WARNING! PERHAPS THESE AREN'T SAFE FOR WORK!!! (Well, if you work at Victoria's Secret Catalogue, they're safe. If you work at the Baptist Church on the corner, they are definitely not safe!!!)
It's a Sunday morning so it's time for some entertainment...
My good friend in the states who wishes to remain nameless asks that I post the names and photos of the girls who I think are the most beautiful and sexiest in Japan today... I reckon that he wants to know the exact names - in English - so he can do his own, er, "research." OK. This blog is about Japan. Japan has tons of extremely sexy women.... I also hear that 70% of Internet surfers worldwide are men. I am a man. I blog. I need readers, so here is a shameless attempt to get more readers, er, "viewers .
(Some people ask me, "Mike, are you doing this for the money?" And I answer, "Why, yes. How did you know?")
So, without further ado. Here's the first edition of Japan's Top Sexy Actresses and Models. I guess, from looking at these cheesecake photos, I should make this a regularly scheduled blog post. Ahem...
...If You're Not Going to Try to Do Great Work, Why Bother?
There are way too many people in jobs just doing the minimum they can do to get by. What a waste of a life. It's not just a waste of their life, it's a waste of the other people who get pulled down by them. I hate that. I hate working with those kinds of people and I'm doing everything I can to stop it.
Life is too short to be filled with frustration or to waste time doing and creating half-assed crap and second grade work.
No matter what the job, it seems to me that it behooves that person to try to get into a higher position at that job and be their best. Heck, even if you work at a McJob, at least make the effort to become the McManager and not just the McPeon.
If you are going to be there you might as well try to do the best and at least get more money for the same amount of time spent. Why people don't do that has always seemed a mystery to me.
At every job I've ever had, whenever I got the job, when I saw the bosses office or chair, I always thought, "I'm going to be sitting there in 6 months." I usually did, too.
People who just slide by doing the minimum just irritate me to no end.
At a broadcasting station that I currently produce a program at, the guy who is ostensibly in charge of Program Planning Department - he's what we would call a "Program Director" in the west - asked me if my company staff would do a "New Year's Show" Of course, I agreed.
It seems, though, that this guy's idea of what a "New Year's Show" is and my idea of what a "New Year's Show" is are two totally different things.
I think that it is obvious that a "New Year's Show" is a "special" program. You know, being New Year's and all. I had this idea that times of the year like New Year's was a special time and that if you were going to program a one-time show for that time, it would have to be something really great and special. I mean, if it is New Year's vacation and I turn on the TV and my regular show is not on and the schedule has been changed for "something else," then I expect that the "something else" must be a special show. Isn't that obvious? Isn't that what everyone would expect?
Funny that. How in the world that I got an idea like that is a mystery, eh? (Cynicism).
So, in that order, I approached some famous people to be guests on the show like the main star of the new Tiger Mask movie, Eiji Wentz and several others.
I had a solid concept for a "Retro-themed" show and I also went to a big advertising agency and talked about my idea and asked for their help in sales and getting sponsors. They were eager to join in and loved my show concept (of which I won't divulge at this time because I hope I can use it and make money with it someday)...
Me? It's New Year's! I wanted to make a really special program that was fun and exciting and memorable - and made lots of money at the same time.
The Program Director of the broadcasting station? Nope. All he wants to do, according to one of the sales people that works at that station is, "A regular show, nothing special. All he really wants is time so that the staff can have a vacation. He is not interested in making anything special." The salesman seems like he was frustrated and disappointed (disillusioned) by all this too.
program... Cool and easy to understand for sponsors!
Who wouldn't lose their motivation for work when the boss doesn't have any? Why should the staff do great work when their boss isn't inspiring them to do great things? Why work hard when all the boss wants to do is to do the minimum?
Can you believe that? What kind of a broadcasting station has a guy in charge of programming and all he wants to do is to do the minimum so that his staff can take more time off?
What the hell are this guy's priorities? Jesus! Life is short. Everyday should be special.
Not only that but here it was December 8th and the show he asked us to do was January 3rd, yet he said that they "Hadn't decided if they were going to make the show or not."
Unbelievable! Three weeks before the date, and the boss doesn't know what they are going to do for an special campaign.
"Everyday is special" a sign on the wall at
another big Tokyo broadcasting station. This is the way it should be.
Jeez! You wouldn't run a sale at a hamburger stand like that, I don't know how in the hell they expect to run a major broadcasting station in Tokyo like that.
