Saved by the bell: does ANYBODY like Dustin Diamond?

Folks be HATIN'.

As noted by every smirking asshat in the world, Dustin Diamond, AKA Screech from Saved by the Bell, is going to lose his house due to foreclosure. In an attempt to save his bacon, homedude has set up a website to save his house via the sale of t-shirts.

Is it going well? Eh, not really... in fact, if that shit was a record, it would have trouble going double aluminum foil.

The harsher diss though? Dudes. Be. Straight. Hatin.

It's kinda funny to see things go this way... but also kind of fucked up. I guess it means that people are petty, mean, and self-interested, and that you gotta take care of yourself and really trust the people you deal with. Or else others will find joy in your agony.

Long story short? Dustin, stop being a pussy and let us interview you.

Fun week.

Monkey fuck me. The Board of Education showed up to my apartment for a move-in check and took about 720 dollars from my last fucking paycheck for various "cleaning expenses," so now I'm staring down the barrel of "do nothing for 2 months until the next check arrives" like an asshole. A long and arduous series of arguments ensued afterward, during which the word "robbed" was used by yours truly. The ombudsperson took offense to that, but I told her she wasn't the one out 2 months' living expenses, so I'd use whatever phrase I fucking felt like using.

Long story short: I expect money back sometime. But I wouldn't hold my breath, considering the monument of inefficiency that the BOE tends to be. Think twice about dealing with these asshats if you're looking for a career change.

Topping that last week was a grand mal fist-fight with a drunken asshole, who I dropped like a sack of hot shit. It was, bar none, the longest fight I've ever been in, lasting about 15 minutes. I can now say that I've choked a human being in a rain storm after kicking him in the chest repeatedly. For anybody wondering about the benefits of judo and running, I can now attest to both of them. The guy had about 80-90 pounds on me, and he needed shoes with better traction as well. My black eye is healing nicely.

Be proud, mom.

Speaking of moms, I am now travelling around with my family and am in the lovely port town of Nagasaki. It's been a good trip so far, and I've seen a lot of cool things. I'm shooting video footage on an intermittent basis and also preparing some new writing for some various blogs that wish to hire me.

This month's articles are off to the various magazines I'm working for. I will be doing some more writing for some webzines in a few weeks, but I feel that this is less substantial as it doesn't kill enough trees for my liking. My next piece will be on the Char Aznable JCB Credit/Debit card, which is set up by General Electric. Did you know that those guys make vulcan canons? It's true.

Next stop: Nuclear bomb sites in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Parrrrrr-tayyyyyy.

Somebody made a funny...

The newly... uh... updated Yatsushiro Wikipedia entry.

I didn't do it. But I'm laughing at it.

The French guy and the Italian guy made up.

Some links.

So the door is closing on the "Yatsushiro" part of Yatsushiro Radio. Several of the JETs from the area have already left, and I'm preparing to as well. Since this site has basically turned into my personal blog anyway I'll continue to update, with a focus on Japan and Japanese cultural events. I figure YR is now more of a metaphysical concept now, so location doesn't matter... something like when you're alone and you want to connect with other people, but you just don't know if you can broadcast properly.

I'm finished being emo.

Shut up.

I guess the big news is that I'll be published again soon in a major Japanese cultural magazine. I pitched 4 ideas and they bought two, so I spent a good portion of my weekend editing writing and cleaning my apartment for the next guy. I'm entertaining various work options and interviewing with some good companies, but there's nothing I'm comfortable speaking about in a public forum right now. I may start writing a book in the late fall as well, although I'm going to try and sell it before I do the grunt work.

Anyway, here are some goodbye links:

Woman admits to murder of daughter. This story has been on the news non-stop for a few weeks now. Totally warped lady murdered two children, including her own daughter, whom she felt was "annoying."

Tokyo Toy Fair. Happened this past weekend in Tokyo, and included some truly cool toys.

Youtube: Now featuring TOTAL SHIT. BTW, it's funny to note that this guy looks like every fat "art" girl I went to school with.

The Japan Times doesn't know metal.

Japan times review of "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey."

My response to this article, mailed today, is below:

I feel obligated to write you and inform you that I found Giovanni Fazio's "review" of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey to be poorly conceived, poorly written, and overly-dismissive of an entire sub-culture.

Flatly put: I don't think Fazio knows what he's talking about, and his insistence on insulting music that I care about is condescending and incommensurate with his duties as a journalist. Just review the film, OK?

From his pronouncements on anthropological distance for the sake of study (laughable) to his disturbing lack of insight about metal and underground music ritual, it seems Fazio was more interested in talking about what he thinks of metal more than reviewing a flick.

"The metal subculture -- and many others -- ultimately propagates a lie: take me as I am, it insists, an outsider; accept me for my uniqueness and difference. But in the end, metal offers more of the same: conformity, and a more rigid and narrow conformity than most. The film's scenes of crowds at metal shows, uniformly clad in black resemble the mass conformity of fascism more than any individuality."

Is this guy a socio-political doctoral candidate or a movie reviewer? Fazio mentions both fascism and conformity without expressing any knowledge of the intricate and varied nature of metal music or show ritual. He also seeks individuality during a defined group ritual, which is like me going to mass and screaming "WHERE THE LADIES AT?"

The trappings of "fascism" exist anywhere with group rituals... don't get hung up because you saw a bunch of black tshirts.

"When so much of the style is obsessed with Satan, death and occult imagery it can't really complain about being demonized."

Really? Does Napalm Death 20 plus year decryal of late-stage capitalism or Carcass' appeal to vegetarians have anything to do with Iron Maiden's operatic fantasies? Does Godflesh's maudlin obsession with decay and broken dreams have anything to do with Slayer's adrenaline-fueled descriptions of transgression and hell?

Oh man. It is OVER

I did not hear things wrong when I was last in Family Mart.

Dr. Pepper is now available at Family Marts in Kumamoto.

My plans for the next two weeks include gaining about 30 pounds and chattering my teeth.

Awesome.