Wednesday, November 30, 2005
lesson 31: 'deepthroat' and george w. hmmm...there's a pair.
ok, got an new 'lead' from my man on the 'zaigongate' issue.
as u can c the cruciform is formed by the duplex of above sequences.
oh yeah...just what i was thinkin!
what worries me most about this is a 'linker' only does whatever the hell it does at 3bp!!! thats sounds lik trouble if u ask me.
i hav no idea what this has to do with a zaigon or a transpose OR ANYTHING AT ALL. i think im bein led up a dark alley lik a good lookin hooker leads a drunk only 4 him 2 wake up with a sore head and an empty wallet.
oh yes.
next, somethin somewhat different...
i received this pic on the right from a friend the other day, clearly some1 has been a bit handy with photoshop but it got me thinkin about the big man and how much he absolutely fascinates me.
he is so incredible. a little while ago i was readin an article in the paper on how he described his attack on Iraq as a mission from God!
apparently he "told a Palestinian delegation in 2003 that God spoke to him and said: 'George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan' and also 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'." of course, the White House later came out and denied that these statements were true.
my point isnt to go on a massive anti-Bush rant, we all hav out opinions on the man, i hav heard first-hand arguments for and against his policies from many people, of many nationalities, from all over the world, literally, what i want to get across at this moment in time is...he might b a mug, but he's 1 hell of an iconic 1!
Sunday, November 27, 2005
lesson 30: 'zaigongate'.
in lesson 28 i asked a question and i hav had a response.
i recieved this picture by email. it seems i hav my very own 'deepthroat' who whats to giv me clues in how to discover what a zaigon is.
this picture was titled 'transpose'. hmmm...transpose???? what could this mean?!?!?!
on first inspection it looks lik a formulae of some kind, but at the same time it just looks lik a face! it had no explanation attatched, just this image...
can u transpose a zaigon? is 'b' a zaigon? or is it 'c'? or is it '+'? or is it '?'?
these r the questions i hav been askin myself ova the last few days.
but, what if it is all just a hoax? hmmm...
other news, new link!!!!
red cassette has himself a website, which is gr8 news!! i'll get him linked up on the left there, go visit him please and buy his stuff because he sounds ace and is worth every penny in my eyes. the link to Fake Science Music Store is there 2. NO EXCUSES!
right 'deepthroat', if ure really out there, im ready 4 my close-up.
lesson 29: new, new, news.
what a busy few days i hav had!
i will try and tell it in pictures as much as words because i hav lots of piccys and not many words.
so it begins...
on saturday i went ova to the city and met up wit my friend, Claire (thats her with ure's truly on the left), and we bummed around the city for a while, had a coffee and a chat, then strutted off 2 c Nagoya Castle.
neither of us had been there yet, even though we had both been around Nagoya for about 5 months.
we decided it was about time we took in some traditional culture rather than just bars and clubs!
so here is the first picture of us in the park around the castle, it was really beautiful because the leaves were really great colours as it is kinda still autumn here, different shades of red, brown, green and orange.
i lik this picture but it makes my right ear look quite deformed. check it out! it looks huge! haha. john merrick calling sonofsam, com in sonofsam! haha.
ok, so we trekked around the castle and for all the 'tradition' we find out that the original castle was destroyed completely in the war by the yanks so this is a re-build...from 1959! but neva the less, it did look really cool.
then we go and get som food at an izaka-ya, which is lik a Japanese pub, cheap food and drink and the lik. as we entered the establishment i got a bit confused with the door and i managed to walk into it b4 it had opned fully crunchin my skull between bone and doorframe. ouch! it made my teeth hurt!
was hopin 4 a bit of a shiner but only got a bit of a lump. that went down quickly 2 cos the beer glasses were really cold and i used it to soothe my throbbin 4heed!!! haha! the food was good and we chowed down and chatted.
then we went to another bar 4 another beer and headed home as i was crashin at Claire's cos we were goin to c the local footy team, Nagoya Grampus Eight, today.
the mornins and the nights r really cold at the moment, so crashin on Claire's floor wasnt the best nights sleep i hav ever had, and as it was really cold i slept in all my clothes, which meant that when i woke up this mornin my tshirt wasnt in the
greatest state of cleanliness! (i 4got 2 pack a spare) it seems that trekkin around all day, hittin restaurants and bars and then sleepin in the bad boy meant that i was a little stinky boy.
this brings me nicely onto the next piccy.
because of the state of my tshirt i had asked Claire if she had a spare tshirt i could borrow 4 the day...clearly that was a bad idea as this was the best she could com up with.
