Wending Wayfare News

Review 13: Finally! The Odyssey, a Modern Sequel!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-09-17T15:33:35+09:00

What dread at even attempting this! Nearly 800 pages of poetry, Kazantzakis’ The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel is a travel narrative about Odysseus, set immediately at the end of the Odyssey, at which point he has arrived home, slaughtered the suitors around his wife and kingdom and set his household straight. Domestic bliss, however, just isn’t his thing after a life on the seas, so he forms a small crew and leaves Ithaca, never to return. Just as a travel narrative this book is pretty intense: Odysseus sees and tastes everything, and the book ends with him at the furthest limits of the earth, dead upon an iceberg at the south pole. The thinking behind the book is so much broader than the journey, with a philosophical scope stretching from the pursuit of hedonism, to uber-menschian transcendence of values, virtues and vices, to the foundation of a new way of life after casting off these shackles, the death of god, to nihilism and back again to Kazantzakis’ and Odysseus’ goal — pure and total freedom.

This book was hard, and not in a tricky, I don’t get it sort of way like the other big Homerian book, Ulysses. Page after page of poetry is tough going and Kazantzakis can be a little long winded at times. There is one 30 page digression in the middle that made me stop reading for a couple months because I wasn’t interested. On the other hand, page after page of Odysseus reflecting on the best sort of existence really challenged my own feelings about birth, death, and how to spend the interim. I would read certain passages and close the book, thinking, “What the fuck am I doing, sitting here reading and surfing the internet? Is this life? How do I want to die? The book is hard because Odysseus isn’t an ubermensch like Nietzsche’s Zarathustra: he makes mistakes and he changes his mind. This makes him much more sympathetic and at the same time, makes his exhortation to live life and pursue freedom, to give up hoping for another day, life after death, a reward for your toils, to acknowledge that all is passing and transient. Unlike the Buddhist notion of transience, which causes monks to withdraw to avoid both pain and too sweet pleasure, Odysseus swallows everything while he can and moves on, unsated.

So, the book had a profound effect upon me. Whether any of you scant readers will every pick it up is highly questionable: I know of few books that are more intimidating in their density and as challenging in their ethos. 33,333 lines of poetry rewritten 7 times over — I sure hope I can do something that cool.

It’s almost impossible to give you the best of the book in a short passage, but here is one I liked. Odysseus and his crew fell in with a rebellion in Egypt only to be imprisoned. The Pharaoh is a simpering weakling, but as the crew await execution, there is a request among the prisoners for a witchdoctor to soothe the nightmares and melancholy of the Pharaoh. Odysseus, with a mask of his totem god strapped to his back, offers to go and perform a dance.
He shuffled through the first steps of the sacred dance
holding his hands outstretched as though he begged for bread,
then slowly passed with mournful grace from lord to lord.
A strident whining bubbled in his quivering throat
as though small orphans wept with far, convulsive sobs,
and his mud-tattered rags flapped in the scented air.
The smiling archons marveled at the stranger’s skill
in aping the uncaressed small orphans softly sobbing,
the sickly tramp who went from door to door and begged.
Then like a tiger crouched to spring, he clenched his fists,
raised one foot high in air like a curved twisted paw,
and as his neck grew taut and his teeth flashed in darkness,
the carved mask of his god thumped on his back and groaned.
His feet leapt as in a rage and drummed on the hard ground,
his savage hands pulled tightly at invisible bows
and unseen arrows whizzed with speed in the moon’s glow.
This was no simple dance: war sprang in the rose shrubs,
black crows perched on the feasting boards and hoarsely cawed,
and the king gasped and leapt, by shadowy arrows struck.
The archer’s rage calmed down, his throat relaxed, and sobs
pierced through the night like wailing maids who tore their hair.
The slow dance dragged and crawled, and now lean cripples roamed
and limped upon the earth, for the cruel war had stopped,
and blind men fiercely groped the ground with their bent staffs.
The lords laughed unabashed; in their mind’s eye they saw
their maimed slaves coming from the slaughter, stooped with spoils;
only amid moon-shadows, far in the dense grove,
a girl recalled her lover and softly began to weep.
The lone man fell and bowed down low at the king’s feet
then slowly, slowly mounted like the ascending sun
so that when the court dames and revelers finally saw him
they shrieked out, terror-struck, for on the archer’s face
was tightly wedged his grinning god’s fierce, hideous mask!
The king screamed and reeled backward in his archons’ arms:
“Ah! That’s the seven-times-reborn sun-demon’s face
that struck me in my sleep! Help me or I’ll go mad!”
But when the steward charged with wrath to seize the dancer,
the quailing king shrieked out again and stopped him short,
for as Odysseus fixed God’s mask on his fierce brow
six pairs of flames leaped from his arm-joints, head and feet.
Then all minds crashed, veins swelled with fear, the whole world shook,
and the man-killer, seizing his black hilted sword,
leapt in a frothing dance about the monarch’s tables.
A wide-eyed, tall intoxication blazed in his head
as his feet whirled him on beyond both life and death
where he no longer whined, or fought, or wept, or begged
but touched the black soil like a god till the stones smoked.
Then all at once he stood stock-still before the king,
broke in harsh laughter and fixed him with his mud-filled eyes.
The startled youth, conceived in an orgy, reached his hands,
but with a thundering cavern-roar the sly man yelled:
“Good is the quail, the blackbird, and the turtle-dove,
but of all birds I like the eagle, the cross-eagle, best,
and most of all when it holds a king’s head in its claws!”

Bend Sinister's 2nd CD

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-09-10T15:31:22+09:00

My buddy Naben and his band Bend Sinister put out their second CD, a 5 track EP, a few days ago and it is available on iTunes. Go forth and purchase! This is my favorite song from the album and the video has been getting some play on Much More Music.

Review 12: Harry Potter (no spoilers)

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-09-04T23:24:20+09:00

Well it took me 20 hours, but I gulped down the rushed prose of the last HP book and now we can all move on with our lives.

My review? It was all right. I couldn't remember a lot of details and Rowling did little backstory. The same bitching, whining and totally inappropriately timed jokes that made me hate the characters in the last couple books continued. The story resolved somewhat satisfactorily. However, there is a huge plot gap, as well as the fact that the pivotal hinge of everything happened a whole book ago and was easy to miss, that required Rowling to "set the record straight" according to NBC. You can read it here if you finished the book with the same WTF expression that I had.

But all of that is garbage. An author should never have to say, once a reader finishes, perplexed, "oh well what actually happened was..." What the hell is that? We're talking about fiction, not some event you attended and poorly reported on. If you need to explain it, it ain't working, just like a bad joke.

Whether she's a victim of massive fanpressure, of boxoffice deadlines or is just not the writer she was when she started out with a compact and honed little novel, I don't care. Thanks for the escapist fantasy -- I'm off to read something more important.

The Menu This Evening...

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-09-03T09:54:18+09:00

Went out drinking with an old student last week and ate some damn weird stuff.

In order of ascending weirdness:

--fried and battered chicken gristle - I've had this before. Not bad.
--saba, a kind of fish, in a can - the staff took the lid off, added a little soup stock and heated it. A can of tuna was also on the menu.
--dried and then roasted manta ray fin - this was chewy as hell but it went well, as many japanese have assured me since then, with the saké I was drinking.
--semifrozen octopus pieces in a slush wasabi sauce. This was the strangest combination of tastes ever. Chewy and a little crunchy yet slimy. Spicy but very cold. I couldn't wrap my head around it and only managed to eat a few pieces.

What weird food have you eaten recently?

By the way

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-08-29T08:54:15+09:00

I've switched over to php architecture - if you bookmarked www.wendingwayfare.com, you need to rebookmark it as www.wendingwayfare.com/index.php. Also, I took out the wacky "summarize" feature on the RSS, which just garbled the text anyway. Now you can enjoy in the reader of your choice!

Edit - nevermind the rebookmark. I deleted that file on my end. Uploading this post took less than 30 seconds! Whee!

Organizational Fatigue

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-08-28T23:23:48+09:00

August has roared past and it hasn't been the best of months. I've somehow managed to piss off an old friend back in Canada without really knowing how, lose a couple students and nearly lose another today, drop out of contact with some friends here (are you alive Tad?) and generally feel as though the tides are flowing against me.

Part of the frustration has been in patching together something of a social life nearly from scratch. I didn't realize how much I had been depending on Aeon for socializing until I left and became well acquainted with solo saturdays. That's been depressing.

Another big issue was my schedule. I've been using Apple's iCal because I often use email to schedule classes; the problem, however, is that I can't take it with me. This resulted in a hungover Perrin riding his bike over the mountain for a lesson only to arrive and find himself early. 4 hours early. That same day was plagued with the anxiety that I was going to miss another lesson because I couldn't remember the time. Turns out that was irrelevant: I had recorded the wrong time in iCal anyway and waited fruitlessly in Starbucks for over an hour.

So I am going back, after a year's romance with a PDA to a paper planner. I loathe the whole sync process. One change to either the computer or pda schedule and you have introduced either a) error or b) the necessity to sync again. Syncing is also a time-swallower at nearly 5 minutes a pop depending on what I sync. And so when the sync cable broke, so too did my will to screw with that anymore.

Anyway, Rapidweaver just put out a big update so it may upload faster for me. Last time I uploaded it took 2 hours - hardly the smart uploading they were touting for this version I bought. I changed some settings - someone (if someone is actually reading this ill-updated generalist blog) please leave a comment as well - I want to see if that is different too.

Self(un)Employed, One Month In

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-07-31T12:36:24+09:00

I went into the unknown of self-employment tremulously: Would I make ends meet? Would I meet my own end? Would meat end in my refrigerator? Would the whole thing spiral into shame, debt and terribly broken analogies?

I’m happy to report that while I have been driven to a few new extremes, the bills have been paid and life is fresh and interesting. Being handed cash at the end of nearly every lesson is a blunt reminder that I just exchanged my time for a very distinct number of credits. At all of my previous jobs, I walked in, laboured for several hours and staggered home. The two week and one month pay schedules, I have become convinced, are designed to divorce the notion of money from time spent. If people were paid every evening they’d look at their meager fistful of dollars and say, eight hours of hell for the price of a couple cases of beer? This has to change! The discreet envelope every two weeks, or worse, the bank transfer, make payday feel like salvation, as workers with threadbare accounts raise grateful eyes to “he who doleth out weekend beer month.”

The bulk of my time is spend in cheapo classes, mainly because I will take nearly anything at this point. They don’t amount to much per hour, but together they add up to a substantial sum and the hourly wage is better than Aeon, although my travel time between lessons subtracts from that. On the other hand, a few lessons are so ridiculously more lucrative that they are accounting for as much, if not more, thank the scraps here and there. It makes for a strange experience, getting a raise and a paycut alternately, going from class to class.

But that awareness of time = variable amounts of money has been quite valuable. On the other hand, I’ve had a few negative experiences: bicycle roadrage as I spend about 2 hours on my bike a day, tightwad students that require reminding when it is time to pay, no days off, and general uncertainty. I suppose I can transform those situations into positives: daily exercise is good for me, I’ll drop the tightwads eventually as I gain better paying customers, a lack of days off is my own poor scheduling decisions, and uncertainty, well, anyone who needs certainty might as well have one foot in the grave already, because that’s about as much certainty as any of us get.

The question, invariably, when I say I worked 15.5 hours last week (not including prep and travel, which pushes it up to about 25 hours) is: “What do you do with all that free time?” The answer - fix the damage done by my fucked work schedule these last two years. I have been cooking and eating more balanced, regular meals. I’ve been reclaiming time for reflection. I’ve published a new article and written most of another one. I’ve been reading four books at the same time. Scratch that, five. I’ve been working on finding new work and better paying work. I’ve participated in a 1200 year old festival and organized my house at last. I’ve declared war against all jumping spiders and cockroaches. I’ve woken early to dawn and the sun alighting upon the tops of gravestones.

It hasn’t all been good, if I am going to lump the cockroaches into the “good” paragraph. I’ve become reacquainted with loneliness. I’ve suffered numerous rejections to my requests to hang out from people far more busy than I am. I’ve been bummed out that a few of those “busy”s have really meant, “not interested pal.” And perhaps most importantly, I have had to take a serious step back from my highspeed—always a tad late—snarling at people with shrieking bicycles—daily commute.

All that said, I am really happy to be done with Aeon and to be on my own. It is liberating and challenging at the same time. Stay tuned.

Review 11: Your Money or Your Life

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-07-24T22:12:00+09:00

As some of you may know, I have recently become self-employed, although it sure feels like unemployed when I look at my schedule. I had just begun to think about how to organize my finances when Matt, in his quest to escape financial retardation, hit upon a highly praised book and gave it to me for my birthday. That book is Your Money or Your Life. The title comes from that antiquated highway robber threat, but in this book it takes on a different layer of meaning - for many of us, we have to choose between money and life (i.e. time, happiness and everything else that isn’t work and cash) but when we choose money because “everyone’s gotta make a living” we end up feeling like we are “earning a dying”.

The book attacks the concept of money from both the philosophical perspective and the nitty-gritty of saving pennies. One of the core concepts is that money isn’t power or esteem or even time, because you surely cannot swap it back to get more time. Money is a representation of what we have traded our life energy for. That $20 bill represents 4 hours of our lives spent working to earn it. But wait, you say, no one makes $5 an hour. I’m making at least $12 in (insert random job here). Dominguez and Robin push readers to find their real wage after calculating all the time spent getting to and from, dressing and shopping for work clothes, bitching about work after work, decompressing and taking escape holidays and THEN subtracting all of the costs of work, from expensive lunches and drinks from the pop machine to part of the cost of maintaining your car and having a nice office outfit.

The results are pretty shocking. I felt pretty good at making over $20 an hour at Aeon, but that wage was cut down to $8 when I factored in all of the extra work I did and the expenses of going there. This piece of information is critical because it lets one see exactly what you are selling yourself for. And, as an extension of that, knowing that a $40 night on the town actually cost me 5 hours, not 2, at a job that I wasn’t ecstatic about, makes the purse-strings tighten up considerable.

The other angle of the book, now that the reader is feeling somewhat miserable about how cheaply they are prostituting themselves out to company X, is to show how we can all live on much, much less money. So much, in fact, that some of his example people started earning more money by quitting their expensive jobs and working closer to home or doing all those expensive things we pay others to do for us. The authors take the reader through several ways to account for every single penny and then to look at how she feels about spending 30 hours of the month on a shoe habit or on boozing. From that feeling, frugality is internalized, not by unrealistic, external spreadsheet budgets that are as easy to break, but by a shift in values. So while that doughnut habit of mine is becoming less attractive, I don’t feel bad about spending $150 a month eating out with friends because that’s a really important way for me to enjoy both good company and great japanese food. Spending money on books is foolish because I currently have more books that I can possibly read in the next year. Spending more money on dates and girls is an absolute necessity if I want to actually get a girlfriend, and I value such a notion as getting laid here and there. Essentially, the authors are aiming at the idea of enough. True fulfillment is at that tipping point where less would leave you wanting and more wouldn’t matter - it is up to us to take a long look at how we spend our money and see what is enough and what is too much.

While some may feel this is all just stingy penny-pinching, it is, in my view, an affirmation of life and its transience. If I have to work to earn money to live, I am going to put that money to its best use, towards the best kind of life. For a guy who used to say that money was evil and soul-sucking, this book has really changed how I earn and spend money, how I spend my life. Highly recommended.

Grim Justice

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-07-12T23:50:11+09:00

No amount of benevolence spares gargantuan cockroaches with the audacity to fly at me and make me dance with the heebeejeebees and then display such foolishness as to hide beneath the toe of an unworn shoe.

PS - Kiss your evening goodbye - I give you "whose line is it anyway?" on youtube.

Review 10: The Soccer War: Ryszard Kapuscinski

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-07-03T10:22:27+09:00

There are a variety of starting points for this review:

--Remarking that the most pivotal writers in several stages of my life have been K writers -- Kipling as a child, Kazantzakis in university, and now it seems, Kerouac and Kapuscinski.
--Starting with the current assault on reporting and investigative journalism as newspapers become merely parts of media empires trying to make a buck.
--Pointing out weird synchronicity - as I sat drinking tea in Kyoto, learning about Kapuscinski and his life for the first time, he lay dying in Poland, his Africa battered body to succumb that day.

