Garfield Minus Garfield

Hey youse all! You got to check out this website called "Garfield Minus Garfield" (http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com). I read about it in Time Magazine. Some guy has taken the Garfield comic strips from the newspaper and edited Garfield out of all the panels. The results are ingenious and disturbingly creepy.

Here's the creator's description from the website:

"Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb."

Here's a few samples from the site. Enjoy!

My Tiny World

Perhaps you're wondering where I came up with the title for this incarnation of my blog page. Well, my world is literally tiny (no, not in a "Little People, Big World" kind of way - although I love that TV show). Here's a Top 5 List of what my tiny world consists of:

1) My dogs - Our tiny chihuahuas are small in stature, but the biggest dogs in the world in attitude and spirit.

2) My car - I am the proud owner of a MINI Cooper S - the most fun car in the whole world! Monster trucks think they can push us around; if only they could catch us!

3) My fascination with all things miniature - See my collection of Legos and micro plastic models of sushi/izakaya foods.

4) My job - My occupation, my profession, my livelihood, and my daily existence revolves around passing microsurgical instruments through a space no bigger than about 3x5mm. The fingernail on your pinky finger is bigger than my workplace!

5) My wife - At 5'0", she's a tiny firecracker that will take your head off with a single karate chop!

And here's a bonus:

6) We live in Jacksonville, Florida - a mere pimple on the ass of the world, where peoples' brain mass can be measure in nano units!

(Sorry - that last one was pretty spiteful, but true)

Tell me about your Tiny World...

Lovely Luna

Here's our precious little guardian, Luna. She's such a good companion and a little handful! We're still not sure if she's really a dog or a Vietnamese potbelly pig! These pics are from Ikego base housing.

A Final Izakaya

Here's a few pics from an izakaya we discovered in Kanazawa-Bunko not long before we departed Japan. Sorry, I cannot recall the name, but that's not important right now. It was very "Mom & Pop" and very inexpensive. The dishes shown below include: shirako-tempura (deep-fried fish testes), tako-wasabi (raw octopus and wasabi), and natto-maguro (fermented soy beans and tuna sashimi). Also, note the great 'Engrish' on the bottle of table wine. All good. I'm crying and typing!

Last Roadrace In Japan

Here's a couple pics from my last roadrace in Japan. It was the Yokosuka Seaside 1/2 Marathon, which started in the city of Yokosuka, coursed down the coast to the Kannonzaki lighthouse and back again. My time was about 1:51 - about 2-3 minutes longer than my usual time, which can be completely attributed to the fact that I had to stop about 1/2 way through to take a wicked piss (sorry - too much information). That usually doesn't happen to me, but I think I overdid it with the coffee beforehand. By the way, I'll post a few more final activities from Japan before we left. I'll try to keep the verbage to a minimum. I don't want to bore you, plus I might get too emotional because I'm hella homesick for Japan right now...

Cheesus H. Christ

Here's yet another sign that our country is precariously teetering on the balance of sliding off the face of the planet. Some numbskull at a Methodist church in Houston, Texas found a Cheeto in the shape of Jesus. He has it saved in a special little box with foam padding. Just in time for Easter! Chester Cheeto is the new risen messiah! This is all wrong on so many levels.

Stop the insanity!

Carry On With Your Bad Selves...

Greetings Friends, Family, Superfreaks, Mellow People, Rockers, Hippies, Otakus, Surfers, Wanderers, Booze Hounds, and Free Spirits!! The Madness continues!! An era has come to an end as far as my time in Japan is concerned, but we have started a new life in the U.S., and thus the time has come to continue my documentation of all the things that interest me in this quaint little blog site. I love Japan and all things Nihon, but the focus will now shift to Jacksonville, Florida and everything Beau Coups Crap de Americana as we settle back into the land of SuperWalmart, Waffle House, Harley people, fast food, giant cars, out-of-control crime, and Hanna Crotch-tana. Please humor me and check this site from time to time to see what we're up to.

In the next post I will sum up my last couple weeks in December 2007 in Japan before we made the big move.

Best wishes and hope to see you soon!