Friday morning commute

Cruising through traffic listening to XM radio. The 90's station, which has its on-days and off-days, was having an on-day. I heards songs I forgot I liked from artists I forgot I liked -- Sarah McLaughlin, Boyz II Men, Ace of Base, Edward Cain. I marveled at the brilliance of the XM UI designer who made the up arrow sometimes go to the next higher station, and sometimes to the next lower station. I was so caught up in the music and the driving that I missed my exit. I couldn't make a U-turn, so I turned left and happened to run into some construction work. So much gravel and tar and other construction renmants went through my car that I felt like I was giving it an enema. Because of said construction work, I couldn't head back to the direction of the highway and I found myself in the city next to the city where I wanted to be. But it was ok, because I heard this sparkling gem of a song. Funny how things work out that way.

[ Listening to: Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away ]

I love you Adam Carolla

Last night I saw Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew do a Loveline-style question-and-answer session at Stanford. It was 2 hours of non-stop laughter. I have never laughed so hard for so long. Ok, I know it sounds like I'm exaggerating, but my friend who is NOT in love with Adam Carolla agrees with me!

Their stage performance was better than their radio show for several reasons. No commercials breaks or forced small talk with guests -- just 100% pure unadulterated Adam goodness. With no possibility of interruption, he had the flexibility to launch into his comedic routine at any time. I think hearing the audience react to his jokes encouraged him to take them further than he normally would. Storytelling became an art form. Every gross detail, repetition of gross detail, and punchline was given to wring every last drop of laughter from the audience. Last but not least, we were treated to several Adam poses. The Receiving Pose. The That-was-great-sex-here-let-me-flex-in-front-of-the-bathroom-mirror Pose. For those times when you're in a hurry, the abridged Quick-flex-on-the-way-to-the-fridge Pose.

The Receiving Pose: "Some guys may be able to give
better than me, but I can receive like no other"
Adam, I will miss your comedic genius, your razor-sharp wit, and your seemingly endless supply of poop stories.

I will never wash this cheek again

[ Listening to: Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love ]

One night in Tokyo

I'm still putting my Tokyo album together, but in the meantime I'll write about our most exciting night: the night of clubbing + Tsukiji fish market.

We went to a club called Obidient in the Omotesando district. Cover was a steep $30 and included 3 (extremely weak) drinks. The inside of the club was similar to an American club, but with tiny improvements -- a recurring theme in Japan. For example, instead of a coat check that you had to wait in line forever for, they had lockers. Their menu of drinks was clearly displayed on LCD screens throughout the bar. In a small room in the basement, a manicurist busily worked on girls' nails.

This club played the most eclectic mix of music, ever. Old-school hip hop, punk, top 40, Jpop -- we heard it all.

Matako, Dui, Fei, Christina, Ken
With our drinks in hand we head to the dancefloor, just in time to see these girls take to the stage:

no Tokyo clubbing experience is complete without
girls gettin' down with large bottles of alcohol
After taking this picture, I was notified that I was not allowed to take pictures in the club. So within literally 15 minutes of arriving at the club we had broken three rules: we took pictures, brought drinks onto the dance floor, and one of our guys tried to dance on the stage. But it's ok because we're gaijin. And because that is the type of thing I do to enhance your xanga-viewing pleasure.

We finally left the club at 3am. We decided to go for some tasty ramen in Shibuya while waiting for the subway to open. On the walk there, we were treated to the first (and only) snowfall I saw while I was there. Somewhere along the line I managed to convince Christina, Fei, and Ken to come with me to the Tsukiji fish market after filling up on ramen.

When we got to the subway station, we encountered a crowd of people waiting for it to open. Keep in mind that this is one of many entrances to Shibuya station. Since it was 5am on a Saturday morning, I can only assume that these people are fellow revelers of Tokyo nightlife.

Shibuya station opens at 5am
Tsukiji is rows and rows of:

a stall at Tsukiji
Unfortunately we didn't know where the main auction area was. And we were too tired and cold to sit down and have some fresh sashimi -- next time! Finally we reached the end of this exhausting but incredibly fun night.

the poor girls are sleeping on the subway after
having stayed up all night... OR ARE THEY?

[ Listening to: Postal Service - Nothing Better ]

Gadget update #2

A couple changes since my last gagdet post:

mp3 player
I had been holding off on this for monetary reasons. But today I saw the new iPod mini and I am in love. While normal iPod's are too big for my tastes, the iPod mini is small and cute and has more than enough space for my meagre mp3 collection. And it looks like it works with Linux. And it looks small enough that it could be my primary mp3 player. (Ignore what I said earlier about having 2 mp3 players; I am a minimalist at heart.)

digital camera
Earlier I spoke of having 2 cameras, now I have zero. My G1, which has served me faithfully for 2 1/2 years, died in Japan. (That's why it's taking me so long to post my Japan pics.) Also, I didn't see any super-small cameras in Tokyo. I am confused because a year ago, someone showed me a super-small camera he got from Japan. I guess I was hallucinating. So, because I feel like I am not in a position to drop a couple hundred bucks on a new camera, I will be camera-less for the time being, unless Canon can fix my camera.

