T2: Takoyaki & Trance

In a previous post, I mentioned that I like Trance music. Well, I also like Takoyaki. Here's how to make it...with a drum beat:



I'm making these on New Year's Eve!

Wishing Everyone a Safe and Joyous Holiday

Graphics and formatting via Hallmark software

I've made several style Holiday cards to give to friends and relatives while simultaneously promoting this blog which goes official in January/February 2008. (Awesome fountain in the b.g.)

Pop Up Market

This wasn't staged for the camera. This is a real open market in Thailand.



Think: Modular transformation in Macross City aboard the SDF-1. (Google it, if you don't know.)

Lost in Translation? Luka vs. Ruka

(Suzanne Vega – Original Artist)


(浅香唯 - Asaka Yui – Cover Artist)

I’m not entirely sold on this “J-pop” version of “Luka.” Perhaps Yui’s manager was fascinated more with the melody. I’m guilty of falling for the melodies of some Japanese pop songs now and then; I learn the lyrics without translating them first, only to be totally embarrassed to discover just how immature or wrong I was about the songs’ meanings. (Back in the 1980’s, Bruce Springsteen toured around the world and people sung along to “Born in the USA,” some people not even knowing what they were saying. They just liked the song.)

Also, I had this vision of Japanese kids dancing to this cover tune. Even though the lyrics were translated into Japanese, I wonder if they truly understood that this song was about child abuse. Dancing to this song, to me, would be like celebrating each time a child got beaten. Not the right thing to do. (Which begs the question: Why was Suzanne’s lead guitarist so spastically energetic during his solos?) I counted Yui smile twice during her performance and she appeared to bob her head a few times, as if rocking to a groove. The swaying near the end didn’t fit either.

Lastly, I was really disappointed in the quality of the musical arrangement and staging. It’s obvious that Yui lip-synched for TV, and the “musicians” behind her were just props. I’m not sure which brand of mic was on stage, but an attempt was made to copy Suzanne’s use of the Shure SM58. Suzanne performed in close proximity to the mic capsule, since it is omni-directional. If she stood back, her voice would be drowned out by other instruments. The net effect is: Both Suzanne and Yui hid their mouths behind the mic. Yui didn’t have to because she doesn’t play guitar like Suzanne. So to me, it appeared as if Yui was directed to “copy” Suzanne’s stage style. Speaking of style, what was the kogal outfit underneath the A-Ha “Take on Me” video trench coat all about, eh? Sure it’s 80’s J-pop, but see how conservative Suzanne appeared at the same time?

Yui was a child star TV actress then moved on to recording music when her acting career subsided. After a string of hit songs, she took time off from performing for awhile, but staged a comeback. Her outfit in the video could have been used to portray a connection to the youth culture of the time. I found a TV news interview of her shot ten years after this video. More mature, she now dresses main stream. If only she had a voice like Natsukawa Rimi…

I'm Craving Donuts!

Since I've dropped 23 lbs. and am still dropping, I've allowed myself a treat once a week. Whenever I'm in Okinawa for training, I make it a point to stop by the andagi (Okinawa donut)stall located on Heiwa Dori (Peace Blvd.) located about a third of the way down from the intersection at Kokusai Dori (International Blvd.)

The sweet old ladies running the place have the best variety of flavors. There's plain, brown sugar, pumpkin, red bean, bannana, and others I can't remember. Simply fried and made fresh often, there's no need for emulsifiers or preservatives.

Here in The States, there's a particular chain of donut shops that say their donuts are "crispy." Well, they're not. They are...let's see...fluffy. Lots of air. They melt at body temperature. And, you need to eat half a dozen to feel satisfied. But, after the sugar blast, you fall into a deep depression and regret eating so many.


Mister Donut used to operate as a chain in the USA. Now, the chain exists in Japan and Asia.

Sadly, there are no andagi stalls here in the U.S. I can get the ingredients and make them myself, but it's not the same as having a true expert make them for you.

