it's still dark out

Sometimes, waking up early... isn't really waking up from anything.
posted by G at 6:25 AM   | (2) comments

welcome back

So it's almost been one week since I've returned home to Seattle... a whole week. When I was younger, I'd always mark both the beginning and the end of the week by the coming of Sunday - 'cause when you're the pastor's kid, life seems to naturally just center around church.

Coming back to CBC was nice - seeing all the familar faces, the same people whom I've grown up with. Everything seems the same on the surface, but of course, everybody is a one year older. I went to first service with my mother, and noticed that size of the service had shrunk significantly... so much in fact, that I was quite noticeable. The worship leader, Uncle Ben Chew, saw me and said "Welcome back from Japan" during the worship service and looked straight at me, which of course, caused everybody in the congregation to look at me. I always feel a bit embarrassed being called out like that.

Looking around the sanctuary during first service, I saw that most of the people in the service were the older people and married couples. There were some kids, but there was large missing gap of people my age. It reminded me a lot of Japan - many Japanese Christian churches that I visited are filled mostly with the elderly and married couples. There are very few young people, such as college / career-age.

Hmm, there's probably a lot of factors for that... some specific to CBC, others common to churches in general... but that's a different post.


.:.


food, fam, friends, fellowship

In the evening, there was a potluck party for me at my house to "welcome me back". I knew some people would come, but I was surprised by the turnout. It felt nice to be appreciated, yet strangely, at the same time, I'm not sure if I can ever get used to being the center or focus of attention. Luckily, it was very informal... people sat where they wanted, some guys played 4-man Halo 2 in the living room, etc.

Eating and talking with my friends, my mind was mediating a lot on how the surface, everybody seems the same, but for people my age, the changes that we have all experienced in the past 4 years seem to lay on a deeper level. Some of my friends are now married... some have started full-time careers... some have moved to cities or change churches.

Our lives are filled with all these drastic changes, yet each single change in our lives came in small steps or leanings... never a sudden sprint or metamorphosis, just a slow meandering toward a point in which the place where we stand now is so much farther than were we were standing before. And for myself, it's true too.

I can cheer for my friends and feel very happy that the changes in their lives have moved them toward someplace else... yet, living here in Renton/Kent with my mom again, having no car again, having no job again... part of me wonders about the apparent immobility of my own situation. Maybe it's naive of me to have faith that God would immediately guide to what the next step is... my cynical side is quick to point out to me: what's the point of having a different perspective when your circumstances remain the same?

I don't have the answer to that yet.

My time in Japan shaped me in ways I'm still trying to fully comprehend and process - I think another writer once wrote that after more than a year living in Japan, his personality had shifted completely away from who he was before he went to Japan. That statement resonates with me a lot, however, even if these differences have happened to me too, is 2004 Garrett in really that of a much better position than 2003 Garrett?

I don't have the answer to that, either.

As of now, I just a small bankroll of cash, and as usual, a lot of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Things that need to get copped soon:

Jobby-job. Duh. Gotta pay dem bills and earn my keep. Long term security, and something I enjoy would be nice too.

Cellphone. As courtesy to the fam and friends, and staying in contact with those who... ummm... need to be contacted. Can't whine anymore about how sucky American phones are compared to Japanese phones.

A Ride AKA A Car. Strictly for transportation. A consequence of West Coast living until the City of Seattle gov't gets off their collective arses to give me MONORAIL / LIGHT RAIL.

Computer. My old Frankenstein mish-mash of parts died. Now it's a question of notebook/laptop vs. desktop vs. compact/shuttle box.

Pad. It's not that I don't love my Mom... it's just that it's sometimes hard to love living with my Mom. Plus, if I want to even consider getting shacked up...

I've made plans, trying to take steps... I want to explore the possibility of going back to school (or seminary), I want to find a job... but there's a hard truth, there's my perpetual feeling that none of these things are going to fall in my lap. They never do, at least for me, and I suppose, that's just my fate. I truly want to believe that God has purpose for everything and that all experiences in my life are in accordance with His greater plan... I just wish the waiting for everything would be easier.

If hope and patience disappear again, I'm not sure how I'd deal with the fallout... again.
posted by G at 12:58 AM   | (3) comments

flag football, competition, harmony



It doesn't get more beautiful than that ^... another beautiful sunset in Seattle, viewed from "The Lid" park on Mercer Island.

