Just another random thought 5/11/10: Civ IV and Japan

These days I don't really play video games that much anymore, but recently I've been playing a little Civilization IV, a strategy game for the PC. It's a fun, involving game with a lot of detail. One thing that has been bothering me, though, is that Japan seems to have been neglected. With the expansions, there are 34 different civilizations you can play as, each with its own unique leader(s), unit, and building. Many civilizations have two or three leaders to choose from, each with characteristics, which confer different bonuses. Unfortunately, the Japanese have only one leader. Yup, Tokugawa. And his bonuses are quite disappointing (How can you be Aggressive and Protective at the same time? Then again, I guess Feudal Japan is a good answer to that question). Anyway, how is it that the creators of the game could muster up two leaders for the Celts and the Ottomans, yet left Japan with only one possible leader?

(Sorry, guy - you're just not that good)

この頃テレビゲームあまりやらないけど最近「Civilization IV」っていうｹﾞｰﾑちょっとやっている。楽しいし興味を引き付けるパソコン・ｹﾞｰﾑなんだ。まあ、でもちょっと困ったことあった。３４別の文明としてやれて、それぞれはちょっと違う。特別な得意や欠点あるんです。で、たくさんの文明は二人、三人の有名なリーダーの中から一人が選んで使える。でも日本は一人だけいる。徳川家康です。このｹﾞｰﾑで彼の特性はちょっと微妙やから・・・日本としてあまりやらない。それは何でやろう？ケルト文明とオスマン文明さえも二人のリーダーいるんだ。もう・・・

Just another random thought 2/23/10: McFail

Right now McDonald's in Japan is running a promotion called "Big America," which entails featuring a new huge-ass burger every (I believe) couple of weeks. They're big, because Americans like big things. And burgers. Get it? Big America.

I tried to get a Texas Burger a few weeks ago, but alas they were all out...so I have decided not to buy any of the others out of spite! Anyway, the other day I was in a McDonald's eating not a sumptuous-looking Hawaiian Burger, but rather a passably good Chicken Fillet sandwich (Take that, McD!). I looked down at my tray, and noticed this:

Now this actually isn't so much of a McFail as it is someone in Marketing's McStake (Zing!), but what's with the nomenclatural inconsistency? Texas Burger, New York Burger, Hawaiian Burger, and California Burger. Why not Hawaii Burger? Nit-picky? Maybe. But I get paid to teach people stuff like why it's more correct to say "the opportunity to do something" than "the opportunity of doing something." Man, someday I'm gonna miss this job.

Just another random thought 12/20/09: A different kind of cold

Japanese winters are rough. So are summers, but that's a different rant. Whenever it gets cold here, people talk about it. 寒いね！(samui ne). It's cold, huh? Often when I mention this fact or politely agree with a coworker or Japanese friend, I'll get a something along the lines of 「でも、ポールはニューヨークからでしょう？」(But you're from New York, aren't you?). Everyone over here has this image of New York being a frozen iceland, apparently. First off, I always tell them I'm from Long Island. Pretty temperate. It gets cold and snowy, but usually nothing crazy. Second, hasn't anyone in Japan ever heard of insulation? I mean, when you're cold in America, it's a different kind of cold. You're mostly exposed to it when you go outside or drive somewhere. Here, it's near constant! I kid you not, I just went to the bathroom and saw steam rising from my, uh, stream.

Just another random thought 12/17/09: Bread

Notice anything odd about this picture? If you're not living in Japan, you might notice the fact that this ハーフサイズ (half size) loaf of bread only contains three slices. If you are, you may be jealous that I found some raisin bread. Yeah, bread is pretty dull around here and it can be hard to find anything other than plain white.

Me, I'm just wondering why they bother packaging and selling three slices of bread. I mean, who's gonna buy that? Someone who wants to eat precisely one sandwich and one piece of toast and doesn't want any bread left over - that's who. You may be tempted to point out that I bought it. Shut up - it's all they had!

Just another random thought 11/26/09: Buy American!

There comes a time in (almost) every young man or woman's life when he sets out on his own and assumes responsibility for himself: bills, food, housing - all of that good stuff. It was an interesting experience to jump to this stage of life and simultaneously into a foreign country. Although to be fair, I have had help with things like my apartment lease.

One characteristic of growing up and becoming responsible is learning how to manage your money. You start to notice things you never really gave much thought to in the past, like how much different brands of milk cost and which pack has more cherry tomatoes in it. As such, I've tended to inadvertently buy a lot of American produce. Often imported American (or Australian) meat is cheaper than domestic Japanese stock. The same is true of some fruits and vegetables. Today I bought a head of American broccoli for 68 yen. The Japanese ones were almost 100 yen more! Fine by me - I like buying stuff from home. Suckers...!

Just another random thought 10/8/09

One of the teachers sitting in the row in front of me is clipping his nails at his desk (and not over the trash can). I don't want to generalize, but I've seen a lot of tacky nail clipping here - at work and also on the train. The other day I was riding a morning train home and some woman was clipping her fingernails at her seat and just letting the clippings fall onto the floor. Not only gross, but annoying. That clipping sound grates!

I wonder if it's just individual people I've run into with a lack of manners or if it's less of a rudeness here.

Just another random thought 9/13/09

Today I went for a hike in Kyoto with a group of outdoor/hiking enthuthiasts called the Ramblers. It's a Kansai-based group that organizes monthly hikes and is open to everyone. Today about 50 people showed up, which I'm told is a little smaller than usual. I was struck by the fact that of the Japanese I talked to (there were some foreigners, too), most of them seemed almost fluent or at least at a conversational level of proficiency with English. Random experiences like these make me skeptical whenever I hear someone voice the opinion that Japanese are not good at foreign languages. Based on my personal experiences, I would beg to differ.

Just another random thought 8/30/09

There are vending machines everywhere in Japan, selling all manor of goods. The first time I saw booze in a vending machine, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. Now that the novelty has worn off, I've noticed that many of these booze machines are set up right outside of liquor stores.

Kind of makes me wonder about the point of having a physical shop when you can just set up soulless vending machines and not pay them by the hour.

Just another random thought 8/25/09

One thing I both really like and dislike about Japan is all the bicycles. Everyone and their grandmother's got one, literally.

On one hand, it's good exercise and better for the environment to ride a bike instead of driving. And they are well-suited to Japan, as the roads are generally congested enough as it is. Bicycles can be easily maneuvered down tight streets that cars have trouble with.

On the flip side, a lot of people riding bikes means that sidewalks near shops are often crowded with parked bicycles. You also have to be a lot more aware, whether you're on foot, driving, or on a bike of your own. Even though most bikes seem to come pre-made with squeeky breaks, bicycles in general are still fairly silent, so if you're not careful you can wind up, oh, hitting someone with your motorcylce, for example, and then paying their medical bill and court-ordered damages until they luckily change their address and forget to get in touch with you about where to send their money. You got off easy this time.

Just another random thought 8/19/09

I've noticed that Japanese people tend to peel a lot of fruit that we in the States don't. I have to admit, though, that peeled peach was good. But a few weeks ago I went to a party at a friend's house, and some people were eating grapes. Yes, they were peeling the grapes. I asked them why, and they said because fruit skin has chemicals. I know many farmers probably use pesticides or growth-enhancing chemicals, but that's why we wash fruit.

Am I off-base here? Is this a cultural difference or just a matter of preference? First one to use an "appeel" pun gets the Groaner Award.