shallwedave

solar backback

2006-09-06T03:05:00.000+13:00

it finally is in my greedy clutches...the solar backpack.

this bag kick ass.

i have been charging my mobile phone and digital camera from the sun for about 4 days now.
all my small devices are now powered for free from the sun.
who knew that orange ball in the sky was good for other things than tanning us.

http://www.voltaicsystems.com/

go to their website and geek out.

Jellyfish at the

2006-08-24T19:49:00.000+13:00

We went to the aquarium the other day. I was particularly fond of the jellyfish.

nighttime august bike ride...

2006-08-15T03:36:00.000+13:00

i helped a mind blowingly wasted business man out of the intersection and onto the sidewalk so he could finish his peeing without being struck by a car.

then a cicada in the last minutes of it's life fell from a tree and bounced off my arm.

guitar...

2006-07-31T04:58:00.000+13:00

just found a free acoustic one while biking through my neighborhood.

sweet.

jokes blow down the street like leaves in tokyo

2006-07-14T03:24:00.000+13:00

!!!!!!!!!!

2006-07-10T02:55:00.000+13:00

this sucks, the ucking 'f' key on my ucking computer just broke.

excuse me kitty, are you flippin' me off?

2006-07-10T02:25:00.000+13:00

"Cotton: the secretion of the pure and simple best material"

"New waves have started to get the individuality to express new fashion brand"

"Just fit and comfortable. Pull a little more structure in your life And a little more lace socks. Lace socks is best fitting to your foot. You can get satisfaction."

- taken from sock labels on socks in a store on the Happy Mall in Kuma no Mae (trans. "in front of the bear")

the path of the samurai is long...

2006-07-08T22:02:00.000+13:00

nails.

2006-07-08T20:53:00.000+13:00

recently, I've noticed that I have been clipping my nails more frequently, lately.
I've been told it is due to an increase of my intake of seaweed.

....................................:::::::::::.....................................

2006-07-08T05:18:00.000+13:00

water with bubbles in it has become trendy in Tokyo.
seems like every company has throw some bubbles in the ring.
lemon seems to be the perfect companion with the bubbles and water.
it also works well in a glass though you can use the original bottle it came in.

very refreshing at the summer.

shortest to longest

2006-07-04T05:26:00.001+13:00

still listening to our music "collection" from shortest to longest.
i put collection into quotes because i am of the mind that a huge crate of records sounds waaaaay better than a huge crate of mp3s but the song is more important than the medium.

so, the minutemen's "political song for michael jackson to sing" came on.

it reminded me of being in 9th grade and how huge bands like the minutemen, husker du and the replacements made me feel. it gave me confidence to believe Prince was way sweeter than Michael Jackson or being uncomfortable is way sweeter than fake confidence.

I wanna type it now so i don't forget later...

- thanks to my next door neighbor for sneaking his dad's KISS records for us to get into in 1977
- thanks to my uncle Paul for keeping the DEVO song on for me on the radio instead of switching the station, in around 1981. i won't forget riding in your car and looking out the window. also, thanks for the OMNI magazines and pointing me in the right direction.
- thanks for my next door neighbor who gave me the casette with the circle jerks, replacements "stink" and david bowie on it.
- thanks to the metal head on my high school bus who played "master of puppets" every morning at 6:55am on the bus to high school.
- thanks to the movie "breakin'" (pause for laughter) but i saw it in the theater and it is the reason i like hiphop (the real kind, not the bitches and ho's kind.)

my 4th of July

2006-07-04T05:26:00.000+13:00

while transfering lines on the 4th of july, the main train line was stopped.
station people were searching under this train.
i was emailing on my phone when i saw a station worker bring out a show.

i thought it was odd until...

they pulled the body out from under the train.

the rest of the day i thought wow that was totally harsh until North Korea fired some test missle at me.

man.

marble.

2006-06-29T04:17:00.000+13:00

my friend dan's wife's sister bought my dad's parent's house.
dan's wife's sister was making a garden and found a marble that is probably lost along time ago by someone in my family.
he sent it to Tokyo.

dude.

modern food is newer than previous foods

2006-06-26T18:21:00.000+13:00

throught the miracle of chipinization, a new breed of chips have emerged.

by putting the sandwich into the chip, one need not waste energy and burn valuable calories by chewing on a messy messy sandwich.

coupled with pringles "french consumme" flavor, you have a convenient and portable soup with no need for utensils.

science is making it possible, can you rise to the challenge?

i'm 18...

