Jamaipanese

Photos from Black River Jamaica

Jamaipanese — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:27:52 +0000

For over a year and a half now I have been linking with and going on monthly trips all over Jamaica with a local photography group I met via Flickr. I’ve posted updates from my adventures on the trip in the past on my photoblog and three of the four videos on my Youtube channel are from some of the trips I’ve been on. I have learned so much from friends that attend these monthly linkups which range from hobby photographers taking the opportunity to travel to areas of Jamaica they haven’t been, to professional photographers who make all or a big chunk of their income from photography. With photography exploits being realigned I have decided to make more photography related posts here, hopefully they will be well received.

A Rasta guide, 2 tourists and a dog in a boat named “Di Evil Tings” o_O

About Black River Jamaica

The Black River is the second longest river in Jamaica at a length of 53.4km. Its name refers to the darkness of the river bed caused by thick layers of decomposing vegetation. The Lower Morass consists of shallow estuaries, marshland and mangrove swamps providing a rich ecological environment for a broad range of fish, birds and other creatures including crocodiles, lobsters, mangrove snappers, snook and mullet. Here the river is joined by the YS river making the Lower Morass the largest (14,085 acres) swamp environment in the Caribbean. The area surrounding where the river meets the Caribbean Sea is a town that shares the name Black River which was established in the early 1600s.

I can’t stop admiring how white this fellow’s teeth are

One of my favourite shots of the day looking north towards the Cockpit Country

Craft items on sale for visitors from out of town or overseas

An egret looking for bugs and other things to eat

View south to the Caribbean Sea

Basking in the sun and showing off his blood stained teeth

I learned so much about the importance of mangroves on the tour

An Old beached ship that has been decaying for years

You are taking a nice swim one day to escape the summer heat and the fellow above pulls up beside you, what do you do?

In Jamaica, reading this and have an interest in photography or traveling all over the island? Click here to visit and join the One Love Jamaica West Indies group on Flickr. The next trip is planned for February 21, 2010 when we will be going to St Thomas.

Resources and Links

Black River – Jamaica National Heritage Trust
Black River – Wikipedia
Black River – Google Maps

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‘Rise Again’ – Haiti Relief Song Music Video

Jamaipanese — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:10:57 +0000

It has been less that a month since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti and devastating the capital city of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. An estimated 200,000 people were killed in the main tremor and dozens of powerful aftershocks. The Presidential palace, Parliament and many other important structures were destroyed, along with countless homes and businesses. Jamaica is one of Haiti’s closest neighbors and locally there has been a huge outpouring of aid, assistance and support.

Local telecommunications firm Digicel has been spearheading efforts to assist the people of Haiti. Personally I have donated money and a couple cases of water via the government office I work for that went towards helping with Haiti cope with the devastation. The tear jerking video embedded above was done to raise money to provide further assistance to the people of Haiti, the music track is available for download on iTunes for 99 cents and all proceeds go to the Digicel Haiti Relief Fund, no matter where you are in the world please consider purchasing it as every dollar counts.

This Caribbean collaboration features international stars Shaggy; Sean Paul and Sean Kingston; Barbadian Soca Artiste, Alison Hinds; Trinidadian Soca Artistes, David Rudder and Destra Garcia; Jamaican reggae artistes, Tessanne Chin and Etana; Haitian artiste Belo and many more. The video was directed by Jay Will.

Digicel Press Release

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JR Yamanote Line Departing Melody Keychains

Jamaipanese — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:58:09 +0000

My love for Japanese trains has been slowly growing over the years. With such a sophisticated railway network one of the main things I’m looking forward to when I get to Japan is taking the train for the first time. I took the subway in New York when I was there in mid 2008 and I still have my metrocard as a keepsake. I’m imagining a train ride in Japan to be 10 times the fun and the Yamanote line is easily my favorite line.

I was lucky enough to have a couple keychains mailed to me from Japan by a friend which play the departing melody for a couple stations on the Yamanote line when pressed. I got the melodies for 5 of the stations: Ikebukuro, Harajuku, Shibuya, Akihabara and of course Tokyo station. Pictures of each can be seen below as well as a recordings I made of each of the melodies for each station. Email and RSS readers please click here to listen to the melodies embedded below each picture and vote in the poll below.

