Don't call us gods.

A new record found for new 3 bucks, I Love!

2011-07-27T03:02:00.012+09:00

A sample I found online.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4M84okatME&playnext=1&list=PL1F0DEEE827E8110E

Thrift Store Art #2

2011-06-01T11:18:00.004+09:00

This Cool image I bought for $.99 It measures 1 3/4 x 4 inches. It was professionally framed some many years ago. No signature I am not sure exactly what it is made of? Could be plastic with faux grain? or it could be a slab of ivory?piece of wood or bark, or something else? It is very nicely painted with terrific detail. I wonder about this one-I would like to know more and that will happen when I remove it and re-frame it. I really like folk ethnic art

This I got mostly for the frame but ended up really liking the picture. the more I look at it the better it becomes in a Henri Matisse sort of way. The image of the fish is 12x6 inches. I got it for I think $1.99. A new mat might be right for this one in the future.

New Thrift-Store Art. Take a gander!

2011-05-27T08:33:00.009+09:00

I will have to do this in a few posts for there are many pieces. I am not as diligent as I used to be on this ca-puter thingy, and this week I am working a bunch--so it may take a few days to a week to post all of them.

First is this really cool little painting, A hand done original. about 9"x11 inches. Not signed. I purchased for $1.99

The second is a double wood block cut, the image is about 4x6 inches, Purchased for $.99 It is signed by Marvin Swallow and says it is number 1 of 12 prints and is named Chief peyote. I am not sure of this frame for this one, it may change in the future.

I love cheep cool art!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More to come!

A cool Artist fo K

2011-04-09T02:37:00.003+09:00

My mother has been a friend of this guy for years. I remember her getting her first painting from him when I was in my teens I think? She has several originals now and I think all were given to her. He has become much more popular in recent years. I love his art and only wish someday to buy one myself. Might be an inspriation for you K? Tis for me.....

Look this up Rocky Hawkins

2011-04-06T07:59:00.001+09:00

I forgot I was in this - my next post will be more considered, possibly funnier and generally more exciting. Just easing myself back in...

xx

Slide

2011-03-27T17:06:00.002+09:00

Piet Mondrian forged for cheap!

2011-03-26T05:43:00.018+09:00

Yes these are neoplastic-Ty-drain-copies. They represent paintings from his Lozenge faze in the 1920's.

An original I am sure would go for Hundreds of thousands if not millions! So I made these for about 6 bucks each, less than it would have cost for the posters of either of them. Call me weird! Since I first saw them, I have always wanted a Piet Mondrian painting and Now I have the next best thing, Ty-Drain forgeries.

They are 20"x20" large and not loved by my wife so I hung them up high and behind.

New Art in my Home

2011-03-26T05:29:00.006+09:00

A couple of New Acquirement's from e-bay.
1'st is a Acrylic on canvas board. folk art cityscape painted by Ron Masa 2011. (got for a song)
2'nd is a original small print from Bill Reid of a Haida Grizzly done in 1973. (paid a bit to much for this but o-well, I like it)
The Eagle feather I have had for years and is just for the " Native Super cool factor thang" ya-know.

A cool vid with memories of parts of my past.

2011-03-06T15:49:00.002+09:00

Do you remember this little ditty. Brings back some foggy memories to me. Tis like an old friend I just found after so many years....kinda scary when you really think about it and listen. But good things never go away, just get shoved to the back of your head or down your pants.

Another Classic

2011-02-28T13:36:00.001+09:00

Gotta b herd K,.....if it has never gone through the waves to your brain?

Listen again!

2011-02-28T13:20:00.006+09:00

I'm sure you herd this before....but again, can be almost as fun as the first time!

Repairing a dent with canned air.

2010-12-23T20:16:00.003+09:00

The photo here is utterly irrelevant to the topic at hand, I just found it when doing a search for "canned air" and got a smirk on my face when seeing it. Apparently someone left a can in their car on a hot day and this happened while the fella was gone.

But anyway, my friend Candiman sent me this link http://www.wimp.com/repairdent and I thought you might enjoy it too.

Hey! I want this movie!

2010-12-15T23:13:00.001+09:00

Ducati Project post #15 Decision time......

2010-12-02T08:35:00.008+09:00

I have to make a few choices maybe you can help,... maybe not. The world revolves around me' as we know. And with all this polar gravity, with all the pot smoking back yonder days, and all this hurling through space and time-"like-- all the time and stuff".
Some times it leaves me a bit cumfuzzled.

I have "race-cafe-custom" going through my head all the time.
If I LET THINGS COME to me THEY WILL EVENTUALLY!!!!! But I stew sit and ponder and then stew some more....and nothin gets done.

If I am going race bike? or going total custom whatever bike? or cafe bike?? Well, i have found these pressing little but EARTH SHAKING decision tidbits at this time.

The air pump and the air pump welded mounting brackets on the front down tube. Simple instinct tells me loose it quickly just like an old band-aid, just yank it, cut it, and grind it and make it gone and smooth with out any more thought... And then I have to think about it, and I put it off further.
It is just a nifty tid-bit and completely unnecessary and wrong at any logic for a cafe-racer or racer bike, but there it still is......... Hmmm..
The horn and the horn mounting bracket low on the second tube. I will be driving it on the street and may' need by law to have a horn. (And I will research the laws on this issue) It is kinda cool lookin!, but logic says to make it go away. It is big and heavy, not sure what it sounds like and I kinda dont want to know even. If law dictates it, a horn I could put a old bulb-squeezer on the handle bars, or a new hi-teck small and light noise maker under the seat that I am sure would blow the sound from the old horn away when it plays laCucauaracha, We are the Champions, and innagottadavita.

Hmmmm...Still there???

I need to decide if I am going to use a portain of the old fender in the rear as a splash guard....just in this area. I'm thinking it is the easy way yess.... but -- NO. I would like the opportunity to make my own design inner splash/fender/ thingy.

At least I think I need to waste some money and time on it! Yes?

Now I chopped the rear end of the bike, the nifty side covers that I have made, well.... kinda smell....Im thinking something new is between the ears somewhere- but the smell hasn't lifted yet?

O THERE IT IS!!!! I think the chain guard has gotta go it STINKS BAD!, I am unsure of the brackets as of yet, one- I could use for a dealy-bobble-do-dad, and the rear I could use for some kind of custom glorious god-like shiny chain guard as of yet unknown in origion-- the Crusade Awaits--

(Yelling).....someone open a door-

Ducati Project post #14

2010-12-02T07:34:00.004+09:00

OK seat pan again...... i had to whittle things a bit to get a proper shape that was pleasing, and one that left me with some ass area. Then to the mounts.

I made a couple female tabs off the frame, landing under the seat in a reasonable area close to the edge for smooth a'fitment later when putting on" or removing" the sear later..... while leaving ample room for the fastener, the tire, and whatever fender type thing i do under there later.

and new hidden bracket "so yezz cant see da seet boat's no-mo" it will be a bit more reaching under the seat to remove it but a cleaner look without the nasty sight of ugly bolts and brackets like before.

I needed strength and room for travel in the hump so I fabbed some inner mess and tacked it all in. I may have gone a bit far on some of this work but I for one, hate building something new and have it ruined when you go around a corner and have your tire rub on the damn thing, or have someone lean on it at the bike show and bend it. I have seen it all to many times at the ol bike shop. Some dink rich Harley-punk-ass just got a fancy new paint job fucked up AND RUINED! on his ugly ass Harley bike. Just because he (or the idiot builder that worked for him) didn't allow for tire-heat-expansion, or didn't measure the suspension travel, or account for how fat and heavy his wife's ass is when she sat on the damn thing. Builders often times work with tight clearance issues and tight tolerances and many will try to get away with sometimes UGLY, often shadey or sketchy, and (I will attest!)-manytimes down right dangerous shit trying to hurry or save a dime, ex specially custom Harley-dummy-folk.... Running low on welding gas, I'll finish it up later.

And there we have it. I fabbed up a butt plate outta ply that will later be cushed upon- when I put the cush on, the rest of the but-rester....uh.. un-der-stand you under......stander.

Ducati Project 2010 post #13

2010-11-17T08:52:00.007+09:00

I thought why do I have soooo much friggin seat anyway???? I gave er some thought and did some stealthy cutting. Not gonna give anyone reason to ask me "Can I have a ride??......." Fuck You! Go get your own Ducati.......

I whacked it off, Hmm.. I hope I am not going in the wrong direction? If I get it in my eye..oop..er..umm... If I get it wrong, I can always chop the other Monza frame I have in the side yard, and put it all back where it was.
I had to grind off a few pieces and doo some fitting.

I had to give things a bit of tweeking with a friction Jack to get the right width to fit smoothly in with the lower frame loops.

and there it is. We will call him "Stumpy" the wife says, ummm NO! that will not be the right name for this bike when I am done, I am hoping something without negative connotations to say the least.

I am thinking I am still going to put a small lil butt-stop in the rear, a hump still, but much different from the last one, and this time it will be a part of the seat. covered like the rest of the seat. I am also going to change the front and swoop it up a bit in the front for a little nut-padding and a smoother transition to the tank

And that's how we are sitting right now. I like the look without fenders, I am thinking of making a rear splash inner fender out of aluminum-from the swing arm pivot to the seat bottom nicely shaped,... with aluminum number plates on either side?, and a new front fork brace, and tossing the fenders all together? Hmmmm???

I did also drop the side kick stand, which was also a welded on part of the left front motor mount. I used the right plain motor mount from the donor bike- on the left side (fit like a glove). It will look much better when the motor is polished and jewel-like without it. And with a center stand still der, we didn't need a side stand anyway.

(he throws the camera to his assistant and mutters "I'm Spent" and walks away)

Ducati Project 2010 post #12

2010-11-17T08:21:00.004+09:00

First of all I got this New gas cap! I know what you are thinking...."that's really cool" and "YES" I agree but I had to order it from England, and it was really expensive, and it is made of Bakelite with a cardboard gasket???. No wonder the tank didn't have one it probably broke or stripped-out. Some day I will have to get someone to make me one from aluminum. But for now this will have to do.
Then I wanted to do something really cool with the rear foot peg mounts. I himmed and Hawed, then thought of something completely different. Finding myself sucking my thumb watching south park, I stormed back to the garage and chopped them off! Again thinking of what is left of my right thumb.. I will keep the center piece in-for a center stand bump-stop and fill in the ends with something? I thought of welding them shut and smooth, but if you think about it,.. there is much you can do with a glorious hole down low like this one. I could figure some led lights with cool colored defusers, or I could weld in nuts and secure some tantalizing Little deely/bobble do-dad or reflector. ((Easy Special K)),....stop drooling on the key board. I know how you get bout reflectors lights, and shiny things that do absolutely nothing.

Found one for ya Kaze.....

2010-10-21T02:22:00.002+09:00

1974 CB 750-4

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/mcy/1993115737.html

I am thinking, I could at least part it out for a profit?