2006-05-24T04:54:00.000+13:00

today i downloaded an Alice Cooper song through devious means and it turned out to be the karaoke version.

life is a kick in the ass.

headware

2006-04-04T15:51:00.000+13:00

yesterday i bought a hat.
it is black.
i am going to wear it today.

My new kickass cell phone has:

2006-03-26T01:36:00.000+12:00

1. the nolans "(i'm in the mood for) dancin'" as a ring tone choice built in.

2. wallpapers that change automatically each hour.

3. an english-japanese dictionary.

4. an english-japanese dictionary that uses my camera to translate the kanji to english for me so i can order new food off the menu.

5. i can send people a gps map that shows where i am through email.

6. it can be use as a TV remote

7. we can exchange our information by pushing one button.

8. it is green and brown.

miss puke

2006-03-17T20:12:00.000+12:00

though her name when said phonetically would be miss poo-kay, this hostess bar in northern Tokyo chose a rather unfortunate email address.

www.misspuke.com

2006-02-27T18:08:00.000+12:00

test, test, test, test?

(-.- )

2005-12-20T04:35:00.000+12:00

sorry for the long blog lag but i lost faith/interest in this deal for awhile.

the year is almost done and it is a good time to say thank you to everyone i know.
to everyone who has/is/will put up with me, arigatou/thanks.

top stuff of 2005 for me:

- going to kyoto: besides being tokyo spelled wrong, it was really nice to see another side of japan.
- going to bankok and ho chi minh city: intense, humid, smokey and delicious.
- bass guitar: i learned bass and joined a band in tokyo. ha! i've officially been a drummer, singer, guitarist and a bass player in 2 countries. anyone need a keyboardist?
- riding my bike everywhere: i've seriouly only been in a car under20 times this year. my stress level is low and my legs are hot.
- podcasting: been into this since last february and it's quite frankly changed my experience in japan. not only can i hear what i want, when i want but i have watched a couple friends go crazy with the medium and find themselves.

.. .. . .. . . . . . .

2005-04-23T04:38:00.000+13:00

100_4518
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

so yesterday, i was so thirsty.
i went to the fridge to get some oolong tea because i was thirsty.

i grabbed the bottle and poured a glass and went back to the movie me and gan were watching.

i took a huge sip and then slowly stood up, walked to the sink and spit it all out into the sink.

it happened to be fish broth that my mother-in-law had made for me and put into a oolong tea bottle next to mine.

ahh...life

(`^')

2005-04-18T05:05:00.000+13:00

100_4333
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

as i was eating at the local dollar sushi place by my house, an earthquake occured with a huge piece of salmon in my mouth.

my first reaction was to grab the plate quick because it could be my last.

!Â¡!Â¡!Â¡

2005-04-08T06:19:00.000+13:00

100_4333
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

this is three cats looking at me.

daveÂ´1

2005-03-27T05:02:00.000+13:00

daveÂ´1

what could this sexy gent be contemplating or is he just pointing to his left ear?

i just turned older. that rules!

another year to get it right.
another year to get it on.
another year to figure some more new junk out.
another year to stay friends with the the badass people i know while somehow finding more room to meet the next badass person.
another year to not get surgery.
another year to __________.

there are some flavors...

2005-03-12T00:42:00.000+12:00

poppingshower
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

i went to baskin robbins in gunma prefecture with my friend Oyaji. we same many many delicious flavors of ice cream such as:

Nuts to You, Pinneapple Nuts, 31 Love and Popping Shower.

Also, we sampled Green Tea and Azuki Bean Ice Creams.

Life has many interesting tastes, huh.

After eating samples we went to Oyaji's temple and where I saw the house where the God of Music is enshrined.

Next to the temple there was a broken down Japanese Army helicoptor. If someone should happen to storm the temple, they might be frightened by this interesting machine.

(-. -)y

2005-03-05T04:28:00.000+12:00

Today i learned how to say, "by the way..." in Japanese.

