tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35667812011-07-08T06:29:32.743+01:00·-· · -·· ··- -·-· · -·· -- · ·- -· ·· -· --·Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.comBlogger3171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-42258730860702836502010-01-21T15:20:00.003Z2010-01-21T15:30:57.827Z

Today I wanted a little information about something I'd heard. There supposedly exists a small-batch bourbon whiskey of remarkable flavor that happens to be drawn from the cask and bottled uncut, leaving it at around 122 proof (that's approximately 61% alcohol by volume). If the interwebs are to be believed, it does exist and is actually supposed to be a pretty good drink.Of course, if the

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-58131837953008098682009-10-14T13:06:00.001+01:002009-10-14T13:08:42.812+01:00

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-19023930980964115872009-10-03T08:51:00.002+01:002009-10-03T09:33:38.169+01:00

Red Meat? Oh, Milkman Dan and Pipe Smoking Ted, I'm glad to see you're still around.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-71737871289503376142009-09-15T12:06:00.001+01:002009-09-15T12:07:27.044+01:00

Depending on when (or if) you read this, the odds are pretty good that someone recently was talking about humans returning to the moon. Or why going to the moon again is not optional, but necessary. Or perhaps that it's not feasible or responsible or conscionable, given the other issues facing people here on the ground. But regardless of what the schmuck on the street has to say, for or against,

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-74918125805827877622009-09-03T13:39:00.003+01:002009-09-03T14:07:02.659+01:00

Last night I had a headache so bad that for a while I couldn't see. It hurt in parts of my head that I usually don't pay any attention to. For a period of time, all I was could think of was what felt like my sphenoid and occitipal bones 1 , and the screaming line of rusty barbed wire that connected them.So it was with some trepidation that I considered my status today. For the first couple of

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1102557267193506882009-08-28T19:08:00.004+01:002009-08-28T19:16:48.031+01:00

Pictures.Tiny, tiny pictures.Like, pictures of individual molecules.[Image by Science/AAAS]From Technology Review

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-63438670613084507742009-08-08T12:09:00.000+01:002009-08-08T12:09:00.680+01:00

There aren't enough experiments that involve comparing human young with other animals.Discovery News: Dogs Read Gestures Like ToddlersBest line comes at the end: "[The researcher] does warn against simply thinking of dogs as furry versions of a two-year-old, given that no toddler could ever herd a flock of sheep as well as a dog."You hear that, human toddlers? Just sit your diaper-clad asses down

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-47295825372711509202009-08-05T12:27:00.016+01:002009-08-05T14:39:31.756+01:00

Some of you may be old enough to remember Speedy Gonzales, the fastest mouse in all of Mexico. And some of you may remember when he was pulled from TV rotation for, uh, well, I'm not entirely clear about that part. I think it was because he was viewed as being a negative stereotype. Possibly it was for speaking in less than perfect English (as compared to... Elmer Fudd? Sylvester? Daffy Duck?

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-66338389965065859172009-07-17T13:00:00.002+01:002009-07-17T13:11:58.900+01:00

You ain't got nothing on Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Seriously. So take your rinky-dink happiness back to the minor leagues, along with your so-called professional attitude and your 61 mile an hour fastball.Loser.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1878393325701236522009-07-05T14:01:00.004+01:002009-07-05T14:44:32.515+01:00

I haven't checked out CNN dot com for a while. Let's see what they think is newsworthy today.....God damn it. Marion "crack pipe"Barry arrested for stalking?How the hell did a man caught on videotape smoking crack first get re-elected to mayor, and then elected again to city council? Why the crap didn't the people of Washington D.C. just slap his dumb ass with a sock full of pennies and tell him

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-13437161300019394882009-07-02T12:29:00.002+01:002009-07-02T12:54:52.931+01:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm not up to date with all the video game news anymore. Which made this footage a bit of a surprise to me. A car designed for the video game Gran Turismo 5 has been constructed in the real world.Hmm. Video game car made into a real machine.So where are my dream rides?

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-75640333147582211252009-06-19T08:09:00.003+01:002009-06-19T09:56:54.942+01:00

One of the things that's supposed to be great about the internet is that it enables anyone to make their voice heard. And, theoretically, this means that the lowliest plebe can cut out the middlemen of representative democracy and take their case directly to the people in charge.Unfortunately, there is nothing obliging any government to listen to any petition gathered on-line, no matter how

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-21946110413033753572009-06-10T11:10:00.003+01:002009-06-10T11:48:55.572+01:00

A website devoted to right-wing and conservative views on science fiction? Yep. Just in case you needed politically motivated commentary on Spider-Man meeting Obama, why the outrage over a Barbie doll dressed as a superhero is misplaced, or the lazy-liberal thinking implicit in a trailer for an animated sci-fi movie.A video documentary about the branch of Germany's far-right, racially xenophobic

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-7609370742172422422009-06-08T13:43:00.003+01:002009-06-08T14:03:27.378+01:00

Some birds can make and use tools, others can learn to recognize and attack specific humans. Whales can steal, robots can hunt and eat prey, and new research has shown that apes can laugh. And they don't just make ha-ha sounds, but make them in the same contexts and for the same reasons as people.All of which makes me think, but two idea keep coming back to me:1. Humans are not as special as they

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-92203852705237490592009-06-02T11:54:00.003+01:002009-06-02T12:08:23.942+01:00

Thank you, POETV.Ta-DA! (And totally not for kids.)

