Today, I’m happy to announce the launch of a new site geared towards highlighting the often overlooked charms of the Caribbean. The Antilles are so much more than just beaches. The local people, food, drinks, music, natural wonders like volcanoes, hot springs, and more all add up to a unique experience that is best enjoyed by directly immersing yourself in the culture. Something you won’t find on any massive cruise ship.

So, for those looking for a deeper look into what the beautiful islands and people of the Caribbean have to offer, head over to the brand new Uncommon Caribbean site, become a fan of the UC Facebook page, look out for our latest videos on YouTube, or follow UncommonCarib on Twitter.

I need to remember to get down to the islands, explore new places and take as many photos as possible!

Sometimes, it’s very easy for me to forget to be creative and keep coming up with new interesting things. (Not just stuff I’m comfortable with.) For some reason this video seems so inspirational to me. It makes me want to go out and create something incredibly individual… something only I could do.Oh well, I hope I remember to stay inspired.

Ahh, found the original creator: Sander Plug.

With the West Indian Day Parade in just a couple of days, it’s easy for my mind to linger on all things Caribbean. It’s such a great feeling to be able to go just a few blocks away and have such a mass of people from all over the West Indies, all the fantastic roti, all the great sorrel, all the ginger beer, all the maubi, all the music, all the colors, all the dancing and, of course, all the women in their tiny outfits jumping up to soca booming out of the flat bed mounted speakers in their bands.

What I didn’t know is that Japan also has it’s own fete! This one, called the Asakusa Samba Carnival, has a bit more of a twist… 99% of the participants are Japanese!! (Could you imagine if in New York they held the same thing will all the music, dancing, etc… except that 99% of the people were white?) Anyway, this is just another reason to go back to Japan. I simply would have to see this to believe it. Until then, these photos on Flickr and a video on CNN will have to do.

I have to remember to get over there next year!

(Photo by Olly Denton)

Sometimes you see a product so ridiculous, you can’t even begin to imagine the meetings that went into the creation of them. I mean, who comes up with a breakfast cereal named Mini Swirlz Fudge Ripple, then shapes it like mini turds, then really hopes that people will love it?

I need to remember to stay out of the breakfast cereal aisle.

Since coming back from Japan, I’ve been trying to steer clear of Japanese food since I felt like I almost OD’d over there, but one thing I didn’t get nearly as much of as I hoped while there was anime. So, I finally checked out Satoshi Kon’s latest movie, Paprika and I gotta say… it was awesome, like nothing I had ever seen before.

I could get into the plot and it’s science fiction aspects, but none of that is really important. The movie is about concepts more than direct this happens after that. Additionally, it’s just gorgeous. The art style had evolved slightly from his older movies, so it took about 5 minutes to get accustomed to the color palette, but from then on it was so much eye-candy!

When I walked out of the theatre, the only way I could describe what I thought of the film was that it was like Lucky Charms. That is to say: “Magically Delicious!”

I gotta remember to buy the DVD as soon as possible!

So, we hit this bar in Shibuya called X+Y based on a tip in the Wallpaper guide to Tokyo (which, by the way, must be written for people who make a lot more money than me). Anyway, this place was super cool in an amazingly cheesy fashion. The best way to describe it to a New Yorker would be it’s the bastard child of Milk & Honey plus the old party Vampyros Lesbos, but seen through a demented Japanese kaleidoscope.

Everything has a 70′s (or even 60′s) kind of feel, but then there’s this big-ol’ disco ball in the middle of the room and a shiny white grand piano against one of the walls. Next to the grand piano is a tiny stage on which was a white acoustic guitar in a stand and a white chair (both of which went unused while we were there).

Then, of course, there’s the side room who’s walls are all painted blank and upon which hang old-school looking nudes of Japanese women. Fantastic!

Not to be outdone, are the bathrooms. Their walls are also painted black, but so glossy that you can use them as ghostly mirrors while you use the facilities. Additionally, I hear the women’s room was outfitted with a bunch of buttons that controlled everything from the toilet seat going up and down, to the lights, to the flushing mechanism. Additionally, whenever you leave the facilities, either the beautiful hostess or sharply dressed manager are waiting just outside with towels to clean your hands!

I must remember to throw a party here or something if I ever move to Japan.

I don’t know what the makers of this game were thinking when they were coming up with this shooter/fighter/dodger thing, but for some reason, they decided the one thing that could act like icing on the cake of their masterpiece would be an announcer with a bizarre Mexican accent shouting “You win!” and a bunch of other sound bytes.

To play the game, you stand in front of the arcade box holding a gun like Time Crisis or House of the Dead, but instead of going through a story, you fight other cyborgs (though no real explanation is given) in more of a Tekken or Virtual Fighter (which everyone was playing in Japan) style… but with guns!!

Your opponent in the game stands across from you and you’re both supposed to use use cover to hide from bullets and then shoot back. This control is accomplished by left and right foot pedals. The whole thing was very awkward at the beginning, but quickly became bizarrely fun. I would imagine they could pretty easily port something like this to the Wii, especially since the graphics weren’t mind-blowing or anything.

I gotta remember to hit more arcades whenever I get the chance… and figure out why this game is named “Too Spicy!”

Well, according to Dr. Maoshing Ni turning yourself upside down for a couple of minutes daily is part of a collection of daily activities that should improve my memory! Who knew it was so easy? He lists a couple of other tips I should probably give a try as well in the post titled Paving the Way for Memory Lane, so I better remember to get with the program or be doomed to a dwindling memory and decreased concentration caused by “decreased blood flow to the brain and loss of brain cells.”

Image: upside down people for peace, originally uploaded by nycjournal.

I saw a blind guy on the train while riding home the other night. Now that’s not something I would go out of my way to remember, but this blind guy was also listening to an iPod and that struck me as odd.

It’s one thing to be blind and rely heavily on your sense of hearing to get around, so why would he cripple his seemingly essential other sense by plugging his ears with an iPod?

The woman sitting next to me reached out and touched him on the arm (which I cringed at because it seemed like such an intrusion into his own world through his last remaining sense) and when he pulled out a headphone, she asked if he wanted to sit. He said no and returned to listening to his music.

When I got out at my stop, I turned around to take another look and saw the guy taking my old seat next to the woman.

The whole thing just somehow struck me as odd… and for some reason, I guess I should remember it.

(On a side note, I should remember to check out more books from Jose Saramago who wrote Blindness about a whole city going blind which I absolutely loved and Seeing… Which I never finished.)