What an odd and busy month… The crappy weather didn’t help much, either.

While in Japan, I thoroughly enjoyed watching MTV Japan while in hotel rooms getting ready to go out exploring. (They even had their MTV Japan Music Video Awards while I was there!) It was refreshing to see MTV as it should be: playing music videos. Some of the highlights to me were Ore Ska Band, Gym Class Heroes (who seem bigger in Japan than America but are playing Six Flags Great Adventure June 21st), and Your Song Is Good.

Although I looked for them all, I only managed to pick up Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! by Your Song is Good while walking around Ginza on my last day. It’s a pretty funny album. Basically, it’s a silly Japanese take on Caribbean music like goofy reggae and even calypso. Yeah, not the type of thing you can listen to all the time, but for a sunny afternoon drinking margaritas on the roof — perfect! Check out a video for あいつによろしく. (whatever that means)

I need to remember to try picking up some of the other bands I enjoyed while there and keep checking the MTV Japan Buzz Asia section for more!.

It’s wierd, I know…

Ok, I actually had to research this a little because it’s been so long since it happened that I had forgotten some details. Anyway, the Sunday before last, I managed for the first time to check out a US Open match (or professional tennis for that matter) between Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo.

I was amazed by how much of a little tennis village they’ve created out there in Queens and how many people went there just for the village only to watch the matches on the giant screens outside the actual courts.

As for the game itself, luckily, I had great seats (I need to remember what they were) and amazing weather. The match was fast and fun to watch. Since it’s been ages since I played tennis as a kid, it took a second to remember things like break points and such, but none of that mattered because just watching the whole thing was enjoyable enough. I must admit I was rooting for Serena, because when she played well she seemed unstoppable… the problem was she didn’t play well very often and lost miserably in the end.

The second match of the evening with the men was also enjoyable, though I was amazed by how much the stadium cleared out after the women, who only get about half the prize money of the men.

While I’m trying to remember things about my trip to the US Open, I shouldn’t forget about the sexy ball girl outfits.

(I stitched that image together mysef using a bunch of shots I took. Check out a larger version!)