Fukuma Era 2001-2004
Only Understanding What's Happening 20% of the TimeAbove is the original Menu from the Fukuma-Era version of Hair Flap. In it, you’ll find older versions of the About and Hair Flap!? pages as well as sections that no longer exist on their own, such as Engrish and Misc.
Fukuma Hair Flap
From July 2001 to August 2004 I lived in Fukuoka, Japan as a participant of the JET Programme. Shortly after I arrived I realized that each day spawned so many interesting (and sometimes deliciously banal) stories about life in Japan that I just had to share them with everyone I knew.
At a time when LiveJournal was still the defacto way to share thoughts online, I instead decided to dip my toes into the relatively young publishing format of the weblog, or ‘blog’.
Hindsight, Pt 2: You’re Never Off the Clock
Getting back to what I was yapping about some number of weeks ago regarding the "other side" of the JET Programme, I don't really know what to say. To recap, I had finished up my critiques on the effectiveness of JET's educational aims and then intended to turn my...
Hindsight and Other Appetizers Suitable for Those Dining on Ashes
I would never presume to claim that this site is a valuable source of indispensable information, but I would say that we've got some good stuff today. While it's a subjective interpretation of the JET Programme, I believe it to have value for those considering JET,...
A Gallery of Panoramic Photos From the Last 3 Years
So moving on to the Japan/Fukuma-retrospectives, I've found it's been kind of difficult to get around to writing these things up. It's only been a month since I've been back, but Japan seems so long ago already. I've been so preoccupied with getting a car, getting...
Still No Internet Connection 🙁
Believe it or not, I actually intend to get an update up before the end of the week. This lack of a steady internet connection is starting to affect me. There's a whole world out there that's not online... and it frightens and confuses me. :O
Last (Huge!) Round of Tokyo Photos, Evar!
Well, I'm moving into the second week of being back in the States and re-Patriotization(sp?) continues unabated. The only snag came a couple of days after getting back when I was brutally blindsided by some American super-sickness that my body has apparently forgotten...
It’s in That Place Where I Put That Thing That Time
The last day in Japan. I'm chilling in Narita airport during my six-hour layover (-_-) wondering exactly when it's going to get real. It still doesn't seem like I'm leaving Japan to go the States for good. Just yesterday I was swimming in the sea at Fukuma beach and...
Suck It, Trebek
Man, I really am trying so hard to get some updates in here before I leave! For a change I actually have some things to talk about, but fuck me, there's NO TIME!!! Argh! I still have barely gotten around to cleaning and packing up this apartment, hair is being ripped...
A Blog and an Essay
The sheer photographic quality of Mike Clarke's photo-blog makes me sick to my stomach with a special brand of envy usually reserved for those children on hot summer days, who can only watch as the other kids that have an allowance get to buy something when the ice...
Tokyo Photos are Coming
I was in Tokyo for a week; I meant to mention it before I left and even typed out a post and everything then forgot to upload it to the server. <sigh> Anyway, I'm back and have a few choice photos (of the over 400 that I took!!) that I hope to have up sometime...
On Obfuscation and Impermanence
I took a look out my window the other day and saw this weird bug on my patio wall. Really cool looking, I have never seen it before. That kind of made me think, as I was in the middle of preparing stuff to send home, I had never seen that kind of bug before. I've been...
The Last Benjamin
I called in on Friday and arranged to have my satellite TV turned off as of the first of the month. That means Monday was the last day I watch Simpsons in Japan. Yes, my friends, the end is drawing near. The world is changed. I feel it in the water, I feel it in the...
Keyword Logs, You Wound Me!
One of the funniest parts of running this site is checking the search logs. For those who weren't aware, whenever someone does a web search and follows those results to a site, those keywords are logged in that site's... uh, logs. Of course there's plenty of expected...