Facebook surprised me this morning with the following announcement.
Does this mean I can customise my Facebook to use Kansai Dialect?
Not really interested in that, but may be funny for a day or so
Death of WiMAX ?
Sprint will kill OFF WiMax in 2015 .
Although I am not surprised, I still think it is too early to bury WiMAX. Obviously it has lost the race to LTE, but I can still see usage models for WiMAX in developing countries and places where LTE is not deployed.
Job offer in html source
Breaking Bad – WWII style
While reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan I was surprised to read references to Shabu and Philopin (Hiropin), which I obviously did not understand.
A quick search found a slightly comical, blog post which helped me understand :
- Chrystal Meth was first synthesised in Japan
- It was widely used by the Japanese Army during the second World War , including by Kamikaze pilots.
- Surplus of production during WWII was sold to the public immediately after the war – WOW
I have so many ideas now for a “Breaking Bad” episode…
Japan Economy – an interesting analysis
Nikkei has an interesting interview on Japan economy with Bill Emmott, former Economist editor.
My take: reform of the Labor Market :
I think the big thing that needs to be done is to have a single labor law that applies to everyone, so to reduce the amount of protection for regular workers to make it easier to fire people, but then have the same protections for the irregular workers, so there should be one law for everyone.
ALS Ice Bucket challenge
There is something bothering about the ALS ice bucket challenge.
ALS is a horrible disease which deserves attention and funding, BUT.
1. Around 5600 Americans are diagnosed with ALS each year
2. ALS is most common among persons over 60
3. It is a terminal illness. We can improve the patients lives (and extend it), but the end is inevitable
ALS should get funding, research. We should care for the patients.
I am concerned about the Internet Meme. The discussion about ALS when we have so many bigger problems. Obesity, Ignorance, Racism, AIDS, Cancer that affect the lives of more people.
ALS will be discussed and forgotten. We will stay ignorant and ill
“My Man” /私の男 The book
As expected, the book was better than the film.
Winner of 2008 Naoki Prize, it has some faults, but definitely more depth than the movie.
The movie and the book differ in the flow of time. While the movie flows from Hana losing her parents and ends with her fiance meeting her father, the book goes back in time.
From the wedding ceremony, back in time to her first date , two murders and eventually Hana as a 9 years old, losing her parents and adoption by Jungo. Each part is told by a different Narrator, including Komachi san, Jungo’s “girlfriend”.
I must admit that the last part was a bit tiring, as I saw the movie and felt it didn’t add enough to the story.
Books are always better!
Tokyo Camera Club – Tatsuo Suzuki
I love his work.
Street photography, black and white, the people he captures, expressions.
http://tokyocameraclub.com/photographers/10_member.php?user=tatsu2006
(Cannot embed photos due to copyright)
“My Man” /私の男
“My Man” (Japanese: 私の男 , watashi no Otoko), won the “Golden George Prize” for best film.
As it happens, I watched the movie last week (before the announcement 😉 ) .
The Good:
The acting, Nikaido Fumi, Asano Tadanobu and Kawai Aoba were great. Was mostly impressed with Kawai Aoba. A relatively small part in the film, but strong impact. Nikaido Fumi played her part very well, childish in parts, seductive in others.
The Not So Good:
Left the cinema feeling disappointed, last part of the film ended too fast and not clear. While spending a lot of time in Hokkaido, The Nature and murder (?) in the snow, Tokyo life were quite short. Could be that the movie follows the book, but it did not feel right.
My take:
1. Going to read the book
2. Although I found Kawai Aoba to be very interesting as an actress , her blog is quite boring
謝罪 – Apology
Japan has some fixation with Apologies.
Although “sorry” is used quite often, an apology , bowing down is respected.
Recent sexual harassment story was followed with an appropriate (?) apology , covered extensively in news reports this morning.
To me it doesn’t look real, especially when he denied all accusations for several days and seen smiling going out from the room.
This reminded me a movie I saw (on a plane) called 謝罪の王様 (”The Apology King”), of an apology expert helping his customers getting away from their mistakes/misdeeds.