First Email from Japan (Aug. 9, 2001)

(Retrospection)

Greetings from Japan. First of all, sorry about this mass e-mail. I know it's impersonal, etc, but I thought for starting out this would be the best way to go. And some of you recieving this have also been guilty of mass e-mails in the past (you know damn well who you are).

And, a word about the randomness of the receipients. I have some free time now, and I'm by a computer, so I thought I'd just send this e-mail out. So, I didn't bring my e-mail address list with me, and I just went and clicked on the names that were already in my address book, and then added those of you who have easy to remember e-mail addressess. So, if someone could forward this to the people I forgot about, I'd appreciate it. (Sigh, no one is going to do it. I know you guys too well. Seriously, if someone can take the time and do that for me, I'd appreciate it.)

And one more word of business before I get started on the message. I realize this might be of minimal interest for those on the chimes listserve who don't know me very well. Just hit the delete key and no whining.

I am in Ajimu-Machi now, arriving here yesterday afternoon. I've never been to Japan before, but it is everything I pictured a small Japanese town to look like. Very scenic too, right up in the mountains.

Japan is kind of like a bad science fiction movie. The kind of movie that you watch and think to yourself, "This is so fake. If they have the technology for laser guns and hoover crafts, why are they still living in caves?" Okay, so the analogy is a bit of a stretch, but it's interesting here. Lots of their little gadgets and gizmos are much more advanced than the stuff available in the US, but the big things like central heating, insulation and decent roads are all very primitive.

I arrived in Tokyo on Sunday night, and had two days of orientation. Unfortunately, we were so busy during orientation I didn't get a chance to see much of the city, but we went out a little bit at night (while fighting Jet lag).

The rest of the JETs are from all over the world. Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and even some places I didn't expect like Singapore and Germany. I know this is old hat to all you international travellers, but it is a new experience for me, and I like meeting a lot of cool people with weird sounding accents. I met a guy from Liverpool (with an accent so think I could barely understand him) and I said, "Ah, Liverpool, where the Beatles are from right?" And he said, "I'm so fucking sick of everyone saying that." Similarly, I've discovered people from Australia don't like it when you bring up Crocodile Dundee. The British Embassy had a night where they hosted all the British people. I didn't go (naturally) but it was funny to hear the Brits talk about it. Appearently the ambassador was saying things like, "Jolly good that you're here lad, now go out there and have a bloody good time." And someone complained to me, "This is the last thing we need. That's why everyone thinks we Brits are such Tarts, isn't it?" (By the way, I've discovered that Brits use "isn't it" or "wasn't it" in the same way Canadians use "eh.")

Hope to hear from you all (I'm still easing my way into the office here, so I'm hesitant about using e-mail. I only use this machine when I'm offered, but I think as I get settled in I'll be able to write longer and more frequently. We'll see how things go on a day by day basis)
Joel

Useless Wikipedia Fact
Comic book death is a term used somewhat cynically in the comic book fan community to refer to the killing off and subsequent return of a long-running character. A synonymous term is Marvel Death, because Marvel Comics supposedly engages in this gimmick more frequently than other publishers.

The prominence of comic book deaths has lead to a common piece of comic shop wisdom: "No one in comics stays dead, except Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben," referring to Captain America's sidekick (dead since 1964), Batman's second Robin (dead since 1989 and killed-off as a result of a fan poll) and Spider-Man's uncle (dead since 1962), respectively. With the return of Bucky and Jason Todd in 2005 and the apparent return of Uncle Ben in 2006, this saying has been sarcastically amended to "Absolutely no one in comics stays dead."

Outside of comics, this device has also been used in Dallas, Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, and McGyver.

Link of the Day
(I'm a bit late in linking to it, but Bierma really hits the nail on the head with this one).
Xenophobia in the U.S. Senate
Sigh.
Declaring English to be the national language of the U.S. is about as necessary and meaningful as declaring Going To The Beach to be the National Summertime Activity. The myth that immigrants to the U.S. lack the incentive and the will to learn English is pervasive but silly.
The problem that there aren't enough English classes for immigrants is very real, and widely ignored.