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July 27, 2004
Nihongo Kyampu
So for a couple weeks there was this pair of little Japanese girls at camp. It was the first time since leaving Japan that I've been able to practice my spoken Japanese, so it was a very nice opportunity to have. Since they didn't speak much English, I got to be their interpreter for the camp, too, so I proved my worth. ^_^
The older one, Mari, was 12 and already beyond the stage where Japanese children are all bouncy and playful. Don't get me wrong, she was a very sweet girl. But she was very cute and shy, and didn't really want to socialize much more than reading her book. Mari could understand some English, which was definately good... I felt pretty bad because most of the other kids left her alone. So I taught her to play some board games, and eventually she was playing with a few of the other kids.
The younger one, Jun, was 10 and very adorable. She didn't speak more than a few words of English, so I had to speak to her only in Japanese. It was really good practice. She was so cute. She would wave and smile at me whenever she walked past Arts and Crafts, and I was able to ask her what afternoon activities she wanted, and figure out what was wrong when she was unhappy, so at least I proved useful to her too. She was such a sweet girl the whole time -- very polite, very friendly, and very playful. She even taught me how to play Othello (although, when she asked if I had "osero" it took until she said that it was a ge-mu for me to realize what she meant).
Unfortunately they were only there for 2 weeks... they're visiting Canada now, where Jun was born. (All this I got from speaking to them in Japanese! I'm so proud! :-p) Well, it was a very good experience for me, and I hope that I was able to make their stay at camp a little more fun. I feel really bad for the foreign kids, because they can't really communicate at all with the other kids or the adults. So they're basically isolated from everyone in the camp... very sad.
P.S. On a side note, there are 2 Venezualan kids at camp this week... and I can't do a thing for them since I don't know Spanish... Zannen da ne! At least most of the kids have a very basic understanding of Spanish from school... and some of the counselors can speak high school level Spanish.
Posted by dminky at 08:49 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 19, 2004
Some Americans Make Me So Sick
So there was nothing on TV, and I flipped to MSNBC (I was aiming for the History Channel, but I missed...) and there's this new program interviewing two people who were on a flight with *gasp* MIDDLE EASTERN MEN! At one point in the flight, the men got up to go to the bathroom even though the seat belt sign was on. Not one of the flight attendants stopped them, and everyone in the plane was terrified. One of the witnesses said that she ate with a metal fork just before going on the plane, and she was so scared. She wasn't worried when there were 8 Middle Eastern men on the plane, but when 6 more boarded, she got really terrified. For half an hour now I've been listening to a couple of people discussing how scary Arabs are. This is making me seriously feel sick to the stomach. I can't write about what they're saying anymore it's so upsetting...
Now they're doing a followup on the report. It turns out that there were 14 Syrian men on the plane (GASP!). They were all arrested after the flight landed and interrogated. It turns out... THEY WERE MUSICIANS! What the fuck, people?!
"It raises red flags when you have a lot of people from the same country flying on the same plane." What?! Am I dreaming? This is a disgusting plague that is sweeping over our country and it's so widespread that it will take many many years to die down. Our horrible government is only adding tons of fuel to the fire.
What more can I even say? Talking about this, even thinking about it infuriates me. A year ago I was not proud to be an American. Now I am ashamed to be one. I don't want to be a part of a society where people have such black, withered souls. I don't want to live in a democracy where the people refuse to educate themselves about the truth because it is easier to shut up and do whatever they are told. To me, "American" is quickly becoming synonymous with "intolerant and arrogant."
God save America, because it's pretty clear that its people won't do it themselves.
Posted by dminky at 10:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 18, 2004
New Art? Hontouni?!
Serious yo!
That's right, I actually drew something today. Now, before you get excited, it's really nothing special. But enough talking. Here it is:
"I make-a pizza for you!" "I cook-a you meat-o-ball!"
