Not posting in two weeks seems egregious. If only I knew that I wasn't posting while I wasn't posting, then I probably would have posted. Nevertheless.
A warning came down from the company. I don't listen to my company, ever, so it really doesn't matter. They say that the Board of Education has a way of seeing what everyone who uses the internet at school is looking at so that we should be careful and only use the internet for school related purposes. Hmmm. While I don't doubt that being able to remotely track a computers history, or even being able to watch a screen in real time is a reality, in fact I know it is, let's examine the reality of the situation.
I work at a school with at least 73 teachers. Right now five computers that are connected to the internet at the computer station are open and running. In addition we have about 25 laptops that are available for teachers to use at their desks and WI-FI that runs through the whole school. Add to that teachers personnel computers at their desks and the numerous teachers that use their iPhones off of the WI-FI. That is one school around 43 or so in the school district. Are we to believe that one person employed full time could even keep up with the activity at this school? Are we further to believe that they could interpret what was actual use and what was useless. I sometimes mail other teachers using Facebook to ask about lesson plans. I sometimes use Gmail and ask about school and then an unrelated question or two. Sometimes when I am using Wikipedia to research a grammar point I stray off topic but end up learning more that I talk about in class. Some teachers use the computers to watch basketball. Then again, they are basketball coaches. Are we really to believe that one person can not only see all of this information but also analyze it? Is there a team of 40 or so people just doing this at the school board? If so, does the money wasted there not eclipse, by far, any productivity lapses by internet surfing teachers? I suppose my real question is; Why they gots to play me for a stupid?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Economics 1010101010101
I think that this article is well in the right of it. I was fortunate in my choice of college departments in many ways. One of which was that the thinking on economics was deep and varied. Often people treat economics as if it were math, even though it just involves math. Economics also involve human psychology and morals. Next door to my department was the business school, which had a monster of a new building paid for by alumni. I was somewhat repulsed by it, although to be fair it had a nice atrium. Occasionally I ventured into their basement to use their vending machines which, unlike their economic thinking, were more varied and complex than ours. In the basement study are hung pictures of Vince Lombardi employing people to win, although in a vastly different context. The people from this business department probably weren't stupid, but when our paths did cross I found their thinking on economic issues, among other things, quite oversimplified and robotic. Not that they were ignorant, but that they had been given lots and lots of very shallow information.
To extend the shovel analogy, mightn't it also be that a wealthy person could buy up all of the shovel supply and offer to rent them out at high rates to the poor people who couldn't afford them? Always keeping the shovels a step out of their grasp. Or, isn't it also likely that the same individual or conglomerate would offer to sell the shovels to poor people during storms, but on a loan payment basis and at a high rate of interest? Therefore to make their rent and other needs for the month, poor people would be forced to buy the shovels to dig out of the snow and then be saddled with payments for an object they won't always be in need of. Maybe the same or another individual could get them in debt on fans in the summer and rakes in the fall and allergy medicine in the spring. All things that the rich would have in abundance and chide the poor for not making do without. That is economics too. What if a neighborhood of poor people decided to go in together and buy one shovel for the neighborhood and set-up a rotation of shovelers to free everyone from the snow at a low cost? What if the powerful shovel interest influenced lawmakers to ban these kind of organizations and a PR firm to taint them as socialist? It sounds absurd, but it isn't far off of reality. Keep in mind that we have seeds that are sold to farmers that intentionally won't generate new seeds so that the farmer has to buy seeds again the next year. We have underprivileged homeowner organizations like ACORN destroyed through the media and congress. These are economic issues. I could go on and on, and I am sure you could to. It just goes to show again that knowledge of something is not mastery of it, or even complex understanding.
To extend the shovel analogy, mightn't it also be that a wealthy person could buy up all of the shovel supply and offer to rent them out at high rates to the poor people who couldn't afford them? Always keeping the shovels a step out of their grasp. Or, isn't it also likely that the same individual or conglomerate would offer to sell the shovels to poor people during storms, but on a loan payment basis and at a high rate of interest? Therefore to make their rent and other needs for the month, poor people would be forced to buy the shovels to dig out of the snow and then be saddled with payments for an object they won't always be in need of. Maybe the same or another individual could get them in debt on fans in the summer and rakes in the fall and allergy medicine in the spring. All things that the rich would have in abundance and chide the poor for not making do without. That is economics too. What if a neighborhood of poor people decided to go in together and buy one shovel for the neighborhood and set-up a rotation of shovelers to free everyone from the snow at a low cost? What if the powerful shovel interest influenced lawmakers to ban these kind of organizations and a PR firm to taint them as socialist? It sounds absurd, but it isn't far off of reality. Keep in mind that we have seeds that are sold to farmers that intentionally won't generate new seeds so that the farmer has to buy seeds again the next year. We have underprivileged homeowner organizations like ACORN destroyed through the media and congress. These are economic issues. I could go on and on, and I am sure you could to. It just goes to show again that knowledge of something is not mastery of it, or even complex understanding.
