Spurious Correlation

A Gift from Work

2007-06-20T05:53:00.001+09:00

One of the great things about my new job is that they have bestowed a gift of a Blackberry on me. They do this so they can send work my way 24/7, a purpose that they have used several times already. So one of the things that I decided to do with my gift was download free games and software (like Google Earth) but alas… I cannot download any software onto my gift. What a sham. After a day of having the Blackberry some of my colleagues were already wondering if I was addicted to the thing, of which I am not. I admit it is an awesome communication device and shackle to my job, but without downloading games and programs on it there is little that I can do with it.

First Week of Work

2007-06-10T00:32:00.000+09:00

Well I have completed my first week of work at my new job this week. I had a half day of orientation, a paid-day off (due to HR paperwork mix-up), and three days of some real work. My job is to be the finance person of a two person team in the strategy department of my firm. This weekend I even brought work home, which I think is a first. Overall I'm very happy, it took some time to get a job, but everything about it was worth the wait; for example there is a Starbucks on the campus, and a fitness center which are just cool perks. It is also in the Chicagoland area, which means for those of you who roll with me here I'll be sticking around for a few years at least.

Now the next move is to do a little car shopping...

Celebrate!!

2007-05-30T03:18:00.001+09:00

I am now employed!!

Toni Collette & the Finish

2007-05-25T22:04:00.000+09:00

Holy Crap!!

Muriel has her own band. Toni Collette, of Muriel’s Wedding, sings with her band “The Finish”. Some people may have realized this, but this is big news. Their first album “Beautiful Awkward Pictures” is out now and I have to get it to see if it is anything like ABBA…

After acquiring the album I find that it is not like ABBA at all. She does have a real good voice and the music is light, something excellent if you want music on in the background but not something that will distract you. Her band “The Finish” does not get a real chance to shine above her. Toni is definitely in control. Toni Collette & The Finish will be playing the Live Earth festival in Sydney.

14913, Music part 3 of 5

2007-05-17T00:16:00.000+09:00

Here is a fact for you: people listen to music for a variety of different reasons. Here is another fact for you: People listen to music for different reasons at different times. It is often a lack of understanding of this fact that causes some strange viewpoints about music, or more specifically other people’s views on music. As a Tori Amos fan I have participated in this by disposing many artists out of hand because they want to be just like Tori. In reality this is just a great thing because it only validates my viewpoint that her music is awesome because imitation is the highest form of flattery (though in the Music business it is a Weird Al parody that is the highest form of flattery). It took some time to break out of that mold and listen to a variety of different music.

Ignoring this viewpoint has also given way to some of the most horrible bands on the planet. There are a near uncountable number of horrible industrial, punk, and goth bands that are out there that have a small niche market for those fans that will buy anything from those genres. It should be pointed out that there is a correlation between that market and the market who ONLY listen to that type of music. I too went through this stage. I found myself listening to Skinny Puppy and Leather Strip over and over again and ignoring the Black Lung album that took me a month to track down. Of course the ever silly mentality of a band “selling out” when they sell more than fifty albums often takes hold because it can be difficult to fathom that other people listen you the same music as you for the same reason.

No one from my generation can see this more than in Phish, a band that I feel is just amazing that got hijacked by a group of fans who banned all others from their concerts. I know, if your were at a Madison Phish show in 1995 and saw the goth guy there; that was me. Phish is a really good band, though for me it was not a lifestyle which for many meant that I could not be a fan. This is an extreme example though, I can think of examples from a multitude bands when becoming a fan is more of a lifestyle choice than anything else (Tori Amos fans are another extreme example). Just because I do not make a lifestyle choice, or have a similar reason does not preclude me from becoming a fan. As a male Toriphille I should have related to this much sooner than I really did.

This fact also explains how I can remain a huge fan of ABBA, Tori Amos, Marilyn Manson, and the Secret Machines. Needless to say I often don’t combine the three in the same playlist but at times I’m a huge fan of each. Limiting yourself to a single band/artist or even a genre of music is nothing but a crutch. What does a Swedish Death Metal fan play when his single love of his life leaves him; or what do goth kids listen to on sunny days when they are mysteriously happy? There are a few artists that seem (for me anyway) to have music for most times (Beatles, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey), but the bottom line is that there is just so much music out there to listen to.

The Lies Told to Us

2007-05-10T02:28:00.000+09:00

Like many people I have not lived in the 60s, but am fascinated by the changes that took place during the late 1960s. It was a time that the baby boomer generation grew up and fractured. Looking back this time can be called a “loss of innocence” or a “great awakening”. The greatest changes happened to society, and politics. Inherently what I think caused most of this change is censorship and a great feeling of betrayal.

It may be difficult to remember (not that I do) that there was a prevalent fear of communism; take for example Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and even the changing of the Cincinnati Reds to the Redlegs. McCarthy ran his campaign of fear for years before it collapsed, think about that for years there were people who were scared of being accused of being a communist and have their lives taken away from them. Music, Movies, and other entertainment was mostly free of references to a more complex world view. Capitalism was good, Communism was bad, they were polar opposites including the view that one was correct and the other evil. Then there was a generation that grew up and had access to education that was never available before, civil rights questions arose (self reflection about how we treated our own citizens), and most importantly a useless unjust war that our government hoaxed the country into.

Life was no longer black and white, it was complicated. A sense of social and economic justice (which are communist ideas) spread and entrenched themselves in American society. Most importantly there was media shows about these topics (MASH is an excellent example). This is not saying the earlier generations did not understand that the world was a complicated place, though there was some of that too, but I think that there was a hope that the world is a complicated place.

There is an easy comparison today, a group that views the world as black and white is put in charge when there is a new enemy against America. The use of fear was used to justify an assault on civil liberties and racism (sorry the PC term is racial profiling) and to bring us into an unjust war. There is some media crying against what our government is doing; but ultimately the so called “culture wars” is a battle between world views; one simple and black and white and another that has almost nothing but shades of gray.

As someone who understands how complex the world is I sometimes think that I am like many people in my father’s generation who feel betrayed that a simple world view is responsible for actions taken in my name to justify things that I oppose. When the president takes actions in the name of “The American People,” he includes without my consent. That really pisses me off. People who see the world in shades of gray don’t always agree (in fact they almost never agree) but what those shades of gray do is leave room for debate and compromise.

I dislike it when people say that history repeats itself. History is not repeating itself now, but it is telling us that by looking into it once and a while there can be something learned.

Cocktail Parties and Video Games

2007-04-24T02:10:00.000+09:00

I have been taking a break from playing intense video games, and trying to only play to let off a little steam during the day (about a half-hour every other day or so). I have found this to be particularly difficult because of the present situation with my favorite baseball team, the continuing job search (that is starting to reach its inevitable conclusion), and my complete lack of interest in reading lately.

Two excellent RTS computer games have been released lately, Supreme Commander and Command and Conquer 3. Both of these games are excellent and I can recommend both of them, but it definitely shows the fragmentation of the genre.

Supreme commander (SC) is excellent in having large battles. The single player campaign is dismal but provides enough training to learn how to play effectively. The biggest benefits to Supreme commander are primarily the zooming map and the logistics system. You can zoom the map in to view individual battles or zoom out to see the entire battle field, I find myself using this function enough that I was annoyed that C&C3 did not have this feature. The logistics are also excellent, you can build factories, then build transports to automatically transport units to the front line. I am also impressed that the large units are not game breakers (as they appeared to be before the game was released) and each super-weapon has a counter. The economic system is also innovative and excellent, though I spend more time micromanaging it than focusing on the battles.

What is not good about SC is the lack of infantry and the lack of urban combat. this was a real bummer, yes the maps can be up to 81 km square, but buildings having buildings and bunkers to block line of site would be a huge bonus.

C&C3 is much better at have tactical battles. The single player campaign is awesome and tells a cheesy story using real actors (go SIX!!). It does fall apart in showing me how to use all the features, such as moving in reverse and armor facings. The multiplayer is slightly better than SC, the maps have more to look at, there is urban combat, and infantry. The three sides are different enough but also seem well balanced. There are more options per unit as well, for example you can use your snipers to spot a target for artillery; or sneak a commando in the rear of an enemy base. In SC each unit (usually) has a single function which overall makes for less tactics; you build a combined force of units and send it off to fight, there becomes a more micromanaging of the economy and not the battles. In C&C there is more micro managing of a battle and it is easy to set up an economy.

There is no zoom map though, this should become a standard of all RTS games from now on. The economy is also a little too simple, only one resource. The biggest flaw is that Mammoth tanks are too powerful because they are able to take out air and ground units; this allow them to rush easily.

Neither is a perfect game, though C&C3 is slightly better and may be one of the best games that I have played. Someone needs to combine these two games to make a perfect RTS game; urban combat, infantry, zoom map, deep economics, and epic battles. Fans of RTS should get both games.

Sports season is a go!

2007-04-04T04:30:00.001+09:00

My sports season has officially started both baseball and F1 racing seasons have officially started. The last two years the Chicago Cubs have sucked goat balls, but I continue to remain optimistic about their future. They lost opening day and I would like to see the silver (lets make it gold) lining because the Cubs have been very successful on opening day the last two years with horrible seasons. Opinion about the Cubs seems mixed this year, some think that it is almost sure that they will make the playoffs (at least), and others have shrugged them off again. I’m in the former camp, though I don’t see it as being easy. The Cubs have put together an excellent team that I’m excited about seeing in action.

F1 is a little different matter; Renault will have a difficult time to win the constructor championship. I like their new cars, who knew that orange and yellow could look so great on an open wheeled car? I’m still cheering for Alonso too, and the competition between him and Räikkönen looks to make a great season. BMW showed up and could make the competition even better. Also I’m looking forward to Fuji speedway, the new Japan tack.

Overall it looks to be an excellent year for sports.

Boogie Star Wars

2007-04-04T03:52:00.000+09:00

Even in my advanced age I check out YouTube from time to time, and here is Boogie Nights in Star Wars. Sharing is caring!!

14189 - Music, part 2 of 5

2007-04-02T23:01:00.000+09:00

The moment when I started considering myself “old” was in 2001. I went with a friend to see a 90’s cover band. It was 2001 and I was listening to a band that was covering Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains; what made this band suck though was that they covered Hootie and the Blowfish, Dave Matthews Band, and Counting Crows. I’m not a huge fan of the later three bands and they do not sound good when played after hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. It was a good thing they didn’t try to cover Dr. Dre as well. What a mishmash of different styles the 90s were, from the downfall of “hair-metal”, to the “alternative” scene, rap, hip hop, and the beginnings of teen pop. I think MTV even played music back when I was going through high school.

Back when music was helping form my identity there was no internet downloading of music, American Idol, or hit bands doing the opening theme for shows. There also was making cassette tapes for friends, and loaning CDs (and inevitably losing them) to others. Automobiles had cassette players in them and for many playing a CD meant having to make a tape, or get one of those tape shaped adaptors.

Back to my original point though; every generation has some musical influence upon them that stays with them and will always seem better than “whatever is out now”. Once in 1992 (or 1991) I was wearing a Nine Inch Nails shirt to a family gathering (Christmas I think) and someone said “Who is NIN?” At that point NIN had not left my CD player for about a year now. To some of my associates that were older Motley Crue and Poison were the musical influence; whatever I was listening to could not compare. Now that I have gotten over caring about how commercial a band is; Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails were those bands for me, simply better than anything out there because they are part of my musical identity. There are bands/performers that are so good that I just don’t compare their work with anyone else’s; this would be the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Tori Amos.

Am I old because Nirvana is better than Fall Out Boy? I think that this is a big part of it. There are a few new musical acts that I really like (The Dresden Dolls) but they do not provoke the same reaction in me that older bands do. This goes to albums too, the new Pearl Jam and Tool albums are great, but it takes much more than great to beat “Ten”, and “Undertow”. October 19^th, 1993 I went across the street to “Sound Warehouse” where I bought “Vs.” the new album by Pearl Jam and “Counterparts” the new album by Rush, with a friend of mine. The store manger pointed out to me that Pearl Jam will never be as big as Rush, they were just a fad. Their second album was to fail and they would fad to obscurity. This point of view was preposterous at the time, I have come closer to this line of thinking by making it too difficult for a new band to be a modern classic.

13,889 - Music, part 1 of 5

2007-03-28T01:18:00.000+09:00

I was reminded of something that happened in my life over ten years ago recently from two sources. This family member was talking about how she bought a new album on iTunes; which in all fairness is a resource that I use too. The second was Adam Sander from the movie Reign Over Me (which incidentally I highly recommend), his character is a collector of vinyl. Now there is me, someone who buys almost no CDs anymore but instead utilizes places like iTunes and eMusic to get my music; but I still buy CDs for artists that I really like (Tori Amos gets a semiannual pilgrimage, and recently Dresden Dolls) and to me it has become strange for people who exclusively buys CDs. Cassie’s brother does this, never downloads only buys CDs. Ten years ago I didn’t understand people who obsessed over vinyl who were not DJs. I think I understand now though.

January 22^nd, 1996 in Whitewater Wisconsin there was a heavy snowstorm, it was also the day that God’s (aka Tori Amos) third CD was being released Boys for Pele. I had already seen the video for Caught a Light Sneeze on 120 minutes (I miss Matt Pinfield) and was convinced that it was the greatest video ever (still excellent). UW Whitewater had a parking problem at that time and the snow plows trapped my car in so I decided to hoof it, about a mile, through the snowstorm so I could buy Tori’s new CD. In a strange way this was also an example to my devotion to Tori Amos’ music, I walked a mile in a blizzard to buy her CD. After the purchase I ran back to my dorm room and listened to it.

It was an awesome experience, really, and one that has never been duplicated and one that never will. iTunes is great and I love my iPod (makes it easy to switch between Tori, PJ, and Bjork), but I feel that one snow covered day I had to work for my music which is something that seems much more difficult now.

That was just braving the elements though, that is nothing to say about bands like My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Leather Strip, Christian Death, Swans, and many more that if you lived in the suburbs meant a trip into the city just to shop for record albums. I had a hell of a time finding some Swans CDs, and once it took a drive to another city to do so. That happened more than once too. This is not saying that the current situation isn’t bad, it has been awesome because now I can fill in the gaps of my Coil collection from albums that I could never find; and a few others too (but dammit I worked hard to complete some collections).

So on May 1^st Tori has a new album coming out, and I’ll travel (by motorized vehicle) to the local record store and physically buy the CD even though I may not need to.

To be continued…

300 Rocks

2007-03-22T22:35:00.000+09:00

I love reading movie reviews, and video game reviews. I like how movie reviewers express their opinions and especially like it when they completely pan a movie. This does not mean that movie reviewers express the same opinion as me, though I think that certain reviewers are much better than all the rest.

I have gone to see the movie 300 twice and loved it, and some reviewers have panned this movie and I have a problem with that because I think that they missed the point. 300 is a violent fictional depiction of a real event; therefore some reviewers should excuse themselves from reviewing it if they say that it is too violent, or object to the excessive Computer generated backgrounds because that is what the movie is. There has also been criticism about the meaning of 300 and the war on terror, and pro-America. WHO CARES? Movies are an art form and are supposed to be interpreted by the viewer. Finally some reviewers need to get off their high llama because of the historical inaccuracies in the movie… they are supposed to be there, it is a fictional retelling.

If you have not seen 300, and don’t mind ultra-violent movies, then watch this movie because it is just amazing.

The Most Powerful Magical Item

2007-03-14T23:37:00.000+09:00

I like to consider myself an abnormal person, one that likes to play Role-Playing Games but has not done so in several years. Several times I have wanted to call my friends and say "Hey, let's start a good D&D campaign," but I never do because what always happens is that it doesn't last for very long. The problem with activities when you get older is that people always have something else t do, such as working on the weekends or shopping for new drapes, and these things are placed above role-playing. This applies to myself right now too. So I ask myself if I'll have the commitment after my current predicament is finished; I would like to think so but I guess I'll have to see.