I told him that if they hadn't decided to do the show by then, then it was too late for me to get sponsors and to make a good show so I wasn't interested in it and so I declined.
Hell, if we are not going to make something great, then why bother?
Sometimes, the jobs you reject are just as important as the jobs you choose to keep. Remember, quality is what sets you apart from the competition.
If thing are not a competition for quality, then we are in a competition for quantity. When it comes to quantity, we cannot beat places like McDonalds, so we shouldn't even try.
Taste beats numbers. Always strive to make the best.
My life's motto is "Everyday is an Adventure." Everyday should be special. That's the way it should be.
“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” - Charles F. Kettering
"The Millionaire Blogger." That's what my friend had told me that he was going to call his blog pretty soon. "The Millionaire Blogger!" pretty cool, I thought. "Ron" figured that by March of 2012 or so, he'd have a million reads and his new business would be worth at least about $5 million-plus US dollars to him by 2013. So, he figured that he could be one of the very people who is a millionaire and blogs. Ron was hoping that he could blog and help others make money and live better... I liked his idea.
Well, now, he figures that he can hit the million reads mark, but the $5 million-plus dollars might have just gone up in smoke. Poof!
You read that right; I've said before that I have some very rich friends, but I also have many almost rich friends. One of them is my friend Ron.
Ron and his partners (and investors) started a new company that they had estimated that would have sales of about $20 million dollars annually by end of 2013 and, if Ron sold his founding shares in the company, he stood to gain anywhere between $3.5 to $10.5 million US dollars. Not bad for four years work.
Ron told me yesterday that things seem to have not turned out that way at all. I had warned him.
Ron said that some very disturbing facts have come to light, so he had gone through serious bouts of worry, desperation and stress... Sometimes Ron says he spends an entire day depressed and starts drinking early in the day (I know, he'd been calling me and ask me to come over many times up until six weeks ago). Ron said his wife thinks that he shouldn't get depressed, but I understand Ron. I would imagine that most people who spent nearly two years working without pay on a brilliant project and then started up that project to great success only to find out that they'd been screwed by their investor, would be depressed.
Some people would want to kill themselves... Or the investor. I might fall into the latter category.
I can't go into too much detail, but, just two months after starting up his new company, Ron and crew were such darlings and big news in the media that they drew attention from some of the biggest investment firms in Japan. Soon, they were able to have one of the biggest and most famous companies in Japan become a strategic investor. People were blown away. I was. I said to Ron, "You guys just started up! How in the world did you manage to get that company to invest in you?" Ron just smiled.
I think most people might be depressed when they found out that the strategic investor wasn't actually interested in their company and their idea as a separate, mutually beneficial entity but were only interested in stealing that companies ideas and technology and using it for themselves.
It looks like they did that too... In spite of my efforts to warn Ron and his partners what I thought the real motivations of their strategic "partner" were. Ron listened to me. But Ron's parters were all on seventh heaven when they concluded an agreement for investment. This deal was big news all over Japan.
Ron told me about negotiations and I gave my advice. Things he told me just didn't sit right with me and I warned Ron. Ron tried to warn his partners, but they wouldn't listen. They were convinced that the partner was interested in them as a mutually profitable partnership. I suspected that they were only interested in using Ron's idea for their own ends. I convinced him of the same.
Soon, though, Ron and partners only saw dollar signs in their eyes, I was still suspicious of the investors motivations... In fact, at the only meeting I attended, I felt that I could read the investors motivations like a cook book sitting open right in front of my face. The thing on the menu? Ron's company.
I was right. But, as a mere advisor, I can only do as much. Ron and his partners took the bait; hook line and sinker. They refused to listen or even be suspicious. They signed the contract, the partners got their way,... So, now Ron's company lost.
Ron's company lost the battle. But they haven't lost the war.
Like I said, Ron told me that he had been depressed and seriously stressed out, but something happened to him six weeks ago. We met and I recommended to him that he change his mind and take it easy and not to stress out about it anymore. I told him to read a blog post by James Altucher who talks about how he lost MUCH more money, $20 million dollars to be exact, and, instead of lying on the bed getting depressed, he decided that he was going to "surrender."
Yeah. That's it. He surrendered. Surrendering didn't mean giving up, it meant that he allocated his fate to "whatever happens, happens."
That's what I told Ron to do a month and a half ago too. To give up. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason and, if you look for the positive, you'll find it and out of any bad experience, something good will come.
I told Ron to decide to let his life go to fate, faith, God, nature, the spirits, fortune, whatever you want to call it. I told him to decide that he wasn't going to stress and fret. I told him to decide that he was going to keep on going and not let this negativity stop him. He had to keep going and doing what he does best.
