March 29th Money Making Method

What kind of a world do we actually live in? If I was not scared enough after that story about the share holder, I totally freaked out when I heard about the 14 year old girl from Kuwait. Nayirah's fake story actually erupted a war, meaning her fake tears killed so many innocent people.

source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmfVs3WaE9Y

It's funny when you watch the video after hearing that it's fake. It just seems like a girl is reading a paper written by someone else because you could tell that she has trouble reading at times and she pretends to choke up on those parts. The last part where she just 'coincidentally' adds the name Saddam Hussein is just ridiculous and makes the conspiracy theory even more realistic. Buttttt, being the sentimental idiot that I am, if I hadn't known that this girl was lying then I probably would've cried my eyes out and justified the invasion of the US army to Iraq.
This whole propaganda just makes me question the world that we live in.
Every institution cares only about one thing and that is money making. It is ironic to think that money is actually just ink and paper and we, humans are the ones who put a value on it but still, we find ourselves here today, controlled and manipulated by this. CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION; that is essentially what happens when too much money is involved. This reminded me of the state Sierra Leone was in for a while. This country has one of the most abundant resources in the world but most importantly they have diamonds, the richest resource. However, they have (had) the lowest average life span because too many soldiers were killed in the war. The war for diamonds was set up by corporations in the UK and US but they weren't the ones fighting. Those companies gathered up a group of people from Liberia and made them gather another group in Sierra Leone and caused a civil war. It's always funny how the people who are most responsible never really are affiliated with the war directly.
This is all just disappointing. The human greed is way too ugly. I don't know what to believe anymore.

May 28th A War in Outer Space?

Yesterday, we had yet another thought provoking lecture by Rab.
The presidential election in America was brought up a couple of times. Now, since the United States is a huge country with so many different people with different backgrounds living in it, I personally think it is close to impossible to actually achieve a successful 'democracy.' However, I think there are compromises that can be made to get closer to democracy as much as we can and this, America is doing an awful job at. Just like we learned today, Obama became president with less than 50 % of the people's support. I mean, what kind of democratic country would allow that? Oh wait, we're living in one that does.haha Anyways, they should at least, at least have a reelection. Now, since we're on the topic of reelections, I would like to point out one fact that a lot of people do not realize. There are actually more parties in America than just the Democrats and the Republicans. During the last election in 2012, Obama and Romney were the two main contenders. However, what is not brought into the spotlight is that there were actually other people in the run as well; Gary Johnson from the Libertarian party, Jill Stein from the Green party and so on. I personally agreed with Gary Johnson's beliefs and was secretly rooting for him. What disappointed me was that these candidates got close to zero media coverage. Maybe zero is a bit exaggerating but in the Japanese news, it was really close to zero. Because the media is being supported by these 'strong' people from the two main parties, they show very little support for the third parties. At this rate, the dominance of the two parties will probably remain the way it is.

My high school teacher actually showed me the movie 'Corporation' once so this was the second time I watched the scene about the water in Bolivia. The corporations are pretty much putting a price on everything. We have fought for centuries just for a piece of land, resources and people. It won't be long until every little thing on earth will have a price as well as an owner. The question that rises here is,,,what next? Some people say that the next war will be a fight for land in outer space. I agree with this. Humans are curious animals. We always want to know the unknown. 'Space' has always been mysterious to us because we do not know what is out there. That is why, we want it and we want to know more about it. The cold war reflects this so much. The Soviets and the US fought for the first step on the moon which is ridiculous but could have and did change the potential future of both countries forever. The cold war ended without any actual nuclear wars but it may have just been a foreshadow of what is to come in the next few centuries or maybe years.  It really is the survival of the fittest....

Image
http://historyofspacetravel.wordpress.com/apollo-1/

May 27th

Today we were in the Mac room. Yes, winning!haha
Anyways, Rab taught us how to make internet sites. I never thought it could be that simple. However, I must say that decorating the whole site was very confusing. Just like any other gadget Rab has introduced us to, I guess I just need to get used to it.

