Lazy Monday

It's a hot sunny day here in this part of Japan. Let the sun shine and let the music play. Make mine a double!

George Carlin's last interview was a good 'un.

Keeping history alive - recently it was the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

The signs of a downturn in the Australian economy are starting to pile up. The fact that pawnbrokers are making a big return isn't good either.

While one Murdoch bemoans the state of Australia's girls being exploited, over-sexualised and objectified, another knocks that story right on the head with another story about girl soldiers in Africa being exploited, raped, terrorised and abused. Kinda puts things into perspective, eh? And if you're thinking of buying your daughter a pole-dancing kit, don't be surprised at the results.

I could be replaced by a Nintendo DS.

In China, they pay cash for everything.

Signs of a new Cold War don't bode well for our future...

NASA is going to build some nice new fireworks.

The backlash against overparenting has (finally) begun.

Some good news. Mercedes Benz is going to stop the production of gasoline-only cars in seven years. The future could be here.

Some more good news. It turns out that the ocean in tropical areas is a natural sink for ozone and methane, both of which are contributing to the global increase in temperatures. The onlt problem is we're overloading the system.

The media have been going nuts about the forecast lack of ice at the North Pole this summer. Perhaps that'll jolt some people into action. One idea is to make greater use of geo-thermal power, although messing with volcanoes usually ends badly - just ask Indonesia. Now may be a good time to move to the US Pacific North West since they're giving away electricity due to oversupply. In Japan, with gasoline expecting to hit 180 yen a litre soon, I hope the car manufacturers are stepping up the research into all-electric vehicles. Make mine a Tesla - although in the meantime if anyone wants to buy me a BMW M3, I won't be complaining!

Speaking of Japan, Australia gets to play Japan in the World Cup qualifiers next year. Bring it on!

A collection of Japanese actors and singers, before and after the plastic surgery. The comments in French are wonderful as well - no translations necessary!

Yes, Japan is weird - and not just culturally. It also has its share of weird mythological creatures too.

I'd like a green roof for my house - if I ever get one.

What Africa really needs is to be left alone. In other words; banks, corporations, get out!

Those two doughnuts I had today are really going to kill me. Seriously though, I'm only regularly eating things that are at the bottom of these lists. Come on fat - get the hell out!

Could this be the cure for cancer we've been hoping for? The bad news is, if you're young, start running: your white blood cells are looking very, very tasty!

In more bad news, in Canada, some words are illegal.

And if you're thinking which Australian albums would be a good place to start listening - try these for starters.

It's done, done, done!

Update

Turns out they actually did arrest Saruhashi, as well as one of his cronies yesterday.

No news on the whereabouts of a group of meddling kids and their dog.

Ah yes..

R.I.P. George Carlin. Thanks for the laughter and making me think at the same time.

The therapeutic power of red wine goes to work... (better drink some while I can afford it)

It's actually good to be able to pick up a bottle or three of decent Aussie table wine at reasonable prices here in Japan nowadays. Of course, you can pay too much easily as well. It pays to shop around. The ABC supermarket at America-mura in South Himeji is a good hangout for imported booze, as well as other gourmet tidbits. They don't stock Vegemite though... Grrrrr....

The last couple of nights were the Yukata Matsuri in Himeji. It was funny to get some of my co-worker's reactions to my invitation to come along for some fun and games. They all said that there were Bousouzoku (Japanese bikie gangs) running riot in Himeji during the festival and it was too dangerous to go. I've been to nearly every festival since 2001 (there was a 'riot' in 2000) and I have NEVER EVER seen any violence - especially since Himeji Station was usually fenced off by riot police. Turns out they did come this year, at 2am, without their bikes, still wearing their leathers and uniforms, but without their bikes, all they could do was say, "VROOM VROOM!" to the cops!!! YES, THEY ACTUALLY SAID, "VROOM VROOM!" TO THE COPS!!! I actually almost fell off my chair at work laughing when I heard that! I wish I could find the story to show you, but my manager saw it on the news today. I'm sure they said it in a really menacing way... but all I could think of was Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

NOVA News! The former boss of NOVA, Nozomu Saruhashi may soon be arrested - if they can find him.

Welcome to the United States, home of the poor, land of the indebted. Canada is next. Australia can't be too far behind. When the Associated Press starts panicking, then you know it's time to maybe get off this merry-go-round ride.

Is Obama evil? Well, he has surrounded himself with hawkish advisers, insults black people and lies continuously. You make up your mind.

