Top Six (11-22-2010--11-28-2010)

While I did enjoy the weekend, I just didn't have any reason to take many photos last week so this weeks Top Six will be extremely random.



(Its Super Mario Bros as it was always meant to be played...BIG!)

(A study session at a restaurant. If you can't tell, I'm a fan of the cocoa)

(She's visiting from Korea going to churches and performing mini concerts. Great voice. Wow, I am tall.)

(This Hello Kitty at my school looks a heck of a lot warmer than me at school.)

(Some of my beautiful art drawn on my friend during a study session. I defaced both of her arms.)

(As the native English teacher of this Jr.High I should probably mention something about this English right?)

Dear~

"Dear China, could you please friggin attempt to calm the trigger happy North Korean allies of yours. With great power comes great responsibility so stop sitting around and help as much as possible with peace efforts."
Sincerely,
Everyone's Ally Christian

This comment posted as my facebook status seems to have started a bit of a debate not surprisingly from Chinese. In all truth it wasn't meant to be an angry attack. I was just letting out some frustration with the recent situation regarding N.Korea and S.Korea, and its a statement I stand by. Regardless, people tend to get defensive about their countries. I personally am not a fan of a "country" meaning the people in charge and how its ran. What I do love is people, and it doesn't matter what country they may come from. With that said I'd like to clear the air for anyone who may think that I am against their country, cause the truth is I'm against them all perhaps my own more than others.

Here are four short letters I would write to four different countries discussing my problems with them. (Not that my opinion matters.) You will notice that almost all the countries are in Asia. This isn't because I have something against Asia. In fact its the exact opposite. Most of my interest lies in Asia and given that I live in Japan, study Korean, and my closest friends here are Chinese, I just happen to know more about these countries. With the exception of the last one I have a lot of love for the people of these countries which is why their flaws frusterate me more. I'm sure there are plenty European,African ect countries that I'd have some hangups with as well.

*WARNING* You may be offended but most likely only because the truth is hard to swallow.

Dear America
Your past is filled with stories of stealing what belonged to other people. You stole land, you stole my identity and you stole lives. You call yourselves United but a thick cloud of racism says otherwise. Also, you need to stop trying to be the superhero of the world and work on fixing things in your corrupted country as well as quit starting wars for resources. If you wanted oil you should have robbed the Middle East of its land instead of the Native Americans.

Dear South Korea
Stop being so close minded and racist. You are ignorant of other cultures so you just continue to reject everything about them except the entertainment. Your parents are so biased and unfair against their kids being in interracial relationships that you would actually rather disowned your own kid. Is that real love? Also, you are stressing your kids out with too much school. Your plastic surgery is out of control.

Dear China
Learn how to take responsibility for things and stop being so extreme. You accidentally smash into a Japanese ship and then deny it and on top of that stage all sorts of violent protest against the Japanese when it turns out it was your fault. Admit your wrongs and give your people a little more leeway.You willingly allied up with a country that I am sure even you agree is crazy. Also, stop making crappy products that poison people. Its just bad business.

Dear Japan
You spent your past lives taking over other people's lands and causing so much animosity between yourselves and them. You've been quieted by an atomic bomb but it feels like you would still destroy another country if you had the power to. You put too much focus on work and not on family and thus your suicide rate is insane. Also you are outrageously perverted and now its turned your guys into sex freaks who sexual harass women daily on trains and women who think a huge breasted Jr.High school student cartoon character being stared down by older guys is cute.


Dear North Korea
Truth is I only added you because you are the reason this post even exist. I don't think much needs to be said.I only noticed because you made a lot of commotion recently. The only reason anyone ever notices you. You are horrible to your people and bullies. I've never been one to agree with an assasination but for you I'd make an exception. My heart goes out to your people.



P.S. May God Bless you all!

Top Six (11-15-2010--11-22-2010)

I've decided to attempt posting 6 of my favorite photos a week taken within that week every week. With each photo I will supply a small caption in which I will describe the photo or just try shamefully to be witty. Lets get this new tradition started shall we?! Now these are my favorite of the week so you may or may not have already seen some of them in another post. Just pretend as if they are all brand new to you and after reading I'd appreciate a round of applause. Also an applause now would be nice too....louder please.


(A small bridge in Sankoku,Yamaguchi prefecture. The entire place was pretty awesome but this bridge caught my interest cause it looks absolutely Ghibli.)


(My first time eating "Tsukemen" which is apparently famous in Hiroshima. We drove 2 hours to Hiroshima just to eat this.)

(I always say "Two Pikachu's are better than one"..no really,I always say that.)

(Awesome outdoor dining area. I've decided to conceal it with my friends and I faces.)

(I've coined this "The Great Golden Street". It is really quite pretty in the fall.)

(I am almost certain that my friend DuanWei here just bowled a gutter but she looks so cool returning back to her seat.)


If for some reason I don't naturally take 6 photos within a week I won't hesitate to take a photo of my toilette.

2010 Top Japanese words/phrases

Searching the web I found someones blog (Pink Tentacle) in which they posted a blog titled"60 popular Japanese words/phrases of 2010"

It's a good read and quite informative though I'd be afraid of not knowing which words I can use after this year is finished. I'm not sure how quickly Japanese slang fads come and go. Regardless you are sure to find more than a dozen that would seem logically like they will be used long after 2010. There's also a fair amount of words that aren't even Japanese phrases or words...Ipad anyone?

