Some people call me emo.......

from time to time, something happens in my life, that just makes me stop and say "that sucks." one of these events has recently occurred, so, accordingly, i've been doing a great deal self-deprecating reflection as of late. you know the one - food has not taste, you can't feel the wind, and every time you see someone smiling, you die a little more inside. for me, these periods in my life basically amount to sitting in a dark corner playing STD on my acoustic **one tear rolls down his cheek**. finally, after weeks of contemplation and several gallons of ben&jerry's, i have achieved a great epiphany.

of course, the traumatic event that i am referring to is my blog going stale. and, my epiphany was that i just need to give it some semblance of direction - a purpose, if you will. the problem was that i started the blog to catalog my journey to russia, but, once that ended, the goal had already been achieved - in 6 days... so, at that point, i was left with the remnants of something that use to be a good idea.

for all intensive purposes, this could of just been left as a fledging live-journal and would have eventually floated away into the electrons long forgotten by anyone that might have cared in the first place. now, don't get me wrong. pending the degree of my future infamy, this blog may, in fact, be subpoenaed to bear witness against my evil ways (i'm not sure how you subpoena a digital manifestation of chronologically-ordered rants either, but i'm sure the man would find a way). but, should i never attain a level that would warrant the general populous prefacing my name with 'Notorius', i am as sure that this blog would dissolve into obscurity as i am sure that the giants whipped up on the "golden" boy and his pats last night.

nevertheless, i intend to suck the life out of it anyways by proclaiming today the first ever MUSIC MONDAY! hooray! we all love music, so the fact that it has the same first letter as this day of the week means that we now get to talk about it every week! hooray!

This month on Music Monday we will be taking a closer look at our ska brethren across the big pond in a little series I sometimes like to refer to as "Jammin' with J-Ska!"

The onset of 2008 marks the start of the 23rd year of the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. They are one of the best known ska bands in South East Asia. They have already released 16 full length albums and the 17th is due out in March. They play mostly 2nd Wave stuff, which, somehow, generally sounds more upbeat than traditional second wave (if that's possible). at any rate, they are pretty fantastic. i'm a big fan and have been listening to them for about a year now. they are truly perfect for any occasion where you have no idea what to put on. i especially enjoy playing them when i'm with a group of people and i don't know anyone's musical taste. the music is just so happy, and 98% of the lyrics are in japanese, so no one listening can get offended.

just to get a taste, sit back and take in a live performance of my favorite TSPO hit - "Utsukushiku Moeru Mori." make sure to note the reaction of the crowd. we'll be exploring that phenomenon later in the month.




Worst Person of 2k8
Bill Belichick
Congratulations Bill, we are only a month into 2k8 and you already managed to clutch the worst person of the year. it's not possible that anyone could turn out worst within the next 11 months. you are the poorest loser of all time. you couldn't even wait until the game was officially over to leave the field. wow. i know you wanted to tie Chuck Noll's record for most super bowls won (Noll has got 4, while you just a lowly 3). but, you got to understand, that Chuck Noll was a Steeler. you can't touch him. but, if you want a shoulder to cry on, just call up your "golden" boy........