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sambart93 · 6 years

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2018.07.31 Danshi wa Tsurakunai yo? / Being a Boy Isn’t Hard? [Review]

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CAST and CHARACTERS

Present Selves Harashima Motohisa Ishiwatari Masshu Akisawa Kentaro Jounin Tatsuki Matsumura Taiichiro

Past Selves Masaki Kaoru Higuchi Yuta Kimura Atsushi Takenaka Ryouhei Fukazawa Taiga

Classmates Takasaki Shungo Iwa Yoshito Tanaka Hiroki Oikawa Kou Horita Reo Sato Nobunaga Yamagata Takumi

Teachers Mende Tomoyuki Murakami Kouhei Nishioka Daisuke Kitadai Takashi Kanesaki Kentaro Totani Kimito

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: This is a lot of fun. Many times the audience were dying in hysterics of laughter. It's a simple story but it's very funny, packed full with comedy and hilarious moments. The characters are interesting and it has some ridiculous moments. I can't really say anythnig else about it other than say it's entertaining and very funny! ALSO I am very thankful for the high-touch at the end of show! I got to high touch with so many actors that I like!! It appears this stage isn't selling out which makes me sad because it's got some really great names in it and it's a lot of fun! Rating: 8.5/10

SPOILER REVIEW

PRE-SHOW Well this place is fancy as fuck... << was the first thoughts that went through my mind xD also I quickly realised that ‘Oh, it's also where Wakasamagumi is going to be this time around!’ which got me excited although I probably won’t be going. I forgot how many damn actors that I love that are in this! And there was a high touch after this so I was super nervous because I like a LOT of actors who were in this!!

MAIN PLOT

So five friends decide to meet up for their 10th year High School anniversary, especially one of them (Masshu) is adamant on them getting their seishun/youth feeling back. So they go back to the place where they all met and were forced to spend one month as a summer extra curriculum activity. While at first, as students, they hated the idea of having to spend a month of their summer holiday doing classes and cleaning and spending time with people they don't know or like, especially our main character Naoki (Harashima Motohisa and Masaki Kaoru) who has no interest at all in making friends or even continuing being with them after the activity is done. But as the summer classes go on, they all genuinely begin to bond and enjoy their time and by the end, they don't want to depart and want to end their summer by making a festival, which will hopefully attract all the nearby schools which all happen to be ALL-GIRL schools (while they're stuck in an all-boys school).

THE SHOW ITSELF

Oh this was so funny! Unfortunately I spent the first 30 minutes of this play in a LOT of pain with my back from some reason so I couldn't fully immerse or get into the story even though I really wanted to laugh along with everyone else! *cries* but once the back-pain passed, I did not stop laughing and there were so many rounds of applause from the audience because so many parts were absolutely hilarious! I was dying of laughter as was everyone else and some of them on stage were dying too - I'm looking right at you Higuchi! He could not contain he laughter at some times xD this little shit.

I'll do my usual, go through actors and hopefully talk about their characters and what I thought and some scenes that stood out to me.

I was so surprised to see Harashima Motohisa (he plays future Naoki) in this! He's one actor who I love no matter what he does but I don't go out of my way to see him so it's always pleasantly surprising when I see him pop up in stuff that I'm watching. I really love how much his cringed at his past self and his past blogs that he used to write and upload. Also I love how at the beginning his suspiciously says 'my job? .... I'm a... I'm a salaryman.' but then towards the end he completely loses it and yells 'I LIED!!! I'm a salaryman!!! I don't want to be normal!!!! I tried being an actor.. I tried being a youtuber... I tried having part time jobs!' and he just blows and it's so funny!

When I first saw Masaki Kaoru, I wasn't keen just purely from me being vain and basing people on their looks. I'd never seen him before so I should've been a bit more open. But I quickly opened up to him and I really enjoyed how ridiculous his character was. Every time he came on stage to narate the next day or the next part of the story, he would always introduce himself as someone else, like 'Good morning, I'm Bob Dylan! That's a lie. I'm Naoki!' and then would proceed along with the story. He ended up being really cute and his character was really nice. I'm glad his character development ended up being good and him learning to appreciate his friends, but also his reaction to his future self was hilarious (more on that later). He's an Amuse kid and he was in ODAC's HOME when I watched it last week (I still haven't released that review have I?! Jesus just how far behind am I... damn K-TV taking up all my time). One scene in this I really liked was when Higuchi brought some snacks and games for them to bond over and they break the sweets pack out and over into the audience, so the first 6 rows or such had a chance of getting sweets from them! And once they were thrown Masaki was sweet enough to be like ‘there’s still a packet on the floor over there’ and such.

Masshu's character was so adorable. I was surprised that him and Higuchi were playing the same character but it makes sense. They're both super funny and entertaining. I love how ridiculous this character was! Especially with Masshu randomly throwing out random English like 'let's find our.... blue spring ('seishun' instead of 'youth')' and he would be like '...why?! ... why??' in English instead. It cracked me up a lot. But I did get worried because in this story past self, Higuchi, spends a lot in the hospital and can't join in on activities because of doctor's orders so I was super worried that we were going to get a 'I wanted us 5 to do this trip because I'm dying'' kind of plot line -- but thank god, turns out his future self is doing well.

As for Higuchi, lets be real, he was just playing himself. There was a scene where Taiga goes mental because he got his game system taken away from him so he goes on a mental pillow hitting streak on the members and Higuchi was just in the corner dying of laughter to himself along with the entirity of the audience. His character was annoying and in your face but in a good way; he just wanted to be friends with everyone! And because he was clearly a weak or sick child he wanted to make lots of friends and be normal and make meaningful memories - he reminded me very much of Kamen Rider Fourzes' Gen and his mission to make 100 friends!

Moving onto the Jounin/Takenaka pair. I personally, if you know me and remember, I don't particularly like Jounin as an actor; whenever I've seen him, I've always felt annoyed or underwhelmed by his character/acting. But in this one, I felt he did just fine. He was alright and did just a fine job. But he didn't exactly stand out either. Takenaka on the other hand; I focused on him more than I did Jounin; and I really liked his introduction where we're immediately told that he was once the main lead in Meitantei Jun and everyone around him wants handshakes and such and he's just like 'I'm used to it. You can ask, don't worry about it,' and we also see glimpses of teachers coming to him and saying, 'your mother called, won't you answer?' and he always replies 'tell her I'm busy' because (as he explains) she's only calling because she wants him to take more auditions because he just keeps failing them all. Jounin remembers his past self and gets annoyed because by now his mother has already past away (5 years ago) and when he finally go the courage to tell her that he didn't want to act anymore and to finally tell her he found a normal job etc. she was so happy to hear and congratulated him. But she soon passed after that. So when these two finally meet, of course Jounin is like 'you should answer your mother's calls. You should just tell her how you feel' etc. But more on that later.

4th in line is Matsumura and Taiga. They are the polar opposites; Taiga is obsessed with playing games and finds so much positivity and joy in life even from the smallest of things; while Matsumura, even though he got his dream of being the CEO of a gaming company, he finds it boring, nothing is interesting in his life. Seeing this polar opposite was very interesting. I really enjoyed Taiga's character and I love how mental he went when he didn't have a game to play in his hands xD I also love that he just enjoys whatever! I didn't realise, until the high touch event, who Matsumura was and then I saw him and I was like 'damn your Makoto from EnStage!'. He looks MUCH better in this stage than he does in EnStage.

Finally we have Kimura and Akisawa. These two were very similar in their present and past selves. It was very hilarious to see them two because they didn't change much. Both of them were scared of ghosts and both were loud and pretending they weren't scared of ghosts. They had... a lot of passion < is the best way to put it xD they created a lot of the comedy when it was just the five boys on stage together. This character is constantly moving and it's in a very yankee way and he's also always twisting and being super fast moving etc. it was very comedic and fun to watch! OH and another ridiculous thing about him; Akisawa has kids and they're called Donald, Minnie and Mickey, which is already ridiculous enough, but then it's later revealed that they're all boys!

