Typos

Arrrgh! Lately when I'm writing posts or commenting on people's blogs I make so many typos! That pisses me off. I'm typing quite fast, but my fingers like to spill over to other keys. So I'm trying to improve. A good tool is a speed test I found online.

I did it. It's about how fast you can type. You can try it, too. It's fun! You have 60 seconds and just type as fast as you can. I did it few times and it really improved my typing. This was my record:

53 words

Speedtest

229 points, so you achieved position 43693 of 189426 on the ranking list

You type 295 characters per minute
You have 53 correct words and
you have 0 wrong words

Anyone can beat my record? ^^

UPDATE: Apparently Brad can :) He's the proclaimed winner. I doubt that anyone can do better than him. So, now the competition is between you and him. I'm out. Here's his score to beat:

442 points, so you achieved position 901 of 181259 on the ranking list

You type 554 characters per minute
You have 104 correct words and
you have 1 wrong words

I like women with nice nails

I like women with nice long nails like that Korean cutie above. [source]
I prefer mild light colors. Black is a turn-off, flashy looks cheap.

This picture was sent to me by a Japanese friend. She's a nail artist.
In Japan, nail art is very popular, especially when it comes to weddings.

I must say I look at people's nails. Be it men or women, it doesn't matter to me. And if I see some untidy nails, it makes me cringe. I hate it when I see long male nails with dirt underneath. It's really disgusting for me. I can hardly see myself being around someone who can hardly take care of his basic hygene. I have some high standards for my nails. Sure, it sometimes happens to me as well that I go to town and forget to cut my finger nails, but once I'm noticing that, I'm keeping them under the radar, I'm trying to hide them as much as I can. But these days that basically never happens, because I'm working outside a lot and my hands are all dirty. So I really try hard to clean my hands and nails everytime I deal with soil and cement.

On the other hand, I love girls/women with nice nails. It's sexy! Well, to really fit my perfect idea of nice sexy nails, they have to be long but not too long. The ones on the right [photo by my friend] are probably my favorites. They could be a little shorter, but they're still acceptable that long.
Of course, I don't want a woman who's busy with her nails all day (like ah lian). Why can't smart intellectual women also have nice nails and feel sexy and still be taken seriously in an intellectual sense? Nice nails and a sexy way of dressing up doesn't mean that the woman is dumb or shallow. Of course, I wouldn't want my woman to go into extremes and dress up slutty and behave that way. Even if she's smart, she will hardly be taken seriously that way. The best is to find a middle way. You can dress up casually and still have nice sexy nails and you won't give the impression of being a bimbo, but rather being a selfconfident woman, who likes to be neat and look good. How about you, guys and girls? What kind of nails do you prefer? Do you also think untidy or dirty nails are disgusting and make a person look really bad? Looking forward to your views on this topic.

Two standards and two choices

[Photo: Source]

Watched CNN's Wolf Blitzer having an interview with the ambassador of Syria to the USA, Imad Moustapha. He was asked about the Iran election, the protests and killings. Of course Iran and Syria have very good relations like USA and Israel.

Wolf Blitzer asked him if he condemns the killings and if now the relations between Syria and Iran would change, but the ambassador was evasive and turned the question to Wolf by asking, how come that Israel could kill more than 1000 people in Gaza and the US relations with Israel did not change? How come the Western media was being so focused on these events in Iran, but when Israel killed so many Palestinians during the Gaza War in 2008, that was not the case?

Well, that made me think. Does our media have double standards? Of course it does! And not only ours, it's every media. We could also say why the Syrian media extensively reports about Palestinian casualties and condemns Isreal, but does not focus as much on the killings of Iranians by their own regime. Double standards? I guess so. This has multiple reasons and I don't want to go into all that, because it could be a whole new post. Let's view the whole thing from another point.

I think we just don't buy everything the media says these days. That's why the internet became so big and more important than the TV in recent years (TV is dead.) We choose the source of our news, we read tweets and blogs to make up our minds. So, the ambassador was right about the media's double standard. But I guess he meant the old media, the news channels and news papers, who are mostly biased and unbalanced. I'm far from claiming netizens, and especially bloggers are journalists, but we do tell our opinion and we debate and we affect readers far more than the old media (at least that's my impression). That's people who put some effort in their blogging.

Suddenly everyone has something to say and to share. We are no more mere viewers. We are engaged. Besides blogs, we have forums, Facebook, Twitter, You-Tube and Wikipedia, sources where we can check, if someone is trying to sell us bullshit. And the mainstream media realized that and now they have i-reports, they're reading tweets and showing You-tube videos. They are totally clueless about how another universe (online) is thriving, while their profession is losing it's quality and influence. They are struggling to survive and unless they become more balanced and less biased and sensational, they will lose this battle. The future of the news is the internet.

