Posted by Rob.

I can't remember what it was about now...

Photo by Ben Brooke borrowed without permission from his facebook album.

Posted by Rob.

Tonight, four of us are going out to catch Phoenix Foundation member Samuel F. Scott & The Bunnies On Ponies (I think that's what they're called).  That's kicking off in about 2 hours at the Whammy Bar on K Road.  Opening act:  White Swan Black Swan.  Should be good craic.  Bought the tickets at Real Groovy yesterday afternoon, for the not-so-bad-price of $15 each (can't even buy a caipirinha for less than that in this town!).

Before the show we'll be checking out Tanuki's Cave (an izakaya on Queen Street) for some eats and drinks.

Tomorrow we should finally be getting internet at home, so I won't have to keep on coming out to the library to check my e-mail, and that means I'll also be able to upload podcasts regularly again!

Just in time too, because a terrible storm is on its way for the weekend...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10523423

Posted by Rob.

P.S. Expect photos and/or video of the distruction, if we survive it!

P.P.S.  Tune in to Midnight Japan on Planet FM 104.6, Saturday night from 10:30 p.m., if the storm doesn't end up being so bad that we're not able to drive to the studio...

This month's Headstand promises to be a real mixed bag (as usual) featuring live music in the studio from Clare Connolly (www.myspace.com/connollyclare) and another mini lecture from Nick Stibbs on the life and work of William Blake.

There'll also be an interview with Yako from Tokyo's legendary hardcore punk band Melt-Banana. (www.myspace.com/azap)

Posted by Rob.

There are rows of sake bottles along the top shelf (presumably empty, just there for decoration), but the bottles on the second shelf are well within reach of the knowledgeable staff.  For example, a purple bottle of Wakamurasaki looked like it might be a sweet shochu at first glance, like Tantakatan, but I was assured a manly man such as I could drink it and not lose face.  It had a much more complex and interesting flavor than Tantakatan has, and at $8 or $9 (New Zealand, of course) I highly recommend it.  "And who are you to be recommending Japanese sake" you might be asking?  Well, please allow me to introduce myself... Sometimes known as El Gringo, I am also known as Shochu Man!

My first drink of the night was a mug of Asahi draught beer (NZ$7), and Makiko had  Hana-awaka, a sparkling sake drink ($9) perfect for the girlier members of your posse.  I had to have one of the same drinks I had last week, Ikkomon (NZ$9), an imojochu listed as being made from kumara, the local word for imo, sweet potato.  There is also Sapporo beer on tap, and bottles of the big four (Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Yebisu) in the fridge.

Although you'd be better off going to Tanuki (an izakaya up the street) for a meal, Nonbe offers "Japanese tapas," a.k.a. otsumami.  Last week we tried some meat on a stick with a fancy name, but our memory of our first time there is a bit hazy.  It was yummy though.  In short, there is a long list of items to choose from including edamame and takoyaki.

The music is a very un-Japanese, blend of electro & alternative which makes the vibe way hipper than most tachinomiya you'll set foot in in Japan.  However, don't let that put you off, as it's played at background volume.  Makiko was happy to see her coaster artwork still up in the same place it was last week.  Mine was too!

The customers are mostly friendly locals or residents of various nationalities, although it is not unlikely for the random (very) drunk Irish traveler to stumble in, as Nonbe is on Auckland's main drag. 

Nonbe is open Tuesday-Satruday from 5:00 p.m. onwards, and is located at 309 Queen Street, Auckland City.  Phone:  09-379-5152.  http://www.sakebars.co.nz

I'll get a photo of the place the next time we go.

KANPAI!  CHEERS!  SLAINTE!

Posted by Rob.

So, what else is on my mind today?  Why, it's that Tour de France thing, of course.  Can't wait to chat with my brother regarding the latest developments, particularly the rise of Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg) and the demise of former Lance Armstrong lieutenant Manuel 'Triki' BeltrÃn.

But don't rush to make conclusions they tell us... alleged EPO use in the 1999 Tour, Heras, Hamilton, Landis, Contador and now BeltrÃn.  Hans will probably be able to name a couple more tainted former Postal/Discovery riders off the top of his head, but don't worry, we are not rushing to conclusions, we're just letting the circumstantial evidence pile up.  Whenever we get around to it, there'll be all that to discuss and more, on another edition of Bicicleteiros. 

Make sure you tune into it and to my solo podcast, Psychotropic of Capricorn, both of which you can subscribe to separately if you like on iTunes.

Posted by Rob.

Oh, the tribulations of not having internet at home.  Today I bought some quiche, a muffin and a flat white at an Esquires Cafe on Lorne Street, so I could use their internet.  You get 1 hour & 60MB with any purchase.  After about 20 minutes, and this upload of about 3MB, plus a software update (not sure how many MB, but it didn't seem like that many), I suddenly found myself without any internet.  When I went to ask the cashier/barrista, he reiterrated the above details to me, to which I replied that I wasn't anywhere near my 60MB limit.  He repeated the bit about the 1 hour, to which I responded, "have I been here an hour?"  He just shrugged.  Customer service anyone?

Now I'm at the library, where I'm having a heck of a time with multiple page reloads, just trying to get from the homepage login to the libsyn publishing tool that I'm typing in now.  It's taken me 20 minutes!  It's time to get some internet at home, now that I can afford it again.

Anyway, here's something shot back in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, where the internet flowed like the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI and the champiÃones were sizzling...

