Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

movieguy's past comments

0

movieguyFeb. 20, 2009 - 03:30PM JST

Yes, 37! One of my favorites in Japan. I think she looks pretty good and would love to see her in that bikini "timeon" suggested...

Posted in: Ayako Kawahara to star in adaptation of 'Alice in Wonderland'
0

movieguyFeb. 17, 2009 - 03:21PM JST

Proffessor... Thanks... I had pointed out that JT posted the story headline as Hachioji WARD. They later changed the headline to Tokyo...

Posted in: Man arrested for fatally stabbing sister in Tokyo
0

movieguyFeb. 16, 2009 - 11:41AM JST

Ummm... JT... Isn't Hachioji is a city, isn't it???

Posted in: Man arrested for fatally stabbing sister in Tokyo
0

movieguyFeb. 06, 2009 - 10:47AM JST

He must be an idiot. Didn't he realize the shelf life of a swimmer in terms of marketing longevity is much shorter than a baseball, basketball, soccer or football player???

Even if he goes on to the next Olympics (which he may not participate in) he would have another two years (at most) after that to make the big money through endorsements.

Posted in: USA Swimming suspends Phelps for 3 months; Kellogg drops him
0

movieguyFeb. 05, 2009 - 12:22PM JST

Razor, I agree with you in principle, but I think if people use their real names to post and the posts are true then the comedian is fair game. The two posts that the article uses as examples are slanderous as he has never been convicted for being a murderer. But in Japan they tend to "want to" go after people for opinions too...

Posted in: 18 people to be prosecuted over insulting messages on comedian's blog
0

movieguyFeb. 05, 2009 - 08:59AM JST

Isn't pneumonia a common cause of death for people with HIV/AIDS? She wasn't one to shy away from honesty so IF she had HIV/AIDS, aren't her handlers doing the public a disservice by ommitting that information? This could be a HUGE educational opportunity for the public to be informed about HIV/AIDS. Simple pneumonia at 36 years old sounds bizarre.

Posted in: Ai Iijima died of pneumonia; no foul play, say police
0

movieguyFeb. 05, 2009 - 08:51AM JST

What does "...one of the few international hotel groups..." mean??? I'm making arrangements for a business trip in the U.S. in March and ALL of the hotels I've been checking offer WiFi and wired Internet access for free. Does it mean one of the few international hotel groups IN JAPAN?

Posted in: Shangri-La to offer free Internet access for guests
0

movieguyJan. 20, 2009 - 10:49AM JST

That should have read, "they shouldN'T offer someone..."

And while people can lose their jobs at any time, I think a company should be held responsible for at least the one month of salary just like companies are responsible for one month of salary when they let people go.

Posted in: What do you think about companies that retract job offers to graduates because of the economic downturn?
0

movieguyJan. 20, 2009 - 10:45AM JST

Some pretty good posts, but my thought is though they need to learn to live with disappointment, you're talking about a contract, albeit a verbal one. If a company tells me I have a job and I stop looking I think the company should be liable for a little compensation. They're hired in January/February and then you tell them in March that they don't have a job??? This is Japan, most will be without a job for the entire next year. I doubt if verbal contracts are binding in Japan especially when it comes to companies, but they should offer someone a job if they don't know the economic situation.

Posted in: What do you think about companies that retract job offers to graduates because of the economic downturn?
0

movieguyDec. 04, 2008 - 01:27PM JST

Music in Japan is all lip synched anyway. That's how you can sing for 6.5 hours.

I imagine people in Japan wondered what all the fuss was about with the Milli Vanilli lip synching scandal in the U.S.

Very little "REAL" music in Japan...

Posted in: ‘Julie’ turns on passion during 6 1/2-hour concert at Tokyo Dome
0

movieguyNov. 30, 2008 - 08:54AM JST

I have two Japanese credit cards and I received them almost 13 years ago when Japan was even more xenophobic. I have a Saison Visa Gold (12.9%) and Saison Mastercard (9.9%). I believe those fall around the average APR for credit cards.

I did have a Citibank Visa around the same time and at that time it was at 12.9%. I dropped it when the rate went up.

