Mitame de hito wa wakaranai (Things are not always as they seem)

Evolution Does Not = Progress

2010-06-07T21:52:00.001-07:00

Evidence of that abounds, and I won't even dance close to the philosophical black hole of "progress" as a shifting social construction, but one easy set of evidence is that evolution has resulted in many people who do not believe in evolution, but do believe they have an invisible all powerful friend.

Another example is that the apparent mate selection preference of many males is for submissive, less smart, less tall, and less income generating women. Plus there's that whole blonds with big boobs thing. WTF!?

Lucia Micarelli

2010-06-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

...is the best reason to watch Treme.

Obama Needs A Court Jester

2010-06-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Time warp since my last post, but not many have noticed I suspect ;-)

Obama really needs to act like he won the election AND like he does not intend to run for reelection.
At some point, hopefully quite soon, he needs to kick some butt, in a way not necessarily or even preferable military, but in a way that is quick, forceful, unexpected, and sans consensus. Nationalizing BP would do it. Throwing a few corrupt bankers and wall street thieves in prison would do it. So would treating Israel the same way we treat all other Mideast countries, with the same degree of self interest and skepticism. So would a proclamation declaring that overpopulation in the US and elsewhere is an issue of national security.

Just sayin'. Obama is surrounded by traditionalists and ex Bush advisors and a general bunch of wimpy don't rock the boat politicians, institutional power protectors, and general consensus kissers who if they can't avoid progress, would much prefer one step forward instead of ten.

One version of history is that in the old days the King always had a court jester. He was kind of a John Stewart of the time, a well informed truth teller who poked barbed fun at those who were trying to sell bags of bullshit. The court jester's primary role in this scenario was to tell the King things no one else was brave enough to tell him, to call bullshit on the King when appropriate, and to propose alternative problem solving options that no one else would or could. He was the only one in the court who was guaranteed to keep both his head and his job.

Obama needs a court jester. I'm open to offers.

so des ne

2009-08-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Another financial bubble (to pop soon)...

global climate change ramping up...

H1N1 ready to launch...

Nukes in the hands of ideological and religious fools...

TEOLAWKI looming from the slow but certain death-twins of religion and overpopulation...

Uneducated and uncritical thinking masses easily distracted...

Most looking for love in the narrow confines of 'the romantic social script'...

Hmmm...

I believe I'll go reload the hummingbird feeders, have another cup of tea, water the garden, and look for others who can see.

Julia Stiles

2009-08-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

is the best thing about the Bourne movies.

Matt Damon ...

2009-08-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

not Mark Wahlberg

Simple US Health Care Question

2009-08-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

Can anyone explain to me exactly why insurance companies should be involved with health care at all?

Yes we are indeed doomed and well on the way to Idiocracy thanks to religion, overpopulation, ideological ethnocentrism, general right wing looniness, and probably too much animal fat and corn syrup. See John Stewart interview of Betsy McCaughy here for the latest example: http://www.thedailyshow.com/videos/tag/interview

Best single source for clarity on overpopulation:
www.paulchefurka.ca

Another good one on overpopulation:
http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-playing-field/200902/the-five-year-ban-because-a-billion-less-people-is-a-great-place-to-st#new

Words and labels matter:
www.namelab.com

On Japan:
www.japandemic.com

http://adult.engrish.com/

Missing Japan

2009-08-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of years since I was there teaching "technical / business English and cultural awareness" but sometimes I miss Japan very very much. This even though it was one of the toughest times in my life on several levels, and the job was one of those time, energy, and attention vampires that left little time for much of my own "cultural awareness". I miss my students. I miss Misae at Air's Cafe. I miss seeing Japanese schoolgirls in those cliche uniforms running through Ikebukuro station while carrying (sheathed) swords. I even miss the trains. I miss Minatomirai. I miss Kotesashi.

Someday I'll go back, and order a tequila and ginger ale at Air's Cafe, and tell Misae (if she's not still angry at me) "ii soide masen".