JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
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Azrael
I agree with the above. It's actually a very good idea. If it's not an emergency (determined by a physician, as Voxman suggested), FINE them good. More than 10,000yen would be appropriate; any less than 10,000yen would not work. 10,000yen should be the basic fine, and other fines could apply on top, depending on how puerile the call was - maybe the person had a valid reason to be scared despite it wasn't an emergency, they should either take no fine or the basic fine. After a year the people would -start- getting the message. The money from the fines should go to a fund for emergency room and ambulances equipment, repairs and updates.
Posted in: What is the best way to discourage people from calling ambulances and using hospital outpatient services when they are not in need of urgent treatment?
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Azrael
USB fed devices are like little vampires sucking laptop battery. I got an USB power adapter, it's better. The bag sounds interesting, but like Nessie asked, how fast does it heat up the food?
Posted in: USB-connected hot lunch bag
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Azrael
Sometimes I wonder why Japanese men don't have any developed muscles; it's like people here avoid getting toned. I remember once when I was staying at a dorm for foreign students; I was carrying heavy bags all the way from the supermarket and she told me I should be careful so I wouldn't get bulky muscles in my arms.
She really meant it as helpful advice, too.
Posted in: Tattoo contest
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Azrael
I think the only target of such an article is to shock and to sell. I showed the ad photo to my girl friends (many of whom love Manga) along with a translation of the advertisement at the store in Rakuten, and the best comment was one that said, 'I don't know if I should laugh or weep bitterly' XD.
But really, if some men are so unsatisfied and unhappy with their bodies, getting a trainer bra is WAY cheaper. Sad part is, it's also a part of 13 year old girls clothing. Now that would be even more disturbing.
Posted in: Men's bras getting a lot of support
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Azrael
Perhaps this was fortunate for her. I remember how Japanese Media viciously attacked her image, saying she was "mannish" and "unlike Japanese women," calling her selfish and over-confident, with strong features and a too-toned body. Pure Ijime. She looks fantastic and being confident ads more beauty rather than taking it away. I wish her good luck and yes, I wish she stays confident and makes her future wherever she wants.
Posted in: Life beyond the universe
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Azrael
How can the product be advertised as a "pasta maker" machine and still claim the pasta will be "hand made?" o.o;
Posted in: Pasta maker
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Azrael
Ah, and I forgot to comment their knees are flawless.
Posted in: Akris and Comtesse
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Azrael
It's always amusing to read comments on photos of women here on JT. The girls on the photo are thin alright, but they are as thin or slightly heavier than the average Japanese tarento/actress, with similar non-curvy body shapes. Why the bashing? Maybe it's because they are most likely foreigners?
Posted in: Akris and Comtesse
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Azrael
I really have to put my room in order so I can put up my CHRISTMAS TREE and my NATIVITY on the only free shelf I have. I wish my Christmas tree was natural, but I guess I'll have to find pine-scented candles somewhere. I need to find out the bus route I must take to go to MASS on Christmas Day. I need an ADVENT WREATH (making it myself) and the right candle colors. My mother will send me the prayers and Bible lectures over email.
I refuse to change the names of any of the Christmas season items above. So as far as I am concern, if someone wants to celebrate Christmas well, MERRY CHRISTMAS to them and prosperity.
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Azrael
He spent his childhood in Argentina. It was a surprise during a LOTR interview, he greeted his fans in Spanish and sent a message to the fans of his favorite soccer team from Argentina. His Spanish is very good and yes, his Quenya is, too! ^0^!
Alatriste is not all that new, I bought the DVD in June this year... It's about a veteran soldier who moonlights as a mercenary, his dealings with (rather miserable) courtiers and how he manages to stay true to himself despite the corruption and decay around him (at the time the Spaniard Empire is falling). It's a good movie.
Posted in: Viggo Mortensen takes on Spanish challenge
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Azrael
I don't think reading manga is bad. Most things are good IN MODERATION. However I think reading -only- manga (remember, manga and comics are similar but separate genres, like let's say, sea water and river water) isn't conducive to intellectual growth. SOME manga artists may worry about making their material look documented, but it's that only: the look, not the content. It's all about the artistic effect, not about teaching science, literature or math. Manga is for entertainment; manga is to distract and entertain, to look at the pictures.
Remember that old gag about morons not reading books if the books don't have pictures? Manga is well, a book of pictures. Manga format requires minimum intellectual effort. Stories are interesting yes, but the pictures direct you through it; there is no space for imagination, analysis or abstraction.
Manga itself isn't bad (I am not going to get into the topics of manga; there's REALLY depraved material, but also there's light-hearted and emotional materials as well) but ONLY manga gives a limited version of the world that does not fit reality, nor teaches proper social interaction. Manga is like junk food. It's nice on occasion, but there's a larger need for nutritive food to keep oneself in good health.
Posted in: Is reading manga really so bad?
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Azrael
I do suppose most "LOOKIELOOK AT MEEE" amateur videos will be either removed or restricted. It was about time.
Posted in: YouTube cracks down on 'sexually suggestive' content
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Azrael
I hope the baseball association will provide regulations to protect her from sexual harassment and power abuse against her. After all if there are such problems in offices, where Japanese women have been in the workforce for decades, in this new field she's but a pioneer. I wish her strength of mind and the best of luck!
Posted in: Schoolgirl signs pro baseball contract
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Azrael
NOOOOOOOOOOooOoOoOoooooOoO... No, I don't.
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Azrael
This article is disconcerting. It sounds like a stalking report - what's the exact importance of knowing the PM of Japan bought a scrap of cloth to wipe his eyeglasses and left a manga book at the counter? I guess the 1-man yen note was kind of mandatory (but yes, it's a good idea not to promote credit card use when the country is at recession). Notice how these three items were carefully identified while the title of the books remains anonymous.
