This will have to be a quick post because I hear thunder in the distance. I'm just in the process of packing up my room to leave for Stony Plain on Sunday. I've always enjoyed organizing stuff-- in a strange way-- and it actually feels pretty good to be sorting through all my stuff. Lots of things are being thrown out or recycled. Just put on some tunes and go at it. I'm being rather ruthless in what I'm throwing away. Some boxs I haven't looked at in years and if I haven't been in a box for over a year, I probably don't need the contents. It looks like a grenade went off in my room. Still lots to do but I'm going to the tea house at 7:30pm.

The above picture is a scene from Sapporo. This is the biggest city on the island of Hokkaido and about a 2 hour train ride from Shikoai. The picture is not very clear but I didn't take it.

I want to be reminded again of the very exlierating experiences found in Japan. This image is actually taken from Osaka, but is representive of the vibrant street life in Japan. I cant wait to walk these lively streets again.

This is a picture of Obihiro station, a local train station in the next nearest large-city from Shikaoi. I will most likely be getting to know this station quite well.

This post can now be found here.

This is a test of Gmail image capabilities.

Stony Plain and Shikoai

Shikoai is a small town located in central Hakkiado. I have been there twice twice before, once in 1997 and again in 2000, so I don't feel as if I'm decending into a completely foreign experience. Basically, Alberta and Hakkiado, in an effort to make the world just a bit smaller, started a fruitful twining relationship between eachother's towns. Stony Plain has been fortunate enough to be twined with the freindly town of Shikoai (pop. around 6000). I will soon been leaving (Sept. 4 actually) to become one of Shikoai's two english teachers. I will be directly contracted to the Shikoai Board of Education which means several things. I will not be tied to anyone school, the contract states I could be teaching High School , Junior High, elementary, kindergarden, other teachers or town employees. As rare as it is for a blog to post rumor, word from Shikoai is that I will propbably be facing off with elementery or junior high school students. For many years I have wanted to return to Japan so if work I must to that end I will (I still think I received the better half for such an opportunity). I would like to express my thanks for all the help and support from my parents, extended family and family-friends.

Some things I wish to accomplish with my stay in Japan is making sure I represent Stony Plain well and ensure my students learn thier studies. I will also try very hard to resurrect my old Japanese skills and improve on them with constant practice. An added goal for myself is to try to produce some form of creativity and write. Write about what? Well, that is getting ahead of myself and so is this post. I still have months left until I leave for Japan so read on...

Well its offical. I'm soon off to Japan. This blog will generally now turn to detailing at this point my preperations for the trip. It looks like I will be leaving around the end of August but since I will be away for at least two years there is a lot to do. In a further posting I will detail the relationship between Stony Plain and Shikoai, which is the town I will be teaching English.

If anyone in America can tell me why you still support Bush after the below little nugget was published. Its a memo from the British Government which said in reference to the Iraq War;

"The intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Facts being fixed? Read the memo in full here. I don't think my skills are needed to interpet this quote nor put it in context for anyone. The war is a sham and people, Iraqi and American, lost their lives. My question is how does a population not revolt in light of this kind of high-level conformation? Where is your moral compass? Where does the Truth lie? I guess I'd have more respect for Bush if he came out and said from day one that, "If you want cheap gas for your SUVs, were going to need to invade a country and scarfice some lives on the other side of the world." But instead he goes on and on about freedom and democracy, as if our class-based, materialist society is the pinicale of human civilization. There is no democracy at the point of a gun. Isnt that common sense? Am I really just to darn idealistic?

I know what freedom is. I know what equality is. I know what democracy is. We all do. Our souls want to be free. This is a line in the sand. Im taking back those words-- democracy and freedom. Im offically making them the people's-- the citizen's-- again.

Now... for lunch.

Im going to go out for a walk now. Think about two things while reading the quote below. First, its from Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist in regards to banning philibusters. And secondly, Tom Delay's low ethical standards. Frist really expects people to believe the Republicans are morally superior. Amaizing.

That may be true. But if what Democrats are doing is wrong today, it won't be right for Republicans to do the same thing tomorrow.

OK, everyone must run, run to this website. Don't sit there, listening to bad music. Run, Walk, transport, roll, drive, combust, shoot, make, trim, go to this webiste.

JUST CONCERTS @ CBC RADIO 3

Lots of cool music, good hiphop at least. All delivered to your desktip at a high bit rate. Peace.