The Springtime 'Sakura' or 'Cherry Blossom' begins to sprout in warmer regions of Japan at about this time of year. But the beauty and fame of the blossom has hidden deeper worries recently; a serious threat to the eternal Japanese symbol is apparently still being ignored. Officials fear that Cherry Blossom could soon become a thing of the past if action is not taken to cull the alien invasion sweeping Japanese shores.

At the end of World War II many Americans flocked to Japan to take advantage of the new open economy the internationalisation of the country had created. But with American populous also came American symbols: American Pie, Rock and Roll music, The Hamburger and strangely enough The North American Beaver. Many believe that the Beavers were brought here as a natural attempt to clear uninhabitable forest-land, or to be given to children as pets by their returning from duty, Military fathers. But as the Beaver's original purpose was forgotten the damage they cause to local flora and fauna has continued unabated.

It is now thought that over a third of all Japanese waterways are inhabited by the alien Beaver, with population numbers about to boom this spring. As many other world habitats have learnt to their peril local dominant species are the most likely to suffer when foreign wildlife is introduced into an alien environment. In this case Japan's very own Cherry Tree is being the worst hit by the beavers, who attack the base of the treasured trees for its sweet cherry flavour.

Indeed my own community is preparing for this season's invasion of Beavers, protecting the local trees with chicken wire and Beaver-proof fencing in an attempt to keep Japan's natural beauty in check. Wildlife officials are asking local councils to keep an eye out for wandering American Beavers and report any sightings to the relevant pest control authorities. Hope is still strong that another piece of nature will not be decimated because of Man's naivety.
More to come soon on this as I hear it, for now check out the Link to go to a local Japanese company's beaver-control website.

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"Starbucks, Major League Baseball & the Seattle Mariners have joined forces to create a unique and limited-edition Starbucks Card featuring [famous Japanese Baseball Player] Ichiro Suzuki that benefits seriously ill children."

Thanks to Starbucks sick children can rest easy tonight knowing that their commerically brewed coffee has a few diluted drops of their hero, Ichiro, waiting for them amongst the froth.

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OK, so I saw 'Spirited Away' and I liked it, but as with many things in life, to discover that one of my favourite director's Hayao Miyazaki was now world renowned kind of took the sheen out of the whole experience.

Now that I actually live in Japan, catching up with my Japanese Cinema is possibly harder than it was in the UK, mainly because the cinemas out here are oozing full of Hollywood detritus, but also because I am an illiterate foreign simpleton in a land that speaks far too fast. So after many weeks of avoiding the promotional material I finally got to see the newest Miyazaki offering, 'Howl's Moving castle’, and I have to say I fell straight in love with Miyazaki all over again. Simply astounding story telling.

Now, to avoid losing my cooler than cool outer membrane here I’m going to tell you all to forget the last 20 years of Miyazaki, wipe out all the anime you’ve ever seen and get a load of the real juicy stuff:
Loooong before Spirited Away was even a glint in Miyazaki's shimmering silver mane there was...

'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'! How that title makes me moister than a trout in spawning season. This 1984 classic of ANY medium of cinema has just hit the shelves in the US (on DVD from Disney of course) and now all the born again anime fans can get their greasy hands on what is, in my opinion, one of the single greatest movies of all time.

The standard Miyazaki themes are there. The young, strong female lead; a deeply rooted environmental awareness; the forces of ying and yang in perpetual motion as the movie casts its delicious fable over the audience. Plus - It's got bloody enormously-gigantuan insects!
Where a Hollywood blockbuster would never dare to tread Nausicaä casually races by with the all encompassing world Miyazaki seamlessly moulds into your brain. The epic nature of this movie is almost as great as the devastating breadth of people out there who simply have never even heard of it. I dare anyone to watch Nausicaä and not fondle the REPEAT button endlessly throughout as your body and soul tremble in the pulsation of visual and mental coital stimulation that is in the process of corrupting your very being...

Get your hands on this classic right now, but don’t fall into the Anime geek trap of developing a thing for old Nausicaä herself. She might well be the sexiest bit of cartoon crumpet you’ve ever slid into your DVD slot, but she’s mine, all mine, get it?