Towards the end, the present selves manage to contact their past selves so they end up having one on one battles with each other which is just absolutely hilarious. So we had Harashima and Masaki going head to head against each other and Harashima is like 'you're my black past!!! Why didn't you enjoy it?! Why did you have to be so crazy?!' and Masaki is like 'you're a salaryman?!?! You're my black future!! Why did I become like this?!?!'

We had Masshu and Higuchi getting along very well and just talking about how's life and Masshu explains 'you get really sick for about 4 years, but don't worry, I'm all good now'.

Jounin keeps asking Takenaka about their mum and why he won't answer her calls while he's on this summer trip and tells her that he should be honest about his feelings of not wanting to be an actor anymore and that he should talk to his mother more. Also he asks him if ghosts are real and Takenaka is like 'they're not' and Jounin admits he believes in them.

Then we had Matsumura and Taiga; Taiga is so happy and fascinated that he became the CEO of a gaming company and asks Matsumura to play a game with him. But Taiga keeps losing but because Taiga is so happy about playing games and Matsumura can see the happy life his old self is leading that he says Taiga is the real winner and he now wants to find fun in his life again.

Finally we have Kimura and Akisawa who are just being absolutely ridiculous and going all headbutty and fighting on top of each other a lot and Kimura is annoyed that Akisawa is considering divorcing his wife and Kimura is like 'I thought I was cooler than this!!! I'm supposed to love my one and only girl for the rest of my life like a cool guy!!! If I find a woman I love then she surely deserves it all!' and finally Akisawa is like 'damn past me is so damn cool! What was I thinking divorcing her!'

Another scene I really loved with our main five boys is in a past scene; where they five boys and their teacher Tani-sensei and the Kendo sensei are all together and Higuchi randomly asks 'who here are virgins? Come on, admit it' and at first only Tani-sensei raises his hand, so naturally the audience start laughing, and then all the boys except Higuchi raise their hands and finally, he's turned away from the boys so they can't see but the Kendo sensei raises his hand a little too, and the entire audience EXPLODED in laughter. So naturally all the boys are like 'come on (Higuchi), raise your hand too! You're a virgin too!.... right? ... you're a virgin, right? ... wait what?! WHEN?! TELL US EVERYTHING!'

Now I'll get down to the more minor characters, starting with Iwa Yoshito! His character stood out because everytime he was on stage and with the rest of the class, for some reason they really wanted to just strip him off all his clothing and while they didn't show it the first few times, there's one part where the 5 MCs are in the foreground and you can see some of the students using their shirts to block the view and when they stop doing that, Iwa is just stood completely shirtless. And then towards the end of the show he just takes his shirt off himself and everyone's like 'why did you do that?' and he's like 'I give up!' and walks off xD

Takasaki Shungo’s character was very interesting. He was the ONE guy in their school year and in the summer school who was in touch with girls and the first scene with him, we see him on the phone to a bunch of girls and making dates to go to the summer festival with them. Naturally, all the other boys are super jealous! He is also the one who really gets into Kendo sensei’s ‘Special Class’ and he starts practising at night when everyone else is asleep and he wants to learn more so he starts trailing the sensei at night (which is hilarious). And then when they do the cultural event slash festival at the end, he’s the one who’s able to invite the all-girl schools to go and watch (we, the audience, as treated as those students at the end) them perform.

Hiroki's character was so funny! He was adorable too with these two cute pink pins in his hair. His part was smaller than I would've wanted but you can't win them all can you xD he had a main part of this story which was tormenting the PE(?) teacher and constantly making banana jokes around him. He asks the teacher where his banana is and the teacher is like '???' and Hiroki replies 'well you look like a monkey'. Then in a later scene, the teacher has a yellow towel around his neck and Hiroki goes 'why do you have a banana around your neck?' and every time this joke happens the teacher tries to attack him and yells 'It's not a banana!'. But in the very final scene for him, he's actually holding a banana and Hiroki approaches him and just says 'thank you for teaching me so much teacher!' and of course the teacher gets pissed because that's not what he was expecting and is like 'OI! I have a banana! Are you not going to say it?!' and Hiroki is like 'nah I gave up on that joke' and Hiroki runs because the teacher tries to attack him again xD it was really funny and really hilarious. Especially considering how many monkey jokes get thrown at Hiroki himself from his coworkers and friends xD

Now onto the teachers - who are BAT SHIT CRAZY!

Murakami Kouhei plays the headteacher (or at least is the more senior within this group) and he's perculiar in that he quotes many different and famous people through the entirity of the play and acts very stoic. But then when they do the festival at the end, he goes a little loopy because he gets to play one of the final bosses and has two swords to fight the boys with (as expected of a Kamen Rider actor!).

Nishioka Daisuke is just the most perverted teacher ever! He's Murakami's right hand man and of course obeys and respects everything about Murakami but he's also like 'oi, you should introduce me to the students at the All Girls tachibana school' and things like that. He's just a pervert xD

Mende Tomoyuki plays the 'robot' teacher. Everyone thinks he's a robot because his movements and his talking is so monotone and so rigid but of course he isn't. He's a very strict teacher and doesn't show much emotion.

I am pretty sure it's Kitadai Takashi who plays the aggressive and abusive PE teacher. Whenever he tries to attack and hurt the students, Murakami is always by the side and he looks over to him and stops attacking the students xD

Kanesaki Kentaro ends up playing the Kendo sensei who everyone in the audience absolutely fell in love with, He is absolutely hilarious! At first we see him teaching the 'Special Class' and we just think he's normal but then in a later scene we seen him on a scooter with a helmet and just skating across the stage all silently which was just bizarre. And then in a later scene he's off scootering and a student tries to talk to him but he continues skating like he never saw him xD and finally towards the end when he joins up with the MCs, he just gets ridiculously funny; the virgin scene and then him getting happy about girl schools coming to the festival and he's all trigger happy when he has a wooden sword in his hand. He totally became the audience's favourite by the end of the show! He was such a barrel of laughs. Seriously, my notes of him were just 'The kendo sensei being crazy as fuck'.

Totani Kimito plays the new homeroom teacher 'Tani' (which is a pun becaue in Japanese homeroom teacher means Tanin and he's like 'I"m the tanin, Tani. No that's not my name on purpose' xD I really liked him. He was very sweet and very easily lovable. But I was suspicious of him because he bumps into the boys in the future just after they talk about 'are ghosts real?' so for the majority of the play, I assumed present Tani was actually a ghost reciding in that place, but I was wrong. There was no catch. He was just there with another year of school summer activity students.

One thing I am thankful about is the fact that there was surprisingly nothing sad in this play, thank god! I was waiting for it. Especially when we had Higuchi being sent to hospital and we learn that Jounin's mother passed away. But there was no big sad moment and no tears so (thank god) it was a completely comedic and positive play which -- guys -- it's been a while.

Unfortunately none of the other boys particularly stood out but after googling them, I recognise a lot or can say I've seen and/or know about some of the stuff they've done.

AFTER EVENT!

As in per usual style of mine, I had no idea there was an aftershow event until I was at the damn show! It was a high-touch/high-five event with all the main characters/actors! So I got to high-five:

Harashima Motohisa Ishiwatari Masshu Akisawa Kentaro Jounin Tatsuki Matsumura Taiichiro Masaki Kaoru Higuchi Yuta Kimura Atsushi Takenaka Ryouhei Fukazawa Taiga

And it went in order of Matsumura-Taiga-Akisawa-Kimura-Takenaka-Jounin-Masshu-Higuchi-Harashima-Masaki along the line. I am so super happy that I got to get high-touches with Taiga (I remember he had such a great smile on his face), Masshu (my friend is his fan so he's used to seeing white foreigners in front of his face now xD), Higuchi (I was super nervous high-touching him... I honestly think this is the FIRST stage I've ever seen him live in the flesh too! DAMN), Kimura (he was cute, obviously! I've always wanted to see him on stage but our schedules and stages just don't tend to match xD) and Harashima (I was super nervous high-touching him too!). Also the line slowed down about Higuchi/Masshu/Jounin around so that didn't help my nerves with Higuchi! Haha MAsaki always greeted me with this huge smile right at the end of the line which was adorable! But of course I was sad that Hiroki was NOT in the line xD

GOODS

I was so thankful that Hiroki only has one bromide set this time. BUT I did feel a little upset he didn't have at least two sets xD I think this is the cheapest he's ever cost me!

