Yesterday we had the first thunderstorm of the summer.
Storms in Japan tend to fall into the classic tropical thunderstorm category. Huge black clouds seem to form out of nowhere, accompanied by the deep rumble of distant thunder. Suddenly it all explodes about you; wind, heavy rain, lightning, thunder, the occasional blackout... very exciting stuff! What's quite funny is that a lot of Japanese have an irrational fear of thunderstorms, which I don't share at all. I find them rather comforting actually!!
Yesterday I was doing my English thing at the old folks' daycare centre when it all went down. The lights flickered a few times and the oldies (as well as the nurses) were getting jittery. I was sitting there grinning like an idiot, having the time of my life. I tried to explain the best I could that we were in no danger at all and that it was quite exciting actually. Etsuko, my assistant for these hospital visits (she's a young and energetic nurse from the hospital) translated what she could and I think the others calmed down a bit as a result. Every time another bolt of lightning went off and the accompanying surge of noise hit the room, they would flinch again, but I just laughed it off.
Even as I type now there's that distant sound of thunder coming across from the mountains to the north. Combined with the sounds of cicadas in the trees across the rice field it makes for a truly 'Japanese' moment. One to be savoured, not feared.
Speaking of Japanese things, if you're up in Shibukawa, north of Tokyo, then they have a belly button festival. They dress up and paint their bellies in festive colours, emphasizing the navel, since Shibukawa is known as the 'belly button of Japan'. Shame that it seems only men do this though! All I get is visions of Homer Simpson...
Another day, another random knife attack in Japan.
With the Olympics getting closer, the skies above Beijing show no sign of clearing up, despite the draconian measures being imposed by the Chinese government. They're even considering even stricter measures to ensure the skies will be blue. Better pray for some wind. The thing is, with all these workers being unable to work due to the factories being closed down, and unable to drive due to their cars being impounded, what are they going to do the whole time? Watch the Olympics on TV!? A bored, immobile population is a restless population... could get interesting by the second week, regardless of the threat of terrorist attacks.
Oh, and guess what, they're also building walls to hide the slums. Wow, gee, what a surprise!
They're also charging an arm and a leg for foreign journalists to use the internet.
Only 100 days until we have a new president to complain about. Can we survive? Also the USA is going to a heightened terrorist alert - for the next year. I think I'll avoid that part of the world for a while.
Georgia and Russia are facing off. Looks nasty.
Nothing new but a good look at the priorities in the media, if you're not familiar with them. If you're white, female and good looking they'll give a lot of coverage. If you're poor, Middle Eastern and not good looking, you're barely worth a mention.
Another good analysis of the food crisis situation.
Wanna come to Australia to study? So does everyone else, by the looks of things.
Girls, your self confidence all comes down to how you dress and wear make up, thereby enabling you to look better than other people and find a nice husband. This message is brought to you by the Hillsong Church and the 1950s.
The slow death of Australian journalism continues with Channel Nine axing two of its flagship programs, Nightline and Sunday.
The Rudd Government is looking more and more like a juggernaut, stubbornly following its own ideas of what constitutes sound policy without considering other ideas or proposals or taking criticism of its ideas. Take the current notion of carbon trading. The Rudd Government wants it, and it will get it, despite growing concern over its viability and economic impact. There are other ways to make an impact for the benefit of the environment. The Rudd carbon trading model favours the use of cars and other motor transportation to work. That's hardly a green notion, is it? Formulating policy that targets the growth of rail services, as well as other methods of public transportation such as buses and light rail would be seen as much more responsible to the environment. If the Rudd government did that as well as fix up Australia's antiquated rail network then they could rightly claim to be progressive and environmentally sound, instead of steering one-eyed onto the rocks.
More proof that marriage is, a) all about the women, b) is just a fashion show, c) costs way too much money, and, d) is the leading cause of brain drain in single women. Give me a girl who wants a barbecue at the beach, please!
The forced recruitment of child soldiers is continuing in Africa.
The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is getting bigger.
The newest developing country is the USA?!?
Hey George, Iraq is like Vietnam in another way now; they both cost the same.