Are Asian women really attracted to Western men?

[Photo: Source]

Yesterday I had a debate with a fellow blogger Jerine about Western men and Asian women. It all started when I said that while I was in Malaysia and Singapore, I got a lot of comments from girls who said I was handsome. These were mostly friends of my ex-girlfriend. And when I received these compliments, I always felt they were sincere. I'm not saying I heard these compliments every day or so, it was just few. But still more than you hear them here in the West from our Western girls. Of course I was also complementing some women there and when I said it, I meant it. But yesterday Jerine told me (who is Chinese Malaysian) that the girls there just say it, but don't actually mean it. Is it maybe something like when someone in USA asks you Hey, how are you doin? and he actually does not want to know how you are really doing, it's just a figure of speech. If in Europe we ask How are you? we're really interested how someone is and if we say to someone You are beautiful! we really mean it. I'm not really used to those meaningless compliments and I'm sure Jerine has a point. She's living there, I'm sure she observed girls giving compliments to Western guys and didn't really mean it. I'm sure it happens vice-versa as well. But a while ago, I had a similar discussions with a Caucasian friend (who is living in Singapore) and he also noticed that he got more compliments from girls in Asia than from his fellow American girls in his homecountry. I mean, how come there are so many couples interracial relationships between Western men and Asian women? You can see some Asian guys with Western girls, but it's much rarer. When it comes to my personal opinion, why I deem some Southeast Asian women attractive, I'd say it's purely superficial. Why do some prefer blondes over brunettes? It's really hard to understand why someone prefers a certain type of partners. Actually, why would that matter anyway? If you love someone truly, there's nothing wrong with any preference. But of course, people judgmental and opinionated, especially when it comes to interracial relationships. People easily stick a fetish tag on you, even, if they don't know you, your background and your opinions. In reality interracial relationships are not what most people imagine. I know that, because I had 2 relationships with 2 Asian girls. Once the initial phase (of being in love) fades away, you face the same challenges like any other relationships. Sure, some things are different, like the cultural things, the mindset, how you're perceived by the environment. But if you're adaptable (like me), than this should be no problem. If you want to date an Asian woman, don't have unreal expectations, because all the stereotypes are not true. Each woman is unique, her own character. Your relationship will be like any relationship, with ups and downs and issues to deal with. Well, besides the sexual attraction, many Western men think Asian women are more loyal than the ones in the West. That may be true in some cases, but nowadays there's no assurance that this will be the case. Maybe some 50-60 years ago there was some truth in that, but these days many young Asian girls just break with their traditions and are very independent. Even cheating on guys is not uncommon. I've heard about a lot of cases when I was in Malaysia. But Asia is very diverse, so I can only speak for where I used to live, Malaysia and Singapore.
Well, I do wonder why Western men attract Asian women? Even Jerine said, that there was so many Western guys dating Asian women in her circle of friends. And if you go to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, you will see many interracial couples of this sort. Maybe it's the stereotype of the stronger masculinity (often portrayed in the media), that attracts them? Is it the so many White sport, music, movie stars who portray a positive image of White men? Is it the stereotype that we are all rich? Well, I don't know, that's open to discussion. All I know is, that the compliments I received were felt as sincere, but maybe that's just because of me. And of course all this is just my rambling, that may not make much sense to some of you. But anyway, what's your take on the whole issue?

Michael Jackson was the King!

Check this photo from 1984, the King of Pop visiting the White house with Ronald Reagan! Can you imagine any other superstar dress up like that when meeting the president of the United States?? Impossible. He was exceptional! He was the King. Only he could dress up like that and not be ridiculed or looked down on. That's huge! Nobody will ever top that. He was a musical genius like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, McCartney and Lennon. He was just one of a kind. And I bet he was doing a moonwalk in the White House. Because he was The King!

[Photo source: Wikipedia, Michael Jackson getting an award for his charity work by the president. Jackson could also be labelled as King of charity.]

Has Michael Jackson ended the Iranian uprising?

So, there we go. Unfortunately, I was right. My theory about the Iranian post-election protests was, that the regime will harden, tighten the security, put more police and military on the streets and sooner or later, there will be something else in the news. And now, Michael Jackson is dead: Who's following the Iran protests now? The momentum is lost, the media has now diverted it's focus and we will get less and less information out of Iran. Soon there will be summer holidays, we will all forget Iran and Michael Jackson and go to the sea side or pools, swimming and barbecueing and enjoying life. That's human nature! Nobody can convince me otherwise.