The JET Issue
I must be back to work because we are back to Debito Arudo columns. This one is especially applicable however. As a former JET who would cut off a pinky to get back on the gravy train that gave me envelopes full of tax free cash, a subsidized apartment and a seemingly endless supply of badusi, you might expect me to be a vocal advocate for the program. Well.... Then again as a frustrated educator who believes that Japan should throw its English program out with the bathwater and into the sewer you might think I would be calling for torching the program....not really. There is more I want to talk about in this article than the survival of the JET program. To sum up the topic quickly, JET brings some rotten people to Japan. It brings a lot of lazy people and drunk people and immature people. It is also responsible for everything I either have or don't have, most of my friends and surely my marriage and everything that came along the way. It is, in the end, a great tool for soft power, placing people with Japanese sympathies in various positions all over the world. Don't give that sentence another reading. But, it does that too.
The real issue here is what Debito has to say about English learning in Japan and the fact that he is 88% correct. And where he isn't correct he isn't exactly wrong.
The point is made that many JETs aren't trained English teachers. This is very true, and it could be a problem if they were often called upon to be teachers. Sadly, this is usually just a cudgel for Japanese teachers to ridicule them with (do you ridicule people with cudgles?) even though the teachers have very little real training themselves, especially in teaching English. Most teachers that I have encountered are still stuck in the grammar translation method of teaching, which disappeared along with Latin classes in the West. If they were asked, though, most teachers wouldn't even know that this is the method they were using. They would just think of it as teaching. It might be hard for you to picture a class in Japan, but just imagine it as somewhere between algebra and Latin, being written on the board and described by someone who has a loose grip on the subject to students who have neither clue nor interest. It is amazingly counterproductive.
On my first day as an ALT the superintendent of schools told me "Please tell us how to make our education system better." That was nine years ago and no one has listened once. I had a conference with all of the English teachers this year and typed up a list of what we should concentrate on. Everyone thought it was great that I could write in Japanese, but nothing has changed.
One thing that has changed is that the teachers are no longer as dead set against ALTs as they used to be. Some here and there are and there are still a lot of stereotypes and generalizations ingrained in the school system as a whole, but most seem more accepting these days. I am still often told, however, that there used to be "some problems" with an ALT in the past. I sometimes ask "You mean like the problems with Japanese teachers?" Which could mean the one who was selling drugs in a hotel room, or the one who was caught in the school pool with the girl's soccer team or the one who was drunk driving or the one who killed the kid in judo class and on and on. But as we know, these are different things. Japanese people operate as individuals and foreginers are a monolith.
This is not just a bitter jab, this has to do with a failure of the overall system. As Arudo correctly points out, "Now add the back-beat of Japan's crappy social science." Agreed and super agreed. I have often said that non-Japanese are not here to teach English we are here to teach Japanese. How do I mean that? We are here to reinforce how English and foreignness are separate from what the kids in class are learning to be, Japanese and Japanese. The prevailing Japanese view is that nationality and ethnicity are fundamentally inseparable. We can engage in cultural exchange but only in so far as it is illustrating differences. That is where I rock the boat slightly. I usually try to point out in class that I don't understand what "gaijin" means and that we grow up eating rice too, we just have more kinds. My most repeated phrase is "I don't know, it depends on the person." Which seems to be almost ungraspable, even to adults. I don't know what Americans eat for breakfast, because I usually don't go to my neighbor's for breakfast, much less a stranger's house. I can only answer for my family. That kind of thing. In this atmosphere, it is very hard for kids to see English as something that they can do just as well as anyone else learning a language. English is crazy and separate and bears on them very little.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fault I find with television in the whole dynamic. I blame Japanese TV for many things I find repellent. This is not to single out Japanese TV in the world, but to single it out in Japan. What you need to understand is that TV in Japan has about 4 channels, so everyone is pretty much watching the same thing. These channels are all populated by the same people, as the same 'talent' are on every show, every day in Japan. Non-Japanese show up from time to time but they fall into two general categories, comic relief and strange gaijin. If you struggle awkwardly in social situations and misuse the language, like Bobby, you are comic relief and beloved. If you speak Japanese fluently and have an opinion, you are strange gaijin. Maybe there is a small third party of those fluent in Japanese that play the game well and talk about how great Japan is and how there are no problems anywhere like this muppet, who I used to have an email exchange with and now makes me scour in shame. But maybe I am not being fair.
In any case, in this environment, the kids see most things in the context of the TV that is on at their house constantly, they struggle to view ALTs as teachers or even as adults. They are assumed,by both teachers and students to be the comic relief. This isn't said explicitly, but it is reinforced constantly. At meetings, it is usually coached as "ALTs are here to expose the kids to English so you should have upbeat and fun classes." Or by teachers as "Today the ALT is here, so let's play a game." I once taught at a school where I was told, "Our image is that foreigners smile a lot, so you should smile more." I never went back. I was told at my school now, "Your job is to stand there and smile and speak English." This was a large fight. I have many more stories but I am sure I have had it relatively good.
In the excellent, "You Gotta Have Wa" by Robert Whiting, which I consider and essential text on Japan, the author illustrates the practice of bringing average or failed American baseball players to play in the Japanese league. Their role is to continue to be average, be hyped as saviours and then to be blamed for all of the teams struggles and then be sent packing and told they are great disappointments. I think a lot of that is what has been going on with ALTs. It is easier to talk about the problems with them and their lack of certification and how they use the internet at work than to look at the internal problems weighing down the halfhearted attempts to teach English. It is easier to invest your hope in someone and then send them home like you burn your good luck charms at the end of every year.
