tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310184242024-03-08T07:57:37.102+09:00The WayMy personal journey through action,
martial arts, <br> and life in general.Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.comBlogger227125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-9901351846107507232020-05-02T18:58:00.002+09:002020-05-02T18:59:46.662+09:00How to Acquire a Foreign Langugage through music in 5 steps. (I used K-pop)Greetings all.<br />
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So, not too long ago, my wife's best friend (who is Korean) got her into K-pop, and consequently K-pop music videos. Since then, they were playing on our TV all the time, but as I had studied Korean forever ago, it was fun for me too because every now and again, I could hear words that I recognized. Eventually, after watching the same videos so often the music grew on me, and I downloaded it to listen to it during my commutes as well.<br />
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<b><i><u>How it started:</u></i></b><br />
While I was watching the videos the videos, the visuals made it fun enough that I didn't pay too much attention to the lyrics; but when I only had the music to listen to, understanding a word or two wasn't enough. As I was hearing the same phrases over and over (to the point that I recognized them) curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to know they meant.<br />
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The first song I tried to figure out was the first K-pop song I ever downloaded- "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2hlQkVJZhE">Likey</a>" by Twice. Originally, I looked up the lyrics in Korean and English, and wrote them all down. I tried to look up words with google translate, but a lot of them were colloquial (ie slang), others were conjugated (sought vs. seek) and some were just nonsense sounds to make the song flow. As such, as much as I liked the song, this proved to be too difficult, so eventually I just stopped working on it. This lead me to step 1 of this process.<br />
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<b><i><u>STEP 1: Choose the right song. </u></i></b><br />
A month or so later, (and 4 or five songs later) my wife was listening to another Twice song, Signal, that grew on me, so again, I downloaded it. Compared to the other ones, the speech in this one was unusually clear, the theme was easy to understand, (A girl trying to get through to a guy she liked), and the lyrics were repetitive (meaning that there would be way less to try and figure out). This was how I stumbled onto the first step: Choose a song that:<br />
- you like enough that you can listen to it over and over<br />
- is really clear<br />
- is relatively simple<br />
- has a clear theme you can understand<br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQtonf1fv_s" width="560"></iframe>
<b><i><u><br />STEP 2: Get a good translation site</u></i></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PGqBHxLA9OIjIgsy_XZP9ue7jli06hYEiFU3hImRAvc8D9LcAMGTxY1cU5RkAF0u_OIvq4KSjoOiZjk7fuLzpAONVy0mCDc9GnVIahbLQWPRqNDIqa4zw4tlcl6LPVsW31q-/s1600/IMG_1975.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="739" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PGqBHxLA9OIjIgsy_XZP9ue7jli06hYEiFU3hImRAvc8D9LcAMGTxY1cU5RkAF0u_OIvq4KSjoOiZjk7fuLzpAONVy0mCDc9GnVIahbLQWPRqNDIqa4zw4tlcl6LPVsW31q-/s320/IMG_1975.PNG" width="147" /></a>The next step in this process was finding a better way to see the lyrics. The last one I used was a video so if I wanted to see a certain lyric again, I need to rewind and fast forward to find it, which was a pain. This time, I found another one called <a href="http://www.lyricstranslate.com/">www.LyricsTranslate.com</a> and I preferred it for three reasons: <br />
<br />
1) Because you can see both the English and Korean lyrics <br />
<br />
2) The lyrics are shown statically (ie all of them at once and not just line by line) and <br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br />3) You can watch the video on the site.<br /></span><br />
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
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<b><i>STEP 3: Get help from a Native </i></b><br />
In contrast with my first attempt with Likey, for Signal, this time I also decided to enlist the help of a native. My wife had used the app, Flamingo to find herself a Korean teacher who spoke both English and Japanese, and as I thought it was easier to translate from Korean to Japanese (because they are similar like English and Spanish) I enlisted his help as well. Going one verse per lesson, I would write down any words, phrases or expressions, that I couldn't find on google translate. Then during the lesson, I would ask him what they meant and the subtle nuances of how they are used.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oiaz3otz9C1SJ1SLuYH9yH-VDQzHpeKBBM6VTq1K36jGgXN6jEhyfx8qK1BjxXlCKZ_TMkRWha83bPLujVEnadpEznEoBx8lK0ZJBeYd2_SJxiZ2vgz3aUIK2pbv1b8Eeys-/s1600/IMG_1974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="1125" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oiaz3otz9C1SJ1SLuYH9yH-VDQzHpeKBBM6VTq1K36jGgXN6jEhyfx8qK1BjxXlCKZ_TMkRWha83bPLujVEnadpEznEoBx8lK0ZJBeYd2_SJxiZ2vgz3aUIK2pbv1b8Eeys-/s200/IMG_1974.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flamingo- a language app that can be used to find <br />
local teachers of languages you want to learn. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Concentrating one lesson on one verse this way, I could extrapolate 2 or 3 grammar forms, 5 or 6 new words, and at least one expression or two per verse. Then I would give myself the homework of trying to apply the new language in making sentences.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM68d8aMNqxQRBDlFZnvR0rSO9RjbfByuyX2JTQX4TiaK2ip9Q2ShmXaiDia_pbrkfD6F_T92itPaXGe0MaiWsItfX5K_szqeQEYJw2C4lQb6OxmH4xpVtlK-lR92I37LHtGI/s1600/IMG_2330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM68d8aMNqxQRBDlFZnvR0rSO9RjbfByuyX2JTQX4TiaK2ip9Q2ShmXaiDia_pbrkfD6F_T92itPaXGe0MaiWsItfX5K_szqeQEYJw2C4lQb6OxmH4xpVtlK-lR92I37LHtGI/s320/IMG_2330.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Use music lyrics to extrapolate grammar forms, vocabulary, and colloquial expressions,<br />
then have the teacher check your usage. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fK1UcpMmorhvfPO_04yPscZZ7MhCHu4kiVM7hM13njfsfvwONWCtm8jSfS20A6sNYMCHuzX_4qCnlhHzjc9r_EKEqO9pBQlvGwANwgezP-1_XwnJJ1jWEiNZlk-wDFhJqTa8/s1600/IMG_1286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fK1UcpMmorhvfPO_04yPscZZ7MhCHu4kiVM7hM13njfsfvwONWCtm8jSfS20A6sNYMCHuzX_4qCnlhHzjc9r_EKEqO9pBQlvGwANwgezP-1_XwnJJ1jWEiNZlk-wDFhJqTa8/s320/IMG_1286.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After pulling out the vocab, grammar, etc from the lyrics and having the teacher explain them, I would write write sentences utilizing the new language for homework. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><u>STEP 4: Hello Talk</u></i></b><br />
While this was great and tremendously helpful, another problem was that I could only meet with him once a week... so if I had a question while trying to do the homework, I would get stuck. To solve this problem, I enlisted another app called Hello Talk, which connects native speakers of various languages from all over the world to each other. You can post a question like "Hey, how do you use this word?" Or "What exactly does ______ mean?" and usually someone will answer you in a minute or two. Doing the same for other Korean speakers with their English, I could also make Korean speaking friends in Korea as well.<br />
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<b><i><u>STEP 5: Go back and enjoy the song as usual</u></i></b><br />
So the last step in this process was to go back and listen to the song as usual. After 2 or 3 weeks, I had a complete understanding of all of the words, expressions, and grammar forms used in the song, but there was still the fact that they were singing faster than I could think and translate in my head. As such, the solution was just to go back to listening to the song as usual. If I was riding a train I would would pull up LyricsTranslate.com again and read along as I was listening until I could clearly hear everything. Otherwise, I would just listen while I was doing dishes, riding my bike, etc. Low and behold, every time I listened I could understand a bit more (without having to think about it) than I could the previous time. Now (about a month later) when I listen to the song, I have more or less 100% listening comprehension.... which makes it way more fun to listen to.<br />
<br />
<b>The Benefits of Learning this Way</b><br />
While I originally never set out to develop this as a system, I have figured out that there's two massive benefits to it in contrast to regular language study methods: Retention & Listening Comprehension.<br />
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Usually, when you are learning a foreign language, you can only retain the words or phrases that you can apply to your daily life, and no matter how hard you try, the rest simply slips from your mind. Learning this way however, you are continually reinforcing all the new language that you learn by regularly listening to it. Add on top of that the fact that for most people musical memories naturally have a retention rate of 91+% (compared to all other forms of memory) and you have an incredible method for language acquision. (Think of the theme song to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air- literally an American in their 40s now can sing that and none of us have seen the show in decades).<br />
<br />
I think the only downside of this technique is that outside of meeting with the teacher once a week, and asking questions on Hello Talk, the amount of time I spend speaking is relatively low; and I think in order to really master a foreign language, you have to spend as much time producing it as you do taking it in. Beyond that, it also takes a basic working vocab and understanding of the language you are trying to learn. As such, I might not try this with a language I had never studied before (unless it's similar to your native language like Spanish is to English) But doing this alongside traditional language study, I think it could be a really powerful too. And it's fun. Anyway, onto the next song, Alone by Sistar, haha.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E0ZHXVp_wUE" width="560"></iframe>
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#languagelearning #K-pop #Twice #Sistar #foreignlanguage #learnkoreanChuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-6391742756784840562020-03-23T17:17:00.000+09:002020-03-23T17:26:35.705+09:00Updates on the Corona Virus in Japan<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
Greetings all.</div>
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So for the sake of trying to give people an honest and fair assessment of what is happening in Japan with the Corona virus situation, I thought I would share information from conversations I had with a friend who works directly under Japan’s Minister of the Environment. (環境省)<br />
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While the information he shared is nothing top-secret, it is a current and objective assessment of the situation from a governmental position. He is also the father of a young child who takes his child’s safety as seriously as I do my own. Over the years I have gone to him for situational assessments on everything from Fukushima Nuclear Crisis to the last super typhoon. I’ve found I can always trust him to just be honest, straight-forward and objective.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingNA_hH5KxZUA4XH2pOYRzE2y2GgXK5WaGqomi41gSGH354fjwD8mNydUJze0qgb2KDjY6NWkXomljMHIJxxqyD6jDCnUioa1cssMWvTnR9-CCIB_uzlEPzvj1Py4uofn6TgK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-03-23+at+5.12.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingNA_hH5KxZUA4XH2pOYRzE2y2GgXK5WaGqomi41gSGH354fjwD8mNydUJze0qgb2KDjY6NWkXomljMHIJxxqyD6jDCnUioa1cssMWvTnR9-CCIB_uzlEPzvj1Py4uofn6TgK/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-03-23+at+5.12.36+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this blog, I'll talk about the current state of the Corona virus here. In the next blog I’ll get into the current thinking on what is going to happen with the Olympics.</div>
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<b><u>The Current Situation:</u></b> </div>
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While Japan started off with a higher number of cases than other places (which personally I think is from how the Diamond Princess situation was handled), as you can see from the graph, the rate of infection here is actually way slower than most other places (which may in part be due to the fact that that situation made everyone wary from get-go). We still haven’t hit the peak of the curve here yet, but compared to most other places Japan still has one of the lowest rates of infection. It’s thought to be for the following reasons. Most of them are cultural. </div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span>Even before the virus, as Japanese people are used to living in extremely tight quarters, they already had a culture of avoiding physical contact. Generally even within families people rarely hug, kiss, or touch each other or even get in close proximity (in compared to other places like Italy where people hug and kiss to say hello)</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span>Additionally, along the same lines people also already have a culture of wearing masks on a daily basis to protect others from catching infectious diseases. Masks don’t do much for protecting you; but they do actually work for protecting everyone else from you.</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span>Central Air conditioning systems are generally not widely used here. (Instead Japanese people usually use stand-alone one room units) Central Air Conditioning is how they think it spread through hospitals in Italy so quickly. For example, an infected person in one room sneezes, it gets into the system, and is spread through the air conditioning system. (Japan has already taken steps to stop using air con on the trains and is using an alternate back-up system of cooling them with air from outside.</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span>People here usually keep the windows open all the time. (Even in the winter). While this particular behavior stemmed from the fact that it’s extremely humid and everything molds quickly, in this case, it is also thought that proper open-air ventilation makes a big difference in slowing the spread of the virus.</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"></span>In general, contrasting with westerners, Japanese people tend to be more pessimistic and worry-prone. Particularly when it comes to health and disease because, again, everyone lives so close to each other. As such, even if the government response was slow, the response of the people was fast compared with the west. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgW_q1N1OpQWh7aFzgFM_M_5vjAYpWGoFRgsJN55AluMBRjwvn1v0AU-u4GVK83-ppi8dyWx-1NK_KmZwRYm68-lDAALGMrpxtOnNpGx4oI-hRx3glOuwYqhXu47YKZ-_9ex98/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-03-23+at+5.11.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgW_q1N1OpQWh7aFzgFM_M_5vjAYpWGoFRgsJN55AluMBRjwvn1v0AU-u4GVK83-ppi8dyWx-1NK_KmZwRYm68-lDAALGMrpxtOnNpGx4oI-hRx3glOuwYqhXu47YKZ-_9ex98/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-03-23+at+5.11.52+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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In effect, while a lot of these things have always been difficult to deal with as a foreigner living here (the fact that no one likes to hug; the windows are always open even when it’s cold, the fact that people seem excessively risk-averse, etc) in this case they have all created a culture that is well prepared for dealing with this kind of thing.<br />
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<b><u>How safe is it to go out?</u></b></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b>Right now the government has classified the country into 3 likes of areas: </div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">High-risk </li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Medium-risk</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Low-risk</li>
</ul>
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<b><u>Low-Risk Areas</u></b><br />
In the current thinking, because the national contraction rate is so low, it’s basically okay to get back to business as usual... but provided that everyone remains careful and cognizant of the fact that the threat is still there.<br />
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<b><u>Medium-Risk Areas</u></b></div>
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This is where Tokyo falls. Insomuch as I know, Hokkaido currently has the highest rate of infection. As such, it is thought that people can return to going about their business, but they need to proceed very very carefully, avoid excessive time with other people or lots of personal contact, and follow protocols of regular hand-washing, keeping windows opens, keeping a bit of distance and trying not to touch others or one’s face.<br />
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<b><u>High-Risk Areas</u></b><br />
It’s still best to practice social distancing as much as humanly possible.</div>
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All that being said, as aforementioned, it also important to remember that we still haven’t hit the top of the curve yet, so if people relax too much, that can change at any moment. Basically we can carefully proceed to getting back to life as usual, but if things take a turn for the worse, its important that to remember that we could go right back to having to be on lock-down. In general, the fastest way to spread infection is still travel however, so it's still best to avoid international travel and/or traveling between cities, being on rush-hour trains, etc as much as possible.<br />
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Also, just for everyone's information, here are the sites that I am getting the charts from. They offer current updates on the situation in both Japanese and English for anyone that wants to check regularly.<br />