IT JUST WOULDNT WORK! so the stinky tshirt got a quick airin and then put back on.
we went to c the footy last term and i missed both goals of the game cos i was gettin beers. typical! so there are only a couple of games left this season and we decided we would try 1 more time (Nagoya Grampus is were now-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and house-wives-favourite, mr-nice-guy and 'crisp don' Gary Lineker used to earn an honest crust).
it was quite a dull 1-0 loss to Nagoya, but we were in the home fans end and we were able to join in on some of the songs, well, make noise at least : ) but the atmosphere was pretty good even tho the quality of the match was lackin a little bit.
it was quite funny tho cos the fans neva seem to get on the backs of thier players or their team. even if their team gets absolutely drubbed in a humiliatin drubbin. they neva 'boo' their own players. unlik us lot of course who giv stick to any1
that makes a mistake, but i guess if i was gettin paid £100, 000 A WEEK and made mistakes i would expect a little criticism!!!!!so this picture is of the mad buggers at the football. megaphones, chantin, flags, scarves and a whole lot of passion! brilliant!
so, i am now enterin the final run-in, the last 10 lessons...booohoo! im well gonna miss my little buggers. oh well, better make the most of my last few weeks in this fair country and evade the authorities for a little time longer!! haha!
just kiddin mum!
right, sammy ova but not out...just yet.
Friday, November 25, 2005
lesson 28: SHAVIN?!?!?!?!?!
another thing that really grinds my gears...everyday shavin.
WHY? a beard doesnt hav to look untidy, look at rolf harris...ok, dont...well, just a quick peek then.
i find that shavin everyday actually hurts my face...ah yes, thats right, bring it on, im a big girly boy who cant cope with the daily strain of the blade tearin my face to shreds, but its true, i find it hurts.
of course, i dont mind shavin, but in my own time and by my own design. once or twice a week is fine. remember the 'half beard'?!?!?!?! people who dont lik shavin dont get to the stage of that bad boy in hurry i can tell u.
but nooooo, 'the man' (he's back) has decreed that i shave everyday! this drags me back to the professionalism/suit/image issues of lesson 27. clearly 'issues' is the correct word because i clearly seem to hav some!
i dont mind playin the game, towin the rope 4 a while, wearin a suit here, havin a shave there, but i will b glad when this merry-go-round-circus of image fabrication is over and done with.
mayb if i was weilding a 'mach 10 turbo charged vibrating nitrosoxide filled power razor' instead of a 'disposable blunt in 1 stroke baby razor' i wouldnt hav these issues...hmm.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
lesson 27: IRONIN?!?!?!?!?!
rant ahoy...
the worst part of this job is the damn ironin. i dont understand it!
right, obviously i wash my clothes and then they dry and my shirts r all creased up from the washing machine. so they hav to b ironed. WHY?
ok, i understand that if i wore a creased up shirt 4 work then i would look a mess, so why the shirt at all? i hate the fact that wearin a suit gives the image of bein a professional! dont get me wrong i dont mind wearin a suit to work, it does hav its advantages, u can get home and take off ure work clothes and then u r away from work, but i dont feel that i am any better at my job if i am wearin a suit than if i am not.
but alas, the contract says 'suit' so i will keep ironin till the contracts says 'expired'. also, (sorry about this) cos i dont hav an ironin board (and i cant buy 1 cos we hav to remove everythin from our apartment when we leave and Japan gets upset if u just dump stuff lik an ironin board, u hav 2 get it 'removed') i hav to iron on a table, which is a pain in the arse...but i hav a system, so it aint to bad by lesson 27.
ok, finished.
pic is my view from where i sit to use my 'puter. enter my world...
monkey out.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
lesson 26: hectic lives make bleary eyes.
what a week! and its only wednesday!!
things r gettin busy at work cos its gettin near the end of term and i hav to evaluate all my students. they dont hav any tests or anything so its relatively easy cos i only hav to remember what they r good at and what they can improve on, and then i hav forms to fill in to determin their level and giv em som suggestions to make em better.
so really its kinda fun cos u think about the little bugger and what they can do and then that makes u think of some of the madness thats come outta their mouths, but its still work. haha, neva satisfied!
