[wtH] Texas Ranger Walker

Sad and totally true - I actually found myself morbidly fascinated by the monotonous dialogue on Texas Ranger Walker at 2330hrs on Friday night.

Opening scene - Some scruffy kid is bullied in school, everyone's calling him a freak. Scruffy kid goes to top of school building and wants to jump down. Chuck Norris tries to calm the kid down but the kid jumps. Camera gives us a rooftop view of the kid's body on the ground; and then alternate camera gives us view of Chuck Norris' tortured face looking down from the rooftop. He tried to look tormented, I can give him that much credit for the effort.

Next scene - Same tormented face of Chuck Norris in a bar, opposite him is some middle aged blond.
MAB: You cannot blame yourself for this (or something along those lines)...
Chuck: But I cannot forget the kid's face (or something along those lines) ....
MAB: But you know, suicide is the 3rd cause of deaths amongst teenagers in this country. There's something with the school these days ...

Holy Cammoli!! That line totally caught me off guard!!

I mean how's Chuck gonna retort to such a statistic like that which was so badly planted into the whole dialogue? This just confirmed that the entire conversation was patchedly spun so the scriptwriter could inject some cheap social message badly sponsored by some poorly funded NGO.

So what can Chuck do? .... He whines some more and invites more terrible one-liners from MAB.
That is when I realize what I have done, turn off the TV, and come upstairs to blog this piece - which is equally sad. Last Friday was Good Friday but it was the crap day I left Japan back to reality, this Friday was no-more-NBA-this-week-wait-for-playoffs-next-week-see-Walker-instead Friday.

Ugh. Hope you've had better Fridays than me lately - NOT!!

[Self] Japan Pics Day 11-15

Pic: Sushi Bar in Asakusa where the plate are 2 leaves, and you stand.


Pic: Nice Buddha statue very serene.










Pic: Makes you wanna travel the Tokyo Metro line everyday doesn't it?

Pic: Asakusa Temple
Pic: Ramen under a bridge (in this case railtrack) with Caroline & KC.







Pic: At Tokyo Dome. Giants won.

Pic: Wet from the rain taking shelter and a picture.

Pic: Dammit Tsukiji of all days to close!

Pic: Rasengan!! (At Jump Shop outside Tokyo Dome)

[Self] Japan Day 11-15

Day 11: Gosh regretted not taking Shinkansen as I had bought an overnight JR bus ticket back to Tokyo instead. Spent the whole day walking Osaka's great street malls, underground malls and malls proper. This was like some weird torture where I walked, window shopped in a semi conscious state - occassionaly even nodding off as I walked!

Caught some shut eye in the weirdest of places - eg: otearai (toilet), Starbucks, and even McDonalds. Rained the entire day too, so I had no access to a bench to doze.

And finally, when my 2220 bus came, I couldn't sleep for 2 freaking hours! Ugh. So my last day in Osaka was excruciating tiring and fun in the most anti-fun of ways. Wouldn't have wanted it any other way though, it was the variery of experiences I was looking for.

Day 12: Upon reaching Tokyo, proceeded with the recovery process. Probably slept half the day once I got into bed.

Woke up around 1300hrs, saw CSI, did some laundry which was severely overdue, then sat in the apartment to catch some B grade English movie. Total lethargy.

But then, I was just saving up for the night. That was when the action started (if you can call what happened "action"). Anyway the night was cool - this is where KC and I spent the night walking in the rain looking for the AIG building somewhere near Odemachi Station, recycled a broken umbrella and roamed around Shibuya (which was dead due to the rain), talked a lot of crap at some Isakaya, got wet many times, and wound up in some Japanese cybercafe drying up & watching Ocean's 12 (but I dozed off at the couch).

Day 13: Was a direct continuation from Day 12. The whole drenched up affair prior to this was to make sure we could go to Tsukiji at 0500~0600hrs. Wanted to see the price-mongering and bidding for fish, and bite into one on the spot. But when we reached there admist the rain (non stop rain since the day before), damn marketplace was closed.

