Hey folks! The next episode is available.
I was planning on extending the instruction on holding the shamisen, but my voice/energy got worse over the week, and yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and I, er… let’s just say I wasn’t quite as saintly as I should have been. Fortunately though, I had enough extra footage to make a fun episode for this week. 
Check it out!
Oh no, not the ザ! I hate the ザ! Why must it still haunt me so?!
Hahaha!!!
You don’t like “za” for “the”? 
It just always bothered me whenever it was used in Japan as a cheap (and often grammatically odd) way to add emphasis to something, especially because if native English speakers ever do it, we’d usually pronounce it “thee,” not “thuh.” Then it would bring back memories of English teacher frustration stemming from conversations like “The textbook only lists this pronunciation, so you’re wrong,” and- and- gah! It’s started all over again! Nooooooooo…
Nice! Good stuff 
but ehh what was that … thing you polished it with? not the camomile oil but the “stone”?
yes I was not sure I got that neither (zero craftsmanship experience or shaky english second language take your pick) so what kind of stone is that?
anyway this is getting real good - great episode . . .
Oh! Forgot to respond. That stone is a polished riverstone. A friend gave it to us over a decade ago, and I finally realized, “Say, that might be good for burnishing the shamisen!”
Glad you all enjoyed the episode.
Hey, Kyle. Sorry for resurrecting an old post, but I’m just going through all the blog casts now. Could you please give me a heads up when your pop is done with the yoga book? Thanks!
Hey Matt!
I just asked him. Unbeknownst to me, it’s on Amazon!