Wednesday February 15, 2012

Zen_Builder's past comments

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    Zen_Builder

    Forgot to add his sons are sorta celebrities now in Japan.

    Posted in: Kung Fu Panda

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    Zen_Builder

    As did the Sho Kosugi movies(he never studied taijutsu) talking "Pray for death" and the song "Return to the shadows" here.

    Posted in: Kung Fu Panda

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    Zen_Builder

    BTW, they had a good soundtrack as did "Flashdance", "Footloose", etc which I get was their selling point.

    FYI, the large dude in "No Retreat, No surrender" was Jean Claude Van Dame before he got famous.

    Posted in: Kung Fu Panda

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    Zen_Builder

    Found that the movie relies on a cheesy theme for publicity here(Japan), not sure in the west but I guess the same. Yeah, I am talking about Carl Douglas "Kung Fu Fighting". http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=3wWlxXK54yI&feature=related

    Come on they could have chosen better. Even the opening of the series "Kung Fu" might work better still twists the stomach though. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=gEtKj6keoYU

    As a MA it hurts to see the stereo-types being sold as they are. No way above "The Last Dragon", "No retreat, no surrender", etc and yes I am only naming the western movies.

    Posted in: Kung Fu Panda

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    I am with RR.

    Way more　turned up for the pope, etc. Figures don't mean anything. You know the method of breaking up a riot in germany, etc scream free beer and sausage.

    And again whatever support he can get in europe, ME means zilch for him or anybody else getting elected. Unless you give NON-US citizens the vote.

    Posted in: Obama addresses 200,000 in Berlin with message of unity for world's people

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    Zen_Builder

    I found many japanese like europeans prefer to socialize outside their homes, besides close friends.

    Which is not a problem but might seem strange to people from a culture where they socialize a lot at home.

    Posted in: Tokyo 2nd most expensive city for expats after Moscow

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    Zen_Builder

    I am neither pro-israel and neither pro-palestine. Said that we had PLO bombings in my home-town on Israeli businesses, very large israeli community.

    Said that the Palestinians(ie residents not militants) are on the short end of the stick.

    They can't get to their jobs within Israel, can't get medical aid(ambulances delayed at check-points for hours), can't get stock for their shops, etc.

    In short the average palestinian is at the mercy of the Israel, which don't make me wonder why they lob rockets(only thing they got). Yet Israel retaliates with military incursion, air-strikes, bull-dozing of buildings,　etc.

    IMHO, Israel been playing the victim card too long and gotten too much support both military and financial from overseas countries(none named).

    Yet, Palestine has a population of 1.5 mill and Israel of 6 mill(I think way more israeli live outside the country).

    Just given the facts that Israel has more power(nukes) and backing from overseas I think people are biased towards palestine.

    I don't blame Israel they are trying to survive like the guys in palestine do. Yet they got people from the outside pushing their cause. Which, IMHO, is the same as cuba, whatever.

    No one listens to the guys on the ground.

    Posted in: Israel set to authorize more settlements in Jordan Valley

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    ROT.

    Depends on your contract. If you are locally employed there is a good chance you will get paid the going rate(ie same as a japanese worker). If you get transfered from overseas on a fixed contract usually most of your bills are covered and salary adjusted.

    ronaldk:

    You can find those places in nerima,musashino-shi(where I live), etc. Said that we initially looked into buying a house but when considered price and commuting distance/convenience we settled for an apartment closer(musashino-shi north of mitaka station). We bought from plan. FYI, I lived in Shakuji-Koen and Kichijoji prior to buying current place.

    Same way you can find affordable places along the yamanote-line just forget the big station names, etc.

    But for 30man/month you can get a very decent place/house with garden within easy commuting distance, even within azabu, etc there are many deals to be had.

    Posted in: Tokyo 2nd most expensive city for expats after Moscow

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    Zen_Builder

    Usually don't post on US politic threads.

    But I don't think what he nor any other candidate does outside the US truly matters. They are just a freak show to many.

    So what if he establishes some good relations outside the US, he STILL has not been elected. And many guys changed their tunes after they been elected. So I would say don't count your chickens till they are hatched.

    Yeah, he sounds convincing and caring but the rest of the world will care about what he can do after he is elected. Same with any other elected president.

    But the rest of the world wants results they can agree on, not some empty talk to get elected. And we can see most of the empty rethoric.

    Just my view.

    Posted in: Obama addresses 200,000 in Berlin with message of unity for world's people

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Saitama is a very large prefecture and a large portion of the tokyo work-force commute from there. You also need to look at the tax, etc structures. NOT saying Saitama is worse.

    Examples: Nerima tends to have a good tax-structure for part-time workers and temps, hence why you will find a lot of manga-ka/animators, english teachers, etc living there.

