Dolphin slaughter

This video is awful. Don't watch it unless you have an exceptionally strong stomach. As an American who grew up not really eating fish, and consuming meat that in no way resembled the animal it came from, I was horrified to see this video. Japanese people may be more desensitized, as it's not uncommon for them to eat fish that was just recently killed, or even live octopus or baby squid. I've seen whale bacon on the menu at some restaurants. I wonder how much of it came from this. Probably not much, as these roundups only take place in a few isolated areas of Japan, not in "small towns across Japan" as the narrator claims.

Another thing to note. The comment section of the blog I found this on is normally intelligent and articulate, but the racism that came out should serve to remind us that even 60 or 70 years ago Asians and other so-called 'ethnicities' (including German, my main ethnicity) that weren't Anglo-Saxon were considered to be sub-human. That wasn't so long ago, and certainly not long enough to prevent it from burrowing away into the recesses of normally open-minded people. Something to keep in mind for all the people who claim racism doesn't exist in the US anymore.

(via Pharyngula) --check the comments for my admonition (I'm #53, so probably no one will read me)

(edit: link fixed)

Another one bites the dust

After two of my closest friends in Japan, Ana and Damien, left last December, my closest friend was Julian. When I first met him, I almost couldn't understand a word because of his accent. We did training together at our first job here, lived together for a few months, then quit and started working at the junior high schools at the same time, too. We ended up being really good friends. He was a bit loud for me, and sometimes a bit flakey about hanging out, while I was rather quiet and not nearly as outgoing -- that's why we didn't hang out much during our first year here. But working together, we were the only two people we knew who finished at the same time, so it was easy for us to hang out after work, and having the weekends off, which almost no foreigners we knew had, meant that we could hang out with one another. And so we got to be friends.

We took several fun trips together, the most memorable one being a 3-day trip to O-shima, a trip that would've been an absolute nightmare if I didn't have him to entertain me.


One thing that was nice was having someone to listen to you. Whatever the problem, he was always willing to give me his support. My job isn't the most stressful by far, but some of the nuttier aspects of it can be a pain to deal with. He left yesterday to return to fair England. I wish him the best, and I know for certain I'll see him again. I think we've become good friends and now I've got one more reason to head back to England.

Anyways, best of luck, buddy.