My good friend, Andy in Akita (formerly Andy from San Francisco) recently posted and excellently written and succinct article talking about one of the true foibles of America today, namely jingoism, and comparing that with the peaceful attitude of the Japanese.
In spite of what many are going to reply, Andy's sentiments, while not usually put this well, are pretty much agreed upon by most ex-pat American's in this country that I have met.
This lack of aggressive nationalism, Andy says, makes Japan a better place to live... Here he cites one good example of USA jingoism that paints the USA as an extremely nationalistic country... You won't hear any arguments from me:
The Olympic spirit is profoundly dead in America. Remember the Olympic oath, that the competitors are there to participate and the goal is not necessarily to win? But what is the reality? USA - USA - USA chanted out the wazoo. It's sickening, the epitome of jingoism.
On the contrary, Japan's women's soccer team just won the World Cup. Barely anyone here cares. Few people watched, perhaps due to the game being played in Germany and the time zone differences, perhaps because it was a woman's game and not a man's event, but my opinion is that people here are just less jingoistic so they don't care quite so much if Japanese people or teams win a sporting event. Sure, people here would probably enjoy seeing a Japanese person or team winning a sports event. The big difference is that Japanese people are far far less likely to act in a jingoistic manner about winning. On the contrary, when the USA woman's soccer team won in their semi final game, they saluted the government's war jets as they streaked over the stadium. It looked like some propaganda film from Nazi Germany.
Surely, if, as Samuel Johnson says, "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels" (1775) then the USA has much more than her fair share of scoundrels.
"If the truth is that ugly -- which it is -- then we do have to be careful about the way that we tell the truth. But to somehow say that telling the truth should be avoided because people may respond badly to the truth seems bizarre to me." --Chuck Skoro, Deacon, St. Paul's Catholic Church
Up to my ears in stuff to do and the pressure is really on. Just wanted to jot down and observation about blogging that I've made this week... With one tip on how you bloggers can increase access to your blog. Are you sitting down? OK. Here goes:
Sex and sensationalism sells.
No big surprise there. It could be, though, a bit of a let down for some people. I'm sure there are lots of bloggers who were hoping the the perceived younger generation of people that use the internet more frequently than older people who seem to use the old mass media more often might be more interested in truth and details and facts.
Maybe not. I see from several news sources that I frequent, that they are always running funding campaigns because they are always short of money. These are news and opinion sites that, if you delve deeply enough, you can find news and political and economic thought that will change your life. It's such common sense.
But, alas. From judging what has gone on through doing this exercise that I call a "my blog" I can see from experience that:
1) "Sex" in titles of blog posts do well 2) Sensationalistic titles do well 3) Inflammatory titles do pretty well 4) Humor does pretty well 5) Humor performs awesomely well when I add "Sex" with a sensationalist, inflammatory title! Yesterday's Olympics and Sex story was one of the most read posts I've had in a week!
I suppose that this is not a lament. I started this blog as an experiment and it remains that way.
Blogger Hint:
Here's a way to increase hits to your blog when adding photos.
Never use photos with non-decscript titles.
For example: Photo002.jpg is a "No-No!"
I pulled this photo off the internet and renamed it
"Sexy Japanese Babe" that way, when someone searches that,
they will be directed to this blog. No one searches, "Photo002!"
Doing this will increase accesses to your blog.
I guess that with the failing economy and a poor employment situation people look for an escape... I reckon that guys, as they have since the dawn of time, think often with their hormones and not with their brains...
That's OK. Bloggers should understand this. Do we want to be like a politician and go for populist policies? Or do we do what we wanna do?
For this blog, I will be populist as if the title were, "The Truth and Blogging" I would get few readers. Seriously, I'd predict between 30 to 50 in one day for this post. But since I added, "Sex" to the title, I might expect 200 or more. I think many bloggers could benefit from this information.
Oh no! Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara wants to try again for the Olympics to come to Tokyo. We just got lucky and "lost" our last bid a few years ago. Not again! Tokyo is already way too crowded as it is. We don't need the Olympics.