The only place where I think Arudo gets it partly wrong is his image of the Japanese classroom. It might still hold true some places, but most I have worked in, failure isn't punished at all. Not even enough in my opinion. Answering, "I don't know, I don't speak English." Is often acceptable and the height of humor. "This is Japan." Is also a popular one. Failure is not only accepted it is expected. As I have asked many times, "What happens if you show up to a Japanese school and fail every test and never turn in your homework? You graduate."
It is a large issue that I could write on for a while, but debating JET is just another why that Japanese education can avoid debating itself. Last question: Of all of the board of education, school-wide and English teacher meetings I have been in over the years, how many times has a native English teacher been asked, "What can we do better?" Do I even have to tell you the answer? Zero. Do you think the cowboys ask the rodeo clowns how to ride a bull?
The real issue here is what Debito has to say about English learning in Japan and the fact that he is 88% correct. And where he isn't correct he isn't exactly wrong.
The point is made that many JETs aren't trained English teachers. This is very true, and it could be a problem if they were often called upon to be teachers. Sadly, this is usually just a cudgel for Japanese teachers to ridicule them with (do you ridicule people with cudgles?) even though the teachers have very little real training themselves, especially in teaching English. Most teachers that I have encountered are still stuck in the grammar translation method of teaching, which disappeared along with Latin classes in the West. If they were asked, though, most teachers wouldn't even know that this is the method they were using. They would just think of it as teaching. It might be hard for you to picture a class in Japan, but just imagine it as somewhere between algebra and Latin, being written on the board and described by someone who has a loose grip on the subject to students who have neither clue nor interest. It is amazingly counterproductive.
On my first day as an ALT the superintendent of schools told me "Please tell us how to make our education system better." That was nine years ago and no one has listened once. I had a conference with all of the English teachers this year and typed up a list of what we should concentrate on. Everyone thought it was great that I could write in Japanese, but nothing has changed.
One thing that has changed is that the teachers are no longer as dead set against ALTs as they used to be. Some here and there are and there are still a lot of stereotypes and generalizations ingrained in the school system as a whole, but most seem more accepting these days. I am still often told, however, that there used to be "some problems" with an ALT in the past. I sometimes ask "You mean like the problems with Japanese teachers?" Which could mean the one who was selling drugs in a hotel room, or the one who was caught in the school pool with the girl's soccer team or the one who was drunk driving or the one who killed the kid in judo class and on and on. But as we know, these are different things. Japanese people operate as individuals and foreginers are a monolith.
This is not just a bitter jab, this has to do with a failure of the overall system. As Arudo correctly points out, "Now add the back-beat of Japan's crappy social science." Agreed and super agreed. I have often said that non-Japanese are not here to teach English we are here to teach Japanese. How do I mean that? We are here to reinforce how English and foreignness are separate from what the kids in class are learning to be, Japanese and Japanese. The prevailing Japanese view is that nationality and ethnicity are fundamentally inseparable. We can engage in cultural exchange but only in so far as it is illustrating differences. That is where I rock the boat slightly. I usually try to point out in class that I don't understand what "gaijin" means and that we grow up eating rice too, we just have more kinds. My most repeated phrase is "I don't know, it depends on the person." Which seems to be almost ungraspable, even to adults. I don't know what Americans eat for breakfast, because I usually don't go to my neighbor's for breakfast, much less a stranger's house. I can only answer for my family. That kind of thing. In this atmosphere, it is very hard for kids to see English as something that they can do just as well as anyone else learning a language. English is crazy and separate and bears on them very little.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fault I find with television in the whole dynamic. I blame Japanese TV for many things I find repellent. This is not to single out Japanese TV in the world, but to single it out in Japan. What you need to understand is that TV in Japan has about 4 channels, so everyone is pretty much watching the same thing. These channels are all populated by the same people, as the same 'talent' are on every show, every day in Japan. Non-Japanese show up from time to time but they fall into two general categories, comic relief and strange gaijin. If you struggle awkwardly in social situations and misuse the language, like Bobby, you are comic relief and beloved. If you speak Japanese fluently and have an opinion, you are strange gaijin. Maybe there is a small third party of those fluent in Japanese that play the game well and talk about how great Japan is and how there are no problems anywhere like this muppet, who I used to have an email exchange with and now makes me scour in shame. But maybe I am not being fair.
In any case, in this environment, the kids see most things in the context of the TV that is on at their house constantly, they struggle to view ALTs as teachers or even as adults. They are assumed,by both teachers and students to be the comic relief. This isn't said explicitly, but it is reinforced constantly. At meetings, it is usually coached as "ALTs are here to expose the kids to English so you should have upbeat and fun classes." Or by teachers as "Today the ALT is here, so let's play a game." I once taught at a school where I was told, "Our image is that foreigners smile a lot, so you should smile more." I never went back. I was told at my school now, "Your job is to stand there and smile and speak English." This was a large fight. I have many more stories but I am sure I have had it relatively good.
