This is our second show, and it's quite a departure from our first show which was spent mostly catching up, telling tales and continent hopping.

In an attempt to find some kind of focus, we've decided to use 'memes' as our official vehicle.

Posted by Rob

Tags: NFTOS

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Don't miss this interview of Patrick Widdess and Marcus Simms of Exposure 37, a collective of Cambridge photographers, as they discuss their current exhibit, film vs digital photography, and other photographic issues. 

209 Radio DJs Davina and Scratch provide the sonic wallpaper during their "Drive 105" show with songs from the likes of Dexy's Midnight Runners (Come on Eileen), The Psychedelic Furs (Pretty in Pink), The Proclaimers (Letter to America), US3 (Cantaloop), Eddie Grant (Electric Avenue), Beach Boys (Wouldn't It Be Nice?) and many more surprises!

Also, Nick Stibbs does the news, and there's a local politician (Sarah Whitebread, I think her name was) in the studio later on in the program, which was quite interesting to me, because they are actually talking about specific issues rather than just mouthing a bunch of party-line mumbo jumbo like they do where I come from.

http://www.209radio.co.uk/mp3archive/drive105160609.mp3

(This link probably won't be active for long, so listen now!)

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Exposure 37, photography, Patrick Widdess, Marcus Simms, Davina, Scratch, Nick Stibbs, headstand, Interview, Talk Show, talk radio, music, 209radio, fm radio, Cambridge, England, UK

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In Tokyo, we'll be having English breakfast from 5:00 to 7:00 on the morning of Thursday, 28 May, as Patrick Widdess hosts his monthly radio show headstand, broadcast live from Cambridge in the U.K., where the local time will be 9:00 to 11:00 p.m., Wednesday, 27 May.

Once the show is done broadcasting, you can return to the headstand.209radio.co.uk page for the archived show file after a few hours.  If you haven't heard the 29 April show yet, you'll want to listen to it NOW, because once the new show is broadcast, it will become the new archived slot.

In this podcast (click on the link at the bottom of this post) Patrick reads The Problem of Living Underwater, which you can find on his Myspace blog:  http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=91922716&blogId=485343770

Photo by Patrick.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, headstand, Patrick Widdess, Cambridge, England, community, radio, FM, Andrea

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Rowdy Raymond a.k.a. "Big Tex" is back in his homeland.

More info, details and links coming soon!

Photo:  Raymond undergoing in Geisha training in Kyoto.

Posted by Rob

Tags:  NFTOS, RRR, Raymond Dunlap, art, artist, cowboy, geisha, Lone Star State, Texas, Don't Mess, Alamo, shoot, bang, guns, ammo, ammunition, rodeo, barbecue, BBQ, Southern, down south, Easter, Christmas, Irish, Catholic, tradition, swimming, skinny dipping, William S. Burroughs, Guido Saldaña, Gareth Jones, Rik Sanchez, The Pink Cow, Shibuya, show, Thierry Le, Wales, Welsh, Elixir, bar, cafe, Osaka, Japan, Nagai Stadium, marathon, Paris-Roubaix

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This blog post and podcast have been retro-fitted with a title which won't become clear until the 2nd episode of the same name.

In this one, Brian and Rob talk about life in various countries, life on the road, learning languages and trying different careers.

Anyone out there know how to do split screens like on Bloggingheads.tv?

Photo:  Brian and Rob with a friend on the Beijing subway in 2001.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Mexico, Latin America, travel, Europe, Asia, deep South, Midwest, hitchhiking, South America, Spain, France, Austria, German, Spanish, French, cycling, bicycle racing, stick shift, automatic, gearshift, manual, transmission, joder, tio, culture, culture shock, La Tertulia, Skype, wiretap, China, Japan, Korea, World Cup, soccer, journalism, NGO, The Mill, Lincoln, Nebraska, Tennessee, Alabama, York, Maryland, Haiti, teaching, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Latin, based, romance, language, Tokyo, Sangenjaya, Osaka

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Lots of notes and links coming soon!

Photo from Haqq's mixi.jp blog.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  Tags:  Abdul Qadim Haqq, Third Earth Visual Arts, Buzz Goree, James Pennington, Suburban Knight, Superbad Midi Breaks, Seaholm, hunting, guitar solo, day job, Denny's, 4:00 a.m., Ted Nugent, Eminem, U2, Morrissey, Damn Yankees, Motor City, Scratch Fever, East Lansing, Detroit, Eight Mile, Michigan, Underground Resistance, Bar Bonobo, Shibuya, Sangenjaya, Tokyo, Japan

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We are joined once again by the positively vivacious Lizzie from Down Under who has recently moved back up to Japan, though not to Osaka, but to Chiba rather (which is more or less Tokyo, for those of you not familiar with the geography of Japan). 

