Category: Personal/Blog News

Adam Richards “can knock people out”

I start my new career on February 19, so watch your ass:

PRIZE FIGHT PROMOTIONS PRESENTS THE RETURN OF ADAM RICHARDS HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT BACK IN ACTION ON FEBRUARY 19

It goes without saying that in 2005, boxing needs some new blood to rejuvenate the heavyweight division. Prize Fight Promotions believes it has just the fighter to do the job, and is pleased to present the triumphant return of up and coming prospect Adam Richards on February 19 at the Isle of Capri Casino in Lula, Mississippi.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Adam Richards back in the ring on our February 19 show, and I believe he is just what the heavyweight division needs to get it back to where it used to be in the minds and hearts of the public,” said Brian Young, President of Prize Fight Promotions. “Adam has a stellar amateur background, he’s a personable young man, and maybe most importantly, he can knock people out.” Continue reading Adam Richards “can knock people out”

Saaya Irie, cohorts to Stop Posing in Bikinis — MF Breathes Sigh of Relief

In an earlier story that provoked a lot of interest here at MF, we reported that Chinese internet forums were humming with interest over model Saaya Irie, an 11-year-old girl with gigantic breasts, pictures of whom were apparently uploaded by Japanese trolls (Good background at Wikipedia as usual).

Message to the sick perverts who flooded me with confounding rationalizations for why it’s OK to get wood to an 11-year-old: You should be ashamed! Your intense pedophilic interest for an 11-year-old girl has creeped her and her associates out so badly that she has decided never to pose in a bikini again, reports Nozomi Online (a Jpop news site in need of a proofreader) in October 2005:

As a result of all this attention, the members of [Irie’s] singing troupe “Sweet Kiss,” which include 13-year old Runa and 11-year old Jessica, have also considered no longer posing in bikini’s [sic]. A statement by Ishida Yuuichiro, the groups management, revealed that they had never expected such feedback from the internet and adult magazines. He concludes that although the media attention was beneficial for the group, he didn’t want them to focus on Saaya’s large breasts and wanted the group to be recognized for talent and not Saaya’s large breasts.

I and all other rational souls out there commend the decision to keep the girls clothed (But wait a minute! Run your mouse over the “News” section of Sweet Kiss’s official site — bikinis!). But one look at the cleavage-centric photos in question makes it clear that Ishida is being, shall we say, a little disingenuous. I can believe that he was surprised, and even disturbed, at how well the exploitation worked, but his claim that the supposedly immense “talent” of a group of preteens is getting unfairly outshined because of one member’s unfortunate growth spurt goes beyond ludicrous. In this light, Nozomi Online’s take on the issue is puzzling:

The most terrifying aspect of Sweet Kiss might be that the fledgling group, with next to no ties to the music and television industries, might depend on the media stir caused by the oversized bust of a girl yet to enter her teenage years. Only the future holds the answer to whether or not the artistic integrity of the group can overcome an overflowing F-cup.

Indeed, it is terrifying to think that the public exploitation and sexual objectification of young girls are considered normal in Japan. But don’t be so quick to exculpate the people who took the photos in the first place! Continue reading Saaya Irie, cohorts to Stop Posing in Bikinis — MF Breathes Sigh of Relief

Entering Japan, refugee-style

Good morning, Frogheads! I got back to Tokyo earlier this week, but thanks to my school’s very poor taste in temporary housing, I haven’t been able to get online. Fortunately there are Hotspots all over the place, so all hope for blogging hasn’t been totally lost. I’m currently reporting to you live from a Mos Burger overlooking the Yamanote Line, or “the ringworm of Tokyo” as Adamu calls it.

I had a different experience arriving at Narita this time, because I did it without a visa. It’s not that I was too stupid or lazy to get one; there were circumstances. Continue reading Entering Japan, refugee-style

“Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time”

That’s what my fortune cookie once told me. And despite being a flavorless and generally unneccessary part of my Chinese food experience, it’s right. So keep it real folks.

I turn 24 this year, and if the Chinese zodiac is any guide, when your age is a multiple of 12, you’re supposed to have an unlucky year.

So far, 2006 has been pretty good, actually. I started the year in Japan, seeing my precious Mrs. Adamu for the first time in three months (She currently lives in Thailand doing world things).

