There are computer simulated driving tests in most Japanese driving schools, where you sit behind an imitation wheel and drive through roads on a screen. My mother felt dizzy and scored poorly. (She was later exempt, like many other older people were).
There is lots of fast sung music today, veering on the edge of rap. […]
This picture I took in San Francisco reminds me of a family friend living in Japan. He had been a troubled child growing up; fights, rebellions, smoking, drinking, the whole lot. But I always remember him for his love of animals.
He currently lives with three stray cats, two of which have pierced ears. Last […]
The irony is that both Tyler and BJ don’t know about it because they are at Burning Man (a week long art festival in the middle of a desert in Nevada).
They had asked CBS if they could attend the Emmy, but it cost them $500 each for a seat at the awards, so they decided […]
Just before taking a bite out of a deliciously looking nectarine, I noticed a sticker with a picture of Goofy. The sticker read “Disney Garden. Tree Ripe Nectarine”.
Imagination Farms teamed up with Disney and a packaging company to promote fruits and vegetables to children. More
It wasn’t Goofy’s smile that had me buy the nectarine, but […]
I heard that women are not allowed inside an unfinished tunnel in Japan, because of a belief that the mountain’s god (a female) would get jealous and cause accidents.
I remembered this myth while going through Twin Peaks Tunnel today, and thought to look it up.
According to Wikipedia Japan, women have been legally banned from working […]
Tyler’s father once super-glued a baby seat (with blankets tucked nicely inside) on top of his car roof, then zoomed off to see how people would react.
He said he couldn’t drive far, because so many people tried stop him. “There’s a baby on your car!” “You forgot your baby!” People shouted as they drove in […]
Fumes coming from a car in front of us were so unbearable that we closed our windows. Its heavy grey air still lingered inside our car, but we could not let fresh air in, because there were none coming our way. We were trapped in exhaust.
Drivers usually don’t know if their fumes are excessively dirty […]
My brother loves animals. He sent me a forward:
(Origin of email not known. I translated it with a Californian accent because I thought it better resembled the original Japanese version).
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Did you know that anteaters eat 30,000 ants a day?
That’s 90,000 ants in three days!
That’s a massacre!
Do you know why flamingos stand on one leg?
Because their […]
The grandmother I care for has Alzheimer’s. She does not understand who she is, where she is, or what she’s doing. Our typical conversation is like this:
“Delicious soup, no?”
“Yes, but that shoe I left in the corner”
“Which one?”
“Who are we expecting again?”
Occasionally, she would make a clear point, like “you used to feed me better […]
