Shawn (00:02): Hey Everybody. And welcome back to another fantastic episode of English All Over the Place as always, I am Shawn De Haven.
Barney (00:10): And you guys can just go ahead and call me Barney,
Shawn (00:13): Alright! Uh, I will call you Barney.
Barney (00:16): Thank you.
Shawn (00:17): Is that okay?
Barney (00:17): I appreciate it.
Shawn (00:19): Alright.
Barney (00:19): That's because we're friends.
Shawn (00:21): Or "Bernie." If you're, if you're, if you're really close to you.
Barney (00:25): Very close!
Shawn (00:25): Um, so how have you been doing lately, Barney?
Barney (00:29): Well, very well. Um, yeah, we're all healthy at home. We're doing great. Um, I was able to get Upload watched, watched? Upload? Yes?
Shawn (00:40): You were able to watch Upload.
Barney (00:40): Not - not...it's not "Uploaded" right? Upload. Yes. I was able to get Upload watched; loved it. Have to wait forever for the next season.
Shawn (00:47): Yes. Yes. Uh, this is in reference to the earlier episode where we talked about our favorite entertainment right now, and that's the, um, Upload - the series Upload on Amazon Prime. It's a great - it's, I think it's about 10 episodes (Yeah, it is) probably. Uh, it's really worth watching, unfortunately, with these things, once the season's over, you have to wait so long for another season (Next spring). Yes. Yeah. Um, uh, I've also been getting you into, uh, What We do in the Shadows. (Ooohh Yes!) Now What We do in the Shadows is a great, uh, um, unfortunately it's not on Netflix or - or Amazon Prime you'd have to buy it off iTunes. Um, but it's a great series about a bunch of vampires that lives in a house - live in a house - uh, share a house and in Staten Island, New York, and it's very funny and a little dark, but very funny.
Barney (01:39): Yeah. The, um, I think it's right up our alley for the type of humor, these small, subtle jokes (little things - little things) that they put in there are so good!
Shawn (01:50): We can't do it in the attic. We have the, <both> Stairmaster, which is an exercise machine. Um, you wouldn't think that vampires need exercise, but maybe that's why they can live forever. Um, uh, and it's based on a movie, uh that was from New Zealand. That was also hilarious in its own, right, uh, again, same sty- same title, What We do in the Shadows. Look it up. Have you gotten any of your Christmas shopping done?
Barney (02:17): Oh, I know. Um, actually Yuma keep asking us when certain things are arriving. So he is starting to - (Arriving?), yeah; he's starting to understand money. And, uh, his grandma his, uh, "baba" gave him some cash and I think a congratulations on something or other. And, um, he knows he, we don't really, we, you know, we've saved it away for him, but he knows somewhere. He has this kind of reserve this credit to his name. And so he thinks that he has purchased something. And he's like, "When is this going to arrive? Why hasn't it arrived yet?"
Shawn (02:54): Has he purchased anything?
Barney (02:56): No, of course not. (Okay.) If anything, it'll get, he'll get it for Christmas. And I keep saying, "Oh, well, you know, you know, because of COVID-19 things are slowing down, you know, maybe there's not enough workers at the warehouse..."
Shawn (03:07): You know, Santa has COVID-19. So it has slowed him down...
Barney (03:12): Overweight and old (OH NO!). I hope he can get through.
Shawn (03:15): He's, uh, he's in a big risk group there.
Barney (03:20): Yes, yeah. So, but, uh, yeah, this week, I think we'll get it finished up. Um, I have some ideas for, uh, people back in the States and, uh, for the wife too. How about for you?
Shawn (03:29): I ordered things online on Amazon USA for my parents. It's just easier that way. I don't even bother gift wrapping them anymore - paying for the giftwrap. (I know! Yeah.) What's the point?
Barney (03:40): Yeah, I don't either. The box is fun to open.
Shawn (03:42): I mean, my, I, my dad got it like a couple weeks early last year and he's opened it already. Like you're not supposed to open it. That's the only thing you're getting for Christmas. You know, I'm like I'm talking to a kid; you'll find later on in life that roles reverse. Sometimes your father becomes kind of like your son in some ways. (Oh, I wonder. Yeah.) Um, but I haven't gotten anything for the kids yet. Um, my wife succumbed to the "Benesse Cult."
Barney (04:13): I could call it that. Yes.