I dunno.....I'd like to see you take this one on, It might be a good fit.

Update from the Desert

2010-10-16T07:04:00.013+09:00

Well- I got a new car, It is a 1997 Saturn sl2 with a Dohc and only 43 thousand orig miles on it. and I only gave $1000.00 for it! A great deal, the car is in great condition and super clean!----well now it is....

I had to drain the old gas and buy a new fuel pump (which goes inside the friggin gas tank) and 3 fuckin different fuel filters, a new battery, plugs, a couple of fuzes, a relay,and a battery clamp and a bath inside and out.

The car has been sitting for a couple years, it was an old lady's that died, and I got it from her son, that didn't ever really want it, it was parked on the side of his house for a couple of years. i talked him out of donating it to the church and selling it to me.. it will need front tires and a rim that I have coming from ebay for 20 bucks and 15 shipping, the rim isnt that bad but I just didnt want to buy neW tires and put one on a bent rim when everything else is so straight! i can get uptite with things like that. but I think we got it sorted mostly. I just had the starter and the altonator checked out ...just to be sure (but also cause that stuff is free if you know where to go, and we like free)

Unbelievable deals can be found on many things around here......but the days of getting a ol CB 750, for cheep or that 400 dollar 1965 Malibu are gone, though I am still lookin for that ol-CB. found a scary one the other day for fifteen hundo but ehhh.

And other news....I bought another ducati basket case, tis kinda funny when you find something kinda rare you end up finding another one just a couple of miles away on craigs list for a reasonable price. and yes it is just a Monza 160... a few more parts good for the project bike is the idea. Only the frame and motor was left but it came with very nice original foot pegs which I need badly and are virtually unobtainable in the shape I have gotten these.
it also comes with a very nice and complete Delloroto carburetor, the one I have is shy a hand full of missing parts. also it has a non-stuck motor in seemingly better shape than the one I have..Well at least!..though I haven't looked at the clutch basket i am assuming it has a good one that I could use......

And other than that- I was sick on my days off last week. And I have been lazy for weeks before that, and I haven't done nuthing on the Ducati other than rethink just about everything I have thought i was going to do on it before, sept the tank. I may scrap the seat pan and start over, and I also may scrap the side boxes and just use old school number plates for that cool look. i may go with red for the frame, anyway. my brain hasn't been functioning for a while and everything is on the "soak" setting. I think I will just loose myself with this Laverda article in my MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS new issue.

see-ya!

Ducati Project 2010 #11

2010-08-21T00:07:00.004+09:00

OK! I got the new tank. You tell me "which is sexier"?. I did have to chop the old front mounts off the neck, and re-position them back and up a bit, so swapping tanks in the future is out. And I had to build a under the tank rear mount.....which I have fabed up, but haven't welded yet.

I was excited to post the difference, wadda-u-tank?

Ducati Project 2010 #10

2010-08-20T23:48:00.005+09:00

Back to the seat pan for a while. I bought a metal spun bowl from Wall mart for cheep. I was hoping to get the shape that was needed. I ended up whittling it up quite a bit, till it fit..... then I had to add some length with a piece of sheet metal I had laying around for just such an occasion. I am running low of inert gas for the welder, I am broke....so i am just tacking everything together and will spend some time finish welding later once I get a new bottle of gas.

Off to something else....."he thinks, I'll take the city in the dead of night, I'll burn some gas till I feel alright"

Ducati Project 2010 #9

2010-08-05T05:31:00.006+09:00

Now I just gotta freekin match this up. Not as easy as it sounds really. But the good news I didn't have to do much drilling. the left side was a tool box opening side cover. All i had to do to get the cover off was to wack the hinge off, and chop-er in half to start. Then with some snips and a few pounds with the pound'in iron we were starting to see a shape that was familiar.

Got the top shape somewhat there, now as with the right side, we need to make proper gap. A slice and a dice........some welding.

and there we go..side covers!, and now to boxes and mounts.

Ducati priject 2010 #8

2010-08-05T05:07:00.004+09:00

Well, back to the side boxes/side covers. I told you there was much to do just to get the fit I enjoy, though I will try to keep it short here for you.

After making the first side cover, the gap I would like these to have around the frame was just not there. I needed to make some slices and squeeze it a bit-fit and re-fit-tack weld it some- and woop-der-it-is, we have groovie gap. Now to the other side before we finish weld.

On a sad note we opened the clutch cover 'just pokin around"and found a nasty little surprise. A broken clutch basket tang. Never seen this before on any bike, and I'm really glad it didn't get into a gear and trash anything else. Tis a-bummer though, and it will have to be dealt with. Now I just gotta find one????

Daughter of Rock

2010-08-01T01:20:00.003+09:00

Never been a "Maiden" fan, but was a bit surprised to find that Iron Maiden...is STILL making albums! Did you know? I thought they stopped when I left Jr. High.

Cooler to me is that the daughter of Iron Maiden founder Steve Harris -- Lauren Harris -- is a rock star too. Very, very, very cute and although I am not sure if HER MUSIC is my cup of tea, I like it well enough while watching this raven-haired hottie sing. Somehow, it reminds me of Bonnie Raite or ...some other kind of backwater American...monster truck rally type music......is this "rock"? or some kind of country-rock twist genre?

Eagles of Death Metal "Wanna Be In LA"

2010-07-31T23:55:00.001+09:00

Fuck yes! (posted others on my blog)

Demonic sex-spawn of Norton and Triumph.

2010-07-29T08:57:00.002+09:00

Oh....my god.

Ducati Project 2010 post #7

2010-07-28T09:39:00.008+09:00

OK!!!! i have been waiting all day for this!

I was posting to this blog, and just remembered E-FUCKIN-BAY!!! O-shit! hurry-hurry-HURRY!...only one min to go!------

I signed in to the site, and popped up the tank in my saved items-- with just 15 seconds to go left in the auction, I feverishly plotted down a bid......YES! I Freekin got it! *The tank I was waiting for all my life* or at least the last 6 hours while the tour was on......

It is from Ducati Monza 250 a couple years older than mine I think, and will probably bolt right on in the front, the rear mount will have to be modified still, and the seat pan will change a bit, and the petcock and the gas cap, and a acid bath, and a liner, and, and paint, and, and, BUT?.

But the shape is soo freekin sexy! I had to have it! I may finish both tanks so I have choices ya know. What do you think of this SCORE!!???!! 31 dollars and 15 for shipping! RIGHT On-RiGHT-ON,RIGHT-ON!! I AM SooWAY HAPPY!!....guess I don't care what you think really.

Sexy though huh? I think it offers many more possibility's of getting some than the original tank.

Ducati Project 2010 post #6

2010-07-28T08:18:00.012+09:00

The original side boxes don't work for me....just big and fugly!! So these box mounts are of no use as well.

I grind on his smooth-stiff frame with reckless abandon....Yes Yes Yes!, all three gone now for the other side "I need more!". it really feels good!, like something is happening between us. It's like we are getting to know each others nasty little secret kinks.

Ya know, I thought when I was bringing the bike home it must feel good for the little guy to get out in the air and see the world a bit after being stowed for 25 years in a barn....like it had a lonely little Ducati soul that needed saving. Sometimes in the garage I kinda feel like a crazy in the head, "let me lay my hands on ya, I'm'a gonna Heal Ya! "-Baptist-Evangelist-wacko....grin....

(Above/left is the way they have it) -"be dammed you Italian design sinner's", (above to the right is the way I see it)- "praise the god thing?-ya all", (kinda..Frenched-in so to speak) "kan I have a A-mon from the bruth-a wit da spliff", (exposing the frame all around) "yes'a-yes'a da Pope-a would approv-a", (and much smaller) "Ahhh....I am heading for the bright light"...lets see what we can do to make things look better! --whisper--I think I feel all 17 gods around me right now....send your love gift to_____---!

ok, nuff of that...moving on.

A drill here and there, a chop-a-roo, and the idea is coming alive.

I may make them open to revel some storage and/or hidden electronics cubby's. Hinges, latches, boxes and stealthy/un-seen mounts must be figured. this is just the beginning, yes a ton of work and welding yet to be done.

Bang,pry,cut,whack,ouch!,cut,pound,bend,wrench,pull,twist,bang!

And that's our basic shape, I think it is Killer! I am going to have to shape it a bit to fit the frame better with a nice gap, and give it some room to open if I go in that "opening" direction. The boxes behind are going to be a bitch if i an going to make them open. but in the long run I would rather have the new capactior/rectifier---(electronics I need to go batteryless)--- behind the side boxes than under my seat which was the original idea...those things get wicked hot!

O-Ya, Did I tell ya I am changing it over from a 6 volt battery operated system, to a 12 volt battery-less system?? More on that in the future...

And I am spent. "He throws the camera to his assistant, and tells the model to put her clothes on and get the fuck out"

Ducati Project 2010 post #5

2010-07-28T08:02:00.004+09:00

I got the new bars and new levers I ordered and I had to see how it all Looks. Really good I think!

Funny story! I mistakenly ordered the levers and perches with mirror mounts--"i am going to use bar end mirrors". I thought, "well I would just sell them on flee-bay and re-order the right ones later", but as my good fortune never really ever ends! They sent me the wrong ones I didn't order, and they just happened to be right!...does that make sense? anyway...

I also added a throttle I had sitting around since I worked at the bike shop. It is Swedish but after polishing and grinding off the "made in Sweden" stamp, it will look Italian I swear!, and know one will be the wiser.

Ducati Project 2010 post #4

2010-07-28T07:07:00.007+09:00

Well after finally watching the last stage of the Tour De France I have turned off the boob tube!....for a while....

I had to get on with the mounting of the seat pan.

So first I found some connecting nuts that had the right fit. Actually got really lucky. I bought them without measuring--kinda by feel, and they fit perfect....well?....after getting rid of a little paint on the mount pegs, I was able to walk the rice paper lets say.

Then we made a couple simple brackets that fit nice and stealthy with the rear fender mounts. "Easy Peeesy Japaniesey".....as Brooks would say. He was "here" ya know....

I had to make room for the fender. I need it to be 'where it is' I cant lower the fender because of future tire clearance issues, I need as much room as possible for 17 in rims. Sooo.. a hole had to be installed with care right through the new brackets I just made...hmmph--bummer. The real funny thing is I may shit-can the entire rear fender anyway!! I may go for a different look I have seen, time will tell on that one, but I have planned for, and am ready!- to take advantage of any inspiration's that may come my way!

O-well, I haven't got there yet, but there will be a connecting bracket welded from (one side to the other) on the rear seat mounting brkt's-- going over the fender and connecting them for strength.

All should be hidden by the rear hump if I can ever find something to work???. I may have to make it myself from sheet metal(which will be a huge bitch working with compound curves) I would have to do it in sections shaping each one- kinda like slices of pie, and that's a ton of work. I couldn't find anything I could use a home depot not even plastic' pipe corners.