Kipling, Kazantzakis, Kerouac (to an extent) and Kapuscinski all share something other than a letter - each writer is an explorer and evokes a sense of wonder for the places they trace. Kipling, my favourite childhood writer, was an Englishman born in Bombay, and most of his life’s work deal with the strange and fantastic, the jungle and Indian culture (the Jungle Book, Just So Stories, and Kim being the most famous).
Kazantzakis, my favourite writer period, wrote the ur-voyage poem - over the course of 12 years he penned a sequel to The Odyssey that is twice the length of The Iliad and the Odyssey combined, all in verse. The poem (which I am still reading, but nearly finished) follows Odysseus’s journey to the ends of the world and the philosophical limit of human being, transcending vice and virtue, God and hope.
Kerouac is another famous traveller - both geographically and psychedelically. Although I have only read On the Road, I enjoyed his pursuit of something elusive across the American landscape and the new cultural ground the beats were breaking.

And then there is Kapuscinski. Investigative journalism ain’t what it used to be, as large newspapers shed subscriptions left and right while the successor to print media, so-called citizen journalism on the net, often merely amounts to armchair commentary on what has been read in the Associated Press. But Kapuscinski! In the 1960s and early 1970s he was the only foreign correspondent for the Polish Press Agency under communism. So, if Poland wanted it’s own reporting, rather than buying it from another country, Kapuscinski was the man. You may see on the news — “and now let’s turn to our London correspondent”. Kapuscinski covered Africa. All of it. Not only that, but his book, The Soccer War, is a refreshing take on journalism: while Western journalism strives for objectivity, apparently the tone of Eastern Europe is more personal and more poetic license is permitted. Kapuscinski has been criticized for taking poetic license but that same license to bend facts creates a better sense of narrative and moreover, allows poetry to enter into the otherwise dry reportage of conflict in the faceless continent of Africa.

After reading The Soccer War, I couldn’t believe that the bleachblond bimbos and this crazy Pole are in the same field of work. The various chapters cover a handful of the 25 different coups, wars or revolutions that he was present for. He shows you the bars of Leopoldville in Congo where Lumumba first spoke, the foreigners’ hotel stormed by gangs of furious men after Lumumba’s assassination, the airplane from the UN whisking them into the apparent safety of Burundi, the jail cell and deadline to execution he faced when he arrived there. Kapuscinski crosses the road that no white man could cross, beaten, robbed, doused in benzene and nearly immolated. He crawls along the uncertain border between Honduras and El Salvador with a soldier that only wants to take boots off of corpses back to his family.

All of his episodes stun the reader at both the barbarity of man and the insanity of the author, driven to go where the action is and avoid life behind a desk at all costs. Most importantly, they helped put a face and character to the vastly diverse nations of Africa, and did so far better than the latest report on Sudan.

Notes from the Field

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-06-29T00:39:33+09:00

Well the internet is back, life is slow and easy and I've had a week basically off. I taught nine classes in my first week for a big ole' $300 and it sure felt relaxing. My apartment is in order and all set up, I'm done with Aeon - so what in God's name am I going to do with the 15 waking hours surrounding my lonely lessons. Hell of a good question!

Aside from the obvious "work more" (and I do need to work about twice as much as this to get some forward momentum) the plan is to write, take photographs and explore. Throw in a little Japanese there too. While my older compatriots here think 25 is still time to screw around, I'd like to give some shape and focus to my life, not to mention get back on the wagon regarding my goals for the year. Anyway, stay tuned.

PS - here's a little nugget of advice: strong Peppermint soap should only be used on the tough thick skin of the hands and torso. I'll leave you to imagine the rest.

Cough, Choke, Splutter

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-06-25T12:42:28+09:00

kaa kaa! whuufff .... gnnnunng...gnuuugngn ka,kakkkakakka!

She lives!

Being without internet is a grim existence indeed. Take a snapshot in your mind: Perrin turns his back on the glow of his open laptop like a spurned lover and stares out through the rainwashed window, over the stony graveyard, into the howling darkness.

Anyway, it has been three days since I left Aeon and I am still pretty stunned. It's like a vacation, minus the imperative to go somewhere and do something. On the contrary, I feel compelled to not spend money, as that will dwindle quickly. In an effort to do so I have begun a logbook for all of my expenditures - what a shock! I am a serious sugar addict. I don't down can after can of coke, but I have found that I almost always end up buying some little sweet treat here or there. I've been cooking a lot more recently too - that has lead to the discovery that I want to eat sweet things even when I am totally full.

So, ....... sorry girl just jiggled by on the running path ....... I bought 3 bunches of overripe bananas and froze them, which I hope will help curb this addiction more healthily.

If I want the slightest chance of uploading this I'll have to do it now - this wifi ain't fast.

3 days and counting until hookup time... the internet, that is.

Further Signs of Madness

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-06-05T10:14:52+09:00

I was riding my bike up the street towards a housewares shop - Super Savers - that I was looking for. As I rode up, a girl rounded the corner onto the street and put something pink down next to a stop sign. "Did she just non-chalantly place some trash on the street corner?" I asked. As I came up behind her it was in fact a juice box. I rode by, disgusted, but then, disgusted a bit at myself, I turned around and picked it up.

The girl, you she, who had headed up the street and disappeared, was wearing a yellow Super Savers jacket. I parked my bike, put the drinkbox into my shopping bag and entered the shop. What was I going to do? Confront her directly? Say "wasuremono" (forgotten thing) and hand it back to her?

I found the pot I needed and then spotted her down an aisle, stocking shelves. What to do? I slunk around the corner and watched her from behind as she took stock from a box and put it on the shelves. My chance! She turned away and I lightly tossed her trash into the box of new merchandise. Heart pounding with glee, I managed to negotiate buying a pot and I dashed out of the store. Victory!

New Apartment Blues

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-06-02T12:08:40+09:00

Life here is proving to be ... interesting.

Let it be said that squat toilets are tricky. I hunkered down to do some business but suddenly realized my pants were horribly in the way for the coming onslaught of pee and had to kink the hose, so to speak, while I nearly fell over. Meanwhile, the cheap door to my apartment (right next to my bathroom door, which I had left open) decided to open itself and expose my idiot behind to the hallway. I pulled the bathroom door shut and managed to finish.

Hastily pulling the main door shut, I walked out into my main room with my pants half-on right into the middle of a funeral that had started 20ft away. Duck for cover! Luckily unnoticed.

The morning of my first stay overnight I was forcefully made aware of my new sleep schedule - early. Dawn is at 6:00 and while I don't get any direct sunlight in my north-facing window, I get a lot of light. Not having curtains doesn't help that much, but once I leave Aeon I am excited about getting up earlier and going to bed at a decent hour.

Brain, Meet Allegory

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-05-27T22:57:32+09:00

Brain, meet beer. Beer, I am sure you are already acquainted with Mr. All-You-Can-Drink; he'll be our maitre d' for the evening. Brain, this is All-You-Can-Drink - you may call him Can - a close friend of his. The relationship will become apparent in good time.

Brain, I'd like to introduce you to Karaoke. She's not from around here and her name is pronounced Care-ah-okay. She'll be dancing with the ever vivacious Mr. Vocal-Chords, although I suspect that he'll retire before she will. He's eager but doesn't have much talent, you know.

Brain, you of course know Legs, over there, near the band. I'd like you to keep an eye on him, because what he does always affects the rest of us. If you let him get pulled in by that tart, Latin Music, we'll never see him again. I also ask you to keep him from New Dancing Shoes. They look like trouble.

Ah... Mr Sense, so nice to see you again. What's that you say? Looking for Brain? Why I have him here with me right now. I beg your pardon. That rapscallion and Mr. Brain look nothing alike. Good evening. Really, what an allegation, especially from such a reputable figure in society. Mistaking you for that troublemaking Phallic fellow. I personally turned him out 30 minutes ago.

My name my good lad? Surely you jest. Ego, at your humble service. I do like to throw the parties but they always attract such riffraff. Come with you and Can to the bathroom? I can't imagine what to discuss but very well.

What's this, I say, unhand me! You go to far Messieurs Beer and and All-You-Can-Drink! Mr. Brain, you do bear a resemblance mmmmmmpf! Save me Sense! Ooof!

Roight. Where were we? Cop a feel on Consequence, that prude? Roight, deal.

Rapidweaver 3.6

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-05-26T08:53:18+09:00

I just bought the upgrade for Rapidweaver 3.6 and one of the features is faster uploading times. I had to upload the whole site again, which I think took over two hours. I'm trying again now - one of the big annoyances of RW has been slugass uploads that chew up my internet and computer's resources, so hopefully it will work better.

Ho Lee Shit

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-05-25T22:56:26+09:00

This has totally stunned me. Can the Bush dictatorship get any worse at all? THIS is reporting.

Review 9: Kyoto: John Dougill

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-05-19T15:58:02+09:00

History and I have a strange relationship other than that it, you know, made me. I've always shied away from reading history to a certain extent due to bad experiences being beaten over the head with dates, statistics and countless individuals. Kyoto, from the Cities of the Imagination series, takes the 1200 years of history here and splits it up thematically, rather than chronologically. The chapters are arranged in loose historical sequence (from the founding of the city to the shogunate, or military rule, to the time of geisha etc) and move more or less chronologically as well, but the focus on theme made the city's history a lot easier to grasp.

And what a history! Kyoto was the focal point for more religious subdivisions than Martin Luther could shake a stick at, and this book helped me get a bit of a handle on the various breeds of Buddhism in Japan. The book also details the birth of Zen in Japan, the rise of the tea ceremony, the history of the geisha, what life was like during the aristocratic Heian period (about 1000 years ago), and most interestingly, the role Kyoto played as a centre for poetry and other arts.

Now that I have read it, I feel that traveling anywhere (not to mention living somewhere) without a sense of the history of the place is the height of folly. Find a copy, get inspired and come visit me here!

WW Staggers, Lurches Back to Life!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-05-08T09:59:43+09:00

Well there goes April! Right, so I got sick twice, wrote and submitted 2 writing projects, organized and prepared for my first bike tour and then fucked right off for said tour for a week. Life does have a gearbox and I feel like I have been running in overdrive since Kayla came to visit in April. It was this feeling of chaos and clutter that made hiding out in my new apartment with a beer and a book for 5 hours on Sunday such a treat. Rain was cascading down along the mountains and pelting the graves outside my window while I ate snacks and tried to figure out just where in world I was and where I was going. Didn't reach a verdict but the snacks were good.

The continued acceleration of leaving my school and trying to find extra work to ease the transition is going to make sitting in my new minimalist apartment by the graveyard without an employer in a foreign country feel like hitting the earth at terminal velocity. Full stop. I cringe at such whole-sale change, but wince at the alternatives: staying at my psychotically busy school with its unpaid overtime (got home at 10pm last night, thanks), 30 a week schedule stretched out with long breaks into a 40 hour fulltime commitment.

So the future holds a few things: free time, less money at first, more money hopefully later, freedom. Being my own man. Not handing over the bulk of my wages to the headquarters committees who pick their noses through every inconsequential decision. I hope to start writing a Kyoto book once my schedule is loosened up. Either way, things are going to change for the better around WW headquarters - stay tuned.

Resolutions Update 4

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-04-10T00:25:25+09:00

Well it has been a month since I noted how I am doing, so let's do it again!

--Writing. Not getting along with people at work sure helped me write a lot a couple months ago! Better relationships are good though, so I won't complain about that. Kayla came for a visit as well, and that, combined with losing 3 staff members within a month and the huge desire to be outside and in the springtime sunshine, enjoying the cherry blossoms in their fleeting beauty... Anyway, it has been stupid busy. So I haven't been writing daily, but I have published my first article ever, lined up another for publication, and have been asked to write a third one, the longest yet! I also submitted some poems to Tyler's journal; I got a form-letter reply saying they'd contact me so who knows what's going on with that. Either way, it is a submission done and with the one I do this April, I will be on pace for submissions.

--Reading. I knocked off The Tipping Point, and GTD. I am still staring at The Odyssey and dreading the enormity of the reading to go. It isn't the novels, it is the poetry anthologies. Anyway, deal with that later. I am swapping out Lost Japan for another book I already have and which is more pertinent to my current situation: Kyoto by John Dougill. So far it is a great account of the immense history this city has. I am not a big fan of "and in 1209 such and such said this and so and so reacted by writing a thinly veiled haiku" history style; fortunately this book divides the facets of the city by theme and traces the themes over time. I also got my hands on a free copy of On Writing by Stephen King, so I figure I'll read that instead of rereading If You Want to Write.

--Japanese. Nothing doing. Lameness. I am going to go to a pretty secluded island for my vacation this spring though, so I am planning a big cram session before I go. Hopefully I'll come back after having some good language experiences and will be further energized.

--Photography. I am behind by about 300 photos, my new memory card seems to have a bad sector which corrupted a whack of photos from Kayla's visit, but on the plus side, the weather is great for photography, I love photos of cherry blossoms, I bought my first tripod set up last weekend and I started taking my first night photos, which turned out badass. I'll likely have no problem shooting over 200 during my 9 day vacation as well.

--Work. Work at Aeon is totally fricken crazy right now. Combine that with the extra Saturday lessons I am doing, plus the occasional sunday open, and my last full day off was nine days ago. Thus we have the reason for an apartment in total disarray. Good money though, and it helps the transition to whatever it is that I am going to do after Aeon.

You Really Think That Bottled Water Is Good For You?

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-04-07T22:29:42+09:00

Before you go anywhere near the next drink machine, read this, notes from the "debate" about the toxicity of Bisphenol A, a petroleum product used to make tin cans and plastic drink bottles. I like how newspapers continue to call any discussion with more than one side a debate. "Environmentalists and ExxonMobil CEOs square off: What causes global warming, burning petroleum products or hippy love vibes?" "The debate rages: should a ten-time convicted rapist go free? Hear from disinterested street idiots and the rapist himself."

The article in question does pretty much the same thing. The Globe writer points out that there are several studies linking Bisphenol A to breast and prostate cancer, as well as hormone imbalance and developmental problems in children. Representatives of responsible companies call the scientists crazy, discount the type of rats used. Scientists go on record saying they are removing every ounce of plastic from their own homes; the PR man nods thoughtfully and then points over our shoulders, shouting, "Hey look, an eagle!"

Why do we have to keep listening to the other side when we know it is all bullshit? Why does anyone even go to a "Press Conference" when Tony Snow is giving out answers? Why do the 98% of scientists that agree that global warming is true and dire get the same coverage as a nutjob with a fat cheque from Exxon?

Democracy and free-speech. With the magnifying effect of the internet, we are not only at the mercy of the idiocy of the majority, but also the victims of every minority adding a new opinion to the pile for us to consider and weigh equally against all the rest. The scientific community may be in 99% consensus, but the variety and time spent on other opinions by the press, even when we know they are wrought with unadulterated bullshit, makes the issue at hand seem like a debate to the average Joe who has barely noticed what is going on.

So then what? Should newspapers do our thinking for us? Should we turn to news sources that we know are biased in alignment with our own ways of thinking? No, I don't think so. But for crying out loud, point out the lies and bullshit. Add a skeptical footnote, like "by the way, Mr. Suit A actually works for the tobacco companies in question." "Today, Tony Snow said something that was confirmed as true."

"Bush delivered another speech filled with abstract notions today, attempting to appeal to his middle-age evangelical idiot support base. Cheney spouted unrepeatable lies and the braying of a ass was heard. End dispatch."

Review 8: Getting Things Done, David Allen

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-04-05T00:46:10+09:00

David Allen and his methodology, Getting Things Done (or GTD, in common parlance), has gained a cult following among a distinctly male half of the self-help book genre - Productivity and Success techniques. Websites abound concerning productivity, such as lifehacker.com and 43folders.com, but through them runs a current of GTD obsession (43folders is named after the number of folders needed to operate a GTD file system).

So what's the big deal? In order to avoid "proselytizing", as my Dad called it, I'll avoid the juicy exclamations. Basically, GTD is a way to capture loose thoughts. In the book, Allen argues that stress is due to unfulfilled obligations, any time we think to ourselves "oh, I need to do this, or I should do that." It doesn't matter that we can't DO such and such a thing at a given time -- like remembering to fix the sink while in the middle of a business meeting -- the obligation part of the brain has little sense of time and hence thinks we should be fixing that sink all the time. Have you ever remembered something, and then forgot it, and then remembered it again and thought, "Shit, I already remembered that!" only to forget again? That is a source of stress.

