MusicPlasma

Check out this site. It gives you a visual representation of various band in the same sphere of influence.

Liveplasma: music, movies, search engine and discovery engine

Kinda cool.

Eco-tribesmen sought for Fiji island - World Environment - MSNBC.com

Just got this from my friend Tyler.

Looks interesting...

Eco-tribesmen sought for Fiji island - World Environment - MSNBC.com

Hawaii

This post is long overdue, and I just got some pictures up online. Check 'em out here:
Hawaii Picture Gallery

Originally, I wanted to write about my departure from Nagoya; the quiet drive with Fumio to the airport on the Nagoya expressway past the twin towers of the station and the new Toyota building. My last view of Nag city came from an almost aerial viewpoint with surreal qualities.

I wanted to write about arriving in Honolulu and getting whisked through immigration because a family of twenty Samoans was in front of me; only to get outside with my giant green duffle bag holding six years worth of summer clothes and be told there's no storage facility at the airport now because of 9/11.

I wanted to write about my Uncle Teddy, a guy from Macon, GA that caught the Southern Rock swell of the early '70s and rode it all the way to Waikiki. In the middle of that tumultuous tidal wave, he married a young Hawaiian woman, had a baby boy, and experienced a religious awakening which bore him again. He spent the next twenty years with a Bible and no secular music. Just last year, he had another religious experience at a church in Harlem, NY, where he was ordained, and he's now on a mission from God to start his own church in Waikiki.



Let's just say, Teddy didn't show me the light... but he did show me a home video of him meeting James Brown in 1968 at the Macon airport. Does that count?

But I digress, I wanted to write about sleeping on Waikiki and overhearing someone point out the exact place where Cameron Diaz learned to surf, and I also wanted to write about Teddy's friend Dr. Wes, a fast talking, fast thinking, fast photo taking guy who married a young Japanese girl named Tomomi in the Ilikai Penthouse suite two weeks prior to my arrival. They still had the keys and wanted to show the place off while I was there.

I still feel like I'm digressing. I wanted to write about flying to Maui and renting a small economy car and paying $125 for a room at the North Shore Hostel; the car nor the room were needed because I met my buddy Dane, an ex-English teacher from Japan who works construction and was renovating his basement apartment. He set me up in a nice condo and didn't charge me any rent.

Dane's girlfriend Yumi arrived the same day as I did (06/06/06), and he proclaimed he was her low calorie sugar daddy. I wanted to write about hanging out with them on Big Beach, going surfing in Kihei and getting a bad rash on my belly and chaffing my nipples, going to a Hawaiian house party full of Dane's host family members and unknowingly meeting Richard Chamberlain.

I wanted to write about driving at 3am to the top of Haleakala, the highest mountain on Maui, to watch the sunrise and nearly freezing me feet off because I was wearing a pair of Dane's oversized work boots and my socks somehow managed to come off my feet inside the boots.




I wanted to write about hiking through I'ao Valley and getting lost, so we tromped through the woods to the river where we stumbled on a nude photo shoot, and Dane ended up jumping off a bridge into a shallow river with some local Hawaiian guys and making new friends.




All these things would have made a great storey, but as soon I landed in ATL, I hit the ground running, and it's hard to look back. Maybe someday, I'll get around to writing all those things up, but in the meantime please take a look at the pictures:
http://web.mac.com/heyheygig/iWeb/heyhey%27s%20Site/Hawaii.html

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Just got home and having some technical difficulites with my new MacBook; nothing serious just can't seem to import all my old pictures & albums into to my new photo library. It should be resolved soon, and I'll get a post up about Hawaii.

In the meantime, please check out this video my friend Ethan sent me.




How long? How long must he sing this song?

Letter of Acceptance to SIT

Dear Heyward,

On behalf of the Admissions Committee and faculty, I would like to congratulate you on your acceptance to the Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages course work that begins Fall of 2006. We are confident that you will both enhance SIT's learning community and benefit from the degree.

Within the next few days, you'll receive a paper packet containing documents related to your acceptance. If you would like to access an Acceptance Packet instantly online, you may visit:
http://www.sit.edu/graduate/accepted/ Please save this email to direct you to this Accepted-Students only website.

In the packet and online, you will find an enrollment card. The Admissions staff recommends that you submit the $400 non-refundable deposit as soon as possible. The deposit reserves your place in the class and will be deducted from your first semester tuition payment.

