Wind and Fire

Omaha - Oh Hai!

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 16:24:00 -0700

I've been officially living in Omaha for a week now. It didn't seem strange until I wrote that sentence.

I've moved everything up to my third floor apartment, including several "new" chairs and two TVs (after some tinkering I finally got the SNES working with TV2). The table to go with the chairs hasn't been born yet, I have plans to see what I can do with some screws, wood and stain. I've found a few local markets, including one of the nearby Asian markets, and done a lot of cooking.

Khali has slept in every available nook and moved plastic bags all around the apartment (from inside the bags) and Chiisai is working on finding her legs while running on a hardwood floor. I'll post more pictures once I get the boxes emptied and put away.

This Just In... or well, it's in anyway

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:10:00 -0700

Ok, so updates from the last six months? I'm not going to put effort into being that boring.

I've been in Missouri living and visiting family for the last several months. I'm still loving the weather and my herbs and tomatoes are finally growing. I'm more sure than ever that I don't want to have kids, though I'm still tempted to get a third cat. My sister already calls me the crazy cat lady even though she has more pets than I do. And next week I move into my new apartment in Omaha.

I'll post pics of the apartment once I get there, until then I have some from the past few months:

(Found some rope and pvc at the hardware store and made a couple cat scratchers)

(A cat nap out at my mom's)

(Chiisai, my new cat. We think she's about 8 - 10 months old and she does just fine without her right eye.)

Blair Kitties

Sharing vs Evangelizing - Sexy feeds

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:28:00 -0800

I've had some time to catch up on reading blog posts during the past couple of days, and when I read something interesting or informative I feel the urge to share it. The thing is that I realize what is interesting to me is not always interesting to the people I share with (via friendfeed etc). This is true for everybody, and is especially true the more frequently one shares. So if I share a couple of posts about cool books, somebody will be interested. If I continue sharing nothing but cool books, say 20, it gets old and my friends will start to tune me out.

So given that I'm studying sexuality, and a good many of the things I read are about sexuality, how many things can I share before people get annoyed and tune me out? On the one hand, it's sex, and who doesn't want to know more about sex? On the other, sex is a guilty pleasure, embarrassing, or taboo to some. Even for those who are interested in hearing the occasional fact or tip, if they read too many they may start to feel guilty or sketchy. Our culture is interesting that way. So how much can I share?

I think I need a couple new accounts.

(Psst, Perfectly SFW, but this may get me kicked off the "safe" list: 10 Health Benefits of Sex)

Tags: sex, sharing, evangelizing

Happy Not-dying-of-boredom Holiday

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:12:00 -0800

My family keeps sending me cards and poems telling me to remember "the reason for the season", and it's good that they do. I was reading one of these, and in my disappointment, thinking of ways to counter, when I realized a mythical baby in a manger has just as much to do with the season as the winter solstice. Well, kind of.

I had lapsed into thinking only of getting to go home, buying presents, and getting a break from non-stop work. But my grandmother's inflammatory email reminded me exactly why we do celebrate this time of year: Because it used to suck a lot.

While thinking of why my family was so wrong, I remembered that people were once so beholden to the seasons that we needed to create festivals when we couldn't work. Without festivals many of us would have died of boredom, despair and unrest. So it's good to remember that creating festivity just for fun is the reason for the season. Not that we all needed to be saved from our sins, or that somebody else reached enlightenment, just that we wanted to smile and have a good time. It's a nice thought no?

So, though I may still think Solstice is pretty cool, from now on I will celebrate the real reason for the season, making merriment because it's good for us. And for all of you who have held on to your winter festivals, I'm really glad you have. Whether it's Rohatsu, Solstice, Christmas, or any other winter celebration, spirits are boosted and people have an excuse to spread cheer and positive feelings. Now, if only we could all stop trying to tell everybody else how wrong they are while we're reminding them of the reason for the season, we could all celebrate that reason properly, with a great big party.

Merry Merriment everybody!

Technorati Tags: holiday, winter, solstice, christmas, celebration, fun, party

I Was Shamed Into Posting

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:41:00 -0700

I went to the first day of a conference in SF today where I got to meet people from the department I hope to call my own in a few months. (The regional training conference on sexual literacy is put on by the National Sexuality Resource Center.) Everybody seems very willing to help me find my way, which is really encouraging. I still feel awkward, but tomorrow I have another shot at really making some connections. And it's Halloween. =) I plan to wear my costume. Not very sexy for a sex conference, but it's a Sexual *Literacy* conference, so it's ok right? I'll try to post pics after.

Other than the people attending being awesome some of the discussion was inspiring and provoking. I think the biggest thing for me came at the end: How do we bring all of the data we gather to the public? Academic writing has never been very accessible to the general public, but this is sex, it's interesting, it's important, and it affects everybody on a daily basis. Engineers have a marketing department to interface with real people because they can't or don't want to, so why don't academics have the same thing? I didn't probe too deeply, but it seems that academics do market, but they market to other academics and to funding sources, not to (forgive me) Joe the Plumber. I think if we really care about "advocacy" and change we either need to make it a part of our job or we need to find a marketing department.