Photo coming soon.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, El Pulpo, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, Auckland, New Zealand, coffee shops, bad service, library, slow internet, mushrooms, champignons, cogumelos, kinoko, champiÃones

Of course, as soon as we have all the other necessities taken care of, we'll get an internet connection at home, and more podcasts will follow.  I've got all sorts of stuff edited and ready for upload: 

Videos:

1. The Four Seasons of Osaka (Makiko & Rob)
2. Forgotten Talk Show footage from Jan 2008 (Alex & Rob)
3. El Pulpo, Spanish Tapas in Kagurazaka (just the food)
4. Drinking in Seoul with Flying Koala & Co.
5. Auckland Truckies' Strike, 4 July 2008

Audio:

1. The If Factor, a 45-minute jam sesssion (proto-NFTOS feat. Alex, Jonny Heartbreaker & El Gringo)*
2. Priceless Talk #1 (a recovered file feat. Andrew & Hans)

*(with already more than 15 incriminating minutes removed, Alex is asking for more omissions, so this one may never see the light of day... and I haven't even heard from Jonny yet!) 

In the meantime, I'm hoping Alex, Hans, Jarrod or someone else will be able to upload something, anything, because we're only using 38% of our storage at the moment.  In any case, July should be a great month for NFTOS!  Stay tuned...

Posted by Rob.

This month's show features the usual mix of music and spoken word including poetry from local poets Dominic Mulvey, Richard Osmond and Glen Hutchinson, and a presentation on the life and work of Pablo Neruda by Nick Stibbs.

Posted by Rob.

Posted by Alex.

p.s. Jarrod, feel free to post something extra here.

Tags:  NFTOS, Jarrod Lio, Malaysia, Langkawi, Holiday, Motor Way, Travelog, Travel, Aussie, Australia, Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands

Greetings from the frontier town of Auckland, New Zealand!  (I mean "frontier" in the globalization scheme of things).  I'm writing to you from a computer at the Central Library, and will continue to do so, until our new apartment is fitted with the latest in high speed internet.  When we moved in yesterday, it was evident that several of our neighbors had wireless, none were sharing.  How antisocial!  No warm welcome to the neighborhood.  No brownies.  No free wireless.

This morning, Makiko and I ventured out to forrage for food and caffeine, and decided to try our first NZ Starbucks.  Normally, said global chain would be a last resort, but ever curious, we decided to try their "flat white" and hot cocoa, in order to be able to compare them with the local competition. 

Although it is a Sunday morning, and there were not many customers, the two young barristas were struggling to keep up.  I had to clean the crumbs off our table, and noticed a giant cube-shaped cookie crumb on a window ledge at ankle-level.  Not particulary bothered,  I began sampling my flat white, and writing my comments to help the barristas in their quest to master their trade. 

Then, Makiko's order was called only to be snatched up by an impatient customer, who as it turned out had actually ordered a larger size in a take away cup (we had ordered mugs).  The customer then reordered (demanded) a larger drink in a take away cup, and the barristas poured Makiko's drink (by default) into a mug, the whipped cream now sad and forlorn.

Hopefully, the two barristas will take my comments to heart, put their heads together and learn from experience.  The customer, a North American bimbo, judging by her accent and fashion sense, probably never will, and will receive karmic retribution (i.e. a flood, an earthquake or tornado damage visited upon her hometown), because this is how Sharon Stone has taught us that karma works.    

The names of the aforementioned staff and the location of aforementioned Starbucks have been withheld in order to protect the bright futures of these young barristas from their evil slack managers and the oppressive onslaught of rampant and unchecked globalization.

In other matters, Hans and I, or perhaps Hans with another co-host (Alex?  Rolf?) will record the next episode of Bicicleteiros soon, as the 59th CritÃrium du Dauphinà LibÃrà kicks off this weekend, and Hans returns from cheering on the "Philly" participants on the Manayunk Wall.

Not spell checked.

Posted by Rob.

Subject: If you're in Cambridge DON'T listen to Headstand this Wednesday 9-11pm
 
"Greetings Listeners,

The next Headstand promises to be a great show with an interview and poetry from Melanie Challenger, recent artist in residence for the British Antarctic Survey and local Poet Nick Stibbs talking about the life and work of 13th Century poet, Rumi. All this and the usual eclectic mix of music and spoken word.
But if you"re in Cambridge switch off your radios and head to the Drama Studio on Covent Garden off Mill Road for an evening of performance poetry hosted by the Anglia Ruskin Literary Society. Headlined by renowned Carribean poet Jean 'Binta' Breeze, it'll also feature open mic from literary society members and music. It starts at 7pm.
From Thursday onwards you can listen back to the show on headstand.209radio.co.uk

Stay tuned,
Patrick"

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Headstand, 209radio, Cambridge, England, poet, poetry, poem, music, show, spoken word, Rumi, Drama Studio, Covent Garden, Mill Road, Anglia Ruskin Literary Society, Jean 'Binta' Breeze, The Trenchparrots ?

Our adventure began with a boost three Saturdays ago with our Auckland homestay host driving us as far north as Warkworth, nearly halfway to the eco-village.  From there we almost immediately hitched a ride, but the driver was another foreigner who was lost and looking for the golf course.

A few minutes later, we got picked up by a couple who were headed to Kaiwaka for an anniversary party.  They took us right to our turn off, where we were fully intending to walk the rest of the way, but got another ride after about 200 meters.   At the entrance of the eco-village, one of the original founders spotted us and took us to the family we'd be staying with for the first five days.

In my next audio podcast, Makiko and I will tell you more about the wwoofing experience itself.  We've taken tons of photos and video, which I hope to upload little by little, once we're back in Auckland. 

Today we're just taking it easy, and there's a big birthday party tonight with at least 3 bands!  Of course, that means even more photos and videos to sift through once we get back to the big city.  

In the meantime, please stay tuned to our podcasts, as Alex and others keep us entertained and informed on what's going on in Tokyo and the rest of the world...

Posted by Rob.