Ken Tanaka Loves You

I searched through our history and I don't think anybody posted anything about Ken yet. If you have, I apologize in advance. I rediscovered Ken when I went searching for a vintage KHON2 end credits shaka montage in response to one of the previous comments on the KGMB theme. BTW - I couldn't find a video of the shaka montage.

The premise is that Ken was a caucasian raised by Japanese parents and is now in search of his birth parents in the US. This series has been on the net for at least 2 years now. I find the videos charming and sweet.

This is the first video where Ken explains his mission.



Here is a video of Ken in Hawaii learning pidgin.



This is Ken's 2009 YouTube award winning video about dreaming about being a robot.



Here is video of Ken's "How to speak fluent Japanese by speaking English" describing Weiner Morning.



He has a blog on blogspot and his own channel on YouTube.

I hope you enjoy them as I do. Ken Tanaka and Ai-BU9 love you.

(Yes, he's an actor - David Ury -and had been on Japanese TV as the "crazy Japanese speaking gaijin", but I still find the stuff charming. Here's a video he posted as himself with his performance reels.)

Whiskey tasting 101

i found this instructive. maybe you will too.

Enthiran music

FAKA - it being a bollywood movie - you forgot to include the random dance numbers.

there. rectified? terrified?

Space Battleship Yamato 2010 movie trailer

i'd watch it, but it still seems overly melodramatic.

wonder what a BSG-type reboot could have been like.

One papah town?!?

So, the Star Bulletin is buying out the Advertiser and if approved would leave Honolulu with just 1 daily newspaper.

About 10 years ago, I had strong feelings against it when the Advertiser was looking to buy out the Bulletin. But now - feh.

I believe we still need good journalism and a strong Fourth Estate, but has print medias time past? We don't really telegraph anymore, but I don't think the interwebs is yet up to that task.

Does this concern you? Monopolization of a dead market? Is there already enough democratization and diversity of news sources? Does this matter?

Does this affect Odori?

Discuss.

My Senator Al

Senator Franken (D-MN) confronts Comcast CEO Brian Roberts for telling him one thing ("lying" perhaps?) while his lawyers were simultaneously using the opposite position. A Comcast-NBC merger doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

If you missed it, back in October 2009, Al argued for a woman's right to seek justice, outside of arbitration, in her case against KBR - a subsidiary of Halliburton - for her treatment, sexual harassment, and rape while she was working for them in Iraq. Al's amendment would halt government payment to defense contractors who use arbitration to prevent their employees from seeking justice in court in cases such as these.

In committee he took on the KBR lawyer.


There was talk that Sen. Inouye (?!?!?!) might strip the amendment from the bill, but Al's amendment was passed - with 30 Rebubbakids against. It was summarized most nicely by none other than John Stewart - of course.

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Al's amendment made it (or language very similar to the amendment made it) into Obama's 2011 defense budget proposal, but the proposal still has to be passed.

Go Al.

Started making trouble in my living area

It's been making the internet rounds, but I thought I had to share. Who knew pranking Christian TV with the Fresh Prince could be so much fun.

and Rickrolled!

Dropping knowledge - economics y'all.

Dolla dolla bills y'all.

Rap battle between Austrian (Hayek) and Keynesian economic theories. Heard about it on NPR today.

So who's got it right? Discuss...

Things that make you go hmmm.

Apologies in advance...

2010 - the last gasp for WoW and auto-tune. One can still hope.

Brought to you by the same fine folks that made Auto-tune the News.

Again, all apologies.

Lucky you live Hawaii

It's been great being home and meeting some of you. Mostly, I've been just driving around the island (meaning circumnavigating the island - H1 west to H2 through north shore to Kaneohe then through Waimanalo back around Makapuu to Kahala and back to Nuuanu/Alewa) in my rented convertible, getting sun, and enjoying the scenery.

I never took the time to just go out to the "country" while I was growing up here and now that I live in the land of snow and blizzards I realize what I was missing. Sometimes you guys don't know how good you have it.

Paddleboarders off Mokolii "little lizard" Island - also known by the un-PC "Chinaman's Hat" during my yoot - shot off of Kuuloa Beach Park.

A sea turtle in the surf off of the north shore at a beach my brother dubbed "Mangled Spines" to throw off the cowardly - just east of Haleiwa.

A different sea turtle (honu) sunning itself on the beach.

Video of the honu and the surf.

View of the sea spray and beach to the west.

Sucks to have to go back to Minnesota.

another stupid survey

based on a conversation i had with fugu re: JJ Abrams new Star Trek.

who was the best captain and why?

which series is the best and why?

oh - and this isn't about which captain or series you feel is the best - this is scientific and rational dammit.

where was this when i was a kid?

it's even got bowel loops on the lining!

found it and others on the huffington post in a slideshow of wierd halloween costumes for children.



the look on this kid's face as the alien bursts out of the costume is priceless.