And we are done!

#tanaka hiroki #hiroki tanaka #iwa yoshito #higuchi yuya #masaki kaoru #harashima motohisa #ishiwatari mashu #kimura atsushi #jounin tatsuki #fukazawa taiga #murakami kouhei #kanesaki kentaro #totani kimito #stage #stage play #review

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cipzi-shop · 3 years

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Daddy 2020 Mask The One Where I Was In Lockdown T Shirt

It will come out for another year they talked about a Daddy 2020 Mask The One Where I Was In Lockdown T Shirt lotand for those you estimate the LiveWire late last probably is one of the pioneer the pilot dealers so I will be getting the LiveWire for sure next year so if you’re interested in the electric vehicles that me out because I will have a lot of content with the LiveWire when it comes out but it will be out for the year person hears a some more trikes death to you got traction control is trike replacement braking system drag towards the control noted they went away from the air suspension guys they went away from their suspension on the like now know I glad to have you got an adjustable hand adjusted between preload now yes the audio also limits of the 114 guys the regular ultra classic they have a 107 still the blue say is gorgeous guys I shot the CVO’s at the beginning of this video so you want to seeand you can realign this videoand I publish it now by Mr Max on beer for sure 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I think the mass by five to buy a brand new bike this year it was a CDL I like the new CVO road by Xeroxand I seriously but still it’s hard to say guys that I still love my street by special 35 guys in my history by special again yeah the diner is gone sorry I no more Dina guys for United guys out there the new soft those are better for as much as people don’t like to except that then you thought the frame is better than the old Dina’s so suck it upand gastric Bob or low rider Arafat Bob because they are better bikes I got close friend employees are giving her Dina’s right now to get a new soft out because they’re coming to the reality that the new framing is not the frame is better fly guys on the signoff in the uppermost in our if you want to see some new stuff you can realign this videoand check out some of the silicon thought you got The 2020 roadster which is’s performance focused sportsterand I think that indicator of performance is going to be the frontand despite got a outside 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performance focused nature of this bike making tachometer front center in day lets you know exactly where you are me the engine gradsand as you shiftand downshift more accurately little more confidence this is the 3. 5 million words according to Caro we’re taught Lord Acton’s axiom all power corruptsand absolute power corrupts absolutely I believe that when I started these books but I don’t believe it’s always true anymore what I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals when you have enough power to do what you always wanted to do NEC with the guy always wanted to do so that an email that quickly mean the thing we spent the last eight seasons assessing overand are now months late getting to our spicy hot takes a big thingand say the stories don’t need to have a point or weren’t intended to have a point that this was intended to have a point since it ended with Dragon burning the symbol for such a character driven show really the main issue down to that the charactersand we will start with the fact that by the end of the show the Indy outlined a lot of plot points without giving much thought as to how characters might be motivated to reach those plot points to a huge chunk of season eight is spent on dialogue rationalizing plot points that don’t really make sense the student be half as many as a beautiful green snow should do nothing today lifted the moment the case fell the battle was over to a friend that just burned 54 in the county know they don’t make sense of they have to spend a lot of time rationalizing them is on memory keep all the stories in order for the plot to progress as outlined everyone especially characters in earlier seasons were defined by the cunningand intelligent decayand a total dummy woman is my season eight this was you might say foreshadowed in season seven by little fingers downfall which only works of every character involved in the subplot took a bunch of stupid pills that you little finger doesn’t like that Ari is back so he tries to pit the two sisters against each otherand play some surviving for some reason despite knowing what an untrustworthy ass hat he is that I now switcheroo stand accused of metadata stand accused of treason how do you want charges Bayless hello everyone knocks down many an intelligence unit watches this worthless subplot bleed out on the floor because the character of little finger is redundant nowand we don’t know what to do with him so goodbye to it takes Ariand sunset entire season to realize they’re being played over nothing basically but here in season seven everyone cut a case in addendum’s which only worsens in season eight forgot about beerand sleep in the idea that the sisters were on the little fingerand were just playing along the whole time is good head cannon in theory by well here’s a quote from Isaac instead writing plays brand actually seen that clearly got cut a short scene with salsa where she knocks on brands doorand says I need your help or something along those lines so basically as far as I know the story was that it suddenly occurred to something that she had a huge CCTV department at her discretionand it might be a good idea to check with him first before she gets her own sister so he just ranand ran tells her everything she’s known she’s like oh no sounds you have been done duty after the should show that was season five sums onto stand there happy that at least one of the women got to be in charge without having to be put down Michael Geller that if we made for a moment be honest with ourselves her entire character has been one massive train wreck ever since season fiveand little fingers like hey Mary the son of the guy who murdered your entire familyand she’s like all okay this is the fast track to Raytown escapeand in season seven she completes her evolutionand the lady finger stripped of all Pecos because to be in the female empowerment shedding your humanity until you are a stone cold badass but you know the kind you only does some hideously inhumane executions to be clear I am not on the sponsor he trained I just think they popped a squad over her character just like they did everyone else my season eight everyone’s gushing over how smart something is she’s evolved into her final form unlike in earlier seasons where her intelligence would come out for these moments of her being more quick thinking that people expected and it would be bad the amount of ore by her playingand her enemies arrogance so you’ll be outside the gates the bank doesn’t discuss plans for super goes through grace to write to close reading about God’s they see my brother will you pretend she now gets these girl badass moments that built not on the lesson she learned includes landing is set on high sciences earlier defining attributes was her compassion that she cared about people despite the pain she was in the books she never loses essence of compassion but get smarter about figuring out who is worthy of itand who is playing her for their own advantage here in the show that warmth is totally extinguished compassionand appeals to goodness her friends not as a strength but as immature weakness that she needs to outgrow sheep little guy was she dreams you never learn new empowerment sunset doesn’t act like someone who would take pity on a drunk night in Joffrey’s wrath or someone who would have any ounce of empathy for someone like the house like she didn’t seem to something the Crips doesn’t bother trying to call me other womenand children what she did during the siege of King’s Landing in season two new empowerment song to spend the whole battle trash talking to NARA’s between final Dragon Queen who unlike salsa is out there risking her life out the tool will be dead season it keeps telling us what something is she thought that she smart that she shrewd but nothing in her actions support that earlier something would know to keep her mouth shut about someone she was suspicious of me while new empowerment sunset won’t shut up about how much she doesn’t like to NARA’s Y during some of the entire Kings landing storyline keeps herself alive by feigning loyalty to Joffreyand Circe with you paying for the cost have mercy on us all to me even if she did plan on undermining to NARA’s I guess the Indy kind of forgot that one of salsa’s most important lessons is when to feign respect to Delhi what dragons eat anyway whatever they want something evolution mirrors the Starks as a whole the compassionand ability to define the Starks is one of their biggest asset in the end they’re no better than the Lancers’s trust you will don’t know you know she’s not one of us change their house motto from winter is coming to you got mine because that’s female empowerment of the show runners I’m glad I got raped actually Mr the hound it made me a cool girl badass finger stayed in the so something is a northern separatist now for some reason even though now is not the time they remember what happened lost dragons both yet nothing nothing happened when a on the Conger invaded the North Bend the knee immediatelyand join the seven kingdoms without a fightand nobody died the countryside was not burning aided the time was called the King who knelt for a reason I guess someone kinda forgot they remember what happened lost dragons both sworn I read the lowest king in the north was tarring stock human needs my ancestor egg until Gary there are cases to be made for an independent North doing well in the past this whole situation in winter felt we have written for season eight data actually makes pretty good case for United seven kingdoms will you sure dead howling to feed the great the good thing we got to reach a part of the seven kingdoms which also happens to support the nurses claim it wasn’t even that they had it on lot before the NARA showed up with all these mouths to feed this time he wouldn’t have enough food special enough the armies of the North back to defend with how are we going to feed our own people was a problem at the beginning of the season is set upand promptly ignored what dragons eat anyway you know what salsa it doesn’t matter don’t worry your empowered little head about itand join us dragonsand supplies from other regions now that it’s winterand you all have a common enemy you seem determined to dislike like they did yesterdayand will get to the nearest but what they did the sauces depressing sauces only purpose the season is to have an unfounded suspicion of the nearest which only proves to be found in when the nurse does something completely nonsensical otherwise the nurse has essentially given all of her resources to defend winter felt east on the promise of the guy in chargeand salsa still like now I don’t like the cut of her gym Y by the end of the stupid dumb battle of winter felt the nurses prove yourself worthy of being a queen about as well as one can expect in this universe is forging alliances doing battle keeping her promises to her followersand to her allie The stink eye over to NARA’s makes no sense she never even lived to the target area is hurting her family the operative word Matt King burned her grandfatherand uncle to death but she sure did Circe you know their common enemy whose family wiped her own out sauces mistrust of the nurse only makes sense if you’re writing from the end forward telling us she is smartand her intelligence is really just writer clairvoyance giving salsa suspicions without giving her any reason to have them other than the writers know how the show will landand they want something to