    My own ward has very high taxes(highest in japan) so you will get a lot of high-earners there. Lots of foreigners too.

    Just saying it depends on the ward/prefecture and they people they attract. Chiba till some time ago was cheap, not any longer.

    Just my view.

    Posted in: Man arrested for dragging girlfriend with car in Saitama

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    serindipity.

    Agree it is dead-easy to blow the cash in Tokyo if you are not careful.

    Posted in: Tokyo 2nd most expensive city for expats after Moscow

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Have to agree with Altria & frontnandcentre.

    I live in an apartment that is about the same size as the place my family had in Europe(plus a biig roof-terrace & standard balcony). In total over 100sqm(2 bedrooms and a large living room) and I pay about 12man/month for my loan(rent would be another 2~3man). Never mind the extra luxuries like fancy toilet-seat, Intercom, auto-lock, fully remote controlled bathroom, etc.

    We got all the comforts and conveniences close-by and are about 18 min from Shinjuku and similar from Shibuya. My train commute to my last work took 35 min(no transfer) and I worked close to the TSE.

    Yeah, maybe my place is small for american standard but for a family of 3 and my european standards it is luxurious and sufficient.

    And, YES, London has gone very expensive, actually most european major cities are not that cheap.

    Posted in: Tokyo 2nd most expensive city for expats after Moscow

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    Zen_Builder

    90~110cm means there is a shallow end and a deeper one. Standard feature on the majority of pools in the world.

    Looks like a standard school-pool in Japans primary schools.

    Not sure what happened but I guess she was supposed to train the podium start for the race. i.e. not doing a straight down head-dive as you would take from a jumping board(1m, 3m, etc).

    Posted in: 10-year-old schoolgirl suffers head injury after diving into pool in Yamagata

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Having worked in 3 countries in IT, I have seen very few companies that didn't require a fair level of the local language.　

    I am with tjrandom some time back you could get by without poorer local language knowledge. Today you are expected to speak the local lingo and I think this is true for all countries.

    20~30yrs ago IT was still a fairly specialized field, today they chuck out programers & engineers like anything.

    No longer work in IT now, self-employed in a new line of business. I had a look at the job-market last year and decided that it is　no longer a field I wanted to be in.

    Article Unavailable

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Wow, strong argument.

    I haven't seen it so it don't happen.

    Lots of reports on those systems on japanese telly. They also explain how a square like the one outside shinagawa stations drains the water faster and collects it.

    Like all the small parks in the narrow back-streets of Ikebukuro are actually there for fire-fighting as the roads are too narrow for the fire-engines, each has a water reservoir underneath it.

    Or the parks that double up as emergency evacuation areas, they also got them in addition to "hidden" toilets, etc. I know as we got a few of those in area and they are well-posted with what features, etc they offer.

    Plenty of cases out there and the info is readily available.

    Posted in: Roppongi

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    Zen_Builder

    Actually not all that wasteful. Those under-water reservoirs need to get emptied from time to time as the water gets old and stale.

    Same with the water that Fire-engines carry, in many countries you can ask the fire-brigade to come and fill up your pool using that "old" water.

    The water is collected in case of emergencies. Often large open areas like outside shinagawa station are collection points with the tank underneath the plaza, etc.

    Posted in: Roppongi

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Don't worry about cel-phones. I hardly ever use mine, my wife uses hers more.

    As for cancer worry, it can strike anyone regardless of their life-style, etc. Know that as we have a few cancer-sufferers in my family.

    Posted in: Do you worry about the risk of getting cancer from long-term cell phone use?

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Not sure about exact shark species but could be a lemon shark. They don't grow big and are harmless. Reason why they are often used in exhibits where a diver enters a tank.

    Posted in: Sony Aquarium

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    Personally like Gibhli as they speak to both kids and adults. IMO, there are few western movies that do it, Pixar gets close.

    After watching the previews for "Wall-E" my 7yr old son agrees that it mixes No.5 from "Short Circuit" and "E.T.". Lots of my friends agree too.

    Personally, as a father myself we tend to under-estimate our kids and tend to dumb them down with sponge-bob, etc as it is an image that we want them to be. I.E. dependent on us to tell what they can do/like, etc.

    Yeah, I think school(anywhere) dumbs down our kids and removes their natural curiosity which made us great.

    Ok, personal pet-peeve. HATE "Kung-Fu Panda" as it just shows stereo-types that we spoon-feed to our kids. Not a TRUE representation of China NOR the Martial Arts.

    Posted in: Miyazaki releases first film in four years

  • 0

    Zen_Builder

    ninjaboy.

    Watch "12 Angry Men" than comment again, it is a movie from "1957" produced in the USA. It is FREE now on the net.

    Human nature don't change regardless of race, religion, political orientation, whatever.

    Posted in: How effective do you think the lay jury system will be when it starts in Japan next year?

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