One of the basic pieces of GTD is total capture. It doesn't matter how big or small an obligation is that is rattling around in our heads -- all of it needs to be put into a trustworthy system so that we know that we don't have to keep reminding ourselves of the same thoughts and stressing out. One of his best quotes is: You never need to have the same thought twice, unless you happen to like that thought.

So, first, you collect everything you see around you that could possibly have some sort of hold on you. "Dust the lights." "Call Darren RE birthday" "Clean up classroom" "Start to look for new apartment" "Replace old underwear" These are all possible obligations. Once you have gotten everything from your surroundings, you dump out your brain, writing down every single thing that occurs to you as needing to be done.

By now you have an intimidating mountain of notes in an inbox. Allen's next stage is Process. From here, you got through all of the items, asking a few key questions.
1 - Is it actionable - that is, can I DO something about this. If not, it is either Trash, Reference, or saved for Someday.
2 - If Yes, What is the next action?
3 - If the action is shorter than 2 minutes, Do It.
- If the action is longer than 2 minutes, Delegate It to someone else, or Defer it, that is, put it off until you have time to spend on it, OR Drop it - decide you don't really want to do it.

For example, I look in my inbasket and there is a magazine and a note saying "Charity coming to Japan? Timetable." The magazine is not actionable, it is reference. On to the shelf. The note about Charity is actionable. What is the next action? Write Charity an email. Can I do that in two minutes? Maybe but I'd like to write a nice one, so no, I'll put it off (Defer) until I have time for some emails.

Repeat several hundred times.

The result will be that you have a handle on every single project, big or small, that is weighing on your conscious, and the next action step to move it forward. This turns the most amorphous mass of confusion, the most intimidating task, into a series of small bites and a great roadmap for successfully doing what we want to get done.

The book has a lot more to say, especially about planning projects, and about considering what needs to be done regarding life and our existences on the planet. I won't go into that here. I will say though, that in the year since I first became acquainted with GTD, I have gone from an unorganized uber-procrastinator to someone who knows what he want to do and how to do it. On top of that, I'm able to make priority choices about leaving projects for tomorrow because there is a full inventory and nothing is going to blow up if I relax a while.

Review 7: The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-03-29T00:05:30+09:00

... and the bandwagon makes its last stop at my front door. This book has been very popular and widely read -- rightly so -- it presents a new way to see how the world changes in an accessible format. Basically the book covers a variety of examples of epidemics, of sudden, often unexpected changes in culture, crime or prevalent attitudes and traces them to the idea of the Tipping Point. We usually use this term to describe the moment when the tides turn: "The tipping point came when the Canucks killed off a 5 on 3 penalty in the 3rd." Gladwell's usage is different, and if I criticize one point of his book, it was that his alternate usage wasn't totally clear to me until I had read most of the book. For him, the Point is not the moment of shift, but the place, the fulcrum upon which the tilt happens, and how, if a little pressure is applied at this place, dramatic change can occur.

One of his examples came from crime in New York in 80s. A new police chief came to town at the height of violence and instead of cracking down on the violent crimes he focussed on the subway. All of the cars were stripped of graffiti and weren't allowed to operate with any on them, cops patrolled the stations more frequently and groups of 10 plainclothes cops lurked at ticket gates to bust farecheaters. The results were stunning - a 66% drop in crime over the next decade. Why?

Gladwell spends most of his book outlining the reasons, but there were a few main points:
--Grafitti, a slight offense, establishes an atmosphere for further crimes, as does farecheating. If something small is permitted, something bigger will be attempted. Arresting and charging ordinary people who tried to escape paying fares established zero tolerance from the ground up, not between violent and more violent crimes.
--Arrests at ticket gates nabbed a lot of wanted felons, taking them off the street, and forced other minor felons to be straight, at least for the subway, thereby encouraging further honest behavior.
--By focussing police attention on the subway instead of violent crime, the city government removed one of the primary environments and breeding grounds for violent crime.

That's pretty much it. Without gobs of extra cash or personnel, the fortunes of NY City were reversed with the right kind of pressure applied to the right place. I really enjoyed his writing, and compared to the poetry I have been slogging through, it was breezy, fascinating stuff. His book also made me think differently about how my own mind works, as well as consider how a few people, with the right message, at the right time and place, can fundamentally change the world. If the concept of a cultural epidemic can be understood, maybe it can be harnessed and directed for the common good, which is the challenge Gladwell leaves us with.

Photo Update: February

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-03-21T10:45:07+09:00

I'm still deciphering a best practice for storing big photos, but here is my second big batch of Raws. I got a new 2gb card in the mail today so that will alleviate a bit of my uploading hassles.

Enjoy the new shots in the gallery!

My friend Kayla is in town, so I'll have to put WW on hiatus for the next 5 days. In the mean time, look forward to reviews of The Tipping Point and Getting Things Done.

Twirl a Squirrel

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-03-15T00:25:39+09:00

So... awesome.

Vista

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-03-11T14:14:17+09:00

So Windows Vista has been out for a little bit now, but I haven't even touched it yet, for every public computer I've used has stuck with XP for the time being. I read Digg, and although that site has a heavy Mac/Linux bias, it still seems that Vista is a nightmare of heavy-handed antipiracy measures and a shiny ripoff of MacOSX from two years ago.

Back when XP came out ... 5 years ago? ... I upgraded because Millennium was such a piece of garbage, and the press about XP was that it was an improvement. I don't seem to be hearing the same - on the contrary - I keep hearing of school boards, large companies or government sectors that are switching to free versions of Linux in order to avoid the cost / hassle of upgrading to one of Vista's many versions.

Incidentally, the expansion from 2 versions of XP to 5 versions of Vista seems to have affected the lure of getting any of them, which is, we will recall from that TED video I posted, the paradox of choice.

So what's the deal, Windows users? Is it too expensive? Are there two many versions? Are you waiting for the first service pack to come out and fix the inevitable wave of problems? Is upgrading too much of a hassle or too dangerous?

Resolutions Update 3

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-03-04T16:07:59+09:00

I've felt recently that the attempt to actually do something cool instead of just putter along in the status quo actually attracts problems. February was more or less a nightmare: dealing with Grandma Jo and my breakup drove me into socialization overdrive to stave off feeling down, one of my few friends left the next week into the silent vacuum of California, relationships deteriorated around work with my manager in the hospital for a month and everyone stressed out, trying to do to much in too little time made me late for two private lessons, my house went nearly a month without a good cleaning.

November was pretty much without comment yet two months later February goes all to hell. Irritating.

I've had a few successes, despite all this. Let's do an overview.
--Writing. My daily writing hasn't been great this week, but before that it was pretty solid. It helped that the previous two weeks I was fucking off and writing when I should have been working; I really can't continue to do that, so my writing time needs to be elsewhere. The great news, however, is that I submitted my first article to a local magazine and it should be published in april. I am also going to send something into Ty's Pine Beetle Review, as soon as my editors get back to me.
--Reading. I've read six books so far, which would make it seem that I am on pace to finish the whole list in time. Unfortunately I have been knocking off mainly the easy ones, so harder reading lies ahead. I am about half done The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel and so far it is good, so good in fact that it makes me want to be a sailor... well, nearly. I am also rereading Getting Things Done and listening to an audiobook by the same author, whom I can thank for what little control I have over my life right now. I'm going to be meeting up with Matt at the end of the month, so I have to finish The Tipping Point by then and give it back to him.
--Photos. I am really behind so far. I think I have shot 600 instead of 800 right now, and there are two main problems. 1) my cards, combined, don't hold a hundred photos, so I either have to delete as I go and make room, or constantly swap and dump. That's annoying. 2) I have yet to figure out a fast and easy system for importing photos, deleting junk, editing the good ones and importing the lot into iPhoto. I guess the realization is this: if the photo isn't good enough to take the time to edit, it should probably be deleted or kept just for the "I was there, I did this" factor. That means that my photography and editing skills still have a long way to go, as most of them don't seem worth editing.
--Work. Teaching privates has been ok, but my coworker opted to stay longer so I can't count on that income right away. On the upside, I can go on Japanese EI for three months at 60% wages to help cover my bills for a while. The real challenge here isn't finding work - there are gobs of teaching jobs - but finding good work. I'd ultimately like to be working at a college or doing some contract writing work, but I have to do some figuring to get there first.

Studying Japanese and exercising have both basically sucked. I am going to change my Joe's goals system a bit: if I go two days in a row not doing something, the penalty will be doubled. Similarly, if I can go a week without missing something, that goal will be doubled for a day. I think I'll also raise the bar too: from now on my goal is going to be +5, as +4 is a bit easy to do.

So what's to come on Wendingwayfare? Next week I'll have my review of the Getting Things Done methodology and potentially some new photos. I'd also like to do a location spotlight, so keep your eyes peeled (or subscribe to the RSS feed).

Review 6: Hey Rube, Hunter S. Thompson

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-24T20:08:43+09:00

Wow - something good actually came from going to Aeon Headquarters! I discovered the book-swap bin, which I then proceeded to raid for a copy of Hey Rube as well as McCarthy's No Country for Old Men. In order to save money, I am going to swap this one for the one I had plan to read - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I'll get to it if I have time.

First, let it be said - I Understand All Now. I understand Ty, over at TRR, and his weird use of capitals, the random streaks of totally non-sensical hyperbole. It is all Thompson. Reading the first page of Hey Rube nullified an aeon of Ty and I arguing over style.

Which isn't to say I like it. I just know why Ty was writing that way. Anyway, Hey Rube is a collection of semi-sports-related rants that ESPN.com paid Hunter to write. I found myself drawn into the book even though over half of the material was boring. It was like a captivating person describing lint -- you are still captivated even though the material is dull. The main theme of the book was sports, or more specifically, sports-gambling. I found Hunter's autobiographical antics to be humourous, but the sports talk itself wasn't very interesting unless he was being really vituperative.

But then, sprinkled in like fragments of what I am pretty sure his other books are like, were his "digressions" on Bush, the new war on terror and the decline of America. These sections were by far the most insightful and interesting, and while they gave me a taste of what his style is really like, he usually cut himself off with a "whoops! I seem to be wandering...", feeling some sort of obligation to actually talk about sports.

This book was overall ho-hum, but if other books he has written are permitted a narrative longer than a couple pages and deal with a more interesting topic, you can count me in.

TED Talks

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-24T20:05:30+09:00

Have I beaten all of you over the head about TED yet? Have I harangued and ordered you to go to the website, to subscribe to the RSS feed? Well here's a video to watch at slugass Youtube speeds, just for a taste.

Review 5: In Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-17T17:30:10+09:00

My first encounter with Chatwin was through advertising: my journal of choice, the Moleskine, is labeled "the famous journal of Hemingway, Picasso, Chatwin". It wasn't until I stumbled across In Patagonia in a Vancouver used book store that I connected the vaguely known writer (Chatwin's The Songlines is one of Dad's favourites) with the marketing scheme.

I started the book pretty excited, as it was one of my first real forays into travel literature, a genre I am interested in contributing to. The verdict? Confusion and disappointment. The book details Chatwin's quest into Patagonia (the southern tip of South America) because of a scrap of "brontosaurus skin" his grandmother had, which had come from a cave in Patagonia. As the first few chapters reveals, it was actually the skin of an extinct sloth. My confusion comes from the narrative. The book has two modes: it follows Chatwin's route through Patagonia and recounts his encounters with the locals, or describes the historical detail around a figure that he pursues through various interviews and history books. Both were unsatisfactory.

The travel/exploration side of exploring South America was a bit letdown. I was intrigued by Patagonia, as I really had no clue as to what was down there. My impression was of mountains, natives, Spanish, and mist but little rainfall. To my chagrin, I discovered that Patagonia is full of British, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, German and Boer settlers, most of which were there to escape the World Wars, the Cold War, their own personal histories. So settlers, and sheep. Sheep, sheep, sheep. Chatwin wanders from exile sheep-farm to exile sheep-farm, and I really couldn't help but feel both bored and that he had somehow missed out on the vitality of the native peoples, which are generally described only as sheep-thieves, as victims of small-pox epidemics or of missionaries, or as nameless, faceless peons, servants and "tame indians". (the vitality of the natives could be my own fantasy, as they are continually described as drunks) Instead the book focuses on these poor souls trying to recreate Wales or wherever, fighting against Marxists, anarchists, indians, or other landowners. Reading all of this was a let down, as though a mysterious spot on the map was revealed to be just as boring as the rest of the world.

The other mode the book operates in is the description of historical figures who factored into the area somehow. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, two famous train robbers from the States, were a couple of the main figures, as was a leader of an attempted revolution and the self-proclaimed king of Patagonia (in exile). These historical figures were fairly interesting, but often I found that my understanding of their roles was limited by my total ignorance regarding Chilean/Argentinean politics in the last century. I had to Google Péron (Juan and Evita, you know, don't cry for me Argentina etc -- thank you Madonna!) to fill some basic gaps. I don't expect to be spoonfed, but I felt that I missed out on some of the references that other people would have understood better. Also, some of the historical figures seemed to have been tossed in just for the need for material. Near the end of the book Chatwin interviews several people about a barber that had recently committed suicide. I felt, as I read, what the hell is the point of telling me about this random dood?

And that became the overall theme - a lack of a theme. I often felt vaguely interested, but soon the little investigation would end and Chatwin would move off to another town, in which he would introduce a new character and finish his biography just as quickly. Overall, I've realized that a day by day account of people and places is really boring if there isn't some sort of pattern, theme, or clear conclusion. There doesn't need to be a moral to every story, but let there at least be a story that unites the book more than just the fact that he wrote it all in one area.

Youtube test

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-12T21:38:16+09:00

Just trying this out.

And these videos are pretty funny.

Tell me more about this... "Photoshop" you speak of

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-11T12:12:53+09:00

12 hours later I emerge, grimy with sweat and pixels, bearing the efforts of my labours: two edited photos.

Despite my dad's pesterings, I had long avoided using any photo editing software. I found fiddling with colour to do more damage than it was worth, editing for blemishes often looked heavy-handed and unnatural, and I had hangups over messing with the "reality" that my camera captured. Any pro photographer will tell you that's silly, of course. A camera is just a device that captures light, and its functioning is just as subjective as our own eyes taking in and making sense of light. I still feel that I want to capture what I saw, but now I have realized that I need photo editing to make that happen, because my camera can't do it all on its own.

Anyway, I've been riding the lappy for the last 5 hours, screwing around with the site design and I am fed up. These colours and fonts are a bit "happy" but I think the site will function better on browsers this way.

Oh, and check out the photos.

Review 4: Carousel Issue 20

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-08T16:35:36+09:00

Carousel is unfortunately not going to go beyond a trial issue, such was my disappointment. I'll first say that the journal is put together well and that the art was pretty interesting. I'll counter that by saying that there were all of 2 poems that I a) understood and b) therefore enjoyed.

Those of you who know me know that I enjoy poetry, but as I read more and more currently produced stuff, it is becoming apparent that my tastes are out of fashion. I'm not going to type out any example poems because it would be bad for copyright reasons and annoying to have to look at any of these poems again. Nevertheless, the breed of poetry that Carousel has chosen to espouse is the obscure, obtuse, post-modern variety that glories in its own artistichoodiness. That doesn't mean I like sugary, moralistic, reductive, Chicken-Soup-for-the-Soup slop -- on the contrary. Even though I can talk poetry, I want to be able to walk into any poem and feel moved somehow, that I understood something, and that further rereading will only deepen my appreciation of the piece. I don't want to have to consult my Dictionary of Obscure and Oblique Literary Reference to figure out where a quote is coming from. I read the whole issue twice, and reread several of the poems further to make sure I wasn't been hasty in my dismissal. Instead I only became more certain that most of the writers were completely high on their own bullshit. Writing like this, with its Ezra Pound "make it new" obsession, has thrown out any notion of storytelling, narrative voice or evocative metaphor in favour of the "look how bloody weird I am" competition that has gripped the art world now and then.

No thanks.

