"Setsuden" and its effects upon the caucasian body

Let me tell you, that thanks to the dynamic duo of Mother Nature and her inept sidekick Tepco Kid, there are a lot of trains and buildings in the Kanto are that leave us caucasians feeling rather ... warm (to put it mildly). Even without rushing at all one finds it difficult NOT to break a sweat.

Down By the River Side

I'm out along the Edogawa river practicing my skating. The blacktop here is much smoother and it makes a huge difference! Wow. I can stop. Sort of.

A Philippina just walked past and chatted my ear off. She will be 38 this July, is getting divorced from her Japanese husband due to his domestic violence, does massage work in the Nihonbashi hotel, makes 1000yen an hour... and... and... and.

The guy who lives above me has been transferred to Sendai to help get the business going again. He was there twice already and he said it looks like a war zone. And it stinks like mud mixed with sewage. And death. He was shocked when he went because he had no idea how to help. It all looks like a huge garbage dump, giant piles of trash. All you can do is pick up one thing at a time and move it fromk the heap to some ordered sense of things. 

They are worried about the staff and the people there because many of the survivors are beginning to show signs of PTSD: can't sleep, nightmares, continually loose bowels, stomach aches, total body breakdown when aftershocks hit (and they keep hitting), and more...

The best I can do now is to be productive in society and continue with my life...

And so I skate.

I love you.
Cam

Don't worry that some seem not to notice your refinement, enlightenment and sashay. They're still learning from you in their own way. No matter what they say or don't say, they chose to know you because it would make them more. - The Universe (4/28)

#quakebook

I only had 140 characters in the last/first post on this topic so...

After the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, Our Man in Abiko (nom de plume) started to collect stories of the earthquake survivors and the experiences of people all over Japan. He compiled them on his www.quakebook.org site for people to see. They came as stories, photos, tweets and more. He collected for 11 days and then compiled and published this book: 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake.

You can purchase and download it from Amazon for $9.99. 100% of the proceeds will go to the quake victims through the Red Cross.

I read only the first entry and my eyes filled with tears. I know these stories because I'm living them daily, even though it is from the safety of Tokyo.

Please consider getting this book. You can make a donation and receive something in return that will stay with you forever. There is nothing more powerful than real life.

Thank you. I appreciate you all. My heart is filled with gratitude.

I love you.
Cam

TEPCO Update: 50% executive cut, 25% management cut, 20% employee cut... Well, it's a start. And the 50% exec cut is good to hear, but that will only make their "luxury living" more difficult. It won't affect REAL living, whereas a 20% cut to rank-and-file workers will be a basic, fundamental life-altering reduction in pay. Here's the article: http://tinyurl.com/TEPCO-Cuts

I hope this sounds like good news to those of you who are concerned about the animals in the irradiated Fukushima Zone. It's a start. Will it eventually extend to pets? I hope so. A coordinated effort would make things move much more quickly and efficiently. Whether officials would get their own teams, or coordinate with the rescue volunteers already trying to do what they can remains to be seen, but I hope that something happens. http://tinyurl.com/FukushimaLivestock

Mayu's Dad's Dinner: A Meal Fit for a Fab Father

After the service was over (see previous post) we all gathered in the dining area, toasted Mayu's Dad, thanked everyone for coming and chowed down.

I learned something interesting today. Mayu's Dad was the youngest of about THIRTEEN siblings (knew that) and he was also the last of the brothers to head on out to the Big Game in the Sky. That's kind of cool. They all came to this world in a certain order, and left it in the same order. I like that. That's the way to do it if you have to do it at all. And we all know that everybody's gotta do it at some point in time.

I love you!
Cam

Mayu's Dad's Final Resting Place

The Buddhist ceremony lasted abour 30 minutes. It was good. Then we took Mayu's dad's ashes to his final resting place.

This is a very cool system. The ashes go into a box which then gores into a wall. The box revolves around on an elevator system and all are stored vertically in a tall building exactly like the vertical parking system in Japan.

When next Mayu's Mom wants to come and talk to Dad, she will put an IC card into a slot and his ashes will be delivered to her in the fashion that you can see in the photo.

What a great idea!

And to top it all off, the location is right next to Tokyo Dome where all of the Tokyo Giants games take place. Mayu's dad was a Giants fan so it's even better than perfect.

Have a blast Dad. I love you!
Cam

Yes! Finally Some Balls! Go Fukushima Gov!