I know there are plenty of people out there talking about sex on the internet, in the paper, on the radio, but most of them aren't any more informed than the people they are talking to, they just aren't afraid to talk. Don't get me wrong, so long as they're not spreading lies, I think this is good, we need to learn that it's ok to talk. But I think those who are more informed, who have done research and have gathered data need to distinguish themselves and be heard.

So now, how do we do this?

P.S.
I got to meet Regina Lynn! She was one of the panelists this afternoon and I have to say, she's kind of awesome. I'm kind of thrilled to have met her, she's an interesting and entertaining speaker and very charming and down-to-earth. And yes, she's the one who shamed me into posting again.

Tags: sex, literacy, conference, education, academic, research, dissemination, sexuality, networking, nsrc

Plots in the Works

Wed, 28 May 2008 15:37:00 -0700

Ok, things I've been thinking in the last post. Things I'm doing (or trying to do) in this one.

"Get a haircut, and get a real job"

Ok, so no haircut, and I'm actually not looking for a "real" job, I'm trying to get hired at an adult bookstore. Now that I've decided to go full steam ahead on the Human Sexuality thing I figured there couldn't be a better place for me to work. I'll learn things in class that I can hopefully apply at work while talking to customers or helping with marketing. And perhaps I'll learn something at work that I can apply in class. The hours are also offset from the normal 9 - 5 day, which is exactly what my classes are in the middle of. I'm keeping a couple development jobs on the side to bring in extra cash; the pay is not great, but the fringe benefits....

To evangelize a bit, on my 43things list I have something along the lines of "Live rather than just exist". I've realized recently the importance of career in this goal. If you spend a third (or more) of your day doing a job that you are only so-so about, that's a third of your life where you are just existing, just going through the motions to do what has to be done. Just doing what has to be done is not living. If however you are lucky enough to find a career that you love, you're a third of the way to living every moment of your short life. In fact, you're probably more than a third of the way because you won't be carrying stress over into your "real life", you'll be carrying excitement home instead. Congrats!

We now return you to the regularly scheduled todo list:

I'm getting back into climbing and yoga. Yay! I've missed it. I went climbing this weekend and was surprised by the cool people who unexpectedly showed up (don't tell, I actually experienced a bit of awesomeness od). I'm hoping to go again next weekend and get slowly back into yoga next week.

I'm still working on starting an adult video club, I got sidetracked with the first todo item.

Class starts in a week and a half. I'll be commuting up to the city 4 days a week. Really looking forward to it. I've missed 280, and mmm, human anatomy: the sexy bits.

My lolPron idea is scrapped, somebody beat me to it. Some of these are actually pretty funny, but I have a twisted sense of humor sometimes so I'll say they're not for the faint of heart and NSFmostW. I'm a little sad I didn't get to start it, but I'm glad somebody did, it was kind of an obviously twisted place to take it.

Technorati Tags: career, job, adult, money, climbing, yoga, video, class, nsfw

Dreamt I Went Fishing, Among Other Things

Wed, 28 May 2008 15:02:00 -0700

Ok, another fast and dirty catch up blog post. I would apologize (again), but perhaps these are actually more interesting than more focused posts. ;-)

I've had some amusing dreams in the last week or two. Fishing, swimming, catching up with old friends. I've enjoyed them, and the residual strangeness they leave life coated in for a while.

A while back I discovered the Google maps directory. Well, I had some, ahem ... help discovering it. But it's cool none-the-less. Basically, go to Google Maps and click the tab that says "My Maps" (just below the logo), then, just below that same tab, click "Browse the directory". Wallah! A toy-box full of cool maps to play with. I found some that show recent earthquakes, gas prices, distances, and hiking and biking trails. The one below shows parts of the Bay Area that will be under water if sea levels rise 3ft.

From a ranting angle: Don't you important people have better things to do?! Isn't that how you got to be important? If important people get to be that way by wasting their time on petty things like banning fake testicles on vehicles, sign me up; I waste my time on all kinds of silly things. Everybody has to have a purpose I suppose, but seriously, you would think the people who are supposed to be looking out for us would choose... constructive ones.

Technorati Tags: dream, map, google, bull, politics

What is wrong with people?!

Mon, 5 May 2008 02:27:00 -0700

Fair warning: this post is about a disturbing topic, but also discusses a topic I feel strongly about.

Recently a woman was released from an underground prison, where she had been kept and sexually abused by her father for 24 years. He fathered her 7 children, one died a few days after birth, three were adopted by the man and his wife, three lived with the mother and saw daylight for the first time a couple weeks ago. One of the three who recently escaped is in critical condition and will probably not survive. All conscious survivors are under specialized psychological care.

