nemesis

lol hi guys. im using the comps at work to log on LJ even though it's against the rules, omg. So I just got back from a trip where we backpacked around the Kansai region (ie, Kyoto, Osaka, and a place called Mt. Koya). It was pretty crazy. Kyoto was cool with all the really interesting and historically important temples and everything, but man it's so touristy it was hilarious. And the tourists we met were soooo awesome, I fuckin love WP's so much. I felt like I was on some cheesy spring break trip with UBC students or something. But it was still cool because Shinto and Buddhism produced some pretty wild shit. I mean I dont care about religion per se but that doesnt mean I dont get a certain frisson (im not trying to be a dick I actually think the french word can capture this feeling more efficiently than english which probably requires a phrase instead of just one word, unless I just dont know the right word) from visiting ancient temples and shit. I mean statues of blue-haired buddhas dual-wielding katanas are awesome no matter what, right.

Osaka was interesting for entirely different reasons. It's very gritty and dirty (compared to Tokyo and Kyoto, that is) and smells bad, and has much more friendly and outgoing and weird people. Many times random strangers came up to us on the street and engaged us in conversation. Also there were breakdancing kids everywhere. The first thing we saw when we left the bus station was a bunch of breakdancing kids. We stayed in a hostel in a sort of shady part of town. There were creepy old men lurking in the shadows all the time. Now when I say this you are probably thinking I'm joking or exaggerating, but no, there were literally scary looking old dude just standing there in the shadows. I had to bathe with them sometimes because the hostel only had public baths. well, there was one private shower but it was some kind of insane torture device because the shower stream shuts off after like 10 seconds so you have to keep pressing this lever every 10 seconds to actually have a shower. what the fuck? apparently that neighbourhood is traditionally a residential area for day laborers. the other foreigners in our hostel all seemed stoned as fuck.

Mt. Koya is kind of hard to describe, basically we took a train, cable car, and bus up this mountain and at the top there is a small village and a bunch of monasteries. It was very surreal and Ill try to describe it some other time.

I should go now though, I really miss you guys, part of my wishes I could stay here for like, a year or mroe, but then Im also really looking forward to coming home and seeing everyone. Ill try to write more soon.

Soooo...I've been here for about 2 weeks. It's been such a whirlwind of activity I'm not even sure how to explain it. Actually I haven't been able to do much in the way of sightseeing or other tourist type activities, as we've mostly been preoccupied with getting set up with our apartment, job, etc. We're pretty well established now so in the last few days we've been looking around more.

Anyways, I thought I'd give some impressions and some idea of what this place is like and what I've been up to.

We live in a suburb called Ichikawa. Ichikawa is actually a small city in Chiba prefecture, the neighbouring prefecture to the east of Tokyo prefecture, which is outside the Greater Tokyo Area per se, but is only 20 mins away from downtown Tokyo by transit. I call Ichikawa a suburb but it's much cooler than the typical type of place that word conjures up. It's not really sprawly the way suburbs tend to be and you don't need a car to get around at all. In fact, tons of people just use bicycles to get everywhere (we've started using our bikes, which were provided by the owners of the place we're staying at, as well). It's just denser and more intelligently laid out than "suburbs" tend to be.

The transit system is incredibly awesome, easily the best I've ever seen. There's a massive system of criss-crossing train, subway, and bus lines that is affordable and easy to use, even when you only understand a few words of Japanese (actually, there's a lot of English signage around in general. some of the trains even have audio announcements in English). It's also always on time and I have yet to wait longer than 5-10 mins for a train, no matter where I'm going or the time of day. Plus, every train station has clean public bathrooms, lockers where you can pay a hundred yen to leave your stuff all day, and cheap places to eat.

So I work as an English teacher at what they call a "conversation school", which aren't exactly schools in the strictest sense of the word but more like "studios" where we basically have "guided conversations" in English with Japanese people (some conversations schools have a classroom setup, but mine is a one-on-one thing). We're expected to correct their grammar, usage, pronunciation, etc, and help them with specific topics like if they're business people who have foreign colleagues or whatever. The actual job itself doesn't SEEM too demanding, although I haven't had any actual lessons yet, just training and hanging around doing preliminary introductions, so we'll see how it goes. Being an employee of this Japanese english-teaching corporation (my school, "Gaba", is one of the larger, more corporate ones, whereas some conversation schools are small, makeshift enterprises) is seriously fucking mindblowing and I could write a whole post about just that, but I'll leave that for later.