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Japanese Prime Minister danced with Richard Gere in an impromptu performance to promote Gere's new film (a remake of the popular Japanese movie 'Shall we Dansu?')

Koizumi and Gere share the same opinions on Chinese foreign policy and the same ideas about what makes a stylish haircut.

Their silver manes glinted quite splendidly as they twirled the floor, Gere apparently insisting on taking the lead.

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I received this e-mail today from a source labelling itself [email protected]

I have kept the contents of the mail in its precise original format:

"YOU ARE RECEIVE THIS BECAUSE GAYJET SOLD YOUR EMAILADDRESS TO SPAMMERS. EMAIL THEM NOW AND TELL THEM TOSTOP. ASK THEM WHAT THEY DO WITH THE MONEY THEY STEALFROM YOU. ASK THEM WHY THEY STEAL YOUR MONEY AND FLYTHEMSELFS ALL AROUND JAPAN. THEY GO TO TOKYO, OKINAWA,KOBE AND EVEN GIVE THEMSELFS MONEY FOR FOOD AND BEER.TELL THEM TO STOP SELLING YOUR ADDRESS TO MAKE MONEY.ASK THEM WHY THERE BOOKS COST SO MUCH MONEY. WHERE DOESIT GO?"

AJET is the organisation, run by actual members of the Japanese English Teachers Programme, which supports the rest of us JET teachers throughout our time in Japan (mainly by organising events where we drink a lot).

Any information regarding this claim should be issued to this location ASAP. Who knows what other conspiracies are lurking around the dodgy e-mail corner.

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Sir Martin Rees, recent winner of the Michael Faraday Prize (awarded for excellence in communicating scientific ideas in lay terms) is a man well known for his strong opinions on the future of mankind. Indeed his book 'Our Final Century' concludes with the opinion that mankind has no more than a 50/50 chance of surviving the next century citing everything from biological warfare to asteroid impacts as the reason.

Rees maintains that, although the theories of Evolution are quite well known in the modern world, people still perceive mankind as somehow outside the stream of Evolution. He pointed out, after receiving the 2004 Faraday Prize, that Evolution is a process that is still in continuation, and the possibility of future development is enormous, stating thus:

"It will not be humans who witness the demise of the Sun six billion years hence; it will be entities as different from us as we are from bacteria."

Does this opinion express a deep pessimism for you? Or could it harbor within it a sapling that will allow man to grow into the great oak that modern Humanism, Christianity or (insert favourite doctrine here) predicts? Rees also has this to say on the topic of the future of life on Earth:

"We can't predict what role life will eventually carve out for itself: It could become extinct, or it could achieve such dominance that it would influence the entire cosmos."

For those of you interested in a debunking of modern Humanism please check out John Gray's superbly executed book 'Straw Dogs' .
For an overview of the mistakes mankind has already made in his pathway to presumed progress then Ronald Wright's book 'A Short History of Progress' (available at present in Canada and USA only) is no better guide.
Or for a little more outlandish view of the future of intelligent life in the cosmos check out James N. Gardner's theory of the BIOCOSM.

Anyone who knows me will know, at least in part, my opinions on all of this. If you find yourself vexed, in agreement or just plain inquisitive then don't hesitate to use the Message Board or simply send me an e-mail.

And the reason why I got onto this topic? Check out the link below
More opinionated possibilities coming to a Blog near you soon ...

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Another quake has hit the recent Tsunami effected area of Indonesia. This one just fell short of the factor 9 quake that caused such devastation in December. Officials are stating that the current aftershock is a serious quake in its own right as hundreds of presumed deaths are being reported. Although this quake also hit off the coast of the effected region Tsunami alerts have been toned down in recent hours.

Check the link for more info.

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The infamous British graffiti artist, known only as Banksy, last week managed to smuggle several pieces of art into 4 of New York's art museums. Some of the artwork, much of it blatantly anti-war in nature, sat in the Museum of Modern Art between famous pieces for 3-4 days without raising suspicion. This is the third stunt in a series which has seen Banksy's art smuggled into the Tate in London and the Louvre in Paris.

