A quick run to the local Wal*Mart owned Seiyu grocery store (with the attractive clerk) and an impulse decision to rent a film was my evening last night. I settled on a collection of Japanese contemporary shorts, Jam Films S. Generally a nice collection, designed with the Japanese yuppy in mind. Though, a dilemma. How does one justify watching a ( Read more... )

Hirohito's reign had some flaws, but his son has held onto the Japanese throne quite well. I like him.SAIPAN (Reuters) - Japanese Emperor Akihito, on a pilgrimage to the U.S. territory of Saipan where a decisive World War II battle was fought, abruptly changed his official schedule on Tuesday to visit a memorial to Koreans who died in the war.
But ( Read more... )

Will pointed me in this direction last week, but I neglectfully closed my browser mid-survey. Luckily, listliss reminded me that in fact MIT saved all the information.


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Returning from the gym, and finishing my dinner, and seeing that no one was online, I decided to follow through with my plan to watch a movie last night. I picked Crossroads, not of Britney Spears fame, but of the boy from The Karate Kid fame. A decent film. The old man was wonderfully portrayed; the supporting cast needed work. The final scene, a ( Read more... )

Friday I invited several people over for a potluck. The solecism of the evening reared itself early when one invitee emailed my cell phone, announcing she was lost. I failed to notice the S.O.S. for what one can only assume was a frustrating thirty minutes. Linguistically I had planned an event that would have allowed for those who were weak in ( Read more... )

Over two calendar days I watched The Butterfly Effect, a memory-themed film, insane like Memento but lacking in the quality of Eternal Sunshine. There are some moments of horrible acting, particularly in the middle portion of film, that forced groans. The cinematography was also lacking. A ridiculousness untempered with self-mockery, of the sort in ( Read more... )

The following passage, from Line/ライン annoyed me when I first read it. The absurdity of the arrogance did not sit well with me while I was transported along to Nagoya on the shinkansen. Chiharu has no intention to stop using speed. Were it not for stimulants, there would be no point in his living. He takes speed for some three days straight and then ( Read more... )

I have to say, I disapprove of the latest Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain. With communism dead, we've resolved against taking from the few to give to the many. This ruling, however, validates the reverse: take from the many to give to the few ( Read more... )

Nearly two months after the purchase of my Apple G4 12 inch powerbook I've settled on a name. Kaoru. 薫. To smell fragrant.

He's a character in the latest book I finished, mentioned previously, by MURAKAMI Ryu:randomcarbon: he's a server at a cafe who couldn't identify with anyone in high school because he was too smart. And he was a jerk to those ( Read more... )

The House passed a Constitutional Flag Burning amendment to the constitution. And the AP article on the issue states that chances for passage in the Senate are the 'best' in years, saying that 65 senators have in the past voted for similar proposals. Sixty-seven votes are needed ( Read more... )