aimoto @ livejournal

First haircut in Argentina O_O...

2009-10-28T22:54:58Z

Although not horrible, my first haircut experience in Argentina was not a great one.

I searched online, found a hairstyle that was similar to what I had, and then asked some of the younger Japanese-Argentinian about places that could cut what I wanted. I found a stylist and showed pictures of what I wanted. Then my hair was cut.

(Copy&Paste from my first online convo after the cut...)

(7:49:24 PM) kenji: i went to get a haircut...
(7:49:30 PM) kenji: first time since moving to argentina
(7:49:35 PM) kenji: i showed them a picture
(7:49:51 PM) kenji: and now i have a faux-hawk...
(7:49:57 PM) alan: haha
(7:50:00 PM) kenji: i don't know how it happened...
(7:50:10 PM) kenji: i showed them pictures of my hair before it got long
(7:50:27 PM) kenji: and got pictures of the same hairdo from a japanese site
(7:50:31 PM) kenji: front, sides and back
(7:50:38 PM) kenji: but somehow i have a faux-hawk
(7:51:03 PM) kenji: sides buzzed down with the middle long
(7:51:05 PM) kenji: front to back
(7:51:13 PM) kenji: i don't know how it happened T_T...

NYAF '09

2009-10-10T14:29:56Z

Two weeks ago the group attended the New York Anime Festival for some Artist Alley fun. I provided the hotel which happened to be the Sheraton Towers right by Times Square and on the same block as the world's greatest chicken & rice food cart.

Anyways, here are some of the pictures I took home w/me.

Update: Patch 09.10.07

2009-10-08T03:37:38Z

Greetings from South America's little Europe--Buenos Aires! The prices of electronics are double to triple what they are in the States, and the streets are littered with... litter... and dog poo. But at least there's a cafe on every corner, and I can find anything from an electric transformer to a ceramic toilet seat within a block away. However, the convenience in this city is deceiving. A sushi and wine joint is a short walk away, but try to find one of those little poles that you extend between two walls to hang a curtain and you're at a loss. I spent a good hour cutting, drilling, and installing a wooden pole into my bedroom so that we could hang a curtain. Which turned out to be great because five minutes after I was done, I pulled too hard on the rope that adjusts the wooden blinds that protect the outside of the window and broke it. Needless to say, there are small tidbits about this new country that I still have to get used to.

My first three days have been pretty busy, and they've mostly been spent running around looking for apartment things like cups, decorations, and US to AR transformers. Things to make my new apartment feel like home.

I'll address things in detail later on as they come at me, but for now this little update should satisfy my urge to talk about what I'm up to.

Last note:
Some asked me why I moved. Well, I had planned to move for a while now, but not this soon. When I first got back to the States I had hoped to continue school there, but my family voted and decided that I should stay close to my fiance in Argentina. So I readied myself to leave after Thanksgiving. Then my fiance left the states, and less than a week after she got back she found out that she was pregnant. So my family voted again and told me to move as soon as possible. So here I am. The good news is that this won't change my plans. I'll still finish school here in Argentina, and we have her family nearby to support us when we need it.

Bring it on parenthood! I'm not scared of you!

Return of the purp.

2009-06-04T16:40:02Z

I went to get my hair cut at Enzo's the other day. I ended up leaving the place w/purple highlights. XD

I like 'em. I don't have a job and I'm still in school, so I figured a little dye wouldn't hurt. The hair has gotten mixed reviews though. My mom and Sanae are saying that I'm too old to be dying my hair, but if I didn't do things because I felt too old, then I probably wouldn't be going back to school.

LG Versa or Blackberry Storm?

2009-04-21T15:55:22Z

LG Versa (VX9600) or Blackberry Storm?

I currently have the LG Versa, but it keeps freezing on me. This would be OK if it wasn't so not OK.

PS. I'm in NoVA bitchez!

Brag time!