This story has so many issues it's hard to even think about. It boils down to this though: there are a few individuals who are very very messed up.

But this doesn't explain the issue that baffles me the most. People knew but said nothing. This man rented out rooms in his house. Past tenants now say that they knew "what a monster Josef was" (Article). His wife lived with him in the house and helped raise three of the children/grandchildren. The prison was originally one room; at some point he built several others and installed locks and a secret door. Things he couldn't have done by himself or without some commotion. He had a prior history of rape. He had been abusing his daughter for seven years before moving her to the basement. 24 years, and nobody said a word.

Yet now it's all over the news and everybody is talking about it. Now that there is no point in talking about it, nobody to save, nothing further to prevent. Did nobody care about this girl? Did nobody care that this man with a prior history of rape and a missing daughter was adopting children? People in the town knew he abused his daughter, but did not stop it before she disappeared. People knew of his history, of his current abuse, but said nothing to authorities when she disappeared. A tenant said he saw the man taking food to the basement. Another said the family dog always went crazy around the stairs to the cellar. Why did nobody speak up before?

I believe people did care, it's hard not to. But something stops people from helping. This case is not the only example of people failing to speak up, it's just an extreme example. It happens every day, everywhere. It happens in the US, it probably happens in your town. People speak out about pornography, sex between consenting adults (homosexuality) and abortion but not rape, incest and murder if it's happening in front of their eyes. They speak out about violence in video games, but say nothing when their neighbor hits his wife or child. I've been taught as a woman not to yell "rape", but to yell "fire", because people will rationalize turning a blind eye on rape. Only if their own safety or possessions are in danger will they respond.

Individual psychology is one thing, things go wrong sometimes. But how do I accept the unacceptable when it's something everybody does? People who see these things happening and do nothing are not evil people, they're normal people. This is a behavior people in general engage in. How are we so heartless? How can we be so cruel? People who know of a rape occurring, of domestic violence next door, but do nothing, how are they any better than the person committing the crime? Aren't they accomplices? Aren't they saying that they believe it is ok? If it weren't ok wouldn't they try to stop it? Calling the police puts you in no danger. So why not call them? Why are people so good at rationalizing non-action in these situations? I cannot reconcile this behavior with my concept of decent human beings, it creates a huge amount of cognitive dissonance for me.

Some may ask how I can be so worried about normal people or domestic abuse when this man has just done something so horrible, but that man is in prison and will hopefully receive justice for what he's done. There is nothing I can do now about that, and chances are you or I will not live next to something so clearly disturbing. However, spouses and domestic partners are abused ever day, children are abused ever day, woman are raped every day. Abuse is often ongoing, it will happen again, and the victims often become abusers themselves or teach their children to be victims. How much hurt, pain, and misfortune could be prevented if we were unafraid to help? How can we be outraged or shocked after the fact if we will not even dial a phone number to stop it? Who will help them if not us?

Technorati Tags: rant, psychology, rape, incest, abuse, violence, heroes

Asakusa - The Loach's part in the Circle of Life

Sat, 3 May 2008 07:21:00 -0700

Yesterday my housemate and I met up with an incredibly nice man who gives tours at Tsukiji fish market. My housemate met him on his last trip to Japan when he got up at the incredible hour of 4am to go see some fish thrown around. This meeting was much more reasonable, occurring around the hour of 5pm. We met at an entrance to Ueno park and wandered a few blocks over to the nearby market, Ameyoko. The market apparently got it's name by selling sweets after WWII (ame = sugar or confection), and also by selling American goods. Our host informed us of the history and also informed us that Ameyoko is "where the bad fish goes". But though the fish is not as high quality as that found at Tsukiji, you can find other quality goods. I had been to the market a couple weeks before with some friends and I can say that the fresh fruit is a win.

After discovering that the market no longer sold American army fatigues we hopped onto a train heading for Asakusa. On the train we heard a very interesting description of Asakusa's efficiency. Asakusa is home to a temple (probably several) where people go when a loved one passes away. Upon finishing prayers and rituals, to cleans themselves of the evil spirits that accompany death, temple goers partake of a meal of loaches. This is not Engrish for roaches, loaches are a small fish that live in rice paddies. I googled it and they even have their own site: http://www.loaches.com . Restaurants serving this small fish are right down the street from the temple. However, this little fish is apparently an amorous creature and shares its love with those who consume it. In short, it is an aphrodisiac. So, just down the street from the restaurants (and the temples that started the whole thing) is the red-light district. Problem solved. The circle of life is a beautiful thing.

Technorati Tags: asakusa, ameyoko, japan, loaches, aphrodisiac, redlight district

Shinjuku

Sat, 3 May 2008 06:51:00 -0700

After Harajuku we met up with a friend of a friend who lives in Tokyo. He brought his wonderful and gorgeous friend who is from Kyoto. So the four of us met in Shinjuku under the huge video screen of Studio Alta. This is a perfect hang out for young people: flashy lights and noise, shopping, food, drink, close to public transit, and there's a big screen TV. After meeting and exchanging hellos we wandered down to yakitori-cho, an alley filled with small yakitori shops, each seating about 8 people. Apparently at places like this it is rude to order water without also ordering alcohol, so I tried a sake that was quite tasty and smooth, wish I'd written down the name.