Today I also saw:

- how crazy starting every sentence with "by the way..." can make people
- a blind woman with purple hair (no joke)
- someone eating sushi off of another persons face

and i listened to a podcast by this funny guy i know

http://cayenne.libsyn.com/

ganchair

2005-02-26T05:14:00.000+12:00

ganchair
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

i'm back.

this is gan in the world's largest chair.
the world's largest chair is in St. Cloud, MN. While researching St.Cloud on line i ran across this poll in the St. Cloud Times:

What do you think of prison inmates receiving flu vaccinations?

If they meet state risk guidelines, why not?
31%
(275 Votes)

The vaccine shortage means all doses are precious and should be used only for upstanding citizens.
67%
(598 Votes)

Prisoners are our responsibilty - all of them should get shots.
3%
(26 Votes)

Total: 899 Votes

My favorite is "should be used only for upstanding citizens."

Today i learned that "hawks and doves" in Japanese are "eagles and pigeons". When i tried to set the record straight i was presented with a dictionary which skooled to me that in fact "doves are pigeons?"

what the hell?

there is a history teacher and/or biology teacher that owes me a couple hours after school.

the shop of good times is closed

2005-01-29T13:22:00.000+12:00

when i post these messages from my computer, i have to go back and fix all the punctuation.
i copied some text from a guys blog and made this crazy citation telling people to check out his blog because i love it.

after i published it, all the citation stuff looked like scrambeled eggs and i was going to fix it.

well, i erased it and forgot to redo it.

oops.

then when i got to minneapolis for my vacation i was accused of plagerizing.

i feel really bad that he felt slighted by my oversight.

this was never meant to be anything but fun.
now it isn't fun so i am quiting.

email me if you want more pictures ever.

swans in the year 3013

2005-01-22T01:02:00.000+12:00

swans in the year 3013
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

Congratulations to me, the bump on my right heel turned out to be a benign tumor. It turns out that this is a very rare place to grow one.

Seem that my bump is also a delicacy and should fetch a handsome chunk of change at the local market here.

My doctor has a voice like Telly Sevales, of Kojak fame, which rules when he tells you benign tumor with a Japanese accent.

"Your bump was a tumor, baaabaaayyy!"

where am Toyko?

2005-01-20T15:05:00.000+12:00

where am Toyko?
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

This day marks my illustrious use of the word illustrious.

Also, it marks my one-year anniversary of moving to Japan.

(chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp,...)

COME ON, IT'S WAS HUGE TO ME!!!

If seen many beautiful images on this chain of volcanic earthquakes floor.

It's true.

US voters 'endorsed Iraq policy'?

2005-01-17T15:06:00.000+12:00

"George W Bush believes the US public are behind him on Iraq. President George W Bush has said his re-election has vindicated his administration's policy on Iraq."

Let's follow Mr. Bush's logic. If, for example, the Vikings play the Packers. The Packers win 52-48. This means that everyone in Minnesota supports the Packers.

Also, I saw a fur coat for dogs yesterday in Tokyo.

2005 is the year of the eyebrow

2005-01-03T03:52:00.000+12:00

fashion takes many twists and turns.
it can be a difficult road to journey down.
i am here to guide you.

2005 is the year of the eyebrow.

my wife cares a great deal about her eyebrows and it pays off for her in the long run.

check out your eyebrows, they are a very expressive tool for your face to use to deliver your moods.

Your eyebrows add strength and definition to your face. Well groomed eyebrows enhance your beauty.

You should pluck eyebrows before bedtime so any redness will disappear overnight. In shaping your eyebrows use your facial features.

Use a pair of slant edge tweezers which grip hairs easily. Comb hairs one way and then the other to remove loose hairs.

You should pluck hairs between the brows and any stragglers. Never remove the hairs from above your eyebrows.

Pluck each hair individually close to the root. Work in the direction of the growth.

Always avoid over plucking. In defining your eyebrows choose a shade similar to your natural hair colour.

When using a pencil you should apply in small, feathered strokes. Starting at the inner corner work outwards.

Blend the colour with a brush. To tame stray hairs just use hair gel and comb through to neaten.

ET! (tokyo remix)

2004-12-31T15:01:00.000+12:00

ET! (tokyo remix)
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

Being the last entry in the year of the monkey, I say to y'all, "HAPPY YEAR OF THE ROOSTER!"

