Light Show

Usually I don't dane to talk about the weather in my blog but it has rained in Tokyo for over a week now and today takes the cake. Right now as I type there is a thunderstorm of Forrest Gump proportions going on outside my window. The kind of storm you turn off the lights and unplug the appliances for. The kind of storm where you just stare out your window cause it feels like God in concert and you've got front row tickets. I just cycled through it on my way home from work and as the lightening struck and the thunder sounded so loud that I could feel it through my tires I can honestly say I don't remember a moment when I felt more alive.



This truly awesome display of nature just makes you BELIEVE!

Sketchy Male Models

Men always ask me if they can be models for Dr. Sketchy's and I usually turn them down but now I have decided to change my tune. After watching Dmitry Bulkin do this amazing Pole Dance I've decided that hey guys, if you've got the skills to move like this and a body sculpted by Russian gods, then yeah, you can be on my stage.

Watch closely, though the bar is verticle, it has most certainly been raised!

Mika Mondays

I love to Hoop.
I love to listen to Mika.
And ever since The Buggles broke the video barrier on MTV, I've wanted to be in a music video.
Today all my passions shall collide!



I have decided to devote Mondays on this blog to Mika audition videos like this one.
It's my virtual message in a bottle.
Help spread it to the world and put this whole 6 degrees theory to the ultimate test!

It's the perfect way to kick my own ass and practice everyday. I'm expecting you all to hold me accountable! Yikes!

This brilliant idea was brought to you by Ze Frank the foremost authority on brain crack.
Thanks Ze!

Stay tuned!

Sex and the City

So it's been much awaited here in Tokyo and FINALLY, the eagle has landed-
SEX AND THE CITY premieres TONIGHT in TOKYO!!!!!!!!

For about a month now I have been a contributor on the Metpod; the radio/podcast version of The Metropolis Magazine, Tokyo's #1 English language magazine. This week's episode is dedicated to the much awaited Tokyo debut of SATC. Go HERE to listen to me and the Metpod gang weigh in on Tokyo's favorite city chicks!

Summer fun

What a difference a week can make. Far away from my computer in a place where mobile reception was horrible at best, sand crept into the most sacred crevices and bugs the size of my big toe dined on my flesh with the kind of reckless abandon you only witness at Las Vegas all you can eat buffets and yet I loved every single minute of it!

My colleague turned close buddy Kai Neptune, invited a group of us to her hometown for Obon (a week long summer holiday in August where Japanese return to their hometown to pay homage to their ancestors (it's the closest thing they've got to Halloween minus the ghosts, goblins and costumes)) Kai is one of those rare gaijin who was actually born and raised in Japan. Her father is John Kaizan Neptune a Shakuhachi player/maker (Japanese Bamboo Flute) and until last week I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between a Shakuhachi and a basic recorder!

Kaizansan (Japanese for cool gaijin shakuhachi dude) was in the midst of making a NHK documentary in his mountain hideaway when we arrived but he was a fantastically gracious host amid the chaos and even took time to give us a few drum lessons on a bamboo drum called the Udubu that he invented!

Stepping foot into the Neptune's Pentagonal Dome house in the middle of the forests of the Japanese landscape is truly like visiting another planet. A peaceful, calming planet where monkeys tap your skylight as you sleep and spiderwebs act as natural mosquito netting. I must admit I spent much of the first half of the week getting over my fear of the bugs but surrendering to this slow life style was not at all difficult and time truly seemed to stand still on those mountains which is why I'm amazed and saddened that the week has ended so soon. Kai, if you're reading this honey, thanks for everything; I'm counting down the days till round 2!

Haven't seen enough of me and my pin-up friends. You can find more pics here.

That's Cabaret!

My alter ego Lady Elle of Dr. Sketchy's Tokyo hung up her cabaret shoes for the month of August but Leilachan still needed to do more research into the burlesque scene in Tokyo in order to recruit more models for the up coming fall season. And what a scene it is! Last month's Dr. Sketchy model, Cherry Typhoon invited me to a litany of Cabaret performances all over the Tokyo Metropolitan area and it has been quite the eye opening experience into the underground scene of cabaret. This weekend's series of shows was held at The Amazon Club a real old fashioned Speakeasy in Downtown Yokohama. Fronted as an old Barber shop, the back rooms of this old pub where General MacArthur himself hung out, are sultry cabaret performers with more spice than you can find on Wolfgang Puck's rack! Saturday evening began at The Puk Puppet Theater in Shinjuku with a fairytale cabaret performance by Cherry Typhoon and an amazing singer/musician whose name eludes me but whose voice captured my imagination. She sang like a songbird very ethereal and enchanting and not at all typical for a Japanese performer! Her agile fingers tickled a wide range of instruments showcasing her spectacular musicianship and rhythmic wit. Together they created a world where traditional fairytales like Cinderella and Snow White collided with themes from Alice and Wonderland and the Wizard Oz to create a Tim Burton-esque wildly exotic and at times phantasmogoric spectacle of cheeky humor and daring erotica. Then it was off to Yokohama for some good old fashioned debauchery. 6 hours and 267 photos later the sun rose over MacArthur's old stomping ground and I stumbled home amongst the early morning commuters convinced that my night was better than their day would be!

OMG

Watching Mona aka Shpongled Hoops totally made me question my sexuality but not my love of the HOOP!
I mean OMG!!
Is all I can really say to this performance.

I'm off to the park!
I've got some serious catching up to do!

