So I haven't written anything about Japan in some time (the country's name is in my blog title) so I wanted to write a sort of retrospective entry. It's been almost four years since I first came to Japan and a lot has changed in my life since then. Some great things, some not so great things. But most of all I've noticed both changes in how I deal with daily life in Japan vs. how I dealt with it when I first came here in 2009. Sometimes it's interesting to look back on yourself and see if it's in fact that you changed or is it the fact your environment has changed around you.
View of Myself
2009: 2009 Phil was quite a strange bird. I was anti-social, depressed a lot, and in general a pretty wishy-washy person. If I look back on myself then, I would probably not want to talk to this guy. I drank a lot then also, which I think contributed to my bizarre personality at times.
2013: 2013 Phil is a bit different. I have more friends in Japan now, but I'm still verging on anti-social. Most of my time I spend with my wife and I don't typically go out anywhere. I've long lamented not having many Japanese friends. I've thus become "that guy." The one that lives in Japan, doesn't know the language that much, and mostly relies on other people to take care of things for me. However, being that I'm aware of this makes me hopeful I can change. Every year is the year I'm going "break down and really study." I'm just too focused on other things though. We'll see how it pans out.
View of Japan
2009: 2009 Phil tended to look at Japan as this wonderful new adventure. People didn't know me here so it was a chance to re-invent myself. I did let myself down some in that I didn't re-invent myself in a good way. Again, I was "that guy." I think I viewed Japan back then as a country I'd never come close to understanding. The way some things work here surprised and baffled me at times. That comes with the territory of living in any new country though.
2013: 2013 Phil sees Japan in a whole new light. It's not a place to have adventures only. It's a place to live. It's my home. I don't travel as much as I used to, but I guess I don't feel I need to do that as much. I've seen lots of awesome places over the years living here. Now I've sunk into that "I live here" phase, where I take for granted that there are still so many things I could be doing more. Honestly, some days I don't even leave our apartment.
On the other side of the coin, I have a profound respect for the Japanese. After seeing the hardships endured after the Tohoku Earthquake, and how Japanese pulled together, it made me so happy to live here. I don't identify myself as Japanese, but I do strive to take the qualities I like (hardworking, polite, strong-willed) and apply them to myself.
View of the World
2009: 2009 Phil didn't know anything about the rest of the world besides what I watched on TV or read about. I still viewed the world as a scary and strange place that maybe a guy from Mississippi just couldn't handle. I remember after the rocket launch from North Korea that sailed over Japan, I panicked because I could never imagine how people could be so calm. I guess my life had been rather insulated until that point so I never had to worry about these kind of issues. Even back then, I viewed America as my one and only home and I was anxious to go back. I got in that lull of "nothing is familiar" and that caused me a lot of rough days.
2013: 2013 Phil is a bit different. It's strange, but since I've lived here a while, it almost feels like America is a foreign country to me now. I love America and it will always be my home, but I don't know, I feel increasingly distant to the way things work there. When I went home recently, I didn't experience any reverse-culture shock, but I did notice people in service roles were a lot more abrupt with me. I'm just not used to that now living in Japan. I'm not going to say all restaurants, bars, stations, etc. in Japan are all full of friendly people, but I'd say 99.9 percent of them are. It's just how it is.
With the threat of any kind of conflict with North Korea and the possibility of another rocket sailing over us, I can't say I'm as anxious as I was in 2009. These threats have happened so often that it's sad that if something actually does happen, no one is really going to expect it. I can't live in fear though. After dealing with radiation fears in 2011, I try not to let that consume my life anymore.
Overall, I try to enjoy my life here as much as I can. I'm not as adventurous as I once was, but that's due to me getting settled in. I still have so many things I want to do here and grow more and more. I still see Japan as my second home and will continue do so even if I leave one day.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
52 Week Story Writing Challenge: Updated 5/12/13
This is something I've decided to do after being inspired by different folks across the inter-web. I'm going to write (but not post here) a story a week for 52 weeks, culminating with 52 completed stories by this time next year. Since I'm starting this challenge in March 2013, it should feasibly end in March 2014. Maybe my math is wrong, but I'm going to give it a try.
I'm going to post all the results here in this very blog post, editing it over and over again instead of making new individual posts. If you want to follow my progress you can do so here. Feel free to join up as well and let me know if you're doing so in the comments below.
I did a 30 Day Story a Day Challenge before, which was pretty rough, but still fun. This will give me a full week to write something, edit it to the best of my ability, and then start submitting places. We'll see how it turns out.
Look here for any updates!
MARCH
Week 1: March 3rd-March 9th: "Burn it Up, Burn it Down" completed. Story about a dragon looking for his "Chosen One" who is supposed to slay him. Quite enjoyed writing this one. I tried 1st person POV which isn't something I use much and I think it worked out pretty well. 3,634 words.
Week 2: March 10th-March 16th: "Obsidian City" completed. Obviously, a story about and obsidian city. Yeah! 1,891 words.
Week 3: March 17th-March 23rd: "The Dance of Five Hells" completed. Loser has dance battle with a mummy. Enough said. 4,439 words.
Week 4: March 24th-March 30th: "The Beast of the Lost Sun" completed. Two hunters seek payment from a wizard employer that skips town. They find more than they bargained for when they go looking for him in the dangerous Garrul Marsh. My longest story so far and finished at the last minute! 5,287 words.
APRIL
Week 5: March 31st-April 6th: "Red Paint" completed. Former marauder forced to paint towns he helped destroy is on a mission for vengeance after a "friend" is killed in a kingdom where violence of any kind is strictly forbidden. 5, 454 words.
