Why do I stay? (part 2)

A Japanese Poodle

"Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.

That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.

She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.

Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep."

UPDATE!

Turns out this story was a fake!

I still love this country though. Such a story certainly seemed plausible!

Changing the World

Hug By Hug (more hugs)

Atom By Atom (interesting new tech for getting rid of airborne CO2)

The best Sci-Fi...

...is the type that posts an interesting, perhaps plausible 'what if'. That's why a film like Gattaca, while not one of the most successful in film history, certainly got my thoughts going while I was watching it. I watched it again too.

To briefly summarize the proposition: What if we could have babies that had been cleansed from all possible genetic flaws, such as tendencies to develop cancer, or bad eyesight, or negative human traits such as anger or depression, while at the same time enhancing some natural human traits such as intelligence or physical strength, ie. becoming the best of all you could be?

Now, it seems, we're well on the path to that sort of reality...

The Real James Bond

An interesting story of how the CIA used a fake D-Grade sci-fi movie to spirit some Americans out of Iran during the Embassy hostage crisis in 1980. A very interesting and entertaining read.


I'm very much aware they didn't escape in this car...
The Aston Martin DBS is there simply because Bond has driven one and I wish I could own one!

Virginia Tech...

I'm sure I experienced the same ill feeling most of us had when I saw the news...

Ill, in one way, because it was the same ill feeling I experienced before - not only because of Columbine, or 9/11, other horrible mass killings in the U.S.

Australia's also been down that path before.

In the aftermath, the opportunists point fingers and say all manner of things to get noticed, to push their agendas, and so forth.

One student candidate for the Virginia Tech student elections made a tearful speech about a cousin who was killed, only to admit later it was made up to garner sympathy votes... She blamed it on having bi-polar disorder. Sounds like bad taste to me.

Another took the opportunity to put the blame on and attack atheists in the wake of the massacre. Read this for a superbly worded reply to such hyperbolic nonsense.

You've got to wonder what's not being talked about in the wake of another loner going on a rampage. Why are these things still happening? Where are the debates about the mental health system, the way educational institutions become a living hell for some, GUN CONTROL???

Interesting point:

"Australia had a spate of mass public shooting in the 1980s and '90s, culminating in 1996, when Martin Bryant opened fire at the Port Arthur Historical Site in Tasmania with an AR-15 assault rifle, killing 35 people.

Within two weeks the government had enacted strict gun control laws that included a ban on semiautomatic rifles. There has not been a mass shooting in Australia since."

As a nation we took a look at ourselves, our culture, the cultures of our close partners and made a choice. Personally I don't care much for our current leadership, but I think that was one thing that they did which was a sensible, long-term, and above all, RIGHT decision to make. It has made Australia a much better and safer place to be. It hasn't stopped people from being killed by guns, but the numbers show the truth, by removing large amounts of guns from our society, it has made it safer.

Americans, put pressure on your leaders to lead. America's leaders, do what's right. Stop the slaughter of your fellow Americans.



I did read what the killer's sister had to say in the wake of the tragedy. I certainly feel for them and sincerely hope that everyone understands that they aren't to blame for how their son and brother turned out. May cooler heads prevail...

Oooh man!

Now THAT'S what I call a car!!

Why do I stay?

Strike a pose.

I often get asked why I've stayed in Japan so long. The questioners are either students or fellow teachers. I have to admit, I don't know too many people who've stayed in Japan for longer than I have - six years now.

I have two answers; one for students and one for others. For my students I tell them about how I enjoy the countryside, the food and the culture. For others I have this simple answer, "I see something that makes me smile every day". They often smile too, because they know what I mean: Japan is weird.

Yesterday I had lunch with a co-worker outside in the afternoon sunshine, sitting near the station. We had a laugh at the guys hustling for girls. They used to wear loose-fitting black suits to go with their bad shoes and anime-inspired haircuts, but now it looks like they've switched to more casual gear. The results are mostly the same though - the girls are usually not interested in them. Good for them too - the guys are usually recruiting for hostess bars, porno or prostitution.

Then there's the truly weird...

Take this story for example.


"Roland Kelts, of Tokyo University, an expert on anime, described the scene at the Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin temple last night as “perhaps the most extreme blurring of reality and fantasy that Japanese pop culture has produced”. The full Buddhist shokonshiki, or spirit-rising ceremony, represented the first time that a Japanese temple had held a funeral for a fictional character.

