set me free why don't you babe?

"it's for the orympics. it's a torch."

"when are the orympics coming here?"

"dude, 1968."

"why is it sideways? also, that building is NOT from 1968."

"dude, the wind is blowing the flame. that's why it's sideways. and what else is it for? it's from the '60's."

"dude, that building is not 40 years old."

"then why does it have that sideways flame on top of it?"

things that are underrated:

lists
short hair
the avalanches
tight jeans
good haircuts
staying up all night
hi tops
steel guitars
details
yelling

is it for this i have hunted?

the other night i saw the most romantic thing i've seen since i've been in tokyo. and for me, you know, this is like "heartbeat city" or whatever. but as i was leaving the train station the other night, a young couple, about my age, drunk-in-love, came running up the 'down' escalator. it was crowded, and most of the people in front of me were annoyed or offended or something. but the two kids were all smiles. and i think, as they pushed by me, that they appreciated my whole-hearted laughther. i loved it, i loved every bit of it, and i can seriously say that it was probably my favorite thing i've seen since being here.

my umbrella got stolen

at heartrand the other night. that's ok, i guess. it was broken anyway. but i liked it. that's probaly why i liked it. 500 yen at 7-11.

paul and i ditched school and went to asakusa (pronounced "asaksa") monday. it was pretty badass, for whatever reason.

you should know better.

so, when i said that i "might" be in over my head with the half-korean girl, aka banban-san, aka i-know-her-name-san-but-i-don't-want-to-publish-it, what i really meant to say was that i "am" in over my head with her. i ran into her again tonight, and, of course, she played it exactly like you would expect: talked to me politely, smiled at me from across the room whenever she caught my eye, whispered to me that she was going to a club later, etc. in an attempt to play it cool, i dipped without saying goodbye. smooth? insecure? i don't know. she's got me so twisted. simon-san wasn't having it: "nononono, i'm not hearing that shit tonight. no." "forget her," he said. but i can't.

why do i put myself in these situations? because i love it. i can't explain it. i'm a sucker for players. she plays every dude there. at least i know the game, right? the rest don't "get it." but i still go back for more, you know? she and i aren't done. not yet. and she knows it.

it's gonna take an airplane.

it's gonna take an airplane
to get me off the ground.
i don't blame anyone who isn't sticking around,
'cause when you stick around (when you stick around!)
people like to put things in the ground.

now in my
evil empire i
am going to be a star in the night sky
above. "so you think this is love?"
yes, i guess so,
at least something to make it from...

dressed like a dream dreamt by lola magazine,
baby you were born to be seen.
and art's just the start!
now step inside the widowmaker
and listen to your heart!
always 'the play', never 'the thing'...

(submarines don't mind spending their time in the ocean...)

a city of contrasts.

my apartment. my kitchen, my room.

rock night at a "secret" bar

don't worry, that's a wigpiece on yukio and simon.

diiirrrrk!

finally. that's a good look for him. i thought maybe JT would win the three-point contest, but i'm glad it was dirk. i don't think i'm too biased to credibly say that the mavs are serious contenders this season. look for it in may.

japanese supreme court.

denny's.

yeah, they have denny's here. and yes, i do frequent it, but only "after hours."

tsukiji fish market.

stay another season

last night i saw the moon for the first time since i've been here. and that's not because it's been cloudy or because it's too bright or because there are buildings in the way. it's because i never looked up. it's because i've been too self-absorbed to see anything that's not right in front of me, anyone that doesn't drink where i drink, that can't smile back at me from across the room.

but seeing it grounded me. it slammed me back down to earth. and i needed it. it stirred in me a mix of emotions, none of which i've had since being here: isolation, humility, nostalgia, sadness. but in the same way that it was humbling it was also comforting. given that my life here is largely nocturnal, it was nice to realize that the same moon that watches over me on familiar summer nights in texas is peering down at me on the other side of the world.

what if a comet hit?

"you know what i think about everytime i'm walking in a huge mob of japanese people on the sidewalk? what if a comet hit or whatever and turned everyone into zombies? we'd be fucked. i mean, good luck finding a shotgun in this country. and i'm probably not going to be smashing people's heads in with a 2x4, you know?"