Shawn (04:16): And because they've been sending us all this junk for years and I hate it because it's all over the place. But, um, so she, um, uh, signed my son, my older son who is going into first grade soon into, uh, like, uh, "ichi-nensei" thing. And I hope he enjoys it. Cause it's pricey.
Barney (04:36): Wh- when, when you see the commercials, it looks like, wow, that's probably pretty good.
Shawn (04:39): Yeah. And he likes, he enjoys studying. So hopefully, uh, that'll go, well, the whole younger son, I don't think he really enjoys studying too much yet. We'll see. We'll see. He's very young. Um, the other stuff they want, I'm really not interested in. It's like Paw Patrol (Woof!) And it's really expensive, but I might give them a few things.
Barney (04:59): Yeah. Yeah. Thankfully Yuma is still okay with, uh, "pu-ra-rail"
Shawn (05:04): Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. (So...) Like, my sons, they have "pu-ra-rail", but it's like, and they're like asking for something like really, you haven't played with it in like a couple months, "You want something pu-ra-rail?"
Barney (05:14): Yeah. I mean, if you use - they use your imagination, their technical.
Shawn (05:19): Yeah. We have, we have so many rails
Barney (05:22): If you can inspire them to get it back out and going.
Shawn (05:23): We have so many rails. Uh there's no, we don't need to buy any more rails. (Yeah.) There's millions of com - possibilities there.
Barney (05:31): Um, Yuma, he just wants - uh - he wants, uh, a "Stepney" train, you know, from old school, Thomas,
Shawn (05:39): That's not available right now (Uh, used. Yeah.) Yeah. It's pretty expensive. If you find it though online,
Barney (05:45): The used ones are, are okay. If I tried to find a brand new one. Yeah. It'd be really expensive yeah.
Shawn (05:51): Like, you know, they discontinue characters and then you try and like, Oh, I'm not gonna pay 5,000 yen for that. No. (Yeah, I know, "no"). But, uh, yeah. It's fun though. Um, December - it's already December. (I know! Yeah.) You know, um, I wonder what next December is going to be like,...I hope it's better (Much better) than this one is.
Barney (06:10): Much, much better - Much better!
Shawn (06:12): Does your wife ask you what you want for Christmas?
Barney (06:16): Um, yeah. Um, she als - she also (You just say "cash," right?) has ideas. Yeah, right? Yeah. She has ideas of what she thinks I need
Shawn (06:27): Need. Oh, great. So socks.
Barney (06:29): Well, yeah. Well, I'm, I'm one of those people who, um, uh, except for this year, this year, I actually have something I want, but usually I'm like, "I don't really need anything," you know? Uh, a good night's rest would be great!
Shawn (06:44): Pff! Silly, man. (I know!) Um, yeah. I mean, my wife, my wife does not like surprises and she tells me what to get her. And it's usually boring things like a toaster or a bread maker. And I'm like, really?
Barney (07:00): You - do you have bread maker?
Shawn (07:01): Yes, we do. (Okay.) It's our second bread maker. We're fine. Second generation.
Barney (07:07): Get 'em both going at once.
Shawn (07:08): No, no, no. Uh, the other one was used up, but um, (Awesome.), and she's not very fun to shop for. Um, the first few years I tried to add in some fun gifts, but she's like, "Why are you buying this? It's a waste money." Okay. No more fun gifts for you.
Barney (07:28): I know - it is nice to add those surprises, but, uh
Shawn (07:30): And she asks me directly what I want. And sometimes she says, "Can you just order it yourself? Just use the card? just order your, present your birthday, present yourself, or do your ta - your...?" It's just weird, no surprises here.
Barney (07:49): My - my requests don't always get fulfilled, you know? Um, uh, I'm I'm hoping - crossing my fingers - that I'll get what I want this year. Um, yeah, it's not expensive. I said just get me a used one. Um, and, uh,
Shawn (08:04): Winnebago?? (Yeah, right! Yeah.) What did you ask for?
Barney (08:08): I'm I want to get, I've always wanted to learn how to play the mandolin.
Shawn (08:17): Ohhh, this is from that Disney series: "The Mandolin," right? (Yes! Yes, yes. I promise that I'll - ) that guy traveling from town to town, with "Baby Yoda" playing a mandolin on Disney Plus.
Barney (08:30): Yeah! I love it. Love the sound. Um, just think it's great. I know they're hard to keep in tune. Um, it's a, it's actually a joke. Uh, "mandolin players spend half their life tuning, and the other half playing out of tune," but, um, I'm, it's something I want to do. So I'm dedicated to, if I get it, I'll practice!