Our group made our own little page and today, I finally realized what copyright actually meant. I always used to ignore copyrights and post pictures without any permission but that was mainly for the fact that I didn't understand how I could get a picture legally. Today, Joki and Kristi used flickr and checked if there were any copyright infringements every time they liked a photo. I know Rab covered it in class and that I should be well aware of the process but it was different to actually seeing people go through it all right in front of you.

Anyways, I'm excited for tomorrow's lla lecture since Rab's going to be teaching it!

    

May 24th "If you're going to do sth, do sth smart"

 Rab taught us today about how we could use ISP on our macs in order to access sites that are only allowed in certain countries. This will make it efficient for us to download movies, pictures and music (of course for educational purposes only. haha)  However, I am such a wimp when it comes to these things. Although I do watch movies for free on shady sites, I've never actually downloaded them. This is probably just because I don't have enough information on what is legal and to what extent is illegal, so I hope to slowly understand the structure in order to get the most out of it all.

Next about recent events,,,
As written in the title, if we're going to do sth, we've got to do sth smart. We need to remember the fact that we are a minority and that the school board has the power over us.
If I can be honest here for a moment, I actually don't feel comfortable writing everything here. I guess I might be paranoid but I feel like the school board might be reading this blog...so I'm not going to write about my further thoughts. However I would like to repeat the fact that the school definitely is a business before they are a school. I guess that's just the reality of schools in Japan and the aftermath of a capitalist country. This materialistic society is creeping into our educational territory as well.

Evernote was very exciting. What sucks is that I cannot use it on my own macbook. Well technically no I can but it costs over 1000 yen. The thing about mac is that a lot of these amazing tools are already set and put into the price but anything additional is extremely expensive. I had to buy word for about 5000 yen,,,not very student friendly.
Thing is though, I can never hate mac because all of the advantages totally make up for the disappointing facts.  

Chapter 12 'Who Controls the Present, Controls the Past'

Chapter 12 was yet again another eye-opener for us students.

The reality of the process these American textbooks are made is rather frightening than disappointing especially what Loewen wrote here> 'United States has wound up with the largest gap of any country in the world between what historians know and what the rest of us are taught.' (p303) This reminded me very much of the evening News in Japan. They select the most meaningless topics such as which celebrity said what or what colored tie the PM was wearing, when in fact they actually know about the situations in Syria or the controversial riots that occurred that day. How can a report about a dead man be reported in less than 2 minutes when a report about a cheap dessert is 5 minutes. I was told during our orientation here in ICU that the signs of a religious cult is that they don't let you think freely. A similar thing is happening within the Japanese media and high school textbooks. They are not providing us with the chance to think. As Loewen recites, this is what is shielding us from prospering our critical thinking skills. 

 I guess this is done within the selfish and reasonable intentions of the authorities of today because studies show that Americans who graduated from college are less patriotic than those who stopped education at high school. This is primarily because in college, you find out more about the reality; and the reality is that America like other countries has messed up big time in the past. However, those who say they are patriotic about the country without knowing the real deal, are just caught up in a pretend or should I say, unsubstantial patriotism.

The fact that these 'authors' who claim they wrote the textbooks aren't actually the 'authors' is unacceptable because this means that the authors nor the publishers understand the importance of these textbooks and how much responsibility they hold towards making them. Textbooks are not just books. They are a way of fostering the generations of tomorrow. They are absolutely not tools to brainwash those children in order to make today a bit better for themselves.

However, as long as these textbooks remain the way they are today, I guess we students have no choice but to go get the information ourselves...

May 22nd

 It was extremely upsetting for me to hear about the reasons of why we couldn't observe other classes and also about how bureaucracy remains in this school as well. Back in my high school, I had this amazing teacher. She was incredibly intelligent, long experienced and very different. She is one of the few teachers that I can say with pride that changed my life and the world I live in. Anyways, when she became head of the english speaking department, she twisted around a lot of the program and tried to make it more 'different' and up to date. However, because our high school was extremely conservative, she and the other Japanese students had a dispute and finally, she chose to leave the school. The thing is, I thought ICU was different. I honestly thought that I finally found a place where people accepted differences and changes in the midst of this corrupted country. I thought ICU was a place where people accepted each other for themselves wherever they lived in, whatever god they prayed for and whatever colored skin they had, but I guess as long as I am a returnee, I will always be a minority and will always have to face this kind of injustice. I guess I am and should be used to this since I've been dealing with this for quite some time, but it's just even harder to face reality because once again, I thought ICU was different.
 Actually, it's not just us that is being offended. Saying that our presence in other streams' classrooms will intimidate and demotivate students is completely underestimating the other students' capabilities. This is college for christ's sake and not elementary school.

