Present-day international relations in NE Asia are inextricably conflated with ongoing history disputes. It really is quite a headache at times. Although China and Japan appear to have placed some of their differences behind them in favor of building friendly atmospherics and strengthening trade (which isn’t to say they’re on the same page — merely [...]

There are rumors afoot that the 2009 Yaris lineup in the US will include the 5-door hatchback that both Japan and Europe are currently enjoying. That’s probably enough to make any 3-door owner jealous… and now that it looks like Toyota is going to scale back its SUV lineup here in the States, I think [...]

The 2008 Toyako G8 Summit (hosted by Japan in Hokkaido) came and went without incident, but what else is to be expected of an archaic Cold War institution whose members reflect a late 20th century balance of power and whose non-binding statements don’t even hold the signatories accountable for the agreements reached? The Economist, in [...]

Things Younger Than McCain: Well, perhaps the site’s a little tongue-in-cheek (not that that’s a bad thing), but I think the whole thing says at least a few things about this year’s presidential race and American society at large. The most obvious is that our country has changed quite a lot over the past seventy [...]

Some 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 suburbs. [...]

According 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 past year, [...]

As 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 to balancing [...]

Smart 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 no [...]

The 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, [...]

How 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). For example this month, [...]

I’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 guilt that [...]

As 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 political happenings: [...]

Happy 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 favor and those [...]

Some 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 see from [...]

I 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 would [...]