[エンタメ] ハウルを人口減少の社会から見ると

Thanks to the kindness of my landlord and his family, I was able to head over to Borders (the fine folks at Borders Group, Inc. have their headquarters in Ann Arbor) and purchase myself a copy of Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城).
David Edelstein's review of the English language version is here.

i enjoyed how Miyazaki choose Diana Wynne Jones' children's story by the same name to frame his latest theatrical release. Perhaps it is coincidence; but, with Japan's birthrate at 1.38 per couple, a story where a young girl only truly discovers herself after turning into a 90-year-old woman might be a poignant choice for 団塊の世代 (1947~'49).

i'd seen the film once before, but it was a thrill to see it in its DVD format.

meanwhile, Miyazaki's next project　（ゲド戦記） is slated for a July roadshow in Japan. the face of humanity is changing...

[エンタメ] More Truthiness Than You Can Shake a Stick At

Stephen Colbert - the man that makes me want to adopt ultra-conservatism, embrace ignorance, and align myself with the heartland values of America! certainly on the edge (if not, at times, over), Stephen Colbert pushes the envelope of what punditry can be - and how fantaticism in the extreme can both entertain and effectively convey political commentary at the same time.

i tune-in to Stephen's Comedy Central program via iTunes' new "multipass" product. the show's great, though i've since come to the conclusion that iTunes' video content leaves a little to be desired (it only allows data backups and does not allow the use of content in one's own authored DVDs).

4/29: White House Correspondence Dinner
Stephen Colbert attends as his "Lincolnish" and "Megalomamerican" character - amusing and offending the audience. You can check out his full bit by clicking on the title link or here.

運と縁

運：UN is basically "luck" or "fortune"
縁：EN doesn't lend itself to direct translation quite as well, though I might go with "destiny" or "pre-destined."

it seems my future depends on how these factors play out. gonna have to wait this one out.

[ニュース] 時代の寵児（ちょうじ）のホリエモン

NYTimes finally picked up the story today 2/13. Man, MSJ could have scooped the NYTimes if they'd run my story!


I'm not quite sure whether I should address Horie-san as Horie 前社長 (former company president) or adopt what seems to be the standard in Japanese media: Horie 容疑者　(criminal suspect).

The arrest of Livedoor President Takafumi Horie last week has surfaced more issues than illegal security trading. For one, the brash young Tokyo University dropout was once heralded as the new face of Japanese business and was practically made the poster child for Prime Minister Koizumi's LDP Reform movement.

Claiming ignorance now, Koizumi and the LDP leadership are taking steps to distance themselves from a potential PR fiasco. Both the Prime Minister and Economic Minister pushed for and supported Criminal-Suspect Horie when he ran for office in the 6th District of Hiroshima (he didn't win). At that time the Economic Minister even went so far as to call Horie a brother, a son – though it’s not clear if he ever decided on which he was.

However, all you'll hear from the LDP camp nowadays is 「不明」 (Unclear) and 「当時に違法行為知られていなかった」（At that time, criminal actions were unknown).

A PhD student in the Economics department at our University explained to me that there exists in Japan a certain phenomena:
出る杭は打たれる
or "the nail that sticks out is hammered back in."

Is this a case of Japanese Society correcting for the radical Horie-san and his aggressive (and often disrespectful) business style?

Лайка、早く帰ってきて、、、

On November 3rd, 1957, she became the first living creature to orbit the Earth; though it's now known that only a few hours later Laika had passed on. I think of Laika often: how she lived as a stray on the streets until she was drafted into the cosmonaut program and subjected to "training;" and how she spent her last three days alive on Earth - inside of Sputnik 2 - waiting in the cold with only the hum and a little warmth from an exhaust hose to comfort her.

冥王星への探査！〜Groovin' to Pluto

New Horizons (グランドピアノほどの大きさ) launched on the 19th at 1400hours from Florida. This baby's fast... maybe not quite Steve Job's "screamer" fast, but New Horizons will pass the moon in 9 hours (vs 2.5 days required by Apollo missions), reaching Jupiter in only 13 months. Nine years later? Pluto, "hello." The nuclear electric generator powered craft utilizes highly radioactive plutonium to power its instruments during its sojourn to the frozen outreaches of our solar system. Antinuclear activists picketed the launch, citing concerns of an accident. The launch planned for the 17th was delayed two days due to weather concerns.

It was interesting to compare the prominence the event received in Japan's Asahi Shimbun when compared with leading US News sources such as The New York Times.

[エンタメ] 1／25発売 Tokyo Incidents 大人（アダルト）

大楽しみ！これが、、、
You'll be able to get a sneak peek at one of the new tracks from 1/21〜28期間限定 on Virgin's site. Check it out.

謹賀新年

The Dashing Prince Riki and Elegant Princess Kasumi have returned to usher in the New Year!
You may recall my two younger siblings from last year's appearance, here. Let's make '06 one to remember.

Can You Keep A Secret?今までずっと秘密にしてた

The disparity between Japanese-sized Starbucks and the American variety has been mitigated! and in truth? well, they never were more than a menu apart... the hitch? we're not supposed to know about it. it's a secret. as the Starbuck Goddess masquerades around Japan with her tasty tempting flavor-packed mini coffee sizes, the American consumer is stuck sipping sickening over-sized blends of mostly milk - the ever popular "venti" size. well, as this Slate article suggests, i took a trip down to the local Starbucks and said, "make mine a short." and they did. $2.20 soy cappuccino. yum.

[Net] Transparency & You

Today, enabled by the Internet, the individual has access to more information than at anytime previous. this enables the motivated individual to act of his own accord - to organize groups or carry out actions without the need of in-house infrastructure. the infrastructure is provided for public consumption. a sword with two edges cuts both ways: one interest has the potential to affect all others.

does this lead us to embrace a transparent society where privacy was never a right? i'll watch over you as you watch over me and we'll stumble through?

i don't know, but there are a couple new software programs that are drawing heat from governments around the globe:
NASA World Wind and Google Earth. and there are probably more.

Utilizing readily available satellite imagery (varying in degrees of resolution/timeliness), one is free to explore the globe.

god, and it sure is a lot of fun.

coverage varies a little from program to program, some terrain is rendered in 3D - viewing angles galore! some cities are ultra high-res and feature 3D buildings. public transit subway/train lines are also available along with a host of information ready for access concerning monuments/formations.

Happy Trails, SpaceCowboys