2009-04-10T17:32:29Z

OH YES HE DID

Return, the

2009-03-19T06:48:59Z

I'M BACK COMING TO AMERICA YES

FOR GOOD...

...or at least until I graduate.

Itinerary:
April 14th
Depart Tokyo, Japan (NRT) - 4:00pm
Arrive Washington, Dulles DC (IAD) - 3:35pm

I decided (or it was decided for me) that coming back home and finishing school in the US would be best. I'm currently filling out transfer applications and boy is it fun. I'm actually really glad that almost everything in the States is online now. Back before I left, college apps were done on paper or by phone, and Japan still embraces the paper-everything system, so doing something so daunting with such ease is a head relief since I'm extremely busy with moving out of my apartment and my girlfriend's visa crap. (Argentinians can't go anywhere in this world without getting interviewed and paying hefty fees.)

As for my concentration, I've decided to take a turn away from IT, economics, politics, and international affairs and pursue photography at an art school. However, most of the AICAD schools have already passed their application deadlines, so my only glimmer of hope is VCU, which I hear will be difficult to get into. Hopefully, being a transfer student with good grades will give me an edge, but my college knowledge--or lack thereof--really gives me doubts on my chances. I've always been pretty pessimistic about a lot of things I do, but one friend told me to keep a positive mindset or the negativity will show in my portfolio.

Anyways, I look forward to being home, while at the same time dread leaving my tiny island home. But hey, I hear Obama is working to legalize marijuana and get universal heatlhcare on track, so yay!

Real world = easy way out... or in... or whatever...

2009-03-15T16:35:35Z

Since coming to Japan, I've met a lot of people from all over the world. From surprisingly free spirited Chinese-North Korean girls to German guys acting like American frat boys looking to "conquer Japan with their penises." All these meetings have made me more open minded about a lot of things, but for the purposes of this entry, I'll only address one. About two years ago I became friends with a guy from Nevada who had switched from a technical major to English, and who could trail out words better than anyone I can think of. Well read, adventurous, and the only guy who road a skateboard through our small Japanese campus--you could tell just by talking with him that he wasn't a conventional person. Anyways, he and his friend have begun a country-wide trip around the States. Not impressed? Well, they're doing it on their bikes. Not motor bikes, but bicycles, and camping on the road as they go. They're currently in their first week, and have just arrived in Vegas after biking--on bicycles--through the fucking dessert.

Here's a quote from his blog:

Getting to Las Vegas was not so bad and it was a very strange feeling rolling into the city after spending so much time in the desert. I felt a little more feral, a little less civilized. I had not yet reached the point were I wanted to chuck a spear at a car and follow its oil trail off into the desert where it would die and I could chop it up for clothing and shelter, but I felt a little more out of place amidst the rush hour traffic of a large city coated in dust and neon lighting.

-Joel (http://www.honestexpression.com)

It's here that I'd like to state how envious and proud I am to say that I know someone who, unlike most of orthodox America, decided to take the hard route. It's something I noticed once I got here, and it's what I wanted to address. Why does society so often scold those who don't follow the same pattern of school, graduate, work, die? My own mom scolded me for wanting to put off school for another two years while I studied Spanish in South America. "Uhm. So how old are you going to be when you finally graduate?" It's not that I don't value my education, it's that I don't understand the rush. What's wrong with wanting to do what you want as long as you aren't stepping on any toes or bumming off others? This "womb-to-tomb mentality," as my retiring English professor put it, is a a social harness that I feel more than most others. As my future plans are made for me, I feel ever more anxious to break out and hit the road with nothing but "a hobo pack on the end of a stick, a can of beans, and a pocket full of dreams." It's adventurers like Joel who I think will benefit the most out of what short lives we live.

Wii will miss you

2009-03-10T16:39:55Z

I got rid of all my Wii gear and games.