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/country_count.html&source=gmail&ust=1585035693694000&usg=AFQjCNHeics319QSGo97Zxt7UqLPg9E_eA" href="https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/country_count.html" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/c<wbr></wbr>ovid19/country_count.html</a><br />
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii1_E.JPG&source=gmail&ust=1585035693694000&usg=AFQjCNFbBRoiEgdeMaccJTXIzH2DzT0Wdw" href="https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii1_E.JPG" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/c<wbr></wbr>ovid19/pdf/graph_suii1_E.JPG</a><br />
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii2_E.JPG&source=gmail&ust=1585035693694000&usg=AFQjCNGU9Zma37lFG-Msg4DjfwjcaN5zDg" href="https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii2_E.JPG" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/<wbr></wbr>covid19/pdf/graph_suii2_E.JPG</a><br />
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii3_E.JPG&source=gmail&ust=1585035693694000&usg=AFQjCNH-sahNi4qkoeqMVIGbskPlj05jIw" href="https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii3_E.JPG" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/c<wbr></wbr>ovid19/pdf/graph_suii3_E.JPG</a> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii4.JPG&source=gmail&ust=1585035693694000&usg=AFQjCNF54mBs06LmXVGfJjJGSLZqRw2bkQ" href="https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/pdf/graph_suii4.JPG" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/c<wbr></wbr>ovid19/pdf/graph_suii4.JPG</a><br />
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Hope this helps!</div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-51667124692312726962020-02-28T00:45:00.003+09:002020-02-28T00:45:59.257+09:00Thoughts on my First Samurai Musical<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJn2-lDgAaeXPZGo3c6qXoogNwSpbH4YbLRA0-6wR7hjzSKUjfxfWokK9SH8NjB4cBCunPs2LA72woTgxo9ET-cpO80pqHsrycHH-wvT-bvxIaCpjCfCWgsHALdOcDWafkFRD/s1600/IMG_1537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1125" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJn2-lDgAaeXPZGo3c6qXoogNwSpbH4YbLRA0-6wR7hjzSKUjfxfWokK9SH8NjB4cBCunPs2LA72woTgxo9ET-cpO80pqHsrycHH-wvT-bvxIaCpjCfCWgsHALdOcDWafkFRD/s320/IMG_1537.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Naka-san & Taka-san (myself) and Suke-san and Kaku-san:<br />In the show, we were comedic pairs and represented a lot of the show's comic relief. </i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Just wrapped on the Samurai theatre show I was doing, Tange Sazen. It took me </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">to the final show to feel like I finally nailed all the dialog, dancing, blocking, timing and humor, but I got it. What a fantastic experience. No doubt it was hard... but anything worth doing always is. When I first got the call for this, I had thought I was simply going to be a masked background ninja or something. I was shocked the first time I was saw the script and saw how prominent of a character I was playing; but after I understood the nature of the show, I got it. A lot of the humor was slapstick, and what could be funnier than an American black dude playing a Japanese person from 200 years ago. It would be like if someone in the states decided to make a comedy version of Shaft and then cast a Japanese guy who didn't speak English to play a pimp from the hood named "Honey Dip" or something. It was a pretty risky move for the director/producer, but it seemed to work well, and people absolutely loved it; and truth be told, so did I. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsBVtcvuyQJdY0MMXn_-Ped5En1YfCEk1jMZ85UOESoHDmwuMgMX34vEqh787K_v20HxYLLP8szqY3in0GJzUTs0vBFNz0-4wqM-Pwrm3dZ7v6fP1fCnDSmlLA5gWS3wmIq1C/s1600/IMG_1396.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsBVtcvuyQJdY0MMXn_-Ped5En1YfCEk1jMZ85UOESoHDmwuMgMX34vEqh787K_v20HxYLLP8szqY3in0GJzUTs0vBFNz0-4wqM-Pwrm3dZ7v6fP1fCnDSmlLA5gWS3wmIq1C/s320/IMG_1396.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4638edLrrwpMKA1ExW-ov1klNUHLX3AvIGq5WUbteKYW1nZs-XlLeNUFPfDMXq3FCTm3x_kWDlcUFqe2dLnLurxIhEeooPoLQg3nxbs0IhimTvk5uCUeXCUBXSZIV7VbBgxZ/s1600/IMG_1184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1124" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4638edLrrwpMKA1ExW-ov1klNUHLX3AvIGq5WUbteKYW1nZs-XlLeNUFPfDMXq3FCTm3x_kWDlcUFqe2dLnLurxIhEeooPoLQg3nxbs0IhimTvk5uCUeXCUBXSZIV7VbBgxZ/s320/IMG_1184.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I found out that one of the people I was acting alongside of was Ryosuke Sakamoto; the original Japanese "Red One" power ranger. Super honored. </i></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As strange as it may seem, the thing that I’m the most thankful for is the fact that I wasn’t treated any differently than any other cast or crew member. Generally, as a foreigner working here in Japan, you get used to always having additional assistance. There is always someone translating for you, or going the extra mile to help you to understand. Since 99% of us are working with a language barrier, I do think that attitude is actually a good thing- because quite frankly you do miss a lot. At the same time however, in this case, it was really refreshing that the director and cast just generally took the attitude “Meh, Chuck is fine. He’ll figure it out.” For myself that shows a large degree of trust, and it made me determined not to disappoint.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: small; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDk-UtlJsA9y4piP0VlGcK1K3RkxhxqVoOYZysIWAn1BhvbutrDfwEuuzqm4nZfeFbmxZQSQXSAV1YtoQyxjWAx_9uQqcEMQTltkpLIJ6VI7ScJp-IZcvMzBYuO_7Tr_nwlqPD/s1600/IMG_1404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="939" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDk-UtlJsA9y4piP0VlGcK1K3RkxhxqVoOYZysIWAn1BhvbutrDfwEuuzqm4nZfeFbmxZQSQXSAV1YtoQyxjWAx_9uQqcEMQTltkpLIJ6VI7ScJp-IZcvMzBYuO_7Tr_nwlqPD/s320/IMG_1404.JPG" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Among other things like caring for my wig and Kimono costume pieces, another challenge was having to learn how to wear a fundoshi. (Traditional Japanese men's underwear). This was easily the hardest thing to ask for help with, haha. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were times were I had to ask for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">extra help; needed extra repetitions, or had extra explanations, but more often than not, I was left to just figure it out...and I usually did. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’m not sure if this kind of work will continue beyond this... but I hope so. As an actor, it was an intense experience, but also a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth. In addition to having to learn the script, I also had to learn how to wear all the costumes, (which seriously upped my Kimono game), learn a ton about Japanese history and also learn a lot about how theatre in Japan works. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Beyond that, I honestly could not have asked for a more wonderful, honest and hardworking cast and crew to do this with. I feel like I made a lot of good friendships that will last a long time. My only regret of the whole thing is that there’s no video of any of it, so the only people who got to see it are those that took the time to come. This show happens yearly however, so hopefully this or other opportunities like it will come around. Even if film and television pay better, I have always believed that the actor’s truest training ground is theatre, and this show certainly was just that.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entire cast of 45 wonderful, talented and super-hardworking people.<br />
Didn't get to know everyone, but I will miss them all. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-72511636348487749372019-10-06T17:52:00.000+09:002019-10-06T17:54:50.720+09:00Getting back to Method<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />So after a 10 year gap, I just completed my second course on Method acting. My actor’s journey actually began with Method in about 2009. At the time, I had gotten the co-lead in a high budget short film, and thought that that was a good reason to officially begin training. As there was no way to study acting in English in Tokyo at that time (at least insomuch as I knew) I took what little cash I had and hired what seemed like a reputable Method acting coach from the Bay Area who said that she could work with actors abroad through Skype.<br /><br /> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Looking back on it now, I could see that she was probably just bitter for personal reasons (or maybe she was just in a bad point in life), but whatever the reason, she wasn’t strict, she was just plain mean. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Case in point, in the very first lesson,I told her “I was recently cast in the co-lead for a short film, and I don’t want to go into this with no formal training.” to which she replied, “Why in the f*ck would you take a lead role if you aren’t a trained actor?!” She seemed downright angry about it.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Having already paid for it and no previous experience of studying acting, I decided to see it through to the end, (although she never bothered to show up for the last lesson) but it was just a painful experience all around. Especially because Method involves deep exploration of inner feelings, past trauma and your own deep</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">psyche.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After that, over the course of the next ten years I put all of my energy into the physical side of acting; action, stunts, stage combat, etc. but it wasn’t until I signed up for this course that I realized how much dread and apprehension I had developed about formally studying acting. Despite that though, the draw and the desire to act never faded. I had done my first actor’s audition when I was 15, (I auditioned for Saved by the Bell) at the same time I started Taekwondo, and I had always wanted more... despite my continual branding myself on the action and stunt side of things, since then, I had always always continued to get and do acting work. So much in fact that if you look at my IMDB page, to this day I have more acting credits than stunts, and among Tokyo agencies I developed a reputation as “a good actor” even though I generally labeled myself as a stunt guy.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Not too long ago though, while playing one of the main characters on a reinactment drama, I met a fantastically talent method actress and asked where she had studied. Through her, I was introduced to a coach based out of NY. Despite my dread, I knew that the only way to progress was through proper training and I signed up, while she was here in Tokyo. Over the course of 9 hours of concentrated study with her, I felt more evolution as an actor than I had in years of reading books and studying on my own. I immediately booked her again before she left the country. After the course, I came to the conclusion that studying acting through books and then trying to work on set is like trying to learn a martial art through a book and then just stepping into the ring. Yes, you are better off reading than not; but the different between having a proper coach or not is just night and day. As she comes to Tokyo fairly regularly, she has agreed to keep an ongoing relationship with me which is awesome... and it means for the first time ever, I am finally stepping into this ring with a regular coach.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Before she left Tokyo, I told her that I regretted losing the past ten years because I hadn’t sought out proper training; and she replied “You didn’t lose anything. In this time you have become a master of the physical side of the equation; now you have the opportunity to master acting and integrate them.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This year, I already did a major stunt for the most anticipated Japanese movie of the year, and now after her coaching, I just landed a dramatic speaking role in a different film of the same scale. Whether I set out to be or not, I’ve always been both an actor and a stuntman, and not it finally feels like I am fully walking both paths. </span></div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-28968689338520635392019-08-15T21:36:00.000+09:002019-08-15T21:52:07.833+09:00Castle Hunting: The Ruins of Sumpu & Fukuoka Castle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisATyd-VXNQYJAy6O0CQOKnxH8-AvKFfqCI6pJxGJiPRUITJNUYQtUFDYaf1P4UHI-A0rJHbbHuuz9kwnmwg_CM6Zg34SHX2YM1ePQGi1GLJhEjTFp5sv_e2gjN6bizbyzWTkG/s1600/IMG_3083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisATyd-VXNQYJAy6O0CQOKnxH8-AvKFfqCI6pJxGJiPRUITJNUYQtUFDYaf1P4UHI-A0rJHbbHuuz9kwnmwg_CM6Zg34SHX2YM1ePQGi1GLJhEjTFp5sv_e2gjN6bizbyzWTkG/s320/IMG_3083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shot from the outside of the Fukuoka castle ruins. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">So one of the great pleasures of last year’s dinosaur zoo tour was that I could visit so many of Japan’s traditional castles all over the country. Unfortunately however, soon after that, my phone fell out of my pocket while I was on my bike and was destroyed before I could back it up. As such all of the pics I had of those places are now gone :( Now that I am back on tour around the country again this year, the first thing I wanted to do was start castle hunting again. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVCJBMEHblO2zTds60StF5fpOCCWBi57ULtHYBag6xR-qGvTyFyPqkB598G5cplSh3G4_Ev_0UGqDb423_c7nCdowmdWTgROk7gHIJ0LxiwA8zyQNGa2MM14VnUSc4TV9PLkI/s1600/IMG_1420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVCJBMEHblO2zTds60StF5fpOCCWBi57ULtHYBag6xR-qGvTyFyPqkB598G5cplSh3G4_Ev_0UGqDb423_c7nCdowmdWTgROk7gHIJ0LxiwA8zyQNGa2MM14VnUSc4TV9PLkI/s320/IMG_1420.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outside corner of the Sumpu castle ruins in Shizuoka. While the castle itself is gone; some of the<br />
towers and structures still remain. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmg3mjJDKkLEvwi1esDoFRsROeQp9c-LhPAGd8S0ST7LsEUNzQ5RzmCCLJLH4D1gvjqpnM2OIdfNfsnqSc_sP_gpBW4j-MuV8F10RbwW1O79OSTFE3dCGjtR3g7E_P1UKMaZou/s1600/IMG_0482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmg3mjJDKkLEvwi1esDoFRsROeQp9c-LhPAGd8S0ST7LsEUNzQ5RzmCCLJLH4D1gvjqpnM2OIdfNfsnqSc_sP_gpBW4j-MuV8F10RbwW1O79OSTFE3dCGjtR3g7E_P1UKMaZou/s320/IMG_0482.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot of Japanese castles utilized narrow passageways to create bottlenecks where would be attackers/invaders could be picked off. </td></tr>
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<span class="m_8007620517962673874s1" style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus far I have had a chance to visit two of them; The Sumpu castle ruins in Shizuoka and the Fukuoka castle ruins. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While a lot of Japan’s castles are in excellent condition, castle ruins are not uncommon as well. I think this is because when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified the country, he also commanded that a great deal of the smaller warlord's castles be burned to the ground to limit their power, resources and ability to fight back. <br /><br />Coincidentally, another interesting thing he did was insisting that all local warlords move (with their entire entourage) to Tokyo (then Edo) every other year. In doing so, he could not only keep a close eye on their activities, but by forcing them to move their estate so often, he could also continually wipe out their financial power base, making them easier to control. <br /><br />As these massive entourages of thousands of people were constantly traveling back and forth to Edo, this also turned Osaka into a massive trade hub, made it Japan's second biggest city, and also embued it with the outgoing, friendly, (but often brash), and barter-oriented culture that it is still known for today.<br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58r4ZKKXd35xJ2PFFvi-nwd_WYYakCoB9j5HJhp3ZKUNff-dTrpG9jbe91KhxmyJeUt2nPxyErJhwr_1pUo0zW5CvMijM25-fJvskj1kTeHNI9YpQKbBXCPLs8mKUV3Z9AQwg/s1600/IMG_1762+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58r4ZKKXd35xJ2PFFvi-nwd_WYYakCoB9j5HJhp3ZKUNff-dTrpG9jbe91KhxmyJeUt2nPxyErJhwr_1pUo0zW5CvMijM25-fJvskj1kTeHNI9YpQKbBXCPLs8mKUV3Z9AQwg/s320/IMG_1762+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While the towers and some structures remain, the palaces of Sumpu and Fukuoka castles are long gone, and nothing but pathways and empty fields remain. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In any event, in the case of both castles, the main palaces were gone and all that was really there was the outskirts and/or some of the towers. In both cases, the main area was more or less turned into a park where events and things are held, but in the Fukuoka ruins, a lot of the interesting aspects of the architecture were also still intact- even if the main palace itself was completely gone.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Still super cool to visit though. With only two weeks left on the tour, I am still hoping to get to at least a few more before we are done. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1wFMPE3aFADGHPTc-kovkJBzQslyYeYvhrQ8-l1Zn-kw2mpNAPgGe2-76_M-v5RAvcdZYvP8CR3oKcY3SkUTBKQWAUtYm0Sh8httwZol-eJPGrWA3jumLMR2M27d1UZ3aAaW/s1600/IMG_1449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1wFMPE3aFADGHPTc-kovkJBzQslyYeYvhrQ8-l1Zn-kw2mpNAPgGe2-76_M-v5RAvcdZYvP8CR3oKcY3SkUTBKQWAUtYm0Sh8httwZol-eJPGrWA3jumLMR2M27d1UZ3aAaW/s320/IMG_1449.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyts3O0EkgDYBEOhtp9NBQ2Torf_50X6F-SRLaZ6LsN761JRW5C9tmGmiZazOuZE5gwCdwN7i5TLl9WbCgVIGLx94DP5kjhRrEc3a0LaT6CKhKexuxRfMku89JNRCmDa_evLn/s1600/IMG_0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyts3O0EkgDYBEOhtp9NBQ2Torf_50X6F-SRLaZ6LsN761JRW5C9tmGmiZazOuZE5gwCdwN7i5TLl9WbCgVIGLx94DP5kjhRrEc3a0LaT6CKhKexuxRfMku89JNRCmDa_evLn/s320/IMG_0976.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjPpVO0iZBmVx4e0XaNVOppMJkQ2vR7e4x6yDYlQG26zoKJqgTFvyxPsqBmLfbU0AvrBX6Bj-1U-SRuvyHHx-XEbQQEqy5GdtJNFxS5jN_8FT9o_vXfHSS_fRPZ6vdNbjHUjH/s1600/IMG_4732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjPpVO0iZBmVx4e0XaNVOppMJkQ2vR7e4x6yDYlQG26zoKJqgTFvyxPsqBmLfbU0AvrBX6Bj-1U-SRuvyHHx-XEbQQEqy5GdtJNFxS5jN_8FT9o_vXfHSS_fRPZ6vdNbjHUjH/s320/IMG_4732.