Setsubun, Fushimi Inari, Yoshida, Daitoku-ji

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-07T17:16:22+09:00

Last weekend marked a week as a single guy, so I threw myself into socializing in order to avoid the emptiness of my apartment. That Saturday was a national holiday - Setsubun, the traditional beginning of the new year - I succeeded to an exhausting level. Friday night I went out for dinner with a colleague and got the lowdown on another shitty relationship in my environs. I got home at 2:30 and crawled into bed, sleeping a scant few hours before I woke to teach two private classes. I mistook the starting time for the second class, and without checking my pda, I dashed off through traffic to arrive on time, nearly getting hit by a car I didn't see on the way.

That started a theme that has continued throughout this week - danger. Last night I was nearly pinched by a car that was backing into a parking spot because I thought it was pulling out instead of pulling in. This morning I was startled by a car pulling up to an intersection suddenly and I nearly fell into the river when I collided with another cyclist whom I was attempting to pass and who didn't see me. After that a pigeon made for my face in kamikaze style. I've decided to spend the rest of the week moving slowly.

Anyway, grateful that I was still alive, I took advantage of the good lighting and visited Fushimi-Inari Taisha, the shrine with a whole ton of red gates in order to take some pictures. It was interesting to return with a different camera. I shot better pictures by and large, but I felt a bit hindered by the length of the lens and really craved something wide to capture the scene better. Here are some photos from last year and this visit, check out the difference in the photos.

After that shrine I headed home for lunch and started watching Great Teacher Onizuka. This ridiculous anime is basically about an ex-gang leader and major slacker (yet somehow a third rate college graduate) who figures he'd like to be a teacher and make school fun again. Through some trials in actually getting a teaching position, he ends up at a school and is put in charge of a class that is legendary for its bad students. So far it is totally funny, but it does have a large does of horny adolescent humor involving highschool girl panties and other such sexual innuendo, so I don't think it is really for everyone.

I watched a few episodes and then headed off to meet Jenny and Stacy. We had a couple of drinks and then headed to Yoshida-jinga, one of the big shrines in Kyoto, because it was host to a large festival and bonfire. We ate and spilled a variety of food and then ended up standing around the fire until after 2am. I had a chance to talk to some more long term residents and become more confident that they are all varying shades of bonkers.

The next day, Jenny, Stacy and I met again to check out some temples. I shot a bunch of pictures, but I really only took one good photo, the one you are looking at right now. After that we went out for dinner (and a bottle of wine) and then hit a cafe for absinthe. I don't quite understand the mystique around this drink. The popculture understanding of it is that it is hallucinogenic. I am not sure about my experience. We had one, but it wasn't lit on fire or mixed with sugar (which you are supposed to do?) and it tasted like sambuca mixed with toothpaste. Stacy said that her only reaction in the past was brighter vision. Since she told me that, I am treating the following experience with a bit of skepticism. The next bar we visited (in order to drink sangria) was a Spanish joint with walls painted in red and blue stripes. Either those colours shouldn't be put together or the absinthe was doing something, because the border between them was hurting my eyes.

So that was Sunday. Monday was another private class, Aeon, and then an evening out for coffee with a really sweet student. A relatively early night, home at 11:30. Check out the photo galleries for images of what I am talking about.

Edit: I just found out that my camera raw isn't supported by my version of Photoshop, so the galleries will have to wait a little. Go bittorrent go!

Resolutions Update 2

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-02-06T10:52:19+09:00

Everything pretty much goes out the window when emotion rears his ugly head, so I'm happy to have just escaped last week and all of its drama. I have gone onto a full-scale socializing offensive in an attempt to enjoy life and spend as little time at home, and my wallet will attest that I have been successful. Last weekend was the traditional New Year's celebration here in Japan (they do also celebrate Jan 1st) so I was out past midnight or nearly so for the previous four nights. I hope to post some pictures tonight or tomorrow.

Regarding the goals:
--Writing daily has been, by far, the most successful. I've been writing and reading about 30 mins each minimum, which is not too shabby. It isn't 2000 words a day, a target I read about online recently, but it is an improvement.
--The book list. The Odyssey is so damn big! I am a third done, but I decided to start reading In Patagonia just to be able to write a review sooner.
--Taking photos has gotten a lot harder, but I have hit my target for January. I've realized that my lens length has some creative limits, particularly because I usually like to take wide photos, not portrait shots. The portraits I have taken are great, but they really require getting into people's faces, something I am still not very good at. In addition, the winter lighting in Japan is pretty dreary somedays and I am getting tired of photos of temples. On top of that, I've decided to shoot in RAW, that is, shoot in an uncompressed, unprocessed format in order to learn how to use photoshop creatively. The problem is that my cards can't hold many RAW photos and I spend a lot more time uploading.
--Submissions. I have been putting this one off, but I can't for much longer. I have a few poems I am going to submit soon, and I think I am going to aim for a cheap print publication, rather than a famous one or a 'zine (how I loathe the term).
--Work. I have now have 4 private students, accounting for about $300 a month. If a couple coworkers give me theirs upon leaving this number could double, though the hourly rate isn't fantastic.
--Japanese. This one hasn't been good. I think, like I tell my students, that I need to pick a specific time to study.

All things considered, the month has been decent. My strong points have been writing, reading and photography, the weak ones exercise, Japanese and submission. And with that, I am back at it! Look for photos soon.

Blue Monday, One Week Late, Waiting for you, Grandma Jo

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-31T00:07:00+09:00

Turns out that the worst day of the year got delayed in the mail, coming a week behind schedule to coincide with me breaking up with my girlfriend and the death of my great grandma Jo. I cancelled my private class and told the school I wasn't coming in, losing out on the same $240 I was touting last monday. Moments like those really emphasize the distance, the unmitigable distance that separates me from those who matter most, the distance that, in moments of crisis, becomes impenetrable to the best of our telecommunication devices.

I knew little of my Great Grandma. She was stubborn and liked to be difficult. I recall her not understanding my sloppy Canadian English, remember her sitting to watch fox news down in a Californian trailer park of sorts, remember her kindness when I was 17 and saw her last, despite my blindness of grief at being away from my first real girlfriend. I remember her phone calls wherein she always asked, "is this Dylan?" getting me and my brother mixed up, phone calls which stopped coming without me noticing.

So here I am, an ocean away, my most ancient living ancestor now dead. I didn't know the extent of her senility, that she scarcely remembered her son when he saw her last, didn't know her or what she did with the last 20 years of life, what she thought or felt, where she came from. I can conjure all sorts of sociological theory about broken genealogies with trans-Atlantic migration, all of the reasons as to why the average Canadian's sense of self is cobbled together from pop-culture and a malformed sense of being from 'over there' historically. Ultimately, I just feel like a shit grandson, the terminus of an ancient chain spanning back into the past whose opposite end just lost another link into the gaping maw of vacuum, the gears of that most terrible machine.

Perhaps I mourned myself in advance, that 3 short generations hence my great grandchildren will just as soon veg out in front of that era's opiate of choice as learn a little of their ancient patriarch, who toiled to create a world for them, who knew just as little of his own ancestors. For the indignity of hollow memory, that final fading resting place for us all, I ask for forgiveness, Josephine.

Bend Sinister

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-24T09:38:20+09:00

Time to give a little love. My friend Naben's band, Bend Sinister, has put out their first music video and it is pretty cool. If you are around Vancouver you can see them play fairly frequently - as for another Canadian tour, I don't think one is in the works for the moment, but their site has all upcoming show details.

Blue Monday - How was yours?

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-23T22:43:06+09:00

Some blogger am I, forgetting to post about something relevant and then doing it in retrospect. If you hadn't heard, monday was calculated to be the worst day of the year. The main reasons are: the parties are all over, the visa bill from xmas shopping has just arrived, and most initial steam from a resolution has been lost by this point.

Mine was pretty great! I taught a couple hours in the morning and then headed to work until 9. The total daily (7.5hrs) wage, about $230CAD, is more than I have ever earned in a day, so that felt good. Then I dropped off some teaching materials at the home of a truly inspirational duo - Tad and Anthony. I met Anthony this summer and he is the guy that has hooked me up with some classes and given me a lot of kickass advice. He's also the guy that inspired me to ditch my job situation, because he, doing private lessons exclusively, works 3 months, then takes 3 months off to travel, year round. Tad is his tagteam partner, and he stays at Anthony's place when they switch. It isn't often that I meet someone with whom I have a lot in common, but this was epic. We talked hiking gear, travel, teaching, English lit (same degree), Macs, Mac software, personal productivity, the same sites we both have RSS feeds to -- it was shocking. Normally I would tenuously venture, "Have you heard of Getting Things Done?" But not only had he heard of it, he was implementing it with damn near the same software, freeware, pda and pda sync set up as me! He was reading the same geeky sites about Getting Things Done and similarly waiting anxiously for that stopgap program destined to come out soon.

I dropped by at 9:30 and ended up staying until nearly midnight -- not a bad Blue Monday at all!

Review 3: Collected Short Stories, Roald Dahl

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-16T23:23:09+09:00

Before I even begin, let it be known: I am a rabid Dahl fan. I read nearly all of his kids books over and over as a child, however, it was with some trepidation that I started into his adult fiction. I wasn't sure if the same guy who wrote naughty children's books would be the same for an adult audience. I started reading this book about a year ago, slowly working through the stories, starting with the shortest ones as I would often be reading before bed.

I'll just go ahead and say that they are delicious, electric and disturbing. His stories largely fall into a few well defined camps: stories set in WWII (in which he was an RAF pilot), stories about assholes we end up liking anyway, stories that start out ordinary and end very very sinister, stories of science gone awry, and stories with a great, often funny, twist. Actually, the majority of them have twists, but the last category is for ones that aren't WWII, assholesque, sinister or scientific.

I ended up liking the stories about antiheroes, tricksters, scammers and infamous womanizers the most. For at least a quarter of his 50-odd stories I palpably quivered with tension as I tried to read without skipping ahead, having to go back paragraphs again and again as my excitement grew. A couple others shocked me so badly that I couldn't stop thinking about them, and I couldn't decide whether I thought "oh, that poor bastard. That sucks so much." Or, "That is hilarious. He totally had that coming." Really, both were true, and it is rare that a writer can create such tension not only within the story but within a reader's emotional response. A couple stories were duds, but this was largely because I felt that the twist was just too cruel to the protagonist or came too early to be a shock. These, however, where huge exceptions. The vast majority bred sympathy and lulled my senses so easily that each story still had an effect upon me.

Matt, another fan, said he read Dahl's stories a little at a time because the endless twists can become repetitive. I don't quite agree, but I do think that the book should be read a little at a time to better savour the stories, and that a reader should skip around instead of reading all of his war stories or sexy ones all at once (and they do sort of form clumps in the books that make up the collected). Before reading the last story (the last one in order as well) I reread one previous to it that I thought I hadn't. Even though I knew the result, I still really enjoyed watching Dahl craft the buildup to that moment, so for me at least, these twist stories bore rereading.

If you want to get a taste of his writing, find a copy of this book and sit down with one of the following great examples of the 5 different subgroups mentioned above:
Parson's Pleasure
Beware of the Dog or They Shall Not Grow Old
The Butler
Genesis and Catastrophe
The Great Automatic Grammatizator

Now that I have this list, I urge, nay, order you to go out and read these!

Bells, Maidens, God streaming down all Goldenstyle!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-15T23:19:56+09:00

***Preface - if you do not find Japanese anime or "cartoons" even remotely interesting, just close the window, or skip down to another post. I am about to lay down the geekery.***

Honestly. Honestly. It never ceases to amaze, the effect of good writing over bad. What am I talking about? Why, anime of course! I just finished watching Episode 110 of Bleach, a show that has valiantly endured B- filler for the last 50 episodes, 50 episodes of tortured idiotic dialogue, of slow and ill-measured pacing, of failure to respect character, of idiotic "well, since we have to sync up with the manga original again sometime we can't do any really cool shit and then end up being out of whack" total nonsense. It is as though the animation studio responsible for writing the filler episodes set out to do it in such a substandard way that no thunder could possibly be stolen from the creator's writing skills.

In a word, 110 was vindication. Vindication for sitting through all of that, waiting for something interesting to happen. Watching was a shock -- I kept thinking, the episode has to end soon, too much stuff has happened. The plot is moving at an exciting pace! But it carried on, was badass, and I recommend it. Watch from 1-67, then 109 on. (Lunar fansubs are the best for the former run) We are back, and Naruto is nearly there too!

Resolutions Update

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-13T18:56:10+09:00

I'm looking at my list of resolutions to see how things are going. First off, this week has been one of the most miserable weeks in recent memory for me, so that I got much of anything done at all was somewhat exceptional. !) I knocked off 2 books. See below. Roald Dahl is nearly done, but The Odyssey is going to take me forever.
2) I did some writing and decided on the article topic for this month's submission: an intro to Japanese Buddhism. I figure it's a pretty good idea because I am both interested and ignorant in the topic.
3) I've shot nearly 200 photos so far, so that's on track.
4) The Japanese isn't moving forward. Got to move on that.
5) Joe's Goals is interesting. I am sort of swinging back and forth, particularly because of these extraordinarily shitty days. I also think I need to turn up the ratings on the ones I am routinely dodging, and turn down the easy ones.

Gah. I am in one of those moods where a quick finger to skip a depressing song is critical for getting through the evening. No "with or without you" No random counting crows song. Piss off Sting. Whew, ok, I think I can handle Paul Simon, at least this song.

Review 2: Financial Peace, Dave Ramsey

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-13T18:55:14+09:00

Reading this book was sort of like getting life advice from your crusty old great aunt. She has seen some stuff, had her ups and downs, and her advice is great, but it is laced with biblical allusions, she speaks to you like you are a total moron and really has no sense for anything other than her conservative worldview. Ramsey gives his own personal history: he was a hotshot with big loans, big deals and big money. At the height of his successes the real estate market crashed and the banks came coming for money that he didn't have, sending him into 4 years of financial hell, crawling out of the debt pit he had dug for himself.

That brings us to this book. He wrote about his experiences, gave it to a bunch of other financial experts for feedback and then self-published it. Let me preface this next paragraph by saying there are some good points to his book. First I need to bitch.

My main complaint is that somewhere along the line he should have given it to an editor. I've read a couple of books on finances, and the usual tone is sort of "we are going to talk slowly because you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't get it already". The Wealthy Barber does this, and does it successfully through 4 characters and their interactions. Ramsey, on the other hand, was too blunt for me. My finances aren't so bad; perhaps there are people that need to be told that "only people who like eating dog food don't save for their futures" but it rubbed me the wrong way.

Even so, even if a bit of bluntness can be excused, for he has certainly counseled a lot of people that need a strong slap upside the head, the Christian overtone nearly made me wretch. Before he gets to the good advice he spends a whole chapter talking about the spiritual aspect of money, quoting scripture once a page on average. Even before he talks about financial priorities, his first advice is to tithe, no matter the situation. A real gem, that one. Another choice piece is in the chapter regarding counsel. He laid out why a financial advisor isn't always in your best interests, how you should always consult your spouse etc -- FINE. Great. Then he says that your pastor is also a good source of financial advice. "If you are willing to trust your eternal soul to this person's direction, you should also seek his or her counsel in financial matters. As a Christian I believe God will give my pastor wisdom in matters he might not seem to have access to through his background or education. So I will seek his advice in decisions of importance" (243). Saying not to trust your banker but trust your pastor with your financial future is out and out retarded -- EVEN IF your banker wants a commission out of you.

ANYWAY, rant over.
The book actually does have some good advice if you can palate the style. Here are a few of my favorite points:

Credit cards are designed to pay themselves off on their own, so stop using them!
Live within you means - the best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it in your pocket.
He also gives a step by step plan:
--Save $1000 before anything else as emergency money. I've realized that part of my money stress relates to this -- I have no financial cushion and if I am broke, I am flat broke.
--Kill off your loans, smallest ones first. (except mortgages) I mostly agree with this. Some people say that you should focus your money on the loan with the highest interest, but he believes that the psychological benefit of killing off a whole loan, even if the interest isn't the highest, is a huge reward and will keep you moving forward.
--Save up 3 to 6 months of expenses to cover any serious disasters. This, again, is pretty good counsel. Sure, you could have put that toward your mortgage, or spent it on something fun now that all of the other loans are done, but by building this nest egg a major amount of stress will be lifted.
--Lastly, start investing your income / killing off your mortgage.

