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Konichiua dear readers!

It's been a long time since I decided to sit down and share my thoughts with the world, but I am back! Two years have passed. I am older, wiser and less firey, but none less ready to speak out against more cracks in the plaster board wall we call society. Today's topic is one which has been in the news a lot recently: the issue of Japanese whaling in the south pacific, and the increased levels of racial hatred this has caused in the differing stratas of society. But first I would like to narrow the scale to a much more personal perspective.

I grew up with a deep love of Japanese culture (videogames, Manga/anime, Samurai films, J-horror, the shinto religion and of course their wonderfully poetic language). Today, this love of the uniqueness which one always associates with 'the land of the rising sun' has never been stronger and I seriously wish to go there in the near future. However, when tensions between Australian environmentalists and Japanese whaling vessels in the south pacific reach new levels earlier this year, I found myself faced with a grave moral dilemma.


At first I was a little hesitent to voice an opinion against this issue, since I am strictly opposed to cultural imperialism, and thought it would be hypocritical to villify Japanese Whaling and not say a damn thing about Spanish bullfights or the consumption of dog meat in Korea and the Phillipines. Plus, I thought about how I would feel if a Jew gave me a hard time about eating pork or a hindu about eating beef.

On the other hand I am an environmentalist and an active member of my university's chapter of the Green Party. Every one knows that whales are endangered and I was being put under increased pressure to speak out. It got to the point that even my parents were scrutinizing my hesitance to act. My mother signed a partition to stop whaling at the local mall and got very angry when I refrained from joining her.


Thankfully, I recently converted to the shintoism myself and now oppose whaling as a sacrelige because it breaks one of shinto's fundamental principles: to cherish all life be it plant or animal because every natural thing on the Earth has a spirit which is some way connected to you.

On a far greater scale, what sparked this issue off was that whilst tralling through the endless number of groups on Facebook, I came across one which was anti-whaling (I will refrain from using the title since it is offensive and confrontational). The administrators for the group made a clear point in their outline for the group stating that they did not want the forum to become "a racial battleground". Famous last words. Despite this, the majority of comments left on the site were not from informed environmentalists or even from people who loved animals, but rather from angry, hate filled racial bigots who wanted to promote white-supremist values. One trouble maker even went so far as to mention World War II, in a display that is guaranteed to cause trouble regardless of issue.

These online messages of hate merely fan the fire for those who would . Despite Japan's rapid modernisation and recent synergy with western capitalism, there are still a large proportion of Japanese nationals who hate us filthy GAIJINS (that's Japanese for foreigners) and are still raw about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For these nationalists, until the west formally apologises to Japan for those nuclear attacks, which killed mostly innocent women and children, they will not respond to negociations. Therefore, considering that the Japanese government is full of these bitter nationalists, it is no surprise that Greenpeace protestors are being threatened by gunboats. Countries have gone to war in the past for issues far more trivial than this and, considering the violitile nature of world politics and the critical lack of man power, I just don't believe Australia should be trying to pick fights (particularly not with countries with reputations as ruthless as Japan).

Please bare in mind, however, that this is not a majority view. Most Japanese people love westerners and welcome any one who wishes to share and contrast cultural views with them. I myself know many Japanese students and they are truly wonderful people. Thus it appalls me that so many people can be so black and white about everything. One can still enjoy certain cultural aspects about another country whilst opposing others. It took me a while to realise that but I am glad that I did because it proves that one's intensions are just and impartial. Abusing an online lobby group as "a racial battleground" defeats the point of creating it in the first place and can only lead to further hatred. Instead we should be trying to promote peace, so that we can learn to solve socio-political problems like whaling in a non-violent dignified way.

I look forward to hearing from you...
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That's rite! I'm breaking convention by cumming out as a luvva of chubby chix!

How it sickens me wen I hear girls complaining about how fat they R becoz I think they're beautiful no matta wot. & Besides there R 4 main reasons Y I think it's betta 4 a girl 2 have a lil meat on her bones:

1. I feel a lot more comfortable around girls with more-to-luv coz I'm less likely 2 hurt them. In all honesty, I like playing ruff with girls, eargo I constantly worry that if I even hug a skinny gal I'll snap their fragile frames in 2! @ least with full figured girls I know they can take a bump with fear of them breaking a hip!

