Hiroshima

I will be away for the next few days. I will be on a short vacation to Hiroshima. Should be interesting. It will be the second war museum i will have visited (first being in Vietnam). I'll post pictures when i get back.

As for my last show, it was huge. Over 100 came for the 3 straight sell out show. In the audience we had representatives from Music Japan TV, Yoshimoto Company (like Second City Comedy Company in the US) and the Daily Yomiuri national newspaper. We didn't disappoint. We brough in over $2,000 in bar sales for the bar we performed in over the 90 minute show. I guess our fans like to drink!

Breaking News!

Breaking News!
Originally uploaded by mtstaffa.

Hit the decks folks. There is a tsunami coming to Japan! Cover the windows, buy a generator. Get some Powerbar's for emergency food. CNN is currently reporting that a 16 inch tsunami has just struck Japan. How are the words "16 inch", "tsunami" and "struck" used in the same sentence?

I'm sick of the media taking stories that have not evolved into legit newsworthy stories, and just blow them up in the Media. Does the world really need to know that a 16 inch wave has crashed onto the beaches of Japan? Are the fungi and kelp supposed to heed CNN's warning and evolve legs and flea?

As I write this, I hope in the future this story does not turn out to be something worse, then I will really look bad.

Follow up, CNN just reported a second 8inch tsunami has hit Japan. I'm in a shelter as I type this, wearing bubble wrap and a hockey mask for protection.

Mauer

Mauer
Originally uploaded by mtstaffa.

Yesterday I went to the MLB vs NPB All-Star game in Osaka. There were a lot of highlights, and a couple of lowlights (is that a word?).

We sat in our seats, beers in hand. I brought out the American flag determined to get on tv. That subject is the source of one lowlight. In between every inning, the cameras panned the audience putting them on the jumbo-tron. I saw people sitting doing nothing get on TV. There people talking on their phone, men eating. All of these people got on TV. I was the ONLY person in the stands with an American flag. Did i get on TV? No. Did the kids 4 rows up from me (doing nothing interesting) get on TV? Yes. How in the world did i not get on TV? I think (and my friends there agreed) they didnt want to put the US flag on TV. grrrrr.

It was great to see the MLB All-Stars though. Howard hit another homerun. The pitching was great. It was fun to see Joe Nathan close out the game. The only sad thing was because Mauer had played in the previous game, he sat out this game. i did get some pics of him and Nathan (playing). Overall it was a great atmosphere and a lot of fun. MLB won 7-2.

Victory

Victory
Originally uploaded by mtstaffa.

Baseball Update: My team is now one of the top 4 teams in Osaka. (in a 25 team league). We had a game last Sunday and won 5-3. I batted 1000% with one hit and a walk with two stolen bases.

We have the semi-final game next Sunday. Then if we win, the Championship game the following week.

What is great about this league is that we sometimes play in small parks, and other times we play in stadiums like Midway Stadium where the St. Paul Saints play. It's a great atmosphere. Playing baseball in a playoff game in a foreign country with communcation problems, but expectations that being an American i should be good at baseball, has put me in one of the most stressful/nervous situations of my life. It sounds odd, but when everyone is watching what the "blonde haired" kid does, it kinda gets to you. But it sure is fun!

Go Hitension!