Andagi (sata-andagi) are light, crispy, and what I prefer DENSE! Real donuts have body and a bready texture and in a pinch can be used to defend yourself against a mugger. The fluffy-creamy wannabe donuts are about as useless as nunchaku made out of two ripe bannanas tied together with kitchen twine.

Everything you could possibly ever need to know about donuts can be found at http://www.theblognut.net/. This guy is absolutely crazy smart and prolific concerning all things donut.

This shop owner quickly set out a fresh batch before running out.


[image from www.okinawa-bussan.com]

After lasagna, Garfield's favorite snack. Sata-andagi!!!


[image from www.notquicka9.net]

Foothold Situation in the White House

If you're a fan of Stargate SG1, as seen on the Sci Fi Channel, then you know what a "foothold situation" is.

A foothold situation is when an extra-terrestial alien incursion occurs within our military bases and threatens to overthrow our government.

President George W. Bush just vetoed for the second time health care coverage for children. He justified this veto stating that the most recent bill from Congress won't cover poor children first, but rather move middle class children with private coverage into government sponsored health care and also allow adults as well as raises taxes.

What every American should be more worried about is: Who(m) is pulling our president's strings? Surely, a rational human being would bend over backwards to render aid to children. Our nation has been set in motion towards an uncertain future. Thousands of dysfunctional and impaired Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan veterans; under-educated and unhealthy children; families losing their homes; our air being poisoned; and the list goes on.

The only reason I can come up with to explain all this:

Aliens from outer space have taken over our planet.



Sci Fi has become reality. We have a foothold situation...

Letter to my Second Grade Teacher

Dear Mrs. Gagnet,

When I was your student in 1975 at Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla. (back then states had three letter abbreviations), I had a crush on you. Even though more than 30 years has passed, and you've been long married, changed your last name, had kids and grand kids, perhaps gone a little gray, and maybe not even be with us on Earth any longer, my memory of you as a newly graduated out of college twenty-something is fresh in my mind.

You always had my attention, not just because of your beauty, but because you had important things to say. You were honest in telling us if an atomic bomb went off nearby that the "duck and cover" drill we had to pracice wouldn't do us any good. I felt comforted when you said you wouldn't leave us alone in the classroom, if the bomb went off.

In the playground, you stopped the bullies from picking on me. And at lunchtime, you made sure your seat at the teachers' table was close to my class table; to keep an eye on us.

Back then, you had to teach every subject and with hindsight, that couldn't have been very easy. I especially liked the way you sang during music time. You got us all started on a chorus and you'd sing the lead or picked a song we could all do together.

On rainy days, you'd come into class with a hat on your head. Being French, I wondered why you never wore a baree'. On hot days, you'd roll up your sleeves like you meant business, as if you were about to bake a cake or butcher meat. One time, the principal called you over the intercom to go to his office. All of us students were unsupervised for about five minutes. I figured out that this was some kind of psychology experiment, and we were being monitored from the hallway and over the intercom. You came back a little disappointed that we didn't go berserker and tear the classroom or each other apart. You thanked us anyway for being such good boys and girls.

Since then, I've done a lot of growing and learning. I'm still doing a lot of growing and learning. Through the martial arts, I've also become a teacher and I hope you'd be proud that you've helped shape a person who could've gone on to do selfish things, but instead chose to do something selfless.

I often have lots of time to myself, usually very late at night after work and after teaching. I work on my writing projects and on something called a "blog." When I get bored with writing, I grab my guitar and play for awhile. Still, I wonder what life would've been like if I had stayed in Pensacola like my father had originally planned for us. I had Mrs. Whatley for 3rd grade. Who knows? You could've been my teacher for 4th grade.

As for sweethearts, I had a few out hear in California. But, nothing long-lasting. These days, it's hard to compete with the records of yester-year. So many people are moving too fast to get to nowhere. They think they know what they want, but settle for something different over the next horizon. I miss the comfort of my careless childhood. Sesame Street was dependable. 15 cent chocolate milks at the barber's shop by the school was dependable. Heck, even the racism was dependable.

