In the News
Next Entries »Suburbian Blues
Monday, May 5th, 2008Some people don’t seems to understand when I express my dislike for suburbs — the traffic, the strip malls, the sub-divisions, the never-ending traffic light systems — it’s frankly all a mess. And you don’t have to look far to find stories about the traffic congestion. I think that’s my biggest gripe about the [...]
On the Road
Sunday, May 4th, 2008According to a recent Washington Post article, SUV and truck sales across the US have plummeted year-on-year. With average gas prices at $3.603 nationwide and as high as $3.892 (CA) or $3.747 (NY) in some states, this is hardly a surprise. The same article notes that Toyota Motors’ car sales rose 12% this [...]
Economics
Friday, April 25th, 2008As this year’s Democrats’ Primary Race drags on and on, I have to admit that just be osmosis, I’ve become more familiar than I ever hoped to be about the candidates’ positions. And what annoys me the most is their fiscal/trade policies. Why can’t we have a pro-free-trade candidate who is believably committed [...]
Happy Tax Day
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008Smart people avoid waiting until the 11th hour to file their taxes (or perhaps they simply ask the IRS for an extension and procrastinate until October), but I witnessed a decent number of people today still working on their hard-copy forms. And as though we can’t get enough of a good thing, there was [...]
Torch Bouncers
Saturday, April 12th, 2008The plethora of news stories documenting the recent disruptions to the Olympic torch relay have illustrated the various ways that Western cities has chosen to deal with the arrival of the flame. After being accosted in London and Paris and diverted in San Francisco, the torch actually received a relatively peaceful welcome in Argentina.
However, [...]
I :: heart :: public radio
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008How do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Or in terminology you’ll recognize if you, too, listen to WAMU, public radio is my source of random information. I especially enjoy hearing about random 21st century terminology (not necessarily for the terminology itself but rather for the concepts they describe). [...]
Boing Boing
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008I’ve come to conclude that very little of great interest happens in my life. Or rather, each day in my eyes seems more or less ordinary. Thus, when I sit down to update my forlornly neglected blog, my head goes completely blank, and all that I’m left with is a nagging feeling of [...]
Political Maneuvers
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008As a native Washingtonian, it’s easy for me to say, with an air of boredom and disdain, “I hate politics.” But it’s impossible to deny that I do have some interest in the topic… after all, for better or worse, politics does make the world go-round. Here’s a little round-up of some recent [...]
あけましておめでとう！
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008Happy 2008 everyone! Amazingly another year has past again, and we’re now entering the second part of winter and edging slowly but surely toward spring. Characteristically, a cold front has descended on DC, and the temperatures have fallen to into the 20’s. Whispers of “snow” are on everyone’s lips, and those in [...]
Urban Planning
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Some people complain about congestion on the DC metro, especially the organge line. Of course, larger subdivisions further out from the city center–especially along the infamous orange line–have pushed up rush-hour metro ridership to new heights. I wonder if anyone considered this when they thought out the Dulles Corridor extension? As you can [...]
Bring on the Holiays
Monday, December 3rd, 2007I put up the Christmas tree today (maybe I’ll get around to decorations tomorrow), and with holiday music playing in the background, warm winter food simmering on the stove, and “light snow possible midweek,” it truly feels like the season is underway. Now if only all those dead leaves still clinging to the trees [...]
State of Emergency
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007Recently, it seems that the “in” thing for pseudo-dictators of the developing world is to declare a state of emergency. Yes. Mercantilism is out, genocide is faux pas, and environmental degradation is just par for the course (or 「当たり前」 as they’d say on the other side of the Pacific).
Take a look at exhibit [...]
Identity Check
Saturday, October 27th, 2007Japan recently announced that it will fingerprint and photograph all foreigners entering its borders. Another response to the “global war on terrorism”? Well, who knows–except that Japan is one of safest and yet most paranoid nations… This doesn’t, of course, mean that it’s immune from crime and terrorist attacks, but it’s not (I [...]
Obsession (Part II?)
Thursday, October 18th, 2007Lately I’ve developed a new obsession: current events. Sometimes when I’m cooking dinner or driving in my car or doing whatever, I get this insatiable urge to find out what’s going on right now around the world. Because it there’s something I’ve learned over the past few months, it’s that there’s always something [...]
In the Grass
Monday, October 15th, 2007Obviously, as far as this blog goes, I’ve been letting the grass grow under my feet. In all other aspects of life, I think, I’ve been sprinting at full speed. Work has been busy–but I suppose that’s been a given recently. Aikido has also taken up a decent amount of time. [...]
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