Thursday, May 7, 2009
Podcast
Okay, so I managed to embed my podcast onto my blog, but... it isn't very pretty right now. I'll have to tweak that a bit, but for now, you can listen to my first podcasts.:)
Monday, May 4, 2009
And now for something different...
If you haven't read the previous two reads, you may want to do so first before looking into this one, since this is supposed to be the "pick-me-up" after reading over such sad and depressing material.
Anyway, this was performed at the U of A recently during the Fulbright Language Festival Foreign Language Speech contest. The dance that they perform is from a Japanese anime series, and they do a fair job of it. My friend, in the back and to your right, somewhat laments it now that the video has been put up on Youtube though.:)
This next one is one that I found while on Youtube. The costumes... are of a slightly higher quality, and the dancing seems to be spot on.
While this one here is of the actual pop singing group that performs the song.
And... this last one is the song in English.=)
After watching all of these, I can say that it has certainly washed away any negative feelings from the previous two posts.
Anyway, this was performed at the U of A recently during the Fulbright Language Festival Foreign Language Speech contest. The dance that they perform is from a Japanese anime series, and they do a fair job of it. My friend, in the back and to your right, somewhat laments it now that the video has been put up on Youtube though.:)
This next one is one that I found while on Youtube. The costumes... are of a slightly higher quality, and the dancing seems to be spot on.
While this one here is of the actual pop singing group that performs the song.
And... this last one is the song in English.=)
After watching all of these, I can say that it has certainly washed away any negative feelings from the previous two posts.
Two-time atomic bomb survivor
While searching for info regarding the previous post, I came across this article. I found it to be a very interesting read, and it relates quite well to the topic of my first post in regards to the Word of the Day, reconcile.
Here is the link.
Here is the link.
Dilatory
Well, it seems that in my previous post, I spoke too soon. Here's another word of the day post!
Dilatory, something or someone characterized by procrastination or tardiness, or something that tends to or is intended to cause delay.
Well, in Japan, things tend to run fairly smoothly and efficiently. This is most clearly seen with the public transportation system. There are times posted for trains which are followed near precisely for the most part. The times that it does run late though... are due to problems that the trains may run into, such as people jumping off the train platform and directly into the path of the train, i.e.- suicide.
http://www.youmaker.com/
This is an exaggeration, from the movie Suicide Club, a.k.a.- Suicide Circle, but it does get across the idea of train suicides in Japan... without me showing videos that I found of actual train suicides.
From what I've found regarding train suicide statistics... there aren't really any that I could find in English. The majority are statistics regarding overall suicide rates. In general though, there are about 30,000 suicides committed in Japan every year, and this figure tends to rise with increased economic problems. People commit suicide using various methods, including jumping into the path of oncoming trains. A statistic to consider in regards to this is that about 10% of those who attempt this method of suicide actually end up surviving. If they felt that things looked bad before, the change to their physical condition probably exacerbates their depression. Also, I couldn't find an exact figure on this that I would trust, but the train stations also charge the family of the suicide victim with clean up costs. The figures that I found mentioned that it was around 100 million yen, roughly 1 million dollars to pay for these costs, which is what caused me to doubt the veracity of those numbers.
To relate this to dilatory though, when suicides do occur on the tracks, this will obviously delay the otherwise punctual train system of Japan. So whenever notices of the train being delayed pop up, a suicide is most likely the problem behind it.
Searching for this information was quite depressing and disturbing. It made me recall my stay in Japan again, and although I did not ever witness a person taking their life by train, one of my friends there did. He's a student from Korea, and during his first month of study in Japan, he saw a man jump off the train platform and into the path of a train at a local station. He told me that he was quite traumatized by the experience. He was also hit by a car while bicycling over there, but fortunately it was not a fatal accident. Nonetheless, he experienced a couple of situations that I and many others would never want to experience in a foreign country, much less our own.
In the case of this post, I believe that the less visual material I put up, the better.=) I would certainly feel better anyway.
