A Fnersh Rambling

Going, going,

2008-11-10T23:48:00.000+09:00

GONE!

The blog is now at Wordpress. Let's see how this goes....

Another week

2008-10-13T01:55:00.000+09:00

Yup, they just keep on coming.

Looks like I'm going to can the planned trip to Hong Kong after all. I'll try to get there next year instead - at least it should be easier to catch up with my Hong Kong buddy then.

Instead I'm going to meet another friend in CAMBODIA!!! Yerrrsssss!! After the debacle that was my life last year, it look like I'll finally live out one of my dreams and watch the sun rise at Angkor Wat - at Christmas instead of New Years though.

At the end of last week it was all doom and gloom on the markets, but this morning they're up in Australia after the government guaranteed all bank deposits for the next three years. We'll see how long this lasts. Whatever happens, the lessons from history are hardly soothing...

For Japan, the outlook is not good at all. The yen has soared against most major currencies, meaning bad news for exporters, and therefore everyone who works for them. Already tight belts will tighten even more, spelling problems for businesses that have already cut back as much as they can. Look for the continued growth of part-time and casual work and more hardship.

Things are starting to get a bit heated in the former Yugoslavia.

The great Australian drought isn't over by a long shot.

Dirty tricks are back with a vengeance with less than a month to go in the US election. Voters are being purged illegally in six battlefront states. No guesses as to which party stands to benefit the most...

McCain would do well to push his Wall Street buddies to get the market back on its feet in a hurry if this chart is anything to go by.

Sarah Palin Watch continues. This article looks at how Palin is mirroring (and even outdoing) Bush in her use of sports to mask her faults. That's quite tame compared to how this one compares Palin's politics to that of the Khmer Rouge. It's actually compelling and scary reading.

As much as I don't trust Obama, I'd take him and Biden over McCain and Palin any day of any week.

In Afghanistan, the amount of opium grown has surged in recent years, but global heroin supply (and price) has been constant. The question international investigators are asking is, what's happened to all that excess heroin? The answer could be is that it's being stored close to the fields in case it's needed. Another possibility is that certain countries (Russia, Iran, Khazakstan, etc.) have understated the heroin problems that are in their countries.

In recent weeks in Australia there's been an explosion of public hysteria over teenage sexuality, especially that of young girls. At the centre has been the photography of Bill Henson (you can Google him yourself, and the pix are freely available on the Net) and controversy following his motivations and methodology. With films such as Juno and Towelhead also exploring this topic, now should be a time for carefully considered and calm, realistic discussion of this topic. This article goes into the topic a little and makes some good points; in a world saturated by sexualised images of women, especially young women, and where women admit to strong sexual desires, there is a need for open and honest discussion of young sexuality. My thoughts that once people are comfortable with themselves, and can talk about their feelings in a way that is open and safe, then the chances of repression and dangerous secret acts become less. In a country where 97% of girls and 100% of boys under 15 have seen porn and 1/3 of 13 year-old girls admit to having a sexual experience, the time is most definitely now.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and having two close family members lose their lives due to the disease, I'm always interested and supportive of new research and treatments in this area of medicine. A timely piece of news is about a robot that can detect and destroy breast cancer cells. It kinda bring up images from horror movies - having a robot perform surgery - but if this works, then the precision this new technique could bring could help women worldwide.

It looks like they're going to be tinkering with the teaching of Australian history with the new curriculum. I hope they heed the warning that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Mercury... wow!

Sydney as you've never seen it before. These videos (and this photographic technique) are very, very cool!

Apologies

2008-10-07T10:55:00.002+09:00

.. for the little bit of creative writing. We'll get back to the ranting and links for a bit.

A lot happens in a week, especially when the world is teetering on the brink of a global financial mess that we haven't seen the likes of in my or my parents' lifetime. Some things are clear though. There is a fantastic amount of debt involved here: trillions of dollars. US$700 billion is a lot of money, but it isn't going to settle that debt by a long way. The phrase "shuffling the deckchairs on The Titanic" comes to mind. The US economy has been weak for a long time. The growth of the past few years was leveraged on a speculative growth in the value of real estate which could only end. (It all sounds familiar, eh Japan? and things aren't getting any better.) Ireland declared it was in recession, followed by some Eastern European countries. Britain's troubles are getting worse. Iceland's economy is on the brink. The European Community started bailing out and shoring up its banks. The crisis has spread - and it's nothing like others we've had to deal with before.

Australia's strength has also diminished. Relying on the strength of the commodities market is putting a lot of eggs into one basket, and who says that market is immune from the weaknesses in other parts of the economy? As the Reserve Bank looks to lower interest rates, Australia's attractiveness to foreign investors will dip. Then again, with the Aussie dollar weakening, it may be time to send some money home... if I had some.

What is it going to take to sort out this crisis? For a start, it's going to require a lot of government intervention and oversight; the kinds of projects that haven't been seen in the US since the last Great Depression. I can't see John McCain doing that. People need jobs, something that hasn't been happening in the US for quite a while now. A massive public works program would go a long way to solving that problem. It would also shore up US infrastructure; something that the country needs urgently - before another bridge collapses. The government should help those who are struggling to pay their mortgages, not help the bankers who got us into this mess. No, really. Help those who are actually struggling. Maybe foreign governments should just refuse to help the US and let the government lapse into bankruptcy. At least the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would creak to a halt. Of course that would lead to a lot of bad, as well as perhaps some long term good.

One thing that I'm sure of, is that we are all going to suffer - especially women. Things will get worse before they get better.

The Pope blames the pursuit of wealth for the crisis. Hey, Benedict! Then you should sell off all the assets of the Catholic Church (how many billion would that get?) Just melting down and selling off the gold in that staff he's holding would bail out a few mortgages, I'm sure. Yeeesh.

This has to be the best anti Sarah Palin rant I've read so far. It contains gems from start to finish, including, "she's the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV", "rifle-toting, serially pregnant moose killer who thinks God lobbies for oil pipelines", "(i)t was like watching Gidget address the Reichstag", and "(s)he's a puffed-up dimwit with primitive religious beliefs". But perhaps, even better, is a blog, "Things Sarah Palin Can Name". You could always try and interview Sarah Palin yourself, if you dare.... But one thing is certain, John McCain (as well as the rest of us) has a lot to fear from Palin's naked ambition. A Palin presidency would make George W. Bush's reign of ignorance seem like the good old days.

Apparently static electricity caused 1500 votes to mysteriously appear on a voting machine in a recent US election. No word on which party they supported, but you can guess.

Oops.

In Africa, China is succeeding where Britain, Germany, Belgium and Italy could not; creating a colonial system that works, and enslaving the native population. It is an amazing and scary read. I thoroughly recommend it.

Sssssh! The Arctic permafrost has been melting and releasing millions of tons of methane into the atmosphere!

A British school has stopped giving its students lists of words to learn to spell because it "distresses" them. Boo Flippin' Hoo. I hope those same kids will be able to sue the school after they are rejected from jobs because they can't spell on their application letters.

I'd like to go to Okunoshima in Hiroshima Prefecture - a beautiful island with a dark past.

10 people from your past who will haunt you on Facebook. It really more truth than humour...

What happens when you put a McDonald's burger from 12 years ago next to one from yesterday? It's hard to tell the difference between them....

And so it goes...

2008-10-07T10:42:00.002+09:00

One of the good things about watching this economic collapse unfold is that it goes to show that Wall Street financial people aren't dummies.

Setting: Main Street on a dry and dusty western town. Music by Ennio Morricone.

Wall Street: Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

Government: Well, gee. Look at that!

WS: Hey! We gave you all that money! You like money, right?

G: Well... geee.... yeah!

WS: Help us get back up and we can give you money again!

G: But you're mortally wounded, look at those gunshot wounds... Hey, is that a gun in your hand? Did you do that to yoursel..

WS: No! It was... errrmmm... those other guys. The common people!

Common People: What?!? Hey, we have no idea how that guy works, but he promised if we gave him our money, that he would lend to us, we'd get rich! What happened?

WS: I have no idea what you're talking about. Oh, and that big house over there isn't mine either.

G: Well, we'd be happy to help. Common People, we need more money - again.

CP: What!? Don't we pay you enough too?!? If we give you our money then we won't have anything left to go and buy food, hay for the horses, and so on. The shops will all close.

WS: Argh! Help me up!

G: Come on! Let's help!

CP: Well.... OK.... I guess....

Wall Street gets to his feet, shoves the wad of cash into his coat pocket, and falls over again.

WS: Help! I can't get up!

Today's heavy-handed allegory is brought to you by the numbers 9,956 and 10,172 and falling.

Oh my...

2008-09-25T10:44:00.002+09:00

Like a lump of finely tuned spaghetti bolognaise heaved over the dinner table of a dysfunctional family unit, the economic crisis lurches in a chaotic arc over the world, and how it will impact on it, as well as who will be left to clean up the mess, is anyone's guess at the moment.

What have I learned so far?

The whole thing was set up to collapse. By defaulting on debt, the speculators could make money. It's like opening your house up for theft so you can collect on the insurance, but you also control the payout from the insurance company.... This explains it much better than I can.

There are no investment banks left on Wall Street.

The history of Wall Street and Washington is long, and very cozy.

The people that are responsible for this mess are (mostly - scroll down to read about what the boss of AIG is doing) trying to extract as much of their contracted salaries and bonuses while they still can. These are going to cost billions of dollars. For example, the former chief of Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld, earned US$17,000 an HOUR to run the firm into the ground. I could do that for half the price - and I look good in a suit. (Any takers?)

The US government is weighing up the bailing out of foreign banks that own US debt. That is, sending US taxpayers' money offshore to pay for the gambling debts of some very rich people.

In their desperation for cash, the US financial system is turning into a fire sale, with banks from other countries such as Japan swooping in to pick up (gamble with?) companies being hawked at rock bottom prices.

It turns out, that without the first huge injection of capital, the markets were as close as 500 trades away from total collapse on Monday.

The US$700 billion requested by Bush could just be delaying the inevitable collapse of the system - at taxpayer expense.

The thing is, what these traders were doing wasn't actually illegal. (It isn't stopping the FBI investigating what happened though) It was does within the regulations of the industry - just pushed to its limits. Now, ask if what they were doing was unethical - you'd get a different answer...

The world is waiting, not necessarily because of the debt problem. Countries like Australia are reasonably well insulated from the defaults, and others such as India have nothing to do with them at all. The problem will come if there's a general economic slowdown as American consumers and businesses tighten their belts, unemployment takes hold and markets dry up. The article makes another good point that the tax system favours those who speculate (they don't just get free money from the government to cover their debts) over those who produce things. In the end, that's what really counts, right? The last time I looked, the 'P' in 'GNP' meant 'Product'... Why not tax those who speculate more? Oh, sorry, I forgot...

This article sums up a lot of things, from Obama's sensible ideas (bail out those who can't pay their mortgages, not those who rorted the system), to some juicy quotes from those in the know, the reactions of government representatives and some nice hysterical arm-waving from those who are responsible.

The more I read about Dr. Martin Luther King, the more I like him. He really could cut to the heart of an issue. This article has a great quote from him at its heart. It also gets me thinking as to why would anyone want to live in a country where the rich earn so much and the poor so little...

I love David Letterman...

Now for the rest of it.

By the way, Burma's still under military rule. At least some of those who have escaped aren't going to let us forget.

If you like to gaze upon a ruined wilderness and possibly contract a horrible disease, then Alberta's for you! (What a shame...)

The more I read about McCain and Palin, the less I like the idea of them winning. Obama isn't much better, but at least his ideas are better, (here too) but not by much. I'm a very long way from becoming an Obama-ite. And it looks like Americans agree with me to some extent at the moment.

While the US economic troubles are unsettling things in Japan, one of the other big problems at the moment is food security. Japan imports a large amount of its food from other countries, mostly China, and with ongoing problems with the food supply there, people in Japan are understandably worried. The thing that gets me is that every day I drive past rice fields that are left fallow. The farmers are paid NOT to grow rice, and they can't grow anything else as a condition of that payment, so why not relax the regulations and let them grow veggies instead? I guess someone high up is making money off the importation of foreign food, eh?

If you wanted an idea of how things are run in Japan, you could do worse than look at what's happening with the switch over to digital broadcasting. Two words: former bureaucrats.

This article looks at the issue of parents who are over-educating their children in Japan. As one who educates children, I am capitalizing on this drive, but there are limits to human endurance. Getting your children to memorize kanji at the age of TWO is a bit much. Nova's program for two year olds was a bit of a joke at best; it was a miracle if any of the kids said anything in English. My current employer starts enrolling children at the age of three, but in our defence, the program is about having fun in English. Our kids don't have to memorize anything and one of my three years olds spends most of his time running around the room laughing and screaming. At least he's having fun and is getting over any potential irrational fears of very large foreign man-monsters, so that will be an important life skill, I'm sure....

Housing crisis solved: shipping container homes!

I think being able to book your holidays over the internet is a great idea, but just be sure you check and double-check before clicking to buy! Just ask this woman who wanted to go to Sydney, Australia, and ended up in Sydney, Canada.

Matt, this one's for you.

The man who started the Free Hugs movement (I've seen them in Sannomiya) is giving away one of his kidneys. Bonus Simpsons quote.

Scientists have discovered an ancient coral reef in the outback of South Australia (Sheree, you could drive there in three days, I reckon!) which they hope will provide clues as to how climate change impacts the environment.

Hammer Films is back in business! For fans of B-grade schlock horror, such as myself, this brings instant salivation - and not just because of the Playboy twins... (work safe)

Those Sex Pistols royalties much be getting low. John Lydon's advertising butter?!?

After my champagne in London, I'll head over to Paris for dinner.

Today's waste of time (life?) is brought to you by a guy who's built an aircraft carrier out of Lego.

Want a real life Pikachu? Yours for only $925 million!? Aaaah, Japan...

Enough already!

Lurching

2008-09-20T12:47:00.002+09:00

It's amazing reading about the continuing financial crisis. While based in the US, it's likely to continue to have global effects.

I never studied economics - ever. My mathematics skills extend to some rudimentary mental calculation abilities. I figure if I can add, subtract, multiply, divide and do percentages then that's most of what I'll need for life. Why I wasted so many hours in maths lessons, I'll never really know. If I could go back to the start of high school that is one of the first things I'd change, along with learning the guitar, working out instead of eating myself into oblivion, and trying not to be such a dork all the time.

I'm especially grateful to the writers that are spending their time cutting through the BS and to write articles that can explain in simple English what's going on, what mistakes are being made, and what should happen (and why it won't).

So, I'll simply submit these articles for your perusal. here, here, here, and here.

Another key indicator of the economic situation, the HEGI (or High End Girlfriend Index) is down severely at the moment.

