My new friend Erik Lundgren

A few weeks ago I got a very nice email from a man who watches my videos. He sent me his own original song called "Mr. Tanaka". When I listened to it, I was very impressed to hear such a professional sounding recording and beautiful acoustic guitar music. Nobody has ever written a song like this for me before so I was very happy.

His name is Erik Lundgren and he is from Sweden. He is an animator and a musician who has just moved to Kyoto.

He has a few other original songs on his youtube channel which you can see linked in the above video. I was very surprised to see that his songs had been up for a year, but he had only one subscriber. I guess that youtube is so big, that even a very talented person can get lost in all the millions of videos.

I made this video mostly from footage from my recent trip back home. The shrines shown are all in Chichibu. There are a few bits from Washington DC too and the swan is from Sonoma.

You can download mp3 of Erik's album at his website.... http://www.eriklundgrenmusic.com/

Comic Market 76 and Gundam

The day after the Tokyo Youtube gathering, August 16th, I went to Comic Market in Odaiba, Tokyo. Comic Market is Japan's, or maybe the world's, largest comic convention and happens twice a year, in Summer and Winter. Over 500,000 people come to Tokyo Big Sight during the 3 day convention.

The big difference between Comic Market (abbreviated to Comike) and an American convention like San Diego Comic-Con, is that Comike is almost all Dojinshi. Dojinshi are like a fan fiction manga. They are fan made manga that use characters from famous manga, anime, games, music, film, etc. They are usually made by groups or individuals called "Circles". Some of these circles become very famous and people line up for hours to get their new books. The books can then sell for a lot of $$.

Dojinshi can be about any subject matter. Sometimes they take a popular story in a new and strange direction. They are also known for being very erotic. Although not all Dojinshi are erotic, many are heavily sexual. The themes often include forbidden love and homosexuality.

Odaiba is known as a popular date spot in Tokyo. It's located on the bay and has a ferris wheel, and lots of shopping centers and parks. In Shiokaze park, about 2.4 kilometers from the Tokyo Big Sight Comic Market, is the giant Gundam. The Gundam is 60 feet high and is made by Bandai toy company. It is been guarding the park since July and is supposed to be up till October I think. Gundam is one of the most popular anime in Japan and has been around since 1979. A lot of kids in Japan want to be a Gundam when they grow up. I wanted to be a giraffe, or a fire truck.

Kitty Kats make me happy

It is my birthday this morning and I woke up to find this very nice card. This cat is named Dr. Mao. She is very handsome. Dr. Mao is a friend that my twin brother David introduced me too. Dr. Mao is a good writer. I don't just mean that her handwriting is good...you can tell from her birthday card that it is...but she is also a skillful bilingual poet and novelist. She was a runner up for the Nekotagawa-Sho award for her novel "我が輩は猫である。なんか文句あるのか。” Although my favorite is "あたしの毛を撫でる貴方。 A love story".

I hope you can meet her someday.

Thank you, Dr. Mao. I am glad to know a cat like you.

３６歳になった。もうおやじだ。どう見てもおやじだ。しょうがないな。おやじでがんばる。

Flesh Juice- It's not just for Zombies anymore

When I am back home, I like to start every morning with a glass of Flesh Juice. You can see me enjoying some in this new video. I also talk about natto.

Natto is a popular breakfast food in Japan. It's fermented soybeans , usually mixed with green onions, mustard and some dashi and eaten on rice. It's very tasty for some and unpleasant for others. In my opinion, it is the best rotten bean you can eat. It's very slimy and stringy in a wonderful way. Japanese people love to see foreign visitors eat natto. I hope you will try it someday. You can get it at any Japanese market. Try Nijiya or Mitsuwa if you live in Los Angeles.

I guess Chinese "stinky tofu" is the Chinese equivalent to Natto. I have heard about it but I have never tried it. I think it is probably much more advanced than natto. I have seen photos of stinky tofu and it looks like it might get up and walk away if you try to eat it. I would like to nibble on it someday though.

An Average day in Japan

Whenever I go back home to Japan, I have a little routine. I like to go to certain shops and restaurants in Tokyo before I head to Shimane.

I had a favorite curry restaurant in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo called Yumeya. I was sad this trip when I went there and it was gone. It had become a clothing store. But the funny thing is that the store still smelled like curry spice. I think there is a curry ghost who will haunt it forever. If you buy a shirt from that store, maybe you will always have a spicy aroma.