As I said many many times, if people in Iran, who want change, don't grab guns and start shooting back at those bastards in the riot police and defend themselves with equal means, nothing will change. Be real. Nothing will change and you know it. This brutal regime survived 30 years, you can bet it has means and measures to sustain itself. Peaceful protests won't do anything, the regime doesn't understand peace, it's ruthless and hateful. Stone throwing won't help either. You need to give the regime what it exports to other countries: Suicide bombers, martyrs, mujahedin. Give them a taste of their own medicine. Turn Tehran into Bagdad and they will see, if they still have that smirk on the face like they used to have, when USA couldn't secure Iraq.

But I guess all that won't happen. Now the media will only focus on Michael Jackson, they will go through all his ups and downs, scandals and medical conditions. Many celebs will share their opinions, even Barack Obama will be expected to say something. There will be a funeral, there will be non-stop reporting for at least 2-3 weeks. What will LaToya say? What will Janet say? What will Liz Taylor say? There's so much to come. It's a big shocker and of course Michael Jackson deserves the attention. He was one of the last big superstars, probably THE last superstar (Madonna is nothing comparing to him). So, it's understandable... But quite bad for Iranians. Bad timing, but as I said, even if Iran was the number 1 topic in the media, it still wouldn't make any difference.

Michael Jackson dead! Unbelievable.

One of the best artists of all times, Michael Jackson, died! Unbelievable and shocking news. I was watching CNN, when I heard he's been sent to hospital. Then they announced he was in a coma. And suddenly I see on Twitter: Michael Jackson RIP on top of Trending Topics. I complained, because CNN said he's not dead. Then they announced it, too: King of pop is dead. Wow... Twitter was constantly over capacity, Wikipedia has problems. People flock in masses to that hospital in L.A. I mean, it all came so out of the blue! What a year. People die like it's Judgement day or something.
Well, he was King of pop! I've been very young, when Thriller came out, but throughout the eighties, they played it over and over. But I remember when Bad came out. I was 8 years old, but that Bad video was unbelievable. The way he danced and dressed up was so unique, you just couldn't be not impressed. And then the moonwalking. Tell me someone who did not try to moonwalk? He was just so unique, he could never be copied or surpassed by any other pop artist. Thriller will always remain the best selling album of all times, especially because people are buying albums less and less. My favourite Michael Jackson songs are: Billie Jean, Beat It, Bad, Smooth Criminal, We Are The World, Wanna Be Startin' Something, Man In The Mirror, Black Or White, Who Is It, Jam, Remember The Time, Say Say Say... OMG, it's like every of his 3 top albums (Thriller, Bad and Dangerous) is like all songs were hits! Sadly his downturn started after Dangerous. History was not bad, had many hits, but I felt it's just not as good as the stuff before. I really lost my words now... He was really such a great artist since his childhood. A genious. And all people can be proud of him, not only blacks, who are probably particularly proud.

Thank you, Michael Jackson, you will remain King of Pop forever.

Rest in peace.

[Photo: Source]

Throwing condoms out of window in Penang

Because some people just love to be disgusting

During my stay in Penang, me and my now ex-girlfriend stayed in an big apartment in the Sunrise Tower, which is a condo in Gurney drive. We had one small room and a shared bathroom with some students (2 girls), who also had a room nearby. There were 2 guys living near our room on the other side. We shared a wall, but we did not share a bathroom with them. And then there was another couple, a guy from China with a local Chinese girlfriend. They were near the main entrance and therefore far from us.

It was basically a big apartment with 4 bedrooms and a big living room in the centre, a kitchen and even with a balcony that had a nice view. Everyone had the keys to the main door and to his own room. We didn't mingle a lot, everyone was mostly in their rooms. Sometimes me and my ex would cook something in the kitchen or hang clothes in the balcony and she would have small talk with some of the people who passed by, but that was all. The most shy were the two guys who lived together. I mean, 2 guys in one small room? Suspicious to me in the beginning. Anyway, I never thought that they were gay or something. I had other things on my mind.

So one day, when we were hanging clothes, I saw that there were condoms thrown out of the window (1st photo) where that couple stayed with the guy from China and a local girl. I was thinking how gross! Why can't you just throw the used condoms in the trash and take the trash out? How can you just open your window after sex and throw them out? Disgusting. What if it fell down on someone's balcony below? Yuk yuk yuk! Well, I've been in Malaysia and I've seen pretty gross things when it comes to garbage. Many people have no bad conscience for littering, it seems like it's no big deal to them. I saw people throwing garbage out of the car on highways. It's sad and I hope Malaysians will become aware that pollution and littering is bad for the environment and especially for the people (talking about health issues).

Well, my encounter with thrown condoms wasn't over. On the photo on the left are condoms thrown out of the window in that room with the two guys. I have no proof that they were gay, but I have a strong suspicion. Not only there's like so many condoms appearing as they were used recently, there's even a small tube of lube! And that makes the case pretty strong. Not that I care, whether they're gay or not (nothing wrong with that), but please if you have sex, don't throw condoms out of your window! It's gross. I was lucky to find out about this in my last days.