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-70207016974388075252009-05-13T16:28:00.002+01:002009-05-13T16:52:58.471+01:00

As of this writing, there is just over a week left until the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships, to be held this year in Anchorage, Alaska.Yes, seriously. How could you not dig something with categories like Verdi, Dali, Alaskan Whaler (new this year), and two varieties of Imperial (moustache and partial beard)? Just get a load of this excerpt from the "Wild West (moustache) page:

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-78855341165009008572009-04-30T13:41:00.004+01:002009-04-30T13:54:12.344+01:00

A while ago, a few months before I was supposed to leave Japan, maybe, a thought occurred to me. Something about preparing to go, preparing to end the business of the second (third?) life I had tried to put together was not dissimilar to preparing to end that life, or at least that way of life. All the things that were supposed to be important, and the things that truly had become important to me

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-74376797709401717512009-04-24T16:24:00.004+01:002009-04-24T22:43:14.200+01:00

Is it really so hard to come up with good ideas for comic books? C'mon, military accident, miraculous circumstances of birth, space accident, oath of vengeance, school trip accident, theological inquiry, there's all sorts of things to do.So why oh why would someone go out of their way to produce what looks like a woodenly staged comic book recreation of Pride and Prejudice?Besides, there's only

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-5386164638107268132009-04-06T09:35:00.002+01:002009-04-06T09:40:50.899+01:00

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-8491571675274157082009-03-25T09:16:00.005Z2009-06-19T09:58:09.771+01:00

Since leaving university, each time I've moved into a new house there has been a greater or lesser amount of stuff I've had to leave behind. But there's also been a greater or lesser amount of stuff left in the places I've moved into by the former occupants. Among other things abandoned in my then-new lodgings, I've found cinder blocks, unopened roach traps, stacks of scrap lumber, wicker

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-16779906968947059632009-03-10T21:47:00.003Z2009-03-10T21:55:28.674Z

Seriously, is there anything worse than a hamster just ignoring its potential and not providing anything worthwhile? No, nothing. But at long last, those fuzzy little wastes of space can finally start giving something back: very small amounts of electricity.No, they're not hooking the treadmills up to little generators. Someone has developed a collection of "nanowires" that can be woven into a

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-35438070130476605762009-03-06T15:05:00.002Z2009-03-06T15:10:45.695Z

I must see this.End of story.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-43941401915124675922009-03-06T13:13:00.004Z2009-03-06T13:26:01.379Z

What has Discovery Channel news got for us today?...One such researcher is Hans Laarson of McGill University in Montreal. Laarson and his team are analyzing the genes involved in tail development and researching ways of manipulating chicken embryos in order to "awaken the dinosaur within."I see. Altering the development of chicken embryos to re-activate genes that express dinosaur-like

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-92132879386155337522009-02-21T00:59:00.003Z2009-02-21T01:24:51.923Z

Let's see, I'm drinking beer and reading comics. It could just as easily be 2009 as 1999. Ten year timewarp? Do your worst.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-86008305397871515902009-02-06T17:14:00.003Z2009-02-06T18:00:41.952Z

I like old books. Old comic books, old reference books, and particularly old paperback books. There's something especially appealing about those old paperbacks that, for one reason or another, had really striking cover art.Which is why, I suppose, I'm so happy to see this: a collection of great video games in the style of classic book covers.Given how crappy some video game box illustrations have

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-79416480192476430342009-02-05T10:03:00.002Z2009-02-05T10:23:12.517Z

Soviet cosmonauts were trained with, and carried into space, three-barrelled firearms.If George Washington was called "the father of the country", then it seems his wife, Martha, was a bit of a MILF.Japanese companies have developed a robot that looks like the hall monitor robot from the Death Star, but shoots nets to catch criminals.As a species, we're not done with evolution yet.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-74741774395520519722009-01-27T16:21:00.008Z2009-01-27T16:38:23.548Z

Okay, I can accept that social networking seems to make money from selling information about its users to advertisers. (Can we call them "Marketeers?") Not so cool, but a reasonable price to pay for free Scrabb Wordscra Lexul Scrabble and friend requests from people we never really thought we'd wanted to see again. But I may have to take issue with the ads I'm seeing.Take this first one.Now, I

