Shonen Knife live at The Freebutt 23rd May 2010

Well, I have seen some good bands live but last nights performance by Shonen Knife I think may have not just out shone them but also out rocked them. Shonen Knife in one simple word 'Rocked'
They interact with their audience and really put on a great show. I managed to get to the front and I could actually feel the draft coming from Ristuko's and Naoko's hair has the head banged their way through their songs. It was one of the best two hours in the history of rock music. Only Shonen Knife can make songs like 'Banana Chips' or 'Hot Chocolate' and 'BBQ Party' and get away with it. They are well loved by their followers outside of Japan and it is easy to see why. In fact, I was lucky to meet them after the show and even chat with them in Japanese using some Kansai-ben which I had learnt. They are from Osaka so that is why I threw in the odd couple of words from the Kansai Dialect. They are in fact really friendly and down to earth. Other rock bands take note.
Anyway, take a look at a couple of the photo's I took and also a short video of their opening song 'Konnichiwa.'

A Cove for Dolphins and Whales

A new documentary film called 'The Cove' has been released and it is about the whaling and dolphin hunting by the Japanese. Personally this debate is getting rather old and it is very one sided.

Only one place in Japan actually hunts dolphins, Taiji, and you would be hard pressed to find a Japanese person that has actually eaten dolphin. In fact a recent YouTube video asked the question to Japanese people if they had eaten dolphin and they all said no and did not actually like the idea of eating a dolphin. It is hard enough to find a Japanese person, these days that has actually eaten whale. But of course in some places you can still find whale on the menu. But to claim that the market for whale and dolphin meat is a large market is an overstatement. Also the people of Taiji make their living on the sale of dolphin and whale meat.

Greenpeace are never going to get respect in Japan for the way they do things. I even dislike the way Greenpeace acts and I am a Westerner. Greenpeace are happy to put lives of those hunters at risk for the sake of a whale or dolphin, which disgusts me. Greenpeace break the law to make a point and therefore will never get my respect.

But, let's not forget, it is not just the Japanese that hunt whale. Whale hunting goes on in Norway, Iceland and Canada, to name three. In Canada it is only the Inuits that are allowed to hunt for whale and they are limited to a certain amount of kills, but the Canadian government do not enforce this.

Maybe if those that protested put all their energies into protesting for the rights of children in poor countries, to make sure all have food and decent life's with decent jobs and decent pay. Protest against human injustice and poor living conditions....Maybe they would get more respect.

At the end of the day, who are we to say what they can and cannot hunt and eat whale or dolphin? Oh! of course...There are a lot of celebrities jumping on the anti-dolphin and anti-whaling band wagon. If people are so stupid that they will only listen to celebrities that live a life totally different to the rest of us, then those same people should not be debating the dolphin and whale hunting rights of not just the Japanese but also those of other countries.

Anyway...surely one of the most important sea creatures...if not the most important creatures on this planet are Plankton. Maybe we should try and save plankton. What with sea temperature changes in some places the plankton has almost died out...And Plankton provides 75% of the earths oxygen. If plankton die out, then dolphins and whales would die out anyway...and so would mankind.

Sorry!...I just wanted to rant and rave and I lost my thought trail, so to speak, so I will end there.

日本に行きます。

Well.....Hopefully, and it looks almost certain, I will be returning back to Japan this year. I am hoping to return at the end of July, begning of August.
I enjoy my time in Japan and cannot wait to return. I am not sure how much travelling I will do yet, depends on the Money, but I would like to visit Yokohama and Osaka. I still have this hope that I will be able to climb Mount Fuji and then watch the sun rise from the summit. But either way, I am going back and that makes me happy. I think there is a really interesting and ancient sand dune in Tottori that I would like to visit.
Anyway...I just wanted to mention I am returning back to Japan this year....I cannot wait :-)

Everybody Tweet, Now!

Yes, yes...OK...I know...I gave in to the media pressure that surrounds us, these days, and just had to find out more about Twitter and I ended up joining it.
I admit, I am very slow to take on any kind of Social Networking and I am not even sure how long I will keep it up. I am after all useless at keeping a diary...Just take a look at the pile of blank diaries I have lying around my office going back at least 10 years. In fact I am amazed that I have even been able to keep a blog going for more than a week, even though, I do not come here or write in it often, but at least I do come here and write in it.
If you are interested you can become one of my many followers....Well...3 followers...who are they? I am not sure who they are. I think one was from an old Face Book account....Yes, I tried that also...I never liked Face Book. People I do not know wanting to be my friend....No! I do not know you and No! I do not want to be your Farmville Neighbour and No I do not want to play Mafia Wars. I also discovered that someone hacked into my account.
Face Book, then is rubbish and a great place to get a virus. Face Book is kind of like the local slut that sleeps around with anyone spreading her STD's.
So...anyway...I will give Twitter a go...so far...so boring, but maybe that is because I only have three followers. I do follow some people, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Japanesepod101, Learn-Japanese-Pod and the Yamanote Line. And it seems I am following people that are in my e-mail address book. Oh joy!...now, not only can I see there pointless e-mails with titles such has 'Check out these photo's of naked chicks' or 'You need a bigger penis...buy Viagra' oh! and the new favourite 'Hot married women looking for sexy times with no strings attached' I am also following some guy in Nigeria who, by all accounts has a secret bank account full of $400,000,000 US Dollars just for me if I can help him with the security checks needed by pretending to be the long lost brother of his uncles father that died during some kind of civil unrest in the country. I can now also follow all of them on Twitter and see their pointless 140 words or less Tweet's
Anyway....if...by any slim chance you would like to follow me, then this is my Twitter address:
http://twitter.com/BakaGaijin69
In fact, I am begging you...please be my Twitter follower.
Now then....Time to join My Space.