Week 6: April 7th-April 13: "Snakes and Fakes" completed. Wrote this in one night. More of a flash piece for a challenge. Had fun writing it in any case. One of my more direct titles. It's literally about snakes and fakes. 1,076 words.
Week 7: April 14th-April 20th: "Sixy-Six Dragons" completed. Had a rough week so I had to scramble to write this, but I made it! I think it's a pretty good story about a little bit crazy old woman who loves killing dragons, maybe a little too much! 4,500 words.
Week 8: April 21st-April 27th: "The Time of Trees" completed. Time travel story about guys with proton rifles, dragons, and a tornado made of fairies. 821 words.
MAY
Week 9: April 28th-May 4th:"The Shallow Grave" completed. A man searches for his mother in a graveyard and finds a witch with many secrets instead.
Week 10: May 5th-May 11th: "Diving for Dragons" completed. A base jumper goes looking for a hidden dragon, but finds some wily cat people have made her job a lot harder as she descends down a ravine.
Week 11: May 12th-May 18th:
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24
Week 25
Week 26
Week 27
Week 28
Week 29
Week 30
Week 31
Week 32
Week 33
Week 34
Week 35
Week 36
Week 37
Week 38
Week 39
Week 40
Week 41
Week 42
Week 43
Week 44
Week 45
Week 46
Week 47
Week 48
Week 49
Week 50
Week 51
Week 52
I'm going to post all the results here in this very blog post, editing it over and over again instead of making new individual posts. If you want to follow my progress you can do so here. Feel free to join up as well and let me know if you're doing so in the comments below.
I did a 30 Day Story a Day Challenge before, which was pretty rough, but still fun. This will give me a full week to write something, edit it to the best of my ability, and then start submitting places. We'll see how it turns out.
Look here for any updates!
MARCH
Week 1: March 3rd-March 9th: "Burn it Up, Burn it Down" completed. Story about a dragon looking for his "Chosen One" who is supposed to slay him. Quite enjoyed writing this one. I tried 1st person POV which isn't something I use much and I think it worked out pretty well. 3,634 words.
Week 2: March 10th-March 16th: "Obsidian City" completed. Obviously, a story about and obsidian city. Yeah! 1,891 words.
Week 3: March 17th-March 23rd: "The Dance of Five Hells" completed. Loser has dance battle with a mummy. Enough said. 4,439 words.
Week 4: March 24th-March 30th: "The Beast of the Lost Sun" completed. Two hunters seek payment from a wizard employer that skips town. They find more than they bargained for when they go looking for him in the dangerous Garrul Marsh. My longest story so far and finished at the last minute! 5,287 words.
APRIL
Week 5: March 31st-April 6th: "Red Paint" completed. Former marauder forced to paint towns he helped destroy is on a mission for vengeance after a "friend" is killed in a kingdom where violence of any kind is strictly forbidden. 5, 454 words.
Week 6: April 7th-April 13: "Snakes and Fakes" completed. Wrote this in one night. More of a flash piece for a challenge. Had fun writing it in any case. One of my more direct titles. It's literally about snakes and fakes. 1,076 words.
Week 7: April 14th-April 20th: "Sixy-Six Dragons" completed. Had a rough week so I had to scramble to write this, but I made it! I think it's a pretty good story about a little bit crazy old woman who loves killing dragons, maybe a little too much! 4,500 words.
Week 8: April 21st-April 27th: "The Time of Trees" completed. Time travel story about guys with proton rifles, dragons, and a tornado made of fairies. 821 words.
MAY
Week 9: April 28th-May 4th:"The Shallow Grave" completed. A man searches for his mother in a graveyard and finds a witch with many secrets instead.
Week 10: May 5th-May 11th: "Diving for Dragons" completed. A base jumper goes looking for a hidden dragon, but finds some wily cat people have made her job a lot harder as she descends down a ravine.
Week 11: May 12th-May 18th:
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24
Week 25
Week 26
Week 27
Week 28
Week 29
Week 30
Week 31
Week 32
Week 33
Week 34
Week 35
Week 36
Week 37
Week 38
Week 39
Week 40
Week 41
Week 42
Week 43
Week 44
Week 45
Week 46
Week 47
Week 48
Week 49
Week 50
Week 51
Week 52
Friday, January 4, 2013
Wrestle Kingdom 7: Live In-Person Perspective
Another year, another Wrestle Kingdom. Another year, another Tanahashi victory. Since I've started living in Japan and going to the annual Tokyo Dome show, this has been the status of the main events of Wrestle Kingdom:
Wrestle Kingdom 5: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Satoshi Kojima to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Wrestle Kingdom 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki to retain.
Wrestle Kingdom 7: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada to retain.
Each show? I heard thousands of fans calling out for Tanahashi. No matter how much some people want someone new at the top, Tanahashi still IS the number one guy in New Japan. Watching him in action, I can tell why.
It's very rare that my heart actually races during pro wrestling matches anymore. Maybe it's because I used to wrestle on the independents and that makes me numb to some things and makes me not get as excited. But Tanahashi vs. Okada was pretty spectacular to watch. They had the fans in the palms of their hands.
I can say this for sure as well: Okada has cemented himself as a major player in years to come in NJPW. Everything from his entrance (where I managed to catch some Okada money raining from the ceiling) to his demeanor, to his resilience as a challenger, that was one match I sat there thinking "I have no idea who is going to win this." The suspension of disbelief. What every wrestling fan becomes a fan for.
(I'm starting from the main event and working backwards here, so here are my thoughts on the other matches.)