This was sort of a followup on the little Italian Baker I made for one of my three food spot illustrations last semester ("I bake-a you cake!"). Unfortunately, my teacher stole the first picture and I was unable to get it back, and since it was a really fast project, I didn't have time to scan it before I turned it in... so unfortunately I have no copy of the first one (other than preliminary sketches in my sketchbook). I may redo it, just cause it was really cute (not to mention one of the only pictures I made that Thiel actually *liked*), but first I think I'll see if it magically turns up next semester (like one piece that I made Freshman year did last semester... imagine that).
Posted by dminky at 10:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 13, 2004
Goodbye Trees
So in case you guys haven't been paying attention, Bush finally succeeded in lifting the logging ban on our national parks. So... in a few years don't be surprised if we don't have any trees or wildlife or clean rivers left in the US.
Why are we logging you ask? Well, the bill provides for roads to built through the national parks. Why might we need a highway through Tongass National Forest in Alaska? I dunno... surely not to give eskimos an easy way to visit the big cities to the south... I wonder if this means that our wilderness will be subject to *pause* DRILLING! Why would we opening up national forests to drilling when Bush supposedly supports alternative fuel methods that DON'T POLLUTE?! This is one twisted administration.
Seriously, how can anyone out there support Bush? If you plan on voting republican (or not voting at all), then you clearly have no idea of what's been happening in the past four years. If you are not furious with the state of things, then you have not been paying attention!
There are people at my work who support Bush and refuse to read or listen to anything that doesn't have a radical conservative slant to it. People who only watch Fox News. While they certainly have every right to believe whatever they want, and say whatever they want, I don't understand how anyone who claims to be moral, who claims to believe in a religion, who believes in the Constution of this country and the ideals of democracy can support the actions that our administration has undertaken and plans to undertake in the future. How can people be so blind?!
The worst thing is that whenever someone tries to argue in favor of Bush, instead of presenting logical arguments and facts, you'll hear one of three repeated arguments: 1) "Clinton did this and that and nobody complained then, so why are you complaining now?" 2) "All the bad stuff about Bush is just a product of the slanted liberal media. If news wasn't so biased, you'd hear the real truth." 3) Some form of circular logic or doublespeak like, "Everyone used to complain that Bush was stupid, now they're all saying he's an evil genious. Well which one is it? He can't be both, so clearly neither is true." These lame excuses have nothing to do with the issue at hand, and are just excuses that idiots who cannot back up their beliefs because they've never actually thought about them make in order to continue living in their ignorant splendor. The other problem with these arguments is that they're totally baseless and nonsensical for obvious reasons which I will explain:
1) Whatever Clinton did or didn't do does not matter. This is not a case of "he did it first so it's OK if I do it too." Since I wasn't talking about Clinton, I am neither defending or criticising anything that went on during that administration. The simple fact of the matter is that for Clinton's 8 years, the most unhappy that the country got with him was due to the fact that he had an affair with a secretary. Bush has been drawing worse criticism than Clinton ever recieved, and it has been coming since before he was in office and as a result of many many different things. And if you want to argue about the bombings that Clinton authorized, while killing anyone is most definately bad, killing many more people without consulting the UN and lying to the entire world to justify it is much worse. So please stop comparing every mistake Clinton made with the mistakes Bush is making. Clinton is not the one currently ruining this country, and that is what is important right now!
2) Slanted liberal media?! If anything, the media is slightly more conservative than what should be considered rational. And before you go whining about how the media always uses goofy photos of Bush, or talks about how bad the radical right-wingers are; before you go complaining how liberal newscasters are attacking the "moral" republicans, consider that we've had to hear the mind-numbing liberal bashing of insane conservatives like Rush Limbaugh (to name just one) who could be described as borderline-evil because of the terrible things that they say. Even moderates have been attacked for being too "liberal" by these right-winged fanatics. It's about time that the left has decided to take a stand for itself, and it's only a shame that it's taken such a long time and such extremely bad times to bring forth people not afraid to speak for the other side.
3) Oh my god I can't even continue writing about this. I'm too upset knowing that there are people who actually argue against reason...
