Kou Aidou's Journal
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| Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | | 12:41 am |
| | Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | | 10:28 am |
I don't think I've done a lot of posting about my baby nephew, Jamie (now closing in on nine months old), but sometimes a picture just needs to be shared.  | | Saturday, October 31st, 2009 | | 7:10 pm |
| | 10:26 am |
Best video
I shared this on Facebook (originally from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ashuraoh), and IRC ad nauseum, but I want to share it here too, because I find it a deeply moving piece of art. (Also, catchy as hell.) I really do love astronomy. | | Sunday, October 18th, 2009 | | 8:17 am |
A thing that's irritating me
Please forgive the run-on sentence to follow. Why does it seem like every movie written for women -- particularly those featuring an otherwise strong career women as a heroine -- regardless of how well it passes the Bechdel test or how much it otherwise focuses on female relationships -- why, why, why does it always have to feature some studly Mr. Studmuffin who comes into our heroine's life, is mistaken for a jerk at first but then coerces her into a date through the power of persistence and charm, at which point he reveals a sudden sensitive side, leading our stress- and anxiety-ridden heroine to immediately jump his bones on the first date? Seriously, who the fuck expects life to work like this? Who the fuck even wants it as a fantasy? Who the fuck wants some personality-free blob whose sole purpose in life is to come off as overconfident douchebag before revealing his sensitive backstory? Ugh. (And you know what other movie doesn't fully relate to this formula but can totally go to hell? Enchanted. Seriously, fuck that movie.) | | Monday, September 28th, 2009 | | 4:33 am |
The most amazing thing that ever existed...
... is thisHow can I describe what this is? I think Ben put it best: "This post-apocalyptic buddy adventure starring Jon Stewart, Barack Obama, and their god-dragon from another dimension is a labor of love"This is an absolutely 100% accurate description of what this comic is. Seriously, just... look at this thing, and tell me I'm not hallucinating. | | Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | | 2:07 am |
Cute song (with translation)
It's been a while since I posted a song translation, and really, it's been a while since I did one. But today I was listening to my Yoshida Takuro album and decided I absolutely needed to translate one song off of it, because it's so adorable. (Yoshida Takuro is a famous Japanese folk singer, clearly influenced by Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and a big influence on my favorite band The Alfee. They actually did this insane tongue-in-cheek 10-minute long tribute song to him this one time. Which is how I found him. Anyway, he's rad, and you should know him too.) Ringo (Apple), by Yoshida Takuro Translation, by me (don't steal. As if you'd want to.) Alicia was telling me today that I should open up some kind of blog for song translations. I'll leave that up to you, internets. What say ye? | | Monday, September 21st, 2009 | | 9:10 pm |
Dear Keith Olbermann,
I know you hate Sarah Palin. I do too! I wish she would disappear forever an' stuff. However, that doesn't excuse telling ridiculous lies about other countries in order to try to make her look bad. Making a speech in Hong Kong does not equate "making a speech to Communists". Hong Kong is not China; they are not even remotely communist. They are, in fact, ridiculously capitalist. They have an autonomous government system designed by the British and they have their own unique cultural identity and values. So, you know, making fun of Sarah Palin: cool! But try not to fall into the same outright lying scare tactics that you constantly decry on the other side, mkay? | | Thursday, September 17th, 2009 | | 3:28 pm |
Fired up! Ready to go!
