Footage from my Panasonic HDC-TM300 used to not play properly when uploaded to YouTube, but ever since YouTube upgraded to be able to play 1080P video I have been able to successfully post footage! Unfortunately my laptop's screen resolution can't go up to 1080P but I hope some of you can enjoy some of the high quality video I will now be posting! My computer is unable to edit my HD footage so it will probably be a few months before I can edit any footage I shoot. So in the mean time I will upload completely untouched clips starting with this one from the Waseda University Festival on November 7th.
I woke up to the weirdest voicemail I've had in a long time. I have Google Voice so I'm going to try out the voicemail embedding feature. Check out the message from a random San Francisco number I got:
You've got to love modern technology and how much easier it makes life. Google Voice allows me to make free calls to any type of phone in the USA and Canada from any land line or from my computer, even when using my computer here in Japan! Sending and receiving text messages is also totally free and unlimited!
I also get a single number that rings all of my numbers, and I can add and remove numbers it rings at my convenience. This feature is very good for people who are constantly using different prepaid cell phones like I am because you can still be reached at a single number that everyone knows! I would never get a regular contract phone the way I am in and out of the country all the time, and couldn't afford the $1000 a year that many of you pay.
This has nothing to do with Google Voice but I actually pay nothing for cellphones or service in the USA. I actually profit $5-$10 every three months. This is a totally free and legal process (it doesn't involve returning anything to stores)! I only get voice and text messaging, but that is more than enough for me!
I can also totally customize it so when certain people call me I can have their call only go to my "home" number, and perhaps, have a client's call go to my cell and work number.
Voicemail is extremely customizable and am able to screen calls without the calling party realizing what's going on because they continue to hear the ringing sound. I can also listen in on voicemails to see if they are worth picking up, no matter which phone I'm using! Different outgoing messages can be recorded for different people too! I can listen to, and manage voicemails online, download them in mp3 format, and share them online like I just did.
Google does its best to transcribe voicemails and instantly sends them to me as text messages and emails in case I am in a situation where I can't listen to anything (restaurant, meeting, class, etc).
I was very impressed with Judith Hill's singing at Michael Jackson's memorial, and now she's back on Lopez Tonight with the "This IS It" band putting on a great rendition of "Man in the Mirror." I love this song because it conveys the simple, yet important message of be the change you want to see in the world.
For my birthday this year my wish was to simply see somewhere new. I was in Redway at the time and asked Bullet and my dad if they wanted to go to Petrolia. Though I am a native of the Southern Humboldt County area I had never been to Petrolia.
We chose to take the route through Humboldt Redwoods State Park along Mattole Road. I once read somewhere that this route was considered to be made part of California Highway 1. It is a very beautiful drive which leads you through multiple different ecosystems. Though you might be car-sick, you will eventually make it to the coast!
Looking north
Looking south
Looking west
The beach was an experience exactly as I hoped it would be. The air was warm, nobody was around, and the surrounding area appeared generally untouched by human hands. There aren't even houses visible in the surrounding hills. Someday I would like to hike from Petrolia south to Shelter Cove along the Lost Coast Trail. Below are some pictures from 2005 when Robert and I hiked north from Shelter Cove to Big Flat, but that isn't even half way to Petrolia. We brought regular camping gear which was very heavy, and we both got hit by waves going around a point. The wet boots were probably the worst part of the hike, but waking up to see that mice had eaten a bunch of our bagels was also tragic! Though I seem to remember eating what was left of my bagel in the morning! Another memorable moment was seeing what we thought was a person and their dog far ahead of us. The dog then took off up into the mountains and when we talked to the person she said it was a fox! We were also almost totally screwed when I apparently left Robert's car's trunk open overnight in Shelter Cove. Luckily for us someone noticed and pulled the illuminating light-bulb out of his trunk and taped it to his window so his battery wouldn't die! Thank goodness for nice people.
Looking north from Big Flat
Way too much gear!
A good looking wave at Big Flat
Surfers walking from Shelter Cove to Big Flat, the furthest point visible
In August, I got an opportunity from my friend, Alan, to work on a reality/game show being shot in San Francisco. I was staying in Truckee at the time, but made the trip to the city for the week of shooting. He graciously let me stay with him in Sausalito!
Rehearsing at the Treasure Island shooting location
The show was based on penalizing contestants for their bad driving. They had a few driving challenges to do around the city, in their own cars, and the driver who did the worst got their car crushed right in front of them (that was fun to watch)!
On location in the Chinatown area
This picture leaves lots to the imagination. Has anyone ever visited for just a "private" bath?
Here's a more of the surrounding atmosphere
"Where good friends and girls meet." Sounds too good to be true.
Good deal!
A great restaurant we shot at
The girl second from the left is the owner of The House of Nanking's daughter. This picture was shot on our rehersal day. We were provided delicious food there for rehearsal and when we came to shoot!
One of the best meals I've ever had in San Francisco
Our crew eating on shooting day
Proof that I was there. Proof that I didn't wear sunscreen.
Our teas expended from pods to flowers right before our eyes!
