Scary

The coming Depression in America.

Dick Cheney's office funding Al Qaeda in Iraq.

America sending the sick and the stupid to fight.

Amanda Vanstone is still in politics.



Not scary - in fact, downright yummy.

Art of Fighting have a new CD out.

Peace.

Good sense has prevailed

The Singapore Girl gets to keep her uniform. I couldn't believe they were actually considering changing it.
As for the critics who said it was, "passe and largely intended to serve male passengers' fantasies of desirable, subservient Oriental women," I say, "Get yourselves to lives, immediately".
The Singapore Airlines uniform is unique amongst the dreary, business-suit inspired, invariably navy jacket and skirt uniforms that 90% of the world's airlines use. It immediately identifies the airline, as well as shows off the Asian heritage of its origins. It's simple, flexible, practical and (from my observations) comfortable.
Long live!

Also South Korea's Incheon Airport has been voted the best airport in the world. I gotta say, it likely deserves such a title. My experiences there have been hassle-free and the airport is big, bright and airy, easily accessible and easy to use. Korean Air is also a vastly underrated airline.

Interesting and interestinger

Could it be that our nervous system uses sound instead of electricity to send information?

That could be interesting for the theory that music helps infant development eh... not to mention music therapy and the like.

And just what is the fastest sound? Matt would say, "A WRX at 5000 rpm in third," although I'm inclined to reply, "How about Eddie Van Halen circa 1984?"

Quote of the Day

Sorry it's a long one, but a good one - from Stephen Lendman.

"In six years, the Bush administration achieved the near-impossible. It made the US a pariah state alienating the whole Muslim world and vast numbers more everywhere including growing numbers at home with George Bush's approval rating at numbers approaching the lowest ever for a US president. Its policies of permanent war on the world, repression at home, entrenched corruption, worship of wealth and privilege, and indifference to human needs and the people he was elected to serve already destroyed any notion the country is a model democratic state or that Bush and his neocon fanatics should be governing it. Their imperial arrogance accelerated the country's fading global hegemony well advanced since the 1970s and likely irreversible. They buried the nation's influence and dominance in Iraq's smoldering sands and Afghanistan's rubble that are now both graveyards for US ambitions in those regions and beyond.

Attacking Iran will just make things far worse. It would be a fanatical "hail Mary" act of insanity that by one definition is repeating the same mistakes, expecting different results. It has no more chance of success than our misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. And if nuclear weapons are used, including so-called low-yield ones, it will be an appalling crime against humanity and catastrophic event potentially affecting millions in the region by radiation poisoning alone. If it happens, it will irreversibly weaken US influence and credibility everywhere accelerating our decline even faster toward second-class status and loss of world leadership already hanging by a thread. It could also be a potentially lethal blow to the benefits of "Western civilization" always arriving through the barrel of a gun and thuggish heel of a colonizer's boot with the US having the biggest barrels and largest shoe sizes."

That article sums things up rather well. Read and learn.

News Roundup

Looks like the peak time for Cherry Blossom viewing will be earlier this year.
Highlights from the above picture: Tokyo - March 18, Kyoto - March 28, Osaka - March 25.
Good thing is I have four days off around that time so I'll be riding my bike around Himeji Castle, enjoying the view and taking some pictures!
If it's a warm winter again next time, look for the cherries to be blooming around the same time next year.

Looks like the Right-wing Christian Moron Militia have Wikipedia in their sights. They have set up their own alternative on-line encyclopaedia which spins everything to their own particular world-view. Yippie. This site does a great job of poking fun at it, which is all it deserves.

After yesterday's article about the most expensive cities in the world, comes today's article about the richest cities in the world - and Tokyo is number one! (So does that mean if you want to make some cash, you should move to Tokyo? Richest (1) - most expensive (5) = $$$? Maybe New York would be even better....)

A couple of interesting ones that caught my eye. One, about a proposal to build a tunnel between Spain and Morocco, and the other about alternatives to conserving and re-using water in drought affected areas of Australia. They don't mention how planting more trees could also help solve the problem...

Share and enjoy.

Brilliant! Sugoi!

Found a hilarious account of Japanese traditions. It's subtitled down the bottom but if you listen carefully you can make out the narrator's commentary buried beneath the Japanese dubbing.

Today

Just another freezing cold day in Japan. We had a couple of awesome days earlier this week - a real taste of Spring - but now we're back to Winter weather; about 8 degrees max today.

Found an interesting article about food matching. Apparently mixing certain types of food together helps enhance the nutritional qualities rather than if they're eaten separately.
For example, "Turmeric contains an antioxidant called curcumin which has been linked to a lower risk of some cancers and Alzheimers'disease. Adding black pepper - which many cooks do intuitively in curries and other spicey dishes - may boost curcumin absorption,"

I think I'll be trying out some of these ideas. It's just a shame that in order to fulfil the new menu, I'd have to double the food budget!

Oslo is now the world's most expensive city. Tokyo and Osaka/Kobe have been pushed out of the top 5 thanks to the weak yen linked with stable prices and the strong performing European currencies coupled with increasing prices. To look at the survey data requires you to pay though, so I couldn't check out other cities other than the ones quoted in the article.

Now I'd love to go to Europe for a holiday sometime in the next while. Wouldn't we all?! The article suggests, "Consider the cheaper European capitals of Greece (Athens tied at No. 55), the Czech Republic (Prague tied at No. 55), Portugal (Lisbon at No. 59), and Poland (Warsaw at No. 63)." Done.

Finally, for your dose of pop culture, here are the 9 laws of physics that don't apply in Hollywood, a critique of modern pop music as written by Robert De Niro, and why Kanye West is a twit.

Enjoy.

this week

It's been a busy one, with people quitting left, right and centre. I might be going back to my previous school since this time in two months there may be..... well...... NO teachers there!!
Whoopsie...

My bro has started work in Brisbane as of yesterday. Made the move on Friday, so there's nothing like getting everything done as quickly as humanly possible!

In strolling the interwebs, I came across some good reading.

Some great pictures of Saturn - good for wallpapering the PC.

59 things that would've stayed secret if people hadn't started making all sorts of silly freedom of information claims.

A good article about travelling in New Zealand and how they've really got their act together over there.

And finally a story about how drinking is GOOD FOR YOU! (especially if you're an elderly bloke - good to know there's ONE good thing about getting old!)

I found all sorts of stuff about Iran and how the U.S. is positioning itself for an attack which could happen as soon as (checks watch).... but you can look for that yourself. It's out there if you look closely enough.