Had a great time at the Obama rally in College Park today. I'm going to try to do some volunteering to get the word out about the Public Option and let the politicians know that we're not all afraid of it. This month, Obama supporters are participating in something called Health Reform Phone booth, passing out information sheets about health care reform and information for people to contact their congresspeople. If you are feeling bitter about the health care debate and want to do something to make meaningful change, this is something you can participate in for just an hour or a half hour, likely close to home or work. This is the kind of activity that can make a real change in a debate like this, and even just meeting like-minded people can be therapeutic if you're feeling depressed about the state of the nation. Please check out the site and volunteer! | | Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 | | 5:12 pm |
| | Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 | | 12:17 pm |
| | Sunday, September 6th, 2009 | | 7:10 am |
Goodbye, Kameari
Pulled an all-nighter packing and cleaning... it was a lot more work than I expected, but there was really only so much I could do before the final day. Everything fits just exactly into the luggage I have, so I'm glad I didn't do that last-minute souvenir-buying binge that I had planned on. Now I'm waiting for the takkyubin people to come by ("sometime between 8:00 and noon") and then the Sakura House people will come and check me out at noon. It's been exactly a year since I came to Japan. The day I came it was dark and raining. Today it's clear, it's a beautiful morning. I don't leave until tomorrow but today is my last day in Sakura House Kameari II. Tonight I'm staying at a hotel near the airport, and I'll probably spend the entirety of it sleeping. The Watanabes and Hada-san aren't in today because it's Sunday. We had a final dinner on Wednesday and I said my final goodbye to Hada-san yesterday. I start crying every time I think about it. My heart is always touched by the wonderfully kind people I meet in this world, and they were some of the kindest I've ever met. The year didn't go quite as I thought, but the best things in life never do. I spent almost no time in the usual touristy areas, Shinjuku and Shibuya and the like, except for paying rent and occasionally touristing. Honestly, they'll never shine quite so brightly in my mind ever again. The Shitamachi is Tokyo to me now. There's something strange about leaving a place at the exact same time of year as you arrived, like rejoining the race in its second lap. I wonder if it will feel like I've ever been away. Except there is one thing, which is that when I first left, I didn't really have a direction, only "Japan, and then, somewhere." I'll have that now. And a nephew, too. And cats. | | Monday, August 31st, 2009 | | 7:24 pm |
Lassiter-centric episodes of Psych are the best episodes of Psych. One week left in Japan... so sad. Still lots of packing/shipping to do. Steroid cream on fingers is helping with the eczema, but makes typing hard. Hurricane outside, sleep soon. | | Thursday, August 20th, 2009 | | 8:23 pm |
Tim Gunn + The Daily Show = Pure Joy, Basically. | | Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 | | 4:56 pm |
| | Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 | | 5:28 am |
Shoze, a meme
From davidandxanderAsk me for five favorites, and I will either give you five favorites or give you a long, drawn-out explanation for why I can't choose! [That's a category of five favorites, not five random favorites... ... ...it's just... I... I was confused by the wording, and...] | | Friday, July 24th, 2009 | | 9:08 pm |
Random Duck Comics Question
So when I was little I very much liked reading Donald Duck/Scrooge McDuck comics. Recently a friend of mine stumbled on an online archive of all the Carl Barks/Don Rosa comics ever written, and I finished (re)reading them all a few days ago. However there are three comics that I clearly remember from my childhood that were unaccounted for: - A Scrooge McDuck comic where Scrooge and the nephews have to transport a large amount of money to Mongolia, and have to keep changing the coins for the local currency along the way; there's a scene where they change them to triangle coins with sharp edges that rip through the bags, and a scene where they change them to yak hides in Inner Mongolia. (I remember this comic because I later learned that "Inner Mongolia" and "Outer Mongolia) were actual countries and this fascinated me.) - A Donald Duck comic where Donald is working in a research laboratory and trying to create a great invention. One of his misadventures is trying to create a fancy bath salt and ends up creating gunpowder. In the climax he has to produce something awesome for a group of client and so he just tosses everything he can into a machine, and out comes a doughy-like mixture that's as strong as steel and soft like a pillow and all-around the perfect invention -- but he didn't write down his procedure so he can't duplicate it for the delighted