If you need support accessing on-line documents please feel free to request assistance by replying to this message.

Again, congratulations and, on behalf of the faculty, the Admissions Committee and SIT, welcome. We look forward to meeting and working with you.

Sincerely yours,

Donald Freeman, Ed.D.
Dean, Graduate and Professional Studies in
Language Teacher Education

Peace Out

To all my friends!!

I've been using that intro ever since I saw Mickey Rourke in 'Barfly' say it as he poured free drinks to everyone in a bar, but for me, this is the first time I've ever meant it as sincerely as Rourke said it.

There is nothing I can write, say, or do to express my gratitude and appreciation to each and everyone of you for making my life in Japan more than memorable.

All I can do is say
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Heiwado has left Hewia-cho.

Peace Out.

Rafting in Gifu

This is a leap of faith, and I'm hoping for a soft landing.

Entering my last days in Japan, I feel like I'm being drawn and quartered. Trying to get my bags packed, ship boxes home, finish my grad school application process, get my financial aid application in, negotiate the hand over of my school, train Brian to take my place, and say goodbye to everyone!

I wish I had time to properly write about my last weekend trip, but it's not gonna happen at the moment. Anyway, please check out these pictures. They're worth a thousand words each.

Rafting in Gifu Gallery

Thanks to everyone for making the trip happen.

Enjoy.

Monk-E-Mail

Evidently, as I'm told by this monk-e-mail, I've been neglecting my friends back in the US, and I hope to remedy that in the near future.

Funny stuff.

Whitney Music Box

whitney music box var. 0 - chromatic - 48 tines

Music theory visualized.

Wow.

Lazy Ramadi

Watch the original:

NBC.com > Video > Web Favorites > Saturday Night Live: Chronicles of Narnia

Now watch the US soldiers in Iraq spoof it:

BitTorrent inks studio distribution deal

BitTorrent inks studio distribution deal | CNET News.com

BitTorrent, the creator of the file-sharing software that for some has become synonymous with piracy, has struck a landmark distribution deal with a Hollywood studio.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Group has agreed to use BitTorrent's peer-to-peer system to distribute movies and television shows, including "Dukes of Hazzard" and "Babylon 5," beginning this summer, the companies are expected to announce Tuesday.

Tiff's Slideshow

My good friend Tiffany recently returned to Japan from France. She made a surprise appearance at the Heiwa Matsuri last week by sneaking up behind me and giving me a big hug.

Amidst all the party people, she managed to snap quite a few funny pictures; including some of embarrassing shots of me trying to cut the rug.

Click here to check out some of Tiff's pics from the past few weeks back in the land of the rising sun: Tiff's Olympus Slideshow

Neil Young: Living With War

allmusic ((( Living with War > Overview )))

In a move that deliberately echoes the rush release of "Ohio" in the wake of the Kent State shootings, Neil Young bashed out his 2006 protest record Living with War in a matter of days, sometimes recording songs the day they were written, and then seized the opportunities of the digital age by streaming the entire album on his website only weeks after it was recorded, with the official digital and CD releases trailing several days later. It's the best use yet of the instant, widespread distribution that the Web has to offer, and it also hearkens back to the days when folk music was topical, turning the news into song.

04.282930.06 平和

The cold of winter is officially over and the warmth of spring is emitting energies and emotions straight through the stratosphere.

My old hometown friend Brian arrived in Japan last week to move into my Heiwa-cho house and assume my English teaching responsibilities. He’s settling in really well; he even started a blog called The Fire That's In Me to write about his first impressions, and I think he’s got a great attitude towards living in Japan. He’ll do well.

At the same time, my good friend Cem left to begin a job writing for the Japan Times. He will be in Casablanca, Morocco for the next three and half months interviewing businessmen before departing for his next worldly destination. He will be deeply missed.

To celebrate this emotional changing of the guard, so to speak, we pooled our efforts to host a three-day squat party in Heiwa-cho. We had live didgeridoo performances in the living room, multiple DJs spinning dance music, fire dancers, a pot of curry to feed 50 people, a BBQ outside, a full bar that included three kegs of Tokyo Ale, another fridge full of bottled beer, and Brian’s very own liquor carousel shot dispenser. Hell, we even printed T-shirts!