Disheartened, we headed back for some sleep and woke up around 1400hrs. I only managed to get a pic with the "we are closed" signboard .

But the better part of the day was saved by a cool baseball game we went to at 1800hrs - Tokyo Giants vs Hiroshima. The Tokyo Dome stadium was 3/4 packed, with loads of babes selling beer and goodies, a rather interesting twist of culture there they were all cute.

Oh yeah - and the baseball game was interesting too ;)

And after that, we managed to find Ji Yin's friend Caroline and had a quick ramen at an "authentic under the bridge noodle store run by an old Japanese man". Cool. Another item from my "to-do in life" list struck off.

Day 14: Last real day in Japan, so packed up in the morning, then lingered around Kameido and walked to Kishincho.

Then went to Asakusa nice place has still an "old" Japanese feel to the area. And then had dinner with Caroline. Was a bit rainy into the night. Saw her off and then managed to catch the last train back. But then had to wait about 2 hours plus for KC to balik from his sessions with fellow colleagues.
And into the wee hours of the morning - had some late night trash talk with KC - it's a male bonding thing :)

Day 15: Flight back home to Msia. Ku-ra-pu!! Back to reality, and so life does have to go on. All I can say was that Japan was a totally great trip, enjoyed myself thoroughly and its time to work hard again and focus on work for a while before the next one (probably either Russia, Shanghai or Sweden plus UK).

[Self] Japan Day 8-10

And so the trip continues...

Day 8: I decide to stay another day in Kyoto (originally wanted to stay for 2 more days and scrap Osaka). And today is the day where I succumb to the 'normal' tourist sights. Hit Ginku Temple at the East Side, and then took a long walk along the 'Path of Philosophy' which was a long cannal with beautiful Sakuras in bloom. There was a few ladies in Kimono they were really cute / pretty depending on age.

By the time I am done and wander around unknown parts of town again, I somehow manage to complete 3 major events in a few hours: visit 2 major temples and see parts of Gion too. Dinner was a letdown I went to an Okonomiyaku place looking for a cool experience but I kena overcharged and in fact the stuff served back in Daimon (KL) was probably better. Maybe will give Okonomiyaki another chance later.

Day 9: Took a JR train from Kyoto to Osaka. Impression of Osaka compared to Tokyo and Kyoto was that it was much better at providing information to tourists. Walked on huge pedestrain flyover which had many youths selling street art and stuff. Two bands were performing on the flyover itself it was really a cool experience - the fact that there were indie bands selling their own albums, allowed to perform on the street, had some crowd jumping to their music, and of course great breezy weather.

Amazingly heavy bag in hand (some stuff in Kyoto), I managed to stumble to the capsule hotel I had booked for the weekend in Osaka. This one was totally different style compared to the one in Kyoto. They had a washing machine and a dryer so I had no more excuses to recycle my clothes. Spent 2 hours getting laundry done and resting....

.... Just enough to have enough energy to hit the road again at night. Osaka was very different compared to Tokyo. The have shopping virtually everywhere in the central, north and south areas - from the top on the streets to the underground labyrinth of shopping malls! Also, spent the night roaming around again standard stuff, and took pics of many graffitti art.

Day 10: Wasted time looking for some annual water sports event there was nothing happening at all. The day was salvaged by a very interesting Bunraku pupper performance that showed Japan's deep cultural heritage. After that, decided to be a shopping tourist - now I am pretty pretty dead broke. It could have been worse if a watch I wanted badly had warranty for Msia, it could have been worse .... ~_~;

[Self] Jazz Moment in Kyoto

I shall always remember Kyoto for this supercool moment.

