Scads of Scat

I`ve spent the last day and a half in Nara, Japan`s first ancient capital. Today I saw, oh nothing, just the world`s oldest wooden structure (Horyuji Temple), as well as the world`s biggest all-wood structure (Todaiji Temple, above). There are seven Unesco-designated World Heritage Sites here in Nara alone, and I don`t even know how many Japanese National Treasures. But forget about that: there`s also a few thousand tame deer walking around the temple grounds and parks and gardens. Do a Google image search for `nara` and `deer` and you`ll begin to get an idea. They`re considered sacred messengers of the gods, so nobody molests them. In fact, it`s quite the other way round -- one large male bit my crotch today while I was feeding him. Don`t worry, daijobu desu. Can you picture all the beautiful temples, buddha statuary, sacred primeval forests and graceful deer scattered throughout? Can you imagine what the result of all that is? That`s right: deer shit caught in the treads of your sneakers. I was walking with my guide today (an archeological student) and had just stated how beautiful it was here, when I stepped in a bunch of turdy marbles. Mendokusai! I realize now how the Japanese tradition of removing one`s shoes before entering one`s house must have started.

I'm in Japan at the moment

(adapted from an email I just typed)

...My uncle took me to a sushi-ya called Kyubei tonight for dinner. Oh, nothing, they're just the INVENTORS of the gunkan-maki method of rolling sushi. According to him it's one of the top few sushi restaurants in Tokyo, which would logically make it one of the best in our Solar System, right? After eating there I find that very easy to believe. I've never tasted its equal. The sushi chef gently placed our fish, wasabi, and ginger onto the cedar bar before us; there was no plate on the raised platform. We had toro sashimi that was like pats of butter, negi-toro (two orders, it was so good), anago x2 ways, ebi x2 ways, maguro sashimi with garlic and minced onions inserted into the slices, and uni (sea urchin). It was my first time trying it, and I hesitated for a split second; Like monkfish liver, which I tried once (and only once) at Echigo, I've heard it's an acquired taste. When I put it in my mouth, though, it was like a burst of sunshine and brine in my head. Like my finest dreams of a clean, crisp ocean. It was like a superlative caricature of what delicious sushi should taste like. My uncle related to me that once while he was in Cebu on holiday the boat boy brought live sea urchins up from the ocean floor, cracked them open and served them up raw -- he said the uni at Kyubei tasted even fresher. Apparently Kyubei is so old and respected that the daily fish market at Tsujiki reserves their best stuff for them.

Peace, Propaganda & The Promised Land

"Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics."

"Bush's Fondness for Fundamentalism..."

Dnice just forwarded me a great article about how Bush and his Fundamentalist base are screwing the whole country. Again. Check it out at the Guardian -- here's the link. It was written by Karen Armstrong, an author who I admire greatly (I read her book A History of God last year). I'm tired of being sickened by this country. I want the America of my youth, an America of which I can be proud. Granted, I was only complacent then because I was ignorant of many harsh realities; it should be obvious, however, even to rational Republicans, that things have gotten much worse in the last 6 years.

Bush's policy on stem cell research is hypocritical. He appears to care more for blastocysts consisting of 50-150 cells than for fully-formed American children. Of course he wouldn't say that (though Tony Snow might), but the facts can't be ignored: Our infant mortality rate is "only the 42nd best in the world; the average baby has a better chance of surviving in Havana or Beijing." Bush's fanciful hallucinations of invisible beings ("God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did...") and evangelical inclinations are making a mockery of what this country once stood for as the first secular republic in history.

In my extensive experience, the invisible and the non-existent look very much alike*. I hereby declare myself a Bright.