One of the best things he said was about our feelings toward debt. After the Great Depression, people who were indebted were looked upon as pitiful, particularly because so many people had lost their whole fortunes from trading borrowed money on the Stock Exchange. Ramsey argues that the idea that "debt is a fact of life" is nonsense. Save up and buy that car in cash, don't lease it and pay double. Save up and budget your expenses, don't sell yourself to the bank. We can have all we desire if we only exercise a little patience and put money aside for a few months instead of buying it on the Visa and paying for it for even longer. For this resounding affirmation of one of my life goals, I give Ramsey a high five, despite his writing skills.

Review 1: Grooks 2, Piet Hein

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-13T17:54:02+09:00

My dad gave me (or I forcibly inherited) his volumes of Piet Hein's Grooks when I was pretty young, and they have always had a strong impression on me. The Grook is his own creation, sort of a Scandinavian answer to the haiku - a short, humourous and aphoristic poem that for my money is vastly superior to the intangibility of Japanese nuance. More than that, these poems were used as a form of code for members of the Danish resistance during WWII, of which Hein was a leader in hiding. When was the last time you heard of poems being used to fight soldiers? Hein was also interesting because he didn't fall for the usual science vs art bullshit. He was a scientist by trade, even discovering that the super-ellipse (which is essentially a oval and a rectangle at the same time) is one of the most efficient and pleasing shapes for design, making a profound contribution to Scandinavian style (think Ikea).

For some reason I didn't have the 2nd volume, so when I saw it in Vancouver on New Year's eve I snapped it up. The whole book can be read in a sitting as there are only 53 poems, each less than a page long. Each poem is accompanied by one of Hein's own drawings, which unfortunately I can't reproduce for you here. Nevertheless, I'll let some of my favourites speak for themselves.

Thoughts on a Station Platform

It ought to be plain
how little you gain
by getting excited
and vexed.
You'll always be late
for the previous train,
and always in time
for the next.

The Untenable Argument

My adversary's argument
is not alone malevolent
but ignorant to boot.
He hasn't even got the sense
to state his so-called evidence
in terms I can refute.

What Love is Like

Love is like
a pineapple,
sweet and
undefinable.

The State

Nature, our father and mother,
gave us all we got.
The state, our elder brother,
swipes the lot.

The Slot Machine
(A contribution to the psychology of disappointment)

Yes, life is a gamble;
but isn't it mean
that you're never the one
to win it,
when the thing is
a coin-in-the-slot machine
and you did
put a shirt-button in it.

Timing Toast
(Grook on how to char for yourself)

There's an art to knowing when.
Never try to guess.
Toast it until it smokes and then
20 seconds less.

That's Why

Why do bad writers
win the fight?
Why do good writers
die in need?
Because the writers
who can't write
are read by readers
who can't read.

The Unattainable Ideal

We ought to live
each day as though
it were our last day
here below.

But if I did, alas,
I know
it would have killed me
long ago.

I am invariably attracted to his funny ones, but all of them are really good. Looking around on the net, it appears that there are more than 5 volumes but they are out of print. That said, I have found them in used books stores. I'll post more from this volume by request.

Kyoto

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-08T11:03:02+09:00

The coffee shops crowd
all eyes aslant, ears wide open
the concrete canyons
are flooded in light and lurid passers
so under the neon glare
a native mask he tries to wear
for the city has no place to weep,
the city has no place to weep.

Photos, Round 2

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-04T14:06:07+09:00

I've put up the pics for the rest of my trip. Enjoy!

At dad's we pigged out and watched hockey games. I also managed to drag my dad and his friend who was visiting out on snowshoes, despite the fact that they work on them 5 months a year. Back in Kelowna I met with my financial advisor and generally visited and ate too much. On the 31st, with heavy heart, I boarded a flight down to Vancouver, where I met up with Kayla and managed to soothe the ache of leaving by partying with her.

And bang, here I am again, having spent the last day and a half trying to put it all down on my site.

The Day of the Ubermensch!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-04T10:35:47+09:00

In pure English conversation school chatting-after-class style, I have been asking friends and family if they have any New Year's resolutions. I have received 5 types of responses. The first is, "no, I haven't thought about it." Second: "no, my life is fine as it is and I am happy." Third, and the largest response, "No, New Year's resolutions are stupid and never work out." Next: "No, if you are going to do something, do it on any day." Lastly "Yes, I want to be happy, lose weight, reaffirm my marriage etc."

I am going to go on record and say that all of this is bullshit.
1 - why aren't you thinking about your life and the way it is going? You are leaving your happiness up to the fates and remaining passive about your circumstances.
2 - either you are one of the truly rare and blessedly happy individuals or you are settling / turning a blind eye to areas that can be improved. Just make sure you know which kind you are.
3 - resolutions often don't work out, but they aren't stupid. It is a chance to look at your life and see what you like and dislike. It is true that a year's resolution is often too much pressure and once it is broken even once the whole business falls apart. However, this can be solved.
4 - this is a hardass response from people with either a huge amount of willpower, or no resolutions to attempt anyway. I agree to a certain extent, but the good thing about New Year's is that it is like a reset button, a really really big one. You can wipe away past failures and try anew.
5 - these resolutions are essentially doomed. I was reading the top 15 resolutions over at 43 Folders and the majority of them lack the clarity to even know if you have succeeded or failed:

1. Read 50 books in 2007 - GOOD! Makes my list look short, but I have some stupidly big and hard books in there.
2. exercise regularly - BAD! What is exercise? What is regularly?
3. lose weight - BAD! How much? 2lbs? 200lbs?
4. drink more water - BAD! How much?
5. stop procrastinating - BAD! You can fail this by procrastinating even once.
6. start a photo journal - take at least a photo a day to represent my life - GOOD! Really clear.
7. stop eating sugar - BAD! Again, this is super easy to break.
8. Read more books - BAD! Undefined. See #1.
9. Practice Yoga - BAD! When, how often?
10. Read the entire Bible - GOOD... I guess...
11. Save money - BAD! How much?
12. make 2007 my best year yet - BAD! Totally vague! What does a good year mean to you? It must be defined.
13. get a job - GOOD! if a bit easy.
14. eat healthier - BAD! again, undefined, vague, breakable
15. meditate daily - Pretty Good, but how long, when?

In fairness this is just a list of titles. Some people may have more distinct details figured out. The point is, if you don't have a clear goal, you can't score. So, here is my list of tips I am going to try to use myself that I have picked up in my own reading:
1: Be clear. Know exactly what your parameters are. Drink 3L of water everyday. Save $100 a month.
2: Don't set yourself up for a fall. If your goal is "quit smoking" you've blow it the moment you light up once. The resolution becomes totally useless. "Cut down by 90%" is slightly easier, and it accommodates the occasional slip up, thereby preserving the goal.
3: Have a plan. Even the nice 50 books a year resolution can fall flat on its face if you don't have a schedule laid out, an idea of how many books you need to read a month, how many hours you need to read every week, or even an idea of when you are going to do all of this reading every day.
4: Positive visualization. If you find yourself dwelling on how much it sucks to do what you have resolved to do, you are one rainy day or stressful situation from cracking. Instead, remember why you made the resolution. Envision, Stanley Cup style, how rad it will be when you hoist that goal over your head.
5: Rewards. Lastly, the strongest visualization sometimes lacks the force of a cookie. Are you doing well? Reward yourself! It can be a spontaneous pat on the back when you start losing a little bit of steam, or it can be a semi-large reward at a fixed point. Are you sucking ass? Steel yourself, pick a small reward to put off for a little while, then push to get started again. When you finish you can savour your success and the cookie -- this is psychological gold.
6: Reset. The good thing about New Year's resolutions is that it forces people who would otherwise not look up from the grind to consider their situation and try to forge a new path. One big problem, however, is blowing it, often before the "worst day of the year", this year falling on Monday, January 22. (It is called thus because the weather is shit, xmas debt bills arrive, the party is over and most people have already blown their resolutions). Just remember: every single morning is a chance to reset. Look past the symbolism of the New Year's resolution and try out having one kickass day. Then add another. Repeat. If you blow one, start over like it didn't happen.

By now you must be thinking, ok smarty pants. What the hell are your resolutions? I am going to put my balls on the line here and post about my progress. So, the list:

--Quittez mon travail, locate new employ, generate more monetary units, labour less temporally (sorry, this is in code in case any of mes etudiants are reading)
--Fill one Moleskine journal with writing. I'll do original work on the right page, revisions on the left.
--Submit my writing once a month to magazines or journals, 6x poetry, 6x articles.
--Shoot 5000 photos on my new camera.
--Read the entirety of my Book List and write reviews for each book.
--Pay off $12000 of debt, Save up $1000 before I make my work move.
--Learn all of the meanings of the Basic 2000 Kanji
--Learn all of the vocab from the Genki textbook and Minna Text
--Kick the Japanese Proficiency Test's Ass (Level 3, that is)
--Use Joe's Goals - See the Sidebar - to track my progress in the following small or incremental goals: 10 Minute Showers, Clean 15 Mins, Write 30 Mins, Do Knee Exercises, Early for Work, Empty Email, Empty Inbox, Plan Tomorrow, Practice Kanji 15 mins, Read 30 Mins, Stretch, Study Vocab 15 mins, Woke Decisively (within 10 minutes), Write 30 mins

Now, I could say "I am going to write every day!" but that's easy to break because really, shit happens. With this set up, I have different weighs for each activity so there is more pressure to do some, and I have to do at least half of them each day in order to stay in the positive. I have just set it up, but I am going to try to keep my score at least +4, but I may fiddle with that yet.

I'll keep track of my progress in the sidebar and in updates - at least monthly. What are your resolutions? Leave a comment and I'll feature you and your quest!

Book Contest Begins

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-03T17:18:59+09:00

Ok, Time to hit the books! I realized while in Canada that some of these choices were flexible according to used book availability and others could be replaced with other, more readily available titles. I also added two more from Miguel, the only person I know of through the blogosphere to contribute.

I have these ones already:

The Collected Short Stories - Dahl
The Odyssey - A Modern Sequel - Kazantzakis
Getting Things Done Allen (2nd read)
7 Habits of Highly Effective People Covey (2nd)
If You Want to Write - Ueland (2nd)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Thompson
Guns, Germs and Steel - Diamond
Remembering the Kanji 1
Collected Fictions - Borges
On the Road - Kerouac
20th Century Poetry and Poetics - ed Geddes

Dalva - Harrison - Dad
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis - Naben
The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis - Naben
On the Road - Kerouac - Ty
Financial Peace - Ramsey - Matt
The Tipping Point - Gladwell - Matt

I don't have these ones yet.
I am a Cat - Soseki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami
Lightweight Backpacking and Camping: A field guide to wilderness hiking equipment, technique and style
Lost Japan - Kerr
Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Nausea - Sartre - Ty
A Pale View of the Hills - Kazuo Ishiguro - Naben
The Collected Poems of Philip Larkin - Naben
Hitching a Ride with Buddha: Travels in Search of Japan - Ferguson - Melia
True North - Harrison - Dad
The Road Home - Harrison - Dad
Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Miguel
Queen of the South - Arturo Perez-Reverte - Miguel

And the swap books:
The Road - Cormac McCarthy - This is still in hardcover, so I'll read his Outer Dark instead.
The Magus - Fowles - I couldn't find this one in my boxes, so screw it. Swap for Grooks 2 by Piet Hein.
The Old Capital - Kawabata - I couldn't find this title, so I'll read The Sound of the Mountain instead.
Four Pairs of Boots - McLachlan - I have flipped through it a bit, but wasn't super interested. I'll read Chatwin's In Patagonia.
The Complete Walker IV - Fletcher and Rawlins - Expensive. I'll read Outdoor Safety and Survival.
Fixing your Feet - Vonhof - This book may be redundant because the Backpacking Light one has info on feet. Switch for another Kazantzakis - Report to Greco.

Regarding publications: I finally got an endorsement for a journal: Carousel. Ty's girlfriend recommended it or Geist. I have a trial copy of Carousel, so I'll check it out first. As for my other publication slot, I received really strong pushes from both Dad and Naben toward the New Yorker. It is super expensive, so I'll have to wait until I pay off my credit card.

Ok, that's it! On to the reviews and reading. I should have one within the week, as well as the photos from the rest of my trip.

Homecomings

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-01T20:03:38-08:00

I write this on the plane, in the middle of the third movie, hour seven onboard. I have realized, in the last 10 days of hectic visiting and feasting, that neither the words vacation nor holiday clearly define the state of being recreationally away from work. Vacation, sure, covers the vacatedness, and "holy day" the special significance and party aspect, but neither really nail down what is often vacating one situation and entering another, totally different, all encompassing experience. Thus the "vacation from my vacation" trope. Even more than visiting a new place, the shock of returning home hits unexpectedly hard. Hence "reverse culture shock."

Which is what was running through my head as I sat dazed at my mom's house, a banquet of baked goods and an array of questions before me. I had had little sleep on the plane -- note to self, do not sit next to the emergency exits ever again as the seats don't recline -- and I felt myself trying to put some distance between myself and home until I adjusted.

Shock hit even before I left the airplane. I asked the stewardess buckled into a seat next to me whether my luggage would transfer or not. She replied: "No, because you are switching from an international to a domestic flight. So, go and get your shit and walk down the hall..." etc. Go and get your shit -- this certainly wasn't "I recommend that the honourable customer retrieve his honourable luggage and proceed down the hall, so please you." I was startled but amused.

The second shock came in Tim Hortons. I ordered my two favourite doughnuts -- the apple fritter and the sour cream glazed. The former was standard, but the latter, my God, the latter, was nigh upon inedible! I couldn't believe how sweet it was and how much my palate had changed. I ate it, of course. But it was a struggle - that's what I am getting at.

The next 5 days were a whirlwind of family and a couple visits with friends tossed in. In brief:
23rd - arrival, shellshock and assault by sweets
24th - visiting, up to Lisanne's place for the Eve
25th - presents and off to the Harper's
26th - breakfast and then off to dad's

and with that, I'll let the photos do the talking. I will add, however, that I stood my ground at poker for 3 hours, and it was my first time! Gallery or Slideshow.

Pre-Christmas

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2007-01-01T19:41:39-08:00

Before I left, Sachi and I celebrated Christmas a week early. Dinner was chaotic and an incredibly long affair to prepare, but the food was largely good and I miraculously managed to make 5 pumpkin pies in the toaster oven. It is actually not too hard. Make the filling as directed on the can, pour the filling into a shallow crust (1.5cm or so I think) and then bake for 10 minutes twice, rotating if the crust starts to burn prematurely. I actually found that it cooked better without a crust, just in aluminum pie plates, as there was no burning problem.

My last week in Japan was one of extreme poverty: buying the ticket home and my new camera, as well as Christmas presents, left me eating Christmas dinner leftovers (read: ham) and whatever else $2 a day would buy me. Now that I am successfully on my way home I don't have any regrets, but it was a bit dodgy there for a while.

Contest Closed

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-21T22:43:22+09:00

Ok, I have decided that I have enough books for the new year, primarily because I am not sure I can afford to buy this many books! Here is the list of my own choices:

The Collected Short Stories - Dahl (already about half done)
The Odyssey - A Modern Sequel - Kazantzakis (just started, pretty awesome, heavy Nietzschean influence, very long)
Getting Things Done Allen (2nd read)
7 Habits of Highly Effective People Covey (2nd)
If You Want to Write - Ueland (2nd)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (ugh, I have to read an Oprah book)
The Road - Cormac McCarthy - yay postapocalyptic fiction!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Thompson - I am breaking down and finally reading it.
Guns, Germs and Steel - Diamond
Remembering the Kanji 1 - this is a textbook with all 2000 main use Kanji - I intend to learn them all.
The Magus - Fowles
The Old Capital - Kawabata
I am a Cat - Soseki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami
Lightweight Backpacking and Camping: A field guide to wilderness hiking equipment, technique and style
Fixing your Feet - Vonhof
The Complete Walker IV - Fletcher and Rawlins
Four Pairs of Boots - McLachlan
Lost Japan - Kerr
Collected Fictions - Borges
On the Road - Kerouac
20th Century Poetry and Poetics - ed Geddes
Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Because no one made any suggestions for subscriptions, I am going to subscribe to the Malahat Review and The Fiddlehead, because the former was my first rejector and the latter may dare to be my second, and because they are fairly prestigious. Lastly, because I am turning hardcore and because it is cheap, I am going to subscribe to Backpackinglight's print mag. It is $15USD with my membership, though shipping costs double the price. Still, $30USD for 4 issues is pretty good.