This is GOOD news, gang.
It actually brought tears to my eyes:

"Tepco won't be allowed to resume reactor operations: Fukushima Government"

http://tinyurl.com/FukushimaNoGo

Opening Intro to the "Terror Attacks" section in my Disaster Book: "The terrorist attacks of September 11 and other incidents worldwide raise concerns about the possibility of future attacks. There are steps you can take to prepare for a terrorist event. By making simple emergency preparations, you can reassure family members and exert a measure of control." - A very empowering statement!

Friday night...

Friday night..,

I just finished 30 minutes on the reclining stationary bike with P1 (to prepare for four days of Shangri-la with Max) and then another 30 minutes of floor work with P2 (looove P2). I had a good long bath and now I'm on the train heading home to do my laundry, cook dinner and have a good night's sleep...

Tomorrow is Mayu's dad's memorial service and I will be attending in my black suit and black tie as is appropriate for sch an event...

Friday night...

The inebriated young sarariman has passed out on the platform chair while awaiting his ride home. His Pocari Sweat has fallen from his flaccid hands and lies useless between his legs. Drool runs from the side of his mouth and slimes his necktie which rests on his unbecoming paunch which has arrived seemingly 20 years too soon...

Friday night...

A pretty, young woman in sweats and white crocs with a massive girl-wallet stuffed in her back pocket, pulling her sweat pants down and making her short legs look even shorter walks past me while talking to someone on her keitai. She is exclaiming to her partner that the person is now able to read! It makes me think she might be talking to a gaijin. Suddenly my height catches her attention and as I walk by she does a double take, possibly wondering at the possibilities of talking to a gaijin while another passes her by...

Friday night...

The neck sweat stains have all been applied with sweat stain remover and my work shirts have been placed in the laundry machine with the other non-fuzzies of the week. The second load (fuzzies) will come in 50 minutes after this load has been completed and hung...

Friday night...

An email from Mayu arrives, discussing tomorrow. I'll call her back in a bit; right now the hunger is too intense to have a meaningful convo with anyone important...

(pause)

The meat is in the frypan and some cheese to take the edge off the hunger has reached my stomach...

Friday night...

Happy Easter to those of you in Christian countries.

I love you.
Cam

This breaks my heart

A photo of a beautiful shiba-ken walking in the deserted town of Futaba in Fukushima.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/view/all-gone-2#comments

This town is in the 20km illegal-to-enter zone.

It will eventually find water, but food will likely be a different matter. And dogs are domesticated; they do best with human interaction.

This breaks my heart. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

'Divorce ceremony' gives couples chance to make clean break

Make no bones about it divorce is HARD. In fact it is quite likely the hardest thing one might ever undertake and for so many reasons.

Here is a very interesting concept for those struggling with the anger and rage that often accompanies divorce...


'Divorce ceremony' gives couples chance to make clean break

TOKYO
Some divorce-bound couples in Japan are smashing their wedding rings at ‘‘divorce ceremonies,’’ vowing to make a clean break and a fresh start in front of friends and family.

"Congratulations on your divorce.’’ Guests wish the former bride and groom well on their separate lives at the ceremony, which involves smashing wedding rings using a wooden hammer, held by the soon-to-be ex-spouses, a ritual antithesis to cutting the cake at weddings...

Read the rest here: http://tinyurl.com/SmashThatWeddingRing

You can read my comments on this as TheBigRiceBowl in the comments section.

In a nutshell? Well, aside from being overpriced (most ceremonies in Japan are), I think this is a very good idea; it actually allows the divorced couple PHYSICAL CLOSURE which is often missing from divorce. It allows them a link to actually let go of the anger, rage, and ugliness that builds in 95% of all divorces.

Since divorce rates in the US are 50% (1st marriage), 60% (2nd marriage), 75% (3rd marriage), if someone imports this to the USA and adapts it to American culture, it could actually be a good business. I'm serious; it isn't exploitation. It's hard to admit but most divorced people really do have a lot of pent up anger, frustration and rage inside them that is rotting them. Who wants to have a new relationship with a rotten person? If you can physically release this anger, you can renew yourself, move on, stop living in the past, and begin to rebuild your life. I personally know people who could have used some serious closure ...

I love you!
Cam

TEPCO Deserves a Ginormous Hoof in the Balls

TEPCO seeks 20% cut in employees' annual salaries
Friday 22nd April, 07:00 AM JST

Tokyo Electric Power Co is considering cutting annual salaries of its employees by around 20% as part of its restructuring effort to make compensation payments over the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, company sources said Thursday.

