Month: September 2004

If you are in Japan during a major disaster and need a place to evacuate, do not blindly follow the people in front of you – they are just as lost and clueless as the people in front of them. Follow the homeless, they know the best places to go. Today they are sprawled all over the massage chairs on display at Jusco, our local department store.

Even more news from our future host country this week:
Follow the Leader: Israel and Thailand set an example by arming teachers.
Thailand has followed Israel’s lead by allowing school teachers in the troubled southern areas to pack guns at school. I think this is a great idea – who better to keep our children safe at school than their teachers? When I was young, my dad went to a lecture by Mel Tappan (he recorded it on cassette and I think it’s still in the garage somewhere), and brought back a paperback copy of Survival Guns. I believe that book addressed the issue of school shootings and teachers who packed firearms being the solution to “looney gunmen with AK-47” scenarios (but it might have been a different book; it was a long time ago). A lot of what I know about guns I learned from reading that book from end to end perhaps three or four times overall. My dad was obviously influenced a lot by him as well, as can be seen by the contents of our gun safe at home. I guess I speak of this fondly now mostly because here in Japan, guns are just a fading memory (except for airsoft of course). I now basically go shooting only during visits back home, or on trips to foreign countries.
I wasn’t aware that Thailand was so strict regarding firearms. I’ve been to gun ranges there (and admittedly got gouged with those heinous ammo prices – then again, for being able to try out an Anaconda, a SPAS-12, and an M-16A2, it was worth it), and my girlfriend’s dad apparently has several pieces in the bedroom for home defense. One time he apparently scared the shit out of a guy searching for lizards (to eat!) in the middle of the night. The guy was using a flashlight and when Nam’s dad saw the beam flash by his window, he opened it, pointed a gat at the guy and yelled “who the fuck are you!” The guy went home lizardless and perhaps in need of new shorts. (Now that’s my kind of father-in-law.)
Nam’s brother is going to some military academy in Bangkok as a continuation of his time spent in military training, so perhaps he can get me some range time once in a while. If worst comes to worst, I can get my cordite fix at a pay range somewhere in the vicinity. Whatever happens, I’ll have more of a chance then than I do now, that’s for sure. And that’s a good thing.
Since the last time I read Survival Guns, things sure have gotten fucked up for gun owners back home… I remember being shocked on a trip home a few years back because of the 10-round capacity limit for spare mags. That there’s some stupid shit. I heard that this eventually caused a shortage in supply for the hi-cap mags used for the US military’s M-9 Beretta – troops manually stretching out magazine springs or using ten-rounders because there were no good replacements available. That’s unforgivable in my mind.
How I ended up writing about all this gun shit, I have no idea. I think it must have been building up inside for the past ten years in kamikaze-turned-pacifist land. My term here is almost up, so I’m looking forward to being able to hold something more reassuring than my Spyderco when things go bump in the night (although edged weapons are perhaps more suitable in case of ninja attack).
//
This post was a product of my inner gun nut.
*Props to James Rummel for posting about the National review article.

As a wannabe chef, I might have thought about making a submission to the Carnival of the Recipes #3, a showcase for recipes from all around the blogosphere, but got pretty miffed when I saw the introduction at the top of the page:

This week, we have a lot of great recipes to choose from. I am adding a rule, though – The Carnival of the Recipes will not link to any recipes involving household pets or horses, I don?t care if you live in France or Korea!

I really do not want to offend the author of the page or start any shit, but I’m sorry – that’s sounds racist as hell.
I can understand people being uncomfortable with what is eaten in other countries. Perhaps your tastes different from, say, the Marmot’s. But to specifically name countries (okay, specifically Korea – I don’t give a fuck what anyone says about France anymore and yes that’s my own prejudice speaking) kinda puts people off I think – well, then again the author says she “doesn’t care” so maybe I’m raising this issue for naught… I guess I care. It sounds too much like a dismissal of foreign food and culture. That’s kind of ironic since the author claims that she loves that they “are getting recipes from people all over the world.” So we can pretty much define “their” worldview as excluding cultures that eat horses or animals that Americans consider “pets” (a challenge in itself – I’ve had friends back in the states with pet cows, chickens, fish, sheep, and pigs, among other “acceptable edibles”). I find this a shame, because I really would have liked to share a recipe in the Carnival forum.
Note: If the author ever reads this post (and why should she; I’m a proud fucking nobody!), please do not construe this as a personal attack. I think I know what you were saying; it wasn’t a big “fuck you” to the rest of the world but rather a statement of what you are comfortable with, and I can accept that. I just needed to point out that it sounded kind of harsh from my current station overseas.
UPDATE: Check the comments. I feel really bad about writing this post now, but it would be wrong to take it down. I thought about this for a while, then I replied to Beth and John by e-mail and apologized. My recipe is for humble pie, but I’ll be damned if I can make it the same way twice… The only constant is swallowing your pride first.