I wonder if this will ever change...
will I be able to do something? will I be able to make a change? I honestly don't know.

May 21st The Wonders of 'Kombini'

 Honestly, at first I was so bummed that Rab wasn't going to teach our LLA lecture today and naturally thought that it was going to be a boring 60 minute class. However, my assumptions were proven wrong when Professor Whitelaw gave a rather intriguing lecture on the Japanese convenience stores.

 I found it interesting how successful convenience stores have been in Japan compared to those in America. Of course there are convenience stores in America as well but as Professor Whitelaw put it, they are dirty and depressing. Apparently, clerks at the convenience store is the 3rd deadliest job right next to taxi drivers and police men. I instantly recalled my days in America when my mother would always tell me to not go to a convenience store alone. It's funny how I was allowed to go to CVS alone though. haha Anyways, as opposed to those dark and shady convenience stores in America, the ones in Japan are clean, comforting, cool and courteous. This reminded me a lot of Disney Land. The Disney Land in America isn't dirty or anything but still, the Disney Land in Tokyo is far more successful. It's one of those successes where the needs of the customers and the supplies that the shops offer just click. This is probably due to the fact that both Japanese convenience stores and disney lands are changing constantly. As Professor Whitelaw explained, the ages of the convenience store customers parallel the population structure of Japan; so the stores change constantly in order to adapt to the situation just like Disney Land with their constant new events.

 The most interesting point brought up was Professor Whitelaw's perspectives on museums. According to Professor Whitelaw, a museum is a place to rethink the contemporary lives. At the same time, there's this one phrase that's been stuck in my head, 'the values of today will be the values that are looked as the past.' This is a bit frightening at first but you can't help but agree. The kombini's in Japan seem so normal but they are actually the culture of today. However, in order for kombini's to become the past, that means there will eventually emerge a new substitute, a better one. I just wonder what the next generation will be using as their culture while we will be looking at pictures of Kombinis at museums whilst claiming to our grandkids that we used to use those. haha

 As a student who is currently taking anthropology, this lecture was thoroughly entertaining and I hope I can go to the Yuasa museum one more time with a different perspective made from the lecture today.

May 10th IMovie and Yuca's Bday

During today's class, we played around with video clips and Rab taught us how to blend them all together to make a video using IMovie. I actually love IMovie. After I got an imac as a present last year, making videos was the only use I found out of my new computer for a while. Anyways, I love making videos and actually hope to make a documentary some day. Apparently there's a class on that next semester so I hope to get used to this video making process before then. I actually thought I knew a lot about IMovies but of course, Rab knows a heck of a lot more so I hope to learn from him as much as I possibly can.

Happy birthday Yuca!

Chapter 10 Down the Memory Hole

 First of all, the first part where Loewen contrasted the African term to how Americans perceive history was extremely interesting.
When someone is dead or some event is in the past, the textbook is the only material that is aware of the event. That gives them the power to change details for their own good without any interference. However, the more contemporary, the less textbooks have much power to change details since the people are alive and there are other people who know of them as well. I've never thought of it this way but I found it all veryvery true. Originally, I thought because the event is so recent, historians don't have much information yet and that that was why textbooks did not include much information. Also, as written in the textbook, my high school teachers always ran out of time every year when we would get closer to the end of the textbook. Obviously the end bit contains more recent information but the classes would be more in such a rush that we would never have the chance to actually give it some thought.

 *One thing
I found it a bit funny and contradictory of how Loewen says he risks using words like truth and lies on p263 when on page 265, Loewen says 'The first sentence accurately summarizes,,,' Doesn't accurately mean the same thing as correct? I don't know but that just caught my eye.