Here are the submissions:
Financial Peace - Ramsey - Matt
The Tipping Point - Gladwell - Matt
Nausea - Sartre - Ty
On the Road - Kerouac - Ty (unofficial submission)
A Pale View of the Hills - Kazuo Ishiguro - Naben
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis - Naben
The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis - Naben
The Collected Poems of Philip Larkin - Naben
Hitching a Ride with Buddha: Travels in Search of Japan - Ferguson - Melia
True North - Harrison - Dad
The Road Home - Harrison - Dad
Dalva - Harrison - Dad

As Naben, cocky ass that he is, pointed out, if the same person suggests both the 1st and 2nd place books, or if he or she already owns the prize, I'll figure something else out.

37 Books all told! Some of them are ridiculously huge, as in entire anthologies, but I have a whole year, so I'll give it my damnest. I'll start with the ones I actually own, in addition to the subscriptions. Here's a tentative starting list:

The Collected Short Stories - Dahl (already about half done)
The Odyssey - A Modern Sequel - Kazantzakis
Financial Peace - Ramsey - Matt (loaned)
Getting Things Done Allen (2nd read)
7 Habits of Highly Effective People Covey (2nd)
If You Want to Write - Ueland (2nd)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Guns, Germs and Steel - Diamond
The Magus - Fowles
The Tipping Point - Gladwell - Matt (loaned)

These are so big that I'll have to read them gradually.
20th Century Poetry and Poetics - ed Geddes
Remembering the Kanji 1
Collected Fictions - Borges

Wish me luck and look forward to the reviews!

.
.
.

How the hell am I going to afford this?

Site Problems?

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-21T09:34:11+09:00

I've had one report of wackiness with my site from someone using IE. Anyone else having problems? Post in the comments.

North Korea is more fucked than I realized

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-19T23:00:09+09:00

I can't figure out how to embed the video so here is a link worth watching: North Korea: Children of the Secret State. The guy that did most of the filming not only escaped from North Korea, but returned and escaped again several times to get this footage. Find another person willing to do that kind of journalism. (via Digg, Google, and Discovery)

Still Doubting?

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-19T10:05:30+09:00

Still have any doubt about the absolute certainty of catastrophic climate crisis? "The Denial Machine" Thanks to the CBC.

Melia and Peter add to the List

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-18T22:16:29+09:00

From Melia, the finest photographer I know, we have Hitching a Ride with Buddha: Travels in Search of Japan - Ferguson, and from the ol'Dad three Jim Harrison novels (I sure hope I like them!) True North, Dalva and The Road Home. This brings the total up to 33 novels, collections, books, or tomes of poetry, some of which are staggeringly large. Anyway, cross that bridge when I have to.

I am still waiting on some poetry journal suggestions. Keeping with my habit of upping the ante, I'll add one more: On the Road - Kerouac. I figure I have bugged Ty about his tastes enough to actually warrant reading something he likes, if only to further ridicule him. Actually On the Road may very well speak to me at this time in my life, so I'll give it a shot.

I am only two suggestions away from my cap, but I may still raise that cap! As for the contest, next year the person who suggests the best book will receive a copy of the second place book as well as something else, and the second place will receive the first place book.

Naben weighs in on the book list and CONTEST!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-14T11:37:36+09:00

Naben, pinnacle of erudition himself, has contributed to the book list.
First - The Collected Poems of Philip Larkin - Larkin is a great poet from all appearances, and I have been meaning to read this.
Next - Lucky Jim and The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis. I have no idea about the titles or the author, so these are certainly the most mysterious.
Lastly - Kazuo Ishiguro's A Pale View of the Hills. Ishiguro is another author that I am aware of, but have never read.
Thanks to Naben for his varied suggestions!

We are now at 25 books and 3 volumes of poetry. Naben also pointed out that if my work schedule changes, 2 books a month isn't very much. So, let's make it 36!

I am going to up the ante and put down Jorges Luis Borges - Collected Fictions. This is actually a previous Naben suggestion, and I have read a bit of it already, but much remains.
I will also subscribe to 2 journals or "zines" (though I find that title distasteful), provided that they will ship to Japan, so if you know anything about that scene, make a suggestion! It can be large-scale or small production. I'll review each issue and the publication as a whole.

Finally, the best suggested book for the year will win a prize! I can't reveal it (mainly because the idea just occurred to me) but due to the nature of the contest it is pretty clear what sort of gift it will be.

New Photos, Book Update, Mac Geekery

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-13T01:03:34+09:00

3 Things, because I should be in bed:

I have added new photos to the gallery, and finally decided on a layout for such galleries, after having my entire Saturday derailed by the issue. The pictures are of staff and students at my Christmas party.

Books have been suggested. I am now adding Sartre's Nausea and Financial Peace by Ramsey, thanks to Ty at TRR and Matt, my compatriot in geekery. The book list is at 16, and I'll add three from the Hiking world and :
Lightweight Backpacking and Camping: A field guide to wilderness hiking equipment, technique and style
Fixing your Feet
The Complete Walker IV

Four Pairs of Boots - McLachlan
Lost Japan - Kerr

BUT - I'll still keep that space open... that's right, you can still suggest 8 more books, and I'll read all 29 next year and write reviews!

Lastly, the super cool doods at Macheist are selling a fantastic bundle of mac shareware. $50 nets you $300 of award winning software. Check out the site if you or someone you know loves macs - it would make a good present, and 25% of proceeds go to a charity of your choice. My favorite is Delicious Library, which is a super sexy way to keep track of all of your books, cds, dvds or vids in one place. You can even use your webcam to scan in the barcodes.

Correction: I had intended to include the Tipping Point in my original list, so I didn't add Matt's suggestion. Now I see I forgot to write it down. Added!

2007 Book List Mission

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-09T13:40:21+09:00

Starting this May I set out to read 12 more books in the remainder of the year. Happily, I have surpassed that total - here is the list with a hard and fast review out of 10:
Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche 8.5/10
More Die of Heartbreak - Bellow 7.5/10
If You Want to Write - Ueland 9/10
Pale Fire - Nabokov 8/10
Turning the Mind into an Ally - Mipham 7/10
The Illiad - Homer 7/10
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Covey 8/10
Kokoro - Soseki - Review 5/10
An Inconvenient Truth - Gore - Review 9.5/10
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Brison - Review 8.5/10
The Cossacks - Tolstoy 7/10
The Three Musketeers - Dumas 7.5/10
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - le Carre 8.5/10
The Well Fed Writer - Bowerman 8/10

Before May I know I read at least these three:
Getting Things Done - Allen 9/10
Freedom and Death - Kazantzakis 8/10
Valis - Dick 7/10

My Goal for Next Year is 24 Novels/Books and 3 Volumes of Poetry - here is a tentative list:
The Collected Short Stories - Dahl (already about half done)
The Odyssey - A Modern Sequel - Kazantzakis (just started, pretty awesome, heavy Nietzschean influence, very long)
Getting Things Done (2nd read)
7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2nd)
If You Want to Write (2nd)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (ugh, I have to read an Oprah book)
The Road - Cormac McCarthy - yay postapocalyptic fiction!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Thompson - I am breaking down and finally reading it.
Guns, Germs and Steel - Diamond
Remembering the Kanji 1 - this is a textbook with all 2000 main use Kanji - I intend to learn them all.
The Magus - Fowles
The Old Capital - Kawabata
I am a Cat - Soseki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami

20th Century Poetry and Poetics - ed Geddes
Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Wow! That's a lot. But wait, you say, there are only 14 books there. That's where you come in: I will read whatever people suggest! Now is your chance to bless or inflict a book upon me! I'd like to read some new authors, so I am open to your suggestions.

Leave a post in the comments! One to two books per person. (I hope I actually have 5 readers...)

Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-09T13:06:43+09:00

Bill Bryson is known mainly for his travel literature, but maybe he should be known for his curiosity. This book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, is three years of research into everything we know about science, from the most fundamental to the most widely disputed. The book is organized into large chunks of kinds of science, starting with the cosmos, working through chemistry, then onto biology and genetics, and finally looking at human descendants and our future. Each chapter is laid out historically, from early thoughts on chemistry and alchemy to the current puzzlings over just how the hell proteins sort themselves out.

First, it has to be said that the book is well researched, clear, and full of analogies that continually pummel the reader with the scale of the earth and the severe improbability of our existence. However, the book truly shines in the human stories behind the science. These days, with rabid fundamentalism making an even worse name for religion than before, science has come to be just as trusted as the gods of yore. The famous figures, like Newton or Darwin, come to life as real, confused, and often plain weird individuals. Newton, for instance, sometimes sat up in bed after waking and then sat motionless for hours due to the inundation of thoughts swamping his mind. Another anecdote describes Huxley asking him if he knew why planets moved elliptically ( a big question of the day ) to which he replied it was due to gravity, and that he had proven it. Huxley was shocked and asked to see the proof - Newton, had, however, misplaced it. Bryson writes that this is the equivalent of telling a cancer researcher in an offhand manner that you cured the whole business but then lost the file.
Karl Scheele, the humble pharmacist who discovered 8 of our most common elements, had the habit of tasting everything he worked with, a habit which eventually killed him.
My favorite is Henry Cavendish, a major discoverer of chemical laws, who was so shy that "any human contact was for him a source of the deepest discomfort." (85) Bryson describes him going to scientific parties where the understanding was that no one was to talk to him or even look directly at him, but rather stand in his vicinity and speak as though speaking to no one. If he had the courage to reply you might have heard a mumbled reply, but often you heard a frightened squeak and found yourself truly speaking to no one, as he had fled.

Now that I've read through the book (and it is quite sizable) a lot of the details of science weren't new or particularly worth remembering, especially all the wrong theories, but then again, I've always been interested in that kind of stuff, so other might learn more from it. The stories of brilliant, vicious or just plain lucky people figuring out our little corner of the world stuck with me much better. Recommended.

So I Am Still Going Through Ecstasies

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-09T12:17:36+09:00

On Wednesday I took basically the greatest photo I have ever taken. Have a look at the gallery and guess which one it is in the comments. So through the haze of photographic ecstasy, I've made a few other revelations:
Having a huge aperture means you actually have to pay attention when you are focussing. My old camera focussed very slowly, period, so I always had to take time. Since the Rebel can shoot so fast continuously,

AND it has a really wide aperture, the possibility of having truly out of focus shots is greatly magnified. The geisha shot from the previous gallery proves it - I blasted away without taking much care to focus, and I got a very fuzzy geisha. I've been using the maximum aperture most of the time, and it has surprised me. The main "problem" has been, as in the photo of the girl on the bridge with the yellow umbrella, that only part of the main subject is in focus. I wanted the whole girl, but the distance different between the edge of the umbrella and her face meant that her face is blurry.
This certainly isn't bad - but it is a challenge. If I am using autofocus I need to make sure my aperture isn't too big, and that it has focussed on the right thing.

Another realization has been more psychological: I always wondered how pro photographers could get into peoples faces and take photos. For me, I have found that raising a camera to my face is sort of like hiding behind it. I'm not holding a digicam out at arm's length in a superobvious photo pose; instead I am concealing my face and looking at the world through a very small window, somehow cut off from reality a little. That, coupled with much faster shot taking time and a long lens that doesn't require me to really get into people's faces means that I am taking photos of strangers that look good for the first time.

New Camera Magic!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-04T12:21:11+09:00

After months of saving and the help of family for Christmas, I've bought my first Digital SLR. The body is the previous entry level Canon model, called the Digital Rebel XT in

North America (the digital Kiss here, unfortunately). The lens is a 50mm/1.4 fixed lens, which, despite it's cheap design, has received really strong reviews for picture quality.

3 things really stand out, in comparison to my faithful little Canon A95:
Aperture size - my previous max was 2.8 - now it is 1.8 - meaning that my ability to take in light and to have cool depth of field effects has multiplied by 3.
Light sensitivity - my old max sensitivity was 400 but it was grainy as all hell - now it is 1600 and looks great!
Shooting speed - I can power up, focus and take a photo in 6 seconds if the light is decent and I have a good stationary object with the A95 - with the XT it takes a second and a half or so (unless I leave the lens cap on, retard!) The geisha shot I took (and I took two) you can see in the gallery wouldn't have been possible at that proximity with my old camera. The shots are out of focus because I aimed poorly in my excitement.

Enjoy!

Nightmare!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-12-04T12:17:32+09:00

I feel like I spend just as much time fucking around with this thing as actually writing. Pain in the ass.

On Matters of Perspective

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-11-23T20:54:03+09:00

I'm not going to pin it on a family member, because that would be absolving myself of any responsibility, and thereby crippling the ability to act for change, but somewhere along the line I picked up the world view called "pessimism-fatalism-egotism". My last bitter post came out as result of having a moment of optimism, green in it's vulnerability, squashed by a singular act of environmental disregard.

Thinking over the last couple of days and watching a few good TED talks, I realized that being negative and superior to those who haven't come to understand that we are in deep shit actually accomplishes jack shit. There are people out there that see pollution as merely a problem: something with handles and gears, something that can be solved. These amazing world leaders in thought, among other things, don't spend evenings brooding over the stupidity of humanity - they grab a textbook and educate. They don't bemoan environmental abuses - they broadside corporations in court. Conclusion - blogbitching on my part contributes very little, if anything.

One reason for this is that the world is generally insensitive to screaming environmentalists such as myself. From a media perspective, it is all they seem to do (though you'd have to scream to get anyone's attention). Hearing that the world is in a shitty place AND we all have to sacrifice greatly AND that may not even be enough to spare the looming doom... well I suspect most people just change the channel on that sort of news. The current thinking is that environmentalism has to be decoupled from granola, hippies, and that guy in hemp who spraypainted your fake fur coat last year. Because frankly, if you dig that culture, you are already on board. It is the bigwigs on the golf course that need to be persuaded, not browbeaten, that buying carbon credits in order to be a carbon neutral company actually makes financial sense. It is the conservative Christians who figure the world is about to end anyway who need to be convinced that mass transit is not only cheaper but more relaxing that driving (in addition to being lower in CO2).

Lastly, it is the educated pessimists that understand the situation but think nothing can be done who need to be re-educated, because something can be done -- IS being done. But you'd never know that from navel-gazing.

Hope

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-11-19T00:24:53+09:00

I was riding my bicycle to work on friday and reflecting on the passing scenery. The sun split the clouds overhead and lit the ruddy maple leaves, the city and the river lay to my left, a bank of trees to my right. My thoughts ran something like, "You know, the city is beautiful, set here against the mountains, the river is mostly clean and full of life, the air is clean today, the trees change colour as though nothing is amiss on the planet. Maybe we'll be ok -- maybe humanity will survive it's own stupidity and vice. Maybe it'll all work out somehow." One really couldn't be but optimistic in such weather. I turned off the river path, up a bike ramp and onto the sidewalk next to the street above. As I rolled down the bumpy cobbles I watched a middled-aged man pick up with a plastic bag what I can only imagine was dogshit, as his little white dog was standing next to him. "That's nice," I thought. The man proceeded to wad the bag into a ball, cock back his arm, and, with the casualness of tossing a ball to his son in a park, throw the bag of dogshit into the river.

I rolled past in disbelief. Twenty feet past him I hit the brakes, turned around and looked at him, trying to express what wouldn't have come out in Japanese or English - shock, rage, confusion. I looked at the little white bag, now sitting in the shallows of the river and glared at him again. He was looking at me, but I wasn't able to make out his facial expression. Unable to decide what to say or do, I started to ride off again, but then stopped and turned around to look at him again. By this time he was looking around: at the ground, the street - certainly not at the foreigner seething with rage 30 feet in front of him. "Fuck!" was all I could manage as I rolled off to work.

Shock subsided, optimism was shredded, and what was left was depression and bitterness. Here, in a 30 second vignette were all of humanity's problems boiled down. A man feels some social pressures but not others (picks up shit, disposes of it incorrectly), is lazy (tossing it instead of carrying it to the can), is self-centered and unable to cope with the slight discomfort of warm shit in close proximity, and is stupid, as throwing it in the river - in a plastic bag - is far worse than the cosmetic problem of leaving it on the sidewalk in the first place. Then, on the opposite end, a proponent of saving the planet froths and howls incomprehensibly at his offended principles, alternates between sadness and violent impulse. I walk the city and see it's vices, yet know some of the reasons. The smokestacks are industry, the shoppingmalls - jobs, the cars and planes a necessity of travel. But to catch someone innocently going about his daily stupidity hits harder than any grim scientist, spells trouble for humanity more than any foreboding report.