I'm re-reading 'Air Babylon' at the moment, and the news is doing it's thing with adding more and more incidents to add to the legend. Take these two drunken female idiots for example, let alone more Qantas planes falling apart... (and getting Adelaide a mention in the international news)
The creator of the electric guitar, Les Paul, is in Australia. He's 93, can only play with two fingers, regularly sells out the clubs where he's playing, and gave rock 'n' roll to you. The guy sweats cool.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
9 days
It's been nine days since a blog post and I must confess that nothing much has changed. I'm still working, Bush is still the US president, Obama-mania continues unchecked, the sky is still blue and iced coffee still tastes good.
A few things have caught my eye over the past week or so which I'd like to pour down the memory hole for safe-keeping.
Oh God, no. Top Gun 2?!? You might take that as final proof that God doesn't exist, and if God does, then He hates us.
First they arrested him ,now they let him go. Ex-Nova president Saruhashi is out on 50 million yen bail. No word if they're using that bail money to pay back the students he ripped off.
The latest on McCain, here, and here. (Less in quantity, but good reading nonetheless)
The latest on Obama, here, here, here, here, here, and (sarcastically) here.
Do you really trust machines to count your vote?
Repeat after me, Qantas is still the safest airline in the world, Qantas is still the safest airline in the world, Qantas is still the safest airline in the world.
The low-down on the guy who keeps more geeks entertained than anyone else at the moment.
If you read much about the empires of the world and the reasons why they crumbled, one of the reasons is that they outsourced their militaries. The Romans did it, Alexander did it, the Egyptians did it, and now the USA is doing it. Mind you, when you look at the growing economic inequalities as well as the depreciation in the quality of life (amongst other things), you have to wonder why people are still wanting to go there to live...
More analysis on the oil crisis as well as what's happening with rice (and why Japan isn't doing more).
So what happens when you take a group of South Africans to Israel for a visit? Comments that Apartheid was better shouldn't be on the list.
If you have to holiday in North Korea, be aware that they have guns and will use them. It's still one of the weirdest places in the world to go, and I'd still like to go there.
I have another new destination to add to the list, Super Bear Arcade in Big Bear Lake in the US of A.
When oil billionaires start building wind power stations, maybe it's time to get with the program, especially when their name is T. Boone Pickens. Looks like one town already has.
The Koreans are closer to developing a fusion-based energy source, or a new black hole, whichever is your preference.
A couple of years ago I reported the passing of Peter Norman. Now his son has made a documentary as a homily to his legacy.
Australia, land of the fair go, as long as you were born there.... Discrimination is still a worry... Which is a shame since we need all the people working we can get. Australia's growing and we need need to grow (up) with it. Making life so expensive for students that they can't get decent qualifications is not the best way to go about it either...
It must be summer as the media have posted their annual "And you thought YOUR local swimming pool was crowded, look at those wacky Asians" story.
If you're rescued from being a hostage by someone posing as a Red Cross member, which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, are you obligated to return?
The Thailand vs. Cambodia standoff continues.
An interesting piece on what a barrel of oil will get you. If you're the United States, you're only worth 400 billion barrels of oil. That's the combined reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran (therefore affordable!) - and also the cheapest you've ever been in history - tramp.
Japanese developers have come up with a new long-life flash memory chip. This could be really something for the development of faster and more powerful tech gadgets! Yay!
Since everyone and their dog is getting a tattoo, one wonders what the rebellious youth of tomorrow will get into. I guess there will always be hard drugs....
The most amazing leopard vs. crocodile pictures you'll see for a while...
The Japanese are starting to use acupuncture on their fish to improve the taste of sushi. I don't know what's more disturbing, that or the article also mentions samba lessons for small dogs.
They are also relying on Aussie wheat to make noodles.
I like a good breakfast - and you should too.
I'm learning too late that you should save... but I'm trying to make up for it now.
From the 'some people really need to get lives' file; Tower Bridge made of matchsticks.
I'm glad these parents are getting dragged through the media. Anyone who names their child 'Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii' deserves to be named and shamed and then thrown into a firey pit. Pity the poor kids with names like ones in the article.
Another sign of the apocalypse; fish walking in the street.
I like this t-shirt.
I like this rant.
Yes Mum, I have travel insurance!!
Feargal Sharkey!?!?
Anyone who laughed at Devo in the 80s must be laughing on the other sides of their faces nowadays. What do you do as prophets of the age of electronic music as well as heralds of the end of civilization?
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you William Shatner.
A few things have caught my eye over the past week or so which I'd like to pour down the memory hole for safe-keeping.
Oh God, no. Top Gun 2?!? You might take that as final proof that God doesn't exist, and if God does, then He hates us.