"yeah, but wouldn't that be a pretty awesome way to go out?"

motherfuckers gonna drop the pressure.

i've rediscovered dance music since being here, and i've been thinking about it a lot. it's always been a part of me, but recently it's taken on a new meaning. i think maybe it's because i've finally allowed myself to breathe, to feel, to know i'm alive. i don't know what it is about this place or this time in my life, but maybe i'm finally growing into my personality, or maybe i finally have some sense of who i am or what i'm doing, for the first time ever.

admittedly 90% of it is rubbish, but most of what i've been exposed to here is so so good. and when dance music is good, it's invincible. it's euphoria. to borrow from a record review, there are songs that "remind us that sometimes dance music can solve all the world's problems, if only for as long as one rushy build."

i think it's an appropriate soundtrack to my time here. i was telling a friend that i love it here, i love what i'm doing here, but that i'm aware enough to know how unrealistic my life here is. if i were anything other than a student almost done with school, living on credit and leaving in 4 months, my life here would be completely different. "i know," he said, "that's what makes it so awesome. it's fleeting, it's one last party before we start work n september. before we become zombies." we're living on borrowed time, so we make every minute of every day count. it's one long "rushy build." and i've never felt so invincible in my life.

yes! i am a long way from home.

the last two weeks have been pretty epic. here's a bit of a recap:

last weekend our friend yukio-san met us and took us to some local bars we would have never found on our own (no signs, no english). the first one was called "horror bar." it has all this sci-fi paraphenalia -- heads in jars, mickey mouse hands, star wars figurines, etc. i've never had a white russian like they had there -- it's hard for me to describe, but when it hits your lips, well... that night yukio stayed out until 8am. after scoping the bar tab i decided it was time to go home.

the next one was in someone's living room. seriously. there were a few couches and two turntables and some really huge speakers and a bar near the wall. it was pretty rad except for a drunken kiwi that tried to steal yukio's cigarettes and asked if america was "really free." the next bar was "ultra super lounge." according to yukio-san it's a "secret bar." it was pretty kickass too, but it wasn't very crowded. apparently that's a function of it being "secret." it was rock night and these japanese dj kids were blaring american punk. there were a lot of people passed out on couches waiting for the first train (5:30am or so).

meeting yukio-san was probably the best thing that has happened to us since we've been here. he always meets us at our izakaya [think neighborhood bar/restaurant] on friday nights and is down for whatever.

heartrand has been pretty consistent lately. i think we went 5 days in a row at one point. it's always awesome and the staff knows/loves us. weeknights are huge there because we can hang out later than the salaryman set. the crowd is pretty intolerable, but that really works in our favor. on wednesday night i met a half-korean flight attendant that just quit her job. she dragged me out of heartland and kept me out at a [terrible yet amazingly fun] dance club until 6am. i might be in a bit over my head with her - she stole my heart, but she was very nice about it. she even got me a cab home.

i'm trying my best to be as respectful and reserved as i can while i'm a visitor here. but sometimes it feels good to relax about it. picture this: two redneck gaijin, one from texas and the other from georgia, standing in front of the 7-11 shotgunning budweisers. fatboy slim says "halfway between the gutter and the stars." i think that's probably about right.

paul, simon, jason, and i booked our tickets to thailand for spring break. 10 days in phuket and bangkok. i was pushing hard for vietnam but it was going to be a lot more expensive. part of me is a little concerned about the relentless debauchery i'm sure we'll encounter. the other part of me can't wait for it. i'm usually the voice of reason, but since getting to tokyo i've been anything but.

seitsebun. [or something like that].

to celebrate "seitsebun" our sensei took us on a fieldtrip last friday. she described it to us as a japanese mardi gras. but i think that was kind of misleading. im still unclear on what the holiday is about, but it involved going to a temple and having monks throw soybeans and candy [and tangerines] into a crowd of people. it had something to do with warding off evil spirits by throwing beans, but that would make us, the crowd, the "devil," and okada-san promised us that wasn't the case.

atmos.

so far my favorite sneaker spot. nikes from floor to ceiling. i've been in there so many times they laugh when i come in. but in the friendliest way possible. they are the nicest staff in tokyo. note the airmax bubble that covers the [whole] floor.

snow day.

holy shit.

it was recently brought to my attention that i may or may not be competing in the olympics. it looks like i've been caught.

paul-san. simon-san.

heartrand.

the supreme court of japan.

simon, paul, john, jason. the grand bench of the supreme court of japan.

night of the hunter