Japansoc.com Goes Down...But Not Gone Forever

One of the most important websites in the English J-blogging community has been shut down. Popular social network site Japansoc.com has been reduced to nothing more than a simple message board after years of repeated spam attacks. This has sent shock waves across the English J-blogging community, as Japansoc.com has become a important meet/share place for many J-bloggers. The lose of mass amount of linkage alone is enough to send some people into fits.


The founder of Japansoc.com, Nick Ramsay, announced that he plans to restart his highly popular social networking site from scratch. The planned restart, which has no official date as of today, will be done using Hotaru CMS. The new CMS is a pet project of Nick and is promised to be more `spam proof` than Japansoc`s current platform Pligg. Nick Ramsay is one of the hardest working people involved in the J-blogging community so there is little doubt that Japansoc.com will return under a great new CMS. You can check-out the latest on the development of Hotaru here and Ramsay`s full announcement concerning Japansoc here.


In the mean time, what does all of this mean for the J-blogging community? How will everyone stay connected during Japansoc`s down time? Looking around the web, there are a few options but none as unique as Japansoc. The best option right now, in my opinion, is TokyoFilter. This site started out as a Japan topic video sharing site from the brain of Billy West. West`s main site 7:10 to Tokyo offers up his unique experiences in Japan. It is always entertaining and sometimes informative. Tokyo Filter has been the `on again,off again` project of West for over a year. Currently it is a message wall in need of membership. Considering Japansoc.com may be down for a while, TokyoFilter is the perfect spot to keep everyone connected and up to date with the J-blogging community.



Anyway, Nick Ramsay deserves all the support in the world for his continued efforts to make the English J-web a better community for everyone. He has done more for the community than most people. I am sure he will keep trucking and offer up an even better Japansoc real soon. 

Wapanese and Weeaboo WTF!?

Recently I have come across a term which threw me for a loop. A post over at Yamatologic.com titled I,Weeaboo. The gentlemen writes about being more offended by being called a Weeaboo than gaijin. I am NOT going to get into the whole gaijin issue. That is best left for another post for another day. I wanna blog about this strange Weeaboo and Wapanese thing.

At first, I did not know what the person over at Yamatologic.com was referring to at all. Once I found out what the hell he was talking about, I was left thinking WTF!? In short Weeaboo(or Wapanese) is someone who has an obsession with Japanese cartoons and Japanese culture; yet takes it a step beyond. A Weeaboo thinks that Japan is better than any other nation on the planet. They hate their own culture and attempt to act as if they are Japanese; failing in this effort of course. I must say that the term Weeaboo is one of the most immature school yard bullshit I have never heard in my life!

I am sure the gentlemen who runs Yamatologic.com is far from fitting the term Weeaboo. In fact, most foreigners living in Japan, or have an interest in Japan, are not Weeaboo. The term borders on racism in the first place. Just think of such a term coming out of the mouth of someone from Japan. A lot of people already have issues with the term gaijin. If young kids in Japan started calling foreigners Weeaboo it might cause street fights.

Further more, take a look at myself. Hell, I live in Japan and you won`t see me going nuts over Japanese culture at all. For me, it is just another culture. The Japanese are not perfect by any means. They can be just as fucked-up as any other culture in the world. I do not defend Japan nor do I attack it. I just call it as I see it. Sometimes Japan can be a good place to live. There are others times when Japan can be a pretty fucked-up place to live. It all depends on the situation.

So, if someone really likes Japan and Japanese culture more power to them. If it makes them happy that is cool with me. Chill with the weeaboo and wapanese name calling. It really is a bunch of childish bullshit!

Texas Burgers Offered Up By McDonald`s Japan

Eating at McDonald`s in Japan may seen to some like a waste of time. For the average person with dreams of living in Japan, hitting up a McDonald`s instead of enjoying the various ethnic food may seem insane. Well, when you are on the run or trying to catch a quick bite on your lunch break McDonald`s looks real attractive. McDonald`s Japan knows this fact all too well and offers up different `special burgers` to hook in the masses.

