Today is Saturday, Janurary 10th, 2009 and it is now 3:02 PM here in the Philippines.
Music wise? Today it is an all 80s block, although nice variation in genres. First up, a band called "Giant." the had a couple of albums but only one charting single, "I'll See You In My Dreams," which is one of those great "Power-Ballads" that was so common the mid to late 80s, espeically with "Hair Bands," although Giant was by no means a hair band. Sadly, this song got overlooked by most even though it did manage to get on the Billboard 100:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug0X6cJDDM
Next up, a new age artist who really did not fit that whole "New Wave" mold. He certainly had nothing in common with the likes of Devo or Camera Club: Nick Kershaw, great guitarist to boot. He had one hit, fantstic song, "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and this video was from "Top of the Pops," a UK show old music show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSxKngEsHDg
Books? "Napolean's Buttons: 17 Molecules That changed History" by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson. Non-Fiction obviously, and uses great examples to show the reader just how simple chemistry matters have changed life for almost everyone on the planet.
The title refers to the chemical composition of the buttons on the French uniforms under Napolean Bonaparte as he invaded Russia during Russian portion of the so called "Napoleanic Wars," although the Russians' tend to call it "The First Patriotic War." Russians have a tendency to call invasions "Patriotic Wars."
He initially had 600,000 men in his army, but by the time he reached the Beresina River in Borisov he had a mere 8,000 and change. Most had died from the cold, as well as hunger. In any event, the cold was so brutal because of their lack of protection.
The buttons on their uniforms were made of tin, and eventually those buttoms succumbed to what was and is know as "Tin Disease," which is actually just a chemical reaction due to fluctuations in tempretaure.
The book also talks about some psychoactives, etc. and is really interesting on a few levels and anyone with an interest in basic chemistry will probablly enjoy the tome.
The second book is one I have read once before, " E=MC2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation" by David Bodanis. As the title suggests, it discusses Einstein's famed "Theory of Relativity."
I have family in the media (you know after all, what they say about Jews and the media, right? Hahahah), and as a result I often get their cast offs. They get tons of free books and preview copies, meaning I get them almost always prior to publication which is of course fantastic.
So, this book came bundled in a set of 2, the other book a second work, "Einstein In Love" by Dennis Overbye. I will spare you, loyal reader, a soul stirring synopsis because I know that If I were to do so you would probablly become so inflamed, your heart absolutely a flutter that you will then become unable to digest the rest of my thrilling posts.
The title of today's entry is a tongue in cheek salute to the most often phrase used for "Bathroom" here in the Philippines, "Comfort Room." Interesting how words develop and change. It sounds like some kind of "hospitality centre," right?
Translation into English is also an ironic aspect. Japanese used to call sex slaves "Comfort Women." Indeed we have an elderly aunt who was used and abused here during the Japanese occupation of this island during WWII.
To meander a bit, during the war, the Japanese used to draft women into bordellos of varying classifications, some only to be used for pleasure of officers, etc.
Virginity is an extremely sensitive issue in this country, with most non-virgins finding it impossible to have normal lives although today that is certainly changing rather rapidly as a result of more and more globalisation thanks to the likes of America and its bland "McDonald's" culture.
Entire villages were bereft of their women because of this despicable pratice, and it actually effected some of the more northerly islands even more than it did us. Plenty of other atrocities as well but then many already know about this and my getting into it would REALLY send this thread into another one of those tailspins (like the kinds engendered by my giving sheaves of historical info. and context).
2 other very amazing issues "sort of" connected to the generals scope of Japenese on this island during WWII:
Here on Mindanao we have a handful of Japanese WWII soldiers who never left! They married local women, after the war (it was illegal by Japanese Law to marry inferior races, yes, just like Nazis they too were through and through racists, many still are but THAT is yet another "meandering "issue).
In the rather rapid withdrawal/retreat from Mindanao some managed to stay behind, others were inadvertantly left behind - or otherwise intentionally left here to carry on as rear harriers (guerillas whose Objective was to hamper Allied efforts at pursuit as well as consolidation of both the island as well as other nearby isles).
This is the only place that I have ever heard of where ex brutal occupational personel have married AND STAYED WITH THE LOCAL SOCIETY without some kind of major ideological shift, etc. Imagine for example Nazi or even Wehrmacht soldiers in Poland who married local Polish women and who were not then recipients of revenge by one or another relative or even victims themselves!