Kanji Lesson

An extra benefit from acquiring these keychains is being able to recognize and learn the Kanji for some place names in Tokyo as not only the main station name are shown but also the adjoining stations as well! The hiragana reading also accompany them for easy reference and pronunciation help.

Tokyo – 東京 – とうきょう [Audio clip embedded: please view full post to listen]

Shibuya – 渋谷 – しぶや [Audio clip embedded: please view full post to listen]

Ikebukuro – 池袋 – いけぶくろ [Audio clip embedded: please view full post to listen]

Harajuku – 原宿 – はらじゅく [Audio clip embedded: please view full post to listen]

Akihabara – 秋葉原 – あきはばら [Audio clip embedded: please view full post to listen]

…and the girliest of them all is?

My girlfriend confiscated one of the keychains not long after they arrived, she wanted two but I threatened to send my panda poken to attack her if she took more than one. After explaining what each area was popular for can you guess which one she “borrowed” to keep her Nagi Nendoroid’s company? Hint – of the five areas it’s the most girly of them all. Leave your answer in a comment below and if you can’t guess which one she took you can always just vote on the one whose melody sounds the best or has the better looking kanji.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Selective Gaming and Photography Level-up

Jamaipanese — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:55:16 +0000

It’s funny how life changes but often you end up right back where you started. The circle has always been a favourite shape of mine because of it’s prominence in space but who thought that two years after launching spinoff blogs for my photography and video gaming exploits They’d end up returning home to Jamaipanese.com.

It’s not only as it relates to blogging, gaming and photography, I’ve been retuning and analyzing how I spend my time lately as I try to make the most of my time and focus on certain major goals. I’ve been reaping a lot of success in that regard with just one month of 2010 gone but if only I could remember that proverb that talks about spreading yourself too thin or focusing on too many things but in the end not getting anything done or doing none of them well.

Happy gaming days playing Bioshock a couple years ago

Jamaipanese the Gamer

I wrote about the death of my video game blog not long ago. I must be getting old as I don’t have as much free time as I used to with work, school, blogging and keeping my hunger for all things Japanese in check not to mention other commitments. Plans to get a PS3 were superseded by Operation Visit Japan and building a super powerful gaming computer failed to materialize. A couple years ago I was a video game machine, playing the latest and the best game, entering tournaments and investing dozens of hours a month fragging friends, scoring goals, racking up points, exploring distant planets, hunting zombies, shifting gears and rescuing princesses. Those days are long gone and lately my gaming has been seasonal, it slows to trickle during regular days and picks up slightly during holidays or when I get time off from school or work. I hate doing things half halfheartedly and it didn’t make much sense having a video game blog if I couldn’t keep up with what was happening especially nowadays when it seems like there is a big video game release every other weekend. So its awkward to announce it but the reality is that I am no longer a hardcore gamer but more like a selective one, no longer being able to play dozens of games a year as soon as they are released but now deciding to pick up a few favourites every now and again that I can play through properly and enjoy while at the same time linking up with friends every now and again to remind them I’m still a gaming demigod.

Discarded posts and spam comments are fed to this fellow
more about him in the first photography themed post

Jamaipanese the Photographer

As it relates to my photography blog I am not turning over possession to the grim reaper but somewhat taking it to the next level. I’ve spent the last 2 years developing my photography and gaining experience, but while I don’t think I am anywhere as skilled as some of my mentors I’ve been urged to remove the amateur label from my work and go semi professional. I have been earning a little from selling prints with the odd photo job here and there with many more offered that I have to refuse due to only having an incapable prosumer point and shoot camera. A little birdie told me that I might be getting help to acquire a DSLR soon, first one on loan for testing later this month and then maybe a brand spanking new entry level one this summer if family abroad decide to send me that plane ticket *crosses fingers*. The plan is to professionalize my photography website and start taking steps to earn from this hobby, but first I’ll need to learn more especially on the software editing side of things. The benefits for you guys is that from time to time I will post about my photographic adventures here especially those related to a monthly trip I go on with local photography enthusiasts I met through Flickr which might have me popping up anywhere in Jamaica with my camera in hand. That should offer more insight into my life in Jamaica while not diverging too far from the main topics of this blog.