In the excellent, "You Gotta Have Wa" by Robert Whiting, which I consider and essential text on Japan, the author illustrates the practice of bringing average or failed American baseball players to play in the Japanese league. Their role is to continue to be average, be hyped as saviours and then to be blamed for all of the teams struggles and then be sent packing and told they are great disappointments. I think a lot of that is what has been going on with ALTs. It is easier to talk about the problems with them and their lack of certification and how they use the internet at work than to look at the internal problems weighing down the halfhearted attempts to teach English. It is easier to invest your hope in someone and then send them home like you burn your good luck charms at the end of every year.
The only place where I think Arudo gets it partly wrong is his image of the Japanese classroom. It might still hold true some places, but most I have worked in, failure isn't punished at all. Not even enough in my opinion. Answering, "I don't know, I don't speak English." Is often acceptable and the height of humor. "This is Japan." Is also a popular one. Failure is not only accepted it is expected. As I have asked many times, "What happens if you show up to a Japanese school and fail every test and never turn in your homework? You graduate."
It is a large issue that I could write on for a while, but debating JET is just another why that Japanese education can avoid debating itself. Last question: Of all of the board of education, school-wide and English teacher meetings I have been in over the years, how many times has a native English teacher been asked, "What can we do better?" Do I even have to tell you the answer? Zero. Do you think the cowboys ask the rodeo clowns how to ride a bull?
Further Adventures in Edumucation
Here is a stat the surprised me. As much as I take issue with aspects of the Japanese education system, I never thought that funding was one of them. The amount of funding directed at me, sure. I would like to see these stats laid out more, to see if there is anything behind them or any other way they can be read. I always think of Japanese schools as rolling around in money and just being dingy as a style choice. The part at the end about high private spending rings true, however.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
I Give
I used to front on Cee-Lo. I even had a line in a song that declared, "Cee-Lo, you look like your butt 's soft, is that how you really sing or did someone cut your nuts off?" Which in a fairer world would go down in rap history, but that is a selfish digression. Like millions of others I enjoyed Gnarls Barkley, but I gave most of the credit to Danger Mouse, who I had always been sweet on. However. However, Cee-Lo, you have done it. You have turned the tide. Me who hasn't liked anything he has heard in forever decree this day: F'ing masterpiece my friend.
He is killing it, in case you didn't notice. This is one of those moments I miss having a radio show and being out of my mind over a terrible person so I could just play this over and over.
Speaking of music, Ed recently reminded me of Brother Ali whom I had liked and forgotten about. He is quite good.
He is killing it, in case you didn't notice. This is one of those moments I miss having a radio show and being out of my mind over a terrible person so I could just play this over and over.
Speaking of music, Ed recently reminded me of Brother Ali whom I had liked and forgotten about. He is quite good.
Friday, September 3, 2010
It is Feeling Cold and Hot
Back at school with broken air conditioners and little to do except grade papers that are either blank or make little sense. I often bemoan the state of English education in Japan and then I always forget the examples. Here I am back at school grading the kids summer reports on retaurants in their neghborhood and I am clutching a hndful of examples. Here are two. And kkep in mind that they are two of the best, the most comprehensible. Most kids didn't even bother.
1. Restaurant name is Coco's. There is Nakashingai. Best food is package ware hamburger and caramel christean. Those is very delicious. Those is wester food here. Package ware hamburger is brand-new. So, it is delicious. Caramel christean is caramel ice cream and caramel sauce. It is feeling cold and hot! -end-
2. The parfait is dellcious. The glass in the drink bar is beautiful. Atmosphere is good. It is early for a moment to come. European food specialty. You only have to go to go.
These are 3rd year students who have had English class everyday for 2 and a half years. These two are in the top 95% of the essays I read. Do you understand why I think we should stop doing English in Japan. What is the point if this is the result?
1. Restaurant name is Coco's. There is Nakashingai. Best food is package ware hamburger and caramel christean. Those is very delicious. Those is wester food here. Package ware hamburger is brand-new. So, it is delicious. Caramel christean is caramel ice cream and caramel sauce. It is feeling cold and hot! -end-
2. The parfait is dellcious. The glass in the drink bar is beautiful. Atmosphere is good. It is early for a moment to come. European food specialty. You only have to go to go.
These are 3rd year students who have had English class everyday for 2 and a half years. These two are in the top 95% of the essays I read. Do you understand why I think we should stop doing English in Japan. What is the point if this is the result?
Monday, August 30, 2010
A New Challenge?
Japan never fails. Monkey disaster again. Oh, and it gets worse. This was the big news this week, prompting Ed's wife to state, "Japan is a peaceful place." Indeed. My favorite quote was the old lady on the news saying, "Then there was a monkey in my house and I thought 'Why is there a monkey in my house?' And then it bit my leg, so I hit it in the head, but it kept biting me." Quality.
In other Japan news, This shit about pissed me off. I won't go on about it for too long, but with all the bullshit that foreigners ge there about their manners and lack of them and their general barbarianatude, some conduct that would never be acceptable in civilized countries is completely okay here. Number one on my list, being a drunk guy in public making a big nuisance of yourself and having nobody say anything about it. It doesn't always result in needless death, but it could. Sometimes America being violent and having dangerous consequences seems like a good thing to me. Oh, I'm going to go hang around downtown shit faced and sleep wherever I fall down and stumble around the train station and see how that works out. At best, it works out in having no wallet anymore. And it fucking well should.