The rate of childish, yet dangerous behaviour continues unabated in Japan. Witness this story of a young fellow who put drain cleaner in his boss' whiskey because, "He ignored me when I greeted him," Or how about these old guys who've taken over part of a park in Osaka to play Mah Jong? Ooooh, you can't play here - and we'll tease you until you leave! Go maturity! (Geeks can now have robot girlfriends... [shudder!])

When I mentioned a couple of posts ago about the Japanese government accepting more foreigners to boost the number of workers in Japan, this was not what I meant: thousands of "trainees" working for slave labour wages.

Boo Hoo... The world's rich have less leisure time then the poor. Where is that smallest violin when you need it?

Looks like carbon trading is coming, like it or not. Will it save the Earth - coz we really need to get a move on; I doubt it. If Bush/Cheney have anything to do with it then we're really screwed.

By the way, Iraq is still as deadly as ever - and Bush/Cheney are still free.

Celine Dion covering AC/DC is just another sign of the coming apocalypse. Another is the impending release of Chinese Democracy...

The head of HSV has gone on the record to say that hybrid vehicles are not as fuel efficient as good fuel-only cars. Not like he has a vested interest or anything. Could be worth examining closer if I was in the market for a new car though - and I had enough money splash about. In related news, the head of OPEC said that oil prices are not likely to come down. He was last seen laughing all the way to the bank...

I've taken to switching off the car's engine while at traffic lights to make my petrol yen go further (and it does!) but these guys have turned it into an art, or a sport, or both. OR, they are just self righteous douchebags. Your choice.

Appliance Golf!? Office Space did it better - much, much better!

Now I have some goals in life. Anyone want to join me?

Red wine now wearing off, but that was a nice buzz! Goodnight.

A bit of perspective

This is...

...as close to a date as I'm going to get, methinks.

Drizzle

I have a feeling that's going to be the word for today... Yesterday was the first day of 'ugly humidity' for this summer, but thankfully the temperature has eased off so far today.

I thought my DVD burner was back in business but a restart later and things are back to normal, ie. making coasters with 100% reliability... arrgh! I can't afford to buy a new PC, but since this one's now gone past three years, I guess it's something I have to consider. I DON'T want to have to buy one with Vista, but since M$ are withdrawing it soon, I may have no choice. Poo.

Aside from that, I'm 36, with no romantic prospects, no kids, no house, in a job with no chance of promotion or a pay rise. How's your life? (Gawd, the drizzle is taking its toll today, isn't it!?)

At least I can fill my head with knowledge: sweet, silly, useless knowledge.

Guerilla Gardening has hit the New York Times, so now it's jumped the shark already?

In Australia, the signs are that the economy is starting to slow down. In China, however, the stock market has plummeted over the past few months, and other signs are not as promising for the nation to continue its incredible growth over the past few years. This, of course, will have repercussions for countries like Australia and Japan.

Australia's Number One (for fat people)!! Yeah!!!

Japan's showcase eco-friendly house for the G-8 summit features technology that is standard for most modern Western homes... Yawn.

A restaurant in China makes every dish with beer, sweet, nourishing beer.

Crop Circles are still around. Will the madness never end?

Want a gun? Talk to the UK.

High fuel prices have seen fishing fleets kept in port in Europe, but now it's spread to Japan as well. While on the subject, here's a very interesting article about North Korea as a canary for how the fuel/food crisis could play out.

Bush/McCain's idea of starting wholescale offshore drilling is a crank. Not only is the current price of oil not being driven by actual supply/demand, but it'll take at least ten years for any proceeds of such a policy to finally hit the market. At least it'll make the oil companies happy - and that's really what it's all about, boys and girls.

In today's Global Warming is Crap story, the sea is rising faster than scientists first thought. How's about a nice country house? All the hot air is making vegetarians even more smug than usual.

You're retired with nothing to do, so what do you do? How about build a treehouse? Bonus points for building it in a mango tree that grows four different kinds of mangoes.

I think I probably wrote something about Dumpster Diving or being a Freegan before, but here's another take on it. I must admit it sounds attractive to me, but being Japan, I'm sure it'd be severely frowned upon. (I've never tried it here, to be honest) The closest I get is cruising the half-priced goods after work for stale bread and slightly crusty looking vegies!

I so want the talking Jesus doll!

Forget drizzle, now we have heavy rain and lightning!

This is just ridiculous. A 12 year-old got a court to overturn her father's grounding for breaking a house rule. Sweetheart, suck it up.

