Hans discusses the differences between sand dragons and shadow dragons while watching Sweden vs Germany in the comfort of his Baltimore pad. Posted by Rob.

MIDDLE 20: 21. Prologue - video, 22. Discobeans - video, 23. Tubcast #2 (Alex) - video, 24. La Terrazza @ Cafe Pangea - video, 25. Flow Union @ The Pink Cow - video, 26. Shinbashi Station (Quest) - song, 27. Makiko's Soap Monster (Alex) - spoken word, 28. Talk Show #1 (Alex & Rob), 29. Introduction: Makiko (日本語) - video, 30. Cafe Absinthe - video, 31. ALT Re-Rap (Quest) - song, 32. I Like Meat- video, 33. Nakatsu Music Project (Alex & Charles) - song, 34. Postcard from China #2 - video, 35. Collective Memory - cell phone video, 36. Irrepressible Urges of Spring (Trenchparrots) - song, 37. On The Way Home From Murphy's Pub - video, 38. Trash Talk with Beb (日本語) - audio podcast, 39. DJ Wes Interview - audio podcast, 40. Prapatang Kitchen #1: "Today We Making Egg" with Umbeke Seleko.

Our current banner art and several more banners like it were created by Okha (a.k.a. Flying Koala, who used to live in Seoul, but who is most likely traveling somwhere in the US at the moment. Awhile back several of us were talking about having different language pages for NFTOS. Okha, ever energetic and creative, came up with this banner right away. While we decide how and when to use it, I thought we could just post it here now along with a link to the latest artwork on her blog. If you snoop around a bit you'll also find photos from past artshows in Seoul and Osaka, the 2002 World Cup in Seoul and Osaka, Okha's other visits to Osaka and all sort of travels and interesting stuff. If you can't read Korean, you'll probably still be able to recognize the MSN groups format. Posted by Rob.

I wasn't able to see the USA vs Ghana match last night (残念�), because they showed Italy vs Czech Repbublic here instead. I'd just woken up after a very short night of sleep--went to bed at 1:00 and woke up at 4:30, just in time to see a well-executed goal by Japan followed by a very creative goal by the canaries just before the half, at which point I decided to stay awake a little while longer, and ended up staying awake for the rest of the game. My grandfather e-mailed me for my take on the Americans' demise. He writes: "There's a lot of unhappiness here. I just heard a TV sports guy jump all over Donovan--who's home is just a couple of miles east of us. He said that Donovan was sleep-walking thru the whole game!!" Well, I'm sure we're not the only country with "armchair quarterbacks" trying to explain what went wrong at this world cup. What the hell do they know about football? Have they played in a World Cup? Same with Japan. I might not like Zico as a coach, but ultimately Brazil and Japan just don't compare do they? And Australia were much more physical and disciplined. They stayed in the game until the final whistle. I agree with the commentators on the Guardian's podcast who said the US were playing textbook football, and I think that it applies to Japan as well. They play it very well, but it's not very creative--so predictable to defend against. Kind of like running on first down and passing on third down in American football. But then what the hell do I know? Posted by Rob.

Today I downloaded a bunch of different shows on iTunes. Watched a cool video today from Des Grenouilles dans la Vallee about the World Cup as it is being experienced in San Francisco. You can see Mexican fans taking to the streets while celebrating their 3-1 victory vs (Iran?) and fans of a different green-white-red flag watching the U.S. vs Italy game (ouch!) which ended in a 1-1 draw. Another interesting World Cup related podcast is actually a a podcast which teaches you Argentine Slang podcast called Desde el Bano. Sofia's done 3 podcasts dealing specifically with the World Cup and football (soccer) vocabulary in general, and for the third episode she brings in her brother Julio who speaks like a typical Argentine male would about el futbol. Nathan Miller, who lives in Fukuoka, Japan, had another fun show on Bicycle Sidewalk. This was his 159th edition. This man is a prolific podcast producer! Sorry about all the missing accents. My computer only does English and Japanese. To do otherwise requires a bit of technical ingenuity which I don't have. And, finally, Alex and I recorded a bunch of coffee-fueled podcasts today which we weren't able to upload due to some upgrades that Libsyn are in the middle of doing. Posted by Rob.

