Hindsight

It’s fairly old news, at least to me. Still, I thought I would share:

Casio has an Exilim line of slim digital still cameras that I would prod at during my runs through Best Denki.

To see how slim (relative to, say, the human hand), check out this commercial:
EX-S3 advertisement (Quicktime, 1.96MB)

Additionally, the Exilim website has sample images from the current line. You can also view two commercials for it:
http://www.exilim.jp/

One of the models came bundled with a neat waterproof case. When they say “card thin”, it’s good enough to slide into your pockets. I wonder how the battery life is… I know there are smaller cameras out there, but I did like the small-yet-manageable size of the Exilims.

Today I helped JJ eBay a collection of Yu Gi Oh cards, around 540 of them. We spent a little time scanning the rare cards in the lot and taking pictures of the rest of them. It took a bit to list, but it was fun along the way. Someone already placed a bid on a Game Boy Advance game he’s been meaning to sell.

Later on, my room became the amusement center. JJ, Nicolai and three of their friends (they all live in the houses between us) were browsing the gaming goodness. JJ kept on trying to beat fellow Pop ‘n’ Taisen Pazurudama players in Japan, but ended up challenging the CPU for practice instead. Later in the evening they returned and tried out the latest home iteration of Dance Dance Revolution. I think I’m striking a good chord with some of the kids around here.

It was a little loud and hectic at one point - it reminded me of my time in between classes or lunch with the kids in Kitakyushu.

Two posters.

The website for “Lost in Translation” is online, it seems. It has a limited release here in the U.S. on September 19th. I’m compelled to watch it for obvious reasons of living in Japan for a year. I want to see if I can connect strongly with the film.

http://www.lost-in-translation.com

Two or three days ago I received a postcard from Noriko - one of the office staff at Tahara. Before school had ended we’d talked a bit more and she mentioned her summer plans to go to New Caledonia. I honestly had no idea where that was until I looked it up online. It was a nice surprise in the mailbox and I’m happy she thought of me while vacationing. I may have mentioned it before, but Noriko also sings in a rock band on the side. Pretty neat.

I watched Monsters, Inc. this afternoon.

While dabbling in the usual time killers (read: PS2) I got a call from my cousin in the evening. Considering that he was only 15 minutes away and that I had no major plans aside from “the usual” for the evening, I drove down and met up with him and my other close cousin. We went to BJ’s for Happy Hour.

It didn’t cost much but, even though I offered, they covered. I should jump to work soon so that I can treat them back sometime. Two rum cokes and part of a mini pizza. Light drinks and food over conversation about Japan and all else.

I used to spend nights over their place when we were all in middle school, playing Nintendo games like Stinger, River City Ransom and M.U.S.H.A.

Speaking of which, the last couple of nights (at around 2 or 3am almost ritually) I would stumble upon an attractive game job here or there. Resumes e-mailed/faxed or what not. So much for a complete hiatus from thinking about work - it’s for the better anyway.

I found (and downloaded) Pop ‘n’ Taisen Pazurudama Online by navigating through the PlayStation2’s broadband software. I had no idea what kind of game I was about to play, but later realized that it was a basic puzzle game akin to Puzzle Fighter. In PopN you match three cute spheres of the same color and away they go. It’s a nice incentive, especially since it was a free download. Catchy tunes and cute illustrations decorate the puzzle play.

No DVD viewed today.

Another contribution of mine was placed into Yamanote29.

eBay is truly something of an addiction. It has rewarded me the past two weeks - I’ve made over a hundred bucks selling things that I was willing to part with. Thankfully this does not include all the classic consoles I have accumulated (read: collected) over the past few years, nor the games that go along with them.

I packed four more items today, which translates to [hopefully] four more satisfied eBay bidders.

DVD today: U.S. Marshals (Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes)

Despite having less sleep than usual, I woke up this morning at around 10 o’clock. As with other days, I had no major agendas. I did some laundry, ate lunch and watched “U.S. Marshals”, which had its moments but as a whole felt like just another summer formula. “The Fugitive” was much better and, of course, more dramatic. Irene Jacob looked out of place in the film. Still, I thought, if I was married to someone as beautiful as Irene Jacob I would probably be fairly happy.

Later in the day I completed R-Type Final on its easiest difficulty setting (no more time to get frustrated) and hooked up my Japanese PlayStation2 to the internet. It has a hard drive and broadband adapter already equipped.

After much trial and error I was able to test e-mail on the console (as pictured above). I think it took me a good five or ten minutes to figure out how to delete a message, as I did not know the kanji for “delete” nor any of the other functions on the menus.

The PlayStationBB software (currently at version 0.30) has a long way to go before coming stateside, but it’s definitely on the right track. I can see where it’s going - right into the PSX home entertainment console that they plan to release in 2004.