Even if you don't like role-laying you should read this story about the most powerful magical item ever.

Some thoughts about Jesus Camp

2007-03-09T02:17:00.001+09:00

A couple of weeks ago Cassie and I watched the movie Jesus Camp which was nominated for an academy award but lost to Al Gore. The movie is a documentary about far right Christian children before and during their experience in a “Religious Camps”, there may have been some scenes afterwards to that showed the children participating in an anti-abortion rally.

I would like to believe that there are few things that scare me, but the far right Christian Fundamentalists are some of the worst. The movie makes a very decent attempt to be objectives about the subject matter, several scenes were cut because they would sway the objectivity over against the camp. What is pictured is scary enough, there are children praying to a cardboard cutout of Bush, a musical with very young children dressed in camouflage, and several comments from the woman who runs the camp about how to manipulate children.

There are two things overall that scare me the most. First is the overall use of logical fallacies especially proof by example. For example: abortion is bad, liberals support abortion; all people who support abortion are liberals. This continues: liberals support abortion, abortion is a false belief; all liberal beliefs are false beliefs. Concluding with: liberals have false beliefs, liberals have a belief in global warming; therefore global warming is a false belief. Using this sort of logic creates many sorts of errors, and has lead to several of the mass panics and evils of history; including the inquisition, the Nazis, and Patricia Pulling. Second, there is a lot of discussion about what is evil in the book, for example; abortion, Muslims, liberals, democrats, the public school system, socialism, Satanism etc are all classified as evil. There is no distinction between these evils; so a child is being taught that liberals and Satanists are in the same category. Combine these two fallacies, liberals/Muslims/socialist/public school system are evil, Satanists are evil; liberals/Muslims/socialist/public school system are Satanists.

These are all spurious correlations. Everyday people make connections and take bad advice based off of logical fallacies (myself included), but hearing people argue them sometimes gets ridiculous. I recommend people go out and rent Jesus Camp (if you think you would enjoy a documentary) and think about what is presented in the movie. Is there a difference between the Muslim youth who are called “terrorists” and these children who the camp counselors are trying to mold into an “army”? Faith is respectful, but willful ignorance is not.

Postmodernism explained

2007-03-08T03:55:00.000+09:00

Cassie was sorting pictures the other day.

Her Mom: You can take a short break.

Me: Take a couple weeks.

Her Mom: I said a short break.

Me: Short is subjective, it depends on context. In this case I'm using a century as a basis.

My secret love for commercials

2007-03-03T00:55:00.000+09:00

With Tivo technology and DVR becoming a standard household item people really don't watch commercials anymore; unless you are watching the Superbowl, Oscars, or the Commercial Awards. For the most part I don't like commercials, but I like good commercials. I have even been known to buy a product that I do not particularly like because of an excellent commercial.

There is one group of commercials that I hate like a plague. These are cereal commercials, the one where there are a group of people around a box, or someone in their cube, or (my least favorite) someone stocking shelves. I have not ever seen anyone eat cereal while working (especially while stocking shelves) and find the entire concept humorous, but abysmally stupid humorous. In fact almost any commercial where there is a guy stocking shelves telling me what product I should buy I decide on not buying. The apple commercials with the two guy I also find annoying and solidified my resolve NOT to buy an Apple computer during a moment of weakness.

Overall I find that the commercials I find entertaining are for products that I already have which I cannot figure out is ironic, or mere coincidence.

Oscar is a film staring Stallone

2007-02-28T01:25:00.000+09:00

I watched the Oscars Sunday night like I usually do every year. Nothing gets me more excited than seeing Peter O'Toole lose another Oscar while he grasps to life. Really though Peter O'Toole has an honorary Oscar, which is saying that "Hey, you should have won for Lawrence of Arabia but so should have Gregory Peck." They were also saying that Burt Lancaster should have won too that year(but he won two years before), and Jack Lemmon (who had already one one and would win again). Peter O'Toole is now the most nominated person in the Best Leading Actor Role that has never won.

The problem with the Oscars this year was that the Best Director, Best Picture, Best Documentary, Leading Actor and Actress awards were in the bag. There were even jokes about Helen Mirren being assured of the Oscar during the ceremony before she won. Even though Ellen did a great job hosting the predictability of the big four categories made it a lackluster night.

I have three big disappointments to add. Children of Men should have recieved more nominations, Best Director and Best Picture to be sure. The Queen was a great movie, but Helen Mirren was the biggest part of that I didn't feel it deserved those additional nominations. Mark Wahlberg should have won for Supporting Actor. Finally Ellen Page should have gotten a nomination for Best Actress for her fantastic work in Hard Candy; Helen Mirren should still have won it but some support for the smaller film industry would have been appreciated.

My prediction for next year is that Transformers: the Movie will will two Oscars next year, while the Aqua Teen Hunger Force will not recieve a nomination.

My personal war against Google

2007-02-23T02:54:00.000+09:00

For my handful of readers, if any, that were wondering if I quit this Blogger Rag, no. I have been having a personal war with Google. You see I signed up to GTalk, or something, back in Japan so I could talk to a few of my classmates. This service made me sign up for a Gmail account of which I had no intention of using. Google in their infinite wisdom discovered that I have a Blogger account and decided that merging them would be something excellent. I stopped using my Gtalk (or whatever) and forgot my password. Eventually my account did not sign in correctly and I had forgotten my password. That should be find, this is why I need to ask a security question and it'll send the password to my email account.

This leads to the second phase of my story, the settings on Gmail also changed my account so that the password that I needed to sign onto Google was my Gmail account. So the password was sent to the account that I needed the password to sign onto. Great. I wrote Google an email and finally after a couple of months I'm back.

So an update on me, I am still an unemployed overeducated graduate but I have some leads. I have been wasting away indoors and shoveling snow while I have the flu. Finally I have drastically refined my cooking skills.

Peace, Love, and Capitalism everyone...

The search continues...

2006-12-14T05:30:00.000+09:00

I’m still looking for a job after a week. This does not disturb me, but I’m starting to get bored. I’m absolutely sick of Monster.com telling me that I need to go to ITT to further my career, because they are just lying. I also get sick of getting e-mails for people who want me to go door to door and sell some form of animal shit in a glad-ware container. The other great innovation in employment recruiting is making the job description not match the job at all; so instead of “calling people during their dinner to try and get them to buy a third mortgage for you,” it becomes something like, “maintaining relationships through the use of technology.”

Here are some of the best jobs that I have found on the internet. First, a Mature, Professional, and Efficient Medical Collector. This job sounds like the guy who transports medical waste around, but it is a data entry job that also proudly displays that having a high school degree is optional for the position. In reality this is a job where you need to get money from little old ladies late on making a doctor payment.

Another one lists itself as an Inside Sales Specialist where you can, “open up your own business within ours.” Only professionalism is needed, no sales experience required, and really no experience at all is required. Translation: 100% commission sales possibly in a retail store, maybe witnessing and living off of the tips.

Finally the job that takes the cake is a “games technician” which seems like an exciting career in playing Dungeons & Dragons, or beta testing video games. Instead it requires you to be able to fix small engines, have basic welding skills, and be able to repair air conditioning. There is no game that I have ever heard of that need that skill set. The hapless person that gets this job needs to work, “day shifts and night shifts,” and “weekends and holidays,” which means they will be always working. This sounds like some loser character in a crazy LARP game that runs 24/7.

The Job Search is under way

2006-12-09T02:28:00.001+09:00

Wow it has been awhile since my last post and to be honest, I simply have forgotten about this little piece of the Internet that I call my own.

I have returned from Japan after spending some time in Las Vegas, and am lounging around the Chicago area. My days have been filled with writing cover letters without getting a response back yet. I’m also finishing/starting my role-playing game “Dogma”. I hope to have some details filled in soon about that.

Seriously though looking for a job blows. This week there have been between 50 and 75 resumes, a source says that I should be doing about 15 a day so since Monday I should have 60+ by now. I’m a little behind. I have found that the best way to find a job is not to use Monster because they suck non-relaxed donkey, careerbuilder is only slightly better. More often I find myself going to the corporate web sites and sending them through there, and using wikipedia to find companies. I’m still trying to find a rhythm here, I hope that a pair of master degrees still means something.

Crossing Oceans

2006-11-23T08:11:00.001+09:00

In a few hours My plane leaves in a cross Ocean journey back to the United States. I’m going to miss Japan, Tokyo the most I was not that impressed with Osaka, but I have a good feeling that I’ll be back to live here again. While I would not like to make this my permanent home like several others have here I would like to come back and experience this country again. I think that I have given Cassie and her mom a great time (we didn’t eat at one place in the guidebook!!). My next entry will be in the United States.

A visit to a site where one of the worst war crimes was committed

2006-11-20T21:32:00.000+09:00

I’m in Hiroshima and we went and visited the A-Bomb dome and the park around it. It is a very sad place. The dome is a building that was destroyed by the bomb, but because the bomb exploded above the building the walls continue to stand but the inside is gutted. All the people inside were killed instantly.

War is something idiots wage. War sucks. If (G)god doesn’t forgive us because of war, and using our intellect to continue to find new ways to kill each other, I do not blame him/her/it.

Adios Osaka

2006-11-20T08:34:00.000+09:00

Went to Himeji a couple days ago and saw a Japanese Castle, Himeji Castle is one of the castles that was not destroyed during allied bombing.

The Forget Paris Shot

Yesterday we went to Kyoto and it rained all day (like it is supposed to do today). Kyoto was awesome though I wish that we had a few more days. We walked around until the temples closed, it became too dark to walk around and read a map.

Kiyomizu Temple which is the most beloved temple in Japan

Zen Garden at Shoren-in. This temple had a wonderful garden but by the time we got there the darkness was settling in and the rain was picking up.

I want the knife...

Viva Osaka

2006-11-18T08:06:00.001+09:00

Google locked me out of my account for a few days for reasons unknown. Currently I’m in Osaka. We got here by taking the monorail (しんかんせん) which was a really good ride. The ride took about 3 hours and was really smooth. After we got to the Osaka train station a woman grabbed Cassie’s mom and started to chat it up with her, I think that she was so happy to have another Japanese woman talk to her in English. Well the woman was a Jehovah’s Witness and handed mom some pamphlets and (literally) ran off before she could be sacked. We arrived at the hotel a little late so there was little to do so we went to the aquarium which was really cool because you start off at the top and slowly make your way down and you get to see several different tanks at different levels. Today we’re going to Himeji to look at one of the most magnificent castles in the world.

I made it!!

2006-11-17T08:44:00.000+09:00

Republicans can't win?

2006-11-10T13:34:00.000+09:00

Once again the Republicans lose to a dead person, just like Ashcroft.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day (5 days late!)

2006-11-10T09:55:00.000+09:00

Yes, 5 days ago is where the teachers packed schools full of candy and wrap it in paper mache, then the children blew schools up and pick the candy up off the ground. I forgot!!

Today is the final day of my internship. Besides a presentation that I’m giving about investing in India in the afternoon there is not much for me to do. I still need to finish packing because tomorrow Cassie and her mom arrive and I’m switching hotels.

I almost finished doing laundry last night while watching the last episode of Lost for a while (another 14 episodes this season) and I must say I am a little disappointed with this series. The end of this episode was predictable and the clue that was left to Locke was stupid (as was the full two minutes with that group). Nothing was revealed though it did have Nathan Fillon from “Firefly” in it. I know some people are fed up with the show but I think that I’ll keep watching but with much less excitement, I even forgot that there was a new episode this week until late last night. Battlestar Galactica though is still hands down the best show on TV. I try to explain that to people and they give me the “star-wars geek” look (true) but this show can really be enjoyed by people who don’t like science fiction because it deals with real issues.

I am looking forward to going back to the United States, but mostly because I miss watching movies every week. There are a stack of movies that I’m looking forward to seeing including “Shut Up and Sing”, “The Prestige”, “Borat”, and “Babel”. Also when I get back the winter movie season begins… with a new James Bond.

Tomorrow Cassie arrives whooo hooo!

A Toast, to the Future

2006-11-09T11:59:00.000+09:00

I seems strange to me that an entire year and a half has finished with my year in Hawaii and some time here in Japan. Next week I graduate with my MBA and tomorrow is my final day of my internship. I must say that I came into the program a little cocky, or too confident depending on how you want to phrase it. In the end I learned a lot and it is all still settling down in my mind.

I miss Hawaii a little bit, but don’t think I could ever move back there to live. Some people think that I’m crazy but those people have not lived there. Japan I will miss despite the fact people can not seem to ride their bikes straight and the subway is too crowded in the morning. In all honesty I hope to be back here someday and feel that it will happen.

A year and a half where I made new friends and missed my old friends and family; but in the end it seems strange that this is about to end, nor do I want it to continue. I’m a little eager now to find a job and get back home (not particularly in that order). I remember after high school hearing all those speeches about life just beginning (blah blah blah) and hearing the same crap my first college graduation and now I may feel a little of that.

I guess the future is pretty cool, I’m all for it.

Poor Chelsea

2006-11-08T19:36:00.000+09:00

There is a report that Chelsea Clinton was denied a ballot because her name was sent to the wrong polling place. It’s okay Chelsea we still love you. The same article also had a report of a bunch of guys with guns stopping Hispanics from voting in Arizona. This is some of the stupidity that perpetrates the myth that those “Minutemen” are a bunch of fanatics… never mind this proves that they are a bunch of fanatics.

The word from Billings is their counting machines are broken. I’m confident that Tester won there but the problems in Virginia, where I’m confident that Webb won there too. I do have some ideas about how we can solve this issue because going to the courts and recounts may be civilized but it certainly doesn’t seem like that.

Greco-Roman Wrestling
Cock fight
Twinkie eating contest

BTW Al Franken for Senate in 2008!!

The world turns towards Billings Montana

2006-11-08T18:08:00.000+09:00

81% of the districts have reported in for the Montana election, Tester is still ahead but only by a percentage point. Yellowstone county is one of the two counties that have not reported in yet so I decided to check them out and found a petition to abandon a road.

Abandon a road? Hell can I do that, why would you do that?

Well Billings in Yellowstone county which means there is still some number of people that need to report their vote. Billings even has an international airport: Billing’s Logan International.

This may be better news because Tester is doing 18% better in urban areas and I think that Billings is the largest urban area in Montana.

No Jinx No Jinx!!

2006-11-08T16:48:00.001+09:00

Damn, I spoke too soon. Montana is starting to get close...

Almost time for a celebration!

2006-11-08T16:41:00.000+09:00

Did the Democrats do it? As of right now Missouri just turned Democratic. Montana is on their way, I don’t have a doubt about Tester winning there. Virginia is going to be a media field house as they count the absentee ballets and Allen is refusing to concede. This margin was razor thing but Webb’s margin is growing as the final ballots are coming in from Northern Virginia which is Democratic territory. This promises to pan out for a day or two with some recounts and a possible legal challenge or two. That should be 6 Senate seats as per my prediction, and the exact ones I predicted too.

As for the House CNN is reporting 27 seats and MSNBC is reporting 29 seats are going Democratic. Those exceeded my predictions.

This is a victory for three primary reasons for me. First, the Rove experiment of trying to have a minority rule the country is at an end (for two years at least) and it may be possible for the Republicans to reclaim their party. Second, it shows that democracy somewhat works better than some thought. People were pissed, Bush has dismal approval ratings, Congress had dismal approval ratings, the incessant redistricting that keeps House members in power has failed a tiny bit and all of this is accurately reflected (somewhat). Third, the Bush White House has a choice now, enact a dialogue or fight the Democrats. I think he’ll choose the second option. If he doesn’t then it is likely that the Democrats are going to spin it that way because they want to win again, and Bush doesn’t deserve dialogue.

