4 days and counting

In 4 days I board my plane to Dayton, Ohio for the fall festival. In my last post, I mentioned my apprehension due to questions that are as yet unanswered. After giving it some thought, I determined that it doesn't matter. I love To-Shin Do. I love my dojo and the people I learn from and train with. I love the teachings of Brett Varnum - the senior from whom my instructor is learning. The man in charge, Stephen K Hayes, has my full respect. This is all that matters. I honestly coulsn't give two hoots about how certain other people of (various ranks) behave. In fact, I may simply laugh at the pretentiousness that I have allowed to get the better of me for a while. That being said, I may not go again to festival until I am a nidan (2nd degree black belt) if the political atmosphere is less than tolerable. In any organization, one cannot avoid politics. To that end, there is a certain amount of BS I am willing to put up with. Anyway, I look forward to reporting on that.

So I was reading Mike's blog today (linked at right as Bahr's House of Exuberance), and he posted a picture that had me laughing for a solid 20 minutes. In fact, I am laughing even now. I thought I would share it with the folks who read my blog. Mike took this picture in the bathroom of a local restaraunt. I would really like to know which one so I never go there myself:



I also want to know if Eric has a second job anywhere else so I can avoid that, too.

Lastly, I would like to torture you all with this video I stumbled on the cable access channel here in town. I believe the program was called "Xcorps". They apparently show videos of indie musicians. This guy is an example of why I am afraid for American music fandom. I present to you Eek A Mouse's "Schizophrenic":