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJ_MKWlStbpFxeVOdPAltFzq6IBAZXUbOPhwgTnWjkr9UZn-mrqXhZ3LC2_UvQnCKyIXE5Ozmh-2XqwDp7kZj2z5Ig7Ki9NOIOXi3AA8YI28HQrWVRue-r-Vgi7WzgtOJfk76/s1600/IMG_8561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJ_MKWlStbpFxeVOdPAltFzq6IBAZXUbOPhwgTnWjkr9UZn-mrqXhZ3LC2_UvQnCKyIXE5Ozmh-2XqwDp7kZj2z5Ig7Ki9NOIOXi3AA8YI28HQrWVRue-r-Vgi7WzgtOJfk76/s320/IMG_8561.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese castles (seemingly like modern Japanese homes) usually have mega-steep stairs. Having to do a fall on stairs like these would be a stuntman's worst nightmare, lol. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCanKwAlSBCCsMkZgYwiuXH_fhyphenhyphenhD4Ahm8ToFdUqkffUm1WsNfIL7TRW2MvL5BX0wTsXjQWaj6TpznGOx6yRQNQWnP7MIj0cHgUC58Zs1CPtGGwp4zyGkc3q0AEP0Qndtl0pZd/s1600/IMG_8074+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCanKwAlSBCCsMkZgYwiuXH_fhyphenhyphenhD4Ahm8ToFdUqkffUm1WsNfIL7TRW2MvL5BX0wTsXjQWaj6TpznGOx6yRQNQWnP7MIj0cHgUC58Zs1CPtGGwp4zyGkc3q0AEP0Qndtl0pZd/s320/IMG_8074+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These small windows along this corner tower were on both sides of the structure. Back in the day, they were used to load and drop massive rocks onto anyone who was trying to scale the castle walls. Not a very pleasant way to go. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nSEfK0_2G3uF5AGfbNnZY7YB2hjpRirUImtfrWP75Af_T7cU7MyMBmZBBzyRbC95DGCEj4Lm5a0UE6wQiGbohyphenhyphenj2MVLAz0vylUsbxmzkip-RaqeOtdQjrFJ0j4T4t5xxcdES/s1600/IMG_7792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nSEfK0_2G3uF5AGfbNnZY7YB2hjpRirUImtfrWP75Af_T7cU7MyMBmZBBzyRbC95DGCEj4Lm5a0UE6wQiGbohyphenhyphenj2MVLAz0vylUsbxmzkip-RaqeOtdQjrFJ0j4T4t5xxcdES/s320/IMG_7792.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moats and canals everywhere</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Du4Hmz2ZfAAHrW1Ua17FliKC51cS1XJQvKiKB985O7mFWm79n1iSuxSV3c_9NIkI8c1U4rLEYy2CSXrkNG1Kr_omzYq-NNHMz01kcJtbiD3K9fngcJ_fivAwca-KTC514sqA/s1600/IMG_6319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Du4Hmz2ZfAAHrW1Ua17FliKC51cS1XJQvKiKB985O7mFWm79n1iSuxSV3c_9NIkI8c1U4rLEYy2CSXrkNG1Kr_omzYq-NNHMz01kcJtbiD3K9fngcJ_fivAwca-KTC514sqA/s320/IMG_6319.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obviously, the fish weren't left to starve, haha</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjPpVO0iZBmVx4e0XaNVOppMJkQ2vR7e4x6yDYlQG26zoKJqgTFvyxPsqBmLfbU0AvrBX6Bj-1U-SRuvyHHx-XEbQQEqy5GdtJNFxS5jN_8FT9o_vXfHSS_fRPZ6vdNbjHUjH/s1600/IMG_4732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjPpVO0iZBmVx4e0XaNVOppMJkQ2vR7e4x6yDYlQG26zoKJqgTFvyxPsqBmLfbU0AvrBX6Bj-1U-SRuvyHHx-XEbQQEqy5GdtJNFxS5jN_8FT9o_vXfHSS_fRPZ6vdNbjHUjH/s320/IMG_4732.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-6971704203104507532019-03-10T17:29:00.000+09:002019-03-18T09:56:29.445+09:00Rebuilding from the Ground Up<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4IkDM_Rt3WU-w5d5W4O8IOcwxCvJ_HyQxR8h7F6R34nVkbDDIdka7N3j7-thE2XvD2O4atoQnEv6SQ3L7pQCs44t5QQdPp9db5lsYHARcN0aFi_FiuFyOiI3rjloz7P0jz9M9/s1600/IMG_2685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4IkDM_Rt3WU-w5d5W4O8IOcwxCvJ_HyQxR8h7F6R34nVkbDDIdka7N3j7-thE2XvD2O4atoQnEv6SQ3L7pQCs44t5QQdPp9db5lsYHARcN0aFi_FiuFyOiI3rjloz7P0jz9M9/s320/IMG_2685.JPG" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shot of me at 88kg, 5 years ago, before my son was born<br />
and injuries had gotten the best of me. </td></tr>
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So, after dropping the first YT vid of this year, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4THbTx8w4I&t=13s">36 Weapons of the Human Body</a>, I was really happy to discover that I still actually had a few fans out there. A few people had made comments like "Welcome back!" and "Finally! I've been waiting for forever for your next video!". These kinds of things (and honestly these people) are the ones that have motivated me to get back to it, and it was incredibly refreshing and energizing to hear.<br />
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Taking stock of the past 5 years in general, it occurred to me just how much I had really lost. I lost my kidney function, my white blood cell count, my shoulder, my knee, both parents, my dog, and my home in the states... and that's just the things I am willing to talk about publicly. In short, I've been a mess. Add in trying to take care of a toddler, and a company in its infancy in a foreign country, and the mess gets even messier. To be honest, the past few years felt like I was trying to drive a 4-cylinder car with only 2 cylinders firing and a wheel missing. It occurred to me that I'm not doing anyone any good- my son, my company or myself- if I'm performing or operating at less than my best.<br />
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The things that are gone, are gone, and I can't get them back; but there are also plenty of positives on the horizon as well. I went to the doctor last week for a physical, and he said my kidneys are back to full function. Thanks to getting my IHP cert, and discovering functional fitness training, I feel the strongest I have been in a decade. We were also finally able to get my son into a government backed nursery school and that will drastically cut the family bills. The private one he is in now has been like paying for a second apartment, and with that and concern expense now gone, and I have a lot more leeway (mentally and financially) to focus on driving forward.<br />
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All that being the case, it's time to rebuild. Rebuilding my YT channel and fanbase is one goal of this year. Rebuilding my body, getting back to how I used to look, and getting all my physical skills back is another. As far as the company itself goes, the next goal will be rebuilding and redesigning the action training program. We are supposed to have 3 areas of operation: Film, Stunts and Martial Arts. The martial arts program (ie Taekwondo) is still going, and has basically been carrying the company; but with everything happening in the past few years, the film action program has suffered the most. Despite that, it's something that I still believe in and it's time to make it work the way it should. Going off of the relative success of the TKD program, much like my YT channel and my body, I feel like it's time to rebuild it from the ground up. The next step after that will be getting the film production side off the ground, so that hopefully myself and this company will be firing on all cylinders, by the end of this year.<br />
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When I was in my early teens, my Dad gave me an old framed copy of the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling, that his Dad had given to him. He said if he ever wasn't around, and I felt lost, to refer to it, and use it to find my way. In this case, I am channelling the second verse:<br />
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<i>If you can dream- and not make dreams your master;<br />If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim;<br />If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster<br />And treat those two imposters just the same;<br /><br />If you can bear to hear the truth you have spoken,<br />twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, </i><br />
<i>Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken<br />And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools; </i><br />
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This is me now rolling up my sleeves and picking up my worn-out tools. Onwards and forwards.<br />
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<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-55328804165679833452019-03-02T22:35:00.003+09:002019-03-02T22:35:30.155+09:00Re-launching my Youtube Channel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZsX9mVx0lFKc7V3jXgaDd2Z4PdYZ2tTy-9isXW0VU-o8HLfpD9_hlSHvGxatovILoPu3uHTc7FQtwmtkzz7Sa0RSwYtSRvLTkbHEhiHsXcpFg0Qht0UgmhABU7mFGWsuHT8X/s1600/1280px-Logo_of_YouTube_%25282015-2017%2529.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="1280" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZsX9mVx0lFKc7V3jXgaDd2Z4PdYZ2tTy-9isXW0VU-o8HLfpD9_hlSHvGxatovILoPu3uHTc7FQtwmtkzz7Sa0RSwYtSRvLTkbHEhiHsXcpFg0Qht0UgmhABU7mFGWsuHT8X/s320/1280px-Logo_of_YouTube_%25282015-2017%2529.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div>
So, with my son's 4th birthday fast approaching, I thought now would be as good a time as ever to Re-launch my Youtube channel, and to do so in a major way. I say so because the last major thing I did for YT was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY7wg90fxkQ&list=PLwh3Y_HNalBduk6gXNEj4Sa2rPQQy1XcK&index=5&t=6s">Fists of Absinthe</a>, which was produced and released right when my son Ty was born. (My wife was literally securing locations for us, handling insurance, etc while she was in the hospital). Around that same time (largely because of the production of the film), I also started <a href="http://www.quiet-flame.com/">Quiet Flame Productions</a> and the <a href="ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPqurMX7I3E">Quiet Flame Stunt Team</a>, and between all of these things, my Youtube channel, (as well as my own film career) pretty much just fell off.<br />
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While I don't regret any part of any of that, and I'm generally happy with where everything is, in recent months I've really come to realize just how much of the process of building out these things and taking care of family has cost me personally. In getting my functional fitness certification from IHP, and redeveloping my core, I realized just how much strength I had lost (and how generally out of shape I had gotten), and it made me stop and reflect on a lot of other things as well. I think at the end of the day, there always has to be a certain balance to everything and one way that I had gotten out of balance was in taking care of myself. Both of my parents basically lived their lives in the service of others, and while I agree on it's importance, I also think you have to do for you too. When I was training in Taekwondo in Korea, I was good friends with a member of the Canadian national Olympic team, and one of the things he told me that always stuck with me was "If you wanna win, sometimes you just have to be selfish." As long as it's in under the auspices of balance, I agree with him and think he's right.<br />
<br />
In any event, when I was going hard on Youtube 4 years ago, I was getting about 30,000 hits a month, and had around 17,000 subscribers. Now, I'm at about 14,500 subscribers and about 15,000 hits a month. You are officially a "social media influencer" at 5000 subscribers, so I am still well in that range, although nowadays you aren't something serious until you have about a million or so.<br />
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In any event, in order to re-launch the channel, I am filming all new episodes of "<i>How to Defeat Dudes</i>" (my flagship show) and launching 2 other new shows: "<i>Martial Strengthening</i>" and "<i>Inside the Stunt Actor's Studio</i>". The first, as the title would imply is a show dedicated to showing people how to strengthen their bodies specifically for martial arts. The second runs along the lines of How to Defeat Dudes, and is also comical in nature, but centers around teaching fight choreography techniques as opposed to self defense techniques.<br />
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Beyond this, the one video that I'm the most proud of right now is the Re-launch video itself- <i>36 Weapons of the Human Body</i>. This video represents the culmination of a 20+ year career of martial arts and I couldn't think of something more appropriate to Re-launch with. It's something that I have had bouncing around in my head for forever and I feel super happy to have finally shot it and edited it...and can't wait to share it. Interestingly enough, I can also see a big jump in my maturity as a producer/editor as well because the quality of this vid is well above things I have made before. In any event, lots of good of stuff on the way, and this is just the beginning. At 15K now. My goal is to have 100K of followers by the end of this year. Lofty, but certainly not impossible. To put it ebonically, Ain't nothin to it, but to do it! YOSH!!Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-52957098513861260842019-02-09T17:43:00.003+09:002019-02-10T07:34:47.092+09:00Blazing a Hollywood Trail: Intimacy Coordinator Rachel Flesher <style type="text/css">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Rachel Flesher- an international intimacy coordinator whom I graduated from stunt school <br />
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So, it's not that often that I use this blog to write about other people; but every once in a while you get to spend time with someone who is doing something that's so unique that just worth writing about. In this case, the person is question is Rachel Flesher, a friend of mine whom I graduated stunt school with back in 2011. While teaching fight choreography and Japanese weapons work at the Paddy Crean this past winter I had a chance to catch up with her, here what she was up to, and actually take a few classes from her in a field I had never even heard of before: intimacy direction.<br />
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As aforementioned, Rachel graduated from stunt school with me 8 years ago, and also had a strong stage combat background, but in recent years, she had taken her training in a completely new direction, and was now doing intimacy coordination for Netflix and CBS. In hearing that she was doing this, in one respect I was surprised, but in another I could see the parallels:</div>
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- An action director’s job is to map out an action sequence to best tell the physical, action-oriented parts of a story, and to do so in a way that keeps the actors/stunt players safe.</div>
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- An intimacy director’s job is basically to map out sex scenes in the same way to make sure that no one is getting traumatized or taken advantage of.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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While an action director maps out the course of the action and how the camera will be used for it, the stunt coordinator’s job is to work with the stunt people themselves to make sure that everyone is communicating well and that everything is done in a way so that no one is harmed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While a stunt coordinator's job is to make sure that a stunt performance runs smoothly with no physical injuries<br />
an intimacy coordinator's job is to make sure of the same things in intimate scenes with no emotional abuses or injuries. </td></tr>
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An intimacy coordinator’s job again is to do the same thing; to work with the actors to make sure boundaries are set, expectations are met, and consent has been properly granted for every step of the way- so that both parties can relax and do their jobs without feeling like they are being taken advantage of- by either their partner or the director. <br />
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While one might question the need for such a position (in contrast to stunts where people can get seriously physically hurt), it’s important to remember just how mentally traumatizing film work can be and for all the same reasons. At the end of the day, the director just wants the shot, and oftentimes, they are willing to go to any lengths to get it. For example telling a small child that his dog has died in order to get him or her to cry, or like in the Alien movies when actors were suddenly sprayed with animal blood with no forewarning to get a "real" reaction. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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In the same way that you wouldn’t want to ask a war veteran with PTSD to re-live a scene of getting shot at or watching his friend die, you also wouldn’t want to ask a person who has been raped, sexually abused or molested to re-live something similar without forewarning and the proper mental preparation. This is particularly true because so many people can carry sexual trauma without being open about it.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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While I was only able to take a few classes on it, I got to work with both Rachel and Alicia Rodis, both of whom work with and represent <a href="http://www.teamidi.org/">Intimacy Directors International</a>. The perspective Rachel (coordinator) and Alicia (director) offered was absolutely fascinating; and applicable to not just intimacy direction, but stunt work and just better dealing with people in general. There was a lot of discussion on things like the difference between permission and consent. (Permission is given from someone from above like the director, and consent is given by the person engaging in the act themselves)and how to best get everyone into a mental space where they can open up to portraying intimacy organically without anyone being coerced for forced into something they don't want to do. I am a huge fan of life-long education, and I found this really enlightening. It was also fascinating because it's such a new field or set job, but it makes so much sense that you wonder why it was never there in the first place. But this is exactly the challege for Rachel and the others working in this field- they are creating it, defining it, and standardizing it as they go. I would encourage anyone who works in entertainment to learn what they can about this; I also applaud Rachel for her amazing work and look forward to the chance that I can work with her in the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /><br />More on Rachel and her work:<br /><a href="http://www.kokandyproductions.com/rachel-flesher/">http://www.kokandyproductions.com/rachel-flesher/</a><br /><a href="https://www.writerstheatre.org/rachel-flesher-biography">https://www.writerstheatre.org/rachel-flesher-biography</a><br /><a href="http://www.teamidi.org/">Intimacy Directors International</a><br /></span></div>
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<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-35482769108383296892019-01-30T16:15:00.000+09:002019-01-30T16:15:08.629+09:00Impressions of Shanghai 2019
