Words like "irony" and "hypocrisy" don't cut it any more

Palestinians 'made millions' selling cheap cement for barrier they bitterly oppose

I'm not quite sure how to comment on this.

It's not that I expect (as the headline suggests) that all Palestinians will always band together, or that nationalism, or any other ideology, is so strong as to reliably overrule the force of, say, greed.

But one would expect Arafat to display the merest iota of genuine concern for the welfare of the people that are purportedly "his own".

The report reveals that the cement originally came from Egyptian companies which supplied it at a huge discount of $22 (£12.50) a ton to help rebuild dilapidated Palestinian houses or buildings bulldozed by the Israelis.

I am utterly appalled--and this is just the effect of mere sympathy. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I were an average Palestinian hearing this news--let alone one of those who had a home bulldozed to make way for the Wall.

The Wall was the reason my home was destroyed.
Fortunately, it can be rebuilt.
There is cement to be used in rebuilding my home.
Unfortunately, the cement is all gone.
The cement was used to build the Wall.
The Wall was the reason my home was destroyed.
Fortunately, ...
 - some Palestinian going stark raving mad

Target Acquired

So we went looking for a new place today, and, partly by fluke, ended up actually getting a new place. Well, getting a contract for a new place. OK, verbally agreeing to go back next week to sign a contract for a new place.

But it was still exciting!

As of August 18, we will be living in an apartment in a location that I think is quite marvy: 9 minutes from Futako Shinchi station (I love the trivia note on that link). This gives both myself and Kate a nice, short commute, and brings us quite a bit closer to Shibuya, the Center Of The Universe. As a bonus, it stands alongside the Tamagawa river, and while our view doesn't quite reach the standard set by beachfront properties back in Kits, it's still pretty nice, and apparently we'll have line of sight to the summer riverside fireworks.

Everyone else in the building will be Japanese--which means no more Elephant Men stomping around at 3am. Woot!

On a somewhat related point, I listened in on our agent's phone conversations with the landlords of the apartments he showed to us, and each time I made out a part of the conversation where he informed the landlord that we were foreigners, and asked if that would be acceptable, emphasizing that we were Canadian (I guess Canada has an OK rep here), that I was half-Japanese, and that I have a fully Japanese uncle willing to act as a guarantor.

I may have felt a pang or two of liberal angst.

As is the custom here, we have to pay an arm, a leg, and part of a buttock up front. On the other hand, despite the improved location the monthly rent of the new place will be about 2/3 that of the current apartment. (One is almost tempted to invoke the word "gouge".) So it should work out in the long run.

Which, pursuant to Paul's inquiries, will run about as long as the rest of this year, plus the next until at least the end of spring. If all goes perfectly, we'll leave sometime in the summer, do some travelling in Europe (maybe visit Kate's relatives in Greece, maybe visit some friends we've met here and there), touch base back home for a while, and then head off to our respective grad schools--I'll be going to the University of Pittsburgh, except it will have been moved to New York or somewhere in California, such that Kate doesn't kill me for demanding that we move to Pittsburgh.

(I think maybe probably things won't go absolutely perfectly.)

We are Moving!

Yup, submitted our "termination of lease" - we will be in our new place (hopefully!) by the 19th of August.  Should save us a good 50 or 60,000 yen per month ($600-750 CDN), so I'm pretty happy about that.  If we move to the station we want to, we will also be on a far better train line (one with expresses).  If only we had done so when we first got here :(.

The Corporation

On our second try, we downloaded a version of The Corporation that would actually play, and we watched it--all three hour-long parts--tonight.

Of course it did not argue as well as I might like it to. One of the chief antagonists was a representative of the Fraser Institute, and his rhetoric really should have been dealt with in a more direct manner. Come on, people, it's not all that challenging. For example, the main argument for capitalist globalization (multinationals save third-worlders from starvation) could have been countered quite nicely with a bit of Amartya Sen, I think, which would have dove-tailed nicely with the theme of putting democracy first.

The aspect of the film that impressed me the most was how it featured corporate insiders. I don't know how the filmmakers managed to convince them to say so much on camera, but good on them in any case. A couple of these moments are my favourites from the film: more-or-less conscientious CEOs showing that they're people, too, and a Wall Street trader ironically describing his first thoughts when he hears news of war and destruction. All too often lefitsts waste their time demonizing the rich, so it's nice to see the blame clearly put on the system, where it belongs.