Amongst the rapid nationalisation of some of America's largest financial and insurance corporations (if the bailing out of these companies with public money is NOT nationalisation, then what is it?) also goes the rapid privatisation of the military. The way the military permeates so much of American culture and life is nothing new, but the economic compass will surely switch back over to the fact that chasing after non-existant money will run its course and eventually the money brokers will have to get back into industries that actually produce real things and generate real money; the easiest being the military. Look for more wars and more arms sales soon - maybe not in that order.

One interesting impact of the continuing economic woes in Japan is that membership of the Communist Party has increased significantly. The article contains some very interesting stats on the situation, especially as it relates to part-time workers.

Remember the food crisis? It hasn't gone away yet - not by a long shot.

So the US presidential campaigns are now firmly fixed in the gutter, it's time to work out why they, especially the Republicans are so keen to do so. Every quip is met by an unequal and opposite overreaction. Could it be the Republicans are trying to distract the public from their plan to dismantle many of the systems in place to help the majority of the American people? Could it be they're trying to cover the idea that Palin really stands against many of the feminist ideals that feminism has fought for, while trumpeting her nomination as a triumph for feminism? Maybe she just doesn't want to be asked questions about her double standards over marijuana (not to mention the others). Maybe she wants to avoid questions over why she's using an easily hackable public e-mail account to conduct state business in violation of several regulations. Could it be that Obama is hoping nobody will notice how his policies don't really help those the Democrats are supposed to traditionally represent?

If you want an idea of what it's like to be a heartbeat away from absolute power, maybe we could take a look at North Korea, where (apparently) Kim Jong Il's nurse is signing off on official documents since he's been bedridden after a stroke.

If you want an idea of what a McCain presidency might look like, you could always look to Canada...

I guess if you always wondered why vegetarians were always so uppity about their lifestyle, you can wonder no longer. It turns out that eating vegetables shrinks the brain. It figures since meat (nourishing meat!) contains abundant supplies of the building blocks of our brains. Now we all know the dangers of an exclusive meat-eating diet (Dr. Atkins, represent!) but now the vegos have been discredited as well, we can finally get on with the fact that we are omnivores, make like the Japanese and eat anything that grows.

When scientists find something that puzzles them, then you know it must be interesting. Take this mysterious object found in deep space, or this planet found orbiting a star 500 light years away.

Ever wondered what it's like to be hit by a proton beam? Ask this former Soviet scientist.

In the wake of Hurrican Ike come these amazing photos of a lone house that was built to withstand a category five storm. If you ever wanted an example to show planning commissions and construction standards committees, here it is. I'm also looking at you, Japan.

Enough. Time to go to work.

This week in ... stuff!

2008-09-13T12:51:00.003+09:00

Ah yes.

From finding out that Skype actually works PC to PC (thanks Sheree!) (username: fnersh, of course) to waiting four hours in a hospital waiting room (now I know) to riding the highs and lows of the internal monologue thanks to various documentaries, it's been quite a week.

Now I have a long weekend with no private students booked, so I'm actually... wait for it... CLEANING MY APARTMENT!! So far one garbag has been filled and I can actually see the top of one table. Another to go plus the floor of the computer room and I can say I have actually achieved something. Hence I am procrastinating!

A couple of relections on September 11.

Yes, I bought an iPod. Yes, it's rather nice. No, I didn't know it was based on technology developed in the 1970s.

Why I often buy books based on their titles alone...

I watched the Panorama special on Scientology which was very informative. I suggest you try to track it down. Scientology has recently engaged in another series of attacks on YouTube to take down videos seen as critical of them. No other 'churches' do this so it makes you wonder what they have to hide. (Aliens! Wooooo!)

Another religious organisation, this time the pentacostalist Hillsong church in Sydney, has been infiltrating state schools under what could be seen to be false pretenses. They stage events which are billed as free barbecues and concerts but evangelise the students who attend, which is in violation of the NSW Education Charter, which says that any religious instruction should take place within designated religious education classes. Either the very large and well organised Hillsong group is ignorant of the laws of the country, or they are being deliberately devious. Naturally, they have denied any wrongdoing. But still, it's not exactly the message they should be wanting to send either way...

More on what could happen if Sarah Palin becomes President of the USA - which is more likely than you think. One focusses on what the environment, especially in Alaska, stands to lose. The other looks at the very real chance of a theocracy taking hold in the US.

This one looks at how Sarah Palin has managed to overcome her previous perceived anti-Semitism (after all, she is a fundamentalist Christian), all in the name of her personal ambition. It's amazing how ones' morals can be happily sacrificed for personal gain... (sarcasm is firmly switched to 'on'.)

The teaching of Creationism to children just won't go away. Equal time for the Flying Spaghetti Monster! Ramen.

Another article in as many days about how students in the UK cannot spell. What's just as sad as these students likely going through life illiterate is the way the educational establishment is being encouraged to tolerate this state of affairs. One boffin actually said that forcing children to memorise irregular spelling of words was holding them back. Holding them back? From what? It certainly didn't 'hold me back'. Being able to spell correctly (in most cases) has enabled me to perform well in hand-written tests, to be able to communicate lucidly and clearly through any text based medium I've needed to be able to utilise. Why? Because I can spell and the people who've read what I've written have been able to read. I shouldn't have to sit and waste my time trying to decipher some precious little snowflake's scratchings just because it might hurt their feelings. I certainly would think that those who hire these students once they end up in the job marketplace would also be of the same opinion; can't spell: no job. My solution? No TV, no PC and only books (comics accepted, providing they spell words correctly) until children are at least 5 years old. And yes, if I ever do have kids, look to the posting of the epic plan of how I plan to hide that technology from my kids and the wonderful adventures I have in keeping them hidden!

The background and story of the Japanese man who was recently kidnapped and murdered in Afghanistan.

Japan has joined the 20th Century in another aspect of life related to women - this time by requesting them to fasten their seat belts while pregnant. Believe it or not but it's a commonly held belief that having a crash while pregnant and wearing a seatbelt causes miscarriages, so many pregnant women don't wear them. Never mind that they could be thrown from the car and onto the road or in front of another vehicle in an accident... Amazing.

Another story on how Japanese households are struggling. (I sure wish I was earning the average wage.) Bear in mind that Japan calculates wages per household and not per person. This figure would very likely include situations where the children are living at home and working. It happens much more in Japan than in Western countries. And they're still 'struggling'...

Another day, another rocket or mortar attack on a US base. Iraq? No, Japan. Wait, what?

Another day, another girl auctioning off her virginity to pay for her university course. The bonus is it's for a master's degree in family and marriage counselling.....

If you thought people would stay away from China during the Olympics, you were right.

Really cool travel guides for Eastern Europe. Share and enjoy!

Before I leave for there though, I'd like to stop off and have a glass of champagne at St. Pancras Station in London.

That Large Hadron Collider experiment that was going to kill us all? Well, for those of you who breathed a sigh of relief, get ready to freak out again. What happened on the 10th was that they turned it on and made sure it was working and calibrated correctly. The big stuff (ie. what you were all worried about) will happen later.

It does lead to a discussion of the end of everything and while predicting the end of the world is an imprecise science at best, it hasn't stopped all manner of people from doing just so, and even more people believing them.

A primer of articles from Mother Jones on the US imperial presence around the world, including an interactive map of where US soldiers and bases are stationed. 761 bases, in fact...

Is Google creating its own navy?

The actor who played Monkey is releasing a new album. Monkey Magic!!

Lastly, an exercise in what goes to make a good piece of descriptive writing, as well as clever use of internet technology. Language students, take note!

And!

2008-09-08T14:44:00.004+09:00

More!

A quick note. My friend who is part of Edge Church updated me with some info about Michael Guggleimucci. It turns out he hasn't been a part of this church for 8 years or so so the money he used to fund his porn habit came from other sources, and is apparently being repaid. Still, it's a blight on the church to have been publicly associated with this guy...

I'm really enjoying reading this article by a school principal. In it he outlines what he sees are where our schools are failing in what they should be doing for our children - that is give them the skills they need for life. He really hits the nail on the head with some of his observations and suggestions.

Thailand is perhaps gearing up for a coup - a reluctant one if these comments by a Thai military senior official are anything to go by... I'm so glad I'm not there at the moment! Then again, if there is a coup, the small islands are unlikely to be greatly affected...

In Australia, where rain is often followed by someone saying, "What's that stuff falling from the sky?" progress is being made in developing new methods for cloud seeding.

Noticed that the internet is running slow? I have. And it turns out that it's all my fault... Ooops.

So the conventions are over and the dust is settling over the US election battle until the debates start up. The one between Palin and Biden should be a doozy. Some interesting food for thought that has come out of it for you to ponder.
One is the organized campaign of violence against the independent media. As highlighted in this article (Bonus: contains the phrase 'weaponized urine'), the police and security forces deliberately targetted journalists not working for the media corporations. Another article about the same subject is here.
Two is this article written by a woman who has known Sarah Palin since 1992. In it she disects her character, motivations and methods as she's witnessed them over the past 16 years. In short, Sarah Palin is not a nice woman and she's not fit to potentially be the next Republican presidential candidate if McCain fails in his bid this year.
Three, that McCain is probably going to be looking increasingly to his young charge to lead the way as his incoherence over the past few years is not going away. That also raises the spectre of a possible Palin 2012 campaign...

That cure for cancer could be a lot further away since recent research has shown that each cancer has a unique genetic make up...

A recent roundup of climate goings on.

Australia is becoming more expensive, especially for those on aged pensions.

A good list of security pointers for the international traveller. It includes a handy picture of how to stand in the new full body imaging machines. The same posture is handy for law enforcement officers when they detect your guns and explosives...

The best Muppet cake ever!

Tokyo Elvis.

A Bacon Trio to finish: bacon flavoured vodka, bourbon and jelly beans. Yum.

And more

2008-09-06T12:42:00.002+09:00

And so continues the previous blog post... there was so much that caught my eye, the poor PC has been having trouble coping with it. Note to self, opening more than 30 tabs in Firefox can crash the PC! Lovely software, shame about the bloated RAM.

This article summarizes nicely one of the strong feelings I have about this world; that we are in the midst of a long, slow decline. So many people are saying that we need to make wdie-scale, drastic changes to the way we live in order to survive the future, but because those in power can't/won't make the changes, we're like the frog in the slowly warming pot, not noticing until the flames make the water boil that we're in big trouble.

This feeling also forms part of the tug-of-war that goes on daily inside me. I love kids. I love teaching the students I have and the promise they hold for the future. I also shudder whenever I think about the kind of world they're going to live in and the kinds of struggles they may have to endure, just to survive.

An interesting rant about Japan based on someone's experience. There's a lot I can relate to, but some things are not so true - take the toilet paper for example. The bog rolls available here are just as luxuriant and soft as you're likely to find anywhere in the world. Rice paper it aint!

I have found a new spiritual home - Stuck In The 80s!

It going to be hard to find anything to eat in Australia before too long, with the Murray-Darling Basin turning into a toxic wasteland and drought continuing throughout the land, we're going to be importing all of our food from Argentina before too long. Oh wait... errrmmm... nevermind.

Better see those fireflies now, before the lights go out forever...

And the sun has been spotless for a month.

Today's religious nuts are brought to you by Joel's Army. Second place is brought to you by Michael Gugliemucci, who faked having cancer for two years to hide an addiction to porn. Third place goes to his wife for forgiving him... I'm amazed that she would stand by someone who lied to her face about having cancer of all things for TWO years! (I guess they're making a lot of money.... dang cynicism rears its ugly head again.) I have friends (who I love) who go to his church and I can only say that I'm sorry that they must have given money to this clown who then spent it on internet porn.

More stupidity but this time resulting in humour; internet obscenity filters.

Looks like the French are finally coming around to the fact that English is the global language.

Queen Mary is behind a surprising number of our beloved nursery rhymes...

One more Olympic post-script; the sports that should be thrown out of the Olympics. I certainly believe that tennis and soccer should be excorcised immediately since they are not the ultimate prizes for anyone who plays them professionally.

Today's "Japan's Wacky Cops" story is brought to you by the boys in blue from Izu and a blow up doll....

Japan isn't the only country with fire-based festivals. Take El Salvador for instance, where residents remember a volcanic eruption by throwing fireballs at each other. Hmmm... Strike that one off my list of things to do...

An interesting article, which I may have mentioned before. It's about an American woman working to save traditional Japanese life and practices in a small town in Nagano.

Do you need to break up with someone, or get your loved one to break up with their lover? Do you just want to be with that person but you're not sure how? In Japan, there's a thriving industry that does just that... it's all a bit sad really.

The man who brought the sushi-roll craze to Australia is shutting up shop. I don't know whether to hate him for introducing it, since you can't walk down the street without being assaulted by the smell of stale seaweed and rice, or to praise him for refusing to sell out and franchise his store.

An interesting article which criticizes the latest economic stimulus package from the Japanese Government. Basically, it's a free for all money grab which will llikely see a significant proportion of the funds end up in the hands of corrupt politicians and the Yakuza.

What do you get when you mix Baileys, chilli, tequila, absinthe, ouzo, vodka, cider and gin? This.

Some travel ideas for Europe. All I need now is money and time. Ooops.

More to come, but first I must go and entertain small children.

Fun fun fun!!!

2008-09-03T12:10:00.003+09:00

Wow, you disappear for a couple of weeks and all hell breaks loose.

Thailand was lovely and I had a great time relaxing on the beach and enjoying the beer and food. There were protests going on while I was there, but in recent days things have taken a turn for the nasty as gangs of rival political parties have taken to the streets and there have been reports of shootings amongst the running violence. What this could do for a country that plainly needs foreign tourism and investment hardly bears speculating...

The nominations of Joe Biden and Sarah Palin for the job of Vice-President of the USA have dominated the internets for a while. Time to look at them.

I'll deal with Joe Biden first since he's the one which is the least surprising and the most sensible. He's the more-experienced counterweight to Obama's perceived lack of experience which makes political sense.

Biden's been behind some of the more devious elements of the Bush years, including helping with the spurious notion that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He supported the invasion of Iraq, which is in direct opposition to Obama's supposed ani-war rhetoric. His foreign policy experience is long, but doubtful in its integrity - just look at his attitude to NATO for starters.

He's also an intelligent, if not long-winded speaker who will bring some measure of wit and depth to the campaign. It would be hard for McCain and Palin to hold their own against him in any serious debate. He's been known to let his mouth get ahead of his mind though, as well as plagarize the speeches of other politicians. It could spell disaster for Obama if he comes across as uninteligible or boring.

Thise are two things that Sarah Palin cannot be accused of - especially with the revelations that are coming out just mere days after her surprise unveiling to the media.