Hm, that’s all I’ve got for now. Expect some pictures of Japan among other personal posts I’ve got lined up including a trip to New York I took a few months ago to eat ramen that ended up being really crappy.

WordPress 2.0

I just upgraded to WordPress 2.0. It’s still using the same theme (for now) so nothing should look any different on the user end, but the administrator’s interface is radically different, and pretty nifty. I haven’t explored it enough to actually say what practicaly changes there have been, but it should be fun to mess around and see what it can do. If anyone finds any bugs or oddities caused by the upgrade, make sure to email me.

Bombs vs. ports

Just a few days away from returning to Japan. While visiting a war museum in Charleston yesterday, I spotted these names painted on a WWII-era dive bomber:

Obviously, it’s a list of islands that the plane bombed. But I can’t help but think… if you put it in Book Antiqua with some nice photos, it could just as easily come from a cruise line brochure. Stick Honolulu on top and Yokohama on the bottom and you’ve got a nice little Hawaii-Japan trip.

(More profound blog posts coming soon, I promise. Still a little fried from cramming for my tax exam…)

Peace at last: Adamu is no longer homeless


I am finally on a lease, paying rent on a real live apartment. There is still much unpacking to do, but at least my desk and bed are set up.

After Paco screwed me royally back in October, there was a bit of an ordeal when I tried to get my deposit back:

1) I threatened to call the police if he didn’t send me my $500.
2) He threatened to “stab [me] in the face” if I continued “threating” him.
3) Many people thought it was a hilarious threat, but my family found out, causing them needless worry.
4) Paco backed down from the threat and sent me my money.

But the drama, hopefully, is finally over. Many thanks to Mateo and Saru for helping me move, and special thanks to Cousin for letting me crash at her place.

My new building is swank: sauna, outdoor pool, fitness center (that I need to hit pretty badly), tennis courts. The rent’s not bad either. I can finally live in peace after spending a month and a half homeless thanks to Paco the face-stabber.

Anyway, the reason I’m blogging this is because while we were moving my stuff in, Saru and I saw the most curious sight: a balding man in his 30’s wearing a karate uniform with a rifle (complete with scope) strapped to his back! Unfortunately, neither of us was in a position to get a picture of him, but I’ll be sure to if I run into him again (hopefully not in a dark alley).

Is there some form of martial arts that combines karate and rifleshooting? Some sort of karate biathlon maybe? If anyone knows about this, please do explain!

Adam Richards makes the high honor roll YESSSSSSSSSS


Way to go!

Honor Roll

Waubonsie Valley High School

The following senior and junior students have been named to the honor roll for the first quarter of the 2005-06 school year at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora. Sophomore and freshman honor rolls will be published later.

Seniors

High honors: Mohamed Abdelati, Christie Alekna, Nicole Andrade, Rachel Andrews, Asma Ashraf, Maryam Askia, Matthew Asuan, Kristyn Atkins, Kyla Bachtell, Andrew Baginski, Nicholas Baier, Christen Baillie, Samantha Barber, Jillian Battaglia, Amanda Batterson, Steven Berger, Vikas Bhala, Markie Bitter, Joseph Blanco, Victoria Blanco, Jacqueline Boatman, Jacob Boerema, Ryan Bolwin, Andrew Bosco, Michael Brancheau, Deborah Bridgett, Jennifer Brown, Kelly Brummel, Kimmerly Buchholz, Zachary Buckley, Kevin Burns, Nathan Caldwell, Samuel Carpenter, Nivedita Chandrasekharan, Brendan Chaves, Winnie Cheung.

Priya Chopra, Timothy Clark, Chase Clarke, Bernadette Close, Bridget Close, Mallery Clouse, Abby Cox, Jamie Custer, Melissa Davis, Cory Deking, Vanessa Delaney, Jessica Dennin, Colleen Densmore, Ananya Dev, Carolyn Dick, Lindsay Dileo, Matthew Dixon, Christina Dracopoulos, Erika Drane, Jacquelyn Duke, Alysia Eberly, Jeremy Enright, Karissa Erber, Kristen Erickson, Steven Fekety, Tamara Fetzer, Katie Fick, Benjamin Finfrock, Daniel Fisher, Dustin Fix, Erica Foley, Jennifer Fowler, Rashad Franklin, Monica Freeman, Ashton Frierson, Divya Gantla, Alissa Gigler, Clarissa Glassett, Kriti Goel, Michael Goetz.