I had been avoiding McDonald`s for a while after the slightly annoying Mr. James ad campaign but I am a forgiving man. Hell, they are currently offering up a special run of burgers called `Big American.` I love a big burger so I have been hitting up McDonald`s around Tokyo to try out these big ass burgers. The first one was called `New York burger` but it seemed to have a damn limited run as I was unable to give it a go. The second one called `Texas burger` is sticking around a bit longer. I got excited about having a Texas Burger after seeing a commercial for it on the train. After seeing such a interesting idea for a burger in Japan, I was all game to order something not on the 100 yen menu again.

Well, after trying it once I am hooked. It is actually pretty good. I first gave it a go while I was drinking some Jack Daniels with a few friends. It makes for a pretty good drunk burger. I shared with my drunken Japanese buddies and they enjoyed it as well. While it did take care of the drunk munchies, the big test came at work. I have been working at Kokubunji a lot recently with a fellow co-worker who can be hard to please when it comes to burgers. I talked him into giving the Texas Burger a go for lunch. I thought he would hate it but he liked it for the most part. His only complaint was that is had too much bread and not enough meat. Fair enough, the extra bread is a bit much.

McDonald`s Japan seems to have a hit on its hands. The hungry masses will have a nice burger to enjoy at McDonald`s for a while. The company plans to offer up a `California Burger` and a `Hawaii Burger` in the near future. The `New York` may also make a return. Anyway, check out the official promo from the McDonald`s Japan Website here. 

50 Yen Beer Is Worth All The Trouble

Some things just cannot be resisted. Even when you know it may turn out bad somethings are worth any potential problems. This is what I thought when I got an e-mail at work for an invite to go to a 50 yen beer bar. Yes that`s right; down in Gotanda there is a 50 yen beer at the back end of blowjob ally.

I would have never known about this down and dirty part of Gotanda if not for my drunken co-worker`s never ending quest to get hammered in the worst places in Tokyo. My co-worker`s share my love of getting drunk on the cheap. They know full well that no matter how fucked up the location; if the drinks are cheap I am game. So after a few rounds of exchanging e-mails between two different company branches, the night had been set.

It had been a long day of teaching and working closely with my Japanese counter-part doing sales. He is a great guy and all but his English skill is very low. Despite our languages differences, we communicate pretty well and find a way to make some money together. I also had to file a few detailed student reports. I was damn ready to get drunk.

When I meet up with my co-workers at Gotanda station, they are very eager to get good and plastered. Actually, they gave me a little shit for being the last one to show up. It is all in good fun because I dish out twice as much shit talk on a regular basis. Gotanda is not my regular stomping grounds so I was a little more mellow than usual.

To tell the truth, Gotanda is usually the turf of Alex the Brit. I met Alex a little over a year ago though work. and he have been drinking buddies ever since. He has gotten shitty drunk with me on many outings in the concrete jungle of Tokyo. I have been so wasted with this guy that there were a few times I wondered if we gonna be able to handle ourselves on the train.

Anyway, Alex lead the way as Damian(another co-worker) and myself followed. As we are walking down the street Damian takes a quick liking to the area, while I still was trying to feel the place out. It did not take long for Alex to make the infamous comment, `Oh lads! This bar in at the back end of blowjob alley. You can get a BJ around here for 3,000 yen.` At first I thought he was joking but soon enough I saw that he was dead serious. When we turned down the alley to get to the bar it was lined with just about every kind of sex business one can think of. It makes perfect sense for a 50 yen beer bar to be in the thick of such a seedy back street. Some over worked and under sexed salary man can get totally smashed for about 2,000 yen and then stagger out the bar and right into a BJ for 3,000 yen. For 5,000 yen said salary man can get drunk and buy himself a little action.

Anyway, I had zero interest in paying for sex of any kind. I wanted to get drunk for cheap. When we rolled up on this place there were two chicks from Kansi waiting for us. They were friends of Alex. Apparently, they live in the same apartment building as Alex. In usual Kansi style, they were relaxed, friendly, and lacking an uptight attitude. A nice change from the usual gal running around in Tokyo.

Once we got into this down and out bar, we were instructed to go to the third floor. I was a bit surprised the place actually had several floors instead of one massive hall of drunken fury. None the less, Alex was getting all excited about drinking 50 yen beer. The cheaper the beer the more excited he gets usually. So, we sit down and a young Japanese guy walks up asking how many drinks we wanted. At that time, we find out a few requirements. We had to order at least one small dish and could only order one beer at a time for each person. We were able to get away with not having to order something to eat for each person but the one beer per person a round was a set in stone policy. A `no two fist of glory` policy sucked but for 50 yen beer I did not complain. I order one small dish of baby soy beans and played ball. 

