tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67009912009-07-03T02:17:37.878+09:00yes, you mayfeitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.comBlogger1012125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-5733088724504325982009-06-30T23:53:00.000+09:002009-07-01T00:29:49.696+09:00

I've been in and out of work over the last week, missing time to visit Mako and the baby, particularly to be there when they checked out yesterday morning. Can't say it's any easier to get myself in the mood to teach these days, but at this point I credit the unpleasant weather and the fact that this semester is practically over. The fact that I missed a couple days here and there adds to the

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-36274897796484123072009-06-26T16:31:00.003+09:002009-06-28T12:22:15.677+09:00

This may surprise some of you, but I am having trouble fulling comprehending the sudden death of Michael Jackson. His music was an enormous part of my life for many years and the idea that he is gone at the age of fifty, well, it just doesn't sit right. I know everybody dies, but icons of this magnitude don't go quietly. Their departure rips a chunk out of everyone who ever looked up to them.I

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-37229189408757403712009-06-25T20:34:00.002+09:002009-06-25T21:16:35.446+09:00

So I've got this baby to take care of now. What am I going to call it?Quick note: you might have missed it, but I posted the full story of my son's birth right here. I wanted the post to be dated on his birthday (which is when I started writing it, honestly) but then when I made this quickie post to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Batman, the other post kind of slipped down on the page a

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-1876782554084551242009-06-23T23:40:00.006+09:002009-06-24T00:03:27.273+09:00

It's been twenty years since Batman was released in theaters. I remember begging my Mom to take me to an afternoon matinee after Children's Theater to see it and it blew me away. I watched it again on Saturday night and it didn't disappoint, although the new Nolan Batman flicks are noticeably better. Not that Keaton v. Nicholson doesn't rock, but the storytelling is just light-years ahead of the

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-34907403137303835772009-06-22T23:49:00.001+09:002009-06-24T22:30:31.350+09:00

If there's one thing movies and television shows have taught me, the birth of a child is the greatest day of a person's life. Sadly, it seems Hollywood is a habitual liar because I felt that the twenty-four hours I spent in a hospital waiting for my son to be born was one of the worst days of my life. Thankfully it all ended well.Mako shook me awake around 2:45AM on Sunday morning, clutching

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-80514962247458099202009-06-19T20:57:00.005+09:002009-06-19T23:16:34.061+09:00

It's Friday night again and yes, we are still childless. I'm waiting with Mako at her parents' house, just like I did last weekend when I thought we were done with this process. Will the baby be born this weekend? Maybe, but at this point the doctors are just saying the same thing every week: "The baby will come soon." Thanks, Doc!Besides not sleeping well, a major result of this baby anxiety has

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-22054706002489869022009-06-18T18:50:00.005+09:002009-06-18T21:02:19.168+09:00

I can't sleep. For someone with a nickname like "feitclub," this is very bad news. I'm not talking to myself (at least, not more than usual) and I haven't started plotting against society or anything, but without any self-help groups to cavalierly drop in on, I'm not sure how to correct this problem.Oh don't worry! I mean, if I lay down in bed I will eventually fade out, but it takes a very long

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-80419747652322715842009-06-15T22:22:00.004+09:002009-06-15T23:21:33.021+09:00

As someone who spends a lot of his free time furiously pressing buttons as a form of entertainment, I feel I must complain about video game makers forcing me to furiously press buttons.I sense your confusion. Allow me to elaborate: even though playing video games means pressing buttons on the controller to interface with the software, that's not all it is. Playing video games is an extremely

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-80847526092372172392009-06-14T20:17:00.004+09:002009-06-14T21:14:18.422+09:00

So yeah, what was that news everyone wanted to know about? Oh right, the baby...Well, the bad news is there is no baby news, really. Mako visited the doctor on Friday and they said "wow, this baby will be here any day now." I spent the whole weekend with her at her parents' in the hopes of being there for the big moment, but the big moment never came. Now it's Sunday night and I'm back home,

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-50134883074208986492009-06-13T13:30:00.006+09:002009-06-13T16:55:19.125+09:00

That was the strangest ending to a baseball game I've ever seen in my life, and that applies to the post-game coverage as much as the incredible on-field blooper!I'm with my in-laws again, sitting next to Mako on their couch and wondering when our son will grace us all with his presence. Much to my delight, NHK decided to show us the first Yankees-Mets game of the year this morning. Their

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-3487061377762556122009-06-09T09:40:00.002+09:002009-06-10T22:14:49.050+09:00

This image demonstrates the biggest problem with English education in Japan: most teachers have no faith in their students.This is a really straightforward flash card. The image is unambiguous and the words are highly visible. Why did someone feel it needed more "explanation" and thus scrawl in Japanese on the right side? How does that improve its educational value?What's worse is that the

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-68347852662629958242009-06-08T23:05:00.002+09:002009-06-08T23:15:47.424+09:00

So it seems everyone has baby questions for me and the answer to all of them is "soon." The baby will be born soon, Mako will enter the hospital soon, we will formally declare the baby's name soon, and I'm going to be pushed one step closer to adulthood soon. What I can't say is "when" because we simply don't know. But it's soon, that's for sure.I spent Friday night with Mako at her parents'

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-26065395090296307382009-06-02T21:35:00.002+09:002009-06-02T22:25:50.335+09:00

