Kawasaki Ninja Zx-6R : Its complicated

I have had this prejudice towards motorcycles for a while now. They are loud. They are reckless in traffic. They hog parking space. But it had not always been so.  As a child I thought they looked amazing and so liberating, I had one time thought of riding one when I grew up. I could picture myself riding it and experience the freedom. Then reality started settling in as I grew up. I am too much of a chicken to ride one. I am afraid of falling off or getting side swapped by a semi truck. But the real reason I don't like motorcycles can been summed up three strikes: noisy, reckless and park hog.


Strike one
 Motorcycles in traffic are annoying in two ways. First, they make me nervous. They drive up too close to me especially during traffic. I feel like I am going to hit them. What if I have to change lanes and don't see them? I feel like I can't see motorcycles until they are right next me and their little lights don't help. Second, they make me jealous As I wait in the slow stream of traffic, inching forward at a snail's pace, I see them passing though traffic without a care in the world.. I would get pissed when they would gracefully glide through traffic. My resentment got to such a point were I have fantasied about opening the door and having a motorist crash right through it but then I thought about my car so the idea was scratched off.
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Strike Two 
They are asshole loud, in two asshole loud ways. First, they rev their engines at the crack of dawn. I can hear them in the morning. I sometimes wake up so cranky and when I walk out I see the motorist revving up their bikes like that was suppose to me them look cool. But its morning and I really want to do is sleep and knock that motorist of his bike. Secondly, they set off car alarms as they speed by. Between that and the sound of their engines and the backfire, they create a serious noise pollution.

Strike Three
They take up huge chunks of parking space for cars. I have driven to parking lots of Wal-mart and if you ever been to Wal mart you just know how parking spaces can be so rare and when I "found" a good parking space there is this bike taking all that room which really only needed half. The same deal in San Francisco which finding parking is like finding gold. There will be times where chunk of parking on the right and left are unoccupied and the only car that would be able to park is a smart car.

Complication 
It was not until I walked out for my mid morning class that I saw her. She was so beautiful. Her color was beautiful,  her exterior body was beautiful even her tires were beautiful . Later I found out her name was Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.It was so beautiful and perfect and as I saw the guy drive off with her, the scene was just as beautiful even if the sun was just rising. Now I am not a stalker or anything I just know he parks there as I walk out for class.


Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 
What I had liked about the Japanese bike was it sporty nice and clean look. I figure if it is going to be a motorcycle it should't remind me of a bicycle. I feel like some motorcycles handles look like a bicycle and the tassels at the end do not help their case. The nice angular look and sleek body can glide through traffic without having to worry if its too bulky to pass by. Another plus for this bike is it is not asshole loud. I am able to admire it without getting a head ache. This Japanese bike gives me hope in being able to share the road with motorist in peace- as a car driver of course.

Japanese Pizza Random or Ingenious?

As I read Greg Scott's article What the Japanese Put on Pizza I thought of how I have become very conservative with the toppings on my pizza. I thought I was such a rebel when I decided to have pineapple with pepperoni on my pizza instead of ham. But Greg questioned our American way of Pizza  as to where has our creativity gone?

Seafood 
In his is article he talks about how a variety of seafood is put in pizza. We as Americans have limited our seafood to sardines and maybe shrimp. Japanese dare to put squid, octopus, scallops, salmon and clam  on their pizza.

Egging your Pizza 
What I found interesting in Gregs article is Japanese also put fried egg on their pizza. Although my first though of an egg being anywhere my pizza was ridiculous. The more I thought about it, the more the idea started appealing to me. It made me think of a breakfast sandwich I made myself one morning and having the combination of yolk and bread was so amazing. Having the thought of an egg in my pizza had started to appeal to me.

Vegetable You didn't think of Putting in Your Pizza
Putting vegetable in your pizza would have been a great way to eat pizza guilty free. Also wold helped wing an argument against your mother about eating your vegetables. Vegetable that are found in Japanese pizza would be corn, ginger, nori (seaweed), eggplant, however traditional toppings such as onion, mushroom, and peppers do make an appearance.

The sky is the limit. Food can be so creative and we should not limit ourselves in exploration of new foods. It may not always come out good but there are times where you will find a great combination that works for you.

Gaki no Tsukai

Gaki No Tsukai Hospital 

Also know as the no laughing game. It is a Japanese popular show where five comedians are put together for 24 hours. There is the Dowtown duo Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. Then there is the Cocorico duo who are Naoki Tanaka and Shozo Endo. Last but not least is Hosei Yamasaki. He is often singled and out and made fun for not being a duo.

The objective of the game is not to laugh, the only reward you get is avoiding getting hit or punished by one of the guys holding a stick. Punishment may vary depending on which series you are watching. In the Onsen theme, darts were blown to their butts.

The sample video that I show is from the Gaki no Tsuakai hospital. This is one of the first episodes that I saw and it had me cracking up. The No Laughing game involves a group of comedians dressing up either as nurses, spied, high school students all really depend on the years theme. This show has been haring on Nippon Televison since October 3, 1989 and is till on to this day. The newest one came out just this year and it called the Airport.

Mini Games
In the Gaki no Tskai game they have a variety of mini game and every year create new ones. It gives the show a  new element and anticipation as to what will they come up for this year. Some of the common game they have each year are:

Mui Tai Kick- Professional Mui Tai fighter kicks the guys on thier asses. ( Really hurts try having a boxer punch you in the face)

Tag Game- In this game the comedians are chased by men in black suits and depending on the sign they are wearing on their chest depends on the punishment they will receive if they are caught. Some of the demons (refers to the people in black suits chasing the comedians) are:slipper, Biting,  Harisen (large fan) and random ones such as the cigarette break man (when catch you take a cigarette break with him).

Shivering in Terror - where they go through corridors at night and get frightened. This is mainly just to see the comedians get scared.

Here is a link that can show you all the episodes of Gaki no Tsukai so if you have time and you love comedy feel free to watch. Gaki no Files

Endo and Tanaka 

Matsumoto and Hamada

Yamasaki