After our tasty little meal we walked a few steps out of yakitori-cho, turned the corner and walked into a little cafe. The lighting was dim, the furniture was wooden and everything inside was proper and slightly smaller than one might like. =) It seemed like the kind of place you would go to write dark but polite poetry. My housemate and I both ordered toast (cinnamon and caramel respectively). This tickled our hosts friend who chuckled on and off for quite a while about us ordering breakfast for dessert. The coffee and tea were apparently delightful, I personally like my cream and sugar too much to be able to tell. The toast was perfect, thick and with a light spread of salty sweet caramel.

Next stop? Drinks of course. We wandered down a couple streets and eventually into a dark labyrinth of alleys. Each door was heavily decorated and belonged to a miniature bar, about the same size as the yakitori shops. If you pick a theme you can wander this area and probably find the corresponding bar. The door above was probably decorated for some kind of wild west theme. We sat down at one with a Love and Peace theme where the two bartenders were very friendly and interesting to listen to, even if I didn't understand a word they were saying. While we sipped drinks sitting on that coasters that read "Love and Peace" we watched a rather gruesome Tarantino flick. Then, just before rushing off to the train, we watched the "A Whole New World" scene from Disney's Aladin. There are absolutely no contradictions in Japan by the way. None.

Technorati Tags: shinjuku, japan, nightlife, yakitori, tea, toast, bar, izakaya

Harajuku

Sat, 3 May 2008 05:44:00 -0700

Harajuku Girls? Yep. Boys too. These weren't the best dressed or most interesting people in Harajuku, but the main street was so packed in that it was hard to stop in the middle and take a picture. The kids stream by in costume or just fashionably dressed. The street they swarm to is lined with shops selling exactly what they're wearing or might want to wear next time. The concentration of eye candy is another reason I don't have many pictures, I was having more fun looking around than looking through my camera.

Want something Earth friendly inHarajuku? They have that too. There were a couple of stores selling second hand clothing or items that were made from easily renewable materials. Harajuku girls are apparently the perfect mixture of goth/punk, cute, and conscientious.

They even have free hugs, a temple, and an awesome little condom store. So they're scary, cute, conscientious, and smart. ;-) The condom store had many novelties, such as posters and a condom with a ruler on it, but it also had a wall of functional condoms. Unfortunately the store was a little too crowded for quick browsing.

Technorati Tags: harajuku, japan, fashion, green, eco, temple, hug, freehugs, condom

Akihabara

Sat, 3 May 2008 05:09:00 -0700

Last week my housemate came to Tokyo to visit. He'd been to Tokyo once before, but only for a couple of days. I can't imagine why, but somehow we ended up in Akihabara. It puzzles me. I mean, it's not like we're from a super techie electronics centered area that's known for geekyness or anything.

At any rate, we met and scouted the area for food and a particular furniture and design store called Yamigawa Livina (<- not a typo). We found the store first and settled on a curry place for lunch. We ordered our curries from the ticket machine and a couple of patrons were nice enough to change seats so we could have seats next to each other. After lunch we doubled back to the store and visited many floors of really interesting and sometimes even comfortable furniture (excuse me "high profile lifestyle products"). Then of course we set off looking for electronics and games, discovering a healthy smattering of manga and adult entertainment along the way.

To top it off? A kushiage restaurant we discovered while looking for yakitori. Kushiage is similar to yakitori in that it is food on small sticks. However kushiage is not grilled but deep fried. We were seated at the bar by the host, who without saying a word to us, proceeded to tell the chefs that we would need somebody who spoke English (our gaijin appearance also meant we didn't get heads on our shrimp as the Japanese patrons did). A tray was set before each of us and before we could even wonder where the menus were, food was placed on the tray. One stick at a time was placed on our trays and we were told what it was and which of four sauces to use. Each piece was different, and each was fantastic.

We were so distracted by the food that we didn't question how the chef knew what to give us or when to stop until about 20 pieces in when we starting to get pretty full. We speculated about it for another five glorious sticks before deciding that he was just going to feed us until we burst. When we asked him to stop the chef joked that we were only half way through the entire list of possibilities (there were 40) and gave us a hard time for giving up so soon. I later asked what was normal at a place like that. The answer? 14 or 15 sticks.

Technorati Tags: akihabara, kushiage, japan

Everything Is More Fun With Wigs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:46:00 -0700

A few weeks ago some friends at Osaka English House and I started talking about karaoke. One thing led to another and soon we were wandering off in search of brightly colored wigs. We had almost given up when we came across the corner of the Don Quixote store displaying socks, sexy costumes, and g-strings, for guys. Tucked away between the costumes were the perfect wigs. We bought three different colors and walked back happy.