In other Japan news, This shit about pissed me off. I won't go on about it for too long, but with all the bullshit that foreigners ge there about their manners and lack of them and their general barbarianatude, some conduct that would never be acceptable in civilized countries is completely okay here. Number one on my list, being a drunk guy in public making a big nuisance of yourself and having nobody say anything about it. It doesn't always result in needless death, but it could. Sometimes America being violent and having dangerous consequences seems like a good thing to me. Oh, I'm going to go hang around downtown shit faced and sleep wherever I fall down and stumble around the train station and see how that works out. At best, it works out in having no wallet anymore. And it fucking well should.
I Can't Say It
There was a super rad article in the NYT today on language. I am not going to comment to deeply on this as it is not really my field and there other people much more knowledgeable o the subject than me. I decided on this policy when I said to a tall blond lady at a party over a beer that I was interested in linguistics and had a fondness for Chomsky. She proceeded to destroy my brain with contrary evidence from MRI imaging and a funny thing called science. Who knows, she may have been full of shit, but I would have had no way to verify that. I think that the author of this piece is largely right, of course he is, in saying that language is a thing in your brain that is constantly effecting how you perceive things. It has to be. In my experience I know that I am not the same person in Japanese that I am in English. I would never dream of telling someone to "ganbare" in English. Or that they must be "otsukaresama." Those things are ridiculous to even contemplate in any other setting.
Articles and papers and books will often prattle on about how the distinctive element of Japanese is its hierarchical structure. I care as much about this discussion as I do about every book on Japanese architecture that talks about how gloriously "vague" everything is. (insert empty hand making masturbating motion here.) Vague is just a word that was thought up to make something boring and common sound like a topic for discussion. Yes, your futon can go in the closet and then it isn't really a bedroom is it? There, we settled it. That isn't vague, it is a closet with a futon in it. Now it is out. Now it is in again. Get it?
I also spend a good deal of time explaining to Japanese people that English has a hierarchy too, it just isn't taught to us concretely in our school systems. Or, more importantly, isn't taught to them in theirs. But everyone knows that you wouldn't say to one's boss, "That's some fucked up shit right there!" Rather you might suggest, "The quarterly reports seem to indicate a downturn." I can remember being firmly scolded for telling my neighbor "bull" when I wanted to represent the opposite side of an argument to them. Of course I didn't know that I wanted to represent the opposite side of an argument, I thought that what they were saying was "bull" until my mother corrected me.
But where were we...Oh, yes. My two favorite tidbits of Japanese that I think say a lot about the country and its people are:
1. The grammatical structure for "making" someone do something and "letting" them do something are exactly the same. （。。。させる） For example, a teacher will often say to me about a lesson plan, "Then you will let the students pronounce the vocabulary." Okay, I'll let them do it all they want.
2. The word for being "wrong" and "different" are the same word. （違う） If you ever wanted something stereotypically Japanese, there it is right there.
I was trying to explain this article to my wife, who is Japanese and speaks no English. I was having to convert everything into Japanese and then flesh out the arguments. "For example, people say different words for the same colors or the same words for different colors." "What do you mean?" "Well, in Japan you call the traffic light for go 'blue.'" "And?" "Well, it is green." "No it isn't." And so on.
Articles and papers and books will often prattle on about how the distinctive element of Japanese is its hierarchical structure. I care as much about this discussion as I do about every book on Japanese architecture that talks about how gloriously "vague" everything is. (insert empty hand making masturbating motion here.) Vague is just a word that was thought up to make something boring and common sound like a topic for discussion. Yes, your futon can go in the closet and then it isn't really a bedroom is it? There, we settled it. That isn't vague, it is a closet with a futon in it. Now it is out. Now it is in again. Get it?
I also spend a good deal of time explaining to Japanese people that English has a hierarchy too, it just isn't taught to us concretely in our school systems. Or, more importantly, isn't taught to them in theirs. But everyone knows that you wouldn't say to one's boss, "That's some fucked up shit right there!" Rather you might suggest, "The quarterly reports seem to indicate a downturn." I can remember being firmly scolded for telling my neighbor "bull" when I wanted to represent the opposite side of an argument to them. Of course I didn't know that I wanted to represent the opposite side of an argument, I thought that what they were saying was "bull" until my mother corrected me.
But where were we...Oh, yes. My two favorite tidbits of Japanese that I think say a lot about the country and its people are:
1. The grammatical structure for "making" someone do something and "letting" them do something are exactly the same. （。。。させる） For example, a teacher will often say to me about a lesson plan, "Then you will let the students pronounce the vocabulary." Okay, I'll let them do it all they want.
2. The word for being "wrong" and "different" are the same word. （違う） If you ever wanted something stereotypically Japanese, there it is right there.
I was trying to explain this article to my wife, who is Japanese and speaks no English. I was having to convert everything into Japanese and then flesh out the arguments. "For example, people say different words for the same colors or the same words for different colors." "What do you mean?" "Well, in Japan you call the traffic light for go 'blue.'" "And?" "Well, it is green." "No it isn't." And so on.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
UFC 118: Walking to New Orleans
As Fats Domino played over a montage of Shep Smith weeping on an I-10 overpass, Commissioner Dana White pulled his nuts out the side of his replica 1980's soccer shorts and laughed at you.