I told him to remember that the company that stole his companies idea and technology may have won the battle for now, but they haven't won the war. There is still a huge opportunity sitting there and I ask that he consider picking up the pieces, assessing the situation with a calm and collected frame of mind and figure out how to put them back together into something even better than before.
Just because, say, a convenience store across the street comes out with a new cash register, that doesn't mean Ron's convenience store on this side of the street is going to lose all their customers and close up shop. Nope.
This might sound contradictory, but here's the way I would see it if I were in Ron's shoes. I told Ron that I would think:
"I may have lost everything already, so I haven't anything to more to lose. They can't do anything to damage me anymore at all. So there is nowhere to go for me but up."
Things can just only work out for the better that way.
They can't damage me anymore, but I can do damage to them. Great ideas come from great minds. They have stolen an idea, but they haven't stolen my minds. Positivity will create more great ideas. If they had great ideas, then they wouldn't have needed to steal mine. So, this incident just proves that they cannot create innovation, but I can. I will. Time is on my side."
I asked Ron that he and his CEO and staff come up with some new ideas. Ideas that they would have never imagined had they not been forced to think of a different way and a different angle though this experience.
It worked like a charm! I saw Ron yesterday and we had lunch together. He was a changed man.
He told me,
"Mike! I have given up my fears and given up my stress and worries. I have, like James Altucher recommends, given up my future to "the Force" (Star Wars) and, no, that doesn't mean that I am going to lay down in my bed and pout all day, that means that I am going to think, plan create and grow.
I believe that, from this experience, my company and I can be taken on a different plane and a different path towards success... In fact, since we have come up with a new brilliant plan we are more convinced than ever that the new way is better than the last. Now, instead of grief and despair, I can see how we can make an even better project and make even more money. Thanks to you.
But, as with all things in life, nothing is certain and it is a bit of a gamble. But isn't that what's exciting? After all, what is a successful business? It is not a breakthrough technology or just a plan. There have been many companies that had excellent plans and totally new and breakthrough technologies that have failed. But the successful business or plan is created by having great people; the right people. I know we have the right people riding on the bus and we are going in the right direction.
I'm thinking now that our new plan will greatly upset our "partner" because we've set it up so that they are left out. They took from us what they thought was useful. But, the problem is that, if they knew what they were doing in the first place, they would have never needed us. They took what they wanted but failed to recognize the future of this business. We were in it longer than they were and have already seen from the streets the results of our efforts, we had already been evolving the process. They have just kicked off their system (that is a mirror of ours several months ago) filled with all the things that we realized were wrong a long time ago. We certainly are not going to point out the error in their ways.
Several months may not seem like a long time, but in the Internet business, several months is a lifetime.
I won't look to our strategic "partners" as "criminals" - what one of my founding partners called them - but will look upon them as the competition...
They might be the competition but we were the originals and we are the ones who are the leaders and the creators and the ones who will always be the innovators. They won't. They will always be the copy machines. Drones without new ideas."
I was so happy to see Ron back to his old self. Ron's always been one of these super go-getter guys. You know, ready to climb Mount Everest by lunchtime and at a dinner meeting in Paris by 7 pm.
There's a lesson here from Ron for you, me and all of us.
I don't want to get depressed, stressed or mad. You shouldn't either.
In my case, everyday, no matter what, I have decided to keep doing the best. I won't get sad and I will keep going out and meeting people and talking about and promoting my business. I will keep reading books and sharing new ideas. We all need to take a total assessment of our situations at all times. Things might seem bad at this very moment, but look at the situation overall. That there are troubles and difficulties are expected and obvious. Rome wasn't built in a day. We all must use our way of thinking to create good self-fulfilling prophesies and not negative ones.
Regardless of your situation, you can do the same thing too. Do not fret about your situation, but use it as a lesson in life. Use it to learn and to better yourself. Falling into a state of worry, fear or depression, will only make the situation worse. Remember the story about "self-fulfilling prophesy." You can create a better situation for yourself but you must first create that situation in your own mind.
That's what I am going to do... As well as giving myself up to fate and faith and knowing that, if I always do right by myself and others, good things will surely come to me. And they can come to you.
Like they say, the best revenge in life is success.
The March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima had a profound effect on, not just Japan, but also the world.
Locally, it caused the government and people of Japan to reassess Japan's dependence upon nuclear power.