Shawn (08:48): Yes, it'll grow. It'll go great with my harpsichord that I have, we'll play chamber music together. Um, it'll be like like the Baroque era all over again. Um, so today I thought we would, uh, do a little - fun little thing where we wrote random questions on cards and then pick them out. Uh it's a little bit like - if you remember "getsuyou kara yofukashi" where they had different themes on cards and they picked a theme, so stuff like that. So I'm going to pick from this pile here, of folded cards. These are real cards that we wrote down here (In our real handwriting). Oh, it's mine. Okay. I was hoping to see one of yours first. "If you could have dinner with someone famous, who would it be?"
Barney (09:32): Wow, that's a nice one.
Shawn (09:34): All right.
Barney (09:35): Okay. Um,
Shawn (09:37): And I'll I'll give you, I'll give you two chances. You can say somebody living (Okay!) And somebody dead. (Whoa.) So...
Barney (09:44): That is tough. Um, I mean...
Shawn (09:45): If you want to, if you want to say only one, that's fine too.
Barney (09:49): The first name, I don't know, probably because of the way things are right now - the first name that came to my head (Dr. Fauci?) would be, um, President Obama. (Oh, Jeez!) Right. But, um, I just think he would be so interesting to talk with, um, previously, um, because I, I kind of met him once. I would have said Johnny Depp. Um, but,
Shawn (10:18):"Kind of met him once?"
Barney (10:18): well, I was at the premiere for, um, the third Pirates movie - at, the Budokan and, uh, got - he and Geoffrey Rush signed to my, um, book for me. (Oh Geoffrey Rush - great actor!). Maybe I would choose him instead. Um, but these days, knowing what we know now about Mr. Depp.
Shawn (10:36): Well...I don't know about all of that. And I think both parties have some, some blame in there. We don't know all the details, but.
Barney (10:44): But, um, so - you know, I, I would want to choose someone who is personable and would be fun to talk with. I don't know. I could even see Daniel Craig would be a lot of fun. I think (Daniel Craig...?) uh, James Bond.
Shawn (10:58): Oh, okay. Well, he might kill you.
Barney (11:00): Well, (<silencer noises> Sniper!) But when I - when I see him on The Late Show with Colbert, he seems like such a cool guy. So that's my living person.
Shawn (11:09): The next movie I'm wanna show you is Knives Out with Daniel Craig. Uh, I shu - during lunch hours, we sometimes watch different movies and TV shows during our break. And I try and show him these different movies that he's never gotten a chance to see and, or TV shows like Ted lasso, Upload, et cetera. Um, uh, Knives Out is a great mystery movie. Like a whodunnit.
Barney (11:32): Oh! That's right. Yeah. You showed me the preview; that one looks really good!
Shawn (11:34): Daniel Craig is the detective and has to do a lot of funny accents. (Yeah.) So, so your answer is Daniel Craig or
Barney (11:42): That I'm final answer "boop!". Daniel Craig for the living person.
Shawn (11:46): Okay. (Yeah.) Okay. Dead person?
Barney (11:49): Oh man... This is tough too. Um, I think, um, Benjamin Franklin,
Shawn (11:56): Um, (He had such - ) so he can tell you about all his French whores or something? I'm just kidding guys.
Barney (12:01): Uh, witty, witty. (Uh, yes.) He seemed like a witty guy and who could carry a good conversation. I think it would be fun to know more about, um, the shaping of the nation.
Shawn (12:13): Mm Hm. Might not be as good as we expected
Barney (12:18): I might leave disappointed as long as the food is good.
Shawn (12:22): Yes. Um, for me, you know, when you thought, when you said "Barack Obama," I'm like, Oh wow. Then my, my choice is going to feel really small. Um, I maybe maybe 10 or 15 years ago, actually I wanted to have dinner with Tommy Lasorda. (Aaahh, yeah) Now, for those of you who don't know baseball, Tommy Lasorda was the manager of the Dodgers for over two decades. And he's a very now he's, he's old, he's 93 and his health is, is not that great. So, um, he's not as rambunctious as he was at once, but he was always a very peppy guy, a very rah rah kind of guy, (Really animated, and...) and you know, he could tell you so many stories about the Dodgers and I'm from Los Angeles. I'm a Los Angeles Dodgers fan World Series Champions - Yea! But for a long time, I thought, boy, can you imagine having a, uh, plate of spaghetti with Tommy Lasorda? (That would be cool.) How much, how many fun stories and he'd probably leave you at dinner, believing in yourself more than before, you know, (Good point! Yeah). To that point, like Mr. T would also be a fun dinner. I've heard that he was a very positive guy. (That's cool!) But, um, yeah, and I haven't actually, I haven't thought about anybody dead. (Yeah.) Um, Hmm. I dunno. Jesus? No, just kidding. That's too big, too big.
