Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
I Just Got the Best Valentine’s Present
February 15th, 2012Being sick has seriously improved
September 5th, 2011Sure, it still doesn’t feel good, but thanks to my phone, now I’ve got internet radio to listen to, games to play, an internet browser…I may be stuck in bed all day, but at least I’m not bored.
Random Picture Quillion
August 10th, 2011I just liked the name of this restaurant. Notes: “Quillion” is a number Alex has invented, defined as “one less than infinity”.
“Domestic Suspense”
April 5th, 2011I found this wonderful (and thick! 598 pages!) comic book compendium at one of the places we stayed at in Okinawa. Here is a rough translation of most of the cover: Title: Domestic Suspense – Complaints!! Various blurbs: Don’t talk casually with customers! Store clerks who don’t apologize! She tutted me when I asked a […]
AC
March 18th, 2011TV programming here in Japan is slowly returning to normal, but not commercials. It seems few companies want to be seen as “insensitive jerks hawking their wares during a crisis”. This is a shame, because the alternative is driving us adults crazy (though the kids love it). The alternative I speak of is the constant […]
We’re fine – Estamos bien
March 12th, 2011Just to let anyone know, we’re totally fine, as is the house. 8.8 at epicenter, perhaps, but the epicenter is a long, long way from here. Tony didn’t even wake up from his nap. Todos estamos bien, y la casa tambien. El temblor fue enorme, pero nada se rompio. El pequeñito ni siqueiera se despertó […]
The Valentinos, the Most Prolific Fashion Family in Japan
June 4th, 2010Japanese TV loves (and I mean LOVES) to report on all the knock-off products and copyright violations rampant in China. Part of it is for the moral indignation factor (moral indignation is good for news ratings, and Japanese news shows LOVE moral indignation stories), and part of it is for the inherent humor when the […]
Clapping Shepard Tone
February 3rd, 2010Something that has been stuck in my mind for a few days: First, you should be familiar with the Shepard Tone. If you don’t know what that is: So, that out of the way, something that has often both bugged and amused me is the tendency of Japanese audiences to “clap the beat”. That is, […]
Being Semi-Unemployed Has Made Me Paradoxically Busy
December 1st, 2009So, as people who know me in person may be aware, I left my workplace of ten years at the end of September. I really couldn’t have asked for better work, in that it was incredibly easy and yet paid well. But all things must come to an end, and the night shifts and gradually […]
Powers of 10 and WH40K
August 30th, 2008I’ve got a cold, so my mind isn’t working all that well. So this post may not be very organized. Are you, dear reader, familiar with the short film “Powers of 10”? It’s an old education short, about 9 minutes long (you’d think they would have added a minute of padding in there), which zooms […]