It seemed that Alex was interested and getting drunk and chatting up his two lady friends from his building. Fair enough I thought, Alex has been trying to enjoy life a bit more anyway. He is trying to get the most of living in Japan and life in general. Damian seemed to have a different agenda all together. He wanted to get drunk and get laid. He pulls this stunt way too often. Any women who looks at him he will size-up he chances of sleeping with her. He will also hit on just about any women. I actually find it kind of funny until I start to get drunk. Once I get drunk I want to pal around a bit. It can be a challenge to keep him focused on hanging-out while at the same time handle my drunken state. He is a cool dude despite his never ending raging hormones.

Anyway, as the night went on all of us got pretty drunk. Alex had a good time getting shit faced and talking to the Kansi chicks. Damien got kind of hammered himself yet failed in his efforts to pick-up any chicks. He did not work up the balls to actually put the moves on any gals that night. As for me, I was completely hammered. For some strange reason I was a bit of an angry drunk that evening. I did not go off or anything but I did feel a bit aggressive. I guess it came from a long day of worked combined with an argument I had with someone the night before. Kind of freaked me out actually. I kept my shit together but I felt as if I wanted to smack the dog shit out of someone the entire night.

Overall, it was a pretty good night. I got drunk with some buddies from work for damn cheap. The only thing was, I really do not remember how the hell I got home. While this is normal for me, waking-up completely confused is something which usually does not happen. Oh well until next time...

Awamori Shochu from Okinawa is the Devils Drink

I have never been one of those `sake expert` types. For me, a good drink is a good drink(if it is cheap it may become a great drink LOL). Despite my habit of trying to get drunk in the most inexpensive way possible, I have found an odd drink which is worth shelling out some extra yen. A few months back my Japanese sword dancing teacher took me out in Kita-Senju for drinking and introduced me to Awamori.

I am not big on drinking sake but this stuff is something different. This fire water from Okinawa will fuck you up good and proper. It reminds me of moonshine and tastes about the same. After my first drink I felt like I had just swallowed a million African fire ants. After the second drink I realized this stuff is a real man`s drink. The more I drank the more my sword teacher kept laughing and encouraging me to drink more.

He kept saying in Japanese, `Drink the Zanpa! Be a man! Awamori shochu is good for blue eye Samurai.` Yeah, blue eye Samurai is his nickname for me. After drinking a whole bottle of Awamori, the izakaya  manager finally politely informed us that it was time for our drunk loud asses to leave.  Well, the old man had not had enough. He takes me to a karaoke place for more drinking. Being a crazed drunk old man, as soon as we get settled into the karaoke he orders a damn bottle of Awamori and starts singing Japanese folk music! I am not big on Japanese folk music. I have always though it sounds like a dying cow begging to be shot in the head. Yet, the old man loves the music of old Japan.

We finish off half the bottle of Awamori in about 30 minutes. In that time span, he had already sang three songs and being a right proper drunk bastard. He drags me into the fun and I end up singing those damn folk songs with him. Get this picture in your head, an old Japanese guy with a greaser gaijin drunk off their asses singing(poorly) traditional Japanese folk music in a karaoke booth. It was like a scene right out of lost in translation. Hell, I don`t even remember exactly how I got home. I think his son, and my good buddy, Akio helped us to get back to our respected places of living.

After that night I have been hooked on Awamori. It gets you drunk as fuck and stupid as a ho in Texas. When I roll up into a bar and want to get retarded drunk I skip the beer and go right for the Awamori shots. It is a bad habit I know but at the regular price of around 360 yen  a pop I cannot resist. My love of Awamori has become so infamous among my Japanese friends that I was given a big ass bottle of it at our end of the year party!

So if you want to get a proper falling over drunk going on grab a bottle of Awamori!