AND i hav had 2day off work cos its 'labour thanksgiving day' here and its a national holiday, but i hav spent it infront of the computer draggin myself through the interweb tryin to find distribution companies and the lik to contact.
aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. MY EYES! i feel lik i hav been starin at kitkat wrappers all day! but i hav sorted a big chunk of stuff on my list of 'things 2 do', so thats all good.
so, thats it...
k, picture time...this the view from the window of my classroom and i lik it cos i always get the reflection of the sunset in it in the early evenin.
nice.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
lesson 25: when im teachin english.
good day yesterday.
i went crimbo shoppin in Nagoya and then came home and sorted some stuff out with my web boyz at anti-theatre (new link, new link, new link! left, left, left!) who r buildin the website for my label (thanku, thanku, thanku!).
they said there aint many pix on my blog of me. so here is one of me and my city purchases.
wahey! ive got a ukulele! and a scarf! haha!
laterz.
Friday, November 18, 2005
lesson 24: sneaky buggers pt. 2.
they r definatly up to somethin! yesterday a new poster was presented. whats this, i ask. secret document number 2 is the reply.
ok.
so secret document number 1 is removed and replaced by secret document number 2. along with the bottoms of 2 large, brown envelopes. it was so funny sittin and watchin the construction of this notice. they had scissors and different colour pens and were firing instructions at each other in Japanese. every so often they would look at me, who was sittin, watchin, and just start laughin in a 'we know exactly what we r doin but u really hav no idea' kind of way.
so the brown envelopes r placed on the door next to secret document number 2 by blutac (which, was hilarious by the way as i dont think they hav the stuff in Japan, so givin them and watchin their reaction was amazin!!! i could see in their faces that at first they didnt understand what i was givin them, but then they did and let out an almighty 'EH?' and just started squeezin it and pullin it about with huge smiles on their faces! haha! brilliant!).
anyhoo, so the things r on the door. 1 envelope has different coloured cards in them and the other 1 is empty. i am under instructions to 'please dont look' in the envelopes. i wont.
students seem to b takin the cards, but not puttin them in the empty envelope as i had imagined. the plot thickens...
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
lesson 23: cat attack
today was some feline fun.
i was sittin in the sun havin my lunch. it consisted of; 1 carton of orange juice, 1 salad, 1 chocolate bar and 1 chicken and rice dish.
from about 100 yards the 'university cat' came screamin towards me. the smell of the chicken was obviously too much for it to take. after rubbin itself around my knee and makin some 'im hungry' eyes at me (tryin to lull me into a false sense of security i bet...i hav cats, i know their games) it proceeded to try and claw the food from my chopsticks!
thankfully ure fair narrator is quite handy wit a pair of chopsticks, and kitty didnt get a look in!
so after a swift, but painless, shove the cat got the idea and went off.
not the last of him ill c today me thought, and i was soon proved right as kitty returned. 'stupid foreigner', i presumed it thought, 'ill show him!' and tried to pull the old classic of 'oooh, look at me, im really cute...watch me roll about in the sun, come and talk to me and show me love and touch me and love me'.
hmmm, not this foreigner kittykat!
so after a little time of bein ignored it was back at my knees...of course i gave in! he was soooooo cute. he had some chicken, i had some chicken, we laughed...oh what a day.
ok, the winner of the 'what does the pizza delivery leaflet mean?' competition...a hotly fought contest i can tell u. i was inundated with ideas to the riddle of the 'nut in pizza'. both were gr8! thanku!
but alas, there can b only 1...and the winner is...ooooh, i dunno, do i wanna send somethin all the way to dubai???
its the indecision that makes me say, with head slightly low, 'DRAW'. u both shall receive.
ever laid in bed and wondered what the inside of a Japanese train looks lik? eyes up people!
byebye.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
lesson 22: the university festival.
oh the university festival...what mayhem.
the busiest and noisiest ive seen it at that place i tell ya!
not only were there loads of people cookin stuff and shoutin stuff in Japanese, there was an intense amount of 'noise' comin from (and i use this term VERY loosly) rock bands.
