Africa Demands Climate Change Reparations...

I wrote a small summary on this subject earlier today,, but for whatever reason this particular topic hit me a little harder than news usually does, and I thought I'd go off a bit.

So, basically, Africa is moving to demand several billion dollars in climate change reparations for the damage caused by wealthier countries. Assuming, of course, that it is true that climate change is created through anthropogenic means (and I do believe that it is), there is certainly a level of rationality to the request. Africa is one of the lowest emitters of CO2 in the world, and stands to be among the areas of the world who suffer the most from the effects of climate change. It makes sense that those who caused the problem should be responsible for fixing it.

But at the same time, I can't help but think that global warming isn't really the issue here- Africa just wants more money. Once again, wholly rational, but the world is in a lot of turmoil at the moment, and I don't think that paying reparations before the damage even begins is going to help anyone- that money can be better pledged to help find solutions to minimize the damage to Africa and other countries and people, rather than fund a series of highly corrupt governments. Reparations should benefit the people that are affected by the issue, not just help out some politicians, and that it really the crux of the issue here. I don't know, perhaps I'm just being excessively negative again, but it seems to me that the request is rather thinly-veiled, although the other portion of the demands- a 40% decrease in emissions by 2012- sounds much more rational and fair, though it is the half that will never happen rather than simply being extraordinarily unlikely.

The World's Lamest Mutant Superpower™

I probably should've posted something on this earlier in the week if I was really going to, but seeing as I have the time now I might as well give it a whirl.

Good news for all the insomniacs out there- it may simply be a sign that you are, in at least one regard, more evolved than the average person. Recent studies suggest that the ability to be completely functional after less than eight to eight and one half hours of sleep may actually be a genetic mutation. The recent study, conducted by the University of San Francisco, found that a mother and daughter were capable of going to sleep at 11, and waking up refreshed at 5 the next morning without the aid of caffeine or alarm clocks. Other short sleepers typically required both. Both the Mother and Daughter had mutations of the DEC2 gene, which evidently affects circadian rhythm.

I'm so reliant on caffeine at this point that I couldn't really tell you whether or not I actually apply to this, but it certainly is interesting- after all, it provides a distinct societal advantage, allowing the affected to hold extra work or relaxation time, to study additionally or even do chores at a more leisurely pace. It would be interesting to see if evolution will begin to adapt to societal aspects rather than those specifically held within nature, although I daresay that I won't be alive long enough to ever truly find out.

A few updates and links

Just a couple minor comments here, mostly, once more, shameless self promotion hoping for some SEO hits.

I've posted a couple articles at random brokering freelance sites in the last couple days just to take a look at the process and see if it is at all, in fact, something that can generate me a passable amount of passive income.

You can read my review of Asano Inio's masterpiece Solanin here, a further discussion of cultural imperialism in Japan here, and a rather extensive article on magical realism in Japan here. Another, briefer history of Japanese magical realism can be found here.

I hope any readers who stumble across this will enjoy them.

"Cultural Imperialism"

...recently, I wrote a small paper on the notion of cultural imperialism in Japan. In all honesty, it wasn't very good- I argued against its existence (that is, the idea of foreign cultures displacing local traditions) for the sake of purely being argumentative. I'm like that occasionally. Still, it did somehow manage to get me thinking a bit.

Here in Japan, "Western" items- food in particular- are rather different. Anyone who has mysteriously discovered corn in a sandwich without any particular rhyme or reason will understand what I'm talking about, otherwise it's something you really have to see to completely comprehend. In the paper, I argued that this bizarre assimilation and adaptation was a logical refutation of imperialism, but in reality I'm not so certain. With English writing everywhere, and a bizarre idolization of certain American things, there may be a small amount of truth to the idea.

To get more in depth, I'll have to include an anecdote. Today I was doing a small amount of shopping in the supermarket- nothing big, I needed a few basics. Anyway, I was in the produce section and near the premade salad mixes there was a small bag containing dressing and croutons that claimed "CAESAR SALAD MIX: The most popular salad in America!" Needless to say, I found it to be an odd selling point. Its existence alone seemingly proves that some form of idolization is present, it's like a type of advanced bandwagon appeal. And yet an equal- if not greater- amount of disdain can be seen everywhere in Tokyo. The rational piece of my thought process cannot help but think it's just the result of a generational gap- the elderly/occupation era citizens are less likely to think of the US in a positive light. It seems less predominant among the youth. But perhaps I'm totally wrong- after all, even here in Saitama I stick out like a sore thumb whereever I go.

In any case, it's interesting food for thought, if nothing else. Is Japanese culture subservient, or is the disdain greater than the admiration? There really isn't a solid answer, but again, it's worth thinking about a bit.

A few minor updates

Well, having successfully proven that my own business is going to prevent me from having any sort of regular blogging activity, I hearby revoke all previous column-like promises, and just state simply that I will do them when I have time- it's not as though it's a chore, but in terms of my writing priorites "blog about my relatively ordinary life" is pretty low. I'd much rather be working on a short story, a school project, or honestly even a post on my new literary criticism blog, The Third Shelf Down [/completely shameless self-promotion].

Now then, as to myself, my summer semester has started, and as a result I've been incredibly busy with papers and the like (in fact, I'm actually simulatenously working on a paper right now). In any case, said business has successfully managed to syphon away my free time, I personally blame my somewhat overarchieving attitude in taking a full courseload during the smaller timeframe. I have managed to get a fair amount of reading done, mostly thanks to my ~1-1.5 hours a day spent on the train and waiting for it, and things have more or less continued as normal as a result of that. Indeed, romantic as the notion of living in a foreign country may seem, it begins to feel normal after a while. If nothing else, though, it has manged to greatly expand my comfort zone, so I suppose this is a good thing.