Pseudo-science story of the day: eating a cheese sandwich could help you get a raise. Yeah, right. In other news, the Ultimatum Game is stupid. I'd just give them the $10 - sheesh, it's 10 bucks!

Thailand occasionally gives Japan a run for its money in the weirdness stakes. Today, some schools have three toilets - one for transvestite students.

In Hong Kong, speakeasy kitchens are the way to go to get the best treats for your stomach. I'll have to look into this when I finally make my way there.


Breaking News - I managed to go a whole post without trashing Obama. Wow...


The rain has passed - for now. Time to eat and get a new mobile phone. Mine needs a new battery, but it's cheaper to get a new phone than a replacement battery!

Hey there

How ya doin'?


Obama is a hawk, seeking to make Jerusalem solely under Israeli control, and seeks to expand America's power into Latin America. As the article says, not even George Bush has said this. John McCain is hardly a saint either.

You have to wonder when you firstly introduce articles of impeachment against the President of the United States, spend four hours reading them onto the record, go on various media talking about how important this is, say you'll re-introduce articles of impeachment if this motion fails, then finally voting against your own articles of impeachment? Huh? And you thought we finally had a politician who had some good sense...

Speaking of good sense, Afghanistan's president is threatening to attack Taliban camps that are located inside Pakistan. That's going to go down well.

Another scary headline, "Is Italy Going Fascist?". Short answer: No, but it's pretty darn close.

Also Taiwanese vessels are playing chicken with the Japanese Self Defence Forces.

This has got to be the best reason to have a unique name. A girl who just happens to have the same name as a girl featured in a viral video is worried what will happen when prospective employers google her name. Of course, she can't ask Google to block those sites, because the girl in the video actually has the same name as her... In other news, my in-browser dictionary doesn't recognise 'google' as a word.

Dear Sex and the City, thanks for everything. Love, Pfizer.

In Aco, just down the road from where I live, comes this cautionary, yet amusing tale of checking the number of zeroes.

I will never understand the Japanese sense of humour.

Look like my return to Australia will be delayed once again. Not only is the price of fuel skyrocketing, but it's having a spill-over affect on public transport, which is already full , but now heading towards overflowing with passengers. The prices of houses also look set to increase, which is small comfort for those like me who don't own a home already, since rents also look likely to rise as well. Some think that the fact that this will make homes completely unaffordable will soon put a stop to any price rises. I wish I could share their optimism...

Another interesting development would be if the Japanese government reversed decades (centuries?) of policy and allowed large-scale immigration into the country. Of course, the widespread notion that foreigners are all criminals could possibly put a dampener on that ever happening. But when you consider that even the leaders of Japan are giving up on Japanese ever having enough children to reverse the ageing of the population, that's (some kind of) progress. Another prospect is that under the proposed legislation foreigners who live in Japan for at least ten years could be granted citizenship. I wonder if that will be extended to the Koreans and Chinese who have been living in Japan for three generations? You also have to think about the fact that in the face of possibly large scale immigration, will the Japanese people be so accepting of it? (Incidents like this were once almost non-existent) Also, would anyone really want to live here for more than ten years anyway?

This is a good summary of what's been happening with the prices of food and fuel, and the reasons why they've increased so much recently.

The Socceroos are through to the next round of World Cup qualifying! Yay! Also, in sports, cricket may have just been rocked to the core by an ambidextrous batman.

Eco-prats can now enjoy organic spirits in their cocktails. Save the world and get drunk at the same time? Yeah, OK... welcome to the next fad.

In other environment news, Honda have released a production car that runs on hydrogen fuel cells, which is great if you're near a hydrogen filling station. (Hint: most of us aren't) But, a Japanese company has also developed a car that will run on water. The only problem seems to be that you have to let Jason Voorhees drive it. Hopefully this kind of thing will come into production before the world ends. Even Japan is now experiencing crime directly related to the high cost of petrol.

But on the good news front, it looks like some Australian state governments are seriously getting into solar power. Instead of "three or four" plants though, try building thirty or forty? Then we'd know you're being serious about it...

This is the best photo blog about other photographers I've seen for a very long time.

Mmmmm.... Mangosteens...


Seeya later. Time to go buy some blank DVDs (my DVD burner has started working again - best strike while the iron's hot) and go to work.

interestinger.

I knew there was a reason I bought such a stupidly big TV: it's to watch NBA finals basketball! Thankfully the live broadcasts are here in the morning, so I ate breakfast and watched the action. And it turned out to be a good game in the end. Life is good.


