Music

Here is some of my favorite music. It is grouped into three categories which I categorize as: Japanese Pop, Alternative, and CCM genres. I also enjoy some other music types ( choir, blues, and some rock or country) which are not yet listed here. Most of the web links I list also provide sample music to listen to. But please note that I try to keep these links updated but they sometimes change.

My friend, Hideyuki from Tokyo taught me all about J-pop and it is great stuff. It has become some of my favorite music and I often listen to it while I workout or run. Try it for yourself and see if you don't agree. And if you have different taste in music, there are many other Jpop music genres to suit any musical style. In some cases, I have listed the official artist's homepages. But remember, these are just a few websites where you can hear some of this music. Most Jpop artists have many other fan pages. And the great thing about this is that you can find some great Jpop MP3's and videos on some of the file sharing servers , or via download torrents, or even on web sites. Remember I am only suggesting you use these servers to listen to the music, not to take the place of buying a CD from an artist you like...but you can go to www.download.com and search for "MP3" or try p2p servers, like Bit Torrent or one of many others. I suggest you stay away from Limeware and Kazaa though, since they install spyware on your computer along with the program installation. I have found Sogou to be a really great source to find Mp3's in recent times (thanks to my Taiwanese friend, Oppo).

Jpop
Yuzu
(my personal favorite)
Yui
Glay
Soul Super Sonics
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Mr. Children
19
TM Revolution
Gackt
Ellegarden
AAA
Ikimonogakari
V6/Coming Century

Alternative / Rock / Pop
Elvis Costello
Radiohead
Foo Fighters
Human League
Roxy Music
Big Audio Dynamite
OMD
The Alarm
Gin Blossoms
Midnight Oil
REM
Adam Ant
Indigo Girls
Peter Bjorn And John
Santana
The Cure
The Cars
Queen
Green Day
U2
The Smiths
Rush
Fleetwood Mac

Blondie
Pretenders


CCM
Small Town Poets
Caedmon's Call
Sonic Flood
DCTalk / Tait
Jennifer Knapp
Michael W. Smith
Steven Curtis Chapman
Jars of Clay
Jim Cole

For some more interesting music samples, listen to my VOX blog here:
http://binaryboy.vox.com/



..or listen to my Pandora Radio Station at the top right of this page.

Sport

Baseball is my passion in life; "yakyu", as the Japanese call it. In my sports post you can find some great links related to the greatest sport ever invented. The Inaugural World Baseball Classic held in March 2006 finally brought the game to an international stage and it was amazing.


I fell in love with baseball during the 1975 World Series as a child. It was my "hometown" Cincinnati Reds team vs. the Legendary Boston Red Sox; two of the most storied teams in baseball with the two richest traditions of history in the game. Arguably the greatest moment in World Series history happened in Game 6 of that series and you can hear it here . The Red Sox forced a 7th game when Carlton Fisk homers off the foul pole in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the World Series. To this day, these two teams are still my diehard favorites.

When the baseball season sadly ends after October, my attention can fully shift to College and Pro Football (American football, of course). As an alumnus of The Ohio State University, the OSU Buckeyes are my favorite team...and are, by the way, the best college football tradition in the nation. As far as NFL football is concerned, my "hometown" Cincinnati Bengals and my childhood hero, Pittsburgh Steelers are my two favorite teams.

I also enjoy Summer and Winter Olympic Games. More on those sports as we approach the Beijing Olympic Games.

Interests

My hobbies and interests include: computers, gadgets and technology. I learn mostly on my own and by asking for help from others, and am far from being a computer expert. I also enjoy music, and have some 4500 MP3's, but not the type of music you probably assume (see my music post). My reading falls mainly into the non-fiction category and I also enjoy photography. And I have a strong interest in Asian cultures, mainly Japanese (mostly because it is more accessible to American Internet users, as Japanese information and many web pages are English-friendly, or at least in Roman characters which make it easier to research). From a few Japanese friends, I have learned to appreciate some really great Japanese music, movies, and dramas (doramas). My hope is to one day visit Japan (or some other Asian countries) , but of course I have no money to do so!

Baseball is my passion in life; Baseball....."Yakyu", as the Japanese call it. In my sports link post you can find some great links related to the greatest sport ever invented by man. Incidentally, I began reading a very interesting book about Japanese baseball, entitled "You Gotta Have Wa" by Robert Whiting which tells of how different baseball is in Japan, how it became a Japanese passion and what it's like being an American playing baseball in Japan.