First they arrested him ,now they let him go. Ex-Nova president Saruhashi is out on 50 million yen bail. No word if they're using that bail money to pay back the students he ripped off.
The latest on McCain, here, and here. (Less in quantity, but good reading nonetheless)
The latest on Obama, here, here, here, here, here, and (sarcastically) here.
Do you really trust machines to count your vote?
Repeat after me, Qantas is still the safest airline in the world, Qantas is still the safest airline in the world, Qantas is still the safest airline in the world.
The low-down on the guy who keeps more geeks entertained than anyone else at the moment.
If you read much about the empires of the world and the reasons why they crumbled, one of the reasons is that they outsourced their militaries. The Romans did it, Alexander did it, the Egyptians did it, and now the USA is doing it. Mind you, when you look at the growing economic inequalities as well as the depreciation in the quality of life (amongst other things), you have to wonder why people are still wanting to go there to live...
More analysis on the oil crisis as well as what's happening with rice (and why Japan isn't doing more).
So what happens when you take a group of South Africans to Israel for a visit? Comments that Apartheid was better shouldn't be on the list.
If you have to holiday in North Korea, be aware that they have guns and will use them. It's still one of the weirdest places in the world to go, and I'd still like to go there.
I have another new destination to add to the list, Super Bear Arcade in Big Bear Lake in the US of A.
When oil billionaires start building wind power stations, maybe it's time to get with the program, especially when their name is T. Boone Pickens. Looks like one town already has.
The Koreans are closer to developing a fusion-based energy source, or a new black hole, whichever is your preference.
A couple of years ago I reported the passing of Peter Norman. Now his son has made a documentary as a homily to his legacy.
Australia, land of the fair go, as long as you were born there.... Discrimination is still a worry... Which is a shame since we need all the people working we can get. Australia's growing and we need need to grow (up) with it. Making life so expensive for students that they can't get decent qualifications is not the best way to go about it either...
It must be summer as the media have posted their annual "And you thought YOUR local swimming pool was crowded, look at those wacky Asians" story.
If you're rescued from being a hostage by someone posing as a Red Cross member, which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, are you obligated to return?
The Thailand vs. Cambodia standoff continues.
An interesting piece on what a barrel of oil will get you. If you're the United States, you're only worth 400 billion barrels of oil. That's the combined reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran (therefore affordable!) - and also the cheapest you've ever been in history - tramp.
Japanese developers have come up with a new long-life flash memory chip. This could be really something for the development of faster and more powerful tech gadgets! Yay!
Since everyone and their dog is getting a tattoo, one wonders what the rebellious youth of tomorrow will get into. I guess there will always be hard drugs....
The most amazing leopard vs. crocodile pictures you'll see for a while...
The Japanese are starting to use acupuncture on their fish to improve the taste of sushi. I don't know what's more disturbing, that or the article also mentions samba lessons for small dogs.
They are also relying on Aussie wheat to make noodles.
I like a good breakfast - and you should too.
I'm learning too late that you should save... but I'm trying to make up for it now.
From the 'some people really need to get lives' file; Tower Bridge made of matchsticks.
I'm glad these parents are getting dragged through the media. Anyone who names their child 'Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii' deserves to be named and shamed and then thrown into a firey pit. Pity the poor kids with names like ones in the article.
Another sign of the apocalypse; fish walking in the street.
I like this t-shirt.
I like this rant.
Yes Mum, I have travel insurance!!
Feargal Sharkey!?!?
Anyone who laughed at Devo in the 80s must be laughing on the other sides of their faces nowadays. What do you do as prophets of the age of electronic music as well as heralds of the end of civilization?
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you William Shatner.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Ouch
Aaaah yes. Summer. I went down to Shin Maiko with a couple of friends and their young son on the weekend and got my Pre-Thailand Trip Sunburn out of the way. My shoulders haven't seen that much sun probably since the last time I went to Thailand! Anyway, I hope the peeling is over by the time I get on the plane in August.
The news cycle is continuing it's run along the bad economic news front. Apparently they've stopped reporting on Iraq in the American news but let me assure you, it's still going strong.
There's more on the biofuels mess, more on 'what's wrong with Obama', more on 'hyper-miling', melting ice sheets in Antarctica, decent electric cars, cost effective solar, the global economic crisis, Japan's sabre-rattling, ex-Nova president's arrest, the housing crisis and corporations raping the wilderness. My blog memes are getting a workout today - unlike me!