Lily Gonzalez, Nehal Gosalia, Scott Graczyk, Jacquelyn Graham, Rachel Greenspan, Brittany Gregus, Andrew Gross, Grant Gucinski, Bennett Gulling, Ameera Haamid, Jennifer Haick, Paul Happ III, Meagan Heim, Emily Hendricks, Griffin Henricks, Ryan Herdegen, Coryn Hess, Dana Higgins, Laura Horan, Emily Hynes, Don Idio, Ashley Inches, Aryka Ishmon, Andrew Israelsen, Hariharan Iyer, Michael Jacobs, Bryan James, Nicole Jeewek, Cullen Johnson, Meaghan Johnson, Jill Jozefowicz, Alex Kahler, Nicholas Kasmar, Shivani Katyal, Alan Keefe, Shefali Khanna, Sa Kim, Sung Kim.

Brian Kirchner, Bethany Kirkenir, Daniel Kirschbaum, Darius Kizys, Kirsten Knapton, Sandeep Kola, Kyle Koster, Vasiliy Kosynkin, Karthik Kotha, Michael Kozak, Matthew Krafczyk, Katharine Krause, Uma Krishnan, Kyle Krivacek, Jennifer Lackey, Anne Lacy, David Lakhani, Patricia Lakoma, Sara Laney, Rachael Lastres, Brittany Lawler, Zachary Lawson, Alexander Leasenby, Arnold Lee, Joanna Leggett, Eden Lenk, Kyle Lennox, Jordan Lints, Dominic Loney, Leigh Loosbrock, Lauren Lucas, Micaela Luna, Stephanie Lund, Amy Lustro, Samantha Lyons, Andrew Macdonald, John Mackey, Jayesh Madrecha, Leanne Maksin, Mark Mankivsky, Sarah Mann, Scott Markham, Bojana Martinic, Johnathan Maurer, Laura Maxwell, Arlen Mccann, Catherine Mcgath, Alethea Merelos, Ashley Mills, Rachel Montes, Morgen Moore.

Danielle Moores, Matthew Mores, Michael Morice, Stephanie Murphy, Tracy Murphy, Lauren Musarra, Autumn Myatt, Joshua Myers, Elizabeth Nelson, Catherine Neuman, Amanda Nielsen, Ann Nowak, Philip O’donnell, Caren Oliver, Robert Olson, Samuel Olson, Maggie O’malley, John Ossyra, Timothy Otto, Alan Ouska, Jessica Palmerin, Neil Pandya, Brittany Panicola, Heather Parchman, Lina Park, Raj Patel, Vanessa Pegram, Lenen Pellegrino, Andrea Perez, Anthony Pisciotto, Chelsea Potts, Amanda Regan, Rachel Reitemeier, Adam Richards, Steven Robinson, Mercedes Roca, Madeline Rodriguez, Alexis Royce, Lisa Rudolph, Ashley Rymer, Manu Sabu, Jessica Sappington.
Continue reading Adam Richards makes the high honor roll YESSSSSSSSSS

New Ghibli Movie ‘Ged War Journal’ directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s Son despite protest from father

Bitchin'!
While we’re on the topic of linking to blogs, Kaiju Shakedown, an official blog of Variety magazine (meaning he gets paid for it, I guess), has been one of my favorites lately. I’ve always been a firm believer that close, obsessive scrutiny of a nation’s pop culture can tell one a lot about that nation’s people, so Grady Hendrix’s posts, written with that true Variety-style sarcastic wit, always entertain and inform.

So it was the Shakedown where I learned about Ghibli Studios’ latest feature “Ged War History” (English title is apparently not finalized), directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro:

But father Miyazaki was against it! In an unsuccessful effort to find out why, I translated the first diary entry from Goro’s blog. This first appeared in the comments section of Kaiju Shakedown, but I will reproduce it here:

Introductory remarks — My father was against this

My father, Hayao Miyazaki, was against me directing “Ged War Journal” [tr: my guess at a literal translation of the movie’s title].

This may sound abrupt. However, first, I would like to make this clear.
Continue reading New Ghibli Movie ‘Ged War Journal’ directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s Son despite protest from father