Well, if you've watched the Olympics at all you might know that Japan has not even won ONE medal this Olympics... that is until Yesterday. Shizuka Arakawa won Gold in one of the most popular events, Women's Figure Skating. Combines Short Program and Long Program. Even though her Gold was due in part to Sasha of US and Slutskaya of Russia making mistakes, Shizuka skated cleanly and elegantly. And here's the proof:
24 February 2006
22 February 2006
Flashback... January 2003 Smalltalk, much ado about nothing.
This is something I wrote in January 2003... I think it's one of the funniest things I've written, and I actually laughed out loud when I was reading it. Your sense of humor may not allow you to respond in such a hilarious way, but anyway, I digress... for your reading pleasure (Maybe My visitor from Jakarta will actually post):
(note: edited only for spelling errors and clarity.)
Now I’m not usually one to disagree with Mr. Webster and his word definitions, but this time, I take exception. According to Mr. Webster a conversation is : “oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas”
So how can smalltalk be considered "conversation?" It can't. Smalltalk is none of these. Therefore, it should not be considered “conversation.”
I sense, however, that some of you disagree. Some of you perhaps think that asking
“What’s New?” or
“How are you?” is technically expressing a “sentiment. Let me correct you here, and set matters straight... These are not sentiments. They are filler. They're like the sawdust they put in McDonalds cheeseburgers. No nutritional value.
Oftentimes, we ask:
“How are you?” and expect the answer to be
“I’m fine, everything’s hunky-dory, how are you?”
No one actually wants to hear that you’re a sniveling bag of sickness, though we will sympathize with you. In the end, we’ll say something painfully trite like “hang in there,” or “don’t worry, you’ll be fine” and promptly look for an exit. Don’t get me wrong, we CAN show true concern; just don’t lacquer it with the ugly banality of smalltalk.
Sometimes in smalltalk we make an observation and... well that just gets you in trouble. Imagine making an observation on someone’s shoes or the wonderful scent they’re wearing. You ask the name of the scent and then either forget its name or put it on your shopping list and then you’re now out of material to talk about. The worst-case scenario is that they say they’re not wearing anything scented and so you're forced to therefore conclude it must be the smell of their underarm deodorant. imagine how THAT conversation would continue:
“...so, then it’s your deodorant that has that lovely smell.”
“Yes, I suppose so, I do wear the stuff.”
“I didn’t mean to suggest that you didn’t!” You reply, and fumbling for words you utter:
“So then is it the winter fresh or the spring meadows scent, and what brand do you wear?”
After realizing that you are now staring at their underarms, they utter:
“I really don’t know… it was on sale”
After 2 or 3 minutes of discussing whether stick or roll-on or spray is better and arguing over whether anti-perspirant causes Alzheimer’s disease or not, you realize you’ve just had a small conversation about masking unpleasant body odours. And you also feel like you should be on a Consumer Reports user survey Panel.
As far as I have discovered, smalltalk is just that… small insignificant talk uttered in rapid succession, according to a tried and tested formula that will elicit the standard formulaic response. It’s like practicing math equations with friends. You say something like “how are you”, add a question mark and it equals what you thought they were going to say anyway: “I’m fine.” When they do actually say something you don’t expect like, “Oh, I’m horrible,” your mind goes into jeopardy mode:
bzzzzt, wrong answer, lets go to friend number 2, please pick a topic.
"I'll take proper answers to smalltalk questions for 400$, please"
Conversations should be like game shows, at least we’d come out with some money at the end of them.
So why do we do smalltalk? I suppose it’s because we’re social animals… [yes, we’re animals, no laughing you at the back] If we weren’t, we’d be more like cats [Don’t believe Disney, cats are loners] or lizards.
We also wouldn’t care what others thought of us. We’d eat, we’d sleep, hunt mice, bask in the sun and mind our own business. Hmmm… doesn’t sound so bad, come to think of it. ;-)
I recently stumbled onto this interesting tidbit on the web:
“a Scientific American article once [said] that chimps have a whole part of their brain devoted to the activities of social grooming—which is essential to maintaining good social relations and a healthy simian psyche. That same structure in human brains is devoted to "small talk." Apparently humans have much larger tribes than chimps by an order of magnitude or two, and we don't have the time to groom everyone we know on a regular basis. So we have evolved to chitchat and send little notes. Not to mention emails. All of which is our way of maintaining our personal network of friends, relations and acquaintances; telling them "I value you and hope you value me too." That's why we try to act cooler than we are and why we get stage fright and buy expensive clothes or cars because deep down, just like Sally Field we all hope that everyone really likes us.”
