I've got a clogged head today and am positive that it will be gone tomorrow. It sucks having a cold and the weekend is so close...

I finally finished reading "Animal Farm" (commentary found here) in just over a day. On to Joyce's "Ullyses" next. If I can get my head around it, that is.

No real plans for the weekend. Just want to take it easy...

I promise not to watch CNN either because it makes my blood boil. Any station that has idiots like Glen Beck on it should be bombed. The other night I was watching his lame-assed opinions on how the rest of the world were idiots for not seeing the Iranian leader as a threat to the world.

Okay, so maybe President Ahmadinejad isn't the best example of a leader but he did say many things that perhaps the rest of the world has been thinking about the GWB regime for a long time. It's time that idiot south of the Canadian border thought about the big picture instead of his closeminded view of world politics are to him. I'm tired of him and his B.S. He should be taking care of what's in his own backyard instead of worrying about everyone else. America has enough problems of it's own and he's not spending trillions of dollars on what it should be spent on instead of killing off the youth of his own country in a senseless war. (Did you hear the other day that they had Osama in their sights but he got away? I laughed at that long & hard. Perhaps they were trying to move away from the Iranian leaders newstory)

By the way, did you notice that at Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN that none of the US representatives were there? How bloody rude is that? At least they could have shown their faces. What arrogance!

Now, just so you know, I do not agree with many of the Iranian leader's religious beliefs but I do admire that he had the balls to stand up in front of the UN and say something that many of us had been thinking for a long time. Mainly that they US government should focus on many of those problems that are important to it's people instead of policing the world.

So, just have a great weekend, yeah?

"Live your life Travis, don't be a curator to it."

I heard this while watching the Travis Cunningham film Pedestrian. While the film was typical Canadian fare, it brought to mind something I had been thinking about lately.

It's so easy to sit on the sidelines and watch life go by. At least it is for me.

In a similar type of quote, which was found in the latest Iain Banks' novel, one of the characters said this:

He glanced at Alban. I thought I'd have all this stuff figured out by now. I feel rather cheated that I don't, that I'm having to start thinking again about things that - as you say - one might have expected to leave behind in one's teens.' He held his glass up to the light. 'I think I am like a lot of people, you know: I've spent my life waiting for my life to start. It's as though one needs permission from somebody - parents, God, a commitee of one's peers; I don't bloody know - to finally take responsibility for one's own actions, one's own life. Only the permission never comes, and gradually - well, gradually for me, I can't speak for others; maybe their realisation comes in some sort of sudden revelation and a blinding light or whatever - gradually you realise that it never will come, that the way you've lived your life, stumbling through it, winging it half the time, is all there really is, all there ever was. I feel cheated, because of that. I feel, sometimes, like I've cheated myself though I can't see how I could have done much different.

Introspection is actually a good thing. It motivates me, that's for sure...

Not much to say today.

If you're going through Lola withdrawal, please check out my post on the Fall Reading Challenge. I finally finished the first book and took some time to catch up on the tv dramas that I missed last season. I'm kind of reminded why I've lost interest in tv lately. Same crap, different episode I suppose.

I did see some live footage on one of the music channels yesterday of Kylie Minogue. To stay with the whole book these of this post, whenever I hear songs from her "Fever" CD, my mind is drawn to Harry Potter. Why? Because when I was reading them, I would sit in my room and listen to that whole CD over & over again.

I'll get back to writing here next week. In the meantime, please have a great weekend!

Okay, for those of you that are interested, here are the answers to the Japanese prefecture quiz.

In other news on Japan, it appears that archaeologists are being granted access to two sacred shrines which the ultra-right fear will shake the foundations of theories surrounding the origins of the Japanese Royal family. While this may not mean anything to those who are not "royal watchers", it could be interesting if they find out that indeed, the imperial family has some connection to Korea and China. Why would I find that interesting? Well, because of the Japanese governments treatment of the so-called Korean community would be called into question. It's common knowledge that there are many who have been born in Japan yet they hold a Korean passport because that's their heritage. It is so difficult for these people to change their citizenship even though they were born in the country. My question is, will they require the emperor and his family to have Korean passports if it's proven they are not "pure" Japanese? Read more about the new limited access to these sites here.

Okay, that's enough Japanophile stuff for today...

meh.

I saw this on a t-shirt today and hadn't a clue what it meant. I googled it and found an article on the word in the Guardian online archives. I suppose that I'm just out of the loop. Do any of you use this?

Okay, here's the quiz of the day!

Without looking at reference books or anything on the web, how many of the 47 prefectural areas, can you name? We did this the other day and between three of us, we were able to get almost all of them...

Have you ever noticed how irritatingly loud it can be in public spaces like restaurants and buses? Perhaps it's just because I'm tired, but I've been finding the morning commute (and often the evening one as well) really annoying. In the morning, when I'm not quite awake and trying to read on the bus, the noise levels are incredible. I suppose that's because it's not just one or two people... it's the whole lot of them in their own separate bubbles ignoring the others...

I suppose that this is mostly because it's filled with teenagers off to high school and they are all so hyper. I think, after this morning, that they don't have a vocabulary that expands beyond the word "like" and "whatever" and in between the ringtones of what seemed like 1000 mobile phones. When I was young, I think I lived by the credo "kids should be seen and not heard". I suppose that way of thinking no longer exists.