Shout out to Otaku Generation who played our song. Yay for the OG crew! These guys must be an army. I've never heard so many people on the mic for a podcast. Sounds like they're all having a good time too. WARNING: These guys are serious Otaku. Don't listen to it unless you are already warped (if you are reading this, you probably already are). Discovered by Alex. Posted by Rob.

Rob asked me how our collaborative video efforts were doing on the Learn Japanese website and the answer is very well. In fact, the NFTOS videos we posted there overtook the Kanji videos by Stan Fairbank (big props) which were intended to be the main focus. That might be due to the limited Kanji learner demographic vs the everything else demographic including Japan nerds, artists, musicians and penguin lovers. Anyway,  the no.1 video is of course ALT rap which got 6521 hits. That got played on all kinds of podcasts the latest being Otaku Generation. (Show Direct download.) Favorite word got 4487 hits, I like meat got a whopping 4224 hits, Makiko's self introduction was 3,134 and the Maruchika video with Beb totaled 3685. 

In our struggle to define what NFTOS is all about, it might help to clean out the cellar. These are the bottom 20 mp3 tracks and videos--all with well under 100 downloads. Who knows what else you might find, if you snoop around? Help bring your favorite videos and songs out of the cellar! JUST CLICK and enjoy! Dead last: ALT Rap Vocal Track (Rob), 2. Sushi Party - video, 3. Wroclaw Panache (Smoldering Door) - ecclectic music, 4. Birdwatching in Colorado (Hans) - video, 5. Mexican Fiesta - mobile phone video, 6. Hans With Horns - video, 7. All The Little Things (Quest) - dubby instrumental, 8. ALT Rap (Alex Brooke version) - song, 9. Cafe Amanto - talk, 10. Japan Rail Song feat. samples from Tennoji Station (Will Spin), 11. Prapatang Kitchen #2 - video, 12. I Like Meat(report from Ebisu Station) - mp3, 13. Footprints (Trenchparrots) - song, 14. Wakayama Sayonara - video, 15. Tsuchifumazu Art Show - video, 16. World Cup Predictions (Alex & Rob Talk Show #2), 17. Birthday Greeting from Hans - video, 18. Prapatang Kitchen #1 - video, 19. Tom's Diner (Trenchparrots) - bad cover song, 20. Nuthin' to Say (Trenchparrots) - song. Honorable mention: Orange Princess (Alex) - spoken word. Posted by Rob. p.s. Please let me know if any of the links are wrong!

Since Alex and I started this vlog back in January, we've deleted the counter and deleted the cluster map a few times, but our Libsyn stats show that we have over 5,000 unique downloads to date (with 1,283 podcatchers and 3,719 web downloads). Some of our videos and mp3s have also been posted on Learn Japanese, such as the ALT Rap, which debuted there and has gotten over 5,000 downloads on Learn Japanese alone. On this homepage we have 17 podcasts with over 100 downloads each, and one perched at 99 downloads, and all except one are video. Here's our TOP 20: 1. ALT Rap - 286, 2. Loop Line #1 - 257, 3. Nabe Party - 243, 4. Loop Line #2 - 159, 5. Cerezo vs Frontale - 142, 6. Loop Line #4 - 134, 7. Postcard from Tokyo - 130, 8. Tin's Hall - 126, 9. Tubcast #1 - 124, 9. Alex's Room Cleaning - 124, 11. Who is Rob? - 118, 11. How To Pick Up Girls- 118, 13. What's Your Favorite Word? - 115, 14. Postcard from China #1 - 114, 15. Panorama Art Show Party - 113, 16. Loop Line #3 - 110, 17. World Cup: Reality Check - 105, 18. Cafe Barbes - 99, 19. Icitte Les Oeufs... - 93, 20. Postcard from Fiji - 93. Alex, how are our collaborations looking over on Learn Japanese?