Banksy is well known throughout Britain for his graffiti stunts, but has so far managed to keep his identity a secret. Many of his stencilled works, which originally brought him his urban art fame, can still be seen dotted around cities in the south of England, leading in the last few years to a plague of copy-cat graffiti works.

Banksy's Manifesto has always been to bring art 'back to the people'. Indeed to discover a Banksy in some deserted London street or busy Bristol shopping precinct is to gain a sense that it was put there just for you. Many say that Banksy's art in many ways destroys the ideals it set out to advertise. But although his now worldwide fame is somewhat contradictory to his original intentions it still manages to bring people to question art, to try and uncover the lines in the blurred vision of modern artistry Banksy portrays. For that I can give Banksy no greater praise. Art for art's sake:

"The time of getting fame for your name on its own is over. Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Any fame is a by-product of making something that means something. You don't go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit."
- from Banksy's website

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Vailankanni in Southern India was one of the places worst hit by the Tsunami in December. This year's huge Christian Easter festival is turning out to be the smallest in recent times. The district, which attracts many visitors at this time of year, is said to be where a vision of the Virgin Mary and Jesus appeared to local Hindu children. But many less pilgrims are flocking this year, a loss of faith and a fear that God will strike the town again named as the main causes.

Check out this link for a much more detailed article...

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I'm off to the Japanese Island Prefecture of Okinawa for the weekend...

I might be back on Monday, who knows about these things... I got a whole bunch of sunshine soaking and coral reef splashing to be getting on with.

Have a good weekend whatever you're doing, wherever you may be.

Danieru

UPDATE: Back and smiling. Check out my new Okinawa Photo Gallery

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The Story so far... Our two Turkish heroes set out on a quest to rid the world of an evil terror imposed by a Darth Vadar wannabee with a passion for pointless destruction of life. Only a solar screen made from crushed human brains protects the planet from his evil plans.
See if you can get yourself a copy from online somewhere (?) I even heard it can be purchased on DVD if you look hard enough.

Never before has an attempt at a serious science fiction action flick produced such beautiful garbage. What's the point in spending millions on trash like The Matrix Reloaded when you can get this bunch of kack for next to nothing? Click pics for closer look. Enjoy...

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Ever wondered what a Pulp song sung by William Shatner would sound like? Well wonder no further, instead just press the link and listen in for Shatner's version of Common People...

If you don't enjoy this, there is surely something amiss with you.

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Neighbours! How I miss you, and at this special time of your 20th birthday!

20 years of tired studio sets and bubblingly happy ending plot lines! 20 years of one dimensional scripts and zero dimensional characters! 20 years of wonderfully simple narrative permeated with the shallowest storylines possibly imaginable!

Neighbours I have always loved you, and the tears that well up in my eyes are an acknowledgement of your greatness, tainted by the fact that for my entire 7/8 months in Japan I have not seen 1 single episode of your charm on my TV.

For those of you who don't know the Australian soap opera institution that is Neighbours, you should be ashamed. For those of you who don't care for the said fictional birth place of the (literally) immortal Harold Bishop, double shame on you! ...and for everyone else, please sign my comment list below. Let's form 'The petition to get Neighbours shown on Japanese television'. The future of terribly conceived and yet marvelously executed TV is in your hands my friends...

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Saturday was a new experience for me. I went on 'A Hash' which basically involved me and a bunch of folk following trails through the city and countryside until we arrived at a designated drinking spot. On the way we got to see lots of Kumamoto city, experiencing some super deluxe scenery in the process...

Most people ran the 8 miles or so. We walked it, and happily I feel absolutely no pain as a consequence.

Big up all you Hash people. Here's to the next walking event!
Please check out my March Photo Gallery for some rather splendid photos of the day.

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Just 10 minutes ago we had an Earthquake. I was sat in my house, RIGHT HERE! and the whole thing started to shake like its booty wasn't connected no more...

Japan doesn't use the Richter scale to determine its quake intensity, but here's what the JMA seismic intensity scale has to say about the kind of level 4 we just had:

"Many people are frightened.
Some people try to escape from danger.
Most sleeping people awake.
Hanging objects swing considerably and dishes in a cupboard rattle.
Unstable ornaments fall occasionally.
Electric wires swing considerably.
People walking on a street and some people driving automobiles notice the tremor."