A bunch of the us guys got together to play that most celebrated of American Autumn games - flag football. It was a match of Beacon Hill supremacy, pitting a team of young bucks from SCAC against a allied team of old geezers from CBC and other churches. Or, a better way to imagine the contest: current AACFers vs. ex-AACFers (like myself). We played 7 on 7.

It was a close contest and a battle of the wills - however, CBC carried the day by a score of 2 - 1. The speedy SCAC offense scored the first touchdown, but the intimidating CBC offensive / defensive lines and a crushing CBC defense (4 stops and an interception) won us the game.

The team, AKA "Old Folks AACF All-Stars":

Me (duh)
Chong
Chris
Curtis
G-Sak
Jon
Marc
Mel
Ryan
Sam
Simo

That's right, we had more than 7 people... nothing like a little bit of rotation to keep everybody fresh and running fast. ;)

The competition was pretty intense, but things never got heated except once during the game after a physical collision between players. Once might credit the fact that we all wanted to just play with keeping the peace, but I'd like to think that it the brotherhood of faith that kept things civil and fun.

Good game, everybody!


.:.


harmony

When I played football today, it was good to see a lot of the guys I haven't seen since almost a year ago when I left for Japan. Running into G-Sak (who himself was in Tokyo/Yokohama this past summer), we couldn't help bust out the cliche...

hisashiburi desu!

He asked me what I missed most about Japan, but I had trouble at the moment really saying anything specific besides the little things (some of which I listed here)
. Now, that I've given it some more thought, I have a better answer (ha, hours later)... I miss the harmony of Japan.

Harmony (this Chinese character, pronounced often "wa" in Japanese) is a very important concept in Asian culture, but perhaps no country has taken in to an extreme like Japan. People are socialized from a young age to preserve harmony in both their surroundings, relationships, etc.

For example: keeping a clean and organized space around the home; being perfectly groomed and attired for every occasion, even leisure; trying to build a group consensus as soon as possible by consulting everyone's opinions.

I witnessed it myself a more than few times when I would teach children's classes - if one team started to rack a higher score than the other team, the winning team would suddenly start to "lose" to allow the other team to catch up and eliminate embarassing point gap. It's not to say that competition doesn't exist in Japan... but the attitude toward it is quite different. Competition is an exercise, a task, or a process... never an ideal.

Coming back to America though, I'm brought back to country that raises up competition as virtue - even to the point of ruthlessness and cruel domination. Popular American culture constantly espouses that "fair play" is inherent in our competitions, but fair play is also simultaneously mocked as old fashioned and weak - because in the American paradigm, there are only two groups: winners and losers. And if you're not a winner, you're a loser.

If in America, our ideas about competition were limited to just sports, it'd be bearable. But we're constantly applying this "winners and losers" mentality without a sense of its flaws to complex issues like war, social justice, ethnic tensions, religious beliefs, etc... the results are messy. Very messy. American strife. whoo-hoo!

Back to sleep.
posted by G at 3:26 AM   | (3) comments

post-nippon insomniac

It's about 5:30 AM right now in Seattle and I'm still awake. Call it the power of jetlag or an over-active mind, but I can't sleep at the moment... I feel like Ed Norton in Fight Club - not sure when I'm awake and not sure when I'm asleep.

My entire Japan experience is still milling around in the recesses of my brain, like restless spirits banging the inside of my skull until I release them. I've decided to dedicate the next week or two weeks to releasing all of 'em via writing on this blog... then maybe I'll get some sleep.

Maybe.


.:.


seasons

I got an e-mail from another one of my former students today - he asked if I had made it home to Seattle OK. I suppose that while I'm physically here, my soul is still catching up. He mentioned he liked the card I gave... a simple two sided postcard I printed out after using Adobe Pagemaker to put it together. I distributed the cards as "Thank You" cards to all my students and co-workers.

Front:



The front is simple collection of 4 photos - Autumn in Kyoto at Kinkaku Temple; Winter in Kobe at Suma Beach; Spring in Ashiya at Ashiya river; and Summer at Ashiya JR Train station.

