I'm a Beaver.

Good god.. From a mustang, to a thunderbird... to a freakin' beaver. What kind of school mascot is that.
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Nature Galore: Home Sweet Home

> On our way to Izu.
The truth is, I felt more at home in Izu in the past week than I have in Tokyo all year long. So green, so much nature, such clean air, and oh my, the ocean!! The fact that I had no access to any internet technology actually made it that much more enjoyable.

The so-called "Extended Campus Trip" for the 7th grade used to take place on Miyake Island, one of the smaller islands of the Izu group, directly south of Honshu. My class went to Miyake and I've always remembered to be good times. Unfortunately, its active volcano blew up in 2000, so the 7th grade trip had to be relocated. It was relocated to the tip of the Izu peninsula, in our neighboring Shizuoka prefecture. The week was almost like being back in Vancouver.

So we started on our 4-hour drive to Izu...> A great view of Mount Fuji.

> The allegedly famous spiral bridge.

> Roll those windows down, it's the ocean!!

We arrived on the Yumigahama coast four hours later, welcomed by wonderfully hot weather. Our afternoon activities began - I was assigned to snorkeling. Unfortunately, I dropped my disposable 300 yen camera in the water on my second day while kayaking (more later), so I have no photos of me in the stupid wetsuit and gianormous snorkels.
> The great view from my cabin balcony.

> L to R: Chris Olson and Ben Seevers ('04?) The rest of the 'young' crowd consisted of Laura, John, and Josh. We had too much fun.

Throughout the week, we were all assigned to different activities, through which the 60 kids were rotated through. We snorkeled, recorded tide pool organisms, pressed algae, collected shells, ate stupidly juicy hamburgers, hiked, kayaked, swam with dolphins, and got the low-down on 7th grade gossip. The aforementioned 'young' crowd couldn't believe we were getting paid for this.
> Clear water on a sandy beach collecting shells and algae. Could I really ask for anything more?

> On our third night, we built sand castles in the dark. Our group buried Jeremy and made him into a mermaid. This is us trying to get him out. He was eventually dug out.

> At the aquarium. On our fourth day, I went and swam with dolphins with the kids. Some freaked out but most loved the experience. To me this was waaaay too cool. I took some underwater photos as well - to be uploaded later.

> There were about 7 bottle-nosed dolphins that swam with us.

> The 'Trust' Hike: blindfolded and hiking kids. I was responsible for keeping them from falling off the trail. Come to think of it, what a liability.

> The view from the top, at the end of the hike. Yes, I couldn't get enough of the blue ocean!

> Yumigahama beach, the hangout spot.

> The campfire on the beach on the last night. I had my first smores. Needless to say, the kids did not sleep very early this night.

All in all, it was a great week. I even got a tan, apparently. And I wasn't even eaten up by mosquitoes, which is surprising. These final weeks of school will either fly by, or drone on because I'm back stuck in a windowless room. Come summer, come!!
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The best find all month!

Mallet part to Colas Breugnon Overture. Hidden in the depths of the school's music library! Hells ya.
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Unsettling realities

My to-be graduate school hosts a discussion board for incoming students of the department of government. A recent discussion began about whether Turkey should be included into the EU, and somehow it digressed into a discussion about terrorism. Having just finished teaching a course here on terrorism, I posted an opinion that contended that we need to stop looking at terrorism as just merely evil; that in certain circumstances, with certain actors, violence could be legitimate and sometimes that violence comes in the form of what we call 'terrorism'. I didn't say that violence was good - it is not good, but when there are no other means of adjudicating grievances (as some states don't have such an infrastructure) violence comes as a last resort to draw attention to issues the world doesn't know about. It's very rarely successful, and people should be encouraged to pursue other means of expression. But I think these 'other means' have to be made available before we start condemning them. Anyway, there are a lot of things involved, my point was that it wasn't a clear-cut issue, and I realized that it was not an orthodox suggestion.