Will there be hearings about the Bush team’s conduct? I hope so but don’t think it will happen. Will Rums retire? Also don’t think so because as long as he’s around he takes a major hit instead of Bush. Will Dick Cheney shoot another Republican who will live only to apologize for being in the way? You never know

I hope that Rick Santorum cried when he saw he lost, and that he wets the bed tonight. What does he get for his legacy? A slang term that was needed but will not be repeated here, but is still number one when you look him up on Google. everyone will giggle when his grandkids introduce themselves.

An American Holiday

2006-11-07T10:03:00.001+09:00

Election Day is here, Paul Revere will ride through towns handing out presents and John Paul Jones hands out piñatas to deck hands on every dock on in the United States. It is a patriotic holiday where only Americans celebrate, and that is United States American not from one of those other countries. I’m encouraging everyone to vote, I did about a month ago.

My prediction: Democrats take 6 Senate seats to retake the Senate (Missouri, Montana, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). The house is more difficult to predict but I think it is safe to say that the Democrats will take Congress, I’ll say 26 seats go to the Democrats.

What happens afterwards, nothing; a government lockdown. Bush isn’t going to be willing to play nice and will only fight with the Dems. On the other hand saying thing like (paraphrasing) voting for the democrats is a vote for the terrorists is not going to make the Dems want to work with the president. This is what (I think) many people want, just a stop to a hugely corrupt political machine. The bigger question is if Republicans get the hint now and reorient back to a more Libertarian party and kick out the social conservatives. Let them form their own party. Personally I think that it will take another election to give them a proper slap on the side of the head.

I have really gotten into Bill Maher and he said something on his show that many people need to think about; (paraphrasing) that we need to stop looking at what America accomplished fifty years ago and beating our chest and shout how great we are. America is not the most democratic country, not the most educated country, not the best on human rights, and we are not a free trade country.

I’m tired of hearing about how we saved Europe in the Second World War, yes it is a great thing but it was also over 60 years ago. Living in Japan now it is difficult not to think about the fact that the United States is the only country to ever use a nuclear weapon against another country (and against civilian targets); not to mention the firebombing of Tokyo of Dresden (once again civilian targets). I bring these things up because I don not want them to happen again, and there is no justification to ever use these tactics (which is terrorism) even if we think we are on the cause of right.

We need to move on from these things and look towards the future.

Some, including some in my own family, would say that I am “un-American” or a “traitor” (like the Dixie Chicks) and I can only be American enough to accept that because they have the right. Wednesday night, hump night, I’m going to have some sake to celebrate a Democratic victory (if my predictions are correct of course).

Election Day is the Wrestlemania of Politics

2006-11-06T18:07:00.000+09:00

This is my last day of my internship in Tokyo. At the end of this week will be the joyful reunion of two lovers separated by the Great Plains and the Pacific Ocean (and her Mom). I have several projects to finish up, two presentations to give, and a conference call to sit in on. Overall this will be a busy week but there is going to be some fun involved…

Tomorrow is Election Day and I am planning to stay up all night for the festivities. There are several reasons for this.

The United States political system is somewhat of a serious spectator event. There are commentators that will give play by play coverage.
The said system is also somewhat a joke because of the said play by play system.
There is a rumor floating around that if the Democrats win the Senate then Anderson Cooper will rip his shirt off and pummel Lou Dobbs to death.
I still have a full package of Raspberry Newtons that needs to get in my digestive tract.
The simple act of watching the shenanigans on the Daily Show for a half-hour comedic synopsis is no longer available to me because of forcefully being removed from YouTube.
With all the problems with the electric voting machines and the close elections there is a good chance for chaos, riots, and the elimination of Western civilization will ensue; and I’m a very large body of water away.

Elections are not up there in “Sports Entertainment” yet but there will be a day soon in the future that people will talk about the WWE, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the United States elections all in the same breath.

Election, PS3, Cassie

2006-11-05T22:41:00.000+09:00

If this doesn't make you want to buy a PS3...

Then the baby will come for you.

CAPITAL!! Just a great commercial.

We all go crazy for FUGU

2006-11-05T16:01:00.000+09:00

Last night I went out and ate Fugu, one of my goals that I have had here in Japan. It was really delicious, most people that I know (outside of Japan) who have tried it don’t like it very much. I need to disagree though because It was one of the best things that I ate here. We got a set meal that had fried Fugu, Sake with Fugu tail, Fugu Sashimi, and some other dishes. Those were the best. They also had Fugu Shabu-shabu which boiling several ingredients then eating them, then using the water (with egg) for soup. I’m not too much into boiled meats or fish so that was the let down.

For those who don’t know Fugu is the poisonous pufferfish that is served as a delicacy here in Japan. People die from the poison if it is not prepared right, Johnny Carson once ate it on his show.

The place was a pain in the ass to find. This one guy recommended a place and told us to get off at the station and go up the hill, and it would be on the right side. Well needless to say there were several places to go after leaving the station. We walked around for a while and finally made some phone calls. As often happens the point of view was from a different station, the JR line. So we went to the JR line East exit like our friend told us and we got lost again, so eventually we checked back and after some back and forth he led us to the wrong exit. Once again we started off and found another Fugu restaurant (one with a large tank in the front) and decided on that one, and it wasn’t the one we were “supposed” to go to.

This week is the last week of my internship and Saturday Cassie arrives in Japan. Next week is graduation.

And here is a picture of John chugging away

On Notice (Happy Day of the Dead)

2006-11-02T11:11:00.000+09:00

John Stewart and Stephen Colbert… YOU’RE ON NOTICE!! I understand that Viacom in a silly move decided to pull your bits from YouTube may not be your fault, but you’re on notice anyway. You see when I got to Japan I thought that I would be sad because it would mean the end of daily show viewing, but then I remembered YouTube. Yes I could watch the show on YouTube. Now I can’t. I could buy the show on iTunes, but there are two problems with that. First, I don’t want to support the secret mind controlling empire of Apple; and second I don’t watch to watch your show on a 2 inch screen but rather the five inches of YouTube madness.

Count Chocula and Gay Marriage

2006-11-01T12:20:00.000+09:00

Why do opponents of gay marriage going a little crazy? They want a ban on gay marriage put in the constitution which is absolutely absurd if you ask me. Well the answer my friend is that time is not on their side. First younger generations of marriage have a more accepting view about gay marriage. More share my view that if two people in love can not get married then that degrades marriage. Unlike economic issues where people become more conservative as they get older, people often don’t change their mind on issues like gay marriage. Second, as the world community becomes more accepting of this practice the United States gets left out. I understand that many people don’t care what the Canadians think, or what the French think; but when you are the only one that holds on to archaic and racist beliefs it gets a little embarrassing. We should also look at Massachusetts and Vermont who have already allowed homosexual unions; there is not hellfire or mass decadence dominating those states. Let us look at Ohio though which has had a huge brain drain because of the people who left their state because of their insistence to define marriage as not between two people in love.

I’m Count Chocula and I approve this statement.

Encouragement to read an interesting article

2006-10-31T17:03:00.000+09:00

One of my favorite journalists is Fareed Zakaria and he has written an excellent article about Iraq in the new Newsweek, “Rethinking Iraq: The Way Forward.” I don’t agree with everything that he says in this article, namely comparison with the Korean conflict and the idea of a rapid response force, but I think it is a well organized review of the situation. To put it bluntly we screwed up in Iraq, and we’re losing. I know I discuss politics a lot but this is a good interesting read for anyone who has a couple minutes.

Happy All Hallows Eve

2006-10-31T10:40:00.000+09:00

For those who are wondering there is “Halloween” here in Japan but it seems more of an adult “Halloween”. What I mean it is an excuse to put up decorations and have parties, even some sales, and of course the big bash at Tokyo Disneyland. There is no trick-or-treating and no one here at work is dressed up; except me in my Laura Bush – Karl Rove lovechild costume (it is how I dress everyday).

Yesterday I went out for Nepali food at a restaurant in Shibuya that is hidden down a long dark ally. It was very much exactly like Indian food, and not the best Indian food that I’ve had here either. Personally I need to find another Ethiopian restaurant, good food but they all seem closed.

There are 2 or 3 days before my internship report is due. I don’t know of the correct date because the time change, I need to send it to yesterday. No one seems to know. I have a draft done and my boss at work told me to work on it at work, because she wants me to present it to the company. That will be strange, I have heavy philosophical language to my presentation which I’m hoping will put everyone to sleep. If everyone is sleeping then I can say whatever I want… and affect their dreams!!

Chronic readers out there will recall that I entered the word “Fabish” in the Wikitonary. At some point they removed it to which I said, “A shame on all your houses and a pomegranate in your purse.” Well I’m happy to announce that Fabish is back and entered in the Undictonary!

Share and Share alike

2006-10-30T23:02:00.000+09:00

If this is the shenanigans going on back in the US it means things really have changed…

I’m sure there is microphone down there, but why?

Lookout for the new border fence

2006-10-30T16:54:00.000+09:00

Hooray, in a public ceremony President George W. Bush signed into law that will build a 700 mile fence to cover the border between Mexico. Of course let us not forget that the border is 1900 miles long which is a good indication that there is going to be a big hole in that fence. We should also not forget that climbing a fence isn’t that hard, it is really normal childhood activity.

This is a semi-humorous article by Dimitri Vassilaros trying to figure out some of the particulars about the bill. To sum up the article, there is no money appropriated for the fence, the government has no idea how much it will cost, no idea when construction will start, and finally because of that no idea when construction will end. The federal government dodge phone calls and even hung up on him while he was trying to figure this out.

I have opinions about border security as long as they don’t keep my anarchist ass out, but this bill is a bit of nonsense. The point is that we have our own government making up policy just to keep them in power. What does the bill do? It gives authorization for the government to build something on their own property. So this is like a guy who decided that he wanted to build a fence on his own property but is too lazy to go to Home Depot and buy one. I’m having a wonderful time explain this to my friends on this side of the pond.

No Job in Tokyo

2006-10-27T11:30:00.000+09:00

As of today I’m not going to be taking a job in Japan. There was little incentive and a movement with my internship company away from some plans that I would be involved with. A lot change here at work the last week, but I can’t talk about it because of confidentiality. They are looking for another job for me with their contacts, but I feel the chances for a good match are slim. I like the company that I’m working for now, and they give me responsibility. I have had more responsibility here than I have had at any other job. The offer of a job was a great sign of appreciation by them because they told me in the beginning that I would not get a job as a result of the internship, I took it anyway because I would have responsibilities.

Now though my responsibilities are down to little because the projects, and there were many, have all been completed except two (and one will be done today). I’ll have my paper finished on time, I graduate in less than a month, and I’ll be back in the United States and it will be time to move on. Funny enough, I have some people that I met here (Americans) that said I should get a law degree; I’m going to pass on that until the time is right (retirement??).

Count Chocula clarifies position on Stem Cell Research and Abortion

2006-10-26T10:33:00.000+09:00

As you may or may not know my name is Count Chocula, son of Blackula, and I’m running for Congress, as an independent, for the 1^st Congressional District of Hawaii. A post that is currently being held by Neil Adercrombie who is actually a great guy and has my support; which is either paradoxical or hypocritical I’m not sure which. Regardless of this I wanted to answer a few comments my critics have shot my way. The first is that I support abortion, and second my stance on stem cell research. Let me clarify, regardless of my pro-life stance I believe that we need to focus on the fundamental problems surrounding the issue first. The pro-life people seem to have a stance of no abortions, no birth control, and lots of children. I’m from Romania, as some may know, and let me tell you this is a dumb policy. So I propose before even addressing the abortion debate we address the reasons for abortions, which by the way are pregnancies which are a result of mating (SEX). Think about this, if people had the opportunity to only have children when they wanted to then there would be no abortions. So I propose better sex education and better availability of birth control. Let’s face it people abstinence only education doesn’t work and restricting birth control by either making it more difficult to obtain or by not teaching people how to use it doesn’t help reduce unwanted pregnancies. We may feel after the near elimination of unwanted pregnancies that that the entire abortion debate becomes a moot point. I love children, because they eat my cereal.

Second, I adopt a position supporting stem cell research. I was a vampire that grew up with a condition where I don’t crave blood but chocolate instead. Imagine the taunts that I got as a child because of this genetic illness. In response of when I think life begins I think that it begins with brain development, which is about 6 weeks after conception. Now embryonic stem cells are taken from in-vitro fertilized eggs with the permission of the fertilizers (the parents not the doctors). If these embryos are not used they are often destroyed. Stems are taken out well before the 6 week period. I support not only embryonic stem cell research but also research into adult stem cells. I do not think that this is an all or nothing debate, we can support both. I understand that opponents of stem cell research disagree with me about when life begins; and that is fine because America is a great place where people can have disagreements.

I hope that this clarifies my views, and vote for me Count Chocula if you live in the 1^st Congressional District of Hawaii. If not vote for Neil, he’s a great guy and a fan of beating baby seals.

Support the troops

2006-10-25T12:32:00.001+09:00

It is becoming more clear that after the elections the United States will be pulling out of Iraq, there is intense pressure from the Democrats in establishing a timetable and the war has become such an embarrassment for Republicans they are sure to put pressure on the president. Bush himself has finally abandoned the “Stay the course” rhetoric. No the solders have become nothing more than a political football. The Republicans won’t pull them out until after the election because otherwise they would admit defeat, and admit that they are bigger hypocrites than they already are. Instead they should be thinking about what they should tell the families of the solders who will die until we pull out because they are keeping them there for purely political reasons, and that is sick sick sick.

This is not advocating bringing the troops home. I still believe that we can accomplish something there (though not a stable democracy). We broke Iraq under a pyramid of lies by the administration (something that I believe) and it is our responsibility to fix it. Nation building can work, but it takes time and dedication. It is also the right thing to do. Look at Bosnia and Kosovo (both multilateral efforts) and we should study what made those work. Some pointers, clean up Iraq (read the book “The Tipping Point”) it is no wonder the place is violent because it looks like a war zone. I know that this is not easy, and we may have screwed things up beyond redemption but we need to adopt tactics that work. At one time many people in the US supported a war on Iraq, and now that we can see the reality of war we’re backing off. We reap what we sow, and we messed up but it is time to fix it. People with integrity make mistakes too, they admit to them and try their best to make it right. The problem is that we don’t have people with integrity in the US government.

Nothing better on a cold Thanksgiving afternoon...

2006-10-24T13:27:00.000+09:00

Cooking is fun and I have not been able to do much of it during my time in Japan. This is a result of living in a hotel room with only a hot plate rather than anything else, though in the last few days I did get to cooks something. That something takes about eight hours, just like a good turkey, tofu turkey, ham, or what others told me was a great Kahula Pig so this upcoming Thanksgiving I’m going to cook… and octopus.

It is quite simple really, the octopus needs to be turned inside-out, basically forcing the organs out through the mouth. Then all the organs are removed (with the beak) and it folded back. I washed the thing a couple of times. Then the great thing was tenderizing it, I do it the Japanese way. I guess in Europe they beat the thing, but I don’t have anything to beat it with. I rolled it in salt and daikon radish then boiled it for about 5 minutes. Afterwards I hung it up for a good 8 hours and it was ready to eat.

So this thanks giving I plan to give thanks to the bounty of the sea with some octopus, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

I’m only half kidding, I love octopus but think I’ll have some problems getting others to try it. As for mine, it was awesome though I have an easy time finding fresh octo here, but in Las Vegas who knows...

Sometimes you need to make a life decision, go figure...

2006-10-23T15:46:00.000+09:00

The company that I’m interning for here is announced to me last week that they will be offering me a job. When I took this internship I was told that they were not going to offer me a job but they have been impressed with my work and maybe my slow progression in Japanese. So this was a little unexpected.

This is causing all sorts of problems because I haven’t found a job in the United States yet. I’m returning to the states in about a month and was planning to be in the Chicago area at least through New Years. I would have to talk about shipping things here, finding an apartment that is big enough for said things (impossible), and Cassie just got a car which I think is useless here.