look smart Dragon Queen does not have to do them or maybe I do know sauces jealous because the nurse is pretty surely they would never come I anyway within the fan favorite recall that my seasoning held late season five is nothing to doand no reason to be here that people like him so here he is planning a different ending for bronze plate when I had some character development seven during the Lutra attack Ron loses his goal in a very symbolic moment even leaves it to risk his life in a big way to save Jamie with no mercenary reason for doing so is this a sign of character development is Braun changing his ways knowand guess who gets the worst subplot of all time you do you do you boys are of goldplated so Circe asked Bron to go murder her brothers as you do she do the trees Bron fast travels to winter felland holds the Met arrow pointand tells them he thinks their side will win because dragons so he blackmails Jamieand Terryand into giving him our God will hike better than okay so for those of you playing the home game high garden is the capital of the reach of the now extinct house Tyrelland the breadbasket of the seven kingdoms the most populous yes there are probably still many Tyrell’s next in line to claim the reach to say nothing of the other great houses in the reach with a much better claim to theand install certain no name is Lord of high garden because of black male under a queen that was only clean for five minutesand yeah that’s going to go over well with all these other lesser houses in the reach high God but okay we do not see Bron again into the finale where not only is now the master of coin money before the rules but hearing is apparently made good on that whole promise made it gunpoint thing so Braun will go to Fargo paramount reach of most of you should have written offand that good night liked Ariana Harris but okay here he is still cooland in a season has turned pretty much all the charactersand the stupid dumb dumb Zakaria situation for shit because the plot needs them to be open there is one character who tactical nosedive probably hurts the most one character was arguably done dirtier than the nearest season it’s Lord Ferris the best there is the master of whispers becomes the master of loud treasonous conversations great creek like Ron Taveras is a fan favorite but the show runners clearly had no idea what to do it after season for because his character starts wildly deviating from his passion but like to stuff you should select to pick up your shit out of I guess in his case they’d figure right around this laterand they did so by making the smartest guy in the realm of total dumb dumb there is in the books wants to instill a guy on the throne who may or may notand probably is not be the lost son of Ray Gardner egg on target areaand the next in line to the throne if we have a target area restoration fans call him saying on the show we don’t have they gone but there is need something to do so at the beginning of season five interiorand cross the narrow sea with the express intent to support the nurse now even though there is totally try to have her assassinated in season 1 last night it asked how to I do would have to be done apparently she’s willing to move past that is when the training of the Eno in a world where executions are routine this seems like kind of a reasonable threat he has tried to have her assassinated beforeand here we are one season later again with poisoning dragons but then in season eight he will she make a sad face at dinner meeting you’re not really getting to me runners I guess she does ignore his shitty advice which has no consistently been shitty ever since they got to West Roseand is in this case as it turns out wrong from a tactical perspective they do in the battle easilyand with minimal casualtiesand know they did next need to restand no food was never an issueand resources were never an issue so why bother having this conversation but there is finds out that John Snow is the actual egg on target areaand was he has the better claim to the throne does what he wantsand you know what is the season for some trees in the well I will dedicate myself to seeing you behind because I want to dragons in the best rationality can come up with Rivera’s wanting to support John over to NARA’s is the philosophy that the best person to rule is the person who specifically doesn’t want to rule if you consider the best to be someone who doesn’t want Robert was neither not local recently have no interest in being well meaning as John keeps failing upward so that tracks mentioned nominally being for the good of the realmand then immediately reversing your state the moment you see a young guy whose neighborhood County love him be like wow yeah that some leadership material right there is a map which makes them more appealing to the rules of Western the problem is only makes sense if you are the audienceand you seen John Snow’s temperament for the last eight seasons there is on the other hand has not there is no reason to like or trust John Snow other than he likedand trusted Ned gas who wasn’t actually his father anyway there’s only just met John Snowand in universe has no reason to think that he’s a better more tempered choice than to NARA’s unless he knows what the audience we the audience know about John Snow but from the outside looking in the narratives all over the place John Snow’s only been in charge of the North for like a weekand it’s kind of been a shit show came back sure what for the first three episodes of season she’s a war hero dragons that sacrifice half for troopsand one of those dragons to save humanity the only thing she doesn’t upset for that mildly questionable is the patient about wanting to takings landing except she’s not wrong about anything mentally have left exhausted the fight better if you have time to restand recuperate well clearly they don’t I promised you I would look you in the yardand speak directly if I ever thought you were making a mistake well maybe your advice shouldn’t have been so uniformly badand maybe he was mad that she went against his advice but that particular advice again ended up being wrong King landing was stupid easy to take because battles are easy now because we need to wrap this shit up the city last time it was attacked by note better than anyone it will for tomorrow’s based on what those dragons have the fortitude of hummingbirds up until now it seemed pretty evenly matched you know whatever Solaris who has sacrificed all the rally much power to the nearest immediately switches sides the second he discovers that there’s a poutyand decisive male alternative with great hair but the nearest has at this point done nothing to make Barris logically want to switch sides one time she went against her advisers advised before this was to save John Snow you know that guy that there is wants to betray to NARA’s forand so he starts telling everyone who John Snow is doing so makes more or less the exact same mistake that led start date in season one only way stupider this is way more recklessand way less motivated than what Ned did in season one John abdicated that other thing you can do I don’t want to never tell John Snow knew a guy who did abdicate until your mama screw this of John Snow Jones there’s a scene in the second episode of game of thrones season one in which John Snow asks Ned Stark met his motherand then responds with this stream burden motion to’s this is eventually going to come to something emotionally charged an important so are you even start with this long section from the moment in many ways John Snow is emblematic of everything wrong with the way the series handled its resolution a big emotional profound set up with the flaccid confusingand meaningless pay off from a plot perspective most of the major letdowns from all of the moment to set up are pretty much tied in the John Snow the Whitewater plot of which John was the key point of view character are plus L equals J the mystery of John’s parentage which kind of indirectly kicked off the plot of the whole show John Snow being brought back from the dead by the Lord of lightand of course John’s love for to NARA’s culminating with her murder done in an uncharacteristically dishonorable way after Johnson is resurrected they keep making this big deal about how he must’ve been brought back for a reason to you wants realize why I don’t know what indeed was the point well considering the call you did during the long night I’m guessing the Lord brought you back so you can blue ball to NARA making her go crazyand ultimately instill brand the broken on the throne good job Lord of late like her plot was this existential threatand been built up for eight seasons predicated on a historical long night that lasted an actual generationand nearly wiped out humanity last generation casos is making was John’s principal antagonistand his main motivation for the run of the show but not only was the big bus easily stepped away by a character that had nothing to do with the Whitewater plot the long night was about as long as a viewing of Titanic with a couple of bathroom breaks downand instead of merely living out humanity it wiped out about one half of one Army seamstress the author argues actually Western Markand we learned that after that’s done it doesn’t enter that the world of men was to preoccupied with political squabbles to worry about an endless fortified zombies because all you need to do in the existential threat is the one special knife of no importance is a recurring problem which ties in with what we were talking about the last episode subverting expectations despite the fact that it doesn’t work for the story are used training as a faceless man builds not at all to this could have been anyone with a strong tenure jump yeah the fact that the 19 focuses is wrap on Brandon John Snow means that Brandon John Snow should have been involved here is a Mina Jones now needed to do this but he needed some resolution other than spending the battle screaming at his new archenemy on the Dragon tended I also saw one idea that Shearman Cheney killed 19 you know bring that old Kingsley are thankful for that would’ve been cooland give Jamie a reason for existing but enough of it made sense John’s main motivation is farting out of existence without any of his involvementand after it’s overand the only thing that has materially changed apart from the bloodletting of a couple of supporting characters is that the nurse finds out about John being a target areaand which not only has nothing to do with the why walkers really think they have in this world it probably would have happened eventually anyway but with regard to John learning the truth about who he is never really reacts to it the King go talk to supervisionand protection of the realm of revelation is momentous especially someone like John Snow whose entire identity was wrapped around his pastor Ness starts Boston installed bus the dog Boston is about the ship. And I saw the importance of being awake and after I had my child I thank God every day for knowing what I know about these fucking every single one of them told their victims what we did is a secret don’t tell mommy or daddy that’s not a roll that’s how they roll but the story I wanted to you about my daughter was when she was an infant she was probably about a month or two old and you know they were people in the family that didn’t that had a problem with me for some reason they would always call DCF and send DCF to my house all the fucking time never came to visit the child will call DCF down these yet that child is sick and needs to be examined when this motherfucker has never been to the house to visit the fucking child once right now is ridiculous in itself so one day I get a call DCF and S Department of child children and families are important so I called these yet is cold it is rainy that they right and the DCM woman says we got an anonymous tip that your daughter was sick and we need to date we need to take a downtown for an examination