XM radio
XM radio, I shake my fist at you. Why don't you play more house? I still love you though.

"carved in cursive with a table fork"

I just got back from Tokyo and it was a blast. However, it will take me a while to set up my Tokyo photo album. Just consider that it took me 6 months to set up my Loveboat album, and also consider how long an ice age is. In the mean time, here are some things I do and don't miss about Tokyo.

I miss:
- the incredibly super friendly people everywhere
- the well-dressed girls. Sure they all dressed the same, but at least they were all impeccably dressed.
- the small portions
- the energy and the lights and the bustling crowds

I don't miss:
- the lack of space -- stores, restaurants, sidewalks, you name it
- smoke
- the energy and the lights and the bustling crowds

Show review

Chinese dance
The Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company blends traditional Chinese dance with modern dance. This style of dance didn't have some of the elements I enjoy about traditional Chinese dance -- precise handling of props, blatant coyness, feminine gracefulness -- but it was good to see something different. During the video highlights of Lily Cai's dance company, which showed some traditional dances, I could imagine that after seeing enough traditonal dance performances a modern take would be refreshing. My favorite parts were: the part when the dancers stood up on columns and waved extra-long ribbons, and the "Bamboo Girls" dance in which the dancers exuded an unmistakable sensuality.

hip hop
The SF Hip Hop Dancefest was off the heazy! Fo shizzle! It had the best breakdancing I've ever seen, best popping, and excellent choreography and staging and lighting. My favorite part was the end of the Breakbeat Assassins routine. They had four guys on the stage, frozen in different poses. The narrator would say "...and locking came from New York in the 70's" (or something like that), and a spotlight would shine on one guy who would demonstrate locking. I finally found out what rocking, locking, and popping were. And the breakdancing I saw that night -- specifically the spinning-on-head parts -- would have Newton turning over in his grave because there was some definite defying of laws of physics going on. Newtonian physics, special relativity, general relativity, breakdanceativity.

taiko
I also saw San Francisco Taiko Dojo celebrate their 35th anniversary. For those of you who don't know, taiko is Japanese drumming. I was struck by how graceful some of the drumming was. I can't wait to see this in Japan. I have never seen the audience get so involved at a non-concert show. During the finale, the audience (and the performers) was cheering along the various soloists.

---

Needless to say, I'm grateful to live in an area where I can experience so many different things.

The Lily Cai show was the 15th anniversary, the hip hop the 5th, and the taiko the 35th. Is 2003 a lucky year, or are people rounding to 5? Hmm...

Gagdet update

mp3 player
This is next on my agenda. I don't know what it is about me and mp3 players, but I go through them like Michael Jackson goes through pubescent boys. I currently have one with 256M of memory, it's small size comes in handy when jogging. But it occured to me I could get one with 5G+ of memory and fit my entire mp3 collection on it (~3G). This would be useful on long plane trips to Japan. Also, sometimes I want to listen to a specific song -- something I could actually do with my entire collection at my fingertips.

digital camera
I also want a second camera. I guess this is a recurring theme... I'm just now realizing that I don't need one gagdet to do everything, I can have two of a gagdet for different purposes. I'm happy with my Canon G1, but I want a small camera that I can carry around with me everywhere. It occured to me that I can get a cutting-edge one in Akihabara (the electronics district in Tokyo). I'll have one so small, you won't be able to see it! People will be wondering why I'm holding my hands up in the air.

XM satellite radio
I've had this for maybe 6 months and I'm very happy it.

palm pilot
I've had this for maybe 5 years and I'm very happy with it. It's outdated, but I don't need any of the new features that newer PDA's have.

cell phone
I've had this for a year and I'm pleased with it. It's small and pleasing to the eye. Again, I feel like I don't need any of the extra functionality that newer phones provide.

Haiku

O, runaway grape
Never to be seen again
Better life for you

Halloween: The Sequel

Coming Fall 2004

Halloween

On the left, we have Spencer in his much-antipicated follow up to last year's Meat Necklace, wearing Meat Skirt.

I am Winona Ryder from Beetlejuice. I didn't need a mask for this outfit, but was making one anyways. Apparently the mask turned out to be very scary.... muhahaha. Noone recognized me but that's ok, it was fun to be a goth girl for a day.

The m&m with the sexy legs is my other roommate Ruddy.