I turned 30 and got Drunk

It had to happen soon or later. The God of Chaos has allowed me to age just a bit. It is official; as of January 5th 2010 I am 30 years of age. All my life it has been beat into my head that turning 30 is a big deal somehow. When you reach 30 you should be a `full grown adult.` I am suppose to be a `productive member of society` and all that jazz. Somehow by turning 30 I can`t mess around and do crazy shit just for the fuck of it anymore. I must be a mature person with a career and many responsibilities. Wait a minute...Fuck All That!

I turned 30 and got drunk off my ass. I was really in the mood to get drunk that day too. I had not had a drink in two whole days so my stomach was pissed and my liver a bit too happy. What the hell does turning 30 mean anyway? I don`t feel any different. It is not like I become a different person overnight. I like me just the way I am. Turning 30 may be a milestone, but I look at it differently from the way I was raised to  view the big 30. More or less, I view it as a time to reflect on where I have been and where I am going. Even so, I think it is a waste of time to dwell on it too long. Hell, I still have a shit load of living left to do.  So, in the spirit of reflection without harping on the past I will spend one blog post taking a look at where I am have been and where I am going.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN
  I have been to some low and high places so far. Hell, I was born dirt poor in West Virginia for Christ sake. Growing up in such a situation did give me a lot of unique experiences that most people miss out on. I have even thought about starting another blog just about my days in West Virginia.

I went to college which was a big surprise even for me. Despite, mass amounts of partying I ended up for a degree in journalism. Said degree did land me a lot of freelance work yet I just could never handle working on any paper as a full time writer. There are just too many assholes in the media biz.

I have done a fair amount of traveling but there are still a lot of places on my list to check out. I have been to a lot of places in America but there are still many international locations left to go. Lucky for me I am in a good position to travel around the world(living in Japan has its advantages).

I`m married to a Japanese gal! I never expected in a million years I would end up marring a chick from Japan. It has worked out pretty good so far. There are good days and bad days but overall it is a good deal.

I have had a damn good time overall so far. I have gotten into some wild crazy shit. Sometimes it was pretty shitty at the moment yet looking back at everything I was loving every second.


WHERE AM I GOING


The road ahead looks promising yet twisted as all get out. My current gig keeps things interesting professionally. Although, the more fucked up things get the more I ponder how much time and energy I really want to put into my current job. For now, I am still willing to give it my all.
 
I am still loving writing. I find myself writing more in one week than most people do in a year. I am getting a pretty good stock of shot stories and such on my PC desktop. It might be time to start looking at the option of getting a collection published. My online novel is ready to come back to live again. Yall be on the look out for some new editions of The Life and Times of Johnny Blade to be available for your reading pleasure soon. 

Blogging is still a passion of mine. I keep doing the whole blogging thing because it is fun. My main blog, which you are reading right now, is my creative outlet to share my strange life with the rest of the world. Some people love it and some people hate it. I have learned that the internet is full of more assholes then in real life. It used to get on my nerves but a tthis point I realize folks on the internet will talk shit no matter what you write.

I might want to spawn another life into this fucked up world in the near future. The gal and I have talked about it a few times. Trying my hand at fatherhood might just be the greatest thing I could ever do. Having a kid of some real heavy shit so I will just have to see when the timing is right.

My life could still go in about a million different directions. For now, I am just trying to enjoy the ride and do what brings me happiness.

An American in Turkey: Part One

During the usual down time during the end of year in Japan my ass decided to sneak off the island and head to Turkey. The nation of Turkey may seen like an odd choice, but in reality I just wanted to get the hell away from Japan for a little bit. 2009 proved to be a heavy year for me and I wanted to get the fuck away from everything. Turkey is a good choice because it is basically in between the west and east. It`s far enough away from Japan for me to forget about shit as well as not to close to America. So, for a week I hung out in Turkey trying to relax and forget about the insanity of Tokyo.

What the hell does a greaser from West Virginia who lives in Tokyo do in Turkey any fucking way? Well, the answer to that question is simple enough. I do what ever I can to forget the crazy ass year I just endured. Yeah, I could have been a total out of control asshole in Turkey, but I decided to take it easy. Besides, the Truks are Muslim so they usually don`t take kindly to insane Americans. Yet, despite the limitations I placed on myself I still had a damn good time in Turkey. In fact, I had such a good time that two posts about my trip are needed.