Sold it partially because I need the money for new camera gear, but also because I've been trying to get rid of it for a while now. The thing is friggin' boring. For me at least. Lame titles, less than mediocre wifi play, and controls that I never really understood--makes me question why I bought the system in the first place.

Either way, the machine has given me countless hours of brawling fun, so I guess I got my money's worth seeing as I sold it for nearly what I bought it all for.

omfg. hilarious

2009-02-14T06:59:05Z

i thought the video of this kid hyped up on dentist drugs was boring at first, but now it's just a mess of all sorts of brilliant.

Age

2009-01-27T05:16:50Z

At first it was, "oh hey, I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke reruns!"

Then it was, "cool! Taxi reruns!"

Which was followed by, "I think I've seen this episode of SNL before..."

And now it's, "Roseanne? Fresh Prince? GEORGE LOPEZ?!?!" and "WHEN DID SNL GET THIS BAD o_O?"

Needless to say, I no longer feel young, which is sad because I know I am. But when most of the new people I meet are at least a few years younger than I am, it's hard to feel otherwise. Maybe it's just my luck, or maybe this is what I should expect since I'm still running around college/universities, but one of my newest friends was born in 1990. I didn't even know that was possible.

Anyways, this entry wasn't meant to be a gripe about growing old. I just wanted to state some of my observations, and now that I have, I feel old. Which is sad because I know I'm not. (I think.)

Obama's first weekly youtube address

2009-01-25T04:28:09Z

Weekly addresses to explain his policies and plans to the people. Such a great idea, and yet it took 70+ years for someone to mimic Roosevelt's fireside chats.

First experiences with film.

2009-01-02T15:20:02Z

Film processing is not as cheap as I remembered it! I think we charged like $3 to process a roll when I was at CVS, but the nearby shop here charges ￥650 (7USD) just for a 24 shot roll... So while my original plan was to get my film processed and printed, I opted for the poor-man's route of just getting the negs processed, and then scanning the film myself at home.

Only problem is I don't have a scanner that will work with film.

But Science bless us, we have tools like Google at our disposal. A quick search brought me to a few sketchy sites that talked about using a regular digital camera and Photoshop for jpegging our film. Skeptical, but desperate, I tried the method, and voila:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shima-ken/

I've been Flickr'd

2008-12-23T13:23:07Z

I finally caved and bought a pro Flickr account! For $2 a month, I suppose it's worth the unlimited uploads, collections and sets. Not to mention there's a whole photo community to explore and learn from. Guess this investment means I need to get out of the apartment and use my camera more actively.

So far most of my photos are around-the-house images taken with my DSLR, but I've also got 100+ camera phone pics up there with a few BBF film rolls waiting to be developed and uploaded.

Here's some of photostream:

Life in plastic, it's fantastic

2008-12-16T16:41:04Z

For a few weeks I was debating on whether or not I should buy a toy camera, and whether or not I wanted the bargain priced Holga 135BC, the half-shooting full-fun GoldenHalf, or the fantastic new 35mm TLR blackbird, fly. Well, after a lot of research and discussion on a few forums, I made my decision to go with the 135BC for 50 USD. I grabbed what little money I had, sped on down to the nearest toy-cam distributor, and voila--I am now the proud owner of the gigantinourmously awesome blackbird, fly. (Wait, what?)

Yes, that's right. Instead of going with the $50 Holga, I somehow ended up buying this newly released $130 TLR camera.

When I walked into the store the first thing I went for was the 135BC, but when my eyes panned left, and this superb piece camera caught my attention, I was sold. The camera I thought not to be in Okinawan stores was right in front of me, and even more amazing, it was the last one in stock. So seeing as the camera gods of fate were oh-so obviously pushing me to get the BBF, I really had no choice but to comply. I grabbed the cam, ran to the register, and was cramming film into its innards before I got to the car.

Unfortunately, I still have no images to post seeing as the past few days have been nothing but overcast (a toy camera's worst enemy). Until I do, you can check out what kind of images the BBF is capable of here.