Anyways, Loewen criticizes a certain textbook that said America was 'fighting for democracy and peace.'(267) America certainly does fight for democracy and peace in a way. They advocate their own ways and fight to diminish any country that thinks otherwise. Hence the Vietnam War.
 So I guess they do fight for their own democracy and peace.
 They actually fight for democracy and peace in their own country as well. For instance, it is notorious that the Pledge of Allegiance in America contains the phrase 'One nation under god.' Although America accepts the freedom of religion, it is openly stated that the whole of America is a country under god, under christianity. I remember having to say those words every morning, but what if I were an atheist? Would I have the right to refuse to say those words? Now, allegedly I am allowed to refuse to say those lines but I would probably be subjected to glaring eyes from teachers and students just like some atheist six year olds are going through in the present. [1]
America is not the liberator. They are always the ones claiming to be the liberator when all they want to do is spread their ways around the world. World domination might not just be a joke when it involves that country.

http://11th-hour.info/Articles/Patriotism_and_the_Scriptures.html

[1] http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2011/02/23/when-children-of-atheist-parents-are-forced-to-say-the-pledge/

Chapter 9 SEE NO EVIL Review

 Back from Retreat and back to LOEWEN. 

 Chapter 9 was thoroughly interesting, mainly for the reason that I learned more about the Vietnam war in high school than Woodrow Wilson and Native Americans which were discussed in previous chapters. 

 Anyways, it was written in this chapter that textbooks tend to simplify matters by not giving further explanation or reasoning for students to not question details about a certain event. This reminded me so much about what Professor Tanaka(MCC) said during the retreat. He said 'The only way to solve the issues of today is to complicate matters that are already complicated.' At first, I did not agree with this point because personally I originally thought the problem lied in the fact that we complicate matters that are actually simple. However, after reading chapter 9, I finally understood what Professor Tanaka was trying to say. Nothing is simple in history, everything is controversial. If we ignore that fact and begin simplifying matters, we will not be able to question the obvious nor will we able to seek true peace for we will always be living in a 'pretend' world. In order to understand what happened during the Vietnam War, we need to question every detail that is being simplified in textbooks. 'War broke out' makes war seem like a natural disaster when it isn't. There has to be a couple hundred factors to start something that will eventually lead to the killing of innocent men. War DOES NOT simply BREAK OUT. 

 When Loewen started giving details about the Vietnam war, I immediately was reminded of the Iraq war which Loewen himself brought up later in the chapter. The US tends to give a supposedly 'logical' explanation to why they need to go to war when in reality, it's just an excuse. When there is a war, the countries involved are not all necessarily experiencing loss. The US is one of the biggest military countries. When there is war, they gain profits. Still, this is probably only one of the factors for why the US loves fighting so much. 

 EXTRA

During the retreat, Millie asked during the panel discussion the most epic question ever. She asked why ICU advocates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights when all teachers at ICU have to be Christians. All 3 panelists were lost in words and totally butchered answering her question. I wish Rab could've seen this! It was EPIC and one of my highlights at retreat. 

May 15th CLASS ON THE STUPID MOUNTAINSSSS

 Studying at Starbucks with some cool people trying to proliferate our religion called Paterson Children.haha

Discussions

1. Why are the US and UK stereotype towards hoodies in Japan as well?
2. What age would be appropriate to divide the line between adults and children?
3. Reactions toward the US's intervention during the Vietnam War?

1. I still wonder why Rab's children were banned from wearing their hoodies in Japan. I understand how in the UK and US, people wearing hoodies are often accused of being drug dealers or in some kind of shady position to want to hide their faces. However, in Japan, I may not just have the information but there is not much of a cautiousness towards people wearing hoodies as much as there is for people who have tattoos because of the history of Japanese Mafias. Although we did discuss how when people are arrested, they wear hoodies to cover their faces in front of the camera. I guess in a way, the hoodies are figures of saying 'I have something to hide' when that isn't certain for everybody that wear hoodies.

