All I Ever Needed to Know about Life I Learned from a Japanese T-Shirt

While in Gunma over Golden Week, I popped into the local Shimamura to pick up some polo shirts for work. I passed the t-shirt section and found some very inspiring messages. Very Zen. Being a linguist, I have become quite proficient in deciphering English that has been translated from Japanese using generic translation software, as was clearly the case here:

Translation: When at first you don't succeed...spell check.


Translation: Life is Good (But only if you act on those sudden chances to make it so.)

Translation: Doors are good for going out. But sometimes they're not.

Caged Beast

My first sighting of a Nissan GTR it its natural habitat. Spotted this beast peaking out at me on my walk to work. It's kind of sad to see it like this, and I'm sure PETA would not approve. You could almost hear its growling 500 horsepower reduced to a whimper from behind the bars of its cage. I'm happy to report that a few days later, on a Sunday, it had escaped and was undoubtedly roaming the streets hunting Boxters, Mclarens and Corvettes.

Either that or the fat old bastard rich enough to keep it needed to pick up a new golf bag.

If you want to see what the GTR is capable of, check out this video of Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear race it around the Fuji Race Circuit in Japan- that is, until he gets whip-lash and has to be rescued by an ambulance:

Driving School Camp Only $2500! Free Cake!

I was talking to a student today and he had a flier for this driving school camp. In Japan, you have to pay a private driving school an absurd amount of money for training before you can even take a driving test. Because of this, there are a lot of companies competing for young would-be trainees by offering week-long stays in the mountains, and other perks. Even after paying thousands for training, there is no guaranty you will pass an actual driving test. He was shocked when I told him high school students in America get free driver training classes as part of our FREE public education.

He was still excited about this driving camp though. They put you up for two weeks in Nagano, and on Fridays you get a cake buffet! As excited as he was about the cake, he was really looking forward to the manga reading room and the all-you-can-play PS3 video game area. Maybe he can practice for his driving lessons with Grand Theft Auto...

The Butcher is BACK!

I finally made it karaoke today- our first time since coming back. The place was on the 7th floor of a building in Ogikubo. While waiting for the elevator, I noticed something intriguing on the third floor. I wanted to check it out, but we had the karaoke bug and would not be detoured. While I enjoy singing, I unfortunately don't listen to much music with words amymore. Therefore, I am stuck singing songs from the 80's and early 90's. Here is a video of me butchering poor Chris Isaak's Wicked Game:

another day on the chuo-cide line

If this train seems overly crowded it is because somebody jumped in front of an earlier train screwing up the whole schedule.the chuo line has long been a favorite of japanese looking for a quick way out. japan's suicide rate is by far the highest in the world. makes no sense to me- at least they have cool cell phones and universal health care.

posted from cell