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So this weekend, I had the pleasure of going to Shanghai to get my Octagon Core Fitness training from IHP. (Will write more on this later). While I had been to Shanghai before, it had been almost a decade since the last time, and given how fast things are progressing in China, I was really curious as to how the city would look.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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My first impression coming in is that it looked more like Bangkok than Tokyo; but that was just from the drive in. Once in the city, the sky line was really impressive and for lack of other words, colorful. In Tokyo and Seoul, the streets are packed with neon signage and as such, are mega-bright and colorful on the ground. From the highway however, it looks super clean, but conservatively black. Shanghai is the opposite; the streets themselves are pretty drab (and actually really similar to Beijing), but the skyline is more the high octane; the tops of buildings all seem to have different color lights on them; and the skyscrapers themselves often illuminate in different colors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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Also like Beijing, the local housing leaves a lot to be desired from the outside, but is super clean and nice on the inside. I guess that’s a Chinese thing? (I’ve also noticed the same thing in Taiwan).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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The air was still not as clean as Tokyo; but way better than Beijing, and even Seoul. Then again, I may have just lucked out while I was there. I kept getting a runny nose if outside, but I couldn’t figure out if that was from the air or the cold.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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It was also really safe in the same way that Beijing is; and equally, super dark at night. I guess this was another marker as to how safe it was. If there is no one around to hurt, rob or steal from you, then there is no reason to leave the lights on everywhere, I guess? The subway was bi-lingual, comprehensive, and really easy to manage, so that’s a good thing, I guess. Like a lot of temperately warm places (like Tokyo as well), the insides of the homes are comparatively cold in the winter (compared to Michigan homes for example) but overall, it was a really nice place to visit. Pretty much the only issue that presented difficulty is the fact that China blocks pretty much all western SNS services (FB, Insta, Twitter, etc), and any and all things Google related. While I used a VPN to get around this, it was frustrating that you have to either pay for it, or find a "free one week trial" just to use google maps. A minor grievance, but something that could be an issue for others nonetheless.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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In terms of people, I found pretty much everyone to be friendly, honest and helpful. A marked difference from the last time I had been to Shanghai about a decide ago. (At the time, I had heard that Shanghai people were the rudest in the country and it really seemed that way). It may be a function of my own maturity as well; or it may be the that that in general, with it’s exponential economic growth, China is undergoing rapid cultural evolution as well. In any event, it was just really nice; and a sharp contrast to experiences I had had in the states during the past two years. (Although admittedly that was much better the last time I was home as well).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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In any event, given all the cities I’ve been to just the past year (Manila, Beijing, Seoul, Bangkok, Banff, etc), at this point, I feel really comfortable going pretty much anywhere on my own. New or not, foreign-language based or not, big cities are big cities, and one great benefit of the amount of travel I am doing is that I feel like I can pretty much show up and “plug-in” to any of them. At the same time, I am very very much looking forward to getting back to Tokyo and having a bit of time where I just don’t have to go anywhere, and can spend some much needed time with my little guy :)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-13203258164485411842018-09-03T12:07:00.001+09:002018-09-03T12:07:12.867+09:00Saying goodbye to my mother<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Mom, and my son Ty. </td></tr>
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Two days ago, my Mom passed away. Earlier on in the tour, when I found out that she was terminal, I flew home to see her, tell her that I love her and that I’ll miss her, but also to let her know that when she is ready to go, she should go, without any feelings of guilt or worry about who she is leaving behind. Despite that, being who she is, she still hung on until I was just about done with the tour and I will always be eternally grateful for that.</div>
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She went the same way my<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"> Dad went; painlessly, peacefully, relatively quickly, and surrounded by love, respect and admiration. She deserved that.</span></div>
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My mom has been sick my whole life. I remember her telling me that before I was born when she was in her early 30s, during a medical examination, a doctor asked her “How are you still alive?”</div>
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Despite continual health problems and constant pain, not only did she manage to have me, but she went on to become a doctor herself, graduating from medical school at a time when women were unheard of, and black women even more so. (She was one of only two black women in her class). As an emergency room doctor, she saved a lot of people’s lives and working in the occupation health field, she never stopped believing that everyone can heal, mental, physically and spiritually. She was that one doctor that would never ever give up on a patient; and who wouldn’t let patients give up on themselves. In her personal life, when people were too weak to stand, she would carry them. I can’t recall how many times in my life we had people who were down and out living in our house; and how many of them I saw go on to do amazing things afterwards. She stayed this way literally right up until she passed away. And even though no one- not even the people in our family- though she would last this long, she lived long enough to see have 10 grandchildren and to know her first great grandchild, who was named after my Dad. (Sitting on her lap on the left)</div>
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In closing, I’d like to paraphrase something she told me about working in an emergency room. “When people are depending on you, you can’t lose your focus. After all is said and done, and the dust has settled, then you can cry, you can mourn, you can buckle at the knees, or you can scream out at the top of your lungs if you have to. But until then, you just gotta grind.” Love you Mom. Thank you for making me who I am. </div>
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Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-76399304655204646432018-08-31T22:48:00.001+09:002018-08-31T22:48:26.361+09:00Capturing the perfect moment: Sunset & Night view on Mt. Inasa in Nagasaki<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, we have arrived in Nagasaki; our final destination for the Dinosaur Zoo tour. I have been here before when I first visited Japan (about 15 years ago), and aside from remembering that it really reminded me of Hong Kong, I can't even recall what had brought me here or how I managed to get here. Just that I was here at some point.<br />
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In any event, being there were two things that I really really wanted to do: 1) was visit , the abandoned Island fortress where they filmed the end of 007: Skyfall. The other thing was to see Nagasaki's mountain top night view, which is in the top 3 in the world, (alongside Hong Kong and Monaco).<br />
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Tried to make the trip out to Gunkan during the day, but unfortunately the weather was quite disagreeable, continually oscillating between blue skies and downpour. For reasons unbeknownst to us, our boat actually left 5 min early, and we missed it... but then we found out that there were two other tours that tried to go, but couldn't actually land on the island. As such, alongside the folks I was going with, we decided that it wouldn't be worth the 4500yen ($45) it would cost to "try", and we decided to let it go.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I visited Nagasaki about 15 years ago, all I remembered<br />was that it reminded me a lot of Hong Kong. </td></tr>
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As for the night view, the weather was still a bit unpredictable, but it seemed to be holding, so I thought it was better to try than not, so I went off on my own. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I made it there while there was still plenty of daylight, so I got to see it during the day, take in the sunset from the top, and then see it at night. The weather was simply perfect, and I can't even begin to describe the sunset. The pictures just don't even remotely do it justice. The fact that I was there alone actually made it all the better because there was no one to talk to, and nothing to distrct from the moment. There were other people up there, but they weren't talking to me, so I could just put on my headphones, listen to my music of choice and fully, quietly and peacefully completely embrace the moment. On my facebook page not too long ago, I posted a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/ingrid_fetell_lee_where_joy_hides_and_how_to_find_it">TED talk about the difference between joy and happiness</a>. For myself, this moment represented perfect joy.<br />
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The view did look like the more remote areas of Hong Kong, and it reminded me of when I used to live there, climb a different mountain every weekend, and sit at the top reading books by myself all day. <br /><br />It also reminded me of this time when I was sailing around the world on Peaceboat we were in really rough waters. About half of the ship's 1000 passengers (myself included) where absolutely sick as dogs, and just laying all over the floor trying not to vomit. One of my friends (at this point, I don't even remember who), suggested that we go up to the top deck to film something, but I was so damn sick, I didn't want to move. Nor did I wanna get soaked. Finally, as watching the waves does actually alleviate seasickness I decided to heed his words, and the two of us went up to the top deck while everyone else stayed below. When we came out the door, the storm had stopped, and the world's most epic cumulus cloud ocean sunset was unveiling itself. What's more, unbeknownst to everyone else, we were in the middle of a Dolphin Superpod. There had to be at least 1,000 of them. Jumping, flipping, twisting and playing as far as the eye can see. There were even a few sea turtles swimming alongside the ship. Nothing in life has ever beat that, but this sunset was an easy #2. As my Taekwondo teacher from Korea used to say, even when the olds aren't in your favor, or it may not make sense to anyone else, "Trying is important."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small slice of Nagasaki's epic and hyper-panoramic night view. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The night from the the top of Mt. Inasa in Nagasaki is considered<br />one of the best in the world. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The equally epic gate to the Nagasaki ropeway. The ropeway actually starts<br />at the back of a temple.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-80429185792501121752018-08-25T23:15:00.000+09:002018-08-26T09:10:00.343+09:00Kobe: Wealth, Gangsters, and Breathtaking Cityscapes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While the past 2 months of touring with Dinosaur Zoo has given a chance to see a lot of Japan's countryside and cityscapes, in terms of the latter, easily the most striking stop has been Kobe. While working for Peaceboat, a Japanese NGO that sails people around the world about a decade ago, I had a brief stop in the Kobe's port, but I wasn't there anywhere long enough to make an impression of the city either way. As such, I welcomed this chance to see the city again, and quite frankly I was blown away.<br />
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Living in Tokyo, which according to Finance Online, is currently the wealthiest city in the world, I'm not a stranger to seeing clean streets, amazing architecture and constant supercars. All that being said however, when you get into Tokyo's back streets, and away from it's shiny main streets, you still see grime. There is still graffiti, crows digging through garbage, and cockroaches scurrying in it's hyper-narrow back alleys. While carefully tucked away and generally out of sight, all of the city's major areas have back streets and a grimy underbelly that is there if you look closely.<br />
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When I was in Kobe, however, I didn't see any of that. Major or minor, every street was pris<span style="text-align: center;">tinely clean. Granted, I did only have two days there, but try as I might, I couldn't even find Graffiti. Talking to our tour manager George, he told me that Kobe is actually known for that. (Coincidentally, it's also known for having beef so good that Kobe Bryant's father named him after it.) In general, Japanese people take an incredible amount of pride in outward appearance, and pretty much anywhere in the country you won't find trash on the street, or so much as a spot of rust on a car... but Kobe seemed to take it to another level. As one of the country's older port cities, it is also known for cosmopolitanism, and fashion, and the Japanese themselves say "If you can't go to Paris, you go to Kobe." </span><br />
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Oxymoronically however, one of the other interesting things about the city is that despite how clean it is, it also harbors the country's largest Yakuza organization, Yamaguchi-Gumi, which is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. With over 20,000 members, and activities stretching to other areas of Asia and even in the US, the Yamaguchi-Gumi makes billions of dollars per year and has a higher income than a lot of small countries. That could explain some of the wealth.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the theatre we performed in, the biggest (and nicest so far) illustrated the wealth and the class of this city. </td></tr>
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Recently, as there has been a splintering in the Yamaguchi-Gumi, many have feared that this would lead to violence in the city, but if there was any, the city certainly didn't show any scars from it. Would love to come back here and explore this place again sometime. Maybe next time I can find some graffiti.<br />
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<b><u>References:</u></b><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi</a><br />
<a href="https://financesonline.com/10-wealthiest-cities-in-the-world-its-not-new-york-or-london-at-the-top/">https://financesonline.com/10-wealthiest-cities-in-the-world-its-not-new-york-or-london-at-the-top/</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe</a>Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-91721566243175963892018-08-21T15:30:00.000+09:002018-08-21T15:37:30.540+09:00Hokkaido vs. Michigan: Comparing and Contrasting <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the central avenue in Sapporo from our theatre venue. </td></tr>
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So after 15 years in Japan, Ive finally managed to make it to a city I've always wanted to visit here- Sapporo. It's in Japan's northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido. As it's on the same longitute and is equally as green, wide-open and natural as my own home state of Michigan, so I've always wanted to compare and contrast. Upon arrival, from the airport in Hokkaido, we had a long drive to Sapporo, and looking out the window, sure enough, it was basically indistinguishable from the side of the road in Michigan- low rolling hills, and nothing but deciduous greenery (or farms) on either side of the road for as far as the eye can see.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eTtYTnBEedeBXWYmw823bI1jv1MgWnGsmNwEImExJed6h3ro48vbQxqC4Sx2QhFdvNIimi3xh63n7rlCZdanVzqG-XzWIWEvsdFB7vjIG-mMKcws6do9BnBVg-BWYgQnQGXK/s1600/IMG_3987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eTtYTnBEedeBXWYmw823bI1jv1MgWnGsmNwEImExJed6h3ro48vbQxqC4Sx2QhFdvNIimi3xh63n7rlCZdanVzqG-XzWIWEvsdFB7vjIG-mMKcws6do9BnBVg-BWYgQnQGXK/s320/IMG_3987.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving through the countryside in Hokkaido, mountains aside,<br />
it looks just like Michigan. </td></tr>
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<br />
There were a few differences though. For one it's actually a lot colder. In August, Michigan is still fairly hot with temps between 20-30C (70-85F) where as here was pretty cool at15C (about 60F) degrees). That may be unseasonal however. Anyway, it was cool enough that you need a light Jacket and pants to be comfortable- especially at night- and seeing how Tokyo is about 100F right now, that was pretty shocking.<br />
<br />
Another big difference I have noticed is that the sun still sets quite early. In Michigan, in the summer it doesn't get dark until 10pm or so; here, it gets dark at about 6:30pm; only about a 10 min. difference from Tokyo, despite being considerably farther north. After puzzling on this for a while, I thought a googling was in order, and came to find out that the reason is because 1) there is no daylight savings time in Japan, and 2) the tilt of the Earth's axis causes vastly different sunrise and sunset times depending on where you are. So apparently being father north does not automatically guarantee a longer day as I always assumed it did.<br />
<br />