The thing is, in Malaysia, most of the windows are covered with window grills, so you can't stick your head out and have a look. I spotted those condoms, because I stretched out my arm and snapped some random photos with my camera just out of curiousity. Little did I expect that horrifying photo! Anyway, I hope people would put a bit more effort in throwing things in the trash and then bringing them out to the garbage bin. That's how me and my girlfriend did it and it didn't kill us.

[My MALAYSIA page][My PENANG page][All photos by MKL, 2007]

How does it feel to be the designated savior of the world?

Yes I can.

Yes we can!

How do You release Your stress? North Korea, Iran, Afganistan, Pakistan, recession, bailouts, budget, reforms, Republicans, media, FOX news, kids, wife? You're only human, You can only do so much. Where do You take Your strength from? Amazing!

[Photos: HuffPost]

List of Breitling watches sorted by size

Here's a list of my favorite Breitling wristwatches sorted by size (diameter). Because I was a bit surprised how small some of the Breitling watches seemed in real, especially the Colt series, I decided to put together a list for those who want to know which Breitlig watch is big and which small in size. In the table below, you'll find the watch name and the diameter size in millimeters, plus I added the thickness of the watch, which can also be important for you to decide which Breitling timepiece to purchase. This info was obtained from the Breitling 2009 collection [source].

*The biggest and the thickest Breitling watch
**The thinnest Breitling watch, but not the smallest

Below are the top 8 biggest Breitling watches in various images (found online), just to compare how big they look on the wrist. I have to say for me 45.00mm and above looks quite big and I can imagine wearing a watch of that size. One of my favorites, the Airwolf, is 43.50mm big and I'd wear it, but I presonally wouldn't go below that size. Sure, that's still way bigger than the 35.00mm Rolex Datejust, but I prefer my Breitling watch big.

[Photos: Source]

Iran: Real apathy or fake sympathy?

I said I won't be rambling about Iran anymore. But it's just impossible! Iran is everywhere! People turn their Twitter icons into green to show their support and solidarity, it's non-stop in the news, it's the topic number one (like swine flu used to be a while ago). What troubles me is some Iranian people who commented on my blog and bluntly insulted me or people who tweeted @ me and complained about me or Westerners or USA... I don't know wheather these are the protesters or some people infiltrated on Twitter by the government. They're becoming nastier by the day. It's annoying.
What started as a movement where all the protesters had one goal - to repeat the elections or recount the votes or proclaim Mousavi as the winner - turned into a protest against the Iranian ruthless regime. After the killings and beatings and after so many journalists were silenced, more and more people became nervous and the whole movement seems to have been derailed. I remember when I first linked to my blog posts about Iran, I recieved very good comments and tweets, people were energized and optimistic. Now it seems they are demoralized and highly strung. And same goes for the rest of us in the West and everywhere else around the world. You can be supportive and interested only for a certain period of time. After a while, it's no big news anymore, it does not have any shocking moments and more and more people become apathetic. There was hope up until the Grand Smurf had a speech and crushed the whole movement. We knew this will happen. And as I said before, the Iranian regime only understands crude force, so unless these people get guns and start shooting the riot police (like they are shooting them), nothing will change! Nada. Niente. What we will get is something like Tibet. Iran will be even a bigger police state, they will blame the West on everything, most of the communication in Iran and from Iran will be censored. So it's only in the hands of Iranians. Either they go until the end and are willing to die for their freedom, or they give up and there probably won't be elections any time soon.
The point is, sooner or later we will all become apathetic about Iranians. Let's face it! Weren't we so supportive of movements in Burma and Tibet, when monks stood up to the regime that surpressed and still surpresses them? Yes! It was all the time in the news. And now? Many people were killed, imprisoned or chased out of their homeland. Where's the support now?
We are a media-driven society! And mostly we are apathetic to all the cruelty in the world, unless we see pictures on TV or online all the time. But we can take only so much! How about millions dying in Darfur or Kongo? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Who cares about slaves in Brazil, famine in Tahiti or riots in Timor? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Anyone changing their Twitter icons to whatever color in support of kids in India who are enslaved as stonecutters? Anyone? Yea, I thought so. Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy.
Unless you go to that country and protest with the people or help people out of their misery, I highly doubt that your supportive cheerful tweets or posts are helping anyone of for that matter are any better than someone's apathy. The one who's apathetic is at least honest. Yes, I do support Iranians in their struggle for freedom. But what does this statement mean? It means I wish or I hope they will be free and unharmed, but I know (with all my honesty) that after this is passed, after the media finds an new topic for that will run on TVB non-stop, I will be apathetic and most of other people, who now change their Twitter icons into green, will be, too.
I won't care about the daily struggles of Iranians when these protest are over. Same as I seldom think about Tibetans or Burmese or people in Kongo or Darfur. Let's be honest, do you? If you are any better than me, I commend you. I congratulate you. You're an exceptional human being. If you are no better than me, then please stop with your phony bullshit, don't insult me and leave me alone. I've done my best to express my solidarity with Iranian protesters (read my blog), but that's the best I can do. And most of those now so sympathetic people are like me. We just absorb whatever the media feeds us and do nothing. That's the sad reality of the year 2009.

