[Iron Chef]

have you seen the bobbie fley rematch episode? it was tense, and easily the best one produced.

[Desert Island]

i'm going to have to throw another wrench in this machine and ask why kamoshika has not been considered?

[Desert Island]

what? no porn option?

[Donation to the bukatsu of the local school]

both of my folks were teachers in canada, they took their work home with them and i can assure you they were usually quite busy. they did not however in any way feel obliged to make the school their second residence of sorts.

[Bushpig Watch Out!]

how could it possibly get so big after only three years?

i was disappointed to see that they were going to butcher it exclusively as sausage. certainly they could have gotten a good ham, or a few chops, hey maybe even a nice side of bacon. why exclusively sausage?

[Donation to the bukatsu of the local school]

"is that on a Saturday/Sunday practice?"

actually no, regular weekday practice. clubs are especially serious up here in the inaka. they usually go to 7:30-8:00 at my school. granted the kids aren't running that much every night, but it is not out of the ordinary.

consider too that these kids only eat a tin of rice, boiled cabbage and two deep fried minnows for lunch.

[Donation to the bukatsu of the local school]

 Originally Posted By: Indosnm

Haven't they heard that you can get better results from intervals (unless it's the marathon club!)

nope. you get the best results through gambatte.

[Donation to the bukatsu of the local school]

i was recently informed by my co-worker that one of the major reasons clubs practice with such intensity is because a teacher's club performance will seriously affect HIS (not her) potential for promotion. so many teachers will keep the kids at clubs till 7 or even 8, so that they will look as though they are doing their best at the whole ganbette bullshite and hopefully become kocho-sensei. mean while these poor kids on the soft tennis team are going nearly 8 hours without food, and running upwards of 20km a day.

[Donation to the bukatsu of the local school]

considering bukatsu is one of the biggest problems in the school system(my own opinion, and likely many school workers') i would with out hesitation flatly refuse.

[The OFfiCiAl SNow PhOtOgrAphy ThrEAd!]

 Originally Posted By: soubriquet

I spent the money on some powder skis and Naxo bindings instead

wrong venue i know, but are you getting set up to tour?

[HDDs]

 Originally Posted By: rach

Do Buffalo actually make anything then? I thought they were this huge "making computer stuff" company...

nobody actually makes anything. there is no such thing as a Buffalo factory. this stuff, along with pretty much everything you use in daily life with some sort of corporate brand logo, is contracted and sub-contracted out to assembling facilities usually found in economic zones. the parts to be assembled are manufactured elsewhere in other near slave like situations. yeah the "new world order"!

[Wine Corks-- A Nostalgic Past...]

 Originally Posted By: thursday

You will NEVER find a Grand Cru from France using anything other than corks.

i suspect when the cork tree has been over exploited to a point of near extinction you likely will.

[Puzzle game]

that is soooo addictive!

[Which is bigger - the Niseko mountain or Happo?]

they have that all over nagano too. frankly, the corporate go to one liner promo of niseko has long since gotten boring.

[Poutine]

you can get poutine at the canadian bar in shibuya. not quite up to montreal standards, but it is well worth it if not for simply nostalgic purposes. (they also have authentic caesars)

[Wine Corks-- A Nostalgic Past...]

synthetic, screw tops, cork; everything i have heard suggests there is no difference as far as the quality of the wine. it's all a matter of what our nostalgia will allow us to accept.

[Puzzle game]

i am pretty sure it's impossible and made just to infuriate people with too much time on their hands.

[Boy cuts off mums head]

i always thought the english language news papers published the news the japanese publications are not willing to print.

[Kyoto - as great as the reputation or over-rated?]

mixed feelings. the city is great, and it really has a wonderful character, but to take a page from alex kerr; the station!!!!!! the needle!!!!! .....

[Boy cuts off mums head]

i always wonder about that. to be honest, the violent crimes here have always seemed utterly sick. but i wonder if it is more an issue of media sensationalism. if these are the only crimes the media reports then we get the impression that all crimes in japan are psychotic.

then again maybe it is a repercussion of all the stress and pressure people are under here starting from such an early age coupled with the bottle it all in gambette spirit. when people snap they snap huge.

[Whistler - what is it good for?]

Intrawest are far too savvy to "americanize" niseko. it would be, just as Ger suggests, a total embodiment of japan's export culture utterly lacking in substance.

[Whistler - what is it good for?]

i hear you on the intrawest's quest to gentrify everything it touches.

i remember tremblant pre intrawest. it was a dieing resort, but it had character. actually it is the second oldest resort in north american behind sun valley. i remember the Octobar, sooo awesome as an apres ski bar. but it has all gone.

 

intrawest in Niseko? wow. that will be something, and when it happens you can be sure japan will finally be placed on the globe as a first class ski destination.

you know to be honest, (i've never been to niseko so i can't speak for that area well) japan could use an big investor like intrawest to re-invigorate the ski industry.

[Funny shop names]

there is a place in sendai, a shabby old place at that, called "sweat shop".

[Places you want to visit in Japan]

 Originally Posted By: Snow-Woman

Whats that for daver, anything in particular?

no reason actually, i made a mistake. i meant yakushima.

[S.E. Asia Pics]

the place is guilin and yangshou.