Somehow I thought we'd see and encounter other foreigners more frequently, but often Anuja and I are the only foreigners around. There are more of them in some neighbourhoods though. No one is weird about though, and most people are pretty friendly. Obviously, the more into downtown Tokyo you go, the more used to dealing with foreigners people are. I've been trying to gradually drop more and more Japanese into my vocabulary, but it takes some courage because you're afraid of just sounding dumb. Of course, in some cases you pick up words and phrases out of necessity, just from day to day interactions. I find trying to get around the langugage barrier is actually kind of...fun. It's like this weird interesting challenge that makes even mundane interaction seem like a fun puzzle, and makes simple stuff like when you figure out what's in a dish at a restaurant or how to ask simple questions seem like some kind of triumph. Sometimes you also encounter people who are eager to try out their English with you. Surprisingly on the whole the language thing works out ok. You do have to have some sense about it though...like you can't be too demanding or picky. Sometimes at a restaurant I just end up ordering food by pointing at a picture of a dish that looks good without having any idea what's in it (I can ask "what is this" in Japanese, but I often don't understand the response anyways hehehe), or asking them to recommend something and just seeing what happens.

Which reminds me, some of the WP's I've seen around here act sooo amazing it's embarassing to watch. They seem have such an intense sense of entitlement that they're baffled by a place where they can't instantly get what they want, and so they are ridiculously demanding, and act seriously butthurt and offended when they can't/don't get it (and that feeling is probably exacerbated by being in a country where they imagine being a WP *should* get them lots of respect/admiration). Also, I'm not necessarily defending Japanese social norms, because some of them are clearly backwards, but I've heard way too many people complaining about stupid shit like how you're not really supposed to talk on the phone while on public transit. Who gives a shit?

So far, I've visited a few interesting parts of Tokyo. A few days ago we went to Akihabara, which as you might know, is the neighbourhood for all kinds of geeky things like video games and anime. Totally mindblowing. There's a main street with really glitzy camera/computer stores and arcades, and beyond that, winding alleyways with ramshackle stalls and little shops. I was only able to get a general sense of the area, as it was too overwhelming to take in all at once. I saw a lot of cool retro videogame stuff, like Nintendo's hilariously ill-conceived failure of a "virtual reality" console, the Virtual Boy, and weird rare consoles like the Neo-Geo and PC Engine.

Another part of the city I've spent some time in is Marunouchi (it's where my workplace is actually), which is basically central Tokyo, where the Imperial Palace is, along with a lot of financial/business stuff and fancy places. Oddly though there are a surprising amount of affordable eateries around here. The grounds of the Imperial Palace are pretty cool, but you can't really go inside cause the, like, Imperial family, actually lives there and stuff.

Just recently we went to Ueno, which is an older, somewhat seedier part of town, what they call "shitamachi", which means "low town". These parts of Tokyo are more working class, have older architecture, and a looser, grungier feel. Ueno has a really cool, huge outdoor market called Ameyoko, and also a giant, EIGHT STORY toy store full of amazing crap. I should also mention the really weird few blocks we walked through of strip joints, bars, and weird restaurants, especially one called "Arabian Rock", which, I kid you not, had speakers outside...BLARING the theme from Aladdin. Nothing can prepare you for walking around in Tokyo and suddenly hearing, out of nowhere, that dude sing "Arabian niiiiights, like Arabian dayyyyys, more often than not, are hotter than hot...", and then turning to see a restaurant called "Arabian Rock", complete with posters of japanese women wearing stereotypical "middle eastern princess/belly dancer" outfits. Needless to say, I fully intend to dine at this fine establishment, perhaps insisting that I'm some kind of middle eastern dignitary checking the authenticity of their Agrabian cuisine. So yeah, Ueno is really interesting, and it's just all kinds of stuff, both cool and cheesy, awkwardly jammed together under the train tracks.

So yeah, that's more or less a very abbreviated summary of what I've been doing and what I've seen so far. I've omitted boring stuff like...most of what I've been doing for the last week and a half, which was getting a bank account (most places, including my workplace, don't deal with foreign bank accounts), figuring out how to buy groceries, getting an "alien registration card", getting a cell phone, etc. I've only begun to scratch the surface, so my subsequent entries will probably be much more interesting and detailed.

lol, im in japan now. we had dinner at a restaurant called "Gusto", which from I gather is like a Japanese Dennys or something. it was mindblowing, but the food was actually decent. uhhh yeah wow. our place is pretty nice. the keyboard im using is all fucked up and the browser is in japanese so its kind of difficult to use. why cant they do things normal here geez.

so yes i am here now, i will do better updates later on. i miss all you guys.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3ucu6w

From Santa Cruz:

Last night rocks were thrown through the windows of 2 Bank of Americas and another ATM location. We did this because the uprising of our comrades in Greece, England, Moscow and elsewhere will not go without a response. People here are killed by cops, screwed by banks, and we will revolt with just as much fury. These and the outbreaks in Europe show that it is simple for us to respond in the most direct way to the forces of repression in order for them to fall.