2. This one was a controversial question. During the discussion, I thought that it would be clever to set just one age to divide the adults and children. It is definitely ludicrous and meaningless to think that some people are allowed to buy drinks but aren't allowed to drink until a certain age. The age most of us agreed on was 18 since it was the age most people graduate from high school. After class, I thought about the situation once more and thought back on the drinking laws in some countries. Some countries divide the age of people who can drink depending on what kind of alcohol it is. *1 For example, in Germany, people who are over 16 are allowed to drink beer and wine but in order to drink spirits, you need to be 18 or older. I personally think this is a very clever way to deal with the legal drinking age in one country. Some alcohols are too strong for people at a certain age so they selectively divide them in to categories. After putting some thoughts into this idea, I thought maybe it could apply to other issues as well; the age of consent, the driving age and the voting age. Maybe, dividing each issue with different ages is a clever idea. However, it all goes wrong when something contradictory happens like being able to have sex at 16 but not being able to watch those r-rated videos until you are 18.

*1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

3. I guess it's always been that way with America. America is such a capitalist country; however the problem is that the capitalism doesn't stop within the country but they also bring it outside. They omit any countries that are poor and strive to be number one. However, it isn't only America. The UK as well, completely destroyed the future of Palestine but act as if they have absolutely nothing to do with the current bombings that are taking place. Japan as well, killed so many Chinese people throughout history but still fail to apologize. The capitalistic countries are forcing their way of life that is capitalism onto other countries.

I can't wait to watch the video that Rab is making for us!

LLA CLASS May 14th

LLA CLASS in the mac room!:)whoop!

Rab taught us about 'segmentation.' Personally, I think this is one of the biggest problems in traditional Japanese classes. Today for instance, I experienced a class where the teacher would just continue talking straight on for 70 minutes, alone. Some may say that it is in our responsibility to keep our attention in class to consume everything we can out of the time. However, that is extremely difficult and also has a limit. During class, I too lost my concentration for a second and started looking around the class. At first sight, you can see some students looking at their phones, some sleeping, some talking and very few people actually listening to the teacher. With just a little bit of effort and creativity thrown in, this class could be just as exciting as Rab's. (Well maybe not just as exciting since that is almost impossible.)

ZOTERO
We learned how to make citations with just one click of a mouse. Although it seemed so easy when watching Rab do it on the screen, I found it somewhat difficult and confusing when I did it. I guess I just need some time to getting used to. Then, I could cite TED, youtube videos, imdb and a whole bunch of other cool sources on to my essay in just three seconds or less.

P.S.
Thank you so much for your email Rab! It made my day:) I hope it's sunny tomorrow so we can have that class on Bakayama!

May 13th

During today's class we learned how to make surveys using google drive. It was so easy and so convenient. Especially the statistics that showed the results were so professional. At first glance, the graphs looked like something that was taken out from the CIA fact book. We can also paste these graphs on to our power points and essays. I actually have a report on anthropology coming up soon so I just might be making a survey for that as a test run.  Honestly at first, I thought making a gmail account was not worth the time we had to use in order to get used to it, but slowly I can definitely see myself getting the hang of it and loving every new aspect of it. 

Today, we also formed our groups for our upcoming essays. Since my topic is on 'the relationship between the evolution of music and the social conditions,' I decided to join the music group with Kristi and Joki. It is a bit nerve-wracking to think that my classmates will be the ones checking my writing but I am sure that it will help improve it very much.  

Lies My Teacher Told Me Chapter 5 'Gone with the Wind'

 This chapter seemed much more relevant to me than Chapter 4 mainly for the reason that racism is something I personally experienced while I was in the states. There was this one time when my family went on a trip and there was a swimming pool. I personally do not remember this for I was so young but my mother has talked to me about how when our family put our feet into the water, this group of 'white people' left the pool. Racism is not over and it is wrenching for me to even hear that American text books consider it as something of the past. Although America is called 'a salad bowl of different races,' 'race is the sharpest and deepest division in American life' as Loewen puts it. 

