Sunday Half-Marathon

Last Sunday I ran the Kobe Valentines Love Run Half Marathon for the second time. It was supposed to rain on Sunday, but ended up being a beautiful sunny day. I bested last years' effort by several minutes. I ran the half in 1 hour 45 minutes and 39 seconds. I'm feeling pretty confident leading up to the Tokyo Marathon. The only thing that makes me a little worried is that I haven't had the chance to put in some serious long runs. I have only had a few of 25 kilometers or more.


The shirt was given for participating in the run. This year it was a technical fabric shirt which is cool because I can use it for running, but I suppose I really won't feel very masculine while doing so!



I've been following the story about director Kevin Smith being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for "being too fat" for the last few days. I'm a huge Smith fan and love listening to his SModcast podcast. Yesterday in an "emergency" SModcast, he railed about the whole situation. Very entertaining to say the least. I hope Kevin Smith gets a few heads rolling within their organization!

Director Kevin Smith told he was 'too big' to fly
Clerks director Kevin Smith has revealed he was asked to get off a plane in the US because he was too big for the seats.
The 39-year-old claimed a pilot ejected him from the Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, California, saying he did not fit in a single seat.

Smith complained about the incident on his Twitter account saying: "I'm way fat, but I'm not there just yet."
Southwest issued an apology to the director via Twitter and its website.

In a statement titled Not So Silent Bob - a jovial jab at the Silent Bob character Smith plays in several of his films - the airline said: "We would like to echo our tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you."

The statement continued: "Our pilots are responsible for the safety and comfort of all customers on the aircraft and therefore, made the determination that Mr Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight." Read more at BBC

Snapshots and Drunk Men

I was flipping through the hundred of pictures I've taken over the last year and a half on my cell phones and was inspired to make a short video showing some of the more interesting ones.

Here it is:


Things have been really warming up in this neck of the woods. Today saw some temperatures around 10C and tomorrow is supposed to be 15C. I'm sure things will get a little cold in the near future though. I'm also sure it will be much colder in Tokyo at the end of the month when I head up there.

Here is a little something to give you a laugh. I actually read this story a few days ago, but wanted to share the joy.

Man arrested after applying for driver's license renewal while drunk
KANAGAWA - A 45-year-old man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Thursday after he went to a police station to renew his driver’s license while drunk, police said Friday.

Susumu Moriya, an unemployed resident of Sagamihara City, went into Sagamihara Kita police station just before 9.30 a.m. Thursday to renew his license but could not understand the instructions given to him by an officer on how print out a form via the touch screen computers. The officer noticed the man’s breath smelled of alcohol and asked him how he came to the station. Moriya said he walked.

Another officer then tried to help but Moriya became out of control and threw his license on the ground. The officer asked him to go home, and saw Moriya get into a car in a parking lot outside and drive away. He was arrested for drunk driving about 200 meters from the station.

Moriya told police he had been drinking since about 6 a.m. and had consumed two cans of beer and several glasses of shochu. A breath test revealed he had 0.45 milligrams of alcohol in his breath per liter exhaled. Source, JapanToday

The 2010 Fiesta Movement

Check out my friend John (Phampants on You Tube) as he attempts to win the The 2010 Fiesta Movement contest. Watch this vid to give your support! It would be even better if you rated it and left a comment on the video!

Things Get a Little Worse

I suposse I still keep a little up on the ins and outs of the ESL industry in South Korea simply because so many people make inquiries about it over on my You Tube channel. I was just reading Brian in Jeollanam-do's site and it looks like things have just gotten a little or maybe a lot worse for folks thinking of moving to Korea to teach.

II'm sure many of you have heard that if you get a job in Korea teaching you will make good money and be really taken care of? Well, if you decide to take a job with the government's EPIK program, you're about to get a rather shitty deal!

EPIK says "fuck you," requires teachers to front costs of their own orientation with two weeks' warning
Jacob of ROK Sojourn passes along some emails concerning English Program in Korea [EPIK], the government program that places native speaker English teachers in Korean public schools. This one is from a recruiter, and in short it says that EPIK will no longer be providing transportation from Incheon to the orientation site, and that teachers will have to front the entire cost of their week-long orientation.
Read More on Brian's page...

Running, Sundays and Fevers

I had a great run yesterday afternoon. It was a sunny and warm day here in Kobe and I went for about 12 km. I was supposed to run again this evening, but the rain, fog and cold were telling me not to go. I was also really tired. It wasn't a normal tired. Sure, I have been running 6 nights a week as well as going to Japanese class twice a week, but this tired felt a little weird. As the afternoon and evening have gone on, I have felt stranger and sure enough, I now have a fever. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning. I really have to get on the road and pound out some kilometers. As of tomorrow it will officially be 28 days until the Tokyo Marathon and I still have a lot of work to do.

Yesterday was a cool day because after my run, my wife checked the mail and I received to very cool running related packages. One was my bib number exchange certificate for the Tokyo Marathon. I will bring that to the race expo the day before the race and get my race number and timing chip. I also received a very cool package from the United States. My friend and fellow runner/You Tuber, John Pham (Phampants) sent me some running gels. I mentioned in a recent You Tube video that I use Power Bar gels and another kind called Carbo Shotz. many commenters recommended using Cliff Shots or GU, but I can't get either of those brands here in japan.


