japan is reinventing superpower—again. instead of collapsing beneath its widely reported political and economic misfortunes, japan’s global cultural influence has quietly grown. from pop music to consumer electronics, architecture to fashion, and animation to cuisine, japan looks more like a cultural superpower today than it did in the 1980s, when it was an economic one. but can japan build on its mastery of medium to project an equally powerful national message?

-japan’s gross national cool-





i am a "skinhead" from singapore. i know, i know. in order to be a skinhead, one has to be white. but i am writing this article because i would like to spread the word that there are many malays who would like to unleash our power against jewish, african and chinese attempts to dominate and corrupt us. just as you have white power, we seek to have malay power... i recognize that whites are my betters and that settles that. but i hope that you can teach us in singapore some things about the skinhead way of life.

-skinheadz.com-

could there be more love? thanks dave son. and btw, to the world i introduce james and his mammoth adventure. not that he needs introduction but he's been blog mia for awhile. so, world james, james mammoth.

identity. i have come to a decision about life. a life decision if you will. i think i am taking a job. this may not be such an important endeavour for many people of the world but when you have been coddled and helped along for all your life, this "taking of a job" thing takes on some big importance. most fibers of my being doesn't want this job. but being a logical rational person, this job is necessary. because it provides "stability." the magic keyword of maturity. stable people are trustworthy people. stable people are dependable people. stable people are boring. but hey. i was boring before so now i might as well be boring but with means.



i had a grand mini-plan that didn't involve a real actual behind the desk job. it involved learning the numbers of fruits and vegetables in order to input them into a check register. it was supposed to be a glorious vision of me as a scab, crossing picket lines and valiantly cashiering and bagging despite the protests of the union people. it was supposed to be about flexibility, short terms and seventeen fifty an hour. and it was supposed to be about making short term money to fuel long term goals. but hey, i scoff at long term goals.



so for now, call me anything you want, but make sure you put administrative assistant somewhere in there.



update (oct 30): actually, i've decided not to take it.



update2 (oct 30, 4 hours later): actually, i've decided to take it. but with some new wrinkles. mainly that i can still be unemployed for 2-3 weeks while i look around. wow. things just sometimes work out when you procrastinate. the world is a wonderful place with wonderful people in it.

the conundrum of punk rock. the essence of (the) music is to show disdain not only for the establishment, but for the very fans who support the band and the movement. but once bands get a taste of the delicacies of wealth and fame, it is difficult not to wallow in the success, thus becoming the very thing it once parodied. and as soon as the band loses the essence of that which made it successful, it falls apart, redefined as poseurs.

-excerpted from espn.com-

pausing for station identification. i'm trying to think of acts of malicious intent. doing something that you know would hurt someone and continuing with it even though you get nothing out of it except the joy of seeing someone in pain. most painful, hurtful acts are, in my experience, somewhat inadvertent and ultimately selfish. and i use selfish in the best way possible. as in, hurting this person is a terrible side effect and not the main goal. but i wonder if i've ever done anything to hurt someone, without having a good reason for it. or not even a good reason, but just a reason. i tend to think, at least philosophically, that you should always do what is best for you. and if that somehow hurts other people, it's terrible, but it must be done. there is rarely much hesitancy or regret on my part, when i know my actions will hurt someone but lies in my best interest, that i don't go ahead and do it.



but i am sure there are actions like this. where it would be "better" to watch out for the best interest of others as opposed to yours. i've done both i'm sure. hurting others as a side-effect and as a central theme. i think we all have. or maybe we all haven't. but it's something to think about. the actions that people undertake can be nasty and cry worthy but rarely are they so malicious and sadistic that they can be called "wrong." it's all a matter of perspective and "knowing the whole story." this is much easier of course, when the defendent is me. or someone i know. some things, as hurtful as they are, just have to be done. for the good of yourself.



however, pain hurts all the same doesn't it?



how much of a responsibility can you take for the feelings and hurts of others? and if you choose to accept all responsibilty, are you losing yourself in the process? always trying to walk the cleanest path? unwilling to offend others or direct pain at them? and i wonder if this would be admirable or despicable.

this fire. or at least two of them, were started by humans. not acts of nature. but arson. i wonder if they knew that the blaze would get so big. if they knew homes would be wrecked. i wonder if a disaster of this magnitude was their intent. or if it was indeed a prank that grew out of control. in sixth grade, a robber set fire to the house next door to ours, to be used as a distraction for his getaway. it seemed for a few brief moments, as we woke up in the middle of the night, like the flames were coming from our house. but instead it was just our neighbor's house, burning away. our neighbors were scheduled to return from their two week vacation that day. imagine that. imagine this.



the animals at the wild animal park are being threatened. this makes me sad. not that the rest of the fires and the humans running from it and combatting it don't make me sad. but the thought of animals, with their heightened senses and inability to go anywhere, makes me wince. i wonder if someone out there, is enjoying the glory of this wildfire. one day they can look at this and proudly say to their grandkids, or their cellmates, "hey i did this."

if i could turn back time. as fires rage across san diego county, smothering the skies and peppering the air with ashes, small children walk from business to business collecting candy. dressed in various costumes, they are oblivious to the lines of parents staring off into the horizon wondering, "when are the fires gonna stop and where will it be headed next?"



from hong's house we can see a line of fire in the hills beyond but it is too far away to threaten us. until the wind changes. in which case, anything is fair game. in the event of our evacuation, i have decided to take my computer, my new hat, my passport, my various clothing accessories and a few books. i would leave all my DVDs but take my CDs. in the event of an evacuation i would have to think about exactly which possessions are the most valuable and irreplaceable to me. in the event of an evacuation i would bring my toothbrush and contact solution. practicality second, safety first.



during state of emergencies it is best to eat lunch at costco and dessert at jamba juice. that is the way of my world. we also had no clue the time change thing was coming. it worries me that important things like gaining an hour are not in my consciousness at all. or in the consciousness of any of my friends either. they should send up flares to announce this kind of change, to remind everyone. oh yeah. fires.