liontamer's New Writeups

A thought at 3am (place)

2004-05-10T01:41:59Z

I recently spent several days on Yakushima, an island with 40% of its land area designated as a World Heritage Site and which for this reason is a Mecca for hiking and backpacking in Japan. Hikers come from all over Japan and the world to see Jomon-Sugi, an ancient cedar tree which is believed to be 7200 years old and to hike Mount Miyanoura, the highest peak in Kyushu. There are dozens of trails and waterfalls, the ancient forests are full of monkeys and deer and the whole island seems shrouded in magic and mystery. It was by far the most beautiful place I have visited in Japan and amongst the most beautiful I have visited in the world. The only bad point was the presence of the hardcore Japanese backpackers that brought me closer to the brink of insanity than I ever thought possible. Let's have a closer look at the Japanese hobby phenomena before I continue my tale.

Of all the standard questions I am asked on a regular basis by the Japanese, the one that initially…

Yakushima (place)

2004-04-23T01:33:46Z

屋久島

Yakushima is an almost perfectly circular volcanic island, located 60 km south of Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Japan. With a circumference of 135 km and a total area of 505 km², it is the sixth largest island in Japan and has one of the most precipitous climates of anywhere in the country. It is home to some of the oldest cedar trees in the world and a variety of wildlife, including the Yakuzaru, a type of monkey different from its mainland cousins and green sea and loggerhead turtles that come here to breed in the summer months. Yakushima also houses the highest mountain peaks in Kyushu, Mt. Miyanoura (1939 m) and Mt. Nagata (1886m). The possibilities for adventure here are endless.

Not only is Yakushima a designated World Heritage Natural Property, but also an Unspoiled Natural Environment Conservation Zone, a National Park Special Area, a Special Conservation Area, a…

Battleship Island (place)

2004-04-19T02:54:59Z

軍艦島

The first time I saw it, I knew I had to find a way to get on it. I was cramped in the back of a typically small Japanese car with two unsavory travel companions, who spent the duration of the trip talking in sickening detail about all the ailments and illnesses they had suffered during their stay in Japan. I tried to ignore them, and resigned myself to staring out the window, taking in the unusually nice December weather. We turned a sharp corner on the windy road and then suddenly it loomed before us from the distance, demanding attention. At first look, I had no idea what it was that I was seeing. It seemed to float above the water but was too large to be a ship. The shape however, with lines and angels that were sharp and defined, made it impossible to be an island. I was stumped, but in end, after some questioning of the driver, I found out that it was a little bit of both. …

Japanese elementary school children (idea)

2004-04-15T04:48:08Z

In the most succinct comparison possible, Japanese elementary school children are like a pile of kittens.

Visiting the local elementary schools has been the highlight of each and every week during my time in small town Japan, where I have spent nearly two years of my life. Always scheduled on a Wednesday, my weekly trips to internationalize the little people are a nice break from the junior high school, where students are sometimes rude, moody, swayed by adolescent hormones and pushed to mental anguish by the strictness of the educational system. At the elementary schools, on the other hand, the children are still allowed to act like children.

And Japanese children are ridiculously cute. No really, if there was a cute-o-meter, the kids at my schools would overwhelm it, sending the needle spinning and breaking the contraption. They have identical hats and identical bags, but unlike the junior high students, there are no uniforms. Instead they wear…

Masturbate-a-Thon (idea)

2004-04-06T07:08:39Z

I came for a good cause...

Masturbation is a glorious part of our human capacity to enjoy sexual pleasure. Most people masturbate. Yet we live in a sex negative culture that maligns masturbation and ridicules masturbators. At Come As You Are, we want to change all that.

Celebrated on National Masturbation Day (Canada: May 16), the Masturbate-A-Thon is held every year in Toronto. Now in its 6th year, the event is sponsored by Come as You Are, Canada's first co-operatively-run sex toy, book and video store, and raises money for non profit organizations that promote sexual health. Last year, proceeds went to Voices of Positive Women, an organization which provides free and confidential support to HIV positive women. In 2004, proceeds will go to sex worker rights organizations Maggie's (Toronto) and Stella's (Montréal).

The Masturbate-A-Thon is a one of a kind fundraiser that encourages participants

…

Jet lag (idea)

2004-03-27T02:52:43Z

In a death bed interview, former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles admitted that he felt that his decision on the controversial Aswan Dam in Egypt was one of the greatest mistakes of his life, and that he might have taken a more conciliatory stance with the Egyptians had he not been so weary from jet travel.

From Overcoming Jet Lag, by Charles F. Ehret

Having jet lag is like being a small rat hit several times by a big bus. It's so much more than just being tired and it's beyond simple exhaustion. It is as if every ounce of energy, every bit of will to live is sucked out of the very marrow of your bones, almost as if it was vaccumed out. You are rendered completely useless until you overcome it and there are no pills or potions you can take to make it all go away. You are alone with your suffering, staring out at the rising sun, incapable of producing a single coherant thought after a sleepless night and you are a…