Pierce vs. Alves
As Alves fights out of Nova Uniao and has a stellar record, I would love to see him win, I think Pierce's wrestling and top control will get him the decision.
Osipczak vs. Soto
Osipczak has been a complete surprise to me, but I very much like the way he fights. Neither of these fighters has a record long enough to make any real judgments. I think Osipzack has the better package and I go with him for the decision.
Miller vs. Salter
Every time I swear that you should never bet against a Miller the way you should never bet against a Diaz, and here Dan Miller has given us three straight loses. He has fought some good competition, losing to Maia, Sonnen and Bisping, but he has lost by fighting with his head up his ass. Does anyone believe that Bisping had much to offer him on the ground. I very much want Miller to right his own ship here, but Salter, also a wrestler, is a rough match-up for him. Salter also fights out of Birmingham, so I should be yelling a big roll tide for him. Still, desperation is the mother of the ass-kick and I call Miller by violent sub in the 1st.
Winner vs. Lentz
I am a fan of Winner's striking and I somehow feel like he is more of a known commodity, even though his record is sparse. But look at Lentz's record. The Carnie has been rolling. I feel that I must take him for the decision here. Should be a well fought fight, I am looking forward to it.
Lauzon vs. Ruedigar
I have always been a fan of Joe Lauzon. He illustrates one of the truths I have learned in MMA, sometimes the goof looking mother fucker will rip your head off. Lauzon is a very talented grappler. Is Ruedigar a fighter who can move beyond his ridiculous and embarrassing appearance on TUF? He has a surprisingly robust record as of late. Of course, the competition hasn't been top level. I don't see Lauzon losing this one. I think he gets the better of striking and the scrambles and subs Ruedigar in the 3rd.
Diaz vs. Davis
Again, two fighters I like. However, you know the rules, Never bet against a Diaz. And I won't. Nate's boxing isn't quite where his older brother's is, but it is good. No doubt Davis is more technical and Diaz can be obtusely flat footed and will commit to wars that aren't his to fight, but I don't think he will be knocked out and I know he won't be subbed. I think this is a hard fight for Davis and Diaz's reach will wear on him and he will fall to a sub in the 3rd.
Maia vs. Miranda
It will be interesting to see how Maia bounces back from the oddness that befell his title tilt with Anderson Silva. Miranda is no slouch but Maia is one of those guys whose main skill is so far beyond everyone else that I have to call him for the sub in the 1st.
Florian vs. Maynard
Maynard is a strange case, he isn't a super fighter in any respect but he is good enough that I could see him beating anyone in his weight class. Yes, that includes Penn. Maynard is very big for the weight and strong. He punches hard if not well and can control from the top. In the end, I think that Florian's package of skills will be too much for him. Florian can take angles and work form the outside. He will hurt Maynard with strikes and fight through his wrestling. Florian should be able to hurt Maynard enough that his stamina will become a problem. I see Florian taking a bloody decision.
Couture vs. Toney
What is there to say about this really. Toney was a great boxer. His actual punching is probably better than anyone who has ever stepped in the octagon. No, I know it is. But has he showed any real dedication to this fight? Look at him. Look at the guy training him. The second he was introduced as "someone who trains the government and the FBI in defensive techniques" I knew Toney was done. Their is nothing to be gained in a pre-Royce Gracie mindset. The ground work they showed him working was amateur level and won't even buy him a second in the big leagues. Can anyone win with a good (or bad) punch in four once gloves at any second? Absolutely. Is that the only chance Toney has? Absolutely. He isn't even a real boxer anymore. I will be interested in this match, but strictly for laughs. Couture by Toney surrender in the first.
Edgar vs. Penn
Let's get this straight from the start, in no way to I believe Frankie Edgar one their title fight. I don't even think he came close. It was an exhibition of judging at, if not its worst, its very bad. I was an Edgar supporter, and I suppose I still am, but the whole thing seems fake to me. The idea that we have to accept something as real which we can see as wrong. So, in the sense that Edgar can repeat his(admittedly sensible) strategy of saying outside and dashing around firing at volume, and if the judges again ignore effective counter striking, then Edgar has a chance of retaining his title. It should also be noted, and not to make excuses for him, that Penn came out flat in his last fight. Who knows what happens in the mind and training of BJ Penn, but I think he comes out and Fs up Edgar and hurts him and gets the sub in the 4th.
But what do I know.
Pierce vs. Alves
As Alves fights out of Nova Uniao and has a stellar record, I would love to see him win, I think Pierce's wrestling and top control will get him the decision.
Osipczak vs. Soto
Osipczak has been a complete surprise to me, but I very much like the way he fights. Neither of these fighters has a record long enough to make any real judgments. I think Osipzack has the better package and I go with him for the decision.
Miller vs. Salter
Every time I swear that you should never bet against a Miller the way you should never bet against a Diaz, and here Dan Miller has given us three straight loses. He has fought some good competition, losing to Maia, Sonnen and Bisping, but he has lost by fighting with his head up his ass. Does anyone believe that Bisping had much to offer him on the ground. I very much want Miller to right his own ship here, but Salter, also a wrestler, is a rough match-up for him. Salter also fights out of Birmingham, so I should be yelling a big roll tide for him. Still, desperation is the mother of the ass-kick and I call Miller by violent sub in the 1st.