Dilatory, something or someone characterized by procrastination or tardiness, or something that tends to or is intended to cause delay.
Well, in Japan, things tend to run fairly smoothly and efficiently. This is most clearly seen with the public transportation system. There are times posted for trains which are followed near precisely for the most part. The times that it does run late though... are due to problems that the trains may run into, such as people jumping off the train platform and directly into the path of the train, i.e.- suicide.
http://www.youmaker.com/
This is an exaggeration, from the movie Suicide Club, a.k.a.- Suicide Circle, but it does get across the idea of train suicides in Japan... without me showing videos that I found of actual train suicides.
From what I've found regarding train suicide statistics... there aren't really any that I could find in English. The majority are statistics regarding overall suicide rates. In general though, there are about 30,000 suicides committed in Japan every year, and this figure tends to rise with increased economic problems. People commit suicide using various methods, including jumping into the path of oncoming trains. A statistic to consider in regards to this is that about 10% of those who attempt this method of suicide actually end up surviving. If they felt that things looked bad before, the change to their physical condition probably exacerbates their depression. Also, I couldn't find an exact figure on this that I would trust, but the train stations also charge the family of the suicide victim with clean up costs. The figures that I found mentioned that it was around 100 million yen, roughly 1 million dollars to pay for these costs, which is what caused me to doubt the veracity of those numbers.
To relate this to dilatory though, when suicides do occur on the tracks, this will obviously delay the otherwise punctual train system of Japan. So whenever notices of the train being delayed pop up, a suicide is most likely the problem behind it.
Searching for this information was quite depressing and disturbing. It made me recall my stay in Japan again, and although I did not ever witness a person taking their life by train, one of my friends there did. He's a student from Korea, and during his first month of study in Japan, he saw a man jump off the train platform and into the path of a train at a local station. He told me that he was quite traumatized by the experience. He was also hit by a car while bicycling over there, but fortunately it was not a fatal accident. Nonetheless, he experienced a couple of situations that I and many others would never want to experience in a foreign country, much less our own.
In the case of this post, I believe that the less visual material I put up, the better.=) I would certainly feel better anyway.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Biannual
Well, it seems like this will be the last entry in regards to "Word of the day". With my thesis having been successfully defended early last week, this is just another indicator that the semester is coming to a close, and, as is the case for some of us, signaling the completion of our respective degrees.
Anyway, biannual- occurs twice a year or once every two years. This was somewhat of a difficult word to work with, but with the help of Google, 'Japan', and 'biannual', I was able to find something interesting to write about.:)
In Japan, there is a biannual competition known as Robo-One. It started in 2002 and has been held twice a year since then. In this competition, competitors build humanoid robots and then battle it out for an equivalent of $10,000 cash prize for 1st place, $2,000 for 2nd, and $1,000 for 3rd.
Here are some pictures of the event:
Now, this may seem somewhat less-than-stellar in writing, and maybe even less so with pictures, but with video... it. is. amazing!!!
In this next video, it's of King Kaiser, robot of the Maru Family, and it has reigned as the champion for a few years.
There are some videos of Naoki Maru demonstrating the the "master/slave" control for his robot, King Kaiser, but I could only find those videos on another site, and they can't be re-embedded here. The site is here though, if you would like to see the motion control that is used by the family to control their robot
Although, I remember vaguely hearing about this competition some time ago, I never really looked into it. Now that I have, it has piqued my interest immensely. Perhaps the next time I go to Japan, I'll have to time it so that I can view this awesome tournament.
Here is an additional link to a video of a "female" robot that can walk, speak, and mimic facial expressions:
Female robot
And here is a link to an article describing a robot that learns like a child and mimics infant learning:
Child robot
Anyway, biannual- occurs twice a year or once every two years. This was somewhat of a difficult word to work with, but with the help of Google, 'Japan', and 'biannual', I was able to find something interesting to write about.:)
In Japan, there is a biannual competition known as Robo-One. It started in 2002 and has been held twice a year since then. In this competition, competitors build humanoid robots and then battle it out for an equivalent of $10,000 cash prize for 1st place, $2,000 for 2nd, and $1,000 for 3rd.