 In this particular chapter, there were many points that caught my attention but one of them would have to be what is written in the bottom end of page 141. Loewen writes,  'in the fifteen years between 1955 and 1970, however, the civil rights movement destroyed segregation as a formal system in America. The movement did not succeed in transforming America race relations, but it did help African Americans win more power.' I might just be stating the obvious but this part made me wonder about the structure and relationship between the people and the law. Conventionally, it is the people who rule the law but Loewen's remark infers that by changing the law, the people's ideas towards racism slowly changed. Of course the laws will inevitably change according to the era just like the legalizations of gay marriage that is currently being conducted. However, it just makes me think that maybe the laws just might have more power over us than we have over the laws. 

It was very interesting to hear about how the textbooks leave out certain historical events for the sake of not making the white people look bad. This made me wonder if there is anything written in textbooks that make white people feel ashamed of their race or skin color because otherwise,  they would continue to love their culture and the fact that they have always been superior to other races. History could really mentally mess you up. The historical relations between Korea and Japan sometimes gets into my head and makes me feel ashamed of my nationality when I am in front of my Korean friends. I can only imagine how the black people feel about their ancestors being 'used' as slaves. Now, THAT will taunt you and the way you perceive matters. 

This chapter made me realize how history textbooks always(maybe not always but frequently) try to blame a historical event on some kind of group of people. When it is actually their fault or their responsibility, they 'change history' to make themselves look better.

I know this is always the conclusion in my blog entries but in order to get rid of this social stigma that is racism,  we need to renew textbooks into something more neutral and equal. 

We can't ignore that these things actually happened. 

http://segregation-opportunity-race.tumblr.com

Lies My Teacher Told Me Chapter 4

 Although chapter 4 did not have many jaw-dropping exposures compared to previous chapters, it was overall intriguing.
 Loewen says on page 95 that 'this (Indian history) is our past, however and we must acknowledge it.' This reminded me of a remark the president of South Korea made earlier in Washington just a few days ago. She said  'It has been said that those who are blind towards the past cannot see the future.' Although she did not give any specific names, it is pretty much obvious that she was referring to Japan. Just like America is ignoring or slightly bending historical events related to Native Americans, Japan is ignoring its past relations with Korea. For both America and Japan, it is as if they think ignoring the issue will eventually make it go away. When in reality, ignoring the issue will deepen the wound. However, it is nice to hear that some textbooks of today are at least trying to get a more accurate view. Especially since there are not many Native Americans that survive to this day. Still, as Loewen states, it is important for us to understand the alternatives.
  I'm not a believer in the term 'mistake' because I personally think there is something to learn from everything. However, 'repeating a mistake' is different. 'Repeating historical mistakes' is probably the most  frightening yet preventable thing we could do. We need to look deeply into the past and analyze the facts, to not repeat history. That is why it is important to have textbooks constantly up to date on the new information received. Although, I do not know if the government are planning to cooperate into that since textbooks cost a large amount of money.

By the way, many people with Native American ancestry still live in the US.
Here are two rather famous names.

Steven Tyler

http://www.eonline.com/news/steven_tyler

The oh-so handsome Johnny Depp

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/johnny-depp/images/30762880/title/sexy-new-photo


That's enough reading for now...good night!

May 10th FUNKY FRIDAY

 First, we watched this video of these people poking fun at the Japanese culture by exaggerating the motions and gestures we give. I found it hysterical but not as much as Megu(Kii) who was laughing right next to me like she was about to hyperventilate. haha
 Anyways, the next video we watched was set in the same place as the first video; a sushi bar. However, I did not find the video funny at all. A man was shot in the stomach with an arrow...how is that supposed to be funny? That is totally and completely different from killing whales. I mean, if I stomped on an ant then would that mean that I have to understand its pain by getting stomped on?
 I am going to go a bit off track here but I personally do not understand the fuss about the killing of whales. I do understand and respect the people who feel the need to protect these animals but I just want to ask them why they won't do the same for cows and pigs that are being treated way more brutally just to become our meals. I don't know but it just seems a bit hypocritical to me. It's the same for horses that are being eaten. For me as well, the thought of eating a horse alone gives me the shivers but protecting the horses because they're 'cuter' just seems wrong. I think there's a subconscious stereotypical element behind these animal protecting associations.
ANYWAYS, back to the point. My personal thoughts towards the whole issue of whale hunting probably stopped me from finding the video to be funny. However, I can easily imagine the people who don't find the issue so relevant laughing at the second video the same way I was laughing at the first video.
The next video we watched had the Sanchez Brothers being hit with soccer balls. I found this video funny because the victims(the Sanchez Brothers) actually seemed to be enjoying it. Whereas the fourth and last video we watched had Japanese college students who were suffering from the immense pain they were going through. The video of the Japanese reminded me of  'Shuke' a historical Japanese term used for the period of time one goes through in order to become a priest. A good example of what people do during their 'Shuke' would probably be the 'Kiyome.' The man would simply stand in front of an ice cold fountain for hours to wash away his sins. The last video probably wasn't funny to me because it reminded me of those Japanese rituals that I don't fully understand.
The answer to the discussion question, why we don't find these old Japanese programs funny anymore...
I don't think we don't find it funny anymore. Personally, I despise it but it is true that some programs on TV still do similar projects. For example, there is a popular program on the Japanese tele called 'Mechaike' and there is a segment where these people with eye masks are fed with some kind of food and if they don't get it right, they are dropped into an ice cold pool.