Here is the treasure trove of running goodness sent to me from Chicago. If you are reading this John, you can expect something cool coming your way in the mail later in the week!

I almost forgot to mention that in two weeks from today I will be running in a half-marathon. I did the same one last year and loved it due to the convenience factor. Although not a very scenic run, the Kobe Love Run Valentine's Half Marathon (now there is a mouthful) goes on right outside y door. The start line is literally a 10 minute walk from my apartment. This should be a nice motivator before Tokyo!

R.I.P. Rodger Swan

Although I never met him, Rodger Swan left a lasting impression on me as well as thousands of other people. Those who watched his You Tube videos of his life as an American living in Japan will think of him fondly.

Just a few short days ago, this well known Japan You Tube vlogger's life came to an end suddenly and unexpectedly. He first came to Japan as a university student and returned last year as a teacher with the JET Program.

Rodger seemed like a very likable man. He seemed genuine, kind and someone I would have like to have become friends with. In this day of social media, it is easy to make friends online and become close to those you have never met in person. Through Rodger's videos, I felt as if I knew him.

I found out about his death last night when I came home from work. This morning I watched Tokyocooney's video tribute to him. This afternoon I made my own video with my thoughts on Rodger.

Kevin Cooney's tribute to Rodger:


My thoughts on Rodger:



Rodger Swan's last video. It was just posted a few days ago. I still can't believe he is gone.

Kobe's International Radio Station

It's amazing how many things you miss even when you've been living somewhere for a few years. I just learned today that the city of Kobe actually has an international radio station. I suppose since we don't have a radio in our house, I never had a chance to come across it. It's also not a new thing. It's been in existence for 15 years. Radio FM YY is a foreign language station that has shows in 10 languages and is run by a staff of more than 100 volunteers. The station was born out of the Kobe Earthquake when there was no way for the roughly 45,000 foreign residents of Kobe to receive emergency information.

I learned about the station today while reading an article on Japan Today.

15 years after quake, Kobe radio station still serves foreign community
KOBE - The Radio FM YY studio looks like a miniature version of Kobe and the city’s more than 43,000 foreign nationals from about 120 countries.

“So, how do people in Latin America spend their holidays?” asks a DJ in Spanish in one recording booth, while in the booth next door a DJ welcomes a Thai dancer in Japanese and tells him to introduce himself through simultaneous interpretation.

The community radio station, which broadcasts music, news and other programs in 10 languages, is in a modern-looking church building near the waterfront in Nagata Ward that bears little resemblance to how the area looked after a magnitude 7.3 temblor hit the Hanshin region on the morning of Jan 17, 1995.

The site was an emergency shelter for scores of foreigners, especially Vietnamese living in the area, after the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit, leaving more than 6,000 people dead and thousands injured and forced into hardship.

The disaster was made worse for some foreigners because they couldn’t understand Japanese. Read the rest of the article



Of course, Japan wasn't able to avoid the economic meltdown in 2009 that hit other parts of the world. With a bad economy comes less drinking money in one's pocket. How do you solve this problem? The 50 yen izakaya (50 cent pub).

50-yen 'izakayas' emerge for cash-strapped workers
TOKYO - These are hard times for the average salaried worker, with no pay raise and reduced bonuses. But the happy news is the emergence of so-called “50-yen izakayas.”

According to gourmet writer Ryuji Tazawa, “In recent years company employees have no more than 20,000 yen to 30,000 yen a month as allowance money. After deducting lunch costs and others, you have at most 10,000 yen for after-work drinks. If you spend 5,000 yen a night, you can only go out twice a month. That’s the situation. So this year, I expect an increase in low-budget izakayas to meet the demand of such people. A number of places already serve 50-yen appetizers, so a customer can eat and drink plenty for 1,000 yen. The 50-yen izakayas will probably become very popular this year.” Read more

15 Years After the Big One

Today was the 15th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake or the Kobe Earthquake. In 1995, the city of Kobe was flattened by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake.

Here is a short video I made today while visiting a photography exhibit about the disaster.




On a lighter note, I picked up a new pair of running shoes today. I have been battling an old tendon injury recently and hopefully new shoes with better cushioning might help. I am a loyal ASICS man and wear the Gel Kayano series since they offer the best foot support. I have low arches and these shoes are designed for folks like me.

Here is the brand new model in the Gel Kayano series. This is the Gel Kayano 16. I went for an 8 km run this evening in them and they felt great.

More running

Yesterday saw me run about 22 km. It was a long run and next Sunday I plan to do between 25-30 km. Often people ask me what I listen to while I am running. I suppose that I am a fan of podcasts. One of the first things I do every morning is eagerly start iTunes and hit refresh on my podcasts to see what new ones have come down the pipe. At times I choose music, but about %95 of the time while I trudge through the kilometers, I like to listen to shows about current affairs, politics, arts, culture and technology.

My favorite podcasts to listen to are as follows (not listed in any particular order):

1. Stuff You Should Know
2. Diggnation
3. Q
4. DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)
5. Spark
6. Seoul Podcast
7. Search Engine
8. As it Happens
9. The Current
10. Vinyl Cafe

There are others I listen to of course, but I suppose that these are the main ones I always come back to and enjoy the most.

Osaka Evening

I shot the footage for this video last Saturday evening while in Osaka with my wife. I like how it turned out.