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...well, I'm glad we got that sorted.

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Happy Guinness St. Patrick's Day!

Here's to that Irish Saint who knew how to hold his stout.
Have a good one!
I'm off to the middle of a Japanese city to drink Guinness in an Irish pub (apparently The Sligo Inn in Kumamoto imported Irish carpenters to build the inside of the bar, and a fine job they did too)... Global homogeny sometimes has its benifits.

UPDATE: Check out my terrible photo of Japanese folk playing Irish Fiddle music - Link

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Ever wondered what The Bible says about any subject? Well here is the solution, The Bible search engine, courtesy of What the Bible says about?

Here's what the Bible says about:

'cheese': Job 10:10 - 10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?
'beer': Numbers 21:16-18 - 16 From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Gather the people together and I will give them water."
'badgers': Numbers 4:6 - 6 Then they are to cover this with hides of sea cows, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.
'Japan': Your search did not return any records.

Give it a try yourself with this handy Bible search tool... Find anything interesting? Amusing? Please leave your comments...

Add this to your web page

?

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From now on, head straight to
www.huge-entity.com
for all your favourite Japan nonsense. And talking of Japan nonsense...

This Monk looking bloke was stood in the middle of Kumamoto, in the same place, three days in a row. Whilst I watched him, transfixed by the hypnotic wiggling of his little bell, I was told he was asking for money, probably for his Monastry or the Dude-Monk-Buddhist equivalent.

Notice his spanking new Asics trainers. Blow the cash on his own Royal Dudeness, that's what he'll do...

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Old news is not really news at all, but sometimes old news can rise up from the depths of the wonder that is The Internet and bite you on the butt... That happened to me today. Different opinions and perspectives are powerful things indeed. But Homo Floresiensis and Marxism? Eh?

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Yeah. I changed my Weblog design. Again. This time though the change will effect you, my very rare readers. The ability to leave comments on the site or browse my previous posts has been drastically simplified. I look forward to seeing your graffiti on my Huge Entity...

This New Fresh Log will improve your Woody Life...

Something deep inside of me yearns for recognition. Tomorrow is my Superhero/Supervillain themed fancy dress birthday party. That'll do nicely thank you...

Isn't it strange how things seem to appear in your life as bundles? I have only recently been reading about ants and this article pops up, along with a related series about animal behaviour on BBC Radio 4.

In an ant colony, extremely simple, bottom level behaviour can produce seemingly incredible emergent top most processes and patterns. As this article suggests, ant colonies appear to 'learn' from the past, increasing the speed of secondary repair work if two attacks on the nest occur in quick succession. In a similar way to the processes in an ant colony, could it be the case that top level consciousness simply emerges from the bottom level, seemingly simplistic firing of neurons in the brain? And alternatively, could an ant colony have some degree of consciousness? Many species of ants are skilled in the use of 'tools', cut from individual leaves. By growing certain types of fungus on these leaves and feeding other insect larvae on the fungus they also farm in the production of food.

When I read these things I can never help but wonder why us humans seem to insist we are so special. As Douglas Adams once noted (and I'm paraphrasing here) - "the universe is so mind bogglingly vast, and time so infinitely big that somewhere in the universe every useful thing you can imagine will have already evolved naturally a rather large number of times..." let's hope for our sake that the ants have already figured this out, otherwise we might have an evolutionary rebellion on our hands...

...and moving from the topic of human mental progress (surely impossible), to human technological progress (just highly improbable), it seems nuclear fusion might finally make an appearance. I would love my electricity to be produced from the fusion of atomic nuclei . There is something well sexy about the thought of marmite on nuclear fusion heated toast...

Yon Sama still beckons you.....

Once upon a time there was a country called Korea whose schizophrenic personality decided it would be better if the its two halves became individuals, each bound to the trials and tribulations that being two distinct personalities brings. And so it was that The 'Totalitarian Nasty North Korea' closed itself off from the 'Capitalist Lovely South Korea' never to exchange loving glances again. Nasty North Korea began making big bombs and banning freedom and Lovely South Korea embraced Western markets and invented 'Asian TV Drama'.