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-58658568835774794962009-01-25T10:49:00.004Z2009-01-25T11:23:31.493Z

A partial list of foods I have learned to cook with since I left home:Burdock rootKonyakku, A.K.A. "jellied devil's tongue plant"Shrimp or prawnsPumpkinParsnipsSwedeTofuCouscousAnd, as of last night,Black puddingI'm just saying, is all.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-37569821306542293832009-01-21T16:10:00.003Z2009-01-21T18:07:18.734Z

I didn't think it'd matter so much, but I am actually relieved that Obama has been sworn in. Bush being president really bothered me more than I realized.The last resort of a scoundrelPatriotism generally strikes me as pretty fucking thoughtless. Even if, for argument's sake, you hold dual Chinese-Indian citizenship and feel equally patriotic towards both countries, that still means that 3.5

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-11002630719717640422009-01-21T15:19:00.004Z2009-01-27T15:15:33.900Z

I've alluded, in one way or another, to how little I was enjoying the last third of 2008. And you know what? It was my own damn fault. It was my job, my life, and my own damn, dumbass choices that put me there. Did I make mistakes? Oh hell yes. Maybe I'll put up some details of the worst parts later, but not today.It occurred to me that parts of my past seem, in retrospect anyway, to have been

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-24671007001253745542009-01-07T20:50:00.003Z2009-01-07T21:35:16.619Z

And I've been, well, less than myself. Too much work with far too little reward or meaning. But all that's over now, so I can get back to stuff that really matters. Like bitching about things that everyone else heard about months ago.F'r instance, the UK police are getting the same sorts of powers assumed by the federal government in the US (that are a clear violation of the US constitution),

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-30931002035831824952008-12-10T15:05:00.005Z2008-12-10T15:29:33.303Z

...is the approximate number of words of student writing I've had to read in the last five days. And of that, there have been four essays on dieting (common opinion: being fat and ugly and unstylish is bad, but so is "possible gastric rupture arising from forced vomiting to prevent absorption of calories intake"), two on pollution ("we should saving the planets and energetic for our sakes'

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-62666225199753713882008-12-02T21:07:00.002Z2008-12-02T21:19:01.549Z

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.All work and

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-59898648027730257052008-10-16T23:17:00.007+01:002008-10-16T23:46:47.450+01:00

The last couple weeks have been a bit harder on the ol' word-making parts of the brain than I'd like. So instead of some comments about something or other, here are a bunch of teeny-tiny photos from my mediocre phone camera. This are the images that I seem to have thought were worth reproducing:

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1124145186384891222008-10-06T23:44:00.003+01:002008-10-06T23:56:39.026+01:00

Total number of students enrolled in my Monday classes: 52Total number of students who came into my classes after the start times today: 12Number of students late for basic English class: 3Number of students late for Intro to Business Communication: 7Which gives us 2 left over students who were both actually about an hour late for Management Theories, a class that I don't even teach, in a

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-54435464601577825502008-09-30T13:58:00.002+01:002008-09-30T14:05:17.167+01:00

Usually, BBC news is pretty good about giving me the info I need. But this link here kind of threw me. I mean, I can guess that it's explaining where in the UK suffers from the highest levels of child poverty.But honestly, my first thought was that it was some sort of travel guide, like, where to go to find the best child poverty, or the most picturesque children with smudgy faces, no shoes, and

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-18095618779985328002008-09-20T20:29:00.004+01:002008-09-20T20:47:50.899+01:00

Tonight, a Saturday night, I find myself trying to clean up the room, which is not tidy, and clear up my desk, which is a mess, so that I might have enough space to prepare lesson plans for work on Monday. I don't know if I will have time to do either of those things tomorrow, since I have plans for the day with my wife.Ordinarily, I like to think that the days of the week are irrelevant to me.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-69762088735003497542008-09-14T23:25:00.002+01:002008-09-14T23:34:29.523+01:00

Tomorrow is the first day of classes of the fall semester. Not only have I been (theoretically) rehired for another semester, but I've been given three separate classes to teach, which will be something like 25 hours of classroom time per week.Too much work? I reckon so. So I'm going to make this choice consciously, with full awareness of what I'm letting myself in for. They want a full-on

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-4703667570366894682008-09-13T17:48:00.003+01:002008-09-13T18:12:48.422+01:00

The British Tory party (the rough ideological analog of the US Republican Party) is going to have a conference in the city of Birmingham this month. And as a part of the city's attempts to turn a profit from the visiting Tories, they've distributed a coupon book to the visiting delegates, complete with discounted entry to The Rocket Club, a place people can go to watch ("Sir, do NOT touch the

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-55803901498155566312008-09-08T10:57:00.002+01:002008-09-08T11:57:50.882+01:00

Okay, just about enough time has passed so that I can consider the following without wincing:I got publicly betrothed this summer, and in an unpleasantly accurate twist of fate, the run-up to my event was eerily paralleled in the comic strip Achewood. For example, thoughts about dresses, vows, fears about the future, gift registry, fears about the ceremony, catering, the madness inducing lead-up

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-82254284566133790802008-08-30T14:31:00.004+01:002008-08-30T14:41:05.416+01:00

I ate leftover curry and chocolate chip cookies (plural) for breakfast. And for lunch I'm going to drink like three cups of coffee, and then maybe some whisky.'Cause I'm a grown-up and I can eat whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I feel like it!Yeah!

