Goemon

I think my first concert was a Grateful Dead / Bob Dylan show at Giants Stadium in 1985. A friend and I were filmed for an MTV News special.

They could have a whole study on Stong Island and how they pronounce words like "water" and "soda"... The one about "hoagies/grinders/subs" was pretty regionalized. I liked the "shotgun!" one too; who are those freaks in Boston who yell out "hosey!" to reserve the front passenger seat??? And Midwesterners calling soda "pop" still makes me smile. For the rest, nowadays I think it's hard for regions to maintain their dialectic integrity (if there is such a thing). Maybe 80 years ago, you would've seen much more regionalization.

MistaSparkle: I participated in that survey when it was conducted a few months ago (in February?). NJ reprazent! I guess I have too much time on my hands...

Nice write-up and tips, barok. And an even nicer faceplant; I enjoyed reviewing that over and over again in slow-mo.

Barok: thanks for injecting some science into my lame layman explanation But now I'm thinking about midichlorians in my blood and whether or not I'm using "The Force" when I run...

My friends who've played rugby claim that people are tackled in such a way as to minimize direct impact hits (ie they're "pulled down"). Is it true? American Football, on the other hand, features more head-on-head collisions at jarring speeds, thus the need for girly pads. This is not meant as a statement that American Football is "better" or "tougher" than rugby...it's just different. As far as Aussie rules goes though, those guys are just crazy. What's with the short-shorts? Too many banana hammocks for my liking...

Anybody worth their salt knows that Old Mother Sorbothane's a whoring bitch. By "stale" muscles, I mean that they do not grow to their full power potential. If I run 7 miles every day at 8 min/mile, I will become very proficient at running 7 miles at 8 min/mile. Isn't that "stale"? I've gotten that pins and needles effect in my head from running before, but that is not "stale" at all. That is the elusive "runner's high" where it feels like your mind is flying effortlessly over the course.

NoFakie: I think that the "mix-it-up" school of running works best; we never ran the same length, route or "method" in consecutive days. Like Barok mentioned, your muscles get stale if you just run the same distance/route every day. One weird-sounding method is "fartlek" (I'm not sure of the spelling, but it means "speed play" in Swedish); basically you run different speeds/intensities within the same run. So, you might run 1 minute at 6 min/mile pace and then 2 minutes at 8 min/mile pace, etc. etc. Easy to do with a running watch. A google search turns up a surprising number of entries which

I've been using Asics running shoes for the past 17 years(!), including heavy use in x-country and T&F (although not very much since I moved to Tokyo...). Generally the Gel series only last a year, due to heavy usage. Even with that short lifespan, I still recommend them. I usually replace the innersole with a polysorbic liner though for extra comfort/protection. The best one I used was from Spenco .

Barok, that fish you were eating in the US or here in Japan was probably from somewhere else (unless you caught it yourself). Here's another article from the NY Times: Imported Fish Quote from the article: "Today, 76 percent of all seafood consumed in the United States is imported, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, a government agency; only Japan imports more fish. From 1992 though 2001, imports to the United States increased from less than $6 billion to nearly $10 billion...Australia has doubled the amount of fish it sends to these shores in the last 10 years to 1

Interesting related article in the NY Times today: Animal Welfare Seems that some of the big food companies (being led by McDonalds )are bowing to pressure and attempting to improve the conditions of the animals...before they slaughter them.

Yes, he needed that extra weight to absorb the harmful waves being emitted by the telephone poles. He got fat so that you might live! " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" />

Yeah, my understanding was that it was more symbolic and was not intended to have any real economic effect. It seems that another focus was that people might actually see some stars at night instead of the flash from the local pachinko parlor.

I just remembered: Kid Koala does a very "Oriental-sounding" scratch up called "The Emperor's New Clothes" on an EP; he cuts up on the theme music from "The Last Emperor" soundtrack.

We switched to candle power last night, but were disappointed that so many buildings still had lights running (yesterday was chosen for this feeble campaign since it's the longest day of the year). Seems that switching to daylight savings would certainly make sense for Japan?

Thas a big-ass tizzea-cup then, Ocean. Maybe you'll like this then (turn it up): Weebl Rap Battle

Agree there, Nekobi! That's on one of my favorite EPs by her.

So it seems ; I was ready to attribute it to The Bard.

Don't think it's your cup o' tea, Ocean, but the Wu Tang Clan (and all of their solo projects) feature alot of samples from kung-fu flicks embedded in their tunes.

Quote: spiral into total weirdness without ever getting completely incomprehensible Then, you definately would not like one of my recent favorites, Infinite Jest . I had to admire the skill of the author, although some people would accuse him of just showing off.

Actually, enderzero wished for seeds so that he could plant some flowers which bring happiness to you, me and everyone else...yeah, that's the ticket

Quote: A turkey sandwich, a case of beer, and a big fat bowl. Ain't gonna be able to mess that one up. dry, asahi, seeds 'n' stems...

Tama-chan, the recognized leader of Japan:

Drove by it recently and was wondering what they're doing with it now. Waiting for the bubble to return and holding out for a buyer? Converting it into a sloped assembly-line/warehouse? The trucks could just line-up at the bottom while all of the goods "slide" onto the trailers. Viva la Gravity! New home for Tama-chan? New home for Panawave?

Happy birthday, Mista S!