Shinsuke Nakamura is entrancing to watch. If anyone personifies a snake, it's him. The way he sort of slithers around the ring and just cocks back and blasts folks with the Boma-Ye is really quite impressive. Sakuraba was an excellent challenger though. He had an answer for every move Nakamura made, locking him in a variety of submissions. Lots of nice transitions to give this fight the MMA flavor that both competitors have. I think Nakamura holding the new-ish Intercontinental Championship lends credibility to it as well and I hope he continues to build it's prestige in the coming months. And that knee to Nakamura's face? All I can say is I can't believe his head didn't fly off! The hand-shake at the end signifies that we may see Nakamura shifting more towards a babyface role going forward. I'm still excited to see if they ever put together Okada vs. Nakamura, as I think that would be an excellent match.
Also the surprise of Stan Hansen being there to present the championship to Nakamura also made the moment and the championship more special.
Togi Makabe is New Japan's best babyface. I'm not saying he's more popular than Tanahashi for instance, but he evokes so much sympathy in his beat downs, that he really manipulates the crowd's emotions with ever facial expression and dizzied stumble. Shibata pummeled him with kicks and knees and swaggered around the ring as if to say, "Really? This is all you've got?" Makabe's comeback and brutal table power bomb (I saw a Japanese table break!) showed that even when he looks near death, Makabe is a strong presence in the ring. This was my first time seeing Shibata in action, only being a recent fan of puroresu, and I was very impressed. I can see him being in the main event scene at some point in 2013.
You could see the look on Daichi Hashimoto's face told the whole story: he was supremely disappointed to not be competing at WK. The chants of "Hashimoto! Hashimoto!" rang out through the crowd as a video of the late Shinya Hashimoto played on the screen and Otani stomped his way down to the ring carrying the long white bandana that was Hashimoto's trademark. Through the whole match, Otani, a late entrant, really stood out. He ran himself into Tenzan's chops and looked like a man half his age. Overall, I think the match was designed to put Daichi on the map, but it was still a solid match. Kojima's crushing lariats nearly decapitated both Mutoh and Otani alike. It's always awesome to see Mutoh unleash a dozen or so Shining Wizards as well. Otani's leg sweep tribute to Hashimoto got a nice reaction as well. The slap from Daichi at the end may show a darker edge to Hashimoto's son?
The triple threat match for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship was all I expected: an incredible display of athleticism from three of the best juniors in the world. Ibushi was the star of this match for sure. The fans were clamoring for an Ibushi win, much like they were at Wrestle Kingdom 5 (Devitt vs. Ibushi is still one of my favorite matches ever). However, Low Ki's intensity really stood out for me. His tribute to the Hitman series of video games was cool, complete with the bar code on the back of his head. Seeing him kick and flip in that suit made him look really unique and made me want to see him utilize that more.
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki was another great match of two veteran's taking each other to the limit. Both men are two of the best wrestlers going today even being older than most. Suzuki's entrance with the live music really pumped up the crowd and it was probably the first time I saw a genuine smile on Suzuki's face and not a cocky smirk.
The IWGP Tag Team Championship match displayed why the Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith, Jr.) may be a force to be reckoned with going forward. Both Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson are extremely popular on their own, but they didn't have an answer for the brute strength of the champions. I can see Goto and Anderson both go on to more singles matches in 2013 with Anderson specifically being put in high profile matches. I could see Anderson main eventing several big shows for New Japan throughout 2013. Lance Archer had a pretty badass entrance on top of that with the red mask and riding in on a motorcycle. He's legit scary in the ring in Japan. He has that big man aura that terrifies both the fans and challengers alike. I think the KES will continue their reign of terror in New Japan for quite a long time.
The NEVER Openweight Championship match (which I'm still not sure what the title is for) was a pretty good match for its length. Shelton Benjamin had his hands full not only with Masato Tanaka but Yujiro Takahashi on the outside. I'm happy to see Tanaka on the Wrestle Kingdom stage consistently as I think he's one of the top guys I like to watch in all of Japan.
The first official match of the night dealt mostly with Manabu Nakanishi gaining revenge on Takashi Iizuka for constantly stripping the clothes off the announcer when he comes to the ring. It was funny to see the announcer get in the ring after the match and give Iizuka a clothesline for all his years of tormenting him. Akebono and Bob Sapp are huge in person. I have a really crappy camera and the only clear picture I could get was of them because they're so big. Strongman is probably the most jacked person I've seen in person. MVP did very well and got a lot of good offense in. I always enjoy seeing the Ballin' elbow and hearing the fans here chant along with it. Yujiro Takahashi is going to be a big star going forward. He's really come into his own as a cocky playboy type of character. I was a little disappointed Iizuka didn't go into the crowd and start wailing on people, but it's Wrestle Kingdom so...
The two dark matches were both very good. I was most excited to see Jushin Thunder Liger make an appearance. I'll be glad to see some of these guys in the dark matches on the main show in the future, such as Tama Tonga, Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, and BUSHI.
Overall, another awesome night. I have to admit, I was disappointed there were no title changes, but I think I have to stop thinking of Wrestle Kingdom as if it's Wrestlemania. I think Wrestlemania likes to bring all of their big storylines to a close, whereas Wrestle Kingdom is more like a showcase of who is going to be the focus of that specific year. Tokyo Dome looked packed, so I'm sure they'll do big business going forward.
Biggest Pops:
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi's win
2. Togi Makabe
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. Hashimoto's music/Keiji Mutoh's entrance
5. Kota Ibushi near-falls
Most Heat:
1. Taichi interfering in Nagata/Suzuki
2. Kazushi Shibata
3. Killer Elite Squad
4. Minoru Suzuki (after everyone forgot about his awesome entrance)
5. Yujiro Takahashi
Wrestle Kingdom 5: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Satoshi Kojima to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Wrestle Kingdom 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki to retain.
