Synaxis TV

To foreshadow this evening’s events, it seems that any clubs or restaurants I might go to tonight are going to be charging $50-$80+ for admission. I took a look to see what symphony type events are going on and found that Van Cliburn is playing in Ft. Worth! But it’s sold out…

Well, it’s my birthday. We’ll see how this goes.

I almost forgot about this great story about this black woman Regina Louise who was not allowed to be adopted by a white woman Jeanne Kerr because they were of different races. Over 25 years later Regina found Jeanne again and was finally legally adopted by her.

Laura always complains about the music on NPR which is funny since Elephant was number 1 on their list best of albums for the year.

Well, I just got back from a crime prevention meeting put on by the Plano police department. Not too sure how productive it was. I suppose for the completely ignorant it may have been helpful. Maybe the insistence that people not be so hesitant to call 911 might do some good though. What stood out most of all though was the complaints people had towards the management about the lighting in the halls, the insecure code on the gates, and issues with parking. Maybe they’ll get a watch group off the ground, maybe the management will start fixing things, and maybe I’ll go collect email addresses to start a mailing list. Maybe.

One guy did say he has lived here for three years and this is the worst he has seen it. He also kept mentioning how they had severely lowered the rent for a while (someone said something about four bedroom apartments going for $1000) and this other guy said they needed to have some type of screening system. The complex was just bought by someone new so someone opined that the old management was just trying to fill as many apartments as possible to get someone to buy it.

I guess another interesting thing was that a lot of people were insisting on the installation of cameras, which ties into issues of surveillance, freedom, and privacy. I kind of like the idea but I tend to see it more from the DIY side since I’ve had my webcam up at times surveilling the neighborhood. It could be especially productive when/if we all get connected through a list/the Internet. Maybe that could be another project. Get people to make a grassroots camera surveillance network. Hmmm…

Another good program on the Diane Rehm show with neurologist Richard Restak. He mentioned an interesting concept called emotional contagion, whereby your affect is effected by the affect of those around you. This has implications for who you surround yourself with.

He also mentioned the brain changes that are taking place as we cope with the modern age and brought up the effect of such realistic displays of violence. There are those who argue that video games have no causal relation to moral indignities in the real world, but I am sure some of those same people would object to video games that depicted the violent rape of women, and if that is the case then there seems to be a line implied there between what imaginary landscapes are ok and which are not.

I just listened to a great program from the Diane Rehm show on KERA 90.1 about how James Boylan became Jenny Boylan. Two things she said that I thought were really interesting was that her being transgender is not the most important thing about her but instead her being a writer and a parent, and also that we really need to look out for children who are dealing with being transgendered and urge them to talk to therapists and their family.

Jenny wrote a book about her experience called She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders. Maybe I can read it after I finish Middlesex.

I have figured out that if I touch the door on the 11th floor with the lower end of my palm the shock doesn’t hurt too much… Maybe I won’t need to get gloves after all.

One of the questions I get asked the most is why I have such an interest in Japan. It is a difficult question to answer, particularly since my interests in Japan now aren’t necessarily related to the reason I initially became interested in Japan — an association of Japan with technological advancement when I was younger.

It is also difficult not to notice the sharp presence of Japanese commodities in our culture: from Pokemon, Hello Kitty, and the Power Rangers, to manga, anime and sushi. This presence has come to a head of sorts in recent movies such as Lost in Translation and Kill Bill, but these obviously aren’t Japanese products. Rather, they are American interpretations, experiences, and adorations that are capitalizing on Japanese cultural commodities. What is more interesting, though, is that they seem to be the tip of the iceberg.

A recent article in the Washington Post about Japan’s “Empire of Cool” shed some light on a much greater presence than I had initially considered. In fact, overall interest in Japanese culture is at an all time high. The author was surprised to find some 80 students in an Iowa high school studying Japanese. But when asked why they were studying Japanese, many of them quickly pointed to manga and anime, and this unfortunately creates a problem for those of us with a different kind of interest in Japan.

One divisive point you will find among those with an interest in Japan concerns their stance towards anime. When I studied Japanese in Tokyo one of my fellow students said his one roommate request was that he not be placed with someone who was obsessed with anime. I don’t share the same loathe that “Nigate” does, but I do maintain a differentiation between myself and others who are interested in Japan solely because of its pop culture products and am guilty of a slight uncomfortable twinge when in their presence.

Anne Allison noted in the introduction to her book “Permitted and Prohibitted Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan” that it is sometimes difficult to get people in anthropology to take the study of Japan seriously. Maybe this pop culture persona of Japan is part of the reason why.

[22:21] GOD: I have so much to learn as far as Japanese is concerned.
[22:21] GOD: But it’s crazy to think about how much I’ve learned already.
[22:21] GOD: And even crazier to think about how few sentences I am able to speak.
[22:21] GOD: Or rather, I guess, meaningful sentences.

So I finally figured out what Kelis means when she is singing about her “milkshake.”

HoustonChronicle.com – Kelis whips up a ‘Tasty’ treat for her fans AP: What exactly is a milkshake?
Kelis: A milkshake is the thing that makes women special. It’s what gives us our confidence and what makes us exciting.

I also found out that the day after Christmas was a holiday, so I have 8 extra hours for last week’s paycheck. And, I don’t have to take my vacation, but instead can just get paid for it, which means I’ll have 10 extra hours on this week’s paycheck.

Very nice. But I still need another job.