Follow the link
http://pinktentacle.com/2010/11/top-60-popular-japanese-wordsphrases-of-2010/


I think the real question is how can I join one of those all women groups pictured above?

Cause & Effect

Here is the last of my completed short films from my time in film school. It was the final one shot and completed (There is a 4th one shot but not completed.More on that another time). It was for a 16mm black and white film class. My idea for the film was to show how one minor action could escalate into a life changing moment by a series of related events through four people who have never met. It came out pretty much as planned with the exception of one scene that didn't expose correctly and had to be cut. Because of that scene and the nature of the movie you need to play close attention and perhaps watch a few times before you can piece it completely together. It's my Inception, hahaha.



"Every action has a consequence."

The actions of four complete strangers unknowingly alter lives forever.

Written/Edited/Directed By: Christian Washington

Starring
Patrick Johnson
Dennis Willis
Marietta Johnson
Stephanie Palacios

Critically Acclaim Films

Genre: Drama
Running time 6:05

Lost and Found..then lost and found again, then lost one more time and found one more time, then lost for longer but still found.

First, I couldn't think of an appropriate entertaining picture for this post so I just posted a random pic of something that made me laugh earlier today.

Now on to the topic at hand.

For whatever reason I seem to have a problem with keeping hold of two of my most important items, my wallet and cell phone which is the bad news. The good news is that I live in Japan which apparently means I'll get it back soon. Lets take a look at each situation shall we?

1. City: Tokushima
Item: Cell phone
This was the first time I lost my phone. It was right after buying more minutes for it (its prepaid) and I was preparing to meet a friend at a party. At some point while riding my bike to the party it fell out of my pocket. I ended up late to the party searching for it and never found it that night. In Japan there are a lot of randomly placed (random from my view) police boxes where you can go to talk to a police man for a variety of problems including lost objects. (Which in Japan is probably the most often problem they hear about given crime is pretty dang low.)
At the police box they give you some papers to fill out and ask you somethings about the item in questioned. After they take some contact information from you and if someone turns it into any of the other police boxes in the city they will know and contact you to come get it. We'll someone found my phone and turned it in and it all took about 3 days.

2. City:Okayama
Item: Wallet

While hanging in the park with my friend my wallet somehow got away from me. After realizing this an hour or so late I went back to the park to find it was not there. Losing my cell phone is a problem, but losing my wallet is a nightmare. I happen to have a lot of ID cards that I need to be in Japan as well as about $300 in yen. Once again I went to the police station and filed a report. The next day my wallet was turned in with EVERYTHING still inside.

3. City:Okayama
Item: Wallet

Yes it was the wallet again. It happen to fall out of my pocket while I was riding to work. (Its a little big and doesn't fit so snug in my pocket. I need to look into another one perhaps, but it has sentimental value.) I realized it was missing about an hour later and went to the police station to file yet another report. Turns out it had already been turned in and to that very police station so I was able to easily just pick it up.

4. City: Okayama
Item: Cell Phone

Obviously jealous of the wallet it was time for my cell phone to make another disaperance. This time I set it down while trying clothes on at a store and just left it there. After leaving the store I didn't realize it was gone until a good 3 hours later. I went back to the store but it wasn't there so I filed a report. This time it took a bit longer than usualy. It was about 4-5 days before I was contacted that it had been returned. Someone indeed found it in the clothing shop and turned it in.

Now if I had lost any of these items (especially a wallet with $300 in it) in America I wouldn't even consider that I could get it back. The moment I lost it I would get a good cry out and move on with my life, but here in Japan there is a good change someone kind person will actually pick it up and take the time to take it to the police so that it can be returned to you. For me it has happened four times. I can't guarantee this will always happen and perhaps a bigger city like Tokyo or Osaka wouldn't have the same results but from what I have experienced and heard from others if you are gonna lose something, Japan is the best place to do it. God Bless Japan, and thank God for his mercy.

Whether it gets returned or not I think I'll try to be a little more careful in the future. =)

Angela's Awakening

The last film I posted was my second ever during my time in Film school. It was for a digital film class and thus purposely shot on digital. This film is my first ever during University life. It was actually suppose to be for a 8mm film class shot using film but the cameras were a bit tricky for me and I thought I would also film the movie at the same time using a digital camera in case the film version didn't come out well. Turns out this was a pretty good idea because the film version didn't expose correctly and if it was not for the digital version I would have no version.

Hope you enjoy and are able to discover its true meaning.





"When she lost hope, hope found her"

A young woman tries to escape her life through suicide but finds hope through two heavenly companions.
Written/Edited/Directed By: Christian Washington
Starring
Marietta Johnson
Yuko Nakatsu
Keri Tamanaha

Critically Acclaim Films

Genre: Drama
Running time 4:39

After The Scare: A Look At The Life Of A Retired Boogeyman

A few years ago I was living in San Francisco studying film at an art University. It was a great time and though I have veered into a different path for the moment film will always be my first love.

There were four short movies that I wrote and directed my self while at school. Three of them were finished and the last and possibly the best is still in post-production limbo.

Here is the second one created.



"Scaring children was easy, living life is scary"

Mockumentary following the life of a Boogeyman after he is no longer allowed to haunt children for a living.


Written/Edited/Directed By: Christian Washington
Starring
Yuko Nakatsu
Keri Tamanaha
Kelly Seleska
Sarah Smith
Melissa Gallien
Emily Doran
Brandon Moten
Tahj Malone
Christian Washington

Critically Acclaim Films

Genre: Comedy
Running time 7:02