On the back is printed this simple ditty I wrote...

seasons

put under the shade of amber-framed skies
we sometimes fall back with half-closed eyes
unable to see in the winter of our discontent
that sometimes the best way to find yourself
is to lose who you are now.


for the future often follows an unknown course
and lacking clarity, we let doubt spring forth
thinking to avoid the summer sun's glare
not understanding that who we should be
is often grown out of hardship.


now I hold happy memories when they're made
clutchin them close so they'll never fade
because finding peace in life's changes
means I must measure those small memories
more heavily in my heart.


for under Heaven all things will pass away
just as sunrise and sunset complete each day
but treasuring the time I've been given
is how I'll light my darkened years
because even old memories can shine...

...to guide me through another season.
posted by G at 5:34 AM   | (4) comments

war, asia, and video games

I like playing video games... call it juvenile, call it a modern male compulsion, but I just really dig play video games.

In recent years, "real war" has been a popular theme in video games - everything from modern anti-terrorist / special ops games (Rainbow Six, Counterstrike, Ghost Recon) to historical wars (Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Vietnam, Call of Duty.)

But since a number of wars in the past century have involved Asian countries, how does that make me and a large number of Asian Americans feel?

For the most part, I don't think the Asian American community has been offended because many video game companies have so far responsibly handled the content in their games - that is, they haven't resorted to campy, "yellow peril" exploitation that was infamous in games like Shadow Warrior. But the pendulum may be swinging back... witness the recent wave of offensive Vietnam games.

So if Japan and Vietnam have already been featured in several games, what's the next Asian country to be the popular "enemy" in video games? You heard this prediction here first: North Korea.

The new Ghost Recon 2 (site requires Flash) features an imaginary war in 2011 in a failed, but nuclear capable, North Korea. I'm a fan of Red Storm and Tom Clancy's work, so I'm crossing my fingers that the subject matter is handled tastefully.

The game even features a sniper character who is a Asian American from Oregon named "Mike Kim"... at least some token representation, eh?


.:.


fried turkey

...from Popeye's. This looks good, don't it?
posted by G at 2:31 PM   | (0) comments

Terror At Inchon Airport: shaved-headed Chinese religious fanatic runs with scissors and is arrested by security

So as humorous prelude to my obligatory (serious?) reflections on my time in Japan, I thought I'd tell about (somewhat) funny incident that happened on my return trip home.


.:.


Being the cheap Chinese person that I am, I bought a low-price ticket on a Korean airline to go home to Seattle - the route would be from Kansai Airport (Japan) to Inchon Airport (Korea) to SeaTac Airport (USA). The flight from Kansai to Inchon was pretty short, about one and a half hours, most of which I spent listening to my iPod and pounding down glasses of red wine.

When I reached Inchon Airport, I had to pass through another security checkpoint on my way to the gate of my connecting flight. Most of the people on my plane head the opposite direction, to customs... meaning, it's pretty much only me at security. The guards are pretty young looking, maybe about college-age - 1 guy and 3 girls.

Since they notice I've just come off the flight from Japan, one of the girls begins speaking to me in Japanese, giving me instructions to put my bags through the x-ray machine, walk through the metal detector, and asking me to empty my pockets of metal objects. I'm too lazy to go through the complicated schtick of explaining that "I'm Chinese - but an American citizen - I speak English - I know some Japanese and Chinese", so I answer her using only Japanese.

I'm not expecting any trouble, but as I pass through the metal detector, it starts beeping and I think "doh". The security guards didn't look too thrilled either, and immediately, the same girl who was questioning me makes me step to the side to use a metal detector wand on me, which ironically has my name (GARRETT) written on it. I was wearing cargo pants with a lot of metal zippers, but I didn't expect the metal detector to be quite so sensitive to that. My pants starting making the wand beep a lot, so the guard resorts to patting me down.

Being a little bit groggy, I chuckle a little bit as she's patting me down, especially when she sticks her hand in my back pocket and starts fishing around. As I'm trying not to laugh too loud, I catch a look on her face which tells me that she's cleared annoyed - so I stop laughing. Nothing quite like the eye dagger "death gaze" Korean girls can give. But I'm not really so offended, especially given both historical facts and the way that a lot of Japanese people still treat Koreans - since she thinks I'm Japanese, any lack of warm fuzzy feelings between us is understandable.

Just when I think the situation can't get more awkward, one of the other guards checking my bags through the x-ray machine shouts something in Korean to the other guards. They're looking at the screen really closely, and the female guard who was patting me down, comes over to question me again. Maybe she's the only who speaks Japanese.

