come join the niigata dinner hour learning special

admittedly, i have been spending too much time drinking and playing on the internet in japan. but, my time here is coming to a close, the roger wagner chorale has almost sung its last song, and the month of luxury vacation that i have been graciously been given to sqander has almost ended.
so i guess it's time to get back in touch with the rest of the world (via the internet!), especially becuase i am in some industrial port city and it is 35 degrees outside. things are Different here at the hotel okura in niigata: Toilet Seats Are Not Heated (that's an actual sign on the top of the toilet- psych!!!!!) the hotel has a shining-esque air about it- 70's interior with creepy standards playing in the elevator. too many free attendants waiting at the entrance. the doors to the rooms creep open on their own accord and the air is dead stuffy.
but. i see that in ny it is even colder and snowing! that's exciting. we all know that cold + snow = winter wonderland. right? no? ok...
so. lets reacclimate over a drink with the news!
first order of business is the fine american language tradition of poetics and rhetorical arts. for those of you who were educated in the last 10 years in the united states, you will not be privy to such fine examples of literature such as this poem published in pakistani textbooks. now, we all know that one of the us' finest suits is io (information ops) backed up by public diplomacy to make everything seem healthy. (in short: information warfare is in full swing, io has melted into public diplomacy, and therefore, there are no qualms in planting propaganda) anyways, this blatent case of the abuse of education wouldn't be so disturbing, except that it has taken place in another country (imagine what type of sumbliminal shit is planted in american education). but hey- no one really knows where any news and other written works come from, so there is no real reason to feel manipulated.
but, lots of shit sucks, right? maybe all those dicksuckers in the government will work it all out though? if you notice the distance between interviewer and interviewee in the linked-to video, it seems much more than usual? "shagrinned?" is that a word?
bla bla bla.
the saddam trial sounds totally insane- defence threatening to walk out becuase the court is illegitimate? That sounds pretty crazy. defence lawyers being assassinated all over the place? it seems like they might have a long way to go. the pictures of the trial though, i have to say, are fantastic.


on happier note, gay weddings are legal in the uk. that's nice. the uk is so wierd in the mysteries of its conservatism... as an aside, thank you competitor for bestowing links to the london bridge song amongst the usual goodness.
ok. enough news. after a few drinks, this hotel room grows further creepy.