I was also granted an American Express card in Japan, but canceled it because I was never in a financial situation to pay it back every month at that time.

I was working at one of the ubiquitous "eikaiwa" schools, that's still around. At the time I didn't think I had a snowballs chance in hell of getting one considering my employment at that time, let alone not being Japanese, but hey... I've been granted 4 different credit cards from 3 different companies in Japan back when I was 28 years old so maybe Mr. Blackman was just unlucky.

Posted in: Try to get a credit card in Japan
0

movieguyNov. 26, 2008 - 09:01AM JST

I would rather they improve the video quality before expanding the players.

Posted in: YouTube goes wider, expands video player
0

movieguyNov. 13, 2008 - 03:35PM JST

When I was in my home state I had to serve on a "GRAND JURY." That was interesting, but a huge difference from what most of us imagine. I had to report to the federal court house the first Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday of every month for ONE YEAR. Grand jury was just a rubber stamp for the prosecutor. The prosecutors just presented evidence and in the case of the grand jury we just had to be presented enough evidence that the suspect "could have" committed the crime and then he or she would be turned over for trial.

We had to listen to tons of cases and in some of the cases they would bring in several witnesses.

All interesting but not once did we not indict someone for trial. Like I said, just a rubber stamp.

The pay was $50 a day and we were there most days from 8:30 - 4:00.

Posted in: How would you feel about being called up for jury duty?
0

movieguyNov. 10, 2008 - 02:44PM JST

It will become less unusual, but never to the extent it is in other "free" countries. The simple reason is because companies want to have total control over employees in Japan.

Posted in: Do you think teleworking will gain wider acceptance in Japan?
0

movieguySep. 20, 2008 - 12:10PM JST

I have my students write opinion papers and because our school doesn't allow cell phones the opinion that cell phones should be allowed because it makes them safer WAS very often the chosen topic. I've banned the cell phone issue because they just can't seem to justify the use and I always have these sad stories to tell them as far as a safety device. As seeker1 pointed out, most of the time you're only going to find the phone. I hope they catch this person.

Posted in: Cell phone of murdered boy found in Fukuoka park
0

movieguySep. 03, 2008 - 05:20PM JST

I think Robert Downey Jr. is one of his generation's best actors but why did Japan allow a convicted felon to enter the country? I know the easy answer is money but did they even blink an eye???

Posted in: Robert Downey Jr
0

movieguyAug. 25, 2008 - 06:33PM JST

Good additions, LSteven... I'm really looking forward to Vancouver and London.

What makes me so frustrated about Rogge and the IOC is when they claim that it's sport and politics are not to play a part, but we all know that the Olympics are NOTHING but about politics and business.

Posted in: Rogge says Olympics opened up China
0

movieguyAug. 25, 2008 - 03:43PM JST

MissWorldTravel... What's the problem with competition from other countries??? Let the consumer decide, not business and government...

Posted in: Mobile carriers focus on smart phones
0

movieguyAug. 25, 2008 - 01:36PM JST

No comments yet at 1:30 in the afternoon? Wow... OK. My brief assessment. What could we expect Rogge to say, "We made a bad choice?" Organization wise it was a great Olympics, but what would anyone expect from a regime that does nothing but control it's people?

>"...It is clear that the ability to bring in hundreds of thousands of volunteers in the different sites..."

Does this man really expect us to believe that these people actually had a choice to "volunteer" at the sites? I know many Chinese people and they were all excited that the Olympics would be held in Beijing, but when I asked several of them (educated in Japan, the UK and the US) how officials would get the numbers needed to stage the event they told me that living in a communist country that people would be "instructed" what they would need to do.

It was a great Olympics when it came to organization and athletic performances, but China still did not deserve to have the Olympics.

Posted in: Rogge says Olympics opened up China
0

movieguyAug. 22, 2008 - 09:31PM JST

Why change when the same thing over and over again makes ¥¥¥?

Because then you have Sony, et al and no one will want to continue giving the ¥¥¥. It's long term thinking not short term.

Posted in: Top Japanese cell phone innovator praises iPhone