I am thinking though going to K-mart today to look at cheep stainless steel mixing bowls that I might be able to chop-up to my desired specifications. It is the best solution I can come up with right now.

I may use the piece of rear fender that I will bob/chop-away from the rear-of-the-fender later, to make a tunnel to hide the fender hole in the seat pan, which will be under the seat foam anyway-and know body will know it is there, or care that it doesn't have much "if any" use- other than it will clean up my work before moving on--but i will know it is there...and that's all we need to know....right?. --fin--

1930 Henderson custom from 36'

2010-07-25T19:02:00.000+09:00

Hard to believe there were wild custom "art bikes" waaay back in the 30's! The last photo here is the original look, and the others are what a guy (O.Ray Courtney) did with it in 1936. I thought you would appreciate this thing.

Ducati Project 2010 #3

2010-07-23T01:37:00.008+09:00

Another freeking HOT day bout 114 or so. But Happiness is sweating in the garage me thinks.

A new seat pan is in order! and with a little stealthy cutting a new one was emerging. I wanted it long but still able to see the frame below it.

Room for the seat mounts, and room for a rear fender, and-and! travel for our new 17 inch rims, and sturdiness of the structure, I had to raise it up a bit, but when I am done it will still look very low-profile.

There our basic shape......but!

I had to find some room for the down tube and hiding the seat mounts, so with this idea in mind I will also have to re-figure the rear tank mount. I will have to weld a tab on the bottom of the tank, and put a bolt mount on the frame....under the seat pan. The original hook and spring rear tank mount (partially on the tank) now sits above the pan and would be a nasty little nut scratcher! It will have to be removed...
And things still may change? I may use a different "longer" tank, future e-bay auctions may dictate this.

Funny side note. The tank is in generally in great shape/no rust just a couple dents, just not the most pleasing shape I want. When I was cleaning it I found a "full lable -4" x 10"-of a "Tastewell" can of corn, looking it came from the 1970's inside the fucking tank. How it got there is a wonder???? but I do wonder if it was a problem with gas flo in the past?

That's better, and the shape is pleasing.

And that is how we sit right now. Still mounts to be installed, and a rear but hump to be figured. I think I will go to home depot and find a heating duct corner bend I can cut for the rear hump...we will see if this idea PANS-OUT so to speak?

Ducati Project 2010 #2

2010-07-23T01:18:00.002+09:00

A cleaning of the motor was in order with or without the need for immediate repair. At the time I am unable to take the motor in for professional repair, our financial situation is in disappointing times.

In order to keep "the peace" with the wife, I will have to wait for the future, or do it myself...which will be the case at this time it seems...further tear down and study is needed, update to come.

Ducati Project 2010 Official Post #1.

2010-07-23T00:41:00.007+09:00

I have decided to post my project here instead of my blog. Seems those minds that will wrap around it are here and post-traffic has been light lately..so, I will post in a "project by project" sort of way for interesting and colorful replies.

I found that the main foot rests are tweeked. The bar is bent as well as the peg itself. After removing what is left of the rubber foot rests i went to work with a couple whacks with a sledge pounding iron to get the tube straight.

After that I had to use some gentle persuasion with some heat and a bar on the foot peg to right it.

There nice! and very close to perfect....

And in 110+ degree heat, I give myself a thumbs up. I don't freekin care who you are, (dry or wet), 110+ is fucking HOT! and it has been this way for a week.

And thyen to the ice box for some refreshment before going further.

Tys Ducati (a -get-back- to kase's last post)

2010-07-11T13:25:00.005+09:00

No 1. Yes just a few shakes with a rag everything seems better and it is, but there is a long way to go. And yes I would love your help!

No 2. ANyTHING can be done! Imagination is the only thing to hold back ones great ideas. And Yes, it didn't take long to find a company that will re spoke just about anything to just about anything. I got the Idea from another to go to 17teens..I cant take credit for that. Also yes I will go with aluminum....I think.

3, I do like black and chrome and polish and I thinks that is how it is going to go. the side boxes on the red bike are the ones I like. So far I got new clubman bars coming, Just received my bar end mirrors. and I ordered new controls

4. I found the perfect New old stock "factory" original muffler in a online auction (((A Rare Find)) )but to my dismay it went for way more than I was willing to fork out...I will have to find another..

5. the yellow one?...did it have a kinda but end...kind of square?.. I can get that seat pan online... or better yet make a replica of my own.."a better And much cheaper idea".
i wasnt sure of it so much? I will give it another look.

6 Kick start is my only option. But the thing is because of that....i can go battery less with some trick electronic goodies---ya no---

7 may keep the original...seems the cool ones "headlight/mph gauge" are spendy

8. Ummm...NO! not a digital guy at all...I am way analog...still even spin some vinyl from time to time.

9 plate on the back of the fender, on the original tail light/plate hanger

10 depending who I can get to work on it I may go with a little tuning.

So for now am still pondering and pokin around. I will be watching the tour de France for the next 15 days....so everything is on hold...sept for the online shopping and my wife. I watch every minuet of every stage.(all 21).of the tour,..... every year. 3 to 6 hours a day depending of the coverage.....sometimes I do extended coverage of certain stages. I love that two wheel shit.

Response to Ty's new project!

2010-07-06T13:37:00.004+09:00

Not trying to steal your thunder Ty and post your pics before you get the chance... but I have several comments and I need visual aids.

1. It is really amazing what just CLEANING something can do for visual value. The black frame is pretty scratched up, but still an amazing improvement over the barn dust. Ha. I am so excited by the clean frame that I want to start working on it myself right away!!! Give me a wrench and turn on the Pussy Remix CD!

2. You are talking about going from 16" rims to 17"...I have never thought of doing such a thing, and I wonder...is that only possible because you are talking about ordering new spokes? Or are you thinking about putting wheels from a different bike on it? Chrome or aluminum? I would go with aluminum rims and spokes if you are going to do a black/gray or black/white bike. Or even a pure white bike. If you are going red on red, or a black-n-chrome look, I would do chrome rims with chrome spokes. Depends on the mood of the bike right?

3. Skipping ahead, I like the black one and the red one the best....and it is pretty much that way with me with all classic bikes. I am kinda stuck on black, chrome, off-white, or red...almost exclusively. It is always tough for me when faced with a choice of red on red or simple black with a lot of chrome. If you decide on black...a partially chromed tank and chrome fenders are my pick. Though black and white are also very nice. Speaking of tanks...do all 3 of these have differing tank shapes?

God this red one is hot. If you go with red I recommend painting it like this one...frame, fenders, headlight bucket. Red here has the side cover I like best. Small. The seat really does have to go doesn't it? Again, while I like the seat on the black one, I would choose the simple flat seat like on the red bike. It is simple and looks good, but practically speaking I personally like to be able to sit farther back when I need to shift my riding position.

4. The straight exhaust pipes on all 3 finished bikes here -- and the look in general -- are great.

5. I do like the ass-end of the yellow one you showed me. I dunno why, but if the bike looked like this, I would almost demand that it be extremely fast.

6. Kick start only could be very, very cool! That is the way the Yamaha SR400s are. Very simple design, probably lightens up the bike nicely to get rid of a battery and starter motor...BUT! It really depends on the temperament of the kickstarter. My CL450 was a total fuck in the ass about starting, and the tiny kick start lever did not help one bit.

7. Round headlight. LED winkers and taillight. They look awesome and being seen is a good thing.

8. What about being totally queer and getting a digital speedo? I think that just one bit of high-tech could be seriously cool...mounted in a chrome shroud or....embedded into the tank? You know, you were really fucking fabulous with tank work...you never did one for yourself did you? Maybe you should just "stomach the pain" in making one, just to have such a wonderful thing to ride?

9. License plate sideways and to one side?

10. Bore the engine because you can. I wouldn't but that is because I never have jobs that afford me such nice toys.

Not sure whats going on here...

2010-06-17T21:58:00.000+09:00

Yesterday in Osaka

2010-05-30T03:40:00.000+09:00

I was out shopping and filmed this...
Any idea what that is?

The House is Finally Ours!

2010-05-05T00:24:00.005+09:00

We closed yesterday but I have been moving stuff in to the garage every day for the last week.

Ya see, there is knowbody living there it was owned by the bank, so.....I for a lark (After paying our down payment of $31,784,26 USD, and while waiting for the paperwork to go through) I fiddled with the lock-box they have on the house. I tried the house street number first and the thing popped open. So I changed the locks in the garage and started moving boxed-storage-loads and garage stuff. (risking a trespassing ticket)

Offically Yesterday we were closed and supposed to get the keys, but we now are about 35%moved and and I didnt get a ticket...!~!, Also, I got the carpets professionally cleaned and the stove and dishwasher fixed, before we started moving fruniture over,..... Hopefully giving us more time to find some cheep appliances on craigslist......cause we are somewhat broke now---we need to find a fridge and washer/dry'r cheep......

I went for a short ride in the desert mountians behind our house a couple weeks ago and there is miles and miles and miles of roads and trails taking you to, obvious High school party areas, many spetacular views from the powerline road's, mountian climbs, And lake mead (though i havent found the pass yet, the neighbor said it was there, and it would be an all day thing anyway), and shit I JUST SCRACHED THE SURFACE. in the next few months i will post some photos of my expansive back yard riding area!!!

All for now Back to work this is my day off.......

From Russia with Lust

2010-04-29T07:27:00.004+09:00

Flipping through the pages of the Internet here and found a website full of slick bikes. Yuri Shif Custom appears to be in Russia somewhere. They had quite a few cool bikes, but I ...well ...you know? That silver "suit" is a birthday suit painted on the nice lady isn't it? Does the suit come with the bike? If so...imagine a big ol' fat biker guy riding this HD down the interstate with nothing but silver paint on. Bahahaha! No thanks.
But I do want to say, I would have found this bike utterly boring had it not been for the hint of brown leather there. Good color planning.

This purple one with the guitar up the middle and the brass is quite a work of art. It appears to be named, "Time Machine". That plexi-glass seat looks seriously painful, but then again, this isn't very likely a bike you would be riding on a 1000 mile touring trip -- especially when you look at the size of the gas tank...or is that a canteen?

This creamy white bike with the brass springer front end is damn hot. In fact there is quite a bit of brass detailing here, which is something that always grabs my attention. Typically we would see a chrome plated engine in a bike like this, so it is fun to see what I think is powder-coating on it. Excellent mix of antique and high-tech on this bike. That rear fender stay LOOKS like it has been "Jerry-rigged" on, and it just works. Other views of all these bikes are available on the website. They even have a girls&bikes page if you are into that sort of thing. Not me ya know. I'm as pure as the driven snow. ...oh I'm sorry, did I make your soda come out your nose on that one?