I haven’t gotten money amounts yet but I already suspect that I would have 10x the responsibility here that I would with a job in the US (I work for a venture capitalist firm) and the money should be pretty good too. I don’t think Cassie would be as happy here though because it is far from “home” and she doesn’t speak a lick of Japanese. I could only do this if the both of us were happy here (and I’m not even sure if I would be 100% happy here). Of course there are about 100 other variables hitting me right now…

A weekend in Pictures

2006-10-23T15:06:00.000+09:00

Oliva is hiding behind a stack of Legos, that look a lot like American Legos right down to the english instructions, but I still can't build anything that is on the box.

These arrows point at how to get on the train, I use them every morning because otherwise I run into the wall.

Capt Nemo look out, those are big fucking tenticles.

Yea, that is a Playstation 3, and yes that is a sign that says no pictures. The president of Sony says you'll spend a lot of money on it because it is awesome. It is awesome BTW, after playing it I was willing to sell my kidneys for one...

Jon Jon in front of the only vending Machine in Tokyo (that he is standing in front of) There are millions of Vending machines in Tokyo.

There is only one type of beer so we didn't have to put up with the BS of deciding what to drink and we got on to the drinking.

Sake, it'll get you drunk!!

It's hard to see but I'm getting my ass kicked in "Dead or Alive"

Fuck yea!! I wrote in Count Chocula for Senate on my absentee ballet!!

Is Lost X-Files 2?

2006-10-20T14:44:00.000+09:00

This week Lost was much better, they are getting back to some mysteries that had been all but forgotten. It was also good to see Hurly again. My major complain was the single goal of the story this time around. It was good to see Charlie and John again, the entire mute thing was stupid, and he did not give a good speech. The flash back was a little interesting, but I also felt that it ended up unresolved. I hope that it is continued later. Desmond was back, I really like his character and hope that they do much more with him. The mystery about him deepens a little bit, which has a possibility to pan out a little better. My feelings for season three so far are not the best. This was a much better episode but I am feeling the series slide into “X-Files syndrome.” The biggest problem I had with X-Files was that the mysteries built on top of each other, so anytime they discovered anything there were five times too many questions, and at the end it was just too much. I felt that with X-Files there was no clear ending, the writers of Lost have said that there is a clear ending here which is a good start. The thing is that the threshold of mysteries is about at the limit, meaning that there will be too many to explain adequately. The episode with Hugo’s flashback in the insane asylum was the best episode yet, though I have a feeling the scene with Libby at the end will never be explained. I’m still a little pissed off about Libby though, I like her character a lot and can not shake the feeling that she is off the show because of the drunk driving thing (in her real life). There are unresolved issues there. So even with an above average episode (finally) I’m starting to get skeptical about the entire series.

Finally some good Cubs (rumors)

2006-10-18T13:58:00.000+09:00

I was at dinner last night at one of those places that has huge chunks of gold leaf for people to just eat. It was with by boss and some big people my firm does business with. One guy spoke perfect English, cause he was from Jersey, and found out I was from Chicago; “You’re not a Cubs fan are you?” To which I replied, “I am one of those sad lots in life”

“Did you hear that Lou Piniella signed with them, that must make you happy.”

Shit, I didn’t really. I had decided to put the entire Cubs franchise behind me because they were a disappointment on EVERY level. In addition to sucking balls, the one game that I went to after flying in from Hawaii got rained out. Finally in the post season I get some good news, about next season. The good rumors seem to continue. Piniella wants Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano in the outfield, and Jason Schmidt to pitch. Not too shabby for rumors, though Soriano wasn’t happy with the Nationals and Carlos Lee has mentioned a preference for the Cubs. Now that the Cubs are going to have names on the back of the shirts again there will be two Lees.

Will Ramirez return, is the next important question before free agency wackiness begins. I would think so, he was happy in Chicago and he gets the money anyway. Next, will Piniella slap Prior around, cause damn I think he needs it. Here’s my final piece of advice, pull a coup and get Matsuzaka AND Jason Schmidt. If the goal for the next season is to win a world series as Cubs President John McDonough claims this is a move to make. There is another reason, money. From a business side more people watched the Sox than the Cubs, and there is an entire nation over here watching Seattle, the Sox, and the Yankees out here in Japan. Broadcasting is more money; he should be able to more than make up his worth.

Now make those rumors come true.

I'm not alone about Nonaka

2006-10-17T09:59:00.000+09:00

A classmate of mine read my critique of Nonaka (oh there will be some more) and sent me this book review from Amazon.com. The crazy thing is that it was from an MBA student in Japan about a year ago. The information supports that this is someone in the same position as me one year ago.

“I was very disappointed by this book. Not only was it painful to read,
because it dragged on and was full of academic nonsense, the authors
views were also unconvincing and based on old research.

This book is outdated and not relevant to the way Japan is today. The
authors use a lot of research and examples from the 80s and even the
70s. They make the claim that Japanese firms experienced a lot of
success in the late 70s and 80s because of their superior ability to
"create knowledge." They seem to be in complete denial that Japan's
economic bubble had anything to do with this "success" that they are
talking about. Also, the book was written over 10 years ago, before
the financial crisis and before people realized that a lot of this
so-called success was just cooked in the books by accountants.

They do give some reasonable examples of knowledge creating firms that
are successful, but that's all they are, just a few examples and not
an accurate representation of the whole picture of Japanese
Management. Also, most of the examples are of Japanese manufacturing
firms. What about the service sector? Suspiciously they did not use
examples of companies from Japan's service sector, which are extremely
inefficient and not the text book perfect examples of successful
"knowledge creating" firms.

The theories and models in this book are a bunch of overly abstract
vague pretentious academic nonsense. The real life examples are so
nebulously related to the theories and models that most successful (or
unsuccessful) companies can be used as examples.

If you want to read a bunch of nonsense based on old research with the
names of Harvard professors and some philosophy thrown in to make the
nonsense seem legit and intelligent, then by all means, read this
book. But if you are like me and want to learn about Japanese
management, don't waste your time or money on this book.”

I continue to like the basic claim of Nonaka’s idea but most other things are “not factual”. The logic that he uses to come to his conclusions are wrong, and the reviewer is right that the examples he uses are dated. This book is written over 11 years ago which makes it very dated to use; but this is no excuse because Peter Drucker’s “Post-Capitalist Socity” is older but much more relevant (and simply one of the best books I have read). Nonaka has a critique of Drucker in his book thinking that Drucker didn’t go far enough, to which Nonaka has taken up the challenge and failed.

This review is a little harsh. It is correct about the service sector though in my discussions with Nonaka he says he knows the service sector but clearly does not. He tried to fit his theory with the venture capitalist firm that I am working for but could not. His own theory has handcuffed him. This reviewer claims the theories are “nonsense” which is not true. The problem with the theory, and in my dealings with Nonaka thus far, are that there is a belief that this is the end of the theory and no more work needs to be done. These things evolved and after 11 years things have changed. From a postmodernist standpoint it should be torn down and rebuilt over and over again. Now I have to dive a little deeper with the additional articles that I have so I may be wrong, but I’ll know in the next day or two.

More about Lost and Battlestar

2006-10-16T15:53:00.001+09:00

Both Lost and Battlestar Galactica are on their third seasons, I’ve watched Lost from the start and got into Battlestar Galactica during the third season (because watch TV on Friday night wasn’t my cup of tea). I thought the second season of Lost was much better than the first, while the first was above average. As I reported last week I hated the season opener for the third season, by far one of the worst that I have seen. The second show of this season, much better but still falls far from the tree.

One reason that I like Lost is because of the wide variety of characters. The first two episodes of the season have dealt narrowly with the characters. I’m wondering much what happened to everyone else on the island. Yes, it is interesting to know what is going on with the “others” but I also know that the show isn’t going to reveal much so get back into the characters and the other mysteries of the island (the others wore itself out for me).

This last week had Sayid who is my favorite character. The Kwon’s were the focus of the flashback, and that was good in itself because their flashback scenes are better than their scenes on the island. This may change with their development, especially with some of the revelations during this episode. There is a major paradox in this episode though, the “others” seem to easily sneak past Sayid who has shown to be a competent former solder (another mystery because the Iraqi army wasn’t know for being that great); while Sawyer easily beats up a bunch of them. I understand that these were not the same group of “others” but it doesn’t seem right to me. This episode was much better than the opener. If the next episode has Hugo, Charlie, and Locke I’ll be much happier.

One issue that links the two series is the large cast of characters. After three seasons the group on Lost is at the same time narrowing and expanding. Some characters have died and others have left (possible); and there has been an expansion of characters as well. It looks to have some “others” become more mainstream characters. Where I think the series is failing is the focus on Sawyer, Kate, and Jack who I think are the three most hollow characters in the series. Battlestar on the other hand has embraced the smaller characters and given them a smaller role and fleshed them out. The main characters like Adama and Adama are becoming more interesting and minor characters like Cally and Zarek have smaller roles but seem as powerful as the main characters. Tigh is developing really well.

I have no complaints about the third episode, the story is progressing and once again I wanted more at the end of the episode. My only complaint is Starbuck, who in the first two episodes was a little boring, and it got a little more interesting now. The Cylons are becoming more interesting now that they are cracking down more on the humans and the revolt is spreading. What I am most happy with is Sharon’s role. There are continued mysteries mainly involving to what really happened with the Cylons, are they a rouge faction or will there be a rogue faction? What is up with Sharon’s baby; and now Starbuck’s baby? What makes the episode even better is that it really only a lead up to the next episode and it was still awesome.

What Battlestar is doing better than Lost is the character development. Yes, there are more “others” to develop, but the last two seasons has been developing them as a mystery and not as characters. That means I just don’t care about them as characters, and the mystery about their characters. They were always a “group” while the Cylons have had individuals about them from the beginning. There is one Cylon that appears to be developing, but she was developed before when everyone thought she was a human. Lost used to have smaller characters that were able to dominate a few scenes and make their presence know, so far this season there has been a desperate lack of that. I don’t care much for the others, and their development so far has been more attempting to reinforce the mystery (at the expense of other characters) as opposed to making them real characters.

My Swell meeting with Nonaka-Sensei

2006-10-16T10:52:00.001+09:00

This Saturday I had my meeting with Nonaka-sensei and was ready to argue with him about his book. Every academic program will have its weak points and the weak point of this one is the final paper and presentation that we need to give. We have to use Nonaka’s theories as a basis for our presentations about the companies that we are interning at. At first glace this may seem like a project that is there just to stroke his ego. After meeting with him and talking with him about the project my theory seems more concerned.

My first problem with his work is his methodology. He describes items and other people’s works in his work and disagrees with them. In most cases it is never described why other theories are wrong. This is nothing but bad academics. After reading his book and several papers it is also apparent that he used inductive reasoning, weak inductive reasoning to be exact. For example; he makes a claim that some Japanese companies (specifically in manufacturing) follow his theories, therefore not only doe all Japanese companies follow his theories but because America has a “western” culture no American company follows his theories. Another problem with his theory is that he leaves out information that may run contrary to his theory. This is common and usually not a problem. Where the problem occurs here is that there are outright claims that are false. The entire way he presents this shows that there is some problems because leaving out information and criticisms is one thing, but making false claims is another. The root of this problem is the heavy reliance on few sources, many of which are secondary sources. This is a little perplexing because the primary sources are readily available. A certain history of philosophy book is used instead of going directly to the source and as a result there is an interpretation of some philosophy used instead of the philosophy itself (especially when he criticizes Western philosophy).

The second problem with his theories is that he claims to have created a catch all theory that can be placed in every situation. If there is such a theory this is not it. His examples in the book are limited to a handful of companies, each with an example. He continues to use these examples to the point where they are repeated several times in the books. During his lectures there are new examples that he used (which is a good idea because the book was written ten years ago). Even these new examples are limited and are usually only partial examples of an overriding theory.

Those are just the basic problems; I can outline more specific problems. Intellectual traditions are different between countries, and often even between disciplines. I have an academic background and have discovered methodology problems in other works as well. The basic ideas of these works are sound, and Nonaka-sensei has a good idea, but the idea isn’t new (knowledge based society). In the “west” Peter Drucker is well known for these ideas, and he presents it much better.

My mandatory meeting with Nonaka-sensei may have gone better than I thought. To be honest I was ready for a fight after probing him in previous discussions and how he reacted to questions during his lectures. I presented my thoughts about his works and immediately he was shocked not because I questioned him (he had not got that far yet) but because I discussed some philosophical traditions he neglected in his book. Then he got upset when he got to the point where I dismissed his theory and presented my own. Dr. Odo had to stop us and give us a break. My boss came and gave me some back up. In the end he was excited because I was introducing something new, or that is how he is taking it. I guess this may be healthy overall because he was forced to acknowledge that in my company his theories do not work. He ended up impressed and gave some additional material that he wrote. I have not gone over that material so I don’t know if it is an attempt to be helpful or an attempt to reinforce his point. At the end of it all he was really excited. After talking with Dr. Odo it seems I may have bee one of the first to question him but I think this may be more because it is easy to write something supporting his theories and we all just want this program finished. I personally am having a grand time working on this paper because it is interesting and I love research; most everyone else is dreading having to write this paper. The only problem may be that I may need to go last in presentations because I have a dissenting view.

Defense of Free Speech in Marshall, Mo

2006-10-13T11:17:00.000+09:00

Now for something that is way out of my geographic range, in Marshall Mo, where there is a fight at the public library over two graphic novels, one of which is one of the best stories that I had ever read. Blankets by Craig Thompson is that title, the other is Fun Home by Alison Bechdel which I have not read (or heard of). Blankets does contain nudity all of which is central to the story, none of which is remotely obscene. Some citizens of Marshall, Mo are demanding that these books be pulled off the shelves. Their claim is that they are “Pornographic”, would cause “seedy people coming to the library and moving into our community,” and that it is just plain “common sense” to ban these books. Several members of the community complained that graphic novels are not art or literature. The library spoke out against removing the books but held a public meeting where both sides expressed their views. Ultimately the library removed the two books for a temporary basis while they make standards to admit books in the library, at which time the policy will be reviewed.

I am not a citizen of Marshall but I find the calls for censorship despicable. It is “common sense” to me that people read the books that they are attempting to censor (which the community members have not done). The Supreme Court in the US has ruled in the past that communities can not remove books from a public library because the community does not like the content or because of “unorthodox” views. Some would argue that communities should be able to set standards to what is acceptable, but I argue that is bunk. Communities DO NOT have a right to set standards on free speech because one of the reasons for free speech is dissidence. If I have an opposing view not only should I be able to express it, but I have the right to academically organize it. This is a check on the power of the masses when they have temporarily self-destructive views.

This is not entirely the case here. Blankets does have some themes that Evangelicals may not like. The theme here is if this is obscene. Is blankets pornography? Pornography is defined by Webster Dictionary has three definitions but one is an adverb. The other two each on has common criteria; does it arouse or cause sexual excitement? This is pretty objective because for some people high heeled shoes cause arousal, but high heeled shoes are not pornographic. Webster also has another criterion, intention, for two definitions. There is clearly no intention to cause sexual arousal. Now the people demanding censorship may have a different definition of pornography, one that Daniele da Volterra and Pope Pious IV may have shared, where any depiction of a naked body is pornography. The problem with this is that they use the word in a way to get a sensational response beyond their definition. They can not say “it has a picture of a naked person,” in it because most books depicting art would also be banned which is not what they are calling for. So my conclusion is that the people demanding censorship are abiding by the real definition of pornography. Without Blankets being porno it may still be obscene, but obscene is such an open term (used deliberately) that it is near-impossible to claim anything as obscene. Blankets and I think I can safely assume Fun Home are not obscene if hardcore pornography is not obscene.

Why is this issue an important issue? To me free speech is the foundation. Once people start chipping away at it then they will try to chip more. The freedom of speech keeps a check on everyone’s speech and claims because they can be refuted. Some people claim that this is the second amendment but that is a crass argument because we have access to both tools but with a few exceptions we have only had to use one.