Previously a secret handshaking, card carrying member of BikeClubOsaka.com (R.I.P.) and editor-in-chief of The Transit Lounge, Lizzie returns to the Land of Wii with a double vengence: Gadgets.CoolerThanThou.net and Dating-Japan.com ��。

Artwork:  "Moving Box" by ロベルト。

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Lizzie, The Transit Lounge, TransitLounging, gadgets, nanpa, dating, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Chiba, Tokyo, Sangenjaya, Japan

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"Noticias desde el otro lado" con Andrés y Roberto El Gringo. Andrés y Roberto hablan de La Tertulia y de otras temas.  (En español con un poquito de japonés y inglés en la parte final del podcast)

News From The Other Side with Andrés and Roberto El Gringo. Andrés and Roberto talk about La Tertulia and other topics. (In Spanish with a bit of Japanese and English at the end of the podcast)

The photo is from one of our many "Tertulia" meetings.  Around the table, from left to right:  Rod, Rob, Eya, Jesse, Meric, someone obscured, Pat, Brian, Steve.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Andrés, español, inglés, japonés, Spanish, English, Japanese, Mexico City, México D.F., México, Tokyo, Japan, メクシコ, スペイン語, 英語, 日本語, æ�±äº¬, 日本

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Without giving everything away, Patrick tells us what's in store for his next radio show, Headstand, on Cambridge's 105 fm / 209radio.co.uk. As Patrick also mentioned in our podcast, he's started studying Japanese again, and that's what the YouTube video is that you see above.

Here in Tokyo, there's a double booking in my schedule, as I'll be DJing a bit for "Australia Day" at The Pink Cow, while the Learn Japanese Pod crew get together at Bar Popeye in Ryogoku for some local and imported craft brews.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Patrick Widdess, Headstand, 209radio.co.uk, spoken word, poetry, music, Cambridge, England, Beggar's Banquet, DJ El Gringo, Rob, Australia Day, The Pink Cow, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

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Checking in with Melbourne's Miss Riz on her past life in Osaka, her present life in Melbourne and her future life near Tokyo Disney...

Photo:  NOT Miss Liz there on the left, but the cross-dressing oyaji we were talking about on the podcast rather.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Transit Lounge, Bike Club Osaka, Liz, Lizzie, Melbourne, Australia, Osaka, Tokyo, Chiba, Japan, rugby

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Beer tasting with El Gringo and Stone River. Standby for links and details.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Natural Lawson, Yona Yona, Ale, Beer, Ginga Kogen, Coedo, Sun Sun, tasting, sampling, Tokyo, Setagaya-ku

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Alex and Rob manage to fill 45 minutes of podcast with probably the worst French an Englishman and a Yank have ever produced.  Actually there was some English, Japanese and Spanish thrown in there as well.

Some may ask "Pourquoi?!"

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, En Français, Seppuku, Otaku, Setagaya-ku, Sangenjaya, Chiba, Tokyo, Japan

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Five of us met up for beers and real ales at Popeye on Wednesday. What transpired was recorded for posterity and edited to protect the guilty. This enhanced podcast may meet further censorship by the participants, so this version is special, as it might be replaced by one less offensive to interested parties. Or something like that.

Stand by for more detailed notes, which we all took, or at least attempted to, and which might appear over on Learn Japanese Pod, or on the forums.

The photo is of a poster in the bar.

We might do this again sometime. Please join us if you'd like!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Learn Japanese Pod, coffeebot3000, Stone River, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, real ale, forum, Popeye, beer, tasting, Yona Yona, Hitachino Nest Beer, Tokyo, Japan

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"Je ne suis pas comme une damme de la cour de Versailles, qui disait: c'est bien dommage que l'aventure de la tour de Babel ait produit la confusion des langues; sans cela tout le monde aurait toujours parlé français." Votaire, 1767

We learn how Alex sounds so intelligent in Japanese, why, it's by studying "How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese." We talked about having had gyudon at Yoshinoya for lunch, and about waiting for B-Chan, so we can go out to an izakaya in the evening, among other things. Recorded in Chiba. Standby for more links and stuff.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Coffeebot3000, makikomo, Chiba, Tokyo, Japan

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WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!! Or at least we were supposed to...

This one was recorded on a Thursday just before the Moon Festival weekend awhile back. Check your Asian calendars...

Requested by Coffeebot3000.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, makikomo.com, Alex Brooke, Rob, el gringo, Hadron Collider

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Some will remember this podcast as the October surprise. Introducing Stone River!

Stone River of Learn Japanese Pod forum ilk has met up with us (um, me) on Skype and we recorded this podcast, which might get edited after Stone gives it a listen. Many groovy tag words will follow as soon as I can read the notes I've been taking while listening to this recording.

Photo: A pair of Maricks (Palin and http://norville.uber.com/greatest_hits">Parchment).

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Stone River, Bicicleteiros, filter, Coffeebot3000, The Barge Inn, bar, pilots, flight attendant, air hostess, stewardess, Kagurazaka, Narita, Tokyo, Japan, Auckland, New Zealand, October surprise

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Alex and Rob with a dash of Makiko.

Photo taken by Makiko on 2 April 2006 at Chove Chuva in Higobashi, Osaka.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, makikomo, Kiwi Experience, skydiving, Travel Nights, Nick Dwyer, C4, New Zealand, South Island, Auckland, Pecha Kucha, Gabriel White, Tongdo Fantasia, Japan, Chiba, Yachiyodai, Brazilian market, Wellington, Malty Media, Jet Jaguar, Wine Cellar

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Alex blames Pikachu for all the problems facing "serious Japan nerds" today. Olympics? "What Olympics?" he asks. Well, you know, the games that those Greek lads played naked every four years, and the winner got to wear an olive wreath. Everyone else stayed naked, I guess. Well, these days, we don't need analog moon computers to tell us when to take our clothes off and run around through the golf course sprinklers on moonlit summer's eves. We just do it. Um...