Wild Musical Silliness

2010-04-13T15:04:00.002+09:00

Ok, I am just rocking too hard over here to be doing it alone. Recently I was introduced to several metal/industrial bands, and all are just ridiculous and should be watched/heard to appreciate the silly goodness. To avoid computer crashes, I think I will just post YouTube links here rather than posting live vids. You will thank me when your computer doesn't freeze up. Yes, you will.

Hanzel Und Gretyl, "Fikk Dich Mit Fire" - I adore this band! They are über weirdos from NY who sing in German, and other languages too from what I read. The lead "Vas Kallas" is very pretty with that fuscia hair, but I have to admit I thought that SHE was a guy until moments ago. Hey man, there is no shortage of pretty made-up fellas in Japanese glam-goth, and lots of guys in rock wear skirts and pigtails these days, so I try not to assume good-looking singers are chicks. I only realized he was a she when I saw the photo to the left there. Breasts are a fair indication of femininity...well...they HAVE been anyway. Apparently Betty Kallas was known as "Venus Penis Crusher" in a metal band called, "Cycle Sluts from Hell" (don't bother looking them up...they sucked). My other favorite Hanzel Und Gretyl song/video is "Disko Fire Scheiss Messiah"

RAMMSTEIN, "Ich Tu Dir Weh" You just wish light came out of YOUR mouth when you sang.

Rammstein "Benzin" - One of my favorite songs. I like just about every song they have recorded tho.

Deathstars, "Cyanide" Massively nostalgic Swedish band for 80's industrial music lovers. They are just pretty damn humorous if you ask me. I dig em.

Deathstars, "Synthetic Generation" - Not as interesting to me, but I just gotta ask, "where is this band getting the cash for such a video?" They must be popular in Europe.

Dimmu Borgir, "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse"-- Oh my...angry dark Norwegians. Not my taste, but I just thought I had to share this. They are too serious looking not to laugh at.

Samael, "Telepath" - Archangel does industrial rap? This time the band is Swiss. My god Europeans are wacked out.

Combichrist "Happy Fucking Birthday" - My fave of Combichrist songs. The band is sadly repetitive in general, but I can see such potential...they need a better music director.

Marilyn Manson "Nobodies" - Perhaps the "Prettiest" of Manson's videos. Love it. "Disposable Teens" is another of the Manson songs I like a lot, and this is a pretty well done vid. "Astonishing Panorama of the End Times" is the one claymation video that makes me think, "Yes, Manson himself is likely made of clay."

Tool "Parabola" - This tune is far more chill than the others, but the video is wonderful. Visually the video is rather dark, but the message is positive -- albeit new-age spiritual. It is pretty much the same spiritual message I got in my old kungfu class. Merkaba...violet flame...3rd eye awakening...all that.

Eluveitie is a Swedish FOLK metal band. They sing in Swedish, and play a mix of traditional instruments and electric guitars, sometimes they sing, sometimes shout. Thousandfold is one of the screamy ones, Omnos is one of the ones where the pretty girl SINGER takes over.

...ok, I am finished.

Ow.

2010-04-01T10:34:00.003+09:00

I broke my toe...and I did it by practicing a hand stand. No really. The 2nd biggest toe is broken all the way through. I just finished an excellent workout -- practicing with knives, a spear and all that good stuff I am actually trained to do -- and of course I was utterly safe. But recently I began training to do a handstand because well...it looks fun, but I failed to recognize "coming down from a handstand" as a dangerous thing and hit a 1-inch ledge on my concrete wall. (Sigh)
My toe was actually bent off to one side, and I thought it was the joint so I put it back into place...but it went back off to the side again...how odd. It turned out to be two parts of my toe that I was putting back into place. Yuck.

So, in 3 hours I am going back to get a pin put into my toe. Been in bike wrecks never broke a bone but yet I break my toe on the wall. Wtf.

Update: I am back and in the kind of pain you feel when a couple doctors put 2 steel pins into your broken toe. 2 hours have gone by and the drugs have not kicked in much yet, so I am writing to keep my mind busy. Yarg.

Still More Freaky Marketing from Japan

2010-03-28T11:12:00.003+09:00

A while ago I wrote about cigarette marketing in Japan and the irony of brand names like "Black Impact", "Infinity" and "Hope". The "cool but hard and manly" smokes are funny, but I was just looking down at the counter a minute ago in the konbini* when I saw the pretty pink Virginia Surimu package there (with a free sequin lighter pouch!) and thought...looks like a tini box of tampons... and was searching for the ad to make fun of them here and found this anti-smoking ad which I thought was wonderful. "You've come a long way baby; just not as far as me." Awesome.

*Kombini = Japanglish for Convenient Store. convenient→conveni→kombini

More Funny Marketing from Japan

2010-03-28T11:08:00.004+09:00

The ad reads "For the active and stylish body. Active Venus Miwa." The "Active Venus" they are referring to in the Aquarius Zero sports drink ad, is Miwa Asao, "Beach Volley" player. Apparently drinking this stuff will turn you into an animated ELF with big, round boobies*! Which is good for Miwa, because she wished she had a chest like that.

*Great. Now our blog will be 159,001 of the possible choices when Googling "Big, round elf boobs".

Aquarius Pro is the macho male sports drink that just teamed up with Adidas to give you the "Recovery Shot" that you need! In a country where brand names are everything, I am only surprised that they didn't make a drink with the Adidas name on it sooner. It tastes like acerola fruit which I like, but the packaging is still silly. I find it bizarre that they can actually claim that it has 9kcal per 100ml of ENERGY in each bottle. That is fucking amazing!!! How many bottles do I need to power my motorcycle you think? On the website there is info on how to "properly consume" this product, but since you cannot read Japanese you are FUCKED right? Not with me here to translate! The steps are 1. Exercise 2. Rest 3. Consume. So there you go.
Other info on the site tells you how the soy peptides and amino acids in the drink are broken down by your body. Do they really expect anybody but bloggers like meto read this shit?

Mid-size CBs...Repost with new pics

2010-03-26T19:00:00.000+09:00

A couple weeks ago I saw this '69 CB450 on another website and just posted it here saying "I want this...with a 1000cc engine." I just bumped into it again on the Flickr page of the guy who restored it for $. I liked it so much I decided to post the other 2 pics. Kinda like when ya already had a poster of yer favorite nudie girl, but found one of her posing doggie style, you know.

The guy who did this seems to love old Hondas just like me, except he probably has more wrenching skills, and definitely has a better paint shop than I did when I was resurrecting bikes.
The other pic here is black, 1968 CB450K. These would make me miss my old 1969 CL450...if it weren't for the fact that that bike was a cantankerous bitch... no, for me these are just lovely works of art. I wouldn't want to ride anything under 600cc's. But these got the looks tho enit?

A new house for us.....I hope.

2010-03-25T02:16:00.004+09:00

Well, we did it! Made an offer on this house in Henderson NV. It is out-there! I mean 30 miles and over a 1/2 hour from the Las Vegas strip. It has a cool view of the City of las vegas in the distance though, and is in very good shape.....not like most of the forclosures in town. It has a rare 1/3 of an acre lot in an area with other big lots...(but it has no landscaping at all), with a small 1700 sq-foot house smack in the middle.
Our commute is not going to be great, but it has quick access to the freeway only a couple miles away. It is located in a "equestrian area" Meaning there is a Huge city run horse park a couple blocks away, it is very quiet! With owls hooting and birds chirping-(a big differience from the planes shaking the windows, and cars going by, living right next to a Mclarian international airport as we do).
Only blocks away there are bike and horse trails going all over the mountians and to lake las Vegas and Lake Mead....also it has close access to powerline trails and mountian roads I can ride the bikes on only a few blocks the other way.
It is very "country", and for around here, it has 4 times more land than 99.9% of the homes in Vegas. (we got tired of looking at houses with your neighbors actual house, is used as a fence for your side-house-access-non-yard!) iT IS THE CHEEPIEST HOUSE IN THE HOOD, meaning our neighbors are RICH....to some degree....

We will know if our offer is accepted in a week but...WE BID till it HURT! I mean, more than there FUCKING asking price....and I am hoping BIG TIME we will get it.

I think it will be fun to land scape, build a shop or a pool, ad-on to the house, and all those other things you can do with space and property!

here is a link to the hood with a interactive map you can zoom around with.

Izu Peninsula in the Rain

2010-03-21T09:47:00.009+09:00

Yamabiko-so is the name of an old school house converted into a rather rough, bed-n-breakfast type place that is located on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. Splendor has gone there every April for at least 15 years, probably closer to 20. I did Yamabiko 2 years ago and had a large helping of motorcycle drama. This weekend is the Yamabiko ride.

This year the club leader decided to move the Yamabiko ride to March. With me being in the po' house it was looking like I wasn't going to make it anyway, but moving the ride from April to March cinched it. Why in hell did the ride get moved to March when it is still cold? Dunno...but last year was canceled outright because a small group of guys that quit Splendor due to "issues", decided to make their own Izu ride on the very same weekend as the main Splendor event, and camped just down the road from where Splendor stays. Doing that 2 years in a row is pretty fuckin' relentless and childish.

So anyway, this year instead of maybe riding in the cold rain of April, Splendor is assured to ride in the cold rain of March. In Osaka, it was super windy all night, so this morning I checked the weather report for Yamabiko -- says it is 46F/8C and raining with 32mph winds. That just suuuuucks. Hope they are having fun anyway. Coming back to Osaka from Yamabiko takes me across a long section of bridges along the coastline in Aichi Prefecture, which is always windy and makes me feel like I am going to fall over. Today would have been one of those "fingernails diggin into the handlegrips" rides no doubts. This is the first time that I felt glad I am not touring with the guys, even though it would have been good to see them all.... and maybe even get a chance to ride Owen's bike!

My buddy Owen (the other pipe smoker in the photo up top) is at Yamabiko this weekend with his HD in its newest incarnation (pic at left). Nice change from what it looked like b4 (right).

So good luck with the weather guys! Hope to do the 1000 mile ride in June...but that one is always the most expensive so....maaayyybe ...I will think about it.

Herajika the Spatula Deer.

2010-03-17T01:54:00.001+09:00

After over 20 years of trying to master this language, and 7 years of living here...I finally found out that moose are called "Herajika" in Japanese not 10 minutes ago. Any Japanese I am acquainted with either say "Muusu" or don't know what they are. My wife and her mom have been to Alaska many times and so they always say "Moose" too.

According to my buddy Owen, the name comes from a combination of the word for spatula, which is "hera" and the word for deer, which is "shika". So what we got chere, is yer garden variety spatula-deer.

I have often joked that moose must be called "uma-jika" in Japanese, or "horse-deer" -- which when written in Japanese actually reads "baka" or "idiot". So whose the idiot now, spatula deer?