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Jamaipanese.com turns 4 today

Jamaipanese — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:42:35 +0000

Believe it or not it’s been 4 full years since I started blogging at Jamaipanese.com, it’s hard for me to believe but it’s true as in the blink of an idea my geek repository has now become an integral part of my life. Blogging continues to be loads of fun and my posts especially over the last year has been a joy to write. The blog has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year and I continue to meet awesome people who share my interests in Japan, technology, video games, anime and more almost everyday.

Swinging from branches is fun, you should try it, ……seriously, you should.

A Year filled with Milestones

Looking back on my 3rd anniversary post and some of the goals I set for myself I am glad I was able to achieve most of them. The most important of which was to kick off my plans for visiting Japan which was detailed through Operation Visit Japan. In case you missed out on some of my posts or you are new to the blog please check out the archives for a monthly list of my posts. Some of my favorites over the past year include – Full Scale Gundam in Tokyo Complete, Japan an Illustrated History, My awesome Yoko Littner Figure, All Hail the Ginyu Force, 5 Amazing Japanese Robots and of course the January 2010 report for Operation Visit Japan and the new All Hail Japan podcast project aimed at fellow Japan enthusiasts.

While drafting this 4th anniversary post I realized there had been
exactly 4444 approved comments on Jamaipanese.com

Visitor Statistics Overview

Google analytics reported that visitors to Jamaipanese.com more than doubled to just under 200, 000 visitors for the January 2009 to January 2010 period with Clicky reporting 220,000 for the same period. Many more popular blogs get than many visitors in a day but I’m still very proud. Anime related posts, My mostly Gundam Figures and a pair of Usain Bolt Arms were some of the popular entries over the past year, for more popular posts check out my top 10 popular posts from 2009. Not surprisingly Firefox remains king with my visitors with Internet Explorer a distant second and newish kid on the browser block Google Chrome taking over third.

My L Nendoroid figure continues to be a big fan of my blog

Looking to the future

Without a doubt saving towards and achieving the goal of visiting Japan in mid 2011 is one of my most important goals for the next year and if all goes as planned next year this time I’ll be counting down the days ’til I’ll be in Japan! I continue to thank all my friends, family, visitors and well wishers for your support and entertaining my Japan obsession. Cheers and here’s to another great year for Jamaipanese.com.

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Metroid Other M Japan Website

Jamaipanese — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:09:55 +0000

Long before all my various flings and marriages to anime girls like Teresa, Yoko and Balsa there was only one virtual girl in my life and her name was Samus Aran. I had a Samus fansite even before this blog and up to this day I doubt I have spent as much time on one single game as I have done with Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo.

Fast forward to the present past the Metroid Prime trilogy for the Gamecube and Wii and you have my most anticipated game of the year. No it’s not Final Fantasy XIII, no it’s not Bioshock 2 not even the upcoming Call of Duty, my most anticipated video game of 2010 is certainly Metroid Other M and I am barely holding back the geekgasms thinking about how awesome this game should be when it gets released for the Nintendo Wii later this year.

Metroid Other M trailer from E3 2009, what will E3 2010 hold?

My Samus stalking has revealed that a teaser Japanese website for Metroid Other M went live recently and I have been listening to the voice of someone who seems to be Samus as well as the awesome background music while going through the ultra simple website for any clues about the game. The game is expected to be released this Summer in Japan and the Autumn for us in the west, saying I can’t wait would be an understatement, in the mean time I’ll have to make due with looking at some Samus Aran Cosplay.