Making up for lost time - I hit the streets somewhere in Shikinjio though it was late and wandered around. About after 30 mins of sightseeing, lo behold there was this signboard and on top of it was a spotlight that so softly lit up a picture of Duke Ellington in just the right tone. I thought - anyone who would pay tribute to a legend like that would surely know how to run a jazz joint.

So I went to the 2nd floor and was not dissapointed at all.

Immediately loved the place - big band was playing from a record, excellent sound system, a middle aged dude staring into his drink, and behind the counter a cool dude bartender who greeted me.

The place was crammed, a wee bit chaotic but it had all the soul. A library of records crammed just above the record player behind the counter, and also on a small deck across ... a few feet above where I sat. Bartender dude found out I was from Malaysia halfway through my sake, and we chatted.


Later on into the night, another older chap came in for a beer. Bartender dude tells him I am a 'stranger' from Msia, and next thing I know the chap gives me a 'present-o' (he had left something with the records) which was a collection of his Kyoto pictures when he was 30 years younger.


I mean, how more cooler can life get? I got the man's autograph, and bought him a beer to celebrate his birthday (1 day early).

We somehow manage to keep a conversation going occasionally through broken Japanese and broken English. I then tell them I had Sadao Watanabe's autographed CD, and loved Yusuke Yamashita also. Next thing I know, bartender pulled out an earlier record of Yusuke Yamashita and it is simply wonderful. I am a bit high after mixing sake and Sapporo beer (and missing dinner) but I am totally enjoying the moment.

And that - has to be one of the best moments ever I have experienced!

Note: To avoid dude confusion, here was the dude breakdown:
1 - Middle Age Dude - who was staring into his drink and half sober throughout
2 - Bartender Dude
3- Photographer Dude
4- Keen Dude

[Self] Japan Pics Day 4-5 & Day 6-7

Pic: After that climb aｔ　Fushimi Inari Taisha , I left my biz card with some others.　Pretty sure I am the only PM from Msia who has a card at this peak. 　





Pic: Only those who are into Ranma 1/2 would know the significance of this one. I had no idea the manga was so intricately linked to Japanese culture and life.














Pic: Chilling at the Uji riverside.


Pic: An ocha shop where they roast tea, grind them, and make some of them for you to sip.

Pic: Somewhere between Yoyogi and Shinjuku, even Crayon Shinchan is doing his bit by campaigning for road safety.













Pic: Spot where I had the nap in the Imperial Gardens.














Pic: Anime advertisements at Akihabara.

Pic: Opposite the Imperial Palace, just before the office district.

Pic: Kanda Myojin.

[Self] Japan Day 6-7

Day 6: Plans to go to Kyoto in the morning delayed coz I woke late and had to pass the keys to Potato Chip. Shinkansen was an interesting ride, and actually so have all the rail rides to date. I don't know why but I love travel by rail, and especially have a biased regard for countries that have a rail culture. It's the rail deal (bad pun intended).

Night time was the best - checkout the posting about Jazz in Kyoto. Enough said the universe and everything was correct for just that point in time.

Day 7: For some reason I woke up early at 9am despite going back late around 4am-ish. Which involved me getting lost many many times even though I had 3 maps (worse then Ryoga from Ranma 1/2) to reference, and a taxi dude who sent me to the wrong area.

Avoided the more popular tourist traps in Kyoto not sure why. So I decided to go off the beaten path and went to Uji which is south of Kyoto. Uji was a totally small but cool town which was small. The town speciality was ocha! There were at least 2 streets with shops selling different kinds of tea to tea products (candy, biscuits, cake, desserts etc).

The fact that the town was charming and so beautiful also made me decide to linger a lot longer than I had expected.

After Uji, I decided to stop by Inari which had a temple called Fushimi Inari Taisha dedicated to the Goddess of Rice and Rice Wine. The temple was guarded by many many stone foxes and was deceptively huge. I thought that the main temple was somewhere on the hilltop not far from the 'base', so I kept on climbing steps and going through paths that never seemed to end. After a while I started to wonder if it would ever end. But then, from a matter of curiousity it soon became a matter of a personal quest - to simply get to the peak. Eventually after approx 650 steps and many paths I made it to a peak (counted on the way down).