"Gaijin Bash" & "Ramen Adventures"

2010-03-17T00:05:00.004+09:00

Coooool. Just found 2 blogs about Japan written by a fellow rider over here. "Gaijin Bash" & "Ramen Adventures". In all honesty, I was actually looking for some fellow rider types in my area to do some touring with when my Google search for "Motorcycle touring Kansai" dropped me into a bowl of this fella Brian's ramen...blog. I guess I hit his page because he is a motorcycle rider and the word "Kansai" was written somewhere in his blog.

Brian hooked me up with a couple fun links too. One was for his ride in Hokkaido -- the northern-most island of Japan. Lots of people here call Hokkaido the "Riders Paradise" but it is really quite far north so I have yet to go.

The guy's photographic eye is right-on and I like that he uses words like FUCK and DUDE without shame. Fun writing style is and good pics is probably how his blog got picked as 1 of the top 10 blogs about Japan. Check it out!

Japanese Lesson (and rambling commentary)

Oftentimes Japanese terms pop up in my blog.
For those of you who are not aware, Kansai is the western region of Japan where I live, and encompasses Kyoto, Hyogo, Osaka, Nara, Mie as well as Shiga and Wakayama. Just soes ya know.

Also, the word "Gaijin" means "foreigner", but most often people use it when referring to foreigners aside from other Asians -- most especially whitey. Personally I dislike the word since I prefer to stand out because I am legitimately odd; not because I am white. It is a term that separates "us and them", but usage is mixed between "Gaijin scare me" and "Gaijin are so fun, I love them". There is generally no hatred attached to the word, but this is a country that considers itself a "1 race culture", and we are "them".

Never tell'm it's a BMW!

2010-03-14T12:28:00.005+09:00

IF YOU LIVE IN JAPAN, NEVER SAY YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A FOREIGN BIKE PART! Never tell them. The moment you say "BMW" everybody at the auto parts store starts running in circles, waving their hands in the air and screaming like it's the apocalypse.

Last season, my battery was in a coma and I priced checked around town, and the prices nearly sent me into a coma myself. So I paid 2000yen ($20) to get it charged and used it till...I was remiss in riding the bike this winter and it finally died. Meaning...cannot be charged.

Price check on aisle 2!!! The cheapest motorcycle battery here is around $150, and if it is for a BM'r? "Fugedaboudit" as the mob guys say. So, I finally figured out that the name on my battery, "Yellow Hat" is not the brand name but a STORE name. (Like I would know...Japan has a motorcycle brand name called "Yellow Corn" for crissakes). So I called Yellow Hat and they said "We don't sell motorcycle batteries" so I told the guy the number on my battery. He said "Oh! That is our smallest CAR battery. It sells for $75." YES!!!

So CAR batteries are half the price of motorcycle batteries. Ok.

I still need to order it, and the closest Yellow Hat is an hour train ride, and 15min. walk from the station. But the "Maker-san" is not available on the weekends, so I will need to go during the week so Yellow Hat can call the "maker-san" and order it for me...then come back in a week to get my battery-san.

See, Japan has ways of punishing people for doing things like...not riding your bike during the winter so your battery dies. They usually discipline people with hour long train rides and long walks through unfamiliar neigborhoods

A New Love to Rescue

2010-03-12T06:07:00.008+09:00

A friend found this in a neighbors barn in Spokane, a 18 hour drive for me. It is a 1967 Ducati Monza JR 160 cc single. I talked to the neighbor and now it is mine for a nominal price and belive it or not! it comes with paperwork!, also a promise to pick it up within a year....he said no worries on gettin it, it has been sittin for 25 years.

What it will be, cept in red and silver.
What it Is..

Now to find my garage, wife wont let me pick it up till we have a new house (which we are looking for). I have only four now, but I am a twelve bike kind of guy....soooo...looking for a new garage with the right stuff isnt freekin easy. Kinda like finding parts for this bike-, or using the Italian -fucked up mail system-!.

Tunnel of Love

2010-03-12T01:25:00.003+09:00

To make myself feel better after hearing about my dented love machine, I puffed a bowl from the peace-pipe searched Google for some motorcycle induced solace and found this short, artsy biker flick. 10min. long, and that is about enough.

A fucking DENT??! Maaan...

2010-03-12T00:10:00.001+09:00

Soooooooowuuah.... apparently the Suzuki Fin Bike has been DENTED. 7 years it has been sitting under one of those tent type carports with my sister's boat, and apparently during one of the big snows Seattle had, the snow became heavy enough to collapse the carport and put a dent in the tank of the Suzi. Fooooooooooock.

I didn't bother asking if it happened THIS year, but I did notice nobody bothered telling me about it until today when I said, "I really would like to make it over there this year, get the bike running and sell it to pay for my trip." That was when my sister said, "Oh, about the bike...". Niiiiice huh? If I ever fuck up anything that belongs to you guys? I will tell you that day. Promise.

I have no idea how big the dent is, but the word used was "dent" not "ding". A dent turns a sleek, black shiny custom bike into ......an old 1982 Suzuki with a fin on it. Damn.

Ty? You are the resident expert...naturally, we have no idea what kind of damage we are talking about here yet, but removing any dent from a tank means repaint right? I used a Dupont that had both pigment and clear coat mixed with it (kind of a new item at the time) so that might be good news..... but there really IS no good news when you have a bike you intended to sell, but have to fucking FIX the fucking body work before selling it for whatever low price someone would pay for a bike whose only redeeming quality is the LOOK.

Fucking Ssiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggghhhhhh. The last time I decided to sell a Suzuki was when that dizzy........pulled out in front of me and I was jettisoned through the windshield of my cop bike. I thought I fixed my bad Suzuki karma by building this bike...

Kujo, Osaka City

2010-03-10T02:14:00.000+09:00

I swear I posted about my neighborhood before, but for the life of me I cannot find the post. I really need to do a better job of titling my blog posts...but the blog muse will forgive me I am sure.

THIS is Kujo. Kujo is in the "city-city" of Osaka; not the suburbs. Meaning, everything is concrete and their are barely any trees, and the air quality is...well there is no air quality. We are just 2 short train stops from "downtown", but I can ride my bicycle for about 20 minutes and get to a part of downtown.

Kujo is simple. The most common type of house is 3 story concrete with a shop on the first floor -- and I mean shop as in welding or machine shops. There are some really old houses here too, looks like they are held together with grime from the lovely Kujo air. I feel confidant in saying that making bolts or threaded steel rods is likely the main industry going on here. I only know of one small foundry here, but there are a crudload of plasma cutter machines cutting massive sheets of steel. There are also a LOT of prostitutes in Kujo, but that is a whoooooole 'nuther story.

Several years ago, construction began on a new train line that goes from Nara to Kobe. It just HAPPENS to change from underground to above ground 1 block from my house, and where we used to cut across the road to go shopping...is now where a mammoth shaft of glass, concrete and steel breaches the asphalt and makes its ascent up and across the river 4 blocks from us. (an awful, smelly river with fish-zombies in it no doubt). So, thanks to Hanshin Railway, I walk another 2 blocks up or down the street, to cross the road. If I go right, the train is underground; if I go left, I walk under the train line. I have taken over 40 photos and put them in a web album for you to enjoy, and I will go ahead and make comments under them, and post a SLIDESHOW here for you, free of charge! Aren't I swell?

One thing I will mention first, is that in Japan there are a LOT of small Buddhist shrines scattered around the neighborhoods. Kujo has so many, one day I just grabbed my camera and did a bit of a shring-scavenger hunt with my camera, just so I could impress upon you the sheer VOLUME of these things. To the unwary eye, they look like little Japanese nazi houses, because they all have swastikas on them. But everyone who I know understands that the swastika or "Manji" on these shrines is very ancient symbol for compassion. With that said, please enjoy the presentation, "Kujo: Why name your neighborhood after a rabid dog?"

Sorry, the order is random. To see it in the order I intended, you can visit the actual Picasa Web Album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wiselywierd/KujoOsaka

The Road, Pals, Motorbikes and BBQ'd Livestock!

2010-03-05T02:05:00.001+09:00

I need a local motorcycle touring posse. Spring is "close enough" for me to be thinking more and more about touring. But today, re-posting a ride from 9 years ago (buddy Sean wanted to see the pics and I was happy to oblige!) reminded me "Touring is seldom like THAT time". Don't get me wrong, I have had awesome trips over here! You saw the pics. But I would definitely like MORE and the way to ride MORE is to keep the trips CHEAP. Staying at $85 a night fancy inns or taking a $200 ferry to get to the destination has been a good experience...but I have experienced that now, and it is time to move on to

To me a GREAT touring trip is meeting 9 or 10 people -- all sorts...guys, gals, WASPs, Japs, whoever... weirdos and normalos -- on all sorts of different bikes -- expensive ones, barely running homemade ones -- and ride and ride and ride to somewhere out in nature that rules. Set up camp, cook a shit load of animal flesh, drink whatever we want, laugh our fucking asses off, and ride all day the next day. If there were a hot-spring involved, like in Japan here, that would rule too. I thought that part was odd in the beginning, but yeah, a dip in an outdoor hot spring gets the muscles ready for a whole new day of riding the next day.

Maybe I should put out an add or something... ha!

Random Jap Custom Bikes

2010-03-05T01:55:00.006+09:00

These are the bikes that came up when I googled "Custom Japanese Bike". Top to bottom, left to right... Just a Kawi custom I thought had a cool shape. Below left, a typical boring SR400 Yamaha with a very cool alum. tank. Common custom choices made by the rider at the time of purchase, seen a bunch of these, still like the tank, still hate SRs and their weak-ass thumper 1 cyl. engine. Next! 2 bikes from the Tokyo area custom shop "Heiwa" (means Peace). Everybody NOT living in Japan thinks that the Japanese have cool fucking custom bikes...bullshit. They have them in the Tokyo area, and scattered about Japan, but I NEVER saw one custom like these in Osaka. Aftermarket SR400s and stock bikes. Don't be fooled that "Japan" means anything. It is all regional. Next! A non-Indian bike with an Indian sticker on it...TOTALLY Japanese thing to do. How many SR's have I seen with a Norton "look" with a Norton tank badge...dunno...many. Red Triumph from Heiwa also. BTW, Triumphs are all called "Tora" here, which means "Tiger". Next is a Washingtonian gal on a 70's CB550F...massive custom. Are my eyes working? Is the front tyre bigger than the back? Green AJS custom...so rare in Japan that this is an actual AJS with an AJS tank badge. I put this on because I just like that pipe going over the tranny. I like the shape and the look too, but that simple "pipe" just got me. Next...black...and very cool...weirdness. Ryan should have this, only painted with both black and RED with more evil on it. Ryan would like Ty's bike "Darth Satan" maybe. Last, a "Mo-bike". Just like this look. So did NY. A Japanese man hand made this, and 3 of em were shown in modern art museums in NY.

Battery Dead...NOT Feelin the Love.

