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Listen up G.I. Joe fans, there have been rumors that there will be a G.I. Joe movie released in 2009. So far the details are a little blurred, but more than likely the G.I. Joe’s that we knew and loved so much will probably be turned into something completely different.

The studio plotline is:

“From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite co-ed GI JOE team, based from it’s headquarters The Pit, deploys the latest in next-gen spy and military equipment to fight crooked arms dealer Destro and the growing threat of the mysterious COBRA organization from plunging the world into chaos.”

According to CO-ED Magazine the cast and crew could look something like this: Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Quaid, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Marlon Wayans (Remember nothing has been confirmed at this point).

If you are a G.I. Joe fan then you probably remember all of the old school G.I. Joe PSA’s.

Well, you have probably never seen this PSA.

You may all remember Bob Saget from his time playing a very conservative character Danny Tanner from the hit sitcom Full House or from his time spent being a host of America’s Funniest Home Videos. However, who can forget one of his more memorable lines from the stoner movie Half Baked,

"Have you ever sucked dick for coke? Now that’s addiction"

Nowadays you can find Bob Saget doing some pretty funny stand-up, on Broadway, the television show 1vs 100, and also starring in some movies. If you really want to, check him out at his website .

But I really wanted to share with everyone a clip of his stand-up. It is pretty funny, so get that Danny Tanner ideology out of your head and check out his HBO special,  That Ain’t Right.

I think this song has No. 1 hit written all over it!

It was just recently that I was introduced to a wonderful new soft-drink that I thought I had to share with everyone. Living here in Okinawa Japan and experiencing new brands and taste has been tremendous. One of the new brands that has recently caught my attention is C.C. Lemon.

C.C. Lemon is a Japanese soft-drink produced by Suntory. Suntory Limited is a very famous Japanese brewing company that has been around since the late 1800′s. They originally started out distributing alcoholic beverages but then expanded into soft-drinks and vintage wines. I just need to say thanks for making C.C. Lemon, it is great!

As you may have already figured out, it is a lemon flavored drink. However, it is not as sour as one would think. It is the perfect blend of lemon awesomeness in every bottle, ha-ha.

What is extremely difficult to believe is the amount of lemons they say go into each drink. If you take a look at the picture it says, "70 lemons worth of Vitamin C in every bottle". Now that’s a lot of lemons!

After checking things out I found another great thing I liked about C.C. Lemon, it turns out that here in Japan you can watch C.C. Lemon commercials with none other then the Simspon family as the main stars. This just keeps on getting better by the minute.

One of the funny things about the Japanese is that some of them don’t know that the Simpsons are huge in the United States and have been running for over nineteen seasons. Some believe they are just characters of Suntory and a  C.C. Lemon branding technique.

Well, there is only one way for you to really know what I am talking about. I hope you enjoy!

I can’t be sure at this point, but I don’t believe that C.C. Lemon is available in the United States on a massive retail level. If you want to try it out desperately,  Mitsuwa Markets which is located throughout the U.S. is one location that I found to carry C.C. Lemon.

If Tokyo, samurai’s and sushi aren’t your thing, come to Japan for some C.C. Lemon.

Nothing better then the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of thousands of screaming fans, pure excitement as the words, back…back…back, and it’s gone are shouted over the load speaker. What could this possibly be? The definition of sports in America.

So, being a Boston Red Sox fan living in Japan, it would be assumed that I would be attending this years season opener in Tokyo…right?Well, it turns out that baseball may be Japan’s favorite pastime too. Because, trying to snatch up tickets for the Red Sox vs Oakland game has been depressing altogether. There are some options available, I could shell out a two-hundred minimum per ticket to see my beloved Sox’s play in the Tokyo Dome. However, I think my wife may bench me for the rest of the season if that happens. 

This made me question when the price of a baseball ticket got so high. Sure, I have only been to a couple of Major League Baseball games in my life, but I can honestly never recall paying so much for a ticket. You knew it was coming people, do professional athletes make too much money or what?

I got to thinking, mainly because I am mad that I can’t afford to go and see my team play in the Tokyo Dome and I came to a realization, of course they make too much money! I base this soley on the opinion that baseball and other sports in our country started out as games. Believe it or not America, they are still a bunch of games played by adults.

When I was younger I dreamed of hitting that game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth, not making big bank and being on cribs. What was I thinking? I really had my priorities screwed up when I was younger.

I need to relax and think clearly here. Players like big Papi, Ramirez, and Arod make the big money because they also produce big numbers and bring in lots of extra revenue through fan support and endorsements. Of course, Big Papi and Ramirez know how to produce big numbers in October, unlike Arod.

After a little digging I actually found that ticket prices have little or nothing to do with the players salaries. Ticket prices are driven to a certain price to ensure owners maximize their revenue. These owners can only maximize their revenue if fans are willing to pay the price for the tickets.

Ultimately, I discovered that the Tokyo Dome tickets are inflated due to the game being played in Tokyo rather than normal stateside venues that we are all accustomed to. Maybe it is because I am cheap and not willing to pay as much for tickets as the other Red Sox fans. I am going to go stick with my gut feeling and blame this one on the inflation theory. 

No matter what happens, I will still be in Tokyo that week trying to score some last second miracle tickets. If I make it or not, go RED SOX’S!

If you don’t know about JAlbum and you want to post a photo album or gallery online , it’s time to get with it. My friend Mot introduced me to this very easy to use and customizable photo album which I personally use for my own photo gallery . You can create a photo album in as little as 3 steps!