[Cartoon: Source (writing in the cloud by me), Photos: Source]

Humdrum life

My life is something like this now...

...and it used to be something like this!

I wanna break out of this humdrum life!

[Photos by MKL, 2009]

Walking down the right path

"If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress."

Barack Obama

[Photo: Source]

Is it possible to be friends with your ex?

No.

Computer geeks

How long does it take you to be sick of computer geeks and their neverending ramblings about computers and the new iPhone? I guess everytime there's a launch of some new version of a phone, a laptop or some other gadget, geeks freak out and can't stop blogging, tweeting and commenting about their object of desire and about all kinds of things they found out or look forward to enjoy. They're like in some kind of phantasy world I don't understand. That's why I seldom take part in these discussions. Now they all ramble about how great the new iPhone is, in few months they will complain how something sucks about it.
Ok, people. Enjoy your gadgets. But that's not and can't be the meaning of life, dear computer geeks. Ask youreslves if it's really necessary to have a certain gadget or is it a waste of money, because it's only a camouflage for your boring lives? I'm not saying all of you computer geeks have a pathetic life, but the I.T. industry certainly thrives on you. That's why they wrap up the same shit and sell it to you as something new by adding an additional feature or a resolution better by few megapixels and you always fall for it. And don't think if the price is higher, that the product is any better. They always fool you and you always fall in their trap. You always want more features, more capacity, more memory, better design... why? When will you stop wanting more? It seems as you'll never be happy with what you have and that doesn't only apply to gadgets, it applies to real life things like lovers, friends, family, job... Temperance is the key to everything. I like gadgets, too. But I keep my enthusiasm limited to some healthy boundaries. So could you.

[Photo: Source]

Lazy Sunday

I slept quite long today, I think until 13h, because I had a hard time falling asleep at night. I didn't want to leave my bed, but I had to. I forced myself to do something, so I went out and worked on the new pavement. It wasn't hot, but I was sweating a lot, because I pushed myself hard. Anyway, it still needs a lot of work to finish that pavement and the lawn in its vicinity. I brought some extra soil from a field near by and sown some grass, because it's so moist now after the hail and rain, which I hope will make the grass grow nice and thick. After I finished working outside, I went back in and cleaned my room. After that I had to rest and watch some TV. It's dark now, but it feels like noon to me, because I'm up like 9h only... This year my body's out of sync way too many times. I need to change that and start sleeping earlier and waking up earlier, too. Because it makes me so lazy and sleepy during the day. Oh, and the next days I'll post some stuff that I kept in drafts for a while. They need to get posted and I need to recharge my batteries meanwhile to get some more ideas what to write about. Let's hope it'll be some productive time.

Support Iranian people! Obama, speak out!

How? How can I support Iranian people? I mean, we knew how bad it was there for years, for decades! These protests are not a shock for the rest of the world. Sooner or later every surpressed people protest and fight for freedom and justice. But what can I do? My words won't change anything. And Obama's words won't change anything, too! As if those retarded mullahs will listen to me or to Obama or to anyone else! These people are nuts! So stop harrassing me and Obama with your calls for "a tougher stance" against the Iranian regime. George Bush tried that tactic and it only strenghtened the regime. Unless USA wants to start another "liberating" war, nothing will change! Iranians can only help themselves. America is broke and I'm sure even if it was filled with money, Obama still wouldn't start a war to liberate the Iranian people. He's got the brains! And how phony: The whole world always blames USA for MEDDLING into other countries' affairs! Now that Obama DOES NOT want to meddle, the world COMPLAINS again. Seems like whatever USA does, it's not right. I think Obama is doing great! Whatever will happen later, let's say in a month, in half a year, he will have to deal with that regime, wheather he likes it or not. He clearly wanted to change the policies towards islamic countries and if you demand of him condemning the Iranian regime, then demand from him condemning the regime of Saudi Arabia, that surpresses women like the nazis surpressed Jews. But no, Saudi Arabia is Americas oil-buddy... I mean ally. Whatever. Words don't matter! Try to talk some sense into Ali "the Grand Smurf" Khamenei or Kim Jong-effing-il. These rogue regimes only understand crude force! Talking to them or threatening with UN resolutions is like talking to walls or slapping yourself with a dead carp. That's why I decided I've said enough already and I'm really sick of everything regarding these countries. I need a break from them. It won't be easy, because they won't let me rest - they're in the news every day! But I need to stop them bothering me. It's giving me Spock-ears!