As the arch villain of one of Japan’s best-loved — and most violent — comics, Raoh has as wide a fan base as any music or film star. “Raoh showed us the inner strength of men and showed that power can rule the world as effectively as love,” said a sobbing 38-year old fan who called himself Lina, after one of the characters in the story. "

That's right, a funeral was held for the fictional death of a manga character and more than 2,500 people showed up! Sobbing 38-year old fans who name themselves after characters in anime are icing on the cake in this world of weirdness.

Why do I stay? Ladies, Gentlemen, we have an answer.

More good reading

More comics!

This time courtesy of Tom Tomorrow over at Salon - welcome to The Modern World....

More solar stories...

Why is it when Australia, home to some of the best companies in the world for researching and developing solar energy technology, not to mention the place of squillions of good daylight hours, is lagging behind in taking up such technology?

This article goes into some of the issues. If the government got off its collective butt and put some money where its mouth was - instead of channelling funds into more coal burning technology (clean-burning? that's a laugh) - we could power more than just ourselves.

The other thing is people aren't willing to put their own money where their mouths are either. A current solar energy system could pay for itself in 20 years. People are now taking out 30 year mortgages so that's potentially 10 years of free power if they don't move. The high initial cost is an issue - agreed.

You see more and more homes with panels on their roofs these days in Japan, but it could certainly be much better - especially when you see so many new homes going up with just tiles up top.

Keep researching guys. I keep looking and hoping for the great breakthrough...

Good times......

With the world falling apart at the seams, the bees being killed by cell phones (I don't see many bees in Japan - is this why?), it's so comforting to note that the leaders of this world are really concerned and doing so much to fix things up. (/sarcasm to 100%)

Good reading...

...begins with comics.

It helps if the comics are also interesting - like Minimum Security by Stephanie McMillan.

More good news?

Some Aussie companies are looking into thermal energy as a way to generate electricity. The bonus is that it's using Mother Nature's own form of nuclear energy, buried deep beneath the earth.

Mother Nature's pretty cool sometimes, but don't get her annoyed - she could decide to produce nukes now we know she has the technology...

Stories

Some heart-warmingly interesting....

Some disconcertingly scary... and interesting...



Tomorrow the cherry blossoms will be in full bloom - and the amateur photographers will be out in full force, myself included. It should be a blissful morning, as long as I look upwards. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Yay! At last!

Could this be 'the one'? Could it be the breakthrough we've been waiting for?

I've long been interested in solar technology - the one where we are able to obtain cheap energy from the sun. It certainly would help the Earth regarding all this climate change we are/might be/ definitely not ever going through.

A New Zealand company has managed to create a way to make electricity through dyes developed from chlorophyll as well as haemoglobin. Wacko! They think it could be at least two or three years before products become commercially available.

I, for one, hope this technology isn't buried in the quest for greater profits. The idea that we'll be able to use the walls of our homes, or the clothes we wear, to make energy tickles me a bit - and one would hope such technology, if it became widespread would help the world as well.

Fingers crossed.

What's going on?

Man, it's been busy around here.

When teachers aren't busy teaching, they're busy quitting! SO MANY people are leaving in the next couple of months - it's going to be just me and a few hardcore losers who'll be left to hold the fort. Amazing...

Our band's website has had an update - we have a slideshow now! Woo Hoo! Technology!

The cherry blossoms will be out this week, so that means drunk people rolling around the base of Himeji Castle. Hopefully I will be one of them before too long.

It also means that the pollen count is sky-rocketing and the dust is blowing across from China, making life just that much more interesting, and by 'interesting' I mean annoying... actually... rather. It was hard to make out the hills in the distance today and we couldn't see the caste at all from our apartment this morning, just to give you an idea.

From the wife department; K has had two post-3am bedtimes this week due to work. At least she was at home but she was writing all sorts of forms and e-mailing colleagues while I was trying to sleep.... she's not having fun at all.

The weather has started to really shake off the winter chills - AT LAST! I really didn't enjoy winter at all this year - and I wasn't even in the country for a month of it! I'm already thinking about spiriting myself off somewhere warm and tropical for a couple of weeks this Christmas, such was the wonderful time I had in this past December/January.

Blogger is still sometimes prompting me to log in and conduct myself in Japanese. I would rather not. If any of the Blogger people are reading this site - fix it dammit! I might live here, but at least give me the choice of logging in in English! Try to contact the Blogger admins - good luck....

/me steps off soapbox