You Blog?! Why?

Truth be told most people I know in the `real world` do not blog. In fact. most of them have never even considered blogging. I only really know two people two actually blog. I good buddy from work Alex the Brit has his site bestbritishgrub.com(go to his site and encourage him to post more) and of course Mr. Billy `Tokyo` West who currently is not so active in the blogging world. People ask me all the time, `Why in the hell do you blog? It is kind of a waste of time.` I have always been able to answer this question pretty easily by saying,`I do it because it is fun for me. I like to write about things that I see and experience.` I really do feel that way about blogging in general. It is fun hobby which gives me the chance to share my little world with everyone out there in internet land. It has always been fun for me to be apart of something which anyone can do and be decently good at. It does not take a master level knowledge of internet code or marketing to have your own little blog.

Yet blogging is something a bit more bigger than just a fun hobby. Blogging is another form of spreading information. The internet is in its purest form is a giant library of information of just about every topic known to mankind. When anyone post a blog entry about any topic for any reason it just adds to the wealth of information in the net. Some blogs only add an opinion or an experience had by one lone person in the world. Yet,despite the weight of the content THAT lone blogger posting about something which seems unimportant to you or I will most likely be important to someone out there in the harsh world. It would only make sense to assume that every blog post carries with it important information worth sharing with billions of people.

For some folks blogging is more than just a hobby. There are folks making a shit load of cash just by blogging. They put a lot of time and effort selling ads on their site and getting paid sponsors. These kind of people pretty much live on the internet. Of course they do other stuff but majority of their day is spent doing something internet related. For a professional blogger it is more about making money than really sharing information. I don`t hate on these types of folks because if they got a damn good blog and lots of people check it out then go ahead and make some money off of it. Making serious cash doing something fun which requires very little hard labor is kind of a dream job.

So yeah, I blog because it is fun other people blog to score some cash. Both reasons for blogging is okay with me. It all comes to the spread of information in the end. If people want to hate on me then they really are wasting their time. Do you really want to be the person hating on someone`s hobby? At this point, when someone leaves a fucked up comment on my blog I just delete it and move on. I suggest everyone do the same thing. No one has to put up with assholes trying to leave a bag of shit on their front door.

Anyway, I am going to go ahead and end my `Why Blog` post before it becomes a long ass rant with little or no direction.

If you want check out my other blog; theghostofliberty.com It is more of a political blog so if you are interested give it a look.

J-Blog of The Week #7 Good Beer and Country Boys

Last week there was no j-blog of the week. Sorry for that but I have been caught up in a few things. Well,this week I am going back to my roots; sort of. As many of us know, there is an endless amount of blogs about Japan. Almost every topic and situation is covered on the English speaking j-web. From maid cafes to bentos, the English speaking j-web has it all.

I have found a great blog ran by two southern boys from Kentucky. Good Beer and Country Boys is this week`s J-blog of the week.

I love a good beer but these boys might love it more than me. They travel around Japan looking for the best beer. It is a hobby for sure and one hell of a way to spend your free time. Hell, a lot of people in Japan spend their free time getting tanked so a blog about it seems natural. Even more natural is two southern boys in Japan having a blog about drinking. Some thing are just meant to be together.

Anyway these guys know their beer in Japan. One might think that they are keen on drinking in Japan. I for one cannot blame them. Japan does have a damn good selection of beer from all over the world. These guys even introduced me to Yebisu Silk. Even though they might not be a fan of Yebisu I find that most of their beer is not all the bad.

Actually, they are so serious about beer that they will turn down a down a six pack of Seiyu special. When I have had a tough day at work I do not care about taste or quality; it is the effect I am after. Although, I do see their point. There is no substitute for a fine ice cold ale.

I know there are many `beer` lovers in Japan. Country boys are the experts concerning beer. So, unless my logic is wrong; people who live in Japan and love beer must also love Good Beer and Country Boys blog.

Japan Blog Matsuri March Edition: Tales of Japan.

Confess your sins! Bow in front of the alter and speak of your crimes. The god of chaos demands you tell your tales of Japan. What have you done? What have you done and not told anyone before? What devilish secrets about your experience living in Japan are you keeping? It is time to confess your sins at The Ghost Letters alter of truth. LOL

Yeah, someone made the mistake of putting me in charge of this months JP Matsuri. It was Nick who made this decision, so please direct all your hate and unhappiness concerning this decision to him. This month`s JP Matsuri is going to be a little different. This month we are going to get `real` about living in Japan. There are a lot of people who only write about the `cute` image of Japan or some other P.C. bull. That is ok for them but I am willing to bet a lot of people want to read about fast times and crazy nights in the land of the raising sun. So, this month`s JP Matsuri topic is:

Fast Times in Japan!


Yes, this month I want to read about your tales of living in Japan. You know, the stuff that you usually share over a couple of beers. The good stories you would not tell your mother. I hope that most of you are not shy about telling me your fast times in Japan.

When you submit an article just provide a link, title, and your name in a comment to this post. The deadline is March 20th and the publish date is the 25th. Lets have fun with month`s JP Matsuri!