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wanderlust-journal · 5 years

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Sam Manicom travelled the world on his trusty 1992 BMW R80GS, with his partner Birgit on her 1971 BMW R60/5, for 8 years. He has been writing for various magazines around the world since 1996. Those titles include: Motorcycle Sport & Leisure, Adventure Bike Rider, Motorcycle Voyager, Canadian Biker, Motorcycle Monthly, Motociclisimo, Motorcycle Explorer, Australian Road Rider, MCN and ADVMoto Magazine.

He is the author of 4 acclaimed motorcycle travel books. His first book was written as a result of readers’ letters to editors. ‘We like Sam’s articles. When’s he going to write a book?’ Until that time he’d been travelling with just new adventures in mind.

Over the last few years, I’ve got to know Sam Manicom through our talks while working at #OverlandExpoWest in Flagstaff, Arizona. I finally had a chance to ask him a few questions about his journeys and inspirations.

What got you into travelling like you do?

A drunken moment in a bar on the tiny Channel Island of Jersey! Beer is a very dangerous thing, isn’t it? For sure it has the ability to dull the senses, but it can also open up a world of free thinking.

I was working on the island, which is tucked in the English Channel between the UK and France, and following a career path, as you are supposed to do as an adult. I’ve travelled a lot during my life but had eventually settled down, thinking that perhaps it was time to grow up and to be sensible. After all, we are supposed to feather our nests for old age aren’t we. Besides that, developing a career was going to be a new challenge. I’d not really done it before, so why not see what it was all about.

I surprised myself at how well I did in my retail manager role. Taken on as a very junior manager, I advanced fairly rapidly through the ranks and had all the trappings of life that one is supposed to have with success. An apartment, a sports car, holidays abroad and so on. I think the keys were that people matter to me, I’m fairly organised, I find it easy to respect the people I’m working with, and I liked looking after customers.

Some say that selling is a hard-nosed business, but my attitude towards it was that customers needed help, not sales spiel. If a customer was in my store, they were either there looking for general knowledge, or there for a problem solving reason. I’m happy with the former; we all do it, its curiosity, window-shopping from the inside. As for the latter, my job was to make sure that the customer was listened to, and guided towards products that might be a solution to their needs.

My staff and I had fun and we were successful. The Jersey shop was the number four store out of hundreds of branches throughout the UK. But for me, there was something missing. I had itchy feet, and the itch was increasing dramatically each week. I worked on, telling myself that bunking off on another long trip was irresponsible. After all, I was 34; at the peak of my professional career.

One night in the pub over a bit of a solo celebration when the beers were slipping down rather wonderfully, my thoughts had turned to the itch. By the time I’d made it to the 4thbeer I’d realised some important points. Other than work I had no responsibilities, and I had savings. What a brilliant combination.

The next beer slipped down dangerously and I started to ponder that call of the road. Perhaps I should push off on a new adventure. Would I ever be in this position of potential freedom again? I’d be giving up a lot though…

I’d actually spent most of my life travelling in one way or another. I was born and brought up in the Belgian Congo in Central West Africa. I was 10 years old when my parents decided that it was time to take my sisters and me to live in the UK. I think that was a really hard decision for them. Life had revolved around their work in the Congo for so many years. It certainly was odd for me to go from my usual attire of a pair of shorts and a great tan, to wearing full English school uniform; even a tie and a cap! I was known as Jungle Boy for quite a few years as I came to terms with life in England. I must have been quite a strange little lad as far as the other kids were concerned. A python? So what. But apples, chocolate bars and the Beatles? All new to me.

I made my first solo trip as a foray into mainland Europe, age 16. I rode a brand new bicycle, that I’d worked doing odd jobs to save the money for. That first trip taught me that destinations don’t matter, other than as a plan. What matters is that you go, and that you appreciate the things and people you see and get involved with along the way. Back then I’d no idea that this was going to turn into a plan for life; value the moments.

On finishing school age 18, I’d no idea what I was going to do. Having been to multiple schools and spent most of my time trying to fit in with each new environment, and buzzing around on the sports field, my grades weren’t very good. University? With my grades, only a poor one and it’s just another school, isn’t it. I chose to work a retail management training course for three years with one of the UK’s leading department stores.

Of course, at the time I’d no idea how much the training, new skills and character building would stand me in good stead. I probably couldn’t successfully do what I do now had it not been for all of the training that was involved.

At the end of those three years, the open road was calling and I set off to spend a year hitch hiking around Europe. With that trip, life changed. It wasn’t hard to make this become a way of living. Work and travel; sometimes combining both. Many of the jobs were basic and low wage, but with each new job I learnt; about the role itself, myself, and the country I was in. I travelled as far as India and Australia. Over the next years I hitch-hiked, bused, trained, hiked, sailed and had a go at every form of getting around that I could. And then the career in retail management took over. The trouble was, at no time in my life had I felt as alive, as challenged, as amazed, as delighted and at times frightened, as when I was on the move in some different land. One of my favourite sayings is ‘Become a stranger in a strange land’.

As I was sitting drinking those beers, that saying was in my mind. I started to ponder the possibilities; where to go and how to go? What didn’t I like about the other ways I’d travelled? I loved hitch-hiking but I’d done that a lot. So what’s new? I’d really enjoyed the pace and challenge of bicycling, but yep, those head winds weren’t something I looked forward to. I also knew that I wanted the ability to cover more ground in whatever time I could make available. Cycling was out then, and so was travelling by bus or by train. Unable to stop, I’d zipped on past things, people and places that looked interesting.

My beery brain was hunting for a new way to travel. A way to solve the issues I was identifying, and give me new things to learn. Slowly my mind worked around to travelling by motorcycle. I knew I wanted to travel through Africa too. I wanted to see if my childhood memories about how things sound smelt and tasted were true. The only problem was, I didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle!

I handed in my notice to work the next morning. I had a bit of a hangover but I was convinced that I was doing the right thing. I then bought myself a little 125cc trail bike to learn on, and passed my test 6 weeks later. It wasn’t long before I’d made it to the edge of the Sahara. Sitting on my 800cc BMW motorcycle, I looked south over the sands and contemplated the point that quite likely I was a complete idiot! I mean, ride a motorcycle through Africa with just a few months experience? I must have been mad, but it was too late; I was there. And anyway, I’d told my mates in the pub what I was doing. I couldn’t deal with the loss of face if I turned back without even trying.

So the journey through Africa began. The original plan, if I dare call it that with things happening at such a pace, was to ride through West Africa. Just as I passed my motorcycle test, things went politically pear-shaped in Algeria, and all the borders in that part of Africa closed. No one had the remotest idea how long this situation was going to continue. I had a ticking clock in my mind. Because of the terrain and the extreme temperatures, there are only certain months of the year when it’s sane to travel across the Sahara. If I didn’t crack on I’d lose the opportunity.