Winner vs. Lentz
I am a fan of Winner's striking and I somehow feel like he is more of a known commodity, even though his record is sparse. But look at Lentz's record. The Carnie has been rolling. I feel that I must take him for the decision here. Should be a well fought fight, I am looking forward to it.
Lauzon vs. Ruedigar
I have always been a fan of Joe Lauzon. He illustrates one of the truths I have learned in MMA, sometimes the goof looking mother fucker will rip your head off. Lauzon is a very talented grappler. Is Ruedigar a fighter who can move beyond his ridiculous and embarrassing appearance on TUF? He has a surprisingly robust record as of late. Of course, the competition hasn't been top level. I don't see Lauzon losing this one. I think he gets the better of striking and the scrambles and subs Ruedigar in the 3rd.
Diaz vs. Davis
Again, two fighters I like. However, you know the rules, Never bet against a Diaz. And I won't. Nate's boxing isn't quite where his older brother's is, but it is good. No doubt Davis is more technical and Diaz can be obtusely flat footed and will commit to wars that aren't his to fight, but I don't think he will be knocked out and I know he won't be subbed. I think this is a hard fight for Davis and Diaz's reach will wear on him and he will fall to a sub in the 3rd.
Maia vs. Miranda
It will be interesting to see how Maia bounces back from the oddness that befell his title tilt with Anderson Silva. Miranda is no slouch but Maia is one of those guys whose main skill is so far beyond everyone else that I have to call him for the sub in the 1st.
Florian vs. Maynard
Maynard is a strange case, he isn't a super fighter in any respect but he is good enough that I could see him beating anyone in his weight class. Yes, that includes Penn. Maynard is very big for the weight and strong. He punches hard if not well and can control from the top. In the end, I think that Florian's package of skills will be too much for him. Florian can take angles and work form the outside. He will hurt Maynard with strikes and fight through his wrestling. Florian should be able to hurt Maynard enough that his stamina will become a problem. I see Florian taking a bloody decision.
Couture vs. Toney
What is there to say about this really. Toney was a great boxer. His actual punching is probably better than anyone who has ever stepped in the octagon. No, I know it is. But has he showed any real dedication to this fight? Look at him. Look at the guy training him. The second he was introduced as "someone who trains the government and the FBI in defensive techniques" I knew Toney was done. Their is nothing to be gained in a pre-Royce Gracie mindset. The ground work they showed him working was amateur level and won't even buy him a second in the big leagues. Can anyone win with a good (or bad) punch in four once gloves at any second? Absolutely. Is that the only chance Toney has? Absolutely. He isn't even a real boxer anymore. I will be interested in this match, but strictly for laughs. Couture by Toney surrender in the first.
Edgar vs. Penn
Let's get this straight from the start, in no way to I believe Frankie Edgar one their title fight. I don't even think he came close. It was an exhibition of judging at, if not its worst, its very bad. I was an Edgar supporter, and I suppose I still am, but the whole thing seems fake to me. The idea that we have to accept something as real which we can see as wrong. So, in the sense that Edgar can repeat his(admittedly sensible) strategy of saying outside and dashing around firing at volume, and if the judges again ignore effective counter striking, then Edgar has a chance of retaining his title. It should also be noted, and not to make excuses for him, that Penn came out flat in his last fight. Who knows what happens in the mind and training of BJ Penn, but I think he comes out and Fs up Edgar and hurts him and gets the sub in the 4th.
But what do I know.
Tokyo!!
If you know me, and there is a small chance you might, you know that I uphold the grand tradition of Kanto/Kansai static. And not without a basis, I have seldom had a good experience in Tokyo. No CHUDs have ever approached me, but I am quick, elusive, and crafty. This time however, the benefits of marriage came to fruition and I had a bit of a better experience with my native tour guide.
People ask about the fights when you are married. We don't fight much, but a recurring one goes something like this, "I don't care where we eat, I just don't want to keep walking around talking about it in this 100 degree heat." So that is how two Kansai residents found themselves in an all you can eat okonomiyaki place in Harajuku.
It was a good call.
This is Harajuku
Gwen Stefani nowhere to be found.
The Tokyo subway map in all of its glory.
Tokyo tower versus the moon from Roppongi Hills.
It is Japan after all.
Usually the crowd attracts itself and you just have to move somewhere that they forgot.
I think this sentiment is both accurate and says a lot. This approach will get you far in life in Japan.
People ask about the fights when you are married. We don't fight much, but a recurring one goes something like this, "I don't care where we eat, I just don't want to keep walking around talking about it in this 100 degree heat." So that is how two Kansai residents found themselves in an all you can eat okonomiyaki place in Harajuku.
It was a good call.
This is Harajuku
Gwen Stefani nowhere to be found.
The Tokyo subway map in all of its glory.
Tokyo tower versus the moon from Roppongi Hills.
It is Japan after all.
Usually the crowd attracts itself and you just have to move somewhere that they forgot.
I think this sentiment is both accurate and says a lot. This approach will get you far in life in Japan.
The National Art Museum
I had to run up to Tokyo earlier this week. The up side was that I had some free time and got to go to The National Art Center. I had been told that it was an Ando Tadao creation. It was only after I had gotten home that I found out it was designed by the late Kurokawa Kisho, whose books had propelled me through my college architecture classes. One of Kurokawa's quotes that always stuck with me was his saying that when he sits down to conceive of a building he draws out the door handles at the same time he plans the overall layout. That attention to detail shows in all of his buildings including this one.
