JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Financial Advisor
- Select Asset Management KK, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥100,000 ~ ¥999,999 Paid Training Commission Based
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- Corporate Business English Trainers
- ACT Systems, Inc.（株式会社アクト・システムズ）, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥269,500 ~ ¥280,000 / Month
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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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papasmurfinjapan
Frungy, Cheers, thanks for the info
Posted in: NPO makes a difference for orphans by providing mentors
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papasmurfinjapan
This is one of the most encouraging stories I have read here in a long time. What is kind of sad though is that it took an expat to do something for these kids.
Slightly off topic, but there is an orphanage and shelter for homeless people connected to the (Catholic) kindergarten my son attends. Thankfully they are well-staffed, but unfortunately chronically underfunded. This year they asked for donations from the parents of kindergarten kids to help give these people a brighter Christmas. The kindergarten has about 180 kids and most are well-off. Most parents take their kids to school in an Audi or Mercedes or Lexus. One mum even takes her kid to school in a Ferrari. So how much did they manage to collect over a 2 month period from the kindergarten mums - 6man. Pretty stingy if you ask me - and that is the problem with much of society - apathy towards others.
Posted in: NPO makes a difference for orphans by providing mentors
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papasmurfinjapan
And the world would be a better place.
Just kidding.. :) Interesting to see the amount of interest an article on turntables is causing.. thanks for the informative posts.
Posted in: DJs' darkest hour: Indestructible eventually meant irrelevant for Technics turntable
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papasmurfinjapan
Actually, I think a more pertinent question is, "Who encourages their young children to believe in Jesus Christ?". After all, Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of His birthday, right?
It's ironic if you teach your kids that Santa is real, but dismiss the whole Jesus story on the grounds that there is no proof of his existence. To me the whole Nativity story is more magical and uplifting than the Santa one, even if it is a "fairy tale".
Moderator: Stay on topic please. The question is about Santa Claus.
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papasmurfinjapan
I'm with smartacus. Where's the fun in being a kid (or parent for that matter) without a bit of fantasy to make the holidays magical?
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papasmurfinjapan
Err, what about Rattle and Hum? A lapse in judgement from the boys? And their last album was mediocre at best. Even tired old B'z are sounding fresher than U2 these days. At least that's what I think, and that's where this whole argument falls apart - It's all about personal preference.
The Beatles managed an album or two a year and their music has somehow withstood the test of time, no?
Posted in: Does J-pop really suck?
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papasmurfinjapan
Oh yes, don't get me wrong, Eminem certainly has talent... he's just not my cup of tea... whatever happened to that other white rapper, Vanilla Ice??
Posted in: Eminem leads Grammy nominations with 10
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papasmurfinjapan
Generally I find them a notch or two above the commercials in my own country.
The summer Kincho commercials are always a laugh. KDDI also used to do good commercials. My favorite was the gay bellboy with his fly open one. Ahh the good old days...
Posted in: What do you think of the quality of TV commercials and billboard ads in Japan? Seen anything you like?
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papasmurfinjapan
Give me radio friendly J-pop any day. I get enough profanity from the tv, I don't need it in my music too.
Posted in: Eminem leads Grammy nominations with 10
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papasmurfinjapan
It will be interesting to see how this car sells. You can get a similar sized Hybrid Honda Fit for half the price.
Posted in: Nissan's Leaf
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papasmurfinjapan
Over the past decade Shiina Ringo (Tokyo Jihen) and the brilliant green have been my favorite J artists. I'd even rate them higher than many, if not most western bands.
Posted in: Does J-pop really suck?
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papasmurfinjapan
Like every genre, be it television, books, or cuisine, some is good, some is bad, depending on your personal tastes.
Smap and Exile suck to my ears, but if millions of Japanese people get their kicks out of listening to that sort of music, then good for them. I don't think their taste in music is misguided, it is merely different to my own.
Now do major Japanese labels care more about the quality of music they produce or how much money they can make off the people they sign up? Of course as a business, their prime concern is about what makes them money - and I guess revenue from CD sales is only a small part of what they can milk from an artist. As a business decision it is probably the right one.
Posted in: Does J-pop really suck?
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papasmurfinjapan
There was an interesting article about this in Time last week. It's probably on time.com somewhere.
Posted in: Do you think marriage will continue to be a core social institution in the future?
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papasmurfinjapan
I disagree. The revenue from this drivel will help feed and educate the kids of the parents who work at Benesse. :) As for the kids who are forced to watch this, I can see where it may slightly help their listening skills, but that's about it.
Posted in: English course for 2-3-yr-olds
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papasmurfinjapan
Maybe now they will have time to go to acting school and brush up on their acting abilities.
I never understood the appeal of the Harry Potter movie franchise... The books were good, but every movie so far with perhaps the exception of the third installment has been a bit of a let-down for me. Slow plot with bad acting, redeemed only by special effects - a bit like Star Wars 1 and 2.
Posted in: Harry Potter stars sad to say goodbye
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papasmurfinjapan
It may be photoshopped, or taken with a filter, or taken with a "scene mode" on his camera, or who knows, but lets give credit where credit is due, it is a nice photo, regardless of whether the colors are realistic or not.
Posted in: Blue Fuji
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papasmurfinjapan
Compared to Sydney... where to begin...
Generally on-time VS 5-20 minutes late
Clean VS Graffiti, slashed seats and bubble gum on the floor.
Safe (gropers aside) VS Fear of getting mugged when traveling late at night.
Quiet and fairly smooth ride VS screeching sounds and bumped around like a roller-coaster.
Audible announcements VS unintelligible garble.
Posted in: How do Japan's subway and rail systems compare with other countries?
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papasmurfinjapan
tkoind2
And I too sir, am losing patience with you... I have not stolen from you. I don't steal from indie bands. I don't appreciate being called a criminal. If you feel so strongly about this issue and want to fix the problem that is affecting you personally, stop wasting your time posting here and do something constructive.
I certainly hope you are 100% honest in all your dealings with your fellow man, or you are nothing more than a hypocrite.
Moderator: All readers calm down and return to the topic please. From here on, posts that do not focus on what is in the story will be removed.
Posted in: After The Beatles, who remains an iTunes holdout?
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papasmurfinjapan
tkoind2,
Good post. Fair enough, you are doing your best do deal with it in your own way. I understand you not wanting people to download your music for free, but I think it is naive to presume that they would all come and buy it from you.
Posted in: After The Beatles, who remains an iTunes holdout?
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papasmurfinjapan
@Zenny11
Sorry, I couldn't find your direct question to me, but I take it your question is Why do YOU think it is NOT illegal to download movies, songs, etc. ?? Correct?
I never said I think it is not illegal. It is. I even said I don't download music from indie bands. What I said in my original post is I don't have a moral problem with downloading something like Elvis because he is dead and already filthy rich. Yes I freely admit I am rationalizing, but that is just the twisted person that I am... I lose no sleep knowing that the Elvis estate didn't get it's 20 cent commission from a greatest hits CD I downloaded. They are doing fine without my contribution. I will gladly pay for a physical CD of a band that I think has worth, though.
Posted in: After The Beatles, who remains an iTunes holdout?