And...Mrs. Gagnet's turtleneck sweaters, short skirts, and go-go boots were dependable! Let's face it, people. My first grade teacher was plain sexy. She looked a lot like Jeannie C. Riley (she recorded "Harper Valley PTA" in 1968). She didn't dress like that every day. Man, but when she did...wowzers!

So Mrs. Gagnet (and her family) please accept my most sincerest apologies for not being a gentleman in this instance. I've waited thirty years to get that off my chest.

I feel better now.

-Ernie, Chief Lab Rat

Cold Weather Training

Since we’ve entered the winter season, I thought I’d share a little bit of my childhood in the snow...

When I was five and six years old, I lived in Iceland. My father was stationed there while he served in the U.S. Navy. During most of the year, the weather is quite mild. But in winter, it can get cold enough to throw boiling water from a pot out the front door and watch it freeze before it hits the ground.

I remember bundling up and my friends and I would go to the corner playground to build snowmen. One kid and I tried to ride the see-saw. He sat on the low end, and I climbed up on the high end. He suddenly stood up and I thought I was going to plop straight to the ground, as kids often cruelly play this joke on each other. But, it was so cold, ice had frozen the pivot point and I was suspended in mid-air. We laughed so hard our boogers shot out of our noses like icicles.

Now a Californian (SF Bay Area since 1975), I still prefer cooler weather. Even in winter, people often ask me “Aren’t you freezing?” because I normally wear shorts and a t-shirt. I just explain, “I’m used to it.”

Not so much, recently. In the past eight months, I’ve dropped about 23 pounds. I’ve always been a little on the porky side, even as a little kid. I really love bacon. And cheese. Oh, did I mention rice and potatoes, too? Well, smaller portions are the secret to my weight loss. But now I’m not so insulated. Perhaps, age and a smaller appetite have a lot to do with it, too.

I do an awful lot of outdoor training. I’ll hike in the woods and find an opening among the trees and practice kata for a couple of hours, then hike back. Sometimes the woods can be bitter cold. So can Northern California beaches where I also train.

Being able to withstand cold extremes is all a matter of diet and training. I believe conditioning yourself to endure cold requires regular exposure and having eaten enough calories to fuel a metabolic rate to keep your muscles active, since they are what generate body heat.

In Japan, group outdoor training in the snow is called fuyu-gasshuku.

Giving Money to Beggars

Here's someone using humor to bring attention to a real problem.

Most civic leaders and law enforcement officers here in the SF Bay Area advise citizens to not give money to beggars. It bothers me that the same advice they give is the same kind of thinking city managers have to control urban pigeon populations. If you don’t feed them, they’ll go away. What a lot of people don’t know is that when we don’t feed the pigeons, they feed on themselves.

Today, I finished my first full day of Christmas shopping and I’m nowhere near done. But, as I expected, I was approached by a man asking for money. Passive beggars, those on corners and sidewalks holding signs, are easy to ignore. The active beggars, those who select and approach individuals seeking a donation, make you give them attention.

Normally, I scan the parking lot when I leave a store to avoid beggars. This time, there were just too many people getting in and out of their cars for me to spot him. My avoidance technique might sound heartless to most people, but it’s the best way to avoid a potential robbery.


Here's an actual sign used by a real homeless person.

So anyway, this guy comes up to me and shows respect by not getting too close. He kindly explained that he’s Tongan and that Tongans have strong family bonds and stay together and support each other. He mistook me for Samoan, but I didn’t say I wasn’t. He was depending on me to understand the clan mentality of the island nations of the Pacific.

He said that he recently lost his job and that he and his family were homeless and hungry. It’s at this point when I choose whether or not to give money. I’ve had enough drug addicts and alcoholics beg me for money that I can see right through their false stories and I give them nothing.