(The following conversation is all in Japanese)

Guard: Do you have scissors in your bag?
Me: No.
Guard: Can you open your bag please?
Me: OK.

The guard rifles around in my bag for a few minutes and then... pulls out a sharp pair of barber's scissors. She throws an icy accusatory glance at me and holds up the scissors in her in silent "SO WHAT IS THIS?" gesture.

Uh-oh. During the last minute scramble to the airport, I remember my host mother cramming my haircutting kit into one of the pockets of my bag. Since I'm always using the electric clippers to shave my hair, I'd completely forgotten about the barber's scissors in the kit.

How the heck did that manage to slip through Japanese security at Kansai without them finding it?

In about the space of a few seconds, I imagine being arrested at Inchon as a Japanese communist terrorist. They'd ship me by boat to a prison island like in the movie Silmido, where my ass will be beaten with sticks by angry ROK soldiers.

Unconsciously, I switch immediately from speaking Japanese to speaking English and I blurt out the following sentence. Oops... I apologize. Those scissors are from my haircutting kit... I've forgotten I had them. Sorry. I suppose being a little bit nervous made me forget to speak in Japanese.

The guards all look at me stunned - I hadn't spoken a single word of English until now. The male guard immediately speaks to me. You are not a Japanese? he asks is a surprised voice.

I nod and show them my US passport.

It's my mistake for bringing the scissors. I quickly add. I'm sorry for any trouble... I understand that it's against the rules, so please take them away.

The girl guard who wanded / patted me down, smiles and waves to me to go. It's OK, you can go... I will keep the scissors. she says.

Phew.

Thank you, I reply and I quickly rush off to my gate. I wonder if I'd been in even more trouble if it turned out I really was Japanese...

Hrmmm.
posted by G at 8:55 AM   | (3) comments

kaeta

I've returned home... a little sad, a little groggy... but OK. Thanks to everybody for their wishes and prayers.

All praise to the Most High.
posted by G at 10:19 PM   | (2) comments

random japan thoughts

It's about 2:00 AM here in Japan. My friends have made me eat, drink, sing, and give speeches... but they haven't been able to keep me from feeling chotto kanashii (little sad). I came to Japan by myself, but God really provided many good people to shepherd, support, encourage, teach, and guide me along the way. So I can't help but feel very grateful as well... the world's a smaller place now.

Random things i'll miss about Japan (besides people and in no order):

-trains.
-being anonymous (everyone thinks I'm Japanese)
-100 yen (one dollar) stores.
-pimped out cellphones.
-People apologizing even if they just lightly bump in to you.
-cold tea, especially mugi-cha (wheat tea)
-azuki / an (red bean).
-nori (dried seaweed) and wakame (kelp)
-cheap, good Japanese cuisine.
-cheap booze.
-the hot towel every restaurant gives you before you eat to clean your hands.
-the fact everybody bathes religiously.
-watching little kids play jan-ken-pon (rock-paper-scissors)
-used CD stores where the used CDs are as nice new ones
-pimped out video arcades
-funny Japanese TV
-xylitol

The list goes on and on... but I can't think about it now.

.:.

More movie reviews... super quick style.

My Sassy Girl (Director's Cut). I've seen this movie before I bought it... the original at least. The director's cut adds some extra scenes, but they pretty much are just a little bit of extra fluff - the original still stands as a great flick. I dislike romantic comedies, but this movie is great... I still always get choked up during the scene on the mountain where the girl is calling out to Gyun.


Silmido. I had pretty much zero knowledge of this movie before seeing it, except a friend of mine (ms. heh) said it was better than its hyped counterpart "Brotherhood". After watching, I can say:

This movie is good. Really, really, good... and even though it has some familar themes (how brotherhood and friendship between men develop; politicians and immoral governments screwing over soldiers and normal people), the movie presents them in a fresh and interesting way.

It's interesting, in a interview the director mentioned he's a fan of The Rock (Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery). It shows in the movie.

The plot is based on a true story where after a failed North Korean assassination attempt, the South Korean government starts a secret project to train a special forces assassination squad of its own - the members being social outcasts, death row inmates, and other undesirables.