clients. - A Scrooge McDuck comic where Scrooge faces down with a "great Philanthropist" who dresses like Uncle Pennybags. I don't remember much about this comic otherwise except a few lines of dialogue; Scrooge and the Philanthropist are arguing so hard they wander out onto a construction beam hanging precariously over the city. Donald mentions that their conflict is escalating, one of the nephews says "Do you think they'll come to blows?" and Donald responds "no-- they'll do it by bragging!" (I think I remember this dialogue because at the time I had no idea what "they'll come to blows" meant.) Anyway these "feel" to me very much like Barks stories so I was surprised that I didn't run into them in the archives, and I can't find them in search either. So I figure they must be the work of a different writer/artist. I know some people on my friends list are fellow closet Duck fans, so can anyone help me out in explaining their origins? Or who at least remembers these stories so I can feel less like I'm crazy? (Yeah I know, I just spent a month reading 750 Disney comics, no hope of that...) | | 6:09 pm |
God I am so tired. After yesterday was pleasantly misty, today, the heavens decided to open for an all-day drenchfest. Of course we're not allowed to be in the hostel between 10 AM and 4 PM, so I had to go out anyway. I did end up seeing a lot of neat stuff, of course, but something about the rain combined with the hardness of the bed I slept on the night before and I am just wiped out. Of course, I saw the giant Buddha and the giant Kannon at Hase Temple. The giant Buddha is one of those things you really have to see; like the Washington monument, the pictures don't do justice to how very large it is. Lots of climbing up and down large mountainsides and taking in spectacular views of the ocean. After taking in a bunch of stuff around Hase, I took the train to Enoshima and climbed up and around the Ryukoji (I think is how you read the name), which had a pretty awesome five-story pagoda. Unfortunately I didn't get a great look at the pagoda since it started pouring by the time I got to it. After that I decided to cross over to the Enoshima island itself, which, let me tell you, is basically The Land Of Love-Starved Cats. I'm not sure why there are so many cats on Enoshima -- I guess maybe there aren't many cars and/or natural predators there so it's safe to keep them and let them out -- but they were so tame and affectionate and adorable. Many ear-scritchies were given out. Most adorable part of the trip was a tie between a cafe attendant rubbing the belly of a black-and-orange calico, and this scene. It's not quite clear from the picture I took, but basically what's happening here, is the lady knelt down to pet the cat, and the cat decided to help himself to the lady's bag, which was resting on top of her knee. He got instantly comfortable there and she needed the rest of her family to help convince the cat to get off when she was ready to go. (And yes, the picture was taken with permission.) Oh and I guess there might have been some history stuff there, too, or something... | | 12:22 am |
Ugh. It's lights-out time at the hostel and I can't sleep. Maybe it's because I'm on one of those board-with-a-futon-over-it-style beds or maybe it's the diarrhea from the (fucking delicious) plate of German food I had earlier. (Yeah that's right, I went to Kamakura and ate German food. You got a problem with that? Fucking awesome German food. Cooked by a large German woman who spoke extremely good English and Japanese. Best tomato soup ever. Best fried potatoes ever. Sausages: also good. But oh man those potatoes...) Anyway it's been a good day. I got into Kamakura late because I forgot I had promised to serve as an English partner to a Japanese girl named Misato in the afternoon. Fortunately Kamakura is only about an hour from Mita campus so it wasn't a big deal. Also fortunately: Misato is totally awesome. She likes classic American movies and medieval English literature. And she bought me a delicious green tea smoothie. Sweet. When I got to Kamakura, it was misty and rain-ish (not actually raining, but in that total "I'm so gonna rain on you, mothafucka, just cross me" mode. Ayashii tenki). Most of the shrines and such were closed but the hostel is only a 3-minute walk to the ocean, so I went down and walked the "boardwalk" for a while, which is where I got the awesome German food. I finished eating just in time to watch the fireworks across the inlet, which totally made up for my missing out on the Katsushika fireworks the other day. Now that I think about it, it's really been a while since I saw the ocean; I missed it a lot, and it was really beautiful in the mist. Anyway, tomorrow is HISTORY AND CULTURE DAY. I'm gonna see so many mutherfuckin' Buddhas. It'll be awesome. Pictures will be took. | | Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 | | 12:53 pm |
Dammit!
I slept through the eclipse! It looks like it's been cloudy all morning, but still... woulda been cool... |
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