Vrrroooom!

I have a car! It's a '97 Toyota Cynos. The Cynos is a Japan-only model, but I think it's pretty similar to the Celica. Yay! Mobility! Freedom! No more biking in the rain with groceries!



Must drive on the left side of the road... Must drive on the left side of the road... Must drive on the left side of the road...

Ain't it great to be American?

The following has been plagarized shamelessly from Scientic American. I couldn't find this blurb in their online magazine, so here goes:

Data Points: Feeling Terror
Fear of terrorism has made many Americans willing to curtail rights and sacrifice basic freedoms, according to a national survey of 715 respondents prepared by Erik C. Nisbet and James Shanahan of Cornell University for a December 2004 report.

Percent of respondents who think the federal government should:
Have more power to monitor internet activities: 47
Indefinitely detain suspected terrorists: 63
Outlaw some activities even if constitutionally protected: 36

Percent who say the media should not:
Cover protests: 33
Report criticisms of the government: 31

ATTITUDES TOWARD ISLAM

"Islam promotes violence."
Percent who agree: 47
Percent of highly religious Christians who agree: 65

"Muslim-Americans should be forced to register their whereabouts."
Percent who agree: 27
Among highly religious Christians: 42

"Mosques should be closely monitored."
Percent who agree: 26
Among highly religious Christians: 34

SOURCE: Media & Society Research Group, Cornell University. Analyses involving religion included data only from Christians, agnostics and atheists. Degree of religiosity was based on self-identification, church attendance and beliefs about Israel and a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Wow! This whole thing is so completely amazing, I can't even decide which part most warrants my ire. I probably have to go with the one about outlawing constitutionally protected activities just because the amount of ignorance and idiocy that shows is utterly depressing. The whole idea of having a constitution in the first place is that our laws fit into the Constitution, not the other way around. But really, this study is completely mindnumbing. It makes me feel like my head is going to explode... For that reason, I would love to have it pointed out to it's not valid for some reason or another. Anyone? Is there anyone who would like to explain why my outrage is out of line? Flame away.

That's "koh bay," not "koh bee"

Ok, so I still have lots more pics... but it takes a while to upload them and it they make my blog load slower... I will finish China, but not right now. So here we have a brief aside.

Last week I had my recontracting conference in Kobe. Kobe was a really cool city. It's sort of known as the most cosmopolitan city in Japan. There are lots of western style buildings, and good western food, etc. The northern part of the city feels like the countries section of Epcot center. It probably doesn't have a lot of appeal for foreign tourists, but if you happen to live in Japan... well, I found bagels and cream cheese. *sighs happily* I also had some Kobe beef. It was ok, but I didn't think it was that great. It was well-marbled. All meat in Japan tends to be fatty and this was no exception, so I wasn't that crazy about it.

Two really interesting things happened in Kobe.

1. I met a non-relative with my last name. This has never happened to me since I have a pretty uncommon last name. I think the odds that we actually are distant relatives are pretty good because she looks like me and her family's from the Boston area. Before this, I would have bet good money that I was the only Whitcomb in Japan.

2. I met a wild boar. Yes, folks, an honest-to-god, not-confined-to-a-zoo wild boar. One afternoon I was hiking by myself at Rokko mountain just outside of Kobe. I saw a sign that said to beware of the "inoshishi." Funnily enough, I had just learned the word inoshishi (=boar) because the prior week my textbook had a passage on the legend of the origin of the Chinese zodiac. However, upon seeing this sign, I decided I clearly needed to study a bit more carefully, because I couldn't imagine why there would be a sign warning me of wild boars. I wan't far from civilization by any means. And wild boars are something I associate with Grimms fairy tales and the Black Forest in Germany. So I was walking along, and I heard a rustling sound. It sounded like one hell of a big squirrel (Japan doesn't have squirrels). A few seconds later, this pig-like thing the size of a golden retriever stepped out. Honestly, I probably wasn't in any danger because I was above the boar and separated by some rocks, but I was too shocked to be scared, regardless.



That's about the highlights of Kobe. I promise I will finish posting about China eventually. Sayonara for now.