Clueless Republicans

2006-10-12T12:33:00.000+09:00

Could it be that the Republicans are reaching for straws to hang on to power? Recent Gallop Polls state that Democrats are ahead on every single issue now, including values and national security. The Republicans have backed off values because of the Foley scandal. Personally I don’t think that the leadership covered up anything, but I do think they were negligent. Some of the leadership knew something was going on but either did not know how to deal with it, or they talked each other into thinking someone else did it.

The North Korea “fizzle” as become another nail in the coffin for the Republicans. They are trying hard to blame this on Clinton but people know who have been running things for six years (that would be the Republicans). Six years is a long time, long enough to go into two wars, assault American civil rights, and allow the death of one out of every fifty Iraqis. For the current administration the attempt to blame Clinton continues though like six years hasn’t happened. I have been reading news about how Japan is may start making nuclear weapons; this isn’t going to happen either. People are against it and the government remains against it.

Less than a month, this election is starting to look more fun than the last one.

I am not being paid to get you to watch Battlestar

2006-10-10T13:11:00.000+09:00

Another boring 3 day weekend. I was supposed to go to Yokohama (which is not that far from Tokyo) but those plans got put off after I put of other plans to go to Izu. So I worked on my project and stuck around to watch the F1 race and the season opener of Battlestar Galactica.

This was a rather boring F1 race really. A bunch of us were going to go down and see it because it is in Japan, but it was also too far from Tokyo. Instead we found a sport bar where the race was going to be shown. Slowly the bar filled up and I realized that I may have been the only American there (I went with some Eastern European friends). At least no one accused me of liking NASCAR. Through most of the race it looked as Schumacher would win the race, but he blew his engine. The entire packed bar cheered… except the one guy wearing a Ferrari shirt (he may have been crying). I forgot to bring my Renault shirt… or to bring a pack of Mild Sevens (even though I don’t smoke). It was a good day though, Renault and Alonso are all but assured of winning now (with one final race).

Now Battlestar Galactica did have a spat of poor episodes last season, about 6 or 7, but the season final was awesome. It was a tall order for the season opener which more than fit the bill. What a great show, I’m glad that they are bringing Cally to be a more visible character. Also Tigh is really starting to evolve better too. Besides all this the show is great because it deals with issues, which is something that good sci-fi does. The Cylons now are “sympathetic” to the humans and they are going to work with the humans to make a better society. Viewers are rolling their eyes at that which is exactly what the viewers are supposed to. Think about the implications though. The fictional Cylons are not the only power that have invaded a country, formed a “secret” police of collaborators, and claimed that their conquering another country is for the greater good (a good that will not be seen now but further on in history). Maybe it is because I think o myself as a postmodernist but there are definite real world implications here. For those who have not seen this series it is hands down the best thing on TV right now, and no so much hands down one of the best shows ever.

In other news for my final project I have to use Nonaka’s Knowledge Creation theories as a basis of the paper and presentation. I have encountered a problem with this, while the idea of his knowledge creation theory is interesting and may be partially correct, his ideas as a whole right now are bunk. His material is poorly written. He outlines something and makes a conclusion on it with describing how that conclusion came about. Simply put he is saying that other people are wrong because they are wrong. He also makes a claim that this is a TOE (theory of everything) though he does not explicitly say this. What he says instead is that Knowledge Creation is the sole reason for this and offers proof that has since been refuted (most of the readings are over 10 years old). So I’m in a bind because I don’t know him very well. I’m going to meet with him next week and feel him out. What my final project may be is what us postmodernists do best, tear it apart. Though I have done this before in this program and got slammed for it (not because I did poor research but because I disagreed with the professor to his own admission). So I’ll have to wait and see, though I may tear it apart anyway.

Tropical Storm: Tropical Storm

2006-10-07T15:55:00.000+09:00

We just had a tropical storm coming through Tokyo, at least I think it was a tropical storm. Thursday night I went to a restaurant and slipped while walking down some stone steps. Water was running down them like a waterfall. So as I lay crumpled up at the bottom of the stairs I thought, “after making a spectacle out of myself I had eat there.” So we did.

While we (John and I) were eating another English speaker came down. This particular restaurant did not have English menus, or pictures. Those of you who have been to Tokyo can understand this is a little strange if there is an actual menu, it should have pictures. Well the guy sat next to us and started to complain that there was no menu that he could read. This is a little funny because I don’t think that any of the staff understood what he was saying. At one point he pointed to John and I and asked the waitress “how we ordered,” needless to say John’s Japanese is much better than mine. He finally got a bowl of fried rice; this was a seafood restaurant and John let me practice my Japanese. Strange incident, even though there is a lot of English in Tokyo I don’t expect to be catered to in English; I actually like it better when I’m not.

Friday night the storm was much worse, after walking from the station to cross the street I was soaked through my clothing, and my umbrella broke. I wasn’t the only one, the sidewalk was littered with broken umbrellas. Needless to say because of the weather and other circumstances I spent a quiet night at home watching the South Park season premiere, which was a WoW player (account currently on hold) was awesome. I also watched the Lost season premiere and what a piece of crap. That episode was so bad that I was thinking about abandoning the show.

Things to do in Tokyo when you're dead

2006-10-04T17:35:00.000+09:00

So far this week it has been one of the most boring weeks at work. My boss has been out of town for weeks and I have finished the work that I was supposed to be working on. The last two days there have not even been English speakers in the office (私はじょずではない日本語はなしる。) So I have not been doing anything at work except work on some personal things, yesterday I sent out resumes.

I was supposed to go to Osaka with a bunch of people this weekend but the person organizing it must have slept through marketing class. It was a horrible e-mail and everyone started to think that he didn’t want anyone to go with him, so now no one is going. Instead there is a trip that is being organized in いず, which is closer to ときょ, and we’re supposed to stay at a beach house. It is another long weekend as there is a holiday on Monday, and it is an overnight trip so I still have my extra day to work on my final project.

There is a presentation that I’m supposed to give on aggressive American negotiation. I guess because I’m an American I’m supposed to be an expert in this type of thing. The closest thing to aggressive negotiations involves Episode 2, which is not what I think they want me to show people. This all came about because my boss wanted to say something really rude to some of her counterparts, but wanted to make it sound more business like. So she calls me and asks me how to say this rude thing (“Do you think I’m a fucking idiot”) in a nicer way. The result must have been good, now I have this assignment.

Deodorant Hunt

2006-10-03T11:18:00.000+09:00

So the timer on my deodorant was starting to run out and I decided that I should buy another stick before I wake up and realize there is no deodorant for me and I have to go to work on an unusually hot day, and a train packed more than usual. The problem is that I can’t find any. After a few days of looking I decided to come about a new resort, using the internet. There must be some help for the wary traveler about this. So I found this article that basically says their sweat doesn’t stink. I had never had this problem before, and it just goes to show that there will always be a situation that comes up. The story does have a good ending, someone in the program brought several extra sticks (they brought TEN) and gave me an extra.

Diploma Problems

2006-09-28T10:03:00.000+09:00

I’m wearing white socks to work today because I forgot to do laundry during the week.

This has been a crazy week for me because I have had trouble sleeping so I’m tired all the time. In addition I got crazy news from the University of Hawaii. Before leaving for Japan I had to fill out a form to the effect of what name I should have on my diploma. So I filled it out how my name appears on every other diploma. Hawaii’s response is that they only put “real names” on diplomas. They won’t budge on this even though I showed them my passport and drivers license. Talk about bullshit. So now I’m going to have one diploma that will have a different name, and I’ll have to explain that to everyone when they look and ask why I have someone else’s diploma.

I don’t like to bash the schools I’ve gone to because it makes me look bad but fuck University of Hawaii, fuck them in the ear.

Gremlins in my room

2006-09-27T14:22:00.000+09:00

I think I have a Gremlin hiding in my room somewhere, I hope it is the Brain and not Mohawk because it’ll give me something to talk to. My air conditioner has been broken for the past few days, It only blows out really hot air, and if I turn it on “supercool” it blows out really hot air. This is fine because it has been real good weather here and I can open the window. As a result I haven’t told the management about it yet. So last night I was on my computer when I noticed it was freezing, so I closed the window. It didn’t help, and then I noticed the air conditioner running at full power completely silent. It works fine now.

Well in the morning I’m getting ready. Part of the morning ritual for me is uploading my podcasts onto my iPod. So I hook up the iPod and it erases everything, which is strange because my playlists have not changed. My computer crashes and I try it again, thistime resetting the iPod. It doesn’t work, iTunes crashes violently on my computer, and it restored all my Podcasts to my iPod but lists none of them as being played. I finally say “screw it” and head off to a pleasant sardine packed train ride to work.

The largest problem with the gremlin is if it pilfers food at normal time here it is after midnight in Chicago (or Las Vegas, or Honolulu) and they never say what happens to a gremlin that was fed after midnight…

In other news I sent an e-mail to Howard Dean today telling him that democrats need to stop responding to things the Republicans say (or ignoring them) and get the Republicans to respond to them. Basically that is what it said, without anything about Gremlins and much more polite.

Why Japan should not have a "real" military

2006-09-26T10:31:00.000+09:00

There have been a couple of American editorials discussing the lack of need for the Japanese to come to terms with their past. This is not surprising because China is once again starting to be perceived as an enemy (how dare they wish to improve themselves, and how dare they disagree with the United States), and relations with South Korea keep on declining. Japan now is seen as Eastern Asia’s greatest ally for the United States. Koizumi, one of the greatest leaders in Japanese history, just stepped down and his appointed successor Abe (not pronounced like Abe Lincoln) will be the next prime minister. Abe wants to get rid of article nine which states that Japan will not have a military. Japan already has a powerful “self-defense force” which caused George Will to proclaim that the removal of article nine as something that really doesn’t matter.

All of this does matter, a note to all of you Americans the education system here teaches that Pearl Harbor was a defensive act. I guess the US forgot, I’m sure it has something to do with that awful Ben Affleck movie. China has not forgotten the massacres, Unit 731, using the Chinese, Americans, and Koreans for surgical medical experiments, and the other concentration camps. Many Japanese don’t even know about it. The Koreans have not forgotten how they were abused and humiliated while they were a colony. The Japanese don’t know much about that either. They are not taught these things. This is a region where people have long memories.

I had a conversation with some of the younger Japanese people that I have met about this because the conversation turned towards this. On of them got on the defensive and asked me, “What about the Germans? It isn’t like they teach their people about the atrocities that they committed.” Well, they do. He was more than a little shocked.

This reaction by the Japanese the last 61 years has been typical Japanese, but that in itself makes it very alien. A Japanese army would not be the same as the Imperial Japanese army, it would be one that would participate more in United Nations actions and would not imperialist. The problem of having an official army is that it would increase tensions in the area though and could pave the way for nuclear proliferation; there could very well be five regional nuclear powers. The best argument though is that Japan had found a better way to do things by becoming an economic power and they simply do not need an army.

A day and a half of no work

2006-09-24T22:06:00.000+09:00

Another long weekend in Tokyo that consisted of the great activity of not working my internship has finished. I like my internship, but I don’t love my internship. I’m practicing new skills that I’ll need in the future, though I’m practicing them a little too much. This last week I had spent about 12 hours a day at the internship. I understand that this amount is needed occasionally, or more than occasionally, but I also need to write a very long report and presentation still and I need to send out resumes. My other complaint is that I’m learning new things, but not really learning how to do new things. I’ll need to work on that.

Friday night was a night out in Roppongi again, this was not my choice though. I originally met some people there and we had a drink at the famous Wychwood brewers’ own Hobgoblin bar. I got to drink Hobgoblin from the tap (not directly from the tap) and try Dark Witch which is one of their beers that I have not quenched my thirst with before. We ended up going back to Ginza to meet some other people (I had come from Gina to meet them) and thus the low point of the evening. We spent an hour and a half trying to get people together and to get in contact with some other people… you all know the drill. Kris and I got a little ticked off and decided to go back to Roppongi. So back in Roppongi we met up with Harmony who had with her two Hawaiian musicians that she ran into. So we finally went into a place to get some food, this was a relief because I had not eaten all day.

Last night I met up with John, Wictor, and the new edition to our group Gabe. Gabe is studying train systems in Japan and is one of those people who love trains. I am not one of those people that love trains, but I spent some time talking about the Japan railway system. He is working on making the system more handicapped accessible which is a noble goal and I applaud him for it. We ended up at a Korean restaurant where we at many different dishes while consuming sake and Japanese Beer. Some of the things that I at had raw egg in them, and though I have eaten a great variety of things before I had never had a raw egg soup. I can say that it wasn’t that bad. There is a lot of egg in Japanese dishes and many of them are much better than the some of the egg dishes in other places. Though, the place I’m staying at has hard boiled eggs for breakfast which is something that I just can not take anymore.

I also got a package from Cassie’s father (Sir) earlier in the week. It had several books for met to read, and some smoked salmon and caviar which are wonderful things too. If I could find bagels I would be set, and I’m sure that there are bagels here. I had some chili the same night that Kris made, and I got to carry a ziplock bag full of it around Tokyo. This is a good thing because now I can start a story with “I was carrying a ziplock bag full of chili around Tokyo when…” Personally I plan on using that line a lot.

In other cool news I went into the Sony building for a bit today and there is a stairway that made different tones depending on where you stepped. It was really cool and sounded like industrial music played on a toy piano, which is better than most music today.

This upcoming week is going to be like last week, with a lot of work. Though today I worked on a little bit and think that I can get a lot of it done without the excessive amounts of overtime so I can send out a few more resumes. I did that today too.

Outside the Fishbowl

2006-09-22T14:52:00.000+09:00

Today I had lunch with this guy Tei whom I met here in Japan. Tei is trying to start his own company, is American, and has lived in Tokyo for 10 years. Like some Americans who have been away for a long time they eventually ask questions about what things are like back ‘home’. We eventually gotten around to that subject before I asked him is he was going to vote; to which he laughed. What followed was a conversation that was longer than we had for lunch, and something that was touched on in the current issue of Foreign Policy (sorry can’t find the link). You see inside the US things have changed, but out here (and the Middle East) things have not changed much.

Looking from the outside the fishbowl to the inside things look a little crazy. Of course not everyone talks politics all the time; but I look at elections like the Superbowl, so I talk about it with people. So what do people outside the fish bowl see? Well for one there was just this long debate between the president and the legislative branch to determine what if torture should be allowed with prisoners. The Bush II (Cheney in Command) has admitted to secret CIA prisons; which is a charge that he has denied before. There was a Canadian citizen that was sent to Syria to be tortured even though the Canadians wanted him back. Then there is Iran which the administration sounds like WMD in Iraq II (Iran Strikes Back). Then people hear things about how the United States wants to bring freedom and peace to people around the world, but we support dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Azerbaijan.

Some people will read that and point at how unpatriotic I am. Those are just facts and I’m not passing judgment with them. People can come to their own conclusions about those things and it says nothing about my patriotism.

So before passing judgment about how people outside the “fishbowl” hate the United States think about this. Things out here have not changed much. People are not paranoid about terrorism beyond the usual. People have not overreacted to events outside the fishbowl because they live here. Some out here ‘hate’ the US (no so much in Japan) but it isn’t usually the US that they hate but the hypocrisy, empire building, shortsightedness, bullying, and general ass hole attitude that they hate. It does not matter if America are these things or not, but people have that perception; and that is someone’s individual reality.

Here is an awesome Foreign Policy article, but I think you need a subscription to read it. This is one of the best things I have read all year (though Bush worshippers may not like it).

election day

2006-09-20T13:08:00.000+09:00

Today the ruling party of Japan (the LDP) will elect a new leader replacing Koizumi (also known as ‘The Man’). The LDP has ruled Japan from the war, with a short exception, and will rule again. That’s Japanese politics. Shinzo Abe is expected to take Koizumi’s place, which means he will take Koizumi’s place. Like the princess, no one at my job is talking about it.

