Ah yes..

R.I.P. George Carlin. Thanks for the laughter and making me think at the same time.

The therapeutic power of red wine goes to work... (better drink some while I can afford it)

It's actually good to be able to pick up a bottle or three of decent Aussie table wine at reasonable prices here in Japan nowadays. Of course, you can pay too much easily as well. It pays to shop around. The ABC supermarket at America-mura in South Himeji is a good hangout for imported booze, as well as other gourmet tidbits. They don't stock Vegemite though... Grrrrr....

The last couple of nights were the Yukata Matsuri in Himeji. It was funny to get some of my co-worker's reactions to my invitation to come along for some fun and games. They all said that there were Bousouzoku (Japanese bikie gangs) running riot in Himeji during the festival and it was too dangerous to go. I've been to nearly every festival since 2001 (there was a 'riot' in 2000) and I have NEVER EVER seen any violence - especially since Himeji Station was usually fenced off by riot police. Turns out they did come this year, at 2am, without their bikes, still wearing their leathers and uniforms, but without their bikes, all they could do was say, "VROOM VROOM!" to the cops!!! YES, THEY ACTUALLY SAID, "VROOM VROOM!" TO THE COPS!!! I actually almost fell off my chair at work laughing when I heard that! I wish I could find the story to show you, but my manager saw it on the news today. I'm sure they said it in a really menacing way... but all I could think of was Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

NOVA News! The former boss of NOVA, Nozomu Saruhashi may soon be arrested - if they can find him.

Welcome to the United States, home of the poor, land of the indebted. Canada is next. Australia can't be too far behind. When the Associated Press starts panicking, then you know it's time to maybe get off this merry-go-round ride.

Is Obama evil? Well, he has surrounded himself with hawkish advisers, insults black people and lies continuously. You make up your mind.

The rate of childish, yet dangerous behaviour continues unabated in Japan. Witness this story of a young fellow who put drain cleaner in his boss' whiskey because, "He ignored me when I greeted him," Or how about these old guys who've taken over part of a park in Osaka to play Mah Jong? Ooooh, you can't play here - and we'll tease you until you leave! Go maturity! (Geeks can now have robot girlfriends... [shudder!])

When I mentioned a couple of posts ago about the Japanese government accepting more foreigners to boost the number of workers in Japan, this was not what I meant: thousands of "trainees" working for slave labour wages.

Boo Hoo... The world's rich have less leisure time then the poor. Where is that smallest violin when you need it?

Looks like carbon trading is coming, like it or not. Will it save the Earth - coz we really need to get a move on; I doubt it. If Bush/Cheney have anything to do with it then we're really screwed.

By the way, Iraq is still as deadly as ever - and Bush/Cheney are still free.

Celine Dion covering AC/DC is just another sign of the coming apocalypse. Another is the impending release of Chinese Democracy...

The head of HSV has gone on the record to say that hybrid vehicles are not as fuel efficient as good fuel-only cars. Not like he has a vested interest or anything. Could be worth examining closer if I was in the market for a new car though - and I had enough money splash about. In related news, the head of OPEC said that oil prices are not likely to come down. He was last seen laughing all the way to the bank...

I've taken to switching off the car's engine while at traffic lights to make my petrol yen go further (and it does!) but these guys have turned it into an art, or a sport, or both. OR, they are just self righteous douchebags. Your choice.

Appliance Golf!? Office Space did it better - much, much better!

Now I have some goals in life. Anyone want to join me?

Red wine now wearing off, but that was a nice buzz! Goodnight.