Two boxes. Video projects. Video8, Hi8, Digital8, VHS and miniDV. CD-ROM backups of almost every video project I’ve ever done (raw footage on the discs as well). I flipped through a few folders, sketchbooks and all else that I scribbled into while I was in college. There’s a lot to look back on, a lot to be done.

With some of the eBay funds that I won from my auctions this weekend I clicked over to Amazon.com to pick up a very good book on After Effects. I remember flipping through it while interning at Moviola in Hollywood.

I’ve started to map out ideas for my short project based on photos I took in Japan.

For those of you who are part of the more recent gaming generation, River City Ransom was an NES title, a simple Double Dragon styled fighting action game that obviously took place in Japan. It added some interactivity by allowing you to walk into shops in the background and buy anything from food to brass knuckles. And it was undeniably cute and violent.

It’s coming back next year thanks to Atlus. River City Ransom EX for Game Boy Advance.

Should be fun playing the title again: I remember that I would battle some bosses by running through the floors of various high schools in the game. No doubt my next play will involve flashbacks of actual classrooms that I’d taught while in Japan.

(Final cleaning before summer vacation.
Tahara JHS. Picture dated July 17, 2003)

DVD today: Tomb Raider.

Amber was in town, in SF. She called me and it felt like having a phone conversation from my apartment in Kitakyushu. The moment was suspended in time, I felt like myself a little more. I asked her what she’d been up to and we compared notes on our feelings about being home. She’s just on vacation, though, and is returning to the fray next week.

I suppose I will have to live vicariously for this new school year in Japan.

There is a quote from Soderbergh’s version of Solaris that I find relative to my current experiences. George Clooney’s character Chris Kelvin says this:

“Earth. Even the word sounded strange to me now… unfamiliar. How long had I been gone? How long had I been back? Did it matter? I tried to find the rhythm of the world where I used to live. I followed the current. I was silent, attentive, I made a conscious effort to smile, nod, stand, and perform the millions of gestures that constitute life on earth. I studied these gestures until they became reflexes again. But I was haunted by the idea that I remembered her wrong, and somehow I was wrong about everything.”

I borrowed the Superbit DVD of Panic Room (Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker) from my sister, who lives just a few houses down. It would be safe to say that I am thinking about starting something akin to Roger’s NetFlix rental history.

Fucking genius. After everyone and their mother asked me if I’ve joined Friendster I told them this:

“Yes. I joined a month before the fever hit and cancelled because it was pointless.”

So why did I join again? Because people won’t shut up - my friends just keep asking. So there I am. I’m on it. Enjoy. Now I can connect to twelve thousand people. I feel special, really. Call it another social experiment, or if I will suddenly be re united with my high school crush. I really don’t know and I honestly still don’t care. But I am still open to some hopes of the internet.

I already know that Friendster will start charging in a few months. Maybe not the current users but possibly future users. How else is a company going to manage a database of millions. For free? You have got to be kidding me. Once they ask me to pay up, you can kiss my userID goodbye. Until then, I’ll sit idle on the network.

Yesterday I watched all four episodes to the first DVD of “Please Teacher” (Onegai Teacher in Japan).

It’s easy to tell that PT is something of a male, adolescent fantasy come true. Everyone at school think’s Kei is 15 when he’s ctually 18 years old. A “standstill” causes him to sleep in a coma state for three years. So while his body hasn’t matured three years, his mentality somehow has.

Now, a new teacher has started in his small town. And she just so happens to be very sexy. Can I talk about animated characters that way?

Call it the best way to get around a teacher/jailbait scandal, but there you have it. While some scenes are clearly targeted towards a male audience, there is a bit that can lend itself to both male and female viewers alike. It is not adult anime but isn’t for younger viewers either. The supporting characters are very, very entertaining.

I’m interested in catching the rest of the series and plan to pick up the other DVDs (4 in total with the first 3 currently in release) as time and money permits.

So that is what I watched yesterday afternoon. There is finally some time now to do a few other things to relax (PlayStation 2, many DVDs to catch up). Everything in moderation I suppose.

***

The day is not over, but I did spend a few hours out. I had to drive to Anaheim to visit a branch of my credit union. Pension refund and all that goodness from my work as an ALT in Japan. It was comfortable even though it the temperature was high. Relaxing despite the horrid traffic. I’m pretty sure that will all change once I find work. For now, though, I am optimistic.

I feel as though when I’m out, or talking to people, my peripheral vision has somehow narrowed. My focus has increased some. Somewhat difficult to explain with words, but something very assuring and comforting in execution. You’d just have to be there.

Oh, and Kristen of mediatinker.com posted my contribution to Yamanote29. My caption to the image?
Businessmen as usual.

(Taken on my last romp through Tokyo. I don’t remember which station it was, do you?)

Through Greggman I found Yamanote29, a weblog of sorts about the Yamanote Line (the central train line in Tokyo).

I have many fresh/fond memories of Tokyo, and much inspiration just being around the stations that ran along the line.

Move along to Yamanote29.