Gambling. Dopamine.Sex. Drugs. Art. X-mas plans in Japan?
My favorite object of art was “Flight, Flee, Freeze.” Those are the three primary reactions we have to fear. There are objects of fear such as a spider and the…
Facebook Is Stalking You, Baby. (Notes From The Uncanny Valley, Japan)
There's a phenomenon in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence known as the "uncanny valley" hypothesis, which asserts that when computers and objects look or act very much like…
The End Of The World And This Blog & Final Chances. Sayonara!
Mayan prophecy moves on Mayan time. Even an 8 year old boy knows this. And an 8 year old boy also knows that not even the end of the world*…
How The CIA Helped The Yakuza & The LDP Get Power & Promote Nuclear Power
Chapter 12: "We Ran It In A Different Way" is a must for anyone interested in the shadow history of Japan. It details how in post-war Japan, the CIA, using…
Graduations and Goodbyes.
Over the three years that I knew her, not once did I hear her complain about her own issues. Instead, she helped others with compassion and love. The numerous posts…
Kim Jong-Il’s Former Sushi Chef Reveals Former Supreme Leader’s Favorite Fish
Kim Jong-Il's Former Sushi Chef Reveals Former Supreme Leader's Favorite Fish
Police Officer Punished For Raising A False Alarm With The Police
(November 23rd, Japan) The Shizuoka Police Department announced yesterday that they had punished a low-ranking police officer (巡査) for making a fake 110 call, in which he reported an imaginary…
Japan’s Media, Mega-Ad Agencies, & Nuclear Industry: A Lethal Combination?
It is generally considered that the media is the Fourth Estate. Their primary function is to monitor and observe the activities of the other great powers in society, however some…
Everything I Ever Needed To Know In Life I Learned From the Yakuza or The Cops That Kick Their Ass in 7 Lessons
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You can tell more about a man by his enemies than you can by his friends. A man with no enemies is…
Little Mermaids & Little Fingers: An illustrated yakuza tale
The next time I ran into Shira she told me I shouldn't expect to see Shin again. He probably wasn't coming back. "Not coming back?" I asked puzzled. "You don't…