2010-03-03T20:02:00.003+09:00

Yup. During the winter I just started my bike sometimes and ran it for awhile at 1500rpm or a little over for a few minutes, thinking that would keep the battery good right? Wrong. So it died, and I was going to have to pay the nearby garage $20 to charge it for me...but the guy down the street who fixes bikes offered to charge it for free, said he'd call me later that night...on Saturday...it's Wednesday night now... I only see the guy in his shop once every so often...maybe a couple times a month, but I gave him my number? Plus he knows where I live and my number is on the sign on my door...(siiiiiigh) Sometimes people annoy me....no they don't, they ALWAYS find a way to annoy me. Oh well, maybe next month when I get my battery back it will have been charged...either that or it will have sat so long it will have boiled it to death. WTF.
BTW a battery for my bike costs about $200 here...chargers are $150. God I hate it here sometimes. This is not my beautiful motorcycle paradise.

...kinda bored today. Think I will install a new OS on my computer...

Nice damn Falcon!

2010-03-03T10:19:00.004+09:00

Oooo! I LIKE this seat!
...ok, I like the rest of the bike too, but the seat is the part of my shark-fin bike that Ty made me think I should have put more thought into. You know it is odd...I thought "No no, custom seat is too hard" but yet, I fabricated and welded special mounts onto my frame to attach the seat spring to, and also did the upholstery for my saddle. ...so... sometimes I have a 1-track mind and ideas go by on the other track going the other direction. ...and hey! This bike is even a FALCON! ...my first and only cool car was a 66' Falcon.

I gotta say, I really REALLY fucking miss my old shop, all my tools and cheap, crappy bikes to wrench on. God dammit. Kids? Don't be retarded like dad and think that when you move to a another country all the things you enjoyed in the "old country" would be there for you in the new one. I need about a jillion dollars and I can have a good bike shop again.

Anyone who feels sorry for my ass as much as I do, say "aye".
...then say, "Shiver me timbers, tis been a rough journey". ...I like it when you talk like a pirate.

....what?

PS I guess lots of other people like this bike too. After I wrote this I went back to the guys FB page and noticed that this bike was featured in GQ, Playboy, Forbes Style, Men's Journal and several other mags. Normally that would REALLY turn me off, but dammit the bike is so cool I am just gonna keep likin' it.

Leadership lessons

2010-03-02T09:50:00.002+09:00

Yes. Ok. Definitely.

2010-02-28T20:17:00.000+09:00

Chrome for Linux

2010-02-28T19:07:00.004+09:00

WAS excited about Google Chrome finally becoming available for Linux users, but I have already come across 2 glitches. First, the home page "Speed dial" did not work, so I had to find a fix (go into options and select "Use the new tab page" instead of the default "open this page"). Next, even though Google Chrome and Blogger are both Google products, in "compose mode" here, I could not resize the little icon to the left there. I had to go into Firefox to resize it. THAT is no way to get people to use your browser.

I like using Chrome sometimes when I need to open a lot of tabs in XP, because it is much, much quicker than Firefox or the other ones. Fast in Linux too...prolly because it is missing a bunch of shit that it needs to run right!! Well, I do hope it gets better soon. I would use it if it worked better.

New Poster for My School

2010-02-27T15:42:00.001+09:00

Hmmm...will a new poster help convince passers-by to contact me about lessons? Maybe yes, maybe no. But at very least a printed version of this poster with photos will be a heck of a lot more eye-catching than a piece of colored construction paper with a logo on it and some words typed on a sheet of typing paper glued on it.

Yesterday I was going to stick a couple of photos onto the colored paper sign I have on the door now, but after designing a "What if I COULD afford a poster?" image in Photoshop, I decided that even if this was only twice the size of a normal piece of paper, it would be better than homemade. I am going to print this on A3 size paper and have it laminated.

Now taking comments... if you think it needs a line here or there, whatever. I cannot change the Japanese font, I only have 2 choices -- blocky or a thinner font that I think is harder to read from far away.

Nami the English Teacher

2010-02-23T10:59:00.003+09:00

So Nami is going to open her own English class/school.
She will not be an independent owner, rather the school will be under the well-known English conversation school ECC. ECC has a "teach from home version" of their school, just for Japanese people who speak (non-native) English to teach -- usually kids. Because there is one of those schools in our neighborhood already, the only way she could do it is to rent a space 1 neighborhood over. It will cost $10 an hour to use the space, but then she also has to pay ECC a SHITLOAD to use their name. Something like half or 60%...some percentage that made my annoyance with the industry grow a bit. But anyway, I am just proud of her for coming this far out into the 'world' and trying something new. It will be twice a week and she still has to find students.

She signed the papers and began her 6 week training course last Saturday. Apparently, her classmates signed up for this back in the fall and have already been studying their textbooks, prepared their business cards, fliers, and all that... she was the last person accepted for the program this term, hence she began training as the ink was drying on her contract.

Everybody root for Nami!!!

Milk Tea Discovery...?

2010-02-20T20:41:00.003+09:00

I just discovered "Milk Tea".
I was saying to Reiko the other day, "I really like the tapioca milk tea they have at the corner store, but if they had it without the tapioca, I would drink it more often". (That would also make it cheaper, cuz it is $2 for 1 cup of "tapioca milk tea drink"!) Back home, they called this stuff Bubble Tea and the Taiwanese kids were all into it.
Reiko says to me, "Milk tea is sold at every convenient store...it's all over the place." It turns out that Japanese marketing tricked me into thinking this was some office-lady drink that I would never be into. Just look at the label? "Afternoon Tea" and in Japanese, it literally reads "Afternoon English Tea" and I can't stand most Brit teas. I am such a Yank. If the label isn't bright red with a fucking white ribbon twisting down the side of the bottle, with Bill Cosby saying "Shut the fuck up and drink this" I don't even see the thing.

But yeah, this shit is the bomb. I have been looking for a substitute addiction to pull me away from vending machine canned-coffee (that shit will be the end of me) and I think this is gonna do me up nicely. And what's more? This shit is like $1.40 for a liter bottle! Oh yeah mofo.

Hahahaha!

2010-02-16T12:51:00.001+09:00

Alfabeast

2010-02-13T20:40:00.004+09:00

More weirdness from Bikeexif.com. This one almost snuck past me -- a cruiser with a V-6 Alfa Romeo engine?! We have seen plenty of car engines in bikes, most looked like shit (Boss Hoss is one from the "shit pile") but this one has some potential. The engine is actually quite pretty, and I so WANT to like this bike...I just think the "I'm so custom" rear fender bites it, as does the catalog purchased Chrome headlight, the paint and...okay, the whole Harley look just sucks ass.

Clearly, a shit-load of work went into making this engine work with a 2-wheeled vehicle, and this is exactly why I think it deserves more than to just look like another brand-name bike -- especially a Harley. The chrome headlight is the kind every Harley guy who wants to make his stock Harley a little more noticeable is just boring here. The lighting should be every bit as innovative as the bike itself. The tank WORK is great, but again... the look you'd expect to see from a high-end Harley custom. Rear fender paint really makes it stand out as a Harley custom...which is what we don't want to do. This could be easily solved by painting it black or even flat-black so it did not catch attention. Or make it out of brass, transparent aluminum...something.

So what we got here, is a really creative and talented man, being stifled by American society's ideal on what cool motorcycles are about, and a motorcycle fan blinded by a hatred for society's regurgitated routine. The engine does look like a clock, so why not use a brass-plated rear fender, tank and headlight? Give it a touch of gentlemanly class.

Haven't I been saying we should end slavery?

2010-02-13T15:26:00.003+09:00

Cut working week to 21 hours, urges think tank -- BBC

The working week should be cut to 21 hours to help boost the economy and improve quality of life, a left-wing think tank has said.

Of course 1. This is the UK, 2. It won't happen, BUT at least it feels better knowing I am not the only intelligent person thinking that 8 hours a day with no chance for parole until you are 60 is outright indentured-servitude. Well ok, we all think it, I am one of few who refuses to play the game of our rich rule-makers...I suffer the consequences of my illuminated way of thinking, but hey, somebody has to say "Fuck you! NO means no!" to the man.

I would be happy with a choice of 30hours WITH benefits, or a choice WHERE and WHEN to put in my 30hours. There is just NO choice. You go when they tell you, and you take a pittance for your time. You get 2 days out of 7 to live your short existence, and if you are lucky, you get 2 weeks a year to take your stressed out ass on a vacation...if you can afford to. Fuck em.

Message to China:

2010-02-12T18:58:00.002+09:00

Hey China!?!? SHUT THE FUCK UP AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8511912.stm

Getting really sick and tired of those cocksuckers telling us that meeting with the Dalai Lama "strains our relations". No, you telling us who we should or shouldn't meet strains relations. So shut your collective mouth before we put something in it. Think my opinion will "strain relations"?

Feeling lucky punk?.....well do ya?

2010-02-12T10:11:00.006+09:00

Drawing tickets for this bike! and a tre-cool 1965 scooteround.

http://www.worldmotorcycles.com/Pages/restore.html

Goodbye Asashoryu!

2010-02-11T00:11:00.005+09:00

Last week, my favorite Sumo wrestler ASASHORYU, the highest ranking grand champion wrestler or "Yokozuna", was forced to resign this week. He has been in the spotlight for "not behaving in the tradition of Yokozuna" for the past couple years, and finally the sumo association had had enough. He was one of just 2 current Yokozuna, both of whom are Mongolian; not Japanese. Recently foreigners have been on the rise in sumo, and while many liked Asashoryu because of his amazing winning abiltiy and colorful character, many others here want more JAPANESE to rise to the top ...not them foreign types... ah, racist as ever -- fuckin Japan.

Anyway, Asashoryu was not only a Yokozuna, he won a total of 25 tournaments in his career, which put his name in the top THREE of all sumo history. There are 6 tournaments per year, consisting of 15 straight days of wrestling. In 2005 he became the first sumo ever to win all 6 tournaments in the year. Unquestionabley he was the strongest foreigner in the sport to date. In recent years, a total of 4 Hawaiians have been quite good, 2 of whom made it to the level of grand champion, but all of them were strong because of massive bulk. Asashoryu did it with muscle and skill.

He got in trouble first for using another wrestler's top knot to pull him to the ground (BIG no-no), next for getting caught on film playing soccer in his native Mongolia after calling off a demonstration event in Japan with an injured knee story (that one cost him two tournaments without pay and a fine.) Next was after beating the other grand champ, the two exchanged a heated stare in the ring...a simple thing that got them both FINED! (No shit) Most recently though, was for getting drunk and punching a guy in the face. He was questioned by the association and soon after announced he was retiring. "Fired" is more like it, but in sumo, you don't get fired, you have to go on TV and say you were wrong and sincerely apologize for muddying the name of your position and the sumo association. It's a crock of shit, but it is the "old way".