now, dont get me wrong, im not scared of noise but i am scared of rock. especially rock that manages to transcend genre and become somethin totally, and uniquly rock.
let me expalin...
there WERE more than 1 rock band playin at this festival. i SAW more than than 1 band play at this festival. but, alas, i HEARD 1 long thrash of noise that became far too intense to cope with. bands changed, instruments looked different, but the sound comin out of them was the same sound, song after song, after song...u get the idea.
but not all was as chaotic. i found tranquility in the jazz room, mmm nice, and also bumped into some students, but mostly i wandered from stall to stall gettin gawped at by open mouthed students then shouted at in Japanese to buy their goods.
no way. hehe.
but it was all a bit of fun really and i did manage to meet these two stunners u see to ure right! what beauties!
Friday, November 11, 2005
lesson 21: im not waggin guv...honest.
today was a half day at work cos 2moro is 'the university festival'. i dunno what this is, so im gonna go and find out.
yes, yes...ok! of course ill let u know. ure such a needy bunch!
but it was a very strange feelin cos i finished work at lunchtime and as i was leavin work i felt lik i shouldnt hav been, lik i was on the skive, i felt nervous lik i was gonna get busted and some1 was gonna ask me where the hell i was goin.
but it was all legal. so i went home and celebrated by buyin a shed load of vinyl. yay!
got this flyer thro the door. any ideas people? mayb Aoki has been listenin to a little UK grime and got da wrong end of da stick blood. nuttin wrong wit dat obviously.
answers on a postcard to 'sams japan today', Japan. it'll get here. the best idea gets posted and also wins a prize (seriously. a nice Japanese 1).
byebye.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
lesson 20: haiku ga goo goo ga chu.
today was so great,
almost as good as the day
i got them rappin.
haiku was the theme,
its a Japanese idea
of syllable fun.
i changed it about,
so that the english would count
and it worked a treat.
my students were ace,
they grabbed hold of the idea
and came up with these;
'i like hot pizza
because it tastes delicious,
but the dog ate it',
'i like strawberries
because they are very sweet.
they make me happy',
'i like vegetables,
they are delicious and soft.
rabbits like them too',
'i like hamburgers
because they are delicious.
they are very cheap',
'i like playing sports
because i sweat when i play.
i want to diet',
and last but not least,
my personal favourite...
this is so much fun ; )
'i have no money
but i want to buy a car.
now i am working'.
arent they just the best?
i love my little buggers,
im gonna miss them!
photo time is here,
origami for the soul,
from a students hands.
they are really small
and perfectly constructed
a joy to behold.
sam out.
lesson 19: sneaky buggers.
ok, so my little buggers r up 2 somethin...im not sure what but they r definately up 2 somethin.
last week a few of my students and i were talkin about kimonos and the different styles of kimonos that r around. so then later in the week 1 of them brought this drawin she had done 4 me of the different styles we were talkin about. its really ace so i was well chuffed. infact, look left...dadaaaaa!
then, earlier this week she was talkin after class wit some of my other buggers which is kinda unusual. then today, she comes to class and out pops a poster and she asks me if she can put it up.
dingalingalingaling!!!! is that the dinner bell i hear a ringin mr holmes? thats right my dear watson tis the dinner bell.
of course, i say, what is it? top secret is the reply with a big smile. hmmm.
later, another student is in class and sees the poster. do u understand she asks? of course i dont understand (its all in Japanese-ness) i say, whats it mean? top secret is the reply. double hmmm!
mayb they r onto me and r generally miffed with my slack teachin and r plannin to eat me!!!!
eeeeek! shreeeeeeks sam.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
lesson 18: the frequent frequency has risen to new frequent levels.
wow. look at that lot! it seems that bloggin is the new ipod!
"what would u lik for christmas this year timmy?"