Time to head down the memory hole, before my PC packs it in. There's been a lot happening lately so I want to save this lot for posterity. Of course, there is the actual Memory Hole website, which does a much better job by actually saving the information instead of just linking to it!

That video I posted of the guy going nuts turned out to be a fake. Ah well - it was good as a fantasy - twice!

Aaaargh! My Bloody Valentine are back together! Arrgh! They're coming to Japan and I can't see them! Arrrgh! Aaaarrrrrgh!!

Apparently Bush regrets his legacy as a man who wanted war. He'll have plenty of time to contemplate it from the cell being prepared for him...

If you have any doubts that the US is going to try and stay in Iraq forever (even when McCain's quote is taken in context), then look at the plans to build 38 more bases, the threat to keep (or is that steal?) billions in seized Iraqi foreign reserves, and the corporations making billions. Take in the fact that Cheney has already tried to invade Iran and, oh, Pakistan's military spending is up on those nice grants from the US military.

Also Blackwater is trying to be part of the privatisation of America's intelligence services. This cannot end well.

Here's a collection of the best 'last words' ever uttered. They probably came soon after some of these insults... But try saying them after drinking some of these.

It seems my new theme is stupid hobbies. Add making cartoon characters out of balloons to the list!

It's a clock. (It costs over $1000)

At least you shouldn't have troubles getting a reservation - the biggest restaurant in the world sits just over 6000 people! It's in Damascus though... but that's just another reason to go for me!

While in the Middle East I should pop over to Jordan and see what's left of what's possibly the oldest Christian church ever found. They'll probably find a copy of the Baptist Hymnal among the ruins.

Apparently Kevin Rudd was in Japan this week sometime...

In Australia, some people want English to be made optional as a school subject because it's 'too hard'. Too hard?! Soon we'll become like some other countries where everyone speaks English, but nobody understands each other... ridiculous.

According to a survey, Australian workers are the least likely to take annual leave in the world. Obviously this survey only looked at countries that don't start with the letter 'J'.

Not exactly the best way to find out that rum is good against snakebite - ouch!!

Make sure you wear your nice underwear when travelling - especially in the US.

It's June 13th today. When anyone tells you with absolute certainty the date of the end of the world, would you really take notice? Or would you just back away slowly...

While it's not an affordable reality, some researcher have pushed a Toyota Prius to nearly double it's fuel efficiency through such innovations as bigger and better batteries, as well as sticking solar cells on the roof of the car. While it's a step in the right direction, it is still a car that uses petrol...

The cost of gasoline is forcing some police agencies to spend some of their time patrolling by foot or bicycle, rather than by car. Interesting to see if that helps reduce crime or increase it... at least the police officers will be fitter! One interesting development is that the US government has approved $15 billion for Amtrak, but Bush is going to try to veto it. He really needs to rejoin reality.

In one of the most unfortunate double entendres in recent memory, authorities in LA are using 400,000 black balls to stop people getting cancer from drinking water.

So eat that Peking Duck already! The red yeast extract that gives it its colour may prevent cancer. Here's another article talking about growing your own food and how it's better for you and the environment... pretty obvious really, but it's not a bad idea. Now all I need is a place that has earth attached...

An interesting read about the state of the rice industry in Japan. The global price of rice is about $1000 per ton, but in Japan it's about $2500. The thing is that with the recent price increases in wheat-based products such as pasta and bread, the stable price of rice is beckoning consumers back to what used to be the Japanese staple food.

Another reason the Japanese birth rate is so low: man can't afford to have a sex life. Yes, because they don't earn enough to pay for sex, but also they're working too long and hard to bother chasing women for friendship either.

Hot on the heels of Japanese people being told to save energy by having a shorter shower, now 'Japanese housewives' are being told to put their husbands smelly laundry in with the rest to cut down on the number of loads - and so save more energy! Come to Japan - the country where the 1950s still lives!

The real-life 'Lost In Translation'; what happens when Hollywood celebrities come to Japan.

In Japan, if the government allows the resumption of beef imports from the US after a mad cow disease scare, people grumble and probably avoid buying it in the supermarket. In South Korea 80,000 people stage a violent protest and the cabinet offers to resign. (That's how you get things done!)

In China, the government have issued the official rules of behaviour for Olympic visitors - in Chinese only. Thanks for that!

Finally in archaeology, they may have actually found some of Burke and Wills' lost equipment. Pretty interesting stuff for Aussies.

something else

At least I'm doing better than this guy.