Today I accidentally got on the woman only car of the subway. I noticed that there were only women on the train, and one old man. Then I realized that I was in the last car which is the woman’s only car. I quickly got off, just in time trapping the old man in the train full of woman. I find it surprising though that no one said anything to me.

Also in the Japan times has an article about physically challenged people wrestling that sums up everything that is strange and unusual about Japan.

Roppongi Ho!!

2006-09-19T00:07:00.000+09:00

Damn, I let my camera’s battery run out so I don’t have pictures for this entry. This was a three day weekend here in Japan and it was really boring for me. Saturday night I spent my first night in Roppongi, unlike last time I planned on it. It was just bar hopping and making sure I didn’t drink too much. I was successful on both accounts. One of the bars we went to was a dart bar. The owner turned out to be a world dart champion. He gave me a bag of tips, which is good because I lost my earring. Walking around with a dart tip in my ear looks pretty dumb, so it didn’t turn out.

Roppongi after dark is filled with prostitutes. That may have been because there was also a huge amount of US Army guys that had leave before shipping out. The problem with them is that seemed to think that every woman was a prostitute. There were all these tall white guys with flattops hitting on every woman that walked by. Those guys were ass holes. Though to escape the prostitutes I pretended that I was gay. It then turned into Drew, Terry, and I saying we were gay. It worked though cause otherwise they follow you down the street.

Other than that I worked, sent out resumes, and played video games with Jon Jon. I also decided that Roppongi will be avoided in the future.

What is America's goal? (political blog entry)

2006-09-14T15:05:00.000+09:00

I was reading this awesome (but long) article in the New Yorker and got a little scared about Americas “War on Terror”. On that horrible day years ago 9/11/2001 I was living in Russia and I saw the attacks and thought that it was a tasteless movie. When I realized what had happened I thought three things; “people are angry and we’re going to do the wrong thing,” “Bush is a horrible leader and will do the wrong thing,” and “I am more patriotic that I thought I was.” In the few months between 9/11 and when I left Russia I saw a pile of flowers outside the embassy so high you could barely see the wall, had Russians buy me drinks and toast America; and when I left there were people curing America and throwing eggs at the embassy. That was even before Iraq. I had also read a great article about 9/11 (still the best I have ever read) entitled “Be cool America.”

That article convinced me to write a letter to President Bush with a few insights about what was going to happen and how to go about it. I got an automated response. I am not naive enough to think that it would ever be read, I believe all e-mails go right to the deleted bin. I tried though.

So here is what I said. There are three things that are needed to win a war (or battle). These are not really printed anywhere but are really common sense things that people forget about. First, have objectives. Second, know your opponent’s objectives. Third, achieve your objectives while denying your opponents theirs. Yes, this sounds simple but we have not done that.

First, we have the goal of eliminating the group that attacked us, Al Qaeda. We started off good with the Afghanistan invasion etc. Then we started to stumble, we let the Bin Laden flee to Pakistan, we did not stabilize Afghanistan immediately, we did not immediately get to work on showing the people there that basic infrastructure is nice, democracy is nice, and free markets are nice. President Bush was too excited patting himself on the back and planning the most catastrophic move.

Second, Al Qaeda and Islamic Fundamentalism in general is a movement that uses terrorism as a tool. They also use poverty, disillusionment, and chaos as a tool to recruit members. Like all movements there is a single overwhelming fact about it, it is based on an idea that can not survive if there are no people that ascribe to that idea. After Afghanistan the group was broken. It had lost a lot of members (though we let the leadership go), it had been discredited to the world, and they allowed us to rebuild Afghanistan and show the Islamic world that we can heal as well as kill.

Third, we pretty much ignore Afghanistan and attack Iraq. Then we make the same mistakes by dismantling all the institutions and George Bush and his friends pat themselves on the back while the country is in chaos. There is widespread looting, destruction, and the US troops looked the other way when the people who had been oppressed for so long took their anger out on the former rulers. Most harmful of all, we forgot Al Qaeda, and the Taliban.

The result was poverty, disillusionment, hatred for the United States, and chaos. All which allowed more people join the Islamic Fundamentalists. America had a chance to prove in Afghanistan that our philosophy is better (not correct…) and rebuild a failed state. Create a shining beacon of democracy in the Islamic World. Yes, it does sound familiar; Bush said this about Iraq after there were no WMD found, after it was proved there were no Al Qaeda ties, and months after the chaos had destroyed Iraq. Of course Iraq is more fractured, larger, and more of a challenge than Afghanistan. Meanwhile in Afghanistan our half hearted institutions are failing (read Karzai’s interview in Time), there is no economy to help Afghans get on their feet (so they grow poppy), the institutions we built turned out to be corrupt (the Taliban was totalitarian but wasn’t corrupt), and now the Taliban is back.

So to sum up: we forgot our goal, energized our enemies, and are only helping them achieve their goals. Read the New Yorker article because we are doing exactly what they want us to do, and events are happening according to their timeline. We have not lost yet, because I don’t think that the Fundamentalists goals can be achieved and we can change our strategy though we have made it much more difficult for us to do this. Meanwhile Cheney says that he would not do anything different, though to be honest he can’t say anything else the problem is that I believe him. None of the people making mistakes are fired or even disciplined. Bush is still in power and according to his ABC interview he will remain on the attack. They need to sit back and look at their strategy, think about the three things to do to in a war. Achieving goals while denying your enemy is not easy, but it can not be done if the concept can not be understood.

Bush as a leader is a failure because he made bad decisions. I believed that he believed in those decisions, or someone in his administration did, and that he believes in them today. People support him because he “stays the course” which is not a bad idea if there is an objective but as it stands now there is no objective. It wasn’t to destroy Al Qaeda because we had the chance to do that, it wasn’t capturing Bin Laden because we had the chance to do that, it is not a creating a stable democracy in the Arab world because we could of tried to do that in Afghanistan instead of invading Iraq. Making America or the world a safer place is obviously not the goal because the administration had ignored that aspect… except around election time. It becomes simple, without a goal we simply can not have victory.

The rain in Tokyo...

2006-09-14T13:07:00.000+09:00

It has been raining here the past few days here in Tokyo and it has made me realize that I hate carrying an umbrella around. My work gave me an umbrella but it is hug, I could fit a family of five under it. So now in the rain I sit and worry about poking someone’s eye out. Really though most of the time I carry it I don’t end up needing it, I’m in the sub way, walking under awnings, or by my work rail tracks. Today though, it was pouring so I decided to grab it. Woe is I, the wind carried the rain in an assault from all sides so it just didn’t matter.

Sometimes I feel like jousting with someone in the street, but I suppress that urge.

Kamakura is a train ride away

2006-09-12T10:10:00.000+09:00

It was a busy weekend, and this will be a busy week. Saturday I went to Kamakura which at one time long ago was the capital of Japan. There was a Shogunate that was based here starting in 1185. Today it is a sleepy little town outside Tokyo that has many awesome shops which I did not go shopping in. There is also a Shinto Temple that is dedicated to the war god, this shrine is called Hachiman. It was built by that Shogun but had been destroyed several times. Like the last temple (Meiji Temple from last week) there was a wedding in process when we were there. At one point the shrine was a Buddhist and Shinto shrine, but the Buddhist elements were removed about 100 years ago when there was a general separation of Buddhism and Shinto. It was a rather large temple with a really big staircase. It was generally agreed among my group that we should have brought a slinky.

Once again we took another train deeper within the city where there is the big Buddha. If you have ever seen the Japanese version of Ghostbusters two you may have seen this. They cover it with slime and it gets up to defeat Vigo and as a symbol that everyone can rally around spreads very good cheer. Well this Buddha is not as large as the statue of liberty, but it defiantly is big. You can go inside, which was like a sauna in the hot sun. There even was a little concrete area that looked like a steam room, so maybe it is a sauna-like-structure. At these temples you can buy different charms, like the charm for traffic safety and the charm for wisdom. My favorite charm is the charm for a strong leg. I’m afraid to get that one because I don’t know if I need two or not.

Many people know that I love green tea ice cream. In fact I often get people ho see me on the street and say things like, “That guy likes green tea ice cream,” or “You are a mighty and handsome man let me buy you some green tea ice cream, and a pint of Guiness!” Well I found a place that has… Green Tea Soft Serve Ice Cream (GTSSIC). In the hot sun it was a challenge to get it all in my body before it melted all over my hands, feet, and limbs. Not to mention my shirt. I almost succeeded before our next stop, the Buddhist temple, the last few bits fell on the ground, lost and abandoned.

Hase-Dera is the Jodo-sect Buddhist temple that is near the Great Buddha. The garden around the temple was awesome, and I plan on having a garden just like it. The best part was the Sentai-Jizo where there are thousands of statues of Buddha lined up, small doll sized statues and smaller action figure sized statues. Some were dressed up much like the infamous American Geese that can be spotted in some yards. These were much cuter. My theory for the statues was that during Ragnarok the statues would rise up and fight the Terra-Cotta statues in China. I looked it up on the Internet tool (that is all the rage with those young people), and I was wrong. The statues are done for aborted fetuses, and parents dress them up and pray for Jizu to protect the babies in the afterlife. Jizu is the god that protects children. There is awesome a great view of the bay, showing all the beautiful rooftops of homes that actual Japanese people live in.

There is also a money-washing temple where you wash your money. We were hungry and tired which resulted in eating at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and going home. It was a long tiring day.

Come and get me Greenpeace!!

2006-09-09T09:15:00.000+09:00

I’m waiting for the Sierra Club, or Greenpeace to come knocking down my door at any minute now. So I was with another guy who had a birthday this week and some others, including some Japanese. We were ordering all sorts of food. I love Japanese food, even the really strange things like the squid (ika). I love sushi, and the sushi here is just amazing. Well a plate of sushi came out that I had never seen before and one of our Japanese hosts explained, “That is whale.” Well I hesitated at first (PETA may send an assassination squad against me) but I grabbed a whale nigiri (a slice of raw whale and a small ball of rice) and popped it in my mouth.

It was absolutely disgusting, one of those disgusting where I couldn’t swallow but could not keep chewing, and I could not spit it out. Eventually I swallowed quickly then I washed the taste out with some small raw squids that we had, which were absolutely delicious by the way, and some beer. I tried it though. It is… fatty and doesn’t have much more of a taste; much like chewing some fat, water, and wasabi. No one else liked it either because everyone had a piece, and no one had another even though there was one left.

So now I await Greenpeace to arrive in their little boat to take me out.

The New prince of Japan can beat up Tom Cruise's Baby

2006-09-07T13:52:00.000+09:00

Yes, Princes Kiko has had a baby boy here in Japan, he is the third in line for succession of the throne now. The government can escape talking about changing the succession to allow an Empress (there have been empresses of Japan before) for a little more. The only reason demand a male succession involves the Meiji reforms so that Japan would be more like Prussia (what would a female Kaiser be anyway a Kaiserette?).

So I’m watching CNN and they are showing parties in the streets and people celebrating in front of the imperial palace. They are interviewing people who are so happy that there was a baby boy. The BBC said “People across Japan are celebrating.”

Well, I haven’t seen anybody go crazy. I talked to about 50 different Japanese all of whom just didn’t care. I walk by a part of the imperial palace every day and there is nothing going on. I’m sure that people are happy here, and I’m sure that there are people that are going really crazy about it… but not everyone. As for my office, I seem to be more excited than anyone here where no one seemed to notice.

Ban CostCo

2006-09-05T16:42:00.000+09:00

I’m sitting at work right now waiting for the day to end. I have a headache because I have stared at a compute screen the entire day. This week has been slow, I have had little to do. I got one large project at the beginning of the week that should last me for a week except that I’m almost done with it. I have even had several smaller finance projects that took me less than an hour today. So I have spent the day reading newspaper editorials that relate to the United States or Japan, oh I worked for about and hour on my project.

A decision was made by me and the rest of the class here and China to ban CostCo from our lives. I have never shopped at CostCo and now I never will. Three of my class got internships at CostCo here in Japan, all of them at offices in the marketing department. Well we get here and all three of them don’t end up working at the marketing department but instead get jobs mopping floors and stocking warehouses. The rest of us are writing marketing plans, doing financial analyses, accounting, and giving strategy presentations. We are MBA students and CostCo took three of us and decided to use them as free physical labor. It was made clear to all the companies that we are supposed to practice our skills but they decided to ignore this. I do not have anything against management working on the floor and learning every aspect of a company but these three were taken advantage of. We do have a presentation to give at the end of this about how we combined all of our skills, and what are they supposed to present. All three have left and moved on to other internships which was difficult for the program to find at the last minute. In even this they were hassled and CostCo even tried to lie to the program to what was really going on to get them to stay.

Tonight I’m going out to meet some biotechnology entrepreneur here in Japan. He is doing something with Mangos I think.

RIP Steve Irwin

2006-09-04T20:06:00.000+09:00

I loved his show. There were many college nights watching his show with friends that I almost laughed hard enough to throw up. Give him a moment of silence... he was a guy who was able to promote himself make some money and give it to what he believed in. He also entertained millions, including myself…

Beyonce Sucks

2006-09-04T19:51:00.000+09:00

Well there are some things to do in Japan besides drinking, eating and shopping; but eating and drinking are fun. Friday night I went with some other students, and some locals, to a restaurant that was well overpriced and overpriced. That was a light day really because I was able to get off early after making a presentation.

Sunday was the day though. We went to the Meiji Shrine, which is huge, but also walked around the area. Despite some protests from myself and a few others there was a lunch at a burger place. Hamburgers here are over priced but some people just want to get back home for a little bit. I myself had a tuna sandwich. I love Asian food, and I love Japanese food more that I like hamburgers so it perplexes me why someone would want to get a hamburger when there is good food everywhere.

After that we ran into Beyonce… really. We were walking and there was a ton of people waiting outside this one store, and then she walked out with some towering bodyguards, waved at all of us, then jumped in a van and drove off. I tried in vain to remind everyone how much she sucks, but I was ignored.

Outside the Meiji temple is where all the goth and Japanese punks hang out on Sunday. It was awesome, I was wearing my Cubs jersey and I felt like a tool. There are some really damn cool shops which means I’ll have to come back and do a little shopping there. It is strange though because they just hang out there while tourists take pictures of them. At first I was pissed because people of any subculture are not in a zoo. It sort of pissed me off how a lot of the people I was with were like “they just do it for the attention so who cares?” That turned out to be more true that I thought though because all of them were openly posing with people (though I still think it would be better to ask first).

Then onto the Meiji temple. Emperor Meiji was the emperor who modernized Japan in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s. He was Hirohito’s grandfather and set up a constitutional monarchy where the emperor had significant control. This was the second temple, the first was destroyed during allied bombing in the second world war. This temple was built in 1958. It is a large temple, spacious (minimalist) and was very serine. The temple was built in a park that was one his favorites. Outside the park there are barrels of Sake, and a concession stand where they serve soft serve ice cream.

The one thing that pissed me off is the attitude that some of the people here have, specifically Jon Jon. I always feel uncomfortable in religious places of a different religion. I feel that religion is a private matter and making some of these spots tourist spots degrades them a little (this is of course my belief). So in these temples I don’t take pictures or even really go into places that I feel are only for members of that religion if I’m not invited. Normally this is where people pray. So in Shinto shrines there is an area where people pray and they throw coins.

After the shrine we saw the “Tokyo Rockabilly Club” which were these old guys with Elvis hair dressed like bikers and dancing to the tunes of Grease. I guess they even have a store but we didn’t see that. It was funny but not something that I wanted to see for a while (there was also a Falafel cart nearby which was funny to me for some reason).

Today I worked on my birthday and am sitting at home watching CNN and writing this right now.

Hooray for birthdays

2006-09-04T10:41:00.000+09:00

Today is my birthday and I decided it fitting to look up birthdays on Wikipedia (it is a slow day at work). I cam across this passage… “For special birthdays and for when the number of candles might be considered impractical or a fire hazard, special candles might be substituted for the many individual candles.” I find this humorous for some reason.

Beyonce’s birthday is today which is funny because my group ran into her while walking around Tokyo yesterday. Mike Piazza and Damon Wayans also have birthdays today. Otherwise this day is pretty boring.

As an extra special birthday present some JAG left his briefcase on the ground on the train right next to the door. So the train doors open at one of the busier stops and everyone rushes out, and trips over the briefcase. I was at the other side so I didn’t get affected, but it was funny to see.

Earthquake!!

2006-09-01T12:42:00.000+09:00

I went through my first Earthquake. People said it was a fairly large one, but I thought it was a 4 second “ride”. I was working and the ground shook a little bit then the entire building felt like it was swaying. Then nothing, except for a small everyone stopped typing on their computer for a moment.

I would like to think that I’m busting my ass at this internship and my boss told me so today. I had a list of things to do before I had to go to a meeting today and I didn’t leave yesterday until I finished them. That meant staying late. This means that I’m looking forward to this weekend even though besides a get together tonight I have no plans. I have had problems sleeping as of late so I hope to catch up on that.

A Hump night out in Ginza, with a Morman

2006-08-30T23:18:00.000+09:00

Today after work I decided to meet up with Olivia and walk around Ginza which look completely different at night because of all the bright lights. We got some above average Ramen noodles and proceeded to get lost.

While walking around Ginza a Japanese guy walked right up to Olivia and started to talk to here, then us when I think he realized that it may have been rude to only talk to her. He was so trying to get into her pants. We all exchanged business cards and he wrote down a new e-mail and his personal phone number on hers. Then he said ‘don’t use the e-mail on the card because it doesn’t work anymore’. Well I won’t be calling him.

I love Ginza, I really love Tokyo too. There was a little luck at work when I got my work assignment in Ginza cause it is just so interesting to walk around in. It is hard to imagine a city so big, and Chicago isn’t a small town either. Tokyo is really like fifteen cities smooched into one.

In other related news I think the people that got the really crappy internship where they were just moving boxes around the warehouse, quit and found another internship. I think that is really shitty, it was really that company using them as free physical labor. Those three were really having a horrible time and I hope that things are going to improve for them.

Other than that I’m getting a huge load of work. I got an assignment in the beginning of the week and I had a week to finish it. I did it in one day. I don’t mind though because I’m doing meaningful things and the time goes by. They don’t make me stay late and even kind of push me out if I’m staying too late, they want me to enjoy Japan as much as my job. That is good.

After Hours... Tokyo Drift

2006-08-28T21:09:00.000+09:00

Friday night a bunch of us decided to get together and have a big dinner to unwind after the first week of possible real work. Some of us were happy with what we are doing, some are not, but all of us were ready for the weekend (except for a few that have to work weekends). So there were a lot of us trickling in to dinner where the beer, sake, and fried chicken skin flowed freely. We found a nice not too smoky restaurant that lay in an ally and was located right under the JR train line. Many of these restaurants had make shift tables made with stacked milk crates and wooden beer boxes. Our was on the second floor and we had to sit on the floor. It was a blast.

After it was getting closer to the end of the night here, sometime past midnight when the trains stop coming, and there was enough time for another quick bar hop. Off we went to Hub, the British Pub chain that carries Guinness. Victor, Terry, Trish, and I had a quick drink then decided it would be time to get the last train.

5 seconds, Terry and I (we would take the same train) watched it take off right at Midnight and proceeded to wait for the next one because the last train is supposed to be later. Well an ancient gentleman kicked us out. We missed the train, we missed the train, and one more time we missed the train. There were three options: take a taxi home, party all night, and sleep on the street of Ginza. We opted for option number two because if that didn’t work out we could choose one of the other options.

Not only were we going to spend all night out, we were going to cause mischief; because what else can a large black man and another guy with a huge tattoo on his arm going to do in Japan. We tried to get in to a all Japanese bar that had a bouncer that was smaller than me. The bouncer was cool, but did not let us in. Instead he told us about a great maid bar that was right down the street, he was even willing to walk us there (and allow any other Gai-Jin behind us to get in). Let me explain the concept of a maid bar, it is a tiny bar that has a bunch of girls in skanky maid outfits that serve you drinks. The real thing was a disappointment on the skank part, the outfits were not too revealing.

Where the bar was great was that we didn’t really spend a lot of time trying to grab the girls or explain what we could do to them before passing out from the alcohol. We played it cool and talked with them about stuff. We got free beer. Then that bar closed (lost track of time by this point) and the girls kicked everyone out of the place and poured a few shots of everyone’s favorite alcoholic beverage… Absinthe!!

We had a couple shots of those before leaving. The trains were still not running so we walked to another bar where there was a guy at the bar, and old woman behind the bar, and that is about it. Terry and I sat there and drank some more, I nursed one, until I was just too tired to go one. I thin Terry went to sleep on a couch. So we left and confronted our options. It was a half hour until trains started to run again, but my hard bed sounded better than the hard street. We got cab rides home.

I later found out that Terry missed the train again the next day (without me).

The next day was going to be filled with taking the train to see Drew on the other side of the city and then going to a festival. This one is much less laid back than the night before. So I grabbed Jon (who never seems to want to go out) and headed to Ogikubo which was about an hour train ride. We got there and gathered some other troops, Olivia, Harmony, and Chris. Off to get some Okonomiyaki: which is sorta like Japanese Pizza, or an omelet where you get everything and mix it together and cook it on a hot plate in front of you. It is delicious!!

Then off to the Awa-Odori (or Awa Dance). This was basically a lot of street venders, people and… 17000 dancers dacing in the street parade style. There were musicians, dancers, and a mad guy with a gong that was going nuts. It was one of the greatest things that I had ever seen. It lasted for a couple hours and Jon cut out early but I could not be swayed to go with. Afterwards we hung outside a 7-11 and drank water, some Japanese sports drinks (all hail Pocari Sweat). Then home, where I did not miss the train.

There was my weekend (except Sunday which was quiet and bland by comparison). I was really busy at work today so I couldn’t get this updated (sorry).

Oh and Joey is still the man here

Mystery Solved

2006-08-25T12:02:00.000+09:00

I solved the mystery of the exercise bike in the office. It was easy, while slurping down some noodles I asked one of my coworkers about it. There was a pause while they all thought about it and it was decided that the only reason that it was there was the big boss wanted it there. I guess only he uses it, but there was some debate on that. I think I’ll continue to walk up and down the stairs here to exercise my legs.

The last two days I have not much to report. Wednesday was rather boring, but yesterday and today I have more work to perform. Last night I had my first taste of Western food since I got here. Jon Jon and I went to the market so I can grab some sushi after work. I is about a seven minute walk to the market from where I am staying. There was no sushi, or anything really, to buy. Usually they have an entire selection of foods prepared that are cheaper than the restaurants nearby. The sushi is rather cheap, I can get an entire meal for 350 Yen. Alas they were out of it, we came too late I guess. So we ate at the burger place next door “Freahness Burger” which sells small White Castle like burgers. I had the Fish Burger. The grease is killing me today though. Tonight I’ll be going out with some of the other students, so it’ll be more interesting than work.

Workplace Mystery Solved

2006-08-23T09:52:00.000+09:00

There have been two mysteries in the office that I have noticed the last two days. I solved one of them. The fist is how to get hot water from the machine. It seems to me that most Japanese appliances are a little more complicated than the American counterpart, as it is in this case. I figured out how to do it first. I had figured out which button to push to get water but it was not working. The problem was that there is a light that shines down to show you where the water is going to pour out then you can pour the water out.

The second mystery is that there is an exercise bike set aside in the corner. I have been staking it out but have seen no one use it. I would like to use it but do not want people to think I’m an exercise bike riding fool. Considering that I sit all day it would be nice to have the work out, instead I’m climbing stairs.

Today when riding the subway I swear that my feet did not touch the ground as I was propped up between someone’s grandmother, a 6 year old boy, and someone who does not have the ironic nickname of stinky. I crowd surfed out, or it felt like I did leaving the car was a blur.

First Day of Work

2006-08-22T10:24:00.000+09:00

My first day on the job was yesterday. I worked about ten hours with a short lunch break. I did not have to but I dived into the work mainly because otherwise I would be sitting at my desk (I get my own desk CAPITAL) and doing nothing. Currently most of my job consists of research, which is something that I enjoy anyway. Most of the information that I’m looking for is not in Japanese of English. I really can not talk about my work that much because of the nondisclosure agreement that I needed to sign before working here.

I’m having a blast, though the job is taking a little out of me because I’m just sitting and staring at a computer screen for hours. I guess it is different when you are playing video games.

To get to work I take a subway. I need to transfer once, and that isn’t that bad. The worst part is when I get on the first train it is so crowded that someone needs to shove people in to get the doors close. It works great, though I’m packed tighter than many music concerts that I have been to. The entire trip takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Even in that time though (and the air ventilation on the subway) I’m sweating through my shirt when I get to work. The humidity here is killer.

Some of the other students that I have talked to are not doing much of anything at their internships, except work on the internship report. I would say that they are lucky but I really like my job now and I’m doing real work. I may not have time to work on the internship report but I can accept that because it may keep me out of trouble (though I doubt it).

Ueno Park means Panda

2006-08-21T07:58:00.000+09:00

I made it to Ueno and to the Zoo there. I saw the panda, I have never seen a panda before and I am taking about riding one all the time. Otherwise the zoo doesn’t have anything that I haven’t seen before except the Hippos and the Japanese Monkeys which I may have seen before. It was really hot and just about every animal was sleeping; only the monkeys were active.

It also rained. For days they have been talking about rain, and it hasn’t rained just been really hot and humid. When I went into the subway it was sunny, humid and hot; when I got out it was cloudy, humid, and hot. While in the zoo it was rainy, humid, and hot. That is the Tokyo summer weather.

Ueno park was the site of an early Japanese temple (Shinto I think) and there are a lot of museums, gardens, and the Zoo. It was a blast and a must for anyone who is thinking about coming to Tokyo. In fact It was so hot that I only stayed out three hours and I didn’t catch everything, so I’ll be coming back.

Otherwise I didn’t do much. Today is my first day of work and I’m a little nervous. I know what I’m supposed to do but I don’t know what to expect.

And a Rodin

Recovery Day

2006-08-19T22:10:00.000+09:00

Yesterday Jon Jon and I visited Akihabara which is the center for discounted electronics in Tokyo. It is a lot of fun to look at all the new devices that you don’t see in the United States. I’m particularly impressed with cell phones and headphones. There is a cell phone that can record and play back programming, in widescreen. There seems to be more of a need for entertainment in the phones here and less of the need for portable computers like the blackberry. As for headphones, there are just so many here that it is borderline craziness. We also saw that computer (PC) games are almost a hundred American dollars, even for some of the older ones.

Then last night I went to a networking function with some previous graduates of this program. It was a lot of fun and I met some excellent people. After that I drank too much but thanks to the hospitality of friends I made my way home (thanks all). Today I have been recovering. That is a pity because I was supposed to go to the Zoo with some others and see the Pandas. I am meeting Jon Jon and some other up there tomorrow so maybe I’ll step out for a minute and walk around the Ueno Zoo. Though the humidity, heat, and occasional rain means the weather just doesn’t care about anyone in Tokyo.

From the Museum of Design

And we found Astroboy!!

Nothing much to report

2006-08-18T09:35:00.000+09:00

I visited my company yesterday and am really happy about what I’ll be doing. I have a project that I’ll need to present to the company owners and some people from the Bank of Japan. I have two other projects that deal with finance, one with an international merger and an IPO. There is a chance that I’ll be traveling around both Japan and Asia.

I also got my Gai-Jin Card which is my foreign registration identification. To give you an idea of the weather here it was sunny/humid/and hot, then it rained heavily, then it stopped and I realized how a dumpling feels like. It is hot here, and steamy, and there is a typhoon hitting on the south. I think that this is the closest that I have been to a typhoon and really don’t feel any different.

Cassie’s Mom got a new dog. She says that it is a mix/hybrid dog between a Maltese and a Pug. It is really small and I’m afraid that someone is going to sit on it, or think that it is a rat or something. I have to admit though it is a cute dog.

Ginger...

Some thoughts about the Middle East

2006-08-17T15:23:00.000+09:00

The media has clung onto the idea that this latest Middle East conflict with Israel was a victory for Hezbollah. David Warren even asks “Can Israel survive this?” The fight was not fought as it should have been by Israel who should of increased the response to a level where they could have achieved their objectives. I see this Israeli government ending and a more conservative on taking over, and possible more military control over their matters. I don’t see the catastrophe that the media does.

The media also keeps on mentioning that the cease fire will not hold, but so far it has. Watching the only English station that I have (CNN) there was even talk of the cease fire not going into effect. Here we are, cease fire in effect, Lebanon declaring that they are going to disarm Hezbollah, and Israel learning a valuable lesion about how to take on their opponents.

What the media has failed to recognize that that this “war” is not over. More likely if conflict was going to happen again it will be within Lebanon between the anti-Hezbollah forces and Hezbollah. The media also has failed to recognize a major turning point in this war, moderate states condemned Hezbollah and acknowledged that they were the aggressors. Not Syria and Iran of course, they see it as a victory because the battle was put off another day.

The media needs to understand that the conflict is not over, and that it is more linked to Iraq than they will recognize. One more thing, why are they accepting Mr. Bush taking credit for what the British did in aborting a terror plot, and Israel’s attack on Hezbollah? The last I had heard was that the United States wasn’t involved in these, but his zombie supporters will now take the credit. The spineless president can not has moved on to taking credit for other people’s work. We forget that there has been an INCREASE in terrorism because of him. There are 3000 people dying in Iraq every day, there was a London bombing, a Madrid Bombing, and continuous bombings in Afghanistan still. Jed Babbin’s column has a good discussion about how the spineless president’s tactics on the war on terror have failed and we live in a more dangerous world because of it.

Vegetarian Sausage-Making

2006-08-16T22:19:00.000+09:00

I’m a vegetarian but I love cooking things, even meat. I’m thinking about going into sausage-making because it is interesting, plus Bratwurst is like the General’s Fried Chicken (Tha Bomb). Everything that I have learned thus far tells me this is a bad idea because I don’t eat meat, but every experience that I have had when cooking mean has been excellent. After all it is the people who eat my cooking that are the real judges not me. Maybe I’ll have a new hobby when I get home!

The park that I visited yesterday turns out to be the Imperial gardens, I’m going to have to tap that again. Here is a picture of the Hirakawa-mon where I entered the imperial gardens.

That would also explain the excessive police in the area. I really have not seen police outside the airport or those gardens. Unfortunately the palace is not open to the public while I am here so I will not be able to see inside. Today’s lecture was another rehash of a lecture that I got in Hawaii, this time with a case study about how it all works. It was also about how Japanese car makers are superior to the United States makers (true).

Afterwards I went and got Ramen with some of my class mates. The place is right by where I live and it was really good. Other than that the only thing to report is that I took the subway the wrong direction when I was going home, this was a first.

My Ramen Meal Mmmmmmmmmm.

What else do we need in life?

Ash and Olivia posing with the son of Rick Hunter and Sailor Moon...

The Ocean Curse

2006-08-16T06:11:00.000+09:00

I am cursed. My curse is that I have a pretty good sense of direction and can read maps, but when I’m in a group and lost no one wants to listen to me. This happened yesterday. My class needed to attend a lecture at a nearby university. We had two different maps and what station exit to leave from. We leave the exit and start to head off the wrong direction despite my objections. So we head off and get lost, then head back. We asked a policeman who did not seem sure at all about where to go, and once again we set off in the wrong direction. This time it seemed obvious that we were going the wrong way because the map had an expressway as the landmark and we were heading away from it. This time we ran into Murat who was also lost. Once again we head back and they listen to me, one of the others had the map upside down. Then we were one building away and Murat crosses the street and announces that it is a different direction. Then after this folly he admitted we were wrong. All of this in the rain.