A few hours later, two guys (well-educated, they are both from California) contended that all terrorists were simply evil and if we don't kill them, they will kill us. I was accused of being swept-up by a moral relativism of the worst kind, and more.

I guess I've always been used to having people around me who were willing to see multiple sides of the argument, to consider different views and perspectives. Now I see that even if you were educated - and I don't see education as a right, but rather as a privilege - s/he may still not have the ability to put themselves in someone else's shoes. This skill, apparently, is also a privilege, and a gift. I just don't know what I should do with it anymore.
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Magical musical theatre.

Tonight, I went to the school's musical. Whenever I see musicals, I get really excited and have an urgent desire to get involved. Of course, whenever I actually get myself involved, I cringe at the amount of work involved and wince when I realize that I've been talking out the lines to myself by the 4th or 5th run, or when every song gets stuck in my head. But when everything comes together, magic happens and I'm totally drawn in. It's cool.

The school's inauguratory musical performance was The Music Man. Unfortunately, this particular show has never been my all-time favorite. The plot is slow. The story is unoriginal. But what made me stay through the show was the barbershop quartet. Hands down, it was the best part of the show. And the kids were all great - it's just that a different show would've pulled off a bigger party in such an awesome facility.

Still. Pretty good. And I miss playing musicals!
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Sounds of Japanese Summer

Today, Tokyo hit a very hot 26 degrees celsius. I attempted in the early afternoon hours to sit on the balcony, under what I thought was a 'warm' sun, to grade the remaining papers. However, once I stepped out onto the balcony, the sun was a little bit more than warm; rather, it was scorching. In that instant I felt the Japanese summer sneaking up. And tonight, what confirmed its imminent arrival was the pitched, constant buzzing of the semi: cicadas.

I couldn't really believe my ears when I first realized that it was, indeed, the resonating buzz of the cicada. After all, it is just becoming May. Amongst friends who actually know what a cicada is, and have not grown up in Japan, these bugs are "annoying as hell" in their loud, almost obnoxious droning that doesn't seem to stop, and also for their gross abundance. However, here in Japan cicadas are, if not well-respected, at least well-perceived and accepted as a crucial part of Japanese summer culture. They stand at par with glass bells (fu-rin) that tinkle to the wind; with fireworks (hanabi); with summer kimonos (yukata); with bright-red goldfish and watermelon; and crowded summer festivals (natsu-matsuri) with their street food vendors. In fact, in the art of haiku poetry, the cicada is an officially designated summer 'season-word'.

Anyone who is aware of what a cicada sounds like and finds it to be annoying would be quick to question why the Japanese adore this summer icon. I don't really know, but I could take a guess. Cicadas live most of their life underground, and it takes an average of 5 to 7 years for a cicada to fully mature. Once matured (some cicadas shed their skins four times before climbing up to the surface), cicadas come up from the ground, and find themselves a tree to latch on to. They shed their final skin after they are amply above ground. After 5 years of developing you'd think they would be there for the entire summer; well, their constant buzzing doesn't cease until the end of September, right? Contrary to what one may think, these bugs only live outside for about a week. So, perhaps it is the energy with which the cicada cries (to find a mate) and the spirit with which it attempts to make the most of its short life, that the Japanese are drawn to.

The sound of cicadas made me realize how quickly the year has gone by; it seems like only days ago when I had arrived in Tokyo, and turned my ears to this sound I had not heard in 4 years. Fall has gone, winter flew by, spring was brief, and now, summer is coming. The year is really ending.
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Rain

Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, soon after I brought all my dried laundry inside, the sky started to darken and the grumbles of thunder were heard. I thought myself lucky - after all, it would've been a shame for my freshly laundered sheets and blankets to be soiled all over again. I grabbed Irving's novel and spread out in the living room. Lightening started to spark.

After a while, I paused my reading. It was quickly getting darker, and I found it hard to read. But instead of getting up to turn on the light, I reached for one of the dining chairs, slid open the screen door, and sat on the veranda. I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt above my head and just sat, watching the black clouds roll themselves across each other.