The utility is now under negotiations with its labor union to reach an agreement by the end of this month, they said.

The proposal targets around 33,000 union members and does not include a workforce cut, the sources said, adding that TEPCO is also considering reducing remunerations for company executives.

The utility, meanwhile, is mulling selling off its assets to secure funds to pay compensation for people affected by the nuclear crisis, triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

TEPCO, for example, will try to acquire hundreds of billions of yen by selling securities it holds such as KDDI Corp stocks and real estate it owns, the sources said.

The link is here: http://tinyurl.com/TEPCOisUGLY

My thoughts are in the comments section as TheBigRiceBowl (that's me! - Until I leave Tokyo)

Have a great day.
I love you! (but I don't love TEPCO)

Cam

Chrome Needs More Polishing

A recent update in MS seems to have made the IE browser "freezy". I have noticed it both at home and at work so it can't be just my computer (Japanese XP so you may not notice if you have an English XP as the coding is different).

I thought I'd give Google Chrome a try again, but don't find it as easy to navigate as Explorer. I use the command bar (File/Edit/View/Options, etc.)  a lot but Chrome doesn't seem to have one. Also, the fonts in Chrome are very ... rough. They seem low quality and jagged while the expolorer browser has smoothed out their fonts considerably.

The Chrome browser does load, and multi-task better than the current bugged-out IE browser; however overall, the MS IE Browser is, in my opinion a more polished product (except for its current bugginess).

Google still needs to keep working on polishing their Chrome. Go Google!

I love you!

Cam

So Picky!

I got home after the gym too late and too beat to practice the guitar. But Haruo at work gave me a few spare picks today so now I can practice with a pick. Tomorrow morning I will most likely be too rushed preparing for work and it will be too early for it anyway so I just wanted to try the pick across the strings to see what it felt like.

I just plucked "Good King Wenslas" out of the blue! Now where on earth did that come from?

I have heard that the mind actually permanently stores absolutely everything it experiences from the time we are born. Who knows? Maybe that's where King Wenslas came from!

We had a good magnitude 6 earthquake at just after 10:30 tonight. The restaurant on the first floor was doing some serious rockin and everyone's keitai was playing the earthquake alarmm.

I love you!
Cam

I KNEW that one day my notebook computer would serve a legit purpose!

It makes the perfect music stand! I can angle it as I like and the music books aren't suddenly going to slip off the stand and fall to the ground!

Praise the gods for the invention of the notebook computer!!!

Love!
Cam

Fukushima heros are treated like dogs by their employer TEPCO

This is a very sad, sad article, showing the seedy underbelly of the largest power company in Japan: TEPCO.

I am embarrassed to even show this to the world, but you need to see, that the big, money-hungry companies in Japan are not so different from their counterparts around the world.

Rather than giving the Tepco employees risking their lives to solve the Fukushima Nuclear Radiation problem a hero's welcome, the company treats them like... well, like Japanese dogs.

"Nuclear plant workers at risk of depression, death from overwork: doctor"
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/nuclear-plant-workers-at-risk-of-depression-death-from-overwork-doctor

Ticker-Tape Update on Japan for Wed, Apr 20th, 2011

Here is a quick Ticker-Tape Update on Japan from NHK World News as of Wednesday morning, April 20th, 2011.

* Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun transferring highly radioactive water from the No.2 reactor to a waste processing facility at the damaged Fukushima plant.
* Tokyo Electric Power Company says radioactive debris and high humidity in reactor buildings are hampering the investigation by robots at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
* Delegates have discussed nuclear safety at an international conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster on April 26.
* A senior official of Japan's Foreign Ministry says that although the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is ranked at the highest level of severity, it is less serious than the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
* SDF personnel sent to nuclear zone who flees in panic has been dismissed on disciplinary grounds.
* The IAEA will send a team of experts to investigate the cause of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
* French nuclear firm Areva says it has agreed with the Tokyo Electric Power Company to build a facility to decontaminate radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.
* Electronics maker Toshiba has developed a TV set with a rechargeable battery to help Japanese viewers cope with expected power outages this summer.
* The world's oldest man, who lives in the prefecture of Kyoto in western Japan, has turned 114.
* The vast majority of deaths (92%) in the March 11th disaster were caused by the tsunami and most of the victims were seniors.
* The northeastern Japanese city of Sendai has started removing wrecked vehicles from tsunami-hit residential areas.
* It's a nice spring day in Tokyo (and the election candidate's loudspeaker announcements are very annoying) **

To see more news and video visit: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

** This was not a paid news brief from NHK World News (as if you couldn't guess).

Meeting Strangers

As Tokyo is always too warm for me, on Kobuchizawa Mondays I carry my dress shirt in my pack and commute in the excellent UniQlo Silky Dry Under which looks like a good quality t-shirt. A tight good quality t-shirt.