Here are some pictures of the event:
Now, this may seem somewhat less-than-stellar in writing, and maybe even less so with pictures, but with video... it. is. amazing!!!
In this next video, it's of King Kaiser, robot of the Maru Family, and it has reigned as the champion for a few years.
There are some videos of Naoki Maru demonstrating the the "master/slave" control for his robot, King Kaiser, but I could only find those videos on another site, and they can't be re-embedded here. The site is here though, if you would like to see the motion control that is used by the family to control their robot
Although, I remember vaguely hearing about this competition some time ago, I never really looked into it. Now that I have, it has piqued my interest immensely. Perhaps the next time I go to Japan, I'll have to time it so that I can view this awesome tournament.
Here is an additional link to a video of a "female" robot that can walk, speak, and mimic facial expressions:
Female robot
And here is a link to an article describing a robot that learns like a child and mimics infant learning:
Child robot
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Diaphanous
Delicate of form, translucent, vague or insubstantial. Those terms make up the meaning behind the word diaphanous. It took a bit of thought, but then something came to mind that can cover all of those meanings: Ghosts.
Yes, whether you believe in them or not, you've most likely heard ghost stories, either legends or encounters that friends or family claimed to have had... maybe even you yourself have experienced something metaphysical or paranormal. Most of the stories that we have heard, and most of what we know of ghosts, have been from a Western or American point of view, ranging from the calm and silent spirits haunting century-old homes to the Native American stories of ghosts coming and whisking away campers in the middle of the night... All of these stories have a distinctly American flair to them.
Just as America has its own ghost stories populated by phantasms and poltergeists, Japan has its own distinct and unique take on the ghostly and the paranormal.
Although I don't have too much knowledge about this area of Japanese lore, I will offer what I do know first, before going onto Wikipedia info. Japanese ghosts look human for the most part and typically wear the garb that they had on at the time of death or their funeral garments. If you've seen the Ring or similar takes on Japanese films, you probably have a good idea of how they appear. Long, dark, disheveled hair; light clothing; pale skin. That is the stereotypical Japanese ghost.
Actually, during my stay in Japan, a female Korean exchange student, who was also staying in the same dormitory, mistook me for a ghost one morning. This happened because I had just gotten up, I was in a white beater and light pajama pants, and I decided to head to the kitchen area upstairs to make something to eat. So I slipped into my soft and fuzzy slippers and made my way there without a sound. As I approached, I heard someone in the kitchen so I prepared myself to greet them. There is a large mirror in the kitchen in which someone can easily look into and see anyone who may be approaching , so as I entered the kitchen I assumed that she had seen me, but she was busy preparing her food at the counter with the mirror right in front of her, so I went by to the sink and counter on the opposite side of the room to prepare my own meal. Before doing so though, I turned around to her and said, "Ohayou... (Good morning...)," in a rather low and monotone voice. Upon hearing this, she looked up at the mirror, saw my disheveled hair and pale form, turned around in shock and screamed while crouching into a fetal position on the floor. While this was all occurring, I was a horrible person and was laughing at her reaction.=) After the initial shock and scream of terror, she fortunately started to laugh as well. Of course, I apologized. :)
I suppose this can be taken as an example of the similarity of Eastern ghosts and spirits. Long dark hair and white or light clothing, and suddenly appearing without a noise being made.
To get a few more details, I gathered some information from Wikipedia.com. Other common traits of Japanese ghosts are that they have no legs or feet, hence moving around silently. Also, their hands are constantly in a limp position. You can imagine a rabbit or dog's stance when they stand up, and you'll get an idea of how the ghost arms are positioned. Japanese ghosts also tend to have will-o-wisps, little balls of flame, floating around their forms.