Jet Jaguar and Malty Media are coming to Auckland for a compilation CD release party, but I'm sure it will be a civilized suit and tie affair. That'll be at the Khuja Lounge, Level 3, 536 Queen Street, from 7:00 p.m. NZ$10.00 will get you through the door. Bring flowers and champagne, if you want to look like a real fan. Genre? Well, if you insist on classifying everything, then so be it: Slippery slidey electronica, subaquatic bass and sampledelic funk. The CD is "...Apropos of nothing."

Photo by Aditya Tannu.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Pikachu, KATG, Olympics, Beijing, Alan Watts, Kilkenny, Chimay, beer, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Chiba, Japan, Auckland, New Zealand, football, soccer, Cameroon, China, USA, Korea, Jet Jaguar, Malty Media

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*(recorded in New Zealand)

In this podcast we do bad accents. We talk about rugby (not our an area of expertise for either of us). We talk about PBT (a piss poor delivery service that still has an iron Makiko purchased on trademe.co.nz which they refuse to deliver). And Courier Post, who couldn't do any better, although there is a post office located nearby, so we were able to have something taken there to be picked up. We discuss service in general, in various countries and from various angles.

The positive side? There's a cool little Japanese tachinomiya on Queen Street, which we've already mentioned, and which I'm sure we'll be mentioning again!

Pardon the therapy session, but having gone without regular internet for over a month, means that we've been saving all our gripes for the next podcast for sometime now, and it all boiled over in this podcast. Having lived in Japan for 10 years has made one Englishman, Alex Brooke, an expert on EVERYTHING, just as my leaving Japan has suddenly made me an expert on the world outside Japan.

Why, why, why do we record and then upload this rubbish? Hopefully someone somewhere gets a laugh out of it, and realizes that the grass is NEVER ever greener over there, and the best thing to do is to just make do with what you've got when you've got it.

Do you think we ever follow our own advice? Not a chance!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Chiba, Japan, Auckland, New Zealand, rugby, All Blacks, Australia, Nonbe, Queen Street, delivery service, Courier Post, PBT, trademe.co.nz

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Here's one that didn't get edited before I left Japan. Alex has the other camera angle. Alex...

Posted by Rob.

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We've tended to stay away from politics in the past, but New Zealand politics, and the local government here, are far more interesting (to me at the moment) and far more focused on the issues than what's going on in politics "back home" right now. That includes Obama, Hillary, McCain and anything Sharon Stone might say about China or Tibet.

If you find Alex's and my usual banter tiresome, uninteresting, boring, offensive, not-offensive-enough, or whatever, stick around for Andrew at about 22:00 minutes into this enhanced podcast, where his arrival easily doubles the show's IQ.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob, El Gringo, Andrew, filter, manzai, Kiwi English, Labour, National, Party, New Zealand, politics, legalization, criminalization, marijuana, party pills, ecstasy, MDMA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, Queen's Birthday, Queen of, Canada, England, liberal, right wing, left wing, crystal meth, "P"

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Alex and Rob talk about--what else? Japan, life in Japan, all things Japan, but now that Rob is in New Zealand, you can start to expect a bit more about "the land of the long white cloud," The Southern Hemisphere, The South Pacific, The North Island, Auckland, etc.

This YouTube video was previously uploaded here as an .m4v file with the 15 May blog post. Please add it to your favorites, rate it (5 stars, of course!) and forward it to ALL your friends!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Japan, New Zealand, Tokyo, Chiba, Auckland

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ABOVE: "La Cumbia del Mole" by Lila Downs.

BELOW: Alex's and Rob's audio podcast. This is what we talked about...

Giro d'Italia
Dr Conconi, The Godfather of EPO in cycling
Kiwi English - NEW FEATURE!
Japan - 6000 miles on a bicycle (new book release party)
Norville's Greatest Hits
KIX on frisky radio
facebook groups (NFTOS, headstand, KIX on friskyradio, learjapanesepod, bananas prove God exist, etc)
Patrick Widdess and his Harmless Video Podcast #1
Street performance
Fiesta Mexicana
Lila Downs, Oaxaca and "La Cumbia del Mole" (above video) LearnJapanesePod
facebook gift application
Prapatang.com

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob, El Gringo, Japan, New Zealand, Aotearoa, Auckland, Tokyo, Chiba, Cambridge, England, UK, headstand, prapatang.com, learnjapanesepod, 日本語, �京, �葉県, ニュージーランド

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Armchair linguists, Alex in Tokyo, and Rob in Auckland, get together on Skype for their first Talk Show since when?! More details and links will be posted soon.

Photo taken at Osaka's Umeda Sky Building, during a sort of Fiesta Mexicana, 19 September 2005.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Tokyo, Japan, Auckland, New Zealand

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Andres and Rob continue their chat about Kyoto, Japan, culture, shrines, temples, ryokan guest houses, weddings, etc.

Video from Rolf of Yuhara Inn, Kyoto.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Andrés, español, inglés, japonés, Spanish, English, Japanese, Mexico City, México D.F., México, Tokyo, Japan, メクシコ, スペイン語, 英語, 日本語, �京, 日本

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Catching up with 209radio.co.uk's Patrick Widdess via Skype...

"Headstand, 209radio's poetry programme is having an event!

When:
Sunday Mar 02, 2008
at 7:30 PM

Where:
CB2 Cafe
Norfolk Street
Cambridge, England

A 209radio fundraiser featuring live music from Steph Brown, Richard McGuire, Toma and Moth Conspiracy and poetry from Patrick Widdess, Helen Mort, Nick Stibbs and Rychard Carrington."