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-30277855637922968052008-08-05T23:24:00.000+01:002008-08-05T23:26:32.063+01:00

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-64251268486152521022008-07-27T16:55:00.003+01:002008-07-27T17:28:48.684+01:00

Okay, so I ain't been on for a while. That's 'cause I've been getting re-married. Which isn't to say that I was divorced, but that the first time around was done on the quick and on the Q.T. It was almost like we eloped, except for the questionable choice of moving right back to the same island her family was on.D'oh.So once I got the visa I could get to work, which was a prerequisite for paying

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-39896939512865674302008-06-26T23:45:00.004+01:002008-06-27T00:38:37.832+01:00

There aren't nearly enough comics about history.Wait, scratch that. There aren't nearly enough good comics about history.No, hold on. There aren't nearly enough good comics, period.Fortunately, Kate Beaton is making hella funny comics, many of which involve historical figures. Her linework is clear and evocative, her sense of comedic timing is great, and I really can't choose which of her comics

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-56270896377271040972008-06-23T20:13:00.005+01:002008-06-23T20:40:54.938+01:00

Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits!Thank you, George.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-36200994759682519542008-06-13T00:26:00.003+01:002008-06-13T01:06:02.686+01:00

Okay, so it seems that the infamous '2 Girls 1 Cup' film is at the center of a court case to decide just how far the 1st amendment goes. And the judge responsible for the whole thing is taking some heat for a web site he maintained, which seems to have some smut of his own selection.I don't know if his collection of naughty pictures represents some sort of conflict of interest. But I do know that

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-17178058094306518702008-06-11T00:20:00.006+01:002008-06-11T00:48:48.457+01:00

Imagine, if you will, the kind of mind that would do the research needed to answer this question:What was Stanley Kubrick's favorite font?Oh yes. A fellow got the chance to look through Kubrick's archives, and made some interesting observations about the man and the things he left behind. But between the history of the creation of individual fonts and arguments about whether sci-fi writers would

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-72196545647288113312008-05-25T11:16:00.004+01:002008-12-12T03:32:38.692Z

Generally, I don't have a great deal of interest in Discovery News. Most of it seems to be the dry, simplified, stripped-of-sensationalism news that fails to interest the spectacle hungry like myself. Yeah, I'll probably chuckle when I read the story about an ancient coprolite, or the one where scientists stuck needles into elementary school children to see if their pain was better soothed by a

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-17114716704974839952008-05-19T23:11:00.003+01:002008-05-19T23:24:03.238+01:00

Going back to work next week. I've been enjoying (sort of) a two-week break between semesters. I say "sort of" because even though classes ended two weeks ago, I've been unable to be completely finished with the semester's work. There were exams, workbooks and stacks of powerpoint presentations to grade. There were essays to read, evaluate, and penalize for plagiarism. Then there were the on-line

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-91836134078815105712008-05-14T12:04:00.004+01:002008-07-27T17:31:51.560+01:00

A long time ago I studied animation. Like, the actual nuts-and-bolts mechanics of making moving cartoons with paper and ink and film. Come to think of it, it was real 19th century stuff. Except for the plastic cels we used for the final project, almost all the other materials and technology would have been easily available 100 years ago.Anyway, one of my fondest memories was of trying to figure

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-25411684010325327252008-03-31T15:43:00.005+01:002008-03-31T16:11:13.830+01:00

Found an excellent video at dannychoo.com that nicely encapsulates a couple of the reasons I loved that place.Yes, that guy in the plastic outfit is just cruising around Tokyo, looking for places to dance. On it's own, that'd be pretty entertaining. But he's done it often enough that lower-level celebrities want to dance with him.But look at the people going by. This seems to be taking place

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-40657972045739756172008-03-15T23:10:00.006Z2008-05-14T11:31:16.653+01:00

That last post has been worrying me for a bit, and I feel like I should clarify. I do believe that white Americans, as individuals, are just as valid and valuable as any other human being. 1Honestly, I grew up amongst them, went to their schools, and learned their ways as if they were my own. Honestly, I wouldn't mind at all if my sister married one. Hell, some of my best friends are white

