Nova drum sticks

So the other day the time came for me to buy some new drum sticks. I probably buy about 4 pairs every 7 or 8 months due to breakage, and now I think about it I've probably spent quite a lot of money on sticks over the years - something I wouldn't be doing if I played guitar or another instrument. And for what they are, I think drum sticks are a bit overpriced really, so I'm always looking for the cheapest way of buying them.

The sticks I usually get these days are Vic Firth American Classic 5BN sticks. I used to buy Pro-Mark because one of my favourite drummers endorsed them, but they would break really easily, so I switched to Vic Firth, and they last nearly twice as long I'd say. I used to play 2BNs as well, but they were just a bit too bulky, and 5BNs are a good average sized stick, so allow you quite a bit of flexibility in regard to different styles of playing.

Last time I bought my sticks I got a really good bulk deal on eBay, but I couldn't find any such deal this time, so I just went to an online shop I've used before. Here though I found a brand of sticks called Nova, who I'd heard of before, but never bought, and they were nearly half the price of the Vic Firths. Although there's not much information about the brand online, I did a bit of research and found that they are actually made by Vic Firth using the same wood as their other sticks, but Nova sticks are made out of wood that has slight imperfections and can't be used for their top-line range. They're still weight-matched and stuff though, and at £4.95 instead of £7.95 I thought I'd give them a go. I mean how much can an imperfection in the wood really affect your playing? I'm more bothered about how long they last. And the sticks came this morning, so once I've had a go with them I'll post a bit of a review online.

I'll also post a review or something of the new Batman film soon, which seems to be absolutely everywhere I look at the moment. Hopefully gonna see it sometime this week.

Booked my ticket

I'm a week into my Japanese study now, and it's all going quite well so far, especially the kanji. I often surprise myself with the amount of kanji I know - they're all finally starting to sink in after two years.

Booked my ticket for Japan too yesterday. I'm flying over with one of my mates from the course, so he's sorted most of it out really. We're flying with Asiana Airlines as it was the cheapest ticket around, and we're arriving at Narita airport (via Seoul) on September 28th. We're then gonna stay in Tokyo with one of our Japanese friends who we met at university this past year, before we go our separate ways for the year. Exciting!

Old photos

I spent much of today looking at family photos as my dad had brought down 3 boxes full of old photo albums from the loft. Photos are so crazy, and really cool, capturing a moment forever and all that.

There were photos of me from being a baby all the way up until a few years ago, and I had so much fun looking back at the places I've been and the things I've done, as well as all the different hairstyles and fashions I've sported. There were some photos of my parents and relatives before I was born too, and that was interesting, seeing what my parents were like in the 80s, and then how my grandparents were in the 70s.

Photos are really important. I mean, you shouldn't get stuck in the past or anything, but I think it's good to look back to the past and remember how things were, as the past is always a massive part of who we are now.

There were no photos in our albums from the last 4 years though, and that must be because of digital cameras. Digital photos don't tend to get printed out, and I think that's a shame in a way, as photos are now less physical, which can be part of their charm. Plus, I find photos which have been taken by non-digital means often just look better.

Saying that though, digital cameras are good because they're so easy to use, and cost-effective, and so encourage us to take more pictures. And although it is easy to get obsessed with photos these days (especially with things like Facebook and MySpace), I think taking lots of photos and being able to look back on them is a good thing.

A break does you good

I'm feeling much better now - if there's one good thing about being ill, it's that you always feel pretty good afterwards - so yesterday I got out my notepad and decided to start studying Japanese again. I've drawn up a really precise timetable of all the stuff I have to do over the next couple of months and I plan to stick to it.

I'm actually quite glad to be learning again, because although I did manage to take my mind off Japanese for a month or so after my exams, the thought that I probably should be studying was always there at the back of my mind. It kinda sucks, but that's just the way it is. Now though, I've found that I seem to have a renewed passion for Japanese again. My interest in Japan/Japanese tends to undulate quite a bit, and throughout this past year there were times when I truly did regret choosing Japanese as a degree, but at the moment I'm happy again with my decision.

I think a lot of this is because the thought of me going to Japan excites and motivates me to make sure I'm at a decent level of proficiency when I arrive there in September. I also think that the break I've had has done my good, because although I've forgotten a lot of stuff, I've rediscovered my enthusiasm, and now I'm able to study at my own pace and with my own goals, rather than for an exam (in fact, I just feel a bit more at ease with life in general after the break).

When people ask me why I chose to study Japanese, I often joke and say I couldn't think of anything else to do, and while there is a small element of truth in that, there were other reasons for my choice that I've now remembered. And I've been building myself up to going abroad to study in Japan ever since I chose to apply for Japanese Studies 3 years ago, so I'm really looking forward to it now. As the Japanese would say: とても楽しみにしている!

Still ill

And the illness continues. I feel better today though, but still not good enough to leave the house. I think I'll just sit around and watch TV some more. Yesterday I watched some Freaks and Geeks (I'm going through the whole series for a second time), Grease (this was the first time I'd seen it all the way through, it was OK, too many songs), The Squid and the Whale (that was depressing) and the last in the current series of Scrubs (wasn't that funny). Today I'll watch some more Freaks and Geeks, some Peep Show, and then hope that there's something good on TV.

