Mind Hole Balls

Via the Nefariously Magnificent Nicopolitan:

Nicopolitan: it's gonna blow your mindhole
Nicopolitan: well, maybe not, but still neat
redFred: Hehe
redFred: I will prepare my mindhole
redFred: Pack it all stuffed with all kinds of cotton balls
redFred: Don't wanna lose too much
Nicopolitan: i hear you can get a great deal on mindhole cottonballs at Costco
redFred: Hmm, but it's gonna be a bitch to carry that huge box home
redFred: I'd rather just get the individual packs at Rite Aid
Nicopolitan: individually wrapped mindhole balls
Nicopolitan: like, the ones you get on the airplane
redFred: Sealed for your protection
Nicopolitan: do not open if safety seal has been broken
redFred: Apply to mindhole only with the advice of a trained professional
Nicopolitan: consult a physician to ask if mindholeballs are right for you
redFred: Stop using mindholeballs immediately if you see adverse symptoms such as bleeding, leakage, or grey matter absorption
Nicopolitan: ok, ok ok ok, now we need a slogan
redFred: Mind Hole Balls: A Better Life through Balls ?
Nicopolitan: wow. okay, i just snotted on my keyboard
redFred: Hahaha
Nicopolitan: there is no way i'm not Photoshopping a logo for this

Portrait: Koban

From Japan

Koban, or police boxes, are small neighborhood outposts for the Japanese police. They're often only one or two rooms, and house two to ten police officers. Koban are good meeting places as they're often close to major stations and well marked on area maps. Many are built with a cute facade, like this owl-shaped koban in Chiba city.

Oktoberfest

Here are photos of the Yokohama Oktoberfest 2009. Giant mugs of beer, sausage and pretzels, and polka bands. I'm half sorry I didn't get a photo of the guy emptying the entirety of his digested Oktoberfest meal on the ground next to our table. By far the highlight was the Japanese crowd getting all riled up and dancing to the polka music after getting some liquid courage in them.

GMT +9

It's been a while since I've made a post on life in Japan.

The weather has been incredibly strange lately. It was nice and pleasantly cool all the way up through the end of September. Long-sleeved shirt weather, but nothing heavier. Then we've had a week and a half of rain and wind with a huge typhoon coming in, and the temperature has plummeted. I was walking to work in just my suit one day and the next I had to take a sweater and jacket. Today the typhoon winds are so strong they've closed down most of the train lines.

This week and a half I've also been working non-stop. I decided to work overtime this weekend and so I've been going, going, going since last Sunday. It made me a little sick at the end of last week but with some good medication I've pulled through.

This coming weekend is the Yokohama Oktoberfest and I'm planning to go again this year. They really spare no expense in making it authentic, even hiring a real German polka band to play music under the big dining hall tent. There are all kinds of great German beer, good stouts and weizens, and all the sausages you could possibly eat. It's usually packed which is fun because the festival atmosphere spreads throughout the crowd.