The alternative route was through East Africa. The problem there was that Sudan had a North to South civil war going on, and Ethiopia had been at war within itself for the past 20 years. On the up side, some people were getting visas for Sudan, and the war in Ethiopia was just coming to an end. With nothing to lose, I set off with new rough plans in mind; I might as well try. After all, I’d given up my job, and sold just about everything I owned. What hadn’t occurred to me was that Mike, and Sally, who I’d met on the way, and I were to be the first people to ride motorcycles North to South through Sudan and Ethiopia for those 20 years. We’d struck it lucky. A window of opportunity had opened.

This was 1992. No Google, no GPS, no cell phones and no digital photography. If you wanted to find something out you went to the library or wrote letters. If you wanted to find the way, you hunted out the best maps you could, and you asked the way. Getting lost was a part of the journey, and instead of being a negative it simply opened up a world of the unexpected. Some of the best adventures happen on a road you hadn’t planned to be travelling.

19 fascinating countries and a year later, I decided that actually there was no good reason to head for home. There were plenty of reasons to carry on though. Travelling by motorcycle, in spite of being thrown in prison in Tanzania and 17 bone fractures in the desert in Namibia, was more than fulfilling my beery thoughts in the pub. Another favourite saying is ‘Stop worrying about the potholes and celebrate the journey’.

I booked passage for my bike and I to sail on a container ship across the Indian Ocean to Australia. And so, what turned out to be an eight year journey around the world began. My motorcycle by the way, is called Libby. That’s short for Liberty; it’s what she gives me. All these years later, she’s still my only means of transport in the UK. She does now have a younger sister getting me around in the USA on trips there. A 2013 BMW F800GS. That bike is still waiting for a name to grow. Who knows, it might be ‘Lucky’. For sure I know how lucky I am to have her, and the opportunity to explore more of the amazing land that is the USA.

What next? More travels but in shorter stints; I need just enough to keep scratching that itch and to give me material to write travel articles about. I also spend a fair bit of time doing travel presentations and book signings at motorcycle dealerships, libraries, clubs, schools and businesses. They are my opportunity to share the fun of the road, and perhaps even encourage others to head out and to explore for themselves. I’m keen that people really think about life, recognise the opportunities as they occur, and take advantage of them. This is such an invigorating thing, both at work and play. I fully accept that many people have responsibilities that will not allow them to head out into the blue for months even years at a time. I really value being around people like that who are accepting their responsibilities and making life zing as much as they can. I love it when people say such things as, “I’d love to travel, but I can’t, yet.” Adventures begin with dreams.

I think of myself as being a bit of an accidental author. I didn’t set out on my journey with the aim of writing magazine articles or books. With enthusiastic encouragement from others I thought I’d have a go. I’d kept a journal every day, so I had the facts and many of the descriptions. Long term travellers learn quickly about the risk of being on intake overload each day; it’s so easy to forget the dates, statistics, sights, sounds, smells, names and so on. The drama and the funny side to life do tend to stay in one’s mind though.

It would be a new adventure seeing if I could write a book, and so settled down to write my first; Into Africa. I was putting in 10-12 hour days working renovating houses and then after a quick shower and some food, I sat down to write. It took me two years. Learning everything about the publishing and print industries has been a side fascination and I’ll never forget the sensation of having my first printed copy in my hand; it’s a wonderful moment.I certainly didn’t expect the 5 star reviews my books have been collecting from kind readers and media reviewers.

Each of the four books takes the reader riding and exploring through a different section of the eight year journey and thankfully people seem to like them. ‘Thankfully’ because I wrote them as travel books, rather than specifically as motorcycle travel books, and I describe the sorts of things I like to read about as a traveller. Years later I read that authors should only write about things they know about and have a passion for.

I think of my books as being a way to share the fun of the open road with those who for the moment can’t head out on a long trip, with those who really don’t want to travel but love to read about it, and also as encouragement to those who think they don’t have the skills to travel in this way. I had few skills when I started, but I had an open mind, a strong curiosity, understanding of the value of respect and I’ve got a positive attitude to most things. It’s a great world and travelling by motorcycle, to my mind, is a superb way to see it.

Into AfricaTakes the reader on that first eye-opening year through the incredible continent that is Africa. There are challenges a plenty; it’s a genuine tale of the unexpected. Woven into this journey between Cairo and Cape Town are the riding, the people, wildlife, history, the disasters and the silver linings; there’s plenty of humour too.

Overland Magazine: ‘The word-pictures that bring a good travel book to life are all here; Sam’s perceptions of people, places and predicaments have real depth and texture, their associated sights, smells and sounds are evoked with a natural ease. Where other author’s detailed descriptions can sometimes get in the way, Sam’s style is engaging and well-tuned. I found myself in the midst of action rather than a mere fly on the wall.’

Under Asian Skies This is the story of just over 2 years travelling from Australia and New Zealand, up through SE Asia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and through Eastern Europe. This without doubt is the most colourful and culturally diverse part of the world I’ve been lucky enough to ride. Every day was an adventure.

Horizons Unlimited: ‘Sam has the skills of the story teller and this book easily transports you into three years of journey across Asia. He manages to bring the sounds, scents and heat of Asia to life without wordy overkill and he has obviously researched his historical facts carefully. In places Under Asian Skies is sad, and in others it’s outrageously funny – look out for his battle with the Sydney port officials and the bus ride in Indonesia. All in all this is a really good read, whether you have been across Asia, or are planning a trip. This is true travelling on the cheap and not your everyday story.’

Distant Suns My third book has me linking up with a German lass in New Zealand. Birgit agreed to ride with me, but to Africa first, and on her own bike. She rode out of Mombasa harbour in Kenya with just 600 miles of experience on a motorcycle! Over the next 3 years we rode together through Africa, and on up through South and Central America. These continents may be on the same latitude, but the contrasts in landscape, cultures and the peoples are huge. The Andes? Simply stunning. Oh and I’d not told Birgit what a disaster magnet I am!

Motorcycle Explorer: ‘An epic ride that almost becomes secondary to the events that happen and the very human element of travelling. Always evoking the emotions of others, because Sam never forgets to use his five senses in his tales. Leaving you immersed in the sights, sounds, touch, smell and taste of a journey of true human discovery.’

Tortillas to Totems? This book takes you travelling with us through the 3 countries that make up North America. Three neighbours that are so wonderfully different to each other, make travelling this part of the world a delight. North America was in fact the part of the world that surprised me the most. When you read this book you’ll find out all the reasons why I keep coming back.

ADVMoto Magazine: ‘What I enjoy most about Sam’s method is his way of describing the moment. You feel it, smell it… you freeze, you sweat, and you see what’s before him like you’re along for the ride. You are very much there. It’s a rather intimate, honest style that easily carries you from chapter-to-chapter. I highly recommend that you add Sam’s books to your reading list.’

Fall Presentation Tour 2019:

GO AZ Motorcycles Peoria AZSeptember 6th(Friday). On this, my second visit to GO AZ, I’ll be talking about the delights of travelling across Asia. I’ll also be book signing. 6pm start

BMW Motorcycles of North Dallas TX September (FRIDAY 13th!) Feel like risking it for a Presentation Evening and Book Signing? Start time is at 6pm. My multi-media presentation is about Incredible Africa!

Adventure Motorsports of NWF Pensacola FL September 21st (Saturday) Africa Presentation Evening and Book Signing. Join us 5pm if you can – we will be starting the presentation at 5.15 pm.

Pandora’s European Motorsports Chattanooga TN September 24th (Tuesday) Africa Presentation Evening and Book Signing – 6.30 to 9pm

Motorcycles of Charlotte NC October 2nd (Wednesday) – Africa Presentation Evening and Book Signing. Doors open for food at 6.30pm and the presentation with be starting at 7.15pm

Overland Expo East VA October 11th to 13th in Arrington. I’ll be presenting, running Classes, in Round Table sessions and Book Signing.

If you would like to meet Birgit then please join us at Motorcycles of Charlotte and at Overland Expo East. She will be joining me for this section of the tour.

