Custom Car Show 2008 in Okinawa
Yes, it’s that time again and how time has flown. The Custom Car Show is one of the big events for people to show off their cars in Okinawa, and on the whole we were treated to good weather last Sunday. There were a few showers but it just helped to keep the edge off the heat. Didn’t stop me getting sunburnt but some things never change. This particular car show will always give me fond memories though as it’s pretty much the first time I met up with Tara (aka Turbosnatch) in Okinawa, and who became one of my closest friends here. So with high expectations and armed with my camera I headed up to Chatan for the show.
There were the usual array of lowrider cars there, along with a couple of drift cars, classics imported from the US, some VW buses and Beetles and bikes too. Late on in the day was a performance by Okinawan hip-hop group, Triple P. I saw them last year and they were pretty good, but I was burning as the afternoon wore on and there’s only so much taking pics of cars that you can take. And with that in mind, here are some of my favourite shots that I took from the show. Have to say this first picture is the one I like best; the composition, focusing, colours all seemed to work. Let me know which ones are your favourites.
Should note that this is a picture-heavy post so only click to read more if you have a decent internet connection.
Full version of Meaghan’s kickboxing fight online
Yesterday I reported on Meaghan Pimsler’s (a friend & dive student of mine, and one of the coolest people here in Okinawa) first kickboxing fight in Japan, a fight she won emphatically. The video I posted yesterday was only the first round of the giths, but here we have the full fight and from a much better angle, for your viewing pleasure.
MMA fighter and a great photographer
Not too much to report over the past week or so, which is the main reason for my lack of updates. Looks like there will be no diving this weekend either due to strong winds coming in, which means another weekend of no diving. Time has been spent on the car and other things this year, but the small number of dives I have done this year really surprised me when I looked at my dive logs recently. One thing that will take some of my attention this weekend though will be the 2008 Custom Car Show in Chatan. I went to that last year and managed to get some good photos there. And this week I’ll be armed with my Canon EOS 20D camera which should hopefully make for some even better shots. And Okinawan J-hip-hop group Triple P will be performing, which will bring out all the crazy kids jumping up and down too. So expect an update very early next week with some photos.
Teacher arrested for affair with JHS student
You see these stories every now and then in Japan, but this one was notable for one particular reason. The teacher in question was actually employed at my school! Found out why the schedule was a little messed up this morning at my school following the long weekend and why it will be at the end of this week. The dormitory supervisor (I believe a temporary teacher) was arrested yesterday on suspicion of having “an affair” with a 14 year old JHS student (not one of the students at my school, which is a high school). As much as I’m sure some people in Okinawa would like to explain this on the US Marines, this one is pure JDM. School has gone into full damage control mode and is getting all the parents in on Thursday for a big meeting about what has been happening and giving some statements. The story was in the Okinawa Times and I expect other places too yesterday, so I’m not exposing anything in this article:
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/news/2008-09…-019-1_004.html
Pretty shocking, especially as this is one of the top 3 high schools in Okinawa. Things like this aren’t supposed to be happening at this school. Scary stuff.
Music recommendation: The Gaslight Anthem - The ‘59 Sound
Not a huge amount to post about this week so far, so I’ll take the time to give you a quick music recommendation that came to me at the weekend. The group in question is called The Gaslight Anthem and their latest album is called The ‘59 Sound. My friend described them as being “Bruce Springsteen meets light punk” and “anthemic rockabilly”, both edscriptions you will understand if you give them a listen, which I highly recommend you do. The movie clip below is a song by them called Great Expectations. Take a listen and let me know what you think. If you like them, download the album!