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-51022041422449912582008-02-20T10:39:00.002Z2008-02-20T11:06:01.647Z

Not many people I've met seem to embrace the idea of racism. Most people I've met who were raised sometime after 1930 or so seem to be more or less comfortable with the idea that it's not really acceptable to pre-judge people based on their skin color. They may not agree, but in general, they seem to get that most of the other people they have to live with are going to act that way.In general, I

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-82407256449142058462008-02-05T08:38:00.000Z2008-02-05T09:09:37.566Z

Jim Woodring, artist and illustrator of, among other things, the ever-astounding Frank, has an illustration blog. Sometimes it is dreamlike, sometimes bewildering, and other times it is simply inspiring.The Woodring Monitor

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-62313586026237470402008-01-30T16:41:00.000Z2008-01-30T18:43:13.856Z

Now that I'm back amongst the ranks of the employed, I'm going to have to re-state my support for coffee. A legal, socially acceptable stimulant, it's sometimes the only thing that keeps me upright and functional. Now, the shaved apes I have to work with may be happy drinking cup after cup of instant Nescafe all day, but this particular simian needs something a little bit better. Yes, there are

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-82639414862242247422008-01-28T19:40:00.000Z2008-01-28T19:54:31.861Z

It's a dark day for edumacation in Great Britain. In a move to improve the numbers of people holding qualifications, the UK has announced that they'll certify certain McDonald's management courses as being equivalent to A-levels, which will be something roughly equivalent to AP credit towards getting something like diplomas or associates degrees.And to make things worse, an otherwise unremarkable

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-32452392945392018972008-01-20T12:36:00.000Z2008-01-20T12:45:49.535Z

Should anyone at all care about the fact that some jerk running for congress had his face put on a thinner body for a campaign photo? It's just a little bit of advertising sent to voters to present an image of himself, which obviously has no bearing on his policies, right? And the fact that the people putting his ad together felt they were doing him a favor by making him look better than he may

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-25505043637974712952008-01-03T13:59:00.000Z2008-01-03T14:33:09.552Z

Going back to work soon. Edumactin' them thar ex-changed students. Yeah, the foul-mouthed Yank foreigner complaining about the quality of instruction is being hired to teach at that self-same institution. Not quite the blind leading the blind, but somewhere in the neighborhood. Maybe "the belligerent lecturing the apathetic" or "the surly leading the indifferent".Anyway, been trying to get some

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-54249060157438244012007-12-19T22:11:00.000Z2007-12-19T22:24:44.211Z

Did I say something about optimism?Forget it. These jokers are selling a new t-shirt that's been pre-torn to make it look like an old t-shirt. It doesn't come with any sort of cool logo, hipster design, or even a retro iron-on. It's just a frayed t-shirt that costs forty dollars.Forty god-damned dollars for a frayed t-shirt.Anyone that would pay that, even in devalued 2007 money, is a fucking

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-44913822038195699502007-12-19T21:57:00.000Z2007-12-19T22:04:53.192Z

You ever seen one of those big-ass ads projected onto a wall or something? They kind of suck, don't they? Sure would be good if someone could work out a way to do something about it.Something like this.Every now and then I start to feel a little bit optimistic about humans. Usually somewhere around beer number four.[link courtesy Graffiti Research Lab]

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-5728579488236567542007-12-11T23:22:00.000Z2007-12-12T01:16:23.772Z

Today I met a garrulous Irish person with a delightful lilting accent, bright red hair, and an actual twinkle in her eye. Within three minutes of her sitting down, I'd heard about her job, her daughter, her daughter's job, her expected granddaughter, her dental history (really), the best places to buy prayer-cards (honestly), her trip to Krakow for dental work (no kidding), and the possibility of

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-14152582493335345282007-12-02T13:40:00.000Z2007-12-17T23:39:38.788Z

I think my extended visa application will be approved, which means it looks as though I'm going to be a legit citizen again.Which means I'll be able to look for full time work. From the point of view of the relative strength of the pound against the dollar, that's probably a good thing. Of course, that also means I'll have to try and be a respectable, employable such-and-such, which may not be so

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-4623750664881011862007-11-13T14:13:00.001Z2008-09-13T18:49:58.849+01:00

It ain't easy to get one's chile fix in England. This is one of those countries that sent people around the planet looking for stuff to improve the national diet1. Yeah, for dinner the curries around here can be great. But something as simple as a red chile breakfast burrito is sadly beyond their capacity. So what's a fella who needs something spicy before noon to do?I have had exactly one great

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-12378453997985347782007-11-10T22:38:00.000Z2008-12-12T03:32:38.982Z

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-15467489275779947232007-10-28T12:09:00.000Z2007-10-28T12:24:52.507Z