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, 209radio.co.uk, Headstand, Patrick Widdess, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, haiku

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Andres and Rob chat about Kyoto, Japan, culture, shrines, temples, ryokan guest houses, weddings, etc.

Photo of girl cycling in kimono by Andres.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Andrés, español, inglés, japonés, Spanish, English, Japanese, Mexico City, México D.F., México, Tokyo, Japan, メクシコ, スペイン語, 英語, 日本語, �京, 日本

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This is a self-censored version, however, it is still NOT FOR DECENT FOLK. Alex, Hans and Rob chew the fat, talk about life, batem papo. This is how we roll. Alex is in London, Hans in Hagerstown, Maryland, and Rob in Kagurazaka, Tokyo.

The podcast ends with a little jam by Alex called "Message to mates" (which I got from a video he is being bashful about showing anyone but his YouTube "friends"). If you are not his friend, well, zannen.

Photo by Hans. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Hans, O Irmão da Xuxa, h-monster, Rob, el gringo, Alex Brooke, England, Cambridge, Mt Washington, New Hampshire, Tokyo, Kagurazaka, Japan, 神楽�, �京, 日本

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On this podcast, Rob talks to Alex about the latest Headstand fm radio show which has been posted for streaming.

I hope to have some of our favorite bits up here as .mp3 files eventually, including some video which Alex shot. Details coming soon! See previous post for more related links.

On the lastest Headstand show, Patrick announced two facebook stories which will be read on the next show. He posted this message in facebook: "As you may have heard on the latest show I've posted a couple of stories for listeners to contribute to on the Facebook stories application. You don't have to write the whole story, just a sentence or a single word will do. My guests both gave the title and opening to a story and now it's your job to get typing the next bit. Alex Brooke's story Patrick and Patrick can be found here http://apps.facebook.com/stories/story/8282/

Patrick Sheil's story The Primrose Path is here http://apps.facebook.com/stories/story/8281/

I look forward to reading your responses and sharing them on the next show."

Patrick

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, headstand, 209radio, Patrick Widdess, Alex Brooke, Patrick Sheil, fm, radio, Cambridge, England, UK, poetry, poem, music, impromptu, jam, session, trip hop, live

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Not suitable for decent folk, this audio podcast features Alex in Chiba, Hans in Maryland and me in Tokyo talking about the latest goings on. Alex reads Burroughs, Hans talks about old age and about dating a body builder, Rob reminisces about growing up in Alabama and tries to recall details about the previous night out with Mexican hecklers at the Boca Juniors game in Tokyo National Stadium, and what exactly transpired after the game. If you're wondering what a squat toilet looks like, check out this video by Tkyo Sam.

Video Talk Show #44 is already up, and #43 will be up as soon as we get them edited. There'll be a photo for this post as soon as I get the disposable camera developed. Stay tuned!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Hans, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Boca Juniors, Fondo de la Madrugada, soccer, futbol, Costa Rica, Bar Bonobo, Jingu 2 Chome, 立�飲�や, サッカー, �京

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The weather grows colder as the year draws to a close. We talk about the short film "Rudy Soup," Christmas, Olivia Ruiz, Wales, Whales, having tea, Bruce Chatwin, "In Patagonia," Lumberjacks, Olivia Newton-John, Samantha Foxx, Carrie Fisher, Star Wars and who knows what else. Music from Seaholm.com

The original file was too big to upload, so I had to trim it down a bit. That means the Libsyn version is shorter than the YouTube version by about one minute. Or, put another way, the Libsyn version is shorter, therefor sweeter.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob, El Gringo, Seaholm.com, Rudy Soup, Christmas, x-mas, whales, Wales, Welsh, in Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin, Olivia Ruiz, Olivia Newton-John, Carrie Fisher, Samantha Foxx, limmy.com, Lumberjacks, Star Wars, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, 神楽�, �京, クリスマス, �正月正月

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...with Alex and Rob.

This YouTube video player features the video episodes of the NFTOS Talk Show with Alex & Rob, plus three special features: "Semtazone Interview," "How to Open an Onigiri" and "Tokyo Shout Outs."

This is also a test to see if this blog will appear in my mixi.jp blog as it already does in asoboo.com.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Talk Show, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, YouTube, mixi, asoboo.com

Kickin' it "Fun Friday" style with Alex, and that means Kanj-of-the-Day, a book review of Body Language by Allan Pease, gestures, body language, a Korean word censored--can you guess what it was? Music by Tal Brott. Asahi Super Dry product placement (send us money), more impersonations by Alex, shoutouts to Okha a.k.a. Flying Koala, Charles Billard, Patrick Widdess and The Pink Cow in Shibuya (who we're borrowing the suit from). Also checkout our out-take video Tokyo Shout Outs.

Edited by Alex. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Tal Brott, Alex Brooke, Headstand Radio, Charles Billard, Okha a.k.a. Flying Koala, The Pink Cow, Learn Japanese

"Floating somewhere between allergy medicine and a few cups of Duvel beer, Rob and I embarked on our stream of consciousness out on the balcony. Cheap gloves, Kalashnikitty, clouds, Chopper Reid, Tokyo Cooney, shout outs to those down under and a visit from the afterlife by Terrence McKenna were just a few of the random things that floated into [and through] our heads." -Alex

A collaborative work of, um... Five Stars at least! -Rob

...shout outs galore! Hello TokyoCooney and MisterNES! (maybe see you tomorrow at the Croc)... Edited by Alex, can't you tell?

