So we've been writing this blog for near on half a year now. I've been having a great time and I'm sure Eric has too. Now, my question is, is there anyone out there? Apart from the friends I have scattered about here and there, who actually reads this? I know there are quite a bit of you out there, I've seen the logs.

Well, if you do read this, do me a favor and drop me a line. Let me know what you think. You can either sign the guestbook or send me some Email.

If you come across anything interesting on the net while you are doing your surfing, send that my way too. I'm hoping to have quite a little community started up here soon.

Well, that's it for now. Have a great night and thank you for your support!

Deserted Farms in Black and White

Some beautiful pictures of deserted farms in Iceland.

Eric Drooker

Quite honestly, this is some of the finest graphics artwork I have ever seen. If I can get ahold of one of his books, I'm going to buy it right away.

I am completely mesmerized by this webpage. Wow!

My daughters say the funniest things. When I get home at night, after a long day at the office, I sometimes rough-house with them a little bit. Their favorite game (and mine I suppose) is me pretending to be a monster while chasing them around the house. I give a big, deep growl and of course they shriek and yell while I chase them from room to room. When I finally catch them, I wrestle with them on the ground and tickle them some and we start the whole exercise all over again.

One day while we were doing this, I bent down to give my oldest daughter a kiss on the cheek. She looked at me sternly and with both hands on her hips exclaimed "Monsters don't give kisses"! For some reason, that struck me as rather funny. She has since taught the phrase to her younger sister and now they both never miss a chance to tell me "Monsters don't give kisses" in their mockingly angry voices.

I don't know why, but I wrote a little story/poem about it and I now read it to them almost every night. They love it, and that, of course, does wonders for my ego. So, here it is:

Monsters play with your socks
And mess up the dishes
They like to bake cakes
That taste quite delicious
They may give you a hug
They may grant you three wishes
But no matter what,
Monsters don't give kisses!

I don't understand
What makes them so vicious
When you pucker your lips
Their smiles turn to hisses
It seems pretty mean
It looks quite malicious
But no matter what,
Monsters don't give kisses!

Now, I once knew a girl
And her sister you see
One was named Jordan
The other Zoe
They always wore smiles
And laughed with real glee
And they knew a big monster
Named McGunther McGee

Now, McGunther McGee
Was a monster to see
And though he looked gruff
He was nice as could be
They played everyday
Till the sun reached to trees
But when it came to good byes
McGunther McGee would flee, you see

It's true it seems
At the end of the day
McGunther McGee
Would just run away
Whatever was wrong
He just would not say
Even though the girls
Begged him to stay

Now why did McGunther
Run away that way?
Well, when it comes to monsters
It's quite hard to say
But, I have an idea
It came to me one day
It's sure to explain McGunther's
Unusual ways

You see,

Goodbye time is always
The time to give kisses
And kisses to monsters
Are a terrible business
It causes quite a stir
It was quite the crises
Cause kisses give monsters
BIG ITCHY RASHES!

So...

A monster will play with your socks
And mess up the dishes
They like to bake cakes
That taste quite delicious
They may give you a hug
They may grant you three wishes
But no matter what,
Monsters ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, don't EVER give kisses!

-Justin M. Stoddard (Copyright 24 July, 2003)

— Justin M. Stoddard

911, The Game

I really can't tell if this is for real or not. If it is real, I can't imagine it making any money. Perhaps it is a hoax. If so, it is a good one. Nothing plays on American's sensibilities like 911.

There is a third option I suppose. Perhaps this is intended as some sort of online art gallery with the viewers as willing, gullible participants. Hmmm, I just don't know. Is this an act of genius or the worst case of bad taste ever to be inflicted upon the public?

Whatever it is, expect the major news outlets to get ahold of it soon. And with the public outcry that's sure to follow, you can be sure that our brave elected officials will be calling for new laws, investigations, censorship, ad infinitum...

Flag Desecration?

Aren't the Republicans trying to get a Constitutional amendment passed to prevent things like this?

I don't know about you, but this picture speaks volumes to me.

Thou Roguish Pottle-deep Ratsbane!

My highschool English teacher once told us that the mark of an educated person is the ability to insult a hapless individual without them even knowing it.

I wonder if she had the Shakespearian insult page in mind.

Now, go away because Thou art a very ragged Wart.

World's Smallest Political Quiz

The world's smallest political quiz is a pretty good way to determine where exactly you fall on the political spectrum.

I've taken it many times over the years and thankfully the answer is always the same:

Libertarians are self-governors in both personal and economic matters. They believe government's only purpose is to protect people from coercion and violence. They value individual responsibility, and tolerate economic and social diversity.