So there you go, now I just have to accept it as social grooming, the necessary method of connecting us all. Hey, what chimp can’t pick out their own fleas, anyway? Trivial or not, smalltalk seems to be all about basic human interaction. Maybe it is all about the human psyche, keeping it all healthy and trimmed and feeling happy and good. Maybe there is some deep-rooted need for useless banter that eludes me, some basic need to ask rhetorical questions that Mr. Spock would deem as not only useless but also inefficient. Of course, Spock was half human and let’s face it, he doesn’t really exist anyway, as he was the creation of a smalltalking human mind, so that puts to rest any Vulcan ideas, doesn't it?
Whatever the case, I can’t seem to get away from it, and I as much as I find it revolting, I sometimes resort to the soothing melodic formulaic rhythmic undertones of smalltalk. I get caught up in its wake, and taken for a right on the rhetorical chitchat train…
So ask me how am I doing... I will respond :
“Oh I’m doing fine, thank-you very much, how are you?
But please call it what it is, "social grooming," you pick my fleas and I'll pick mine, and then maybe after some good flea picking we can actually have real conversation.
(note: edited only for spelling errors and clarity.)
smalltalk - Much Ado About Nothing
Smalltalk... what is it? It’s a common word. In fact, it’s actually a real word. There’s even a dictionary entry which says: “light or casual conversation. See CHITCHAT.”Now I’m not usually one to disagree with Mr. Webster and his word definitions, but this time, I take exception. According to Mr. Webster a conversation is : “oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas”
So how can smalltalk be considered "conversation?" It can't. Smalltalk is none of these. Therefore, it should not be considered “conversation.”
I sense, however, that some of you disagree. Some of you perhaps think that asking
“What’s New?” or
“How are you?” is technically expressing a “sentiment. Let me correct you here, and set matters straight... These are not sentiments. They are filler. They're like the sawdust they put in McDonalds cheeseburgers. No nutritional value.
Oftentimes, we ask:
“How are you?” and expect the answer to be
“I’m fine, everything’s hunky-dory, how are you?”
No one actually wants to hear that you’re a sniveling bag of sickness, though we will sympathize with you. In the end, we’ll say something painfully trite like “hang in there,” or “don’t worry, you’ll be fine” and promptly look for an exit. Don’t get me wrong, we CAN show true concern; just don’t lacquer it with the ugly banality of smalltalk.
Sometimes in smalltalk we make an observation and... well that just gets you in trouble. Imagine making an observation on someone’s shoes or the wonderful scent they’re wearing. You ask the name of the scent and then either forget its name or put it on your shopping list and then you’re now out of material to talk about. The worst-case scenario is that they say they’re not wearing anything scented and so you're forced to therefore conclude it must be the smell of their underarm deodorant. imagine how THAT conversation would continue:
“...so, then it’s your deodorant that has that lovely smell.”
“Yes, I suppose so, I do wear the stuff.”
“I didn’t mean to suggest that you didn’t!” You reply, and fumbling for words you utter:
“So then is it the winter fresh or the spring meadows scent, and what brand do you wear?”
After realizing that you are now staring at their underarms, they utter:
“I really don’t know… it was on sale”
After 2 or 3 minutes of discussing whether stick or roll-on or spray is better and arguing over whether anti-perspirant causes Alzheimer’s disease or not, you realize you’ve just had a small conversation about masking unpleasant body odours. And you also feel like you should be on a Consumer Reports user survey Panel.
As far as I have discovered, smalltalk is just that… small insignificant talk uttered in rapid succession, according to a tried and tested formula that will elicit the standard formulaic response. It’s like practicing math equations with friends. You say something like “how are you”, add a question mark and it equals what you thought they were going to say anyway: “I’m fine.” When they do actually say something you don’t expect like, “Oh, I’m horrible,” your mind goes into jeopardy mode:
bzzzzt, wrong answer, lets go to friend number 2, please pick a topic.