The next day we met for all you can eat (in 90 min) yaki niku (cooked meat). We cooked an interesting assortment of meats and vegetables on a grill set into our table. After, we headed to karaoke. After getting our snug little room we quickly donned our wigs before a server came back with our drinks. When a waiter came he dillegently kept a straight face until just as he was leaving. We all cracked up and giggled while we looked for songs.

Sure enough, after watching the other girls sing and after partaking of the all you can drink menu, I found that yes, I had been right, I wasn't going to take the mic and sing my heart out. I had a great time and sang along with a couple of songs, but only while the mics were safely pointed at the other girls. After two hours the drinks finally hit me... and our time was up. So we wore the wigs on the walk back to the house and shared them with other residents. A good time was had by all. ;-)

Technorati Tags: wig, oeh, karaoke, japan

Whirlwind Summary

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:08:00 -0700

Ok, I've been embarrassingly lax in blogging, and there's really no excuse. I did get the images up, so if you haven't seen them yet here's what I haven't been blogging about:

Fushimi Inari Shrine - If you've ever seen the pictures of a bright orange cave created by an endless line of vermillion colored gates those picture was taken here. It's pleasant to stroll around the paths created by the gates. I went with another OEH (Osaka English House) resident and our flickr accounts are much more colorful for it I'm sure.

Yasaka-Jinja - After hiking around Fushimi Inari we headed into town to see this park. Apparently during cherry blossom season it is the place to be as cherry blossoms and a-tad-merrier-than-sober crowds fill the park grounds. We were too early for blossoms and beer, but the park was still quite nice.

Minoh Koen - On suggestion from an OEH co-resident I visited this park as a half-day trip. It wasn't touristy, it was a pleasant and interesting hike, and the waterfall at the end of the trail was wonderful. It's not the grandest of the things I've seen here, but I would go back before I'd revisit many of the more famous sites.

Hiroshima - It's basically what you would expect, except maybe slightly less dramatic. The museum is sobering, but the grounds of the A-bomb Dome are very well kept and it has the feel of a pleasant park rather than a monument of tragedy.

Tomo-no-ura - After Hiroshima I trekked to this small fishing town. I had the excellent fortune to meet two other travelers who were accompanied by their professor and guide. We got a personal tour of the town and got to have coffee in a traditional house that was redesigned by Miyozaki. There are also some politics going on around plans to fill in part of the port to build a larger road through the town.

Miyajima - Miyajima is apparently one of the most photographed sites in Japan. It's a large vermillion gate (like those at Fushimi Inari and other shrines, but larger) that during high tide stands out in the water and during low tide... it stands firmly in the mud. The deer there are very friendly if a little shaggy. They make a small cake shaped like a maple leaf and filled with cream, chocolate, or bean paste. Excellent deep fried. I thought I had a perfect gift to bring back for potluck, until I remembered the concept of expiration dates.

Himeji - There are many castles in Japan, but many of them have been rebuilt with modern materials. Himeji is apparently one of the better/more authentic castles to visit. It's much more picturesque from the outside, but it's fun to wander through and imagine lords and ladies wandering through the halls. There wasn't a line to get in which is nice, until you find out they just move it to the top of the tower at the end of the tour. No waiting to get in, but plan extra time if you want to get back out again.

Hanami - A group of us at OEH packed homemade onigiri and snacks and walked to the river in town. There, in the middle of nothing, was a stunning row of cherry trees in full blossom running parallel to a small river. It was probably the nicest weather I've seen since coming here to Japan, sunny and warm enough to take of my shoes and wade into the river. The cherry blossoms are not just hype, they're actually very moving in a calming romantic way.

So, brief summary now, and then I'll try to come back later and fill in some details.

Technorati Tags: fushimiInari, yasaka, jinja, minoh, hiroshima, tomonoura, miyajima, himeji, hanami, cherry, blossom, japan

I've figured it out, Japan is a huge shopping mall

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:04:00 -0700

A beautiful and diverse one, but still, I can't get over how many stores there are and how many people are constantly filling them. There are huge arcades with stores on every side. In the busy streets, filled with young and extremely stylish patrons, you go with the flow of the crowd and there is little else to be done. It's not a jostling frenzied flow, it's very easy going and colorful. It's fun just to walk around and people watch or to gaze at the myriad products overflowing into the street. You can walk for miles in any direction and never fear that you will run out of arcade.

Unfortunately with everything up to about $5 being in coin form, it's easy to drop a few coins here and there without thinking about it and feel like you're getting a great deal with your pocket change. This isn't half of what is in my pocket, and it doesn't look like much, but if you were to hand over the change to the left you would be spending 666 yen or about $6.66 (there is a 5 yen piece hidden there, sorry). The large gold coin in the middle is worth 500 yen alone.

