Bomb

Osaka turns out to be a rather depressing city. Apparently it the shit bombed out of it during World War II, so much so in fact that every time they go to build a large new building they find yet another bomb that dropped, didn't explode and got buried. At the moment, I work in a large business district called Honmachi, which is being evacuated on Tuesday to allow for the excavation of yet another bomb. I found these signs near my soon. The large circle on the map indicates the possible blast radius. This is indeed a strange place. In a side note, for anyone who didn't see the Daily Show interview with Dennis Miller, you have to check it out!

Wisdom of the Day: The Big Mac diet only worked for Don Gorske.

Tadaima!

Got in pretty late last night, but surprisingly I'm not jet lagged today. I think my body never adjusted to New York time, which would explain why I was always tired there. Here are some pictures for anyone who wants to see.

On the trip back to Osaka I finished the Da Vinci Code. Since everyone has read it I can say my thoughts. If you haven’t read it then stop reading this. Anyway, most of the people I've spoken to are very concerned with the idea the book puts forth that Jesus Christ was married and had children. While this in itself is a big revelation, I think most people are overlooking the fact that Dan Brown is screaming that the Catholic Church is a fraud and that Jesus was really just a man. An influential, highly intelligent, charismatic leader, but still only a man and not the son of God, which all Christians believe him to be. This idea is understandably troubling to many people, but Roman history, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and a large number of books would seem to credit this theory. There is one underlining point I would like to make. Whether Jesus was a man or a supernatural being, does the meaning of his message and teachings change for you? I would still prefer my neighbor to treat me as I treat him, although he usually doesn't. I think many people are too concerned with the details of the story and not enough with the author's underlining message: being a good person and leading a good life has nothing to do with which religion you follow or the belief system you have. Now if only more people could understand this.

Okay, rant finished. We all have to sometime. And everyone can stop telling me to read the book now.

Wisdom of the Day: If someone asks you if you are a God, you say Yes.

New York

Well I'm off to New York for a few days my cousin's confirmation. I'm trying a different approach to sleeping on the flight as I actually slept last night and I'll take some Nyquil on the flight. But I'm pretty sure a large number of people on the plane will go out of their way to wake me. Which reminds me, The Satanic Verses is not a good plane book.

I'll have some pictures up with the next post, hopefully. In the meantime enjoy a 6 foot plaster statue of Solid Snake which I found in Yodobashi Camera the other day while shopping for a present for my cousin.

Wisdom of the Day: You don't need luck when you've got 74.13% behind you.

24

Finally brought back that DVD of 24 season 3. It was due today after sitting in my house for a week. I also saw a commercial here for a Japanese food called Calorie Mate, with Kiefer Sutherland and a helicopter and SWAT cops that looked like it was taken from the show. There are also print ads in the subways and train stations. The thing that surprises me the most is that the popularity of 24 here in Japan has not spawned a copy show using Japan as the backdrop and Japanese actors. One would think it's a cash cow for any television network, and they all need some help these days. My friends claim that Japanese TV producers don't even have enough originality to copy a show. Instead they continue to churn out more bad dramas. I wouldn't know as I don't watch much TV here.

I have watched some of a comedy drama called Gokusen. It's about a teacher, named Yamaguchi Kumiko or Yankumi for short, who has to teach the class filled with the most problematic students in a high school in Tokyo. The catch is that Yankumi is the next in line to run her family's business, that is controlling all of the criminal activity in Tokyo. And did I mention that the actress, Nakama Yukie, is oh so cute? Translated episodes available here.

It's a On a totally unrelated note, I went over 8 days without drinking a drop of alcohol. Where's my congradulations drink?

Wisdom of the Day: Do not today what you can put off till next month.

Spring

Well spring has officially begun in Osaka . The weather was warm enough today to go without a jacket and many Australians could be seen in their finest shorts and sandals. Meanwhile for the average Japanese it's still a little too cold for comfort. Expect to still see your share of winter coats and scarves if you happen to travel to Osaka in the next few days.

Spring is also a big time for Sakura and Hanami in Japan. Sakura is japanese for Cherry Blossoms, a type of flower that only blooms for a few weeks during the first weeks of April. These aren't exclusive to Japan and have been transplanted to Vancouver, Washington D.C. and Brooklyn just to name a few. Hanami is the tradition of going to see the blossoms. This is usually done from the ground on a blanket while ingesting massive amounts of alcohol and snacks. I took a few pictures, but they came out too dark.

I also met my first Japanese girl who actually looks older than she is. Weird...

Wisdom of the Day: 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans can be wrong.

Welcome Back

Welcome back to the world of Jedicraft. After nearly 5 years on hiatus the site has returned. This entry marks the day I decided to rekindle the flame of this site and get off my lazy ass and do some actual computer work again rather than download the Daily Show. The previous was removed almost 4 years ago, since I consistly forgot to update it. Then a virus wiped out all of the images from my hard drive. This is the holder site created by the yahoo pagemaker wizard, since I was in the rush to get it up. Expect something nicer soon. And for the 15 people who remember the original site, here is the last remaining part.

Wisdom of the Day: You can't put mustard on respect and eat it.