This is a guy we've mentioned before who I've collaborated with at VJ-DJ events. You've gotta watch him recap the year that was with his Show Reel 2007! The file is pretty big, so you might want to pause the .mov file and let it load up before trying to watch it.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Richard Boase, VJ, graphic, art, design, video, flash, animation

[There was supposed to be a YouTube video here. Seems like there's either a YouTube bug or a Libsyn one, and I'm going to try and find out which it is. It's been happening with all new posts and edits since yesterday. All the code just disappears. I'll get to the bottom of this...]

Video by Alex Brooke. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Patrick Widdess, Alex Brooke, Cambridge, England, UK, A Harmless Poet, Headstand, etc.

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This procession went by outside our house. I could hear it coming down the street and had enough time to run outside and film them walking past. I've lived here almost a year and a half, but I don't know anything about it. Last year, I was probably still at work at this time. I'll see if I can find out anything about it and report back! Also, it was shot on an old digital camera, so sorry about the poor lighting and bad audio.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, procession, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan

I made this video just for fun and as a reminder of the many hours I have spent looking out of the Shinkansen at the countryside gliding past. I must have used it close to a hundred times commuting between Tokyo, Osaka and sometimes Fukuoka for work. It's clean, fast, on time and generally quite a smooth experience. However for some reason there always seems to be a competition between the pensioners as to who can eat the weirdest and most stinky bento. One old man opens his bento box with an expression on his face that seems to say "behold, sliced boiled eggs and crunchy fishy snacks". And then another old lady will open her bento "dried stinky squid, I win!". It is usually better to bring your own food on the Shinkansen on a long journey. Although the food isn't bad, it is expensive and if I wanted to burn money when I ate out I'd live in London.

The thing I love about traveling on Japanese trains is that speaking on the phone is considered rude. Oh, the times I've had to endure idiots on buses in America and wankers on the tube in London screaming down their phone things like "I'm on the train...no...I SAID I'M ON THE TRAIN". The Shinkansen also has quiet cars where phones have to be switched off completely.

The Shinkansen started running in 1964 in time for the Tokyo Olympics and hasn't had a single fatality due to collisions, derailments, typhoons or even earthquakes. There was one fatality when a child got caught in one of the doors and there are jumpers too but it is a safe train.

Top potential speeds of the Shinkansen would be 443 kph set by the Class 955 (300X) test train but general operation speeds are around 300 kph so I believe the TGV in France is actually faster. If you want to know more nerdy stuff about the Shinkansen you can go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen

The music in the video is "Muziqawi Silt" by the "Wallias Band". I chose the music because of the driving beat and the pentatonic melody slightly reminiscent of Japanese music. Here's to Ethiopian jazz. Enjoy the video.

Video and blog text by Alex. Direct download and blog: Learn Japanese blog.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Shinkansen, Osaka, Tokyo, train, travel, journey, sights, Kyoto, pagoda, temple, Shitenno-ji, 新幹線, 京都, 大阪, ?京, 日本

There is a well researched and documented social disorder called the "I'm the Only Gaijin in Japan" Syndrome. Hundreds of foreigners seem to be affected by it, even more so where the concentration of them is the greatest. Those who live in the countryside and actually ARE the only foreigner within miles seem to the least affected by it, and those foreign residents of Japan even go to such lengths as to seek out other foreigners for human company--believe it or not!

We will look into such phenomena among other random things on this podcast...

Did i say "drink fish?" It must be the mercury getting to my brain. Apparently the mercury in blue fin tuna is reaching dangerous levels, according to a newspaper article by Marian Burros (el burro, Equus asinus, heh, heh). In the background, coming at you real low-fi, The Egg's Travelator CD.

Now you can Learn English, Spanish and/or Japanese all at the same time with Alex's new podcast. What's this? Only in Japan... Bug fights!

Painful experiences teaching English in Japan on YouTube. While you're there, make sure to check out my video pimp, and I was trying to think of how to slip a V.I.P. joke in here, but couldn't, so just go check out these poor and lonely videos, which for whatever reason don't have that many downloads yet.

Here's some general advice on living and working in Japan to a friend from the learnjapanesepod.com forums.

Finally, rock out with me to the "Oshiri kajiri mushi" KARAOKE version!!

Photo of a cold and slushy day in Kagurazaka. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, mercury, sushi, bug fight, burro, Equus asinus, learn English, Spanish, Japanese, social disorder, syndrome, gaijin, living, working, Video Pimp, Oshiri kajiri mushi, karaoke, Kagurazka, Tokyo, Japan, 神楽�?�, �?±京, 日本, カラオケ, �?��?�り�?��?�り虫

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Notes coming soon!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Tokyo, Panic Living, Rob, Talk Show, Kagurazaka, Japan, veranda, balcony, art, geta, sandals, 神楽�?�, �?±京, 日本, 下駄, 歩�??, アート, 油絵

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They say that 21 January is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. Well, I don't know about that, but I sure hate moving, so I've made a playlist to keep me company while I'm packing today. So far, there are only 6 songs, but the list is growing quickly. As I start, the mood is acoustic, folky, Latin and/or French. Check back in a few hours to see how the playlist evolves.

Posted by Rob a.k.a. El Gringo.

Tags: NFTOS, YouTube, music, video

This YouTube video is a promo for the "Tour Down Under," which we were talking about in the podcast. Also, here's the link to the dragonfly and damselfly exploits discussed on MDOsprey.

Later, I found this audio file related to the above TDU 2008 video, Phil Ligget on the Floyd Landis scandal. As Mario Cipollini comes back out of retirement, it's got us thinking maybe it's time for the next generation: Taylor Phinney!

Since the podcast was uploaded, Hans has updated his SmugMug photo album.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, TDU, Tour Down Under, Hans, h-monster, O Irmão da Xuxa, Rob, El Gringo, MDOsprey, Taylor Phinney, Mario Cipollini

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This is my new year's hello from Japan with Wes on the Dotonbori bridge in Osaka. In this video, Wes gives us his theory on police barriers and people jumping into the Dotonbori Canal. Notes by Alex.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, DJ Wes, Alex Brooke, Dontonbori, Osaka, Japan

At the end of this podcast, there is a surprise announcement, but please listen to as much of it as you can bear before racing off to the finish. There are a lot of shout outs and an upcoming event that you should know about, if you are living and playing in Tokyo.

Just got a package from Daniel Boone Daniel of Deep Fried Pickle Project, and in it was his latest compilation of kids music. Much more on that later, however, I will point out now to any DFPP fans that NFTOS, this blog's podcast, is probably best NOT PLAYED for your children, and is generally not recommended for decent folk in general. Proceed at your own risk.

There are a lot of stats (some which I got wrong and then corrected), which might be a bit confusing in the third quarter of the podcast. You might want to fast forward through them. Here are the links:

1. Quest - That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket. 2. DJ Wes - Upcoming Events (back in 2006). 3. Jet Jaguar - News. 4. Jonny Heartbreaker - Baby. 5. Alex & Rob - ALT Rap (the .mp3, not the video). 6. Alex - Sunset Ramblings. 7. Alex - One Man Ramble. 8. Rob - ALT Rap vocal track (don't ask me why). 9. Rob - Panic Living #1. 10. Quest - All the Little Things.

The stats on Rob's YouTube, MySpace and Revver are self-explanatory. As are Alex's on YouTube and Revver. Other NFTOS crew members with videos includes FlyingOkha, Charlou2006 and Noisivelvet. Did we miss anyone?

Artwork by Rob. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Rob, El Gringo, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, Unemployment

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