Illness

I'm ill with a cold (in the middle of summer!), and it's a pretty bad one. I haven't been able to leave the house for the past two days and I've had to cancel stuff I had planned, which is annoying - illness is so inconvenient. But after two days with a cold, I should be getting better by tomorrow, right?

I've just been eating, drinking and watching TV and films - loads of Peep Show, Friends and some Ali G, and The Graduate and American Graffiti.

I did have some good news today though. And some bad news actually. The bad news was that I'm not getting a scholarship from Kobe University next year, which is a bummer, but the good news is that my student loan for the next academic year comes in August. I was planning on it coming in October, which meant I was considering getting a summer job to pay off my overdraft and tide me over for my first few weeks in Japan. But now it's coming in August I don't have to worry about all that. I celebrated by plunging further into my overdraft with an Amazon spending spree.

Exam results

My exam results for the spring semester at uni just came out today and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. I took 3 modules: one in Japanese language, one in contemporary Japanese society and one in web journalism.

Web Journalism was the first module I've taken outside of the East Asian Studies department, but it's the best result I've ever had out of 10 modules over the last 2 years, which kinda makes me think I chose the wrong degree! I did really enjoy it, and I seem to be quite a bit better at it than Japanese, but it's a bit late now!

But to be honest, although the results from my Japanese modules are a bit lower than normal, they're not that bad at all, considering how I felt after both exams. And anyway, me and my mates were just concentrating on passing this year so that we could get to Japan, and we've all done that, which is great.

I really, really need to start learning some Japanese again now though. I was trying to write an email to someone yesterday, and I've forgotten A LOT. Probably start again this week.

Starting up with Japanese again

You know, I really should start studying Japanese again. I can feel my Japanese ability slowly leaking out of my brain, but I need a break! I haven't really had a decent break from it all since last summer, and I don't think I had much of a break then. And I think my brain truly does need a rest after this year, but I've had about a month's break now, so I'll probably try and pick it up again in about a week. Going to Japan really makes me want to be pretty good by the end of summer.

Other things that are happening this summer include my band playing a date on the Chiptune Alliance Tour at Corporation in Sheffield and a trip to Southern France where my band will also play a gig. Through my podcast I have a friend who lives in Nice, France, and he asked us to go down and stay with him for a while and play a show, which I'm really looking forward to. Originally we considered taking a car and going over on the ferry, but we thought that might be too expensive, so I think we're gonna fly over on around the 6th of August, then play the show on the 8th and stay for a couple more days before coming back, but it still all needs to be sorted out. I can't wait though.

Weird weather

The weather's been crazy recently. It's warm and sunny one moment, then raining really heavily the next. I think it even hailed yesterday. I do hope we start to get some prolonged sunshine sometime soon, but the forecast for the next few days doesn't look too promising. When we do get some nice weather though there's this massive area of hills and fields near my parents' house that I'd like to explore. I meant to do it last summer, but never got round to it. Maybe this year.

I got my phone back again the other day. Dial-a-Phone said they'd send us a new one, but they haven't - it's just my old one repaired. But as long as it doesn't break again I'll be happy, and it seems to be OK so far.

I got an email from StarWars.com today telling me that they've just redesigned their website, partly in preparation for the new TV series and movie based around the Clone Wars.

I used to be really, really into Star Wars, and I especially remember one summer only 3 years ago when I spent a lot of time on the message boards, debating about everything Star Wars related. I remember I knew so much about Star Wars, but I bet I've forgotten it all now 'cos I just haven't been paying attention to it recently. I suppose not that much has been happening, but I was surprised to see that The Clone Wars movie comes out in just over a month's time. I knew they were making a TV series about the Clone Wars, but I didn't know they were making a film. I'm not excited for it or anything though. I find the whole Clone Wars storyline pretty boring - just a load of politics. And they already made a cartoon series about it all. That was OK actually, but wasn't that enough? Also, the new TV series and movie are both fully computer animated, which isn't very fun, and then combine that with the fact that Lucas hasn't really produced anything that decent since 1983. I am looking forward to the live-action TV series they're making though. That should be good, although we're gonna have to wait at least a couple years more for that.

Finally, I just released the newest Gamewave Podcast episode. We recorded it using a Talkboy, and I'm guessing we're the first people to ever do that. Check it out at gamewavepodcast.com.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

I recently watched a really great documentary called The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I heard about the film through a podcast I listen to, and the hosts agreed that it was one of the best films made last year so I decided to check it out.

Set within the world of competitive gaming, the documentary follows two players of Donkey Kong, Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell. Mitchell is recognised as one of the best competitive gamers of all time, and when the film begins he holds the world record at Donkey Kong. Wiebe is a relative newcomer to the scene, but quickly becomes well-known through his attempts to break Mitchell's record.

I won't spoil the movie, but it's a thoroughly interesting watch as you get to see inside the politics of competitive gaming and all the personalities involved. And all this competition is set against the day-to-day lives of Wiebe and Mitchell, school teacher and restaurant chain owner respectively. It's such a great story that it's often hard to believe it's real life, and I thoroughly recommend the film if you're into video games at all.

Also, the DVD contains a few chiptunes from some artists that I play on my podcast, as well as a fun little animation by Gabe Swarr, who I know is a listener of the podcast too.