On YouTube

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. DJ El Gringo, �手, 五万両

Better late than never!

On YouTube.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Kanji of the Day, lesson, heavy, music, Quest a.k.a. Hayden, Pulp Fiction, gimp, Skype, Spanish, Portuguese, Gearhead Art Studios, Flo-Union, Halloween party, maids, lucha libre, ��, 日本語, 神楽�, �京, 日本

Prams, Theremin, "proper instruments", cockney wankers having a go, fighting salarymen, Chavs, poetry, art, crap weather, the universe and everything were just a few topics Patrick Widdess and I talked about when I caught up with him last night on Skype. Unfortunately my computer died on me half way through and lost about 5 mins of Patrick talking about his latest radio show. But I have included links at the bottom so check them out.

I hope to be visiting Patrick in the UK when I fly over next month. I shall be sure to post the audio and visual results up here on this interconnected series of tubes. Posted by Alex.

P.S. Remind me to tell Alex he should interview Patrick about his WWOOFing adventures for LearnJapanesePod.com -Rob

Patrick's radio show: http://www.209radio.co.uk/shows/profile.php?show=headstand

What did we talk about? I don't remember. Sports or something?

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.ka. El Gringo, LearnJapanesePod, chat

Mamma Said Knock You Out! Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, boxing, flyweight, WBC, cockroach, bully, WWF, kung-fu

Never? Posted by Rob

Tags:

Music by Quest a.k.a. Hayden. Posted by Rob.

Tags:

Kind of a pre-meeting meeting. Before we either record a podcast on Skype later this morning, or Alex comes directly to Tokyo.

Links and stuff will follow, as per usual.

Posted by Rob.

TAGS: NFTOS, Alex Brooke (LearnJapanesePod.com), Japan, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Semtazone, The Pink Cow, Roots, Samba Nova, Kua Aina, Taiyo Record, Lush, Nakamura Satoko, Banda Okara Qubari, Baron, Beakers Folklorico Japan, Oink, Shigeki (from Drink 'em All)

At the French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo in Ichigaya Alex reads an old journal entry. Rob talks about his library card and some music he hasn't listened to yet. You get to hear music from Seaholm.com and a cacaphony of cicadas telling us summer is almost over...

Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, seaholm.com, Alex Brooke, Rob, El Gringo, Ichigaya, Tokyo, Japan, L'Institut Franco-Japonais, reviews, journal reading, coffee drinking, cicadas

NOTICE: I've been having problems with certain .mp3 files not direct downloading correctly today. Maybe best to avoid them for the time being until I figure out what is going on. Other files seem to be OK. When checking .mp3 files, I noticed the URL switch to mediacloud.libsyn.com just before the download began. Then, instead of playing in a window, it downloaded to my desktop. Looks suspicous to me! If anyone does recognize what the problem is, please let me know!

WARNING: Not suitable for kids in America. Everywhere else, please ask your parents to watch it first! Actually part two of our last talk show, but we shot it as a separate program. Check out Dr Pepper's can artwork in Japan! Unfortunately, I missed getting a picture of the first plastic bottle I saw last year, when I came to scout out the land. (It was much more tastefully done) But, I did get a snapshot of this can.

There are some outtakes at the end of the podcast, although, the whole thing is actually a series of outtakes! Sculpture by Guido in Osaka. Music by Quest a.k.a. Hayden in Nebraska. The guy on the right is Alex Brooke and the guy on the left is yours truly. Edited by me in Tokyo. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Gearhead Studio, Billy Blank, Billy's Boot Camp, Kenchansworld, ブートキャンプ�プ�入隊？, Dr Pepper art, Shonen Jump art contest, LearnJapanesePod.com, makikomo.com

Edited by Rob (I take full responsibility).

Posted by Rob.

Tags: GearheadArtStudios, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, Alex Brooke, DJ Wes, zanshou, 残暑, 神楽�, �京, 日本

Alex and Rob provide travel advice for Andres and his bro who are about to embark upon their first journey to the land of the rising sun... Links, photo, tags coming soon! Posted by Rob.

Alex's adventures continue in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, as we are joined by Miss Tasmania, who tells us of the strange and bizarre cicadas of some place she's probably just making up. Her boyfriend Masaki currently works 6 days a week making sushi in a French restaurant?? I'll have to listen to this podcast again to catch all the details. You should listen to it twice, and forward the link to all your friends and long lost relatives... http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/talk_show_28.mp3

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Mex Wax, Big Wave Surfing, cicadas, Tasmania

No es lindo, pero éste podcast fue grabado casi todo en Español... It ain't pretty, but we recorded this mostly in "Spanish," with a bit of Portuguese, French, Italian and Japanese for seasoning. English was later added for consistency and clarity. And as you can see from the video clip I've added below, we're not the only ones slaughtering the Spanish language. Posted by Rob.

Alex, (Oaxaca) Waka and Rob continue spinning yarns--Tokyo adventures and North American travel plans. The paths of Quest (a.k.a. Hayden), DJ Kung-fu Grip (a.k.a. Halo Effect), Hans, Makiko, Rob and other NFTOS characters will all converge in Lincoln, Nebraska early next month. Stay tuned for all sorts of new stuff! Posted by Rob.