More specifically...

The other day I was determined to make it to downtown Kyoto. I thought it would be quite a walk, but I had not trekked far when I came to a brightly colored temple across from a busy street filled with shops. It didn't take me long to realize that this was the tourist shopping district. Every other shop sold gift boxed mochi, the rest sold decorative fans, sandals and replicas. Though there were few white devils, there were many MANY asians with cameras. Ok, stereotypes aside, it's all true. ;-)

I walked down this street until I reached the Kamogawa River (Kamogawa = Duck River). Perfectly positioned with a cool breeze blowing off of it, it blocked out the sounds of the city and was lined with young couples. I'm serious. Every two or three meters was a couple sitting side-by-side. Like everything else here, it was incredibly kawaii. Other than the two old fishers (with 10ft poles), I seemed to be the only single visitor.

After my rest at Kamogawa I went back to the street and crossed the bridge. On the other side of the bridge the street changed. Here it was no longer tourist gifts and mochi. Here it was fashion, phones and never-ending youth. And if I thought there were a lot of people on the tourist street, there were many more here. The stores all play english pop music (ahem, Spears and Timberlake) and are overflowing with merchandise and trendy young Nihonjin. There is so much to pay attention to and it goes on forever. If you aren't deep into sensory overload you'll be gently surprised by quiet shrines that are tucked into the explosion of youth culture. They are all over Kyoto, but tucked into the buzzing fashion halls they seem somehow even more venerable.

Warning, not so PC:

They all drive prii and skinny little cars, cuz they're all skinny little people. It's strange relative to the US where one is used to seeing so many large people. Granted, the bone structures have something to do with the contrast, but all those figures about this or that percentage of Americans being clinically overweight really starts to sink in when you're in Japan.

Oh, and yes, they really do talk like that. =D

Technorati Tags: japan, shopping, mall, kyoto yen culture temple

Japan - Clouds Went Away

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:28:00 -0700

And I caught a stomach bug. I was starving when I woke up this morning, but no sooner had I eaten the little pastries than I was regretting having walked so far from the guest house. Upon returning I alternated between my bed and climbing up and down the two stories to the restrooms, this became exceedingly difficult. After a couple trips I returned to my bed and lay there hating the impending feeling of doom that was nausea. I thought even throwing up would be better and tried to distract myself with other thoughts. Eventually I fell asleep, and eventually my nausea grew to the point where it woke me up and doom fell. Bleh. Any way, the rest of the day was spent something like that. I tried blogging at some point, but it took too much energy and I went back to sleep. I regained my appetite sometime after dark, but didn't feel up to leaving the guest house to find beef broth. I think I'm feeling better now having stayed in bed and fasted for almost 24 hours. I'm still very weak, dehydrated, and bed sore, but I'm hoping to remedy all of those gradually.

More importantly, my experience before tucking tail and returning to bed:
Saturday was cloudy, but not wet and I headed out with the intent of seeing downtown Kyoto. My first stop was a little cafe run by a rojin (elderly) couple. They very politely sold me a couple of pastries and a crustless sandwich cut into small pieces. I walked toward downtown Kyoto looking for a place to eat (it's rude to eat while walking). Eventually I wandered to a small parking lot and sat down to eat. As I ate a small elderly woman walked by and stopped to say something to me. My Japanese is almost nonexistent and so I told her that I didn't understand. "Sumimasen" I said. She looked very apologetic and returned my "sumimasen" before continuing down the street. As I was finishing and packing up the woman returned with a steaming cup of green tea. I didn't understand everything she said, but what I did understand was basically that she thought it was cold out and I should have a hot cup of tea rather than the cold bottled tea she had seen me drinking. =D She was so extremely friendly and polite, something I keep seeing here. It's heartwarming to say the least.

Technorati Tags: japan, food poisoning, rojin, nice

Japan - An Easy Day 1

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:27:00 -0700

My first day in Japan. It's raining and so I feel like I have a little time to get the feel of being here before doing any hardcore sightseeing. For breakfast I walked down the street until I reached a sign that said "Garden Cafe". Inside, away from the traffic there was indeed a garden. I walked in to find a waterfall and a stone path through green plants. Inside the cafe my view through the garden was of a trellis structure highlighted by pink blossoms.

The young woman inside the cafe was very polite and happy to accommodate me in-spite of my bumbling Japanese. She smiled and answered with such enthusiasm that it was fun being frustrated. She asked me something that has so far been the most common question: "Hitori?" Everybody asks with a little disbelief. When I answered "Hai", this young woman exclaimed to herself: "Sugoi!"

Later I meant to ask if I could take pictures of the garden and she replied positively and then followed me out. This was a little awkward for me until I realized that she was going to take my picture. So I smiled and posed in front of the garden.