The first half of the movie follows the group's transformation from punks to SpecOps badasses; the second half focuses more on the group's relationships and the story. I found the ending scene poignant... and I'm not ashamed to say that I even started tearing up and crying.

Korean movies must be making me weepy.


2046. The much-hyped sequel to "In the Mood for Love" is an interesting movie... good characters, excellent cinematography, and great music - but unfortunately, it's a SEQUEL to a very good movie. Tony Leung continues the same role he had in "In the Mood", but 2046 lacks the chemistry / relationship with Maggie Cheung and a coherent story line. It's still a good movie to see if you're a Wong Kar Wai fan, but casual viewers will probably be disappointed... especially if you've seen "In the Mood" before this.
posted by G at 8:48 AM   | (9) comments

so busy busy busy

To say that this past week has been busy is an understatement on par with saying something along the lines of "Hitler wasn't so nice to everyone" or "Japan is crowded".

There have been meetings with many people.

Much food and drink have been consumed. Packing and more packing. Many errands have been run. And much worrying done.

And guess what I'm about to do now? Yep, more of the above.

One night and 3 more days to go.
posted by G at 3:11 AM   | (3) comments

festive

Today was a pretty chill day... some friends invited me to an Autumn festival at Kobe University where I indulged in a lot of eating - yakisoba, yaki-jagaimo (roasted Japanese potato), karage (fried chicken), and cotton candy. Pretty much every conceivable group or club at the university had a food booth. Prices were good two - everything was around 200 yen or less ($2).

The weather was cloudy and cold... and I loved it. Good riddance to the ridiculously hot Kansai summer.

At night, there was a live performance by a Japanese artist named Kokia, who's apparently pretty popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but isn't as well known in Japan. She performed a lot of songs from this album, with only a keyboardist and acoustic guitar player for backup.

Her live performance was quite good - no lip-syncing (*cough* Ashlee *cough*), but then again, her performance didn't feature really any booty-shaking dancing either. It was all about the music. I was really impressed by her vocal range too, especially in the song "I believe (Umi no Sokokara)". Turns out she studied opera in school.

I guess by virtue of her live performance... I'm a fan now. Gonna cop her album.


.:.


Speaking of music... ODB is dead?!!?

Man... sad. Wu-Tang and hip.hop will never be the same without Ol' Dirty.

Wu-Tang is for the children!
posted by G at 2:39 AM   | (2) comments

Don't let yourself go, everybody cries...



...and everybody hurts sometimes.

Ah, REM.

The cap from my PET bottle drink was prophetic... 'cause saying goodbye and other things really can be sad sometimes.
posted by G at 12:12 AM   | (0) comments

hip-hop heads unite

Ever play this game? For some reason, I seem to do it when I make playlists for the WinAmp on my comp or the GarPod.

Examine the following songs of this list:

1 Gangstarr "You Know My Steez"
chorus:
Ya know my steeeeeez

2 Nas "The Message"
chorus:
I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death

3 Coca Brovaz (Smif & Wessun) "Black Trump"
chorus:
Guess who's the black trump?

4 Dilated Peoples "Worst Comes to Worst"
chorus:
Worst comes to worst, my people come first

5 Chops, Bahamadia, Planet Asia, & Rasco "Special Forces"
chorus:
We move like special forces, green beret

6 Subterraneous Crew "Word 'Em Up"
chorus:
word to mother, heard 'em frontin'

7 Royce Da 5'9 "Boom"
chorus:
It gets tragic like the havoc of a nuclear bomb

8 Jay-Z "Dead Presidents"
chorus:
I'm out for presidents to represent me

Now, examine this second list. A line from each songs on this list were sampled for the choruses of the songs above.

a. Nas "The World is Yours"
b. Nas "One Love"
c. Nas "NY State of Mind"
d. Mobb Deep "Survival of the Fittest"
e. Mobb Deep "Hell on Earth"
f. Gza "Shadow Boxing"
g. Gangstarr "You Know My Steez"
h. Raekwon "Incarcerated Scarfaces"

Match the two lists with song sampled to the song that uses the sample. (example: a1, b2, etc).

First one to post the correct answers in my comments wins... ummm, something interesting from Japan. Yeah!

Additional +1 bonus points if you can also identify by the name each of the rappers who are saying the chorus lines from the first list.
posted by G at 2:57 AM   | (6) comments

odds & ends

As the days count down toward my departure of Japan, I've made an attempt at trying to start early in packing my possessions for the trip home, either via post office surface shipping (AKA making my packages FOB-ulous) or in my suitcase (self-carried air mail).

