:EDUCATED IN THE WEST

Any Oldies fans out there? Doowop, specifically. One of my favorite groups from the 50s is Dion and the Belmonts. As I’m headed to Las Vegas for a week, I decided to see where Dion is touring these days. I was hoping to catch him in Las Vegas. Alas, all of his shows for [...]

[Details of the following story have been changed to protect me and the guilty.]
Does anyone remember the scene from the movie Stripes when the characters played by Bill Murray and Harold Ramis go to the Army recruiting office? In processing them, the recruiter asks a series of questions one of which is something like, [...]

I can’t believe it’s been nearly two months since I came around here. That’s unfortunate and I apologize for that. I’m alive and at least somewhat active online as those who have managed to find my facebook page can tell you.
So, what’s been happening in life of Tojo over these eight weeks? [...]

“Mongoloid” Down Syndrome Dolls.

How many stages are there to a break up? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance? Well, there are at least those five, I think. I know someone, Jimmy (not his real name), who is going through a breakup, though I didn’t realize until quite recently just how much of a break up it [...]

* It had to happen sometime. That is, Apple had to release some more application for the iPod Touch. I bought an iPod Touch last year when they first came out. The machine’s home screen was noticeably bare, especially when compared to the multiple applications on the iPhone. It really [...]

Set your DVR’s!! My favorite astronomer, Warren Brown, will be appearing on The History Channel’s “The Universe” series this coming Tuesday, December 18th. The episode, entitled “The Milky Way,” airs at 9pm. Brown’s “Hypervelocity Star discoveries” will be featured.
Synopsis of the show: We used to think that Earth was at the center [...]

My new 8gb iPod touch arrived this weekend from China. Yes, I pre-ordered the unit just a few days after it was announced to much fanfare by Steve Jobs.
Now that it’s actually in my hands, I’ve had some time to play with it. The packaging is very sleek as is the look of [...]

Just a couple things I want to mention today:
1. I just saw Superbad, the latest Judd Apatow flick and I quite enjoyed it. I don’t know if I laughed more during Knocked Up (another Apatow film), but they were both entertaining despite the cringe-inducing profanity. It’s not that I’m a prude, but [...]

If the maxim “Good things come to those who wait” isn’t always quite true, then we can at least say that new things come to those who wait.
I admit that I was one who was waiting with great anticipation for today’s new products presentation by Apple head man Steve Jobs. Speaking in San Francisco, [...]

An entry about nothing, really.
* Are all of you familiar with the dancing Indian dwarf who was a huge YouTube sensation earlier this year? I’ve seen identified as Thavakkalai, a South India actor and as King Kong. I wouldn’t know Thavakkalai from Adam, so, you know. Anyway, he’s also commonly known [...]

Considering that this past week the nation marked the 30th year since the passing of Elvis Presley, I wanted to share a slightly shocking discovery I made. For a long time, I always thought that Elvis was in a slow physical decline in the latter portion of his so-called “Vegas” years when he wore flamboyant, [...]

Maybe this blog should be called “Shallow Tojo,” because that’s who I really am….I admit.
One of the splurge items I was considering purchasing this summer was an alarm clock/speaker system that would work with my iPod. While browsing these units, I came across a novel invention called Clocky, the alarm clock that rolls around [...]

Now that I’m putting in 60-70 hours a week at work, I’ve got a bit of money to splurge on some things that I’ve been wanting. Given that, it was with great interest that I browsed the new Apple iPhone at the Century City Apple Store this weekend. Guinness has been touting the [...]

This guy’s better than Yeltsin.  I wonder if I’ll ever overcome my inhibitions, hangups and prudishness to be such a free spirit.  Do I want to?

Just a few things today, everyone.
*Yes, I saw the Ron Artest story. The Sacramento Kings forward has apparently been arrested (and released on bail) on domestic battery charges. There are many details that I won’t go into here. You can read them in the numerous articles that have already been written and [...]

First off, congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts for their victory in Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears. And congratulations to Tony Dungy for becoming something like the 24th “Christian” coach to win the Super Bowl and the first to openly support the Indiana Family Institute. Kudos are also in order for Colts [...]

Take a look at this video from 1977 and tell me how much piano playing Elvis Presley is really doing. I was enjoying the video when I noticed that his movements didn’t seem to match the music. I mean, it’s convincing enough, especially when you get a shot of the keyboard from behind. [...]

I thought that I would just drop a random post here as I’m past due. I’ve been trying to post at least once a week even though I promised that the new school year would usher in a relatively more prolific amount of postings. I don’t know if I’ve just become lazier or [...]

My Thai countrymen are in the news again. Yesterday, the Royal Thai police took down the alleged killer of JonBenet Ramsey, 41-year old American John Mark Karr. Would you be surprised if I told you the alleged sicko murderer has Northern California connections?

On this side of the Pacific, my Lao brethren are also in the [...]

January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977
Click here to see more surreal video of Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi’s recent visit to Graceland.

I saw this picture on Autoblog the other day. There’s something about it, I think. I like it even though it’s a snapshot of destruction. It still speaks to an observer. I believe I can draw some conclusions about the picture, although not all of them may be accurate. The photo [...]

So, I’ve been working a fairly punishing schedule. Punishing for me, at least: 133 hours billed in the last two weeks. It’s been over two and a half months since I’ve had a day off to spend in Los Angeles. I’ve had six days off of work since May 7th–two days [...]

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a week since I last posted an entry. Nothing’s changed, I’m as busy as ever. Work, you all know about that. The project may be going a little longer, which means I can put off the time that I must spend on my research [...]