Unit 9 Report

First, I should warn you that I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan and I loved that Lorelai turned her living room into Asia to cheer up Rory!

OK - now that I have shown my true level of dorkiness, on to the serious stuff!

Tokyo is one place I have always wanted to visit. I really wish I would have had a study abroad opportunity at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Information Science and Technology! I especially admire the goals they outlined for the department. They have a mission statement that, I believe, is inline with the future of technology and they keep their students connected with people in the technology industry. In fact, looking over their course list makes me want to learn Japanese and get a PhD from their department!

The National Library of China's main sites were surprisingly in English! However, I started poking around and browsing the exhibits to find everything in Chinese. The NDL's site was, from what I can tell from my poking around, is entirely in English - even the exhibits I browsed through. It is interesting to see how so many areas of the world speak English as well as their native language. I wish our country had more of a focus on becoming bi-lingual early on in one's education.

It's good to here that the Japanese royal family averted a "crisis" by having a male heir! :( The other side to the story is what the royal family has done to Princess Masako - the poor woman has had to give up her very impressive diplomatic career in order to focus on giving birth to male heir (because it's so in her control - sarcasm added here) and has been diagnosed with a stress disorder from all the pressure!

I love Wikipedia's definition on the meaning of 'Baidu'! One is often presented with meaning obstacles while searching for information! I also think that Baidu will become more and more popular once people realize that they offer MP3 searches - something Google should definitely be working on if they want to keep their lead in this market! They even look like Google with their very simple interface! There was so much media coverage on how Google restricted information in China - I wonder if Baidu restricts information as well?

I love the images Beijing is using for the Olympics! It seems like they have truly embeded their culture as well as respect for the tradition of the olympics. heir mascots are great:

However, I do NOT like the fact that China censors information and the way they treat their workers. I hope that holding the Olympics in Beijing will encourage China to change some of their laws.

Solar power is something that should be pursued immediately. We're wasting the Earth's resources and we are running out. I think Japan would do a great service to the world if their Solar Powered Space Station is successful and I hope it can be done before 2040. I had no idea that this was going on! I know that the US uses up most of the world's energy resources, even though we don't have as many citizens as, say, China. Because of this, I think it is our responsibility to pursue alternative energy resources. However, Japan seems to be taking the lead - I'm glad someone is realizing that we need solar power and alternative energy sources!

The information on China's Cultural Revolution was actually really scary for me. The socialists said they were allowing freedom of speech, more than the Chinese had ever had before, in fact, so long as the information was inline with their beliefs! The scariest part for me was not just the fact that the government wanted everyone to think the same way and have the same beliefs, but they messed with people's education - and that always makes me angry! The 'Down to the Country Movement' was awful and it makes me very sad to think about China's 'Lost Generation'. I can't imagine being sent away from school and having 10 years of intellectual people not receiving an education!

As for Jiang Qing - I found an article on Wikipedia on 'Becoming Madame Mao' that talks about the historical novel on Qing's life. Jiang Qing had a really hard life and difficult childhood! It made me wonder about her state of mental health when she got involved with Mao. Also, what I didn't know was that she REALLY wanted to be named her husband's successor and was quite angry when she wasn't. She was loyal to him for so long (even though what they did was VERY wrong) that you would think he would have given her some power. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason she wasn't named his successor was because she was a woman.

From the Wikipedia links (which are great!) I found a site on Li Zhensheng, a Chinese photojournalist who captured images of the Cultural Revolution - very cool! I will be posting more on Blackboard so that the class gets to see these images. Check out this picture from one of Mao's required rallies:


There were so many people there and this is only from one commune! And here's a picture of Wang Yilun being denounced as a 'Black Gang' member:



Mao had so much power over the minds of his people - it's frightening to think of the influence he had over their thoughts and beliefs. And for one final, scary image, here is a picture of school children marching with SPEARS!

Everything we read about the cultural revolution horrified me! I did enjoy looking through Time's piece on the cultural revolution. I can't imagine how hard it must be to move forward, given China's history. After looking through the Photo piece on the Middle class, I have to say that their ideas of 'Middle' class seem a lot different than ours. But I'm glad they're moving forward and growing in business and culture. They even have Ikea! I also looked at some pictures on 'Old Beijing' that had some great pictures of old China and how this part isn't being preserved for historical purposes; instead it is being destroyed to make way for "New China". (I found it via the Table of Contents but it was listed under 'Tibetan Buddhism' instead of next to the 'Back Alley' page as the Photo Essay -- the links are switched). I have included a picture of an old woman walking through her neighborhood - the caption says that she is looking at all of the destroyed homes and wondering if hers will be next!