Alex and (Oaxaca) Waka give us an update from Mexico, where both are finding new strength through infermity. Don't drink the water, don't add ice cubes and think twice before eating fresh vegetables! Posted by Rob.

Alex fears for the future. Count how many times Alex ponders theological concepts in this 40-min. podcast. I predict he will find religion while in Mexico. I forget what else we talked about. I vaguely remember something about Van Gogh and lemmings. I'll have to put it on my iPod to listen to and post notes later. DJ Marlboro playing in the background throughout. Posted by Rob.

Talked to Patrick on Skype today (31 May). He was in a Burger King in the Kuala Lumpur airport waiting for a flight back to the UK. He was kind enough to share some travel info and even a haiku!

He chats to himself
His words flash up in the dark
Half a world away

You can check out his writing at UKAuthors.com. Godspeed Patrick, et bon voyage! Posted by Rob.

Alex teaches us how to pronounce a big word today. Listen to the full podcast for the meaning! We mentioned Foom-Foom's blog post about Cafe Absinthe, which, despite it's seemingly depreciative tone, highlighted many of the reasons why it's a great restaurant & bar! Nice photos too!

Why complain about Absinthe though, when you're two doors down from Masago, a great shochu bar, just around the corner from Mahina, a rum bar, a five minute walk from Covent Garden, another five from Cafe Barbes, which is just around the corner from Soul Kitchen. The latter 3 establishments I've walked out of into blinding daylight after all night sessions, while my first night at Mahina turned into a chaotic trip that somehow ended in Taisho-ku, where nothing was open anymore.

And then I saw on his blog what he keeps in his fridge... Happoushu! Let the evidence speak for itself. (follow the link and have a look at the fridge photo down near the bottom of the page). Happoushu, which we discussed in Priceless Talk #11, is the cheapest malt beverage money can buy in this country. That stuff does not even qualify as cheap beer. So, I guess a "yuppy" is a person who drinks real beer?

Anyway, enough of that. I've got Mundo Popular 4 coming up on 17 June, at L'Institut Franco-Japonais, with live bands and DJs (that's a poster for it that I'm pointing to in the photo).

p.s. I'll be DJing at Bar Bonobo tonight, spinning my usual blend of Brazilian, Latin and African music. Joining me will be guest DJ Mateus Branco (a.k.a. Matty)

p.p.s. BEB and Alex have a new song which you can hear on her blog now, and which we'll have here for you to download via NFTOS soon. Posted by Rob.

Alex and Rob countdown the top 40 NFTOS audio and video podcasts and attempt to explain why some are more popular than others. Lots of shoutouts. This recording is LONG-- 42:28. Sorry about the whirring fan throughout the podcast. My computer overheats now that it is summer. Direct links to all the tracks mentioned coming when I get around to it, in order of lowest ranked to highest...

1. ALT Rap music video. 2. ALT Rap Osaka-jyo Stylee improv with live drums. 3. Makiko Soap Monster - Alex. 4. Talk Show #1. 5. Loop Line #1. 6. Nakatsu Music Project - Charles & Alex. 7. How to Pick Up Girls. 8. Nabe Party video. 9. Discobeans video. 10. Shinbashi Station - Quest. 11. ALT Rap Vocal track - Rob. 12. Alex Wins the Tour de France. 13. Panic Living #1 with Rob. 14. ALT Re-Rap - Quest. 15. Talk Show #3. 16. Nebra-ska - Quest. 17. Take Anything You Want - Alex's megamix! 18. An evening at Cafe Absinthe. 19. I Like Meat (the .mp3 file, not the movie). 20. Alex's Sunset Ramble from Miyajima. 21. Music Program: MFTOS #2. 22. Talk Show #7: Home is Where the Heart Is. 23. Loop Line #2. 24. Music Program: MFTOS #3. 25. Music Program: MFTOS #1. 26. Original ALT Rap recording - Alex & Rob (Lyrics by John Sanders & Rob). 27. All the Little Things - Quest. 28. Icitte les Oeufs - Charles Billard. 29. Loop Line #4. 30. Wroclaw Panache - Smouldering Door. 31. News - Jet Jaguar. 32. Wanna Tell You - Alex. 33. A misleading title: Learn English! 34. Makiko & Rob Watching People In the Park. 35. Irripressible Urges of Spring - Trenchparrots. 36. DJ Wes Kansai Info. 37. Talk Show #6: Baka Gaijin. 38. Alex's One Man Ramble from Nakatsu. 39. 24 Hours in Nakatsu (Alex's room clean-up video). 40. JR Song - Will Spin; Talk Show #12 (with MC Suspek).

The flyer is from Charles Billard in Osaka. Posted by Rob.

Officially sayonara'd last month, Patrick is back in Osaka for a last hurrah. Posted by Rob.

Last week Rob and myself were interviewed at FM Cocolo, one of the major radio stations in the Osaka area. The DJs were Yui and Chiyako who are also known as Yaneka, a band we featured on this podcast previously.

Our friends Makikomo and Jonny Heartbreaker sat in on the proceedings. You can hear their interviews on FM Cocolo in the Osaka area on Thursday 10th and 17th from 2am to 4am.

Posted by Alex.

Hans and I catch up on current world events. And stuff happening out our windows. And other unmentionable stuff. Be WARNED, we talk a lot of nonsense that may be offensive to ordinary and decent folk.