Today at lunch another customer shared my table. He sneezed. That was my opening for talking about the sugi pollen to have a conversation roll in.

We had a good chat. He even commented on how good and muscular my upper body looks. I have to admit, the hard work really is paying off as my pecs, back, biceps, triceps and shoulders really are quite pronounced.

Especially in this UniQlo under that I wear during my Kobuchizawa Mondays...

Sometimes a body's gotta give himself a pat on the back for a job well done. After all if you can't love yourself then you certainly won't be able to love others.

I love me!
Cam

Cast iron cookware by Lodge is the cast's meow! (no, this is not cleverly designed product placement advertising, though on twitter it may look that way...) One of the things that impressed my tender, young, malleable, virgin mind during the few visits I made to Bob's Getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains was the ability of cast iron cookware to cook foods without splashing oil everywhere. I never forgot that. And the fact that I can reproduce the same results, even on the other side of the world, is quite heartening, considering I now own my very own cast iron LODGE cookware. And I like that! I like it a lot!!

My Mt. Everest

Today on my calendar from the Universe, it says, "Don't let the dazzling heights you aspire to scare you from getting started. After all, few could climb Mt. Everest tomorrow, though virtually all could begin preparing."

I like to think that when I finally die at a ripe old age of 202 I will be abe to say that I have no regrets.

Thirty years ago my mom told me that she regretted quitting the piano and she warned me I would regret my choice to stop playing the guitar.

At that time, I was 15 and didn't enjoy the music I was playing on my guitar. I had been learning for about eight years but was never able to play by ear and none of the music I might have liked to play seemed available on sheet music. I had no interest in rock music (still don't) and all the traditional classic stuff one learns for the basics was no longer appealing to me.

So I quit.

And I have regretted it ever since.

Ten years ago I bought a DVD to relearn how to play the guitar but my heart wasn't in it and I never took the next step of getting a new guitar.

Tonight after spending about 40 minutes practicing on my skates I took a ride to the recycle shop just to see what was there. It is amazing what you can find in Japanese recycle shops.

I decided it was time to begin preparing.

I left with an old Yamaha acoustic guitar ($50) and carried it home on my bike with a big bag of skates and padding strapped to my back.

It's time to prepare for my Mt. Everest.

I love you.
Cam

Here's a tsunami video that you may enjoy watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh8jX6s_Q-w

Check out the HTC Evo WiMax Android 3.0 smartphone if U see it & tell me what you think.

It looks like an excellent contender to all the other smartphones out there. Beautiful, large screen with very smooth, fluid movement. It is probably the closest to the ipso facto benchmark standard iPhone fluidity.

Also the Motorola XOOM looks cool but it competes with the iPad, not the narrower tablets which interest me more.

Both of these models are FINALLY being offered by my carrier who for some mysterious reason is extremely late in the smartphone/tablet market.

I still think the Galaxy is the best size for a tablet if you have to commute in a crowded train daily; the iPad and contenders are just too big to hold single handed and cart around in very cramped quarters. I'm sure they are grea when you have a bit more space or travel by your own vehicle, though.

I love you!
Cam

Heading ootnaboot to buy a rice cooker and a REAL frypan.

I was talking to my mom (after having breakfast - she doesn't like to talk with me before I have eaten... I wonder why?) and while we were talking a tiny 5.9 hit the Ibaraki mainland, but the apartment really shook and rattled. It actually jumped this time!

This Tsunami Reporter has True Grit!

Holy Crap! Take a look at this series of four photos http://tinyurl.com/AmazingReporter and be sure to read the caption. This is amazing. The reporter has "true grit". He obviously has passion for his job. Some may call him a fool, but are you a fool if you have complete dedication to your calling? Methinks not. Wow...

