas are pretty safe to sleep in. Especially if you're a foreigner, they're actually less likely to make you leave. I actually haven't seen the panty vending machines yet. I've seen ones with ramen, and other soup, but nothing too weird...maybe Kyoto isn't the best place for that stuff. Oh, and speaking of trains, it's nice to live in a city that actually has competent public transportation. When I first got here, I could hardly understand how to use these things: not because of the language barrier, there's plenty of English signs, anyway, but because the concept of this public transportation is so strange. I just wanted to drive everywhere, like in LA. All they had was a subway that went in one direction, and that crazy Orange Line bus that nobody understood, and had like 3 accidents in the first week it opened. Here I can get to Osaka and back for 6 dollars or so. I guess that's about the same distance from LA to Anaheim.

Nothing was really disappointing, certainly not Angle/Yuji. Both that and the main event were worth it by themselves. Now I'm debating if Angle/Nakamura is worth going back to Tokyo for.

Oh, it was, I just prefered Angle/Nagata, mostly for the great ending sequence when they kept reversing each other's holds. For some reason a lot of people left after that match... Not every match was great, though. Abyss had a very mini brawl, with a mini thumbtack spot in which he basically just slammed his hand on them. Then he lost to a back suplex. Also, Bubba tried to ham it up by yelling random crap in Japanese, which the crowd actually did like.

Anyway, the Tokyo Dome show, Angle easily had the best match of the night with Yuji Nagata.　Angle retained　his title, then confronted the new champion after the main event. Yeah

I got tickets for the Tokyo Dome show today. Yea.

Only 4 days until the Star Ocean remake, aka reason to buy a PSP comes out. That's the Japanese release, but it seems somewhat certain that they'll announce a US release, as well

How many times will the Ducks and Sharks play each other this month. That was crazy.

And another Ducks-Sharks game passes me by. I've gotten over the withdrawl, but still, the bitter taste of the memories of games past is embedded in my taste buds. It's almost as if these games aren't even happening without my previews.

christmas season started weeks ago

Just before he passed on, my grandpappy gave me one last bit of advice - "You can't ignore the cactus when it's stuck up your behind." Now, this was not random deathbed rambling. If you’ve got that thorn in your side, there’re two ways to go about business. You can be a little pony, and let it be, hopin’ it’ll disappear. It may, eventually, but you’ll always be the little saddlesore that couldn’t muster it up to take care of it yourself. The cowpoke’s way is to reach in there, pinch that thing with your mighty digits, and rip it out with all the force of the desert wind. What I’m saying, and I’ll put this in a way you city folk can understand, is face them slickers you don’t like, and bring ‘em down. You herd ‘em in, and make your own thoughts felt. That’s what this here bulletin board is for.

Pizza with a fried egg cooked into the middle of it is a surprisingly good idea, I found out.

Jurassic Park for Genesis scared the crap out of me when I played it at night as a kid.

Ill'n Pro

They never stopped doing that last season, either. Whatever happened to those two kinda retiring guys, anyway?

yeah PWG fans are much better.

Didn't Woody Paige call the Rockies sometime early in the season? I think he did. Yes.