The second issue is the Japanese who purposefully OR inadvertantly remained separated and behind from the larger Japense force and who ended up living in the jungles for 30 or 40 years trying to kill people because of a mistaken belief that the war had never ended! We had a couple found here as recently as 1992!
In fact, and this is truly amazing, in the summer of 2007 the Japense Govt. sent a team here, to the mountains north of Gen San (General Santos City which is on the extreme southern tip of the island) and tried to locate 2 such men! Imagine almost 50 years in the deep bush, in tattered unifroms, or even naked!
Some have been found near here, but apart from our island they have been found on Borneo, other Indonesian and Malaysian islands, as well as some more southerly Pacific islands. Whatever else they were, the Japanese were very good and ambitious soldiers in WWII.
I would have thought though, that between illegal loggers, communist AND Islamist guerillas, that any such men in the bush would have come to light long ago. We are home, on this island, to the world's single longest civil war as well as the world's longest lasting communist insurgency AS WELL AS the world's longest lasting Islamist insurgency! the groups themselves are often centered in our mostly unexplored jungles here.
Of the 18 million people on Mindnao almost all live on the coasts, and a tad but along the National Hiway which is the only real atrery on the island. It is a very large island, but largely unexplored and uncharted.
Because of logging and mining there are bush tracks, but they only run a few kilometers here, a few there, and almost none are mapped.
Until about 8 years ago in fact National Hiway was rarely even paved for more than 2 or 3 kilometers and even then merely in the most populated of spots. Now it is paved all the way through and still travel is NEVER congested on what is almost always one lane (except in Davao CIty when it is a 2 lane road).
In those old days (8 years is "old days" hahaha) one either took a pump steamer, or rarely a gas engined boat up the main rivers OR alterantively a raft which was poled down the river , or small outriggers which were and are still primarily ocean going craft. The rafts, flat bottomed jobs were usually manned by Lumad (animist Tribals) and very rarely a Bisaya or Muslim villagers
The Hiway though is also a curse, even if it allows travel during Monsoon whereas before we were stuck in our villages for 4 months out of the year by impassable dirt tracks...
I will contunue later..
Music wise? Today it is an all 80s block, although nice variation in genres. First up, a band called "Giant." the had a couple of albums but only one charting single, "I'll See You In My Dreams," which is one of those great "Power-Ballads" that was so common the mid to late 80s, espeically with "Hair Bands," although Giant was by no means a hair band. Sadly, this song got overlooked by most even though it did manage to get on the Billboard 100:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iug0X6cJDDM
Next up, a new age artist who really did not fit that whole "New Wave" mold. He certainly had nothing in common with the likes of Devo or Camera Club: Nick Kershaw, great guitarist to boot. He had one hit, fantstic song, "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and this video was from "Top of the Pops," a UK show old music show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSxKngEsHDg
Books? "Napolean's Buttons: 17 Molecules That changed History" by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson. Non-Fiction obviously, and uses great examples to show the reader just how simple chemistry matters have changed life for almost everyone on the planet.
The title refers to the chemical composition of the buttons on the French uniforms under Napolean Bonaparte as he invaded Russia during Russian portion of the so called "Napoleanic Wars," although the Russians' tend to call it "The First Patriotic War." Russians have a tendency to call invasions "Patriotic Wars."
He initially had 600,000 men in his army, but by the time he reached the Beresina River in Borisov he had a mere 8,000 and change. Most had died from the cold, as well as hunger. In any event, the cold was so brutal because of their lack of protection.
The buttons on their uniforms were made of tin, and eventually those buttoms succumbed to what was and is know as "Tin Disease," which is actually just a chemical reaction due to fluctuations in tempretaure.
The book also talks about some psychoactives, etc. and is really interesting on a few levels and anyone with an interest in basic chemistry will probablly enjoy the tome.
The second book is one I have read once before, " E=MC2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation" by David Bodanis. As the title suggests, it discusses Einstein's famed "Theory of Relativity."
I have family in the media (you know after all, what they say about Jews and the media, right? Hahahah), and as a result I often get their cast offs. They get tons of free books and preview copies, meaning I get them almost always prior to publication which is of course fantastic.