I hear that if you join the army then refuse to follow orders, you can be punished pretty severely. Of course, if you follow an order that's later shown to be wrong, you can also be punished pretty severely. I haven't heard so much about punishments for issuing unjust orders, though...Anyway, it seems that desk jockeys are also balking at being sent to Iraq. While the article mentions possible

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-80310627507912220022007-10-28T00:51:00.000+01:002007-10-28T01:03:05.557+01:00

I've been doing a little freelance transcription work lately. That means I get sent a piece of video and then I write down everything that gets said in the video, and the time that someone says it. Then the script I've made gets sent to an office in Tokyo where it's translated into Japanese so that the video can be subtitled.I'm sure that anyone who took that class for screen writing who

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-43391055351834512432007-10-08T09:51:00.000+01:002007-10-08T11:42:22.860+01:00

Click here to see a picture of a Hiller Platform, a one-man flying disc designed and tested by the US Army in the 1950s. Now click here to see one that a guy built in his garage and flew in a couple of festivals this year.Flatpack furniture? An Old El Paso Fajita Dinner kit? You've edited together a swell home movie with flare effects and your own clever closing credits?Bullshit. Talk to me about

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-36458015981831162212007-10-07T20:20:00.000+01:002007-10-08T01:22:37.404+01:00

One of my friends once claimed I lived a sitcom life. At the time I thought it was just commentary on the sort of goofy hi-jinks that tended to happen week by week. But looking at it from another angle, he may have been issuing a prophecy.See, I'm a deadbeat graduate student prone to cracking bad jokes who likes cartoons and drinking too much, who's moved to England to be with my special lady, a

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-64014119111925204342007-09-21T19:59:00.001+01:002007-09-21T20:23:06.742+01:00

I just had to share this little nugget of trivia with you. Certain businesses can be given what's called a "Royal Warrant" from the British monarchy. This is like becoming the crown's official supplier of whatever. Take, for example, Lea & Perrins, Royal purveyors of Worcheshtershercheeshershire sauce. Or Tanqueray, royal purveyors of gin. Or my personal favorite: CH Haygarth & Sons, Gun & Rifle

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-127601184430070072007-08-30T22:32:00.000+01:002007-08-30T22:43:27.417+01:00

I've just been a bit busy lately. That phoney-baloney degree I was taking is almost through, so there's a couple of thousand words I need to get written. And then there's the other editing/re-writing/layout thing I agreed to do which also needs doing.Which is to say nothing of all that beer that's not going to drink itself, you know.But since I figure I ought to make some gesture towards your

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-57036974048773726822007-08-21T01:16:00.000+01:002007-08-21T01:24:35.334+01:00

Somehow, while I've been grappling with the difficulties of writing like a guy from 1870, my Dad (who has witnessed the ages of Jet, Space, Atomic, Information (both e- and i-) and Aquarius) has somehow become a Skype-using, Blackberry-owning, mobile-SMS-text-emailer.Seriously, while I was trying (unsuccessfully) to work out whether it was more appropriate for a Victorian dude to say "Japanner"

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-64452031378394456982007-07-20T12:21:00.000+01:002007-07-20T12:52:48.508+01:00

Redbook magazine? Can't say as I know know much about it. I think the last time I saw a copy was in the dentist's office. Faith Hill? Is she the one who sings country or the one who sings western?But if this story about how her photo was overhauled for the cover is true, I've only got one thing to say both Redbook and Faith:Fuck you.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-45584988800480364652007-07-20T11:11:00.000+01:002007-07-20T12:21:36.604+01:00

Okay, I said that I was going to get to that state of Washington thing later. Well, it's later now. The case I found was Andersen v. King County, which seemed to reverse an earlier ruling that would have allowed same-sex marriages in Washington state.Stop me if I've got this wrong, but I thought that at the state level the supreme courts are generally meant to ensure that previous rulings are in

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-84289038056220220822007-07-20T10:02:00.000+01:002007-07-20T11:11:30.750+01:00

Your government hates you.They may be quite happy to take your money, keep you under constant surveillance, tell you what not to do, and who not to do it with1, but they still hate you.Is there any other way to explain FEMA's behavior?If you knew something could be dangerous, but chose to expose people to it anyway, I might call that reckless. If you knew it could be dangerous, and told people

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-22115587492239329892007-07-10T14:41:00.000+01:002007-07-10T15:13:57.400+01:00

In all honesty, I really shouldn't try to talk trash about the way British people drink tea. I don't think there's any way to succinctly explain the precise (and precious) ways in each person here will explain how they "take their tea", while still conveying the fact that they are all (A) somewhere along a wildly varying spectrum of preferred steeping times, brewing methods, additives, and

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-50990018717456964292007-07-09T12:06:00.000+01:002007-07-10T14:41:29.474+01:00