However, several character traits I possess all seem to conspire against me in completing this task:

1) I save everything. I have stacks of newspapers and magazines 5 months old in my room, along with the original boxes several Transformers came in.

2) My organization is divided into two types: stacks or piles.

3) My mind conceives time as relative and artificial; consequently, procrastination is inevitable.

It's in times like these that the GF is sorely missed.


.:.


Movie watching.

Where do I get the time to watch movies? Hmm, refer to number 3 above.

House of Flying Daggers
Synopsis: During the Tang Dynasty in China, civil unrest leads to open, armed rebellion - the biggest group being the so-called "House of Flying Daggers" - a bunch of hot ladies who live in the forest, wear green clothes with big hats and dispatch their opponents via throwing sharp knives at 'em. Two Tang Dynasty soldiers (Andy Lau & Takeshi Kaneshiro) hatch a plot with they suspect blind, but hot girl (Zhang Ziyi) of being the daughter of the ex-leader of the House of Flying Daggers.

Plot twists, broken hearts, and sword fighting ensues.

Gar's Thoughts: A great movie if you enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero - though arguably, both films are better than House. Zhang Yimou is one of my favorite directors, and his trademark love of strong, bright colors are evident in the cinematography. "Love" seems to the main theme of this movie, but the political undertones here aren't as strong as in Hero. A good movie if you enjoy the genre.


Infernal Affairs
Synopsis: A powerful Triad gang wars with the Hong Kong police in modern day Hong Kong, but with a twist - the two main characters are moles in the respective organizations. Andy Lau is a Triad who was planted in the police force; Tony Leung is an undercover cop who was planted in the Triad underworld. Both were given their roles from a young age, and the movie follows the final cat and mouse of game of who will outsmart who...

Plot twists, forlorn facial expressions, and gun fighting ensues.

Gar's Thoughts: Very stylized movie with very likeable and 3 dimensional characters. Andy Lau and Tony Leung do a great job of illustrating via facial expressions, body language, and speech, the pain of modern men whose identities have been lost because of their obligations to their chosen careers. The main weakness of the movie is perhaps the abrupt ending, but if you enjoy Triad / police drama type movies, it's worth the watch.

A good study of Asian male character, and the faults of our so-called culturally ingrained "stoic silent suffering".


Tasogare Seibei (Twilight Samurai)
Synopsis: A poor, widower samurai (Seibei) lives a mundane life - by day he crunches numbers as a clerk at a castle's provisions warehouse... by night, he makes insect cages for extra cash. He's not rich or respected by his co-workers; even his senile mother forgets who he is. His only joy in life is his family - his two daughters.

But life becomes more complicated when a childhood friend comes back into his life and when it's discovered that Seibei is actually a skilled swordsman... well, you can imagine.

Drama, unspoken love, and fighting ensues.

Gar's Thoughts: This is the anti-stereotypical samurai movie - all drama and virtually no action. Directed by Japanese director more famous for a series of adventure / comedy movies called "Tora-san", Twilight Samurai shows the life of a samurai who is neither rich or blood-lusting fighter.

It's stark view of the reality of feudal life may be bit of a turn-off for people who prefer the romanticized versions of samurai film - a good comparison would be to think about two different (and classic) American mafia movies: The Godfather (romanticized, powerful, epic gangsters) and Donnie Brasco (painfully realistic, scrappin' to get by, Pacino-breaking-into-a-parking-meter gangster.).

Nevertheless, it's study of the shikata ga nai mindset so prevalent in the Japanese cultural character and the quiet, humble perservance that springs from it. A good watch for anybody interested in Japanese culture and human drama.
posted by G at 12:46 AM   | (2) comments

break bread with my brother



I know a lot of people here in Japan and I have a lot of friends... but true to my personality, I have very few close friends. I can probably count them one hand.

So last Friday, when I my friend Selman (Sel) invited me out to dinner out at his mosque, I took the invitation seriously even though I've been feeling a bit sick lately. For the uninformed, it's currently Ramadan, the sacred holiday in Islam that celebrates the time that Mohammed fasted, prayed, and was given the Holy Quran. Modern day Muslims in recognition of the event do the same - they fast during daylight hours, abstaining from all food and drink.

