Tom Waits and Cookie Monster

Tom Waits and Cookie Monster

Hot Music Videos

I'm still on a pretty strong Grizzly Bear kick at the moment (click here for my last post about them). I just love it when bands (and their labels) make it easy for you to obsess over them by posting lots of freely viewable and embeddable videos online.

And Grizzly Bear is a good example of this. You can find their music videos and other random performances on video sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. By the way, after you watch the official Grizzly Bear video for their hit "Two Weeks", go ahead and watch this fan video as well. Ho. Lee. Crap.

On to my newest discovery, this time from a band called OK Go. They just released an absolutely ridiculous video for their song "This Too Shall Pass" that simply entertains, amazes, and brings you back to your high school science class days all at the same time.

Without further ado:



Most of the videos mentioned above are available in HD (high definition), so if you'd like to see better quality versions, they shouldn't be hard to find.

And a quick hint for any record label execs who happen across this blog for some strange reason: this type of thing makes me buy CDs, write about what I paid money for, and generally become passionate about your product. If I can't embed the videos that I like in my own site and share my interests with others, guess what? I'm not going to pay money for the stuff that you're flogging.

Hot Music Videos

Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks"

An amazing song by an amazing band. Grizzly Bear have my undivided attention at the moment.

Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks"

Japan Booze Blind on "Japan Eats"

The Beaujolais Nouveau just hit shelves a week ago, and the reaction was pretty muted compared too years past. On the left is a photo from my local supermarket, Seiyu, where all the expensive wine was deserving of in terms of presentation was a big unused cooler with an island made from a red, felt-covered box.

There's a write-up on this phenomenon and how it pertains to Japan here, and since we're talking about alcohol anyway, let me take a moment to pimp a project that I'm working on right now.

"Japan Eats" is a new website that tries to introduce a wider audience to Japan's varied culinary and alcoholic delights. I host a show on the site called Japan Booze Blind in which blind tastings are used as an excuse for drinking alcohol early in the morning.

The site just officially went live today, so please stop by and check it out.

Japan Booze Blind on "Japan Eats"

Ricky Roma Wins!

I'm very happy to report that Ricky Roma (Justin Berti) won a very tight contest in the Mr. Latin category of the Harlequin modeling contest!

He has already commenced his duties as "Mr. Latin", and I know that he's already been to a couple of events to help promote the Harlequin brand.

I'd like to thank everyone who voted on his behalf, and I'm sure that Ricky will second the "thanks" if he ever happens upon this post.

Ricky Roma Wins!

Yo-yo Genius

This kid is good.

Yo-yo Genius

Office Manners

I'm probably a little late with this, but this is my kind of humor.

Apologies if you've seen it before, but I'm sure you won't mind seeing it again.

Office Manners

Not Work Safe, But Good

I watched this clip over at The Marmot's Hole this morning.

Don't watch it at work, or if you have an intense aversion to the f-word, but director Uwe Boll has something to say, and you should listen.

Not Work Safe, But Good

Streaker Taken Out by Australian Cricket Batsman

Australian cricket batsman, Andrew Symonds, puts an end to a 26-year-old streaker's run during a match versus India.

The streaker, Robert Murray David Ogilvie, was fined $1,500 for his foray onto the cricket field.

Update: the new video is in slow-motion so it's a little easier to follow.

Streaker Taken Out by Australian Cricket Batsman

Look What Somebody Sent Me!

I have no idea how long this clip will stay up on YouTube, but I show up briefly in the middle of this. It's from a (reasonably) popular drama from 2007 in which I played one of the main actress' angry boyfriend.

Look What Somebody Sent Me!

Thai Kickboxing

This is a clip of my buddy, Christophe Mertens, fighting in Cambodia earlier this year.

His next fight is scheduled for next month in Thailand.

Thai Kickboxing

This Caught my Attention

This Caught my Attention

Craziest Last-Second-Play Ever

I think I counted 15 laterals in there.

Craziest Last-Second-Play Ever

Dave's Dance

Dave and his swallow do a little dance while Scott and Sarah provide relief and song.

PS. Yes, the quality is still crappy. Feel free to buy me a new phone anytime.

Dave's Dance

Rush Hour 3

Well, it was mercifully short.

By my watch the film was over in about 85 minutes, give or take (not including the credits or the 15 minutes of ads that preceded it). An hour and 25 minutes is just enough time, apparently, to recycle all of the material from the first two Rush Hour installments.

Parts are entertaining, but Rush Hour 3 is basically the same fight involving the same people in a new setting (Paris). The once comical chemistry between Chan and Tucker has passed its sell-by date (think Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in the final Lethal Weapon), and we should all hope that the owners of the Rush Hour franchise quit while they're ahead (ahead?).


A grown up version of Soo Yung and her father, Ambassador Han, return to the fold, and Max Von Sydow (playing Reynard) takes a turn as the fatherly aristocrat. Hiroyuki Sanada (as Kenji) and Yuki Kudoh (as Jasmine) give Japan a substantial presence in Rush Hour 3. By the way, good work on the Japanese, Jackie! You sounded great!



The show is stolen by French taxi driver, George (played by Yvan Attal), who deftly transforms from anti-American pacifist to blood-thirsty, Starbucks-swilling, "super-spy" chauffeur. The chase scenes involving George's taxi and the never-far-behind-Parisian-Triads are good fun.



Other than that, director Roman Polanski makes an appearance as a body-cavity-searching French detective.

I'm going to have to agree with everyone else when they say, "meh", on this one. While I enjoyed the experience as a whole (partly due to the fact that draft beer is on sale at the snack counter at Toho Cinemas in Roppongi), I recommend holding off until the DVD release. And then you should wait until somebody else buys it and borrow it from them.



One of the trailers.

Rush Hour 3

Dancing

Click here to watch some crazy dancing by a troupe of elementary school girls who were featured on "Japanese Kids Got Talent".

Dancing

First Shot at Video-Blogging

Update 2: The first video was removed because the quality was crap. Please have a look at the video down below.

This is kind of a test. I want to see what kind of sound and video quality are possible here. I also would like to test the potential of my phone's video camera when at it's lowest quality setting.

Anyway, I went to visit Ken and Miyuki at their beautiful place near Yoga station, and then we all headed down to the river for the fireworks show. It was my third one this summer, and I think it was probably the best of the three.

This video was taken toward the end of the show.

How did it look on your computer? Sound?

Update 1:

OK, if you haven't watched that first one, then you're lucky. It didn't go well. The video below was taken at a higher quality setting (on my phone). It looks OK in Quicktime, but (again) it might not work that well when Blogger messes with it.

This is a clip from the Awaodori Festival in Koenji this past weekend.

Please let me know how it looks on your computer.

Hint: Turn the volume (lower right corner) way down!

First Shot at Video-Blogging

New TV Commercial

This is a still from a TV commercial I shot this past spring.

The man in front is none other than Koji Yakusho. His most recent Hollywood roles were in Memoirs of a Geisha and Babel.

Mr. Yakusho is an incredibly talented actor, and a very warm-hearted man to boot.

New TV Commercial

NEC Soccer Team

Here's another acting job (click the "play" button on the left) that I did recently. I show up, very briefly, in the middle of this web advertisement. Not all that exciting, but it's actually an OK-sized job due to the print ad campaign that is supporting it.

NEC Soccer Team

The Landlord

Nastiest landlord ever!

The Landlord