I can actually imagine the rest of the G-8 leaders looking at each other after Bush left the room and saying, "What an asshole," to each other after this scene.
The Iran situation is becoming a 'will they or won't they' scenario. Some think that if Obama wins then Bush will strike, others hope that good sense will win out. Good sense? Bush? Start stocking up, people. This article draws together a lot of threads that seems to make sense. Scary reading.
Go to North Korea, see the sights, get shot.
China is actively involved in the genocide in Sudan.
Thailand and Cambodia are facing off over the ruins of an 11th Century Hindu temple. There goes one thing off my list of places to visit.
Good news. A community based cleanup is changing parts of Bolivia for the better.
Moviegoers, this looks like an interesting doco - a warts and all look at the world of the geisha.
I found a kindred spirit, Andrew Womack, who has excellent musical taste. Witness his reviews of the best albums of 1988 and 1989 for example.
Just wait until he grows out of it... this'll become the 'before' picture.
Committing intellectual suicide, or watching Fox News for 24 hours.
One of India's most eligible bachelors has a private security team consisting of 15 female commandos to protect him from rampaging female fans. Sounds like a Bollywood movie is just around the corner...
How not to weed the garden.
One of the cutting edge issues of the day, why the snooze is set to 9 minutes.
At the end of the day you might just want to say screw it all and get high. Americans seem to enjoy it more than anyone else! In Australia we like beer, a lot! Even the judge had a sense of humour over it.
The news cycle is continuing it's run along the bad economic news front. Apparently they've stopped reporting on Iraq in the American news but let me assure you, it's still going strong.
There's more on the biofuels mess, more on 'what's wrong with Obama', more on 'hyper-miling', melting ice sheets in Antarctica, decent electric cars, cost effective solar, the global economic crisis, Japan's sabre-rattling, ex-Nova president's arrest, the housing crisis and corporations raping the wilderness. My blog memes are getting a workout today - unlike me!
I can actually imagine the rest of the G-8 leaders looking at each other after Bush left the room and saying, "What an asshole," to each other after this scene.
The Iran situation is becoming a 'will they or won't they' scenario. Some think that if Obama wins then Bush will strike, others hope that good sense will win out. Good sense? Bush? Start stocking up, people. This article draws together a lot of threads that seems to make sense. Scary reading.
Go to North Korea, see the sights, get shot.
China is actively involved in the genocide in Sudan.
Thailand and Cambodia are facing off over the ruins of an 11th Century Hindu temple. There goes one thing off my list of places to visit.
Good news. A community based cleanup is changing parts of Bolivia for the better.
Moviegoers, this looks like an interesting doco - a warts and all look at the world of the geisha.
I found a kindred spirit, Andrew Womack, who has excellent musical taste. Witness his reviews of the best albums of 1988 and 1989 for example.
Just wait until he grows out of it... this'll become the 'before' picture.
Committing intellectual suicide, or watching Fox News for 24 hours.
One of India's most eligible bachelors has a private security team consisting of 15 female commandos to protect him from rampaging female fans. Sounds like a Bollywood movie is just around the corner...
How not to weed the garden.
One of the cutting edge issues of the day, why the snooze is set to 9 minutes.
At the end of the day you might just want to say screw it all and get high. Americans seem to enjoy it more than anyone else! In Australia we like beer, a lot! Even the judge had a sense of humour over it.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Wednesday.
It's most definitely a Wednesday here. It's a bit sunny out, with a nice breeze blowing. Don't need the fan or air-con. Lovely.
Lots going on the big, wide world, as usual though...
For all my Aussie friends who hate me because of my truly unlimited broadband, changes are afoot. NTT are going to place limits on broadband usage! They're going to cap uploads only - to 30 gig per day! Oh the humanity!
I'm a bit upset that I missed this. While I was whiling away the hours in a line to see a model of Himeji Castle made of sugar, I could've seen a museum dedicated to what comes out the other end! And people wonder why I live here...
New tech is interesting at the moment. For example, Volkswagon have come out with a car with ridiculously good fuel economy. The boffins at Matsushita (Panasonic) have developed a new lighting source for a post-fluorescent world.
Golf carts are hardly new tech, but they're busy replacing old tech in certain cities at the moment.
