Desperate but not serious.

When he saw her, he was desperate.

Desperate for normality; desperate for love.

Now looking back, for expectations that were not fleshed out,

he sees her world needs alien to his;

That the selfishness she claims is all her own.

"I walked into it;

I walked into your castle,

a filled exchequer and a tough history

With the distinct smell of carrion. "

What a carry on!

He was desperate, not understanding her social needs.

Calmly, it wells up again,

and the self admits an adamant truth,

heard in infancy:

"If I were kind and adoring

How would that be?

Very boring."

Have They The Right?

From Heinz with his tribute to Eddie Cochran, we move to another Joe Meek produced 1964 smash hit, 'Have I The Right?' A song often referred to in pub quizzes owing to the bands female drummer, Honey Lantree, and her then unique role. It's typical of its time; songs of longing and love were popular with the British public, as indeed they continue to be. With its Mo Tucker-esque primitive drum beat and a piercing guitar line, it's one pop tune that unites pop fans with a more alternative breed.

But the song title takes me off in another direction and stimulated the quesion: Does a state have the right to put cameras in classrooms? It's happening in England, a place where liberty is prized but there are more security cameras per head than anywhere in the world. People need to look even closer at what is happening. One writer who consistently does, Henry Porter, has just written a great piece on Comment Is Free entitled What Vaclav Havel Can Tell Us", which unfortunately has received far less comments that articles on stamping out prejudice in sport and the heavily funded advertisements for atheism adorning buses in the UK and US.

Havel, in a 1989 speech to the Czech people said, "Let us not be mistaken: the best government in the world, the best parliament and the best president, cannot achieve much on their own … Freedom and democracy include participation and therefore responsibility from us all."

But Porter notes that: "The British of today and the Czechs of two decades ago are hardly in comparable situations. The Czechs had moved rapidly from the long night into daylight, whereas we have slid from a society of enduring liberal values and respect for rights into a kind of half light that has been brought about by a determined state as well as the apathy and complacency of quite large numbers of people."

I don't know what it's like in the States, but in England people had better wake up quick. Here in Japan, as far as I have experienced, there are no schools which have put closed circuit TV cameras in the classrooms of four year olds. But in Britain, reports Jason Lewis, this is the case. A company called Classwatch is saying devices can be "set up to record everything that goes on in a classroom 24 hours a day and used to compile ‘evidence’ of wrongdoing."

Now, this automatically assumes that wrongdoing is everywhere. It isn't, but, as far as I have gleaned, seeing and experiencing wrongdoing is a valuable learning experience in itself. If a class is full of wrongdoers, then the teacher needs to change his or her approach. The cameras are an insult to all, and another tool brought about by that determined state that Porter has stated is weakening British society.

If we look deeper at the company 'Classwatch', a name which echoes Crimewatch - a BBC programme that reconstructs unsolved crimes, we find that the Shadow Children’s Minister Tim Loughton is the firm’s chairman. Does a Member of Parliament have the right to hold such a position? This interest appears to conflict with his parliamentary position, to represent constituents who may or may not have been consulted on the use of these intrusive tools. The Classwatch position, if reported accurately, is not mentioned on his blog.

I wonder if his children go to schools with CCTV fitted classrooms? It would be interesting to discover if they do, because I am trusting a Daily Mail article, after all. Classwatch have listed an article published in The Guardian on their website, that includes the claim that pupils like being filmed and that there are educational advantages to this. Have a look.

"Have I the right to hold you*

You know I've always told you

That we must never ever part

No no no no no."

* = (in the screen).

(Saw in the New Year) .... Just Like Eddie!

Lots of good advice in the messages to the last post. Somehow Barbara imagined that I'd be whooshing down the slopes, and though I'd love to have been, it wasn't quite that way. As a Brit, perhaps that's unsurprising. Though full of admiration for those who effortlessly weave their way through slalom courses, and as a former avid viewer of Ski Sunday on BBC2, the twists and turns that I hoped would be evident in some form were somewhat beyond me. But I realised, when trying to recover from my umpteenth tumble, that I actually resembled an Olympic participant from the past. My poor balance, lack of flair and self-deprecating spirit made me appear just like Eddie.

Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards was the first British participant in an Olympic ski jump contest. Despite him breaking down barriers, he was a figure of fun due to his lack of skill but a respected one in light of his will to challenge his self. Later declared bankrupt, he earned more than a pretty penny for his amateurish dares. He came up in conversation with the owners of Schiheil, the ski lodge we stayed in at Ishiuchi, within Niigata prefecture. Their service was nothing but first class, their lodge seconds from ski lifts that take you to the top of Niigatan mountains.

Their hospitality extended beyond the convenience for the slopes. The food served (delicious catfish with paprika sauce, home made bread dipped with blueberry yoghurt, beef stroganoff ....) was top notch over the two days spent there. Home comforts were also provided via an absurdly cute dog (Riku-chan), a ninja son the same age as my own and wireless Internet access. So, when my shortcomings at skiing were made clear, I could join in with making an igloo with the lad and the residents of the lodge.

Couldn't have been just like Eddie in a more suitable place!

Towards a refreeze....

"Heigh Ho (from Snow White) in Japanese!"

After evaporating in the last post (which is worth a read if you want a typical, but up-to-date slice of Tagalogism) I maintained enough heat to manage a quick follow up. Phew! Two posts is more than I mustered in the past half of the year! Although I'm heading for colder climes, I'm not going to be put in cold storage. I'll even be taking notes (between family time and some proofreading that I'll take with me whilst staying in a Japanese German-owned ski lodge (ロッヂ名の'schiheil'シーハイル) in Echigo-yuzawa.