After some four years spent waist-deep in it, I can't say that I had any epiphanies about Japanese culture. It's not possible, in my opinion, to be able to claim any deep understanding of a nation without some greater depth of integration. And most people simply cannot get "inside" in such a short period of time.Like that crap that John Howard's trying to pull in the Northern Territories with Mal

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-23077900820046147442007-07-01T01:50:00.000+01:002007-07-01T01:51:24.594+01:00

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-17202407858784239432007-06-28T14:13:00.000+01:002007-06-28T14:16:09.318+01:00

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-76953240155427539682007-06-17T00:13:00.000+01:002007-07-01T01:52:31.423+01:00

Had the opportunity to take a little drive last week. Well, by "little" I mean around 1800 miles, round trip. Now, for the last year or so I've been trying to live in a way that leaves a smaller ecological footprint. Less gas and electric heating in the winter, more open window and less A/C in the summer; more locally sourced produce, less of that delicious Brazilian rain forest beef. Hell, I

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-31324086427178428392007-05-29T00:27:00.000+01:002007-05-29T02:36:42.762+01:00

It's been about 554 years since the death of the last Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.It's been around 72 years since the Hoover dam was completed.It's been almost 18 years since the Tienanmen square massacre.It's been almost one year since I left Japan.Two steps forward, one step somewhere else.Second verse, same as the first:A little bit louder and a little bit worse.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-43841585770380556952007-05-06T10:01:00.000+01:002007-05-06T10:33:55.513+01:00

It seems like there are elections and resignations and appointments and complaints and protests all over the news these days. Well, the UK/Europe news, anyway. Maybe it's an easy angle to take for a journalist, but a lot of the stories seem to be about how one candidate (or party or whatever) is trying to make a new start and to recreate the promise of their party (or country or whatever).After

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-50236784528316405112007-04-14T14:47:00.000+01:002007-04-14T15:01:27.709+01:00

Did you know me before? Did you know me from way back when?Did I know you?Whoever we all were then, are we the same people now?Seriously, if any of you have answers, I'd be curious to hear them. Because I really don't know how to sum up how I feel about the people I see on a daily basis, much less the ones who tried to interact with me when I was even more confused than now about how to function

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-10128065347597837782007-04-14T14:46:00.000+01:002007-04-14T14:46:31.018+01:00

I don't know how familiar you are with the US, but because the nation was formally defined by a bunch of merchants, tax-cheats, religious radicals and amateur philosophers, it lacks most of the a priori guarantees of integrity that most other nations take for granted; like some flavor of religious or historical justification, a tradition of familial rule, or even the actions of a "great leader".

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-81098314195261126392007-04-09T23:05:00.000+01:002007-04-10T00:08:39.746+01:00

Because it was easier than getting to work, I spent a few minutes trying to come up with possible aliases using my Michelin map of Great Britain and Ireland, with the provision that the names of places be more or less proximate to each other, and that they appeared in given-name-then-surname order. So if you need to fill in an online form or to make up a porn star name or something, free to try

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-75984823062742749532007-04-05T15:41:00.000+01:002007-04-05T16:38:03.456+01:00

TOKYO (Reuters) - Three Japanese naval officers who swapped pornography on their computers triggered a scandal over a possible leak of sensitive data linked to Japan's missile defence system, a newspaper said on Thursday... The officer told police he accidentally copied the confidential data onto his computer's hard disk when copying porn from a computer belonging to a crew

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-18114055798932050602007-04-03T02:13:00.000+01:002007-04-03T02:19:07.602+01:00

I'm having to devote more time to job hunting now. Not to say that a wolf is at my door, but if I act now, I can avoid dealing with that whole "huff and puff" thing come June. Not such a big deal except I'm finding myself reminded of why I left the US in the first place: having to pretend that taking orders from someone else is totally acceptable makes my marrow hurt. And having to go to one of

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-16431329336932089922007-03-28T23:56:00.000+01:002007-03-29T00:42:12.571+01:00

I'm supposed to be writing an essay that counts for something like 30% of my degree. The subject on which I'm supposed to elaborate are the techniques by which autobiographical events and information are transformed into fiction.Given that a majority of my childhood and young adult memories are to do with fictional people, imaginary events, and highly implausible premises, I imagined this

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-44606519319454169852007-03-11T01:44:00.000Z2007-03-11T02:01:53.015Z

Recently I have been forced to acknowledge another of the realities of modern life. This one being the need to market oneself, particularly to try and succeed in the art. If writing can be called an art, that is. Anyway, a great deal of emphasis has been put on the value of maintaining a presence on the interwebs, with some professionals telling me that I simply must get and maintain a "blogging

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-48796410428149623672007-03-09T17:29:00.000Z2007-03-09T17:43:22.201Z