I hate to be so cliched, but there certainly is something cathartic about sudden, early afternoon thunderstorms. These past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me. Except, the part where the coaster climbed, building up anxiety, continued excessively and was only followed by a short drop that did no justice to the amount of anxiety accumulated. In short, I had started to store a kind of frustrated angst inside my gut, just at the bottom of my lowest ribs, that no amount of sighing or drinking tea could relieve. The sudden, yet determined, act of sitting on the balcony in thundering weather was, thus, like reaching out for that ever-so craved cigarette after months of abstinence: instinctive, yet purposeful.

My love and passion for percussion, I always believed, was due to its liberating ability to express quite precisely the angst, sorrow, tenderness, and umph that I could not express otherwise. Thunder, I found that afternoon, did very much the same thing for me. As I sat trying to curl my toes on to the edge of the plastic seat, I felt every crack and rumble pierce that spot at the bottom of my lowest ribs. I didn't feel that much better, but I felt like I did.

Soon, the first drops of water began to fall, but this was nothing more than a tease. It would be a good 20 minutes later that the seemingly random drops would turn into torrential downpour. When was the last time anyone just sat watching rain fall, instead of hurriedly taking cover from the unwarranted wetness? Well, it had been a while for me, anyway, and so once the rain started to fall, that was actually more interesting to watch than the eruptive sparks of lightening.

Rain doesn't just fall from a cloud, to the ground, especially if there is some wind. It ebbs and flows. That afternoon, the rain fell in front of me as if someone above the clouds were watering his plants with a giant hose, turning from left to right to make sure that all of his plants were getting the moisture they needed. So, for two or three seconds, the scene in front of me was that of downpour, and then it would soften into a misty spray. For a while - as stupid as this may sound- I sat on the balcony, mesmerized by this ebbing and flowing fall of rain, while sparks of lightening struck through the clouds above me. Occasionally, a sudden crack caught my attention, but always I was drawn back to the rain.

I soon realized that the skies were getting lighter and lighter. I wondered if the clouds would break and the sun would come through. But, alas, that would be too perfect for such an imperfect world, an imperfect life, the imperfect existence of my being. The little horizon I could locate through electric wires and poles, across rooftops and between apartment buildings, was turning light-yellowish, and while the rain had begun to subside the grumbling thunder could still be heard from afar, and I thought to myself, Shit, you too? You, too, won't let me indulge in cathartic bliss, won't ease the anxious pain, won't let me free? As I began to interrogate the winds above were carrying the clouds away, as if to say, "That's enough grumbling for you."

So, they were gone. And the rain began to monotonously fall, and its cold indifference was exactly the kind I wanted to escape.
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World's Largest Bookclub?

Ever heard of this fascinating idea?? BookCrossing is a network that facilitates "the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise." All you have to do is grab a book that you deem so good that you want to release it to others, register the book on their website, and then accidentally 'forget' it on a chair in your local cafe. When you've found a book (you can check for locations on their awesome website), you are encouraged to write a journal entry about your finding(s), and the person who registered that book will be notified by e-mail where abouts in the world their ex-book is.

I found out about this via my neighborhood community forum, and was so excited about it I registered right away!
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Places to go in London 2

According to my neighborhood forum...

POGO CAFE - Vegan/Eclectic
76a Clarence Rd Hackney, E5 8HB
Their menus average under £6, rated highly on VegGuide.Org. Delicious soya shakes and smoothies.




INDIAN VEGETARIAN BHELPOORI HOUSE - Indian
92-93 Chapel Market, Islington, N1 9EX
One of the vendors at Chapel Market. For £3.00 I can eat all the Indian curry I want! How rockin' is that.




THE REAL GREEK - Greek
2A Southwark Bridge Rd SE1 9HA.
Up Great Dover Street, past Borough Statio and up Marshalsea Road, up Southward Bridge Road.





CHAPEL STREET - Marketplace
Islington, N1
Apparently this place is host to a wide variety of fresh fruit and veggies! Located north of Aldwych; nearest tube station is Angel.