Sapporo itself was a cool city. For starters, it was considerably bigger than I thought; all I needed was to take the cable car up Mt. Moiwa on the edge of the city to see so. From where we were staying downtown, it was only a 15 cab ride there, and then 6 min. up in the cable car to get to the top, so it was easy to do in about 2 hours or so. It was only more time consuming coming down because we stayed for the night view (which is apparently one of the top three in Japan), which EVERYONE seems to come for and was super packed on the way out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQ6jsT1-ClotYwkcn2g1y4H5d_gGc0bWAFkFjdIDcdyPXsJ3fnOEG8rkDPhTJmb4OfBqJbfA8k_JT9-Lt7bpcY2WYxv7ZJSgB0NcKDCXKE7vqE8yspoHVRFAAspk8xwgu_kBv/s1600/Sapporo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQ6jsT1-ClotYwkcn2g1y4H5d_gGc0bWAFkFjdIDcdyPXsJ3fnOEG8rkDPhTJmb4OfBqJbfA8k_JT9-Lt7bpcY2WYxv7ZJSgB0NcKDCXKE7vqE8yspoHVRFAAspk8xwgu_kBv/s320/Sapporo2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of Sapporo at dusk from Mt. Moiwa</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5gEJ1aOM8Wz5m-60Mp48U_oR8S_LQeuleba-NnMI2j_SsuBVg3WmdqcFoWVZPgx8fQ3kPD_7kcxXfiASZQJxGEl6mkgWlh6-8m7Ta6WAz9e3bMoOLs6upxITOfs3pJTRr1ZX/s1600/Sapporo4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5gEJ1aOM8Wz5m-60Mp48U_oR8S_LQeuleba-NnMI2j_SsuBVg3WmdqcFoWVZPgx8fQ3kPD_7kcxXfiASZQJxGEl6mkgWlh6-8m7Ta6WAz9e3bMoOLs6upxITOfs3pJTRr1ZX/s320/Sapporo4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While the day view was cool, what people really come to <br />
Mt. Moiwa to see is Sapporo's night view. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-8FxgNSZIM9RQnxvPFriwVvwoOuXpxVo2I2lzNVchUF6enmQmnKbhSJDFkordmv07e5P4WHYN4zBYjEsfpksxY54DBxBUT9jLzN_3G90xMagxsQ1cghfL4gwC7Om8aF_ORSw/s1600/Sapporo+TV+tower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-8FxgNSZIM9RQnxvPFriwVvwoOuXpxVo2I2lzNVchUF6enmQmnKbhSJDFkordmv07e5P4WHYN4zBYjEsfpksxY54DBxBUT9jLzN_3G90xMagxsQ1cghfL4gwC7Om8aF_ORSw/s200/Sapporo+TV+tower.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sapporo's TV Tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXe4fsFzuXMGoSt690vX0G0caNYV51I1W5ZP27C2YettxBnln-JEdgXyIGmms3f1xYNzOB9cvcLBIyFMxklE70cEvaXQw0UAiWjIuUkNhftOtUZy9Ai31DpBWwuyIOib-pnFg/s1600/TV+tower+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXe4fsFzuXMGoSt690vX0G0caNYV51I1W5ZP27C2YettxBnln-JEdgXyIGmms3f1xYNzOB9cvcLBIyFMxklE70cEvaXQw0UAiWjIuUkNhftOtUZy9Ai31DpBWwuyIOib-pnFg/s320/TV+tower+view.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainy Day View from the TV Tower</td></tr>
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As it was raining for our first new days there, I didn't do much in the city, but tried to make it out to the Sapporo TV tower, the only other main attraction in the city. Not a bad view at all, but I got drenched walking there. I didn't realize that much like Toronto and Chicago's Pedway, the city is filled with underground tunnels for getting around in the winter when the city is slammed with snow. I was really grateful for them on the way back, although I wish I wasn't already soaked. There is also a moderate subway system; although not nearly as comprehensive as Tokyo's. Taxis were also not too difficult to catch and started at 690 yen.<br />
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<br />
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Given the fact that 90% of the time, I don't really go out, party or doing touristy, it was fun to take in a bit of the city. I could really see living here...if it wasn't for the fact that there is no film/ entertainment industry, (which constitutes half or more of the work I do), and without it I think I would just get bored. Haven't seen the winter here either, lol. One other start difference between here and Michigan is that this place is just covered in mountains. And while we do get snow for a good part of the winter, this place just gets slammed, and it's more or less all powder snow. I've heard time and time again that Hokkaido is a skier and snowboarders heaven- so much in fact that the town of Niseko is apparently largely populated by Australians. lol<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTkg1doLydVxTf9Qe_I74VsvW-qmo8S6Xw41Iv33iT-_kq20nqmF2WJr2FVULC_FRYDmn-Ro3c1uK-a6AwFV5S42WIafwUHGkygX8SqDaizZeQWJ_AmOaqgk_Dr-MlEm_0nJJ/s1600/Sapporo3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpTkg1doLydVxTf9Qe_I74VsvW-qmo8S6Xw41Iv33iT-_kq20nqmF2WJr2FVULC_FRYDmn-Ro3c1uK-a6AwFV5S42WIafwUHGkygX8SqDaizZeQWJ_AmOaqgk_Dr-MlEm_0nJJ/s320/Sapporo3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoaircaL7OFvouv_AtJKN9RPmu3466XZA6dafzi_9gX09haod46XEFyLvraDObaa9wvYguLhIk9g5sTHCaZOHgdahfX52yYDAP0TkXl6B1oQ9rew0KvZw7br9VX46QjQTi8TM/s1600/Sapporo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoaircaL7OFvouv_AtJKN9RPmu3466XZA6dafzi_9gX09haod46XEFyLvraDObaa9wvYguLhIk9g5sTHCaZOHgdahfX52yYDAP0TkXl6B1oQ9rew0KvZw7br9VX46QjQTi8TM/s320/Sapporo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hokkaido's winters are intensely cold, so Sapporo is filled with<br />
underground tunnels to walk around in and connect the subway<br />
stations. </td></tr>
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<br />
Seeing as how I haven't touched my snowboard in at least 3 years now (due to the knee injury) I think it might be time to dust it off and make a trip up here again to see how it is in the winter ;)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KdYBcQ9-d5-XByVvZgB4hw7Ydiaxh6wOx3s_yVf2N2PWTns823bdmOM8Nr4TA2nosFjD7i-5VJwm50hvjRNBNIdWtUwUR5gMRcanuY_O4TaUzrTF1hqaeN8KNlMr2MoyW2ox/s1600/Obihiro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KdYBcQ9-d5-XByVvZgB4hw7Ydiaxh6wOx3s_yVf2N2PWTns823bdmOM8Nr4TA2nosFjD7i-5VJwm50hvjRNBNIdWtUwUR5gMRcanuY_O4TaUzrTF1hqaeN8KNlMr2MoyW2ox/s320/Obihiro.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another interesting city was Obihiro. While Sapporo felt a bit like Chicago, Obihiro with it's low skyline felt a lot like Lansing.<br />
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<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-62531672350625803852018-08-13T21:46:00.001+09:002018-08-13T22:02:58.441+09:00Could the Space Force actually be a good thing?<style type="text/css">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDLVwbhUXNfyIhC4uHDHUCH1cYGG2AFyHoQS3PeioUooi50ubC9tFWOeNepOfW_f79vhMBavuNpIY_8N_L1Yt_uYIZkUU6McU5BoTY3UOm9TAiON6yVdmYuACYZ8iHsbkf5bD/s1600/SpaceForce1_1533570559.0.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDLVwbhUXNfyIhC4uHDHUCH1cYGG2AFyHoQS3PeioUooi50ubC9tFWOeNepOfW_f79vhMBavuNpIY_8N_L1Yt_uYIZkUU6McU5BoTY3UOm9TAiON6yVdmYuACYZ8iHsbkf5bD/s200/SpaceForce1_1533570559.0.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the proposed logos for the Trump <br />Adminstration's <br />
Space Force Concept.</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">So, I’ve been thinking about the Space Force thing, and I think it could actually a good thing.. and here’s why. If you think about it, as a species, everything that we have, everything that we are, and every single one of us is all here on Earth. Everything.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">For a moment, let’s ignore the fact according to NASA, <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/">97% of the world’s scientists agree</a> that we are already on a crash course to ruin our environment. The fact of the matter is, there are still a lot of other things that could wipe us out. An eruption of the super-volcano that makes up Yellowstone National Park is one of them. (Granted, there isn’t any evidence to say that that will happen in the near future, but there are a range of factors that could potentially trigger it- for example powerful earthquakes or tectonic movements elsewhere). Another extinction level event could be a giant meteor, like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Apparently, when that one hit it sent so much rock and debris out into space that it literally rained fire planet-wide afterwards. One could argue that that would be less than pleasant as well. <br /><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">There’s also the fact that as a species, we came about in a particularly pleasant spell in the middle of an ice age<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(which we are still in) and that will naturally come to an end sooner or later…even if it wasn’t for the fact that we are grossly accelerating the process. The fact of the matter is, for the sake of insuring our survival as a species, getting at least some of us off of the planet’s surface isn’t just a cool thing to do, as far as I'm concerned, it’s an absolute necessity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
Now, let's look at how this pertains to the Space Force. If you look at history, traditionally, a lot of our greatest technology has come from military research. You will simply never find a better funded institution for that than the US Military. I do have great faith in Elon Musk’s peaceful efforts in the private sector, and maybe I’m just being optimistic… but I do think the technological advances that would come out of this would be beneficial in getting us off the planet. Particularly if this triggers another space race with Russia, China or both and that fans the fire even more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Granted, aside from the fact that Trump is already trying to sell “Space Force” gear, there’s nothing to say that it’s actually going to happen just yet. There is already a space command in the air force with 30,000 employees, and given all the other things that the government needs to figure out and/or pay for at the moment, (like healthcare) it may not even get approved by congress. But if it does, it may actually turn out to be a good thing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><b><u>References:</u></b></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/</a></div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/ice_age.htm" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/ice_age.htm</a></div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/10/space-force-everything-you-need-to-know" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/10/space-force-everything-you-need-to-know</a></div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera</a></div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/07/25/a-few-cracks-appear-near-yellowstone-and-suddenly-everyones-shouting-supervolcano-eruption/#13fe25f44107" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/07/25/a-few-cracks-appear-near-yellowstone-and-suddenly-everyones-shouting-supervolcano-eruption/#13fe25f44107</a></div>
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</style>Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-23885181076221117702018-06-04T10:24:00.000+09:002018-06-04T10:29:22.952+09:00Highlights of Hiroshima<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t8PslP_PzASE9HRaMdTharxxbjJbnz2QkVJ4jWBAC_dg8leZFbtegS71vLOfhLeXA0s6CwYiPVUYYsCmnDvmH6yQDjxogBkYsoV61g6RA1pZziOVobjPF9FVYVzInr8rWfAQ/s1600/IMG_9992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t8PslP_PzASE9HRaMdTharxxbjJbnz2QkVJ4jWBAC_dg8leZFbtegS71vLOfhLeXA0s6CwYiPVUYYsCmnDvmH6yQDjxogBkYsoV61g6RA1pZziOVobjPF9FVYVzInr8rWfAQ/s320/IMG_9992.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had the pleasure of trying Japanese Nabe cooked in Sake at<br />
a restaurant called "Francia" in Hiroshima.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqop6FhqhWvvwZ8xco9-lKurammTMjnOQljLWO7qopwe5O7Ie01jVjMuAxz0tF6oysKDzTgosIs5-VljRA4D-MEt2UrFEriqneTeMOpkdNP8HWcq70jWYoJFEiRuKXlDKvwhlI/s1600/IMG_2092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqop6FhqhWvvwZ8xco9-lKurammTMjnOQljLWO7qopwe5O7Ie01jVjMuAxz0tF6oysKDzTgosIs5-VljRA4D-MEt2UrFEriqneTeMOpkdNP8HWcq70jWYoJFEiRuKXlDKvwhlI/s320/IMG_2092.jpg" width="320" /></a>Pretty good day working in Hiroshima for the Erth promo tour. We had two mini-shows at the Hiroshima airport, and then another photo session with the Triceratops at a different venue. Given the sheer size and weight of the triceratops rig, the Hiroshima airport show was tricky; part of the "magic" of the show is that we never let the kids see the dinosaur puppets disassembled; but there were literally hundreds and hundreds of people around the open stage. We got around this by assembling her in a tent next to the stage, but her size made getting her out of the tent one issue -which we got around by squatting as we walked out (if you can imagine that with a 70kg rig on your back), but then having to walk her up the ramp onto the stage was a different issue entirely. In any event, at the end of the day, it all went well. Getting better at vocalizing with the voice distortion box; (the dinosaur's "voice") is based off of my own, and the more I do this, and get used to carrying the weight, the easier it is getting.<br />
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<br />
As the actual show only has two shows a day, I think it should actually be easier than the workload we have for the promo tour; except for the fact that it will be for two months straight. I guess we will have to see.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EruUeEUeK9jiBwS2OOCX7C_CoT5UTjESJirVPmTrTU0EIX8b77lqrIvqDirzAb1r1_CAyf0IL_xnVXaKTljgY6kL5Y5gRqp31E9dLlp2RKPDFH0I_7wQ_0-f7xrQgWu4btfT/s1600/IMG_8396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1391" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EruUeEUeK9jiBwS2OOCX7C_CoT5UTjESJirVPmTrTU0EIX8b77lqrIvqDirzAb1r1_CAyf0IL_xnVXaKTljgY6kL5Y5gRqp31E9dLlp2RKPDFH0I_7wQ_0-f7xrQgWu4btfT/s320/IMG_8396.JPG" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually had a chance to eat raw mantis shrimp... pretty good,<br />
but I kept wondering what it would taste like cooked, lol. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anyway, after completing all of our promo activities for the day, we went to restaurant in the Saijo area of Hiroshima (known as the #1 place for brewing Sake in the country) to eat foods that had all been cooked in Sake. While I'm not a super huge fan of traditional Japanese cuisine, this was fantastic. I actually had cheese that was cooked in Sake... that (quite naturally) tasted like cheese and sake at the same time. Couldn't quite get my head around it, lol. All in all, I really threw down. (Although that may just have been because I was hungry as hell from supporting the rig all day, lol. Still... no complaints.<br />
<br />
Still hoping to visit the Peace Dome again to pay my respects... but afterall, I am here to work, so I guess that has to come first ;)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7lzvWhDARZUIZDcALZmTyuGESgajs-gxBUHbuaK8YqO7u4xKMslOAae63SxXac-bXHD-uXcRJHYCC-RUCnFWoID0aJ4hUE3OVLnV85iRymxuzKd81jdi2Mo-lvGriGOSvH7B/s1600/IMG_7737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7lzvWhDARZUIZDcALZmTyuGESgajs-gxBUHbuaK8YqO7u4xKMslOAae63SxXac-bXHD-uXcRJHYCC-RUCnFWoID0aJ4hUE3OVLnV85iRymxuzKd81jdi2Mo-lvGriGOSvH7B/s320/IMG_7737.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1HL62ID1ns3EqKrGaMkv4p5DXX740eapWf-lRIftTYwGBxFgycIrYLQ6O6Yu77saar3buEFRjmP1V1Gw2a8NfmjfDeXdQo4fA9Z5NtI2NbtmF3alMTDU4qD9IzW7nHxm9V8B/s1600/IMG_2807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1HL62ID1ns3EqKrGaMkv4p5DXX740eapWf-lRIftTYwGBxFgycIrYLQ6O6Yu77saar3buEFRjmP1V1Gw2a8NfmjfDeXdQo4fA9Z5NtI2NbtmF3alMTDU4qD9IzW7nHxm9V8B/s320/IMG_2807.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each of the towers in the photo represent a different Sake brewery.<br />As Saijo is known as the best area for Sake brewing in Japan, the area is covered with them. </td></tr>
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<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-38936989227545443572018-06-02T17:25:00.001+09:002018-06-02T17:26:18.242+09:00On the promo tour with Erth<br />
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Yutaka and I with the Triceratops Rig.</div>
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Just arrived in Hiroshima, our first stop on the <a href="http://www.erth.com.au/">Erth</a> Dinosaur Zoo promo tour with Yutaka, who will be operating the back legs of the triceratops rig I'll be driving for the full Japan tour in a few months. The last show/presentation we did was in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, and this one will be in Hiroshima airport. In general, I love Tokyo, but it's always nice to be able to get out of the city sometimes and see other areas of Japan. Especially if my official excuse is driving a robotic dinosaur, lol.</div>
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For only having a few hours of rehearsal with the rig before our first show, Yutaka has done an awesome job. As the full rig weighs about 70kg (the operators wear it like a tandem backpack) I was a bit concerned that our height difference would mean I would be bearing a disproportionate amount of the weight, but thanks to his keen scene of movement and his body, it wasn't an issue in the least. I'm really glad to be able to bring him with me on this one. Looking forward to the show tomorrow!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way to Hiroshima.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdlutjGZwadRv787MP06rydydNseeMQtgYcsjBR54d6NVniy-uRX8B1WfAxnW5oRtgqnTiycILhANs_ApOmyS-3WPmR5vkCD5TMPrcS-HfmUHy9aciTJMIAgfYsKsf30N8Ix6/s1600/IMG_0467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1478" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdlutjGZwadRv787MP06rydydNseeMQtgYcsjBR54d6NVniy-uRX8B1WfAxnW5oRtgqnTiycILhANs_ApOmyS-3WPmR5vkCD5TMPrcS-HfmUHy9aciTJMIAgfYsKsf30N8Ix6/s320/IMG_0467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our producer/director, Scott, showing my son the Triceratops rig. I still don't think he knows that his Dad is inside, lol. </td></tr>
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<br />Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-37236463184778272512018-05-12T22:39:00.000+09:002018-06-02T23:00:31.333+09:0010 Ways You Know You Are the Parent of a Toddler. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBjioZs0ay7X4CFFLqUzqWBKb_O2U3ZFkYEviB9CVZbWGh6ICaZf-trum60IwU1bnUBYPJt58gb-cez_cCCgdrBj8BsJfNCfEapN88HBSANSQHLuQOvaR-7jj6Z1fAazZ3PhH/s1600/IMG_9872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1108" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBjioZs0ay7X4CFFLqUzqWBKb_O2U3ZFkYEviB9CVZbWGh6ICaZf-trum60IwU1bnUBYPJt58gb-cez_cCCgdrBj8BsJfNCfEapN88HBSANSQHLuQOvaR-7jj6Z1fAazZ3PhH/s320/IMG_9872.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my son Ty just after his 3rd birthday. </td></tr>