The dreaded "Kiss of Deaf"

2008-12-10T07:26:21Z

Chinese "Kiss of Deaf" - (BBC News article.)

Bwahahah--A guy making out with his girlfriend accidentally caused his girlfriend to go deaf in her left ear. The whole ordeal has sparked multiple warnings about the "dangers of excessive kissing" throughout the Chinese news media.

"The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear."

This ought to give you something to think about the next time someone's tongue is in your ear. Ouchies.

Argentine ants

2008-12-05T03:15:00Z

Apparently, they're the most successful species of ant because of their unique nature to not compete or attack other Argentine ant colonies. Whereas other groups of ants would attack any surrounding nest, regardless of species, the Argentine ants would work together and "mingle" with other separated nests.

I read that in Wiki after reading an article about ants in the news, but the most interesting bit of info I learned was this:

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have developed a way to use the scent of Argentine ants against them. The exoskeletons of the ants are covered with a hydrocarbon-laced secretion. They made a compound that is different, but similar, to the one that coats the ants. If the chemical is applied to an ant, the other members of the colony will kill it.

So, essentially, you could spray an ant, and its colony would recognize its different scent as that of an enemy's and kill it. Wicked.

you're welcome

2008-12-01T04:16:31Z

Cheap domains!

2008-11-27T03:36:40Z

GoDaddy.com had a ridiculously amazing sale on domain names. For a one year subscription, you could purchase any .com/.org/.net/.mobi for only 99 cents!

So I went ahead and I grabbed up a domain for my blog, which you can now find at gokenji.net

I'm not sure if the campaign is still going, but you're welcome to try. The coupon code is: 99DOMAIN.

三線サイト

2008-11-17T04:18:46Z

There are no English written sites dedicated to the sanshin.

...so I made one!

Simple Sanshin Source

Special comment by Olbermann

2008-11-11T13:48:25Z

Gotta love Olbermann.

Some thoughts about the election

2008-11-05T17:43:35Z

I moved out of the States just as Bush came in for a second term.

Guess I can come back now?

*edit*
Just a thought, but I think the fact that he's the first black guy to be elected president is being blown a little out of proportion, or at least in Japan it is. I mean, it's great and all, but what's more important to me is having someone competent run the country. After all, it's not like people voted for him because he's black (although I know a lot of people did).

The headlines should read "Years of incompetence over!" not "オバマ氏が当選　史上初の黒人" (Obama first black person to be elected).

"retro junk"

2008-10-21T09:47:52Z

i was going through some videos on youtube and found this piece of nostalgic gold.

...now i just gotta find my copy of Oregon Trail and i'll be set.

firefox 3.1beta is friggin fast.

2008-10-16T18:09:43Z

seriously, why use anything else?

after testing out the new beta, the first thing that hits you is the noticeable speed difference. it's really fast. and because i don't feel like summing up what the other sites are saying, i'll just quote this tidbit from TGDaily.

The first public beta of Firefox 3.1 offers a handful of new features such as a 3D preview during tab switching, location awareness, better compliance with web standards and much improved JavaScript performance. Additional features planned for the beta 2 include a new privacy browsing mode, an Opera-like Speed Dial feature, improved private data deletion and URL bar tweaks.

・chrome was fun, but it's featureless, and like a lot of Google's products, forever in beta.

・IE is old news and will forever remain a dinosaur in the browser world.

・safari is meh for me, and i've never used opera.

anyways, for those of you who are reluctant to switch over because of add-on compatibility, there is one way to get around that.

1. open up Firefox 3.1b and type "about:config" into the address bar
2. right click and select New>Boolean
3. enter "extensions.checkCompatibility" for the preference name
4. set it to false

this will allow you to use most of your 3.0 add-ons.

"office jerk"

2008-10-16T04:42:06Z

"you're doing it too slow."

"stop making eye contact!"