It is interesting to me to find myself finding some videos funny and some just offensive.

The whole class reminded me of this video. It's part of the Flight of the Conchords.
Some will find it offensive, some will find it hysterical:)

Gotta get started reading Loewen now...

Class on the Grass May 8th

Today we had a discussion mainly on what it would take for the Japanese to get out of their houses to actually protest against something.
Our group came up with a number of factors but the main issue that kept coming up was the fact that the Japanese never actually care are about one thing so much to stand up for, unless their lives are put at risk; like Yusuke's examples about the way the media reports an accident in other countries. It is not an overstatement to say that they always report how many Japanese were injured or how none of the Japanese were injured. Of course it is a Japanese media so obviously it is their job to report if the Japanese civilians were associated with the scene but it is just the way they say it and the way we respond to it. I mean, does it make the incident a little lighter if none of the Japanese were injured? No.
Even during the radiation period, which might still be going on in the present but anyways, some people from Tokyo actually moved to Okinawa to escape the whole chaos. It is as if they only think about themselves; that everything is okay if you're not the victim.
This reminded me of a speech I saw before on Youtube. I don't remember much of it but it was Obama's. *By the way, I'm not trying to imply that I support him as a politician in anyway.
Anyways, he talked about why he prioritized the health care plan so much. Many historical presidents never came around to take on the matter because it was so controversial and they knew it was going to cause absolute chaos around the country. However, Obama said that he knew he had to do it when he looked at his children, the generations of tomorrow. He couldn't let this issue dangle around when he knew he could make a change. Who knows, if he hadn't made the move, maybe nobody would have and the health care issue would still be wandering around the shadows of America in 2100.
The Arab Spring is a good reference as well. The people had been suppressed by the same government for generations and generations. They never said anything, well they did but nothing as big as the Arab Spring in 2010. Then at some point, they decided to take a stand. Something made them tick and made them get out of their houses to speak for their rights. They said 'no more.' If they didn't do anything then, then the next generation and the next generation would have to experience the exact same oppression they suffered.

Maybe this is what is missing in Japan. We never look into the future. We never look into the generations of tomorrow. No wonder our government are full of so many old people. No offense but of course they would only vote for something that would do them good in their time on earth.
 However, not to be optimistic but I can tell that Japan is trying. Whether the endeavor is only on the surface, things are definitely changing. It's just that it changing in an extremely, extremely slow pace. We just have to accelerate the pace a bit more to not get left behind the world.

Web 2.0 "Don't Hate the Media, Become the Media"

Today was probably THE MOST intriguing lesson I have ever taken in icu.
As embarrassing as it is, I had never heard of the 1999 Seattle protest before this class. Although I don't want to turn this post into one of those sentimental ones, it was heart-breaking, absolutely heart-breaking to watch the police, who by the way are there to protect the people, actually spray chemicals directly towards the people and even shoot some of them with rubber-riffles or whatever the narrator was saying.
Anyways, the one thing that was bugging me the whole time was the fact that there was no demo in Tokyo to support Seattle at the time. For a split second, I thought "oh, that's because the Japanese are afraid of raising their own voices." However, I quickly realized that that was 100% wrong and would be a complete disgrace to the Japanese by saying so. The recent demonstrations in Oi were not as publicized as they should have been but were veryvery identical to the demos in Seattle.

