Anyway I asked the Iraqi what it was like to live through the ongoing war there, and his reply was “terrible.” He told me that he was shot at when a thief decided he wanted his car. He also told me how his university was bombed by a suicide bomber and he happened to be on campus during that day. I asked him what he thought of the American soldiers and not surprisingly he wasn’t a big fan. He mentioned that the convoys often drive dangerously. Of course I probably would do that to if I was trying to avoid snipers and roadside bombs. The unfortunate consequence of all of this is that many civillians get injured and killed. Not only that but that still after a few years of occupation there clearly isn’t much security there.

I wanted to know why there were so many suicide bombings and he said that most Iraqi’s believe that it’s the Iranians. According to him, Iran isn’t aiming to just piss off America but is trying to create instability as that would help them have greater control of the region. I’ve heard a bit of that theory in the news but again they never really go in to detail about it.

Anyway I’m not saying that watching the news is a bad thing, but I am saying that there is a lot more to the picture than what may be presented.

If you ever go through Medicine Hat you might want to stop off at the Medicine Hat Lodge where you will find this awesome chair in the lobby. Time well spent eh?

My parents have recently completed a number of extensive renovations to their home. It’s a shame that I don’t have a “before” picture because the place looks completely different from 2 or 3 years ago. I should see if I can dig some photos up somewhere, but until then here is the “after” shot.

Neighbors have given great comments on the rennovations and even the wasps have decided that they like it! My parents thought about “evicting” them but then my Dad read on the net that if they are not bothering anyone, live and let live! Hey man those wasps help rid the garden of pests and even help out with cross-pollination! Thanks Wasps!

Regina is a small city and for some reason a lot of people like to knock it. Some say it’s because the city has such a wicked name while others say that they are insecure about their own city. However, I say that… Regina rules! Sure it’s quiet and a bit slow but much like Posh Spice, it sure is pretty. Eat your heart out all other cities!

Here’s some photos of the provincial government building. It was built about 100 years ago with materials from all over the world. It’s fancy, and when I say fancy, I mean “faaaaaaaaaaaaancyyyyy!!!”

Here I am making AND breaking the law all at the same time!

This last shot is of me with my 91 year old Grandpa. Grandpa is getting on in years but he’s still taking care of business and getting it done. Check out his mad gardening skills in the background and that cigarette in his right hand!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Japan is a really clean country but one thing you’ll find is that sometimes people don’t properly dispose of their trash, and by trash I mean cars! Maybe it’s really expensive to have a car hauled off to the dump or scrap yard but you will often see slightly older looking cars abandoned. In other countries these cars could probably be sold as scrap or perhaps even fixed, but in Japan they are worthless. I’m kind of surprised that the government isn’t able to track the owners down and fine them. I mean if they were then people wouldn’t abandon cars would they?

Gas stations are a bit different from home too. Notice how the pumps hang from the roof. I guess the reason for this is to save space.

Public Buses are a bit different too and since the fare changes on how far you are going the driver’s set up looks more like the cockpit of a 747 than it does a bus!

Japan is really good at taking technology and using it to imitate life. I know that they are working on robots designed to like humans except without all of the whining and complaining! I don’t know if they are quite there yet but they’ve already developed virtual fish! Yes the fish below aren’t actually real, it’s basically just a LCD screen in an aquarium with virtual fish! I don’t have video but their movement was very life-like and had I not looked closer I never would have noticed this.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Japanese are very non-confrontational to say the least but if you really want to start a fist fight I know a way that will give you your best chances of achieving that goal. Park in their parking space. Seriously. Ask anyone who has lived in Japan for some time and if they’ve seen a fight break out between two Japanese people there’s a reasonable chance someone’s spot was involved. I guess this is probably due to the fact that space is limited in Japan and while I’ve seen all kind of bad behavior, nothing seems to get under a person’s skin more.

Anyway here’s a photo in a car park that I thought was kind of funny. Notice how they emphasize the “NO” with an exclamation point.