[Photos: Source]

'Japanese only' and Debito Arudou

Today I stumbled accross a blog that discusses various things regarding Japan. There was an article about the word 'gaijin' (Japanese for 'foreigner') and it was asked wheather it is a racist term or not. And the author quoted David Aldwincle, who said that the Japanese word 'gaijin' is an epithet for English 'ni**er'. I couldn't disagree more with that statement. But I don't wanna talk about the word 'gaijin' here . You can check the the link to the article (above) which is excellent and has many good comments. What I actually want to talk about here is David Aldwincle. Do you know him? I heard about him few years ago. He was a white American, who married a Japanese woman and moved to Japan (he divorced later), where he applied for Japanese citizenship. And when he got it, he changed his name to Japanese Debito Arudou. Why did he become famous? He went to an onsen (Japanese hot spring and bathing facilities) in Hokkaido, but they did not allow non-Japanese to enter (they said they implemented this policy because Russian sailors scared away Japanese visitors [source: Wiki]). Arudou sued the onsen on racial discrimination and won. He was compensated with around 25.000USD. Later he became an activist and on his website he's posting info and collecting photos of these various onsens, bars and clubs in Japan, where they prefer 'Japanese only':

Photo by KD, 2006, bar in Hiroshima

Photo by Michael Cash, 2005, Hostess Bar in Toda City

Photo by Debito Arudou, 2004, Pub in Koshigaya City

Photo by Debito Arudou, 2004, Pub in Koshigaya City


Photo by Debito Arudou, 2007, Bar in Hiroshima

Photo and translation by Debito Arudou, 2004,
Pub in Koshigaya City, the clearly racist writing says:

"Entry absolutely forbidden to Chinese and naturalized citizens, Chinese war orphans, and people with Chinese blood mixed in. Only pure-blooded Japanese males permitted."

Source of the photos is Rogues Gallery by Debito.org, the official website of Debito Arudou. Check out more photos on that page. There's like 50-60 cases of similar 'Japanese only' signs that Arudou and some other people found all over Japan. Some of these signs were removed due to complaints. So here's my question: What do you think about all that? Or if that's too general, let me ask some specific questions:

1 Do you think these signs are clearly racist? Or do you think some are clearly racist, but some others are just put out to reassure their main customers, the Japanese people, who don't like to mingle with foreigners and would therefore feel unwell or uncomfortable in a pub or club with foreigners, who in their eyes, don't know the Japanese language and rules of conduct so well? Or are Japanese people (in general) racist?

2 Do Japanese people have the right to have 'only Japanese' pubs, bars and clubs in their own country? If the same right would be applied in USA, Britain or Germany with 'only whites' would that be same? Would that be more racist or same racist? Does Japan, a historically secluded homogenous country, have the right to do that while Europe and USA, who have a more diverse and open societies, dont' have the right to do same? Are these two worlds comparable or do we have to draw a line?

3 Aren't in Europe or USA clubs and pubs where people are also sorted out based on their race, background, even looks? Isn't it the same when a bouncer rejects you entering a club because he judges you on your appearance or prejudice? Or is it up to the owner of a pub, bar or club to decide which or what kind of people he likes to let in his facilities?

4 Is it excusable, if a bar had problems with a certain group of people like drunk Russian sailors, rude American soldiers or a noisy group of Filipinos to bar those groups from entering? Can a German club bar Turks from entering, because they behave in a way that Germans don't like? Can a club owned by a black American refuse White people entering, because they want to be an exclusive club for blacks only?

5 Is it ok for a foreign person going to another country and demand to be treated the same way as the natives? Or do you have to accept that as a foreigner, if you're trying to be part of a very homogenous secluded society, that you may never be fully accepted as one of them, no matter how hard you try? Is it worth to fight for these 'Japanese only' signs to be removed, while it's clear that (wheather there's a sign or not), you're as a non-native not always everywhere welcome. Isn't it better to accept that some will places will never welcome you and you therefore just go to a different place where you are welcome as a guest?

6 Does that mean that Japan is a racist country? Or does it prove nothing, because 60 signs (or even if there was 1000 or more) in a country with around 130 million inhabitants is insignificant? How do you know if a society in general is racist and ignorant towards foreigners? When does it pose a real problem and when is it just a small thing blown out of proportion? Are we in the West really that better? Or are we even worse with our phony political correctness, because in real we are racist, but we pretend not to be?