Here are some 2004 thoughts I've thunk:

1. cherry blossoms really are beautiful.
2. earthquakes really are shaky-shaky.
3. President Bush, Person of the Year? BOO! Democrats and Republicans alike got to get together on at least this one point. I mean, first private flight to space, romote control cars on mars, ME, etc. all are better for this esteemed honor.

Our illustrious leader follows in the footsteps of legendary world leaders Ayatollah Khomeini (Man of the Year, 1979), Richard Nixon (1971 & 1972), Joseph Stalin (1939 & 1942) and Adolf Hitler (1938). Maybe i don't want the position.

4. i really thinkgrapefruit is the best fruit flavor when mixed with things but tangerines are the best when eaten straight.
5. Die Electric! is a monster band that squash you flat through your headphones.
6. i may have downloaded songs from your band, you should down load songs from mine.
I went to a house party the other day in the West end of Tokyo. There was food (sushi, cheese, chips & salsa, etc.), drinks (beer, shochu, etc.) talking, laughing and music.

It reminded me a lot of hanging out with my friends in Msp./St. Paul. They like food, drinks, laughing, music and talking too.

Does that mean that other people in other countries dig this system of having a good time too?

I'm guessing, yes.

Please pray to whoever you pray to for everyone to have good times. Also, maybe throw in a little bit about "saving us from the sons & daughters of oil families." Oh ya, don't try to make other people pray if they don't want to or try to make them pray to what you think they should pray to.

Man, a simple request for good times is complicated.

I'll just stop.

X-MAS dinner

2004-12-25T01:37:00.000+12:00

viking
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

Christmas time in Tokyo means only one thing, a trip to the Viking (all-you-can-eat restaurant). Gan, Fuji and I took a trip to our local Viking and enjoyed many a fine dish.

Each table has a grill in the center complete with vacuum system to remove the smoke. This indoor-grilling device made a pleasant space for us to make ourselves feel unpleasantly full.

Today's photograph is a grill set of my wife's fantasy bar-b-que foods. The large red pieces are liver. Gan loves to eat liver when she grills. She passed up about 12 different cuts of beef and went straight to the liver.

The greenish-grey piece centered on the grill is a clam. Enough said about that one.

Camped out on the upper left part of the grill are five pieces of intestine . At the bar-b-que, gan is often seen grinning over the hormone plate. Eating intestine at the bar-b-que is one of the many things that make my wife happy.

What's the large white thing at the top of the grill?" you ask.

Is it chicken? Is it turkey?

Nope, it's a pig's foot.

Xoxox-mas.

I captured the holiday spirit but didn't try to tame it...

2004-12-21T03:56:00.000+12:00

tree
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

Talk about the ultimate "screw you" to this tree with leaves. Forcing it to be an electric pine tree is cold.

The big-bellied holy man should be visiting you in your chimny soon.

Shall you leave some cookies for his big-belly?

XOXOXOX-mas!™

captain chocosaanta

2004-12-20T04:23:00.000+12:00

chocosaanta
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

My legs curled up under the heated table, gan next to me drinking a cup of hot apple cider vinager, I type in praise of the chocolate santa.

Gan asked me if Americans gain weight at Christmas time.

I replied, "yes."

Please remember this holiday season to eat all your chex mix and chocolate santas without a bun.

Also, it's been less than 2 months since the election and nobody has commanded me to vote lately.

more also, happy X-mas, Captain Santa (the big bellied holy man) is depending on you.

Grapefruit Chi-Hi and Mac 'n' Cheese

2004-12-18T02:09:00.000+12:00

100_2702
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

Check out my day today. It was classic.

This morning Gan and I went to the hospital for her check-up and my gauze changing ritual.

Then we ate lunch at DOM DOM (Japanese fast food chain).

After that we had our teeth cleaned at the dentist. He used his new laser on me.

I learned I must go back on 12/24/04.

Yes, you are right, the dentist on X-mas eve.

Ahhh...life.

i'm sooo sorry, did i start a blog?

2004-12-16T01:26:00.000+12:00

tofu action
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

so my first day off of my pain killers i noticed this blog in my internet history. after checking out where the link led, i came to realize i must have started a blog while i was drugged in japan.

sooo sorry to everyone that suffered through my postings. that was my "mr. hyde" talking. i seriously don't support 'just anybody' expressing themselves through a medium (unless, of course, you are a ghost. that is totally sweet and creepy).

i mean, you need credentials to express yourself, right?

ps: anyone that told me to 'vote' last month, what should i do now?