From a worldly perspective, many people would think it's odd that I consider Sel my best friend here in Japan. Maybe one could possibly imagine a sitcom with a Christian Chinese American from Seattle (me) and a Muslim Indian Canadian from Toronto (Sel), but most people just don't get it - because our friendship is based on a spiritual connection, a faith in one God, and a conviction that our actions, and our perspectives must stem from that faith.

And in a modern world where people consider having faith in God to be "backward" and "primitive", many people (including Japanese people) can't understand why we're friends.

Eating at the mosque with Sel, talking with his brothers there, of course our conversation turned to the world, the US, religion, the recent American presidential election, and the politics of the Middle East. The funniest exchange of the night at the mosque was with Sel's friend Ash, a recent arrival to the English teacher set here in Japan.


Ash: So what do you think about George Bush and the Republican Party claiming to be the "Christian" party?
Gar: I resent the fact that my religion and spiritual beliefs have been hijacked for dirty political purposes.
Ash: Haha, welcome to the club.


I felt honored to share in a holy meal with Sel at the mosque. Because honestly, I've felt more welcome and at home there than many wonderbread WASPy "Christian" churches I've ever visited.

For a country founded on the belief in religious freedom, modern America is awfully suspicious of people who are religious. It makes me wonder if many "Christians" in America will ever realize that Islam and the true believers of that faith are not our enemies.

Americans' own ignorance, cultural imperialism, nationalism, and (white) ethnocentricity is.

Free your minds.
posted by G at 1:12 AM   | (2) comments

Empire Bush: The Aftermath

It's a bit surreal to watch American politics being covered by foreign news agencies. Everything I see here in Japan, is of course, filtered via Japanese interests. By and large, a rather diverse group of Japanese people are happy with Bush's re-election: the conservative segment, anti-North Korea lobby, and Japanese big business.

Many of my friends now hear the Star Wars theme "Imperial March" playing when they think of another 4 years of a Bush administration, but welcome to democracy - the highest voter turnout since 1968 and the people have spoken. Like it or not, the majority of Americans (notice on this map only the blue dominated states were on the east and west coast) weren't impressed with the idea of Kerry becoming president.

In my cynical view, I sorta expected Bush to be re-elected, mainly because:

1) Fear. It's a powerful emotion, and people are dreading another terrorist attack. Bush and the neo-cons are modern day cowboys (yee-haw) who are viewed as all to willing to use force. But from a purely tactical (and selfish) viewpoint, this is desirable - if your enemy views you as a loose cannon, they're gonna to be that much more afraid of you. I suppose the public views a Bush administration as a sort of dumb, yet powerful colossus that protects America.

Better to nuke them, before they nuke us! Typical American thinking, eh?

2) The stupidity of the "I'm not Bush" strategy. Poor John Kerry got stuck with this idiotic campaign strat by the Democratic Party. The only visible manifestations of who John Kerry was were during the presidential debates, and by then, it was too little, too late. It should have been obvious that in the absence of any knowledge of Kerry's character and specific policies, that people would choose the devil they know (Bush) versus the devil they don't (Kerry).

I wonder if my absentee ballot got "lost" by the government... though in a liberal place like Seattle, I'd be considered now a part of the tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, coffee-drinking, book-reading hippie set.

Too bad my absentee ballot ain't going to Ohio.


.:.


But as davephonic notes in an (optimistic?) apocalyptic blog entry, maybe another 4 years of Republican party domination is just what America needs to wake up to the fact that a lot of things need to change in our country.

Is the revolution coming?

Time to start stocking up on bottled water, rice crackers, and bullets. Read a book, train at the dojo, and visit your local shooting range. Haha.

Recommended battle music: Dead Prez, Rage Against the Machine, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Black Star.



.:.


digitalgravel

I was checking digitalgravel and I noticed a new design group from Hong Kong is now represented... what coincidence.

Some cool new gear:

"Knowledge" t-shirt
Guan Yu t-shirt
"I Have a Dream" t-shirt


.:.


movie-age

I've been watching a lot of the movies I bought in HK - House of Flying Daggers, Infernal Affairs, Twilight Samurai, 2046. Maybe I'll write some thoughts 'bout them later.


.:.