Wrestle Kingdom 7: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada to retain.
Each show? I heard thousands of fans calling out for Tanahashi. No matter how much some people want someone new at the top, Tanahashi still IS the number one guy in New Japan. Watching him in action, I can tell why.
It's very rare that my heart actually races during pro wrestling matches anymore. Maybe it's because I used to wrestle on the independents and that makes me numb to some things and makes me not get as excited. But Tanahashi vs. Okada was pretty spectacular to watch. They had the fans in the palms of their hands.
I can say this for sure as well: Okada has cemented himself as a major player in years to come in NJPW. Everything from his entrance (where I managed to catch some Okada money raining from the ceiling) to his demeanor, to his resilience as a challenger, that was one match I sat there thinking "I have no idea who is going to win this." The suspension of disbelief. What every wrestling fan becomes a fan for.
(I'm starting from the main event and working backwards here, so here are my thoughts on the other matches.)
Shinsuke Nakamura is entrancing to watch. If anyone personifies a snake, it's him. The way he sort of slithers around the ring and just cocks back and blasts folks with the Boma-Ye is really quite impressive. Sakuraba was an excellent challenger though. He had an answer for every move Nakamura made, locking him in a variety of submissions. Lots of nice transitions to give this fight the MMA flavor that both competitors have. I think Nakamura holding the new-ish Intercontinental Championship lends credibility to it as well and I hope he continues to build it's prestige in the coming months. And that knee to Nakamura's face? All I can say is I can't believe his head didn't fly off! The hand-shake at the end signifies that we may see Nakamura shifting more towards a babyface role going forward. I'm still excited to see if they ever put together Okada vs. Nakamura, as I think that would be an excellent match.
Also the surprise of Stan Hansen being there to present the championship to Nakamura also made the moment and the championship more special.
Togi Makabe is New Japan's best babyface. I'm not saying he's more popular than Tanahashi for instance, but he evokes so much sympathy in his beat downs, that he really manipulates the crowd's emotions with ever facial expression and dizzied stumble. Shibata pummeled him with kicks and knees and swaggered around the ring as if to say, "Really? This is all you've got?" Makabe's comeback and brutal table power bomb (I saw a Japanese table break!) showed that even when he looks near death, Makabe is a strong presence in the ring. This was my first time seeing Shibata in action, only being a recent fan of puroresu, and I was very impressed. I can see him being in the main event scene at some point in 2013.
You could see the look on Daichi Hashimoto's face told the whole story: he was supremely disappointed to not be competing at WK. The chants of "Hashimoto! Hashimoto!" rang out through the crowd as a video of the late Shinya Hashimoto played on the screen and Otani stomped his way down to the ring carrying the long white bandana that was Hashimoto's trademark. Through the whole match, Otani, a late entrant, really stood out. He ran himself into Tenzan's chops and looked like a man half his age. Overall, I think the match was designed to put Daichi on the map, but it was still a solid match. Kojima's crushing lariats nearly decapitated both Mutoh and Otani alike. It's always awesome to see Mutoh unleash a dozen or so Shining Wizards as well. Otani's leg sweep tribute to Hashimoto got a nice reaction as well. The slap from Daichi at the end may show a darker edge to Hashimoto's son?
The triple threat match for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship was all I expected: an incredible display of athleticism from three of the best juniors in the world. Ibushi was the star of this match for sure. The fans were clamoring for an Ibushi win, much like they were at Wrestle Kingdom 5 (Devitt vs. Ibushi is still one of my favorite matches ever). However, Low Ki's intensity really stood out for me. His tribute to the Hitman series of video games was cool, complete with the bar code on the back of his head. Seeing him kick and flip in that suit made him look really unique and made me want to see him utilize that more.
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki was another great match of two veteran's taking each other to the limit. Both men are two of the best wrestlers going today even being older than most. Suzuki's entrance with the live music really pumped up the crowd and it was probably the first time I saw a genuine smile on Suzuki's face and not a cocky smirk.
The IWGP Tag Team Championship match displayed why the Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith, Jr.) may be a force to be reckoned with going forward. Both Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson are extremely popular on their own, but they didn't have an answer for the brute strength of the champions. I can see Goto and Anderson both go on to more singles matches in 2013 with Anderson specifically being put in high profile matches. I could see Anderson main eventing several big shows for New Japan throughout 2013. Lance Archer had a pretty badass entrance on top of that with the red mask and riding in on a motorcycle. He's legit scary in the ring in Japan. He has that big man aura that terrifies both the fans and challengers alike. I think the KES will continue their reign of terror in New Japan for quite a long time.
The NEVER Openweight Championship match (which I'm still not sure what the title is for) was a pretty good match for its length. Shelton Benjamin had his hands full not only with Masato Tanaka but Yujiro Takahashi on the outside. I'm happy to see Tanaka on the Wrestle Kingdom stage consistently as I think he's one of the top guys I like to watch in all of Japan.
The first official match of the night dealt mostly with Manabu Nakanishi gaining revenge on Takashi Iizuka for constantly stripping the clothes off the announcer when he comes to the ring. It was funny to see the announcer get in the ring after the match and give Iizuka a clothesline for all his years of tormenting him. Akebono and Bob Sapp are huge in person. I have a really crappy camera and the only clear picture I could get was of them because they're so big. Strongman is probably the most jacked person I've seen in person. MVP did very well and got a lot of good offense in. I always enjoy seeing the Ballin' elbow and hearing the fans here chant along with it. Yujiro Takahashi is going to be a big star going forward. He's really come into his own as a cocky playboy type of character. I was a little disappointed Iizuka didn't go into the crowd and start wailing on people, but it's Wrestle Kingdom so...