After my breakfast of a pancake with a scoop of icecream I wandered on down the street and came to a temple which I spent some time at, then wandered the streets some more before returning to the guest house to plan the next day's wanderings. Eventually I went out again for dinner and stumbled across the geisha street, though I think the woman I saw was not a true geisha.

Oh, and I like pigeons:

Technorati Tags: japan, garden, temple, pigeon

Doing Good

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:56:00 -0800

No, that's not bad grammar. I'm doing well, but I'm also doing good. So Santa will be nice to me. That's my excuse.

Soo. Here's the "good": Buy a calendar. Buy several calendars, you need more gift ideas anyway. Once you've bought the calendars, check out the merchandise. The calendars and gear are made by a group of volunteers who have given their time and talent to help slow global warming and save the environment. They all have other jobs and other activities to keep them busy, but believe this to be a worthwhile effort. So support them and their cause by visiting the site, buying cool stuff and spreading the word.

(The site is newborn, so be forgiving for a little while.)

Technorati Tags: green, gifts, calendar, shirts, hotchixdig

'Tis the Season to be Sharing

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:15:00 -0800

And so I'll share words and links to more words, because they're easy to give, and that's what you're here for. ;-)

For some reason I fight myself when it comes to doing certain activities that I enjoy. The likelihood of a fight seems to increase if said activity is actually good for me. Unfortunately this is the case with Yoga. And unlike running (which is hard on your joints) it's difficult to find a real excuse not to go. This is what I spent all of yesterday reminding myself of. And, after much effort, I succeeded in forcing myself to go to Yoga. There were moments, distressingly near the beginning of the session, when I thought my limbs were going to give out and I was going to collapse into a limp pile of untrained and uncultured desk-job-appendages. But except for a few stumbles and cheats I made my way through; I even managed to impress myself a little. And I think that's one of the reasons I like yoga, as humbling as it is, it leaves room to discover something you never would have guessed you could do. I'm also a huge fan of stretching, and the sauna after doesn't hurt.

Speaking of which, I did some research on saunas. I've heard just as a general lore that saunas can have health benefits and so I thought I would look into some details. I didn't look too hard, but I found a couple of optimistic sites, with references even:

Sauna & Health: Sweat Bathing and the Body (Very Pro-Sauna)
Wikipedia - Sauna (Harder to follow the health benefits, but many references)

A couple of the more easily believable benefits are relaxation, which can ease joint and muscle pain, and toxin expulsion. The extent of toxin cleansing and its benefits seems to vary depending on the author, but there does seem to be supporting evidence for it.

Also did a little research on the vitamin D and cancer thing. There is at least one study among adult females showing that Vitamin D significantly reduces the incidence of cancer. Another team gathered papers and research on Vitamin D and cancer (done by many other teams over 30 - 40 years) and determined that a relationship exists. From these and other studies I gathered a recommendation of 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. Best taken in the form of short solar exposure every couple of days, supplements when this is not an option. It's, as always, more complicated, but this will have to do until I find the links again later.

Until then, more sharing:

FreeRice (Test/Increase your vocab and fight Hunger)
Kiva - Loans that Change Lives (micro loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries)

Technorati Tags: sharing, yoga, sauna, vitamins, vitamin_d, kiva, hunger, vocab, microloans, links

Middle Earth Colors

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 22:20:00 -0700

I spent much more time at my computer on this trip than I might have hoped for, but I got a lot of work done. And in spite of all of the time spent working I've enjoyed my visit.

To start it off we stopped at Joe's Crab Shack on the way back from the airport again. My brother loves the whole idea of the place and it turns out my brother-in-law loves crab too. I think it's going to become a tradition to stop and get crabs when I come to town. And yes, Joe's has a store where you can buy paraphernalia extolling the joys of catching crabs (ex "Got Crabs?").

My first full day, and the only day that everybody was off work, we got together at my brother's to BBQ. They have a new puppy and sidewalk chalk, and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Everybody from my immediate family, my nieces and nephew, and some old family friends were there. My brother is excellent at the grill by the way: The steak was perfect (red most of the way through for me), and I don't know how long he grilled the scalloped potatoes for, but I swear I've never had better.

Later in the week, while looking for Halloween costumes, I discovered that I can shop in the kids section. This was lucky considering I found what I needed there. It also amuses me a great deal. Still. I'm not sure why, I just think it's funny and something must be done to take advantage of this newly discovered fact.

Several of us went to a haunted house Tuesday night. The Necropolis in downtown Columbia, MO. I recommend it. So much fun to be scared, not sure why. Rollercoasters, haunted houses, ghost stories, etc. I like them all.

Wednesday we all went trick-or-treating, something I haven't done for too long. Tomorrow we plan to spend some time at the park, and then I leave and return to CA. I'm looking forward to going back to my friends and my life, but it's hard to leave my family and the great weather.

Technorati Tags: crabs, family, BBQ, Halloween, costume

Mint Orange N' Cream Chaser

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:10:00 -0700

Lying awake late at night thinking what are probably unproductive thoughts. What better time to be on the internet?

