Time to rest...

Wassup folks, 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Make sure to keep yourselves warm. It's pretty chilly out there. I need to stock up on some thick ass blankets. My blankets are losing their warmness.I should stop by the BKc SF and visit my boy Gabe. There was a hoodie that was mad fresh. Yeh, I said it "MAD FRESH!" If its not raining tomorrow (I doubt it) I'll stop by. 

Anyways, it's been a pretty busy day. I've been working on my graphic projects for work all day. I'm almost done. I am actually pretty excited that my job called on me to do some graphic design work. I've been getting one project after another. It's really cool because I get to use my knowledge and skills at work while learning about the business. Doing all this work made my room a bloody mess. Man, so much paper and sketches. I have to clean this up...

Oh how's your japanese? Did Yan san help you out? いいえ？大丈夫。日本語はがんばれよ！Keep at it. Whatever new language your learn just keep at it. I've been watching those damn YAN san vids. I shouldn't say damn because I actually really like those video's. If you haven't checked those vids out CHECK THEM OUT! You'll love them. Really.

Alright folks its time for me to go. I just felt like rambling today. Fuck I need to post more. haha! Take care everyone. Peace

Whoa! Is that an Alien?

I was watching MSNBC before I left for work today and they showed an interesting picture that blew me away. Check this out, this is a picture taken by NASA's Spirit Rover last November. 

Do you see it? In the center there seems to be a human like figure. Can you see it now? What do you think? My mind wants me to believe that its some sort of martian. Then again it could be the lighting. It's hard to come to a real conclusion to what this is. Judge this for your self. Nasa has a high resolution panorama pic. Download it. Check it out here

Is there really life on Mars? Maybe. Let's just hope they are friendly. Or at least have three boobs like that chick from Total Recall. haha! Live long and prosper peoples. 

Let's Cook OKONOMIYAKI!!!!

What's cooked like a pancake and taste oh so good? Wrong! It's Okonomiyaki! This delicious Japanese dish was something I had while I was in Fukuoka. I never knew of this dish until my girlfriend introduced me to it. Okonomiyaki is made up of flour, egg, cabbage, assorted meats, vegetables, firewood fish flakes(or Katsuo), mayonnaise, and okonomi sauce. You can pretty much put whatever your want in here. For those who haven't tried this dish, its a must have. If you live in the Bay Area California, the closest place that I know of that sells this dish is in Japan Town in San Francisco. Here's a picture of Okonomiyaki provided by The Tasty Island.

Okonomiyaki ha oishiso desune? Well, probably to the eyes of some it may not look like the most delicious thing in the world, but when you sink your mouth into this treat you'll feel like you're in heaven.  Try finding a Japanese restaurant around your area and ask if they cook Okonomiyaki. 

For those who can't make it out to a Japanese restaurant, don't worry. Here's a link to get you started in creating this dish. OKONOMIYAKI

You can make this dish at home. It's quite easy. Here's my version of okonomiyaki with not so traditional ingredients:

To make this Okonomiyaki American style here's a list of ingredients:

1cup of buttermilk pancake mix

3/4cup of water

1cup of diced chuck eye steak(or any meat of your choice)

bar b q sauce

mayonnaise

and rice seasoning(with seaweed and sesame seed)

2 cap full of vegetable oil

This is how you put it together:

1. Mix the 1cup buttermilk pancake mix and 3/4 cup of water in a bowl. Mix until all lumps are gone. Your batter should have a fine texture to it.

2. Take the 1 cup of diced chuck eye steak and cook it until meat is fully cooked.

3. Add cooked steak to batter. Stir into batter turns a slight brown.

4. It's recommended that you cook this on a flat pan. If you don't have one then don't worry. 

5. Heat pan at medium temperature. Then add the 2 cap full of vegetable oil. 

6. When the the oil is bubbling add half of the batter to the pan. 

7. Heat up both sides until brown. The tricky part is flipping it. Good luck with that.

8. Once both sides are browned. Pour about a quarter size amount of mayonnaise on the okonomiyaki. Then add about the same amount of bar b q sauce. Mix the two together. Keep in mind the Okonomiyaki is still on the pan. So you have to do this quickly. 

9. Finally, add the rice sprinkles and firewood fish flakes. Then Viola! Okonomiyaki American style! 

This will cook approximately two servings. Make sure to eat with rice. Why? Well, it just taste better with rice. You might not get it right the first time, but don't fret. Practice makes perfect. Enjoy your meal everyone. Good luck! Tabemasho! 

WANT TO LEARN JAPANESE? LEARN WITH YAN SAN!

For about a year now, I've been trying to find the best method for me to learn Japanese. My girlfriend is Japanese. I wanted to learn the language so that we can one day have conversations all in Japanese. I've picked up books and audio tapes and nothing seemed to work. Recently, by accident I came upon a series of videos that would help me learn Japanese quickly and easily. 

Welcome to the world of YAN. He's a somewhat pudgy nerdy gaijin(Foreigner) who travelled to Japan to learn about Architecture. Yan san finds himself living amongst the Japanese people and gets into different day to day situations that we all can relate to. Even though these videos were created in 1984, they still prove to be a great method for some to learn Nihongo(Japanese). Check the first vid out. If you like be sure to look at the others. All together there are about 26 episodes. YouTube has some, but not all. If anybody knows where I can find the rest drop me a comment. Here's the first installment. Enjoy

Let's Learn Japanese Basic Part 1. Episode 1 part A


Let's Learn Japanese Basic Part 1. Episode 1 part B


Let's Learn Japanese Basic Part 1. Episode 1 part C


What do you think? Love him or hate him Yan san is a character that will eventually grow on you. Oh by the way, do you want to know what Yan San looks like now? Check this link provided by Japan Probe: Yan-san Lives

Omoshiroi desu ne? Yan san ha ima ojiisan desu! He's still alive and kicking mad grooves with his wife and daughter. Check out their website here: Ake Kubota

Alright everyone. I hope you enjoyed this fun yet recycled material on the net. I know this post is nothing new. Someone once said, "You can't create anything new anymore. This world is a satire. All we're doing is remixing it." I believe those words, though probably not verbatim, are from M-flo's Comiscolor Album. Take care everyone. Peaceeee!

*******UPDATE*******

I found the rest of the videos on YouTube. They are listed under "Learn Japanese Basic" Just put in the episode number you want and the A,B,or C suffix. Check them out. 

Hip Hop European Style

My my my lots of great hip hop music I'm hearing around the world. Here's some cool music from France and Italy. Check check it!

Hocus Pocus feat. The Procussions - Hip Hop ? - French rap


Cizin - Dritto Al Cuore


Saian Supa Crew - X raisons - French rap

Don't let HIP HOP die!!!

I've been a fan of hip hop music for a very long time. I've also been a big critic of todays rap music and how it has affected our youth. I respect where most rappers are coming from. They rap what they know and what they've been through. Even though their message is about their struggle, rappers have to realize that when they speak they are influencing the young kids. Rap has taken away the positive energy that Hip Hop was trying to achieve. Hip hop gave kids and people on the street a positive outlet to get them away from all the drug and violence. Todays Rappers have taken that positivity away and replaced it by glorifying the gangster/thugged out style. Here's a great 10minute video about the Death of Hip hop. This video expresses everything I ever felt about today's music. Check it out. Enjoy. One more thing, DON'T LET HIP HOP DIE!!!