Another funny thing about cars in Japan is that some even have wings… Yes, that’s right I said “wings” Don’t believe me? Well scroll down:

The photo doesn’t lie. I asked about this but to be honest now I don’t really remember what that button actually did. Sadly it did not activate wings from underneath the car to make it fly. I think it had something more to do with the radio. You see a lot of funny English in Japan and a lot of times if you think about it, you can see how translations come out wrong, however this one really stumps me!

Another funny thing that cars have had for years in Japan is TV. Now this is something that North America has finally caught up on with small LCD screens mounted in the back of headrests but as you can see this TV is right in the dashboard. I don’t know how safe it is to be watching a live horse race while driving either!

I don’t know who Maruko is but she’s got my attention!

They say that “milk does a body a good” but I don’t if the same can be said for this kind of milk…

Acid Milk? WTF???

If you would like to check out part 1, click here: and for part 2 click here!

One blog that I quite enjoy is An Englishman In Osaka. Recently, this Englishman (in Osaka) decided to hold a door contest on his blog. Yes, that’s right, a door of the year contest. Now while he had a number of stunning doors fighting it out for best door in Japan, I believe that one was overlooked and should be given a chance enter the contest.

Ladies and Gentleman, along side this wall, standing at 4 feet 1 inch tall, weighing in at 43.5 lbs, hailing from Tokyo Station between the number 16 and 17 platforms, with a professional record of 45-0 is the Hobbit Doooooooooooooooooooooorrr!!!

Now sure that door might be short, but with it’s stainless steel body, and clearly secure looking lock, it looks to be like nobody’s fool. The gate to an impenetrable fortress as it were. Well, right until this guy came along…

Just a few steps away from this loser of a door was this poster of a boy and a girl in their own little bubbles. I’ve always known that science and technology is number 1 in Japan but putting small children in to bubbles has just gone way too far! For shame Hitachi chemical!

I have no idea why but apparently a lot of middle-aged Japanese women love Bae Yong-joon. Bae Yong-joon is a Korean soap actor who somehow made it big in Japan. Like I said, I have no idea what these women see in “him” as “he” seems more girly than most girls. Just take a look at “his” hair, face, and those glasses…. I’d almost have to say that this “guy” gives the woman beside him a run for her money in the attractiveness department! Here “he” is, featured on a poster advertising pachinko.

(For those of you who don’t know Pachinko is a Japanese game of chance. Very similiar to a slot machine except there is some actual skill involved as you manipulate certain parts of it.)

Well it’s been fun but this brings me to the last picture of Part 3. Stay tuned as the final Part 4 will be coming very soon. So until then, “havf a nicf day!”

When staying in the beautiful countryside, I took a trip to the newest local shopping mall with my net buddy 4 life, aka Nick Ramsay. Nick was pretty excited to show me his local shopping centre and for that matter so was I. Thanks to the internet I had even followed the birth of this shopping centre from Canada and so to see it in person was kind of cool.Nick’s blog!

Look closely and you’ll see that most of the stores in this picture have the words “off and on” somehow incorporated in to their names. I’m not sure why they did this, but I guess that they probably just wanted to have some theme going. It’s pretty much impossible to make it out but in the top left corner of the picture is another store named “3can4off.”

The next photo up is here for some pretty immature reasons, but what can I say? I just couldn’t help myself! Kind of reminds me of when Beavis said to Butthead…. “you said (insert dirty word here) huh huh huh huh uh huh uh….” Well in this picture that sentence would be completed as “it says tard.. huh huh uh huh…”

Who says food has to be boring and unimaginative? Certainly not this slightly below normal intelligent man! This “Artiste” strongly believes that food should be an expression of how one feels…. or at least be a representation of how the demons inside are feeling…

I got to relax by the sea and even went surfing for the first time in my life. In fact there were a lot of surfers in this area and the man featured below just happened to be my waiter that particular night. MMMMM hardly a shirt, shoes or for that matter, even shorts, yet…… great service! Me likes! Take that sanitary health bylaws!