Redesign, New Photos, Video

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-10-29T15:57:01+09:00

Part of my reluctance to update recently was due to indecision about my site design. As it stands I have 2 blog-style entry lists with summaries and then main entries. I want to keep the two somewhat separate, as the travel's page is better for a potential employer to see. My photos, similarly, are buried in another section.

Anyone have any suggestions for different site organization? Bear in mind that I am not working with code - I am using Rapidweaver to put the site together, so some options, like one RSS feed for multiple pages, doesn't seem possible.

***
Three hours later I had purchased a new theme and was far deeper into screwing around with my site than ever before. Let me know what you think of it.

An Appendix to Lonely Planet's "Hiking in Japan" Odai-ga-hara to Osugi

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-10-28T15:06:18+09:00

This is a short entry: despite the availability of buses, of hordes of tourists, and current maps that give the appearance of everything being a-okay, the trail down into the Otsugi Valley was destroyed by a Typhoon in 2004. I met a large group of hikers who warned me off the non-existent trail with a profusion of "impossible, impossible" and also pointed out that the hut that I was aiming at had the characters for "temporarily closed" written over it. The guy leading the group of hikers apparently owned that hut, and we were all rather confused as to why my 2006 map would list the hut as closed (due to the typhoon) but still had a trail drawn in, when it fact it had been destroyed.

Anyway, that trail has been trashed - I returned home defeated.
For those of you still interested in exploring other trails in the area, it is still possible to go as far as Awadani hut on the original trail. The hikers I met were doing a loop track that went from Awadani hut up to Nishidani-daka, so that could be a possibility, even though it isn't posted on the LP or Shobunsha maps.

Review: An Inconvenient Truth - A few harrowing details about Al Gore's prophetic book on climate crisis.

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-25T09:55:07+09:00

I not worried about future generations, nor am I worried about my unborn grandchildren -- they may not exist.

I'm worried about my future kids, I'm worried about me.

Reading Gore's books is like getting hit in the face by a prize-fighter in slow motion. You can see it coming, you can understand the footsteps - it's simple even! - but it doesn't fail to complete crush your skull. Want a summary of Gore's book? We are screwed. No, that's too passive. We've screwed ourselves.

In the course of my short life I have met people who say - oh global warming, it is just a warm year; pfff, that's just a hoax made by leftists to get votes; global warming? sounds good - I hate winter. First, there is zero doubt among scientists that the planet is warming up. Second, the only people that doubt it are those that have been duped by the hitman scientists hired by oil companies to spread disinformation. Before I read this book I knew the planet was warming up, I knew sea levels were rising, but I didn't know how much, how fast, and most importantly, what the corollary effects would be. So here we go:

Greenland's ice cap, which is melting rapidly, breaks up and slides into the sea. The massive increase in water raises global sea levels by 7m - that's 20ft. Do you live in Richmond? Better move. How about Bangladesh, Florida, Manhattan? Your house is going to be underwater. Holland, which has always been under sea level, will lose 3/4 of its landmass.

Think for a moment about 60m poor and homeless Bangladese trying to find a home. Where do they go? India. Is India going to be happy about 60m refugees? Where do all of the people in Miami move to? Do you think, if the death of 3000 people in 9/11 is enough for war, 60million people looking for a home might have a similar effect?

"But I live inland - that's no concern of mine." Really, well here are the corollary effects of a warmer planet:

--Desertification - parts of the US could lose as much as 60% of their soil moisture, which means - forest fires, crop failures and higher prices.
--Fires - shifts in climate cause drought in some places and floods elsewhere. Higher temperatures makes lightning more common, resulting in more fires, resulting in more CO2.
--Storm strength - Warmer seas and air means stronger storms. Last year the strongest hurricane ever recorded occurred - Hurricane Wilma. Katrina, not nearly as strong, crippled the whole Mississippi area and destroyed a city.
--No clean water - as the glaciers, particularly in the Himalayas, melt, the 40% of humanity in Asia could face a severe shortage of potable water.
--Permafrost melting - the arctic, much of which is in Canada, is accessible due to frozen roads. The number of days with frozen roads has dropped from 210 a year to less than 80 since 1960. Any structure built on the solidity of permafrost will suffer severe structural damage from it's shifting foundations.
--Forest destruction - Pine beetle, the scourge of BC? Cold winters are needed to kill it. Instead, they are killing trees, which then makes forest fires more likely, which increases CO2 and raises the temperature even further.
--Disruption of the Gulf Stream - there is a river of warm currents in the Atlantic that flows from South America to Europe, making Madrid much warmer than New York, despite the same latitude. A large dump of cold water as is coming from Greenland could totally stop the Gulf Stream, resulting, counter-intuitively in an Ice Age. It happened once 10,000 years ago when the last big Glacial lake suddenly dumped from the Great Lakes area into the Atlantic. The world suffered 1000 years of cold temperatures as a result.
--Warmer temperatures also mean an increase in disease, as well as disease bearing insects able to survive in places that were once too cold. Add a pile of corpses from floods and disease increases.
--Ocean acidification -- CO2 makes the ocean acidic. This kills coral reefs. Coral reefs are an important home for thousands of organisms. Goodluck getting sushi when we have made the ocean a wasteland.

Perhaps what will make most people take notice the most will be the economic effects. Insurance companies will no longer be able to predict potential weather damage and may either increase insurance premiums or refuse to insure certain homes or people. This would essentially make a house unsalable. Imagine row upon row of seaside home, slowly being approached by the ocean, with mortgages in the millions and no buyers. What happens to financial institutions when thousands of people declare bankruptcy at once, and also try to make an insurance claim? What then happens to global stock markets and the money you have squirreled away preciously?

Gore's website www.climatecrisis.net has information on what we can do individually to cut our CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, these are "lessen the blow" measures, as scientists are now saying that we are past the tipping point and the large changes are unpreventable. Gore asserts, however, that by making the transition NOW, not when the shit hits the fan, we can bear the hardship we have caused ourselves more ably.

A final note on the book: this book has really affected me, so far as to reconsider my career path. I received the book openly however. A critical problem for this book, despite its simple and graphics heavy design, is that it was written by a former Democratic Vice President. This means that in the polarized US, where the majority of change needs to happen, a large chunk of the populace will dismiss it as "liberal lies". It is hard not to be totally pessimistic about this, but I have tried to be proactive - I used my AC only for half of July and August, I installed compact fluorescent lights which I have been turning off as much as possible and I've been trying to cut my shower length to shorter than 10 minutes. I've been avoiding buying imported food as much as I can. I have been a real "I don't need a bag" nazi.

Despair is defeat, so go to that website!

Review: A short discussion of Natsumi Soseki's famous novel, Kokoro, or "the heart of things".

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-24T23:29:30+09:00

To date I have read two very famous Japanese books: Snow Country and now, Kokoro. I haven't understood either.

Looking back at my notes on Snow Country, I liked enjoyed it more and understood it less. It had far more imagist beauty that I could connect to, but much more unsaid nuance.

What of Kokoro then? The book is split into 3 parts: a young student meets a disillusioned man and becomes fascinated with him, the student is forced to part from this man to attend the slow passing of his ailing father, in which time the disillusioned man attempts to explain his life to the student in a lengthy suicide letter mailed to the student's country home. The letter gives the man's full biography and details the fatal love triangle that occurred between him, his future wife and his best friend, the results of which crush the man's spirit for the rest of his life.

The book is mainly a psychological exploration of relationships: the student and the enigmatic man, the student and his parents, the older man, his friend and his future wife. More interesting that this, the book is a discourse on suspicion, anxiety and guilt that swallows lives. At times it reminded me of Crime and Punishment, what with Raskolnikov's consuming guilt. Raskolnikov, however, finds some salvation.

The book aside, I just can't get into Japanese literature. The entire book, the whole premise hinged on the fact that the man couldn't talk to his best friend honestly and resolve their differences with some sanity. The whole plot was swollen with obligation, honor, and propriety, such that the characters were paralyzed to near inaction.

A westerner reading this book probably just wouldn't connect with it. A Japanese person, although the Japanese have opened up a bit in 100 years since this was written, would understand. As for me, living in Japan and experiencing, albeit through the gauze of semi-ignorance, the same social pressures and seeing them all around me, this book encapsulates everything that pisses me off about this culture.

A comparison: Zorba the Greek, a book that I adore, has as its title character one of the most passionate people I've ever read about. Zorba wouldn't sit in a little room and agonize about his rival in the other room, he'd challenge the man to a fight. He wouldn't feel put out and depressed if he caught his love talking to the other man, he'd grab his mandolin and try to win her affections. Overall, he wouldn't wait for the "right moment" like the main character of Kokoro. He'd just do it, and to hell with propriety. If he couldn't talk about something, he'd explain with his guitar or with a crazy dance.

The book itself is so so. If you want to have an idea of Japanese-ness that gets pushed over the edge by unfortunate circumstances, give it a read. For me, however, I tossed the book down, glad that the somewhat interesting plot but annoying characters were done with. Oh, life has no meaning, I have no faith in mankind. Blah blah. When I hear someone talking like that, I think he needs to get laid or have his life put in danger. Suicide as the only recourse in a situation laced with obligation, guilt and honor, seems totally ridiculous to me. But that's the take of a freefloating "outside person" in Japan.

Notes from Addiction

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-24T12:18:01+09:00

I don't know much about chemical addiction: hard drugs, cigarettes, coffee -- but I know a thing or two about psychological addiction. I started playing video games when I was 8, but it wasn't until I was 14 that a sudden influx of income permitted me to buy and play games at a previously unknown level. Weekends dissolved. Weeknights evaporated. The peak of my "problem" was in university, living with my good friend Matt. Matt has more games than anyone I know and he generously shared them with me. Within 2 years I had purchased a Xbox and a Gamecube and I spent my weekends and most of the summer of 2004 moving from one distraction to another.

Then I finished university. I looked back from the vista provided and saw a string of unread books, a relatively small social life and a total lack of a girlfriend or anything resembling a date. More importantly, I saw the future: living in Japan, working and then letting video games sop up the rest of my time. Moreover, I needed money, so I quit video games and sold the lot.

The pain of the transition was soothed by a totally new circumstance. However, Japan is possibly the worst place in the world to go if you want to be free of vids! When I arrived and found out that even one of my students worked for Nintendo, I knew I was in for trouble. Even so, I persevered, with only slight lapses in temporary situations like arcades and the visit of Matt (bearing his own games).

Until yesterday.

On a whim, though the unconscious uses the word "whim" as a shield for more nefarious doings, I went looking for Mac games on the net. I found Fallout 2, a game that friends had raved about, concerning life after nuclear war. I installed it. As though a light had suddenly burnt out, 6 hours passed. The game wasn't particularly fun, as I had played games made by the same studio after this one, and I could see what had improved in the next games. Even so, despite dying, finding the controls annoying, endlessly watching my character swinging his spear and missing and waiting again for my turn-- EVEN SO --I was totally immersed in the pursuit of items, quests and levelup opportunities. I wasn't even enjoying the game, but I was drawn into the activity.

Scientists call the drug that is released during concentration dopamine, I think. Like a guy craving a cigarette after 20 years, I felt the same desire, but also the guilt. I knew I had betrayed myself and my resolution to quit. Playing was a guilty exercise that violated one of my values "time is the most precious commodity". So, I deleted it all in a fit of self-disgust.

Apologists will say: we need a way to relax, it is just as much a waste of time as any other idle hobby so there is no harm in it, it isn't a waste of time if we enjoy it. However, my problem with vids is that they are almost entirely a closed circuit. Yesterday, I poured myself - 6 hours - into a game that gave me a little pleasure back, but that's it. No new friends, no learning, no life-changing experiences, other than the realization that they weren't for me anymore.

It basically boils down to death. For those of you, who, like me, have been drawn into activities that produce little if anything, I suggest weighing your vice against eternity. Napoleon didn't even have time for sleep, Asimov wrote from 9:30am to 10pm everyday.

Death is tomorrow - is there something you need to do today?

Pzizz!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-21T23:01:07+09:00

I recently found a cool program though my friend Matt - pzizz. The weird name comes from its function: it induces sleep. Basically, you start the program and it plays a randomly generated track of a man talking quietly (and no, he isn't saying "buy coke" or "kill the president", though one of those requires much less convincing) and strange music. My gleanings from the website suggest that the music is specifically designed with a frequency modulation that stimulates the areas of the brain that are active during sleep.

There are two versions, the basic powernap version, and the addon sleep version. Normally the former costs $40 and the latter, $20, but right now the website www.mydreamapp.com is holding a contest for ideas for cool Mac applications and if you sign up and vote BEFORE THE END OF FRIDAY you get a FREE copy of the nap version!

I have tried the nap version a couple times and have thought it was really cool. Recently I have been waking up earlier and doing more with my day, so I end up feeling exhausted. I have only had a couple chances to try the nap, but both times it make me really relaxed, though not quite asleep, as I didn't have a good place to really stretch out. The sleep module, however, can be downloaded as a trial, and it knocks me right out. Last night I was asleep in about 5 minutes, though in fairness, I rarely toss and turn longer than 10. The naps can also be exported as mp3, so you can listen on your ipod and sleep wherever.

Anyway, it looks cool and it available for Mac and lowly windows, so give it a shot. I'm off to bed.

An Appendix to Lonely Planet's "Hiking in Japan" Daisetsuzan Grand Traverse

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-16T12:41:20+09:00

Asahikawa

Buses leave from stop number four directly in front of the station to Asahi-dake Onsen. Service has recently been

expanded, but the free buses are a thing of the past. 4 to 5 buses daily, 1 hour and 40 minutes, 1000yen.
If you are desperate to get to the trailhead at Asahi-dake Onsen, the tourist info desk has a taxi driver who can take you there for 5000yen. Otherwise, there are campsites at Kagura Oka park. Walk east from the station and take the first bridge that crosses the river to the south. It takes about 20 minutes on foot. The park is on the left and has level turf for camping, running water, moderate mosquitoes, toilets and groups of bbqing, bongo-drum pounding revelers that aren't aware they are in a camping ground (that was my unfortunate experience anyway).

The Hike - Day 1

Taking the 9:10am bus and the ropeway (every 15 minutes) lands you close to the famous steaming vents of Asahi-dake and cuts 2 hours of walking time off of the hike to Kuro-dake. Even so, it will likely be just before 11am, and there will still be 5-6 hours of pure hike time remaining. The main attraction for most of the visitors is Sugatami-ike - a pond that reflects the steaming vents in the background. Take either of the two paths from the ropeway: both lead to the pond.
The trail from Sugatami-ike to the peak of Asahi-dake is a continuous slog up the igneous slopes of the south face, but the view from the top is stunning ... or socked in with cloud. Having taken your obligatory photo, head east.

The descent is steep and treacherous, as it is comprised of small, loose gravel, which can also be soaked with meltwater, depending on the time of year. One or two hiking poles are strongly recommended, especially with a heavy pack. The saddle has a small unprotected campsite (5 tents maximum). The makeshift rock walls built around the tentsites suggest an uncomfortable night in high winds. From the campsite, climb up to Mamiya-dake.

The LP guide mentions circling a large crater rim to the north, which can be a little confusing, as there is another crater that you see on the way up Mamiya-dake. Remember though, that the Daisetsuzan trails are well marked primarily at junctions and peaks, so keep going until you see the post marking Mamiya and the splitting of the trail. From here you can go to Kuro-dake and the end of the LP Day 1, or you can circle the crater in the opposite direction and hike to Hakkun-dake Hinan-goya, taking slightly more time and cutting the next day shorter by 2 hours.

The remaining hike is fairly easy: follow the ridge of the crater and enjoy contemplating the massive blast that made it once upon a time. Cross Naka-dake, pass the optional hike to Hokuchin-dake and descent into the relatively flat ground called Kumo no Daira. Your campsite - Kurodake-ishimuro - and the promise of food, sleep and beer (500yen) are visible at the start of the descent.

