Andrew and Kathleen

Happy Australia Day to all Australians overseas!

The Sydney Morning Herald has a page on diaries written by crew on the First Fleet. Although the web versions are extracts (the full versions are available at the State Library of NSW), they still make an interesting read. I found it interesting that I didn't know the names of the ships; even though I can tell you the names of the ships that Columbus sailed to America with. Isn't that sad? That I know more of another country's history than my own?

We headed to Tokyo, to finally see Japan's most famous sport, sumo wrestling, live. Given that it turned out to be the last bout for one of the greatest modern wrestlers, it was an incredible day!

A write-up is here

Today was Coming Of Age Day in Japan, where all 20 year olds celebrate becoming a legal adult, i.e. they can drink and smoke. Oh, they can vote as well. But I think 99% probably appreciate the first two more!

Photos and travelogue here

Perhaps the front page warning, featuring the cartoon junior high school student, should have been an obvious signal. Japan is truly one strange country.

Some people like their Japanese experience to be all temples and culture and crap like that. I prefer to look behind all that, to what REALLY goes on 'behind the scenes' so to speak.

So without further ado, I present to you, the Hello Kitty adult toy.

Don't forget to check out the Wacky Top 5 popular items, if only for the chance to wipe your arse on Hello Kitty.

Finally got the Kyoto trip and photos page up.

In my former career, the big emphasis was on Work/Life balance. Too often, the balance didn't really happen. So it's good to see articles about people questioning the blind adherence to the "Long Hours = Productive Worker" creed.

This article sums up beautifully the essence of 'kawaii' (cute) in Japan.

Interesting quote: It makes the attraction of the characters more understandable when looking at the mundane working conditions Japanese have to endure daily. Many employees call themselves either office workers, office ladies (OL) or businessmen. You know that something is not quite right when people cannot even describe what they actually do at work.