TAI TIP MEIN - Chinese
6 Elephant&Castle, SE1 6TE
The name of this place literally means "Big Plate of Noodles." It hosts a cheap noodle bar and an all-you-can-eat buffet. For £3.50 - £3.95, you can get a full stomach! Go down Falmouth Road until you hit New Kent Road. Turn right, then turn left at Elephant&Castle.

THE WILLIAM - Vietnamese
16 Harper Road, SE1 6AD
They have pho--this is the key. Turn off Great Dover Street on to Trinity, then down Falmouth Rd. Located on the corner of Falmouth and Harper.




SUCHARD THAI RESTAURANT - Thai
102 Tooley Street, SE1 2TH
Reviews say they're cheap and good. Up Borough High Street towards the Thames, turn right on Tooley Street, go straight. Located on the corner of Bermondsey Street and Tooley.



COFFEE@BERMONDSEY ST. - Coffee shop
163-167 Bermondsey St, SE1 3UW
Free wireless internet, with a funky and relaxed atmosphere. Organic and fair trade goods. Possibly the equivalent to Think! Cafe on W10th in Vancouver. From Great Dover, go up Tower Bridge Rd, and veer off leftwards on Bermonsey St.

BRAZIL BY KILO - Latin American
17 Oxford St, W1D 2DJ
The will serve you rice, beans, veggies, meat, and weigh your grub by the kilo. The current rate is 99p/100g. Located on the corner of Oxford St and Court Rd.


CAFE ROSSI - Cafe
57 Borough High Street, SE1 1NE
Apparently I can find a good meal for under £4. Located up Great Dover and then up Borough High.





SANH HING - Chinese
82 Tower Bridge Rd, SE1 4TP
Another place to grab some cheap Chinese grub for under £4. Down Great Dover towards Tower Bridge Rd, turn left. Located on the right side.



Also:
ASAKUSA - Japanese: 265 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BA. Near Mornington Crescent station.
BAR ITALIA - Dessert/Cafe: 22 Frith St, W1D 4RP. Apparently a bit overpriced but has some of the best desert in town. Their hot chocolate is supposed to be amazing, and it's open all night!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Vegetarian: 31 Neal St, Covent Garden WC2H 9PR. 70s decor, quality cheap veggie food with good service.
WAGAMAMMA - Noodle House: Chain stores, on Wigmore St (behind Selfridges), Bond St, Streatham St (near British Museum), Lexington St (between Piccadilly and Oxford Circuses), Camden Lock, Covent Garden (south of the Market) and Leicester Square (Irving St).
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Happy Birthday!

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Slightly @ unease.

Last night, it was broadcasted in Japan that 1 of the 2 Japanese kidnapped in Paraguay at the beginning of the month was released. This supposedly 'new' group that conducted the kidnapping consists of 20 to 25 people, mostly Paraguayan, some Brazilian and Argentinian, and are in their 20s and 30s. The recent kidnap wasn't their first; most of them sustain criminal records that name burglary and murder as some of their committed crimes. The police in Paraguay have apparently identified some of the members of the suspected group, but have not released their motives for the kidnap, other than their demand of a $750,000 ransom (which started at a measly $300 but hiked up subsequently).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), there have been developments towards kidnapping foreigners for a ransom on some occasions; however the recent kidnap was the first of its kind that has actually affected the Japanese. There is even a wicked case of a Japanese man targeting young Japanese backpackers, inviting them to stay a night with him in a dorm room of a hostel to cut back on lodge costs. When the backpackers are gone on a day trip or while they are taking a shower, this man steals their cash and leaves before the travelers return. What a jackass!