The first part of my adventure in Turkey took me to a place called Kappadokia. I could get into a long boring ass history lesson about Kappadokia but I am not a history teacher so read this if you want a history lesson. In short, Kappadokia is a really old place which many cultures have laid claim to over the years. It is also really beautiful and a great place to relax.

Considering that Kappadokia is in a B.F.E part of Turkey, it was easy to forget everything and simply enjoy myself. I didn`t even need to go ape shit crazy to purge any bent up stress. The beauty and peaceful environment washed over me; filling me with a surreal sense of awareness. My inner spirit got a massive jolt of energy being surrounded by the spiked rocks and rolling wave cliffs of Kappadokia. It was a damn good feeling to say the least.

I didn`t just stare at the surroundings all day drinking up the beauty of it all. I actually was pretty active in Kappadokia. I got into some pretty cool shit while chilling in B.F.E. Turkey. I signed up for a guided hike around Kappadokia. We started out in the morning with a cool ass hike in the mountain area. The guide babbled on about the history of Kappadokia while I enjoyed the beauty and took a crap load of photos. I only paid attention to about half of what the guide was talking about. He was talking about some cool stuff, which did relate to the hike, but I was interested in checking out the amazing scene around me.



Due to cold temperatures the trail was frosted over pretty damn good. It was pretty amazing to see such a thick layer of frost collected on the weeds and shrubs. The gal and I got separated from the other people several times because we kept wondering around taking photos and exploring. The guide didn`t seem to really give a shit so I think we got more out of the hike than everyone else.

After the hike was over went to an `underground city` of sorts. Under the village there is damn near another city. Back in the old days of wars and general hell raising the people used to hide out in the underground city to keep from getting killed by invading armies. The whole idea of it got my attention and I actually listened to the guide a little more closely. Over the course of many centuries an entire maze of tunnels and living quarters were dug out by several different cultures. Going all the way back to Roman times, people used the underground city for protection. As I traveled though the tunnels and dug out living spaces, I thought about what it must have been like to survive in such an environment. They must have been some real tough folks!

People back in the day were hardcore! The underground city was no joke. It was not easy to wonder around though the tunnels. I had to get on my hands and knees a few times. Even when there was enough room to walk I had to hunch over in order to avoid smacking my head against the ceiling. Even the gal, who is only 5`2`, had a little trouble a few times. Despite the tight fit, it was damn cool to get such a hands on experience with an important part of Turkey`s past.

While the guided hike was cool, the balloon ride was awesome! The gal nor I had ever been in a hot air balloon before. It was a big treat for both of us. She talked about it for weeks leading up to the big day. I think it was the romantic and fun factor which got her so up for it. I have to admit it was damn fun. Although, we had to get up at the crack of dawn because the balloons can only fly in the morning hours. We didn`t mind much because it was so worth the early morning start.

Hell, half the fun was watching them get the damn things up and running. They used a huge flame connected to what sounded like a jet engine. While the balloon company got everything ready we were given all the free coffee we could drink. It was so damn cold I must have had half a pot of coffee while I waited. The wait was well worth it. Once we got in the air the scene was mind blowing! All the beauty of Kappadokia in full 360 display. Everyone in the basket were speechless. We all just stared at it eyes wide open. It was a high light of my life for sure.


Aside from all the stuff I saw and did in Kappadokia I did something extra. The staff at the hotel we stayed told us about a guy in town offering ATV rentals and a guide though the off-road trails. I knew I should not be riding ATV`s though one of the world`s greatest nature wonders but I just could not resist. I guess the country redneck buried deep inside of me compelled me to rent an ATV and get in some four wheeling action.
It actually turned out to be damn fun. I got to see a lot of Kappadokia that you just cannot get to hiking or taking a guided tour. The guy who took us along the off-road trails knew some cool spots to hang out. We got to see some really cool shit. We come up on this church build right into the damn mountain! I must have explored that old church for an hour. Four wheeling in Kappadokia kicks ass!

Overall, Kappadokia was great. I felt so relaxed and stress free. The people were so nice and friendly. All the beauty was so inspiring and soul enriching. I suggest it as a great vacation spot for anyone looking to get away from everything for a bit.

I also made it to Istanbul while I was in Turkey. That was a different experience all together; which is why I am going to post a second blog post about my time in Turkey soon. I got some great photos and a few stories to tell about Istanbul so be looking forward to that yall!