The owl photo was taken by Hans while he was in Delaware over the weekend. If you wanna see more of his nature and travel photos, check out his smugmug galleries. He's got some great photos posted already!

Posted by Rob.

Hans is back home from Costa Rica and in Baltimore, Brian is at home in Bayuquan and I'm in Kagurazaka. Posted by Rob.

It is a rare time when the great minds of Osaka come to the casting couch of the Nakatsu Palace studios. But they came. Erm... Anyway, enjoy. Posted by Alex.

p.s. This is that Dan Deacon feller Alex was talkin' about (This isn't his craziest stuff as it was for primetime American audiences). And here's a link to wwoofing which Patrick was referring to. I'm sure you can all find Pandora.com. -Rob

Jonny Heartbreaker, Makiko and I recap the Osaka resident's 3-day weekend in Tokyo (thanks to "National Foundation Day") which included attending a concert by Osaka band Argyle and three other bands. Posted by Rob.

Alex and Rob talk about the film Moro no Brasil, Rita Ribeiro's new album "TecnoMacumba," the previous night's QuickFlickWorld at Superdeluxe, where Rob watched films by, and met, the likes of visual artists Daniel Rosen, Richard Boase and Chris Payne. Upcoming events mentioned included JetJaguar & AquaBoogie LIVE @ Soup, and Nama, the NFTOS art show coming up in April at The Pink Cow. Links coming soon. Posted by Rob.

Until now we've remained relatively controversy-free, so let's get this year off to a sociopolitically charged start! What do we know about global politics? Well, not much, nevertheless, we mounted our soapboxes and assumed holier-than-thou lotus positions like morons becoming eclectic. Nevermind us, check out these cool links we mentioned: Toki Doki, Fake Pilot, Tokyo Plastic, and--STOP THE PRESS! It seems they got the wrong Saddam! Artwork by makikomo. And it's off to Taiyo Record to wish them a happy new year. Posted by Rob.

Me and DJ TripleBypass recapping the New Year's festivities in Osaka (Cafe Absinthe, Cafe Barbes, Space Odyssey 2007 at NoScrub, Oasis Lounge...). Here's a link to one of the musicians he mentioned which I found on his myspace page: Isabelle Antena. Pardon the flaky internet connection. Matty got cut off a few times... Have a listen to our first Skype chat session we recorded. Posted by Rob.

Rob and Alex reminisce about 2006 and think ahead to 2007, before swapping places for the holidays.

I caught Matt Duffy a.k.a. DJ TripleByPass Skyping during his lunch break and we had a chat about events in Osaka and the laws of the land. It sounded like his mic was cutting out a bit. I hope the audio is not too bad! I'll try to get the links he mentioned up soon! Posted by Rob.

Alex and Rob (with a bit of Makiko) address our inner Adam Sandlers and talk about all sorts of stuff, like upcoming projects, contests, etc. Photo of Makiko quilting. Continued on #19 (if you can bear another half hour of us!) Posted by Rob.

Hans, Waka and Rob discuss the Discovery Channel's Shark vs Hippo faceoff, Hans's camera goes up in smoke and Alex wakes up to join the conference call. He promptly plays a Beatles song--sort of--then he and Hans reminisce about an Adam Sandler Thanksgiving. Alex critiques Waka's conversational English development, noting how she has incorporated the phrase "to give one shit" into her repetoire. Hans then promotes the champagne of beers, the lady in the moon, Miller High Life. Rob briefly explains happoshu and Chu-Hi. And then our connection breaks up--sorry! I left the tail end on, as annoying as parts of it are, because there might be some redeeming qualities there, and it might inspire someone with some remixing ideas! Or not. Collage by Rob. Posted by Rob.

What started out as a solo podcast ended up with three people: Hans, Waka and myself. This evening (Wednesday here) I'll be DJ'ing in Roppongi, Tokyo, at a place called Gromp. It'll be my first time there. Doors open at 7 p.m., and I'll be starting right away, even though things won't really kick off much later till later. So if you need a place to unwind after work, come on out! Posted by Rob.

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Patrick was in town, explained fig crumbs and recited Ivor Cutler. Listen to his latest poetry podcast Carnivale or read 3 years' worth of his poems at ukauthors.com. I'll try to post a few of the other links we talked about later. Food art photo by Makiko. Posted by Rob.

Makiko and Rob try to channel Alex and acheive some degree of success. Prapatang, prapatang, go fry an egg (some religions say the egg is the symbol of the soul. Ichi, ichi, ichijiku, ichijiku, nanba-wan! Chanting Prapatang will summon his spirit, while feeding him the sacred fruit will satiate his divine appetite, keeping him close for your comfort. Also, checkout NFTOS superstar Flying Koala's fan club on mixi. The NFTOS pantheon of living and passed swells as with one consciousness! And, don't forget to check out the various Peter Morris projects: HaloEffect and DEM. Posted by Rob.

In the park one afternoon in October: Makiko is making a coaster. I'm recording with my iRiver. A guy is working out on some vertical bars where I fell back in May and left a big indentation in the sand with my head (photo). Posted by Rob.

We don't set out to offend or appal anyone, honestly, but we often do. Don't listen if you don't like toilet bowl humor, oyaji gags (corny jokes) and obnoxious attempts at accents we have no business imitating. What did we talk about? We recorded so many 10-minute segments yesterday, that I don't remember. Listen at your own risk! Posted by Rob.