Barney (13:55): You wouldn't run out of food.
Shawn (13:57): Yeah. More wine? Really. (It's the best, yeah.) I'm not really a wine drinker, actually, I wanted the water. Um, but
Barney (14:06): <snaps fingers> It's changed back!
Shawn (14:07): Alright! Okay. Bread and water, my favorite. Um, um, but I, I don't know. I mean, I, um, jeez, I hadn't really thought about somebody, uh, dead. Um,
Barney (14:23): Especially if let's say language is no issue.
Shawn (14:26): Yeah. I mean, I, I really don't know. Um, Hmm. I don't know. I have no idea actually, really. Um, I focus on the here and now. (Yeah...right.) Or I could talk to Johnny Depp because his career is dead. (Oh! Ouch!) Ya burnt! Uh, I'm just kidding, Johnny, if you're listening, if you are listening...Why are you listening?
Barney (14:52): How are you looking at a hold of these files? They're locked down now.
Shawn (14:56): How? How? It's amazing. Um, I'm, I'm very happy that we have fans outside of the IUHW universe, but basically Tommy Lasorda or, or, or, or Barack Obama would be great. I know he'd be great. You know, I I'd love to meet Joe Biden. (Yeah.) He seems - everybody that's talked to him, um, on both sides of the, of the, of the, uh, parties, um, seems to think he's a very stand-up guy (Yeah, really), you know? (Yeah.) I don't think I would enjoy a dinner with Donald Trump, but you know, (if you could get a word in edgewise) Ugh! This is the best, best spaghetti ever. Whatever!
Barney (15:31): You're so lucky that you're sitting down to food with me because I'm the best person you've ever talked with.
Shawn (15:38): Don't choke on that meatball buddy. Okay. Why don't you pick one? All right. Second question. And we're already 15 minutes into the show. I like this pace.
Barney (15:47): Good! What is the oldest piece of clothing you own?
Shawn (15:50): Oh, right. The oldest piece of clothing I own. Hm. I do have a blanket from the biblical era. No! No!
Barney (15:59): A shroud.
Shawn (16:00): Yes, yes, yes, yes. Actually, but we call it a "blanket." Um, maybe, maybe a hockey jersey. I have a hockey jersey of, uh, Team Japan from the Nagano Olympics. I bought it in '97, '98? So that's 22 years old. (Oh, yeah. Really.) Um, I have some other things that might be similar in age, but that's probably the oldest thing I can think of here. Um, and I do wear things for a long time, as long as they fit and they look good, partly because I'm so big. I can't buy replacement stuff. Uh, you know, you want to see me cry, just see me like fall on the ground and, and, and rip my jeans. I'm like, "Oh no! I have no more jeans!" Yeah. But, uh, yeah. So I hold on to things as long as I can. And as long as they look good. (Yeah.) So what about you?
Barney (16:57): Yeah. Uh, actually, um, looking down this sweater, I bought this when I was in high school,
Shawn (17:02): there are a lot of holes in it. Is it okay?
Barney (17:03): I know (I'm just kidding) it's the bugs. Um, and, uh, yeah, I, uh, I remember once during class, I said, I forget what we were talking about, but I said to some students, I said, these pair of pants I'm wearing are older than you guys. Um, and I was going to wear them. I forgot. I have a pair of shoes that, um, are, uh, let's see, 27-years-old. (Why?) yeah. Oh boy. They are. I think that K L E M E..."Kleme?" "Kelme?"
Shawn (17:41): No, no...Are these formal shoes; not sneakers?
Barney (17:43): Sneakers, (Sneakers? Oh my gosh.) Indoor soccer shoes, Spanish made very, very, very well-made and super comfortable.
Shawn (17:52): Hm. Wow. Okay. Um, why, why that's why you keep them and they still look good?
Barney (17:57): Yeah. They look fine. I mean, of course they, they are,
Shawn (18:01): They're open-toed now!
Barney (18:02): Right. They look a little, I mean, the bottom is worn quite a bit, but, um, yeah. They look like, I mean, you could, I could wear them. You could say they were five years old, you know, they don't look brand spanking new, but yeah,
Shawn (18:15): Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I like Sketchers, but they certainly don't last that long.
