shanatc comments

Summer in Tokyo so far has been pretty hot. I just moved here from England which didn't even have a summer last year! I haven't had a real summer in 3 years, so this was a bit of an adjustment. I get the four seasons thing, I understand how those who are from colder climates or live in colder climates don't consider the Tokyo winters "real" but this will be the first time in 3 years I can put the winter clothes away. My kids are in short sleeves and shorts everyday, I had to go out and buy more shorts for them and buy more summer appropriate clothes myself. I was so shocked by the heat in May, I actually enjoyed the rainy days because they were cooler. My hometown is similar to Tokyo as far as weather, though it's more suburban. This humidity and heat is a readjustment, but for the live of me I don't think I'll get to the point where I'll wear as many layers as the Japanese women I see. I just don't understand how I'm the only one with one layer and the only one still sweating like crazy.

HA! 1.2 million yen?? I thought it was about half that and I still thought it was expensive, and that's the lowered amount! I don't know many Americans that want to pay that amount. The birthday parties I've been to there have all been for kids of British/Australian bankers and other European expats with Japanese spouses.

This is one of my favorite US beers, but I like Belgian wheat beer in general. In England, my favorite was Leffe, which they sell for a whopping 500 yen for 150ml in stores here, whereas before I could get two 750ml for £5. Ah well I can still pick up Blue Moon from the base as I wouldn't expect it to be cheap here either.

That's funny, violate international sanctions, huge fines, shame. Banks rip off their own customers, uh yeah, we'll pretend we didn't see that.

Well, there also comes a time, after you've lost that idealization of your government and you're done ripping them for every offense, real and speculated and you realize that every government in the world operates in ways that we may not find wholesome. "Secrets" may not be the ideal way of government but it's how they usually choose to operate. The fact is these secrets have been revealed and a good majority of the population doesn't care because they span two administrations and they can't pin it on "the other guy". If Bradley Manning had been more selective of what he chose to reveal, then we might have a case of whistle blowing. As it is, he indiscriminately revealed a ton of information to the public just for the sake of doing so. In any case, he can't be protected because there can't be any order if you just allow people to break laws and disobey orders after they've taken an oath, there's nothing to stop another Bradley Manning, even less discriminate, even less disciplined from doing the same thing again. The fact is, if Manning didn't want to be complicit in these sort of operations, he should have never became a U.S. Army intelligence officer in the first place. His sudden change of heart really makes you question his motives, which is why I feel the title "hero" is not fitting. There are better governments than ours, and there are worse governments than ours, it's your choice who you choose to support. Bradley Manning made his choice and then reneged .

I would venture to guess that a 14 year old with a negligent mother during the emotional vulnerable time of junior high school would not have the courage or self-esteem to ask for help in this situation. Taking care of a baby doesn't automatically mean you know how to run a household, it might be safe to say her mother wasn't a proper teacher and she would not know how to use ¥10,000 to its fullest potential. They may not know their own nutritional needs, much less a toddlers, hence why something like this can happen if an adult doesn't intervene.

Well considering the Kinect right now costs an extra $150, but both consoles are currently about the same price, logically I would say that the Xbox One will cost more than the PS4 automatically right off the bat if they bundle Kinect with it. Having a cheaper console and having the option, may make the PS4 a better choice for people who don't use the cameras and want to pay a lower price. I can't imagine Microsoft not adjusting the price accordingly with its bundle. I would hope Sony would see this and do the smart thing and not price their console similarly. People are always pining for these new consoles as soon as they release, but no one really likes paying those initial high prices every console has when it releases.

I'm the oldest of four, all within 5 years of my age. You could not have left a 9 year old with 14 year old me and expected me to know what to do. ¥10,000 is not a lot to live off for 2 weeks. A 14 year old who doesn't know how to shop smart and buys McDonalds and bentos everyday will blow through that quickly, and who was taking care of the 3 year old when she was in school? Toddlers eat all day, if no one was there to feed her I can't even imagine her suffering. You know what, this is just sad, only a sick, selfish idiot would leave their 3 year old with a teenager for that long. I don't care how old she is.

I'm sorry, I can't see this guy as a hero. He was unstable and riding the wave of hysteria following the emergence of WikiLeaks. If he was truly trying to do "good" in the world, he would have sought a reputable news organization or just any reputable organization. Not an egotistical man taking potshots at the U.S. Aside from the video, nothing he revealed was game changing or relevant to any cause. It did however unnecessarily reveal the names of many people and possibly put them in danger. Sure it might have been a tiny bit embarrassing to the U.S., not the cables leaked, but the fact that we allow incompetent, emotionally immature teenagers access to our classified materials, including diplomatic cables he has no business looking at. Also the fact that they couldn't catch him doing this, but had he been downloading porn or free TV and music I'm sure they would have caught it earlier.

As an American, I think it's crazy how many times Japan has had to apologize. I've never heard of the U.S. apologizing officially for any of the things we've done to other countries in the past. Are we going to apologize for Iraq and Afghanistan? A few years ago, weren't there calls to prosecute Bush as a war criminal that were rejected by the current administration? It seems a bit arrogant, but when you consider Japan's situation, where they've apologized already and admitted wrong doing, yet are still forced to do it over and over again, it seems like you open yourself up to eternal criticism. It's not that Japan should not be sorry, but those trying to equivocate this to Germany's situation, do you understand that Germany as a whole, is so far removed from it's Nazi past, it would be ridiculous to demand apologies now? Aside from Korea and China, it seems that the rest of the world doesn't feel Japan is at risk for committing those same atrocities again and with the exception of a small group of right wingers, are far removed from that past as well? Has anyone said or done anything that honestly proves otherwise? I've also not seen anything that shows Obama or the U.S. government specifically calling Japan out on this issue, Yasukuni or otherwise.

Please send over ciders and cheese and onion crisps please. For less than ¥300 please. I just bought some sea salt and cider vinegar crisps and I cringed at the price. The American salt and vinegar just doesn't taste the same.

You have to be kidding. When my friends and I found out in high school that manga was "flipped" because people were too inflexible to read it right to left, we immediately griped about it. I was happy when they started printing it in the original format. How hard is it to read the other way? People aren't asking you to read in Japanese. It's also pretty easy to tell what the main cover is and avoid accidentally spoiling yourself. IMHO, the content of manga is superior than the major American franchises. These days, the big names are just brands to later be made into TV or movies and that's where their public worth ends. In Japan, they seem to still appreciate the format of manga and the potential for new and different stories.

I'm glad to know the original translation for the blowing your nose entry. I suffer from allergies and my husband told me it would be rude for me to blow my nose in public, I just moved from England where I suffered from allergies or some kind of sinus problem year round and I had to blow my nose all the time. People were more apt to look at me if I sniffled, not if I blew my nose, unless it was especially loud. But coughing and sneezing in England are so commonplace, I don't see how they could really have an issue with it. If it is more acceptable to snort and such, I think I'll have a bigger problem with that. Along with the slurping I have a lot to get used to. Also, the backwards peace sign in England doesn't seem to be that huge of a deal anymore, my husband did it all the time, as a lot of black American men tend to do and no one seemed to be offended. Maybe they chuckled a bit on the inside, but no looks of shock.