"well mother, i would lik to become a blogger."
not that i am complainin of course, the more we hear about each other the better we understand each other and the greater friends we become. although, when we all do eventually hook up again, we will hav nothin to say to each other cos we'll hav blogged it all!! hehe.
i do hav 1 complaint tho. if people r thinkin of startin blogs, please think about how it will look. although white writin on a black background does look amazinly cool, it unfortunately renders me semi-blind afterwards. U KNOW WHO U R! : )
also due to the new influx of bloggers i hav found myself bloggin a lot more frequently. why is this? do i hav more to say? NO. is any of it about Japan? NO. do i hav less to do in the day? NO. hmmm...mayb i just lik seein myself at the top of the growin number of blogs in my rss feed! probably.
right, somethin about Japan today...
it seems they dont celebrate Guy Fawkes here...funny that. not sure why. ill try and find out 4 ya. so its been a quiet 1.
also, i havent actually left the house today so havent actually seen much. although i got more video footage of this crazy gameshow (Japan...crazy gameshow!!! hehe) where these dudes are made up 2 look lik monkeys and the celebrity guests hav to do this song. and each guest has to do a line of this song, so the computer says 3 characters in Japanese and then the guest has to rearrange the characters in the song. then it goes to the next person and they have to do it successfully for lik 20 people or so. when some1 gets it wrong the other guests all gang up on them. but, i can DO this game. its easy, u just rearrange the words the computer says into the rhythm of the song. i cant understand how people get it wrong. mayb they dont hear the characters bein said, but even then, they should understand their own language right?
i dunno, these crazy cats.
ccchhhhhhuuuuuurrrrrr...fiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzz...wooooooooooooooo...BANG! happy Guy Fawkes night. dont blow anythin off.
sambo out.
Friday, November 04, 2005
lesson 17: half way between home and here.
so, today is just past halfway of my contract.
this is both a sad day and a happy day.
a sad day as i know in a short time i will b sittin on a plane destined for good ol' blighty with no real date to return to this fascinatin country, but a happy day as i know that in a short time i will b sittin on a plane destined for good ol' blighty with the beautiful prospect of a brand new project firmly in the forefront of my head. sometimes the good really does outweigh the bad. yay!
here's a pic of the dog that regularly barks at me on the way to the train station! he often scares me as i am mumblin along deep in the word of mp3. he was well shocked this mornin. oh yeah! i got him. check the look on his face! ha! although he may hav the last bark as his house seems to b bigger than mine...
ok, enough of me, here's some info u should all pay attention 2!
"a new link has appeared on ure blog!" i hear u all cry. thats right! the good old boys at fake science hav their net label up and runnin!!! lots of great artists includin some dude called 'red cassette' who apparently produces genius moozak. CHECK IT OUT! eyes left...click the link called 'fake science' and check out the new music.
well, go on!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
lesson 16: my very own 'culture day'.
today is 'culture day' so i got a day off work. yay! but i had loads to do. boo!
[my neighbours above me r havin a blazin row! hehe. angry Japanese women sound very dangerous]
anyhoo, back to me...yeah, so i got up late(ish), well was kinda woken up by ballsy skypin me (im sure i muted my volume!) i was only dozin so had a bleary-eyed chat with him.
then did some bits and bobs i needed to do for work and went for a walk to the supermarket to get a new teapot to replace the old 1 i smashed. not in a fit of rage i might add, but merely placed precociously on the edge of the sink...silly boy.
then back to finish of some drawins to send to my web boyz.
[my neighbours seem to hav settled down...]
the evenin was spent chattin random madness to random people and discussin the absolute nonsense that is 'World Usability Day'! please! stop this stupidity. why does this 'day' exist? when is 'World Unusability Day'? how do we celebrate either of these days? "well done! u hav successfully used the tv today. wow! and u successfully used the oven. congratulations!" or "brilliant! u really screwed up the central heatin!"
ok...i stop.
here is a picture of a typical Japanese street around where i live. i do lik blogs wit pictures. short att...ent...tion... sp...look at that tree!
byebye.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
lesson 15: a little of the past in the present.
ok. so today was great!
school was good and came home to find i had my first shout for my label on a podcast!!! cheers vanessa.
every1 else, check the link on this page to Panda's Hideout!! cos if u lik my taste in my moozak u'll love this podcast. she plays some great tunz.
i am a happy monkey!
tomorrow is work but thursday is a day off!!!! rock on 'culture day' or as im gonna call it; 'sambo on his arse eatin food day'.
oh yeah.
a Japanese superstition from yesterday i 4got; 'its bad luck to cut ure fingernails at night cos when ure parents die u'll go blind'. hmm.
until next time.
byebye.