EDDIE MURPHY AND RICK JAMES - PARTY ALL THE TIME
Now, though, I bet Tokyo has a good chance to get the Olympics because of the March 11, disaster because people feel sorry for us.
Please world! Have mercy on us! Don't put the Olympics in Tokyo, send them to someplace really needy... How about Las Vegas? Or Chicago? Or even Compton!
Most people don't know this, but the last time Japan hosted an Olympics, the taxpayers had to foot a $6 billion dollar shortfall. Sounds like fun to me! I'll tell you more about that but first up, Tokyo's Olympic Bid!
Tokyo formally announced its bid to host the 2020 Olympics as a symbol of Japan's determination to recover from the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) president Tsunekazu Takeda on Saturday said that his executive committee had approved Tokyo's bid at a special meeting earlier in the day after the capital failed to capture the 2016 Games.
"Japan must recover from the great earthquake disaster," he told a reception in Tokyo marking the 100th anniversary of the JOC which was attended by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.
"We wish to make the 2020 Olympics a symbol of our recovery."
Tokyo's outspoken governor, Shintaro Ishihara, said as he proposed a toast at the reception: "There is no meaning in fighting a battle that is the Olympic bidding if we don't win it."
"Tokyo won't mind fighting a bloody battle in building facilities. I want the JOC to win a bloody battle (in leading the bid) no matter what."
He also added, "What the heck do I care if we spend tons of taxpayers money? As long as it's not my money, then who cares?" Nah. He didn't actually say that, but I'll bet he thought it.
In 2009, Tokyo lost to Rio de Janeiro in the race to host the 2016 Games, along with Madrid and Chicago.
Hey, isn't this Ishihara Shintaro the same guy who told us that, right after the earthquake and tsunami hit Tohoku, we weren't supposed to drink and celebrate spring and party? Now, he wants us to spend lavishly on the Olympics to impress his friends? Hmmm?
Seriously, I'd much rather drink with friends and celebrate life. Tokyo is way too crowded as it is. We don't need the Olympics.
Anyway, didn't Nagano lose a ton of money by hosting the 1998 Winter Olympics? Wasn't it filled with scandals? Why yes it was. It was $6 billion in debt. Who paid for that? The Japanese tax-payer, of course!
After the games, Nagano was more than $6 billion in debt. The expensive luge and bobsled course was largely unused. One of hockey rink was made into a swimming pool. Other venues had a hard time just coming up with money to cover their maintenance fees.
Yeah. There's a bunch of facilities sitting there unused. Great way to spend the public's money! $6 billion? How much money is that? That's a 6 with 11 zeros and one decimal point behind it.
That's $6,000,000,000.00 dollars in debt!
But there's a lot more fun and games where that came from too!:
Nagano Olympics, Scandals and Money
The Nagano Olympic Committee was accused of being involved in some shady activities. It reportedly took a $200,000 kickback from a Sumitomo Heavy Industries in return for a construction contract. There was also an investigation of a mysterious deposit of $230,000 into the account of Italian Olympic committee member who inexplicably voted for Nagano instead of Valle d'Aoasta in his own country.
Simple clerical errors, I'm sure.
"I'm shocked. Shocked. I tell you!"
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, one of the richest men in the world in the 1980s, had a personal dream of bringing the Olympics to Nagano, which was his home town and contains a number of hotels and ski resorts owned by him. According to one report met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Antonio Samarach in a Tokyo hotel and offered him $20 million to finance his pet project an Olympic museum, in return for help to bring the games to Nagano.
When the IOC visited Nagano, members were given first class plane tickets and welcomed with sushi feasts, geishas and luxurious hot baths. The bill alone for Samarach’s two week stay in Nagano was $80,000. The Nagano committee not only spent lavishly in Nagano they spent just as much and sent a 1,000-member team in 1991 to Birmingham, where the voting for 1998 games took place.
Olympic Paaaaaaarty in town! Woo-hoo! How many ho's in da house? Say Yeah! Yeaaaaaaaah!
Don't let this happen to you!
On the eve of the voting, all the I.O.C. members were invited to a huge estate outside Birmingham for a banquet of sushi, piled on little miniature boats, and prepared by one of Britain’s most famous sushi chefs. The Nagano committee says it spent $18 million on its bid, other estimated the true figure was around $65 million.
