Slippery When Wet...

Papa is grumpy today. Lewis Hamilton won the very wet Japan F1 Grand Prix. He is now 12 points ahead of Fernando Alonso in the driver's championship because Alonso crashed and was unable to finish the race so he didn't score any points. It will take a miracle and some really bad luck for Hamilton in order for Alonso to catch up now. But on the bright side, it certainly was an exciting race, once it actually started (the first 19 laps were done behind the safety car as the rain refused to abate), and was probably one of the best of the season. The conditions were extremely wet and it was questionable whether or not they should even have been racing due to the downpour that made it very dangerous to be going 300+ kph.

Kimi Raikkonen had a bad day. The Ferrari team started the race on standard rain tires but were told after the race had started that super wet tires were mandatory so they had to switch tires or face a penalty. This tire change put Raikkonen near the back of the field instead of 3rd place where he started. Apparently the race stewards forgot to tell the Ferrari team in a timely manner that the super wets were mandatory. Even with that mistake, Kimi was able to finish in 3rd position and team mate Felipe Massa crossed the line in 6th after the early tire change also put him near the back of the field.

Although the race stewards mandated super wet tires and Ferrari claims that they didn't know until after the race started, it took a supreme moron on the Ferrari team to go with the standard wet tires in the first place. I mean, it was pouring down rain in buckets and it shouldn't take anything more than an epsilon semi-moron to know that super wet tires were required. No matter what the Ferrari team says about being informed late of the rule, they are idiots for not thinking of using super wets to begin with. That's the difference between winners and losers.....and epsilon semi-morons...we are huge Raikkonen fans but the Ferrari team makes it hard to root for him...

And Hamilton got lucky...again...that guy must have a ton of horse shoes up his butt because he has more luck than anyone. While every other driver has had their share of ups and downs this season, Hamilton seems to always have only good luck. Papa says that people make their own luck so Hamilton is good because one can't be lucky without being good to begin with, but what is amazing is that even the luckiest people in the world have a bad day or 2...except Hamilton...papa still doesn't like him. According to papa, he's an arrogant punk...whatever the heck that is...I just think he is someone who will do anything to win, even if that means compromising his integrity as he did in Hungary. His philosophy is "anything to win". I agree with papa...Hamilton is a punk...and he shows that losers can be winners...for a short moment in time...like Barry Bonds...

Odds and Ends...

It was a sad week in Japan. Video journalist Kenji Nagai was shot on Thursday while covering the violence in Myanmar (Burma). He often traveled to hot spots around the world to get the truth and convey it to the world. And since there is no oil or riches in Myanmar, I'm sure it will take time for the US and UN to do anything...after all, what's in it for them...

Today, mama and papa went to Costco. They finally got their own membership instead of borrowing their friends'. They came home with so much stuff, very little of which was for me :-( Now they don't know what to do with everything they bought. Costco was meant for people with big homes...and that excludes pretty much all of Japan. In any case, mama and papa are doing a pretty good job of re-arranging the stuff we already have to make space for the new things that they bought today. They also got a delicious looking rotisserie chicken for dinner but do you think I got any??? Of course not!!! I begged and begged for some but was denied :-(

The weather was in the low 30's this past week but suddenly dropped to the low 20's today. Papa likes the cooler weather.

Tomorrow is the Japan F1 Grand Prix. It looks like it will rain which may make it easier for some of the weaker teams to keep pace with the faster cars. The race will be at the Fuji Speedway this year after a 30 year hiatus. We're still keeping faith in Kimi Raikkonen. He'll start from 3rd position on the grid just behind Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Kimi still has an outside chance at the driver's championship this year, but if he can't pull it off in the remaining 3 races, we would prefer that Alonso win over Hamilton. Papa can't stand Lewis Hamilton.

Crawled under the blanket after a tough day at the dog run...

Just about ready for bed now...

Didn't quite make it to bed...oh well, this is a better place to sleep anyhow :-)

Long Weekend...

This weekend was another long weekend in Japan. Another one of those made-up holidays that are prevalent in this country. Today (Monday) was a holiday to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox...