The two dark matches were both very good. I was most excited to see Jushin Thunder Liger make an appearance. I'll be glad to see some of these guys in the dark matches on the main show in the future, such as Tama Tonga, Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, and BUSHI.
Overall, another awesome night. I have to admit, I was disappointed there were no title changes, but I think I have to stop thinking of Wrestle Kingdom as if it's Wrestlemania. I think Wrestlemania likes to bring all of their big storylines to a close, whereas Wrestle Kingdom is more like a showcase of who is going to be the focus of that specific year. Tokyo Dome looked packed, so I'm sure they'll do big business going forward.
Biggest Pops:
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi's win
2. Togi Makabe
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. Hashimoto's music/Keiji Mutoh's entrance
5. Kota Ibushi near-falls
Most Heat:
1. Taichi interfering in Nagata/Suzuki
2. Kazushi Shibata
3. Killer Elite Squad
4. Minoru Suzuki (after everyone forgot about his awesome entrance)
5. Yujiro Takahashi
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
End of 2012 Thoughts (Ski Trip and Fuji Q Highlands)
Just had a pretty good winter vacation and thought I'd blog about it a bit.
1. I suck at skiing. I fell over a bunch of times and rocketed down the mountain like a crazy person. Pretty scary actually. Overall though, pretty good experience.
2. I suck at skating. I'm not good at anything involving ice due to being from Mississippi and/or just my overall lack of coordination.
3. We went to Fuji Q Highlands in Yamanashi. We rode some pretty awesome rides. Here is one of them, called Eejanaika.
So that's what we did at the end of the year in 2012.
What else happened?
Well, I had a good time when my dad came here in March. I got to visit all sorts of places including Osaka and Nara and saw sumo wrestling for the first time.
Went to Wrestle Kingdom VI in January and planning to go again in a few more days for Wrestle Kingdom VII!
Read a lot of books and became part of an awesome new e-zine called Myths Inscribed.
Worked on a ton of writing including the Summer Shoot-out ran by Martin T. Ingham.
I also worked on two novels, both of which I'm hoping to wrap up here in the next several months.
Overall, a great year! Looking forward to 2013!
1. I suck at skiing. I fell over a bunch of times and rocketed down the mountain like a crazy person. Pretty scary actually. Overall though, pretty good experience.
2. I suck at skating. I'm not good at anything involving ice due to being from Mississippi and/or just my overall lack of coordination.
3. We went to Fuji Q Highlands in Yamanashi. We rode some pretty awesome rides. Here is one of them, called Eejanaika.
Not only does this ride go backwards, it also flips around as you're going, which makes it even more insane. Probably one if not the scariest roller coaster I've been on.
Here's another one we road called Takabisha, which holds the Guiness World Record for steepest roller coaster in the world:
So that's what we did at the end of the year in 2012.
What else happened?
Well, I had a good time when my dad came here in March. I got to visit all sorts of places including Osaka and Nara and saw sumo wrestling for the first time.
Went to Wrestle Kingdom VI in January and planning to go again in a few more days for Wrestle Kingdom VII!
Read a lot of books and became part of an awesome new e-zine called Myths Inscribed.
Worked on a ton of writing including the Summer Shoot-out ran by Martin T. Ingham.
I also worked on two novels, both of which I'm hoping to wrap up here in the next several months.
Overall, a great year! Looking forward to 2013!
Friday, October 19, 2012
10/19/12: How to Find New, Cool Things
This time I'll be talking about how to discover new things in my four favorite topics: fantasy writing, video games, Japan, and wrestling.
So here we go!
1. How to Find Cool New Authors
a. Amazon-I find the vast majority of books that I buy just by surfing through Amazon. Their recommendations are usually pretty good, so if something piques my interest, I'll give it a shot. Sometimes I'm kind of baffled by the recommendations, but for the most part they're decent.
b. Goodreads-I haven't gotten into this site too much, but I feel it's probably one of the best places to connect with other voracious readers and find similar tastes in books. If you can link up with someone you trust, then you can find tons of good books that way.
c. Blogs-Random blogs sometimes have great recommendations. For instance, this blog! I recommended lots of great writers in my last post, so check them out if you trust me!
d. Authors You Like-Oftentimes, authors you like will support other authors or mention them in interviews. I found Jack Vance through interviews with George R.R. Martin, and I've been really enthralled with his Dying Earth stories.
e. Wikipedia-Everyone's favorite source for random articles, this is a great resource for finding other books you may like in a certain genre, as they'll sometimes list a lot of similar authors under articles.
f. Forums-My favorite forum, Mythic Scribes (www.mythicscribes.com) is a great resource for hooking up with other readers and writers. I also dig Fantasy-Faction which has some great content and articles to find new fiction. I found out about Mark Lawrence there (whose book Prince of Thorns is listed above), who I'm excited to read at some point in the near future.
2. How To Find Cool New Games
a. Youtube-There are tons of great folks that review games on Youtube, including popular publications like IGN and Gamespot. One of my favorites tends to be Angry Joe. He does really good video game reviews and doesn't pull any punches.
b. Amazon (again)-Not the best resource for finding new games, but it's still helpful at times.
c. Twitter-I found out about Dishonored, a game I really want to play, through Twitter believe it or not. The trailer was so awesome, I was like "Whoa, I need this game."
d. Just Going Shopping-One of my favorite things to do is just go shopping for games. Sometimes I'll stumble across something that looks cool just from looking at the box art and back of the box description. Can't go wrong there!