My initial reaction was that she could clinch the election for McCain since she is the cynically perfect choice for a VP to counter McCain's age and perceived softness on traditional Republican core issues such as abortion and guns. Oh and she's a woman - so that'll get the disillusioned Clinton supporters to switch camps. Or maybe not.

And, as much as I hate to say it, the fact that she's a former beauty queen gives her the 'babe' factor which will get the men voting for her based on looks alone. Rush Limbaugh nailed that one on the head. ("Babies, guns, Jesus" - indeed)

She is a religious nut. She states that she believes in creationism. She's a member of a loony Pentacostalist church. She opposes abortion in all cases - including cases of rape and incest. That alone disqualifies her as an ethical and moral human being.

Of course there's the question of her pregnant daughter and her self-confessed 'redneck' boyfriend. Of course they're going to get married and raise the family together, but you have to wonder what kind of life it's going to be when the father (who is currently 18) says that he's didn't want kids and perfers hanging out with his friends. Oh yeah - that's gonna be a GREAT marriage!

There's also the current ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption involving Palin and decisions she's made as govenor of Alaska.

I believe McCain was forced into this as a move of desperation after his preferred choices were knocked back. Let's face it. He nominated her after only meeting her once before and after a quick job interview where she was offered the job on the spot. I can't think of a situation where that's happened to me - even bar and waiting jobs at university.

The McCain camp's reaction to any criticism of Palin? It's sexism. Good one, yeah. Just ask McCain.

You think I'm spending too much time on Palin and not enough on Biden? Well, elections really are a storm in a media teacup. There really isn't much they've had to say about Biden - hence the danger that he could be perceived as 'boring'. Palin's unfolding soap opera will become media fodder for at least the next few months as the baby saga unfolds. Maybe this is something that McCain is hoping for since Obama's charisma dominated the media for so long. Perhaps Obama's indecisiveness is going to be his undoing.

Once again, the election boils down to character issues and things that should not be factors in choosing the next leader of the USA.

Once again, the wrong people are gunning to become president.

Really can we impeach Bush yet? "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century" Wuh?! I love the questions posed by the fictional reporter in the article. Not to be outdone, McCain said, "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations." Nice one John.

Can we at least get Bush before he does this?

Former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, wrote this good piece summing up what the USA has done to screw things up in the past few years.

But Russia is back and is flexing its imperialist muscles, like it or not. As America's power declines, it's shaping up to be an interesting century...

It's been over ten years since the collapse of Yugoslavia, and more and more details are emerging about what really went on. One thing that should be made clear is that it was a religious war between Muslims, Catholic Christians, and Orthodox Christians. The nationalities are just geographical pointers since people were identified and killed by their religion primarily.

By the way, there's a war in Somalia.

Sarah Palin is not the only creationist nut to get an airing today. I'll also nominate Vince Fenech, who would be a harmless creationist nut if he wasn't in charge of the education of children.

The Olympics deserve a mention since they did happen while I was away. London's going to have a hard time following up on this one since they won't have access to thousands of low-paid slave workers. They may also have to spend time proving their ceremonies are legitimate, since the Beijing organisers did such a good job of faking theirs. The ceremonies weren't the only things that were faked however. Take this building for example. Oh, and actually I'm not at all surprised that the pretty girl was miming. From a theatrical point of view it made sense. I'm more disappointed that the children dressed in regional costumes to represent the different ethnicities of China turned out to all be Han Chinese. That was an opportunity for a good gesture on behalf of the organisers and the government but it would have rung hollow amongst those other communities once they found out the truth. It also looks like they may have stolen the arrangements of the national anthems played at the medal ceremonies too. No wonder the government were so keen to crack down on the media as well as the people...

In Japan, the prime minister revealed a massive economic stimulation package, which primarily consisted of cash loans to companies to keep them propped up, then promptly resigned. I guess it was his turn to see the writing on the wall. So we'll have another PM - that's the third in three years. Looks like things are back to normal.

August is an interesting time in Japan. Summer is at its peak and children are enjoying their summer holidays. It's a great time to go travelling and to enjoy the outdoors before the Autumn monsoon and the cooler weather returns. It's also a time to remember the end of the Second World War and some of the events of that period - many of which are being lost in the mists of history.

I think I have found a new hobby - exploring the ruins (haikyo) of Japan's failed modernisation. Ruins of ancient civilizations are cool too, but this really gets me going!

The latest Japanese fetish? DVDs of pretty women cutting and shaving their hair. I wonder how much they were paid...

So it turns out that all that jogging and puffing away on treadmills in the gym is bad for you after all.

When I'm dying I want to be hooked up on this kind of medical program please.

Tesla would be smiling in his grave. Workable wireless power for all.

Jeremy Clarkson needs to be nominated for a kinghthood for his services to the English language. And for an Englishman, his insights into Japanese culture are remarkably perceptive.

Lastly, Muppets and the mystery of what happened to Grover.

Goodbye - for a while

2008-08-03T00:04:00.002+09:00

For a couple of weeks, in fact.

I'm off to Thailand to soak myself in sun, sea, and beer.

I'm sure everything will be put on hold for that time... errrmmmm..... not.

I'll be tuning into the Olympics when I can - to see the mayhem unfold.

Apart from that, it'll be emergency contact only and I'll sort things out once I get back to Japan.

Remember: people are stupid!

Have fun!

Lovely Thunder

2008-07-29T10:05:00.002+09:00

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.

9 days

2008-07-25T14:00:00.002+09:00

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.

Heh heh

2008-07-16T12:33:00.000+09:00

Thurston Moore has a good sense of humour.

Ouch

2008-07-16T11:03:00.002+09:00

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.

Wednesday.

2008-07-09T11:18:00.002+09:00

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...

Cleaning day..

2008-07-05T11:55:00.003+09:00

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.

Hello Punters

2008-07-02T11:12:00.002+09:00

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.

Lazy Monday

2008-06-30T15:59:00.004+09:00

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

2008-06-25T10:00:00.000+09:00

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..

2008-06-24T22:43:00.002+09:00

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

2008-06-24T22:17:00.000+09:00

This is...

2008-06-24T10:20:00.002+09:00

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

Drizzle

2008-06-20T09:25:00.002+09:00

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

2008-06-17T09:57:00.002+09:00

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.

2008-06-13T09:58:00.002+09:00

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

2008-06-10T11:22:00.000+09:00

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.

2008-06-10T10:40:00.003+09:00

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!

2008-06-07T12:22:00.002+09:00

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

2008-06-04T11:30:00.002+09:00

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!

2008-06-03T12:07:00.003+09:00

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...

2008-06-02T16:23:00.002+09:00

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!

Yay

2008-05-28T09:25:00.002+09:00

Still sore. Sometimes better, sometimes not. Whoopie.

A 747 splits in half on the runway. Good thing it didn't happen 5 minutes later!

The knives are out for Kevin Rudd - what, already? What a surprise!

With energy and food prices going nuts, some Americans are doing what they do best, buy guns and go country. The current situation is giving us a great opportunity to find ways to live without oil, but no government has the real vision to do anything about it - unless they're in Scandinavia...

On the solar research front, scientists have demonstrated 'the avalanche effect'. That means about the same to you as it does to me. But if it can be made to work, it could increase the efficiency of solar cells from about 15% to 44% - effectively three times the electrical output, making them much, much better!

Following on from the article about John Cusack, here's an interview with him about War Inc.

Burma's junta have done the right thing and focussed all efforts on delivering aid to the victims of the terrible typhoon that razed the country two weeks ago. Actually no. They've focussed their attention on extending the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi instead. Morons.

I always thought the last thing you wanted to hear a doctor say about you was that you were 'very interesting'. Turns out I was wrong.

I remember reading comics when I was young and wondering about those ads that were in every copy ever made. Well, someone ordered the stuff - and of course, it was all crap! Maybe they'll start selling real estate in them soon if the housing slump continues like this.

In Japan, the fallout from the recent sumo tournament continues, with the two Yokozuna (grand champions) getting into hot water over their final bout. It may seem a bit funny when compared to other sports, but in a sport based on such ritual as sumo, getting steamed up and bitch-slapping your opponent after the bout is over is a huge deal! At least it'll get people more interested in the sport...

Aaah, TV. Teacher, mother, secret lover. And changing... We could be going to an internet-based approach if this Japanese research follows through - or have holograms in our living rooms.

Time for all you can eat Italian food - yay!

Stiff

2008-05-25T12:13:00.003+09:00

The neck's still giving me jip. Went to a different massage place today and I think they isolated where the problem is: a couple of vertebrae down from the skull. It was really tender and sore around there, as well as behind the shoulder blades, but I grit my teeth and endured the pain as the masseuse did her thing.

Beer is good though.

It looks like Australia's fast becoming a really expensive place to live with inflation spiralling upwards and the dollar approaching parity with the US dollar (ironically keeping petrol prices lower!). But, with the cost of fuel affecting so many things, and life in Australia really revolves around having a car (unless you're my brother), I don't really see how I can come back any time soon. Believe it or not, but living in Japan is fast becoming cheaper than living in Oz! Mind you, that's because in Adelaide I'd have a social life, whereas here.... well..... I'm doing what I can.

I don't know whether to give this kid a high five for being so smart, or a slap on the head just for being smarter than me... but anyone who works out a way to biologically decompose plastic bags using bacteria is a good person as far as I'm concerned.

Climate change is going to cause Jupiter to explode... well maybe not.

Quentin Tarantino is a prat. But he made Reservoir Dogs, which is one of the coolest movies ever, so ...

Just another day in Japan. A man storms a newspaper office with a knife because the workers were rude to him. Never mind that storming a business armed with an offensive weapon while ranting isn't exactly the height of polite behaviour!The last sentence gives it all the justification you need, "He was drunk at the time of the incident, police said," In other news, a man reached through the driver's side window and squeezed a woman's breasts after she stopped to help him . Never mind that her husband was also in the car with her and he pinned the guy down until police arrived! Also a man was arrested after stealing cars hired by his two ex-wives in a scam involving GPS high tech and the women's real IDs with their real addresses on them. But the real scandal is the possible passing of being able to see schoolgirls in skirts. Yup, this was just another day in Japan.

But, Kotooshu won the sumo tournament with a day to spare! Good on ya, son!

There was also this interesting short piece on how the nation's psyche has changed completely since World War II. Mind you, that is just a tiny piece of the puzzle that is the Japanese national psyche!

Time for the annual kangaroo cull in Australia - and time for the freaks to come out.

More good reading about the Iraq situation. Yes, it's still going! (But don't miss the next instalment!)

A really thought-provoking piece about the causes of climate change for your consideration. It's not just about the CO2; everything we do as humans has fundamentally changed the ecosystem and affected the weather too.

Goodbye Hillary. Hello war tax.

Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they shall sell the arms they confiscated back to the militias they are supposed to be disarming.... Wait, what?

Finally, the tragedy that is Open Mouth Disease.

Ouch

2008-05-23T09:55:00.002+09:00

My neck is killing me, so I'm off to see if a decent massage can loosen things up. Work was terrible as a result yesterday, so I'm not having a repeat if I can help it.

Looks like high petrol prices are here to stay. In Japan it's nearly 160 yen a litre, putting it on a par with what's happening in Australia. Some say the price of oil may soon go down, but you can bet the prices won't! At least some people are coming up with some practical ways of dealing with it, such as going back to the future.

In Japan, gynaecology is steadily becoming a profession to be avoided, contributing to the declining birthrate. Who wants to have kids if there are no doctors? (The number of paediatricians is also in decline) Another reason is the number of moron husbands that they have to deal with. But hostessing is increasingly being seen as an honorable profession. So Japan will become a nation of hostess bars and old folks homes.... wait.... MORE of a nation of hostess bars and old folks homes.

A good read about a good read.

Kotooshu, the Bulgarian sumo wrestler, is closing in on his first victory at a sumo tournament. If he wins, he will be the first the first European to hold the Emperor's Cup. He seems like a good bloke too.

Condi Rice for VP? AS revolting as the idea sounds, she seems to be interested in it. Time to do some reading up on the lady.

Oooops. Someone let the cat out of the bag.

Glorious coffee. Wonderful spices.

Shotgun!

Up and down

2008-05-21T10:36:00.002+09:00

Gotta love this time of year in Japan. The days are warm enough to wear shorts but the nights are still cool and crisp. The rice paddies have been ploughed and are awaiting being flooded to start the planting of this year's crop. I can see a dozen or more from my study window so I'll be right up to date as things happen! The noise from the frogs and other critters will be ridiculous come the evenings - we'll see who's louder; them or the Shinkansen!

Russia's becoming more and more of a proto-Fascist state, which is nothing new of you've been reading the papers, but this article summarizes recent developments quite well. There was also something interesting about Russia's continuing sphere of influence in the former Soviet states.

'1984' is looking more and more like a documentary, especially if you live in the UK.... But it's not the only scary thing happening in the world (of course); take a look at the routine drugging of illegal immigrants in the US, or the next 'great distraction' for the upcoming US election.

A post-Bush world... what will it look like? Whatever it does, it's going to take a long time to undo the damage, if at all. The numbers don't look good.

The Global Peace Index is out and Iceland has topped the list again with the USA in 97th place (down a spot) and Australia in 27th (down two). Japan is 5th (but I guess old people can't lift those heavy guns...).

You know it may be too late to do anything about climate change when serious scientists start proposing crazy solutions, such as dying the sky purple. Another is to sue the oil companies a la Big Tobacco for screwing up the environment. But it IS possible to go green. One city has cut its electricity use by up to 30% - in a month!

Don't laugh at me as I drive my Mitsubishi rollerskate. These little cars are hot! (The tank is 30 litres and I last filled up after going 450km on one tank!)

Oil is not the only force behind the food crisis. Here's a look at how the World Bank and the IMF are also responsible for what's happening. There's also a bit about how to go against them and save your country's food supply at the same time. Go Malawi!

With the Aussie Dollar continuing its strong run against pretty much everything, the long term effects are starting to be felt, especially in what's left of Australia's manufacturing sector.

But the burning issue of the day is, will Warnie roll one over against the Poms!?

Now we can all scowl at the pregnant women using mobile phones. Do they hate their children that much???

Pervert.

I support this uplifting experience. My cup runneth over. But I should be brief and not (G-)string you along.

I can't decide if this is funny or sad, so I'll go with pathetic.

You've heard of books that have changed the world, but how about books that screwed up the world?

Mugshots are also forever in the Internet Age.

I want one of these - and possibly also one of these (at least I'd have a reason to get a DS!).

Aaah yes.

2008-05-17T11:46:00.002+09:00

Listening to the most recent Art Of Fighting album is a good way to wind down after playing the bass. Actually I haven't picked up the bass for a good couple of months or so so my fingers will be sore today. Never mind - it's going to suffice for 'exercise' at the moment since my schedule is basically revolving around sleeping and teaching - hence the lack of updates. I have to kick the laziness... perhaps around September or so.

