Where will I go? New York? Japan? Or will I remain in Pittsburgh for a little while longer? I have been kept in perpetual limbo on the subject to point where it seems like torture. Japan is, of course, ideal. But I have had no luck with any interviews for jobs that I’m qualified for. So it seems; for I have gotten no feedback on even the interviews I’ve performed the best on. In the English Education field, all avenues seem to be exhuasred.
Story
I was one of few white people who owned a jazz club in Japan. My club had been open for roughly six months. Since opening night things had been running more or less smoothly. I had already managed to gain favor from the locals. Some of the newspaper critics who know a thing or two about Jazz and what makes a good Jazz club have written flattering reviews. The bar and wait staff seem to be content. Not a bad start. So why am I so nervous on this night? Why should this night be any different from the others? It’s because tonight I’m letting a gangster perform at my club.
I was informed on very late notice by my band that they were going to let him perform with them tonight. He was once an acquaintance of mine, who happened to have an incredibly beautiful voice. I worked for him in the past, but had no intention of ever working for him again. What had put me on edge was not that I felt my customers will find his performance distasteful, but because I can’t figure out why I’m letting him perform in the first place. It is safe to say that his performance will probably be a huge success; for it seems impossible for this man to fail at anything. It is what will come with his next success that I fear. When he succeeds, he sets a precedent. His executions are beautiful, and few people will deny this. I am feeling on edge because I cannot resist the temptation to once again be a part of his success. I’m sure that he wants me to work for him again.
Suddenly the bartender interrupts my train of thought to tell me that I have an urgent phone call. I take my glass of Suntory whisky with me to my office. After I pick up the phone, I hear an indistinguishable voice.
…
Even More Modern Times… a Dreadful Propechy
Sonny, when I was your age, people still hunted polar bears even though they convinced us about the dangers of global warming, but now they’re extinct. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Modern times: Will immigrants save Japan?
“Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers made an ambitious proposal Thursday to raise the ratio of immigrants in Japan to about 10 percent over the next 50 years”
States the Japan Times in a recent article.
… This could provide a great economic stimulus for Japan amidst its stagnating population growth, and perhaps an immigrant culture will actually be visible in Japan by the time I’m 65.
A group of about 80 lawmakers were able to draft the “Japanese-Model Immigrant Policy.” It calls for the creation of an immigration agency and an anti-discrimination law.
This is legal action that is long overdue for a country that has boasted the world’s second largest economy since I was playing with Ninja Turtles, however, to be carried out smoothly it will require some caution. I wonder how many of those 80 lawmakers were formerly foreigners. Probably Zero.
Immigrants will have to be justly made aware of their rights, or they may be subject to programs of indoctrination for becoming more Japanese.
Not all immigrants will be able to adapt to Japan’s rigid working culture. If Japanese policy makers think so, there will be inevitable unrest.
If the new immigration policy is to place importance on nurturing the talent of newcomers, and creating more education and training opportunities, then Japanese working culture must reinvent itself. This is what Japan is going to have to undergo if it is to become a truly modern nation.
“Dude?! Where’s my country?!”
Movie Magic: The Goonies
I recently took a dive back into the nostalgia of my childhood by watching the classic film “The Goonies”
I couldn’t imagine a better way to have killed time in during the wee hours, with a thunderstorm brewing to provide a perfect ambiance for a taking a trip back to the past. It felt like ages since I watched “The Goonies”, which made it an extra special event. This was a film that I treasured as a child. It’s a solid adventure film that succeeded with clever character chemistry, and good writing rather than special effects.
I related deeply with the Goonies when I was a kid. When friends always stuck together, it was easy to find your own adventure, and being a little socially awkward was a positive.
G8 Summit：原子力発電の便利さ
This year’s G8 summit will be held next month in Toyako, Japan. A major part of the agenda will be to discuss the implementation of “green” energy sources in order to cut greenhouse gases and reduce the world’s “addiction” to oil. I hope the alternative of nuclear energy gets a fair amount of attention in this debate. It is time for the citizens of the industrial world to abandon the complex that nuclear energy is a volatile and dangerous form of energy, and embrace its numerous positive aspects.
Here’s a few:
1. It is cheap. It’s one of the cheapest forms of energy. (2 cents per kilowatt hour in the US)
2. It is much safer than the alternatives. The Three Mile Island incident was actually a success story, because the containment structure actually prevented a radiation leak. The Chernoblye accident was a consequence of primitive technology with a reactor with no containment vessel! A containment vessel should be able to withstand an extremely powerful impacts.
Coal mining is far more dangerous. There are about 5,000 coal mine deaths a year world-wide.
3. Nuclear waste can be recycled.
This will be a key opportunity for Japan to promote the environmental benefits of nuclear energy. Not only is Japan associated with being a green conscious country, but it is also the third largest producer of nuclear energy in the world, next to the US, and France.
The Japan Steel Works’ services (株式会社日本製鋼所) are in great demand owing to its role as the only manufacturer in the world able to manufacture the central part of a large capacity nuclear reactor’s pressure vessel in a single piece.
Japan has also introduced a reprocessing system in which plutonium is never separated from uranium. This new technology will prevent rouge and terrorist organizations from developing nuclear weapons.
For more details, I recommend you read an article by Patrick Moore in the Washington Post.
Time to blog.
I had been contemplating creating a blog for about two years, but my hectic, undisciplined lifestyle prevented me from doing anything. I even recall telling myself that a blog would be a waste of time, because my adventures or misadventures would take too long to document and I would miss out on the important things in life. The thought off going to get piss drunk in order to loose myself was always more attractive to me than to sit fixed in front of a computer for the sake of talking about myself. I have had a long mistrust of technology, in fear of becoming too dependent. But now that I’m unemployed, and have far too much time on my hands, I am beginning to think differently, and blogs are far too commonplace to not use them to my advantage. I have a passion for writing and have a number of things I want to share with the world, not just on a personal level. I am not a professional journalist, and you’ll probably feel that my writing style is a bit weird. Lets say, that’s what I hope. This is just an experiment, but I hope that you get something out of it. If not, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.