18 more days until I return to Babylon, er, America. Anybody wanna take bets I'm detained by INS for looking suspiciously "Anti-American"?
posted by G at 12:44 AM   | (2) comments

hong kong highlights

Well, I survived my trip to Hong Kong with stomach intact and all my fingers still attached to my hand. The irony would have to be that the most dangerous part of my trip was the flight back from Hong Kong to Osaka - the plane flew through a serious storm. And when I say "serious", I mean crazy turbulence, rain, and LIGHTNING.

About 10 minutes into the storm, I'm relaxing, half-asleep, with the GarPOD playing some Norah Jones through my headphones when there's a bright flare of light followed by a loud BANG off the left-hand side of the plane. The plane shook violently and for about 2-3 seconds, all the lights in the cabin went off.

My brain immediately started processing: OMG, lightning just struck this airplane and maybe the entire left wing has been blown off. Or the entire electrical system has been fried to Hell. Either way, we're gonna crash and die. Or incinerate in the air...

...oh well.

The lights in the cabin went back on and for a moment the cabin was filled with people yelling at each other in Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. Before the panic got too big, there was a cabin announcement by the captain confirming that lightning had struck the plane, but the craft was alright. We landed about 20 minutes later without a hitch.

Don't they say your odds of winning the lottery are better than your odds of getting struck by lightning? It figures that I end up on the wrong side of statistics. Pshhht.


.:.


Death-defying experiences aside, here's some pics with Gar sarcastic commentary (TM).



My first day in Hong Kong, my (distant) cousin Jackie (my uncle's uncle's son's son... got that?) took me and my uncle to a viewing spot in the mountains behind Kowloon.




Hong Kong island is barely viewable in the distance.




Mong Kok (famous shopping area) at night. You can buy just about anything, but more on that later.




The fam. (R-L) Uncle Martin AKA "Unk", my Po-Po's brother (Grand?) Uncle Hong, Kong (Uncle Hong's son), and Auntie (Uncle Hong's wife).





No Chinese family gathering is complete without food, knaw mean? Especially in Hong Kong, where the dim sum is cheap, plentiful, and good.




Hong Kong island, from the Star ferry.





In the downtown area of Hong Kong island, there's a large, chromed-out building so big that's it's called "The Center". In the basement is the official government tourism office.





The oldest temple in Hong Kong is this one, Man Mo temple - it's dedicated to the God of Literature (and hence, wisdom and education). and the God of War (who interestingly enough, is both the protector of policemen and triads). For more details, you can check out these links.




Freedom to the oppressed! Down with the oppressors! Near Man Mo temple are a lot of interesting antique shops - selling everything from old Chinese antiques, to Mao-era paraphenelia.




I was impressed with Hong Kong's subway system - it's even better than Japan's. It's fast, clean, easy to use, and safe - glass walls and sliding doors prevent access to the train tracks, while buying a train ticket is as easy as just pressing the name of the station you want to go to on a touch-sensor map.




Another pic of the fam, after dinner at Uncle Kong's house, with Unk, Jackie, Uncle Kong, and his wife.




Didn't I tell you that you could buy anything in Mong Kok?




A final shot with the family before I went to the airport...




...and it's over the bridge to Hong Kong airport.


.:.


consumerism

So what trip to Asia wouldn't be complete without a shameless exploitation of the currency exchange rates? At about 7.4 HK dollars to 1 US dollar (or aout 106 yen), I couldn't resist my Chinese genetic mandate to buy cheaply and haggle over prices.

The booty:

-brand new heavy-duty nylon backpack ($15 US)
-silicon case for my 4G iPod, with removable belt clip and strap ($14 US)
-"Knights of the Old Republic" game ($3 US)
-"Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War" game ($3 US)

and a whole load of DVDs, most from $2-$7...

Japanese movies:

-Twilight Samurai
-Yojimbo
-Seven Samurai

Chinese movies:

-Infernal Affairs
-House of Flying Daggers
-2046
-Young and Dangerous
-New Legend of Shaolin
-Once Upon a Time in China II

Korean movies:

-My Sassy Girl
-Silmido
-A Tale of Two Sisters

Cheesy SciFi movie:

-Dune


I woulda bought more, but I didn't have the space in my luggage...


.:.


In an unrelated note...

Don't forget to vote.
posted by G at 10:51 PM   | (4) comments

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33