Finally to top it off (at least for this post anyway) I did some shopping. I’m pretty discriminating in what I wear and let’s face it, nothing but the best will do! (I know that I’m pointing out an obvious fact here as anyone can tell from pictures of me on MichaelMcKinlay.com have me in only the finest handmade garments!) That’s why I shop at “human only” clothing stores. Anything less would be uncivilized I say! I say uncivilized.. mmm mm!!! (this last part was said with a snotty high society British accent.)

Nick wrote about our little experience a few days ago on his blog and so here I am returning the favor. Nick wrote: “We were given a personal tour of the facility and they even filmed us trembling like little girls on the simulator” This is certainly a true statement but while on the simulator I believe that Nick actually peed his pants. Anyways here’s a little video documenting our experience. It’s broken up in to three parts demonstrating what it’s like to experience a significant earthquake in various places.

The last experience of being out in the street did not feel as strong as being in the apartment it was more terrifying as you could see buildings crumbling and and telephone poles falling. I think that’s the point where Nick wet himself. Thank God I was there to console him!

After Nick cleaned himself up we headed to another area of the center where I tried my hand at escaping a building just after an earthquake via virtual reality. As you are about to see it turned out to be a quite a difficult experience. Sure I had assistance from the lady telling me how to get out but she was speaking Japanese! For your viewing enjoyment I’ve included subtitles in the video below. They are not 100% accurate but it’s the best I can do! I have to say that the last bit is my favorite part but I can assure you that my performance does not do my ego any good.

Needless to say we had a great time at the disaster center! We were very lucky that that place was hard to find cause no one else there. One other thing that surprised me is that it didn’t even cost us 1 yen to experience the simulator or virtual reality! To be honest, before I wrote this post I was actually thinking of including it in my How To Save Money In Japan series. Special thanks goes to Nick, for without him this post would not have been possible!

As good, or as bad a dancer as Matt is these videos below would not have happened without the internet. Thanks internet! It’s also nice to see people in other countries having a good time unlike what the media usually portrays which tends to be war, terrorism, and then more war. Finally humans are doing what they should be doing and dancing like a bunch of stupid idiots! Thanks Matt!

If you liked some of that, why don’t you try some of this! This is from Matt’s latest trip which was sponsored by a gum company!

Matt’s website is pretty cool and if you are interested in how this all came to be I strongly suggest that you visit his FAQ. I did, and it was highly entertaining. Good going Matt!

Notice how the Club is named Club Underground, yet is actually above ground? According to the sign in the window they are hiring too! The only problem is that I don’t think that I would meet their employee requirements… but they do pay around $35/hour!

This photo was taken at a hardware store of all places. I wonder whose bright idea it was to take pictures of women and post them above apron. I’ll bet it wasn’t a woman’s!

Remember people, Suntory is the boss of them all! Since 1992 of course!

Here’s a picture demonstrating how low counter-tops are in Japan. Believe me this man is not a giant, well at least not in terms of height anyway!

And finally, it would be nice to have a drink of water, flavored with just a touch of water…

Japan has a reputation of being an incredibly expensive country and over the past month or so I’ve done my best to give you money saving tips. Don’t worry there are still a few more pointers coming but for this post I thought I could write about other “options.” Therefore in order to save a few yen you just may have to call on a higher power. That’s right, I’m talking about God or whatever you may want to call Him or Her or That.

Now before you say, “yeah dude, I know what I’m doing, I know how to pray!” You have to remember that you are in Japan and in Japan, everything has a procedure. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING! Now let’s do this!

1. Find a place where you can collect your thoughts - You need to find that quiet, happy place where communication will not be interrupted.

2. Assume the position - Notice how I’m doing it Gaijin(foreigner) style by having my heels up off the ground. (Japanese style would be to have all points of both feet touching the ground.) Either way is acceptable. However, if you are at home you may find that communication is more effective if you can be seen directly from Heaven above. (Notice this highly religious individual in the picture below.)

3. Now go to the nearest Pachinko Parlor to collect your reward! - In case you are unfamiliar with Pachinko, it’s basically the Japanese version of a slot machine. Actually it does take more skill than just feeding it money and pushing a button or pulling an arm on the machine but let’s not get in to that right now.