Everything is up in the air at the moment. I can sense change is in the offing but when and how is anyone's guess. I guess since my life changed so drastically in the past twelve months that I'm now up for something new. Maybe 'change' has become the norm and this period of stillness is the 'normality' settling in. Problem is that things have now settled to the point where I could easily cruise through the next several years and nothing could change at least on a personal level. As Ferris Bueller said, "Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

So I stopped. I looked. I found something nice. Can I bring it home with me? Time will tell.

Bad design is the highlight of today's posting.

First comes what could only be described as the perfect mix of bad taste and permanency (so this is the reason why laser surgery was developed?), the Hello Kitty Darth Vader tattoo.

Next, also from Japan, comes a mix of sci-fi and not thinking much about the reality of cost and the environment comes the pyramid built over Tokyo Bay that'll house 750,000 people and contribute vastly to the death toll if there's an earthquake or tsunami. Hey, isn't Tokyo overdue for a major quake? Why, yes, it is!

Seriously, how would you play a guitar with six heads?!? At least you wouldn't have to buy another one. The sixth one is a baritone, apparently, and the fifth is a six string bass a la the Fender VI, which would be my next purchase in itself, if I could afford one. Originals cost about $3000 new! (I saw one for that price in Kobe a few months ago)

One architect's response to a council's red tape over building a simple garden shed on a farm is a model for the witty sarcastic response - the irony being that the council would likely accept such a response as it satisfied all the criteria for the application!

The Legendary Stardust Cowboy has a contender. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to welcome to the stage, Joey Linello! Mullet would happily support him on his Australian tour.

Not so much bad design, but bad taste: things people do and wear that they think make them look cool, but actually make them look like they're stupid.

We're kind of segwaying into a couple of my usual topics for posting: the limitless depths of human stupidity and the environment. Witness the first stupid move of the Rudd Government (up for debate), the means testing of the solar panel rebate, instantly cutting the revenue for these companies in half. Ummm... show me the working middle and lower classes who are going to put solar cells on the homes? I agree with the commentator who says that cutting CO2 levels is going to take a bold and broad-sweeping move, especially when we read that levels are at the highest for the past 800,000 years and climate change is a global phenomenon. Cutting rebates is not going to do that at all. It's really going to take a global movement to make it happen - and do you think that's going to happen soon? I didn't think so either.

Organised crime has its hands in our waste disposal. Insert witty irony-laced comment here.

The strange quirks of our bodies show the history of evolution. A decent read!

DARPA is 50. Here's a list of its successes, and (more amusingly) its failures. Mechanical elephants indeed!

Speaking more than one language may slow the ageing process in the brain, and the more languages you speak the better according to this study.

The drums for war across the Middle East and even into Asia grow louder, and already the predictions are coming out. Too many too much to go on about here concisely, but sometimes you need to listen to what seems like crazy ramblings. The ones before the Iraq invasion were ignored and now the fallout has extended into food prices going up around the globe and creating a food crisis now starting to spiral out of control towards... what? Already China is eyeing a global land grab to grow food for its population while Australia continues to change into a dust bowl. Japan's government is conducting studies (as they usually do), fiddling while Rome burns. Meanwhile Bush, who should be indicted on war crimes charges, may be gunning for life-long dictatorship in the USA. Read, watch, listen, prepare.

Is it time to invade Burma?

It's nice to see one superstition supporting another, such as the Catholic Church now saying it's OK to believe in aliens. Does this mean the pope's a Scientologist?

The ten longest novels ever written.

At least someone's had the courage to tell the truth about England, but the English themselves!?

And finally, the complete ACME catalogue.

One more

2008-04-26T10:19:00.002+09:00

Just before I temporarily retire myself to technological oblivion - one for the road.

Some Obama supporters towing the line that race doesn't matter. Methinks they doth deny too much. When given the choice of the other two, could Obama be the best option though? Maybe. Maybe not.

Here was something about how Kenya reversed one of the IMF's and World Bank's conditions of support - and how it helped the poor in their country. More needs to be done though.

Bolivia's new president has an interesting 10 Commandments to help the country - and the world. I wonder if they'll work out...

San Francisco is becoming one of the better linked cities in the world, as far as public transport is concerned. Probably no surprise to those living there, but it should be a model for other cities to follow.

The Last Post

2008-04-26T01:02:00.006+09:00

Today was ANZAC Day so I had a small relection today. I was standing in a line with thousands of Japanese people trying to get into a pavilion at the Himeji Sweets Festival, but actually being surrounded by all these people I couldn't really understand, slowly shuffling along was quite meditative!

The festival itself was quite something. Once inside the pavilion I was able to see all kinds of sculptures made completely out of sugar.

The only major drawback was that there was absolutely no information for the international visitor - no materials were produced in any language other than Japanese. A bit of a shame since they're supposed to be pushing Japan as more of an international destination these days. I got that info from an ex-student of mine who happened to be volunteering there today.

She also told me that Himeji Castle won't be knocked down. What's going to happen is from October they're going to construct a GLASS BOX around the castle and then strip off the plaster and roof and replace them. She said it's going to take at least five years so don't plan to come to Himeji to see the castle after then - come to see me! ;-)

Anyway, I'll be turning off the Internet for Golden Week. I need to unplug as I think I'm just spending way too much time here reading about the imminent collapse of civilization... I need to get out and see some of it before it goes away forever - and me along with it.

There are more articles about the food crisis to peruse. One actually directly calls for Americans to stock up on basic foodstuffs. Scary.

While diving through the economic sections in various papers and reading up on the food crisis I came across these articles about Spain and LA - both bringing up that they are areas in trouble - Spain especially.

Whoops.

The study of mitochondrial DNA (passed down through our mothers) has revealed all sorts of interesting details of our ancient heritage. One is that way all indeed have a common ancestor. Also we were nearly wiped out about 70,000 years ago, and we likely diverged into two separate species at one point before merging again. Fascinating.

So, what happens when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic? All of Jon's neuroses come to the fore, that's what! Interesting and quite darkly funny...

The next classic to be remade worse? Blake's 7!? Say it isn't so! The only one that's worked has been Battlestar Galactica - unless you count Buffy as a remake... The first few episodes of the new Bionic Woman had potential as well. I want to see them try out Buck Rogers though - gawd that was awful!!

See you in ten days or so.

Stuff from all around...

2008-04-23T12:28:00.002+09:00

Saving the world is a daunting task. Frankly, I was never cut out to be a super-hero. I look ridiculous in lycra.

There's a lot of serious news out there aside from Obama vs Clinton. (Although, with Michael Moore throwing his weight behind Obama, is that like the kiss of death?)

For a start, we really are going to find it harder to feed ourselves, or at least more expensive. There's food rationing in the USA, people returning to a DIY mentality (didn't this last happen in WWII?), it getting harder for Japan to source food from overseas (although they're trying hard) - not to mention beer prices continuing to rise - if ever there was a crisis, this is it! The expanding populations of developing countries such as The Philippines can't be helping the situation either.

On a positive(?) note, it looks like Americans will be consuming less anyway, because they're dying younger...

Looks like the three-second-rule doesn't exist. Whoops.

The Australian is taking up the sun-spot theory of global cooling. We'll see how this coming winter goes...

The reason I do this is to record and (hopefully) preserve some of the things I find out there on teh internets and hopefully you find some of it interesting too. When I find stories about long forgotten, but nonetheless important events, I hope I can contribute to their memory not fading away. Here's one about a long forgotten part of Australia's war history. Here's another about a forgotten chapter in America's civil rights struggle.

Australia's economy continues to surge, putting the dollar at all time highs, and inflation spiraling. With the recent conference to gain ideas on how to lead Australia into the future over and done with, a commentator not invited posts a few more ideas for perusal... This article about the wider economic picture in the US makes a good point about infrastructure: both the US and Australia need investment in basic infrastructure - massive investment anyway. It'd be a forward-thinking gesture, but aside from that, it'd be taking care of the country into the future, as well as providing jobs for the present. It'd certainly help stem the tide of recession sweeping over the USA, but it'd also help sort out the growing gap between those with full time work and those without. When you consider that none of the candidates have a housing policy, this during one of the largest housing crises ever seen in the US, it doesn't bode well for the future.

Bush says the Olympics are not about politics. Whoops.

Looks like they'll be after your DNA before too long.

Enjoy the sounds of songbirds while you can... last chance to hear?

Quite a good piece about the state of Japan's home construction industry and a few of its problems. The main one is that homes are engineered to last 26 years, but mortgages last at least 35 years. Wuh?!?

Another good piece about Iraq. Another good one about the 'war on terror'.

In cultural matters, there's a new doco about the branding of Che Guevara which looks interesting.

A site that does this way better than me.

Smell the flowers - dang.

Been a while...

2008-04-21T09:11:00.002+09:00

Yup, it's time for an update.

My mum came to visit for 10 days this month which was a lovely time. I had to work, so she did some solo travelling by the train system. She did really well for someone who speaks no Japanese! It was her 4th visit though, so at least it was familiar to her. We did some sightseeing around here, went to the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge then 2 days in Hiroshima and Miyajima.

I managed to break my Miyajima curse! The 4 previous times I'd been it had rained, but this time the weather was perfect!

I've also been in the wars again as far as my health is concerned. Gastritis is not fun at all.

Also we had our kids' picnic at work yesterday. We had about 200 kids with their parents in a huge park in Ako, which was pretty frantic! We did all sorts of games with them and finished off with piñatas. My group of six-year-olds were having trouble breaking open mine; it was pretty sturdy! It gave me untold pleasure to beat the crap out of Anpanman! The kids went nuts grabbing as many sweets as they could. A very good end to the day. Afterwards our boss shouted us coffee and cake, but we all wanted the free water!!

The beer at home afterwards was VERY satisfying!

And now, memory hole, here it comes...

IKEA are opening a store in Kobe, and to celebrate they've decked out a train - hideously.

Apparently I brought some cocaine back from Vegas...

Flowers are losing their scent, thanks to air pollution. Now it could be linked to the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder which is still affecting hives across Europe and the UK.

Shock! Tokyo Disneyland doesn't cater for foreigners! I guess if they're after the lucrative Chinese/Korean market then it makes sense. I still have strong memories of watching Ron Howard et al. speaking fluent Japanese at Universal Studios Japan in 2001.

It is a sign of how the times are changing though. China is becoming a dominant world culture - not just an economic power.

On a more serious note, this changing of the locus of world power, plus a number of other factors (including my pet hate: biofuels) is causing the price of basic commodities and foodstuffs to soar. The price of rice has skyrocketed in the past few months, leading to food riots in some countries. It looks like we'll all be growing potatoes instead before too long.

Some may say that we could just start popping vitamin pills to get what we need, but recent research has indicated that people who do that are probably creating more risk for their long-term health than they realize.

It may all not matter since an asteroid could hit us in 2029. If it doesn't we could all be living in the stars. Or we could just be living forever.

Sounds like we should all try to do something to make us happy. You could try some things from this list made in 1829, or move to Denver.

As for me, during Golden Week I will be going one better than having a digital day of rest - and going for a week without my computer, e-mail, mobile phone and maybe even TV. I'll likely get out of my apartment and head off somewhere quiet(er).

How about overseas? At least check out what's happening in airline security to make that part of the process as smooth as possible. Europe is always beckoning me, but once there it looks like trains are best for the short-haul trips and planes for the longer ones - that's despite the air tickets going for next to nothing.

A Sakai experience is not out of the question either...

I'm glad to see that Robert Forster has released a solo album.

I'm not happy at all that the new Astroboy looks like a sumo wrestler.

Mmmm... good taste is somewhat lacking...

Happy Happy...

2008-04-02T14:09:00.002+09:00

Some might think that I'm leaning towards the Republicans with the way I've been attacking Obama's presidential run. To be honest I'm just wanting people to walk into an Obama presidency with their eyes open. I just don't believe he will be a force for the kind of change the majority of Americans need or want. The thing I'm worried about the most as a global citizen is a McCain presidency. THAT would be FAR worse than either Obama or Clinton.

It's an interest of mine to see what technology makes the transition from sci-fi to reality. This story just scared me though. I didn't like Minority Report that much, but I watched it as a futurist, and there were some really good ideas that are coming true as well. Now, when I can read about the prospect of weaponized insects running about the place, that's not the kind of world I want to live in...

Gotta go. Gotta clean. Gotta take medicine...

I solemnly swear....

2008-04-01T21:52:00.003+09:00

...that I shall make no more expensive technology purchases for the next twelve months. I'm done.

What a few days it's been.

I had two days of training in Osaka with one of my co-workers. Met some very 'interesting' people and wondered almost out loud if these are the sorts of people that Japanese parents are willing to let loose on the developing minds of their children then we're in for a long and bumpy ride. That ranted, most of my co-trainees and trainers were fine, decent human beings. The room we had to train in was pretty disgraceful though. The decor was circa 'The Shining' and the temperature was approaching one of Dante's inner circles of Hell.

Got to sup on some fine Mexican food though - and the Coronas passed muster.

Two days in that room finished me off as far as my health was concerned, so I ended up going to the hospital today and walked off with not one but five different types of medication to feast on for the next week. Yay me.

I have to admit that I like the idea.

A fine place to wait out eternity.

Look up - your overlords are watching you. If they aren't there, then they're probably off wandering the Earth in search of new things to devour...

It all may not matter though as we may all cease to exist next Tuesday. At least it'll be before this hits the screens.

I told you so. So have they.

Everyone has a hobby.

I might go here next winter.

I found a good place to open an English school.

Another reason to eat bacon.

I think they mean it when they say 'No pictures'. I still want to see it though...

Uh-huh.

Best reason ever to get up today - apart from all-you-eat yakiniku. I forgot... oh well.

Hey there

2008-03-28T12:38:00.003+09:00

Another day, another yen.

I got about nine to ten hours of sleep last night and that seems to have sated my chronic tiredness - at least for the past couple of hours.

If you're like me, you really don't read or understand much about global economics. I've been wading through this summary of the global financial crisis for a while. I know it's important to understand but it's not sinking in a whole lot... I'll keep plugging away though.

It's good to see that the entrepreneurial spirit is not dead... errrmmm...

Japan's going down the same route as a lot of other Asian countries, in overloading and over scheduling their kids' childhoods with activities, lessons and the like. Playtime looks like becoming a thing of the past - especially when it's spent with a robot minder. The implications of that are mind-boggling...

Drinking beer is now a protest against globalization and capitalism?

Paris Hilton can't even make a decent bad movie.

Aah, so the expansion into biofuels really just helps inflate the profits of "the giant grain, biotech and oil companies". Gotcha.