Time for some other stuff.

The cost of regular unleaded in Japan has hit 164 yen per litre in some parts (like mine) so the government is asking anyone who'll listen to do something about it. The general reaction from everyone else has been "I dunno". For a start, I guess they could stop buying overpriced melons and coffee or going on luxury cruises around Japan. Perhaps putting more effort into fixing the economy instead of telling girls to stop fixing their faces on the trains may also help.

At least they've finally officially recognised the Ainu as a people.

Gen Y is hitting the office blocks of Japan. Watch this space.

Toyota has developed a new kind of hydrogen powered hybrid system for cars, as well as new petrol/hybrid models, but the future really is in developing an affordable all-electric system.

Looks like AIDS is no longer a major threat to some of us - but best wrap up to make sure, right?

An interesting, but very wordy article on how the changes in the world since the end of the Cold War have created a kind of global hegemonic way of thinking. The idea is interesting since if we all think the same way, then there'll be no dissenting opinions, and those in charge of determining the way we all think will take us to wherever they want to go - which may not be good for the majority of us. Variety gives us more options, and it's good for us intellectually as well. It's good to be able to quote Ghost In The Shell at this point, "If we all reacted the same we'd be predictable. And there's more than one way to view a situation. What's true for the group is also true for the individual. It's simple. Overspecialize and you breed in weakness. It's slow death."

So, why did Obama win? And why does it play out more like 'Why did Hillary lose?'. (To give her credit, she's done much more than any other woman before her - unlike certain movies) Now the focus is on what will happen next, and, like I've noted before, it looks like Obama really is not the candidate of change he's making himself out to be.

In a move that's surprised no one, the Chinese government are now clamping down on the media in the lead up to the Olympics. Now the US is reconsidering the sales of crowd control weapons since they might be used in a clampdown on human rights protests (ya think?!?). I do love the Chinese guy in charge's response to everything: submit your complaint in writing, even your complaints about the complaints taking too long to respond to! At least the streetlights will be funky and the souvenirs will be... errrmmm... unique!

Proof that skiing in Australia really is expensive! Flying to Hokkaido is cheaper!

Looks like Spring has arrived in Hong Kong.

Australia actually gets more tornadoes than the US, but since most of them happen in the desert, they don't affect people so much - except when they do touch down in a city.

PETA went after a US university for having a live eagle mascot. Their response in the last sentence is a classic!

Some good reading I'll try to pick up.

Josef Goebbels would be laughing in his grave knowing that one of the countries that beat the Nazis is now burning books. The article reads like a horror story - and what's worse is they think they're doing the right thing!!

Goebbels would really like how the US has turned out actually...

Another person not to trust. Beware of smiling accountants clutching Bibles.

And the religious nutcase trifecta is complete.

Students in Ukraine really know how to protest.

I still think Christopher Walken did it better in Pulp Fiction...

Some people really do have too much time on their hands...

And who hasn't considered going nuts in the office just one or twice in their lives?

Did you enjoy reading this? By 2012 it could be all gone. (The Dan Rather talk posted in the comments is also worth a look.)

Profound sadness.

And so it goes. On the 5th anniversary of a young, depressed Japanese man entering an elementary school with a knife and stabbing a number of students to death, we had a repeat; a young, depressed Japanese man entered Akihabara in Tokyo, driving a truck. He mowed down a number of people then jumped out and started stabbing them until he was eventually subdued by the police. The prime minister of Japan, Yasuo Fukuda, has ordered an investigation into the 'social background' of the man now in custody.

As people have commented, a proper investigation into this man's social background would involve having to take a long, cold hard look into the heart of modern Japanese society. The investigation would have to look at how this society fundamentally operates. Japan is built on living and working as a group, which stifles creativity and dissent, which excludes any who don't fit in - sometimes violently and absolutely.

It's a society that works on being in a constant state of denial. (It sounds like I'm stereotyping here, but actually, in a homogeneous society like Japan, it's unfortunately quite possible to do this) Workers are still led to believe in and work within a system that worked 40 years ago, but hasn't changed at all since then. Men work from early in the morning until late at night, putting in tens of hours of unpaid overtime every month. They then have to go out drinking with their superiors and colleagues, destroying their bodies and then have to go back to work the next morning to repeat the process. They never see their families, creating a disconnect between them and their wives and kids. To compensate their wives turn to rampant materialism and the kids take it out on each other or turn inwards, some becoming Hikikomori, or 'shut ins', unable to face the world outside. To admit any kind of mental flaw or deficiency is a taboo in Japan, so there is a dearth of mental health professionals and institutions, medicine is rarely available, and the stigma attached to it is so great that people would rather disappear than have to deal with it.

