GammaGlobulin

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

snatch

Is this a British colloquialism?

This never happens in Japan.

1 hour ago, Prubangboy said:

My English teacher friend there tells me that companies stopped subsidizing English classes.

 

And that like most of Asia, Japan has become more inward-looking and nationalistic.

 

English-speaking also became less fashionable. This is sad only on the women side of the equation.

Who knows...

The Japanese language may yet become the Lingua Franca for the entire world, including India and China.

4 hours ago, still kicking said:

My nephew just came back from Japan (he is Thai) and he complained Japanese people refusing to speak English, I must add he speaks perfect English and spend 8 years in Australia.

When writing in English, grammar is paramount if one wishes to communicate clearly.

English grammar is difficult.

Japanese grammar is equally difficult, maybe.

These days, maybe due to social media, so many of us continue to lose the ability to write grammatically correct sentences.

But, still, I do not complain, much...

Just a sign of the times, I guess....

1 hour ago, fondue zoo said:

 

wait, which one is low brow again?

 

never mind, bodily functions, humiliation etc. Well, there goes 85% of poster material right there.

 

 

I actually happen to agree with you, wholeheartedly.

I have never much appreciated lowbrow humor.

When one chooses to go lowbrow, one completely loses the part of humor that keeps us entertained.

Humans, most of us, anyway, were born with brains.

Unfortunately, some human brains atrophy more quickly than other human brains.

Keep the humor intellectually stimulating, and I will be satisfied.

Or, what I really mean is to keep the humor intellectually provocative.

Of Course, as everybody knows, I have always loved TV.

And then, TV became ASEAN NOW.

So, what about if TV were to become even more inclusive, to name itself ASEAN-NOW And JAPAN?

The logic behind this is that there are many, MANY people from Japan living in Thailand, and the Japanese love Thailand.

Also, there are many, MANY Farang who live in Thailand and also spend VASTS Amounts of time in Japan.

And, there are many, MANY Farang who have already lived in Japan for decades, but who now live in Thailand.

Also, Thai people love cleanliness, and love to take at least two showers per day.

And, likewise, the Japanese people love cleanliness, and often enjoy two baths per day.

There are just so many similarities between the two countries, Thailand and Japan.

This is why, logically, it might be a BOON to TV to add JAPAN to the Forum Mix, and even demonstrate this addition by adding JAPAN to the name of the forum

I can say without doubt, and in all sincerity, and based on my many years experience in Asia, both SE Asia and East Asia, that Thailand and Japan are the ONLY two countries which I would consider for retirement, and for living a long and fruitful life, not to mention a happy existence, as well.

In addition, passa Thai is one of the most difficult of languages to learn, and not to be outdone by the Japanese language in this respect.

First, one can beat one's head against the wall learning passa Thai.

Second, one can move to Japan and beat one's head against the wall learning passa Japanese.

This is a win-win language experience for almost anybody.

There are many commenters here either from Japan and now in Thailand, or those who have moved from Japan to Thailand, that might find some sort of SUB-FORUM on TV which is reserved for Japan-related Topics.

Why discriminate against the Japanese, especially now that WW2 is almost a forgotten experience for all but the oldest commenters on TV?

Sure.

I realize that most of my ideas are not good.

Yet, sometimes, when I least expect it, I am blessed with a good idea, out of the blue.

Or, maybe this idea, too, is just NG.

For sure, I have much to say about my experiences in Tokyo in the early 1970s, my experiences often visiting Okinawa and the southern string of islands in the 80s, 90s, and the following decades.

Especially, the baths, because I do have many good memories of the Japanese baths, the snow-monkey macaques bathing with me, and so much more.

I could probably write interesting Topics for days and days, just about some of my experiences in Japan during past decades.

I might start a personal blog concerning my personal reminiscences, but why bother?  And, who would read it, anyway?

Would it not be better to have a place on TV for me to add my thoughts about Japan, for all to read..."all my friends" to read, is my meaning.

So many questions I now have,

And, so little time....

Best to YOU....

Gamma Globule

In one important respect, this Topic recalls to my mind this great classic film:

NOW, will you finally rise to take the bait?

Or, is this just too abstruse?

On 11/4/2023 at 9:28 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe you had to get used to a wheelchair

Wheelchairs can be LOTS of fun...

It all boils down to one's willingness to enjoy the wheelchair.

I lived in a wheelchair for 9 months....and....those...were...

The VERY best years of my life.

The only problem with being in a wheelchair, as far as I can recall, was....

The curbing on Thailand's pavements....

What I mean is that most of the curbing is so HIGH that it is not so easy to tool around in a wheelchair....

I have PLENTY of stories to tell about life in a wheelchair in BOTH Taiwan and Thailand....

This would make a WONDERFUL Topic, I think....

However, at the moment, I seem to have less inclination to start new Topics, since moving to Kyoto.

I really think that our society here should exert more effort to make wheelchair life MUCH more pleasurable for those in wheelchairs.

I could write TONS of text about my experiences being in a wheelchair in Thailand....

For one thing, MOST people just are almost completely unable to truly empathize with those who live in wheelchairs, as if they even tried.....

So many times, I needed to wait outside a restaurant...trying to get the attention of the staff...just to come outside to take my order, while waiting on the road.

Also, when one is in a wheelchair, it's not possible to reach things on the upper shelves in the house.  Those things just remain out of reach.

STILL, as I already stated, these things are but minor inconveniences....

Importantly, the MIND quickly adjusts....

And, one quickly returns to one's own "happiness" SET POINT...and...therefore....

Just being in a wheelchair does not, in fact, much affect one's own personal perception of HAPPINESS in Life.

I know a LOT about this topic.

Maybe I could become sort of an....AMBASSADOR for the wheelchair-bound, now that I am finally walking upright, again...