Stop press

2008-03-26T14:06:00.000+09:00

Ladies and gentlemen, Rick Astley.

Another day, another load

2008-03-26T12:54:00.002+09:00

I came down with quite the fever at work yesterday. I thought it was the flu coming on since my lower back and legs were really sore and stiff, but no, at around 7 I started to feel my head warming up and starting to feel quite woozy. Crap. I only just got healthy again! So, as soon as I could, I hit the supermarket for Vitamin C (C.C. Lemon!) and hit home for some Panadol and bed.

I'm glad to report that I'm feeling a lot better today. At least the fever has died down so I'll be able to go to work.

Hey, if the USA had never invaded Iraq, they could afford to pay off the credit crisis in one easy payment! (Yeesh...)

This site really caught my eye. It's just a simple idea, but one which most of us would have thought about at some point in our lives as consumers. The idea is 'Advertising vs. Reality' and it just involves pictures from the packaging of various food products and what the contents actually look like in comparison. If you eat a lot of processed food, then the results could be nothing new, but for me it was simultaneously interesting and scary. It's certainly put me off the idea of eating a lot of this stuff.

Today's unfolding global environmental catastrophe is brought to you by the heavyweights; the Amazon, Antarctica, the North-West Passage, and the oceans in general. That takes in about 80% of the surface of the Earth...

One small piece of good news amongst the chaos; more and more communities are doing something about it - such as starting projects to put solar panels on every house.

The US military's response? "We're gonna burn coal".

Thought for the Day: "[T]oday - people think of the world as a network of cities - not a network of countries. We visit London, Paris and Rio De Janeiro - rather than England, France or Brazil."
It's true. I've lost count of the number of times that people have told me that they're off to some city or other for a holiday - not the country. Me included (Dubai). Good thing is a lot of people are bucking that trend and really doing some travelling. I always make a point of telling Japanese students who are thinking of coming to Australia to avoid the cities as much as possible and to see the countryside; the 'real' Australia.
It brings up another point though. The world is steadily becoming a place where people live in cities. In fact more than half the current human population of the world lives in one. This website ponders some of the implications but since countries like China are actively pursuing developing more 'super-cities' as a matter of course, it's going to become a larger issue for people this century. Perhaps the megalopolis contained within various manga is not such a far off reality.

A reminder that China isn't the only country to have indulged in some pre-Olympic whoop-ass.

Here's another article about rising food prices around the world. The interesting thing is that it's hit the mainstream press in Japan. With the price of mayonnaise going up 30% suddenly, it could become the spark that starts a food riot in downtown Tokyo amongst the 'マヨラー' (pron. ma-yo-ra; Mayo-lovers) devotees.

Another thing not to do in Japan; have a baby.

But, it might be a good idea to invest in some weight loss companies here...

This would be a good idea for a short film.

Conspiracy theorists would have a field day. Maybe they are already.

Will there come a day when a skipping a shower (or two) becomes the norm?

Time for work...

Gaping and choking

2008-03-25T11:35:00.002+09:00

See what happens when you go away for the weekend? You come home and there's so much interesting stuff to read that you end up not cooking your lunch (oops) and realize that your post is going to be HUUUGE!

Open up, Memory Hole. Here comes a big load for you to swallow!

Just change "World's" to "Tatsuno's" and you might have an idea of the freakshow that I am.

Royal families really have it tough. Not only do you have endless money and never have to work, but you get to go to the best schools in the country and have your friends chosen for you... ummm... wait.

Hey, Spitzer was heading an investigation into why Bush was intimately linked to a $200 billion publicly funded bailout of the banks (why do taxpayers have to pay for business mistakes anyway?) and then suddenly he gets busted for sex with a prostitute and has to quit. Oh gee, that investigation has to stop too. What a shame. Even though Spitzer had the morals of a drunk Japanese salaryman on a Saturday night (had to preserve that one in print, Pav), at least he had more ethics than the rest of the government. Goes to show what a bunch of crooks they all are.

Hey, it turns out the voting machines that gave the Republicans an improbable victory in an Ohio state election were also the same ones that gave Bush victory in 2004. Strangely the company that built those machines is a staunch supporter of the Republican party. Gee, what do you think happened there?

Look for the next neo-con project after Iran to take place in space.

Obama makes a speech about the 'elephant in the corner', Racism, after his pastor said something about racism still being endemic in the USA. This article superbly tears apart the speech and looks at what Rev. Wright has also had to say. Despite his wishes, Obama looks less and less like Martin Luther King every day, and more like just another politician. Choice? What choice?

The longer the Democratic Party's battle for the nomination goes on, the likelihood of a Democrat moving into the White House diminishes day by day. That would give us a McCain presidency and a continuation of the wild west style of leadership the world has come to know and love over the past seven years.

The invasion of Iraq has entered its sixth year and the death toll of US troops has passed four thousand. We may never know how many Iraqis have died since the toll from the radioactivity and chemicals used as armaments will cause untold death and suffering for generations to come. That and the press aren't interested in how the occupation is affecting the locals since they can't leave the Green Zone. Don't mention Afghanistan. The comparisons with Vietnam continue and I won't stop talking about it since it's becoming a dead story on the news and it's going to resonate as a story for years to come and will continue to affect millions of people either directly or indirectly. You need to be aware of what's going on. I can't stress that you need to read and read and then read some more. Do something if you have to. (I don't know if dancing for peace is today's equivalent if fiddling while Rome is burning, but anything that keeps the occupation in people's minds is something at least) This is why I don't have time for fiction, in books or films. Yes, it's depressing. It's reality. Pull your head out of the sand.

Stephen Colbert has nuts the size of watermelons. I was almost late for work thanks to this.

I told you it was a big one.

The American economy is continuing its downward slide into recession or depression. Things are really getting difficult for those at the bottom - which nowadays is anyone middle-class or lower...

Don't look to GM crops for the answer to our problems, now or in the future. In fact, look for an increase in armed conflicts, wars, genocide and terrorist attacks as battles for basic resources intensify.

In Japan, teachers in Tokyo are still being punished for refusing to support a neo-jingoistic/imperialistic/nationalistic regime determined to turn students into automatons willing to die for the emperor.

Also, don't get old or sick in Japan. Looks like I will be retiring in Australia after all.

In brief.

Spiritual Rock.

The Japanese assault on the English language continues.

Go to Beijing. Maybe die.

Silent pubs.

This operation was brought to you by...

Wizard.

Sugar Pushers.

Push Presents!?

Ninjas ride for free.

Atheists can defeat black magic by smiling.

Done. [Burp!]

Not much fun

2008-03-18T11:27:00.002+09:00

As the weather warms and my heart lightens a bit, it's important to keep rampant optimism in check. Why? Well, a wise man once said that wisdom brings sadness - and I'm inclined to agree that knowledge built upon sober reflection and consideration will bring seriousness where it should be; that is prominent in our minds. Much better to live your life seriously that frivolously...

Dick Cheney is making a good case for him to be put away for reasons of insanity. Only a madman could be in a city while a 40 year-old woman blows herself up in an attempt to take as many others with her as possible and say that things are going well.

If you want to get an idea of how much the Iraq has cost the US, take a look at this chart.

The Bush mismanagement of the US economy is having a number of knock-on effects. Some are quite direct like the fact that tourists in Amsterdam are unable to change dollars at small exchange counters. Some are more general and wide-reaching, such as those documented in this article about the malaise affecting the general state of American management.

The Iraq War / Global War on Terror has changed the way the US tries to run the world. Certainly a remote drone dropping bombs on civilian homes would never be tolerated in our countries, so why is it a matter of policy when applied to others? The wider ramifications are scary indeed. This article sums things up rather well, but this and this take in some of the wider issues such our personal freedoms and choices that are being eroded. It also says something that the best journalism on this subject is coming out of Canada, rather than the US.

An example of how an invasive affront to personal freedom takes place nowadays on a daily basis - workplace urine tests.

Despite the cold winter, glaciers are still melting at record rates.

Another good article on the culture war taking place in England - this time over the local pub.

Thinking of moving to Japan? Get ready for the possibility of not being able to eat want you want. Even soy sauce and sake may be out of the question. Also, don't get sick.

Should I go back to Australia? Sydney would be nice if I want to commute for four hours a day. Even unions are starting to push for this time to be included as part of the work day.

At least someone may be soon producing an affordable electric car.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, Henry F**kin' Rollins.

Please

2008-03-17T08:41:00.002+09:00

Please, please, please read this.

Then read this.

Something interesting about finding affordable housing during a housing crisis. I'll give you a hint - it's not in London.

Repeat after me; Iraq is not Vietnam. (with John McCain creepy quote scariness)

And this may turn out to be my last post...

At last

2008-03-14T10:07:00.002+09:00

Apparently I'm psycho.

The weather is getting warmer, so I can finally turn off the heater and put the big winter coat away. My home town, Adelaide, is going through a heatwave at the moment - 40 degrees today! Yoiks!

Today is White Day in Japan. It's when hordes of salary-men who got chocolates they didn't want from their female co-workers last month have to buy chocolates for them, which they'll eat and then obsess over for the next month.

My school is having some events for Easter to draw in some publicity and hopefully get some new students. I think it's the first time I've been aware of when Easter is while I've been in Japan. It's a non-event in a country that is predominantly Shinto-Buddhist.

The general state of eikawa (the English teaching business in Japan) is not good at the moment for a number of reasons. Nova's demise is just part of it. The declining population, the ongoing perception that the economy isn't doing well, the fact that salaries are stagnant while costs are starting to go up all contribute to people not wanting to make the investment. Smaller schools will likely bear the brunt of the downturn. Hopefully larger schools like mine will be able to pull through.

This is different to the situation with cram schools, or 'juku'. They're still booming. Parents often prefer to let their children learn English there rather than shell out the extra for specific lessons. The problem is that the lessons there follow the dry, boring, grammar-based curriculum that the schools use, so kids rapidly become tired of learning English, and cease being able to speak it.

Economics became a bit of a theme for my reading this week, with good articles on what the US might do about Iraq to keep the dollar alive, as well as the general state of the US economy. One guy had a proposal to end the Iraq war in a single day by not buying anything. I don't think it'd work, but it might be an interesting experiment to try...

A couple of Japanese women have been arrested for trying out an interesting economic experiment of their own. I might have to take up looking through garages here as a hobby...

Tim Berners-Lee has been pushing the semantic web for a long time now. Still waiting for it. Then we should start building underground cities...

Gotta love science, when it isn't being assaulted by crackpots. This is an interesting list of stuff. Also there was this about how most Native Americans can trace their lineage to just 6 women. Also a lot more people are living to be 100 years old these days. There's also a great line about George Bush and a superb photo!

Some interesting lessons for life and a lot of food for thought...

This moment in history. Interesting stuff!

I've got some interesting travel ideas for you (or not) - and some places to avoid, unless you like the idea of a long and painful death.

The Japanese police are continuing their campaign against the maids of Akihabara.

This is a sad story about one of the horrible lingering consequences of the problems Cambodia has experienced over the past century; the child sex trade. One film maker is trying to do something about it though. I saw her film, Sacrifice, about girls from Burma who were sold into prostitution and exploitation in Thailand. Aside from being absolutely confronting with the truth, it was also profoundly moving and respectful of the women's stories, as well as achieving a kind of lyricism and poetry through the use of image, editing and sound. I recommend it.

And to finish, a quadruple serve of weirdness. The 20 biggest record company screwups of all time, a man who dresses like a bunny to spread happiness, kosher Coke and predicting the future through asparagus!

Phew

2008-03-10T16:56:00.002+09:00

Another weekend nearly over.

I went and settled my tax today. Went to the tax office and enjoyed the thrills of the waiting room for an hour. Tatsuno City Hall had rigged up a temporary tax office in a hall to put through all the last minute submitters such as myself. They had a disco ball suspended from the ceiling! A most un-disco-like affair though. My number was called and I was ushered to a desk only to find that since I'd lived in Himeji all last year they couldn't do my tax there! D'oh!

They pointed me to the main tax office where I enjoyed the thrills of waiting for another half hour or so. Then one of the office staff took me through the online tax submission website. Interesting how they do the whole thing online, print it off - on copy for them and one for you. and then you can go! That part took about ten minutes I reckon. Not bad for about two hours work!

Then I went and paid my water bill - which I hadn't been charged for the past two months since they hadn't billed me! I had a nice guy from the water company come over last week and get to the bottom of why I hadn't been paying.

That done, now I have a cold beer on the desk (which is good for you again!) and Shuggie Otis on the stereo. Cool.

I had to read this story just for the headline alone.

It's the 30th anniversary of Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Swords!

And completing the geek trifecta; Natalie Portman!

This was an interesting insight into how the Chinese internet works - or doesn't work.

HD-DVD players are now hot property it seems.

It's now OK to use plastic bags again - maybe.

US Christians are finally getting organised to speak out about Bush.

Here's another story about imported workers being exploited in the US. Rule #1 of slavery; Don't bring in workers who can speak your language!

Now's a good time to invade Australia.

I feel sorry for Americans, in a way. They have a selection of people for the next president who hardly represent a 'choice'. Much like the past few elections, really. Whoever wins, they're going to preside over the financial, political, ecological, environmental and personal disaster that is Iraq. Just to look at the economic side of the disaster makes for fascinating and horrifying reading. Don't forget the land is strewn with depleted uranium and people who 'live' there are not only coping with that but also a lack of clean water, food and power as well as facing constant death from civil strife as well as from their occupiers.

The supposedly more left-wing Labour government of the UK is steadily eroding civil liberties left, right and centre. Take this for example.

Sorry, no stupid story to end on. Buy Shuggie's CD though. It's a good 'un.

Want some more??

2008-03-08T10:11:00.003+09:00

It's Saturday and it's the first working Saturday of the new school year. It's going to be a weird one methinks. I have a class with two three-year-old kids starting to learn English for the first time today. Listen for the screams for mummy...

Here was something looking at the growth of personal DNA analysis for your kids. A step closer to Gattaca - which the article alludes to - which is something I've commented on in the past. Get ready to be sequenced, that's all I can say...

I always wondered what kind of experiments the Japanese scientists did with all the whales taken from the seas each year apart from if they tasted better grilled or fried. Now I know, and it confirms a few suspicions about the whole program. Firstly it confirms that the whole thing is a ruse. Secondly it shows that some Japanese are very weird indeed!!

This article from a book about the 9/11 Commission raises a lot of pertinent points about how much the Bush administration knew about al Qaeda leading up to September 11, 2001. It especially sets its sights on Condoleezza Rice and her ineptitude in her role as National Security Advisor. One wonders what could have been if they'd had someone competent in that role, not to mention the Presidency.