Snow?!?!?

It's not even Halloween yet dammit.

Shaky frame because I'm cold. Stupid cold. Stupid winter. Stupid AI-BU9 for living here.

I'm going back to my little grass shack...

not in Kealakekua, but in Nuuanu. More like a single story rambler than a shack. And the only grass is in the yard. And it's my parents' house not mine. But I'll be home to blow up shit on new years.

December 27th to January 9th.

Start working on the imu.

Best. Scotch. Ever.

Lagavulin from Islay. Get to know it. 16s are good, but 25+ mo' bettah. Tastes like licking a smokey leather couch in the best possible way.

there - another alcohol and scotch tag.

Day Tripper

I treated myself to a new car for my birthday.

Yes, it's a BMW - 335i xDrive. Yes, I am now officially yuppie scum.

I decided to go for a little day trip to get a feel for the car. It's a dream, by the way. 6 cylinder twin turbos. 300 hp. 0-60 mph in 5.4 sec. Terrific acceleration. Fun to blow past people on the interstate.

Also it was a beautiful day. Skies don't get this blue - not like Hawaii blue anyway - often in MN. Oooh, little fluffy clouds.

I decided to drive the 2 hours south of the twin cities to humble Austin, Minnesota - home of Hormel, meat packers extraordinaire, but more importantly, home to the SPAM Museum. In my 9 years here in exile in the midwest, I have disgracefully never made the pilgrimage to the holy land of pork products - until now.

Exterior shot of the humble museum. Note the bronze farmer taking his bronze pigs to the slaughter/smelting house.

Interior of the SPAM Museum - wall of 3390 cans of SPAM over the entrance - no significance to the number, it's all they could stuff in there.

Learned cool stuff about SPAM - more than 6 BILLION cans produced since the 1930s. Confirmed comforting facts that Hawaii is that state that does in fact consume the most SPAM per capita.

What I didn't know was that Guam reportedly consumes more. Good reason to keep them a protectorate.

Saw neat examples of previous packaging and advertising, including this monotone "special economy label" can from the WWII.

Wonder if there's still viable SPAM inside...

Learned about the role of SPAM in WWII, the lend-lease program, aid to the Russians, how it was ubiquitous for US service men.

There were videos from different chefs from around the world demonstrating various SPAM recipes. Sam Choy made SPAM musubi - shot at Breakfast, Lunch, and Crab.

But the most interesting thing, for me anyway, is that they showed how to decipher the code on the bottom of every can.

Of course they had the Monty Python SPAM skit on endless loop.

I bought the requisite SPAM T-shirt - plus got a free can of SPAM with T-shirt purchase. Got a SPAM tie too. They really should have SPAM musubi for sale there. I'm totally jonesing for one and I haven't figured out how to get the shoyu glaze right. I should call my Aunty....

So then I drove back north towards the twin cities through Owatonna. I figured since I was down there anyway, I should stop in Cabela's because my technologists are always talking about it - Costco for the outdoorsman.

It got off to a good start. There was an impressive bronze statue outside of 2 bucks, well, bucking.

Detail of one of the bucks below - I shot pictures up at the blue sky a lot today.

Inside, not so fun for me. There are big tanks of fish with examples of different species from the region, but they didn't look terribly healthy and it was kind of sad. No pictures taken of the sickly fish.

The walls are lined with the stuffed heads of different species of mammalia and mounted fish - didn't take pictures of them either. They have displays with stuffed animals akin to the Museum of Natural History in NYC. I had the same reaction I had to the Natural History Museum. Sad that the kids there (and the 'rents think this is a good place to take their kids for an edjumacation while they shop for ammo) thought it was so cool. Better to see the animals alive at a zoo. Or dead on the plate. Either way.

This is the largest display, located in the middle of the store.

Off to the side of the display.

Look at the sea of haole-ness shopping for guns in the left corner. Admittedly, the gun library - yes it's called the gun library - was kind of neat. It's where they display authentic antique guns for sale - Henry repeaters, Winchesters, Colt Navy revolvers, semi-auto Thompsons, etc.

Guns and knives and bows and arrows - oh my.

I walked around a bit. Clandestinely took some pictures. Left without buying a thing.

There's a small airport not too far from Cabela's where this Thunderbirds statue lives. I stopped to take pictures of the statue.

Yet another picture I took staring directly into the sun.

And then I drove back home. I should have taken a picture of all the bug guts splattered on my previously pristine windshield.

Anyway. That was my day trip. Just wanted to share. Miss you guys/gals.

Everyday I'm Hustlin'

It's so 2007, but it's my shit. I don't know why, but I'm stuck on this Katt Williams bit. I play the song as a get ready for work in the mornings now.

Pity me.