The G8 boffins are meeting in Hokkaido at the moment. The Japanese press are busy reporting on what the wives are doing since they can't get close to the other halves. With the food crisis high on the agenda, it's good to be able to see that it's really concerning the leaders of this world and what they're choosing to eat. They cut back to only 8 courses for dinner (see the comments beneath), practically starving themselves. In the end it doesn't really change many things.
Kafka would be proud.
The world's smallest violin is playing for the kids of Russia's billionaires since they can afford to buy as many little violins as they like.
At least they get an education though. In some parts of the developed world, kids are unable to speak in sentences by the time they get to school.
Which leads on to speculate about where we're going. Nowhere, fast, comes to mind.
Slavery is alive and well in Australia!?!?
The list of most/least corrupt countries is out. Always makes for some interesting reading and speculating.
With China poised to take over as the world's largest economy, is the latest Olympic fiasco involving reneging of the freedom of the press guaranteed in their winning bid just a taste of things to come?
The geeks have taken over.
Deloreans.
That's some fine driving.
It's been 80 years since sliced bread. So, what did people say before then?
Syria beckons...
Lots going on the big, wide world, as usual though...
For all my Aussie friends who hate me because of my truly unlimited broadband, changes are afoot. NTT are going to place limits on broadband usage! They're going to cap uploads only - to 30 gig per day! Oh the humanity!
I'm a bit upset that I missed this. While I was whiling away the hours in a line to see a model of Himeji Castle made of sugar, I could've seen a museum dedicated to what comes out the other end! And people wonder why I live here...
New tech is interesting at the moment. For example, Volkswagon have come out with a car with ridiculously good fuel economy. The boffins at Matsushita (Panasonic) have developed a new lighting source for a post-fluorescent world.
Golf carts are hardly new tech, but they're busy replacing old tech in certain cities at the moment.
The G8 boffins are meeting in Hokkaido at the moment. The Japanese press are busy reporting on what the wives are doing since they can't get close to the other halves. With the food crisis high on the agenda, it's good to be able to see that it's really concerning the leaders of this world and what they're choosing to eat. They cut back to only 8 courses for dinner (see the comments beneath), practically starving themselves. In the end it doesn't really change many things.
Kafka would be proud.
The world's smallest violin is playing for the kids of Russia's billionaires since they can afford to buy as many little violins as they like.
At least they get an education though. In some parts of the developed world, kids are unable to speak in sentences by the time they get to school.
Which leads on to speculate about where we're going. Nowhere, fast, comes to mind.
Slavery is alive and well in Australia!?!?
The list of most/least corrupt countries is out. Always makes for some interesting reading and speculating.
With China poised to take over as the world's largest economy, is the latest Olympic fiasco involving reneging of the freedom of the press guaranteed in their winning bid just a taste of things to come?
The geeks have taken over.
Deloreans.
That's some fine driving.
It's been 80 years since sliced bread. So, what did people say before then?
Syria beckons...
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Cleaning day..
Yup, yesterday was a cleaning day, but at work, not home. It's a bit of a tradition in Japan since a lot of companies don't employ cleaning staff it's up to the workers to do the cleaning. At our office the Japanese staff usually arrive an hour before everyone else and vacuum and dust everything. Yesterday involved doing things not usually done in that hour. So, me and a couple of the Japanese teachers swept out the cobwebs, waxed the floors and cleaned the windows in the classrooms. Did I mention the sweat? It was stupidly hot and humid and doing any kind of physical exercise let alone lifting and cleaning in this kind of weather is nuts. It took about an hour for me to cool down in the air-conditioned office afterwards.
Speaking of spider webs, there's a whole mass of them developing outside my room. At night the fluorescent lights attract masses of insects so it's no wonder the spiders have moved in as well. I don't want to kill them as they'll hopefully serve as guardsmen for the rest of my apartment during summer. Speaking of which, my apartment is now officially an oven. I knew this would happen, but now I can look forward to spending the next two or three months wearing only shorts while I'm home. Insulation? Double-glazing? Those are for the weak.
The big scandal in Japan at the moment is a push to reduce or restrict the opening hours for convenience stores. It's being touted as a way to reduce greenhouse emissions since walking into one of those places after dark is like walking onto a Thai beach at midday. The thing is that the savings don't match the cost of lost business, and besides, most of Japan's electricity comes from non-greenhouse sources (nuclear, hydro, thermal) so it really is just for show. By some of the comments made by punters, we may actually have an issue that the Japanese people may resort to violent protest about!