Here's the severely edited Revver version of World Cup: Reality Check, which, after being posted on Libsyn, You Tube and MySpace, was rejected by Revver via what I assume was an automatic e-mail response, probably well written by their legal team, which makes me wanna don an eyepatch and devote the rest of my life to all out PIRACY. Did they actually watch my video, or did their computers red flag my tag words "WORLD CUP?" I googled the words "Revver," "knee" and "jerk" and came up with some stuff about intellectual property at iCommons which lead me to an article on Alternative Law Forums... Oh no! Could it be I'm developing yet another online interest?

Makiko, Masami, William and myself, reserved at table at Bar Grain, a couple blocks from JR Iidabashi Station, for a 10:00 p.m. kickoff. We watched Japan take the lead in the first half against Australia, only to get pummled (sp?) in the final minutes 1-3. It was a humbling beginning for The Blues, who were already counting the three points a team is rewarded for a victory (1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss). Then it was back home for the night to catch the U.S. vs Czech Republic match, which I was hoping would have a bit closer scoreline. Ouch! By now everyone knows the results, but please watch the video anyway. I had fun making it! Posted by Rob.

check out Amazon Ecolounge which promises to be a great event featuring live painting Djs music and more. It's being held at the DRAPEAUX bldg, "WHY YOU ARE HRE" in Minami semba on 17th June 3pm to 8pm. 1500 gets you in and a drink. For more details you can contact Walderedo at waljah@hotmail.com. 今週土曜日（１７日１５時ー２ï¼?時ã?¾ã?§ï¼‰å?—船場ã?®"WHY YOU ARE HERE"DRAPEAUX bldg, ã?§Amazon Ecoloungeã?¨ã?„ã?†ã‚¤ãƒ™ãƒ³ãƒˆã?Œè¡Œã‚?ã‚Œã?¾ã?™ã€‚ Walderedo Oliveiraã?®ç™ºé€? ã?«ã‚ˆã‚‹å¤§é˜ªã?®DJã€?ライブペインティングã?ªã?©ã?®é?¢ç™½ã?„イベントã?§ã?™ã€‚是é?žè¡Œã?£ã?¦ã?¿ã?¦ ã??ã? ã?•ã?„。 入場料：１５ï¼?ï¼?円（フリードリンク付ã??） 詳細ã?«ã?¤ã?„ã?¦ã?¯Walderedo ã?¸ waljah@hotmail.com。

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.

Yeah, it's World Cup time again. It's pretty amazing, but some Americans actually seem to know it's happening this time around. I've lived in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, France, Spain, Haiti and now Japan, so I always have a team or two to cheer for when the USA get knocked out, but this time I thought that maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to cheer for my home country a little bit longer... US Soccer.com

12 Osakans living in exile in Tokyo met up last Friday night for a bit of horumon yaki「ホルモン焼�or grilled beef parts such as tongue and tripe. It was surprisingly high quality meat, and most of it was quite easy to chew. I've certainly had much much worse! You can subscribe to this podcast and download it on iTunes, and you can also watch this video on Revver or on You Tube. Make sure you also listen this short mp3 we recorded in Ebisu Station while meeting up before the party.　

Posted by Rob.

Subscribe to our food channel, Prapatang Kitchen, on iTunes

We were invited to a fun house party at Flo-Union organizer David Roy's place in Shoto, near Shibuya, on 28 May 2006. Everyone brought the fixin's for hand-rolled sushi. You can download this video and/or subscribe to us on iTunes. You can also see a slightly longer edit of this video on Revver and on You Tube.

Posted by Rob.

Subscribe to our food channel, Prapatang Kitchen, on iTunes

For more information in English or 日本語 contact Charles Billard at charles_billard@hotmail.com.

...and alhtough Alex Brooke's Learn Japanese podcast is intended for more mature audiences (as is this homepage and its podcasts), they've used some of Alex's music available on the Podsafe Network. Check them out at Podkids Australia, and hear what Alex's music sounds like in a transcultural newscast! Cheers Podkids! I'm not a musician but it's always interesting to see who's playing our ALT Rap, or some of his solo stuff. Umbra from Japan played Alex on his #4 podcast. Awhile back I was quite impressed when Alex had his umeboshi mix used on Max's podcast about Judo on Radio Ayohui in Queretaro, Mexico. Now it might seem pretty common place, and I don't think he is too surprised anymore, but as you can tell I am! By the way, on this the 6th of June, 2006, we at NFTOS are by no way influenced by hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. Flag borrowed from ANZAC Day website. Posted by Rob.

