Friday, January 29, 2010

Breaking the Law... Godwin's Law

Forgive me Godwin, but I can't resist passing this on. It seems that not everyone loved the Ipad announcement. Poor, poor Hitler.

EDIT (6/17/2010) Link removed. I guess the owner of the hitler clip contested its use on youtube. Too bad, it was funny and probably gave that movie more press than it deserved otherwise. Hope you caught it while it was available. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has taken the plunge and bought an Ipad.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Impressions on an Interesting Election Night

I'm watching the news and it appears that a Republican has won the MA sentate election. A candidate that has the support of the Tea Party movement has taken the seat vacated by the death of the lion of the senate himself. He did it by saying he would vote against health care reform in a state that elected the most passionate proponate for HCR, Ted Kennedy.

The AP has called the race for Scott Brown. Martha Coakly is minutes away from giving her concession speech. It's over.

It's over. I wonder how much is over.

This election wasn't about MA. It's about Obama. Let's do the math:

1) He promised "Change we can Believe in." Do you feel the change? Perhaps he meant he would change "business as usual" Republicans with "business as usual" Democrats. We have all watched for the change, what we have gotten is exactly what one would predict in one-party to rule.

2) He gave huge bailouts to banks and auto manufacturers.

3) Signed a stimulus bill that was full of shameful pork with such alacrity that it was physically impossible for anyone to read. He continues to spin the success of this obvious failure by saying that he has "created or saved" millions of jobs. Does anyone believe this crap? Yes, the Obama administration seems to believe their own propaganda.

4) He has put all his eggs into HCR even as the nation shouts louder and louder that we don't want it. He failed to lead and propose legislation, and rather let the congress create the bill for him. The people of the USA have seen the horrendous deal making they need to pass the bill even with their supermajority.
5) He has lost virtually every bellwether election since getting elected himself. Dems are looking at huge losses in 2010 and if our congress continues to ignore public opinion I see is possible they could lose on of the houses.

6) He made promises about transparency of government. We now see that transparency is reserved for non-controversial subjects only. Give me a friggin' break! Obama has been as closed as the Bush admin, and that is saying something.

7) His only popular decisions have been the ones Bush made on foreign policy. With some high-profile exceptions like Gitmo and trying terrorists as criminals, Obama's foreign policy has been Bush-lite. It was a wonderful irony to see him get the Nobel peace price weeks after committing to his second surge into Afghanistan.

8) He promised to be a uniter. He has presided over one-party rule and wrote off the Republicans as irrelevant. Perhaps this election has changed his mind.

Will he have his "Clinton moment?" I wonder. If he doesn't, he will have passed all his 1st-term laws in 2009, and he will lose big in 2010 and 2012. If he crosses the aisle, slaps the dictatorship that has been congress, and actally works with the other side, he may find something people will support.

Every rooky has their moment when they realize the majors are hard. I hope he finds a way to be a uniter and finds a way to govern from the center. He's tried governing from the left, and it has failed him miserably.


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Monday, January 11, 2010

Shinkendo on NBC


Yes, my ugly mug appeared on national TV this weekend. A show that appears on NBC Saturdays showcased our dojo in Little Tokyo. I'm in some of the shots, albiet way in the back. I think their good judgement cut all the shots where I was front-and-center. :)

Anways, there is some good footage of Obata Kaiso showing us how tamashigiri is done.

Check it out.



Monday, January 04, 2010

New Years Resolutions

1. 100,000 situps

I'm not kidding either. Since starting Shinkendo, I have lost some fat and gained some muscle, but instead of 6-pack abs, I still have a full keg. So I'm going to try this experiment. 300 situps a day for 365 days is 109,500 situps. I can have 26 days off and still make this goal. We'll see if it works. Perhaps I'll post progress, though I'll spare you all the before and after pictures of my amazing disappearing potbelly.

2. Fully document my Shinkendo notes.

I have been working on a project to document each form in shinkendo. The idea is that if I have a comprehensive set of notes for each form, when Kaiso says something about it I will be able to add those quotes to the notes, see changes, note the key concepts and ideas for instruction. We at the Honbu Dojo have a unique opportunity to see Shinkendo develop, and I feel I have been losing a lot of the lessons because I just don't have time to take notes during or after every class.

By the end of 2010 I want to have a complete set of personal notes in a wiki style format. The original concept had videos of each form as well, but that isn't paramount. However, I will complete a comprehensive glossary of terms.

3. Spend at least one evening a week entirely on a creative project.

Painting, writing, working on a board game idea, Sumi-e, inventing something. I have lots of ideas that remain just that. It is time to make something tangible, which leads into my 4th and last resolution:

4. Sell one creative product.

Get a short story published, or maybe sell a boardgame idea: get paid for doing something creative that isn't work-related.