2. Although I have Xperience of sum very pleasant Xceptions, it's a well know fact that fat girls have slightly betta genetals than thin 1s. I think my friend, Ellie, put it best wen she confessed " I see pix of supermodels in magazines & think 'wot guy is eva going 2 want 2 fuk that!?!'" I whole heartedly agree. A vast numba of skinny ladies have no breasts @ all &, Cing as how we men dub the boobs 2 the key signifiers of femininity, I think its safe 2 say that a fat chik is more likely 2 get laid soona than 1 with the body ov a fukking 10 year old.

3. Who's 2 say that skinny is positive? Sure, in our culture it may B dubbed unattractive 2 B fat but utha cultures C things very differently. B4 the age of the Roman Conquest, people lived in matriachal societies. Among the favorite dieties worshiped by these societies woz the fertility goodess, Freya, who (would U believe it) woz fat! Furthermore, certain Druid/Celtic sects worship fat goddesses ov fertility even 2 this day, in particular, the Venus of Willendorf (who is known & luvved 4 her pot belly & big breasts). Here we start 2 C cultures where fat means fertile & skinny means sterile. Mussolini had no objections 2 large women eitha, coz he saw them as ripe for breading his nu Fascistic empire (OK so that 1s a little worrying lol).

4. Bing fat has also Bn seen as a sign that sum1 knows how 2 live well. In Ancient Greece, Baccas (God of Wine & plenty) was overwieght, in the 19th century it woz all the rage 2 B fat in high society & I read a news article a few years ago about a Samoan girl who had 2 look 4 a husband outside Polynesia because the men didn't find her attractive coz she wozn't fat enuff!

I think I've made my point in the above case study that cute lil pot bellies R good & boney bodies R bad. The truth is that body image is a form of social control designed 2 restrict us by making us feel bad about ourselves. It's a cross that we all bare unconciously, despite wot we mite think, & it leads 2 self loathing, anorexia & sumtimes even self harm. Whether U agree with wot I've written or think it's a pack ov bullshit lies. I just wrote this coz I feel that as long as sum1 isn't morbidly obese (ie. 2 the point that there's a serious health risk) it doesn't matta how big U R! Thus I finish with a message 2 all the depressed fat girls out there: no matta how unluvved U feel, I just want U 2 know that there's always 1 guy out there who luvs U. xxx

I look 4ward 2 Ur replies...

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The Problem with Perfection.

November 22nd 2006 22:51
They say th@ if U don't spend Ur days striving 4 perfection then U mite as well B dead. It's a motto th@ I've never truly undastood & as such have neva really enjoyed. Y is this stupid quest 4 perfection so important 2 people? All it really brings is misery & self deprecation.

As sum1 who knows all 2 well about growing up in a world which values physical perfection ova intellect, I've learned th@ beauty does not come from Bing physically perfect. In fact sum ov the most beautiful people I know have achieved this beauty simply Bcoz they have accepted the fact that they are imperfect & have therefore used these imperfections 2 work in their favor. In short, they R beautiful now because ov how they look physically but because they have accept th@ the problem ov perfection lies with society & not with themselves.

Every convention th@ operates in a society is the product ov wot Michel Foucault refers to as Power/Knowledge. Power/knowledge is a metaphysical construct which seeks to transform human Bings in2 psychological prisoners through such eronius constraints as Truth, Morality & Rationality. Therefore, the human condition is confined & restricted in order 2 maintain 'social order'. Wot such processes ov control inadvertently do behind the scenes, however, is transform the human condition in2 th@ ov a herd animal, neva 1ce able 2 tuly live out their inner most desires. Power/Knowledge operates on several differing levels within the modern world. These include not only surveillence cameras & codes ov written law but also through things as simple as TV & magazine images. These images use the power ov the subject's 'gaze' 2 create a self-policing system which inadvertently transforms the viewer in2 the subject by forcing self-loathing upon them.

e.g. Have any ov U eva noticed how photographs in fashion magazines R always taken @ a slightly low angle? Through the use of Ferdinand de Sassure's process ov signification, we can discen that, whilst containing no real subtext on the denotative level, the connotations behind such a choice of framing is designed to direct the subject's gaze from a position of superiority, since the subject is often seen 2 B looking down on the reader. This is particularly the case with supa-models, since the snooty, shallow designer often hopes to promote the 'superior' body image ov the supa-model as he does his fashion.

In contrast, it mite even B possible 2 say th@ Perfection will always B out ov reach Bcoz there is always sum societal demand th@, 4 woteva reason, 1 is unable 2 achieve. This is wot Judith Butler called 'The Failure To repeat' & is the primary reason Y so many ov us feel obligated 2 conform 2 societal constraints thru the process ov performitivity. Bulter explains th@ this performative mask only operates 'on the surface ov the body', we can attempt 2 physically articulate shades ov our true selves though never all ov ourselves. 2 this I ask Y?