Barney (18:21): I do too, but yeah, they don't -
Shawn (18:22): They don't last that long. And if you wear them every day, like I do. (Yep.) All right. (Okay.) Next question here. Let's see if I can find one. That's one of yours. Oh, good. It's one of yours. Um, wow. "What was your first impression of Japan and what are some things you wish Japan had that the U S has and vice versa?" I don't want to go too much in the first impressions; I think we kind of went over that a little bit.
Barney (18:48): That was "The Lost Episode."
Shawn (18:49): Yeah. Yeah. Um, but things, I wish Japan had: Clothes in my size (Oh yeah!) Because I, actually, like clothes and I like style. (Yeah.) You'd never know it by looking at me 'cause I'm always wearing a UNIQLO fleece, uh, jacket. But if I had the options to buy different things, I would, but around me, you know, no, nothing like that. And then occasionally I really wished that I had some, I dunno, some dishes, some foods like (Oh Yeah!), like a ravioli or lasagna, um, a good taco restaurant nearby would be fantastic. Stuff like that. Good Mexican food, um, yeah, stuff like that. Um, I don't want to go too deep into the Japanese culture. What, what I think they wish in wish Japanese things in the United States. I don't know - that - too much about that because I don't spend much time in the United States - certainly now, um, but if I live back there, you know, there's, I'm sure there's things I'd be, um, "Ni-homesick" for,
Barney (19:55): Is that your original phrase?
Shawn (19:56): Yes, it is. It was a pol - a blog I used to have when I lived in United States.
Barney (20:02): Yeah. Um, I think that, uh, America could benefit from a Japanese style kind of bath shower thing. You don't make the house such a mess. You know, you take a shower and you still, you hop out of the shower and you're still dripping all over the rug. Right? In America.
Shawn (20:18): I had an apartment that had a linen closet inside the bathroom, which is just stupid. You can't put anything in there because it would get so moldy and mildewy from the moisture anyway,
Barney (20:34): Um, things from the U S that I wish we had here, I agree about Mexican food - boy! Um, for me, the things that I miss most are food all the time, Mexican food that isn't Taco Bell, you know, authentic Mexican food would be just wonderful to have.
Shawn (20:53): Yeah. I mean, there's a few Mexican restaurants in Tokyo, but they're so far away you can't get to them. There's one in Tsukuba, El Torito, certainly not "authentic" Mexican, but it's better than nothing. Yeah.
Barney (21:03): And, uh, I wish that we had the same kind of, um, highways.
Shawn (21:09): What do you mean? Like no, uh, charges at the tolls?
Barney (21:12): That - that for one and, uh, no, you know, no 12 hours from Nagano to Tokyo because every person is going back after Golden Week.
Shawn (21:22): Oh. (Right?) Well, I don't know. Um, obviously you've never driven in Los Angeles at 4:30 in the afternoon. Where, where 10 miles takes you an hour? Yeah, it depends on, okay. Okay. Let's go to the next one here. Go ahead and pick one.
Barney (21:40): What do we have here? It's one of mine? Um, oh, okay. Um, "What was your first concert? Favorite concert? and What concert would you go - would you like to go to?"
Shawn (21:54): Okay. My first concert was the B-52's.
Barney (22:00): No kidding!?
Shawn (22:01): Yes. (Really?) They are famous for a song called "Love Shack," baby love shack. They had some other great hits to "Rock Lobster," "My Private Idaho," and they made a comeback in the early nineties when I was in junior high. And I was really into the album "Cosmic Thing," which was the album that had "Love Shack" on it. And I saw them at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, the, uh, amphitheater that's no longer there, but it was a fun concert. It was the first, you know, and this is, this is how things have changed. My friend got me this, these tickets for me, for my birthday. At that time, you had to go to a music store, a local record store to buy concert tickets. This was before the internet. You - you damn kids!
Barney (22:46): Understand how bad we had it, why don't you?!