So, what's yer point?
Steve "Poots" Candidus sends the the winning design for the
Tokyo Olympics logo of 2020!
When the Nagano Olympic committee was asked to produce documents relating to the scandals and a $28 million deficit, the committee said the 90 volumes of carefully-maintained accounting books had mysterious disappeared. What happened to the books remained a mystery until 1999, when the Salt Lake City Olympic scandal broke, and Nagano committee vice secretary-general Sumikazu Yamaguchi admitted, "I ordered them burned. I didn't want the I.O.C. members to feel uncomfortable." One reason why the Salt Lake City Olympic committee engaged in corrupt practices to get the Olympics for 2002 is because it felt it lost an earlier bid to Nagano because Nagano spent more money and gave more expensive gifts to IOC members than it did.
Cool! Burning books too? Wow! These Olympics had it all! Scandals, corruption, bribery, wild parties, hot baths, decadence, sex, Geishas, sushi, miniature boats and now burning books and even Mormons from Salt Lake City!? Supreme! With a great line up of activities like this, we can even invite some high-ranking Nazi's to the festivities! Now wouldn't that make it fashionable?
Wow! Think about it! Just make sure we have lots of hot babes, Japanese and foreign, some SS Nazi officers and this would make a great Hollywood movie script!!!!
Gee. On second thought, this Olympics idea-business sounds like a real exercise in, er, "honesty and fair play."
I change my mind. I'm all for it! What do you think?
I briefly mentioned this at the end of my Olympics rant, but have since, received more information:
Jim Richards from the Jim Richards Showgram, of Toronto's radio station NEWSTALK 1010, will be broadcasting his show this Friday, live from Vancouver, with special guest host, George Stroumboulopoulos. I've been told they may be discussing/watching the Men's hockey finals.
As well as George being on the show, one of Jim's guests will be B.C. Premier, Gordon Campbell. I think I'll give it a listen to see just what our Premier will weigh in on, in regards to the Olympics. If you're interested in tuning in on-line you can go to the NEWSTALK 1010 website & click on the "Listen Live" button. The show runs this Friday, Feb. 26, between 1pm - 4pm EST.
"Ladies & Gentlemen, Children of all Ages (& for the rest of the ages)....Welcome to the Greatest Expenditures on Record!"
From one B.C.er's perspective: It's hard to hear & see everything going on, while the ringmasters hold center stage & shout their boasting of what sights & events lay ahead: "We will be amazed, entertained & quite possibly shocked, but OH, won't it be wonderful?! We'll cherish the memories for years!" At least, that's what we're supposed to take from all the smoke & mirrors delivered to us via government & corporations.
Don't get me wrong, I fully enjoy & respect athletes for their abilities, their dedication, their individual & National pride, however, it's hard to view these Winter Games only for the love of sports, yet turn a blind eye from the negative impacts B.C./Canada has suffered & will continue to do so for many years to come. If only I could just wave my flag, cheer for my hometown guys & gals, and pretend that 'this' is what the Olympics are all about! I love our athletes & if I were of a religious nature, I would say God-Bless them. They are, without a doubt, definitely 'doing us proud'!
On a few other positive notes; it's infectious & enjoyable to get caught up in the excitement of the competitions. To converse with friends & strangers over medal standings, observations, the stories behind the athletes....that in itself, is gold. Then I must mention the world-class venues built for the host city & her athletes of 2010, to be utilized & enjoyed by future hopefuls. It's feels pretty great to have something so new & shiny...I get that.
Now, back to the ugliness of it all. The underlying costs, greediness & undemocratic nature of this beast. Now, I may have my facts off from actual figures, but I'm pretty sure I'm close.... 2% of the B.C. population were given the right to vote whether or not to host these Games, of which, they obviously won, by approx. 60/40. The voters were actual Vancouverites, not citizens of Vancouver's 25 surrounding communities, nor the populations held on Vancouver Island or the cohabitants of the remaining 4 large regions of B.C. I can pretty well assure you, had the rest of the Province had a say, or even just a few more of those communities, you would not be watching this year's Olympics in Vancouver. A democratic vote? Not bloody likely.