After the nuclear disaster forced the reassessment and closure of 1/2 of Japan nuclear power plants, the entire nation has spent the rest of 2011 in what has been called, 節電 (setsuden) or "power saving." No matter where you go in Tokyo, you will see signs that say, "Setsuden chu" (currently saving power).
After this "Setsuden chu" campaign started up, all over Tokyo, you could see signs of companies and stores saving power. At some of the subways stations, 1/2 of the escalators were shut off; at department stores, many of the brightly colored and lit displays were turned off... The worst part of it all, and what everyone feared the most, was the hot and humid Japanese summer. Luckily for us, this year's summer was quite unseasonably cool (Man Made Global Warming, don't you know?) and even thought the air-conditioning was off or very low at most places, it was bearable.
I stumbled upon this very cool and interesting video of time lapse photography showing places around Tokyo before and after Setsuden. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Kao Iwata, a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi criminal organization, for attempting to resell complimentary tickets to the Sanrio Puroland theme park in Tokyo’s Tama City, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 6).
Here we go again with the "Yakuza crackdown on ticket sellers." And, once agin, my complaints of "Don't we have other, more important problems to deal with?"
At approximately 11:10 a.m. on Sunday, an undercover officer from the TMD heard the 46-year-old suspect soliciting customers for tickets to enter the park, which offers attractions and rides featuring popular characters from the Sanrio brand, such as Hello Kitty.
Oh! He went "Undercover"!? Wow! (cue: Mission Impossible music)
Iwata was attempting to sell individual tickets for 2,500 yen each. He was arrested for violating anti-nuisance ordinances.
What nuisance? If it's a family of three, he tried to save them about $60! I would have bought them!
According to the Community Safety Department of the TMD, Iwata had 12 complimentary tickets in his possession. “I received the tickets from an acquaintance,” the suspect is quoted by police. “I have no income, and I thought this would be a way to support myself.”
How in the world does selling tickets to Hello Kitty World involve "Community Safety?" The guy didn't have a job. He had no income. Hell, for all we know he has a kid... You do what you have to do, right?
Here's the story on the Japanese evening news no less!
I've stated it before that the police are obstructing business. Jeez! Confirmed by the news story this desperado had a grand total of 12 tickets that he was trying to pedal off for ¥2,500 each (about $32 each). 12 tickets x $32.00 comes to a whopping grand total of $384.
Sanrio Puroland entry tickets sell for ¥4,400 each (about $56 each)... Hell, the guy hasn't a job and he's out to try to make a buck. So what?
I'm sure the good folks at Sanrio Puroland don't like it, but I really wonder if this is worth it to us all to have to pay taxes and arrest this guy for doing what he has to do to make some cash so he can live and eat.
I wonder how much money it cost us to arrest him?
Of course, as usual, people will blast me and say that the Yakuza have to be cracked down on because of "Human Trafficking." I say, "Bullshit!" When we have a story about the police actually arresting Yaks for human trafficking, then I might not complain. But this after-hours dancing and scalping tickets as well as prostitution busts are nothing more than a waste of tax dollars.
Aressting people for victimless crimes is BS.
I say death penalty!
NOTE: Anecdotal evidence. My wife tells me that the scalper was selling free entry tickets. These tickets are passed out in huge volumes to shareholders of Sario stock at shareholder's meetings. According to her, the vast majority of people entering Sanrio Puroland on weekends enter with free tickets. Many of the people visiting on weekends get in with free tickets from the shareholders and the other huge block of people who are admitted for free get their tickets from renewing newspaper subscriptions. My wife claims that "there isn't a family in our neighborhood who hasn't gone to Sanrio Puroland for free, except us." She, nor I, have any intention of going there for free or not. If you consider that most people get in for free and this guy was trying to sell entry tickets for ¥2,500 maybe that explains why he doesn't have a job.
The Tokyo Reporter is, in my opinion, one of the best English language publications in Japan as they translate into English stories that appear in the standard Japanese weeklies. With Tokyo Reporter, you get the news that the Japanese people get and not some twisted (and often confused) foreign outlook.
Every year at about this time, Santa Claus visits the mothers and their children who have been diagnosed with incurable diseases. In Japanese, "incurable disease" is 難病 (Nanbyou).
The good folks at the NPO Nanbyonet (Nanbyonet.or.jp http://www.nanbyonet.or.jp/) help Santa and his helpers to visit these wonderful children and to try to brighten their day and spend some time with them and bring them happiness and Christmas cheer.