I can only guess the reporter is young and eager to inform the public, but cannot discern which things are important to inform yet. Good luck - you'll improve in time.
Posted in: Aso buys books on diplomacy, but no comics
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Azrael
I bought a sewing machine. I simply could not find fitting skirts and pants with my waist/hip ratio. Japanese women have a smaller ratio, making garments too tight at the hips while too big at the waist, not to mention the oddly short length of long sleeves. Another thing: Japanese women are NOT petite. Petite means a back length of 15inches or less. Japanese women have long torso and shorter leg (just check out the long torso needed to wear a kimono). I am lucky I can still find things because I am short (well, here in Japan I am almost tall) and I find shoes within Japanese average sizes. After much despair trying to find fitting brassieres in Japan, I resorted to ask my family to send me some pairs.
I did go to plus size store once... but the 'plus' was a long jump from Japanese L size (a Western Medium to Small) to some quite large garments I just couldn't wear. Which is why I resorted to getting a sewing machine (I'm good at sewing, actually).
The Japanese eat way too much. The amount of carbohydrates and starch in their diet is high, and the portions are also large (if you sum up all the small dishes). Trying to eat all your hosts offer can add several pounds through the first months. Corporate parties, school department gatherings and eating out during research trips (every night at the hotel in the case of university field trips that may last up to two weeks) puts a serious strain on the body metabolism - and yet the social pressure to eat is very high.
All the above I mention only to illustrate a few of the reasons why foreign women could easily fall prey to eating disorders in Japan. Men can also fall prey of the food binges, plus excessive amounts of beer that may develop into an early beer belly. Social gatherings at scholar level or at corporations are MANDATORY. You may only refuse a few after you have established yourself into the group (and after the HATEFUL newbie year, which is HELL in Japan unless you have a thick skin - which I do). I met once a Muslim professor and despite all the "polite" pressure, there was no way on Earth they could coerce him into drinking. I followed his example. Some of my kohai were encouraged and began refusing alcohol after they saw I was doing it (social coercion or peer pressure, whichever name you call it is a social ill in Japan). Slowly, I also learned how to refuse excess of food. Thankfully though, I never resorted to vomiting or starving myself between social gatherings. I am much lighter now, I must say. One curious thing is, even when I felt the bigger lady in the room, I received admiring compliments from friends at the onsen e___e;. The lack of privacy is... a cultural shock.
Unfortunately, eating disorder sufferers find themselves powerless against some of the circumstances described above. I think it's great there is help available now for foreigners as well.
Posted in: OA offers help for people with eating disorders
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Azrael
I shiver in despair at the Miyazakis book adaptations - hey they slaughtered my favorite books without a single gomen-ne. I was ELATED when Ursula K. Le Guin told Miyazaki's son to his face, he had made a delightful movie but it certainly wasn't about her book. I wished Diana Wyne Jones would do something similar. Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle was an assassination attempt my inner child barely survived.
That unfortunate lack of empathy from the Miyazakis aside, I love My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away (especially the part where the dragon child explains he was left a wandering homeless when men canalized shut his river with concrete - so modern Japan, I was so sorry for him). In the light of the river deity's plight, I think the message about the ill effects of doing away with nature for personal benefit and greed, reflected on Chihiro's selfishness which disappears once she must assume a place in the chain, responsibilities over others and care about those she loves instead of whining and demanding all the time, is a useful message for both children and adults. I think it is good that Miyazaki has basically devoted his movies to try to awaken the so-called Japanese old spirit kept by fading traditions such as forest care and family values centered around work and communal effort. Children need to be told and to learn about these things, because they are the future. This is a message that gets drowned in the SAMURAI WAY smoke-screen of right-wingers and politicians. Miyazaki has not only spoken about his concerns - he's done something about them.
Just KEEP THEM AWAY (both Miyazaki and his son) from adapting books to screen.
Ah, and their DVDs are ridiculously expensive in Japan. They are way cheaper overseas (like everything else).
Posted in: Animator Hayao Miyazaki worries about children's future
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Azrael
If he wasn't given what he paid for, why isn't he given a refund? This sounds like highway robbery to me - and the amount is certainly not a trifle.
Posted in: Would-be Japanese space tourist wants $21 million back
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Azrael
In other news on Yahoo I read that the pirates are at odds with Muslim extremists for attacking a "Muslim ship." Things can take an interesting turn in that direction...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081121/wlnm/ussomaliaconflict8
Posted in: Somali pirates build up defenses after making ransom demand for Saudi tanker
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Azrael
It's interesting how people cling to pleasant hallucinogens. I found these two sites, just brushing a Google search:
http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/effects-of-marijuana.htm
Classic: drugs make you happy today, kill your libido tomorrow. Or leave you unable to procreate, which may or may not be natural selection.
http://www.acde.org/common/Marijana.htm
Impaired perception, diminished short memory are terrifying enough.
Yesyes, people will always make their own decisions. My very personal point of view is, pot OBVIOUSLY affects the brain. For me, my brain is my strength: I am a scholar. I would not even REMOTELY risk my best asset, which is my brain. Taking behavior-changing recreational drugs of ANY sort is a big risk. Nobody is certain how the body is going to react, if the drug is a quality product or a cocktail of padding dust - anything could happen, really. THERE IS POSSIBLE BRAIN DAMAGE INVOLVED. There's a lot of other activities pleasant enough and a whole world out there which are perfectly able to blow your mind. Of course, that is just MY opinion. I don't do drugs - I can't afford to lose a single speck of my brain's efficiency.
Posted in: Is smoking pot harmless?