It's a good time to think about what might happen if there was another 9/11-type attack in the US. There might not need to be another terrorist attack to turn the US into a dictatorship. Scroll to the bottom for some scenarios - scary reading. Some say that the US is already on the road to some kind of totalitarian government, where the rule of law is suspended and the government does as it wishes. Stories like this only give greater cause for discomfort.

This was an interesting summary of what led to the Great Depression. Pertinent reading for a world in a time of walking a fine line between prosperity and economic disaster.

The UN also sees a widening of problems stemming from the fact that prices for food are increasing. This is partly due to more agricultural land being turned over to the production of biofuels. Other factors include the increase in transportation costs (ie. oil), climate change, speculation in futures markets and the influence of demand from India and China. What's scary is that the UN here is talking about people who have money but simply can't afford to buy food due to its cost - not unavailability.

Aaaargh.... I think I'll just buy a ukulele and watch the sun set...

Enjoy

Got some time?

2008-03-07T09:31:00.002+09:00

I got reading for you!

A timeline of British history.

Moses was high (likely).

Rooftop gardens look like a good idea. This, however, was not.

A funny story about how the US government forced the closure of a website because they kept sending top secret information to it - even though they'd been told about it.

More Obama stuff. Some Bush stuff too.

Microsoft doesn't know what day it is. I know that's not news to most people, but...

Japan update! Japan may actually increase tobacco taxes. Japanese people are having less sex because virtual partners are more satisfying and less work. Losers. They need to learn the benefits of a good screw (or maybe not). They'd better hurry up as small communities are turning into ghost towns. At least in the cities you'll be able to get something good to eat - if you can afford it. You'll be able to get there and back quickly.... oh so quickly.

Some people are crazy.

I don't know how any Israeli politician could use the word 'holocaust' to talk about what they'd like to do to another people without understanding the hideous implications of such a statement. Or maybe they do - which is even worse.

I found this rather scary, but not as scary as this.

Somehow Mullet is ranked number 11230 out of 11070 on Reverbnation in Alternative. Check us out and drive us up. I'd love to be ranked in the top 10000....

All we need are 1000 true fans and we could all go down the street for a milkshake. We won't be trying any of these!

I'm falling in love with They Might Be Giants all over again...

Finally, the New Nova is hiring. Read it and laugh at the wages and conditions on offer. Or just get angry.

La

2008-03-04T12:43:00.004+09:00

It's nearly time to head off for another week of imparting my glorious language on the unsuspecting masses. We've switched days off now so I have Sundays and Mondays free to pursue what I pursue. I need to do my tax forms this week, which promises to be interesting. Piles of paper and struggles with the Japanese language will no doubt be the order of the day.

On Sunday I went to the Himeji Science Museum with a friend. They have a working Foucault's Pendulum there, which we got to see slowly move its way around the compass. We also both fell asleep in the planetarium - despite the warnings not to do so!

I'm almost over this cold.

Speaking of which, there's now some hard data to back up the anecdotal evidence that this was a really cold winter. It makes for some interesting reading - especially the stuff about the sunspots, and the graphics. We'll have to wait and see if this is part of some wider trend. Nevertheless, I'm planning on investing in some warmer undergarments in preparation for next year...

Continuing the science theme, a scientist is designing an organism that can change atmospheric CO2 into methane, which can be used as fuel. It's a very interesting idea but there are a couple of interesting drawbacks to it. Firstly, you're still putting CO2 (back) into the atmosphere. Secondly, methane is a terrible greenhouse gas in itself, so containing the end product will also be very important.

Another science-ish article is about this hybrid car from Italy, which may (or may not) be the sexiest thing on four wheels. I certainly wouldn't mind driving it!

Scary article of the day comes courtesy of China, which is accelerating its military buildup.

Only one in five families has sit-down meals together nowadays. This may be in part due to the fact that so many people are now in prison...

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is trying an interesting version of online distribution.

Finally, as I get older I keep on thinking about my role as a man. I haven't had the chance to be a father yet, and I think I'd like to. In the meantime, what's the best thing for me to do as a man? It certainly isn't doing things like playing sports or climb mountains - my body simply isn't up to it any more thanks to hernias in my lower spine... so this was some food for thought.

Another kind of thinking person's sustinence - this interview with the creators of Battlestar Galactica looks at some of the legal issues within the universe of the show. A very interesting read.

Mmmmm yes....

2008-03-03T14:07:00.002+09:00

I'm whipping up a big pot of Butter Chicken. Looks good so far. There's nothing like the smell of real butter to get the heart racing and the arteries hardening. Hopefully it'll see off my cold(s) which I've been dealing with for the past month.

Blink and you'll miss it.

Housing affordability is on the steady decline in Australia. Inflation is on the up, fuelled significantly by the rise in rents. It's starting to hit Australia's largest and most expensive city to live in, Sydney, with people starting to look at leaving.

I guess you can always turn to God for help...

Whatever happened to the action hero?

In Japan, the electronics mecca of Akihabara is undergoing a massive change thanks to unbridled development, the changing demographics of the visitors there, as well as some heavy-handed bullying by the police and government. It looks like Nakano, which is near Shibuya, is becoming the new otaku haven in Tokyo.

While in Japan, here was something interesting about the boom in Chinese brides for Japanese men. Also, thanks to the boom in resources, Japan's homeless are now making better money.

While the campaign of Hillary Clinton looks to be over in everything but name, the main contender for the Democrats is hardly squeaky clean, as this article on his ties to the nuclear industry shows. Maybe he should be talking to the Scottish Board of Education... I didn't know teaching English could be so dangerous.

Tomorrow is National Grammar Day. I'll be doing my part by imparting the glorious English language on some of it's students. (Yes, that was intentional!)

Sometimes the conspiracy theories start to get just a bit too real and scary.

Russians seem to be quite happy to sacrifice democracy for wealth - so why aren't the Americans trying to liberate them? (Gee... I wonder...)

Sad headline of the day - Childhood is over by age 11.

A little brightness to finish on though. An Indian man has an airliner in his yard, and takes kids on 'flights' without leaving the ground to give them a taste of flight that they would never probably experience otherwise.

And this guy just makes me laugh. I wish I was that creative with my time.

Pushin' out one more

2008-02-29T22:57:00.002+09:00

I want to squeeze out one more post for February just so I can preserve the 'February 29' for posterity.

It's a well-known maxim that one should try to not get arrested in Japan. The condition of the prisons and the treatment of the prisoners are infamous internationally. This article is a good summary of the current situation in regards to (in)justice in Japan and is well worth the read, even if you're not planning to visit this otherwise amazing country.

I have some more ideas for places to go.

And if you're going to the Olympics, in addition to your toilet, bring good walking shoes just to make it out of the terminal.

So... much... stuff!

2008-02-28T11:55:00.002+09:00

With my PC buckling under the weight of so many neat, interesting, and downright weird things from around the world, I need to post to keep it from crashing spontaneously.

In no particular order.

Lindsay Lohan sets a new record for the number of Razzies! Well done Lindsay!

With the impending death of HD-DVD, it's time to cast our eyes back 30 years to the death of Betamax. Beta-what?

So what is on the high-speed panoramic pan across Springfield in the opening of The Simpsons anyway?

Want a long life? Move to Andorra.

Some guys who like digging found something quite old.

The Iraq War has always been about bringing democracy to those who need it most. Really. It's never been about making money from over-valued contracts. Really.

It's been a cold winter.

Japan, in one aspect anyway, is thinking of joining the 21st Century.

If you're planning of going to the Olympics in China this year, plan to bring your own toilet.

A recent comment about the state of the US elections. Scroll to the bottom for a juicy summary of why Obama is dangerous. Hint: it isn't his fault.

All hail Svalbard! Saviour of us all!

A Japanese city will pay 10,000 yen to senior citizens if they can stay healthy for a year. In other news, the death rate in a Japanese city spikes in 2008 due to senior citizens refusing all medical treatment in order to make a lousy 10,000 yen.

We're screwed whether we like it or not. You've gotta die of something...

Girly-men who wear make up are the future? Chuck Norris would not be happy.

Hong Kong has cheap booze!!

Slavery is not dead in the USA.

Living with Egyptian Coptic Christians is a great way to lose weight and fulfil your desire for self-loathing.

And I'm spent.

And so it goes...

2008-02-23T04:34:00.003+09:00

Here's an addendum to the last post concerning tourists to Japan. It seems that the workers in the Tsukiji Fish Markets are tiring of the constant influx of tourists coming through, disrupting auctions and handling the fish.

I've found the perfect place for a drink the next time I'm in Sydney.

Droooooool!

It's all happening

2008-02-22T11:55:00.003+09:00

This time tomorrow I'll be in Hokkaido.... Kowai so! It's gonna be cold!

Tonight Sonic Youth are playing Daydream Nation in Adelaide as part of their Don't Look Back tour. I wish I was there! (Have a great time, Matty!)

With more tourists and visitors coming to Japan recently (and perhaps wanting to stay), it seems a bit odd that the Japanese government are looking for ways to tighten their grip on immigrants. Seems a bit foolish given that Japan is going to need to grow its tax base as the native population ages and decreases over the next decades. Then again, with 31% of the population thinking that increasing the amount of immigrants will lead to social instability of some kind, it looks a lot like pandering to the jingoists - or just business as usual in Japanese politics...

It's hard to imagine me coming back to Australia soon with news like this filtering through the ether...

Things in Iraq are really getting better according to the US government. Mmmm 'kay.

Some good old fashioned hard science for you amateur pundits (like myself). Firstly, a missing link has been found in Sydney Harbour - and it wasn't from someone's shirt. Also, someone's been hard at work sleuthing through the human genome, and turning up some interesting tidbits of info. Also, if you were ever interested in how much punishment the human body can take, here's something that will answer a few questions for you.

In today's nice bit of dodgy science, the headline says that studying on tatami mats makes kids smarter. After reading the article it just looks like kids will do better anywhere other than a classroom!

In case you didn't see this - this is (only one reason) why Michael Jackson should be sent to a nuthouse - stat!

Hey ho, let's go

2008-02-19T11:06:00.002+09:00

Another week of work coming up...

Yes, I had a bit too much to drink at the party the other night. Will not be doing that again for a while! But then again, no more parties coming up for a while either...

This weekend I'm off to Hokkaido to try skiing on real snow for the first time. (The indoor skiing venue in Adelaide doesn't count, I'm sure!) I'm told that the snow up there is the proper 'powder' stuff, so it should be nice and soft to cushion my many falls!

So I bought a new camera (the SD-7) last week and not only did the screen break on the first run, but also the memory card doesn't like my computer! So I have a card of pix but no way to view them. Grrr. I have my eye on a USB reader, which I just have to find. The camera is being changed over next week.

For a busy person's guide to the recent goings on in Kosovo, scroll to the bottom of this page for the Q and A. Interesting times for the Kosovans. I hope things don't get worse for them before they get better.

If this wasn't real, it'd be a good joke.

People who know me well would know I'm not a fan of theme parks at all. If I wanted to pay $50 to stand in queues for 75% of the time I was at a place, I'd.... well, I wouldn't do it! However, here are some I might make an exception for.

This article had some interesting things to say about the death of mass culture. That could be a good thing - or a bad thing - depending on how you look at it. I always find it interesting to come back home and listen to people talk about things like TV, music and movies since I just don't get the same thing up here. It's like I exist in a cultural vacuum (insert joke about Japanese pop culture here) but on the positive side it means I get to talk about more meaningful and personal things with my friends. Cut through the small talk and get to the meaty stuff.

Here's some more interesting fodder about the US elections and Iraq.

Time to go fax details to the NOVA administrators in Osaka and try to get some money. It'd make a nice bonus!

Really.

2008-02-16T12:16:00.005+09:00

This is for you, Winter.

Seriously, I've had it with the freezing cold and the random bursts of snow. I don't know how you people from where it's colder than this for half a year deal with it. I am truly a child of the sun-kissed beaches of southern Australia.

Some booze will warm me up though - and tonight will be a booze-laden affair at the Sports Bar as it shuts its doors.

Some interesting stuff that grabbed my attention...

I'm not the only person who thinks Australia is a good place to go.

With the Iraq quagmire getting worse day by day, here was some good analysis of how insurgencies have faired through the ages - pretty darn well!

In case you haven't noticed, but the world's economies are in a pretty chaotic state of late. With the US sphere falling out of favour, Asia is poised to become ascendant - with some potentially interesting, if not traumatic results...

Analysis seems to be the order of the day, with a good summary of how a European/North African union could shake things up globally.

Scary Quote of the Day: "They propose the first use of nuclear weapons must remain "in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction" Gotcha. Using nuclear weapons prevents the use of weapons of mass destruction. Wuh?

The good news is we will all likely live longer. The bad news is, why?

And we're not going to live longer because they've found a cure for AIDS by the looks of it. Rubber up boys and girls!

I have to admit, for a right-wing nutjob, this makes surprisingly good sense... kinda... Another reason to rubber up.

Yay Japan! Drunk men? Check! Naked drunk men? Check! Naked drunk men running through the streets? Check! Naked drunk men running through the streets of Tokyo at 9am on a weekday? Check!

Catchyas tomorrow when I announce my stunning hangover.

Serious stuff

2008-02-15T11:27:00.002+09:00

I am adrift on a raft made exclusively of giri-choco...

The girls in Japan need to know that what a guy really wants is steak!

At least one radio station has got on the Valentine's Day bandwagon in style - offering the grand prize of a free divorce!

The cops are going after Saruhashi, the ex-CEO of Nova - at last!

What was the number one song when you were born? It could reveal a lot about yourself! (No more than the whirling of the celestial spheres, dealing cards or blood types might....)

Mine were:
Australia - "Amazing Grace", Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
USA - "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face", Roberta Flack
UK - "Metal Guru", T Rex

So there you have it - make of THAT what you will!

Japan isn't the rich country you thought it might have been. Wages haven't risen for years, and now with prices starting to rise due to the commodity boom, it's starting to really affect people. This article touches on a number of facets of the issue.

Here's how to live your life - by following your principles. We should all be so committed to them...

Quote of the Day: "She has made a movie so incredibly bad that Berlin festivalgoers were staggering around yesterday in a state of clinical shock, deathly pale and mewing like maltreated kittens."

And finally, ladies and gentlemen, for your pleasure, William Shatner.

February 13th - Sorry Day

2008-02-13T10:36:00.000+09:00

Well, at last it's finally happened. It took a change of government to get there, but the government has apologised to the Aboriginal people of Australia for the stolen generations, as well as for what's happened to their culture since colonization more than 200 years ago.

Like or hate Kevin Rudd, but you have to admit that he knows how to make a speech. This one may go down in history. Excellent words.