I'm home again, to see my newest niece and to spend Halloween with my family. Tomorrow we finish getting costumes together and visit haunted houses. An old friend (elementary school) is joining us for a few scares. The weather has been clear and clean, having not quite reached the crispness that comes a little later in the year. The trees seem to be in the middle of their Autumn fashion show, and I know the next time I return they will be in full Winter regalia. It's been some time since I've been here for this season; it's refreshing, and perhaps it's that it is 2am, but it seems peaceful as well.

On another note, I've been strangely content to spend hours at a time staring at code since I arrived home. I think the change in scenery has cleared up much of my restlessness. I find restlessness makes a better garnish than it does a base. That being said, my daydreaming and plotting also seem to be much more coherent and productive when restlessness is tugging at me rather than driving me mad. I like variety and change. I wonder to what extent I could stay sane without it.

Technorati Tags: season, autumn, weather, family, halloween, restless

Long Ago and Far Away: Pride

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 16:45:00 -0700

Yes, I should have posted these sooner, hence the "Long Ago", and I'm in Kansas City/Denver right now*, so there's your "Far Away". And without further ado, Pride:

I don't know who this guy was, but he was popular, and the way he walked around shaking hands with his little entourage I just had to take some paparazzi shots.

I have many more pics, but I think I'll save them for flickr.

*I was traveling from Missouri back to the Bay Area when I wrote this near the end of July

Tags: pride, pictures

Welcome Wagon

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:44:00 -0700

I arrived home last Saturday to be here for the birth of my brother's second child and my first nephew. I was picked up from the MCI airport by Gene and Mom. We stopped by a place called Joe's Crab Shack for a fun and messy meal and my brother came away with a shirt saying "Got Crabs?". We finished the rest of the drive from KC to Columbia followed by a slow moving lightening show that caused an amazing sunset. I love this state.

I've complained in the past that every time I return to Missouri, excited to enjoy the weather, it suddenly becomes "pleasant", in other words, nothing exciting. Well, this time I was far from disappointed. The storm that trailed behind us all the way from the airport eventually caught up with us and I got to hear thunder and rain outside the window as I went to bed. The following day we went swimming and grilled and just yesterday I got another storm. My sister met me at the mall for a small wardrobe makeover and by the time we left it was pouring. For all of you out there in California who've never seen real weather, let me try to explain: 1pm on a summer afternoon and it's dark enough outside for just past twilight; water is sitting/flowing about a centimeter deep on the pavement; it takes us between 10 and 20 seconds to get to the car at a brisk walk and by the time we get there my hoody, pants, and hair are soaked through and water is running off of me in rivulets. So much for rolling up my pant legs. I couldn't have been happier though as my sister and I laughed, watched an SUV playing in huge parking lot puddles, and walked, soaking, into the next store.

Still grinning. =)

Austin Lee Alexander was born Tuesday, the 17th of July 2007. When we left the hospital that evening he still held the weight record for the day (though I had him beat by several ounces ;). Mother and son will be going home today. Congratulations!

Tags: family, nephew, weather, storm, baby, rain, missouri, sunset

Silly Sheep, Freedom is for People

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:24:00 -0700

I recently visited several airports while traveling to and from Barcelona. After that trip I can no longer deny that people are sheep. I used to think that only some people were sheep, the special kind who need religion or a spouse to make their decisions. No, by default people are sheep. In truth the special kind is the kind that chafes at being treated like fragile, ignorant children. It saddens me that this kind seems to be dwindling. =( And what's more the sheep will put up with more and more just to have daddy tell them they are safe from the monster in the closet. Didn't we grow out of that phase?

"Security" takes more and more ridiculous measures to make people feel safe. It's been shown several times that it has no real effect as far as security. It stops your everyday traveler though, so people feel like surely anybody who actually means harm will be stopped. They're doing something, so it must be safer than it was? People don't stop to question if the extreme measures make sense, they don't want to think.

There has to be a better way, it's almost not worth traveling anymore. But people accept authority, they need it. It frees them from responsibility and from painful thought. They don't have to consider risks, the authorities do it for them, it's all taken care of. So go ahead and shut down the whole airport because a man was running without permission. Steal things from paying passengers after making them stand in line to let you do it. Disrupt the flow of life, it's ok, we want you to. We're sheep.

Tags: security, freedom, thought, sheep, ridiculous, traveling

Punk Rocking Out

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 14:18:00 -0700

Listening to MXPX and waiting for the site to come back up. Way behind on posts. Went caving and went to the Firefly Ball. Getting ready for my trip to Spain. Been slacking in my studies, but getting a lot of reading done. Feels good to be reading for pleasure again. My list of books to read seems to grow faster now that I'm knocking them off though. Concerned about several things, but also psyched about several things, so we'll see what happens. If you have a second we have a cool error page though. Real Simple Like.

I hear the site is back up in a second though...