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So, after posting my last blog on my trip to Australia, I noticed and re-read another blog I had written just after my son was born, called <a href="http://chuck-n-action.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/10-thoughts-i-had-watching-my-sons-birth.html">10 Thoughts I Had While Watching my Son's Birth</a>. Coincidentally, my son has just turned 3, which means it's been almost exactly three years since I wrote that. As such, and given how much has changed since then, (my son is now a toddler) , I thought it might be time for my next "Daddy" post. For those who are still taking care of babies, here, my friends, is what you have to look forward to.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>10 Ways you know you are the parent of a toddler:</u></b> </div>
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10. When the fresh box of tissues you put on the kitchen table in the morning has been replaced with a massive pile of crumbled tissues by the afternoon... and or tissue shreds... everywhere.<br />
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9. When the same thing happens to the fresh roll of toilet paper you put in the bathroom.<br />
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8. When you say to your wife: <br />
<i><br />"Yeah, he has diarrhea. But don't worry, he's good. I already changed his clothes, and diaper and flushed the poo down the toilet."</i><br />
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and she responds:<br />
<br />
<i>"Oh my God!!! That's the sexiest thing you've ever said!!!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
7. When your son takes a massive dump in his diaper, and you are so proud of his man-sized turd that your wife has to stop you from sharing photos of it on social media.<br />
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6. When it's 5:00am and your son thinks it's important enough to wake you up to tell you that the thing on your wrist is a watch. Over and over again... until you are wide awake. And then he goes back to sleep.<br />
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5. When the songs that are constantly stuck in your head have choruses like:<br />
<i>"Lots of words begin with the letter B! Open a book! How many words do you see? Beginning with the letter B."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
4. When your Youtube playlist consists of titles like "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEzT-rM0nHo">Rubber Duckie Monster Truck Colors</a>".<br />
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3. When you start to worry because no one storms into the bathroom to interrupt you while you are trying to do a #2.<br />
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2. When a "fantastic meal" is any one that you can actually finish in the restaurant without worrying about yelling, crying, or having to apologize to random strangers getting hit in the face with a flying lego.<br />
<br />
1. When you have this little creature that is sick as hell, coughing constantly, and sneezing snot rockets everywhere staring at you with outstretched arms that say "Daddy, pick me up." ...and you know that if you do, you are gonna get sick as hell too, and it's going to ruin your life for the next two weeks... but you <i>still</i> do it anyway; because you know that little creature is <i>your</i> little creature, and if it makes him feel better- even just for a minute- it's totally worth it.Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-10707618337671102332018-05-11T17:42:00.000+09:002018-05-11T17:42:50.476+09:00Australia: First Impressions<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPLInfIHHK2EgxETyoU4Pun7bA86mWIJrvXFIBLjgQXqhijNxk3C_PUIP2smFWk2NiRtYvwhrcFlQz4Vgx0DqhUaWemWaECP2QxHV9WOGnnFqR3XY0OEUkkuJnigOUGcaWI2r/s1600/Aus+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPLInfIHHK2EgxETyoU4Pun7bA86mWIJrvXFIBLjgQXqhijNxk3C_PUIP2smFWk2NiRtYvwhrcFlQz4Vgx0DqhUaWemWaECP2QxHV9WOGnnFqR3XY0OEUkkuJnigOUGcaWI2r/s320/Aus+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After seeing it in so many movies, I finally got to see the Sydney<br />Opera House for myself. </td></tr>
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So, this morning I arrived in Australia for trial rehearsals for a production I may be working with later this year called <a href="http://www.erth.com.au/">Erth</a>. The job came my way via my fireburn instructor from stunt school. He had worked with them before on many occasions, and as they had recently begun to do a summer tour in Japan, he suggested that they get in touch with me as not just a performer, (I'm slated to operate a giant triceratops rig), but also somewhat of a local liaison.<br />
<br />
Long story short, this opportunity has finally given me the chance to get to the only continent I have never been to- Australia, so I am super happy to be here, and it's really interesting for a myriad of reasons.<br />
<br />
As a city, it reminds me of Seattle a lot. Lots of water, rolling hills, and lushy green- but more tropical and "jungley" instead of deciduous...and apparently you can buy boomerangs everywhere, lol. As any Aussie will tell you, the people are incredibly laid-back. More so than pretty much any big city people I have ever met. As an example, after my host picked me up from the airport, he pretty much threw me a key to his house, and said "Right. I've got some meetings. Take today to do whatever you like." and left me to do my own thing. This is in stark contract with the Asian sense of hospitality I'm used to where people will bend over backwards to show you around, take you out and be the best hosts you can imagine. But it was really nice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeViexfucSD-6LgzkASwxWwLexamNPGZLZuQ1EvFMFTotZUug031qI8UgpuMWtaKDYeg8YYb4EtbgoyvPX1v8jfozE7ei9fM2xjrdFE9qzoWsSnHFjiK8WjYnXtbWYDWAyfBEM/s1600/Aus+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeViexfucSD-6LgzkASwxWwLexamNPGZLZuQ1EvFMFTotZUug031qI8UgpuMWtaKDYeg8YYb4EtbgoyvPX1v8jfozE7ei9fM2xjrdFE9qzoWsSnHFjiK8WjYnXtbWYDWAyfBEM/s320/Aus+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the trains are double-deckers. </td></tr>
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As I spent almost a decade wandering all over Asia by myself, I welcomed the freedom, and set about to make it out to the Sydney Opera House. As something I had seen in a million Hollywood movies, seeing it up close was a must; and looking at the map, it was only a few stations away.<br />
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The train system took a minute to wrap my head around, (but literally just a minute) and then after that, getting around was cheap and easy. As aforementioned, people are super easy-going, so asking directions from strangers was no issue at all. My only complaint was free wifi was harder to find than I expected it to be. And I still haven't seen a single starbucks. It's fall here, (and cool) so a hot coffee would have been really nice. Another interesting thing is that yesterday when I left Japan, I was in the spring. Today, when I arrived in Australia, I am in the fall. It's really weird sometimes to see just how different of a world you can go to on a single flight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDqiDwuCA3JeAGxONljQEvsF1FM3yNbj6twSIu0-OfgdqmrS6yikXouGIuO2iYqOs0xvEUA6zHap7QL5pGqXYa0xHHjBahY-nXy0ioFbxXr2XkmZRG3izUrpRslIxA2XrNgiL/s1600/Aus+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDqiDwuCA3JeAGxONljQEvsF1FM3yNbj6twSIu0-OfgdqmrS6yikXouGIuO2iYqOs0xvEUA6zHap7QL5pGqXYa0xHHjBahY-nXy0ioFbxXr2XkmZRG3izUrpRslIxA2XrNgiL/s320/Aus+6.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was spring when I left Japan a few hours ago; but it is fall here. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurIwwE5Gh88yEjmKLGkhF3YyGsurbLtj_hboQfyzYvhfGnA1XHA7WfgtmDKF1TWtp-Vm3d_nTTKsMBFY_sdjZYHYlLYOt5I1rB6jIEvuZ9s0XLZkEfVT9DxkHGlHt6smDq8a-/s1600/Aus+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurIwwE5Gh88yEjmKLGkhF3YyGsurbLtj_hboQfyzYvhfGnA1XHA7WfgtmDKF1TWtp-Vm3d_nTTKsMBFY_sdjZYHYlLYOt5I1rB6jIEvuZ9s0XLZkEfVT9DxkHGlHt6smDq8a-/s320/Aus+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Aussie meal- A double patty, double cheeese, double-maple<br />bacon burger with a bun that was an enormous glazed donut. EPIC. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThL_4sXhFvN22DwQXR2ZaX8A8UB8QZeXUSlRcacG_QOjDXAQNt01rtzgTWZztUZwJV2UQq1xZ-g_3ibAP-1Yfn56_6NWx2lAIvzJWfYnBl6rMSTREL7ZPKGEFJ_hNyPX2tHyt/s1600/Aus+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThL_4sXhFvN22DwQXR2ZaX8A8UB8QZeXUSlRcacG_QOjDXAQNt01rtzgTWZztUZwJV2UQq1xZ-g_3ibAP-1Yfn56_6NWx2lAIvzJWfYnBl6rMSTREL7ZPKGEFJ_hNyPX2tHyt/s320/Aus+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Syndey looks shockingly similar to Seattle; but more tropical. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPMPj84wV1hZrp9xJKujJ71QCzbfFSiDwVtA5z_bY1FCP_d3plZ_0Ncs-7ZtEw0df4GLTb7Glhl8r8AWzKIY9HcXyMuNuf0BbIGBEWDSbX5NyObgnOUnnNkoIG6M8zIS_s9e5/s1600/Aus+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPMPj84wV1hZrp9xJKujJ71QCzbfFSiDwVtA5z_bY1FCP_d3plZ_0Ncs-7ZtEw0df4GLTb7Glhl8r8AWzKIY9HcXyMuNuf0BbIGBEWDSbX5NyObgnOUnnNkoIG6M8zIS_s9e5/s320/Aus+7.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And there are boomerangs for sale everywhere, lol. </td></tr>
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Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-34942071973598990192018-01-18T22:31:00.001+09:002018-01-18T22:45:44.766+09:00Muay Thai Training in Bangkok<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ViqS2Jy3dv0Ca1atultlgtZliFv4L-pLSE2VwxhIl_6VlLIBY0RMS25CmTlUriOkKER5uSmyFGKlmhGjWpbegflp6HU8JEbrP46jy3Tet25rCbd4l3giARs3VF44N5hpFRsH/s1600/IMG_6140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ViqS2Jy3dv0Ca1atultlgtZliFv4L-pLSE2VwxhIl_6VlLIBY0RMS25CmTlUriOkKER5uSmyFGKlmhGjWpbegflp6HU8JEbrP46jy3Tet25rCbd4l3giARs3VF44N5hpFRsH/s320/IMG_6140.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shot with Tom, one of the Muay Thai instructors<br />
at Chang Action in Bangkok, <br />
who is also a TKD blackbelt. </td></tr>
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So in recent months I’ve been flying back and forth to Thailand to work on the pre-production side of an international Thai action film.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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While the work has been really cool, and I’m seriously digging it, I’m not actually moving all that much while I am there. That combined with the fact that I’m working with an incredibly generous producer who loves to share the richness of Thai delicacies, the fact of the matter is, these trips haven7t just been hard on the stamina, they have been hard on the waistline, haha.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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As I was out there and off diet for a full week this time, near the end, I was really starting to see it, so I thought it best to not just take in the local food cuisine, but the martial arts cuisine as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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The venue of choice was a Muay Thai gym called “Chang Action” near the place I was staying (at the suggestion of the producer).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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Overall, I really enjoyed the experience. As I was pretty out of shape, and had never practiced Muay Thai before, on the first day, I tried to quietly come in to join the class in the back being as innocuous as I could. At which point my boss walked in and said in Thai. “Hey everyone. This is Chuck. He’s a big-time taekwondo champion from America.” There goes that.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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We started off with conditioning and light stamina work, which was totally manageable, and then after that, I was asked to go 4 rounds of target kicking. For anyone who has never fought before, even pro taekwondo fights are 3 3-minute rounds. 4 3-min<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(especially when you are out of shape) was going to be exhausting as hell. To make matters worse, for whatever reason after all the conditioning was finished, everyone else left, leaving me alone with all of the coaches.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ajv_z-zxM20/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ajv_z-zxM20?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Still, at that point, the challenge had been issued. And it was show my worth or look like a scrub, so I went full tilt. It was exhausting, but as I learned from TKD fighting, no matter how much it hurts, you have to show them you are in control, so I tried my best to do just that. Got through it and was just about to let out a big sigh of relief when the coach said “Hey you. One more round.” And damn did he push.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> By the knee drills at the end of the last round, I was completely exhausted. </span></div>
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At that point though, I could tell that it was because he actually liked me, and it was that coaches “love tough” kinda thing, so it was actually really good.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> I quite liked the fact that they had the attitude of "This is how we train. Keep up." As opposed to sugar coating it or making it easier, the responsibility of being on top of your game stayed on your shoulders. Don't know if that is a Muay Thai thing, if that is because all the teachers are young guys, or if that is a Thai thing, but it seemed to be pervasive for everyone regardless of athletic background or age. And it was shocking to see regardless of the aforementioned factors, how people did just that. Made me think, "Damn, I need to push my TKD students way harder." haha. All the while remaining jovial, and lighthearted in a very Thai kind of way. </span></div>
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During the session, I was also shocked at how many high kicks and spin kicks they asked me to do; but later on I found out why. The owner of the gym also ran a taekwondo club, and half of his fighters were also TKD blackbelts.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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Overall, I was really really happy to have been welcomed (and respectfully) put through the ringer at their gym, even though I was a foreigner, and from a different background. (By the end of my second session, they actually asked me to teach them some joint-locking) I remember listening to one fighter talk about fighting and training with Thais on their home turf, and he said it’s just like being a houseguest. If you are polite, and respectful, you are welcome. If you are obnoxious, arrogant, and self-righteous, you are not. I tried the former and completely found that to be the case. My gut feeling through, is that that is the same pretty much everywhere. :)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-12714043979710473872017-08-10T09:31:00.003+09:002017-08-10T09:31:56.670+09:00My First Sensory Deprivation Float<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXWSHv22bnM5_NHG96FaRcsg1uJw6Jx9_Mtn96UIAP2RL8nUFS-EZvMOV4ON2vtHmhrJb2lnUp14ZjWCGA4pNj71X6j087CdgJ4_EN9H5bHS1x8dK2gD7J0GED0Lx9k2p5M11/s1600/diy-isolation-tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="1000" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipXWSHv22bnM5_NHG96FaRcsg1uJw6Jx9_Mtn96UIAP2RL8nUFS-EZvMOV4ON2vtHmhrJb2lnUp14ZjWCGA4pNj71X6j087CdgJ4_EN9H5bHS1x8dK2gD7J0GED0Lx9k2p5M11/s320/diy-isolation-tank.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eleven uses a DIY sensory deprivation tank in Stranger Things<br />
to access another dimension. </td></tr>
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<span class="s1"></span><span style="text-align: center;">So not too long ago, while I was teaching teaching fight choreography at the </span><a href="http://www.stuntschool.com/" style="text-align: center;">ISS</a><span style="text-align: center;"> in Seattle, I was having a conversation with fellow stuntie, </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RJ2SoaiLtk" style="text-align: center;">Greg Poljacik</a><span style="text-align: center;"> about the best way to unwind and relieve aches and pains during our downtime. Having arrived a bit before I had, Greg had somehow managed to find a Sensory Deprivation Float Wellness Center, and ranted and raved out how the process was not only extremely relaxing, and made you sleep better, but also relieved a lot of muscle pain. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmL4hWsBucxhMp5anEUHT3BDNZdGVHfgZKRbXAYUvQNEHA0lOei3-EfmwZykfE2N6_Fk7vdabcS0sw4o0cfSqiIyIzbJF6GVrd3b4zu1sTEq3iRbZzAmq_QONOvdvyOumlMjq/s1600/float2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmL4hWsBucxhMp5anEUHT3BDNZdGVHfgZKRbXAYUvQNEHA0lOei3-EfmwZykfE2N6_Fk7vdabcS0sw4o0cfSqiIyIzbJF6GVrd3b4zu1sTEq3iRbZzAmq_QONOvdvyOumlMjq/s320/float2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the listed benefits of doing a sensory deprivation float</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0b2UorK8Nvqn-gMeaPYovNamkFfCxdAciY_WIlHclkHjWSEkWWEVBtg-2gRolhE3PrvmhEPtsaY0dRIsDw7IYWOQXexySyeDs7wUMMgz12PpgVgdZYVxIcRWdkvDkWb6aa5W/s1600/Float4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0b2UorK8Nvqn-gMeaPYovNamkFfCxdAciY_WIlHclkHjWSEkWWEVBtg-2gRolhE3PrvmhEPtsaY0dRIsDw7IYWOQXexySyeDs7wUMMgz12PpgVgdZYVxIcRWdkvDkWb6aa5W/s320/Float4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chamber I did my float in. <br /></td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><br /><br />Up until this point, I had only heard of Sensory Deprivation Floats because the character Eleven used them in the show <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-_KRSo54wE">Stranger Things</a> to achieve a meditative state and access another dimension. Given the fact that I have yet to figure out how to access another dimension on my own yet, (and that may turn out to be a useful job skill later in my career), I thought I should give it a shot. <br />
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Along with the other instructors, we all paid a visit to Seattle Float as it was only a mile or two away from the U of W campus where we were staying. <br /><br /><br />
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How it works:</u></b> <br /><br /><br />
