Doppelgangers??

Sorry for the delayed post I know many of you fans have been eagerly awaiting. So anyway its needless to say that back in the states I had a lot of friends I mean A LOT!! However, I had very few close friends, friends that would loan me money, pick up the check, bail me out of jail etc. So ya you can say I do miss these people. I miss sitting around the bar talking, I miss going out to eat, walking around causing trouble, randomly bumping into them on the street. So as you can probably guess in my waking hours I do a lot of reflecting and thinking about these people, now as I've stated in previous posts I'm not a scientist and and I'm not crazy (maybe); But I know what I've been seeing and that is here in Japan I see people who look exactly like my friends back home... I know I know now I don't want to sound like one of those people who say they see imaginary things like ghosts, aliens, Barack Obama working... But yes I am seeing asian doppelgangers of my friends back home. Theres Jap Jim, Asian Alex, Yellow Laura... well you get the idea. It's so deceiving that I actually walked up to a guy in a bar and said "Wes whats up, I didn't know tonight was gay night" and didn't realize it wasn't Wes until the man responded "Nani? uuuggghhhh?" So again I pose this to the science community, Is it possible I am suffering from some brain disorder where my wanting for my friends are creating images that are just not there? Like Patriots fans who watch games and think the see a secondary. Do I have a condition like the Stockholm syndrome... or is it the Stockham syndrome....?

Winnie the Pooh...WTF??

Japan loves Winnie the Pooh, I don't think that will shock anyone. A stupid "cute" character that hangs with his buddies and eats hunny, they love Pooh I haven't been to a house yet that didn't have some Pooh Merch, there are even stores dedicated to the sale of Pooh housewares and other crap, he's more marketable than Obama and I wouldn't be surprised if either one ended up on the yen or the dollar sometime soon. So one day while I was on my exploratory walkabouts with one of my girls I wasn't too shocked to see that there is a bar dedicated to Pooh... at first glimpse I couldn't stop laughing "hahaha even Pooh has his own bar hahaha how gay" unfortunately the place hadn't opened yet so I couldn't go in but my mind delighted with ideas of what it was like inside and how much fun I'll have and stories to tell. I snapped a few photos vowed my return and went to drink and play karaoke. A few days later curiosity had gotten the best of me and I set out again with a woman to see what this place was all about. My mind danced with visions of drinking brew out of "hunny" pots and being served buy someone in a Pooh costume, maybe cute girls dressed as rabbit, and roo hahahaha I was gitty. I walked in the door and within moments realized I was nowhere near stepping into the hundred acre wood, this place was closer to hell. If you ever visit Japan one of the first things you'll notice is there attention to service, everywhere customers are God's at Drunker The Phoo I was intruding. The place was small 10-12 seats encompassing a horseshoe style bar, cigarette smoke hung in the air like London fog, and the bartender looked at me like all he was about to serve was pain. I have a pretty good track record of never leaving a bar without getting 1 drink, I've even mistakenly walked into gay bars and stayed for one, word to the wise if you notice figure skating on the bar flat screen well Dorothy... Anyway Drunker the Phoo was just that I knew I wasn't going to make a night of this place but I had to prove I had the courage to last at Drunker the Phoo...???WTF! The bartender and I eyeballed one another as my girl ordered drinks, I just kept saying "big beer!, big beer" hoping that would earn me some respect, it did little if none. The bartender was interesting to say the least, if I had to guess he was about 5'6 maybe 145-150 he wore a sleeveless red T-shirt (maybe to emulate the pooh vest?) and his arms were strong and lean, and he had some Tribal? tattoo on his shoulder, and a scar of dubious origins stretched across his biceps. He ungratefully poured our beers, took her money and I grabbed us some seats where my back could be against the wall. The other patrons were just as hardened, their skin was like leather and most had serious dental issues. I felt sad, my dream of cute girls, people dressed as animals, alcohol and good times was a bust. I was worried what would the headlines read? "American knifed to death at Drunker the Phoo" I wasn't going to let it end this way. I pounded my beer then my girls and left before they could arrange my drugging and demise, if I sound paranoid well, you tend to get paranoid when everyone around you is talking, looking at you, not smiling and you can't understand shit. Disappointed, I ended the night and grabbed some whiskey for the walk home. When I got back home I checked my photos of Drunker the Phoo I had taken some days ago and there I saw it, amongst the many Pooh dolls in the top right corner of the display there is a crucified Winnie the Pooh!! complete with outstretched hands and blood (see top pic)...it all made sense finally, now we all know who truly died for our sins and I should have shown some respect...