The OECD have raked Japan over the coals for its under-employment of women. Look for Japan to ignore the report in 5.. 4.. 3.. - but seriously you have to wonder since the government are going on and on about how they need to increase the tax base that they aren't trying to find ways to get more housewives back into work. Then again, we could spend hours talking about ways the government could change things for the better in Japan. The government themselves are very good at doing that - but no one actually DOES anything...
The OECD are getting around. They've also had a go at Australia for the lack of equality in education.
Australia's tourist industry is continuing to go through some tough times. Step 1, reduce the value of the dollar!
Looks like Obama's been reading my blog.
1998 - Russia appeals to the West for investment. 2008 - the USA appeals to Russia for investment.
The full story on how and why Wai Wai ceased to exist. That column was required reading for me, and a good source of fodder for this blog. The last paragraph illustrates another aspect of Japanese culture that shows Japan's often contrary nature.
Another list of archaic laws that are still on the book in America. One could have fun trying to break some of them just to see what happens...
All brace for Attack of the Faceless! (oh... wait - it's just marketing. I think I'll wait for Death of the Marauding Marketers on DVD)
Loos like tofu might be bad for you once you hit the age when senile dementia should be hitting anyway.
Hey, Kirk Cameron! You suck!
Ask yourself, what's a more likely method to see petrol prices fall; praying about it or petitioning about it? One possible good thing about the lack of oil is that the quest to replace it will speed up. Unfortunately, that means another round of Zeppelins Will Save Us All again.
Travellers, there's a place in Japan that has good beaches, tropical forests, and a lack of development!
See Pompeii before it crumbles away for good this time.
We all live on a floating lily pad, floating lily pad, floating lily pad....
Looks like Australia's going to start carbon emissions trading whether we like it or not, if it makes sense or not, and if it will be cost effective or not.
If you like hiding in your room with the curtains closed during the daytime, you might as well put them to some good use - like generating solar power...
So, are the polar ice caps really melting? Yes, and no.
But don't worry about oil running out. We should be more worried about gallium, indium, hafnium, zinc and copper running out first.
Here's an article probing the recent Korean Beef Riots in a little more detail.
Recent developments in Iraq.
McCain and Bush are similar in other ways, such as hoping for another terrorist attack to boost their ratings at the polls. What great humanitarians they are...
At least he and Obama agree that climate change is real and happening. Now, what are they going to do about it? If you said, "Not enough," please collect your prize.
What's more stupid, being willing to pay 150 pounds to watch an episode of your favourite TV show on your mobile phone, being charged 31,000 pounds because you're overseas at the time and didn't think that they charge extra for that service, or hiring a team of lawyers and having the bill reduced to a fraction of the amount? I wonder if I can use that method next time I get my mobile bill... or any other bill I don't like...
The times are few, but occasionally there are times when I miss Aussie TV. I'd love to be able to see the latest offering from Working Dog for example, The Hollowmen.
Hoo Roo. Time for breakfast and to think about what I'm going to do today.
Speaking of spider webs, there's a whole mass of them developing outside my room. At night the fluorescent lights attract masses of insects so it's no wonder the spiders have moved in as well. I don't want to kill them as they'll hopefully serve as guardsmen for the rest of my apartment during summer. Speaking of which, my apartment is now officially an oven. I knew this would happen, but now I can look forward to spending the next two or three months wearing only shorts while I'm home. Insulation? Double-glazing? Those are for the weak.
The big scandal in Japan at the moment is a push to reduce or restrict the opening hours for convenience stores. It's being touted as a way to reduce greenhouse emissions since walking into one of those places after dark is like walking onto a Thai beach at midday. The thing is that the savings don't match the cost of lost business, and besides, most of Japan's electricity comes from non-greenhouse sources (nuclear, hydro, thermal) so it really is just for show. By some of the comments made by punters, we may actually have an issue that the Japanese people may resort to violent protest about!
The OECD have raked Japan over the coals for its under-employment of women. Look for Japan to ignore the report in 5.. 4.. 3.. - but seriously you have to wonder since the government are going on and on about how they need to increase the tax base that they aren't trying to find ways to get more housewives back into work. Then again, we could spend hours talking about ways the government could change things for the better in Japan. The government themselves are very good at doing that - but no one actually DOES anything...