Makiko is making something. What will it become? We'll see when it's finished. If she doesn't end up keeping it, you'll see it for sale someday on Makikomo.com. She says "If you like to stitch and bitch, then come to The Pink Cow on Tuesday evening, 14 November." Posted by Rob.

You will be glad to know that this episode has absolutely no swearing in it at all whatsoever. Well, at least it doesn't anymore thanks to some well placed animal sounds and other sound effects. I wonder if this is really OK for the "Clean" rating on iTunes. Anyway, Rob will provide the relevant links and something a lot more interesting than this terrible blurb...won't you Rob ? Mais, bien sur conard! Click here for Alex's attempt to destroy the Kanayama Washington Hotel in writing. Click here for makikomo soap and all the other makikomo links and the Groovy Groove Harvest poster art link. And the common thread? MY ART! Mine, mine mine! Ha ha ha. Posted by Alex, then censored by Rob.

Coming at you from Nakatsu, Osaka, and Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Alex and Rob talk about Alex's day off, and his jam session with a local cellist and an out of towner guitarist (David M). Rob talks about past events SambaNova and Flo-Union, and about the upcoming SambaNova event, featuring Beto Caletti at L'Institut Franco-Japonais in Ichigaya, Tokyo. We also talk about new albums by South American artists Affonsinho and Martin Buscaglia, an upcoming film release party called Rudy Soup which will be held at Loop-line Cafe in Sendagaya, Tokyo. I think the most philosphical questions we pondered were whether Japanese musicians are too stiff and serious when in concert, and whether one dances for the simple pleasure of dancing, to show off your skills or to get laid. In the end, I don't think we answered these questions, but I'd just like to reiterate that I like to dance, and it irritates the hell out of me when people just stand around and watch some "professional," no matter how good they are or how many awards they've won. I don't know what it is with us, but either we're way over the top, and say stuff that would get us killed somewhere, or I end up sounding like an uptight whiner. At least we can say none of it is scripted. Finally, Alex didn't mention any upcoming events for Osaka, but you all know what to do! Just go to BikeClubOsaka.com and check their event listings. I trust Alex will bring some up in our next show! Posted by Rob.

Alex, Makiko, Patrick and Rob wind up an evening on the town. I'll be DJing at Flo-Union @ The Pink Cow on Sunday Evening from 7:00. Expect live music, live painting and other performances. More details later--no, just listen to the podcast. Posted by Rob.

Take Anything You Want! (There's probably nothing you'd be interested in though...) More details and links coming soon. Posted by Rob.

Alex, Dan and Rob discuss a wide range of topics. Guest intro by the Governor of California. I really think this guy should be President of the United States of America. If you think Clinton and Bush have been easy targets to poke fun at, just imagine what it could be like with King Arnie in the White House! The possibilities are endless... A few minor laws may have to be rewritten, but I wholeheartedly endorse this man for the job. Posted by Rob.

Alex, Dan (a.k.a. MC Suspek) and Rob talk about the age old topic of whether or not it's easy for "foreign guys to pick up girls in Japan" as a continuation of a thread Dan posted on Bike Club Osaka. Dan tells us about life in Miami. And, for some reason or another, my mic had a BIG ECHO--sorry about that. Check out the Argyle Pimpin' video we talked about on YouTube. Artwork by Rob: "Home is Where the Heart Is." Posted by Rob.

This time Alex is on the hot chocolate high and Rob is having his post caffeine crash. Big shout out to Tekumi, the peeps at "I Can't Read Japanese" (a.k.a. 馬鹿外人) on mixi and the other know who you are. Featured music is by me Alex Brooke entitled "Tales from Prapatang". Prapatang, say it loud and say it proud. (Rob here, I just realized that when I get back from my bike ride, I won't have any space left on my iRiver to sit back and record my satisfaction with my ride and the sudden change for the better in the weather. Makiko also took some video on Sunday night, so I won't have space on the memory card either. I guess it's time to get to work and edit some audio & video!) Posted by Alex and Rob.

Alex and Rob talk about stuff. Rob, I think you can do a way better write up than me! Cheers, Alex. Here in Prapatangland we go about our daily business of writing reports (about English lessons taught) and wonder what it would be like to be in another line of work--not that we don't like our jobs. At lunch today, I saw various foreign Tokyoites of various ethnicities and it just made me wonder what they all do. Something to make your headspin? Posted by Alex and Rob.

What's happening in Osaka and Tokyo this weekend with the NFTOS crew? Alex and Rob chat about DJ events, the latest 関西�会 (Kansai no kai) in Ebisu*, art show parties, the Loop Line Cafe-Bar in Sendagaya, World Cup watching, the Italian football scandal and "Operación Puerto," which will keep many top professional cyclistis out of this year's Tour de France (starting tomorrow in Strasbourg, France). Attention all Tour de France teams: If you need a rider, I'm clean and I'll ride! Posted by Rob.

Two of the world's least likely football (soccer) commentators Rob and Alex tackle the World Cup and other topics related to life in Osaka, Tokyo and Japan.

Now that News From The Other Side has opened up a new office in Tokyo, we'll be getting the low down on the latest and greatest in the capital. We're hoping to get some more audio ramblings for you lovely people soon so you can keep tabs on what the hell's going on in Osaka, Tokyo and beyond. What did we talk about? What didn't we talk about! Posted by Alex and Rob.