OK, so now onto the projected spending. I seriously cannot type those words without yelling a "HAH!" out loud. In 2006, it was reported that approx 2.5 billion dollars would be spent on 2010 Olympics....spending to date: an estimated 6 BILLION dollars! Short term tourists spending is projected to be close to one billion & oh, let's not forget about future international attraction coming to B.C. We may just get this paid off in a few decades! And lastly, for now, the corporations or as they prefer to be named; "The Sponsors". Let's see....35 corporate sponsors are named the "Official Sponsors" & for receiving exclusive marketing rights, we are bestowed with their blasting of products & services. VANOC will make damned sure of that! To the point of ridiculousness, I say. A small example: Vancouver's Public Library employees were told that if they were hosting any kind of gathering/event for businesses, other than the sponsors, that all logos had to be completely hidden or covered. Fines for not following these procedures were 'implied'. Another: Very minimal food/refreshments were available on Cypress mountain, for the hundreds of spectators that waited for hours to even get to the venue. Mostly because of the red-tape unofficial vendors had to go through to provide a service for this International crowd. Families with children, ended up turning around and missing their ticketed events, to ensure their kids some nourishment. Businesses all over Olympic areas were bullied & threatened legally by these sponsors over such things as selling their hamburgers, with the name: 'hamburger'. Instead having to get creative by selling this item using a different name, such as, 'buffalo sandwich', which I'm sure, did not appeal to most. Since when did McDonald's have the exclusive right over the word, hamburger?
Don't even get me started on the statement the government made, promising the world, the "Greenest" Olympics yet! Lets just ask David Suzuki, shall we?
I'm sorry if I've rained on your Olympics parade, but this to me, has been more about a corporate marketing circus & the all-mighty dollar. "Go Canada Go"........"Do YOU believe?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Speaking of the Olympics:
Jim Richards from the Jim Richards Showgram, of Toronto's radio station NEWSTALK 1010, will be broadcasting his show this Friday, live from Vancouver, with special guest host, George Stroumboulopoulos. I've been told they may be discussing/watching the Men's hockey finals.
It's the middle of August, how's your summer going? Having fun yet? There's always fun going on around the Stromboulopouli, make sure you come back on Wednesday, when Barb puts Tracy in our own 2:20 hot seat!
This week on the Strombo Show:
Orginally scheduled to appear on last week's show, George Stroumboulopoulos welcomes Slipknot into the newly renovated Edge studios and Alex returns for another week. Make sure you check out The Strombo Show! Facebook Group and the Strombo Show website for more information and fun stuff from the show!
( This is indeed a clock that runs counter clockwise. You can buy one here.)
Due to the second week of heavy Olympic coverage, The Hour will only broadcast sporadically over the next week. According to the CBC schedule, you can catch The Hour on the CBC Main Network and CBC Newsworld during the wee morning hours of August 18-21.
The new season will premiere next month on Monday, September 15, so if you're planning to be in Toronto that week, make sure you order your tickets for the first few shows of Season Five. You can order your tickets through The Hour's website. Cheers!
The studio at The Edge is all nice and renovated now and look nothing like in the picture I took of George on air this winter... Can't wait until George is back in that studio. Not this Sunday though, there will likely be a Best of The Strombo Show... Last I heard George was still on the road heading back to TO.
Sunday August 3 The Strombo Show is Live(?) from 5-8Pm EST on 102.1 The Edge (Toronto), 99.3 The Fox (Vancouver), Power 97 (Winnipeg), Y108 (Hamilton), and FM96 (London)
Monday August 4 Look back at the interview with writer/comedian Ricky Gervais on The Hour. Ricky is starring in, Ghost Town coming out this September. Also on the show Sebastian Horsley
Tuesday Aug 5 Alan Alda is timeless , I think MASH is as funny today as it was when it first aired.
Look back at Richards Branson talking with George, now see what he just revealeda few days ago...
This a song called 'Pick Yur Nose' from Ani DiFranco who is on The Hour this night.
