Owner: neil duckett dot com URL:http://www.neilduckett.com Join Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:02:19 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A lot about nothing and nothing about a lot. I write about my time in Japan, travel, language, cuisine, cultural differences, Japanese girls, Nampa and lots lots more Site statistics:Click here
Canon Camera Competition Details 2007-11-20 21:58:00 Here`s how it`s going to work. The 1 and only prize is my Canon
IXY Digital 1000 camera, 10 megapixel with all the expected functionality along with the charger, software and PC cables. It cost me $450 clams a little under 12 months ago and it`s up for grabs.
From today the 21st of November until Monday the 10th of December i`ll be accepting entries by the following scale;
1 Entry in the draw - Subscribe to neilduckett.com by email, RSS too if that`s your preferred method of reading but email will be the official counter for the draw.
5 Entries in the draw - Write a post on your site regarding this competition and linking back to neilduckett.com. Please write a comment here with a link to your post so i can add you in the draw.
In addition, I like the idea of offering options so for those willing to pay a few bucks you can consider the following.
10 Entries in the draw - Purchase a spot under “Recommended Reading” through here priced at $15
15 Entries in the draw - P Read more:Camera
The Day i Drank Beer with Ronnie Biggs - The Great Train Robber 2007-11-27 22:30:27 He robbed a mail train carrying 2.6 million pounds back in 1963, he broke out of prison in 1965 by scaling the wall with a rope ladder, and he has been famous ever since. I’d read the story and i’d seen the movie so the opportunty to meet the man in person, drink a few beers, and get a few souvenirs signed back in January 2000 was too good to pass up.
A group of us went to Rio De Janerio for about 6 back in December 1999 to see in the Millenium, that’s a whole other story but rest assured partying on Copacabana beach at the turn of the century was a pretty memorable experience, too much to write in the post.
The guys that went had a pretty loose schedule in South America. Arrive on the 26th of December and leave sometime in February, with only 1 “must do” while we were there, and that was meet up with Ronnie
Biggs. Some preliminary work got us in touch with his son Michael who said it shouldn’t be a problem, we got the address and had pen Read more:Great
, Train
Honne and Tatemae and The Japanese Mind 2007-11-27 00:30:24 In a recent session to educate both foreigners and the locals as to some differences between Japanese
and Western Cultures we were told about “Honne and Tatemae”
Honne and Tatemae are Japanese words that describe recognized social phenomena.
Honne (本音) refers to a person’s true feelings and desires. These may be contrary to what is expected by society or what is required according to one’s position and circumstances, and they are often kept hidden, except with one’s closest friends.
Tatemae (建前), literally “façade,” is the behaviour and opinions one displays in public. Tatemae is what is expected by society and required according to one’s position and circumstances, and these may or may not match one’s honne.
So what does all this mean? It means the result of the meeting you just had isn’t necessarily what you thought. Often, especially where Gaijin are involved there’ll be a follow up “Japanese only&r
The Japanese Salary Man 2007-12-07 04:49:24 I`d never heard of the term Salary
Man prior to coming to Japan, now i hear it and often refer to it all the time, infact i am one. A Salary Man basically describes a Japanese
businessman aged between 25 and 50 living a very typical existance of long hours at work, long hours at play.
Living in a city like Tokyo i can totally relate to it, Tokyo is driven by routine. Whether it`s catching to train, working or socialising, everything is planned and executed by intervals of 1 minute. As a lover of routine it`s great, although even for me i sometimes find it frustrating to be driven by such a time managed life. I kid you not, when i say, i see the same people day in day out on the train, at the station, in the same seat on the bus, the list goes on. I don`t think they notice me as much as i notice them, especially the cute girl who catches the 7:15 and looks better in a skirt or dress than she does jeans, but i digress.
My schedule is repeated day in day out with nothing spont
Dirty Weekend 2 Hours Out Of Tokyo 2007-12-03 15:38:30 Well not so dirty, actually not dirty at all unfortunately, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend away from Tokyo
. Kamogawa was the location we were headed for, a city in Chiba, Japan. All up, 10 of us headed up to a friends house to celebrate their recent wedding and celebrate we did.
The weekend began at Shinjuku station around 11:30 then on to Tokyo station to meet the others, usual story, grab plenty of grog and a little food for the journey. This weekend was no different to any other, i knew i`d be out of control until i walked back through the door at home, by out of control i mean, not in charge of how my time was spent … and of course a little inhebriated at times. Both turned out to be correct, i was led from pillar to post over the 36 or so hours i spent in Kamogawa, never really knowing what was next, but all the while doing it with a beer in hand.
Once we arrived in Kamogawa we were driven straight to the first Onsen, the Kamogawa Grand right on the water fron Read more:Weekend
, Hours
Top 5 Websites I Can`t Live Without 2007-12-18 00:39:35 Well i can live without them, it’s just wouldn’t be as catchy a title, and there’s a lot more than five too.Â
Truth be known, there’s really only one i must have and that’s for my Internet Banking, so i guess this is just a list of a few of the sites i visit on a day to day basis. Maybe there’s something in this lot that interests you?
Japan Probe for the lighthearted goings on in around Japan. Many an article featuring Japanese Gravure Idols and the stuff you won’t hear so much about in main stream media.
Sly Bald Guys and their blog for all the tips on caring for a bald head. Let’s face it, Bald is Beautiful, let’s keep it that way.
John Cow a parody site based on John Chow and all about “Making Moooney Online”
News On Japan for a collation of interesting news articles from various sources in Asia, they happen to be nice enough to pick up my feed on a regular basis.
The Age the newspaper from the last state i Read more:Websites
Photo Hunt - Small, Chisai 2007-12-14 19:36:05 One of the best things to come out of the recent competition i held was my discovery of new sites, and specifically The Photo
Hunt.
The idea behind this site is that each week there’s a new theme you’re supposed to follow. The themes are already listed through the first few months of next year so there’s no great surprise as to what comes next week. If nothing else it’s a good way for me to get the most out of my Canon Camera and also learn new words in Japanese.
I intend taking part in The Photo Hunt as often as i can and i’ll be sure to try and put a Japanese flavour into each of my photos. Here’s one i dug up from a few months back, i’m not going to win any competitions for photography but i’ll still have fun trying to get a photo for the theme each week.
This weeks theme is as the title suggests - Small
or Chisai (ã¡ã•ã„) in Japanese. I had 2 photos i wanted to post for my version of “Small”. The first was taken at a
Mama-san Closes Sudo 1 After 37 Years 2007-12-12 19:20:27 Even though Christmas isn’t that widely celebrated by the Japanese the month of December is full of drinking parties and celebrations to see out the end of the year and get ready to bring in the new one. I’ve never attached that much importance to Christmas but having all these year end drinking parties does atleast give me some kind of feeling i used to get back home in the lead up to Christmas, even if the  purpose of them differs somewhat.Â
In a busy week full of Bonenkai , a Japanese tradition which means “forget the year gathering”, the local Karaoke bar i often frequent has decided to close it’s doors and re-open in the new year as an Izakaya Restaurant.
Tonight it’s on again as Mama-san closes the doors on Sudo 1, a local Karaoke bar than if nothing else was great Japanese practice for me. Late nights in a bar frequented by typical Japanese Salary Man types is a great way for me to practice my Japanese communication skills and on the odd oc Read more:Years
Canon IXY Digital 1000 Competition - Winner 2007-12-10 23:53:49 Towards the end of last month i made a spur of the moment decision to buy a new Canon
Camera. This left me with the issue, “What do i do with my existing camera?” ….. hold a competition of course.
What are the benefits / reasons behind me holding a competition? There were 2 main reasons;Â
1: New Readers - the competition was a good way to draw new readers to my blog by getting the message out through other blogs.Â
2: Existing Readers - keep those people that come back and visit my blog regularly interested and encourage them to become regular commentators.
The result of all this was a very positive one. I had a total of 302 entries in to the draw for the Camera. I sold some ad space, i had a good increase in subscribers to the blog and a few key rankings within the blogging domain rose favourably, namely my Alexa Ranking and also my Technorati RankingÂ
Will i hold another competition again in the future? You bet i will, in my opinion, and now experien Read more:Digital
Photo Hunt - Light, Hikari 2007-12-21 15:19:05 This weeks theme in The Photo
Hunt is Light or Hikari (ã²ã‹ã‚Š) in Japanese.
Once again this week i have 2 photos i want to use, both being very different but very familiar to those living in or having visited Japan
The first picture to depict this weeks theme of Light, was taken from West Exit in Shinjuku. The shop in question is Yodobashi Camera, 8 floors of electronic heaven and the place i buy all of my electronic good including my Canon Camera and my Sony Living Room PC.
The second photo is the view from our office as the sun sets over the distant mountain range. To the right of the photo is Mount Fuji, or Fuji-san as it’s known in Japan. Often we’re graced with spectacular sunsets all very different from the last.
Mount Fuji (富士山, Fuji-san) , is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 m (12,388 ft). A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1707, it straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures just west of Tokyo, from which it can be seen on a
Today Is Just Another Day 2007-12-19 21:28:07 Other than today being my 35th Birthday and this afternoon i’m going back to Australia for a little under 2 weeks, today is just another day.
I’ve got no real set plans in Australia, other than to catch up with friends and a trip to Adelaide to see the family in between. Tommorrow is bound to be a big day and the beers will be flowing at a few old stomping grounds. Saturday is the annual Kris Kringle which is always a highlight and on the 28th i’m going to my first Boxing Day Test at the MCG. New Years eve will be upon me before i know it then it’s time to leave the hot weather and head back to Japan to continue a long and cold winter.
I’ll miss Japan while i’m away and i’ll be excited to get back and continue the journey, continue learning the language and do more things now i’m more independant, a snowboarding trip is one of those. Â
One things for sure, if the next 2 weeks are anything like the good times i’ve enjoyed Read more:Today
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