Lombard Street on a beautiful August day
We stopped by Lombard street on the rehearsal day to scope out where were were going to shoot from. The decision was made to shoot from atop a nearby building.
San Francisco's steepest hill
22nd St at Vicksberg St is said to be San Francisco's steepest decline. It is a one-way street, which allows room for cars to park head first, as shown in the above photo. No parking is allowed on the right side. Check out video from one of the test runs:
The old man and his TV
An elderly man living in this spectacular house at 22nd and Vicksberg paid a coworker and I to take his new tv up his stairs. I asked him if I could use his bathroom, which smelled like marijuana, medicinal, of course!
Unexplainable Canadian craziness
I spotted these guys downtown drinking beers on the street around 11AM. (For the life of me I can't get this paragraph to justify left!)
Lunch with Alan once our week of work finally ended
The Monterey Historic Automobile Races was a California event that I actually had no idea existed. In a year filled with Central Coast experiences (driving Highway 1 to LA, and working in Carmel for a month), I found myself back in the area in August.
I actually began the weekend working for the telecast of the 49'ers verses Broncos game from Candlestick Park. I assisted the cameraman on the moving scissor lift and his driver. The driver was a cool guy and told me about how he invested in property in Shelter Cove a long time ago and it has yet to pay off. The best thing about that game was how at the end, when the Broncos came within one point of the 49ers with only seconds to go, the Broncos decided to go for two points. I'm sure that we all can agree that nobody wants to see a preseason game go into overtime, so they did us all a favor! I didn't get to leave until 12:30 AM and drove straight to Monterey from there.
Terry respecting a classic in the pits
My Uncle, Terry, invited me to join him at this event. He came all the way from Elko, Nevada. He graciously kept me full of car knowledge and beer during the entire weekend.
And they're off!
This is a picture from an actual race. Cars from the same era would race each other, and as you can see, this was one of the "oldest" classes of cars. One of the coolest things about the old cars was how they sounded, and how the sounds changed with different generations of cars. Some of the old cars sounded exactly like airplanes!
A view from one of the towers
Some shots from the pits
Porche Panamera, the official car of the race
This big sports sedan had yet to be released in the USA, but Terry and I got a chance to get in and see how it feels. It is a very luxurious inside, and I'm sure it's awesome to drive. Those of you who don't know much about cars (like me) may not realize that this is Porsche's first 4-door car in a very long time!
Porsche cars are usually this size:
Somebody brought their crazy custom truck just for show
At night we went and saw the cars at the downtown auction
Checking out these cars, and the people who bid on them is worth going to Monterey to see in itself. Admission is free, and there is a lot to keep you busy!
McLaren F1
In high school my friends and I would look up McLaren F1s on eBay because we heard that they were the fastest, street legal car.
Believe it or not, it is forbidden to put a dead body in a locker at Tokyo Station according to signs on the walls. I guess this rules out the option of a five-hundred yen funeral.
I think what makes these parties free is the price paid by vendors to sell at the party. A big room on one of the hotel's floors gets filled with products for sale. Most of the items are artistic, unique and eclectic.
Shirts with protruding designs
A trendy, wall mounted tissue case
Let's hear it again for free beer and wine!!
Last night's Halloween at Claska!
Last night Miho, my German roommate Alex, his girlfriend, Asako, his friend, Tim, and I, went to a party at Claska together. It wasn't a costume party at all, but I really felt weird going to a party on October 31st without doing something out of the ordinary so I stole Ryan's western shirt, and wore it with an old had that an elderly man gave him when he was sunburned in a small, coastal town. I then bought the mask for one-hundred yen at the party! Unfortunately, there were probably less than ten people dressed up at the whole party. Oh well, more attention for me!!
At gakugei daigaku station
I was the closest to having a costume on in our group. Alex attempted to dress like a "pimp" by putting on some of Ryan's regular clothes. Asako was dressed in a nice dress, and Miho was business-casual as she went to the party straight from work. Tim ended up in some devil horns, but I'm not sure how he got them.
Alex and Asako at dinner
Miho and I at dinner
Tim on the roof, looking at Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower from the roof
The roof was the last place we hung out before deciding to leave. As we passed by the reception desk I remembered that I forgot my jacket at the first party I ever went to at Claska and asked if they still had it. Luckily for me continued hanging on to it since April! Miho and I made our way to the train and got a reminder of how crazy Saturday night trains are in Tokyo. The cars were full of drunk people, one of which had vomit all over its floor. Miho unexpectedly ended up with Alex's hat on at the end of the night, but as expected she fell asleep in her seat!
All blogs found on this site written before 2009 have been imported from MySpace. Some may not look too pretty, and some of the pictures won't enlarge, but it is a small price to pay to not have to deal with MySpace's primitive blog setup anymore!
I recently graduated San Francisco State University. I majored in Japanese and minored in International Relations, and spent a year studying at Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University. I grew up in a very rural area of Humboldt County California. That remote setting built up a lot of ambition in me to get out and chase my dreams. Thanks for reading!