Weapons Of Mass Stupidity

Back in the day I used to watch Fox News from time to time. At the time, it really seemed like a breath of fresh air. Here was a station that told it like it was, or so I thought. It only took about two episodes of the O'Reilly Factor to cure me of any belief that Fox News actually practiced journalism. I'm cured. In fact, I don't even watch TV anymore as I prefer to get my news from either the radio or the Internet.

HAL CROWTHER of creativeloafing.com has written a damning editorial directed at Fox News.

It's the inviolable first rule of democracy that all politicians will praise the wisdom of the people -- an effusive flattery that intensifies when they ask "the people" to swallow something exceptionally inedible. What the people never hear from anyone, or from anyone with further ambitions, is the truth. If a public figure wishes to leave the stage forever, a sound strategy is to offer his fellow citizens a candid and disparaging assessment of their intelligence...

Read the rest here.

Cultural Revolution Propaganda Posters

Being a Chinese Linguist, I'm pretty much facinated with the events of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I even bought Mao's Little Red Book during my visit to China in 1999.

Here is a great collection of vintage Cultural Revolution era posters. And don't worry, they are accompanied by an English translation.

Speaking of Propaganda Posters...

Soviet era propaganda posters. There is even an option to send a "Soviet Ecard" to your buddies.

This site is not captioned in English.

Optical Illusion

It Looks Like it's Moving, But it's Not.

Hit List!

Are you on the RIAA hit list?

If you use Kazaa at all, you'd better check out this list of users who have been issued subpoenas for downloading music.

Although this seems pretty serious, and for those caught up in it I'm sure it is, it really looks like the last dying breath of an old dinosaur. I wonder where it will all end...

Heroic Family Fights City Hall...And Wins!

Judge rules controversial treehouse to stay aloft

The Welch family (clockwise, from below), mom Mary, Cooper, 1, dad Scot, Shelby, 8, Riley, 4, and Tucker, 6, enjoy the good news handed down by Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green on Wednesday allowing the treehouse to stand.

The city of Clinton contends a $5,000 treehouse built by Scot and Mary Welch for their children in the front yard of their Kitchings Street home violates city ordinances and should be removed.

"What began as a place for child play has turned into a war zone of wills," Green said in her opinion. "The battle cry involved the issue of whether the city can blow the children's playhouse down."

Pollingreport.com

Pollingreport.com is "an independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion."

I like to just kind of browse this site once and awhile and occasionally gasp and wonder at what other people actually believe.

One of the Funniest Film Reviews I Have Ever Read.

I don't know why, but this is one of the funniest movie reviews I have ever read. I'm no JLo fan, but I think I'm gonna watch this movie based solely on this review alone.

Urban Legend?

Couple plan divorce after bumping into each other at beach

A Romanian couple are planning a divorce after they bumped into each other at a seaside resort while both were pretending to be elsewhere.

The two were talking to each other on their mobile phones when they collided on the beach of Mamaia on the Black Sea, reports the Ziarul daily.

If this is true, it's pretty damn funny. However, I expect this little story will be making its way to Snopes.com soon.

Luminex

Finally! Clothes that glow in the dark! I actually heard about this on NPR awhile ago but just now stumbled upon their web site. This is pretty cool stuff actually.

LUMINEX® is a new fabric (non reflective) that can emit its own light. It is created with threads of every type and nature and can emit light in different colours.

The luminous fibres (optic/sparkling) used in LUMINEX® are special fibres used as "Detectors of Elementary Particles" in the largest Sub-Nuclear Physics scientific experiments, a sector in which CAEN spa is a World Leader in the production of electronic equipment.

Calvin Peeing

You know, I've been wondering about this phenomenon for quite awhile now. What the heck is up with all the stickers with Calvin's likeness on them pissing on everything? I'm telling you, every time I see these now ubiquitous stickers, I speed up and get along side the other persons car just to get a look at him/her. I really can't help it, I have this compulsion to see what kind of person would go through the trouble of sticking a sticker of Calvin pissing the word Ford, Chevy, Osama, Women, or whatever on their vehicle.

My friend Dorian and I (a friend that never returns my e-mails by the way) were talking about this very subject a few months back. Who are these Calvinists anyway? Where did they come from? And the big question, is that little sticker really funny? I mean, do you guffaw every time you see it? I am really at a loss of understanding...

Well, the people, or person, over at annoying.com have finally come up with some reasonable explanations and observations. Finally, the question is put to rest

Verdict: Pretty Dang Good

So, I was doing a little shopping today. Nothing special, some hotdogs, buns, popcorn, that sort of stuff. While meandering through the isles I spotted the soup section. Something in the back of my mind told me to stop. Then I remembered Eric's blog entry about Scotch Broth Soup.

