Yuumoushin.com (勇猛心)

Jay Leno’s contract ends next year, and according to an article I read this morning, he’ll be able to negotiate his contract in November.

As a follow up to that, NYMAG.com had a funny write-up on what contract negotiations for Jay Leno might just look like. You can read the full article here, but I want to share the hypothetical timeline they created:

• November 1, 2009 ABC pledges to kick Nightline off the air to make room for Jay Leno, offering him $50 million a year.
• November 5, 2009 Sony raises its offer to $60 million a year, plus a gold-plated motorcycle.
• November 8, 2009 ABC counters with a promise to explain to Leno the secrets of Lost.
• November 11, 2009 When Leno expresses dissatisfaction with Sony Television’s plans for the Jay Leno Theater, executives offer to let him design it himself. The resulting structure is a pale imitation of plans designed first by other, edgier architects.
• November 13, 2009 Desperate ABC executives raise their offer to $75 million and promise that Kevin Eubanks will replace Charles Gibson as anchor of World News Tonight.
• November 21, 2009 Getting in on the action, Fox renegotiates its affiliate deals to become a round-the-clock network in hopes of attracting Leno, who is offered not just the 11:30 to 12:30 slot but the entire overnight shift, from 11:30 to dawn.
• November 30, 2009 Sony Television annexes the picturesque Sea of Japan island of Niijima and renames it LenoLand, replacing its distinctive local statuary with busts of Jay Leno.
• December 5, 2009 NBC wunderkind Ben Silverman, driven mad at being left out of the fun, offers Leno $100 million a year to continue as host of the Tonight Show. “That doesn’t mean we’re giving up on Conan,” Silverman tells reporters. “We’ll run Jay’s and Conan’s shows simultaneously, in split-screen.”
• December 7, 2009 Fox’s Kevin Reilly hints to Leno that he can’t make any promises, but he’s “pretty sure” he can get Leno into the Hollywood Round of American Idol.
• December 8, 2009 ABC ups its offer to $150 million a year and orders Ted Koppel shot.
• December 13, 2009 Holding unprecedented power over every network, Leno demands that the Tonight Show run on all of them at once. All four network chiefs accept, and further agree to run Sony Television’s syndicated The Jay Leno Show the other 23 hours of every day.

I wonder if his core viewers will follow him over. And if he were to go to another network, would he try to compete with Conan O’brien (who will replace Jay Leno).

I did a little hiking this weekend – Mt. Si. My friends and I wanted a solid run, but also wanted to enjoy the fantastic weather (something Seattle has had a bit of lately). Sunday didn’t disappoint. And the birds…

For lack of a better post, I decided just to share some of shots from the trip:

I have to thank my brother for this one by Zach Galifianakis:

I don’t remember exactly what started the conversation, but the other day a colleague and I talked a bit about fugu (pufferfish) and its deadly toxin. I’ve had it once, but it wasn’t anything special (i.e. there wasn’t a specific taste that made me think: “damn, this is something I’m going to order next time I have the chance”). It’s a “fear of” fascination that people have, truthfully. And I’ve even been told that the very best chefs, or fugu masters if you will, are able leave just enough of the toxin in to give the dish a slightly “tingly” sensation. Not the case with the fugu I ate, thankfully. This piqued my interest and I looked around a bit. I found a link on digg calling out a few of the “deadly delicacies” of the world: “Seven of the Deadliest Declicacies: Come Dine with Death!” The site has some explanations and a few videos, for those who are interested.

I want to bring to your attention the fugu cutting video…the speed at which this guy chops a deadly fish. Damn.

In no particular order, the deadly delicacies from the link above:

1. Fugu (Pufferfish)
2. San Nak Ji (Live Octopus)
3. Cassava
4. Giant Bullfrog
5. Ackee Fruit
6. Silver-Stripe Blaasop
7. Echizen Jellyfish

A few of my colleagues asked me about Valentine’s day in Japan. Yes, they do celebrate Valentine’s day, and from what I’ve seen, chocolate is usually the sweet of choice. However, Japan has it’s own twist on the process, and it includes an extra day called “White Day.” See, Valentine’s day is for women to get something nice for men. And Exactly one month later, men are supposed to do something nice for the women. That day in March is “White Day.”

“White Day” as described by Wikipiedia: “White Day (ホワイトデー) is a holiday created in Japan in 1980, celebrated on March 14, one month after Valentine’s Day. Korea, Taiwan and various countries in Europe also celebrate this day. Valentine’s Day is observed by girls presenting chocolates (either store-bought or handmade) to the boy of their choice. On White Day, men who received chocolate on Valentine’s Day return the favor and give gifts to women. When White Day rolls around, it is the boy’s turn to return the gift in what is called “sanbai-gaeshiin”, since the gift the boy gives is supposed to be three times the value of the gift he received.

Soon thereafter, confectionery companies began to realize that they could capitalize on such a tradition as well, and began marketing white chocolate. Now, men give both white and non-white chocolate, as well as other edible and non-edible gifts, such as jewelry or objects of sentimental value, or white clothing like lingerie, to women from whom they received chocolate on Valentine’s Day one month earlier.”

I wasn’t actually aware of the “3 times the value” rule, but then again, does it really matter?