I would like to reassess my judgement here, based on the comments in my Facebook from an A-class reporter working for the Miami Herald who has been my good friend for a good many years... He said that a true class-act reporter would never actively put him/herself in such a dangerous situation, and would NEVER NEVER lose her/his camera.

Since a reporter feels that way, and you have to trust the specialist to provide a realistic assessment of a situation (just like you should trust nuclear specialists to give realistic assessments about a nuclear disaster), I admit that my opinion was not based on a realistic understanding of the situation, and I reassess!

So, thanks, JI. I appreciate you!

I love you!
Cam

Imagining My Daily Breakfast Just Got Easier

I eat this kind of breakfast every day. The meat changes and the style off the eggs vary, but the variety and the volume is aleways like this.

I eat this much at lunch as well as dinner, too.

There are twelve different foods on my plate. I love variety!

And I love you!
Cam

Follow Up to the Sheltie Photo Shoot in Fukushima: Many Rescued

Paula and several people were asking if we had any news about what had happened to the group of Sheltie dogs that showed up in the Japanese News. Well, here is some GOOD info for you: http://tinyurl.com/SheltiesRescued
Good news, eh?!

I love Japan!
Cam

Unbelievable Japan: Sendai Airport Operational Again!

The reconstruction speed and efficiency of Japan in the tsunami/earthquake zone is amazing! As of today, Sendai Airport, the airport everyone in the world watched get wiped out by the tsunami is operational. Flights are both arriving and departing for regular commercial flights by JAL and ANA.

It puts a lump in the throat and brings tears to the eyes to see how hard everyone is working to bring a sense of normalcy back to the area.

It makes me very proud to call Japan my home.

I love you!
Cam

Wow that was a good aftershock!

First time to be standing outside of my apartment waiting for the elevator.

Now THAT was a good tremor out here in the mountains

I wonder if they felt it in Tokyo?

Wow... "The Lomborg Deception" was one doozy of an environmental fact book. Does anybody want an e-copy (pdf, kindle, or other)? It's not an easy read, but it sure is a good one. If you love the environment, and you hate Bjorn Lomborg, you'll love this. Let me know and I'll email it to you.

Skate 1 (2011/04/10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHJ9dL3aX5A
This is my second time on the skates. It was fun!

Second Time on the Skates was Better than the First

Today I walked about 10 minutes to the park at a large intersection near home. And I practiced skating for about an hour. I even practiced falling. Many times. Forward. And once backward. On the same hip that still hurts three weeks later. Good thing I ordered some hip/bum/tailbone pad inner shorts!

It was fun and the sakura trees and the pet rabbit were great, too.

Third time lucky, ka na?

I love you!
Cam

One Minute of Love Energy Output to Tohoku

My one minute break to send as much positive energy through love, gratitude and appreciation to everyone in the Tohoku region will begin in 25 minutes from sending this k-mail.

Will you amplify the positive energy by sending some of yours?

A "Strange" Photo in the "Evacuation Zone" for Paula

This is really weird...

It must have been a breeder's kennel that opened wide.
I really feel sorry for all these gorgeous dogs because the location is deserted due to it being within the radioactive evacuation zone.

What will they eat?
What will they drink? What will happen to them?
Who took the picture? Did they just leave them all like that or herd them together and get them out?

We want answers! We want actions!!

Dogs are people too!!!

 

Oh, sorry. The link:

http://tinyurl.com/RadioactiveCollies

Cam

Worried about a radioactive ocean? A reality check

I recommend everyone
around the world take a peek at this article.

 

http://tinyurl.com/FukushimaRealityCheck

It puts the Fukushima
radiation dissemination in a little better perspective.

 

The bottom line? 
DON'T
WORRY!

 

You aren't going to
suddenly have your member fall off.

Your breasts won't shrivel
up.

You won't become
incontinent, or infertile.

And you won't even
grow an extra finger out of your armpit!

(though that would make an
excellent conversation piece, especially if it were
prehensile.)

 

Though, you might find
yourself hungry.

If that happens... eat
something before you pass out, fall down and hit your head.

 

The likelihood of that
happening is far higher than any radiation poisoning you might get from our
sharing of radiation with the world.

Come to think of it, you
have a better chance at winning a lottery than getting radiation
sickness.

 

Have a great
day.

I love
you!