The two halves of Korea had many differences, but they also had a lot of shared history, thinking back to the time they call 'World War II' when the historically Nasty Japanese had used them as a spring board into an attempt at the domination of Asia. It is said that the Nice and Nasty Koreans still hold grudges after all these years, especially for what the Naughty Japanese did to Korean Women in World War II, using them as 'Comfort Women' for Japanese troops. But with historical mistakes long flowing under the bridge of time, how do these modern countries cope with their old grievances?

Nasty North Korea built 'a nuclear arsenal', keeping an arrogant stance against the Japanese and showing the rest of the world that they really (seem to) have the upper hand these days, but the South Koreans had no such weapons! No arrogant leader! How were they, in the nicest possible way, to break through 50 years of hidden angst against their neighbours and make a name for themselves? TV DRAMA!!! Of course....

And there is only one name in TV Drama today who can cross all social boundaries, all deeply felt greivance, all historical barriers. There is only one man for whom no amount of admiration is enough. One man whose very presence can melt the hearts of an entire bus load of Japanese grannies. One man who is more Japanese than the Japanese themselves. Of course those of you in the know will at present be screaming 'Yon Sama, Yon Sama!' and probably wrestling an old lady to the ground as you do so. But for those of you out there who know not of Yon Sama let me update you...

YON SAMA!!!!

...is quite simply THE Man, the greatest aspects of masculinity and kindness all thrown together in one neatly arranged TV Drama package. And now every old woman in Japan is in love with Yon Sama. Travel agents offer 'Korean Romance' holidays to the sights of his most famous movie 'Winter Sonata'. Every endorse-able product (which hasn't been stolen by the Beckhams) is emblazoned with Yon Sama's gleaming teeth. Teeth in fact which can blind a Granny at a thousand paces and knock the lime scale off a traditional Japanese toilet (with added lemon zest TM).

Yon Sama symbolises everything that is good about Korea, whilst also symbolising every disappointment that Japanese women feel for their husbands. Cries usher forth from Japanese women throughout the land:

"He's such a nice boy!" - "He's so kind and yet so strong." - "Yon Sama cares for his woman as if she really existed!" - "Yon Sama is the most handsome darn Korean bloke ever to walk this Earth!" - "Yon Sama would never stay at the snack bar until the wee hours pinching young waitresses bottoms and crawling home drunk on Shochú..." - "I'd love to ride his glistening rocket ship to the stars!" and so on........

Is Yon Sama the perfect man? "Yon Sama" actually translates into Japanese as "Yon the Great". With a nickname like that, and an endorsement on every Japanese home grown product from Camcorders to washing up liquid who needs Japanese men! Who needs other men at all!!!! You decide my friends....

And what do the young generation of Japan feel about their Grandmas' idol? Check out my March Photo Gallery for a quick glimpse into the minds of second year students on the subject of Yon Sama. Enjoy...

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Non-Fiction The Universe Next Door: by Marcus Chown Hyperspace: by Michio Kaku Religion Explained: by Pascal Boyer A Shortcut Through Time: by George Johnson Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind: by Julian Jaynes Passwords: by Jean Baudrillard The Blank Slate: by Steven Pinker Utopianism: by Krishan Kumar The Tipping Point: by Malcolm Gladwell Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves: by Cliff Pickover Understanding Consciousness: by Max Velmans The Varieties of Religious Experience: by William James A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: by Cliff Pickover A History of God: by Karen Armstrong The Joy of Pi: by David Blatner

Non-Fiction Simulacra and Simulation: by Jean Baudrillard The Mind's I: by Douglas Hofstadter Straw Dogs: by John Gray Phantoms in the Brain: by V.S.Ramachandran The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick Collapse: by Jared Diamond Epic of Evolution: by Eric J Chaisson A Short History of Progress: by Ronald Wright The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: by Oliver Sacks The Mind of a Mnemonist: by Aleksandr R. Luria The Faber Book of Utopias: by John Carey Descartes' Error: by Antonio Damasio Parasite Rex: by Carl Zimmer The Hero with a Thousand Faces: by Joseph Campbell

