Yuumoushin.com (勇猛心)

Halloween was pretty chill this year, but still lots of fun. Thanks Andy and Katie for throwing yet another cool party!

I was planning to go all out again, but then I just got lazy. I did decide to use my fro again, though, but this time I ended up going as a high school football coach. The original intent was something from the 80s (thus the need for a fro), but like I said, I was lazy so I didn’t spend too much time (or money) trying to get gear I didn’t already have. Granted, not as original or as neat as my Blingula costume last year (people who had seen me at another party remembered me as the guy with the gold fro and gold fangs), but it was still a nice set up. One of the best costumes at the party was Layla (Andy’s dog); she was Harry Potter. I posted a picture at the bottom of this post.

Looks like Halloween is becoming more and more popular in other parts of the world. A friend of mine who works at Tokyo Disneyland said they allow patrons three days out of the year to dress up. Looks as if things are going even further in Japan. I think dressing up for Halloween (no matter what it’s origins…which most Americans don’t even fully know) is a cool thing, and something I find the international students in our program having lots of fun doing. Although there are already plenty of people who like to dress up in Japan as it is (animation fairs, etc.), so perhaps Halloween isn’t such a big deal. Then again, the idea of going around your neighborhood asking for candy, that would be something neat to see over there.

She had the bolt scar and everything.


That’s a mean looking pumpkin…it was pretty tasty too.

When I was living in Japan, I used to clown on people all the time for some of the stupid English phrases they had written on their shirts. The thing is, people over here like Japanese/Chinese characters, and it’s not all that uncommon to see someone with a nice kanji as a tat. For the most part, it seems as if people have done their research. However, you still get those individuals who just don’t spend the time actually looking up what it is exactly they’re getting written on their bodies.

Kanji is one of three different scripts used in the Japanese language; the stylized, exotic look of kanji symbols, which are derived from ancient Chinese characters, just cry out to be turned into hip tattoos.

The problem is that sometimes the tattoos don’t mean what their wearers think they mean.

There was a woman featured in Newsweek a few years back who gloated about how her tat represented “love.” The unfortunate thing was, it was actually the character for “house.” Close, but not exactly. haha. Anyway, a friend of mine sent me this series of pics of people with bad kanji tatoos. Moral of the story: do a bit more research before you get something carved into your body.

I’ve even seen bracelets sold at major retailers (I won’t mention the name here) with the same sort of mistakes. The phrase written on the bracelet is the same phrase used in Japan at funerals. Depending on the situation, that’s not so bad, except this particular retailer had the corresponding symbols on four different bracelets, which were separated into “love,” “health,” “fortune,” and “friendship.” HAHA. I wonder if those people would be as eager to purchase the same bracelets if they knew the actual meaning?

What the…pilot fatigue testing? Way to go Jet Blue! A test of such caliber sounds legit enough, but only when you actually inform the passengers they’re going to be participants. Would you have participated?

All told, JetBlue says 29 pilots, including the backup aviators, participated in more than 50 data-gathering flights during May 2005. All of the flights were domestic, and a big portion were coast-to-coast trips.

The carrier says it proceeded under the assumption that local FAA officials had the power to approve the company’s plans under so-called supplemental flight rules. Those rules specify that airlines flying longer distances must have at least one extra pilot on board so no single pilot flies more than eight hours in total. However, in the JetBlue test, even though each flight had a third pilot on board, the original crews stayed at the controls for more than 10 hours a day. None of the reserve pilots ever replaced a regular crew member.

“Passengers would be shocked that this was going on,” says David Stempler, president of Air Travelers Association, an advocacy group for travelers. When travelers “buy tickets on commercial flights, they don’t expect to be test pilots themselves.”

And for further enjoyment, check this out. Apparently, Japanese tourists are suffering severe mental breakdowns as a result of Paris’ differences. This is great:

Already this year, Japan’s embassy in Paris has had to repatriate at least four visitors — including two women who believed their hotel room was being bugged and there was a plot against them.

Umm…yeah, whatever. As if Japan isn’t without their own set of tourist/foreign visitor issues. There are nice people and their are pricks no matter where you go. I just love how it’s such a “culture” specific thing with people sometimes. Perhaps they should try traveling without a big group. I am not a fan of big tourist groups, I think it takes away from the experience of being in a foreign country (sometimes, there are definitely exceptions).

One word: dope.

Some people have way too much free time, but I have to admire the work. Some of my classmates get together every year and carve pumpkins. They use “pumpkin master kits,” and the final products are absolutely fantastic. It does take a bit away from what I remember carving as a kid, but they’re still awesome to see.

Welcome to Seattle, we’re the “Metronatural state!!!”

(pause, followed by deep, cleansing breath) Yeah, ummm…(another deep, cleansing breath) NO! Why the hell did they think this was a good idea???

Then again, the alternatives were dull and not very exciting: “Life is different here” and “Inspiration awaits.” Regarded as one of the most well educated states in the entire U.S., and the final result is “metronatural.” (yet another deep, cleansing breath) Face it Seattle, you just want to have something catchy like Vegas. You should have hired their marketing team to help you out.

Here’s the article – I am not the only one who thinks this is stupid. They were talking about it on the radio the other day, and the host was just laughing his ass off. It’s like Sony and the whole “white is better than black” campaign…not very well thought out, in my opinion.

I think some of the alternatives posted at the Seattle Pi were much better:

• Seattle: Wired and jacked up
• If you’re left, you’re right for us
• econostupid
• Welcome to Washington, enjoy your stay, THEN GO HOME!!!
• Seattle: Come look at the monorail
• Seattle: Because Bremerton is too far away
• Come visit. You can’t afford the condos
• If you love taxes, you’ll love Seattle
• Seattle: Left of Bellevue
• We’re green, mean and a tax-collecting machine
• Seattle: Irony-free since 1992