This is slightly worrisome. I am flying to Peru in August, and while it clearly states that touristy areas such as Cusco and Machu Picchu are fairly unaffected by terrorist threats and drug-related criminal activity, visitors should still maintain high alert at all times, and be careful not to leave personal belongings unattended, and avoid traveling in cabs at night, especially if you are alone. I am worried, however, of Al who is traveling through Chile, Bolivia, and to Peru in July. The last thing I need is either of us getting kidnapped in South America. I shall keep an eye out for other 'dangers' relevant to my travels.
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Yummy and healthy soy

Ingredients - Serves 2
1/3 (400g) finely chopped cabbage
1/2 (100g) finely chopped onion
1 firm tofu
1/2 egg
A: 1 Tbsp flour, 1 tsp mayo, 1 tsp miso, salt and pepper
A bit of: watercress, flour, olive oil, soy sauce

Directions
1. Rid water from tofu.
2. In a bowl, mix cabbage and onion, and heat in microwave (500W) for 5 min; drain water.
3. Add egg, tofu, and mixture A, and knead. Divide in half and form into hamburger shape. Sprinkle flour on surface.
4. In a frying pan, spread olive oil, and fry the hamburgers at medium heat. Once the surface is fried, lower the heat and fry for 2 min.
5. Serve on a plate with watercress and some soy sauce.
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Cravings of Vancouver.

Ingredients - Serves 12
320g cake flour
225g white sugar
5g salt
10g lemon zest
20g poppy seeds
300g unsalted butter, softened
5 eggs
150g white sugar
180ml lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Stir together the flour, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds using a wire whisk. In a medium bowl, cream together (WELL!) the butter and 225g of sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then stir in the dry ingredients. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. To make the syrup, combine 150g sugar with the lemon juice in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. When the cake is done, place the pan on a wire rack with a cookie sheet underneath. Prick the top of the cake several times with a toothpick or fork. Brush the top of the cake with the syrup, allowing lots of it to run down the sides and soak into the cake.
5. Allow cake to cool slightly before removing from the pan to the wire rack to cool completely. When completely cooled, wrap the cake if foil or heavy plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 day before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com
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Places to go in London

As recommended by a friend..
1. Little Venice. Walk along the canal towards the London Zoo and into Camden. Check out the boat houses.
2. South Bank. Walk along river from the London Eye, eastwards.
3. Oriel's. A slightly posh French cafe on Sloane.
4. Sausages & Mash. Genuine (?) British food.
5. Electric. Restaurant on Portobello Road with good breakfast food. Check out the cinema with good lounge seats.
6. Goddard's Pie House. Currently under renovation? In Greenwich, right by the station. Apparently it looks like it belongs in Critter Country, Disneyland.

Any other recommendations are always welcome!
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My home from Sept. 2007

Earlier in the week I received an email from LSE informing me of my residence assignment. It feels great to know where I'll be living next year! It is located in the southeastern part of London, and is about a 35 minute walk to the school. Being near London Bridge, there are many buses available nearby, and upon further research I found out that used bikes are around 50 pounds. So I'll be taking the bus on rainy days, and the bike on fairer days.

This is what my bedroom would look like, minus the ugly curtain. The picture only faces the window, but the room includes a mini-fridge, a full closet by the door, and a personal bathroom (toilet, shower, and sink). I would be sharing a kitchen with 2-7 other people. I don't know where I would keep my rice cooker and my dishes, though; I hope there are separate storage places for everyone to keep their food and belongings in the kitchen area.

A step closer to London.
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Homemade gnocchi

Ingredients - Serves 4
250g potatoes
60g flour
0.5 egg
salt
6 asparagus stems
300g shaved parmesiano cheese

Gnocchi:
1. Mash potatoes: boil peeled potatoes until soft and evaporate all water.
2. In bowl, add some salt and egg to potato; mix evenly.
3. Add flour.
4. Knead dough and roll out to 1 cm thickness.
5. Chop into bite-size.
6. Boil gnocchi and chopped asparagus in slightly salted water. Strain water when gnocchi rises to surface.

Sauce:
1. Boil cream in saucepan until half its amount.
2. Add salt.
3. Add gnocchi and asparagus.
4. Throw in shaved parmesiano cheese, mix quickly.

