tonari no shibafu

Columbia University Press

is having a sale. Lots of Asian history goodies to be had.

via Frog in a Well

The (information) Age of the Gods

So, apparently, there is a podcast of the Kojiki for free download. I haven't listened to it yet, it's still downloading, but might be a useful resource.

via Ancient Japan

Another great one

Boston University's World of Ideas series serves up another great one.  This time it is a debate about whether the US should promote democracy in the Islamic world.

Jewelry, tattoos and religion

Don't wait to be the first to pick up this newest Asian fad. Did you miss the boat on prayer beads?  Get a nonsensical Chinese tattoo?

You can get ahead of the fashionistas by being the first to get a buddhist altar.  Don't let your ancestors face an eternity of ridicule for your lack of originality and filial piety.  Go out and get one today.

via Dottocomu

More Pics

So it seems that I have already used up my August allotment on Flickr.  It was predictable, though, because I have been uploading the pics at close to full filesize rather than limiting them to a width of 640 pixels as I had been doing. 

Anyway, here are the pics I would have sent to Flickr and/or would have put in an album here if I wasn't so lazy.

For the Kiwis

Welcome to the political shame party.

The former leader of a Christian party in New Zealand has been jailed for nine years for sex crimes against girls.

Graham Capill founded and led the Christian Heritage Party until 2003.

He pleased guilty to charges of rape, indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection with three girls who were all aged under 12.

After sentencing, Capill said he recognised the hypocrisy of what he had said in public and done in private and greatly regretted his past actions.

While it may seem like I'm picking on the politically active conservative christians today, it is just a happy coincidence.

via BBC

Proud to be a Masshole

I'm not sure how I missed this...no wait I know, it's because my local paper back home suffers from the same thing that plagues many small town papers: bad writing.  Anyway, that keeps me out of the loop on most of the news with the exception of occassional contact with my brother and/or my boy Patrick. 

In any event, it seems that a bunch of anti-gay rights folks were planning to demonstrate outside of my old junior high (now middle school), because among the flags of countries of the world, they have hung a gay pride flag. 

“That's why we're coming,” Phelps-Roper said. “Massachusetts has become the epicenter of filth in this country, and we will be there to remind people that there is a God and there is a standard. There is a day of judgment, and it's not OK to be gay.”

Kudos to them for standing up for what they believe in and being willing to participate in social action.  Too bad that they're so sure about their conception of God that they think they need to be out proselytizing (sp?).  So, if my god(s) say(s) it's ok to be gay, or even better, has nothing to say on the subject,  what then?  The only way that something like what these people believe in could be correct is if all opposing religious views are wrong/invalid. 

It must be very liberating to be so sure of oneself...

Ahh...justice

It seems that another 8 people were not nearly as fleet of foot as they imagined and were therefore gored in Pamplona. I don't begrudge anyone their traditions and, in fact, I like most traditions that can boast a history longer than the existence of the United States, but the bullfighting part of this festival always seemed a bit cruel and unfair to me.

I think running with the bulls should be the only way to get a ticket to see the bullfight later. It seems to me that activities like bullfighting are predicated on achieving a level of unity with the bull. You can bet that the toreador has it, tourists aside I'm sure most of the runners feel it or at least feel a union with San Fermin...basically have that communal feeling that is expressed as matsuri here. I wonder if those who go to the bullfights participate in some sort of group ritual? Do they buy talismans to safeguard the toreadors? Are there sacred objects near the entrances/exits to the arena? Are there group prayers or chants that go on before the matches?

Hmm.... Anyone been to Pamplona during the second week of July?

Bertrand Russell

I knew a guy named Julian at UMass. I didn't know him well, but took a liking to him as he was one of very few folks on the Japanese side of our department that chose the linguistics track. He was very quiet and pensive-seeming and, though I had no in-depth conversations with him, I just had the feeling that he was bright as hell. One day, I asked what he was reading and he said "Bertrand Russell, that's my man." This stuck with me, the way those things do when you are addicted to books, and one day I found Why I am Not a Christian in one of the used bookstores that I frequented in the Amherst area. I didn't have time to read it back in the States, so I brought it with me and it was one of the first books I read after I got here. The book was so well-written...straight-forward and well thought out.

A while back I signed up for the Daily Philosopher's quotation, and this is what came today:

My own view of religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race. I cannot, however, deny that it has made SOME contributions to civilization. It helped in early days to fix the calendar, and it caused Egyptian priests to chronicle eclipses with such care that in time they became able to predict them. These two services I am prepared to acknowledge, but I do not know of any others

Bertrand Russell
--Why I Am Not a Christian

Thanks Julian

Back from Golden Week 2004

I took a little break from blogging during the Golden Week holidays (and beyond). For non-Japanophiles, the Golden Week holidays this year were Thurs. April 29th and May 3-5 (M-W), which made for a 5 day weekend for most of us, and those who took vacation days on Friday had a week off.