The campsite itself isn't huge, but it is free and busy. The hut costs 1500yen for the night, and food, fuel (gas canisters), and rental sleeping bags are available. The water supply consists of 3 water tanks covered with boards. "Boil the water" notices are posted, although the locals say that Echinococcus, the potentially fatal parasite in water contaminated by fox feces, is so rare as to not worry about it. There are apparently a lot of foxes in the area, but I didn't see any. The lack of freshness is reason enough to boil the water. Toilets here are clean and cost 200yen, with the added novelty of riding half a bicycle next to the toilet to help the hut's energy usage.

Before bed, climb up Kuro-dake. Although the name means "black mountain", you will not notice any difference in color. The view into the gorges on the east side is worth the 30 minutes, even at the end of your day.

The Hike - Day 2

Hokkai-dake, the first mountain of the day, is where the alternate trail from Mamiya-dake links up, but the extra 1.5hrs are worth it. From the camp, cross the river leading out of the crater and enjoy the banks littered with alpine flowers.

If you were turned off by the water tanks last night, the snowmelt here is more appetizing but should still be boiled. Hokkai-dake permits views of the end of Day 2 - Chuubetsu-dake, and Day 3 - Tomuraushi.

Pass between Aka-dake (2078m) and Hakuun-dake (2229m) and drop down to Hakuun-dake Hinan-goya. This is a nice campsite, but prices have gone up. Sleeping in the hut costs 1000yen and camping is 300yen. However, the water source here is the only source on the whole hike, according to the 2006 Shobunsha map, that doesn't need to be boiled. A snowfield creates a short stream with little chance of contamination. This is the last nice water source for the day, so fill up. The rest of the day is spent in the slow, almost flat ascent of Chuubetsu-dake and then a steep drop down the the hut on the south side. The hiking is smooth and easy, and great views can be seen of the valley to the east.

The descent from Chuubetsu-dake is the first encounter with brush pine. Depending on the direction it grows, hiking through it is fairly smooth or tough going. A pack cover is useful to prevent snagging your pack on head-high branches.

The man that runs Chuubetsu-dake Hinan-goya is friendly and chats with everyone who stays. The hut itself is small and has an outhouse. The campsites too, are small and the ground is rocky, limiting the number of places to camp.

Depending on the amount of snow, 1 to 3 of the camping spots may be open for use. The proprietor, who has lived there for "a very long time" says the water is safe, and it can be assumed that he just drinks the snowmelt. However, when asked about Echinococcus, he said "ok, let's boil it." Take your chances.

The Hike - Day 3

Rise early and see mist rolling off of the snowfield. From the hut, climb back up to the junction and head south again through the brush pine. If it is foggy it can be hard to find the junction signpost, just head south along the ridge as there is nowhere else to go. Dew and brush pine make the hike up to Goshiki-dake wet and difficult. Take in another fantastic early morning view of most of the park and marvel at the craggy monster you are aiming at for the day - Tomuraushi. After wading through some somewhat pruned pine, the trail turns into a boardwalk over marshland. Climb Kaun-dake as a slight detour or skip it and similarly ignore the side trails to Hisago-numa, sticking to the ones marked for Tomuraushi.

The path drops to down to 1750m and then starts the rocky climb up Tomuraushi (2141m), one of the 100 famous mountains of Japan. Hiking poles are recommended for hopping from boulder to boulder. The peak is very popular and presents an opportunity to chat with the picnicking locals. The weather around the peak and the camp on the opposite side is highly variable: I arrived at the Minami-numa campsite at 1pm and watched the weather change from fog to clear skies to a torrential thunder storm. Set camp quickly. There is meltwater and a form of outhouse which lets you do your business into a bag and pack it out, rather than dig a cathole.

The Hike - Day 4

The LP Hiking in Japan guide lists Day 4 as the hardest day, and they aren't fooling.

Most of the other hikers will think you are crazy and you will likely only have a couple of companions at most. This is by far the least populous stretch. If it has rained or if you are the first in the morning to hit the dew, you are going to be soaked. Rain pants are a must and hiking poles are critical for both maintaining your footing on slippery clay trails hidden by bear grass and shaking some dew off the plants in front of you. That said, the hardest stretch only lasts about an hour.

The LP notes that you can cut the day in half by staying at Futago-numa, but this campsite is really muddy and not at all attractive. Instead, if you are concerned about the length of Day 4 (17km), I would recommend filling up on water at Minami-Numa, and instead of cutting that day short at lunchtime, keep hiking toward Sansen-dai, the first mountain of Day 4. Shortly before and after Sansen-dai there are very small campsites not listed on the Shobunsha map. The former is exposed and doesn't have water, but camping here shortens the next day by 90 minutes. The latter has questionable water and room for about 3 tents. Also note that between the two sites there is a decommissioned trail leading to the west, but the sign's red lettering is extremely faded and the sign itself isn't placed to block you from taking that trail inadvertently.
At the base of Tsurigane-yama, there is a third campsite, fitting about 5 tents, again with no amenities, reachable after around 3 hours of hiking from Minami-Numa. None of these sites are as nice as Minami-Numa, but they make Day 4 shorter.

After the tough trails, the hours leading up to Futago-numa are fairly easy, popping up and down along the ridge leading south. Just before Futago-numa, however, is the least pleasant stretch in the hike. The trails turn into puddles and streams, again requiring the use of a hiking stick or pole to keep from falling in as you jump from dry land to dry land. The trail is also mostly hidden and footing is treacherous. Gauge your energy level after taking lunch at Futago-numa, as another 4 hours of hiking remains. The remaining mountain, Oputakeshike,

can also look daunting, as the trail leads 600m straight up it. If you happen to have the misfortune of being swaddled in cloud for the last 3 hours leading to camp, amuse yourself by memorizing the rhythmic names of the Ainu mountains you have conquered: Tomuraushi, Tsurigane, Kosumanupuri, Oputakeshike.

The camp at Biei-Fuji Hinan-goya is so-so. The hut is unstaffed and sleeps about 8, while the campsites are somewhat muddy. The water source is a 10 minute hike north past the camp: look for a small stream flowing across the trail from the left bank. There are no toilets.

The Hike - Day 5

Almost done! Head south past Biei Fuji and to the 3-way junction that leads up Biei-dake, to the peak of Biei Fuji, or down to Tokachi-dake Hinan-goya. Climb Biei-dake and look for an extremely large rabbit that seems to call the area home. The mountains seen from Biei-dake are distinctly different from the previous ones. The slopes are barren and streaked in shades of brown, yellow and white. The ridge from Biei links up to the biggest mountain of sand you'll ever see - Tokachi-dake.

Even in heavy cloud this is an interesting mountain to climb. The ground is like sand in places, but nearing the top it is more solid. Walking in pure cloud, with less than 10m of visibility and nothing alive to make any sound makes the mountain feel more like Mars than Japan.

The people at the peak listening to baseball on little radios and drinking beer will, however, dispel the magic. From the peak, follow the signs marked for Tokachi-dake Onsen. The next main landmark is Kami Horo Hinan-goya, a little hut at the base of Kami Horokamettoku-yama. If you are considering the Side Trip to Furano-dake, you might want to camp here. From the hut you can climb the peak or skirt it. I personally found skirting it to be disorienting, as I was in heavy cloud and the trail bended west more than expected. Climbing over it is probably just as easy physically as the peak isn't big and it may be easier to navigate. If in doubt, 2 minutes after the trails meet a new junction that leads to Furano-dake or to Tokachi-dake Onsen clears up any uncertainty. From here it is another 2.5hrs down to the onsen. Part of the trail is made of large wooden stairs, but if your legs are tired they are just as difficult as a trail, so don't let your guard up just yet.
The Onsen has a nice valley setting and a beer machine,

but is otherwise not worth your time. There is a public washroom in the parking lot and buses leave for Kami Furano at 10:29am, 2:07pm and 5:17pm (last changed July 2001), costing 500yen taking and 45 minutes.

One More Reason to Never Pick Up a Gun - What goes by undetected in the phrase - no casualties.

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-16T11:51:09+09:00

Read a news reel: 53 dead, 92 injured. After you read about the dead, the injured seem to be in such a better place. It is true, being injured is better than being dead, but for me, for the official counts in the news and the internet, the injured matter so much less as to be like apples and oranges.

The problem for me lies in the variety: what can injured mean? A bomb goes off - one guy gets nicked on the thigh by some flying glass. Is that an injury? It has to be treated. Do they count those? Raise the severity - someone else gets a shard of glass driven though his leg, requiring surgery to save it and giving him a permanent limp. This must be an injury. And again - another person nearest the assailant loses a leg, an arm and an eye and suffers burns that disfigure him. The last two suffer from injuries that affect them for the rest of their lives. Yet when we hear the often unelaborated word "injured", it passes by under a cloud of "at least they aren't dead". The lack of elaboration is likely often due to the military. They have to release that soldiers were killed, but they don't have to say that soldiers were horribly disfigured and are being shipped back to the US for their families to deal with.

And then there is this. Due to advances in body armor, soldiers are surviving blasts that still turn their brains to tapioca. They experience slow physical reactions, memory loss, violent mood swings, and depression. This is being called the signature wound of the Iraq war, due to the number of roadside explosives.

So we have among the hazy injured: the limping, the burnt or scarred, the mutilated, the blinded (deafened etc) AND the mentally retarded. While shell shock in previous wars was a result of extreme anxiety, this is actually physical brain damage, and largely untreatable with psychology.

Even worse, there are soldiers who haven't reported being injured, but whose brains have been seriously damaged. Want to see a time-bomb? Send a 20 year old decked in honors back to a family he doesn't remember.

Hokkaido Photo Trip

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-10T23:38:25+09:00

The technical issues were just as much a journey!

See them here.

Photos

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-08T11:26:15+09:00

I have the same photo gallery published in flash over on the photo page. Let me know how it runs on your computers, as there is a less graphically intense version available.

Also, don't forget that both "Travels" and "Hobbyist Punditry" have separate RSS feeds. Subscribe, if you want to avoid senselessly coming to my site and oogling. Or don't and oogle. Both are cool with me.

Platypus Water Bottles

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-08T11:14:08+09:00

One of the favorite pieces of gear among fanatic gram counters are the Playtpus water bottles, made in Seattle.

These bottles, unlike those omnipresent Nalgene bottles you can see on university campuses, are made of a soft, tasteless plastic. When full they form a shape fairly conducive to holding and drinking, although when near empty they can flop around a bit if you don't control your water flow carefully. When empty, the bottles squish flat and fit damn near anywhere. Alternately, you can roll them, as I do, to fit one into my little day bag around town. I fill it up at work, use it, then empty it and carry it home. A 1L bottle weighs 28g, and although a wider opening would make cleaning easier, you can't beat the weight. (well, you can, with cheapass plastic pop bottles, but they last less time and can't be flattened). My only real issue is with the pushpull caps. These caps are made so that they don't open accidentally in your bag - fair enough - but they are really hard to open, especially with your teeth (not recommended). Still, they are the only bottles I use when I am not boiling water for health reasons.

Steve Irwin, Croc Hunter

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-05T10:22:03+09:00

Steve Irwin, the crazy Australian that shocked most of us with his way-too-close encounters with animals, died on monday. He was stabbed in the heart by a stingray and likely died instantly. I was pretty sad to hear that he died. He always made me laugh and brought the animal world closer to me. At the same time, I am not so surprised that he died. He lived an extremely dangerous life and relished it.

What else is there to say? Having recently read the Iliad, the death of a popular figure is a recurring theme for me. Perhaps his wife was more prepared for the possibility, but I doubt the children were. Sad.

But still, he was quite the little ripper while he lived.

The Penny Stove

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-02T14:12:09+09:00

In Japan, open wood fires are prohibited, which presents to camping a large problem: how am I going to cook? When I was a kid, my family would have a fire mainly for fun, marshmellows and evening warmth, while a two burner coleman stove did the cooking. That was backcountry 4x4 camping with my dad - last year, I was faced with the prospect of cooking for myself and lugging the stove around on my back.

The first stove that caught my eye was the popular Jetboil.

This stove was revolutionary when it came out, as the canister, stove and pot are integrated to provide ideal heat transfer. The price, however, is about $75USD, and the canisters are both small and proprietary (other canisters may not fit inside the cup). Price aside, the jetboil can bring water half a liter to a boil in 2 minutes (they say) and is really fuel efficient.

As I was reading reviews of the Jetboil, I came across a new breed of stove - the alcohol stove. These stoves operate by burning the vapor from high-concentration alcohol such as the drinkable Ethanol, fuel line cleaner like HEET, or the noxious but strong Methanol. The simplest stoves burn alcohol in a cup under a pot, which reduces the chance of clogging or failure, common with gas or mixed fuel stoves, to next to nil.

The stove I chose was the Scandinavian darling, the Trangia.

The Trangia consists of a cup for alcohol which is lit and then vaporized into the exterior jets. I took my Trangia on one trip, but discarded it quickly, and a bit prematurely. On this trip I had neglected to take a windscreen. Windscreens, however, are essential for alcohol stoves because the flames move more slowly than gas stoves and are more easily disrupted, increasing fuel consumption and lowering the boil time. In any case, I decided to try a new, lighter, homemade stove.

Through Mark Verber's list of recommended gear I found the Penny stove.

The Penny goes a step further and corrects a problem common to alcohol stoves. When alcohol is vaporized too quickly, it escapes through the jets without boiling, lowering fuel efficiency. The Penny uses a novel design to counteract this - a penny covers the fuelling hole and seals the stove until boiling alcohol accumulates excessively. At that point the penny lifts due to the pressure and the gas is released slowly and burnt off, preventing fuel loss. The stove took me a couple hours to make and is constructed of a couple ridged Heineken cans.

Enough background. I took this stove on my 5 day hike through Northern Japan, and also cooked with it for 3 other days spent at campsites in towns. What a rocket! I started my trip concerned about fuel consumption because I had to boil all of my water to kill a waterborne parasite that is rare but possible in those mountains. The Penny boiled tons of water, and in about half the time -- 4 to 5 minutes -- of other alcohol stoves. Unfortunately it was a bit big for my Evernew Titanium pot and it melted the rubber covers on the handles. I am working on making another with better jet placement for my small pot. In any case, highly recommended: it weighs 19g and boils nearly as fast as clunky gas stoves.

Bon Bon Cafe

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-09-01T11:35:56+09:00

I'd like to say I found this cafe, but I tend to stay away from French food in Japan. Japan's idea of French food is French Fries but this is my own Canadian cultural bias: we have immigrants who can share the real thing. Japanese cooks have to make a guess and cater to the Japanese palate.

In any case, I ''found'' this cafe through a coworker, who likely ''found'' it through the Lonely Planet guide for Kyoto. That she ran into the main writer for LP in Japan there makes it possible. The food is great and cheap! Lunch is from 300 to 700 yen, offering sandwiches and salads. You can eat inside in the AC or sit outside on a covered patio -- a rarity in Japan -- and look out over the river and up at the big Kanji that has been cut into the mountain side for several hundred years. Dinners are either 2000 for an entree or 1000 yen for a dish, and drinks are about 600 yen, with wine by the bottle available. Dessert runs about 500yen.

My only dislike about the place is that the menus have French dish names and Japanese explanations of the ingredients. While it was nice to be able to partially read a menu in Japan, the script describing the ingredients in Japanse was scribbly and hard to make out, so I had to guess that I knew what was in it by the French title. The waiter I spoke to did speak a bit of English, however.

Lunch is paid up front, dinner is paid at the end. Overall, a charming cafe, a fair attempt at French cuisine, and a fantastic location. Take the Keihan line to the terminus at Demachiyanagi, take exit 3, and cross the bridge. It is on the water.

A Bold New Venture!

perr@wendingwayfare.com — 2006-08-27T22:18:07+09:00

Sometimes things just work, just click together with auditory certainty that everything is great, as though forces beyond all control have been running this tape in reverse and have got everything lined up.

Websites are not as such. The analogy is closer to something infernal: cries of anguish, an unearthly glow of latenight keyboard-slaving, curses and sulphur. In any case, my fell creation has been born unto this world to wreak what havoc it may.

Ominous allusions aside, my intention for this site is to provide travel information for the places I visit, and anecdotal stories about my haphazard experiences, particularly in Japan. In separate sections, I will detail new lightweight hiking gear that I have tested, as well as semi-amateurish photos.

If you enjoy what you read, have comments, criticisms or additions to my information, please leave a comment: they are appreciated.