The Twins

Before our little “vacation” to the Greek prison, I said I would update you all with the twins.

Well you will all be pleased to know it was not a sordid affair, it was a bit more like America’s Got Talent, but without Simon Cowell.

The Twins were shipped and are now a successful JPop band called ON/OFF.

Here is a new picture of them.

sakamoto twins

Without the thongs….

The Buyer

Greek Prison

Hello all,

Sorry for the late update, but they don’t let us have internet access in prison.

For some reason the authorities there did not appreciate our work and locked us up in a nice cell for a while.

We were quite lucky though we could have been sent to the same prison that Socrates was sent to before his death.

In this prison, Socrates sat and waited for his execution.

Socrates was found guilty of corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and sentenced to death by drinking a mixture containing poison hemlock.

According to Xenophon’s story, Socrates purposefully gave a defiant defense to the jury because “he believed he would be better off dead”. Xenophon goes on to describe a defense by Socrates that explains the rigors of old age, and how Socrates would be glad to circumvent them by being sentenced to death. It is also understood that Socrates also wished to die because he “actually believed the right time had come for him to die”.

Xenophon and Plato agree that Socrates had an opportunity to escape, as his followers were able to bribe the prison guards. He chose to stay for several reasons:

1. He believed such a flight would indicate a fear of death, which he believed no true philosopher has.
2. If he fled Athens his teaching would fare no better in another country as he would continue questioning all he met and undoubtedly incur their displeasure.
3. Having knowingly agreed to live under the city’s laws, he implicitly subjected himself to the possibility of being accused of crimes by its citizens and judged guilty by its jury. To do otherwise would have caused him to break his “social contract” with the state, and so harm the state, an act contrary to Socratic principle.

The full reasoning behind his refusal to flee is the main subject of the Crito.

Socrates’ death is described at the end of Plato’s Phaedo. Socrates turned down the pleas of Crito to attempt an escape from prison. After drinking the poison, he was instructed to walk around until his legs felt numb. After he lay down, the man who administered the poison pinched his foot. Socrates could no longer feel his legs. The numbness slowly crept up his body until it reached his heart. Shortly before his death, Socrates speaks his last words to Crito: “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Please, don’t forget to pay the debt.” Asclepius was the Greek god for curing illness, and it is likely Socrates’ last words meant that death is the cure—and freedom, of the soul from the body. Additionally, in Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths, Robin Waterfield adds another interpretation of Socrates’ last words. He suggests that Socrates was a voluntary scapegoat; his death was the purifying remedy for Athens’ misfortunes. In this view, the token of appreciation for Asclepius would represent a cure for the ailments of Athens.

We on the other hand had to wait for lawyers and bribes to be in place before we were released.

We also had cable TV and nice food.

Thanks Greece.

We have a new “package” to pick up in Thailand.

We will update when we get there.

The Buyer

Beautiful Kefalonia

Well, we have been having a bit of a holiday here on Kefalonia.

It really is one of our favorite places on the planet. We have been staying in Katelios, a very quiet and friendly place, our friend

Spiros owns a hotel and a restaurant here, The restaurant “The Blue Sea” is a great place to relax. It is not the cheapest restaurant

in Katelios, but the food is great, especially the lobster meals.

We have spent most of our trip here but we did walk around the island a bit. First we walked to Skala, which used to be nice and quiet but is now a very touristy place, with nightclubs and karaoke bars scattered around which is nice for the younger ones I suppose.

We completed an old tradition (for us anyway) we walked from Katelios around Kaminia beach, better known as turtle beach because turtles still go there and lay their eggs. We continued on past the nudist part of the beach. Why are all nudists either old or ugly?

We stopped off in Skala for a small beer and bought some bottled water, then we made the trek to Poros.

The best part of this “tradition” is the end of the journey. As you reach Poros which is about 18 Km away from the start, you walk over a hill that overlooks the resort. At which point the “undisclosed” people you are meeting in the bar at the end of the street order you a beer.

When you arrive at said bar, your 1 Litre of ice cold beer is placed in front of you, it is also served in an ice cold glass. It is also one of the greatest moments in life, as you drink this beautiful amber liquid, when you are half way down the glass order another one.

Well we are flying to Athens tomorrow, to start our search for our new package. Wish us luck.

We will keep you updated.

The Buyer

Greece Tomorrow

Tomorrow we are flying to Greece, we will be staying on the island of Kefalonia, we have not been there for about 14 years. it has always been one of our favoutite places on earth. It is quiet, warm and friendly.

We will update you when we know the specification of our next package, we will also tell you the fate of the Japanese twins.

The Buyer

New Packages Found!

After nearly one month of searching the streets of Tokyo, we have found our next “packages”. They are twins, male and appear healthy and fit. We will have them checked for any diseases etc after they have been picked up.

We started by hanging around with the “no jyuku sha” or “field campers” as they call themselves. But it was too hard to fit in. Remember we are westerners, and although it is easy to fit in when we are in our hotel or in the bar, it is very difficult not to stand out when we are with normal Japanese people.

We have been spending most days in Akihabara.

It is a very interesting area of Tokyo, the main pedestrian walkway usually has girls there waiting for you to take their picture.

We think they are trying to be discovered as the next AV Idol, but the might just like to show their knickers in public.

This is where our new “packages live.

They are “no jyuku sha” but they are also new to the streets. We have already befriended them by giving them food and wine, they get drunk very quickly, which is a good thing as wine in Japan is very expensive.

We will be picking them up this weekend as their transport is leaving on Monday.

We will let you know their destination after they have been shipped safely.

The Buyer