The different types of ghosts fit into the same categories as some American ghosts:
Onryou are ghosts who return for vengeance upon those who wronged them.
Ubume are ghosts who died during childbirth, and they return to watch over their children.
Goryou are ghosts who belonged to the artistocratic class, and it's also mentioned that they were people who were usually martyred.
Funayurei are ghosts of those who died or vanished at sea.
Zashiki-warashi are the ghosts of children and are usually seen as being mischievous.
Warrior ghosts are ghosts of those who fell in battle.
Last, are the Seducer ghosts who return to carry out a love affair with a living person.
In regards to haunted areas... there was only one place that I heard about while there, and it's quite famous apparently. At the base of Mt. Fuji lies a deep and vast forest known as Aokigahara. Within this forest, hundreds of people have committed suicide there. With so many deaths being noted there, and hikers regularly stumbling upon the remains of those who have committed suicide, it makes sense that it would be considered a haunted area. It is of note that suicide rates are rather high in Japan, and one way that a lot of those suicide victims go about doing that is by hurling theirself off of the train station platforms when a train comes by, thus being killed by the impact or... being killed on the tracks. Both are rather morbid and horrid thoughts in my opinion.
I spent hours looking for videos that showed Japanese ghosts, and I managed to find some. I also found some American videos in order to better contrast the differences between the ghosts of one country from the other. Only the first video is subtitled. Of importance in the second video though is that they mention the dresser being very old and passed down through generations.
I personally don't believe in ghosts, but I was quite superstitious as a kid and I do still find ghost stories and evidence of the supernatural to be interesting material. It still causes shivers to run up my spine and the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end, all while taking the occasional glance behind myself.
To finish things off, while in Japan, a friend offered to take me to explore an abandoned hospital that is supposedly haunted. At first, I eagerly agreed to it, but after talking about it and the thought of a possible "curse" afflicting the place so as to cause it to be abandoned in the first place, I wisely backed out of that experience. Sometimes it's better to just let some things lie rather than disturb them...
Yes, whether you believe in them or not, you've most likely heard ghost stories, either legends or encounters that friends or family claimed to have had... maybe even you yourself have experienced something metaphysical or paranormal. Most of the stories that we have heard, and most of what we know of ghosts, have been from a Western or American point of view, ranging from the calm and silent spirits haunting century-old homes to the Native American stories of ghosts coming and whisking away campers in the middle of the night... All of these stories have a distinctly American flair to them.
Just as America has its own ghost stories populated by phantasms and poltergeists, Japan has its own distinct and unique take on the ghostly and the paranormal.
Although I don't have too much knowledge about this area of Japanese lore, I will offer what I do know first, before going onto Wikipedia info. Japanese ghosts look human for the most part and typically wear the garb that they had on at the time of death or their funeral garments. If you've seen the Ring or similar takes on Japanese films, you probably have a good idea of how they appear. Long, dark, disheveled hair; light clothing; pale skin. That is the stereotypical Japanese ghost.
Actually, during my stay in Japan, a female Korean exchange student, who was also staying in the same dormitory, mistook me for a ghost one morning. This happened because I had just gotten up, I was in a white beater and light pajama pants, and I decided to head to the kitchen area upstairs to make something to eat. So I slipped into my soft and fuzzy slippers and made my way there without a sound. As I approached, I heard someone in the kitchen so I prepared myself to greet them. There is a large mirror in the kitchen in which someone can easily look into and see anyone who may be approaching , so as I entered the kitchen I assumed that she had seen me, but she was busy preparing her food at the counter with the mirror right in front of her, so I went by to the sink and counter on the opposite side of the room to prepare my own meal. Before doing so though, I turned around to her and said, "Ohayou... (Good morning...)," in a rather low and monotone voice. Upon hearing this, she looked up at the mirror, saw my disheveled hair and pale form, turned around in shock and screamed while crouching into a fetal position on the floor. While this was all occurring, I was a horrible person and was laughing at her reaction.=) After the initial shock and scream of terror, she fortunately started to laugh as well. Of course, I apologized. :)
I suppose this can be taken as an example of the similarity of Eastern ghosts and spirits. Long dark hair and white or light clothing, and suddenly appearing without a noise being made.