In any case, I love long weekends because mama and papa can spend more time with me and we can take day trips to fun places. Unfortunately, on Sunday mama had to work because her office is moving to a new building so she had to go to the new building for a few hours to check her computer and make sure everything was OK at the new office. Papa took me to Komazawa dog run to play while mama was at work. I met a Jack Russell Terrier who was not very nice. He had a ball that I wanted to play with and he wouldn't give it to me. Sometimes, he would walk over to me with the ball and drop it in front of me. Just when I went to grab it, he would snatch it and run away laughing. I hate that!!! I'm the only one allowed to do that sort of thing! I guess now I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of being teased. Not that I care because I will keep on doing it to the other dogs :-)

And then I found a Golden Retriever to play with. I ran around him, barking and jumping on him, and when he got upset and chased me, I went and hid behind papa. The the Golden Retriever would walk away and so I would go and tease him again and then hide behind papa...it's nice to have papa around sometimes.

Today, mama and papa took me to Yoyogi Park dog run. I had a lot of fun again, but I am so tired and sleepy now. There were quite a few big dogs there who chased me around, and a stupid Italian Grey Hound who was jumping on me. I hate those skinny little wimpy dogs. They look anorexic. Papa said I should kick his butt, but it's not worth my time. Besides, there was a Border Collie there who was protecting me. I love those dogs! He kept barking at the skinny Italian Grey Hound and saying such nasty things that I can't even repeat it in English :-)

Sony Bites

Papa got an email yesterday from Sony stating that they are shutting down their ImageStation site for online photo albums. Sony sucks. Mama and papa have so many photo albums on Sony ImageStation which they have shared with family and friends for so long. Now they have to move or delete the photo albums...it's like moving and deleting memories. Of course, why should Sony care about the inconvenience they cause to their customers? As long as they can make a ton of money...

Actually, papa knows it's his own fault for ever using a Sony product in the first place. Sony always uses proprietary software and hardware in all their products which is the reason papa hasn't bought anything from Sony for about 5 years. They are incompatible with other products from manufacturers who use industry standards. Papa realizes now that he was silly to trust Sony with even a trivial thing like an online photo album. Sony continues to disappoint customers and themselves. They practically wrote the book on portable music with the Walkman but look at them now. iPods are king and I can't even remember the last time I saw a Sony portable music player. And then there is the hugely mismanaged gaming machine. Playstation used to be good but now Sony is getting it's butt kicked by the Nintendo Wii. Par for the course for Sony. Good ideas but lack of execution and no stamina. Losers. I wouldn't be surprised if they offer a job to George W....and let's not even talk about the Betamax...Akio Morita must be spinning at 10,000 rpm in his grave...

Today we went to the Komazawa dog run! As you can see in the picture on the right, I was a little freaked out. I think I saw a ghost dog. Look at the left side of the picture on the left...what the heck is that??? It looks like an apparition to me. And the poor puppy in the middle of the photo is so freaked out that he is shaking like a jackhammer.


The dog run was open well into the evening even though it says that they close at sundown. I had a great time running with the big dogs. I hung out with a few black Labs and Golden Retrievers (they're only slightly bigger than me so it was fun), and I even chased a few stupid poodles around for fun. If I've said it once, I've said it once...man, are they ever yappy. They give me a headache. There were a few other JRTs as well. One of them was the smallest JRT I've ever seen. She was wearing a pink shirt. I thought she was a cross between a JRT and a mouse...

The other JRT I met was pretty cool. I wasn't really down with his military issue shirt, but other than that, he was almost as good looking as me...almost... :-) Mama and papa assured me that I am much cuter and better looking than him. And since I trust mama and papa so much, I know they are right.

The Great Outdoors

Mama and papa took me to Karuizawa last weekend. Unfortunately, it was a long weekend (Monday was Respect for the Aged Day...or "Respect for my Papa Day" as I like to call it) and so it took us 4 and a half hours to drive there. We went there to meet our friends and I finally got to meet Gin-chan (see the link in "My favorite links"). We had lunch at a place called Dog Dept Cafe where there was also a small dog run for us to play while we waited for a table.



Everyone had a hamburger for lunch while I had sasami and rice...

After lunch, we went to a really big dog run. We had the whole place to ourselves!!!