The way a sensory deprivation float works is they put you in a tank of hyper salinated water, so that you have the same kind of buoyancy as a life vest. (ie. You can float with your face above water naturally). Both the water and the air are heated to be exactly your body temperature so that once you are in, and still, you no longer feel either one of them. Each tank also has a light-sealed door, and comes with ear plugs to deprive you of all visual and audio stimulation, so in effect, you see, hear and feel, well, nothing. When you initially enter the building, it smells a lot like a Japanese onsen, but the aroma was really light, and once you were used to it, you cease to notice that as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">As for my own experience it was really fascinating. In my particular tank, they had dissolved over 1,000 pounds of epson salt, so, you had resistance even putting your hand down to the bottom. (The water was only about 10 inches deep). As it was my first time, it took me a minute to be able to relax my head and hips and simply let them float… (but suprisingly they do float just fine)… and my face stayed fully above water the whole time. Initially, I couldn't achieve perfect deprivation however because it took time for me to relax and stop searching for something to “feel”. For example I would twitch, and I could feel the line of surface tension that separated the water from the air. Other than that though, I couldn’t feel the air above or the water below. That in and of itself was bizarre. Also, due to my size, I actually took up the whole tank which meant I only had to drift a few inches before my head bumped into top of the tank (which happened about 3 or 4 times during my 60 min session) again, pulling me out of the deprivation. Apparently, there is a technique to getting in and laying out motionless; but it takes a session or two to perfect. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrH3UpHbAAvEuIV-6zs3cNMmbrWb1V9fNGbjpA6e1DqzT_S2hTaC4_MPNueeLlw6TK3W96nYTJN_tNp24bt5g_MfgmUHundxUIFABwtjARCLS-mAnPTD99BBpXPmZ4vNQ_kJE/s1600/IMG_6516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrH3UpHbAAvEuIV-6zs3cNMmbrWb1V9fNGbjpA6e1DqzT_S2hTaC4_MPNueeLlw6TK3W96nYTJN_tNp24bt5g_MfgmUHundxUIFABwtjARCLS-mAnPTD99BBpXPmZ4vNQ_kJE/s320/IMG_6516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Interior of Seattle Float; a sensory deprivation float center near the University of Washington in Seattle</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">I could however still get it just right for about 15 min or so, and that was enough to have an interesting experience. After a while, I started to see bizarre patterns, and had the feeling that I was lifting out of the water, or spinning when I knew I wasn’t. I also had phantom tactile sensations in my toes, as I kept thinking they were brushing against the side of the tank, but if I wiggled them, they weren’t actually touching anything. <br />
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While it only happened a few times, I also completely lost my sense of time (which means I had begun to touch on a meditative state). <br />
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Finishing up:</u></b> </span><br /><span class="s1"><br />At the end of the experience, music comes on to tell you that your time is up. As everyone has ear plugs in, it comes on fairly loudly, but it still wasn’t too shocking. After that, you take a shower to rinse off the salt water, and you are done. After finishing, you do feel really relaxed, and calm. It was actually more refreshing than taking a nap, because there is no feeling of grogginess afterwards. You are just sharp, and calm. Also, given the fact that I was soaking in epson salt for an hour, most of my soreness was also gone, which was a plus. All in all, Id say it was completely worth the $40 I spent to try it. As a lot of traditional martial arts are tied to meditation, and meditative practices, I have wanted to know how it feels to “lose time” in a meditative state for a while, so I was really glad I did it. Until now, the closest I had come to the experience was through yoga; (which leaves you feeling calm and refreshed the same way) but in this case as I was “gone” for up to 15 min at a time, so it was a far richer experience. Really makes me wish I had the time to go back to the same place again for a 90 min session. I would love to perfect the floating motionless technique so I could really explore accessing that kind of consciousness and that “place” I went to again…<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Unlike Stranger Things though, there were no monsters from another dimension there. Probably a good thing ;)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-18345075123049790772017-01-03T11:15:00.002+09:002017-01-03T11:16:42.684+09:002017- Looking backward...and (more importantly) forward. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgQWP80tmEuRysODPXTcUEENNGtYLlZgMgmksZxMKt76YCCQd8MBLomOa8wgIO_rpEi3L9mj2YIeUOJzlsP4OxHkzpuSoXA52u1F2QhbrtLATaAB2s_4M9LaAvxVi6upj_Bz0/s1600/IMG_2389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgQWP80tmEuRysODPXTcUEENNGtYLlZgMgmksZxMKt76YCCQd8MBLomOa8wgIO_rpEi3L9mj2YIeUOJzlsP4OxHkzpuSoXA52u1F2QhbrtLATaAB2s_4M9LaAvxVi6upj_Bz0/s320/IMG_2389.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset in my hometown at the end of 2016; looking forward<br />
bright sunrises in 2017. </td></tr>
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First blog in over a year. Actually two. But with 2016 and all of it’s perils behind us, I thought that it was time to push forward, and in doing so, actually reach back- back to the source, the original motivation, and the “f*ck this, no excuses” attitude that has gotten me this far. </div>
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At the beginning of 2016, I listed out ten goals that I had for the year, and publicly stated them on Facebook so that I would have everyone to hold me accountable. So what I would like to do now is take note of those goals, what I could do, what I could not, and why. </div>
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<i>First off the ones that are completed:</i> </div>
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<b>Pay off all of my credit cards</b>- DONE. </div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Reach 1,000,000 Hits on Youtube</b>- DONE. (Currently at 1.3 Mil)</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Work on my first International Film Project</b>- DONE (Wrote a Thai action feature film)</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Get a Japanese Driver’s Licence</b>- DONE</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br />The ones that are not, progress report, and reason for failure:</i> </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<u><b>Goal: Get down to 87kg (from 93kg)</b></u></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Progress</b>: Currently 90kg- halfway there.</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Reason for Failure:</b> Having Ty meant a general lack of sleep. Lack of sleep equates to laziness at workouts, higher cravings for sweet foods, and and far less physiological efficiency in fat burning. (If you don’t sleep well, you don’t burn fat well). </div>
<div class="p1">
<b><u>Goal: Get my Ariel and TKD 720 kicks back</u></b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Progress:</b> landing them both again… but not consistently. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Reason for Failure:</b> Fine tune Athletic performance goals and weight loss goals are at odds with each other. The latter means you have less energy to work with; the former means you need to be running at your peak. Also goes back to the lack of sleep, and the crazy work load that goes with trying to feed a kid. Need to sleep more, and earn more per hour of work done. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b><u>Goal: Create an extra $500 a month of passive income through video production.</u></b> </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Progress:</b> A little under halfway there- adding two more revenue streams in the next few months. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Reason for Failure:</b> One income backfired- in the short term cost more than it made- had to work more to compensate for the loss; consequently had less time and resources to produce. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b><u>Goal: Complete the Kumon Japanese Grammar course, and move into the classic literature section. (2000 pages of work)</u></b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Progress:</b> 1800 pages down. 100 pages into the classic literature section. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Reason for Failure: </b>Was waiting on the last package of notes to arrive before I left for Michigan, but they got lost in the mail and arrived after I left. (><)<br />
Had I completed the previous section on my timing target there would have been time to get the last packet- even if it got lost in the mail. Shouldn’t have relaxed once I got near the finish line. </div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<b><u>Goal: Finish my current Korean textbook</u></b>- </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Progress:</b> Halfway there. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Reason for Failure:</b> Korean teacher’s husband got sick, and cancelled classes indefinitely mid-year. Didn’t find a new teacher. Ultimately no excuse. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
5/10. I don’t see this as a passing grade. Life always has challenges, and there are always roadblocks; but successful people are like sharks; they can only swim forward. As such, I have every intention of completing the remaining 6 goals, and as I complete them, add in several more:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>1. Learn how to use the Tonfa, Sai, Western Single Sword, (Currently I can use Nunchaku, and Bo staff, and sword), as well as at least 3 firearms. </b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2. Fully graduate from Kumon (complete the 600 pages of classic literature study).</b> <br />
<b>3. Produce my next film or series. (4 projects currently in the works). </b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4. Rebuild my person branding</b> (which suffered a lot in the last year). Get back to Youtube and blogging and hit it hard. </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>5. Rebuild my action instruction program, and (investor willing) open a brick-and-mortar gym. </b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>6.Reach a personal savings goal</b>. (which I won’t publicly state so as to have the time and financial affordance to move in the right direction). </div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="p1">
2016 may have been a rough year (seemingly for everyone), but at least for myself, I plan on seeing 2017 at the opposite end of the spectrum. Day 2 now. Enough rest. Time to hit it hard. YOSH. </div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-64156842818728737762015-12-20T02:50:00.000+09:002015-12-20T02:53:07.573+09:00Getting a Head Mold: An Actor's Crazy Experience<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n55HrimiPOlnlM5LfL-kkOsoCS9YdiG9EW-QhxDnkz_H06cPThq1ySa0aBHpgmqE24LrHF4vOfbv8fGHAsd8dQ86P87bWN1ddGDCA0CpNk2ccCNW7DinHpDNN59HwOII-NJJ/s1600/IMG_9711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n55HrimiPOlnlM5LfL-kkOsoCS9YdiG9EW-QhxDnkz_H06cPThq1ySa0aBHpgmqE24LrHF4vOfbv8fGHAsd8dQ86P87bWN1ddGDCA0CpNk2ccCNW7DinHpDNN59HwOII-NJJ/s320/IMG_9711.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The completed molding of my head.<br />
...I Felt like Han Solo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, as I mentioned on Facebook some time ago, I finally hit a milestone in my entertainment career that I had been hoping for for some time- the lead role in a reinactment drama. While having a lead in a reinactment drama isn't exactly a big deal, (in Japan, they are dubbed over and half the time they just chose people purely on looks), it is something that has mysteriously eluded me for a decade now, so I was happy to finally just have it on my resume. Oddly enough however, as the character was obsessed with plastic surgery, this particular drama also meant hitting another milestone- doing a make-up intensive role. <br />
<br />
As an actor, you always hear about big actors going through the process of having extensive prostheics make and applied (Like Jim Carrey spending 6 hours a day getting it applied to his body for the Grinch movie), and I also felt as though having that experience was another milestone as well.
In this case, as my character would be going through various stages of plastic surgery, it meant I would need various prosthetics bring applied and removed from my face.... And that first those prosthetics would have to be fabricated. <br />
<br />
In order to get that done, I was sent to a Zombie make-up specialty shop called Zombie Stock. While I thought they would just be taking molds of various parts of my face, upon arrival, the full scope of what they were about to do became apparent- they were going to make a mold of my entire head all at once... Meaning that they were going to encase my entire head in plaster. As someone who is fairly claustrophobic, the idea wasn't exactly appealing. Out of fear that I may be the first one, I asked the shop owner, <b><i>"So... Do people ever freak out when they do this?"</i></b> And he responded, <b><i>"Oh yeah, all the time."</i></b>
That wasn't exactly encouraging. <br />
<br />
In any event, I was bound and determined to maintain my professionalism, and show that I was a serious actor and keep my cool.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE PROCESS</b> </div>
<br />
The process begins by their putting you in old clothes and covering you with clear plastic... Kinda like the wrap they put on you when you get a haircut, but more hardcore.
From there one person sets about the process of making the material, which is kind of like pancake batter... Except it solidifies faster and into a rubbery kind of composition.
While one person was doing that, the other person was preparing cotton for something.
After the "batter" reaches a certain kind of consistency, (hard enough to pick up, but not solidified) the assistant grabbed massive glops of it and started piling it onto my neck before it began to solidify.
While that was happening, the other person started stuffing the cotton into my ears- cueing me that my hearing would be the first sense to go.
<br />
<br />
One of the things that you never really think about is the fact that 4 out of 5 of your sensory organs are exclusively on your head. (Skin being the fifth). What that meant was that by covering up my head they were basically putting me through complete sensory deprivation.
The batter continued to be piled on. From my neck, it traveled up and over my ears. As I usually sleep with ear plugs (aside from the fact that the material was cold), thus far this experience wasn't so different. Until they started to cover my mouth. Then it started to get a bit intense.
Particularly since while one person was working up from the mouth, the other person was coming down my forehead and making their way to my eyes. I felt the cold heavy "batter" weighing down on my forehead. Then I heard a barely audible, "Close your eyes" in Japanese. Then blackness.
At that point, I just freaked out and grabbed the arm of the assistant (which I'm guessing she was used to)... She gently touched my hand I regained composure and they continued.
One going down my face, the other going up. They placed drinking straws in my nostrils so I could breath, and then they started to cover my nose last. The smell was odd... But not bad. I could feel that the enclosure was becoming complete.
<br />
<br />
Suddenly, I heard muffled dialog between then and it was all coming off.
I don't know if it was because of some other issue or because of my sudden jerk, but they told me they needed to start over.
At first I was really irritated, but at the same time I came to realize that this was a blessing. Now I knew what to expect, and could prepare myself mentally.
They started over. No jerk this time, and no flinch. They completed the mold completely encircling my head. <br />
<br />
Before we started, they told me that in order to make the mold correctly I would have to remain perfectly still for about 15-20 minutes.
I came to realize that that's a very very long time when you have no sensory input. There were very faint sounds... But nothing discernible. To keep calm, I thought of classical music... And tried to find the same kind of peace and inner silence I learned during my taekwondo meditation training. No active thoughts... Just listening to whatever passed through my mind and body. As I couldn't do anything else, I tried to swallow to remind myself that "I'm still here"... But I realized I couldn't because the batter had hardened around my throat and my Adam's apple was locked into place.
That was bizarre. <br />
<br />
As I couldn't see, a lot of bizarre imagery passed through my mind. Lots of Palm trees and beaches, but in a weird acid trip kind of way.
I noticed that my heartbeat also became deadeningly loud. Seems like I could hear the rush of blood moving through my veins.
Suddenly, while lost in my thoughts, I felt touching on the mold... And then heat. It occurred to me that they were encasing it again in plaster. I thought the layer of rubber was all, and I didn't know they still needed to do that... But it was logical. All of a sudden the mold got much hotter and much much heavier.
Again, I just had to focus on staying calm, so that I didn't move or flinch.
As odd as it may sound however, after a while (I have no idea how long it actually was), I simply got used to this new bizarre world I was living in, with trippy imagery running through my mind's eye, and the sound of my heartbeat and blood drowning everything else out. <br />
<br />
Finally, almost suddenly, I felt the hands on my head again and everything began to come off. It was a tremendous relief to get my senses back, and I was happy to have gotten through it. I couldn't help but think of the kid from "Johnny got his gun" (who lost all of his sensory organs to a landmine), and I wondered how he managed to deal with it year after year.
After the process was completed, the make-up artist said he would give me the mold of my face as a gift.. I asked him about how much it actually costs to do this whole process, and it said its about $500.
As uncomfortable as it was, I was getting paid well to do the job... and also getting a $500 gift out of it. I guess I couldn't complain.