On a less personal front, I'm going to recede into childhood fanboy mode for a quick moment. Growing up I was somewhat of an otaku in purely the Americanized sense (there was a 2 year period or so where I basically lived, slept, ate, and drank anime and manga). I'm still a fan today, though I have calmed down, and my tastes have changed somewhat drastically, preferring the subtle and powerful to the baser instincts (violence; sex) that most of the series these days deal with. Anyhow, I've always, and still to this day remain a great fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and I've been eagerly awaiting the second in the quarter of movie remakes. Evangelion 2.0: [You can (not) advance] comes out towards the end of June, I believe, and there's a certain level of hype going around right now. Given my- er- condition when it comes to coffee, I've already managed to secure a complete set of the new UCC evangelion coffee cans, which is both a bit saddening and delightful simultaneously. I suppose I just have to curse UCC for knowing how to make me buy terrible, terrible coffee. I plan to go see it as soon as I can, schoolwork permitting, and I may post a more thorough review at such time.

Well, that's it for now.

Exploring Tokyo: Jinbocho

I thought that I might as well start something a little more regular in order to keep myself motivated. So every Monday (Japan time), I'll try to put out a short little blurb on a small area of Tokyo that I think of as interesting or important. I'll try to stray from the larger ones a bit, but I'm certain that Akihabara / Shibuya articles will inevitably pop-up here and there. Also, it's worth noting that I am currently cameraless, and as such I will be unable to provide photographs. However, I intend to make it work.

Now then, to start off let's talk about one of my favorite areas in Tokyo: Jinbocho. Jinbocho is basically Japan's used bookstore Mecca, you can find most things there if you're willing to spend the time looking, and are fluent in Japanese. It's located just around Jinbocho station, which is on a few subway lines, but is also within walking distance of the JR station Suidobashi (about 10 minutes or so away). This general area is actually my old haunt from when I spent the summer at a Japanese language school, but more on that another time.

In any case, it's an interesting place for English speakers as well. There are a few shops that have quite extensive English collections (a couple on par with the Yoyogi/Shinjuku Kinokuniya), and they have that great old-and-musty used-book smell to them. I've picked up a select few books there simply because it's a location rather out of my way, but it is an interesting place to be sure, and worth spending the afternoon (as long as it's not Sunday, as many of the shops will be closed).

The next entry may be a bit more extensive. Stay tuned, or not, if you would rather.

Japanese Supermarkets

Supermarkets in Japan are interesting creatures. Local ones close early- sometimes as early as 5 or 6- and the stores are often ruled by "time sales," in which certain items are discounted for a limited amount of time. It's a fundamentally different system than its American counterpart, but one that I feel can be more easily exploited. In essence, grocery shopping here is all about timing, and as a result, I always find myself keeping a few things in mind before I go:

-What do I need, exactly? (changes the most opportune time of day).
-Is it more than I can carry? (due to my car-less-ness here, I must be able to carry all that I purchase back to my apartment. Sometimes multiple trips to different stores are in order)
-How much am I willing to spend at one given time?

etc. etc.

The main rules are quite simple: earlier in the day is better for produce, later in the day is better for premade food, which often results in purchases that I have come to regret. Honestly, this country makes me question how much self-control I have every day- the food is just so good that even my daily running and exercise doesn't quite offset it. I suppose the truth is that I just have to be more conscious.

In any case, there are some items that are exceedingly hard to find. Some of these are obvious- vegetables like, say, parsnips, aren't going to be available. But the real difficulty is with other foods that seem like they should be similar, and just aren't. Peanut butter is a good example, rather than actual peanut butter, the stuff here is more like a sickeningly sweet peanut-flavored concoction. Tomato sauce might as well be ketchup for how sweet it is. These are things best found in either import stores (at greatly enlarged prices) or shipped, or purchased at a military base if you're lucky enough to have a method of access. Or made by one's self, as I've done with salsa a few times to feed a guacamole craving.

The other real differences are simplistic- produce aisles will often not have plastic bags for the vegetables and the like, and they go directly into the basket. Items are bagged by one's self, rather than a bag boy, and smaller quantities are purchased at one time for most- after all, this is close to Tokyo, so not all that many people have cars.

In any case, that's just a short explanation. Maybe interesting for someone who stumbles along here one day, who knows? I'm just curing boredom.

The Generics

I've been meaning to start something like this for a long time, but just haven't had the time to get around to it lately. With my obligations winding down a bit at the moment, I figured that I might as well capitalize on the opportunity and get up and running. This way it won't seem nearly as daunting to update later on.

So, let's talk about about me, shall we? Let's start with the generic facts:
-I live in Japan.
-College student.
-I am not fluent in Japanese (which naturally makes the whole living bit a much more interesting experience).
-I read a lot. In fact, if you put something in front of me, there's a decent chance that I will read it. I may say bad things about it afterward though, I tend to have both odd tastes and rather high standards.
-I have an unfortunate disdain for the following people, items and concepts: large suitcases, wearing shorts, people who don't like coffee, anything with chartreuse as the dominant color in its color scheme, Dan Brown novels, and with one exception everyone that I have ever met with the name "Ian."
-I have a tendency to both write run-on sentences and grossly overuse parenthesis, often incorrectly.

I think that anyone actually bothering to read this thing will probably get a better feel for my personality over time, but that's the gist of me and a few of my more minor idiosyncrasies. I'll try to keep things updated just to flex my writing muscles a little bit more (practice does, after all, make perfect).