Signed copies are available from Sam-Manicom.com with free UK delivery, and with free Worldwide delivery via the Book Depository.com https://www.bookdepository.com/author/Sam-Manicom

Sam’s 4 books are available as Paperbacks, Kindles and as Audiobooks. Sam narrates the books himself.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Store-Sam-Manicom/s?rh=n%3A341677031%2Cp_27%3ASam+Manicom

https://www.audible.co.uk/search?searchNarrator=Sam+Manicom

https://books.apple.com/us/author/sam-manicom/id516565970

Facebook– Catch up with Sam via his two pages: Sam Manicom and Adventure Motorcycle Travel Books by Sam Manicom.

Twitter– You’ll find him on @SamManicom

Instagram– sammanicom.author

Website– If you’d like to learn more about his books and his presentation schedule please go to www.sam-manicom.com

Sam is Co-Host of Adventure Rider Radio RAW show. Hosted by Jim Martin, the show is recorded monthly with a panel of 5 highly experienced overlanders from around the world. Listeners submit topics for discussion. RAW has been described by listeners as akin to sitting around a giant kitchen table with the team, beers, wine and coffee in hand, discussing motorcycles and travel; there’s controversy, challenging ideas, top tips and plenty of banter!

https://adventureriderradio.com/arr-raw/

Sam says, “If you are a You Tube fan, have a hunt. There are various riding and interview clips to be found, including a recent chat with the phenomenal Ted Simon.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-658_CSkrA

He was the first Overlander Interviewed by Adventure Bike TV for their popular ‘Under the Visor’ series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bToV6paAEXM

In 2017 Overland Magazine awarded him the‘Roho Ya Kusafiri Spirit of Travel’ award for his contribution to Overland and Adventure Travel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Y1BKPbp_Y

In 2011, Sam joined the team of advisors working with travellers supported by The Ted Simon Foundation.

I had to learn about book writing the hard way – there were few people in the world of publishing whose knowledge I was able to tap into. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to help other travellers get more out of their adventures, and to learn how to get their work published. We live in a stunning world that’s full of surprises, and what better way is there for a person to share those experiences than to write and publish a great book. The Ted Simon Foundation is the perfect platform to help this happen.

http://jupiterstravellers.org/

In Interview with Sam Manicom Sam Manicom travelled the world on his trusty 1992 BMW R80GS, with his partner Birgit on her 1971 BMW R60/5, for 8 years.

#advrider #rtw #adventure #adventurerider #Africa #Andes #Asia #dreams #expedition #motorcycle #Motorcycles #Overland #Sam Manicom #travel books #wanderlust #wanderlust journal

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trippinglynet · 5 years

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The Cacophony Society: Best Pranksters Ever?

Karma Bennett × April 1, 2015

“All-seeing-eye” by Winston Smith, from Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society

Pop quiz: What do Burning Man, Fight Club, flash mobs, urban exploring, art cars and the Billboard Liberation Front have in common? All of them were born of the pranksters known as the Cacophony Society. They started in San Francisco, 1986 and expanded to have chapters in Detroit, Portland, Los Angeles, and dozens of other cities. With April Fool’s Day approaching I knew I’d want to share some stories from this incredible group.

The Cacophony Society combined art and theater in mischievous ways. They outlined bodies on sidewalks and glued toasters to walls. One time they set up a booth offering “Free Casts—arms or legs.” They claimed that a fake injury was all the rage, and they would offer to help passers-by come up with an epic tale to explain their feigned maladies. They paraded the streets as a legion of drunken Santas (today this tradition lives on in Santarchy and SantaCon). Every year at the Bay to Breakers foot race, people dress in salmon and run in the opposite direction as the racers—another tradition started by the Cacophony Society. They staged a flash mob zombie attack long before zombies or flash mobs were trendy. Are these actions pranks or art? The Cacophony Society didn’t care about labels, only mayhem.

They welcomed transgressive or even illegal events, but discouraged anything overtly religious or political. They held a pigeon roast next to a PETA protest in Union Square and staged a Republican rally in People’s Park (ground zero for hippies in Berkeley). Neither of these acts was meant to be political, they were meant to be participatory works of art that both delight and confound.

I got in touch with the publishers of Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society to share with you some of the antics they’ve pulled off over the years. Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society is a tremendous book, full of photos and stories. Today’s excerpt focuses only on their pranks, but the book also details outrageous parties, urban exploring, explosions, art cars, creative vandalism, the zone trips that led to Burning Man and much more.

As a resident of the Bay Area, it’s hard to express how much the Cacophony Society impacted San Francisco. Organizations that plan urban street games like SF Zero and the plethora of art cars and costume parties show Cacophony’s influence. And Burning Man itself is a huge part of the culture of the city. Reading this book showed me that a prank is never just a prank. A prank is a way to excite the imagination and upset our expectations. Pranks force us out of our routines and expand our notions about what we can and should do with our short lives, to look beyond the rat race and the passive comforts of media. So as you read the excerpt below, remember the Cacophony Society motto: “You might already be a member.”

Epic Pranks of the Cacophony Society

The following excerpt and images are courtesy of the publisher, Last Gasp.

Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society combines narrative recollections with first-hand accounts and actual flyers and zines from the events, which is why the following excerpts change POV.

Decadent Meals for the Homeless

Crumbs anyone? On the morning of Bastille Day, 1994, 31-year-old Peter Doty and a couple of friends went to San Francisco’s City Hall dressed in full 18th century attire and carrying fancy trays with a few crumbs on them. After presenting Deputy Mayor, Frank Jordan with the “Copper Crumb” award for crummy homeless policies, Doty and company joined a crowd gathered to show support for Food Not Bombs activist Keith McHenry. Unfortunately, the members of the San Francisco Police Department present that day had no sense of humor and proceeded to arrest Doty’s co-conspirators for serving food without a permit.

Despite the arrests, Doty remains undaunted. In fact, Doty, also known as Pierre, Le Marquis de Gateau, says the annual roast at Union Square, “Let Them Eat Cake,” has become something of a hit. Every Bastille Day, July 14, Doty and a host of others make decadent desserts and serve them to the resident homeless people. The servers all dress in 18th-century French aristocratic garments, but often homeless people help with the act. “We had one guy last year who sat down at a piano and played Mozart,” Doty recalls.

The SPASM Against Fantasia Hoax

Doty says his pranks are meant as “shame tactics.” And he hasn’t limited himself to care of the homeless. Satires of whiny political correctness and pack journalism, for example, are probably his favorite pranks. When the Castro Theatre decided to show Disney’s Fantasia in July 1991, Doty formed CAFE, the facetious Coalition Against Fantasia’s Exhibition. Calling himself Dwayne Newtron, Doty wrote a statement claiming that his six-year-old daughter’s terror at the Night on Bald Mountain segment had prompted him to form SPASM (Sensitive Parents Against Scary Movies). SPASM anchored the CAFE, which also included Dieters United (who claimed that hippos in tutus were offensive to overweight people) and BADRAP (Bay Area Drought Relief Alliance Party, which felt that “water conservation efforts will be hindered by showing Mickey Mouse’s waste of water in the ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ sequence”).

The San Francisco Chronicle and Examinerand The Washington Post all reported the protest as real; not one reporter bothered to check out Newtron and his nonexistent daughter or call anyone else in SPASM’s constituency. The denouement of the media hoax came a few weeks later when it was mentioned in a Time Magazine cover story. Finally, on April Fools’ Day the following year, Doty came clean and The Wall Street Journal tracked down the reporters who’d been had, including The San Francisco Examiner’s Rob Morse. “I’ve been in San Francisco so long, I tend to believe anything,” Morse told The Wall Street Journal. “You’ve got to go pretty far in San Francisco to make something look like a joke.”