On a lighter subject, I am very interested in alternative healing techniques. My fiancee is homeopathic and I have tried the Bach Flower remedies for stress (Rescue Remedy is excellent). I have also seen an herbalist and a holistic therapist. I also have to add that Collodial Silver works like a charm for a sore throat! For me, medecine is should NOT always be about pumping me full of antibiotics or steroids or other medecines. Unless I am incredibly sick, I don't take prescription medicines. I really believe that the mind, body, and soul are connected and if one piece is sick, it affects the other pieces (which is one reason why I do yoga). I love that this part of the world is involved with alternative medecines!

Distributing information about alternative medicine is different from doing so with Western medicine. For one thing, it doesn't fit the rules of clinical trials. Holistic healing and homeopaths are diagnosed on a case-by-case basis - so just because two people have the same illness, doesn't mean they will get the same treatment or remedy. Thus, it is hard to treat the results scientifically. Because of this, I think a lot of alternative medicines get discussed via word of mouth. And unfortunately, if you don't know someone engaging in these therapies, I don't think it is very likely that you will try it. I think a lot of cancer patients try alternative medicine when Western medicine doesn't help them - actually, I think people in general turn to alternative medicine when Western medicine fails them. That's how I got into it - I had some really severe digestive problems and nothing seemed to help until I saw an herbalist. I changed my diet, exercise plan, and even my sleep habits before I got better.

I must admit that I enjoy my own share of manga! Whenever we get a lull at work (or if I'm stressed out from classes) I will flip through the SILS library's graphic novel selections. I've read everything from Wonder Woman to a graphic novel collection we have that makes fun of our president (the name of which is escaping me, but I believe it somehow compares him with chimpanzees). :) What I really enjoy is anime. Anime is really manga that is successful enough to be made into a cartoon - and I think here a lot of kids enjoy anime. My little brother (he's 7) watches Dragon Ball Z which is an example of manga turned anime:

I think adults and children alike can't resist the vibrant colors of anime. Also, my fiancee and I got really involved in a game called Kingdom Hearts (both I and II) which is a type of anime that involves Disney characters. The game was a lot of fun! We played it together over the summer.

Graphic novels aren't really a new way to get information, just an old way revised. I think they're essentially comic books for grown-ups. It's a fun way to pass the time and keep the kid in you alive (as are video games)! It's the new book - a picture book for adults. It is a way to get out information and it is also something that one can really appreciate when you hold the book in your hand - digitized graphic novels just aren't the same!

The issue of censorship in China is nothing but bad. However, the Internet companies (Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, etc.) are in hard positions - yes, they should abide by the rules of the country, but what if the rules are just wrong? What if all of this global corporations banned together and said 'We're not going to censor!' - what would the government do? Would they just keep ALL information away from its citizens? Look at Wikipedia - they're not censoring and the government is allowing access! (Jimmy Wales is SERIOUSLY becoming one of my personal heros). It's right there with Cuba - the government should not have control over the minds of citizens - EVER. People should always be given access to information!

Japan's vending machines are, for the most part, awesome! Japanese vending machines are so popular they even have their own section on Wikipedia's Vending Machine page! I love the idea of having vending machines for as many things as possible - for instance, I was camping in the Blue Ridge over fall break and boy would I have LOVED to run in to a toilet paper vending machine! Also, the 'charge your mobile phone' vending machine seemed to be quite useful! Some of them, however, were a bit ridiculous - Hello Kitty popcorn, are they serious? And eggs! I'll get my eggs at the grocery store! Wikipedia says they even have 'Live Bettle' and 'Lobster' vending machines - some things should just be left to either nature or the grocery store!

The videos were, as always, a lot of fun EXCEPT for some of the China videos. I watched videos on Mao and they even show that his body is in Tiananmen Square! I could have done without that image!

Also relating to this area of the world is the Harajuku district of Japan. I'm not sure if you've heard about it but Wikipedia has a very informative page on it. Harajuku is an area of Japan known for its street performers and outlandishly dressed teenagers. (Gwen Stefani even dedicated an album to her 'Americanized' version of the Harajuku girls). Their styles are so funky - they are more the 'punk rock' kind of kids! This website has some information on Japanese Lifestyle as it relates to Harajuku.


I enjoyed reading about China and Japan. They are definitely areas of the world that I want to visit - especially Tokyo (I want some new electronics!). The censorship issues and the Cultural Revolution in China were frightening, and it seems like China is moving forward. I just hope they stop trying to censor information!