Check out the Metroid Other M teaser site at Metroid.jp

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All Hail Japan Podcast

Jamaipanese — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:33:27 +0000

A few years ago I had the idea to add a podcast for this blog that would be an extension of the topics covered on this blog, but the idea fell through after recording the first episode as I thought at the time that such a show probably wouldn’t work and quite frankly I had no idea what I was doing and it sucked. Fast forward to now and I have revisited the podcast idea and for the past month has been playing with the idea of creating a podcast. With the help of fellow Japan enthusiast Buddy Lindsey from DumbOtaku.com we have created what we hope will be the most awesome podcast in the world, and it’s name is All Hail Japan!

But just what is All Hail Japan about? The All Hail Japan podcast is a monthly audio show started in January 2010 that focuses entirely on Japan and related topics. Japan is a very interesting topic idea as it allows the show to select from a large cross section of topics such as anime, history, news, music, manga, dramas, technology, science, video games, J-blogging, food, drink, culture and anything related to or influenced by Japan.

How All Hail Japan was born

Last year I had the opportunity to be the the Anime 3000 Podcast. The topic on that episode was “Twitter” and on that show we discussed many things related to the anime community and networking on the social networking site. Since then I have been in contact with Sean Russel who is the host of Anime 3000 who was supportive and provided me with advice and resources on how to do a podcast. After months of procrastinating I ran into DumbOtaku online and causally mentioned creating a podcast and he was very interested. A couple weeks of discussion, planning and brainstorming and now All Hail Japan is born.

The first show

The first show was more an introductory episode which aims to introduce the hosts and provide an overview of what to expect in the upcoming episodes. We have a lot planned and hope the All Hail Japan podcast will be useful to fans of Japan. Check out the All Hail Japan website @ AllHailJapan.com, follow @allhailJapan on twitter or become a fan on Facebook, subscribe via RSS or iTunes and give the first episode a listen. We welcome your feedback and advice…. say it with me… All Hail Japan!

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Operation Visit Japan – January 2010 Report

Jamaipanese — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:45:43 +0000

Operation Visit Japan was announced earlier this month but was in the planning stage for over a year. Since announcing the plan there were a few last minute details that needed to polished and I can now provide the first monthly report that will keep my readers, family, supporters and friends up to date as I save towards visiting Japan in mid 2011.

Opening new bank Accounts, beating back credit card debt, resisting the urge to buy a smartphone or a PS3, school fee payments, getting rid of unnecessary expenses and putting into play new money management activities are some of what I have been doing over the past 3 or so months to lay the foundation for Operation Visit Japan.

January 2010 Report

The goal is us$3000 – $1400 for plane tickets $500 for a 14 day rail pass $800 for accommodation and $300 for visa fees and other miscellaneous expenses. So as of January 25th 2010 Operation Visit Japan has raised $100 which is saved from my salary for January so that means I have to raise, save or plunder another $2900 by March 31st 2011!

The passbook in the centre with the pen marks is where I will save the funds for my Japan trip

Donate to Operation Visit Japan

When I announced operation many people expressed that they wanted to contribute and suggested that I add a paypal donate button. Chipin was suggested by Nick from Japansoc and while I initially had my reservations because I couldn’t decide on just how much I think should be donated I have now decided to go ahead and use Chipin with the aim now being to get at least $300 via donations which is 10% of my Operation Visit Japan budget. Who will be the first to donate? Who will donate the most? How fast will get get the $300 dollar threshold? All those questions remain to be answered, but blog/website owners who donate $10 or more via the widget or otherwise will receive a link-back to their webpage in a “Thank you to the contributors” section of the monthly update that follows their donation as well as a shout out via my twitter page. The widget is displayed below and in the sidebar, Please donate!

Email and RSS subscribers will have to click here to see the ChipIn Widget

Thats it for the January 2010 report, short, concise and to the point. I am really excited now that I have gotten my first drop into the “visit Japan bucket”. Thanks again for your continues support and comments and suggestions are always welcomed below or via my contact page.

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Meet the Lexus LFA Supercar

Jamaipanese — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:04:09 +0000

While attending high school I was a huge car fanatic and was knowledgeable about most popular cars whether it be from North America Europe or Japan. I spent so much money on car magazines and spent hours in heated argumentative discussions with my schoolmates. While reading about cars online a few months ago I came across the Lexus LFA a exotic sports coupe to be produced by Lexus. Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation.