J-Blog Of The Week #5 Our Man in Abiko

My life has been interesting recently. A lot of things are changing(no Obama reference intended) as of late. Life has been not so bad although not so good either. I do however, feel good about the near future despite big challenges in front of me. It is an exciting and interesting time for me. Speaking of things exciting and interesting, this weeks J-blog of the week is all about excitement and interesting thoughts and experiences. Our Man in Abiko is this week`s featured J-blog.

I have been reading this blog for a while and have left a few comments. I do not remember exactly how I ran across this blog but I am glad that I did. When I visit Our Man in Abiko it is rare that I do not find something interesting to read. I guess this is the mark of a good blogger. I mean, there are some popular English J-blog which I do not like but Our Man almost never lets me down. I do not know how popular his blog is but I think it belongs right up there with the likes of Neil Duckett.com.

Blogs which have the personal touch of someone daily life and all the thoughts roll around in their heads always interest me. Our Man in Abiko seems to have that factor in full effect. Another element to his blog is that it is updated very regularly; which is always a delight for readers of blogs. It is always nice to be able to visit a blog everyday and get something new to read. He also just does not focus on Japan related topics. From time to time he will post something totally apart from Japan. For example, I believe in a place called... and America in 2012: The view from the day before the day before yesterday. If you read his blog regularly enough he will post some thoughts about politics form time to time. He seems to be pretty knowledgeable about politics. For some funny and interesting post about politics in Japan check out the politics for dummies posts.

There is a lot more I could write about Our Man in Abiko but just go over there and check it out for yourself. It is well worth the read. I am sure that you will be hooked in short order.

J-Blog of the Week Ed#4 Mad Tokyo

I had been nursing a hang over for the majority of Thursday, so this weeks J-blog is arriving on Friday. Yeah, I have just been sleeping and taking it easy. I guess I drank a lot more than I thought. I assume everyone living in Tokyo can relate to a good long night of getting smashed. I needed to get hammered. I had to drive out some unneeded emotions and alcohol worked like a charm. My mind is sharp even though my body is still feeling a little rugged. I am turning the corner with my stir craziness. Tokyo really can drive a person to madness so this weeks J-blog of the week is John Turningpin`s Mad Tokyo.

John has been living in Japan for a while. In the about section he mentions living in Japan permanently as an office drone. As many J-blogs focus on `how different and strange everything is` Mad Tokyo is more about everyday life in the land of the raising sun. Some people have complained that there are not enough blogs about `real life in Japan.` The point these people make is that too many j-blogs focus on things which are of little interest to gaijin actually living in Japan. Well, for those who have such a complaint Mad Tokyo is the site for you.

Mr. Turningpin does not pull any punches about living in Japan. He gives it to you straight. This maybe a refreshing change for long term gaijin. I have found his site to be very interesting at times. The whole angle he comes from attracts me to Mad Tokyo. He is honest, while at the same time, very entertaining.

The site is pretty easy to get around. The recent posts and tags on the side bar are easy enough to use. I doubt that many people would be disappointed by any post they click on John`s site. A lot of the posts contain topics and and issues that most gaijin come across daily in Japan. For example the post titled Mr. Mouth-Breather, which is about this guy on the trains in West Tokyo who has the worst breath ever, is something that we have all experienced. Another post I ran across which is good is the Uncle Hilter thing that happened on Japanese TV. If you not think that Japanese TV sucks, you will have reading about Uncle Hilter.

Overall, Mad Tokyo is a great English language J-blog. It is usually fun to visit his site and read what comes out of his brain. I check it from time to time and am ever let down. If you want to skip the `cute Japan` stuff then head right over to Mad Tokyo.

I am a Joke

Ha Ha! I am a joke. Yes, it is true I am a big joke. There is nothing so good about me. There is very little reason to even care about me. It is a big waste of time to even speak my name. My blog is one of the worst on the internet. I cannot spell worth shit. Even worst is that I live a very bad life which would sicken most other humans. Yes, I am a joke.

I am not afraid for others to know what a big joke I am. What do I have to lose? I have not done so many great things in life. For the majority of my life I have been nothing more than a slight pest to society. Nobody really wanted me around in the first place. Yet, because I have nothing better to do, I have hung around and managed to somehow survive. I really should be dead or in prison by now. By some strange twist of luck I have not gotten myself killed or thrown in prison.

Enough decent people somehow floated into my life and dragged me to the point I am now. It seems I have been the asshole that everyone loves. I have pissed off every person who has cared about so much that they are beyond forgiving me. Instead, they have chosen to accept me as the dirty rat who won`t go away. They love me because they have no other choice other than to kill me.

So now there is nothing left to laugh or mock. The secret is out about me. Off color remarks or inside jokes are no longer needed when referring to me. I have called myself a joke in front of the entire world. This is most likely the funniest thing I have ever done in my life. Unlike in the past, this time the joke really is on me. I am the butt of my own twisted humor. At least others will join and laugh as hard as I am. I am a joke. Please, go ahead and laugh.