I may be a month late to the party, thanks to the largely arbitrary international rollouts of American movies, but I am finally ready to talk about the new Star Trek film, Star Trek: The New Hotness.Seriously, I couldn't believe all the hype I was hearing for this movie from across the Pacific. Apparently everyone loves it save for Roger Ebert, who only sort of liked it. New fans, old fans, it

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-83658580717997955332009-06-01T20:26:00.003+09:002009-06-01T22:28:28.987+09:00

For my 1000th blog post, I need to ask you readers a question: do I share too much?I hope your answer is "no" because I don't feel that way at all, but I just recently ran into some Japanese Internet issues that forced me to think about what it is that I do, digitally speaking.For starters, I picked this domain name in 2004 because it is a pun featuring my own last name. I subsequently went on to

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-87887137799616493942009-05-25T16:13:00.002+09:002009-05-25T18:54:11.121+09:00

I came across this cartoon in school today. It was part of a poster about the importance of a healthy diet. The caption at the bottom reads: "Vigorously maintain intestinal activity and you will stimulate bowel movements."The best part, of course, is the kid coming out of the toilet with a humongous grin on his face, declaring "[I feel] refreshed!" or possibly "No problem!" Either way, this word

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-45050906839060421432009-05-24T18:48:00.005+09:002009-05-24T19:49:36.169+09:00

I think Japan may be getting over its "new flu" fears. The people are clearly less rattled than their government thinks they should be. Karaoke establishments here in Kansai have started turning away younger customers who have been taking advantage of the school closings to exercise their vocal cords. On the other hand, stores still report that these flimsy masks are flying off the shelves. I

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-79273034620931707812009-05-20T13:46:00.006+09:002009-05-20T14:17:53.330+09:00

My friend Richard, bless his heart, lives alone in Japan. We talk a lot via Skype, typically while watching sumo or insane Japanese variety programs, but Richard is more of a gamer than he is a television fan. He has been encouraging me to find time to play games with him online and I've kind of been avoiding him, mostly because our Resistance 2 sessions earlier this year put my wife into a

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-75139921859909584712009-05-18T16:11:00.004+09:002009-05-18T16:29:23.954+09:00

It's finally happened. Swine Flu, A/H1N1, whatever name you prefer...the infection has crossed the Pacific and entered the heart of Japan. In fact, the first domestic case was confirmed right in my metropolitan backyard: Kobe. Within days there were reports of more cases of the "new flu" (新型インフルエンザ as the Japanese call it) in both Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, particularly in high schools where

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-70454696806281822242009-05-14T21:46:00.004+09:002009-05-14T22:40:05.286+09:00

Looks like I picked the wrong week to start writing again.First of all, Happy Birthday to The Trout. I know you were just here and I did pay for those burgers, but I still feel like I owe you a respectable birthday gift. After all, you didn't "keep" those burgers for more than an hour, tops.Secondly, I had no time to sit down and write about stuff last week, but it's looking like I've got no time

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-26014810643615611952009-05-11T16:59:00.003+09:002009-05-13T18:18:16.767+09:00

And just like that, another Golden Week has come and gone. I never thought it would end, honestly. We all say "time flies when you're having fun" but somehow last week was a roller-coaster of laughs and chills that seemed to take forever. I'm sitting in school right now for what feels like the first time in years.Unfortunately, I'm at work while my close friend The Trout is still in Japan. He

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-7420575395308583022009-05-10T01:14:00.004+09:002009-05-10T01:32:52.538+09:00

As recorded earlier this evening and posted to my Twitter, here is a look at one man trying to earn a free meal simply by eating way more food than any one man should in a half-hour sitting.Wow, I am certainly excited at the prospect of eating all this food!(Fifteen minutes to go) Hmm, I need a moment to reflect on what I have achieved and what tasks still lay ahead.(Four minutes to go) WHAT HAVE

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-52015815645165800642009-05-01T18:09:00.010+09:002009-05-02T22:47:04.883+09:00

Be advised: my buddy The Trout is presently making his way from Tokyo to Osaka. He will be here until next Tuesday (as in more than a week from now) and I suspect I will have little time for writing blog posts. So keep your eyes on my Twitter or my Facebook page to see what we're up to in the meantime. Catch you folks after that. FEIT...out.seriously, that's it. Later.

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-71995261852526306852009-04-30T20:29:00.000+09:002009-04-30T21:17:39.141+09:00

Thirteen years ago, I sat down in a campus auditorium to watch The Usual Suspects. The film had been in theaters for months and I heard good things about it, but aside from knowing the actors' names and seeing a few bizarre television ads where characters screamed meaningless words like "kaiser sozay" at each other, I hadn't a clue what the movie was actually about. I enjoyed nearly everything

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-38104913815402186382009-04-27T21:07:00.003+09:002009-04-27T21:34:52.343+09:00

Two stories in the news this week have me questioning a basic premise that modern society seems to run on: being naked in public is wrong.Depending on your location in the world and your fondness for viral videos, both stories may be unfamiliar to you. The biggest news story of the week in Japan has been the arrest of Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a member of the phenomenally popular pop group (redundant!)

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6700991.post-31422940540535485502009-04-25T22:56:00.000+09:002009-04-25T23:14:39.083+09:00

This week went pretty fast. Being thrown under the bus can make time fly, I suppose.OK, that's an unfair exaggeration, but it was a long week that left me little time for writing because I had to prepare most of my lessons on the fly. When I made it through last week without any lesson plans, I thought things would be different this week. The only difference was that I had already taught a few

feitclubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858635943881534685noreply@blogger.com0