Playing with Gin-chan!!!





On Sunday, mama's parents and aunt & uncle came over for a BBQ! It was to celebrate the birthdays of papa and mama's papa. They opened a $200 bottle of wine from Napa Valley and ate dinner on the roof balcony. I even got to eat my dinner on the roof balcony with them! Papa brined the pork and chicken for 24 hours before the BBQ so it was juicy and tender. They also had some sirloin steak and sanma (Mackerel Pike) which is in season now. I was hanging around the table hoping for some scraps to come my way but no such luck...mama and papa think I'm fat and won't give me any of their delicious food that I really want.

And on a final note (politics...sorry to papa's sister in Canada...), we were very pleased to hear that Prime Minister Abe has finally done the right thing and stepped down. It only took a truck load of bricks to fall on his head for him to figure out that his time was up. After a series of gaffes that rival George W., PM Abe did what he should have done months ago. Hopefully now we can get some real leadership, and preferably not the LDP. Contrary to their party name (Liberal Democratic Party), they are actually a conservative party. We hope that the Democratic Party of Japan (a social liberal party) can get elected and effect some positive change for Japan.

Beach Dog

I've been advised anonymously (by papa's sister in Canada) that I follow politics too closely and that I should get a life. It'll be a lot easier when the gaffe-master, George W., and the knuck-head, PM Abe, do us all a favour and leave office. But in the meantime, to take our minds off of the jokers who (poorly) run the 2 biggest economies in the world, we went to Chigasaki for a BBQ yesterday with mama's friends. It's a beach on the Pacific Ocean about an hour and a half by car from Tokyo. It was a blast!!! I love the ocean! I ran and splashed around in the water with papa. I was covered in sand and completely soaked by the time we finished. I guess that's what happens when you roll around in the water and lounge on the beach.

My first taste of the salty ocean water!

What the heck is that out on the water? Ahoy there...you, in the boat!!! Don't make me swim out there to play...

Debating whether or not to swim after the dude in the boat...can't see if he has puppy treats or not...

Mama's artistic Baywatch-type photo...
or a camera malfunction...

Where's my groomer when I need her??? Hey, you, over there with the nose ring and pink hair, can I borrow your blow dryer? I seem to be having a bad hair day...not as bad as yours, but...

Taking the sticks home after shredding the last ankle busters of the day...my cousins in Cali would love this place!!!

APEC? OPEC? Australia? Austria? What's the difference???

My buddy George W. had a bit of a bad day yesterday at the APEC summit in Sydney. He started by thanking Australian Prime Minister John Howard for being such a fine host for the "OPEC summit"...oops...wait a minute...neither Australia nor the US are members of the cartel of 12 major oil producers. But to George W., who cares? Same difference...right??? He went on to talk about the Australian Prime Minister's visit to Iraq last year to thank the "Austrian troops". Hmmmmm...nice of the Australian Prime Minister to go all the way to Iraq to thank Austrian troops...does Austria even have troops there??? Oh well, what the heck...Australia? Austria? Same thing...right? Besides, Miss Teen South Carolina has already taught us about the state of education in the US and how difficult it is for "US Americans" to read maps...especially since some of them don't have any...

Apparently, Sydney has put in place the tightest security measures in the history of the APEC summit...or "OPEC summit" as George W. likes to call it.

I say "apparently" because, despite those measures, and an eye-popping spend of $24 million dollars per day on security, it was a little disturbing to hear that 11 members of an Australian comedy show were arrested Thursday after duping APEC officials with a fake Canadian motorcade, and getting through 2 security check points carrying an actor dressed up as Osama bin Laden.

The motorcade got within metres of the InterContinental Hotel where George W. was staying. It was only stopped because they had gotten so much further than expected (they thought that they would be stopped at the first security check point) and were about to enter the restricted zone so they decided on their own to turn around. This suspicious move prompted police to stop them.

The show, "The Chaser's War on Everything" is an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) program. The stunt was obviously meant as a joke, but David Campbell, the New South Wales police chief, was less than amused. "I don't see a funny side to what's happened today at all," he told reporters as he wiped the egg off his face. Obviously he's upset and will probably make sure charges are pressed against the comedy troop because they made him look like an incompetent moron (which he probably is) and will feel the need to seek retribution to try to preserve whatever shreds of non-existent self-respect he thinks he may still have.