Cam

Magnitude 7.4 just hit Miyagi at 23.32 tonight, and it ROCKED my apartment for a good three or four minutes. It also rocked most of Japan. In fact, when I got up to check where it was, my balcony sliding door was open from the shock! That was the biggest we've had in a couple of weeks, I'll wager. http://emergency.yahoo.co.jp/weather/jp/earthquake/index.html?1302187031

Tomorrow, Friday April 8th at 14:46 (+9GMT), will be one month since the devastating earthquake/tsunami ripped through the Tohoku region, killing (likely) 28,000 people,probably as many or more pets, and causing over $300 billion dollars in damage (3/11). I'm going to spend a minute in silence to share my love, appreciation & gratitude with everyone in The Universe for... everything.

NHK's TickerTapeNews for April 6th, 2011

NHK's TickerTapeNews for April 6th, 2011

It's been a while but I needed to extract myself from all the negative energy flowing out of this very negative tragedy. It was wearing my positive spirit down.
.
* Tokyo Electric Power Company says highly radioactive water stopped leaking into the sea from a concrete pit at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant on Wednesday morning. (Cam: Nobody here seems to be talking about this topic any longer... but it's still hard to buy staples in the supermarket, so they must be 'thinking' about it... (or the next "big one"))
.
* Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will inject nitrogen into the containment vessel of one of its reactors at the Fukushima power plant as early as Wednesday evening to prevent a possible hydrogen explosion. (Cam: Ho hum....)
.
* Most fishery cooperatives in Ibaraki Prefecture are suspending all activities after small fish caught in local waters were found to contain radioactive cesium above the legal limit. (Cam: There goes another industry... I wonder if Japan will become a country of ... meat eaters? Oh, wait! They already ARE eating tons more meat than they used to do.)
.
* Many members of the International Renewable Energy Agency say Japan's nuclear crisis will lead to increased promotion of alternative energy sources. (Cam: In Japanese we say "fukouchuu no saiwai", or "happiness comes from disaster". This is in harmony with The Universe's teachings. We humans often learn the most through the biggest hardships. This hardship is a doozy, so let' s hope what we learn from it is exponentially highly rewarding as well.)
.
* The official death toll from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan has risen to 12,468, with 15,091 people still listed as missing. (Cam: Let's hope that the "listed as missing", is eventually reported as "zero".)
.
* The environment ministry says the massive March 11th earthquake and tsunami has left 24.9 million tons of debris in its wake in the 3 hardest-hit prefectures. (Cam: Want to start a new garbage collection company?)
.
* The minutes of a US Federal Reserve meeting show policymakers plan to keep a close watch on the effect of Japan's earthquake on the US economy. (Cam: As are all the other countries around the world.... Today there was some news that said a Japanese person was traveling in Europe, and was sitting beside a European. The European asked the Japanese if he was Japanese. When he responded, yes, the European got up and moved away from the Japanese person. Could there be some overly hysterical fear of "spreading nuclear radiation"? Methinks so.)
.
* Anti-government forces in Libya have rejected Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi's proposal to hand over power to one of his sons. (Cam: It's time to close the books on this character. Where's the CIA assassination team when you need them?)
.
* Cote d'Ivoire's President Laurent Gbagbo may soon be forced to give up power after opposition forces backed by the UN launched a major attack to close in on his stronghold in Abidjan. (Cam: More war crimes trials at the Hague coming soon, to a theatre near you...)
.
* China's central bank says it will raise its key interest rates by 0.25% starting Wednesday. (Cam: What goes up, must come down. Eventually.)
.
Have a great day!
I love you!!
Cam

Thoughts on the Japanese High Voice Sales Pitch

I zipped into UniQlo at Shinjuku Stn to buy another Silky Dry undershirt. The store manager was a young American fellow who is apparently the only foreign manager in Japan at UniQlo. That was impressive.

Then I heard him do the Irrasshaimase thing and his voice went up quite a bit in pitch. I told him how friends have commented on my voice rising when I speak Japanese but that it isn't done on purpose (Stephanie, do you remember?). He said that the company policy states they have to say their sales spiel in a higher tone than they speak because they have found that it gives more favourable results.

If UniQlo actively does it then I imagine other retailers train their staff similarly.

That was an eye opener because it never occurred to me that the higher voice would actually be dictated in the training manuals!

He did say, "You gotta follow what the bosses say, though it does make me feel silly."

Time to catch my train. Have a great day!

I love you!
Cam

"The Muffin Man", Then & Now (Music & Lyrics)

Do you remember growing up with the old song "The Muffin Man"? My boss at work sent me his keitai email address in case of emergency the other day. I laughed because it is related to the Muffin Man. I figured his children probably played that song repeatedly until it drove him insane inside his own head. It IS rather catchy...