This topic is very complex, that's why I hid my opinion in questions, which I hope some of you are willing to answer for me. I don't have straight or simple answers on this topic and I guess it's because there are none. Or are there?

[Photos: Source]

Obama can't do everything! He can't fix Iran!

I'm sick of those petty criticisms of Obama, coming from the left and right. He can't do everything! He can't please everbody. It seems like whatever he does, he get criticised for it. Either he does too much at the same time or too little. I know that criticism applied to Bush, too. But not in his first year, much later after Iraq became a big blunder. It's understandable that people are frustrated these days. We're living in some pretty dark times. Obama was seen as a kind of messiah, who will snap his fingers and the whole recession will go away. But in the end, he's just human. He's placed in a rigid system, where he only has small room to do something he's proposed last year. He must overcome all the obstacles at home and abroad, deal with a world that's partly in shambles. He fixed a lot, he will fix a lot, but he can't fix everything. And the latest petty criticism comes from people who want him to do more or say more on the Iranian election and events after. Why? Should he give a fiery speech like George Bush would do, talking about axis of evil and urging the regime to give the power to the people? If he does so, the regime will use it to fire up the nationalists, who support Ahmadinejad and they'll repeat that America is behind everything, America wants to put Iran in shambles... It's much more smart to be cautious and let the events unfold without meddling. What could America do anyway? Start another war? Impossible. So there's two options left: Be pragmatic and stay in the background, let Iranians solve the issues with their government or try to interfere, give strong speeches, threaten with sanctions. Well, I think he's doing great so far. I rather see him not go out there up front and start another conflict. And ain't it funny, if he doesn't do it, there's nobody else who would wanna play a 'George Bush'. You have the French president, the British prime minister or German chancellor - they are all quiet and observing the events in Iran to unfold! Is that the new pragmatism? Or just a normal common sense? I don't know for sure, but what I do know is, we have enough conflicts in this world and the West can't solve all of them. Middle East, Afganistan, Pakistan, China, Korea, Burma, Darfur, Kongo - we're living with these problems and we'll have to live with them for a long time and the US president won't be able to solve them, the West won't be able to solve them - the people there will have to solve it themselves.

[Photo: Source]

Breitling watches surprised me

I wanted to write the title 'Breitling watches disappointed me', but I changed my mind. Let me tell you what happened. Today I went to town (Maribor) to check these watches in real. We have only one AD in Maribor who sells Breitlings, it's called SloWatch. I entered the shop and the security guy immediately positioned himself near the main entrance. Wow! That's his job. It was only me and another woman in there. It was fairly small and easy to get around. I was walking around first and checked few Hugo Boss and Luis Vuitton watches, some were so ridiculously expensive (like 80.000€!), that I couldn't believe my eyes. For me a 2000€ Breitling watch is really really expensive. But 80 grand? Oh boy, no way for a watch. That's like a small house in the countryside here. Anyway. I walked around and found my way to the watch brands I like: Breitling, Omega and Tag Heuer. Wow! Amazing watches! Of course my eyes were stuck on the Breitlings. And finally, there I was, standing infront of them (check the photo above and sorry for the bad quality). I managed to snap that photo with my Nokia while I was waiting for the lady to come to me and give me the chance to try on a Breitling. Well, now we come to the part where I was disappointed. As far as I've seen, most of the Breitling watches were so small in real! Especially one of my favourites, the Chrono Colt. It really wasn't bigger than my Rolex OysterPerpetual Datejust. That was shocking to me! Even the Airwolf looked so small and plain comparing to the photos I saw online. Reality is different than images on the screen! Maybe it was the bad light or the glass that made these watches look less attarctive. I don't know. But I have to say, some were even better in real! Among those were all kinds of Chronomats, the Chrono Superocean and the Superavenger. They didn't have all models, I guess, because I haven't seen any Navitimers. And the ones in leather straps looked very good. That's why I can say some surprised me in a positive and some in a negative way. The saleswoman opened up the glass cabinet, which was locked and asked me which one I like to try on. I said Chrono Colt, but I guess I said it too quietly, so I don't know if she really heard me or if she just doesn't know all the Breitling models by names. Because she was pointing her finger and asking me: This one? This one? Finally she gave me the only Chrono Colt they had, with the white dial and the Breitling professional stainless steel bracelet. It was a little too big on my wrist, but she said they fix that for you later. So there I was, with a Breitling on my wrist and it just didn't feel the way I imagined. The dial was really so small, and the subdials were tiny. I saw some Omega watches that were way bigger and more impressive. If I'm buying a Breitling watch, I want it to be big and shiny. I guess a Super Avenger would look very good on my wrist, but not the Colt Chrono. But the Super Avenger it's too expensive! I didn't see its price, but I saw prices of other Breitlings that were varying from 3000-6000€! No way I'm paying so much for a wristwatch. Two grand was my limit before, but now I'm considering to buy a watch up to 500€. It won't be the top brand, but it won't be a simple watch either. I'm thinking about Seiko or Citizen, but I'll check some other brands as well. I guess Breitling is not within my budget now. Don't get me wrong, it's a supurb watch and I'd love to have a Breitling with a SuperQuartz movement, that makes the watch almost perfectly acurate (10sec +/- a year!). Even if I save up 2000€, I think the Chrono Colt just doesn't do it for me. Looks neat and nice and everything and it's one of the best quality watches out there, but... it just didn't overwhelm me like it should. Apart from Chrono Colt, all other Breitlings are 2500€ and above and I won't ever pay so much for a watch. Well, maybe my expectations were too high. I don't know. I guess I need to check more watches in real and compare them and then decide which one to buy. I have time. I wanna buy a good watch, because I want it to last. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to find me a nice timepiece.