The reaction so far has been positive. Some people were taken aback that the leader of the Opposition was allowed to make a speech supporting the apology (since their government and leader - who was conspicuously absent today - were firmly against making any kind of apology) but I feel it's fair to recognise that the will of the people must be done, and to resist that is plainly ridiculous. Also to resist common sense is also plainly ridiculous. At least with Mr. Howard consigned to the knackers the Opposition can get on with developing some kind of intelligent response to the needs of the nation.

I wonder if this will become a public holiday in response? A bit like Martin Luther King Day in the US, this could be our time to reflect on the kind of society we're making and to re-focus our efforts on making it a free and fair one for all citizens.

There was an interesting article on how Obama ended up becoming the darling of the establishment after being against them for so long, and how Clinton has become the voice of the worker, after being against them for just as long! Now that's spin in motion.

The US military is against countries targeting children for military service. So how do they explain this?

The rest is just silly crap.

Beer is now cheaper than water in Scotland, so my dream of having a beer bath in my home just became a step closer to fulfilment.

This guy will kick your ass! Probably not, but you have to admire his drive and desire. Onya!

The stories behind some of the most famous toys are just as interesting as the toys themselves.

And there's hope for me yet!

Also, a Japanese friend last night called me 'pure and innocent'!! Well, if I'm pure and innocent then the rest of you are all descended from angels! Black as the driven tar, I am....

All sorts of stuff

2008-02-11T11:30:00.000+09:00

Yup, it was quite a weekend for the old internets: all sorts of interesting stuff to read and archive for future reference.

I'll need a new passport in a couple of years. Of course the rules might change by then, but it's important to keep up with things - especially costs for replacement passports - ouch!

On the US election front, it looks as though the tide has turned truly in favour of it becoming a McCain vs Obama finale. This article discusses if Mrs. Clinton can lose with style, this also looks at the Obama / Clinton endgame and this one looks at what happens to Republican candidates the closer they get to becoming president. Interesting!

Good news on the biofuels front is that more and more media are picking up on the fact that they produce more greenhouse gases then they save.

Also, there might be some interesting news on the power generation front. But maybe it's another case of smoke and mirrors or snake oil. Time will tell.

Now this man lived a life! And he had a good beard.

This guy also is living quite a life. At least now we know who wins all the contests...

Brian May is an idiot. A rich and famous idiot with a doctorate, but still...

The rest I'll try to sum up in two words...

Rotten Tomatoes

RIP Polaroid

Anchors Aweigh!

"Euros Accepted"

European Creationist Morons (I know it's three - give me a break!)

Rainy Sydney

Horse Surfing

Garlic Chocolates

We had more snow here last Saturday. The ground was nicely covered all day! Thankfully driving wasn't a problem though.

Next weekend will be a biggie. I have deliveries on Saturday morning - including a new TV, followed by dinner with four hot women and then the Sports Bar will be having it's closing down party! Sunday will be spent recovering!

Arrrgh

2008-02-07T11:59:00.002+09:00

The slow Internet is continuing. Looks like the problem is with my ISP. Hopefully we'll get it sorted out in the next 10 seconds before I throw something around the study!

The Super Tuesday thing happened and the fallout is getting interesting, with McCain looking like becoming the Republican frontrunner. The possibilities stemming from that don't look good for him getting elected president - but we'll see! If he's up against Clinton then he might be in with a chance.

With my internet choices pretty slim at the moment, thankfully the Aussie newspaper pages have been loading up reasonably successfully. Thankfully there were some interesting stories.

One was about the next generation of passenger jets zooming across the earth at five times the speed of sound, powered by hydrogen. Could be fun! Another was an interesting piece about what's happening in Papua New Guinea where there's a tussle going on between those who want to preserve the Kokoda Trail, and those who wish to develop it. Lastly, it looks like the revolution for democracy in Iran could be started by... CHRIS DE BURGH!?

Say it isn't so!

It looks like the writer's strike is paying off with some comedy gold unfolding on US tv the past couple of weeks. Wish I'd been able to see that one.

Also there was this... make of it what you will.

An exercise in frustration

2008-02-05T11:37:00.000+09:00

Is it just me or has the Internet slowed to a crawl?? Many websites are taking a reeeeeeally long time to load - if at all. Very annoying. Maybe the fact that four undersea cables being cut this week has had something to do with it, but maybe it's something else...

One of the things that makes me smile about Japan is that you can sit an exam and get a qualification in almost anything. The latest one to make the press is a test to become a 'mobile phone sommelier'. The article also references other stupid tests, such as one to become an accredited expert in snow crabs of all things... Completely useless, but great money makers apparently!

Japan is a place where a lot of old-world attitudes remain, especially about women. Things are bad enough when a politician can call women "baby making machines" and not be punished, sacked or even demoted by his party, but now even the pop stars are weighing in. Koda Kumi, who is famous for jumping around, making noises (some call it singing) while not wearing very much (the Japanese Britney Spears / Xtina / Fergie / whatever) has gone on the record saying that the wombs of 35+ year-old women are 'rotten'. Of course SHE'S being publicly shamed, losing contracts and blah blah... if a man said it he might be promoted!

Break out your tin hats, kids. Soon everything will be tracked and they will know everything about us.

Interesting quote from an interesting article about Obama, "Obama has become a symbol for something larger than himself. And that is why is he so dangerous." But, as you know, they're all a bunch of crooks. Really.

With the Superbowl played and won (quite thrillingly, I might add) it's time to reflect on what the Superbowl means... and did they slip in another phallus into the half time show?

In other news, heaven IS a place on earth.

More stuff n nonsense.

2008-01-30T10:51:00.001+09:00

Awoken to the sound of clumps of melting snow falling from my rooftop and splooishing inelegantly onto my balcony this morning, I ended up reading some nice tidbits from the world around me. ... and cooking a curry.

I'm including a couple of very good articles about Barack Obama, simply because it's already shaping up that he'll become the next president of the USA. It makes for some scary reading because it looks like he's just cynically exploiting the voter base for his own ends (and those of his supporters). The writer makes some good points between Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King and how Obama is exploiting King's image and legacy while actually being against many of the core beliefs that King fought and died for. There's also a good commentary from John Pilger, a jounalist who has been there and done that - a man whose opinions should be taken seriously. I recommend tracking down his writings and documentaries. His most recent piece was about the continuing tragedy in Afghanistan.

What was once labelled in the past as healthy teenage rebellion, has now become a psychiatric disorder, treated with a range of psychotropic drugs. It makes me shudder to think that some of the behaviour that I displayed in my hormone-fuelled teenage days could have been simply shut down and repressed by the taking of a pill. I hope that I and most of my contemporaries who managed to get through our delinquencies without bringing about the end of society or going to prison - in fact becoming stable and productive members of society will serve as reminders that teenage rebellion is NORMAL and repressing it just likely does more damage, both physically and psychologically. Who knows what the long term effects of these drugs are...

The posting at GNN included a comment which quoted a book I read called "Amusing Ourselves To Death" by Neil Postman. It was written in the mid-eighties but its message still rings true today - very loudly and clearly if we just stop for a bit to listen to it:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.

To continue on from yesterday, Albertans have just as terrible taste in names as Georgians - or anyone else for that matter. For crying out loud: Sparrow?! Obisidian-Angel!?!?!? Those kids are going to need some major counselling when they hit school age... poor things.

And you think your job sucked... well.

Cold?

2008-01-29T09:56:00.000+09:00

Yah reckon?

Well, it's finally decided to look like it feels here in Tatsuno. It was quite a lovely walk this morning, tramping through the slush in my nice Italian waterproof hiking boots. I'm glad I bought them!

We start three days of testing for our young students from today. It doesn't really count for anything - it's more about boosting their confidence and motivation.

It was Australia Day on the 26th, so I took a little quiz to see if I still qualify as a true Aussie. I reckon I passed well!

It's been a fine week for trekking through the internet, looking for spoils.

For a start, it appears that more of us could be psychic than we realised. It won't help me pick lotto numbers though, I bet...

One of my pet hates is the awful names people give their children. Here's a list from Georgia. I'd love to meet the girl who's called Chlorine - and laugh at her parents. I also have a soft spot for Nacho, Teriyaki, and of course, Vanilla.

I have to get this!

In other news, there's been a war going on in the Congo for the past ten years or so, and has killed about 5 million people so far. Didn't hear about that on the TV for the past..... ever? It's an absolute travesty. Any article that has lines like, "We are talking about new surgery to repair the women, because they’re completely destroyed," in it then you know something is very wrong and sad in the world. It's not pretty reading, but war isn't funny, really.

Also, there was a concise summary of what's happening economically and how the upcoming US meltdown is going to affect us all.

Thankfully, it looks like we really did elect someone with a brain last December.

And there is some justice in this world.

Peace.

Time...

2008-01-26T14:46:00.000+09:00

It has been a while, hasn't it.

So much has happened here in the frozen wasteland of Japan. I've been going through so many changes that I haven't had much time for reflection or to do the kind of online reading I've come accustomed to enjoying.

I started my new job and things have gone well so far. My bosses seem to be happy and they seem to be keen to have me stay on past my probation. The mess that is the Nova fallout continues. Most of the people I worked with have moved on but a school is operating in Akashi, although for how long is anyone's guess. If they keep cutting teachers and not renewing contracts, at this rate there'll be only one left by the middle of the year. I don't think G-Com has any idea what they've got themselves into or how they're going to deal with it - which makes it all the more upsetting to see what's happening to people I used to work with and teach.

I have also separated from my wife of nearly five years. To put it simply, we weren't communicating like a couple should, we weren't going in the same direction and I became frustrated with the way she was not dealing with this problem - or just refusing to acknowledge its existence. So I've moved out and I'm now living in Tatsuno, which is about 20km from where I was living in Himeji.

I know realise that what I was going through last year wasn't just stress from what was happening at work, but it was also going through a grieving process for a marriage that was, in many ways, not functioning.

My goal for this year is for it to end more happily than the way it has started.

It's Australia Day in Australia today, so I wish my Aussie friends and family a happy one. It's about 10 degrees in my apartment at the moment and maybe about 6 outside. Today's the first day since Tuesday that we haven't had some kind of snow. That gives you an idea of how I'm feeling right now! I'd rather be at the beach!

More later... Rants and links will ensue in due course.

48 hours

2007-12-29T22:02:00.000+09:00

In exactly 2 days I'll be walking through the door of my apartment in Japan, and for quite a while I am NOT looking forward to going home. I've had such a great time here in Adelaide for the past 10 weeks, but sadly all good things come to an end...

2008 looks like it will be a year of many changes and many new things to do. It could be good.

Time to look back at some predictions from the year gone by - at least for technology. Also time to look forward with one of the best sets of predictions I've read for a while.

Also this was a good read about the state of music production at the moment, and more specifically about how mp3s are killing good sounding music. I have nothing against mp3s myself, but buying the CD has often opened up the mix so much compared to anything obtained online. All I need now is a lot of storage for all the CDs I want to get!!

More stuff n nonsense

2007-12-19T11:10:00.000+09:00

Four words: Home-made French Onion Dip. Oh yeah.

Traversing the airwaves last night I came across a couple of good docos that summed up a lot of the recent geopolitical situation (even though they were made in 2005). One, called "Crude Impact", summed up the effect of the recent oil/war shenanigans quite well. The other, "Energy War" (can't find any links online...), was, at times, a mouthpiece for Thomas Friedman (who tended to say the same thing three times in each segment - a bit in love with himself too...), but there were enough other voices to make it more balanced. It added more politics and climate issues to the mix, as well as a small call to action. Pretty thought provoking.

More food for thought...

First off, a very interesting article bringing to attention the terrifying fact that because so much DU (Depleted Uranium) ammunition has been used since 1991, the amount of radiation released has totalled more than 10 times the amount released by all previous nuclear testing. It's really scary reading - and important too.

With Kosovo likely to declare independence in the near future, powerful European nations and the USA and Russia are jostling for position. Fasten your seatbelts, it could be a bumpy ride.

There are some ideas for Christmas presents for dictators, and other twits.

Oh yeah, and "As of year-end 2006, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that American jails and prisons held a record-breaking 2,258,983 men and women, and that one in 31 adults are now under some form of correctional supervision." Not a police state at all... yet... developing...

Happy Happy Joy Joy, Lalalala Hmmm Hmmm...

veisalgia

2007-12-14T07:12:00.000+09:00

Plenty of it around, I hear...

So, today I'm off to the cricket. Should be a fun exercise in Australiana.

The worst thing about the cricket is the beer. I used to work at the cricket when I was a uni student. At that time West End was the sponsor, so at least the beer was locally made. Unfortunately most real South Aussies will only drink West End is there's nothing else to drink. To make matters worse, since booze-related problems have always been an issue at the cricket, they made a brew with only half the alcohol content of standard lager exclusively for the cricket. Half the taste too, so the punters reckoned.

Nowadays XXXX is the main sponsor of the cricket, so we have to deal with the Queensland version of the beer most people wouldn't touch. I can tell you, it's awful. Truly.

At least they sell the local nectar of ambrosia at the oval.

On this track, there was a good article about hangovers.

There was another one about how some 'healthy' foods are not so healthy - some pretty obvious, some not so.

Lastly, with desalinisation plants all the rage in Australia, a timely article about how industry and the utilities companies could save oceans of water just by switching to using sea or waste water, instead of plugging into the mains.

More Zep.

2007-12-12T07:23:00.001+09:00

Quite a few online bits and pieces about the Lep Zeppelin reunion gig from yesterday including set lists. (Oh, and to show that Zep fans have extraordinary good taste, it looks like Naomi Campbell had her bag stolen from the gig! Sucker!) Looks like they had heaps of TV cameras there so hopefully a DVD will be released soon.

In other news, another piece about how carbon dioxide may not necessarily be the only influence on global warming. It pulls up short of advocating burning all your garbage and buying nothing but Hummers, but it looks like people are doing that anyway...

The other side

2007-12-11T22:13:00.000+09:00

I guess I shouldn't be exclusively a bad news bear. Some good and interesting stuff is happening around the place.

Take in England for example, where they're looking at massively expanding their use of wind power. We should be doing the same thing here in Australia - we've got the space! (as well as expanding our use of solar and geo-thermal power generation...)

And today's 'interesting scientific thingy' goes to Noctilucent Clouds - or clouds that glow in the dark. Sounds a bit spooky, and there's speculation that they're somehow related to climate change, but the pix are awesome.

Share and enjoy

Best comment ever.

2007-12-11T16:00:00.000+09:00

From The Age:

A writer for a column called The Religious Write asked, "Religion remains an important influence in Australia's region. Can we use it to build ties? How? Are there better ways?"

To which one witty commentator replied,

"I don't think religion can be used to build ties. Ties need to be built from some kind [of] fibre, which is then woven into a fabric and cut and sewn into the classic tie shape.

You could use religious motifs to decorate ties, I suppose, but this may well end up offending people who feel their religious motifs need more respect.