"I'll take proper answers to smalltalk questions for 400$, please"
Conversations should be like game shows, at least we’d come out with some money at the end of them.
So why do we do smalltalk? I suppose it’s because we’re social animals… [yes, we’re animals, no laughing you at the back] If we weren’t, we’d be more like cats [Don’t believe Disney, cats are loners] or lizards.
We also wouldn’t care what others thought of us. We’d eat, we’d sleep, hunt mice, bask in the sun and mind our own business. Hmmm… doesn’t sound so bad, come to think of it. ;-)
I recently stumbled onto this interesting tidbit on the web:
“a Scientific American article once [said] that chimps have a whole part of their brain devoted to the activities of social grooming—which is essential to maintaining good social relations and a healthy simian psyche. That same structure in human brains is devoted to "small talk." Apparently humans have much larger tribes than chimps by an order of magnitude or two, and we don't have the time to groom everyone we know on a regular basis. So we have evolved to chitchat and send little notes. Not to mention emails. All of which is our way of maintaining our personal network of friends, relations and acquaintances; telling them "I value you and hope you value me too." That's why we try to act cooler than we are and why we get stage fright and buy expensive clothes or cars because deep down, just like Sally Field we all hope that everyone really likes us.”
So there you go, now I just have to accept it as social grooming, the necessary method of connecting us all. Hey, what chimp can’t pick out their own fleas, anyway? Trivial or not, smalltalk seems to be all about basic human interaction. Maybe it is all about the human psyche, keeping it all healthy and trimmed and feeling happy and good. Maybe there is some deep-rooted need for useless banter that eludes me, some basic need to ask rhetorical questions that Mr. Spock would deem as not only useless but also inefficient. Of course, Spock was half human and let’s face it, he doesn’t really exist anyway, as he was the creation of a smalltalking human mind, so that puts to rest any Vulcan ideas, doesn't it?
Whatever the case, I can’t seem to get away from it, and I as much as I find it revolting, I sometimes resort to the soothing melodic formulaic rhythmic undertones of smalltalk. I get caught up in its wake, and taken for a right on the rhetorical chitchat train…
So ask me how am I doing... I will respond :
“Oh I’m doing fine, thank-you very much, how are you?
But please call it what it is, "social grooming," you pick my fleas and I'll pick mine, and then maybe after some good flea picking we can actually have real conversation.
21 February 2006
Radical Gnarly 80s
Ah the 80s. Those were some crazy years. We went to an 80s party (click the title for more pictures) and I think Kyle won the prize for the MOST 80s-like outfit. I mean, he got a MULLET. A MULLET!Not that I REMEMBER the 80s... errr... yeah...
To be fair, I was never a teenager in the 80s... but I DO remember watching Back to the Future. I loved that movie.
16 February 2006
Bar Harbor, Maine
So, as some of you have noticed, I added a feature on the blog to see where people have visited from. Basically, it shows the last 100 visitors and displays it on a map found here
And if you take a look at it, you'll see Bar Harbour, Maine keeps showing up. I don't think the map is totally accurate, but it gives a general idea of where each person is It probably actually supplies the area where the ISP (Internet Service Provider) is, but anyway, it's interesting. What's most interesting is the massive amount of visits from Bar Harbour, Maine. I don't know anyone from Bar Harbour, Maine... so I figure it's from a friend who I KNOW reads this blog, from the neighbouring area... New Brunswick. If you zoom into that area, you'll see that it's actually pretty close.
It's not completely accurate, but it's pretty good.
Actually, what surprises me even MORE is the number of East coast visitor I have... I really don't know anyone from there...
And... to top it off... Jakarta... I'd love to know how someone in Jakarta came across this blog.
And if you take a look at it, you'll see Bar Harbour, Maine keeps showing up. I don't think the map is totally accurate, but it gives a general idea of where each person is It probably actually supplies the area where the ISP (Internet Service Provider) is, but anyway, it's interesting. What's most interesting is the massive amount of visits from Bar Harbour, Maine. I don't know anyone from Bar Harbour, Maine... so I figure it's from a friend who I KNOW reads this blog, from the neighbouring area... New Brunswick. If you zoom into that area, you'll see that it's actually pretty close.
It's not completely accurate, but it's pretty good.