Fiction Gravity's Rainbow: by Thomas Pynchon Ubik: by Philip K. Dick A Scanner Darkly: by Philip K. Dick Nineteen Eighty-Four: by George Orwell An Olaf Stapledon Reader Labyrinths: by Jorge Luis Borges The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch: by Philip K. Dick Last and First Men and Star Maker: by Olaf Stapledon Flatland - A Romance of Many Dimensions: by Edwin A. Abbott Slaughterhouse-Five: by Kurt Vonnegut The Man in The High Castle: by Philip K. Dick Naked Lunch: by William S. Burroughs The Aleph: by Jorge Luis Borges Foucault's Pendulum: by Umberto Eco House of Leaves: by Mark Z. Danielewski

Absorb The Huge Entity osmotically and rejoice; let its hugeness envelope you, be reborn in alternate realities, grapple with mind altering concepts, invest your internet surfing time in high value deliciousness. The Huge Entity may become your newest addiction. Reality weblogging has arrived at last - start here:

• Category Archives
• Popular Posts
• Excruciatingly Large Forum
• Delicious Links
• 
• Huge Entity Profiles
• Contact Form

I offer segments taken from the blesséd wikipedia and dictionary.com as a guide to some of the forces which posses the The Huge Entity. May their wisdom outline a purpose to this otherwise incomprehensible blog-mess...

The:

Used to emphasize one of a group or type as the most outstanding or prominent.

Used to indicate uniqueness.

Huge:

Of exceedingly great size, extent, or quantity.

Of exceedingly great scope or nature.

Entity:

An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, though it need not be a material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate.

An entity could be viewed as a set containing subsets. In philosophy, such sets are said to be abstract objects.

The word 'entity' is often useful when one wants to refer to something that could be a human being, a non-human animal, a non-thinking life-form such as a plant or fungus, or a lifeless object; for instance, one could say that any entity that enters a black hole would be transported, in many pieces, to another dimension.

Sometimes, the word 'entity' is used in a general sense of a being, whether or not the referent has material existence; e.g. God is often referred to as an entity with no corporeal form.

In law, an entity is something capable of bearing legal rights and obligations. It generally means "legal entity" or "artificial person" but also includes "natural person".

That was The Huge Entity Manifesto. This is The Huge Entity...

Categories: Weblog, Huge-Entity, Manifesto

Name: Daniel Rourke
D.O.B: 14th March 1982
Size: Huge
E-mail: Click here...

Bio: I am a writer, researcher, educator and artist. My work is concerned with re-articulating the digital in light of current debates surrounding posthumanism, and is predominantly realised through critical fabulations that treat everything as a science fiction.

Current Website: MachineMachine

Currently: I have an MA in Writing from Roehampton University, and am currently undertaking a PhD in Art/Writing at Goldsmiths University, London. Much of my writing eventually finds itself online.

My new site/portfolio/archive MachineMachine is a much better reflection of my current interests than this website.

The Huge Entity has lay dormant now since 2007. Reading back my posts on this site can sometimes make me cringe, but overall I am proud of the impact this site made in its day. If you enjoy the writing here I urge you to visit my new website or browse some of the contributions I made at spacecollective.org.

Name: Robokku
Created: 2nd December 1981
Confusion Tolerance Threshold: Huge
E-mail: Click here...

Bio: Robokku seems to be a meat-based device most notable for his inability to:

1. stop trying to make sense of things
2. make sense of things

The things of which he tries to make sense have yet to be pinned down precisely, but one of them is a particular sensation, which seems to result from the cyclicle nature lent to his existence by the above two incapabilites. This testimony should be taken with a pinch of salt, since Robokku investigates the things he does by organizing them into manageable systems which distract from the disorganised nature of the things being investigated. Or so he thinks.

Despite all this, there is a strong possibility that Robokku is a figment of Danieru's imagination - an unconnected jumble of ideas refusing to be claimed by any individual out of fear of disturbing, by categorization, the natural lack of order of things.