This guy seemed different. First of all, I’ve never been approached by a Tongan asking for money. This guy was huge and powerful looking. He walked with a cane. Maybe he blew his knee out when he was younger, or had it to gain sympathy. Lots of Tongans play football and rugby as young men. He was probably in his late forties. His clothes were somewhat new and clean, and he spoke eloquently as if he had some education. From other things he said, I could also tell he was a deeply religious man.

I went to school with Samoans and Tongans. They are proud people. Whatever misfortune that fell on this man was hard enough to compel him to beg. He asked me for $20 because the day was growing dark and it could make the difference between getting a hotel room or staying out in the cold. Most addicts will take anything and aren’t specific about how much they ask for. I gave him $5 and said, “I’ve got others to support, too.” He replied, “I can tell by the way you paused [when I was selecting a bill to give] you wanted to give me a twenty, but you’ve got your own family to think about. That’s alright and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. God blesses you for helping me and my family.”

Why did I give him only $5? One can never truly be sure of a really good hustler. And, I hate it when I’ve been suckered. He and I parted paths peacefully, and that’s all I really cared about. He didn’t press me for more money, even though he knew I had more and that cane he had, which could’ve been used as a weapon, was propped behind him against a car and not in his hands. So, the five bucks I considered a “good conscience fee.” I don’t feed pigeons. But I won’t participate in sending anyone to feed on others either.

Let me offer everyone some tips here:

• Always maintain a “safe zone” between you and a beggar.
  


• Always have small amounts of cash in your pocket that is separate from a wallet or money clip.
  


• Never show exactly how much money you’re carrying, if you’re going to give money to a beggar. It would be very easy for a thief to just grab everything you had in your hands.
  


• Also, keep your transaction brief. If the parking lot starts to empty of eye witnesses, cut off any stories the beggar is telling. Either hand him or her some money, or walk away immediately.
  


• Treat beggars with respect. An over-the-top denial could enrage a needy person. A polite “no, thank you” should be enough when approached.

Fake Photos - Real Criminals?

Appearing in a privately funded exhibit at the New York Public Library called Line Up are six photos that have stirred political controversy. The exhibit opened November 29, 2007 and runs until January 27, 2008.

Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese are the Brooklyn artists who digitally modified these images. At the library display, videos of each politician accompany the presentation with matching dates and times of the photos.

In the videos, when each politician makes statements about the Iraq War that the artists feel are criminal, camera flashes appear and the politicians’ appear in freeze frames, and jail bars shut in front them.


President George W. Bush


Vice-President Dick Cheney


Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales


Secretary of State Dr. Condolezza Rice


Former Deputy Chief of Staff Carl Rove


Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

Library visitors’ responses to the photos are mixed. Obviously, Bush supporters were offended and Bush critics felt the artists had First Amendment protection. Other visitors felt a “political attack” at a publicly funded library was inappropriate. The library spokesman, Herb Shaer, stated that the New York Public Library has a long tradition of collecting political satire and caricature.

I rarely discuss or promote my own political beliefs, and I won’t bully people into believing as I do. Just take a look at these photos and place them in parallel with the results of their decisions. Then decide for yourself if this satire was in bad taste or without merit.

Keep in mind, not every American voted for the Bush/Cheney ticket, but every American that travels outside of the USA – as I have noticed – must walk on eggshells. Americans abroad “represent” the USA, and many of the world’s people do not understand that not every American thinks like Bush and Cheney, but are nevertheless victims of others frustrations over the USA on occassion.

It’s sad, but when an American in a foreign country reveals that he or she isn’t a fan of George W. Bush, that person gets invited to dinner, or to a party, or is treated to a free beer at the pub.

To save their own hides, reputations, and families, some former Bush staff and colleagues have stepped down or disassociated themselves from The White House and have started to speak against Bush policy.

In the next presidential election, the American public deserves the best presidential candidate who has the ability to repair our honor and status in the world, regardless of partisan affiliation. Again, it’s sad that the American voting public is so politically apathetic and under educated.

There’s an old saying: You get what you pay for!