So, this book came bundled in a set of 2, the other book a second work, "Einstein In Love" by Dennis Overbye. I will spare you, loyal reader, a soul stirring synopsis because I know that If I were to do so you would probablly become so inflamed, your heart absolutely a flutter that you will then become unable to digest the rest of my thrilling posts.
The title of today's entry is a tongue in cheek salute to the most often phrase used for "Bathroom" here in the Philippines, "Comfort Room." Interesting how words develop and change. It sounds like some kind of "hospitality centre," right?
Translation into English is also an ironic aspect. Japanese used to call sex slaves "Comfort Women." Indeed we have an elderly aunt who was used and abused here during the Japanese occupation of this island during WWII.
To meander a bit, during the war, the Japanese used to draft women into bordellos of varying classifications, some only to be used for pleasure of officers, etc.
Virginity is an extremely sensitive issue in this country, with most non-virgins finding it impossible to have normal lives although today that is certainly changing rather rapidly as a result of more and more globalisation thanks to the likes of America and its bland "McDonald's" culture.
Entire villages were bereft of their women because of this despicable pratice, and it actually effected some of the more northerly islands even more than it did us. Plenty of other atrocities as well but then many already know about this and my getting into it would REALLY send this thread into another one of those tailspins (like the kinds engendered by my giving sheaves of historical info. and context).
2 other very amazing issues "sort of" connected to the generals scope of Japenese on this island during WWII:
Here on Mindanao we have a handful of Japanese WWII soldiers who never left! They married local women, after the war (it was illegal by Japanese Law to marry inferior races, yes, just like Nazis they too were through and through racists, many still are but THAT is yet another "meandering "issue).
In the rather rapid withdrawal/retreat from Mindanao some managed to stay behind, others were inadvertantly left behind - or otherwise intentionally left here to carry on as rear harriers (guerillas whose Objective was to hamper Allied efforts at pursuit as well as consolidation of both the island as well as other nearby isles).
This is the only place that I have ever heard of where ex brutal occupational personel have married AND STAYED WITH THE LOCAL SOCIETY without some kind of major ideological shift, etc. Imagine for example Nazi or even Wehrmacht soldiers in Poland who married local Polish women and who were not then recipients of revenge by one or another relative or even victims themselves!
The second issue is the Japanese who purposefully OR inadvertantly remained separated and behind from the larger Japense force and who ended up living in the jungles for 30 or 40 years trying to kill people because of a mistaken belief that the war had never ended! We had a couple found here as recently as 1992!
In fact, and this is truly amazing, in the summer of 2007 the Japense Govt. sent a team here, to the mountains north of Gen San (General Santos City which is on the extreme southern tip of the island) and tried to locate 2 such men! Imagine almost 50 years in the deep bush, in tattered unifroms, or even naked!
Some have been found near here, but apart from our island they have been found on Borneo, other Indonesian and Malaysian islands, as well as some more southerly Pacific islands. Whatever else they were, the Japanese were very good and ambitious soldiers in WWII.
I would have thought though, that between illegal loggers, communist AND Islamist guerillas, that any such men in the bush would have come to light long ago. We are home, on this island, to the world's single longest civil war as well as the world's longest lasting communist insurgency AS WELL AS the world's longest lasting Islamist insurgency! the groups themselves are often centered in our mostly unexplored jungles here.
Of the 18 million people on Mindnao almost all live on the coasts, and a tad but along the National Hiway which is the only real atrery on the island. It is a very large island, but largely unexplored and uncharted.
Because of logging and mining there are bush tracks, but they only run a few kilometers here, a few there, and almost none are mapped.
Until about 8 years ago in fact National Hiway was rarely even paved for more than 2 or 3 kilometers and even then merely in the most populated of spots. Now it is paved all the way through and still travel is NEVER congested on what is almost always one lane (except in Davao CIty when it is a 2 lane road).
In those old days (8 years is "old days" hahaha) one either took a pump steamer, or rarely a gas engined boat up the main rivers OR alterantively a raft which was poled down the river , or small outriggers which were and are still primarily ocean going craft. The rafts, flat bottomed jobs were usually manned by Lumad (animist Tribals) and very rarely a Bisaya or Muslim villagers
The Hiway though is also a curse, even if it allows travel during Monsoon whereas before we were stuck in our villages for 4 months out of the year by impassable dirt tracks...
I will contunue later..