3. How to Find Cool Japanese Stuff
a. Again Youtube-There are tons of great vloggers who discuss Japanese stuff on Youtube. They're pretty easy to find. Some discuss learning language, culture, or just general topics.
b. Japanese forums-While not my favorite places to visit due to the usual overwhelming negativity, you can find great advice for living and traveling in Japan if you go to places like Dave's ESL and Gaijin Pot. Just be ready to wade through some crap to get there.
4. How to Find Cool New Wrestling
a. Youtube-Boy, I sure do love Youtube! Dailymotion is also a good place to find some quality wrestling vids.
b. Support Indy Shows-Just go to shows! You may find something in your local area that you like.
c. WWE's Library-I'm sure finding WWE's In-Demand service can hook you up with all sorts of classic wrestling. Since WWE owns practically all of wrestling, it's worth a shot.
d. Facebook and Twitter-If you are fans of specific wrestlers, they usually will post links to shows they are working and have worked at. Just from word of mouth, I found CHIKARA, ROH, and SHIMMER, which I've all enjoyed to various degrees.
This is from CHIKARA. Once seeing Kota Ibushi in action, I've since seen him in DDT and New Japan Pro Wrestling where he has excelled. Finding wrestlers you like and following them to various promotions can open up your wrestling world a bit more.
OK, that's it for this time! Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you have any of your own suggestions.
So here we go!
1. How to Find Cool New Authors
a. Amazon-I find the vast majority of books that I buy just by surfing through Amazon. Their recommendations are usually pretty good, so if something piques my interest, I'll give it a shot. Sometimes I'm kind of baffled by the recommendations, but for the most part they're decent.
b. Goodreads-I haven't gotten into this site too much, but I feel it's probably one of the best places to connect with other voracious readers and find similar tastes in books. If you can link up with someone you trust, then you can find tons of good books that way.
c. Blogs-Random blogs sometimes have great recommendations. For instance, this blog! I recommended lots of great writers in my last post, so check them out if you trust me!
d. Authors You Like-Oftentimes, authors you like will support other authors or mention them in interviews. I found Jack Vance through interviews with George R.R. Martin, and I've been really enthralled with his Dying Earth stories.
e. Wikipedia-Everyone's favorite source for random articles, this is a great resource for finding other books you may like in a certain genre, as they'll sometimes list a lot of similar authors under articles.
2. How To Find Cool New Games
a. Youtube-There are tons of great folks that review games on Youtube, including popular publications like IGN and Gamespot. One of my favorites tends to be Angry Joe. He does really good video game reviews and doesn't pull any punches.
b. Amazon (again)-Not the best resource for finding new games, but it's still helpful at times.
c. Twitter-I found out about Dishonored, a game I really want to play, through Twitter believe it or not. The trailer was so awesome, I was like "Whoa, I need this game."
d. Just Going Shopping-One of my favorite things to do is just go shopping for games. Sometimes I'll stumble across something that looks cool just from looking at the box art and back of the box description. Can't go wrong there!
3. How to Find Cool Japanese Stuff
a. Again Youtube-There are tons of great vloggers who discuss Japanese stuff on Youtube. They're pretty easy to find. Some discuss learning language, culture, or just general topics.
b. Japanese forums-While not my favorite places to visit due to the usual overwhelming negativity, you can find great advice for living and traveling in Japan if you go to places like Dave's ESL and Gaijin Pot. Just be ready to wade through some crap to get there.
4. How to Find Cool New Wrestling
a. Youtube-Boy, I sure do love Youtube! Dailymotion is also a good place to find some quality wrestling vids.
b. Support Indy Shows-Just go to shows! You may find something in your local area that you like.
c. WWE's Library-I'm sure finding WWE's In-Demand service can hook you up with all sorts of classic wrestling. Since WWE owns practically all of wrestling, it's worth a shot.
d. Facebook and Twitter-If you are fans of specific wrestlers, they usually will post links to shows they are working and have worked at. Just from word of mouth, I found CHIKARA, ROH, and SHIMMER, which I've all enjoyed to various degrees.
This is from CHIKARA. Once seeing Kota Ibushi in action, I've since seen him in DDT and New Japan Pro Wrestling where he has excelled. Finding wrestlers you like and following them to various promotions can open up your wrestling world a bit more.
OK, that's it for this time! Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you have any of your own suggestions.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
10/12/2012: Fans
Once again, as always, I'll be addressing my four favorite topics: fantasy writing, video games, Japan, and pro wrestling. The common connecting topic this week will be "fans."
What are fans? Is it short for "fanatic?" Or are they just people who decide who is popular and who is not with their pocketbooks? How much should a fan expect? How much should someone famous let fans dictate how they approach their life? Some thoughts below:
1. Fantasy
So this is a common complaint especially about George R.R. Martin. Some group of fans seem to think it's OK to demand their favorite author to only work on the series that they want to read. I'll admit, at some points, I felt that sense of entitlement as well. But here's the thing: are you a writer? If you are, then you know how difficult it is to get your vision absolutely right. Sometimes it's not going to be perfect when you sit down and write. As a fan, it's your job to read and enjoy what someone writes and not demand perfection at every corner. I think when the series is all said and done, everyone will be happy that Martin took his time and gave us an awesome series.
So the job of the fans? Go read something else. Here's a list:
J.R.R. Tolkien, Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Richard K. Morgan, R. Scott Bakker, Brandon Sanderson, China Mieville, Daniel Abraham, David Gemmel, Robert E. Howard, David Anthony Durham, Terry Pratchett, Andrzej Sapkowski, Ursula K. Guin, etc. etc.
