MetaFilter posts tagged with Japan and USA

Japan's Media Environment

armage — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:21:13 -0800

Japan -- Media Environment Open; State Looms Large (August 2009, PDF) A detailed, 67-page overview and analysis of Japan's traditional and new media environment published by the Open Source Center, an office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Greatest Tree House Ever!

vronsky — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:22:22 -0800

Who has the greatest tree house ever? Architect Teru nobu Fuji mori in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Or Jacob, from Nowheresville, USA?

The state of high-speed rail, August 2009

acb — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:12:59 -0800

The Guardian ran a series of articles looking at the state of high-speed rail travel today. France intends to double its length of track over the next decade, and China is planning a massive rail-building programme, including a high-speed line which will halve the travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to 4 hours. In Germany, domestic air travel is rapidly going extinct, and Spain's network has made day trips between Madrid and Barcelona a possibility. The USA, which has long neglected its rail network, is planning up to 10 high-speed lines. Meanwhile, Britain's only high-speed line goes to France, but there is talk of a 250mph line from London to Birmingham and beyond, possibly by the early 2020s. Meanwhile, the CEO of France's rail operator, SNCF, weighs in on what the UK should do.

"It's not of this world. It's Sadako's fury. And she's put a curse on us."

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:20:04 -0800

RIP Tartan Films. The UK-based film distribution company has gone into administration, laying off it's entire staff. With the help of their American arm (Tartan USA, the closure of which had already been announced at this years' Cannes Festival), they were responsible for bringing some of the best recent foreign cinema, especially from Japan and Korea to the West, including Infernal Affairs (remade as The Departed), Oldboy (currently being remade), A Tale of Two Sisters and the original Ring series, virtually single-handed launching the J-Horror / K-Horror phenomenon. Other notable films they backed include Primer, Red Road (Pos NSFW, brief nudity) and Funny Games.

Size Doesn't Matter... Size Doesn't Matter... Keep repeating...

wendell — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:43:09 -0800

I've long felt that the U.S. of A. "jumped the shark" as a country when we rejected the Metric System. The price of gasoline would still be under a dollar (per liter). Yet, we'd drive less because a short 20 mile trip would become a long 32 km trip. Then there's the most important measurement of all [maybe NSFW animated graph], providing us with the joy of 12.9(!) while we try to ignore that Japan is .1 ahead of us and France is .1 more than South Africa. (And is that Korean average North or South?)

Destined to be The Wierdest Elvis Sighting, Evar.

lilboo — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 07:22:39 -0800

Bush and Koizumi: Roadtrip to Graceland - NYT link

Japanese Dolls in the West (1850-1940)

matteo — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 12:23:33 -0800

The "Jap Doll" -- Ningyô on the Western Toyshelf 1850-1940

James Fee's Peleliu Project

matteo — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 12:02:04 -0800

The Peleliu Project. The tiny Micronesian island of Peleliu was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. The U.S. invasion of the Japanese occupied island began in September of 1944, and was expected to last only a matter of days. Casualties on this 5 square mile island reached 20,000 by the end of the two-month struggle. U.S. soldiers were forced to pour aviation fuel into caves and ignite them in order to end the standoff of those who refused to surrender. One determined group of 34 Japanese soldiers remained in hiding until they were discovered in April of 1947.
Pharmacist Mate 3rd Class Russell Fee returned from Peleliu with a fierce, uncompromising vision of America which would have a profound impact on the life and work of his son. Fifty-three years later, armed with his father's snapshots and diary which he had just uncovered, James Fee went to Peleliu to see with his own eyes the place where his father's vision had taken shape. The result of his five year quest is The Peleliu Project. more inside

Documents: U.S. condoned Iraq oil smuggling

Postroad — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 18:26:39 -0800

Documents: U.S. condoned Iraq oil smuggling Documents obtained by CNN reveal the United States knew about, and even condoned, embargo-breaking oil sales by Saddam Hussein's regime, and did so to shore up alliances with Iraq's neighbors. The oil trade with countries such as Turkey and Jordan appears to have been an open secret inside the U.S. government and the United Nations for years.

Black ships and Samurai: Japan and the US, 1853

carter — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 07:30:54 -0800

Black ships and samurai In 1853 four ships under Commodore Perry anchored off the coast of Japan against the wishes of the Japanese. According to historian John Dower, "This initial encounter between the United States and Japan was eye-opening for all concerned, involving a dramatic confrontation between peoples of different racial, cultural, and historical backgrounds. We can literally see this encounter of "East" and "West" unfold through the splendid, yet little known, artwork produced by each side at the time." This beautiful exhibition includes many examples of this artwork, juxtaposing scenes of the encounter from Japanese and American artists' points of view. (Part of MIT's open courseware initiative.)

LMG — Tue, 06 Aug 2002 06:31:10 -0800

One Hell of a Big Bang -- Studs Turkel meets Paul Tibbets the pilot of the Enola Gay. It's a great, though-provoking and disturbing interview to read on Hiroshima Day.