Shawn (22:48): You had to go to the local "Music Plus" and wait in line and make sure you got that ticket (Hope they weren't sold out). But at least they printed real tickets. (Yeah, that's true) Uh, so that was the first concert, um, best concert...? Hmm. Um, I don't know, Elton John was good. Although I was looking at his back the whole time. A friend of mine worked for a company and we got free tickets and we were - they were the worst seats in the place (I'm sure.) Literally looking at his back from, from like two stories up. (Oh.) But he was still very, very good. Um, the best concert probably I went to was a, an artist named Rufus Wainwright. (Okay.) And he's a wonderful, um, singer and it was a special, like a smaller solo show. And he came to Monterey California and played The Gold - in like a theater there. And, uh, just him and his piano singing very, very good. And Monterey is not a big city. So it was kind of a big thing that he came to town. Um, but I don't really go to concerts that often. Um, I mean, there was the one that I wanted to go to recently was Rufus Wainwright last year, he came to Tokyo, but I was just too busy at the time. (Yeah.) And, uh, um, I had just gone to Tokyo to see Dave Chappelle, the comedian. So it's kind of hard to see too many things. (Yeah.) Um, okay. First concert?
Barney (24:08): Yeah. Um, uh, of course I wrote this question, then it dawned on me: Oh, um, (I've never been to a concert!) Yeah, no, my parents and I used to go to the Cleveland Orchestra quite a few times. Um, that might be the first kind of concert. (Okay.) Yeah. The first rock concert. Um,
Shawn (24:25): Well, actually, yeah. Then if that's the case, then I had been to some concerts earlier LA Philharmonic - on some field trips and stuff, but yeah.
Barney (24:32): Um, was, uh, Reel Big Fish. (Hmm.) Yeah. We were going to go -
Shawn (24:38): What's that? There's a group called "Reel Big Fish?"
Barney (24:39): Yeah.... It's uh, I - now, I feel self-conscious, um, I thought it was this really well-known ska band, but, um,
Shawn (24:49): Okay, well...
Barney (24:49): Now, I don't know...
Shawn (24:49): As well-known (As ska bands are) as ska bands can be.
Barney (24:51): Yeah. Um, we were actually my friends and I, we all got together - we were going to go to, um, Disturbed, um, and playing at Purdue University. And then
Shawn (25:03): Is Disturbed a punk band?
Barney (25:06): Um, heavy kind of shouting metal. (Yeah. Hence the name "Disturbed.") Yeah. Right. The day before the concert, the band found out how small the venue was and they canceled.
Shawn (25:16): Oh, wow. (Yeah. So...) Slam on your place.
Barney (25:19): I know on Purdue University (Oh, Purdue, yes.) So my, um, girlfriend at the time, uh, said, Oh, well, Reel Big Fish is in the next day. Why don't we just exchange the tickets? And we did that. That was a lot of fun. Really good.
Shawn (25:33): I imagine ska - ska band fun shows can be a lot of fun!
Barney (25:37): Like, um, uh, yeah. One girl had - held up a sign. She said, can I sing, um, uh, uh, I forget what the name of "Your Girlfriend Now," or something like that. And they let her get on the stage and sing this song with them.
Shawn (25:54): Then you said, Hey, I didn't pay money to hear some girl (Her!) sing! I want to hear the group sing.
Barney (26:00): I know. Yeah. Yeah. Um, uh, favorite concert was, um, last year. Uh Kitaro um, cause I, I was dying to see this because he was, had his music set to images from NASA. Um, and (Outer space man!) yeah, I had to - really, they - like peas in a pod, um, uh, I had to go to Mishima, uh, Shizuoka, but I was actually planning on going to Shimane to see him, but I went to this day. That's how desperate I was. I knew that I had the chance, but, uh, I had - uh, went to the U S instead, uh, that was just beautiful. Just captivating.
Shawn (26:43): And, and, how would you describe, Kitaro? Uh, what kind of music is that? What genre?
Barney (26:48): Yeah. In the U.S. uh, we call it "New Age." Um, uh, and, um, yeah, it's a lot of synthesizer. Sometimes he plays shakuhachi. Um, and, uh, yeah, just really great. Not, um, not over the top weird, you know, just really, really, really nice.
Shawn (27:09): I was hoping for over the top weird.
Barney (27:12): A concert, I would like to go to, you might expect me to say Phish. Um, I I'm afraid if I went to a Phish concert that I would be disappointed.
Shawn (27:22): Phish is a group that he's really into.
Barney (27:22): Yeah. 'cause I've built them - because I like the music so much. So I'd actually like to see, um, Tangerine Dream, -another New Age group. I'd like to see them. I like their music a lot. And it sounds like some of their shows are really fun. Sometimes they play the show in complete darkness.