The OECD are getting around. They've also had a go at Australia for the lack of equality in education.
Australia's tourist industry is continuing to go through some tough times. Step 1, reduce the value of the dollar!
Looks like Obama's been reading my blog.
1998 - Russia appeals to the West for investment. 2008 - the USA appeals to Russia for investment.
The full story on how and why Wai Wai ceased to exist. That column was required reading for me, and a good source of fodder for this blog. The last paragraph illustrates another aspect of Japanese culture that shows Japan's often contrary nature.
Another list of archaic laws that are still on the book in America. One could have fun trying to break some of them just to see what happens...
All brace for Attack of the Faceless! (oh... wait - it's just marketing. I think I'll wait for Death of the Marauding Marketers on DVD)
Loos like tofu might be bad for you once you hit the age when senile dementia should be hitting anyway.
Hey, Kirk Cameron! You suck!
Ask yourself, what's a more likely method to see petrol prices fall; praying about it or petitioning about it? One possible good thing about the lack of oil is that the quest to replace it will speed up. Unfortunately, that means another round of Zeppelins Will Save Us All again.
Travellers, there's a place in Japan that has good beaches, tropical forests, and a lack of development!
See Pompeii before it crumbles away for good this time.
We all live on a floating lily pad, floating lily pad, floating lily pad....
Looks like Australia's going to start carbon emissions trading whether we like it or not, if it makes sense or not, and if it will be cost effective or not.
If you like hiding in your room with the curtains closed during the daytime, you might as well put them to some good use - like generating solar power...
So, are the polar ice caps really melting? Yes, and no.
But don't worry about oil running out. We should be more worried about gallium, indium, hafnium, zinc and copper running out first.
Here's an article probing the recent Korean Beef Riots in a little more detail.
Recent developments in Iraq.
McCain and Bush are similar in other ways, such as hoping for another terrorist attack to boost their ratings at the polls. What great humanitarians they are...
At least he and Obama agree that climate change is real and happening. Now, what are they going to do about it? If you said, "Not enough," please collect your prize.
What's more stupid, being willing to pay 150 pounds to watch an episode of your favourite TV show on your mobile phone, being charged 31,000 pounds because you're overseas at the time and didn't think that they charge extra for that service, or hiring a team of lawyers and having the bill reduced to a fraction of the amount? I wonder if I can use that method next time I get my mobile bill... or any other bill I don't like...
The times are few, but occasionally there are times when I miss Aussie TV. I'd love to be able to see the latest offering from Working Dog for example, The Hollowmen.
Hoo Roo. Time for breakfast and to think about what I'm going to do today.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Hello Punters
Another day in Paradise; that is, Tatsuno.
Yesterday I discovered that the rice paddies are populated with a kind of mollusc, not unlike a hermit crab. Quite interesting to see these little fellas scurrying about. Of course there were lots of tadpoles as well, and presumably some frogs hiding from the birdlife that also visits from time to time. They make their presence felt once the sun goes down. Yep, rice paddies are a veritable little ecosystem in themselves. I read somewhere that in some countries they farm fish in the rice paddies too. Wouldn't mind seeing that sometime.
In the weird, wide world out there, more stuff is going down.
The Beijing Olympics are shaping up to be quite the disaster. First smog, and now rampant algae threaten to disrupt events. At least the pigs will feed well tonight...
A computer has been used to find the ideal running mates for Obama and McCain and (not) surprisingly it came up with the same person, Colin Powell. Given Obama's recent hirings and well-documented move to the right (the article says 'centre', but makes good use of quotation marks) (more here) it should hardly come as a shock. McCain would need Powell as a nod to the centrist Republicans as he is swinging off to the far right with some of his ideas.
The Australian stock market continues its dive, posting the worst June since 1940. (The rest of the world isn't doing much better) The article summarizes the current situation quite well and has a good punchline in the final sentence which accurately sums up what we really know about what's happening at the moment. The Australian tourist industry is going through some tough times as well. The article blames everything except the rising currency, which should accept some of the blame.
At least they haven't been reduced to grave robbing and manhole cover stealing for the scrap metal, right? Right??
Australia has completed its (symbolic) withdrawal from Iraq.
What do you do if there are a lot of homeless people living in the parks at night because they have nowhere else to go? If you're in Japan, you sell the park to Nike and they build a wall around it and turn it into a private space. Yay Capitalism!