Santa tells me that he thinks that Nanbyonet.or.jp is one of, if not thee, most reputable charities in Japan. Nanbyonet.ot.jp helps to raise funds to give these children some happiness and enjoyment in their short time on this earth and to bring people closer together.
Besides Christmas events, Nanbyonet.or.jp also arranges camping for the kids, poolside and swimming events, arts and crafts, musical events and others to create enjoyment for these wonderful little people. Nanbyonet.or.jp also arranges training and support for the parents of these special needs children.
Today, Dec. 6, 2011 Santa Claus and his helpers got an early start and had the pleasure of going to Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo, near Ochanomizu Station to visit several dozen children and their mothers in the hospital.
Santa brought presents to all and took pictures for the moms and the kids to keep forever.
Of course, Santa can't show you all the pictures with his friends and their mothers, but here are a few that you might enjoy...
Oops! This little girl was out at the moment so Santa left a present behind on the bed. Luckily for Santa, when he came back a little later on, the girl was waiting for him!
In the three wards Santa visited were about 60+ kids with varying degrees of illness. In spite of that, you probably couldn't find a more positive and happy bunch of kids and their moms anywhere else in the world! Ho! Ho! Ho!
This little girl thought Santa was scary! Maybe the yelling, "Merry Christmas" loudly in the usually quiet hospital hallways was a bit much. Next year, Santa may have to tone it down a bit in front of the very little tykes! But no! Santa is sure these kids are all going to get better and I will see them next year too.... ... Happy and healthy at their homes!
All the children Santa met were wonderful and loving, special children. One little girl, her name was Miki, sang a song for Santa and, even though she couldn't see Santa very well, she asked Santa to sit next to her so she could feel Santa's beard. She even gave Santa a big Christmas hug... Not only that, she handmade the best Christmas present any Santa could ever receive. She made Santa a candy cane out of red & white pipe cleaners with a bow on it! What a beautiful present from that lovely little girl's heart. How thoughtful! Santa took it home and showed it to Mrs. Santa and promptly hung it on the Santa family Christmas tree.
Candy cane present from lovely Miki san!
Santa will never forget, Miki san. That's a promise!
Now, every year, Santa is going to think about Miki and all the wonderful children who shared their time with him this year. Santa loves you and is praying for you all and may a miracle happen to you and may god bless you all!
Santa and his friends and helpers from Juntendo University Hospital and Nanbyonet.or.jp
CHRISTMAS NOTE: Every day of every year, some child is struck down with a terrible disease. While medical science desperately searches for cures, there is something you and I can do to make these children's (and their parents) lives just a little bit better. We can volunteer our time or donate to a worthy cause.
Won't you consider all the good things you have and just how fortunate we really are and give some of your time or donations to a just cause?
You'll feel better about yourself. I know I do. I wish I could do more. Won't you help this Christmas season?
What was the most expensive car crash in history? Well I know that the car crash scene in the Blues Brothers movie was the most expensive car crash scene in the history of Hollywood movies, but sometimes real life is more amazing than fiction.
Original Blues Brothers: The biggest movie car crash in history
There was a mightily expensive car accident in Japan, a car crash that happened over the weekend, is being said to be the most expensive in history (of course that doesn't include professional car racing!). This accident had 14 vehicles.
Police said three Mercedes Benz cars and a Lamborghini Diablo were also involved in the massive crash at the weekend on the Chugoku Expressway, in the country’s south-west.
Witnesses reported hearing a “tremendous noise” just a few moments before the accident on the Yamaguchi prefecture highway amid terrible driving conditions.
Bwa! Ha! Ha! Ha!
While the majority of the 14 vehicles – which also included a Japanese supercar Nissan GT-R Skyline and a Toyota Prius – were travelling along the Osaka Prefecture-bound bended lane at least one Mercedes CL600 was driving in the opposite direction.
Television footage showed the cars - either wrecked or destroyed - spread across the highway, in a trail of crumpled metal and broken glass. Several of the vehicles were wedged up against the metal barriers.
Miraculously, none of drivers – the majority of whom are reported to be foreign car enthusiasts – were seriously hurt in the wreckage but the bill is still bound to be painful nonetheless.
You just know that these adult children were hot rodding their cars... And, yep, the news report below confirms it! They were doing between 140 ~ 160 kpm (about 100 miles per hour) on an 80 kpm road (about 50 miles per hour). Doesn't sound that fast but it is awful fast on Japan's narrow roads... Morons.
Japan News of the accident:
I wonder what the odds are of 14 idiots in their hot cars all converging on the exact same place in the universe at the exact same time is? Answer: 68,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1.