2. Video Games
With the coming of Dragon's Dogma to my doorstep, I've been reading tons of reviews. Not all of them are glowingly positive. But they're not all awful either. I think fans of RPGs expect certain kinds of things in their games at this point. From what I've heard of Dragon's Dogma, it takes some risks, and some pay off and some don't. At the end of the day, if fans of RPGs don't like the game, then they won't make another one. But I think the overall feeling is that the game can be another great series for Capcom, who has had gang-busters success here in Japan with Monster Hunter. If this can be a new franchise for them to hang their hat on, then I'm sure they're excited.
And let me just say, I sort of predicted this. Um...yeah, I did.
East Meets West?
3. Japan
So I heard that KARA is now in trouble for not agreeing that some islands belong to Korea because they don't want to obviously offend their fans in Japan, where they are huge. Because they didn't firmly support one side or the other, they are now facing dwindling popularity in their home country of Korea. It seems like a case of the Dixie Chicks type thing, except KARA didn't go looking to get involved in a political situation. Do fans of music really care what someone's political affiliation or whatever is? They're just young women who sing songs. Let them do their job and leave politics to politicians.
4. Pro Wrestling
So CM Punk hit a fan? It was a mistake, as he admitted, but where do we draw the line? I'm not so much thinking about the incident itself, but the way the fans seem to treat wrestlers like they're sub-human. If it's true and some fans said "Let's push (Punk) down the stairs" then I don't blame Punk for lashing out. True, security should have been in place, but if someone is threatening to do you bodily harm and you feel you're in a volatile situation, sometimes the only reaction is to lash out. I've always personally been against shows where wrestlers go into the crowd. It can be a potentially dangerous situation in any case. Suffice to say, I don't think WWE will be letting people go through the crowd anytime soon. Like Punk said, I'm just glad no one was hurt. I don't think he meant to hurt anyone, but when you touch a wrestler, you've become fair game.
What are fans? Is it short for "fanatic?" Or are they just people who decide who is popular and who is not with their pocketbooks? How much should a fan expect? How much should someone famous let fans dictate how they approach their life? Some thoughts below:
1. Fantasy
So this is a common complaint especially about George R.R. Martin. Some group of fans seem to think it's OK to demand their favorite author to only work on the series that they want to read. I'll admit, at some points, I felt that sense of entitlement as well. But here's the thing: are you a writer? If you are, then you know how difficult it is to get your vision absolutely right. Sometimes it's not going to be perfect when you sit down and write. As a fan, it's your job to read and enjoy what someone writes and not demand perfection at every corner. I think when the series is all said and done, everyone will be happy that Martin took his time and gave us an awesome series.
So the job of the fans? Go read something else. Here's a list:
J.R.R. Tolkien, Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, Richard K. Morgan, R. Scott Bakker, Brandon Sanderson, China Mieville, Daniel Abraham, David Gemmel, Robert E. Howard, David Anthony Durham, Terry Pratchett, Andrzej Sapkowski, Ursula K. Guin, etc. etc.
2. Video Games
With the coming of Dragon's Dogma to my doorstep, I've been reading tons of reviews. Not all of them are glowingly positive. But they're not all awful either. I think fans of RPGs expect certain kinds of things in their games at this point. From what I've heard of Dragon's Dogma, it takes some risks, and some pay off and some don't. At the end of the day, if fans of RPGs don't like the game, then they won't make another one. But I think the overall feeling is that the game can be another great series for Capcom, who has had gang-busters success here in Japan with Monster Hunter. If this can be a new franchise for them to hang their hat on, then I'm sure they're excited.
And let me just say, I sort of predicted this. Um...yeah, I did.
East Meets West?
3. Japan
So I heard that KARA is now in trouble for not agreeing that some islands belong to Korea because they don't want to obviously offend their fans in Japan, where they are huge. Because they didn't firmly support one side or the other, they are now facing dwindling popularity in their home country of Korea. It seems like a case of the Dixie Chicks type thing, except KARA didn't go looking to get involved in a political situation. Do fans of music really care what someone's political affiliation or whatever is? They're just young women who sing songs. Let them do their job and leave politics to politicians.
4. Pro Wrestling
So CM Punk hit a fan? It was a mistake, as he admitted, but where do we draw the line? I'm not so much thinking about the incident itself, but the way the fans seem to treat wrestlers like they're sub-human. If it's true and some fans said "Let's push (Punk) down the stairs" then I don't blame Punk for lashing out. True, security should have been in place, but if someone is threatening to do you bodily harm and you feel you're in a volatile situation, sometimes the only reaction is to lash out. I've always personally been against shows where wrestlers go into the crowd. It can be a potentially dangerous situation in any case. Suffice to say, I don't think WWE will be letting people go through the crowd anytime soon. Like Punk said, I'm just glad no one was hurt. I don't think he meant to hurt anyone, but when you touch a wrestler, you've become fair game.
Monday, October 8, 2012
10/8/12 Update: Fantasy, Japan, Games and Wrestling
I haven't posted a blog in a bit, but I'd like to get in the habit again. There are basically four things I'll talk about on my blog:
1. Fantasy Writing-books, articles, movies, etc.
2. Japan-life, learning, etc.
3. Games-video games, RPGs, etc.
4. Wrestling-US, Japan, and whatever else I find
I'd like to focus on all four of these topics throughout my blogs. So starting today, I'll discuss what I think about various thoughts about these four topics. I'll probably post once every couple of days, or a week, just to update some cool links, videos, etc. that I've found pertaining to these four topics. I'll share my thoughts on them as well. If one of these topics isn't interesting to you, you are free to skip them of course. :)
But I'd like to cover my main passions in life and hopefully keep them interesting for others.