As the world starts to learn more about the man who did this thing, it appears that he is, in one sense, a victim himself. He was a poorly paid part-time worker who was losing his job in a society struggling to deal with the idea of not having a well paid job for life. He advertised what he was going to do, when and where and how, even posting updates on the internet for all to read, but we only found out afterwards. He said he hated his own life. Now, for the life of me I will never understand how someone who hates themselves would see that somehow taking a bunch of innocent peoples' lives is ever justified... words fail me at this point...

And there was another attack just a few hours later with some similar overtones...

The point is that if ever there was time for an investigation into the fundamental fabric of a society, now is the time.

The problem is that Japan refuses to take a look at itself, because it is afraid of what it knows is there. We'll likely get more denial, more suppression and repression. Japan will continue, under it's own inertia, to plod along, getting older and emptier until there will be only a shadow of what was once a great country, and potentially so much more. It's probably too late to change.

We will, sadly, probably also see more of this kind of thing.

Long weekend!

Yay! I have a three-day weekend so tonight will naturally be an all-night drinking and clubbing extravaganza in Sannomiya. One of my ex-Nova comrades, Vince, is heading back to Ireland, so we'll be celebrating in true Irish style. The craic should be good. Tomorrow there's pro-wrestling in Akashi too, so we'll be 'recovering' there. I haven't been to see Japanese pro-wrestling before, but for those not in the know, the Japanese form is probably the third 'best' in the world after the American and Mexican versions. It should be entertaining - to say the least!


Back to the world-wide craziness.

It was nice to see that they've finally put a price on trying to stopping the climate change thingy - only $45 trillion! That's how much they think it'll cost to build enough nuclear power stations as well as wind and solar power generation to offset the energy produced through carbon-producing methods. Now, do you think it's likely to happen? I didn't either...

As the Obama gravy-train gathers momentum, once again it's important to realise exactly what you're buying into when you support him to be the next president of the US. While George W. Bush's name will live forever in infamy (especially if he attacks Iran), the answer to that question is, basically, more of the same. Nothing in Iraq is going to change. The various economic crises are not going to stop. The problems with the cost of food are not going to improve. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, really... The great distraction continues.

Newt Gingrich has joined the Taliban, it seems. Note this quote: " “This is … one of the great tragedies of the Bush administration,” Gingrich continued. “The more successful they’ve been at intercepting and stopping bad guys, the less proof there is that we’re in danger. And therefore, the better they’ve done at making sure there isn’t an attack, the easier it is to say, ‘Well, there never was going to be an attack anyway.’ And it’s almost like they should every once in a while have allowed an attack to get through just to remind us…."

So, let me get this right. The US government should allow some terrorist attacks to happen in order to maintain fear, and thus control over the populace. So does this mean that the conspiracy theorists are right and that the US government was ultimately behind 9/11? Does this mean we should automatically be suspicious of any future terrorist attacks? I mean, soon the Pentagon will be able to control any computer or telecommunications device in the world... so they have no reason NOT to know anything.

As the world's coastlines start to resemble the Nullarbor Plain, the overfishing of what's left of the world's fishing grounds means that soon we'll have a choice of overpriced (and immature) farmed stock or 'jellyfish and slime'.

Daily distractions from the serious stuff - apart from beer:

In some countries women are kept as trophy wives and playthings. In Korea the trend is for women to adopt a 'pet boy'...

The official Chinese cheer for the Olympics is, "Olympics! Add petrol! China! Add petrol!". Translations area funny thing, to be sure, but the fact that Chinese spectators have (and maybe require) government direction on how to cheer is also a cause for concern....

Adolf Hitler's descendants are alive and living in America. Interesting footnote is that all of them have made a pact to not have any children, thus condemning the line to extinction.

In Japan, Poetry Boxing is hitting the mainstream.

Monta Mino doesn't do any favours for those seeking an end to the overworked salaryman.

I didn't know the Bible was a repository of dirty jokes, but I guess it can truly be interpreted any way you can see fit!

Rinse, repeat.

24 hours

A lot happens, eh!

It looks like Obama has sown up the Democratic Party's nomination. Get ready for the next five months of Obama vs. McCain hoopla.