I think that most guys in wheelchairs will agree with what I have just stated....

In REAL TERMS, wheelchair life only MINIMALLY affects perception of "happiness" and pleasure,....

Whatever that might be....

IF you want to know more about this subject, just ask, and I will try to post a Topic about it, ASAP, when I have the time.....

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

Noodle-folding

This is the first I have heard of it.

Live and Learn on TV, I guess.

4 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

the Japanese have such an advantage over us with their background in Origami.

Perhaps they do....

But, so far, the Japanese have not found a way to fold NATTO....

Enjoy, if you will, and at your own risk...

9 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

imaginary folding

Imaginary folding of PROTEINS is important work requiring supercomputers.

When I was younger, I could fold proteins in my head, just as some perform complicated math problems in their heads.

Protein folding is important work that could lead to new drugs.....

And, new drugs, is food for the head, too.

2 minutes ago, a3tsw said:

I have arrived in Otaru , Hokkaido , Japan yesterday from Phuket , today is a National holiday , there are many people out in the parks and hiking on the trails as the weather is glorious and the trees are a multiple of colours as the leaves begin to fall. You need to ditch the books and venture outdoors if you wish to meet your dream companion..Good Luck.

Sure. 

The young Japanese might be hiking. 

However, would it not be better if they were procreating? 

How hard can it be? 

Even Missionary Style... 

The BIG question is... 

Would it be possible to keep your Wormhole open, if you were to be a time traveler? 

If you were to read the book, From Eternity to Here, then you might know. 

Additionally, Sean speaks to the question of Free Will. 

In other words, why am I now in Kyoto, instead of Thailand? 

Also, Sean elucidates the importance of LIGHT CONES as we traverse SPACETIME, from the moment we are born. 

He talks about the Time Arrow.... 

Concerning the Arrow of Time, Japanese culture is now something of the past. 

These days, Japanese culture has been replaced by concrete. 

And so, once a country has lost its culture, then why would young people wish to procreate? 

Maybe this is why the testes of young Japanese continue to shrivel. 

2 minutes ago, 2baht said:

 

     I thought you might be into Timothy Leary or Jack Kerouac? Some of your posts are pretty"out there"!

Tim was a nitwit. 

I am more interested in SPACETIME, actually... 

1 hour ago, 2baht said:

 

     At last! A sensible post from GG! 

Here in Japan, it's so boring. 

So boring that I am now reading Sean Carroll's books. 

This is the beauty of living a solitary existence in one of the most boring countries in the world. 

I am now reading this Caltech professor's book about Eternity. 

Pretty interesting. 

When I get to the Kyoto countryside, I will have more to say. 

Reading Sean Carroll is pure bliss. 

He's a mixture of Kurt V., and Slaughter House 5.

Years ago, in Japan, I really enjoyed the aroma of nightsoil. 

But, now, Japan is just too clean for my liking. 

The culture here is almost completely unrecognizable. 

Entropy is just so interesting to me, these days... 

Thank you for your comment, because.... 

All foreigners feel lonely in Japan. 

KYOTO! 

I'm LOVING it. 

My old stomping grounds! 

Not a rooster here to be found!!! 

But, pachinko, aplenty! 

The sounds of steel balls, here, is worse than the roosters. 

Truth be told, I am, already, missing, so much, Thailand. 

I think that I made the worst decision in my life... coming to Japan. 

Thailand culture is warm. 

Japan culture is cold. 

Also, comparatively, the food here... Stinks!

And, my room here in Kyoto is only about 6 tatami. 

Next month, I will move outside the city... And I hope to find a farmhouse to live in a village with an average age of 78...

There are not many children here being born. IMHO, Japan should radically revise its immigration policy to welcome more Chinese people. 

Being here in Kyoto, at this moment, what bothers me most... is the recent passing of Jeff Beck. 

25 years ago, when Jeff Beck performed in Tokyo, Japan was still ALIVE. 

But now, all around me, wherever you might go, all you here is pachinko. And pachinko is just the sound of old men. 

I am old enough to recall a far better and more vibrant Japan, over 50 years ago. 

I recall Yokohama, for example, in 1970. 

But now, the demographics and the culture has changed. 

Even the communal baths here are NOT the same! 

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Wow, good luck Japan is in the top ten most expensive places in the world.  But, I am sure you are wealthy so it should not be a problem. 

Japan is not expensive if you are able to be satisfied with mostly noodles. 

Buckwheat noodles are the best in Japan. 

In Japan, when dining, portion size is about 0.25 of American dishes. 

Also, living down on the docks in Yokohama can be cheaper than you might think.. 

After I arrive in Japan, I will commit more time to my research of Yukio Mishima. 

Spring Snow is the most beautiful book I have ever read. 

Cherry blossoms and falling snow. 

A bridge over a brook. 

Parasols. 

Students in uniform. 

A Japan before The Great War. 

I will find it. 

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

snuggle board

Does anyone know what a snuggle board might be? 

And, where to buy? 

I will need one while in Japan. 

Thank you. 

1 minute ago, sipi said:

Gorgeous. 

Also, I would like to ask. 

Why cannot I become a minimalist? 

I am not a pathological hoarder. 

But, last time I moved from China to Thailand, I was charged an arm and a leg for many boxes and crates. 

And then, many of my boxes and crates became totally crushed and destroyed in transit after the Chinese guys stuffed everything into one 40 foot container. 

Maybe I should become more like Gandhi...? 

Just a wheel to spin cotton, and no more. 

Plus a few young virgins to lay with me. 

But only with a snuggle board between. 

Thank Goodness! 

I just found it. 

However, while searching, I was reminded just how pitiful my life is compared to the great expatriates of the 1920s, living in Paris. 

Some say that Thailand is the Paris of the East. 

Paris Hilton