Check out some of my pictures from this Peace Town blowout, please click here:
04.282930.06 Heiwa Picture Gallery

To all my friends,

We is were are Rolling Stones. Somebody call Keiff!

School for International Training

Earlier this month I sent off an application to the School for International Training. I'm applying for their Master of Art in Teaching with an emphasis on teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL).

As part of the application process, I had to write a 1500 word essay on an international experience or cultural exchange that was important to me. It took me months before I decided on an approach, but I finally settled on giving a brief overview of my life in Japan.

If anyone would like to read my essay, please click here: SIT Essay.doc

It's not the greatest thing I've ever written, but it's the first time I've actually summed up on paper the impact Japan has had on me, and I'm very grateful to my good friends Cem & Alexis for proof reading it and giving me constructive criticisms and ideas.

Thank you.

花見

BOOZE!!!

Lessons learned:

1. Flight, fight, or Jesus
2. Aaahhhh... comfortable
3. Scooters are bad

Wired News: Betting On a Green Future

Wired News: Betting On a Green Future

Venture capitalist John Doerr made his name and fortune with early investments in Netscape Communications Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. and other pioneering tech firms that went from scrappy startups to household names.

Now Doerr and his firm, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, are placing big bets on an emerging sector he calls "green technology," one he believes could become as lucrative as information technology and biotechnology.

Rolling Stones: Bigger Bang Tour

HOLY MUTHA F$@!K!ER!

The only way I can describe the Rolling Stones Bigger Bang concert in Nagoya Dome is with a string of expletives unfit to print here. To say I'm still buzzing or walking without touching the ground would be a mild understatement.

Before the show, I met my friend Toku, his girlfriend Nami, his colleague Motoshi, and a local promoter that goes by the name Go-Low. The night before, Toku and Go-Low went drinking with some of the Stones roadies and received an offer to come backstage. I got to tag along!

Check out the photo gallery here: Rolling Stones: Bigger Bang

We met Pierre, the Stones chief sound technician, who escorted us backstage and gave us a tour of the area. He took us past Mick's dressing room, all the guitars, and up on the stage. I actually walked around on the Rolling Stones' stage!

Eventually, Pierre passed us off to Mike, Charlie's drum tech. Mike told us to bust out our cameras and he started talking pictures for us. He gave Motoshi a set of drumsticks and everyone else got guitar picks.

Check out this video of Mike showing us the drums:



The show itself was fun, but the Japanese audience was a little too conservative. Believe it or not, they didn't even serve beer in the place. Totally mind-boggling.

It took a little while for the audience to really get into it, but the latter half of the show was really fun.

Here's a short video of Honky Tonk Women:



After the show, we all went to a restaurant to chill out, get something to eat, and finally drink a beer. While we were eating, Bernard, one of the back-up singers came and sat down near us.

The whole night was surreal, as it should have been.

>>> Site Syndication <<<

With the boom of blogs and podcasts, RSS feeds are becoming increasingly relevant to Internet users because it's an easy way for users to subscribe to websites and receive notifications when those sites are updated. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.

I'm still learning how to use RSS, and I have a long way to go, but in the meantime, I'm trying to offer this blog up for syndication.



In my opinion, the easiest way is to sign up for subscription by email. If you enter your email address below, you will receive an email anytime I post a new entry.

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Lastly, if you're using the newest version of Safari or Firefox, you can click the RSS or syndication icon in the address bar and simply bookmark the feed address.

or



I hope ya'll find this useful and it saves the time of checking for updates and being disappointed if I'm too busy or lazy to make posts.

Peace.

Almost Spring

Spring is slowly setting in, but the cherry blossoms look like they’re gonna take another week.

For April Fool’s Day, I went to Inuyama with my friends Cem, Yuki, Ethan, and Alexis for a festival. We spent the afternoon walking around casually eating all the usual matsuri snacks: choco bananas, yaki-mochi, squid, various meat sticks, butter potatoes, etc.

Check out the photo gallery here: Inuyama Matsuri

Here’s a video of Ethan demonstrating how to give a kancho:



If you don’t know what a kancho is, I suggest you read Wikipedia’s explanation here: Kancho

The following day I had plans to go to a cherry blossom party in Okazaki, but the rainy weather forced the party inside. Regardless, we still had a good time, and a couple from Okinawa brought a shamisen and performed a few songs.

I put a few pictures on my Flickr account that you can scroll through here: Okazaki Pics