Another article about the end of the Petroleum Age for your headspace. At least Prince Charles will still be able to drive to the shops. It's interesting to see that more media are picking up on the possibility of the end of civilization as we know it.
The rest of the media are continuing to drive us to distraction - and what better way to do that than to bring back the extreme Japanese game show.
Another book about Japanese mythological monsters, because there aren't enough monsters in the world as it is...
This is an interesting story about a group of islands administered by Japan and the remnants of Japanese colonialism still at work.
Seth MacFarlane, who created The Family Guy, has embarked on an interesting collaboration with Google. They're working to make short episodes for the internet but preceded by advertising. It's worth reading about since this could be a new model for delivering advertising as well as content - and if the money moves to this, then more traditional media will lose out. (Witness the decline of investment in newspaper advertising, for example) It's also interesting because if content becomes shorter and shorter, then people won't make things that require any focussed concentration for any length of time. The news as a comic strip? Documentaries that barely skim the surface? Sit-coms that are a fraction of the pitifully short length they are now? See 'short attention span', 'dumbing down of society', etc. for more info.
The legend of King Arthur is a British propaganda tool. No, really!?!?
The architect behind the rotating skyscraper is a fraud. No, really!?!?
Once a rumour goes online, it's hard to stop. No, really!?!?
Coffee is good for you again.
Yummy.
Yesterday I discovered that the rice paddies are populated with a kind of mollusc, not unlike a hermit crab. Quite interesting to see these little fellas scurrying about. Of course there were lots of tadpoles as well, and presumably some frogs hiding from the birdlife that also visits from time to time. They make their presence felt once the sun goes down. Yep, rice paddies are a veritable little ecosystem in themselves. I read somewhere that in some countries they farm fish in the rice paddies too. Wouldn't mind seeing that sometime.
In the weird, wide world out there, more stuff is going down.
The Beijing Olympics are shaping up to be quite the disaster. First smog, and now rampant algae threaten to disrupt events. At least the pigs will feed well tonight...
A computer has been used to find the ideal running mates for Obama and McCain and (not) surprisingly it came up with the same person, Colin Powell. Given Obama's recent hirings and well-documented move to the right (the article says 'centre', but makes good use of quotation marks) (more here) it should hardly come as a shock. McCain would need Powell as a nod to the centrist Republicans as he is swinging off to the far right with some of his ideas.
The Australian stock market continues its dive, posting the worst June since 1940. (The rest of the world isn't doing much better) The article summarizes the current situation quite well and has a good punchline in the final sentence which accurately sums up what we really know about what's happening at the moment. The Australian tourist industry is going through some tough times as well. The article blames everything except the rising currency, which should accept some of the blame.
At least they haven't been reduced to grave robbing and manhole cover stealing for the scrap metal, right? Right??
Australia has completed its (symbolic) withdrawal from Iraq.
What do you do if there are a lot of homeless people living in the parks at night because they have nowhere else to go? If you're in Japan, you sell the park to Nike and they build a wall around it and turn it into a private space. Yay Capitalism!
Another article about the end of the Petroleum Age for your headspace. At least Prince Charles will still be able to drive to the shops. It's interesting to see that more media are picking up on the possibility of the end of civilization as we know it.
The rest of the media are continuing to drive us to distraction - and what better way to do that than to bring back the extreme Japanese game show.
Another book about Japanese mythological monsters, because there aren't enough monsters in the world as it is...
This is an interesting story about a group of islands administered by Japan and the remnants of Japanese colonialism still at work.
Seth MacFarlane, who created The Family Guy, has embarked on an interesting collaboration with Google. They're working to make short episodes for the internet but preceded by advertising. It's worth reading about since this could be a new model for delivering advertising as well as content - and if the money moves to this, then more traditional media will lose out. (Witness the decline of investment in newspaper advertising, for example) It's also interesting because if content becomes shorter and shorter, then people won't make things that require any focussed concentration for any length of time. The news as a comic strip? Documentaries that barely skim the surface? Sit-coms that are a fraction of the pitifully short length they are now? See 'short attention span', 'dumbing down of society', etc. for more info.
The legend of King Arthur is a British propaganda tool. No, really!?!?
The architect behind the rotating skyscraper is a fraud. No, really!?!?
Once a rumour goes online, it's hard to stop. No, really!?!?
Coffee is good for you again.
Yummy.
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