Actually, what surprises me even MORE is the number of East coast visitor I have... I really don't know anyone from there...
And... to top it off... Jakarta... I'd love to know how someone in Jakarta came across this blog.
15 February 2006
The Robot...
Okay, I'll get back to the Japan Series soon enough, but there's this really cool video I wanted to share first. Do the Robot... the second guy is really impressive... REALLY impressive.
I seriously think he's not human... I mean... this guy is some terminator from the future, right?
I seriously think he's not human... I mean... this guy is some terminator from the future, right?
13 February 2006
EXTREMELY COOL ALERT! New Tablet Mac? Who knows
Apparently, Apple is bringing out a Tablet Mac. To those who don't know what that is, it's basically just a screen the size of a laptop screen without a keyboard, or at least with a detachable keyboard.
You would interact with it using touch-screen technology. I know touch-screen technology isn't new, but knowing apple they will implement it in new ways. The current rumour is that they will implement it using some newly developed interfacing at MIT. Here's a video that shows a demo. The longer you watch the cooler it gets, so make sure you watch it to the end.
You would interact with it using touch-screen technology. I know touch-screen technology isn't new, but knowing apple they will implement it in new ways. The current rumour is that they will implement it using some newly developed interfacing at MIT. Here's a video that shows a demo. The longer you watch the cooler it gets, so make sure you watch it to the end.
08 February 2006
Poetry in Motion: Symbolism in Video Art
I really like this video. It's like poetry in motion.
The little man... represented by the organic wishbone (adam's rib comes to mind as a biblical allusion) drives the massive corporate machine.
So does the machine drive the man... or does man drive the machine?
Or has the machine man strapped himself to support the man that the man must work hard to guide?
So many thoughts about this video pop up... maybe I'm overanalyzing.
The Art of Preparation: Japan Series #7
If there's something Japanese do well, it's food preparation. I suppose this shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering Sushi, which is ALL about preparing fish, comes from Japan.
Gifts are pre-wrapped meticulously and beautifully. Restaurants place place plastic appetize-inducing relicas of their menus out in display windows. And food always looks good.
Anyway, this art goes far beyond food. In fact, it permeates into most of the culture. Appearance is very important in Japan. I remember getting served tea in Japan and a few drops of lemon were added not to enhance the flavor of the ugly-colored brown tea, but to change it to a beautiful shade of deep pink.
This permeates into things such as fashion, floral arrangement and electronic goods as well, as people generally don't buy defective goods. But this is especially evident in food. When you see individual apples wrapped in foam to prevent damage, you know they take presentation seriously.
As a result of this attention to detail, not only do things taste good (most fruits and veggies are organically grown in Japan) but it looks great too!
06 February 2006
Jezebel and King Ahab: Japan Series #6
When I was in Japan, the local brothers and sisters had a small party for Seiko and I and some others who were leaving. It was kind of an engagement party. Anyway, it was really fun. They had practiced bible skits and had them recorded in the background... It was like a real drama. It was really good. I actually have some video of it, but I'm just going to post a picture for now.
I LOVE this picture. I'll let you figure out which one is Jezebel.
03 February 2006
Finally, it's done...
I've been working on this wedding website for the better part of a few months now. It was supposed to be finished a few weeks ago... but I've been adding to it now and then. It's not actually completely DONE but it will probably never really be done, as I'll continually add more photos and revise stuff, working more on making it both 日本語 and English. Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think, or sign the guestbook (You can sign in English or Japanese). One note. If you click on the pictures on the slideshow, you can see the story behind it. Thanks all! Here's the link:http://www.seikoandgary.com
02 February 2006
The Real Canadian Stupidstore
I went grocery shopping today. I've been eating healthy recently and so to do that means buying more fresh food.
Anyway, a little bit about where I live. I live within 15 minutes walk of Superstore. It's literally down the road. I'm on 1st avenue, it's on 10th.
Superstore is surrounded by a massive surface parking lot filled with minivans and aggresive soccer mom drivers. Actually they're more likely pianist mums, as superstore works hard to cater to minorities. After all, those from different countries usually don't buy brand if it's more expensive as they haven't got the natural prejudice to know that kraft is obviously the superior macaroni.
I tell you the things these people do to find a good parking spot are crazy.