Would I find what has eluded Eric nearly a decade of his life? Would the coveted can of soup be just sitting there, eagerly waiting for just the right fellow to pick it up? Actually, there were 4 cans of the magic elixir waiting for purchase and I did not disappoint

I gotta tell you, this stuff is pretty damn good. It's safe to say it's at least the best condensed soup that's ever touched my lips. If you can find this stuff (I understand it is regional), buy it, and buy it quickly.

Hot Damn, a Presidential Action Figure!

The site is named toypresidents.com but they only have one doll for sale; G.W. Bush. The "action figure" has sound clips from actual presidential speeches. However, no samples are given. Here's what the site has to say:

Pre-Order and reserve your George W. Bush action figure today!! Production has been limited to 100,000 units and will sell fast. All credit cards will be processed the week before shipping begins. Orders will be shipped on a first-come-first-served basis. Order now to reserve an early production number, which will increase the value of your collectible action figure. The release date for the George W. Bush talking action figure is August 15th, 2003.

Yippie!

Dr. Seuss Goes to War

This site chronicles all the Dr. Seuss drawings done for various agencies and newspapers during WWII. The collection is exhaustive and at sometimes duplicitous.

For example, while portraying the Japanese with ridiculous caricatures (so bad that if published today, the public outcry would force him to into retirement), he also uses his art to decry the obvious injustice done to Blacks in the workplace.

Internment Art

Speaking of the Japanese, the artist Masumi Hayashi has put together a gallery of stunning, stitched together, panoramic photographs of Japanese internment camps. I've never really seen this effect before, I'm going to do some research to see exactly how it is done.

Tillman brothers to receive Ashe Award

Brothers Pat and Kevin Tillman, who in the midst of professional sports careers chose to serve their country by enlisting in the Army, have been named recipients of the 11th annual Arthur Ashe Courage Award, to be given Wed., July 16 during the live ESPY Awards telecast on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET. The award, presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports, will be accepted by Richard Tillman, Pat and Kevin's younger brother, at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, site of the ESPY Awards...

...Pat Tillman played four seasons for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals as a safety after starring at Arizona State University. In May of 2002, Pat announced his intentions to join the Army, turning down a $3.6 million contract offer in the process. Both he and his brother Kevin, a former minor league baseball prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization, committed to three-year military terms, landing spots with the elite U.S. Army Rangers...

Admirable to be sure. The question is, how many of America's Fortunate Sons and Daughters will follow in their footsteps? Not many is my guess.

The Internet Debacle

Janis Ian has written one of the most lucid and thought provoking articles on the issue of Internet file sharing I've seen to date. Although it is an indictment against the music industry, it goes one step further by offering constructive solutions to their problems. I'm guessing the article fell on deaf ears however.

Am I suspicious of all this hysteria? You bet. Do I think the issue has been badly handled? Absolutely. Am I concerned about losing friends, opportunities, my 10th Grammy nomination by publishing this article? Yeah. I am. But sometimes things are just wrong, and when they're that wrong, they have to be addressed.

The premise of all this ballyhoo is that the industry (and its artists) are being harmed by free downloading.

Nonsense. Let's take it from my personal experience. My site (www.janisian.com ) gets an average of 75,000 hits a year. Not bad for someone whose last hit record was in 1975. When Napster was running full-tilt, we received about 100 hits a month from people who'd downloaded Society's Child or At Seventeen for free, then decided they wanted more information. Of those 100 people (and these are only the ones who let us know how they'd found the site), 15 bought CDs. Not huge sales, right? No record company is interested in 180 extra sales a year. But… that translates into $2700, which is a lot of money in my book. And that doesn't include the ones who bought the CDs in stores, or who came to my shows...

You can read the full article on her website. Also, check out her follow up article entitled FALLOUT.

Etree.org

I, along with hundreds, if not thousands of others, have discovered the ultimate way to collect music online. The best part? It's 100% legal, no muss, no fuss. I am talking about Etree.org.

Etree is a site where live music lovers gather to trade their collections. Etree will only allow trading of bands that explicitly allow taping of their live shows. Believe me, there are plenty. I just got done listening to a hair raising live concert from Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Trust me, you haven't lived until you hear a live rendition of "Who Wants to go to D's Diner?".

The site boasts a database of literally hundreds of bands that allow taping. It's just a guess, but there are probably well over five thousand live shows out there ready for trade.

Bluegrassbox.com

Bluegrassbox.com is another music site that deals primarily with...well, bluegrass of course! The simplicity of this site is what makes it so attractive. You simply sign up for an FTP account and you are off and downloading concerts within minutes. I've downloaded about 50 shows from this site so far.

Whole Wheat Radio

I just ran into Whole Wheat Radio earlier today. Two folks up in Alaska run this "radio station" from a little log cabin in the woods. It focuses primarily on independent music. I've been playing it in the background for the past couple of hours and I'm really starting to enjoy it.

The site actually offers some interesting and useful features. You can see and chat with whoever else is listening as well as request and rate songs while they are playing. The site is automated much of the time with a computer taking over all the critical functions. However, while I was listening earlier, the owners of the station were taking calls from a listener in Tennessee as a severe storm was passing through. Not only did we get an audio blow by blow, the owner also posted pictures of the damage to the chat window.

I'm going to stick with this site for awhile I think. The people are downright friendly and it feels just like a big ole' slice of home.

I Will Kick Your Ass!

I can't believe someone actually bid on this!

Winning bid receives an ass-kicking from me personally. I am 6'0" and weigh over 230 lbs. If you win this auction, I will personally come to your house and kick your ass. I guarantee that I will not break any bones or kill you, nor will I use any weapons on you, but I will give you a good beating.

I will do this under two conditions:

1) You or anyone else does not press charges against me(after all, you bought the ass-kicking),
2) You do not fight back or attempt to physically harm me in any other manner (this is your ass getting kicked, not mine)...

Anchor Created Tue, 22 Jul 2003

Origami Boulders

You too can have an original, one of the kind Origami Boulder! Though the site may actually sell real orgami boulders to the public, the obviously fake Japanese grammer construction is humourous...

"Origami, is Japanese art of folding paper. Boulder is round rock. Origami Boulder is wadded up paper! You understand now, dumbo? Then hurry up and buy wadded paper! You see picture at top of site don't you?

This site about origami boulder very fine wadded paper artwork. I make artwork for you and you buy it now. I am famous Internet artist. You find my site didn't you?

Site is real. You order and you really get origami boulder artwork with special card to display at your home or workplace. Make good unforgettable gift for friends!

You buy wadded paper boulder and keep it. Or send many to your friends as very nice gift that no one ever forget! I include special card with every order that explain work of art. You buy 20, I send you free extra one with special message from me!"

I've noticed quite a few hits on this blog from our friends across the pond in Japan. So, in their honor, most of today's entries will be all things Japanese.

Akira Kurosawa

The Akira Kurosawa Database is a well documented and comprehensive source of information for any Kurosawa fan.

You can also check out The Criterion Collection for a list of all Kurosawa movies released under that title.

Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli produces some of the finest animation in the world. Apart from the famed Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky, Ghibli is also responsible for the haunting Grave of the Fireflies

If you love Japanamation, this is one site you can't live without.

Foriegn Exchange Student Program

The Foreign Exchange Student Program affected me at a very young age. When I lived in a town called Fromberg, Montana, (I would link to it but the town is so small it doesn't have any representation on the Internet) we had a couple of foreign exchange students from Japan. One in particular, Toshie Umeda, was actually my first love, though she probably didn't know it.

Anyway, I've always supported this program as it gives young students an opportunity to explore the world outside their communities.

Japanese Ghost Stories

A collection of ghost stories that permeate Japan's culture.

Pure Magic

Spirited Away is quite simply the best movie I've seen this year. In fact, it may be the best movie I've seen in the past two years, though I'll have to think on it a bit more.

I've probably watched this movie over 30 times since it came out on DVD. My girls really refuse to watch anything else so, every couple of nights we all sit down on the couch and take in its beauty again. The girls, I'm happy to say, are absolutely mesmerized by it. Trust me, no matter your age, this is one movie you'll want to see. I had my doubts at first, and I certainly didn't think it would hold the attention of my 4 and 2 year old daughters but as the preceding paragraph states, it is truly a work of art.

Star Wars Gangsta Rap

I drove all my friends crazy with this piece of flash animation about a year ago. But, you've gotta admit, it is a catchy tune.

Don't Copy That Floppy!

Don't Copy That Floppy!

This is pretty funny stuff. I still can't get that song out of my head...Don't copy that floppy, Don't copy that floppy...

Man hauled off by cops for using 2 subway seats

Lamarch plans to fight the $50 fine, but the ordeal has already cost him. He was fifteen minutes late for work and docked an hour's pay.

"I was taken off the train on my way to work, to earn a living. It's like a wrench in the gears and on top of it, I have to pay," Lamarch complained to the Post.

To protect and serve...

Well, I thought it was about time to update my pictures. The previous ones were taken nearly 4 years and 20 pounds ago. Besides, I wanted to show off my newly grown goatee.

Pictures courtesy of my good friend Sean Noll