Apparently banana-mashing and plantain-loss are serious enough to necessitate a rather specific product. The "'Safe Banana' Banana Guard." How many times have you took a banana to work, peeled it but found it was so bruised it had to be thrown away? Well, thanks to this great product, available from SafeBanana you can transport your banana fully protected during any journey.There are nine great,

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-21486612404742869092007-02-25T23:25:00.000Z2007-04-10T00:09:37.126+01:00

The Management presents a short list of some actual place names in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, chosen for their propensity to sound rude when said with extra emphasis. As in"I say, Nigel, you wouldn't happen to know where Bertram is, old sport?""I expect Bertie's down Wapping Old Stairs, if you catch my meaning, old bean.""So soon? I'd heard he was on holiday, taking

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-26273710867929015392007-02-21T09:17:00.000Z2007-02-21T09:33:03.305Z

Yesterday was "Shrove Tuesday," which is for some reason referred to as "Pancake day" here. That reason being that people here celebrate the last day before lent by eating crepes, which are for some reason referred to as "pancakes" here.I hear that people are supposed to eat crepes as way of celebrating their last day before they give stuff up in honor of that Jesus dude giving stuff up. Now,

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-23366216582321665782007-02-13T23:46:00.000Z2007-02-10T11:54:05.593Z

UK kids: Sucks to be you Ha ha HAH HAH HAH hah a ha haa ahhh. When I think about the little fuckers on the bus who wouldn't stop howling and climbing on the rails, or the ones crying in the aisles of the supermarkets, or the ones with nothing better to do than sit around in front of Burger King trying to cadge cigarettes from passers-by, and then I see a story like this one, I just want to laugh

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-40983819991931186712007-02-09T14:25:00.000Z2007-02-08T15:54:26.387Z

When I first started this MA course, there were about 18 students in my group. By the winter break we were down to 15. By the first week of February, usual classroom attendance for the morning session is hovering around 10 or 11. But the biggest loss is in the afternoon. Even allowing that the three part-time students aren't going, the fact that we're down to five people is a little worrisome. So

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-78820867766242967162007-01-28T21:29:00.000Z2007-01-28T22:46:02.116Z

That last post really wasn't so good. There were kind of a lot of different ideas rattling around in my head, and I don't think I was able to express any of them as well as I would have liked. In summary, I am not nearly as satisfied with this course as I would like to be, and last Wednesday was repeatedly unsatisfactory in a number of different ways.However, one thing that did come up in the

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-19086141480246382202007-01-25T03:21:00.000Z2007-01-25T03:22:44.103Z

I told you all I went back to school, right? It hasn't been all smooth.Can you imagine what kind of situation I must be in to have to say something like "Dammit, is there reason I'm not getting more homework at this point"? Or "why the crap didn't they give us a reading list?" Or even "I'm pissed off because my damn dumbass teachers aren't working us hard enough, crap damn hell piss fart double

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-83537790549528416212007-01-14T17:21:00.000Z2007-01-14T17:53:43.415Z

It's about time the Justice department got down to protecting the American people from the true threats to the American way of life: teenage boys who are interested in looking at porn.No, seriously. If there only would have been a direct link between him and the files found on the hard drive of his family computer, this kid could've wound up serving a 90 year sentence. As it stands, he just

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1276892796764314692007-01-05T12:17:00.000Z2007-01-05T18:11:35.740Z

We are all well aware that the English feel some sense of ownership towards the language named for your country. No doubt the world would be a poorer place without the works of Jonathan Swift, Geoffrey Chaucer or Iain Hollingshead.For the record, however, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 million people living in the UK these days. Not to slight the cultures of Wales, Scotland,

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1166712443282764602006-12-21T11:27:00.000Z2006-12-30T22:49:23.565Z

For a while there's been a big hoo-hah about a plan to introduce government ID cards that will be mandatory for all UK citizens. As it stands now, UK nationals are not required to carry any ID while just walking around in public.Although there is no federal law in the US requiring people to produce ID on demand from police officers, there are a variety of statutes authorizing police to hold,

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1165998726912895792006-12-13T08:29:00.000Z2007-01-05T18:28:58.004Z

I know I've said it a bunch of times before, but Japan was a crazy-wack-cartoon-opera of a country. It was absurd and dignified and too often surreal to be as bad as it seemed. There were so many things about that place that were just unimaginable in an American context that it was easy to find something fascinating. Sport as art? Check. Writing as spiritual exercise? Got it.

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3566781.post-1164549358113817552006-11-26T13:47:00.001Z2006-11-26T13:55:58.136Z

I am, at this very moment, supposed to be writing a short story for this M.A. course. But I don't have a single idea that seems worth a damn. It seemed like an ideal opportunity to raid the old journal I used to keep when I first got to Japan but I got distracted by what may have been a most prophetic comment by one of my colleagues from Fukui:"You've outlived your uselessness. Now get back to

Datsun Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06335128644081461444noreply@blogger.com0