X-Radiation

The giant peach in Gaffney, S.C. But some folks say it looks like a giant butt.

Stopped at Gene’s in Greenville for lunch on the way back to the airport.

Country steak, fried okra, mac’N’cheese, apple/pecan/raisin/marshmallow salad, cornbread and sweet tea. Awesome!

View Larger Map

This is an embedded google map showing my trip through upstate South Carolina. I started in San Francisco, flew into Charlotte, drove to Winthrop in Rock Hill and spent the night at The Inn at Winthrop. The next day I gave presentations at Winthrop and Furman. I spent the night at the Westin in Greenville. The following day I gave presentations at Wofford and Clemson. Again, I spent the night in Greenville before making may way to Charlotte to catch a plane back to SFO. On the way back to the airport I stopped of at Cowpens and King’s Mountain to check out some American Revolutionary War history. It was a great trip!

This week I’m giving some lectures in South Carolina. I arrived this evening at Charlotte Douglas airport after a 4.5 hour flight from San Francisco. Dr. William Thacker of Winthrop University met me at the airport along with Lauren Cairco, the President of the Winthrop student ACM SIGGRAPH chapter. We had dinner at the Sheraton where I had my first taste of Cheese Grits with shrimp and andouille sausage. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking at Winthrop University and Furman University with a side trip for lunch at the Old Town Bistro in Rock Hill, former site of McRory’s where the Friendship Nine held a historic lunch counter sit-in similar to the one at Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1961 as part of the American Civil Rights movement.

On Tuesday I’m addressing Wofford College and Clemson University then heading back to San Francisco to get on the ball at work. Meanwhile I’m looking forward to some Southern hospitality.

I bought a few rather interesting toys in Japan. All of these were picked up at Kiddyland in Omotesando and many can also be found up on-line at Strapya World.

Aero Spider:

Bandai Company: Tuttuki Bako, Tangible Interactive Game 2008

Gun-O-Clock alarm clock

Please watch “The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief“. It’s a wonderful documentary about host boys in Osaka. It starts out kind of happy-go-lucky but spirals into a world of relative sadness as it turns out that most of the women customers of Stylish Club Ryakko are themselves hostesses and sex workers who need to buy the affections of host boys over thousand dollar champagne calls since their own attempts at normal relationships have gone the dysfuntional route.

Great Happiness Space

The pictures from our trip to Japan have begun sprouting on the web. Follow this link to Xray’s Santarchy Japan 2008 Pictures!

 

You can also follow this link to Mr. Tongodeon’s Flickr Pool for Japan 2008!

Last night was had one of the most interesting dinners I have ever tasted. We ate at an izakaya in Kyoto called Okariba. The taisho, Aoki-san, hunts his own wild game, forages his own mushrooms, grows his own vegetables and raises his own bees and locusts. On the menu last night:

Grilled Wild Boar Skewers

Steamed Bear Shoulder in lemon shoyu

Bear rump

Smoked goose

Misoyaki Vegetables

Grasshoppers

Bees and bee larvae

While shitake mushrooms

Grilled pan fried tofu

Black Snake Whisky

Red Snake Whisky

Okinanwa Snake Whisky

Giant Killer Bee Whisky

Wasabe Leaf Salad

If you ever make it to Kyoto and are a serious carnivore this is the place to go for a unique experience. Aoki-san was charming and welcommed us to try each dish with an explanation of it’s origin including when and where he bagged it. His hunting rifles are proudly on display in the restaurant.

If society ever falls apart, I have a feeling Aoki-san will be right at home.