Here's an mp3 file we recorded at JR Ebisu Station, on the Yamanote Line, which is kind of like Tokyo's version of the JR Loop Line in Osaka. We recorded video footage which is now posted. You can also watch it above, on Revver or on You Tube. Posted by Rob.

We just had a few glasses of the Robert Mondavi and suddenly we lost the plot. Why isn't alcohol a class A drug ? By the way we had the 2004 Merlot, very fruity and delicious.

Posted by Alex.

Subscribe to our food channel, Prapatang Kitchen, on iTunes

Damn that Will Spin! He's just too talented. Here's his new Japan Rail song using samples from JR announcements, including one from Tennoji Station (providing easy access to Tin's Hall). You can check out his DJ mixes on Bike Club Osaka (and kickass mixes by quite a few other Osaka DJs as well!). Thanks for the song Will! Photo provided by Will (suspicioulsy reminiscent of James Russell's photography style). This post by Alex and Rob.

Jerry Gordon arrived in Osaka on 4 June 1994--Year of the Dog. Anyone on the Osaka art or performance scenes in the past 12 years has probably at least heard of him. Most recently, he was one of the directors of this year's [re]GARB event. I first started seeing his name pop up associated with the Voicebox poetry event. Check out some of his writing at moontriangle and at softlogicmonkey, and this musical collaboration with Charles Billard called Smouldering Door. Anyway, Sunday is 4 June 2006--Year of the Dog. To commemorate the completion of this calendar cycle, he says "I'm going to play music and read poetry and generally howl my thanks to the streets of Osaka for all of you folks who I have met and become friends with." The performance will run from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., on Sunday, 4 June 2006. It will happen in a narrow alley between two Yodoyobashi office buildings. Jerry describes the place as "a beautiful little urban canyon." The event is free, but please bring something to eat, drink and sit on. And, bring your own glass if you want to drink some Dog to Dog whiskey. If it's raining; the event is cancelled. Directions: From Yodoyobashi Station (Midosuji Subway / Red Line) go out either exit 9 or 12. The alley is one block south of Exit 9 and one block north of Exit 12. Posted by Rob.

Here's our third song from John Hayden, a.k.a. Quest, who currently lives . John, do you have any comments you'd like posted with this song, or artwork you'd like the people to see? Please mail them to me. And go enjoy a cup of coffee at The Mill for me would ya? Thanks! -Rob

This is our first song by Smouldering Door who are Jerry Gordon and Charles-Eric Billard. According to Charles, it's about "the bearable lightness of the the living daylight..." Those of you who know Jerry, are probably aware that the Year of the Dog is Jerry's 12-year anniversary since arriving in Japan. Jerry will be celebrating his 12 years (one full astrological cycle) with an outdoor party of urban poetry, improv and performance art (see From Dog to Dog). Also, Charles is organizing a tunnel party on 25 June. He says it's going to be big--at least 13 artists will participate. Charles, could you please send me a photo or a graphic for this post? Some more info about the tunnel party would be great too. -Rob

Late last summer, 19 September 2005 to be exact, a bunch of us went to a "Mexican Fiesta" under the Umeda Sky Building (which you can see in the Loop Line #2 and ALT Rap videos). At the fiesta, we ate prized dishes that are hard to come by in Osaka, bought CDs, straw hats and t-shirts. What I like most about this video is that it is old skool Alex Brooke at its best! Collaging mobile phone stills and video with editing tools he was just figuring out how to use. Blending English, Portuguese and Spanish text without blinking. It ain't pretty, but it's pretty funny, don't you think? Well, maybe you just had to be there. Oh, and sorry 'bout the obscene gesture--didn't think it was going to end up in a movie! Posted by Rob.