Posted in Ramblings, Travel on Nov 28th, 2007
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 pencilled in a date that we had to confirm closer to the time. Unfortunately Ronnie was pretty sick, having just a few months before had his second stroke, he was still keen to host a few Australians at his house for a few afternoon beers while he told us a few stories.
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Posted in Japan on Nov 27th, 2007
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” meeting where the true opinions of the people involved are expressed. In any case, the purpose of the meeting and it’s outcome if you thought there was one, wasn’t what you thought.
For those of us learning Japanese we can try as we might to learn the language but it’s impossible for us to confidently assert that they can fully comprehend honne and tatemae.
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Posted in Food, Japan on Nov 24th, 2007
Breakfast on the weekend is the only meal that often troubles me living in Japan. Being used to `Bacon and Eggs` or various other typical western breakfasts in Australia i often struggle to satisfy my hunger on my days off.
What are my options considering there`s not a great deal open, in and around my area, before 11am? The locals will eat everything from Ramen to Sushi and I`ve tried both, Ramen can be a little heavy and send you back home for another hours kip and Sushi just isn`t right for me anything before lunchtime and without beer in hand … the Wasabi is too aggresive on the palet first up.
So when i`ve come around the corner at Yoyogi station and seen `Zats Cafe` advertising they do a `Sasebo Burger` all my troubles were over. They open at 11am, i can hold off for breakfast until then no problems, and believe me when i say it`s well worth waiting for.
We`ve all seen the beautiful marketing from the likes of McDonalds and other fast food chains and then when the food arrives we`re bitterly dissapointed with the stark contrast between the two.
The story`s very different at Zats Burger, these things are seriously prepared with love and taste every bit as good as they look. I would actually rate this better than the burger from Michaels in Albert Park, Port Melbourne but i`ll have to sample one of those again at Xmas time to make sure i`m fair in my judgement.
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Posted in Making Money, Technology on Nov 21st, 2007
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 - Purchase a 125 x 125 advertising spot for $20 which will run from as soon as i get your button until the end of January, that’s the best part of 2 months if you get in quick.
Spending a few bucks might not be a bad option considering i`m averaging upwards of 700 unique hits a day before this competition, it`s a win win if you ask me.
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Posted in Technology on Nov 19th, 2007
On the weekend i upgraded my camera to the new Canon IXY Digital 2000is replacing the existing Canon IXY Digital 1000 i had. There`s nothing wrong with my existing camera but living in Japan and having toys like these so cheap and close to hand it`s hard not to upgrade to the latest model when they hit the stores. One of the major reasons i bit the bullet was the new `Image Stabilisation` feature … this will come in handy as it`s probably my biggest issue taking photos to date.
I`ve taken some great photos over the last 12 months, through my travels in Japan, Seoul and more recently Taipei, however my favourite photo would have to be when i was back in Australia at the beginning of the year.
Out on a Friends boat with a heap of mates we cruised out from Docklands into Port Phillip Bay, the music was cranked up as were the beers …. so was Mousee, dancing up a storm at the front of the boat. I`ll be looking forward to some of these good times when i`m back there in around 4 weeks time for my Xmas.
Unfortunately i had to scale the photo back incredibly to get it in the blog but i`m sure you`ll get the idea.
In case you’re wondering if it’s worth entering or not, here’s a few details on the Camera;
The Digital IXY 1000 features:
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