On catching the plague

Somehow I managed to, on my first week of class, catch a cold. Lovely the timing of these things.

Well, in treating my cold, I've learned a few things about medicine here in Japan. For one, drugstores in Japan sell only drugs for the most part. This may sound like a no-brainer, but in America, drugstores regularly stock everything from pork rinds to lawn chairs. They are basically the bridge between an actual retail store and a gas station on the corner. So "drugstore" is a bit of a misnomer.

But in Japan, drugstores are perhaps more aptly named. They sell drugs. They might also have make-up or other related products, but don't expect to find much else really.

You may have seen photos of it before, but oftentimes people who are sick will wear a face mask. This is not only a courtesy to others in blocking them from sickness, but it can occasionally also be used to protect yourself from becoming sick (or sicker, as the case may be). There are so many people in Tokyo, though, you're bound to come in contact with a germ or two. As they might say in Japan, しかたがない.

But if there is some bright side to be found while I'm roughing it eating Halls and drinking cough syrup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it's probably this. Here's the pack of kleenex I purchased from the store:

And yes, the actual tissues are branded with pokemon as well.

Until next time. ~thette

Mou ichido, Nihon!

So I'm in Japan. Again. (Big surprise there) I'm just getting back into the swing of things. I arrived late last night in Nishiwaseda and have yet to see the area in broad daylight, so therein lies today's sightseeing plans. (Translation: I will be hitting up the 100 Yen store to buy cheap dishware and trashcans.)

Anywho, this is my third trip to the land of make-believe, and it'll by far be the longest. I'll be here for ten weeks -- just long enough to actually feel like a resident before I'm whisked away back to my real life over in San Fran. But I intend to make the most of it, starting with this posting.

For the seventy-some-odd days, coming to you live from Japan (okay, maybe not live), I'll be posting stories of my mythic exploits. Like this!

Is it noodles, or is it a sandwich? No one knows!
(Actually it's both, and it's today's breakfast.)

Nail biting, I know. (C'mon, I've only been to a convenience store so far.) But really, I'll be doing my best to share bits of the Japanese culture I encounter on a daily basis here. I'm sure I'll find plenty to take in over the next few months, but I'm always open to additional suggestions for how to get into trouble (beginning with my bad Japanese). So please 遠慮しないで! (Don't hold back!)

Until next time.
~thette

The Circuit Angel Chronicles anniversary contest!

The Circuit Angel Chronicles is turning one!

And to celebrate one year since the release of Chronicle of Angels and Men, we're holding our very first contest! Take a look below at the great prizes we're offering:

First Prize (1 Winner):
Your choice of one of two signed art prints below (frames not included)

Which one will you choose?

Plus, 1 signed copy of Chronicle of Angels and Men in paperback


Second Prize (2 Winners):
Each will win 1 signed copy of the Chronicle of Angels and Men paperback!

So now you're thinking, "Sweet! How do I enter?" Well, entering is easy!

How to Enter:

1. Just head on over to our Amazon.com page (http://tinyurl.com/caanniversarycontest), and leave a review for either the Kindle or Paperback version of Chronicle of Angels and Men telling us what you like most about the book.
It can be a favorite quote, a storyline, the art, whatever! (Feel free to use the "Click to look inside" option for a free preview.)

2. After you leave a review (be sure to click Like on the Amazon.com page!), send an email including your review name and a link to your review to circuitangel@outlook.com with the subject line "Anniversary Contest."

And that's it! You're entered to win! Winners will be selected at random from all valid entries at contest end and will be contacted via email.

The Rules:
One valid entry per person
If you win, you are not eligible to win again in the same contest
Contest open to residents of the U.S. and Canada


The contest starts @ 12:00AM PST on 8/27 and carries through until at least 12:00AM PST on 9/16. Winners will be chosen at random from the list of verified entries at contest end. (Contacted winners have one week to respond, or a new winner will be selected by random.)


Come celebrate with us, spread the love, and win great prizes! Good luck! ♥

~Tet
--------------

For more information: 

Visit: http://www.facebook.com/circuitangel

Email us: circuitangel@outlook.com

Check us out in Paperback:
Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/AmazonCOAAM
Barnes & Noble.com: http://tinyurl.com/BN-Chronicle

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/tetsunasa

Subscribe to our blog: hypotheticalparticle.blogspot.com

The speed of now

I decided to try something a little different today, and instead of commenting on art, writing, and good will toward men, I thought I might talk a little about current events. Bear with me, this could get hairy...

Social media is an incredible tool, connecting us instantly to our favorite celebrities, job recruiters, high school sweethearts, and complete and total strangers. I'm sure I missed a few in there, but suffice it to say, with the pervasiveness of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, etc., now more than ever the internet can create or destroy more quickly than ever before. But social media can also be an incredible source of misinformation. And with the speed at which the internet moves, it can be difficult to sift through all the hoaxes and lies swimming about, and even more difficult if your goal is to correct them.

Events happen in real time.