Picture courtesy of A.M. Volpi.
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Life is a moving image.

...life is a moving image, unfolding and changing beyond our control. Despite our desire to freeze a moment or to go back into the past and alter events, time presses us forward.

Thus states in the afterword to The Memory Keeper's Daughter. The book was a grounding one, telling a story of how little control we have over ourselves and the world that we live in. Yet at the same time, this story of life's uncontainable chaos was also a story about the things we do have control over, and all the consequences of our momentous decisions.

Selective moments of the book left me in a restless unease, because Edwards is so emotionally vivid. Essentially she tells the story from the perspectives of all parties involved: their reasons, their feelings, and their logic. Told in this matter, everyone's actions and words made sense in their own ways. Many a times I caught myself thinking, "Oh, but s/he did that because..."

Several characters in the book fear life's unpredictability, and despise those who are so sure of everything because it makes them uncomfortable. Part of me stood in constant empathy with these characters, who expect the worst-case scenario all the time. To them--and to me--life is indeed about the difficulties and agonies rooted in its inconsistencies. Too often we turn a blind eye to all the goodness and beauty that prevail around us, and thus fail to take into account that hardship is but only half of life and never its entirety.

These characters are hence balanced by others who revel in life's perpetually changing nature. Needless to say, these characters were always ones to point out that things need not be so sad and difficult all the time. The relationships between these two types of characters varied. Some played off each other so that both parties grew stronger and gained, in the end, a greater and fuller perspective. Others, on the other hand, only made it difficult for each other. Fearing the worst, a reminder that life can only be only underscored worries, while these endless worries simply drove the other to wonder if there was even a joyous future awaiting them.

I was moved. Reading the book gave me a glimpse of things I knew about but did not acknowledge, like the consequences of dwelling in a single event for a prolonged period of time. This thing we call life is so uncontrollable, inconceivable in its greatness, and filled with unpredictability. One can barely call it organized chaos. But to be stuck in one moment that inevitably passes by means we shut out all that is beautifully changing--the key element that truly keeps us going--and we forget how to move on. Emotions are powerful--in its best moments they are uplifting and make us feel alive; and in its worst moments they are simply blinding. And none of this is probably within anyone's control.

So what do we do? We just keep on truckin', don't we? We try not to get too caught up in the details and try to give various forms of sadness a positive spin, so we can stay sane, at peace, and as content as can be. There just isn't an answer out there to the question, "How should we live life?" I mean, I haven't found any and no one that I know has, either. We just do. And it just keeps going. It changes and moves and we change and move with it, sometimes against it, other times completely separate from it. Vivacious time just pushes us along, in its most merciless, graceful way.

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"Japan is a weird country."

More than once I have heard these words spoken. It is understandable: this country's people are known for their apparent kindness and politeness, as well as their efficiency. Its capital city is a host to buildings soaring high above the clouds, and its culture encompasses everything from ancient Buddhist shrines and gold-tinted pavilions to easily accessible porn sold side-by-side with morning newspapers. This country places on the fringes of society, men and women of all ages who obsess over anime figurines and have thus created a super-subculture of otaku that transcends national boundaries. Some--well, enough--are so caught up in living apart from their real lives, that "Maid Cafes" and alternate economies in the cybersphere (using real currency!) have found a huge market. While the country's infatuation with ethnic homogeneity has been criticized by the international community as being fundamentally racist, paradoxically, it is indeed this homogeneity that has fertilized its rich culture, beckoning flocks of foreigners to its land every year.

Japan is a weird country and there is no denying it. In the eyes of the rest of the world, it is weird in an eccentric way. It is weird, they say, but rich and beautiful and totally unique. They think of geisha girls and extravagant kimonos, the large, red torii gates, the samurai, sushi, endless cuisine, and uber-advanced technology on the one hand, and the Shibuya/Harajuku girls who stand at the forefront of international fashion, on the other. Unfortunately, most do not stop to observe the rotting elements of Japanese society. There is no birth-rate to be spoken of; it simply does not exist (actually, it has improved, but still). Young adults and children are thus seen as the hope of Japan's future, and yet one by one they are disappearing because of brutal bullying (ijime) that take place in schools and end only with the victim's suicide. Its education system is in shambles, with kids learning less and less kanji every year because their parents believe it is "too hard for them." Students who continue on, but fail entrance exams take their lives, believing that no happy future could possibly await them after such a failure.

