Large-scale water parks are going under (no pun intended) at the rate of about one per month here in Japan.
Last month it was one called "Sea Gaia". All of them are economic misadventures, and any could be the poster child for Japan's current "bad investment" crisis.
I'm glad Disney is using good technology, but I give the park a 5% chance of making any money.
This reminds me. There is a cartoon series here in Japan (about a 14-year old hacker called "Lain") that features the BeOS logo prominently in it's closing sequence.
Also consider the ammount and variety of dialects and accents of English that an American is expected to understand:
Standard English
African American English
British English
Australian English
West Indian English
And all the accents of recent immigrants to the US.
In total, I'd say that gives the average American command of enough different words, phones, and grammatical structures to consider him at least bilingual.
I recall in Taiwan that there was an ice cream flavored soda. Probably made in Japan, but I can't be sure.
I also seem to recall that it was supposed to be Neopolitan flavored ice cream. It kind of makes me wonder if the soda was in chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla stripes before I shook it up.
If the RIAA is so concerned about denying people access to their property, why don't they try releasing a test album into an abandoned mine shaft, or into deep space?
I say ignore the fascists. The more they tighten their grip, the more their precious IP will slip through their fingers. (I think I saw that in a movie...)
I can't believe after 20 years of the Reagan-Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Clinton criminals that any American has any respect for the law anymore anyway.
Think the laws are unfair? Break them. Break them repeatedly. It's your duty. Just because it's the law doesn't make it just.
Let's toss that one around and ask: do we have any evidence supporting the opposite? No. We must take his word for it. Most, if not all, adult men have at some time been exposed to pornographic material (this is a fact). Of these men, only a fraction so small that it can barely be represented with numbers have turned into these psychopathic monsters you so colorfully describe (thisis also a fact). How in the world did you get the idea that there exist a relation between the two?
I'll grant everything you just said. Saying pornography leads to sex crimes uses the same messed-up logic that proves marijuana leads to drinking Drain-O.
However, saying pornography is harmless is also untrue. Pornography is an addiction, very similar to smoking or gambling. It is not uncommon for men who consume porn to "consume" it at several times per day, and spend thousands of dollars on it every year.
It can be considered a victimless addiction, except for the times that you can't "get it up" for your wife/girlfriend because real women don't turn you on as much as airbrushed ones, or because you're already tired from making sweet love to Miss November.
How would it be if I just said porn consumption is at best pathetic?
This is a protestant/christian belief that the body and sex are an ugly thing.
Oh, rubbish.
The sex industry is generally frowned upon in every country in the world including Thailand.
It is a Protestant belief, Catholic belief, Greek & Eastern othodox belief, Muslim belief, and Buddhist belief (Theravada and Mahayana). Also, the pornography controls in the former Soviet Union and today in China were/are quite strong (China's are *very* strong). So I must assume that it is a Marxist/Lenninist and Maoist belief as well.
I know some parts of Europe are more liberal about porn than some parts of the US, but that doesn't make "fear of sexuality" a "problem" particular to stodgy and puritanical christian Americans.
I had latchkey-kid friends who would watch R-rated movies on cable after school. (For you young 'uns, 20 years ago cable was the big danger to children, not the internet.)
My parents let me out of the house, but they always wanted to know where I was going, when I would be back, what I planned to do, and most importantly who was going to be there.
No responsible parent, no playtime. It was impossible for me to see an R rated movie like "Scary Movie" (without deliberate defiance of my parents' wishes) until I was 18 years old.
Now I'm a parent, and I understand that nearly all the movies I missed sucked anyway. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)
My point is, even when I was not at home, the supervision continued. Before, during and after.
Filtering software is a parent's worse enemy.. WTF people can't understand that is beyond me. Even if it worked 99% of the time (and they don't), that 1% will be found and if so, it might as well not be there. Filtering software lulls parents into a false sense of security.
Learn all the naughty words in a foreign language, search with Google, and have access all the filth you can stomach.
French and Spanish will do for simplicity, but Japanese and Russian turn up the most hits.:)
Is it harvested right from the ocean? Do they need to build special aquariums? Sounds expensive to harvest to me, but I could be wrong. Maybe that's why beef is more easily accessable in Michigan than seaweed
Basically, for seaweed farming you have a very large net that you lay out under the water. The mesh is about 15 cm square. Then you let the seaweed grow right on the net. When there's enough, you just go out in your boat and haul the net and the seaweed in together.
It doesn't need to be warm to grow, but it may need to be salty. It is also a bad idea to build sea-retaining walls, as this allows plankton such as Red Tide to flourish which compete directly with the seaweed for food. That seems to have been the cause of this years' bad harvest.
Ayup. The red-brown short haired (dingo-like) dogs are the best eating. The whitish gray dogs are said to be gamey tasting.
In Korea, they farm dogs for food. Part of the process is to beat the dogs periodically so the meat stays tender. Brutal, but true. Not nearly as brutal as killing a cow kosher-style, but brutal all the same.
Hm. I have a carton of Kyushu milk in my left hand here... Doesn't say anything about it being repulsive. They don't seem to have any trouble selling them at my local supermarket either.
And seaweed is used in countless products in the USA. Mainly as an emulsifier in things like ice cream and toothpaste. (read the ingredients carefully!)
Well, that's a good point. I didn't notice the distinction (sales vs. rentals) in the orginal post. However, I notice that on some of those same DVD sales list, "Coyote Ugly" was higher on the charts than "Battlefield Earth." I mean, what religious outfit could possibly be propping up the sales of that monstrosity? I'm a hot-blooded, babe-loving, American male, but even I don't want to see the exploits of those bimbos, so I don't think it can be attributed to the T&A factor.
