I’ve posted photos of my Fuji climb and the subsequent day at the Fujikyo amusement part. There are also six new movies.
One of these days, I’m going to better organize the movies and then add more from this past summer.
Mt. Fuji
My luck with volcano visibility here in Japan hasn’t been good. First I climbed Asahi-dake in Hokkaido (tallest mountain on Hokkaido) without seeing anything through the clouds and rain. Now I’ve made it to the top of Mt. Fuji without seeing the famous view from the top (let alone much of anything along the way).
But the trip was still an adventure, including a 38-hour day with no sleep, law-breaking, beers for breakfast and a day at an amusement park directly after descending from the mountain. Needless to say, I needed a good night’s sleep when I finally returned to Nagano.
Strange Sightings
It’s strange enough to see foreigners here in Nagano. For the past two days, I’ve noticed a lot of gay men from abroad around town. Now I know why: Disney on Ice is in Nagano for a week.
Another Sad Tale, All Too Familiar
Another flaw has been found in Microsoft Word. In other words, Microsoft has been selling something that is broken (certainly not the first time for our favorite “innovative” software company). The flaw affects several versions of Word, including the most recent. However…
Word 97, an earlier version of the program, is most susceptible to the attack. But Word 97 will not be repaired because Microsoft no longer provides support for it, the company said. A research firm reported in May that about 32 percent of offices have copies of Word 97 running, according to a survey of 1,500 high-tech managers worldwide.
Customer: “The product you sold me is broken.”
MS Customer Support: “May I suggest that you purchase a new version of Microsoft Word.”
Featured Food – Onigiri
Today’s featured food is a staple of fast-food life here. But this ain’t no greasy hamburger. For only ¥100, you get a tasty, healthy snack. Onigiri is a rice ball, usually filled with one ingredient and wrapped in seaweed. All convenience stores offer a large selection, ranging from ¥100 to ¥150 (one U.S. dollar is currently about ¥117). My favorite is the one with smoked salmon in the middle. The convenience store (“conbini”) versions are cleverly wrapped to prevent the seaweed from touching the rice until you unwrap it. This keeps the seaweed crisp and fresh.
I’ll be eating the one in the picture as soon as I post this.
Remembering Quietly
For the past couple days, I’ve been trying to put together some thoughts on how I’m glad to be outside of the United States as the commemoration of Sept. 11 passes. I’m relieved to be spared the barrage of an American media spectacle, especially when that spectacle is presented as if it were restrained and solemn. It’s been nice to be somewhere where any observances are more restrained, and are not packaged into entertainment passed off as news. It’s not that there hasn’t been extensive coverage of the anniversary here in Japan, but it’s nothing like what Americans are being subjected to. And the language barrier makes it easier to miss all the noise.
Just about everyone involved in the media industry in the United States means well, of course. But the nature of our entertainment-saturated society means restraint is just a lowering of the volume from 10 to 9, and a time for talking heads to put on even more comically serious faces.
Remembering the terrorist attacks and reflecting on them outside of the bubble of American culture has been a relief.
A couple related editorials:
The Onion
The New Yorker
Buy Our Pesticide Spinach, Or Else
Which is more important: free trade or democracy? These two ideals are often lumped together as if they were a package deal. But with the World Trade Organization, it may be more of an “either-or” choice. The latest example of this is being played out in Asia right now. China has threatened to take Japan before the WTO for banning imports of Chinese spinach found to contain 180 times the permitted level of pesticides. China says this is unfair trade and could theoretically find a sympathetic ear before the WTO.
Beautiful Space
It’s amazing that this is real.
“A nearly perfect ring of hot, blue stars pinwheels about the yellow nucleus of an unusual galaxy known as Hoag’s Object. This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures a face-on view of the galaxy’s ring of stars, revealing more detail than any existing photo of this object.”
More at the NASA Hubble website
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
Bad Hair Night
I had a dream last night of a hair cut gone bad. Somehow, I ended up with longer hair than when I started, and was a dead ringer for Dale Bozzio. I think it must be anxiety about going back to a salon here, where prices are high and communication is difficult. My last cut was decent, though, and on the bright side the scalp massage went on forever.
Modern Wheels
My faithful granny bike (given to me by the outgoing teacher) has been relegated to shopping duty only. I bought a used mountain bike this past week from a friend who is leaving the country. The frame is a bit small for me, but I can live with it. The bike was a bargain at ¥10,000 (about $85). This is my first bike with suspension. After all the bouncing and shaking on the old bucket of bolts, I now feel like I’m riding on air.