Super-Duper Dipstick

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This is one of those moments when you really hate being an American.
House Majority Leader Tom Delay is asked by Fox News’ John Gibson if America should be trying harder to work bi-laterally with other countries. This is his answer. Seriously.

DELAY: John, we’re no longer a superpower. We’re a super-duperpower. We are the leader in the world. We are the leader that defends freedom and democracy around the world. We are the leader in the war on terrorism. When we lead, others will follow. For us to fight this war by consensus is a prescription for defeat. It has been a prescription for defeat in the past, and it would be in the future.
Thank goodness we have such a strong leader in George W. Bush that understands that when confronted with evil, you have to root it out. And that’s what he is attempting to do. These apologists for idleness are doing nothing that is constructive in the war on terrorism. We have to go after it, we have to fight it differently than we fought wars in the past, and the president has the right doctrine to do so. It’s called the preemptive doctrine.

Groan.
(found via Joi Ito)

New Year

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Happy New Year everyone.
I just got back from two days up at Hakuba resort, about an hour away from Nagano. Went boarding both days, and spent New Year’s Eve at a small house party in nearby Omachi. At midnight, we went to a small shrine in the woods, surrounded by huge, towering trees. As we approached on the snowy path, a huge bonfire glowed and flickered from within the forest, and the sounds of a shrine gong rang out. We were among several dozen people — children, parents, grandparents — who lit incense at the temple, drank proffered sake, accepted a mikan (mandarin orange) and then stood around the bonfire visiting. The colors of the shrine were bright, and the bonfire warm, creating a cozy enclave in the midst of the silent forest, white with snow and black with night.

Goodbye, Dear Rio

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My Rio MP3 player is no longer working. For almost two years, this great little gadget has been my music machine.
About a year ago, I got a letter from the company that makes the Rio, telling me they were going to be sending me a replacement power charger (for the rechargeable battery) because there were reports of people inadvertently sticking the power plug in the USB hole and frying the device. At the time, I remember thinking that someone would have to be an idiot to put the plug in the wrong hole. Today, I was that idiot. In my haste to plug in the charger as I rushed out to work, I ever so briefly put the power cord in the wrong end before realizing what I was doing. It wasn’t until later when I tried to listen to some tunes that I found my poor Rio now makes only a radio static-like buzzing sound.
I never did get that idiot-proof replacement power adapter they told me they were sending. I’m sure there’s a liability issue here somewhere.

Chopstick Fiasco

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The above picture was taken in 1981 during a family trip to Japan. Though my Grandpa and I shared impeccable taste in fashion, we definitely did not share skills with the chopsticks. Having lived the first thirty years of his life in Japan, he was a pro. I, on the other hand, can be seen using a crude scrape and shovel method. And look at the hand position! The chopsticks look like they’re upside-down.
After my embarrassing display of ineptness during that trip to Japan, I was promptly enrolled at the International Academy for the Development of Gifted Foreign Chopstick Users where, after years of stern tutelage that pushed me to my physical and emotional limits, I became the celebrated and much-honored chopstick master that I am today.

The One I Didn’t Eat

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I had a Christmas Eve feast of raw fish.
A student of mine took me out to a sushi restaurant for dinner. It was a good restaurant, and they served an enormous and well-prepared meal of serious sashimi. I’ve been enjoying sushi during my time in Japan, but it’s been fairly tame as far as raw fish goes — mostly salmon and tuna. Last night I took the plunge and braved what seemed like a never ending parade of creatures from the deep.
The dinner was an extreme exercise in will power — I was determined to eat it all. And I did, except for the creature pictured above.
A little background. When I first visited Japan, I was thirteen years old and a very picky eater. I survived mostly on rice during the weeks my family traveled around the county. Although I’ve become much more willing to try new foods, I still don’t venture too far afield when it comes to edibles that once were alive. But last night I wanted to give it my all.
I tried octopus, squid, various types of fish, clams in miso soup, sea urchin and still more that I didn’t get the names of. I even ate the shrimp that was still moving (I’m not kidding) when I put it in my mouth. And when they presented the flash-fried head of that very same moving shrimp, I was going to eat it to. No, I wasn’t. Yes, I was. No, I wasn’t. Yes, I was.
In the end, I just couldn’t. So I left one little critter behind and apologized profusely. Even with that one failure, though, I’m fairly impressed with what I managed to put down last night.