It was so bad that I was just milliseconds from standing up and shouting at them to "shut the f*** up". Nevertheless, I managed to make it hear without killing anyone.

Last night, I was also disrupted. For the most part, everyone was very considerate. However, then this couple got on (and no, they were not teenagers) and were arguing with her dad via mobile phone and the guy kept saying he wanted to kill the father and the woman was trying to play go-between and ended up hanging up on the dad. It was ridiculous. Sounds like the woman got a guy just like her idiot father. She kept trying to side with the boyfriend even though he was an angry and inconsiderate man and she just kept trying to please him by telling the guy that even though her dad said all sorts of terrible things about the boyfriend, that she was on his side. Granted, I don't have the old story but this guy appeared to be bordering on abusive and filled the bus with all sorts of obscenities. I wouldn't be surprised if they were both co-dependent.

This reminded me of the other day of something I was thinking while watching one of the annoying "Meet the..." movies starring Ben Stiller and I couldn't imagine why it was funny. If a person has grown up with a control-freak father who tried to control the entire dynamic of a family, then how could one possibly find watching another equally controlling father for two hours even the slightest bit amusing. The saddest thing about this is that the wife and daughter just accepted the behaviour and never called the guy on it. That kind of control is unacceptable and no one should be forced to totally compromise their ideals because one never learned to properly interact with others. In their own way, these two characters had an underlying fear of the man and thus were as dysfunctional as he was. (Don't they call those types of people enablers?) My question, is this kind of dysfunction funny? To me, it isn't.

Okay, I suppose that this has all emerged due to high-pitched voices of teenaged girls and their mobiles on the bus. I'll try to swing this mood around by rising above the cloud in my head and looking at the beautiful day that we're having.

I hope that you all have a great weekend!

I didn't actually get much reading done this weekend so will have to spend some time this week catching up with those books that I listed on the Reading Challenge...

So, what did Lola spend her time doing? Drinking far too many Hong Kong-style teas and watching films. It was great just to relax and take in some cinema all under the influence of caffeine and condensed milk.

On Friday night, my friend and I went to see Leonardo DiCaprio's The 11th Hour. Not very light fare, for sure, but interesting nevertheless.

We were both very happy to see that those interviewed in the film included David Suzuki. He's a local geneticist who has added climate change to his repetoire. Back to the film, I must say that I liked this one better than Al Gore's film because it had a much more emotional message to it. The people interviewed are passionate about the issue of global warming and give hope that, if only people's awareness level were raised on this issue and if alternatives could be given, then as a race - the human race - we could band together for this cause.

The main message was that the earth will always survive... the question is whether humans would survive or whether they would perish as a result of their own ignorance. I say, go and see the film. Even if you are tired of hearing of climate change. It feels good to know that, despite all of our differences in faith, backgrounds, cultures and languages, that we can band together for an important cause. I hope you enjoy the film and like me feel that comradery.

On Saturday, with another friend, I went to see Shoot'Em Up. I was just reading a review that said something like its a "Wet Dream for Action Junkies". Hmmm. After seeing the film, I must definitely say that "wet dream" is right. It was pretty twisted and I expected a lot of blood and violence and was not disappointed. The plot as well was interesting and not that unrealistic in that they could be happening somewhere now. As well, I don't know if I will ever think of carrots in the same way. Who'd have know there were so many uses for them?

I did ponder why three adults would bring a young boy to a film like this. Okay, the violence was enough but the sexual conduct and innuendo was definitely not suitable for a child that age.

I recommend this film to those of you who appreciate a twisted reality. Even if you're going just to check out Clive Owen (hot!) and Monica Bellucci (also hot!) it's well worth it. There was even an interesting scene that was a twist on the one in Mr. & Mrs. Smith in which Brad & Ang were fighting off the "bad guys' in that scene only this one didn't involve clothing...

The unfortunate thing about a film like this is that it makes being awake in daylight a disappointment. I always feel when I see a dark film such as this, that it'd be nice just to be shrouded in darkness for a while longer.

Oh well, it's back to reality now...

Have a great week everyone!

For the last hour or so, I've been sitting around and consuming just about every type of junk food one can find at the college bookstore. Cheesies? Chocolate? Cookies? I'm surprised I haven't been enticed by some type of fizzy soft drink as well, however, I suppose it's better to drink water.

All I can say is that I am so glad the weekend is here so that I can get some sleep, eat better and enjoy the free time that I have when have been unshackled from the desk in my office...

Have a great weekend all!

I saw this poster on a telephone pole over the weekend and found it extremely amusing. (I took it down and scanned it to share with you all...)

Why? Because I thought anarchy was supposed to be an underground movement and only organized around specific causes and here these folks are with a Book Fair and discussions on the philosophical aspects of anarchy itself. I don't see any rallies or protests in the program.

Does anyone else see the irony in it?

Speaking of organizations, I was reading article about the daughter of a yakuza (Japanese mafia) gangster that discussed her life and a book that she had written about being a member of this group. When I was in Japan, I worked for a yakuza business teaching the English. Nicest bunch of folks one could of met and at first, I didn't know. After a while though, it became apparent that they were different from the rest of my neighbours. I often thought that they were more effective than the police sometimes. As you can tell, I did survive the experience. I haven't heard from them since I left but it was one of the more interesting experiences I had there.

Nevertheless, this book sounds interesting. It's called "Yakuza Moon" and was written by Shoko Tendo. Perhaps this is one for the Fall Reading Challenge...