Ze Frank on TED

Ze Frank has literally taken over huge chunks of mental real estate this month. In case you didn't know August is Live A Calmer Existence month and in an attempt to slow down and take it easy I have let my imagination co-pilot my life for awhile and the journey to discovering fresh ideas and new experiences has led me to one extraordinarily witty and poignant web toy designer Ze Frank. His TED talk which I've posted here is great but I appreciate him more in the short video format which he has perfected in a web series called The Show. Each webisode is chocked full of fast paced witticism, imagination and pure intelligence. There's a little somethin somethin for everyone! I can feel the creative juices flowing already!



Allow 20 minutes to view the TED Talk.

Hooping for Cookies!

My friend and colleague, who I like to call Inspiration Jason, recently invited me to come volunteer at a community center/cookie factory where he regularly spends his time with the mentally disabled in Sangenjaya over in Setagaya-ku.

The Shimouma Fukushi Center is dedicated to employing the mentally challenged as a means of incorporating them into the workforce and giving them a useful skill that enriches not only their lives but those of others in the community.
Walking into the community center is an experience unto iteslf. The sublimely nostalgic aroma of cookies from every part of your childhood permeates the floor where they are baked and your serotonin levels are involuntarily thrust into the stratosphere of pure elation as those big bright smiles greet you at the front door more happy to see you than Santa Claus HIMSELF!
These hard workers have earned the respect of the omiage (souvenir) making community. Their cookies have been rated #3 in Japan as the most preferred omiage to give away during the holiday season! And it's easy to see why; you can literally taste the love coming out every morsel. Their positive energy is infectious and by the end of my visit I was jumping around just as much as they were!

Working at a community center isn't all work an no play so at the end of their busy day in the factory they usually wind down with some fun organized activity. Jason shared his love of dance, teaching everything from Hula to disco while I was in charge of all things Hoop-tastic!

After a brief demonstration on the LED hoop my new baker friends were ready to give the hoop a whirl, albeit slightly hesitant at first.



It didn't take many trials to get it right and before I knew it I was competing to keep up with THEM!! The time just flew by and with it all their inhibitions. The joy in the room was palpable. I'll definitely be going back!


For more information about The Shimouma Fukushi Center go here.
or call this number 03 5712 5103*

*Neither the website or phone number is available in English BUT volunteers of ALL Nationalities and language abilities are welcome. Have a Japanese friend set up an appointment. You'll be glad you did!

Cancelled Pride?!?!

The proverbial "THEY" are at it again!
You know those jerks who always get blamed whenever something goes wrong,
when things are not right...
The people to look for when your mail gets mis-sorted,
when the parking rules arbitrarily change or
when there aren't enough hot dog rolls for all the hot dogs in a pack!!

Well those screwballs have now canceled Tokyo's Gay Pride Parade, an event that usually coincides with the Ni Chome Annual Matsuri (summer festival) And after taking a page straight out of the book of these NYC Queens, (watch as the Rockefeller City rent-a-cops try to break up the festivities!!)

some of the most fiercely dedicated fag hags in Tokyo have decided to rally together and do something about it!

The UNOFFICIAL Gay Pride Extravaganza
Where: Yoyogi Park (near the fountain)
When: Saturday August 9th
Time: 2p-till your hat melds to your head!

For more information go here and here.

Comedian Kevin Cooney

Kevin Cooney or TokyoCooney as he's known on Youtube is a stand-up comedian, writer and director here in Tokyo. He writes The Negi which of course is Tokyo's version of The Onion. The Negi is featured every first Friday of the month in The Metropolis Magazine and definitely delivers the funny with a little wasabi on the side! Over the years I've worked with him on a number of projects the last of which was this little gem which I probably should save until we get closer to the next Comedy Store event but it just tickles me so much.

Earlier this past Spring Kevin Cooney and The Comedy Store gang filmed a collection of short comedy sketches to promote The Tokyo Comedy Store which had staggered release dates. I'm sorry to say that this is the last installment in that project but with your help we can collectively twist Cooney's virtual arm to keep the good times rolling. So go leave a little comment on his vlog to show your love!

Summer Renewal

Gotta new pad.
In a new neighborhood.
With new appliances and a fresh outlook on life, it was only natural that a new blog should follow (or a cosmetically enhanced one anyway)
As with any dramatic change in life I can feel myself becoming increasingly giddy at the prospect of exploring this new world with Calvin and Hobbes-like enthusiasm.
July was a tempestuous month full of transition and uncertainty and I'm happy to say that August feels like wading through a still pond in a deserted mountain alcove and I am slowly rediscovering the joys of my old hobbies like hooping and loafing about. I was finally able to dust off my hoops after a month long hiatus and give those babies a spin in the gorgeous park that the universe granted me after months of hooping in my ultra cramped living room. Last night I performed in the living room of my new neighbor Ryusuke Takahashi* who lives just off the park. Not too far from me.

I stopped by his place after dropping in on our mutual neighbor Kenji Yamashita** only to discover he was out for the evening.

Even though Yamashitasan couldn't join us Takahashisan and I had a very spirited evening as I swayed and moved my hips to the park after hours soundtrack of cicadas and crickets croaking to the beat of the water fountain in the center of the plaza. By the time I was finished with my hoop set poor Takahashisan was...well he was...overcome with excitement and I had to leave him slumped in quieted revelry.


*Names have been changed.
**Actually names have been made up due to the lack of journalistic integrity.