A couple of family orientated stories. Firstly, delaying fatherhood can be potentially bad for your kids, and also there are less and less boys being born anyway. That great 50s sci-fi D-grade masterpiece called 'Planet of the Bikini Women' or something could end up coming true - woo hoo!

Continuing the recent theme of the unravelling food crisis, global leaders are meeting in Rome to work out what to do. The likely answer will probably be 'more of the same', ie. more power and money to the big agri-business corporations and more of the policies that have led local producers to the brink of bankruptcy. Yay, Capitalism!

One interesting development is that Aussie dairy producers are (at last) making some money since demand for Aussie milk products is huge, and growing, and it just isn't possible to turn on a switch to increase production.

Another day, another book from a Bush insider about how incompetent the regime has been on Iraq. No kidding!? This one has some great quotes from the Dear Leader though.

If you're going to have a hospital for soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (a good idea), try not to build it next to a military firing range (possibly not such a good idea).

Japan's answer to increasing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere? Bathe more quickly to save energy! As anyone who's ridden a train in summer will testify; that is NOT a good idea! How about not charging up your three mobile phones and iPods constantly? It's nice to see Australia doing something too. This story is about a website for young kids where they can enter details about their lifestyle and see what age they should die in order to save the planet. Hmmm....

Want Europe's cheapest petrol? Move to Greenland, where it's still more expensive than the USA per litre. Yes, that USA which has 5% of the world's population but uses 44% of the world's gasoline.

At least we'll all be around for much longer to see the world suffer and die...

America is much safer now because travellers have to give 72 hours notice they're coming. Oh yeah, that's going to really help things along...

I really need a holiday.

Yay!

After 4+ hours of fun with the PC I managed to get Windows reinstalled and up and running. The fun included trying to remember how I connected to the Internet as well as having to reinstall the DVD burner software after it crapped out again!! Anyway, it's working now and better than before, so I'm happy(er).


The rainy season has officially started in this part of Japan and the forecast for the next 5 days is for nothing but rain - so it might rain, or might not. Rainy season is kinda weird since you basically can't forecast at all, so the weather people just give every day a 50% chance and then go on holiday somewhere sunny, like Australia, for 3 weeks.

Another interesting development is that Japan Post are going to switch their entire transportation fleet over to all-electric vehicles over the next few years. One reason is the cost of fuel, but another is that it'll reduce their carbon output. Is this the start of something big here? Japan Post is partially privatised, but still is pumped up by the government (as well as the huge reservoir of cash from the postal savings accounts).

If you know me, you know I love bananas; they're part of my daily ritual. Today there's news of a resurgence of the Panama disease that nearly wiped out the global supply of bananas in the '60s. It's pretty scary stuff!

So as the banana supply starts to dwindle, Americans engage in ever more creative efforts to stay liquid but actually get themselves deeper into debt, the world starts to wonder just where they will get clean water and affordable food from, it's nice to see that Peru and Chile have opened hostilities over who had the potato first... Errrrmmm... guys? Priorities?

Speaking of endangered species, whatever happened to Gen-X?

The surveillance society that is storming the planet (latest installation is taking place in China, with American tech know-how) has been expolited by an English band who performed in front of a bunch of CCTV cameras in public places and requested the footage through the Freedom Of Information Act to add to their film clip. Nice idea, but they still sound like Coldplay.... urrrrgh!

Apparently wearing a t-shirt with a print of a gun on it can get you thrown out of an airport nowadays. The continuing death of common sense continues unabated...

If you still think Obama is the saviour, watch this. This has to be the best rant I've seen for a long time! But the re-writing of history continues as well. Witness the New York Times perpetuating the myth that George Bush won the 2000 election, when even they said themselves that he didn't. In the end you have to wonder if it all really matters since the election really is just a distraction from the eventual corporate takeover of the United States...

Really, I am a fun-loving guy!

Fun...

My PC keeps crapping itself when I try to burn a DVD. I tried to re-install the software, restart and restart again but to no avail... it just doesn't want to work... so I'm going to try to reinstall Windows and see if that helps the situation. So now I'm trying to back up everything that I know I'll need - like my Internet Bookmarks that I forgot to back up last time I did this and lost everything!!!

I had a lovely day otherwise... It's drizzling nicely and it's grey, overcast and cool outside, so I'm in a state of bliss. I caught up with four ladies I used to teach at Nova in Himeji. We went to one of their houses (Wow! What an amazing place!) for coffee and cake and chatted for a couple of hours. A good time!



