Shake You*, the dynamite psychedelic trippy new song + video by Yun*chi. Enjoy.
Artistic
Just about 5km off the coast of Nagasaki, there is a small island that once flourished as a coal mine town called “Ikeshima”.
via News.me
Just about 5km off the coast of Nagasaki, there is a small island that once flourished in the coal mine called “Ikeshima”.
via News.me
A Look Back at 2012
Transportation
For a number of years my wife has been bringing up the topic of a car. But I always dismissed the topic as something that might be “nice to have” not a “need to have” item. The train systems in Japan are some of the best, safest, cleanest, and most timely in the world. We take the trains to work each week day, and even take the Shinkansen Bullet Train when visiting the in-laws in Iwate. So I found it hard to justify the expense of getting a car, however the happy news that we were to have a second child changed my mind. With one child I think it’s possible to manage food shopping, travelling, etc. but with 2 the number of free hands decreases. So I reconsidered and agreed with my wife, with the only request that it be a Hybrid car so that it uses less gas and is more environmentally friendly. After a few test drives and some negotiating about the price with the car salesman, we signed the papers in April and became the owner of a new Honda Fit Hybrid in blue. My wife and I really like how quiet it is, and have had no problems with it thus far.
Now that brings up the issue of drivers licenses, I have a driver’s license from the US however that is not valid in Japan. In order to get a Japanese driver’s license you must take and pass multiple written and actual driving tests. These tests cost a fair amount of money and time to take, not to mention that in Japan cars drive on the Left side of the road, which is the opposite of the US. Actually given the choice I prefer to take the train or bike ride over driving, so the new car is essentially my wife’s, and she does the driving when needed.
Family
The next big change in my family is the welcome addition of my second son. He was born in a hospital in Iwate, Japan (where my in-laws live) via a C-section. Our first son was also born by C-section so it was planned and expected to have our second by C-section. He is cute, and healthy, and growing bigger each day! Though he did need to have an operation for a hernia, seems it happens sometimes that boys are born with a hernia, his large intestine could be seen poking against his stomach at times. But he had the operation last month and it went successfully, so the hernia is no longer a concern. Here’s his first photo, he was born in August.
Work
The last big change for the end of 2012 is I left my position as Chief Engineer/System Administrator at Namzak Japan. The company has struggled for a number of years to gain new customers, and frankly I was feeling like it was time for a change for a number of reasons that I won’t get into here. So when the CEO sat me down and said plainly that my position in the company would be ending at the end of this year it didn’t come as a total surprise, my wife and I are hoping 2013 brings a prosperous career change. Shameless plug since it is my blog, if you’re looking for a System Administrator, software engineer, or help with testing your mobile or desktop app or web service get in touch!
In memory of the highest ranked Japanese-American politician thus far, may he RIP.
Daniel Ken “Dan” Inouye (pronounced /ɨˈnoʊweɪ/; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was a Medal of Honor recipient and a United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death in 2012, making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in U.S. history. Inouye was the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.
via Percolate
the Jobs Crisis in Japan : The New Yorker
Returning to Japan after ten years away, she saw that a sense of human disposability had begun to haunt the Japanese workforce. ”I was struck by how isolated people are, not being able to share their problems even with family and friends, depressed but proud, trying to cope in loneliness,” she said. “This social isolation broke my heart. I felt if only they could talk to each other and share their problems, they would find out they had so much in common.”
The Guardian calculated Homicide rates for selected countries’ most populous cities (2009 data):
Asia - Japan Tokyo - 0.4
Another example of why it’s so pleasant to live in Japan, it’s a safe society generally speaking.
via News.me /Digg
Filmmakers, like novelists, usually do their best work when they set it in places they know best. The imagination can be sharpened by exile, but just as often it is stifled. For it is hard to achieve intimacy in an unfamiliar context.
via Percolate
