Putting the great in immigration

Just a couple of things popped into my head on my walk home from the station:

Do foreign migrants have an easier time settling in an area than domestic migrants? I would say that going off purely anecdotal (and largely personal) evidence, the answer is yes. When I was living in the south of England, I would say that I felt like a fish out of water and that I felt like I shouldn't have felt that way. My then wife was already a fish out of water and settled in more successfully, in my opinion.

That said, because capital cities and/or larger metropolitan areas (such as Los Angeles, Toronto, Manchester) are melting pots where many cultures combine and many people are drawn to the capital from more provincial areas capital cities may act as immigration buffer zones, areas where culture shock and such doesn't really kick in. My friends in London, who aren't Londoners largely seem to like it there apart from the high prices. Nearly everybody finds Tokyo relatively comfortable apart from those who have moved from the similarly huge city/Kansai's regional de facto capital Osaka.

Or maybe I spend too much time thinking about things like this and not enough time studying Japanese or writing my novel.

Toden Arakawa Line

Today, for lack of anything to do and a lack of money, I messed about on the Toden Arakawa Line. I started at Zoshigaya, headed to Minowabashi then went back to Waseda. I took some photos using my film camera, so not everything is documented here, but when I finally get around to digitising the images (or actually getting them developed) I'll add them to my flickr account.

www.flickr.com More of un-understand's stuff tagged with toeiarakawasen

Shiso Pepsi

Shiso Pepsi
Originally uploaded by un-understand.

I got so excited when I saw this. It tastes nice, in my opinion, but then I like shiso and Pepsi. Now I know I like them together. Just how long will it stay on the market?

I will beat this 'Bah! Humbug!' disease

The weather is driving me mental at the minute. Despite carrying an umbrella today I arrived at work today in clothes that could only be described as moistened. I didn't wear a raincoat otherwise I'd be further moistened from the inside due to the heat and humidity as well.

It's not been all bad though: I read Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn, which I expected to be somewhat similar to his Fortress of Solitude going from the title. How wrong I was! It's a bloody brilliant book and it has made me curious enough to think about checking out some of his other books too.

My bicycle's inner tube truly knackered, as evidenced by the valve coming out when attempting to inflate the tyre. Annoying, but this was tempered by my landlord replacing the drainage pipe from our washing machine that somebody stole. Who steals a tube from a washing machine? Bong builders? Probably not in Japan. Anyway, it's been a week of mixed blessings, a bloody tiring week at that, and I think I'll be in bed early instead of typing up sections of the novel in progress, of which the second draft has passed the halfway mark.

What does a man look like? - part 1

Men always elicit polarised opinions. Men are either a) all pigs with either poor manners, conduct and/or personal hygiene or b) beefcake, high earners and intellectual superstars.

In Japan there's still a patriarchal society, some would hope on its last legs, though it constantly has life breathed into it with old values about men being breadwinners and women being homemakers being put into the heads of young people without minds of their own.

God help you if you can't hang onto a 'worthwhile' career. You're a shit man, a deadbeat. In England, it was so what, but I suppose that nobody worth bothering with is going to want to start a relationship with a failure.

We're all conditioned to accept stereotypes. I'm going to explore this more - maybe even using pictures as well as words.

Twitter Spam - name and shame

I've started a hashtag on twitter.com: #autofollowerspamlist. Add your own. Knowledge is power.

'Happiness' and 'Home' - follow up

Here he is, begging for comments and emails. But seriously, I do see the internet as a social thing, not a one-way transmission. It's also my first video blog, as inspired by Pippa.

Happiness - part 6 - The Secret to Happiness

Image: Shiny Happy People by Donna Cymek


I'm actually taking the piss royally with this title, though you wouldn't initially think it. On the internet alone, there are several websites, at least tens and I dare say that there are probably thousands that I didn't even have the time or patience to trawl through my Delicious or Google search results to see.

Why are techniques to gain happiness, or 'life hacks' treated as esoteric knowledge? There are oral transmissions and written literature from the last couple of thousand years regarding happiness, many of them free or public domain. They all involve joining a club to some extent, be it religious or philosophical.

Lately, it's about book sales. Most of the people pimping happiness and self improvement are doing so in order to sell us books.

I'd love to sell people my books because I'd love for people to read what I write and for me to make a living out of it if possible. Happiness is a bit too important for that, though.

There's no secret to happiness. You're either happy, or you're not. You're either getting what you need or you're not. (Veethoven, R. 1991 Social Indicators Research 24, pp. 1-34. Link refers to PDF file.) However, as Dan Gilbert explains in his TED Talk, getting what you want doesn't necessarily make you any happier.

The secret is you're inventing conditions for yourself. You've been taught to want stuff, to covet stuff, to desire and you've been taught to do it so the government can raise GDP, have more money in the tax pot and hang on to a high salary and nice corner offices along the corridors of power.

Just chill. As the Buddha said, all life is suffering but suffering can be overcome. If you feel like shit now, just give it time. Most of us cruise through life in neutral anyway.

Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five