Shawn (27:40): Sounds a little dangerous. (Yeah.) That prevents (Don't touch me!) people that prevents people from leaving right. And stumbling over other people. I would have left, but I couldn't see where the door was. All right. Let's see here. Uh, is this, let me get, uh, let's get this other one of yours here. Um, okay. So neither of us drink much or at all. Uh, what are your - what is your reason or reasons for not drinking? Um, I drink a lot. I drink milk. I drink juice, water. Um, I don't drink alcohol. Uh, I never really got into it. I didn't like the taste of beer. Um, I don't like to be around people that are drunk. (Yeah.) Especially when you're not drunk. 'cause then they're just 10 times stupider sounding (Ugh!), Um, it's expensive. (Yeah.) Um, especially like wine and champagne and other things like that. Um, and I mean, it's not all that healthy, although I'm not really a health nut obviously, but, um, and I think it's, I mean, in moderation, it's fine. (Yeah.) But it's just not for me. Um, and I never found the need. (Yeah.) Um, my grandfather, uh, paternal grandfather was an alcoholic, although I never knew him, but I knew about that. So I knew I had to be kind of careful, uh, the genes and stuff like that. And so I never got around to it and it's fine. Um, it saves me money. (Yeah, really!). Yeah. (Yeah.) So why don't you do it?
Barney (29:25): Yeah. That's a good (Come on, man!) - yeah. Um, yeah, like you said, it can be expensive. Um, and, and wasteful, like, especially drinking at home, what's the point? You know, do you not like being around your family that much? Ah, okay.
Shawn (29:42): I'll get back to you on that one.
Barney (29:44): Yeah. Yeah. Um, the reason that I really essentially stopped drinking for good, you know what I mean, occasionally I'll have wine, but that's very rare. Um, it is because of wine. Um, a friend that I knew - that I still know - um, every year they had this, uh, Beaujolais Nouveau party at their house and, um, (Sounds snobby) yeah, well I was working and um, so I was late and, uh, the fee to get in, which I thought was kind of silly that they're charging fees...
Shawn (30:15): Your friend is charging you to get in?
Barney (30:17): Yeah right, I know, yeah. "We have to cover the cost of the food.
Shawn (30:21): Then don't have a party
Barney (30:23): Yeah. It was high and they wouldn't. - they said it is what it is. You, even though you're late and there's almost no food left. Um, so I started drinking. There was no wine left by the way when I arrived. Um, and uh, as drunk people can do, I probably, I don't remember, but I probably went on and on how I paid so much money and there's no wine. So someone ran to the convenience store and bought a plastic bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau for me
Shawn (30:55): Aww. You know, always the best - (The best wine!) best wine is at the liquor store in plastic bottles, unless you can afford the ones in the boxes.
Barney (31:05): I know!! And, um, having already been drinking other things that went down like gangbusters, um, of course it didn't go down like gangbusters until I got home and I had never been so sick. And usually when you're sick after drinking, you say to yourself, I'm never going to do this again. It stuck. I'm never going to do that again!
Shawn (31:28): Wow... (Yeah.) I mean, the only time I ever drank a lot was when I went to, um, I was visiting in Germany and it was around 17, 17, 18, and drinking ages 16 at that time in Germany (for beer). And, and we had, um, like, uh, like a drinking party with my friends - my German friends and card game, get a different card, you know, and you have to do certain things. And I, and after about 15 or 16 shots, I said, okay, think, I think that's enough guys. So I had 15, 16 shots of schnapps, um, uh, a Guinness and some other things. And I was okay. I was woozy, but I was okay. But I did it once. That's enough. (Yeah - sometimes, yeah). Yeah. All right. Let's see here one more here.
Barney (32:12): Oh, it's my turn.
Shawn (32:12): Sure! Go ahead. Oops. Sorry. Pick the one that fell on the floor.
Barney (32:16): Save that one for later. Okay. Here we go. Um, if you had the time to learn a new skill, what would it be?
Shawn (32:24): I bet yours would be the mandolin.
Barney (32:26): I know now that I've spoiled your question.
Shawn (32:28): When you said that earlier, I'm like, Oh, there goes the question. (I'll think of a new one it's a good thing you're going first.) If I had the time and well (A) Spanish. (Yeah.) You know, sí, sí señor, see, I'm already studying, um, just I don't have time to really put in and dedicate myself to it because I've got other things I have to do before that. And maybe um... working with wood.
Barney (32:55): Yes.