Last of the pills

2004-12-13T13:43:00.000+12:00

Last of the pills
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

This is my one-week anniversary of being out of the hospital I was in for one week. Today is also the today that I get to take the last of the pills I take.

The end of my pills signifies the coming of the soooocher removing ceremony. I've heard that white doves fly from the wound when they clip the stitches.

Let's play...

2004-12-12T22:29:00.000+12:00

purple leech
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

"Is it a leech or my big purple scar?"

tookyoo station area

2004-12-12T14:25:00.000+12:00

tookyoo station area
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

When I walk it goes:

Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right, Left, Kinda Right.

I can work now but I can't run or bike to work. So I get there when I get there.

After learning that I can keep the lens open on the camera longer, this prooves there are ghosts in Tookyoo.

Not my view from the hospital room...

2004-12-07T01:11:00.000+12:00

fooji-san
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

My surgery was a smashing success.

The bump on the back of my heel seems to be a tumor on the back of my foot. They are now analyzing it and will soon tell me what the deal is.

Tumors are no laughing matter but I seem to find a way to make a mockery of the whole affair.

Let me ask you this, when you are paralyzed lying facedown and the surgeon says, âletâs begin!â

Then they push play on Queensâs greatest hits, who set the tone for the craziness?

7 days and 1 less bump.

2004-12-07T00:53:00.000+12:00

relaxin
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

Checked into the hospital at 10am on 11/30/04. Earlier I was told I would be in a free room that held 5 people but they ran out. Instead they had to put me in a luxury 2 people suite.

Sweet!

Some fine features my fine hospital featured were:

$1/day refrigerator food lockers, $1/15min. Internet access and $10/100 min. pay TV (not cable, just plain old TV).

The staff was super friendly even after the heard my loud groans when informed of the 6:30am wake-up call and 10pm lights out policy.

There were 2 choices of meal plans, Japanese and Western. Since Iâm not much of a cowboy, I went down the trail of the rising sun instead of the setting one.

I had little time to bemoan the surprise attack enema, needle into my spine & surprise attack catheter.

oilpainting

2004-12-07T00:02:00.000+12:00

oilpainting
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

My wife Gan is the best.

Worried about me in the hopital for a week, Gan had an oil painting of her taking my picture in the hospital so I could see what I would be able to see if I had a mirror there instead of this very creative oil painting.

A magazine would have sufficed but she is really trying to raise my appreciation for the art scene in the northeast Tokyo area.

foot

2004-12-06T23:58:00.000+12:00

foot
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

This is my foot wrapped in white gauze. I went with the white gauze because it reminded me of the arctic environment where I am from. When I miss the winter I can gaze at my gauze and think of my old good times.

Also, white symbolizes purity and cleanliness. These are 2 attributes that many many people attribute to me.

So there you have it, my right foot, bump-free.

updowncontrol

2004-12-06T23:48:00.000+12:00

updowncontrol
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

What looks to be a controller for my hospital bed is really a controller for many other things.

The first set of buttons makes a lowercase "i" do many many sit-ups.

The second set of buttons controls boomerangs that I tossed at all the hospital staff. We enjoyed those times very much. What sounded like them yelling at me worried me. After looking up what they were saying in my pocket dictionary, I learned was really them thanking me for the good times.

The 3rd set is some sort of inchworm control but it looked a bit sketchy.

The final set is morse code for something but not understanding morse code made me unsure of exploring their function.

The North side of Tokyo has some interesting technology.

After having my 6th toe romoved.

2004-12-06T23:29:00.000+12:00

After having my 6th toe romoved.
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

This is me the day after they removed my 6th toe. Many many tubes were connected to me. Perhaps more than needed to be.

One tube in particular was particularly uncomfortable.

I was unable to move a muscle from my navel to my toes for about 4 hours.

nurse button

2004-12-06T20:14:00.000+12:00

nurse button
Originally uploaded by shallwedave.

This is the button I pushed to whine about how much my wound was throbbing.

The nurse for my room had a portable intercom that she talked to me through.

Often my pillow would become too flat and the button came in handy.

My weren't those great times.