It's good to see that in an age where people are becoming more and more isolated from each other that communities can still band together for a good cause.

The next generation of drives is starting to take shape in the lab. A one terabyte disk the same size as a CD-ROM?? Bring it on, I say! It'll be nice to have a drive that works...

Australia has officially finished its stint in Iraq (except for the 70 personnel protecting the Aussie embassy in Baghdad) but Rudd is under fire again for trying to turn the public service in to 'Workaholics R Us'. Perhaps this is a symptom of a deeper hubris... Actually Australia may be starting to display signs of the kind of logic that Japan is famous for... For example, there is a shortage of people with suitable skills to fill vacancies for highly skilled jobs. What do you do? If you're the Australian government, you RAISE the fees for technical colleges. Wuh?!? How does making college more unaffordable help people who have no money get jobs? (Oh, you put them on HECS, so they have to pay you back afterwards, crippling their earning ability after they start working - nice! .... Dumbass)

Similar logic is happening in Melbourne, which has finally surpassed Sydney as the cosmopolitan capital of Australia, only to have the government slap a 2am curfew on all bars and clubs. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

The environment is still big news, of course. It's good to see that even the weapons manufacturers are getting on the bandwagon and developing bombs that will blow you to smithereens, but still be good to Mother Nature... errrmmm...

Some people aren't prepared to sit down though. This story is about Guerilla Gardening - a movement which not only cleans up unsightly public spaces but is also good for the environment, visually as well as biologically. Gives me ideas...

Hey, remember Global Warming? Maybe it isn't going to happen after all! Yay! Let's go burn some stuff! Or just wait for the massive release of methane. (No Indian food jokes, please)

More good reading about the food crisis as well as what's happening with the economy and the price of oil. It's good to see that people are taking the train more though.

Japan joined the 20th Century again this week as they passed a law requiring people to wear seatbelts in the back seat. Not that anything will change as people still think wearing a seatbelt at all is optional - including most of the police force.

Also from Japan, but sad and incomprehensible is this story of a girl who received a comment on her blog telling her to go kill herself, so a few days later, she did. The book I'm reading at the moment about the current state of Japan is shedding some light on the kind of mindset that is striking at the heart of this amazing country, but unless Japan is willing to undergo rapid and (short-term) painful change, scenes like this will sadly just become more and more commonplace.

The conspiracy theorists are at it again, this time over the recent earthquake in China. Unusual clouds that appeared in the sky are (apparently) the evidence of a weather weapon, using vast amounts of energy to change the weather or (in this case) set off earthquakes. 'Apparently' the targets were nuclear facilities in Sizchuan Province, which 'apparently' were not damaged in the quake according to the Chinese media. Why the US would want to target Chinese nuke facilities by causing the deaths of over 70,000 civilians is beyond reasoning... but then again, perhaps the truth IS stranger than fiction (like this story about the US compiling a list of civilians to detain under a military government - or the one about the North American Union).

John McCain has foot in mouth disease. But maybe he's already won the election. Whatever happens, you can bet the Pentagon's budget will increase.

So why do optical illusions work the way they do? This guy reckons he knows, but there are lots of pretty pictures to test your brain too. Wooo! Weird!

A trio of stories about the homeless caught my eye this week. There was one about a woman who lived in a man's cupboard for a year (in Japan, of course) before he realised something was wrong. There was also this about the people who live at Heathrow Airport. Finally, an Australian woman is making weatherproof swags for Aussie homeless. It'll be the middle of winter soon there, so her work is becoming more and more urgent.

Best English lessons (for Japanese girls) ever. Need some extra tutorials for practice, ladies??

Also there was this about how to succeed in Japanese business culture, also known as "How to get your boss drunk and get what you want out of him". Oh, this is Japan, so your boss will be a 'him'. Sorry, feminists.

The obsessive fetish displayed for brand names in Japan is truly lost on me, but now I see it can have its uses - like fighting crime!

This guy really has balls (and knows how to use them too!).

Actually here are some guys who had bigger kahoonas than you can imagine!

I didn't know there was a grand slam of fishing - let alone three of them...

A story about a guy who managed to collect on one of the most macabre bets ever made... his own death.

Quote of the Day: "I have never had an accident where I have pressed a button and accidentally sent seven chapters into cyberspace, never to be seen again. And have you ever tried to hack into my typewriter? It is very secure." - Frederick Forsyth.

If I ever go to China, I've found what I want as a souvenir: Pork Stones!