I orginally planned on using Coppermine or Gallery for my web albums but decided that I didn’t need all the bells and whistles and could go with software that does exactly what I want, create ablums for friends and family to view. If I haven’t mentioned this yet, IT IS FREE to download .

With over 7 million photo albums published and the software being started every 5 seconds, it is no wonder why JAlbum is a great free option for creating photo albums. JAlbum doesn’t just offer software, they now provide free <–I said it again… free album hosting that gives you 30MB of space if you don’t have web hosting capabilities.

You can easily change the style and behavior of your album by downloading "skins" or plug-ins that are primarily created by the users in the JAlbum community. I am currently using a very popular skin named FotoPlayer . You can check one of the FotoPlayer demos by clicking on the image below.

More experienced users will really enjoy the built in FTP support along with its multi-platform compatibility.

Bottom line is, if you are looking for a user friendly album creator that is customizable, then JAlbum offers some really great features for all experience levels.

Nakijin Gusuku Ruins Park located in the Nakijin village, a district located in Northern Okinawa Japan is a great place to check out if you enjoy sightseeing and have a couple hours to spare. We ventured there in mid February, just as the cherry blossoms were falling. This is a great time of year to enjoy one of the most spectacular castle sites on Okinawa.

When you arrive you will notice how truly enormous Nakijin really is. Also, you can begin to appreciate the hard work it must have taken to build such a towering structure. Archaeologists estimate that the castle covered nearly 14 acres  at one point. Nakijin’s large size is why it is the second largest castle ruins, only behind Shuri Castle here on Okinawa and is also part of Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage sites .

The admission fee of ¥400 for a single adult covers entrances into both Nakijin ruins and the Nakijin Village History ad Cultural Center. This does involve some walking, but not too strenuous… so wear some comfortable shoes if you want to experience the most.

If you want to see more pictures of Nakijin, you can check out my Okinawa photo album .

Admission Fees

Adult- ¥400

High school student or younger- ¥300

Child not yet in elementary school- Free

Information

Hours : Nakijin Gusuku Park 9AM-5PM

Extended hours : Hours of operation vary with the season

Nakijin Village History and Culture Center : Last entry by 4:30 PM

Parking : Free

How to get there

Take the expressway all the way up north to Nago. From Nago you can take several different roads to get to Nakijin. It is approximately 25 kilometers from Nago to the entrance of Nakijin. If you are familiar with Route 58, you can take 58 until you get to 505 and then look for signs that will lead you there.

That’s right, it says crocodile! It may be the only place on Okinawa that I have been to that serves the delicious fried crocodile.

The first thing that immediately grabbed my attention was the enormous crab that sits right outside of the restaurant. Being a seafood lover I had to check it out for myself.

As soon as you enter the Crocodile Seafood and Bar restaurant you will be greeted by a very friendly and polite staff that will let you choose between outdoor or indoor seating. Because it was raining, we opted to head inside for the evening. When we sat at our table we were drawn to the fascinating "water wall" that is continuously flowing a soothing stream of water while you eat.

As I gazed over the menu I noticed fried crocodile as one of the choices, I had to try it! Going to the Crocodile Seafood and Bar restaurant in Okinawa, Japan and not trying their fried crocodile could leave an empty void in my life. Other than fried crocodile they offer an assortment of lobster, crab, red snapper, shrimp platters, and of course chicken, steak, and filet mignon for those not big on seafood.

Well, so far so good. So I thought, until I looked at the drink menu and noticed that they offer a wide variety of mixed drinks, sake, awamori, beer, frozen drinks and wine. All the favorites that we all love and some drinks with names that I have never heard of, all ranging from ¥300 – ¥680. If you enjoy sake or just want to take a trip on the wild side, you can choose sake tasting for a mere ¥800. They bring out three different types of sake and let you choose which one you enjoy the most during your tasting session.

While you are waiting for your dinner to arrive, you can choose to play a friendly game of pool or darts. If that isn’t your thing, sit back and listen to the mostly pop-style music that is played throughout the restaurant.

The fried crocodile arrived on a slim wooden platter (¥850), along with the Ryukyu Jambalaya (¥950) I ordered. My immediate description of the crocodile would of course be, "taste like chicken".

My wife opted for the two shoulders of snow crab (¥2,400) which came with (Indian rice or steamed rice) or bread, baked potato, corn, steamed vegetables, soup and salad.

All in all the service and food coupled with cool atmosphere were pretty good. However, their elaborate drink menu and their late hours left me dreaming of a second date. If you are in Okinawa and want to have a fun time with friends, go and check out Crocodile Seafood and Bar.

Helpful Information

• Food Price: ¥500-¥5,700
• Drinks:
  • Cocktails- ¥480 and up
  • Soft drinks/Juices- ¥350
• English Menu: Yes

• Seating: Indoor/Outdoor/Bar

• Payment Options: Credit card/Yen/Dollar

Location

Chatan, Okinawa

One block west of Highway 58, near American village (the huge ferris wheel) across from Jusco. Just look for the huge red crab.

Hours of operation

Sunday-Thursdays: 6PM – 2 AM

Friday & Saturday: 6PM – 5 AM

Closed: Tuesdays and during typhoons. <– I found that kind of funny.

Eli and company shock the 18-0 Patriots in Glendale, AZ

    It would be an understatement to say that the New England Patriots were favorites coming into tonight’s game. However, The New York “football” Giants pulled off one of the most fascinating comebacks in all of NFL history. They beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in what looked to be another heroic comeback win for Tom Brady in the final minutes of regulation. When it was all finished, the Giants were left celebrating with the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. (more…)