Japanese society itself is rotting from its very roots; it is sickened and slowly dying. The by-products of this disintegration--horribly unaccounted for, too--are people who know no limits, who believe that their fucked up family and upbringing, or all the familial and societal pressures that they feel, can justify any immoral act.

But all of this is not so apparent to the world beyond Japanese boundaries. Everyone sees that this country has few petty crimes--at least what is noticeable--and therefore conclude it to be safe. In many ways, it is--you can be in the city without being mugged, things you lose in the city will almost always be found without anything being stolen, and you can walk around the city at night and be at ease. Yet, anyone who now lives in Japan will know that Japan is dangerous in a very different manner. As witnesses to extensive cases of murder of the most extreme kinds on a daily basis, one should be encouraged to think twice about what Japan really is.

A 22 year-old British girl was murdered this week in Chiba prefecture. She worked for NOVA, one of many English-conversation schools established in Japan. The man who killed her was a 28 year-old man and he is still on the run. You can read about her story on IHT and BBC. Needless to say, her family and her boyfriend are all devastated.

I cannot but be completely struck by this case. Partially because we are of the same age group, partially because her long-distance with her boyfriend parallels my own, but mostly because so many of my own friends are currently working as English teachers throughout East and South East Asia. "We though Japan was safe, a good society," said her father in last night's press conference. Indeed, Japan's safe environment was certainly something for the nation to be proud of. But, it should no longer be taken for granted. No, yellow fever and hepatitis may not be rampant in this country, and your wallet might not be stolen while you walk in its streets, but you make connections with the wrong people and they will end up killing you. "Wrong people" doesn't necessarily denote people with drug addictions, people involved in drug trafficking, or people involved in gangs or the yakuza. These "wrong people" are barely identifiable as such; they are immersed in their own world and believe that all their actions are justifiable. They are the unaccounted by-products of Japan's recent social disintegration.

I am thoroughly ashamed of this place whose apparent politeness and cultural beauty has masked everything that lies beneath. This place is not much safer than any other place in the world; perhaps it is a lot worse in some ways.

My deepest condolences lie with the family and friends of L. H.
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At the heart of Japan

And it begins!

It wouldn't be an understatement to say that every Japanese citizen looks forward to this moment when all the cherry blossom trees throughout the country begin to bloom in light shades of pink. You can literally feel everyone's energies beginning to rise, as people of all ages stroll through parks and narrow roads just to view the flowers. People are so excited about the bloomings, in fact, that parties will be organized amongst workers of every company, every office, and every establishment. These parties, called ohana-mi (litearlly, "flower-viewing"), take place under blossomed cherry trees--mainly in parks, but the occasional, desperate party might take place on roadside--and are accompanied by exorbitant amounts of food, liquor, and portable karaoke machines. As you can imagine, this is serious party time for the normally workaholic Japanese.

Since many of you reading this will not be able to experience first-hand this wonderful time of year in Japan when everyone turns into a calorie-consumptive, beauty-stricken diva-alcoholic, I've posted below some pictures of cherry trees near my parents' house. Perhaps you too can join the Japanese population and take in this great beauty via cyberspace, and of course, indulge!

>The main dish: the cherry blossom.





For those who are interested in seeing this 'live', check out the Hanami Webcam!
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I want a cat!

>Courtesy of Heart of England Cat Club.

This morning a sudden desire to have a cat came over me. Not just any cat, but the Russian Blue. I met one once, and she was a very calm, chilled, and friendly cat. Typically it has a blue coat and green eyes. Nice.

Maybe I'll get a cat in London.
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