Look at these pictures,

https://twitter.com/zekkoucho/status/218720713245339650/photo/1

http://ceron.jp/url/news020.blog13.fc2.com/blog-entry-2513.html

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/aki_setura2003/29807538.html

These were all protests conducted all over Japan to appeal to the government, not to restart their nuclear plants in Oi. As you can see in the last picture, little ones were even brought to the scene, just to prove to Japan and the whole world, what democracy really is. However, those hopes were shot down when the policemen decided to get violent with the people.
 This is a video showing the policemen forcing those with cameras to exit the scene. By the way, from what I know, policemen have absolutely no right to do so and is completely against the law.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb_U8fo6F6k

In some other videos, you can actually see the policemen kicking some of the peaceful protestors.

Although protests around the prime minister's residence in Tokyo(first pic) was put on the news, barely any news about the protest in Oi (second and third pic) was reported. However, as you can see in the video and pictures, these are Japanese people fighting for the future of Japan. However, we the people of Japan barely even heard of them or what they did.
I just wonder what the policemen have in mind. Surely they became officers out of good intentions, but some how, they find themselves hurting the people and invading their rights.
Now how did that happen?

Protests occur all around the world every single day; whether it's small or big. It is like the 'living-proof' of the democracy in that country. However, what cannot happen is for us to ignore those people. Simply watching the news and accepting what has only been reported is the same thing as ignoring them. We need to hear them out because together, we make up the people. Even though the policemen are restricted by the law, we are not because we make the law. Well, at least that's how it's supposed to be.

All in all, today's lesson was thoroughly thought provoking and motivated me to actually defend my rights and my opinions as a human being.

Lies My Teacher Told Me Chapter 3 -The Truth About Thanksgiving-

 In Kindergarden, I remember being assigned to come to school dressed as a Native American. As young as I was, I remember being jealous of the other blonde headed girls who were assigned to come as pilgrims. While I had to wear a paper bag around my body, they were allowed to wear black dresses.  At the time, I simply felt jealousy and nothing more but now that I think of it in retrospect, one word only comes to mind; 'racism.'
 After being educated in America for over three years, you would expect for people like me to be 'more American. ' However, the truth is, the more you stay there and learn there, the more distant you actually  feel from the American culture. You realize that you are different and will never truly become 'one of them,' the superior group of people. Before, I simply thought this was a personal matter, that I felt inferior to others because I personally preferred to be white, to have blue eyes and to have blonde hair. However, it was not that simple of a matter. It was to do with the education I had received and the culture that surrounded me. Starting with the matters Loewen discussed in chapter 3,  the American environment condescends and manipulates the people into driving this eurocentric world. It is certainly frightening to think that once America has created this world, they try to remove the horrible past they once walked in order to justify their present situations.
In page 82, Loewen writes 'Each textbook picks just one reason and presents it as a fact. ' My reaction to this was 'well of course it does.' No government would want textbooks bad-naming their own country or their past. What kind of government would want to create unpatriotic citizens? To simplify matters by blindfolding the people from the truth would be the easiest way out for them.
 This needs to be the premise of searching for a solution.

Review on Class May 1st

The first half of the lesson, we learned about the structures of writing an essay. During my high school years, I had to prepare for TOEFL essays and as most people who've taken it already know, the idea of a good TOEFL essay is very fixated and different from what we learned today. I hope I'll be able to leave all of that behind starting with the book report due next week.

The other half of the class, we all had a Psychology test which I found very entertaining.

Psychology Test Results

Color→you
Red-bright, revolutionary, attractive, motivational, beautiful

Animal→your perfect partner
Dolphins-cute, muscular, free, strong, happy, adorable

Water→love/sex
Onsen-relaxing, hot, Japanese, original

White room→death/dying
mental, bored, crazy, ill, lonely


I personally think that these results were only about 20% accurate but who knows, I might subconsciously be looking for a muscular man in my life. haha