KCCD 2009

2010-02-10T21:05:00.005+09:00

Dudes, you gotta see this! 2 crazed Norwegians are doing what they call " The King Croesus Contempt for Death trip 2009" nicknamed, "the Dumb Way Round". As you will see when you visit their site, 2 of the crazy things about these guys are 1. they are doing the tour round the world the longest way possible, 2. and they are doing it on two 1937 Nimbus motorcycles...with sidecars. Ok, that is like...3 crazy things, but check out their site and blog anyway. And it's a Blogger blog, so support the insane biker cause and leave a comment for them! The most recent blog story was enough to pull me out of my flu induced stupor and got a smile out of me. Good luck guys!

FeeBook

2010-02-07T19:05:00.003+09:00

Bros. I think a couple of you use Facebook...and while I think I am the most regular user of the beast at the moment, I wonder what you have heard about the rumors that FB is going to start charging $4.99 a month to use it? (I have also heard $1. and $14.99...hahaha)

I rather think that NONE of us using this service would pay for it, but there is always a chance. Candi, Bee, Yoshiki and I are the only ones? Logan uses it, but he never reads the blog so... mostly I guess I am typing this post to say "FB is gonna CHARGE?!?" but my secondary purpose is to ask "What will you use if you stop using FB?"

(Edit: After Googling "Facebook monthly charge/fee" I found absolutely nothing definitive on the subject. It appears to be a recurring rumor that flares up now and then.)

I used this in my English lesson today.

2010-01-31T10:50:00.000+09:00

New "Kamen Rider" is a Motorcycle

2010-01-31T09:05:00.003+09:00

Kamen Rider, aka "Masked Rider" is an ongoing Japanese super-hero TV series that started in 1971. Since then, there have been a shit load of types, but it is basically a show about a guy that uses some special device* to transform into a superhero with battle armor that looks like a bug. Originally he was modeled after a grasshopper, but more recently types of beetles, because keeping live fighting beetles in a terrarium has become very popular with little Japanese boys. The "Rider" part of his name indicates that the hero rides a motorcycle.

Last week I watched part of an episode of Kamen Rider W (a version where 2 guys actually become 1 hero) and a brand new guy showed up -- "Kamen Ridaa Akuseru" or in other words, "Masked Rider Accel." This dude actually becomes a motorcycle himself. The photo to the left is also the video link.

*The device is something the toy company can sell of course, making this show -- like many others -- a 30 min. toy commercial.

More blog theivery

2010-01-30T22:10:00.003+09:00

Lately I am just getting images from BikeExif it seems...but sometimes the guy/guys there really put some awesome shit up. Today was a "mutt" BSA. 66' BSA Lightning with a 98' CBR600F front end...WTF?!! Wuhl...it looks great to me, and I want it for certain, but if we are going for a mutt, I say "How bout a CB600F everything but with a vintage British punk-bike look?"

I would love to have all the modern crotch-rockety, rice-burnin' yummies (motor, carbs, electrics, wheels) but with a chromed vintage race tank, frame shape, long seat, chrome headlight & speedo...basically a Norton Dominator, CB750, BSA kinda look and feel. I need to go back to the School of Ty and make another bike... Ty, if only WE had made a bike together. Of course, I would need another couple years of playing to get up to snuff, but heck.

Brand New Vintage

2010-01-29T16:45:00.004+09:00

Hello boyos. I am rather into "BikeExif" right now as they have lots of quality pics of pretty bikes. The newest story is about a "Gima" and of course it caught my eye being orange and vintage...but it isn't vintage at all! $6k dollars for a brand new 125cc Gima! It looks vintage but has a modern carb and electronic ignition. Saaweeeeeet! I want one. Shit, I wanna get my wife one!

PS, I love the side tool box!

RAAAAMMMSTTEEEEIIIINNNN!!!!

2010-01-28T10:55:00.003+09:00

In order to keep slower PCs from crashing, this image links to the newest Rammstein video "Ich tu dir weh" on YouTube (HQ)

My favorite band this week.

2010-01-26T23:10:00.001+09:00

Mindless Self-Indulgence

"Cave of Crystals"

2010-01-19T22:03:00.001+09:00

You gotta see the size of these crystals.... if you ever thought crystals were cool, this is "the" shit right here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8466493.stm

2010-01-17T22:24:00.004+09:00

Just some bike porn from BikeExif and Hide Motorcycle (a custom shop somewhere here in Japan).

Haven't been out for a while ... last year I screwed myself outta riding much, and did the least amount of riding ever since I have owned a bike. Two rides man...2. Lame. But the highways here are equally as lame. But enough about lameness, these bikes are awesome in my book. The top one must be something like I wished my fin bike had been. The tank and seat are super suave. Don't care for the wheels, but I would still ride it with glee. The Harley Sportsters below are also of the 2 styles that would make me say "Sure, I'll ride a Harley". I love the old style racer look, but the one on the right looks more comfortable. ...but I will take any of them! I really should try to get a job at a paint shop or something to get my bike tricked out a bit...lazy bitch I am.

2010-01-16T15:35:00.000+09:00

Bird-like dinosaur was 'venomous'

2010-01-13T20:50:00.002+09:00

Almost forgot to post this link to a BBC news article.

A bird-like dinosaur that prowled an ancient forest 125 million years ago used venom to subdue its prey, according to a new theory.

Sinornithosaurus's upper teeth resemble those of "rear-fanged" snakes which bite their prey and channel venom into the wound. The dinosaur probably fed on the abundant birds which inhabited what is now north-east China.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

"Customizing" a Honda Cub

2010-01-13T19:10:00.003+09:00

Posting on behalf of "Hachi"...who is dealing with Laotian Internet slowness.

I tried to log on and post this to Wisely Weird but it's too fat for my skinny internet pipe. Wanted help from all you motor-heads on customizing a Honda 50 Cub. Just met a guy here; younger brother of a hot Laotian girl. In his spare time, he transplants a Honda 70 engine, cleans it up, does some customization per request and sells them for $300. I'm thinking old school look, yellow black and white.

2010-01-04T01:26:00.002+09:00

Always loved this video but never posted it on the blog before. 2 years old? Still funny.

Happy New Year 2010!!

2010-01-01T14:44:00.004+09:00

Here are a few pics from this morning for you to enjoy. (Photo on left is linked to an album).

When we got back from visiting the shrine, I looked in the mailbox and low and behold! Paul had sent us a box FULL of mint chocolates!!! Dilettante chocolates, Seattle Chocolates, Ghirardelli, and Candy Cane Roca! All of which I have never tried! (Junior mints I know and love). In case you did not know, there is no mint chocolate for sale anywhere in Japan other than at foreign goods shops, so this is a rare treat. (No Seattle micro brews or good local coffee either.)

Other yummies were found at the local Shinto shrine. Candy coated grapes! There are also candied apples of course, but candy coated mikan oranges, strawberries and pineapple too!

Meditation/Reading table

2009-12-31T13:02:00.012+09:00

Yup. I want one of these for sure. The brown one appears to be new, because it is for sale as new on Amazon...Amazon just sells everything now huh? The black one with the doors is pretty wicked too, but it a bit "heavy" visually. It needs a flashy, satin runner cloth on top to balance it out...maybe with some dragons embroidered into the cloth...

If it were an angular design, I could make something myself, but I don't have the tools for the curved bits on top. Those are hot aren't they?! I like the brass bits on the brown table too. The brass bits give it a very masculine feel while the curves give it a sexy female groove. Some yin/yang Taoist artistry goin' on there...nice balance.

Anyway...why would I want such a thing when I have a huge altar downstairs already? Simple. When I meditate I do it on the floor. I used to have a small table for incense and candles back in the States, and would like one again. These pics will give me visualization focus... focuuuuusssss.... (haha)

***

...I'm back! An hour or so later after I wrote the above, with a photo-shopped idea of what I might like to build based on the available tools and on the shit I plan to put in the thing. Naturally, I enjoyed the "light" look of the original brown...very Zen looking...but I think a bit more storage space for my baggage...I mean...my stuff... is a good idea.

My design is a bit more of a mini "desk" or a chest I suppose than the ones I found online. My first design (right) includes the legs, but I don't have the means to make such things. Instead, I came up with a way to dress up boring ol' blocky looking legs (left design), by a cutting a round piece of sheet brass/copper, cut in half, and bending each of those pieces in half and attach onto the legs. I would probably use copper, rather than brass...but I will have to think about it. If I decide on a dark finish: brass, if light: copper. Anyway this is my brainstorming...

Christmas Album Link

2009-12-31T12:17:00.004+09:00

Christmas was pretty good. The kids were happy, which makes a good time for everybody. Click on the group photo to go to the album. Less pics than I thought (just a couple dozen) but I got some good ones of the kids which is all that really matters enit?
These other 3 are my favorites.

Mad Capsule Markets

2009-12-24T15:30:00.001+09:00

I just cannot help it. I could swear the chorus is "Chasin' the pink! Chasin' the pink! Chasin' the pink!" Is it just that I have a perverted mind? ...wait a minute...wtf am I asking you sex-maniacs for?

Happy "Dies Natalis Solis Invicti"

2009-12-24T11:29:00.010+09:00

Christmas...the WORST time to be in Japan if you are a Yank! Especially if you celebrate the Pagan-Roman-Christian conglomerated version like most Americans. Just take a look at this Japanese Christmas card... Every year for 7 years I have put up with Japan's fucking up of one of my 2 favorite days of the year. 4th of July is the other favorite, but at least they haven't fucked that one up. And most years I bitch about it in a blog post.

Of course, my cultural reflex is to say that Japanese are doing Christmas "Wrong", but then I remember that we Americans twist up many European holidays, and that Christ-mass/Solstice itself is a blend of MANY traditions. I am biased of course, and feel that America has successfully blended the best parts of Christmas, while Japan merely took the "look" and threw out the spirit -- like emptying out the Christmas stocking, throwing out the candy and shrieking "My my! What a fine sock!"

If you have kids, Christmas in Japan is about pretty lights and a small dinner at home. If you are a young, single person you pretty much have to have a date for Christmas Eve -- if you don't, all your friends know that you suck. Bikers may have big "biker family" drinking party, but like every other holiday in Japan, it is really just an excuse to get fucked up -- Christmas has nothing to do with it.

Christmas DAY does not exist in Japan. By the 25th, it is all over. Tokyo seems to have the most Christmas spirit, but it is an international "island" in Japan -- heavily influenced by outside cultures. In Osaka, decorations are gone first thing Christmas morning, and many people go to work. Most parents here in Osaka say they don't give their kids presents, and the ones that do, only give 1 per kid. Funny thing is, most of those parents say "Santa Claus brought it". Those parents are different and usually go all out to do Christmas like Americans do, with the Coca Cola Santa and everything...but they are a minority. But there is actually no "Christmas" here, there is only Christmas Eve. The family day for Japan is New Years Day.