Suicide Note Writing Workshop

An event description from Rough Trade, the Cacophony Society Newsletter:

Consider the many applications of the well-written suicide note. Many a job application, love letter, or similar pathetic plea for mercy could be better served by a simple threat of self-immolation. Then too, even if one has the good sense to avoid this arguably cowardly method of honorable reality exit, it pays to have one’s parting shot ready. Carry it at all times; in the event of intersecting with an inebriated MUNI driver, jealous rival, or falling building cornice, well, you can leave ‘em guessing, can’t you? At this workshop we willl look at a few famous examples, and polish our own epitaphal epistles. Bring: Examples you admire from the genre, famous or obscure. Do not bring: Sharp objects, loaded guns, and so on. Acts of self-inflicted violence willl be sternly discouraged (the landlord, you know).

SF MOMA Tour

We examined and critiqued the utilitarian details of SFMOMA, as if it were the actual art on display. And as a tribute to the “readymade” art pieces presented to the public in the early 20th century by Marcel Duchamp. This was held in the old SFMOMA building on Van Ness, with its intricate humidification measuring devices (looking like a tiny seismograph!), old brass fire extinguishers, cracked plaster walls, shiny doorknobs, plush benches, Stoic guards, light switches, urinals, and more.

With Cacophonists’ minds ready to discover art that abounds, and express adventurous conceptual and cultural insight within this fine modern art establishment, we played the most serious game of art critique, and the pretentious hyperbole flowed forth as we reflected ideas of how the art object (a museum doorknob), with its precious patina, was constructed in such a way as to juxtapose a paradigm shift from a new and old world. This is representing a paradox, of transformed self-realization indicative of a cookie cutter individualism integrated by an isolated industrialized society, subliminally suggesting a radical sensibility within the seemingly mundane. Brilliant!

Passersby in the museum joined in briefly at times, looking at what we were critiquing, as if we were seriously seeing something on museum display that should not go unmissed… then realizing after a few minutes of our exaggerated BS that it was a utilitarian device used by the museum for utilitarian purposes. (They’re looking at and critiquing a light switch?) The passing museum-goer would then move along with a puzzled shrug.

Sketch books were pulled out as the critiquing went on. Challenging to the artist was capturing the intricacies of a high tech humidification device, A device that itself also draws lines, designed for measuring sensitive humidity levels in museums. OR, a benchmark conceptual piece, symbolizing the delicate juxtaposition of a lost barbarism in art, if in fact the artist is still using hands with pencil on paper, hearkening back to medieval sensibilities. This realization made obvious to the viewer indeed does render this piece a great work of art for our tenuous post-neo-avant-modern times. We critiqued a guard, to his amusement. I posed still in an alcove, to be critiqued verbosely. Urinals were signed “R Mutt” in honor of Marcel Duchamp, who was our hero in this game.

The Bart Lounge

As much as we all liked to entertain each other, we really loved it when we could play to an unsuspecting audience. The BART train between San Francisco and the East Bay was our perfect playground. One Friday evening we all boarded BART and our MC announced to the passengers that this was a pilot project that BART was testing to bring entertainment to riders on Friday evenings. We proceeded to “entertain” the passengers with such acts as “Duane and Dusty” (Peter Doty and Sara Rosenbaum), a dynamic duo straight from Vegas and the amazing “Shirley Bassey “ (Robert Hubbard in the most believable Shirley drag) singing her great Bond hit “Goldfinger.” Along with assorted magic acts, poets, and total silliness, we “entertained” passengers all the way to the end of the line.

I was the cigarette girl with a 1950s night club tray around my neck, offering cigars, cigarettes, chewing gum, and condoms, accompanied by a pet rat courtesy of the rat girls, climbing all over the tray. We even handed out surveys to the passengers asking them to let BART know which were their favorite acts, and would they would like this to be a regular feature of the Friday night commute.

On the return trip two young guys boarded the train in Hayward. They were dressed in nice suits and ties, on their way to meet their dates in the city. I climbed in one of the guy’s lap and started flirting with him. As I played with his hair, the rat climbed off my tray and on to his shoulder, where it let go with a very messy, gooey shit. I was sure the guy was going to start screaming at me but instead he turned out to be a great sport. He laughed, tried to clean off the mess, and said that this was going to be a great story to tell his date. He gave me his card and subsequently came to many parties that my husband and I had at our home over the years. This is how I met Mark Harmond, who is one of the best sports I have ever met. —Rat Girl

Smugglers Chase in SF’s Biggest Tourist Trap

Lotteria Cabal hosted many live-action street games using the urban landscape as a playground. This ‘Smuggler’ game took place in Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf during a typical work day.

At high noon, under the cable car turnaround at Fisherman’s Wharf, a group of 25 men and women in business attire and dark sunglasses arrive carrying cell phones and walkie-talkies. They look stern, tight-lipped, ready for action. There are five briefcases and one set of jewels. The object of the game, Smuggler, is for the FBI to capture the jewels before the jewel thieves can get them to home base. Historically—in games played in Chinatown and on the Embarcadero—the FBI has always had the advantage, but there are pitfalls at Fisherman’s Wharf: very heavy car traffic, security guards who don’t like interlopers, and, of course, tourists. We make our way to the finish line, the Fisherman’s Wharf ship wheel on Jefferson and Taylor. We line up, while mobs of tourists stop and snap pictures. We pick teams, and the thieves head off with their loot. Two agents guard the wheel while the rest spread out across two square blocks to guard the perimeter. It’s a nerve-wracking wait. Looking for suits among the throng of colorfully clad sightseers, I nearly tag a real businessman with an innocent briefcase.

Radio contact tells us that the thieves are closing in. FBI agents are chasing thieves through nearby souvenir shops. Frantic searches are taking place in alleyways. The jewels are nowhere to be found. One thief is nearly captured by a casual bystander, but, using an old football maneuver, she escapes both the citizen and the agent in hot pursuit. The jewels are still nowhere to be found. The thieves are on their way. I’m agitated. I can’t get a clear view of our perimeter. There are too many people. The Nicaraguan band behind us has drawn a crowd. They’re in our finish line. Some of them are wearing suits. I’m sweating. I can see two thieves in the parking lot behind us, hiding behind the valet booth. There are two more on the southwest corner, moving fast through the crowd. I want to back up, but the other agents have their hands full with decoy briefcases. There’s no way to tell. Suddenly, it’s a rush. Thieves coming in from all directions. We capture two suspects but it’s hard to expect the unexpected. While searching faux cases, a car pulls up to the stoplight, and a thief jumps out, depositing the briefcase containing the jewels in the safe zone.

An observant little girl who has been watching the game with her father innocently points out that we’re “just playing Cops and Robbers.” Twenty-nine-year-old FBI agent Trixie Dare camouflages herself by looking through a garbage can before an onlooker tips her off to a nearby villain, 38-yearold Christopher Valentine.

She chases Valentine through a construction site, tagging him just as he is pulling the basement door closed. No jewels. Forty-six-year-old Porky Pig dashes through stopped traffic, carrying a decoy, with an agent in hot pursuit. Acting as a thief, 24-year-old Agent Smith jumps out of the bushes and rushes the finish line with a blocker and three decoys running interference. Smith is tagged but a sloppy FBI search leaves the jewels, taped to the inner rim of the lid of the briefcase, undiscovered. It is the thieves’ day.

“We are a nation, not of men, but of laws. The law must be enforced at all cost,” says Smith through his impassive sunglasses. “But being a thief filled me with fear and unknown exhilaration.”

During the third and final game, secret agent Speedbump apprehends a thief and wrestles the briefcase out of his uncooperative grip in the middle of an intersection. A cable-car load of tourists erupts in violent applause. Something to write home about. Street vendors begin to offer secret-agent discounts. Briefcases are tossed over the heads of people waiting in lines from thief to thief, with agents in hot pursuit. Witnesses ask to join in the game. And eventually that is how the day is won, with the jewels nestled inside a ham sandwich, wrapped in a paper bag, inside a brief case, shoved in a backpack, on the shoulder of a 16-year-old kid who walks up to the finish line and casually sits down on the bench next to the ever-vigilant FBI. The kid gets a $5 payoff, but no doubt he’d have done it for free. The FBI is completely undone.

And the next game? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

Text and all images excerpted from Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society edited by Kevin Evans, Carrie Galbraith, and John Law. Factoid Illustrations by Kevin Evans. Painting at the top is “All-seeing-eye” by Winston Smith.

#Cacophony Society #Peter Doty #Pierre #Le Marquis de Gateau

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