Now I am at an internet cafe which is hell expensive but I need to be here to get some pics burnt, and find another place to stay if I want to extend my stay in Kyoto which I want to. Gonna check out some places where I can bunk into after this.

[Self] Japan Day 4-5

Day 4: By the end of Day 4, I could not believe I had spent 1 full day at Akihabara itself! Akihabara is my kindof place - electronics, manga, anime, geeko stuff, CDs, movies, a maid cafe or two (took a peek maybe when I get back to Tokyo will go to one) and seriously cool games with new methods of playing (like RPG, Magic Cards, and multi-player capability all meshed into one). So what can I say but I walked till my legs ached, rested, walked & ached some more, and continued to walk and ache. Well worth the full day!

Day 5: Early on had hit the Edo Museum at 0930hrs, and then took a long stroll at the Imperial Palace. Excellent weather the entire day - some sunshine and slightly chilly breeze. Highlight of the day - took of my jacket, spread it like a mat, and actually took a nap in one of the gardens in the Imperial Palace. One of the best naps ever :D

Woke up around 3pm, and tried to make it in time for the Meiji Shrine. Got lost in Yoyogi Park instead but it was a really huge and beautiful place. Then tried to make it to the Japanese Sword Museum but when I finally found them they had closed. Walking around the out of the map neighbourhood in Yoyogi-Shinjuku area, I conned myself into an expensive sushi teabreak (ask me in person); and had a pretty interesting experience at an Onsen (probably another story in person too).

[Self] Japan Day 1-3 ... with pics

Pic: Outside at the gates of Ueno Park - already its beautiful. A few more steps ahead there was a sea of sakuras in blossom. A truly magnificant sight!




Pic: Sake o nomimasu!!




Pic: Some dude in Ueno KO-ed on the alcohol. I kindof slid into the picture ;)








Pic: Cool monk chanting. In the mangas Ushio To Tora, they would play a pivotal role when fighting evil spirits and demons when the 9-tailed monster awakens again! Go monk dude!

[Self] Japan Day1-3

Japan is really an interesting place. A day by day overview:

Day 1: Landed 2030 hours. Had supper with KC at a Sushi Bar in Shinjuku. Sushi and sake was totally what this plane-weary traveller needed to perk up. As we hit Shinjuku around 0130hrs, lots of places had closed. But then there is also the other side of Shinjuku - ie its basically an interesting place with a lots of seedy joints, and rows of love hotels.

Day 2: Sakura blossoms! You gotta be here to get what the big deal is about. After a quick walk at Ginza, we went to Ueno which was packed! But heck the scenery was amazing. Admist the sakura flowers you really had the Japanese enjoying themselves - cooking, chatting, and of course - drinking. Nightime was spent at Ruppongi hit 2 clubs - one was classic-retro stuff in some small underground bar; the other was some R&B / Gangsta Rap music place on the 4th floor. Both new experiences to the chap who hardly goes clubbing.

Day 3: Went to Harajuku. This is the supposed place where many youngsters dress up to the weirdest fashions. Perhaps due to the light rain the turnout was not great, but heck it was interesting seeing some youngsters in pseudo-gothic gear (and whatever remnants of fashion they mixed it with) walking around. And there's this thing with mini luggage bags with cartwheels I have no idea what the heck that's all about. But all in all, no matter how weird, they clearly are very conscious of what they put on, and their dressing are all very elaborate. I didn't get the culture shock I was expecting, but I kindof understand this subculture more I guess.

Note:
- The legends are true! J-Babes are just plain sizzling hot.
- In 2 days due to late outings, I'd have spent RM 400 (12000Yen) on 2 taxi trips back. No wonder the capsule hotels are popular as they only charge 3000 Yen per night.