They'll drive around for 10 minutes following people to their waiting cars and leaving their turn signal on for 10 minutes waitng for them to vacate the parking lot. Meanwhile the ones who parked on the spacious far side of the lot are in the store and have a grocery cart half full and are contemplating where the shortest line up is.
I hate superstore.
Actually I make it a point to rarely if ever shop there. Why would I shop in a packed store with half rotten produce (it's seriously gross, sometimes) and 10 trillion aisles spead out so that all the things you need are on opposite sides of the store. And try finding someone to help you. Impossible. Utterly impossible. And when you do ask them they say aisle 40 or 42, somewhere around there. They never take you there because chances are it will take 15 minutes to get there from the part of the store you're in. Add to that, they're gettin paid minimum age. There's a reason they give some employees rollerblades.
In addition, to save big you need to buy mutiplies of 352 to save 10 cents per can. Why do I need four loaves of bread?
Superstore is not designed with single people in mind. In addition to this, it closes at 10pm. I can't understand why a store which has 20 minute lineups at 9:45 doesn't open until midnight. There are NEVER short lineups at superstore. Never.
However, Save-on foods or safeway... Now we're talking shopping in style. A bit further away but that time is recouped in that you don't need to park 3km away.
For me there's a relaxing calm shopping after 10pm. Until closing (midnight) few are in the store, you can slowly peruse the aisles for what you need and casually make your way to the cashier.
You can put it all in your basket and away you go. A short conversation later and a short walk across a small parking lot and you're on your way home.
Ahh... Shopping bliss
Any gripes, disagreements and the like? Feel free to prove me wrong. But you won't change my mind. Well, probably not, anyway.
Anyway, a little bit about where I live. I live within 15 minutes walk of Superstore. It's literally down the road. I'm on 1st avenue, it's on 10th.
Superstore is surrounded by a massive surface parking lot filled with minivans and aggresive soccer mom drivers. Actually they're more likely pianist mums, as superstore works hard to cater to minorities. After all, those from different countries usually don't buy brand if it's more expensive as they haven't got the natural prejudice to know that kraft is obviously the superior macaroni.
I tell you the things these people do to find a good parking spot are crazy.
They'll drive around for 10 minutes following people to their waiting cars and leaving their turn signal on for 10 minutes waitng for them to vacate the parking lot. Meanwhile the ones who parked on the spacious far side of the lot are in the store and have a grocery cart half full and are contemplating where the shortest line up is.
I hate superstore.
Actually I make it a point to rarely if ever shop there. Why would I shop in a packed store with half rotten produce (it's seriously gross, sometimes) and 10 trillion aisles spead out so that all the things you need are on opposite sides of the store. And try finding someone to help you. Impossible. Utterly impossible. And when you do ask them they say aisle 40 or 42, somewhere around there. They never take you there because chances are it will take 15 minutes to get there from the part of the store you're in. Add to that, they're gettin paid minimum age. There's a reason they give some employees rollerblades.
In addition, to save big you need to buy mutiplies of 352 to save 10 cents per can. Why do I need four loaves of bread?
Superstore is not designed with single people in mind. In addition to this, it closes at 10pm. I can't understand why a store which has 20 minute lineups at 9:45 doesn't open until midnight. There are NEVER short lineups at superstore. Never.
However, Save-on foods or safeway... Now we're talking shopping in style. A bit further away but that time is recouped in that you don't need to park 3km away.
For me there's a relaxing calm shopping after 10pm. Until closing (midnight) few are in the store, you can slowly peruse the aisles for what you need and casually make your way to the cashier.
You can put it all in your basket and away you go. A short conversation later and a short walk across a small parking lot and you're on your way home.
Ahh... Shopping bliss
Any gripes, disagreements and the like? Feel free to prove me wrong. But you won't change my mind. Well, probably not, anyway.
01 February 2006
Paper Doors and sitting on floors: Japan Series #5
They Really do Exist! Sliding paper doors. And yes, you can see silhouettes through them. How... revealing. Oh the opportunities! Anyway, if you lean against them... you WILL put a hole through them... and they're exactly as you would imagine. Japan may have westernized quite a bit since WWII but there are plenty of old-world Japanese Charms like paper sliding doors and sitting on tatami mat floors, still left in Japan. You just have to look a little harder.
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