We chose Bank of America because of their exemplary demonstration of capitalism’s principles (sic). Funding toxic coal projects, selling out workers, in bed with the government… Rather than many banks who worship money over people, we chose to stick it to one bank that worships money more than people. After all, it is a bank. But we’ll be back.




Meanwhile, back in Europe:

Earlier in the week, protesters in Spain, Denmark and Italy smashed shop windows, pelted police with bottles and attacked banks, while in France, cars were set ablaze outside the Greek consulate in Bordeaux, where protesters scrawled graffiti warning about a looming "insurrection."


Also, the police have been running out tear gas, which is hilarious, and have asked Israel and Germany for help restocking, lol.

Here are some statements and press releases from the insurgents in Greece.


( Read more... )

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081022.BCOLYMPIC22/TPStory/TPNational/BritishColumbia/

VANCOUVER -- Premier Gordon Campbell has lambasted remarks by high-profile VANOC board member Dick Pound that referred to "savages" who occupied Canada hundreds of years ago, as calls emerged for Mr. Pound to resign from the board governing the 2010 Winter Olympics.
...
The furor stems from comments attributed to Mr. Pound in the La Presse newspaper, defending the holding of the Summer Olympics in Beijing despite China's human-rights record.

"We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a land of savages, with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European descent, while in China, we're talking about a 5,000-year-old civilization," he told the paper.

My Life According to Google (meme)
Pick the first one that comes up.

1: Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search:

2: Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search:

3: Type in "[your name] does" in Google search:

4: Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search:

5: Type in "[your name] goes" or "..has gone" in Google search:

6: Type in "[your name] loves" in Google search:

7: Type in "[your name] eats" in Google search:

8: Type in "[your name] has" in Google search:

9: Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search:




1. Kamran needs to turn.
2. Kamran looks like tinky winky.
3. Kamran does does not attend his open house showings.
4. Kamran hates me hahaha.
5. Kamran goes all out with the big boot dance.
6. Kamran loves Lauren.
7. Kamran eats hot chicken wings.
8. Kamran has broad responsibility for all academic and research computing, networking, telecommunications, data center, security, campus-wide systems infrastructure and architecture, web and media services and enterprise systems.
9. Kamran wants to see him standing at a place where he would be compared with the legendry artistes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7660511.stm

Iceland has nationalised its biggest bank, Kaupthing, and suspended trade on its stock exchange in an attempt to prevent further panic in the country.
...
Meanwhile, Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde criticised the UK's move to freeze Icelandic bank assets.

Mr Haarde said the UK used anti-terrorism legislation to freeze assets in Landsbanki in order to protect UK savings in one of its units, Icesave.
...
Iceland's government has now seized control of all three of the nation's major banks.



http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iWXmtw4Wutli6IP-0-yTYa4eS1ZwD93MM0UG0

In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing figure. As a short-term fix, the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock near Times Square has been switched to a figure — the "1" in $10 trillion. It's marking the federal government's current debt at about $10.2 trillion.

The Durst Organization says it plans to update the sign next year by adding two digits. That will make it capable of tracking debt up to a quadrillion dollars.

Some more amazing stuff related to the global economic clusterfuck.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3150319/Richard-Fuld-punched-in-face-in-Lehman-Brothers-gym.html


Richard Fuld, the disgraced head of Lehman Brothers, was punched in the face in the office gym amid the bank's collapse.
...
Following rumours that the incident had occurred, Vicki Ward, a US journalist, said "two very senior sources - one incredibly senior source" had confirmed it to her. "He went to the gym after ... Lehman was announced as going under," she told CNBC. "He was on a treadmill with a heart monitor on. Someone was in the corner, pumping iron and he walked over and he knocked him out cold.

"And frankly after having watched [Mr Fuld's testimony to the committee], I'd have done the same too."

"I thought he was shameless ... I thought it was appalling. He blamed everyone ... He blamed everybody but himself."



http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5973452&page=1

Less than a week after the federal government committed $85 billion to bail out AIG, executives of the giant AIG insurance company headed for a week-long retreat at a luxury resort and spa, the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California, Congressional investigators revealed today.



Also, Iceland like...ran out of money.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/iceland-dancing-on-the-brink-of-bankruptcy-954587.html

Every morning, it seems, the residents awake to news of fresh problems in their country's banking system. Last week, the country's third largest bank was nationalised. This week, the government dismissed the board of directors of Landsbanki, its second-largest bank, and put it into receivership. On Monday, the Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, warned its citizens the country faces bankruptcy.

Iceland, with a population the size of Bristol, is rated by the UN as the most developed society on earth. But it now faces less welcome distinction as the country worst exposed to the credit crunch, with banking debts several times bigger than its economy.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081004.BCELXNCOVERAGE04/TPStory/?query=Conservatives+British+Columbia


Analysts say the hard line on crime - notably Mr. Harper's talk about tough jail sentences for young offenders - that may have cost the Tories support in Quebec could end up appealing to voters in the volatile battleground seats of B.C.'s Lower Mainland, perhaps boosting the party toward its coveted majority.
...
Vancouver-based Mario Canseco, a vice-president at Angus Reid Strategies, says his company's polling has suggested Quebeckers have a more relaxed attitude toward crime, whereas British Columbians have "more hardened views" on such issues as finding parents in contempt of court if they do not attend hearings or participate in the legal process.
...
"At this stage in the campaign, we are not fighting for people that have political-science degrees. This is not going to be settled by lawyers. This is an issue that's going to be settled by people that talk to their friends over the backyard fence, have a gut reaction to issues," he said.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-10-01/film/airplane-director-david-zucker-talks-about-the-left-and-his-new-movie-an-american-carol/

As part of the Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker filmmaking team in the '80s, David Zucker pioneered the non sequitur spoof-comedy genre with Airplane! and The Naked Gun. ZAZ split up in the '90s, but Zucker has kept his hand in the comedy game with the last two Scary Movie installments. His latest, An American Carol, is something else altogether: a gag-filled satiric attack on the American left. Unleashing a rapid-fire series of jokey bits around the usual Fox News talking points—liberals are inherently unpatriotic, the universities are run by post-'68 radicals, etc.—the cast of all-star conservatives (Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper) centers on Kevin Farley as Michael Malone, a Michael Moore doppelgänger who wants to ban the Fourth of July. (Fat jokes galore.)


This movie sounds amazing. I had no idea Zucker was a right-wing douchebag. I love Airplane, the Naked Gun Series, etc.

http://www.oniazuma.com/2008/01/are-japanese-actually-jewish-looking-at.html


Are the Japanese actually Jewish? - Looking at the mysterious connections between Japan and Judaism
A very interesting and contested theory is that the Japanese are actually a part of the Lost Tribes of Israel. During the constant warfare and strife that engulfed Israel, 10 of the 12 Tribes of Israel dispersed into Asia and have since disappeared.

Israeli officials publicly acknowledge the mysterious similarities between Judaism and Japan. Recently, in March of 2007, Rabbi Avichail of the Israeli Investigative Body Amishav, which searches for descendants of the Lost Tribes, arrived in Japan. Although they only stayed for a short amount of time, the investigative body concluded that "There is no doubt that there is some kind of strong connection between Judaism and Japan. More research is needed to determine the details."


http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~magi9/isracame.htm

Dear friends in the world,

I am a Japanese Christian writer living in Japan. As I study the Bible, I began to realize that many traditional customs and ceremonies in Japan are very similar to the ones of ancient Israel. I considered that perhaps these rituals came from the religion and customs of the Jews and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who might have come to ancient Japan.
The following sections are concerned with those Japanese traditions which possibly originated from the ancient Israelites.

The reason why I exhibit these on the internet is to enable anyone interested in this subject, especially Jewish friends to become more interested, research it for yourself, and share your findings.

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer40

At a meeting in Oslo in August, Incentives for Global Health, a nonprofit organization directed by Aidan Hollis, professor of economics at the University of Calgary, and Thomas Pogge, professor of philosophy and international affairs at Yale, launched a radical new proposal to change the incentives under which corporations are rewarded for developing new medicines. They suggest that governments contribute to a Health Impact Fund that would pay pharmaceutical companies in proportion to the extent to which their products reduce the global burden of disease.

The perversity of capitalism: rewarding people for meeting minimal moral requirements, ie, not engaging in monstrous behaviour. Behaviour that would be considered psychotic in an individual. Thanks Thomas Pogge (he's a scholar of some note who runs with a crowd that are called "liberal egalitarians", his work has been annoying the crap out of me for years).

Dear American, My Dear Friend:

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America.

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with “Mr. Phil Gram,” lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a citizen, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check.

We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction.

After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Do not discuss this message with anyone! Time is of the essence!

Yours Faithfully.

Minister of Treasury Hank Paulson




[found this online, lol]

I'm posting some of the movies I'm seeing at the festival.