Take for instance, the case of Spike Lee retweeting the address he believed to be of one Mr. George Zimmerman earlier this year, except...it was the wrong address. Nevermind the inherently insidious and retaliatory nature of tweeting anybody's home address to some quarter million followers (essentially, the world) and then having others retweet the wrong address, but correcting these mistakes or bits of misinformation is now often nigh-impossible once they've been immortalized on the internet.

The internet is forever.

Of course, this is not to blame the internet itself. The internet is just the mechanism by which we communicate ubiquitously nowadays. Forget waiting until 6pm or 11pm for your local newscast -- get all those details now with click of a button (or the flick of a finger for all you tablet-users). Better yet, become the source yourself, and send in tips and pictures and iReports to the news agencies. That's the information-sharing of today. For old fogies like me who can actually still remember the first time she went online with this new fangledy service called America On-Line, it sometimes takes some adjusting.

After all, there is power in this sword we wield, and the internet is often a force for good -- where people can find a cause worth fighting for or make one of their own. A place where like-minded individuals sync up, form grassroots efforts, and embark on selfless conquests for the betterment of society... or for money. Whatever. There are many amazing stories no one perhaps would ever have heard of were it not for the magic of the Interwebs, some consequential to our world at large, some less so -- like the story of the ten year-old girl who was bullied for taking a Star Wars lunchbox to school and the incredible outpouring of support that came roaring in from people around the world.

But when the internet is against you, it can seem like an unstoppable force.

Consider the case of the Kickstarter project of Anita Sarkeesian, a self-described "feminist pop culture media critic," who was recently the target of one such internet slash-and-burn campaign all from proposing to create a Tropes vs. Women in Video Games project. For any fans of gaming, you've likely noticed certain characteristics that seem to regularly be ascribed to female characters. Whether it's the damsel-in-distress, or the femme fatale, or the sexy window-dressing, many of these images are so prevalent in gaming that they've become stereotypes, i.e., "tropes," within the medium. Ms. Sarkeesian's project sought to shine a light on these recurrent character types and examine the impact these portrayals of female characters had on our culture and society as a whole. Sounds like a daunting, albeit worthwhile endeavor, right? Well, not to everybody.

For proposing her project, Ms. Sarkeesian came face-to-face with the ire of the internet hate machine, which succeeded in covering her blog and YouTube page with vial, hate-filled commentary, viciously vandalizing her Wikipedia page, and attempting to shut down her project. The goal was to silence her before she'd even spoken, and this is unfortunately the worst of the internet -- where the language of shorthand and inbred memes is readily employed to denigrate and intimidate. The internet gives a voice to heroes and villains alike.

Thankfully, an even greater internet force threw its support behind the Tropes vs. Women In Games kickstarter, and Sarkeesian was able to raise funding for her project which far exceeded her original ask. So good won out this time it seems. This, of course, doesn't silence the trolls who began the campaign against the project in the first place, but perhaps it does identify who is truly the vocal minority. But it's both the benefit and the consequence of the 24/7 world we live in. It's technology with power to create, destroy, divide, unite, intimidate, or reward -- all at the speed of now.


Ill Doctrine: All These Sexist Gamer Dudes Are Some Shook Ones from ANIMALNewYork.com on Vimeo

Missing

I'm currently stationed in the great state of California, but I'm originally from the east coast of the US. (Florida, to be exact.) There are still quite a few things I miss from my old life in Florida though. After all, I lived there twenty years, compared to my three years in Cali. And I find it interesting just how many things I took for granted in their availability in Florida, which seem to be nigh-MIA over here.

Take, for instance, Zephyrhills bottled water. (I admit it, I drink almost exclusively bottled at home.) Now I'm not a water snob by any means, but I had a personal affection for Zephyhills. To me Dasani and Aquafina water just tastes like the bottle  it sits in for weeks on end, and if I'm going to be paying for pre-bottled H2O, I want to make sure it at least pretends to be something better than what comes out of my tap. I never really considered that upon relocating to the west coast, I'd have difficulty finding the product. I mean, it's water, right? The most ubiquitous resource on the planet... or something... Anyways, three years later, and I'm an Arrowhead water fan now. (God forbid should I have to move out of their distribution area.)

Another item I've had to do without over here is barbeque. It's not that there isn't barbeque in Cali -- it's just that there isn't good barbeque in Cali.

A word for that

I think in life we all have those moments in life. Perhaps it's but an air of nostalgia, where we realize something that was never can be again -- where we lament the loss but accept the progress and meaning that moment gave us.

Have you ever heard the phrase "mono no aware [物の哀れ]?"

Back when I was in college, I took a Japanese culture class which discussed the idea.  It was a term coined by Motoori Norinaga, a Japanese author from the Edo period, meant to describe those bittersweet emotions we feel when something dear to us comes to an end.  

License to kill (the language)

There's this thing in poetry called poetic license. (You've likely heard of it.) But it basically gives a writer free reign to massage, mangle, and manipulate the use of language for so-called "artistic effect." It's the reason I began the previous sentence with the word "but" (much to my English teacher's chagrin) -- mostly I just liked the rhythm and flow better with the extra word.

But beginning a sentence with an unnecessary conjunction is a pretty tame example. Writers, especially poets, can often take this license to the extreme -- using words solely for their sound, discarding their meaning, redefining them, even respelling them.