My other boss, and the person I work with didn't believe that such a song exists, and they thought I was just making it up, so I did a little search to show them that it really IS a children's song.

While I was searching for it so that I could play it for them, I happened upon another very catchy tune called "The Muffin Man Squat". This one made me snort!

Here are the lyrics for both, and a link for you to listen to each of them. I hope you enjoy them.

I love you!
Cam

********************

The Muffin Man
Music By: J. W. Elliott, Adapted By: Terry Kluytmans
Copyright ©1999 KIDiddles.com
http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/m027.html

Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Second Verse:

Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.

More Second Verse Responses:

Oh, two of us know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, two of us know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.

A few of us know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
A few of us know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.

Now we all know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Now we all know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.

*************************

Muffin Man Squat
http://www.muffinmanthemovie.com/Lyrics.htm

Listen up, America!  This song's about a threat.
It ain't anthrax, it ain't small pox,
and it ain't politically correct.
Ain't talking chubby, aint talking big-boned,
ain't talking corpulent, I'm talking FAT.
You can call your love handles anything you want to baby,
but they're still gonna cause a heart attack.

Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man -
Do you know the muffin man, who lives on Drury lane?
Yes, I know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man -
Yes, I know the muffin man who lives on Drury lane.

Do you know him? Have you seen him?
Look in the mirror, you just might be him!

You say you wanna lose weight, but it just don't work.
The pills taste too good, health clubs are for jerks.
You've tried reduction, lipo-suction, but you still got a gut.
Blah Blah.
You wanna lose weight? Keep your mouth shut.

Chew it up, spit it out. Spit it out, shut your mouth.
You say you're large, you're overweight, but you ain't just fat.
You make a DC-10 look like a tic-tac.
You say your knees hurt. Well, how they supposed to feel?
You're like a Mac Truck - on roller blade wheels.

Got a big belly? Got a big butt?
Get on the floor and do the Muffin Man squat!

Blame the media, the government, your pituitary.
But the real problem is, you can't lay off the dairy.

Indians and Africans are all gettin thinner.
Chinese gonna invade us, and eat us all for dinner.
Cause we fat, and salty - just like a pork loin.
Gonna deep fry and eat us, leave nothin but the oink.

Gotta feed the baby, gotta feed the belly.
Gonna start a war, and watch it on the telly.
Fightin with the Arabs, to the winner go the spoils.
But we don't have to worry, where there's fat there's OIL.

You got a big belly, you got a big butt.
Get off the couch and do the Muffin Man squat!
You think your double chin is really, really hot?
Get out of the fridge and do the Muffin Man squat.

We drive gas guzzling cars for our big fat bodies,
while we preen, get surgeries, and pretend we're TV hotties.
Like a big public secret, we hide under our hat.
You can call someone a nigger, but you can't call them fat.

You used to have muscles, and work out, but have you lately?
Now you're chubby chubby cause You always clean your platey.
Don't care bout Africans starving every day,
as long as you have your truck - and whoppers done your way.

Got a big belly? Got a big butt?
Get on the floor and do the Muffin Man squat!

We all know tobacco gives you lung cancer, halitosis.
But what about French fries building up arthrosclerosis.

In our precious children, in our pets, there goes our future.
I know you hear me singing, do you see what we could lose here?
Achievement, generations, hell - we could kill the species
cause you don't give a damn and can't stop eatin all that good cheese.

Got a big belly? Got a big butt?
Get on the floor and do the Muffin Man squat!

Do you know where mankind's heading, do you know where we're going?
As we fight, and kill each other, eat ourselves into coma's?
I'd rather see a supernova of the galaxy
than hang around as we slide down the evolutionary tree.

(C) 2003 Pickle Tub Productions, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Words and Music by "Dr. Discipline"
Performed by Jessica Eisner and Johnny Bregar

Yamato Courier: Full-On Eco

I love how Kuroneko has embraced the Eco Drivewith respect to deliveries in Tokyo.They kill so many birds with one stone!

A couple of years ago the government started ticketing everyone who stopped illegally and that included couriers stopping briefly to deliver packages. They all had to find a new way to deal with the new regulations.

It took a while and included some tweaking but now they deliver using battery-assisted bicycles pulling trailers as you can see in this photo taken outside my office.

Good work!