To get a few more details, I gathered some information from Wikipedia.com. Other common traits of Japanese ghosts are that they have no legs or feet, hence moving around silently. Also, their hands are constantly in a limp position. You can imagine a rabbit or dog's stance when they stand up, and you'll get an idea of how the ghost arms are positioned. Japanese ghosts also tend to have will-o-wisps, little balls of flame, floating around their forms.
The different types of ghosts fit into the same categories as some American ghosts:
Onryou are ghosts who return for vengeance upon those who wronged them.
Ubume are ghosts who died during childbirth, and they return to watch over their children.
Goryou are ghosts who belonged to the artistocratic class, and it's also mentioned that they were people who were usually martyred.
Funayurei are ghosts of those who died or vanished at sea.
Zashiki-warashi are the ghosts of children and are usually seen as being mischievous.
Warrior ghosts are ghosts of those who fell in battle.
Last, are the Seducer ghosts who return to carry out a love affair with a living person.
In regards to haunted areas... there was only one place that I heard about while there, and it's quite famous apparently. At the base of Mt. Fuji lies a deep and vast forest known as Aokigahara. Within this forest, hundreds of people have committed suicide there. With so many deaths being noted there, and hikers regularly stumbling upon the remains of those who have committed suicide, it makes sense that it would be considered a haunted area. It is of note that suicide rates are rather high in Japan, and one way that a lot of those suicide victims go about doing that is by hurling theirself off of the train station platforms when a train comes by, thus being killed by the impact or... being killed on the tracks. Both are rather morbid and horrid thoughts in my opinion.
I spent hours looking for videos that showed Japanese ghosts, and I managed to find some. I also found some American videos in order to better contrast the differences between the ghosts of one country from the other. Only the first video is subtitled. Of importance in the second video though is that they mention the dresser being very old and passed down through generations.
I personally don't believe in ghosts, but I was quite superstitious as a kid and I do still find ghost stories and evidence of the supernatural to be interesting material. It still causes shivers to run up my spine and the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end, all while taking the occasional glance behind myself.
To finish things off, while in Japan, a friend offered to take me to explore an abandoned hospital that is supposedly haunted. At first, I eagerly agreed to it, but after talking about it and the thought of a possible "curse" afflicting the place so as to cause it to be abandoned in the first place, I wisely backed out of that experience. Sometimes it's better to just let some things lie rather than disturb them...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Acedia
Acedia is defined as laziness, slothfulness, religious apathy, and inactivity in the practice of virtue. This word is great because it can provide me with multiple topics that I can speak about, but... I suppose just focusing on one will be adequate.
When speaking about Japan, and either religion or virtue are brought up, some Americans can be quite judgmental and ethno-centric when it comes to various aspects of Japanese culture, such as the general view on sexuality, or even the presumable lack of good manners in Japan.
I'm only going to touch on religion though, since a touch is all I know, but in Japan, Christians number less than 1% of the population. I'm assuming that the statistic is similar for Muslims or Jewish as well. For the most part, Japan's major religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. With small shrines and temples scattered throughout Japan, these are major tourist areas for not only foreigners, but native Japanese as well.
People will go to these shrines to pray for good luck and fortune in whatever field they may be seeking or pursuing, such as love, entrance exams, or jobs. They also sell fortunes, like a horoscope, and charms for various things, such as protection from harm or providing good luck. For me, all of this just seems to be fun stuff to do since it's not something that I'm familiar with or that I've been indoctrinated with, but for some, or rather most, people, they take it very seriously. This can mean maintaining a shrine to ancestors in their home, with the ancestors usually being parents or grandparents, and going to these various shrines to pray for good fortune for not only oneself, but also one's family, friends, company, school, city, prefecture, country, or world. The usual stuff.