All in all, probably best to keep religion completely separate from ties and corporate menswear in general."

Hear hear, my humour-infused keeper of all things mirthy.

Oh, and Led Zeppelin have played their first concert in quite a long time. That's LED ZEPPELIN. Gonna get that one...

Sorry, but...

2007-12-11T15:36:00.000+09:00

... can anyone please tell me why a church needs to have armed security guards?

I mean, apart from the obvious answer of, "So they can kill the armed psychotics who try to break in and kill every one," (which begs another question of how psychos seem to find it so easy to lay their mentally-impaired hands on guns... but anyway)

Another interesting point is how many of these psychos seem to come from 'deeply religious' family backgrounds as well...

Something isn't working, people!

To summarize...

2007-12-09T18:29:00.000+09:00

With so much going on at the moment, it's good that there are journalists out there who can take such a voluminous amount of information and sum it up for us in a way that's comprehensible.

Today's offer takes in the current state of the US presidential elections, which, unfortunately, affect us all, as well as the furor over the Rape of Nanking.

Tonight, I am going for a walk, reading and strumming the guitar. Summer TV is now in full effect; there is absolutely nothing I'm interested in watching tonight!

Bad news... and a little good.

2007-12-07T16:19:00.000+09:00

Gotta love the USA - at least those that dwell behind its white-housed walls.

Firstly, they think they can destroy e-mails without impunity, except since Watergate that's illegal (and an impeachable offense...)

Secondly, they think they can now kidnap anyone, anywhere, anytime, for any reason.

From the article: "Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the “extraordinary rendition” of terrorist suspects. The American government has for the first time made it clear in a British court that the law applies to anyone, British or otherwise, suspected of a crime by Washington."

Thirdly, they really have no idea what's happening in Iraq, or they really know what's going on and are hoping it just goes away...

Makes fiction look like a documentary...

This looks like a fun movie.

At last it looks like China has begun to see the benefits of going organic - not to mention the dollar signs whizzing past its eyes... A small glimmer of hope, but a long way to go.

And I'm growing a beard.

Aaaah yes.

2007-12-07T07:07:00.000+09:00

Another day in paradise... more or less. Yesterday was pretty mucky, with hot (37) temperatures followed by strong winds, thunder and a brief rainstorm. Today's looking better though. The only place in Australia getting any decent rain at the moment is around Sydney - and that's been hardly enough to raise the level of water in storage. The drought lingers on...

So, another day, another massacre in the USA. Another massacre in the USA, another swag of reports avoiding the elephant in the room; that people can still buy assault weapons more easily than a decent meal. Seriously, I could only find one report (from an Aussie newspaper) that said anything about gun control. Yay - journalism!

In other news, America's "teenage birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials who had no immediate explanation." I'll give you guys one guess.

Actually, two.

Also, the US Coast Guard has reeled in about US$4.7 billion worth of cocaine so far this year. Interestingly "the street value of the drugs seized or removed last year by the Coast Guard equals roughly half the agency's total annual budget," which leads to some interestingly speculations about what happens to the drugs, once seized...

Also, Pizza Hut (in America, unfortunately) has instant cardiac arrests on sale - for a limited time! Also, The Whopper is 50 years old - much like the special sauce, and beer isn't just for drinking - or spraying across the white t-shirted chests of buxom college girls.

Ye Update

2007-11-27T18:45:00.000+09:00

Well. It's been quite the couple of weeks.

First there's been the big events with the election and the change of government. If you've been under a rock or in Outer Uzbekistan, there was an election last weekend and the Labour Party won so we now have a centre-right government instead of a slightly more to the right centre-right government! The new bunch seem like decent people and it's certainly time for a breath of fresh air. We'll all be watching with interest to see how they fare.

I watched the saga unfold on the telly (ABC, naturally!) at my friend's house with beer and pizza. The pizza delivery guy made a mess - when he delivered the pizzas one of them had slipped to one end of the pizza box! Not good! They supplied a fresh one after I called to register my unhappiness. My mate's girlfriend decided that this election stuff was boring so she spent a couple of hours surfing the Net and watching Star Wars! My friend had to do some much needed girlfriend maintenance the next day!

As far as my current casual job is concerned, it finishes next week. They're getting a full-time trainee so my time is done. It's been great to get some new skills under my belt (if you want fuel injectors stripped, cleaned, tested and kitted up - I'm your guy!) as well as spend a heap of time with my best mate. I'm sure he'll remind me to take him out for drinks to say thanks!

The weather's been lovely. I've watched cricket and basketball matches, been to the beach and the park, been people watching and garden viewing. It's been just wonderful.

I have just over a month of this to go then it'll be back to Japan; cold weather, hustling about trying to get everything together before my new job starts on the 7th of January. Yay...

Dry

2007-11-18T08:49:00.000+09:00

One of the big things that really really hit you when you come to Australia is how dry it is. The nation is in the midst of a drought that has lasted more than 5 years in some places.

How do you deal with that?

On a practical, everyday level it involves doing things to minimize your domestic water usage, like take short showers, recycle grey water for the garden, install drip watering systems, rainwater tanks, extensive mulching, plant native species, etc.

The government also enforce restrictions such as not washing your car and limiting watering your garden to once a week.

So are all gardens dead and dying? To the contrary, a lot are looking beautiful right now.

A couple of good sites here and here provide some good points on what causes drought, as well as its impact on Australia. This one also looks at the drought situation in the U.S. but this article goes a long way to explaining the current global impact of drought.

Another thing I've noticed is how frightfully expensive houses are. Adelaide is one of the fastest growing housing markets in Australia - at least as for as appreciation of prices is concerned. This is despite interest rates rising in order to put a dampener on inflation.

The cause is hard to pin down, There have been a variety of influences at work over the past few years. For example, people have been investing in second (or third) homes - as individuals or part of investment companies; the economy has been growing steadily for the past ten years and so some people have had more to invest. There's also been the resources boom, causing high demand in certain parts of the country.

The population growth is outstripping the rate at which new homes can be built. Also people want their own home. There are rarely medium or high density projects going up outside of the city centre (and there are a lot of them going up anyway - with the apartments getting snapped up by investors, rather than tenants) and the long term planning isn't to develop regional residential centres based around shopping and business hubs.

Whatever the reason, I am even less likely to be buying a house here in the near future!

Znet had a couple of good articles, one about the possible implications of genetic testing for race, the other looking at how George Bush does actually kowtow to terrorists and the protagonists of genocide - namely in Turkey.

Also there was this delightful story of a maths text book in the U.S. being sent back after 109,263 errors were discovered in it!

A lot happens...

2007-11-11T09:14:00.000+09:00

... in a month.

Nova has collapsed.

I've got a new job starting in January - teaching English to (mostly) kids in Tatsuno, which is the city next to Himeji.

And I'm now in Australia!

My new job requires a driver's license, so the easiest way to get that was to sign over my Australian one. The only problem was that I needed to have spent three months in Oz to qualify. So that's why I'm here now.

So, I'm working at my best friend's company. Ironically, I'm driving every day as part of my job, so I'm getting a lot of practice!

I'm starting to relax after the stress of the past few months. I'm getting back into the Aussie swing of things. The weather is coming good, there are all the awesome summer type activities to enjoy.

So, that's how my last month has been.

And more

2007-10-19T11:23:00.000+09:00

A bit more Nova stuff.

Here are some translations from Japanese articles I've alluded to below.

Here, here and here.

Today is supposed to be the 'real' payday. So far, no money has arrived, and it looks very unlikely.

There have been no faxes from HQ either promising payment, so it looks like they have no idea either. (or they're just regarding their employees with utter contempt - either way, it's not good)

In other, more interesting news, scientists have dated the emergence of homo sapiens back 40,000 years or so - to about 160,000 years ago.

Also, my favourite conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, has a new movie coming out.

More Nova stuff

2007-10-18T00:12:00.001+09:00

There was quite a bit of coverage of yesterday's 'strike' on Japanese TV and in the press. (and here too)

As for me, I spent today at the office of my new employer, learning about their teaching methodology and observing some lessons. I officially start in January so I hope going in early like this makes a good impression...

I start my paid holidays on Friday. My 'last day' is November 23. Aaaaah.

.....

We probably won't be getting paid, but what the hey... it's holidays!

Getting up to date...

2007-10-16T09:25:00.000+09:00

With Nova's demise starting to go into action, today's going to be quite an action packed day.

The General Union are going to pay a visit to the labour standards authority here in Osaka to petition for the payment of wages as well as for them to do something about the company in general for breaking any number of laws.

This article describes the fundamental dodginess behind the latest wheeling and dealing to try to keep the company afloat, although it looks like that's all fallen through as one of the main people involved was arrested the other day on insider trading charges - and Nova was implicitly linked through the article (in Japanese though, so I won't post it). Companies from the British Virgin Islands indeed...

What most people want is for bankruptcy to be declared so that teachers can get most of their back wages paid and they can claim unemployment benefits if they're eligible. Arresting the president of the company for his repeated violations of the labor standards law would be a start.

At least the Australian consulate has said they'll help out Australian citizens. Hopefully I won't need it.

Today could be my last day at Nova...

Some music to lighten things up.

It was good to see that one of my favourite Australian bands, Art Of Fighting, got some nice coverage in the news recently.

Also I want to see the Ian Curtis biopic.

And I made another webpage for my band - which has been linked on my Facebook page - so I'm waiting for the sales to come rolling in... errrrmmmm....

This (October 15th - as it would currently be in the U.S. - so behind the times!) being Blog Action Day, it's about time I did a bit of an alternative energy roundup. This year's theme is the environment.

With Australia's almost complete non-participation in the development and use of alternative energy at an all time low, hurting our economy (thanks John. are you looking forward to the 24th?), at least someone is doing something about getting better and better technology out there.

From California comes a fellow who's invented a way to make small amounts of electricity from small amounts of wind. Ideal for small communities in under-developed regions of the world. Very cool.

A company in Japan has developed a method for manufacturing spherical solar cells which would be much better at collecting sunlight during all times of the day. That makes for much better overall efficiency and economy. Bewdyful! Sugoi!

Lastly, a few interesting tidbits to mull over.

a) What made America great was optimism, according to this article. That's something which is now is stunningly short supply...

b) There's a new country in the world, Richistan. It has no specific geographic location, but it's growing and silently separating itself from the rest of the world.

c) A couple have been driving their way around the world. 156 countries down, 35 to go.

and, d) Photos and footage from World War II - in colour. (with a 'u', dammit!)

Recent stuff

2007-10-10T11:06:00.000+09:00

A fair bit of Nova news to catch up on.

News of the company hit the Aussie papers again. They've stopped recruiting in Australia. The sub-contractor recruiting company I went through has also cancelled their contract with Nova.

The government has ordered Nova to comply with an order to refund students who've cancelled their contracts. Word is that some students haven't been refunded up to six months after cancelling - including some of my ex-students.

In today's paper there was a story of a potential investor in the company, purchasing options of 200 million shares, raising about 70 million yen. For the record there are currently about 60 million shares issued in total by Nova, and Nova needs about 10 BILLION yen to settle its debts to students as well as pay outstanding debts and wages. If the companies who purchased the option decide to buy, then that'll raise only about 7 billion yen. It'd be a welcome shot in the arm, but it wouldn't do much in the long term. Sales are still bad.

Related: here's a calculator to work out how much unemployment benefits you can get in Japan through Hello Work. It's a lot less than people on the internet were saying. Babelfish is useful for translating the Japanese to English.

Going home isn't much of an option since I'd likely have to undergo training of some kind, and stories like this don't exactly provide inspiration. Fancy trying to study as well as work up to four part-time jobs just to make ends meet! Thanks Mr. Howard!

If you still want to try to help the environment, then here's a list of easy things to do.

You may have no choice regarding your flat-screen TV since most of them churn through more electricity than your fridge!

At least in New York you can still get a good night's sleep - thanks to your very own Sleep Concierge!

Another thing to do might be to plant some trees - or buy a block of land next to yours and make it into a park since that'll lower the temperature somewhat...

You can also keep telling yourself that things really are getting better. Sure, we don't have wonderful things like rampaging disease and dying before you're 40 of old age, but there's such a thing as willingly putting your head in the sand too!

And finally, just in case you don't know - there's been a genocidal war going on in Afghanistan for six years now...

I like David Letterman

2007-10-02T10:03:00.001+09:00

But wait!

2007-10-01T19:43:00.000+09:00

There's more!

I got moved from one school to another school this week - and now that school is closing next week! Yeeesh.

More Nova stuff has hit the English language press. Some of it is hearsay, but since no one up top is contactable or saying anything, there isn't much else to go on at the moment. Even the people who work in Head Office have as much clue as anyone else. It really is a shambles.

I've been reading up on my Japanese regulations and working out the best course of action.

There are "End of Nova" parties springing up spontaneously all over Japan as the foreign staff do what they do best when faced with stress- they drink!

When all else fails, I don't turn to the bottle (thankfully!), I turn to the Internet! Aah, the Internet. Teacher, mother, secret lover.... provider of work (hopefully!).

For Japanophiles and linguists here's a list of English words in Japanese. Anyone who's taught English in Japan may have a chuckle at this.

I found out that Jackie Chan has pretty good taste in movies. But also I found out that Lois Maxwell (*the* Miss Moneypenny) has passed away...

I found out that Subway can be worse for you than McDonalds - steer away from the cookies people!

I found out that boyhood is slowly, but surely, being banned. We're about to see a generation of tubby Emo-kids with no balls come through the system. Is that REALLY what we want?!?

Oh, and Yay! George Bush is gearing up to attack Iran updates! More on the war on terror, the war against the people of the Earth, the war against Nature, the war against freedom (not Bush's definition)... Oh it's so good to be alive right now!!

But some guys in Paris are fighting a war against the desecration and destruction of that city.

And anything that includes the figure, "The amount of energy thrown out by the burst was 10exp33 joules or the equivalent to the amount of energy that around 185.3 billion average Australian homes would use in a year," has got to be good!

Peace, Love, and Blue Smarties to you...

Waiting...

2007-09-27T08:44:00.000+09:00

Still haven't been paid.

This blogger sums up the situation quite well.

I'm looking for a new job while suppressing the knots in my stomach and the rising tide of rage and cynicism. Cynicism is winning. Rage is simmering. The knots won't go away.

In America you're more likely to be tasered and beaten by a police officer than attacked by a terrorist - and it's getting worse. Thank you George Bush and the New Police State.

In China, the Three Gorges Dam is turning into an ecological disaster. Thank you Communist Dictatorship and Blind Progress.

In New Zealand some idiot tried to lower their Mitsubishi Lancer by loading rocks into the boot. Thank you Rampant Stupidity.

Update: We got paid on Friday afternoon. In full. I'm amazed...