The People Here...

Yesterday I had to teach a class in a special room with its very own air conditioner. Now, I don't think we've had a day in the last few weeks that's been under 30 degrees. Yesterday I think it was well over 30. I walk into the room, wearing a suit as required, and start teaching. I thought, it's quite warm in here and ask if anyone is too hot. One pregnant lady agrees and I go over to the thermostat. It is set to 26 degrees, a fine warm day in Vancouver. However, when I ask if anyone would like me to turn the temperature down, two of the five students vigorously protest! And they tell me, it's good for your body to have such high temperatures inside your house. ???

Needless to say, I succeeded in getting them to allow me to turn the temperature down by two degrees. We had a vote, which passed three to two. What happened after this episode? The two who lost put on their sweaters. ARGH.

Encore x2!

I too went to a party last night, and it also had karaoke. However, our party was kewler. After karaoke, we went for 'station beers' (you get drinks from the convenience store and sit on benches near the station). Since it was a Sayonara Party, people were giving speeches and I guess it was a bit loud, because all of a sudden there were a few cops there and we had to leave. Not only did two cops come to make us leave, but as we were leaving the street a police car showed up as well. That was pretty interesting.

Encore!

Karaoke again, this time with the crew from the new school. Did a few duets--with a guy, of course. He hams it up just as much as I do. It's great! First I was Meatloaf, and he was whoever that woman singing in "I Would Do Anything For Love" is. Then I was Freddie Mercury, and he was David Bowie (you know the song).

New discovery: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. I was George Michael, he was Elton John. We had the room in tears.

Bit of a generation gap, though. We had people singing Eminem, and people singing Otis Redding.

Harry Potter & the Prizoner of Azkaban

We just got home from watching it, and I have to say, it is INFINITELY better than the first two movies. Lots of kewl magic and creatures, the characters were far more real and had more than one emotion (sap). Now that they have a real director, Alfonso Cuarón (of Y Tu Mama Tambien fame), the movies from here on in should be excellent.

The horror... the horror...

OK. Someone really needs to inform me of these kinds of things in a timely manner.

A Eulogy For Our Marlon Brando

Happy Independence Day!

I'd heard rumours that the Bush administration had plans to secretly move Independence Day to July 2 in order to foil possible terrorist plots (and also any plans the average American might have to participate in the occasion). Luckily, no such move was made, and so Americans (unlike some others) get to enjoy their superficial celebration of independence on its advertised date.

As my contribution to this momentous day, I bought a new bag/briefcase. It was tragic, but it was an emergency and I had no choice. Until now I've been using the brown bloated monster of a briefcase that my Grandpa used in the seventies (or maybe even sixties). Please understand, I'm quite attached to this briefcase, so much so that I affectionately dubbed it "Kneecapper", in recognition of the salutary effect it has on some of the more impudent of my fellow commuters.

But I'm afraid it's seen better days; its left latch is now mostly dead. Now, when I rush off the train in my customary manner, weilding Kneecapper like a mighty briefcase-shaped maul, only the tenderest balance of torque and friction prevents the thing from splitting open and thereby scattering a variety of papers, a travel-sized container of Tylenol, my lunchbox, some spare pens and pencils, two 20-sided dice, a sheaf of old bill stubs, 3 anti-histamine pills, a small bottle of moisturizer, a thermos full of coffee, a pair of chopsticks, 2 packages of tissue paper/advertising, a screw of unknown origin, several plastic bags, etc., to the four corners of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Have a good retirement, Kneecapper. I'll always remember the times we spent together in the Tokyo subway system.

Pictures

Sass this site, put together by some of the hoopy froods at my old school: ebisu collective

I don't teach there but maybe an hour a week (and not even that during this month), but it's still the school I consider "home". I mean, they even have my name up there! Sort of.

While attending a friend of a fiancee's gig at the Immigrant's Cafe, I was told by a random Japanese woman that I look like some soccer player named Nakata. I dunno. I guess I kinda see the resemblance, but I'm just so much cooler than he is.