All that being said though, once was enough ;) Lets hope it's not something I ever have to do again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Pictured- The various prosthetics I wore for the shoot. </u></b><br />
Pic 1- Stage 1- Beard shaved and in make-up.<br />
Pic 2- Forehead and Lip Prosthetics 1 (After character's first injection)<br />
Pic 3- Forehead and Lip Prosthetics 2 (After character's second injection)<br />
Pic 4- How the character perceived himself in his own mind that drove him to the surgery (from the directors perspective)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYa6TMJYTh_KvESURRy4v_Sa86uBueYV1NfUGYM6nCOXYjGl1GSdVZJ72QynFyvdaaityAWYiAwAM63CjNvwDTLRW4Zk7UA4Y8UYIryYFVWI4-MB89QiRen6tQ7QMXnQexonWx/s1600/IMG_9659.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYa6TMJYTh_KvESURRy4v_Sa86uBueYV1NfUGYM6nCOXYjGl1GSdVZJ72QynFyvdaaityAWYiAwAM63CjNvwDTLRW4Zk7UA4Y8UYIryYFVWI4-MB89QiRen6tQ7QMXnQexonWx/s320/IMG_9659.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AZfV4yG9A7tcEWTy5Q0ejiGjJOqK3q9yeLYBk3Rs1ql4jdyaNq5wvTYpU34d3Uw9_1bN_zu5qFkZyuZWajt8xhCSMBC0PerFSQ6zs0RyzEHRMDo_mI4RCxrTibdvjoCZAI-C/s1600/IMG_9708.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AZfV4yG9A7tcEWTy5Q0ejiGjJOqK3q9yeLYBk3Rs1ql4jdyaNq5wvTYpU34d3Uw9_1bN_zu5qFkZyuZWajt8xhCSMBC0PerFSQ6zs0RyzEHRMDo_mI4RCxrTibdvjoCZAI-C/s320/IMG_9708.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dP0EyJErWFtlHP2syNcXGn2-_oGnsNjxCD4Qt0jBWB_mtIPoize3tXrjFhR0tOtNisj9gWUD9BvngRlDqV1mTYfprpqXBeQCY51Jlfi2zf8itaZxdrWHQAh0JsWoYe-q3YiK/s1600/IMG_9637.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dP0EyJErWFtlHP2syNcXGn2-_oGnsNjxCD4Qt0jBWB_mtIPoize3tXrjFhR0tOtNisj9gWUD9BvngRlDqV1mTYfprpqXBeQCY51Jlfi2zf8itaZxdrWHQAh0JsWoYe-q3YiK/s320/IMG_9637.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE-7qR93BVSoyRdr-KngvTwvlCDO3_6FkXMijygi7NOVZsUN0Q9FbVfuv4-d-RKAicOeDvDRzkcUo14aXEs41735ydgZKBCkGhHXSDbQaBfIuxFqONAcKZM0pmvQ8oU4KJTe8/s1600/IMG_9704.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAE-7qR93BVSoyRdr-KngvTwvlCDO3_6FkXMijygi7NOVZsUN0Q9FbVfuv4-d-RKAicOeDvDRzkcUo14aXEs41735ydgZKBCkGhHXSDbQaBfIuxFqONAcKZM0pmvQ8oU4KJTe8/s320/IMG_9704.JPG" width="320" /></a>Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-80735944556608750852015-05-30T19:54:00.003+09:002015-06-04T01:54:50.305+09:00The Pursuit of Perfecting Intelligence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28smfpUxyNt5Zw318QJTOHxx3ehK0e8WYrpWhhyphenhyphenDwHd7SiUbFtn6VxqOhBk7cYTRT3OipJbFYPQnM-NMakDccfHHMcZK_ldtO-EDZ2mrpM-oSn0amdxElq3FuDsrwz-H8OiOT/s1600/IQ+certificate+copy_edited.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28smfpUxyNt5Zw318QJTOHxx3ehK0e8WYrpWhhyphenhyphenDwHd7SiUbFtn6VxqOhBk7cYTRT3OipJbFYPQnM-NMakDccfHHMcZK_ldtO-EDZ2mrpM-oSn0amdxElq3FuDsrwz-H8OiOT/s320/IQ+certificate+copy_edited.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, as I said in the last blog, last month, I stumbled on a video about the world's smartest people on YouTube. Out of curiosity, I decided to try an IQ tests to see where I stand myself. While I certainly didn't score badly (top 13% of world average), I was suprised to find out that I was just 9 points short of the 130 minimum requirement to be accepted into Mensa (an organization for the top 2% of the world's smartest people). Again, out of intellectual curiosity, I decided to create a mental "strength training" regimen and committed myself to doing it every day to see if I could increase my score high enough to pass their entrance exam. (The theory being that the mind would be every bit as responsive to strength training as the body). This regimen consisted of six parts: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>The Mental Strength Training Regiment</u></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1) <b>Turning off the spell check</b> on my phone and PC, so I would have to remember how to spell difficult and complex words from memory. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) <b>Never using a calculator</b>, pen, or paper to do calculations; instead doing it all in my head. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3) <b>Using Luminosity</b> (which I have had on my phone for forever) on a daily basis. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4) <b>Studying multiple languages</b> daily, back-to-back, WITHOUT FAIL, toggling between them as I study, and focusing on learning and writing as many Chinese characters as possible to build pattern recognition strength. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5) <b>Reading the book</b> "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Intent-Live-Achieving-Potential/dp/0553381202">Intent to Live</a>" by Larry Moss. This may seem like an odd choice...but in general, actors are always searching for means of effective self expression; and as such, I've found that great acting coaches usually have ridiculously huge vocabularies. (For example, words I learned just from chapter 1 are: soliliquy, somnambulistic, prescient, entreat, supplicate, and letch). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6) <b>Eating more "<a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-foods-boost-your-brainpower">brain-foods</a>"</b>, (in particular, vitamin C, nuts, tomatoes, and broccoli) and napping a lot (particularly after training) to give my mind maximum time to rest, recharge, and re-organize. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>The Results of the Training</u></i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thus far, the results have been far better than I ever could have hoped for.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />On the very first IQ test I took, I scored 121, and it took me about 45 minutes to complete. After one month of 3 hours a day of training (approx. 90 hours), I went back and re-took the same test, hoping to see signs that I could increase my score by 4-9 points over a few months. This time I scored 155, and I completed it in 8 minutes flat. It was so much easier, it felt like I was cheating. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.free-iqtest.net/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IQ Test"><img alt="IQ Test" border="0" src="http://www.free-iqtest.net/images/badges2/l155.gif" height="100" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The results of my first IQ test after 90<br />hours of intensive brain training.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
As 155 just seems crazy (that's only 5 points short of Einstein), I thought there's probably a good chance that I just intuitively remembered the answers to a lot of the questions. As such, I thought it best to try again on a test (and system) I hadn't done before. Instead, I went to <a href="http://iqtest.com/">iqtest.com</a> which claims to have the most scientifically valid, objective, and legitimate IQ test on the internet, testing you on a range of 13 different types of intelligence that relate to IQ. On that test, I scored a more modest 138... But that still puts me in the top 00.66% of people on the planet, qualifies me as "gifted", and means I'm "capable of mastering virtually anything". Wish I knew I was this smart when I was in high school. Probably would have tried harder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
Interestingly enough, I outscored 99% of all test-takers on 12 out of 13 of the intelligences tested, but scored far below average on the 13th intelligence: computational speed. In short, I think and process information way way slower than normal people. Intuitively, this seems to make sense for a myriad of reasons:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) It might explain why I always sucked at avoiding head kicks as a fighter, lol. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) It also might have explained the test score of 155. Insomuch as I know, that test wasn't timed, (although it might have been without explicitly saying so). If not, computational speed wasn't factored into the equation, and that could be why I could score so much higher. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3) From what I have seen, pretty much no one has a "perfect intelligence". Greatness in one aspect often means a deficiency somewhere else. (Such was the case with Muhammed Ali- he was thought to have one of the greatest athletic intelligences of all time, but also had an unusually low IQ). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>What I learned</u></i></b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
1) Intellectually, I have the capacity to get into MENSA as I had hoped. As such, it's time to try.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
2) As I figured it was, the mind is responsive to a regular training regiment. The scores I got before were when my mind was "out of shape". Much like with the body, regular training is necessary to keep it "in shape". Ya don't use it, ya lose it, as they say. Coincidentally, this also tells me that technology makes us stupid. We were a lot smarter when we simply had to do and remember everything in our heads.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
3) Having found and isolated out my principle weakness, (at least on the range of things that relate to IQ), now I know what I need to focus my training on...Furthermore, if this process can work with IQ, it can work with EQ as well, and as such, discovering, isolating and attacking my weaknesses in EQ needs to be the next logical step as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><i><b>Other Observations</b></i></u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />After working through this process for a month or so, I'm at the point that mentally I'm constantly "hungry". If I don't push myself till my head hurts everyday I start to feel ansy. I used to be that way in college... but it was a trait that has seriously wained since graduation. As annoying as it is, having it back makes me feel really alive. I <i>feel</i> a lot younger. I guess that's why most gifted people are all focused into academics and sciences... You need to be constantly studying and learning to "stave off the hunger".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Like a lot of things in life, I guess, once you get started, it's self-perpetuating. Just like with the physical exercise, the better the shape you get into, the harder you wanna push yourself. Conversely, when you stop trying, the harder it becomes to get back into it. <i>Positivity perpetuates positivity, and negativity perpetuates negativity</i>.</span><br />
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In any event, whether I pass the Mensa entrance exam or not, I don't see myself slowing down the training routine any time soon. The theatre show is truly a blessing in that it gives me hours of downtime to train every day, but even after it's done, I have every intention of making the time for training, just like I do with physical exercise. If for no other reason, than because, as I said in the last blog, I'm really curious as to how deep this rabbit hole goes. If I can go from 121 to 138 with training, I see no reason why I can't go from 138 to 160... and if it can be done with the body, and with IQ, it can be done with EQ. In short, I see no reason to shoot for anything less than the pursuit of perfection. YOSH. </span></div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-44163120099802197942015-05-21T15:32:00.000+09:002015-05-21T17:49:44.892+09:00Going for MENSA <div style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Typical IQ Bell Curve</td></tr>
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So, not too long ago, I was messing around on YouTube and I stumbled onto a video called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RenQiD7c0XY">10 people with the Highest IQs in History</a>. Nothing particularly surprising there, Einstein, Leonardo Di Vinci, etc.</div>
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Out of curiosity though, after finishing the video I decided to check out the entrance requirements for <a href="https://www.mensa.org/">Mensa</a>, an international organization for the people whose intelligence is in the top 2% on the planet. While I was thinking that that would be somewhere around Einstein's level, (around 160), I was surprised to find out that it is only around 130. This was surprising to me because I had scored into the 120s before myself, and I didn't know that that constituted such a high level of intelligence. </div>
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A few years ago, while working at a friend's company to develop a better process for screening employees, I suggested EQ testing, and then to get a feel for the test, I ran myself through an online IQ and EQ test. On the IQ test, I outscored 87% of everyone who had ever taken the test, and for EQ, I outscored 93%. At time though, because it was just an online test and not officially administered, I didn't think much of it. </div>
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After seeing what the IQ scale was though, I went back and asked my mother if I had ever scored over 115 as a kid (the top 14% of world average) and she said, "Oh no, Chuckie you were way higher than that. But I don't remember what the actual score was."</div>
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From there, I thought it best to take another round of tests online to see how I did. Sure enough, except for on one test, I could score into the 120's, and was generally ranked as having "Very Superior Intelligence". </div>
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If that's the case, then it explains a lot. When I was younger, I often had a hard time relating to people because I was expecting them to make intellectual jumps and grasp concepts that they just couldn't. (Like for example when I would try to talk to people about books I was reading on Quantum Physics and how the concepts relate to psychology and philosophy).</div>
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It also explains why I've always had at least 3-4 completely different jobs at once, why I've always studied multiple foreign languages at once, and why I can study for 12 hours straight, and love every second of it. That's simply what it takes to keep me from getting bored.</div>
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It also explains, why, for the life of me, I could never find satisfaction in doing a regular job. For the longest time, I thought I had ADD or something, because I just couldn't stay focused on it. What I realized however, was that the issue was that most jobs just didn't require enough brainpower for me to hold my attention. Doing regular jobs was like trying to stay focused watching paint dry. </div>
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As I found out when producing Fists of Absinthe, what I am good at is being a leader, not a follower. In order to stay focused, I need to be at the healm of things that are extremely difficult to do, and/or that haven't been done at all. (Which also explains my career as Japan's first foreign action guy). Additionally, in general, I have a really hard time working in pre-fabricated systems, because I always feel as though I could make a better one myself. </div>
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Anyway, looking at my last score, (121) I am still 3 points short of ranking into the top 5% globally, and 9 points away from being smart enough to pass Mensa's entrance exam. </div>
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3 points isn't so insurmountable of a gap... But 9 is still fairly large. And that is exactly why I want to go for it. I want to see if it can be done.</div>
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If the human mind is as flexible and adaptable as the human body is (and I'm going to assume that it is - or even more so), than I see no reason why I can't simply raise my own intelligence. If the body can respond to a strength training regiment, why not the mind? If muscles can be stretched, shaped and densified for exacting purposes, why not the brain?</div>
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The prospect of the challenge of figuring out exactly how to do that is extremely exciting to say the least.</div>
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If nothing else, all the things I learn from the process I will be able to pass along to my son, Ty, in how I raise him and challenge him, so that by the time he reaches adulthood, his intelligence, aptitude, and reasoning skill will be far beyond my own. Particularly since he's got the same kind of genes from his mother- who is the same way I am. </div>
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Thus far, it has taken me 5 tries on the Mensa practice exam to achieve a score of 86%. (Which I am assuming is passing). As such, I am giving myself 6 tries (once a month for half a year) to pass the exam. 4 tries to figure it out, and 2 to try and pass it. If I do get in, I'm certainly not expecting to be the smartest guy (or person, I should say) in the organization. Quite conversely, intellectually, I will be at "the bottom of the barrel". At least in terms of the particular range of intelligences that IQ scores on.<br />
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... But I am hoping to be one of the most likable :). </div>
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Will post my mental training regiment as soon as I finish mapping it all out.</div>
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Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31018424.post-9099092509027453722015-05-14T17:39:00.001+09:002015-05-14T17:39:44.849+09:00Returning to the Stage in Orpheus Descending<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6GDLOZ88qn_04KCzjw_ozQcVL9aYDVqimBJr-rXMUOM868zHOhFVgMopexe-T9Vxc5hLXafOBkhCJ6faFeOj3gVmJb_Y9IY4lcdN2lOjRXoOMK2cmXMCkTu3LUSxYLS96ZdG/s1600/IMG_6881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6GDLOZ88qn_04KCzjw_ozQcVL9aYDVqimBJr-rXMUOM868zHOhFVgMopexe-T9Vxc5hLXafOBkhCJ6faFeOj3gVmJb_Y9IY4lcdN2lOjRXoOMK2cmXMCkTu3LUSxYLS96ZdG/s320/IMG_6881.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying on my costume as "The Conjure Man"<br />for the first time. </td></tr>
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So recently, I was blessed enough to be cast in the biggest Theatre show in Japan of this year. A re-telling of Tennessee Williams’ (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) story, <a href="http://www.bunkamura.co.jp/cocoon/lineup/15_orpheus.html">Orpheus Descending</a>. </div>
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The producer/director (<a href="http://www.phillipbreen.co.uk/">Phillip Breen</a>) came in for the production from the UK, and while this isn’t my first time performing in theatre (it’s my third), this show has offered me my first opportunity to work closely with an English speaking director. In the states I had the opportunity to work a range of productions as well, (Detroit 187, Batman vs. Superman, SeTup, etc), but I was certainly never one of the main cast, and as such, I had never had the opportunity to see what it was like to be directed by someone who spoke my own language before. </div>
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Thus far, it has been an amazing experience. In the story I play a “conjure man”, a toothless, mumbling character who in the end, proves that he is smarter than everyone thinks he is. We had a solid month of rehearsals leading up to the opening night, and while that was hard to handle with the responsibilities of becoming a new father and doing the pre-production and principle photography for <a href="http://chuck-n-action.blogspot.jp/2015/05/fists-of-absinthe-coming-late-summer.html">Fists of Absinthe</a> at the same time, it was an amazing experience. </div>
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Phillip’s depth of character exploration, history, and philosophy of the play has been staggering, and in working with him I really came to realize at heart something that I knew in my head for a long time- when an actor gives an amazing performance, the credit is not just his or hers alone; it belongs to the director as well. An amazing actor can make a decent director look pretty good… and a great director can make an okay actor perform well… but when you have an amazing actor working with an amazing director, that is when you really truly see magic happen. The main actress in the play, Shinobu Otake is an excellent actress in her own right, (she does the Japanese voices for Disney movies among other things) but seeing how she performs under Phillip's direction has been breath-taking. </div>
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In my own experience as well, I don’t think I could have understood and personified this character half as well if it had not been for the insights into his meaning that Phillip shared and helped me to develop. That goes without saying for the rest of the cast as well, and the fact that we have received a standing ovation for virtually every show so far is a testament to that. </div>
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Just about the only downside of the whole experience is the fact that I got my first ever vocal injury in rehearsals (due to the fact that my character screams at the top of his lungs a lot). At the same time however, that injury prompted me to take my first steps towards proper vocal training (knowing how to warm up and strengthen your vocal cords with daily exercises, produce sound from the diaphragm to lessen stress, etc.) so at the end of the day, I see the injury as a positive learning experience. Live and learn. </div>
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I’ve also started to get greeted by fans after the show and asked for my autograph. Not the first time I have ever signed autographs, but it certainly is the first time people have lined up to ask me for them. Crazy feeling. Looking forward to seeing how things develop for the rest of the show’s run. </div>
Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15772347675638503642noreply@blogger.com4