Only 500 Lexus LFAs will be produced and split between Japan, North America and Europe so if exclusivity is what you are going for and your have $400, 000 that is lying around being a pain int he ass, punish it by exchanging it for a brand new Lexus LFA which will be released in 2011. Check out the video below.

Lexus LFA Specs

4.8-liter 72-degree V10 putting out 560 hp at 8,700 RPM (that’s 116.5 hp/liter) and 354 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,800 RPM
Redline: 9,000 RPM
Titanium valves, connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, dry sump lubrication and a titanium exhaust manifold
Six-speed sequential gearbox
Torsen limited slip differential
3,263 pounds with a 48/52 front-to-rear weight distribution
Power-to-weight ratio of 5.8 pounds/hp
65 percent of the body is carbon fiber
20-inch BBS wheels wrapped in 265/35 ZR20 Bridgestone tires in front and 305/30 ZR20 in the rear.
0-62 MPH (100 km/h) in 3.7 seconds
Top speed of 201.94 MPH
Production limited to 500 unit

Personally I think its a great car but mentally when I see Lexus I just think of a Toyota with a few extra luxurious amenities for for $400,000 dollars I’d rather something more exotic like an Aston Martin. My dream car that I believe I can realistically aim for is an Audi A8. Any wealthy individual reading this and have $100,000 idle should feel free to surprise me with one for my birthday in March. What do you think about the Lexus LFA?

Lexus LFA Official Site

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Japanese Culture and Calendar Exhibition 2010

Jamaipanese — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:57:23 +0000

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the Japanese Culture and Calendar Exhibition 2010. This is the almost identical event I attended last year but this year instead of selling the Calendars for Charity attendees were invited to participate in various games, activities and quizzes in order to win a 2010 Japanese Calendar.

The event was held at the Soverign Centre in Liguanea

I was accompanied by my now nendoroid loving girlfriend and at the end of the event we won 3 calendars. One for successfully completing an origami challenge, one for attaching the eyes, nose and mouth to a face made out of cardboard while being blindfolded called Fuku Warai and the final one I won by successively explaining what a Geisha is and what she does, not without nervously plugging the url to my blog of course after being asked about myself and why I am interested in Japan by the very energetic and friendly presenter.

Many Japanese kinds of Japanese cuisine was on show

I was recognized

I ran into many Japanese friends and local fans of Japanese culture I had not seen in a while at the exhibition. I also met quite a few new people and was pleasantly surprised to be recognized by a few people who who are familiar with my blog and twitter ramblings. Hi5 to Wendy (ChineseOtaku on Twitter), Karen, Rico, Eriko and the other persons I limed with and/or was introduced to.

Karen (right) and her Japanese friend pose for the camera

Karen the Superstar

Of all the new people I met Karen (seen above) was the most friendly. She is a longtime follower of my blog who was able to almost tell me post for post about everything I have blogged about in the last 2 or 3 years and she is a big fan of my writing style and humorous posts. She demanded her photo be taken and posted on my blog and with a such a beautiful smile how could I refuse? Turns out she works at the Japanese embassy which is on the same building the government slavery plantation I am assigned to is located so I look forward to linking up with her again.

Rico Art on display – more on her in a future interview

Calendar Language Lesson and Injection

I got a super idea for a future blog post using the new Japanese calendars I acquired. Look out for that post in a week or two. An event like this was the perfect injection of inspiration I needed at the beginning of Operation Visit Japan. By the next event in 2011 I’ll be about 6 moths away from being in Japan! Lots more photos from the event below for your viewing pleasure.

Any chance this kind of fashion catching on in Jamaica?

Looks real doesn’t it?

Would love to see these guys flowing in the wind

Origami folding landed me my first calendar and a gift for my younger sister

I failed at this game no wonder I can’t remember it’s name

Detailed explanations for sushi and soba noodles – preparing to lose my sushi virginity

Though a tiny event the turnout was great

The event was held in the center of an indoor mall

View from the floor above

Plastic food never looked so good

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