I've got lots of proofreading to do, including a research paper on differences in style between American and Chinese newspaper editorials, and my better half developed a furrowed brow when I told her of this. She's worried that I won't let my hair down. She needn't worry - the great lady arranged the short trip and I'm chuffed she chose a place covered with snow. She knows how much I love wintry weather. Junior Tagalog shares my feelings too.

So, I might just put my workaholic ways to bed and enjoy the rest!

Here's to a productive 2009 to all Friendly Visitors, past and present!

Evaporating States.

"TOMMY SHOOTER."

It seems amazing that this year, now soon to pass, was one in which I neither explored new artists nor attended even one paltry gig. True, a ticket to see Peter Hammll was waved in front of me, but the high price warned me away.

Actually, that concert might well have been in late 2007. 2008 could well have been 1998 for all I knew. A combination of work, study and family hemmed me in. But even so, there was no escape from noticing the many changes affecting the world. Changes ushered within cultural and financial worlds that even influenced the dress code of stalwart Festive figures. Why, this very month, Santa Claus was spotted in green, rather than his natural red. He's obviously fitting in with the 'global warming' crew, blissfully ignorant of the claims that Gore's baby has flaws.

In fact, that theory may be thawing.

Normalities are being tinkered with and some old states are being left to evaporate. One case is the plight of the pound sterling, left to the whims of unstable markets. A few weeks ago a savage penman, commented on this, declared that the pound would 'be left to its fate', supporting the claims of those who believe a concerted move to centralise power is afoot. Part of a move towards global governance, something that has been openly desired by many who purport to serve national electorates:

"The alliance between Britain and the U.S. -- and more broadly between Europe and the U.S. -- can and must provide leadership, not in order to make the rules ourselves, but to lead the global effort to build a stronger and more just international order,": 'Gordon Brown' 10/11/08.

This quote came in the aftermath of great losses suffered by millions. But you could imagine the same words from colonialists from the past. Like Lord Alfred Milner, members of his kindergarten or even Cecil Rhodes a century or so before. They came from the same location too, and like Mandelson and the ever-frowning Brown they wouldn't have flinched to take advantage of such a disaster in the financial world.

Not everything is evaporating, thankfully. While treading the same musical furrow I predictably fell for 'Imperial Wax Solvent' , Mark E. Smith's latest. As expected, a canvas splattered with striking lyrics has been assembled. Though appearing inconsequential, they are abuzz with Smith's warped wisdom. And the music is more varied and fresher than recent offerings. So much so that we can conclude that age is not evaporating Smith's artistic power. Nor, if the lyrics of 50 Year Old Man are anything to go by, would it seem physically.

"50 YEAR OLD MAN."

Cultural changes, that have led to Santa wearing green, are hinted at in this very song which appears to be three songs in one, sellotaped together, and which includes a claim that Virgin Trains and Steve Albini have plotted the singers downfall! After which Smith then claims that he has a 3 foot hard-on (but is too busy to use it)!

But it's the below lyric that recall the demand to be green(er) in daily life:

"I go round a hotel and see "throw the towel on the floor" for the Green Man.

I throw it on the floor, and I piss in it."

Though The Green Man is a name of hotel chain, the name recalls the increase in 'eco' awareness that has infiltrated the commercial world (as in the green santas), hotel room rules and public notices. It is noticeable that exhortations to be green have been imposed 'top-down' on the public. But, at least here in Japan, it is mostly unnecessary. Common man is well aware of the wisdom of recycling; it doesn't need constant reinforcement. Perhaps such implorations will prevent Average Joe from reflecting on who has benefited from a system that allowed untrammelled capitalism.

We have been led to believe that "the common enemy of humanity is man." And there is much truth to this, but surely - it is the rule makers, the cultural builders who assembled the system who are mostly to blame? Yet in the aftermath of the Cold War, The Club of Rome wrote that "in searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. (Because) all these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself."

They didn't qualify which members of humanity are more to blame that others. 'Humanity' lived sustainably until the working classes were pushed away from agricultural work, and before 'sustainable cultures' (like the Indians, South-East Asian tribes, etc) were snuffed out.

Check 1993's 'The First Global Revolution' out yourself. It's heavily referenced on the Green Agenda website. Like all city dwellers、I want urban areas to be more green, but I fail to see how the supposed warming can be solely blamed on the 'common man'. Rather, it is policies that benefited a few and created grey lands populated by money seekers.

Suppose that Smith really did piss on a hotel towel after seeing a needless instruction not to waste water? I readily understand the anger, at least.

As well as pissing in a hotel towel, '50 Year Old Man' mentioned how ageing is something he actually likes. Instead of 'It's Only Rock and Roll (and I like it)', it's "I'm a 50 Year Old Man, (and I like it)". A refreshing statement to subvert the expected distaste of a man from the rock world who is growing old. The statement is followed by "and what ya gonna do about it?" recalling superstar rockers The Faces and The Stones in an uncompromising display of Will.

But the album title alone is a piece of brilliance. You can picture imperialists spraying solutions over cultures; spreading western governance around the globe. 'Wax solvent' brings financial images to mind, and the collocation of 'wax' with 'solvent' may make us recall burning. 'Wax' alone makes us think of bees, which themselves have been disappearing from our skies.

But the title was actually adapted from a phrase found in a 1966 Batman episode: 'The Ring of Wax'. Universal wax solvent was a substance that ate through everything.

Much like overt and, the more recent, covert imperialism.