The Nonaka lecture was a little boring, it was mostly review of things that we went over in Hawaii.

Other than that we didn’t do much else, I was so tired after the lecture I just went to my room.

This is a building shaped like a Dildo that says Latex on it, it is for Fuji Film

This is not a Ziggerat, but was some sort of fort in the park where were did lunch

Finally when I got home there was a ritual going outside where groups were jumping with a pagota while being splashed with water.

The curious incident of the visit to Fujitsu headquarters

2006-08-14T23:09:00.000+09:00

Today was my orientation. We were the first group to arrive. I didn’t do much else for the rest of the day, I was going to visit a temple that had statues of badgers with large balls, but I decided to do this on another day. Instead I watched television, ate out with some people, and then relaxed before going to orientation. The orientation was at the Fujitsu headquarters which is only about 20 minutes away. I had never been there before which is a treat because the worst thing about traveling in Tokyo is not the rail system which look daunting but is not, but instead is figuring out which exit to leave the station.

We were lucky and got the exit that lead right to where we were going. So orientation was a blast and I got to meet the people that I’ll be working with the next few months. They were cool guys, I’m working in ぎんざ and they said it would be a good lace to work because they would take me out drinking when they could. Afterwards one of the other bosses went out with us and I drank Sake at a normal Japanese Bar (not a Gaijin Bar). Tomorrow I have class, or a lecture with Professor Nonaka, I’m not really looking forward to that.

Here is a lego sculpture of Tokyo tower that was at the train station...

100 Yen Stores are like the General's Fried Chicken

2006-08-13T22:03:00.000+09:00

Someone in my building told me that there was a festival at the temple located right behind where I was staying. So after breakfast I went to go see it. There were several men with pagodas jumping up and down in the street, booths right outside the temple where they sold shaved ice and what looked like water balloons on a string (that were used as yo yos). The highlight though was the kendo tournament. Kendo is Japanese fencing that is learning how to use samurai katanas using bamboo rods.

Later I went to the 100 Yen Store, which means that everything in there is less than a dollar. These stores are much better than the dollar stores back in the states because the quality of goods is much better. Jon Jon and I were there for about two hours just looking around. I bought this bath brush that I can use to scratch my back, or wash it.

It was a pretty boring day, tomorrow I have orientation.

Lollapalooza... pretty cool

2006-08-12T18:05:00.000+09:00

Another thing, before leaving Chicago Cassie and I attended Lollapalooza which was awesome. We went two out of the three days (we didn’t need to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers) but I want to promote some of the smaller bands that I saw. Husky Rescue (which Cassie can’t understand why I like them) were catchy. Husky Rescue sounds like a dreamlike Blonde. I haven’t gotten the album yet but their live performance was really good. Another band was Particle which was really awesome. I have their album now and it is just great to have on. They are more of a jam band, but sound like some interesting 70’s metal instrumentals. Another band that we didn’t see but I wish I had was Be Your Own PET which sounds a lot like older Sonic Youth. I have their album too, it is short but good punk music usually is.

The highlights of the show was the Dresden Dolls, they are what made me think about going in the first place. I have fallen in love with this band. Their live set was awesome and within an hour they played as much as they could, there were some songs that I would of liked to hear but it was awesome. The Violent Femmes, as usual, put on a great show. The Dolls even came on stage with them (a pleasant surprise). Finally I’m going to mention the Secret Machines, this band is awesome and their live set was better than the studio stuff. I don’t know exactly how to describe their music, it is keyboards, guitar, and drums meshed together in a semi electronic rock.

The Subways, I sometimes feel to old listening to them but then I think of my friend Mark who once may have said, "The Spice Girls Rock."

The Secret Machines rocking as they rock, this time without keyboards.

The Dolls with the Violent Femmes, they are playing the washboard and the recorder. I don't know why ass holes with balloons think they have a right to be in front of me at a Femmes set. A pox on your House!!

And of course the Dolls, all hail the Dolls...

Ocean's amazing adventure in Tokyo

2006-08-12T17:48:00.000+09:00

Okay, I am making an agreement with myself that I am going to update this once a day. I didn’t make this agreement before so maybe it will stick. Yes, I know that this is faulty logic.

I’m in Tokyo now and still suffering from jet lag, though am recovering. My first real night (meaning not the night that I arrived) I went to Shibuya where I ate, drank, and was merry. You may have seen this area of Tokyo in Lost in Translation when Bill Murray arrives and there is a dinosaur waling across a huge video screen, or in Tokyo Drift where the cars make the turn in the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world (over a million a day).

One of the things that Shibuya is famous for is Hachiko, the famous loyal dog. The story (in short) goes like this. Hachiko’s master was a professor and he saw his master off every morning and met his master at Shibuya station. The master died and the dog returned to the station and waited for his master (the wife moved away). In a side note Hachiko was one of the last purebred Akita dogs at the time and his popularity caused more breeding and now the Akita is still around. Way to go Hachiko!!

And here is another memorable attraction in Shibuya

Really though we didn’t walk around Shibuya very much, there is just so much to see that it all really almost blows the senses. I start my orientation on Monday, and my internship begins the following Monday.

We didn't start the fire...

2006-07-20T13:53:00.000+09:00

Wow the world is really a mess right now. There is another war in the Middle East. This one is a little different though, moderate leaders while are not supporting Israel have condemned the actions of Hezbollah. This is a major shift in thinking and one that is a de facto recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia. Things in Gaza are going to hell too. Second, bush has officially used his first veto. Today he vetoed a bill from the senate that would allow federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. Here are some facts that the 700 Club fans may not know. First, embryos that are not used for researched are destroyed. Second, this research has a great potential to cure many life threatening medical problems. So Mr. Bush is not saving any unborn babies, and he isn’t helping in saving people with cancer. America continues to be bogged down in Iraq, with no end in site and our allies leaving a fast as they can. Major heat wave is crawling across Europe and America killing people and knocking out air conditioners. Cubs still suck. The United States government is charging to evacuate their own citizens (I’m glad my country is looking out for my interests). Taliban resurgence… I didn’t start the fire…

Fuck this I’m going to Las Vegas tomorrow!!

Aloha honolulu, Aloha Chicago

2006-07-16T04:23:00.000+09:00

Well I’m back in Chicago and I must say that I’m really happy about it. The last few days in Honolulu were a disaster. The entire time that we were there we never ate at Roy’s which is the premiere restaurant in Hawaii. That is what Cassie and I love to do when we’re anywhere, eat at good restaurants. We scheduled it so that we would go there our last night there. Well the movers were supposed to be there at noon which should give us plenty of time. They showed up six hours late, yes six hours!!

We moved the reservations back. When the movers finally arrived they took one look and said it could be done in one hour. We didn’t have that much stuff so we thought we could still make it. After talking my way out of a fine for moving out after 5:00 we thought that we were on our way; except for the concept of Hawaii time.

One hour in Hawaii time is really four hours normal time. So the movers were done at 10:00, Cassie and I missed our dinner, and we had not eaten the entire day. That still was not the worst part. The movers completely ignored what can and can not be packed and therefore out NetFlix movies were packed, empty boxes, cigars, garbage, and maybe some of our landlord’s things (we were in a furnished apartment). Still not the worst part.

It seems that the moving company made a bad estimate and well, we got charged twice as much. Then the movers left without leaving us any paperwork. We got fucked, but what were we supposed to do? Our plane was leaving the next morning and they had already packed our things.

The result, we’re ruling out any chance of us moving to Honolulu again. That is along with several other horrible things that Honolulu represents. Viva Chicago!!

I'm a Toys R Us Kid

2006-07-13T08:03:00.000+09:00

Cassie and I are waiting for the movers and I was just thinking that my grade school had only one spelling bee, no science fairs, and a slide that had graffiti of a large penis on it for the entire six years I was there. Damn that grade school sucked. I lost my keys one time and for the rest of my father’s life he told people that I lost my keys all the time. I hated that. It rained every Halloween that I went to that school. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m glad I’m a grown up because I can eat and spoil my dinner, I don’t have to go down slides (they really are not that much fun), and if I choose to enjoy kids things that is only a bonus.

I leave tomorrow morning for my flight to Chicago. It is warm there so I can wear slippers all the time there too.

DONE

2006-07-06T09:31:00.000+09:00

Yes! I am done with my classes. One July 13^th I’ll be flying out of Honolulu and will arrive by the end of that day in Chicago. I’m really looking forward to returning to Chicago. I’m going to see a Cubs game, and see them lose I think; and see some concerts which there is a deficiency of in Honolulu. I’ll be heading to Tokyo Japan in about a month.

In the meantime I plan to drink and read and finish off some loose ends (my business plan). Cassie and I saw a couple of movies and are planning some wonderful last nights out in Hawaii. Personally I wish I was leaving a little earlier, but now I want to just get off the island.

Two more movie reviews

2006-07-06T09:28:00.000+09:00

Superman Returns is simply a painful movie to watch. I have mad it clear that I’m not a big fan of Superman, but I was hoping for a better story, more action, and a great Lex Luthor, but I got none of it. The movie takes place after the first two Superman movies (throw out the shitty ones) and has Superman returning after five years. He makes it known that he went to his home planet to see if it was still there or not. Superman comes back and things are pretty much the same as they were, except now Ms. Lane is engaged (to Cyclops!!) and has a child that is a little two sickly. There are a few action sequences, Superman saves a crashing plane and foils a bank robbery, but little in the way of action in the first two hours. Lex Luthor himself switches between vanilla evil bad guy to someone who hates Superman because he doesn’t share technology. In the end there is another land sale based plot that is weak and doesn’t give Lex Luthor justice. The last half hour is when the shit hits the fan, but it really doesn’t. The fictional city of New York, I mean Metropolis, is hit with some natural disasters but they are ultimately weak to what they should be. Superman fight Kumar, that was pretty cool. In the end Superman wins because he’s Superman which is stupid.

My main beefs with this movie is that this isn’t so much a sequel as it is an homage to the original two movies. There are a lot of parallel scenes that are just different enough. The plot is essentially the same as the first movie. Also there is an attempt to make this a deeper movie, but the characters are just too shallow. Superman is good, Lex Luthor is bad, Clark Kent is a dweeb and Lois Lane is a career minded professional. Finally Lois’s son wasn’t needed and takes away from the movie. No one is fooled about this character and it simply wasn’t needed. What was good about this movie was Kumar beating up Superman and that Superman does not rip off his super symbol and fling it at the enemy like in Superman 2. I do not recommend watching this movie unless you wish to satisfy a curiosity about a movie that took something like 15 years to make.

The Devil Wears Prada is not an action movie at all but involves a fashion inept Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway who isn’t ever topless) working for a stuck up bitch of a boss who is the number one fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Both performances are top notch especially Meryl Streep whose performance alone makes it worth seeing. We get to see Andy dive into her work because it could be an opportunity of a lifetime and even become successful at it. Andy overtakes the other assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) who first hates her because how fashion deficient Andy is, then hates her because Andy does her job better. As Andy starts putting in all sorts of hours, and gainig fashion her personally life with her boyfriend begin to slip, and persistent freelance writer, Christian Thompson tries to move in. At first I did not like this aspect of the plot but it turns up really good and answers some strange plot questions that you may have.

In the end Andy needs to make some choices and the ones she makes fits with the movie and not with what should be expected. She learns from each of her choices and from each of her failures and it is fascinating to watch her character morph. There are certainly several scenes that are classic. One where Miranda proves that fashion is important and how Andy wearing something unfashionable is linked to the world of fashion. One of the primary characters getting hit by a car is certainly classic. Well there are many more but I don’t want to spoil the movie, watch it for even a a person that thinks fashion is silly (like me) loved this movie. I have no doubt that it will be one of the best movies that I will see this year.

Two more days...

2006-06-30T10:18:00.000+09:00

The final day of classes is tomorrow, but tonight’s the party. Really though classes are now done, there is a class tomorrow but we’re not doing anything. I’m free!!

three more days...

2006-06-29T04:10:00.000+09:00

I keep on saying it, three more days of classes, and each of those is really a half day. I find it hard to believe that I have lived in Honolulu for almost a year, and that I’ll be leaving in a little over two weeks. I have lived in a few places and every time I have mixed feelings about leaving. Not so much this time, Oahu is going to be left behind me. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of great things about living here. The weather is perfect just about all the time, several of the world’s best beaches are here, excellent restaurants, good sushi, shopping Ala Moana (which I can walk to).

There are some really bad things here too. It seems to me that there are less people on the mainland that jump in front of cars, I have it happen almost weekly. The attitude here, in general, is one I just don’t like. There are a lot of great people here, but there are that many more ass holes too. The beaches end up too crowded, which I guess really is the thing with any great beach. I’m not a bog fan of mopeds either, nr am I a big fan of pick ups with large wheels. That is something that I have not been able to figure out, there are people here who have the huge pick ups, when everything is a little smaller.

I recommend Oahu to visit (along with Maui and the Big Island) and I am sympathetic to many of the issues that Hawaiians face, but I don’t want to live here. One year was enough, Cassie and I will stick to the Big Island or Maui from here on out.

Four more days and still counting...

2006-06-28T06:24:00.000+09:00

I made a mistake yesterday. Superman opens up tomorrow, and my classes really are not over yet. The man still sucks though.

I just had a finance test, and I blew it hard core, though I think that others blew it too. It was definitely the hardest test that I had to take for this program (Japanese finance). By the end of tonight though I should have all the work done for all the classes which virtually means the end of the classes part of the program, and the start of the vacation time pre-internship. There are only two more classes to finish (External Environment and Japanese Management).

The last few weeks I have been watching a lot of the World Cup and I have to say that I’m really enjoying football (or soccer as us Yankees call it). Many Americans are critical of the sport because it is low scoring, but what I realized is that they really earn each score. Most Americans like our style of football which is okay, but I think it is boring when compared to the world version of football.

I think that there are two reasons that Americans don’t like the sport. First, having a huge football fan base involves becoming more international. This would mean that we would need to pay attention to how the United States team is doing against the rest of the world. In general us Americans don’t like to be international, we like to be Americans. Second, we’re not the best at the sport. People are pissed that we got eliminated from the World cup already. Americans could not stand a sport where we would lose regularly to Brazil, Mexico, or Argentina (let alone France).

So in a sense worldwide football shows some of the worse that America has to offer.

Lex Luthor is cool

2006-06-27T10:54:00.000+09:00

This Friday the new superman movie comes out Superman Returns. I am somewhat excited about this movie for two reasons, Brian Singer, and that date corresponds to the last day of classes for my MBA program. As a fan of comic books, sci fi, and general geekdom I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Superman sucks.

I hate superman, I am not very fond of the original movies, the comic books, Superfriends, his fucking dog, or Nicholas Cage. Let me explain something about Superman. Here is a character that is super, meaning he can do anything, beat up anyone, fly, see through woman’s clothing, all of it. Then give him a black and white view of good and evil that doesn’t change. The result is a guy who kicks the ass out of anyone who disagrees with him, is superficial, and a general ass hole. That is what Superman is, an ass hole.

Lex Luthor on the other hand is damn cool. Here is a character that has some depth, has a vision for humanity and wants to overcome obstacles. Mr. Luthor, unlike Superman, has depth. He sees Superman as a limit to what humanity can achieve because Superman is humanity’s crutch. In Luthor’s eye’s Superman solves humanity’s problems and doesn’t give much of a chance for humanity to do so themselves. Is Lex evil? Sort of, he does evil things to achieve his goals but he also does many good things for the same purpose.

I’ll watch Superman eventually. Maybe this weekend. I’ll be rooting for Lex Luthor.