[Photo by MKL, 2009]

Hail, hail... part 2

OMG! Today we had another hail storm and this time was 2 times crazier! Last time my car was fine and the roof was fine, too. But today was apocaliptic! First the whole sky became grey, then it started to rain. Suddenly I see hail, just a little bit at first. So I decided to run down and cover my car with some wood. I got hit by some hail stones in my head as big as wallnuts. I ran back in like crazy. Then it started pouring like crazy: Heavy rain and hail all together mixed with a huge wind. It was scary. Suddenly my sister says: "Mum, it's dripping in my room!" I knew it came from the attic, so I ran upstairs and checked the roof: Smashed! About 5 tiles were totally broken, that's why it hailed and rained inside - it was all wet. I told my mum we need to repair that immediately. I had to go outside in the storm to bring spare roof tiles which we store in some old garage. I was all wet, but brought like 5 of them, while my mum tried to contain the rain coming in from the roof. Luckily the hail eased up a little and we fixed the roof. Soon after that it was over. The damage was big. We were first time hit by a natural disaster so badly. We had to go down and get some more roof tiles, maybe like 15 of them. So many of them on the roof were partly broken and some even had holes, so we had to change those, too. But we couldn't change every one, even if it was partly broken. If it hasn't leaked, we just left it, because we're almost running out of spare tiles. I hope there won't be more of these natural desasters, because it's really tough to keep our old house intact. Apart from the house roof, there were holes in the roofs of some other buildings, like the garage and an old barn. Some walls were pretty dirty, my mum's roses and bushes were hit, too (their petals and leaves were all damaged). They can grow back, but the roof has to be repaired. The most unfortunate was my car. Even though I covered it, the wind removed the wood protection and the bonnet was exposed to some heavy hits. It's full of dents now. But if I hadn't covered it, it would be even worse. I still think I was lucky. The roof of the car is mostly ok, but on the edge there's few nasty dents. I don't know how anyone could fix those. I guess I need to live with that now. I just comfort myself by thinking it could be much worse.

1 First it was just rain, so I had the chance to cover my car.

2 Then it started pouring and hailing like crazy

3 The cover fell off. I was like damn!

4 Smashed tiles and hail stones on our lawn

5 Our main yard full of hail, it was like snowing

6 Hail stone on my palm big as a wallnut

7 The trees left a lot of leaves on the ground

Please mother Nature, enough already for now! Please! I'm sick of hail for a long time! I still have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrow. This year is crazy! Crazy changes and crazy weather. I wonder what more will happen. I'm expecting the worse.

[Photos by MKL, 2009] [Related post: Hail, Hail...]

Iranian brutal regime kills people, destroys computers

Mr. president, please answer me: Is your Iran a peaceful country? Or is it peaceful only when you, the regime, brutally surpress the people by intimidation and force? Do you really need to send riot police and the Basij militia to kill people, beat them up, destroy their property and send them to jail, where you will torture them or kill them anyway? Islamic nation of Iran is in shambles and ruins, because people don't want to buy your bullshit anymore. Islam is peace, you like to say. If that was true, why do you behave in such a non-islamic way? Give power to the people, who cast their vote and want their voice to be heard. Stop the violence now. Let's put you and Khamenei to jail, you are crooks and criminals! What would your god want? Violence? A rigged election? Unhappy people?

These photos tell the truth:

Tear down the regime! she possibly shouted.
[check more stunning pics of the protests here]

Women helping a man beaten by the militia! [source]

A government's shot in the monitor! [source]

Government's university dorm raid! [source]

Government destroys communication! [source]

Dear protesters, we're with you! Don't stop fighting for your freedoms and human rights! Fight for democracy, Iranians. Tear down the dictatorship that makes your life a living hell! Now is the time. The momentum is here! They can't stop you if you won't stop! Keep going... and best of luck to you!

Netizens of the World