Shawn (32:56): But it's, it's a hobby that takes a lot of time and tools. (Yeah.) There's a big cost, you know, if you, if you're not, I dunno if you don't have somebody that has those tools, that's a big thing. And I don't want to spend a whole bunch of money on tools and then not do it. And then, you know, because, um, my, my grandfather and my great-grandfather were carpenters, they were very good with, with, uh, wood obviously. And, uh, I thought that's - it's very cool to be able to make things with your own hands, you know, and have them last a long, long time.
Barney (33:29): Yeah. Um, you, I, I, when I was trying to think of a replacement for the mandolin, I was going to say carpentry as well. Um,
Shawn (33:41): Well, and also because I want to be like, Jesus.
Barney (33:43): Yes exactly! Although he may have worked with, uh, stone.
Shawn (33:47): Oh, okay. He's a stone kind of guy.
Barney (33:49): He was a "tecton".
Shawn (33:51): Tecton? That sounds like a transformer.
Barney (33:53): I know! Um, our friend, uh, lives in a Chiba New Town. So not far from the Joyful Honda up there, he watched videos and built their - and paid - bought the tools and built their, their deck because he justified it to his wife - smart guy - um, it's cheaper to buy the tools and the material and do it yourself than paying someone to do it
Shawn (34:14): Well, if you do it right.
Barney (34:16): Yeah. I know. Right. Yeah.
Shawn (34:17): There were a lot of holes in that deck,
Barney (34:20): He did the, uh, measure once cut, twice approach.
Shawn (34:27): I'd probably do the measure six times; cut eight times, get some new wood. Um, yeah. Yeah. But I think that'd be something that would be fun. Um, my grandfather made a lockbox for my kids, which is a box that has a whole bunch of doors (it looks so cool!) And different locks on it. And I wanted to make one, but then they got a little bit older and I couldn't find the variety of locks at, uh, Joyful Honda and other places. I thinking "Man, where did my grandpa get all those variety of knobs and doors and locks and stuff like that?" (That's cool.) It's still in my mother's place in Lo - , in Arcadia in California. But it's, it weighs so much. It will never be in Japan. (Yeah.) Well, it's about this big it's it's, you know, it's quite large, um, what you think for a kid's toy, but, uh, (Yeah.) Yes. (That's cool.) So we have one more question here. We might as well get to it. We're already over 35 minutes by the way. (Wow.) Okay. Here's an easy one here. It should be short. What is your favorite physical feature of yourself?
Barney (35:30): Of myself?
Shawn (35:30): Yes.
Barney (35:33): Oh yeah. Um, my eyes.
Shawn (35:34): Oh, you stole mine.
Barney (35:36): Oh, sorry. Yeah. Um, I've got these nice blue eyes and um, they have designs on it in the iris.
Shawn (35:45): Did you have to pay for that?
Barney (35:46): Uh yeah, it was extra it was a custom.
Shawn (35:50): Tattoos on the eyes - Really painful.
Barney (35:51): Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I was, I was on drugs, so I didn't...
Shawn (35:56): Not true guys.
Barney (35:57): Not at all. (Not true.) Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I think of, of, of anything. That's probably my best feature,
Shawn (36:04): You know, because I actually like my eye colors is what my eye color as well. I have hazel eyes, a mixture of brown and green, mostly brown. But once you get in the light, you look, there's the green. My son's, unfortunately he did not inherit that color. My son has a, my older son has a lighter brown, but you don't really see much green in there.
Barney (36:25): Thankfully I think that too, there is hope for our children. If they - now they have the allele in their DNA somewhere. So if they marry someone else who happens to have an ancestor with blue eyes somewhere, anywhere in the background, there is the chance of those two little b's matching up and blue eyes, popping out.
Shawn (36:46): I don't think anybody in my family had blue eyes.
Barney (36:49): Well, they must have, otherwise you can't have hazel.
Shawn (36:51): Really? I'm sure a generation or two,
Barney (36:54): Yeah, exactly. It can be hundreds of years ago. And it sticks around that little "b" is floating around there somewhere
Shawn (37:02): I'm allergic to bees. Well, this episode has gone a little long, but I hope you enjoyed and I hope you enjoyed it. And I hope you stuck with us to the end here. Of course, if you have any random questions that you'd like to ask us, just fill out that form in the Google form and send it in. We've done it. We've already done a question and answer from, uh, students before and we'd love to do one again.
Barney (37:25): Yeah, we'll do a "part two."
Shawn (37:26): All right. So until next time it's been great. Uh, please come back again. Barney. Any final words?
Barney (37:33): Thank you for listening.
Shawn (37:34): Yay.