I don't have time to wrote more, but rest assured THERE IS MORE! If you actually do support Bush and you have a mind open enough to actually explain why instead of just bitching about something that Clinton did being justification for anything Bush wants to do, by all means post it. I would seriously like it hear. I can't write any more... >_<
*) I just realized that this post turned from a lament to trees to a political rant. Sorry about that, trees. I didn't mean to steal the show from you. And now, more about trees:
I think that I shall never see,
A poem lovely as a tree.
Posted by dminky at 10:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 12, 2004
Spam Attack!
Oi! I just was attacked by a buttload of spam. I'm talking 50 posts in a row... luckily all on the same post, so it was easy to detect. The spam bots have always posted on the same few topics in my blog so far, so the easiest way to solve this problem, since IP banning won't work for long, is to just rename the target topics. So... "The Passion o' the Christ" has been renamed "The Jesus Movie." Hopefully it will stay spamfree now, or else I'll have to remove every reference to "passion" from this whole blog. Oi!
The worst thing about it is that people actually fall for spam! I mean... nobody likes it, so you'd think that as a general rule we'd ignore it. Same with telephone solicitors. But nooooooo, not in this country. Fully 20% of Americans actually read their spam, and a good portion of them actually buy something from their spam. PEOPLE! This is so stupid! I don't know the numbers for phone solicitors, but I bet it's similar. I don't know how we can ever solve the spam problem if half-brained idiots keep adding fuel to the fire.
Why would you even buy viagra or shit like that from some idiot who has to weasel their way into your inbox just to get your attention?! Someone needs to start spamming suicide machines so we can weed these people out of the genepool.
Which brings me to a point I argued a while ago, that condoms are the bane of human existance, rather than the wonderful invention that they seem to be. See... you'd have to be an idiot not to use a condom. Unfortunately, that's just what happens! All the idiots never wear condoms, resulting in the production of more idiots who will be raised by idiots. Meanwhile, the smart population uses birth control, reducing the number of children who will be raised by bright parents and who have the smart genes.
Le sigh... the human race is spiralling down the toilet of invention. Where it will end up, we can only guess.
Posted by dminky at 05:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 10, 2004
Working, Resting, Rambling
My summer has devolved into the endless cycle of work/nonwork that I had for the previous 2 summers. I'm not complaining, just stating... Work is great fun, it's just completely exhausting. I only get free time to do what I want to do on the weekends, and on the weekends I need to spend my time resting. So, I kind of feel like I'm suspended animation.
AMC is playing really good movies this summer. That makes me pretty happy. Right now I'm watching Rocky. I love this movie!
I guess the best thing about this summer since coming back from Japan is talking to Frances. Our webcams work decently well across my crappy 56k modem, and she calls every few days, which is wonderful. I really hope she is able to visit sometime before she goes back to school. >_< That will be difficult though.
The main excitement here is getting ready for Erik's wedding in November. I'm going to be the Best Man, but I have no idea what that entails. Is there a manual for this anywhere? Or does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to screw up my brother's wedding...
I forgot to write about a weird occurrance last week when my parents were still in England. I was sitting in my living room playing Munchkin (on the only day that I left my front door unlocked) when a strange man just walks right into my house! If you know me well enough, then you know this is pretty much my worst fear -- people breaking in. I was kind of in shock and didn't know what to do... so I just asked the guy what in the world he was doing. It was all a misunderstanding; he was delivering a computer to his son who he thought lived upstairs, but he got the wrong house. I saw the keyboard -- it was a Compaq. So there was no point in lying and telling him to drop the computer off anyway. Who would want a Compaq?
Well there's my interesting story for the ... month. Hopefully I'll update this enough to keep the CSS from looking all funky. I miss Japan and I really miss Frances... le sigh. Zannen desu ne... Things will pick up later, though, I'm sure. Hope you enjoyed reading this. ^^
I should also mention I finally beat FFX... that game sucked so much. I'm just glad to get it done with so I can move on to better games. Like the Wind Waker, which I am currently entranced in. After that, Silent Hill 3 if I can manage not to wake the ghost that lives in my house.
Posted by dminky at 09:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack