Iwate Swan 8: High School Culture Festival

Hey gang, so this week's Iwate Swan video is now up. It provides the first look at one of the schools I work at during a school festival. It was quite a lot of fun and I loved getting to see the students having such a good time.


(Iwate Swan 8: High School Culture Festival)

Strange how episode 8 of Tokyo Swan was a school festival video as well. Here's that old video from nearly 2 years ago:


(Tokyo Swan 8: Yagami Festival)

Fun to see how things have changed. I still can't get over how young I like in those old Tokyo Swan episodes hah.

Ok, well time to make dinner and then chat with my lady friend on skype which should be very nice. 83 days to go! The number is getting smaller and smaller yet again heh. Have a good one everyone, new iwate swan and j-shelf videos next week! Who knows, maybe I'll make a regular blog post in here too besides just alerting readers of my new videos haha.
rodger

Michigan Swan

So I was up till 3 editing together a special mighican swan episode of me and 2 of my buddies. Just added a few final touches to it now, and I'm really happy with how it turned out! Of course, I don't want to flood my youtube channel with a bunch of videos all at once, so I'll have to hold back on releasing this one. So that makes the following videos done and ready to post:
Horror Review 48
Horror Review 49
Michigan Swan Special


2 Videos were filmed on this day...


I've started a little work on the 51st review, and I've done a lot of mental work thinking about how to go aobut doing the 50th review. Anyways, I'm super pleased with how the videos are turning out, so I just wanted to let everyone know that some really great stuff is on the way. In other news, 2 months until Japan! I'd like the current review and the read real japanese videos to get more views and comments, just have to give it more time now I think. Anyways, back again soon with more updates and news!
rodger

Read Real Japanese!

Wow, I've been working on a ton of different youtube videos lately. Today, I filmed, edited, and released a new 'read real japanese' video.


Read Real Japanese!

Kind of out of character for me to release a 'how to' video, in fact, i've mostly been against these sorts of things to be honest. But I really wanted to talk about the read real japanese book as I honestly think it's a great buy and will really help people trying to study japanese. As long as the video doesn't come across as pompous then I'm ok with it. Perhaps more of these videos will follow.

Filmed the Tokyo Gore Police video today as well... and I edited that for a few hours. That's actually review 49 and 48 will come out later this week. I'm really getting ahead of myself, but I've been having so much fun editing stuff together. I also filmed a special michigan swan episode... but I haven't looked at all the footage yet. Should just be a fun silly video though.

Anyways, tons of great videos on the way!
rodger

Mega May Update Post!

Hey gang, so the month of may saw a huge increase in my video output on youtube. I was pumping through a load of japanese horror reviews, as well as a special tokyo swan 2 video where I revealed my placement in japan for my new english teaching job. Here are all the videos since the last post on here collected below. Also, I just picked up "Tokyo Gore Police" on DVD today, and I'm excited to watch (and review) that one. Though, i've already started work on the next review and I've got an idea for a bonus video for the first half of the week perhaps. Anyways, enjoy the vids and see you next time!


Swan's Japanese Horror Reviews 44: Uzumaki.


Swan's Japanese Horror Reviews 45: Dead Waves.


Swan's Japanese Horror Reviews 46: Zoo.


Swan's Japanese Horror Reviews 47: A Snake of June.


Tokyo Swan Back in Japan!

Thanks for watching the videos, plenty more on the way! I should really try and update this blog more. Especially now that I'm graduated from college and have a lot of free time before I go back to Japan. I'll try my hardest haha.
rodger

Update Videos

Here are the latest two videos I've posted to youtube, with the Tokyo Swan 2 teaser and the new Japanese horror review of Evil Dead Trap. More reviews to come!

(Tokyo Swan 2 teaser)


(Evil Dead Trap review)

Nostalgia.

Hey gang, it’s getting closer to midnight here, but I felt compelled to write something before heading off to sleep. Been working on my upcoming translation a lot today, so now I’m feeling a bit tired haha. Translation is a long and time consuming process, but it’s a great way to advance my Japanese skills. Also, I just found myself rewatching some old Tokyo Swan episodes on youtube. I don’t watch my work often, but when I do it does fill me with an incredible sense of nostalgia. Even little things in the videos such as a quiet river, a busy road, various food- these little things trigger so many memories for me. Ahh, sweet, sweet nostalgia.

Next week is spring break. Truth be told, I’ve gotten everything I need to get done already finished this week, so I’m just sort of coasting through things now. A friend and I are going to see the new street fighter movie on Friday, so that should be pretty fun. Of course, I think the movie looks awful, but that’s why we are going heh. No plans for spring break, but I am looking forward to relaxing for a few days.

The new Depeche Mode single ‘WRONG’ is now on itunes, so I got that today. Brilliant track… and the music video is so creepy! Look it up if you get the chance. I’ve been following this new DM album so closely, I find myself glued to my chair in front of the computer reading a variety of fan forums trying to learn the newest information about the upcoming album.

Ok, well that’s really all I have right now haha. Just want to get into the habit of writing in here more and not abandon it like I did before. Time for bed. See you next time!
rodger

February Update.

Hey gang, I realize that it's been a while since I've written on here (or posted many videos hah), but I found some free time today to just update what has been going on. Where do I even begin?

1. School. Currently I'm taking two grad level English courses (romantic and renaissance literature) as well as an independent study for a translation of a Japanese short story I'm working on. I talked a bit about that in the last Swan Update video. Anyways, as you can imagine with such high level courses the workload is much greater than the standard undergrad courses and it is keeping me busy.

2. Translation. So yeah, one of my 'classes' right now is that independent study translation and so far things are going great. The story itself is 11 pages long, and right now I'm on page 7 of just going through the initial draft. For the end of the semester, I'm to turn in just the initial first draft (so everything will not sound as clean as it should) and the final draft will be submitted for publication next year. Those familiar with translation already know that it is a massively time consuming project, and so hours upon hours have been spent looking up kanji in the dictionary. I am working on the project with the head of the Japanese department here, and so I feel like I'm really gaining a lot of good experience and it's crazy to think I'll be a published translator in the near future!

3. Work-Writing Center. I don't think I've mentioned it on video or in print, but I've been working at my university's writing center since last August. I've gained a lot of great experience working with English as second language students, and in particular this has allowed me to make some Japanese friends in the process. I work one on one with students (undergrad and grad level) on whatever papers or projects they might bring in. I also work in the classroom as a tutor for the entry level English 1000 course, so as you can imagine this sort of teaching experience looked good on the JET application (more on that in a bit). I'll also be leading a talk on 'bilingualism in the writing center' at Purdue University in April, at the national writing center convention. Exciting times!

4. Work-Tutoring. A few weeks ago I accepted a tuoring job for a Japanese businessman in town. This has been a fantastic opportunity for me, as I've gotten even more teaching experience and I work with a really great guy. I prepare weekly English excercises for him, and so far things are going great!

5. JET. Ok, so like I said in my last video update I made it to the interview stage. Now, I have my interview in Detroit on the 20th (next friday!), and I'm pretty confident about things. With my experience in Japan, and the work I've done here, I know I'm a qualified applicant for teaching English in Japan. I was actually quite nervous about messing up the application, so I gave a huge sigh of relief when I heard I made it to the interview stage. I'll be preparing more for that as the week goes by, but in general I feel good about things and I'm excited for the interview.

6. Social Life. I've made some great Japanese friends here at WMU, and I'm happy that I've been able to still keep in touch with many of my friends from my time in Japan. I also tend to hang out with my close group of friends who all live in the same apartment complex here, so even though I've been busy with work and school, I've been able to relax and just enjoy watching movies or hanging out.

Wow, when I list it all out like that it does look like I'm quite busy these days! Hopefully that explains some of the reasons why my presence here and on youtube has decreased significantly. I'll be posting another update video next week after the interview though, so that's something to look forward to. As for now, I have to get going to work again, so I'll finish things up here. Hope everyone is doing well!

oh yes, and I'm still mega excited for the new Depeche Mode album in April. SOUNDS OF THE UNIVERSE!!!! I can't wait, and the new single is going to debut next week!
Rodger

Tokyo Swan: Unseen Swan 7 (FINAL)

(Tokyo Swan: Unseen Swan 7 (FINAL))
So here is the final tokyo swan: unseen swan episode. What an amazing run the series has had over the past year, and now it's time to say goodbye and move on to new projects. I'm hoping I can get back to Japan for a potential second season, but right now it's just too soon to call. One can hope though!

This episode has a lot of fun clips, and a rather lengthy introduction by me at the start of the video. Took me forever to get that just right, I ended up recording like at least 5 different versions of the opening monolouge, but I couldn't get the vibe right until the one that appears in the video. Anyways, that's it for Tokyo Swan... and we'll see you next time!
Rodger

Weekend Update!

Hey everybody! As the weekend winds down and it's time to start another week of school (already into week 9 of the semester!) I'll just go over some brief updates to close out the weekend:



(Tokyo Jennie and myself in the dorm)

1. Tokyo Jennie! A good friend of mine whom lived in the same dorm as me and appeared in countless Tokyo Swan episodes, Tokyo Jennie, has also recently started her own blog. Jennie in Japan:http://jennieinjapanagain.blogspot.com/ She is also trying to get back to Japan next year, so I think there should be some really good content on there. She's been a great friend so I encourage you keep on an eye on her blog!

2. Dreamcast! This weekend I had some extra time on my hands so I popped in my Japanese copy of Shenmue. I'm trying to play through the game without using a guide, and I'm really happy with how much I understand in the game 船員の集まる場所は知りませんか。 Such an epic and amazing game, I'm at the part where you are looking for Charly.


(me in dobuita where shenmue took place. This became one of my most popular Tokyo Swan episodes)

I also had some time to play the import title 'comic party.' This was originally an 18+ pc game that later got ported to the dreamcast (with the hentai bits removed). You play as an aspiring manga artist and you can select how many pages your comic will be, if it will be in color, the price of the final product, and some other interesting elements that adds some cool strategy and simulation to the game. I initally got into Comic Party with the anime released by The( then) Right Stuf Int. here in the states, and the manga from tokyopop was also quality.

3. Clothes shopping! So I just got back from buying some new shirts and pants to wear as it starts to get colder. It should come to no surprise that all of the shirts were brown (my favorite color) and I even bought a pair of those skinny jeans. We'll see how it goes haha, but I think it all looks pretty balling.

Ok, well that's all from me! Hope everyone has been enjoying the fall weather wherever you may be, and that everyone gets everything they need for Halloween taken care of. Speaking of which, I'm still not sure what my plans are for that...

Rodger

Tokyo Swan: Unseen Swan 6

(Tokyo Swan: Unseen Swan 6)

So here's the sixth episode in the Tokyo Swan: Unseen Swan series. All of these clips come from the first 10 episodes, so it's pretty crazy to reflect and look back on these. Man I looked so young (Those keeping track will see the current facial hair is a developing beard). I shot the opening for this one last weekend, and I had a bit of a cold, but it turned out ok I guess. This one has some good stuff, the 'popper' who danced to a classic chrono trigger track, some shots of Keio university, some clips of Tokyo Jennie and Kris, and more.

Right now, I have just one more Unseen Swan episode put together, but I'll have to go through the video vaults one more time to see if I missed any (worthwhile) footage. And what do I do after the last unseen swan? I guess either pump out more reviews or move on to a new journey back to japan series... hmm, I need to think that idea out. Next up is a new review for Halloween, and then we'll see how things go in November. As for me right now, I'm going back to watching some tenchi, and then the pick up artist is on tv heh.

rodger

Deconstructing Rodger

Hey gang! Hope everyone is doing well out there, as for me this week has been all about midterms! I’m feeling a bit better from the cold I was battling over the weekend, and I’m halfway through the school week already now, but things have been a bit hectic. Just one more stats midterm on Thursday to deal with (oh yeah, math is certainly not my thing).

I’ve got the next Unseen Swan ready to release this weekend, and I’ve started work on the next review. The review after that will be the one that wins the current poll on here, and right now things seem to be in a dead heat!

I’m kind of curious what you guys want to see as content on here? Is there anything in particular you’d like me to blog about? Besides school work this week, I’ve watched a few good Woody Allen movies. 1997’s “Deconstructing Harry” is a masterpiece, one of my favorite films I have seen from Woody. Yeah I know haha, it’s nowhere near Japanese horror but it’s good to have some balance in life.

You might have noticed on the side that I’ve included a link to www.dogentricks.com which is a site run from my friend Kevin whom I met in Japan (Tokyo Swan fans should remember him from some of the episodes!). Kevin is a great guy and a truly inspirational fellow, he taught me how to eat healthier and he was very dedicated to keeping himself in the best shape possible. We had some good times in Japan, and he also has a lot of Japan related posts on his site that are well worth checking out. So check out his site, he’s a great guy!


(kevin and myself at the dorm in Japan on my 21st birthday)

Time to head out to work here soon, and then once I get back I’ll work on some Japanese homework. Is anybody else watching ‘The Real Jaleel’ on nick at night with the guy who played Urkle hosting family matters? Classic.

Rodger