On the other hand, Alexander Downer, the Australian Foreign Minister, acknowledged that the show's prank caused no harm...some of the police at the scene were seen laughing, even as they arrested the Australian comedians...

2 thumbs up to the incredible team of insecurity unprofessionals protecting George W. at the OPEC, oops, APEC summit in Austria...or Australia...or somewhere...

Apologies to my American cousins but...

We were watching TV tonight and there was a really funny program on called "Baka-demy Awards" (baka means "stupid" in Japanese). The Baka-demy Awards were dedicated to the very, very dumbest things people have ever done, some even captured on film.

There was an American woman whose friend showed her three fake 1 million dollar bills, but his lady thought they were real so she stole them from the friend and went grocery shopping. She bought about $150 dollars worth of goods and then tried to pay with a 1 million dollar bill, demanding her change from the cashier. Obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer...I guess she can study and improve her level of education for the next 2 years that she spends in the slammer.

Then there was the bank robber who covered himself with real tree branches with leaves when he held up the bank. The police said that if the thief had strapped 1 more branch to himself, he may have gotten away with it...

My personal favorite was the window washer who, as he was lowering himself on a rope down the side of the building, slipped and almost fell because his partner hadn't secured the rope. He managed to hold on to the rope and was hanging on for dear life. As he desperately struggled to hold on and climb up the rope to safety, the camera, probably from a helicopter, panned out to a wider angle, and we see this poor guy's partner on the roof of the building with his shirt off sunbathing. He was sleeping and completely oblivious to his partner's predicament!!!

Papa said about the program, "Kono bangumi wa America no teikyo de okuri shimasu" (this program was brought to you by the United States of America) and thought it was amusing that pretty much every video and story was from the US.

Papa has family and good friends who are American so sometimes he feels guilty about making fun of them. Actually, that should be past tense...he felt guilty about making fun of them. Then he saw Miss Teen South Carolina and everything he ever thought about the American education system was confirmed...

Feel free to flame me or get upset about my America bashing, but unless you can explain what the heck Miss Teen South Carolina was trying to get at, you really have no right to criticize me and I am not prepared to listen...for all we know, she could be the smartest teen among the "U.S. Americans"...or perhaps she was speaking in code, "like such as they do in the Iraq, such as...". Of course, the real answer to the question she was asked is that many U.S. Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map because the United States is so obviously the centre of the universe so who needs a map when everything else revolves around them...like, such as...

110 Jacks...

Say hello to my little friend(s)...

Mama and papa got me 2 new friends from Ikea a few weeks ago and amazingly, I have not killed them yet despite my best efforts. They are actually very well made. I tear at them, throw them, bite them, play tug-o-war with them and yet they are both still in one piece. No toy has ever endured this kind of punishment until now. Papa says I play like a girl and I'm losing my touch but hey, when I am playing tug-o-war, guess who's on the other side. My personal feeling is that the old man isn't pulling hard enough and of course, I don't want to pull too hard in case he dislocates something.

Today was the last day of obedience school for me. I am now a graduate of Canine Unlimited. I had quite a lot of fun over the past 8 months at the school. I am obviously so much smarter now than I was when I started, but papa still calls me "baka", whatever the heck that means. It must be another word for "genius". I sure will miss the friends I made at school but they have special classes sometimes that mama and papa said they will sign me up for.

After school today, mama and papa drove us to Grandberry Mall in Machida to join a Jack Russell Terrier event. It was crazy! I've never seen so many JRTs!!! There were 110 of us running around and playing. We also had a race. I was the 30th JRT to race and was in 5th place at the time but I think there were much faster JRTs who went after me. We went shopping after I ran so we didn't see the end of the races. So much for papa's theory that I am fat. And if papa had a better race strategy, I would easily have been in 1st place. The eventual winner was probably only about 1 second faster than me. Papa said, "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game", but that sounds to me like something losers say... I don't think it matters if you win or lose, as long as you win...and win big!

Enjoying the view from the roof balcony

Until it started to rain...

Mama...help!!!