This fairly normal apartment building is directly next to the museum complex. It looks like it was probably there since before construction began. Can you imagine your good fortune to have this be the view off the back of your balcony?
The museum is part of a larger complex which features a policy school.
The majority of the building has this curved texture that has the natural feel that Kurokawa went for.
Fortunately they were having a Man Ray exhibit as well.
This are actually transitions well into the Roppongi Hills complex. My main concerns when writing papers for my urban planning degree dealt with what is an area when it wasn't built for consumers, and how can it be approached. Strangely, this section of Tokyo does a good job of addressing that question. Roppongi Hills is essentially a shopping mall with a tuxedo on it. But it works. It is an interesting place and can be experienced without being a consumer. It also lends itself to the neighborhood as a whole.
I believe that all of the chairs in the museum where designed by several prominent Scandinavian designers. They sit nice.
Kurokawa, you are dead, but lots of dead people built less good buildings than you.
This fairly normal apartment building is directly next to the museum complex. It looks like it was probably there since before construction began. Can you imagine your good fortune to have this be the view off the back of your balcony?
The museum is part of a larger complex which features a policy school.
The majority of the building has this curved texture that has the natural feel that Kurokawa went for.
Fortunately they were having a Man Ray exhibit as well.
This are actually transitions well into the Roppongi Hills complex. My main concerns when writing papers for my urban planning degree dealt with what is an area when it wasn't built for consumers, and how can it be approached. Strangely, this section of Tokyo does a good job of addressing that question. Roppongi Hills is essentially a shopping mall with a tuxedo on it. But it works. It is an interesting place and can be experienced without being a consumer. It also lends itself to the neighborhood as a whole.
I believe that all of the chairs in the museum where designed by several prominent Scandinavian designers. They sit nice.
Kurokawa, you are dead, but lots of dead people built less good buildings than you.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Fujinomiya Gogome 6PM
This is the sky from halfway up Mt. Fuji.
I would have to say that the sky, both night and day, was the greatest thing about the hike. The peak and its eerie fog that shrouded everything like a thought starved horror movie and thinned to reveal a giant volcanic crater, and the way the light showed that every dark barrier you had been pitted against was actually red volcanic sand, would have been moments of epiphany if not for the onset of hypothermia, real or imagined, and the insensitivity of my travel companions. Climbing a mountain is a truly revolutionary folly.
I would have to say that the sky, both night and day, was the greatest thing about the hike. The peak and its eerie fog that shrouded everything like a thought starved horror movie and thinned to reveal a giant volcanic crater, and the way the light showed that every dark barrier you had been pitted against was actually red volcanic sand, would have been moments of epiphany if not for the onset of hypothermia, real or imagined, and the insensitivity of my travel companions. Climbing a mountain is a truly revolutionary folly.
A Little Arjy-Bargy Goes a Long Way
I have read and watched a fair amount about hooliganism, yet I don't feel that it is something that I can really get a handle on. It is a discussion that I have frequently with my British band-mates, who are fellow fans of the footy. America is a terribly violent nation in so many ways and our sporting culture verges on the cromagnon at times. How then have we seemingly avoided this tumor of numskullery? Is our senseless violence already sated in gang warfare, racial hatred and school shootings? I am not going to pose any theories just state the question. I had the good fortune to attend the University of Alabama, whose football rivalry with Auburn University is often described as the largest sports blood feud in America. I attended several Iron Bowls, and while they were raucous affairs, complete with a temporary jail within the stadium, neither team had factions seeking out violence. Most of the police presence was to protect drunken fans from themselves. I don't know if I am more surprised that this dark undercurrent lies in British society or that it has never reared its head in ours.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Florida
Florida requires lots of dredging equipment. It is what makes a barrier island into a harbor.
If all you looked at was this photo, not much would have changed since I was growing up.
But then you have this "Peter Boss abortion." As Wes F. put it.
This line of waves is just from the tide running. This is about 10 feet off of the beach, at most. And people wonder how tourists drown every year.
Deep Water Horizon power pack.
When I was a little kid, I though the jetties were a natural formation.
Sea life with oil?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Campamus. Scenes from AICL 2010
I got a new camera as a wedding present. I am trying it out. I am sure it will change my life like the new J Crew catalog.
Two super geniuses at work.
Commander Dan
Captain Mustache
Ms. Mustache
Princess Hotstuff
Ghost of Dave Kyser
The Mush
Micah and John
Old Yankee
Dr. Foxy
Dance Wars
Mr.Me
M.Bensey
DJ Wooly Willy
Our Mikoshi
Dirty Hippy
Eco Dorm
George Going Beefcake
Musical
Jeff and Juno
Two super geniuses at work.
Commander Dan
Captain Mustache
Ms. Mustache
Princess Hotstuff
Ghost of Dave Kyser
The Mush
Micah and John
Old Yankee
Dr. Foxy
Dance Wars
Mr.Me
M.Bensey
DJ Wooly Willy
Our Mikoshi
Dirty Hippy
Eco Dorm
George Going Beefcake
Musical
Jeff and Juno
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