For my first "new" blog, I'll discuss some things I'm interested in at the moment.
1. Fantasy: Article!
I wrote a new article for Mythic Scribes discussing Creative ADD in which other ideas infiltrate current writing projects. You can check it out here: http://mythicscribes.com/inspiration/crush-creative-add/
For now, I'm working on my current novel and finally made a break-through after struggling a bit. I'm planning on doing National Novel Writing Month in November and already have some plans to discuss that.
2. Japan: Learning Japanese Again
So I go back and forth on learning Japanese now and again. It looks like I'm going to give it a solid go again. I'll either be learning from my wife or I'll be taking lessons in the coming months. In addition, I'm going to join a gym for the first time in my life so I can work out and see how that treats me. Things are looking good for the time being so let's just hope work doesn't crush me completely.
Any motivation to study is greatly appreciated.
For now, for people studying Japanese in Japan looking for a Japanese teacher, I highly recommend Labochi. I haven't had a teacher from here yet, but you can find one pretty easily. Just put in your preferences, and then you'll start getting offers from teachers within a couple of days. I'm interested to test this out if things with my wife don't pan out. Check it out!
http://labochi.com/
3. Games: Monster Hunter Portable 3G and Dragon's Dogma
Looks like I'm in a Capcom mood at the moment. I'm playing Monster Hunter Portable 3G (long title) with help from the wife in Japanese. It's quite a slough, but I think I'll really enjoy it. Waiting on Dragon's Dogma to come as well. I've seen lots of reviews for it and I think the positives outweigh the negatives. I'll be sure to update my thoughts on it when the time comes.
In the meantime, check out this footage from Monster Hunter Portable 3G (only in Japan!)
And here is some footage from Dragon's Dogma, which I'm pretty excited about.
4. Wrestling-New Japan and WWE
New Japan did its first U-STREAM international PPV tonight here in Japan and I hope it did great numbers. I'd really love to see New Japan broaden their horizons even more. They're my favorite company in Japan and I've neglected puroresu for quite a while now. Going to a show is long past overdue. For news on New Japan in English, check out their Facebook page.
New Japan: English Facebook Page.
And finally WWE. With some big PPVs coming up, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and Wrestlemania, I'm expecting things to get interesting with the news that Mr. McMahon is returning to TV tomorrow night. Looking forward to what he has to say as always.
So that's it for now!
Hope everyone likes this new format. A little something for everyone I hope!
See you soon!
1. Fantasy Writing-books, articles, movies, etc.
2. Japan-life, learning, etc.
3. Games-video games, RPGs, etc.
4. Wrestling-US, Japan, and whatever else I find
I'd like to focus on all four of these topics throughout my blogs. So starting today, I'll discuss what I think about various thoughts about these four topics. I'll probably post once every couple of days, or a week, just to update some cool links, videos, etc. that I've found pertaining to these four topics. I'll share my thoughts on them as well. If one of these topics isn't interesting to you, you are free to skip them of course. :)
But I'd like to cover my main passions in life and hopefully keep them interesting for others.
For my first "new" blog, I'll discuss some things I'm interested in at the moment.
1. Fantasy: Article!
I wrote a new article for Mythic Scribes discussing Creative ADD in which other ideas infiltrate current writing projects. You can check it out here: http://mythicscribes.com/inspiration/crush-creative-add/
For now, I'm working on my current novel and finally made a break-through after struggling a bit. I'm planning on doing National Novel Writing Month in November and already have some plans to discuss that.
2. Japan: Learning Japanese Again
So I go back and forth on learning Japanese now and again. It looks like I'm going to give it a solid go again. I'll either be learning from my wife or I'll be taking lessons in the coming months. In addition, I'm going to join a gym for the first time in my life so I can work out and see how that treats me. Things are looking good for the time being so let's just hope work doesn't crush me completely.
Any motivation to study is greatly appreciated.
For now, for people studying Japanese in Japan looking for a Japanese teacher, I highly recommend Labochi. I haven't had a teacher from here yet, but you can find one pretty easily. Just put in your preferences, and then you'll start getting offers from teachers within a couple of days. I'm interested to test this out if things with my wife don't pan out. Check it out!
http://labochi.com/
3. Games: Monster Hunter Portable 3G and Dragon's Dogma
Looks like I'm in a Capcom mood at the moment. I'm playing Monster Hunter Portable 3G (long title) with help from the wife in Japanese. It's quite a slough, but I think I'll really enjoy it. Waiting on Dragon's Dogma to come as well. I've seen lots of reviews for it and I think the positives outweigh the negatives. I'll be sure to update my thoughts on it when the time comes.
In the meantime, check out this footage from Monster Hunter Portable 3G (only in Japan!)
And here is some footage from Dragon's Dogma, which I'm pretty excited about.
4. Wrestling-New Japan and WWE
New Japan did its first U-STREAM international PPV tonight here in Japan and I hope it did great numbers. I'd really love to see New Japan broaden their horizons even more. They're my favorite company in Japan and I've neglected puroresu for quite a while now. Going to a show is long past overdue. For news on New Japan in English, check out their Facebook page.
New Japan: English Facebook Page.
And finally WWE. With some big PPVs coming up, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and Wrestlemania, I'm expecting things to get interesting with the news that Mr. McMahon is returning to TV tomorrow night. Looking forward to what he has to say as always.
So that's it for now!
Hope everyone likes this new format. A little something for everyone I hope!
See you soon!
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