sunrise

I'm no fan of J-Pop, to me it's very bland, and manufactured, (and that's not only confined to Japan!) however there are sometimes some reasonably decent artists out here in the medium mainstream, though I must admit I don't follow it, so I couldn't name any names as no-one's ever struck me enough to want to go out and buy their records. Except maybe the post punk Japanese hammond organ player / KB player / singer who lives in the same building as me. Think post punk Frank Zappa. But then you'll probably never hear his music on the radio anyway.... What's good here is going to be subje

i ofen don't bother to turn on the telephone ringer. I get enough (not thousands, just enough) unsolicited calls to warrant screening. However when one catches me I just talk in English and say no thanks, and wakarimasen, and hang up on them. Or if they keep talking I just keep saying wakirimasen and eventually they get the picture. Best ploy is don' even let them start talking to you. Or I'll be saying - how did you get my phone number? Can I have your phone number so that I can call you at home? (All of this in English with a Japanese accent.... ) Also, in situations like this I'm luc

I've just read it's supposed to be over on Friday, with 30 degree temperatures hitting us.

That kinda thing is paid for up front by the TV network. At the same time Danny Elfman will be getting residuals whenever his theme song is played. In terms of downloading it for free, technically it's still illegal. But since you know that the TV networks upfront payment and residuals from airing the shows are what's really paying for his supper so you might not feel as bad....

PS - anything to stop you from crying...

www.google.com will take you to the .jp site. Type in http://www.google.com/intl/en/ That will do it for you. Then bookmark it.

Just picked up a new book. The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield.

This is an interesting site. It presents a totally different slant on what happened in Yugoslavia. I can't say if it's correct or not, though it seems to look credible and they back up their stories. I don't hold particular judgement on it, as I don't know what's true and what's not, but this site opened my eyes to the possibility that things aren't what they seem.

Quote: Originally posted by kamoshika: Here you had a tall, muscular handsome guy oozing charm I gotta admit I don't find him handsome (or sexy for that matter). You other sistas find him attractive?

One of my bags didn't arrive straight away on a flight to Sydney from Japan. They couriered it several hours later on. I'm not sure what happened to it, but it came back safely, thank god. Tell us some of those horror stories. I heard that in Paris the bag handlers open bags and steal things.

He's a highly respected journalist. I saw an amazing documentary that he made on the Vietnam war called Frontline many years ago.

I haven't been reading novels for a long time now. I seem to be too busy, but I used to read lots of books. Someone recently loaned me biographies on Sting and Madonna to read. They were both interesting reads, though of course you have to take them with a grain of salt, as there are bound to be inaccuracies in them, being unauthorized. Current train reading is The Millionaire Next Door and Time Management from the Inside Out (I'm hopelessly unorganised!) and Recording Magazine (subscription) And lots of stuff on the net - such as non-mainstream news sites, a really cool art

Quote: Originally posted by barok: my news is mostly mainstream - can anybody suggest good non-mainstream news sites that aren`t rife with reports based on unreliable sources, or no sources at all, or that aren`t rife with opinion - sick of the crackpots. non mainstream, but maybe not exactly what you're after: http://www.globalresearch.ca http://www.johnpilger.com for starters....

Congrats, man.

The last few days have been ridiculously cool again.

I used to be a big sumo follower until I read several articles saying it's rigged..... true or not true it burst my bubble. " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" />

Yes, it's often assumed I'm American. I also sometimes get asked if I'm English (but that's usually by Americans). A Kiwi would never make that mistake

For those who weren't here, the rice crop failed a few years back when we had an unusual cool summer. When it's this cool it makes me wonder, though I'm sure when the rainy season officially ends it's gonna to be scorching hot. I think that year the rainy season never really officially ended. It just seemed to linger with cooler overcast days (don't think there was that much rain though). Any word on the rainy season being over in southern Japan yet?

Oooops, forgot to add that I'll be here all summer. I may go back to Oz for a trip in late Sept.

Well, if you're going to go into debt, Byron is a decent reason to do it for Zwells - happy sayonnara. Will you still visit the forum from time to time so we know how to get in touch with you if we show up in your neck of the woods?

Here's another point of view: In this vastly overpopulated planet, perhaps Mother nature has brought gays into the world, with the intention of having an alternate way to enjoy sexuality and bonding which doesn't add to the population. Sure, Mother nature brought heterosexuals into the world to reproduce. I personally feel that there's definitely more than enough reproducing going on on this overcrowded planet.

We've had some hot days this month, but there's been quite a few unusually cool days too. That kind of cool is usually more June weather. I wonder if this year is going to be another year the rice crop fails? When it's this cool so far into July it's hard to imagine the fierce summer heat. At the same time it's hard to imagine there not being the fierce summer heat (and steambath). I'm expecting it will get hot but if for some reason it doesn't I won't be surprised either. That was a wild year the year the rice crop failed. I remember hearing how people were appalled at the idea of

http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/bush_bravely_leads.html a related story, about the war.......

Markie - stop flying first class - save the money for extra days of skiing in J-Land.

Thai is great. My favourite. Qantas is okay, I like seeing Aussies on the plane after leaving Japan, plus they also give us coachers eye shades and socks for the night flight from Tok-syd (and vice versa). I'm currently on a JAL ticket and they've definitely upped their service from what it was several years ago. I always order special meals (no meat), and all airlines tend to bring out special meals first. I haven't had your problem db, but then I don't think I've ever missed a meal that I've wanted to have later on.... and they have been helpful when trying to get hold of snacks.... I