Of course there are no turkeys or large hams here for us to eat on Christmas. And even if I went over to the next prefecture to find the Costco, I have a typical Japanese oven...not big enough to cook American sized food in. So we are having chicken. I actually ordered a whole chicken...but the asshole at the chicken shop said "I sold them all by 930am". So apparently "order" means fuck-all to him. (that annoyed the carps out of me.)

In order to enjoy a proper, America-Pagan Christmas during this winter solstice, we will lock ourselves in the house from this afternoon until tomorrow lunch... ignore the Japanese and their Christmas cakes and dating rituals... sit around our pagan symbol of everlasting life (the evergreen tree) and give our gifts (pagan and Christian tradition). We won't be using holly to protect ourselves from witches or pagans though, nor do we have any mistletoe to celebrate fertility and the new year with... or to stand under and kiss Scandinavians. My kids know that papa bought the gifts. No credit goes to Sinter Klaas (Saint Nicholas), the Weihnachtsmann, Père Noël, the Christkindl (Kris Kringle), Joulupukki, Babbo Natale, Saint Basil or Father Frost.

One day I will tell them that Christmas on December 25th comes from the celebration of winter solstice and the "Dies Natalis Solis Invicti" or "Birthday of the Unconqured Sun" ...which Christians corrupted into "Son" and used it to celebrate the the INCARNATION of Jesus -- not his birth. December 25th was chosen as the date Jesus' soul entered his body because it was 9 months after "The Annunication" -- and conception -- which was said to have taken place on March 25th. The incarnation was clearly considered the date of his arrival on Earth, not his emergence.

But anyway, I hope YOUR Christmas is a good one. WE will too, in spite of Japan. I just like to bitch about the way Japan fucks up my favorite day, just like I like to bitch about the way they fuck up my language. Hence I spend my time doing "Damage control" by teaching English.

Merry Christ Mass, and happy "Dies Natalis Solis Invicti"!!!!

(Thanks to Wiki for the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti info)

Christmas Art by the Jamesson Kids

2009-12-20T17:51:00.002+09:00

Long time no nothin

2009-12-18T22:43:00.005+09:00

Heya boyos! Been a while since I had anything to say. Just been teaching, studying taichichuan, playing Mafia Wars and avoiding society. BUT! I just found a website I like...bike porn blog? Some seriously fabulous motorbikes on bikeexif.com ...a couple with cutie-pies on them even...mostly just bikes.

And no, I haven't ridden in a while. I took it out once this month and the battery was so low I had to get a jump at the gas station when I stopped for gas. The window for enjoyable riding here (not too hot or too cold) combined with my lack of cash saw me riding just TWO trips in 09'. "Shit" huh?

Japanese To Enforce Tough New Copyright Protections

2009-11-24T22:07:00.002+09:00

(got this from the site "Extra Torrent", written by xxxOBSCENExxx )

Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama has recently decided in favor of the Japanese artistic copyright group, JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers), which has pushed for an extension on "posthumous" copyright protection.
JASRAC

The protections, which are on any composition written, composed, published, or distributed from within Japan, have been increased from a range of fifty to seventy years. The recent decision matches almost all other international standards, and brings Japan front in center in the war against those wishing to illegally distribute music from Japan.

JASRAC was founded in 1939, as the largest musical non-profit copyright association in Japan. It's made headlines in recent years, with news such as demanding the popular video service YouTube to remove over 30,000 videos which featured songs or clips from copyrighted works of Sony Japan, Avex Japan, Pony Canyon, JVC, Warner Japan, Toy's Factory, and Universal Japan.

JASRAC has even taken ballroom dance schools to court in the past, for using copyrighted Japanese songs in it's classrooms, where it actually won a settlement of 50 million yen. The group had stated that "it hopes the ruling will serve as a warning to other schools not to use such music without first gaining permission to do so.

The latest news, will only further broaden JASRAC's reach around the globe as Japan is a key figure amongst international groups such as the United Nations, and JASRAC then can impose it's will onto future copyright and standards events.

During a 70th Anniversary party for JASRAC, the Japanese Prime Minister stated that he was fulling backing the plans which had been brought forth by JASRAC, and other copyright organizations along with music industry affiliates within Japan.

Prime Minister Hatoyama stated that it was only fitting for the extension of the copyright act to be set for 70 years, as it's the 70th anniversary of the organization. He went on to state that his political party, the Democratic Party of Japan intends to dedicate itself to fully revising and reforming copyright laws within it's nation.

Various industry and copyright groups, such as the Recording Industry Association of Japan, the Music Publishers Association of Japan, and JASRAC as well have been lobbying the government since mid 2006 for the finalized extension to occur.

Earlier this year, JASRAC and the other copyright firms in a joint operation, created the Copyright Data Clearinghouse (CDC) of Japan, in order to reduce the financial cost for a license application and to set up an international database of protected Japanese musical art.

JASRAC will remain infamous for going after any company, business, web site, or radio station which uses Japanese music without permission, and can be considered the equivalent of the USA's RIAA. They have their hands deep into the Japanese government's pockets, and intend to fully use that to their advantage.

JASRAC is also one of the first groups to pursue mobile phone ringtones, and copyright them. It is a firm which represent a nearly trillion yen per year industry, and obviously has the capital to pursue any individual it deems in violation of it's protections. Expect to hear more in recent months from this political and industry powerhouse, as they push for global copyright reform.

Secure Living... blech.

2009-11-17T08:28:00.003+09:00

Heya. Ya know? I have been here trying to figure out how to get back to the U.S. for years now, and yesterday it finally hit me... America has been sliding into the shitter since I left. Had I known you needed me so much, I might not have left! But seriously, the unemployment rate there scares the crap outta me. 10%?!!? Is this just a number, or does it feel like reality? Also, yesterday I saw that $1 is now only worth 88 yen! That fuckin blows! It really sucks because I transferred money from America to here, and will loose a lot of dough. Last time, I actually made money because it was $1 to 115 yen... what the fuck? Is America broken? Kinda annoying that I ended up being here this long, but it seems like Japan is the more secure choice for the family for now...dammit!

I miss America! I miss Mt. Rainier, and all that good shit. Give America a kiss for me! (sob)

Movie Check In

2009-11-08T13:26:00.008+09:00

Been kinda quiet lately... studying again.

I just found out about this movie, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" and it seems like it was done a while ago...since Heath Ledger is in it... but just nobody wanted to hit the "play" button. I am so looking forward to this...hope it is as good as the trailer.

Looking forward to "Avatar" and I really hope I get to see this one in the theater.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_JBMrrYw8 this is a link to a large screen version of the trailer.

Dorian Gray...? Does this look fun or stupid? I can't tell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h9a3Sx6220&feature=channel

Legion? So...God is a serious dick in this one. But angel movies like the "Prophecy" series can be good...in fact this one really looks like it is trying to play off of that series, but add a bit of good old fashioned ridiculousness plus bad acting! ... but hey, there are wings and that often makes up for silly shit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9mFn9EhgU4&feature=channel
Same actor I don't like there in Legion was in GI Joe and seems to be in Pandorum too. Why do people hire him?

I really wanna see this next one and I think it is funny that I was JUST saying I wish they would remake "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and bloody hell, "The Fourth Kind" is comin'!!! Yowza!! The only BAD part is that the aliens really seem like dicks in this one... bummer huh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_h0CblQ0sg&feature=channel

Fire! Across the Street.

2009-11-04T08:28:00.004+09:00

From this point of view, the fire is 1/2 a block away from my house, but across the street so there is little or no danger for us. Still, this building is long and is only an arm length away from half a dozen homes, one of which is directly in front of our house. I took the last photo from a window in Nami's old house, about 1 1/2 feet from the outside of the burnt building. Everyone was glad that their new houses were made of concrete, and that the firefighters put this out quickly.

The face of video games in the future.

2009-10-27T05:31:00.000+09:00

I don`t know how many of you care about this sort of thing. But I saw this video and it totally blew me away.

They have always talked about this kind of thing being available "one day" or "in the future" however they are now being mass produced.

Torrential Torrent Trouble

2009-10-18T16:32:00.003+09:00

Scaaaary. I read the news... often. But I never knew that the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) had been suing individual people in America since 2003 for downloading and sharing copyrighted media. I always thought the lawsuits were against organizations like Kazaa, Limewire and bit torrent sites. But yeah, the RIAA launched over 35,000 such lawsuits between 2003-2008! I doubt all lawsuits are over, but according to one news source, the RIAA has changed gears from lawsuits against individuals, to making arrangements with ISPs in the U.S. to warn suspected pirate-customers to knock the shit off. (And then sue them if they don't). BUT according to other sources, that was all just bullshit and that they are indeed still suing people.

I just read a story about a Native American woman was sued by Capitol Records in 2007 for downloading 1,702 tracks on "Kazaa". Because it was a file SHARING program, they sued her for making these tracks available for distribution. Somewhere in the process, they decided to only sue her for 24 of those downloaded songs, but when the company won the lawsuit they were awarded damages of a whopping $9250 for each song, for a total of $222,000!

There was a retrial in June of 2009 because there was doubt that "making available" these tracks was sufficient cause to sue for infringement. Apparently it was, so in the 2009 retrial she lost again. BUT this time the court found her liable for $80,000 per song, for a total of $1.92Million!!!!

In July (2009) she filed a motion asserting the statutory damage award was so disproportionate to actual damages as to be unconstitutional, and that the damages should be reduced to the minimum charge which is $750. a song, for a total of $18000, or just dropped entirely. Capitol insists that trial evidence showed that she "was distributing 1,702 sound recordings…to millions of other users". It seems like there has been no more news on this to date.

Scary shit. Yesterday, a friend said that there was a case in America in which a family was sued for $20M. ...that might take a while to pay off.

So, lets say somebody we know...without naming names...has over 18,000 songs in his HDD. At the rate per song that Ms. Thomas (the Native America gal) was sued for in her first trial -- $9250 a song -- that would come to $166.5M. But at the rate she was charged in the second case, that is 18,000 times $80,000 a song right? That equals $1.4 BILLION dollars. Fuck - an - A.

Note to torrent users: when you download you are automatically set to upload AS you download. This is to increase the download speed for everyone. So uploads take place not just when you are finished and become a "Seeder". Clearly uploading carries with it FAR worse penalties than simply downloading!

Have any more current info to share? Any FACTS you have on downloading from U.S. torrent sites from countries outside the U.S. would be cool too.

P.S. Techdirt.com has some pretty good articles. One article in particular is really good where the blogger slams Garth Brookes for claiming that the gov. is doing NOTHING about protecting musicians. Might want to check out this story.

2009-10-17T13:28:00.001+09:00

Light People On Fire

2009-10-15T08:42:00.001+09:00

Uncertain of the applications for this but...

Aghast

2009-10-13T02:15:00.001+09:00

I stumbled upon this website.
I am not a parent yet so perhaps I have no right to speak but this stuff shocked me.
This website is full of what you see bellow....

Shocking what some people think is funny or "safe"