Again, consider the international market. The T&A factor is much higher outside the US. Especially when you consider that countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, India, etc. have rather strong anti-pornography laws.
Hell, here in Japan "Mission to Mars" video rentals are doing very very well.
I guess when you have to rely on subtitles, it's easy to imagine that the original dialogue must somehow be insightful and well-written.
I don't know, you hit on an interesting point.
If the TV show is going to be anything like the game, every character needs to, (at least once per week): pee his/her pants, throw a tantrum, and then pass out on the floor in rapid succession.
I might tune in for a couple episodes of that.
P.S., why doesn't the hot tub take care of the Sims' "bladder" needs?
They must not use hot tubs the way I do.
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Last month it was one called "Sea Gaia". All of them are economic misadventures, and any could be the poster child for Japan's current "bad investment" crisis.
I'm glad Disney is using good technology, but I give the park a 5% chance of making any money.
It has not been unknown for Oracle to do ridiculous things that are far removed from their core competency.
The work "Imagineer" never stops making me giggle. Sounds too much like "Chief Desktop Mouseketeer" or something.
I thought it was so... obscure. Even here.
Granted though, it's one of the better Japanese series out there.
Thought y'all might find that interesting.
Standard English
African American English
British English
Australian English
West Indian English
And all the accents of recent immigrants to the US.
In total, I'd say that gives the average American command of enough different words, phones, and grammatical structures to consider him at least bilingual.
I recall in Taiwan that there was an ice cream flavored soda. Probably made in Japan, but I can't be sure.
I also seem to recall that it was supposed to be Neopolitan flavored ice cream. It kind of makes me wonder if the soda was in chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla stripes before I shook it up.
That'll teach them hackers!
Is that protected under fair use, or am I going to hell with all the other content thieves?
I can't believe after 20 years of the Reagan-Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Clinton criminals that any American has any respect for the law anymore anyway.
Think the laws are unfair? Break them. Break them repeatedly. It's your duty. Just because it's the law doesn't make it just.
Yes, there are vending machines here with soiled undies. The residents find them revolting.
The Japanese public considers pornography and sex crime to be serious social problems.
I'll grant everything you just said. Saying pornography leads to sex crimes uses the same messed-up logic that proves marijuana leads to drinking Drain-O.
However, saying pornography is harmless is also untrue. Pornography is an addiction, very similar to smoking or gambling. It is not uncommon for men who consume porn to "consume" it at several times per day, and spend thousands of dollars on it every year.
It can be considered a victimless addiction, except for the times that you can't "get it up" for your wife/girlfriend because real women don't turn you on as much as airbrushed ones, or because you're already tired from making sweet love to Miss November.
How would it be if I just said porn consumption is at best pathetic?
Oh, rubbish. The sex industry is generally frowned upon in every country in the world including Thailand.
It is a Protestant belief, Catholic belief, Greek & Eastern othodox belief, Muslim belief, and Buddhist belief (Theravada and Mahayana). Also, the pornography controls in the former Soviet Union and today in China were/are quite strong (China's are *very* strong). So I must assume that it is a Marxist/Lenninist and Maoist belief as well.
I know some parts of Europe are more liberal about porn than some parts of the US, but that doesn't make "fear of sexuality" a "problem" particular to stodgy and puritanical christian Americans.
Some people find it stimulating, and some people find it revolting, but no one ever found it boring except through constant exposure.
I had latchkey-kid friends who would watch R-rated movies on cable after school. (For you young 'uns, 20 years ago cable was the big danger to children, not the internet.)
My parents let me out of the house, but they always wanted to know where I was going, when I would be back, what I planned to do, and most importantly who was going to be there.
No responsible parent, no playtime. It was impossible for me to see an R rated movie like "Scary Movie" (without deliberate defiance of my parents' wishes) until I was 18 years old.
Now I'm a parent, and I understand that nearly all the movies I missed sucked anyway. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)
My point is, even when I was not at home, the supervision continued. Before, during and after.
When I understand why people who don't want to raise have kids, I will know everything there is to know about people.
Learn all the naughty words in a foreign language, search with Google, and have access all the filth you can stomach.
French and Spanish will do for simplicity, but Japanese and Russian turn up the most hits. :)
Basically, for seaweed farming you have a very large net that you lay out under the water. The mesh is about 15 cm square. Then you let the seaweed grow right on the net. When there's enough, you just go out in your boat and haul the net and the seaweed in together.
It doesn't need to be warm to grow, but it may need to be salty. It is also a bad idea to build sea-retaining walls, as this allows plankton such as Red Tide to flourish which compete directly with the seaweed for food. That seems to have been the cause of this years' bad harvest.
In Korea, they farm dogs for food. Part of the process is to beat the dogs periodically so the meat stays tender. Brutal, but true. Not nearly as brutal as killing a cow kosher-style, but brutal all the same.
And seaweed is used in countless products in the USA. Mainly as an emulsifier in things like ice cream and toothpaste. (read the ingredients carefully!)
In fact, you might have heard that this year we had an especially bad seaweed harvest in the Ariake Sea, which is not 10 kilometers from my house.
Again, consider the international market. The T&A factor is much higher outside the US. Especially when you consider that countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, India, etc. have rather strong anti-pornography laws.
Hell, here in Japan "Mission to Mars" video rentals are doing very very well. I guess when you have to rely on subtitles, it's easy to imagine that the original dialogue must somehow be insightful and well-written.
They're two very very different things.
I don't know, you hit on an interesting point. If the TV show is going to be anything like the game, every character needs to, (at least once per week): pee his/her pants, throw a tantrum, and then pass out on the floor in rapid succession. I might tune in for a couple episodes of that. P.S., why doesn't the hot tub take care of the Sims' "bladder" needs? They must not use hot tubs the way I do.