1. Kyoto
2. Osaka
3. Nara
4. Hiroshima
5. Kagoshima
6. Okinawa
7. Hokkaido
8. Nagasaki
9. Kobe
10. Matsumoto, Nagano
11. Nikko, Toshigi
12. DisneySea
13. Disneyland
Places I want to visit in Japan (in no particular order) August 30, 2007
该怎么办? August 26, 2007
I miss home. Daddy and lil bro came to visit during August, and now with them gone, I don’t know what else I can do to alleviate my homesickness.
My sister’s been having contractions, and the baby is still not due until December. She’s at the hospital now, and she’ll wait until the doctor decides whether she can go back home and get bed rest or stay in the hospital. The worst part of this ordeal is that I am here in Japan, helplessly trying to figure out what I can do to help her other than just making phone calls. I am sitting guiltily here, not being able to help her when she needs it the most.
Made in China August 15, 2007
A Business Week article published on July 30th mentions the perils of purchasing Chinese products http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/aug2007/db20070814_154726_page_2.htm. Recent safety hazards originating from Chinese products have caused multi-million dollar recalls including pet foods, toothpaste, and more recently, toys. As an example, a year ago in Panama, there were scandals in the Caja de Seguro Social (the country’s public hospital entity) regarding a number of mysterious and sudden deaths, largely among the senior citizen population. Lab tests performed by American laboratories confirmed contaminated high-blood pressure medicine that linked the deaths to the pills prescribed by the C.S.S. The pills, in turn, were manufactured by a Spanish company whose supplier was a factory in China. Needless to say, the C.S.S. recalled the medicine and launched an investigation. But knowing Panamanian politics by experience, the family members of the deceased will not get any compensation for their loss; just an apology and a half-hearted attempt by the government to regulate products imported from China.
However, the real issue is not product recalls but accountable monitoring of product safety. With market dependence on low-cost production, companies are increasingly turning to China as a supplier and manufacturer. But the real peril lies on investing on Chinese firms, where safety standards are lax and cutting production costs at the expense of safety are practiced.
The focus is not on trying to boycott or condemn every item manufactured or processed in China. As this Business Week article mentions, ingredients and manufactured parts in American merchandise are being supplied by different countries, not only by China. If we place a boycott on all items whether they are safe or not on the basis of current product fears, then we’d have to investigate every supplier on the chain. The case is to point out the carelessness of incorporating hazardous materials in food and other items of daily consumption. Because market forces drive corporations and their suppliers to produce profit for less capital invested, corporations and suppliers inevitably cut costs in manufacturing. But cutting costs should not come at the expense of safety. The mounting pressure that is now being placed on Chinese products should serve as a red-light for everyone, not only to conglomerates and their global suppliers, but also to governments monitoring safety standards.
我們的歌 August 15, 2007
Will I ever be able to pick a song and call it ours?
已經聽了一百遍 怎麼聽都不會倦
從白天唱到黑夜 你一直在身邊
如果世界太危險 只有音樂最安全
帶著我進夢裡面 讓歌詞都實現
Desintegration Remembered August 13, 2007
These news come at a late time. Because I’m so far from the Rock en Espanol scene from back home, it has taken me five 
months to realize that one of my favorite bands, Bacilos, desintegrated in March of this year. I’ll sorely miss their music and their energy. Similar acts like Carlos Vives and Juanes will never be able to replace the significance of their mundane lyrics.