My attitude 2 this is th@ perfection & conformity R polar opposites Bcoz 1 is the product ov individual perception whilst the utha is forced upon us by societal constraints. Ov the former, since we all view the world differently, how can there B only 1 standard ov perfection with which 2 brand people Bcoz surely we all C people in different ways. Sum1 who mite B Venus 2 1 person may seem like Medusa 2 sum1 else, & vice versa. In the same way, the latter is determined by the culture which spawned it. Consequently, I have wriiten a previous blog on this issue which I shall l8r Upload as part 2 ov this blog.

4 now, let me just say th@ physical perfection is fleeting. Those who R 'beautiful' live very hollow, insular lives. They act like they're happy but they aren't Bcoz when U have physical beauty U constantly struggle 2 stay beautiful. Whether it B thru sum horribly disfiguring accident or by the slow, cruel hand ov time th@ physical beauty will disappear & when it does wot do these people have 2 shaow 4 their efforts? Often very little. However, those who R kind & show luv 2 those around them will achieve inner beauty: & th@ beauty is everlasting. We R remembered 4 our actions, not 4 wot we look like & society doesn't seem 2 undastand th@, which saddens me greatly.
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The Evils of a Corporate World

November 22nd 2006 22:51
I don't know whether any ov U guys & gals out there have noticed, but doesn't it seem th@ corporate culture is attempting a hostile take over ov the human condition? I say this not just in business terms but also psychologically coz I recently took a job with a retail firm th@ proved 2 me just how shallow and sterile coporate life really is.

As a student, and more specifically a film student, money is always going 2 B a problem. Hence I applied 4 this job with a marketing firm operating out ov Parramatta because it promised good money. Upon my arrival, I woz given tonnes ov forms 2 fill in before being shown to this board room and assigned a "team-leader" to follow around 4 the day. He woz dressed in a sterile, pin striped suit & constantly kept grinning a large, innane shark smile th@ desperately struggled 2 conceal his ignorance. Herein lay my first problem: the so called "team-leader" woz only a kid ov 17 who had no idea about anything utha than his job. My guess woz th@ he woz sum high skool drop out who joined this company purely so th@ he could make sum easy money. At this point however, I thought it best 2 keep my eyes open and my mouth shut so I didn't comment


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The Problem of Religious Dispute

October 13th 2006 09:44
I think it's safe to say that even in today's modern (supposedly secular) world, religion remains one of the single biggest causes of conflict and violence in the world. As an Anglo-Celtic atheist, I have great difficulty understanding why people seem to think that theories and rhetoric are really worth killing for, because in my opinion both sides of the argument are wrong. Through this blog I hope to explain my reasoning behind such a conclusion.

On the one hand, we have the Christian religion, which has been the dominant religion in the west since the Medieval period and is the dominant religion at the university I attend with several religious extra corricular clubs on campus. It has to be said that in some cases, people who belong to these societies think that even being raised as a protestant makes you a heathen, but that is another debate altogether...my point is that these so-called 'do gooders' believe themselves to be on a higher spiritual plain than every body else and thus tell every one else how to live and what to think, yet I find that many of them seem detracted, apathetic and without any knowledge of personal identity, of their emotions or of their own sexuality. To make matters worse, they take great humberage at any body who feels differently to how what they think and go to great lengths to sustain their self righteous attitudes and self-deluded sense of dominance, going as far as to tear down any sort of advertising, not just for the atheist society but for any other religious society on campus which questions their way of life. This does not count for the majority but for only a proportion of the population who perpetuate the Ned Flanders stereotype of the over zealous binle basher who's afraid of his own shadow. The sort of behavior occurring on the campus of the university can be read as a microcosm of society, as the religious right take increasing steps to make the lives of those who do not share their very abstract outlook as difficult as possible. e.g. the racist remarks made during Pope Benedict's address a few months ago that seemed tailor made to insight violence. And I thought Australia was a liberal democracy...yeah right! Now I'm not saying that every single Christian I have ever met has tried to repress, abuse or convert me. I'm simply saying that it seems to happen more often than I'd like


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The Hunger Begins...

October 13th 2006 09:44
Greeting to U, Dearly Demented.

Welcome to delieciousbrainz.com, U're 1 stop shop 4 guts, gore, moral outrage and things th@ just don't fit anywhere else


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