Although religion does not seem to be discussed much, it most definitely runs throughout all sectors of Japanese culture, as can be expected. Most contrastingly, some people would consider the Japanese to be immoral or an Atheist nation simply based upon the openness of sex in its various forms, but the Japanese view of sex is based upon aspects of their religion in which sex and fertility are promoted. Actually, from anecdotes that I've read, there were penis festivals throughout Japan up to around the period between the 1950's and 1980's. These festivals were meant to promote fertility, and many couples, or women, who wanted children would go to these festivals to touch or receive wooden penises... replicas people, replicas!... for the most part, I assume. The way giant penis monuments and giant log penises are described in these anecdotal experiences makes it seem like it would've been a very... fun or interesting festival to take part in. Sadly, since Japan has become more Westernized, these festivals have declined in number. Hopefully I'll be able to find an active festival of this type some day... it seems like it would be quite the unique experience. :)
Here are some pics showing off various shrines and different aspects of them:
This type of fountain is usually found in front of shrines and temples. People can wash their hands with it and rinse their mouth out, or drink it. Although it's not recommended that you drink it, it does seem to be potable water since I drank some before I was advised that I probably shouldn't drink it. Anyway, it's meant to cleanse the person before they enter the shrine or temple.
This is a famous giant Buddha statue found in the town of Kamakura. It's a rather traditional town that draws in many tourists who come to see this statue among various other sights in the town.
When speaking about Japan, and either religion or virtue are brought up, some Americans can be quite judgmental and ethno-centric when it comes to various aspects of Japanese culture, such as the general view on sexuality, or even the presumable lack of good manners in Japan.
I'm only going to touch on religion though, since a touch is all I know, but in Japan, Christians number less than 1% of the population. I'm assuming that the statistic is similar for Muslims or Jewish as well. For the most part, Japan's major religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. With small shrines and temples scattered throughout Japan, these are major tourist areas for not only foreigners, but native Japanese as well.
People will go to these shrines to pray for good luck and fortune in whatever field they may be seeking or pursuing, such as love, entrance exams, or jobs. They also sell fortunes, like a horoscope, and charms for various things, such as protection from harm or providing good luck. For me, all of this just seems to be fun stuff to do since it's not something that I'm familiar with or that I've been indoctrinated with, but for some, or rather most, people, they take it very seriously. This can mean maintaining a shrine to ancestors in their home, with the ancestors usually being parents or grandparents, and going to these various shrines to pray for good fortune for not only oneself, but also one's family, friends, company, school, city, prefecture, country, or world. The usual stuff.
Although religion does not seem to be discussed much, it most definitely runs throughout all sectors of Japanese culture, as can be expected. Most contrastingly, some people would consider the Japanese to be immoral or an Atheist nation simply based upon the openness of sex in its various forms, but the Japanese view of sex is based upon aspects of their religion in which sex and fertility are promoted. Actually, from anecdotes that I've read, there were penis festivals throughout Japan up to around the period between the 1950's and 1980's. These festivals were meant to promote fertility, and many couples, or women, who wanted children would go to these festivals to touch or receive wooden penises... replicas people, replicas!... for the most part, I assume. The way giant penis monuments and giant log penises are described in these anecdotal experiences makes it seem like it would've been a very... fun or interesting festival to take part in. Sadly, since Japan has become more Westernized, these festivals have declined in number. Hopefully I'll be able to find an active festival of this type some day... it seems like it would be quite the unique experience. :)
Here are some pics showing off various shrines and different aspects of them:
This type of fountain is usually found in front of shrines and temples. People can wash their hands with it and rinse their mouth out, or drink it. Although it's not recommended that you drink it, it does seem to be potable water since I drank some before I was advised that I probably shouldn't drink it. Anyway, it's meant to cleanse the person before they enter the shrine or temple.
This is a famous giant Buddha statue found in the town of Kamakura. It's a rather traditional town that draws in many tourists who come to see this statue among various other sights in the town.
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