Got rid of May diary.
No mood to study. Reading Bridget Jones's Diary. Fun.
Read Animal Farm. The story is wonderful and it's a beautifully-written piece. Wonder what happened to Snowball, though.
Studied Mill.
Yes, we are updating frequently!
You say eether and I say eyether,
you say neether and I say nyther;
You say guy and I say bloke,
You say Molotov cocktail and I say petrol bomb;
Let's call the whole thing off.
A bit embarrassed to quote the following words of Nkosi Johnson after writing something silly, but nonetheless I'm very sorry for him. Rest in peace.
Care for us and accept us -- we are all human beings, we are normal, we have hands, we have feet, we can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else. Don't be afraid of us -- we are all the same.
---Nkosi Johnson, 12-year-old boy in South Africa died of Aids on 01/Jun/2001.
But it's important that we don't slavishly follow the American model of veneer-all dentistry. Individuality and quirkiness has always been a coveted aspect of British fashion, and this should be respected with regards to teeth as well. Kate Moss would be bland rather than beautiful with teeth as regular as the ivories on a Yamaha keyboard -- her dainty incisors and pointy canines are intrinsic to her gamine charm -- and the huge slump in David Bowie's sex appeal has been linked to the character being straightened out of his teeth, with "made in Hollywood" stamped on them.
---Emma Moore, in The Sunday Times: Style, 03/Jun/2001, p. 40.
Is Tony Blair a Rawlsian?
Asked about the widening gap between rich and poor, [Tony Blair] replied that the divergence does not worry him as long as standards of living rise at every level.
---Roy Hattersley, `Blair, the philosopher king',
in The Guardian, 04/Jun/2001.
Admitting that I'm a utilitarian is like professing my religious faith. Well, I have no faith really, I don't believe in any kind of god. But saying I'm a utilitarian is a bit embarrasing, not least because I'm not so sure that I understand all the implications of being a utilitarian.
Do you know why they call me Hitler? It is because I am the biggest terrorist in Zimbabwe. I am the most dangerous man in this country. And you must do what I tell you.
---Chenjerai Hunzvi, the leader of Zimbabwe's war veterans who died 04/Jun/2001.
Forgot to say. I love the puns and parodies used in British newspaper headlines. Most of them are taken from pop songs, like `Espresso yourself', `Porn in the USA', and `Power to the pupil'...
Watched Pearl Harbor last night. Such a rubbish film. Deeply regret spending three hours on it. Somehow remembered Bridget Jones's mum's comment: `Japanese. Very cruel race.'
O, poor Hague. He is shattered and quitting without never becoming the champion ie prime minister.
Later, a more senior official arrived and told us that William Hague remained "optimistic and upbeat". He was? Goodness, that man will remain optimistic and upbeat the day they peg him out in the desert and hungry hyenas rummage around his intestines.
---Simon Hoggart
Nothing much during last weekend. Finished Mill essay, though.
[T]o create a society which is a genuine open, meritocratic nation where we have laid to one side the old adage about knowing your place and where the only place that any man, woman or child knows is the place that their talents take them, where we create a country genuinely where not just a few people at the top, but everyone, every one of our citizens gets the chance to fulfil their true potential.
---Tony Blair
Let's hope the President knows what vengeance and justice mean.
The victims of the Oklahoma City bombing have been given not vengeance but justice.
---George W. Bush
Did you know?: Around 4.7 million South Africans are living with HIV, and 1,600 new cases are discovered every day. It is reported that a rape occurs in South Africa once every 23 seconds and that only one in 37 rapes is reported. A three-year survey in Johannesburg carried out by the city council revealed that one in four men had committed a rape before their 18th birthday.
Jerome Monahan, `South Africa has a long road to travel', in The Guardian (education), 12/Jun/2001.
William Hague was still smiling and chuckling in his good-natured way.
He is the youngest man I know who permanently looks as if he is surrounded by his grandchildren...
What could ever make him look grim? He'll be smiling and chuckling in his good-natured way when space aliens insert the catheters and start to suck out his vital fluids before taking him to the planet Xaarghh for medical experiments conducted in front of Survivor re-runs.---Simon Hoggart
[Following is a question to Nicky Wire, the bassist of the Manic Street Preachers, followed by his answer.]
Q: My friends are always asking me how you justify making so much money from your music while still calling yourself socialists and slamming greedy corporations in your lyrics.
A: Tell them to get an education.
`You ask the questions', in The Independent, 20/Jun/2001.
I was away in Italy for two weeks. I stayed in Pisa, visited Rome, Florence, Siena and so on. Great holiday. Here are some photos.
Now I'm studying for my jurisprudence exam in August, and for my disertation in September.
Jurisprudence is said to be the study about law, not the study of law. In the same vein, Meta-ethics is said to be the study about ethics, not of ethics. I wonder who started using this silly distinction using different prepositions. Must be one of analytical or linguistic philosophers.
Desperately preparing for the Jurisprudence exam.
Kissing is great exercise for the face; a passionate kiss uses 34 facial muscles and can burn up to 150 calories (if you kiss for ten minutes).
`The secret life of your lips', in The Daily Mail, 06/Aug/2001.
Had the Jurisprudence exam Monday last week. And for a week I was in New York. Here are some photos.
Started studying for the dissertation. Meanwhile, I have to get a flight ticket back to Japan and arrange to have all the books sent back to Japan.
Found out somebody has stolen MY salad and MY mozzarella cheese from the shared fridge in the pantry. Screamed in a Robert-Plant-like high-pitched voice, `Gosh, that was my lurrrrnch!' and wished there were a CCTV camera in the pantry.
Have lost my mobile. Am v. down. Ugh.
The deadline for my dissertation is near. What am I gonna do? Desperate.
Back in Japan. Sleepy.
Attended the annual conference of Japan Society of Ethics. Was held in Yamagata and here are some photos.
Joined a video rental shop near my house. Rented Battle Royale, Dancer in the Dark, My Sweet Sheffield (or something like that).
Should be studying, but am not studying. Unbearable gap between `should' and `is'. <
Watched Battle Royale. Very violent film, with students killing each other to save one's life. But this film helps us to imagine what it is like to be in the (Hobbesian) state of nature. Existentialist film. B+.
Now I can use the ADSL service and that means I can listen to Virgin Radio and BBC World News from home.
Watched Dancer in The Dark and Among Giants the other day. Both were quite nice arty films.
Getting colder every day.
Attended my good friend's wedding ceremony and party. Played the guitar and sang a couple of songs in front of the 60-strong audience at the party. Poor audience -- I meant to practice a bit more beforehand!
When I was tidying up my room tonight, it finally dawned on me that I have to throw away part of the books I have. They are getting like moss gathering on my back, or head.
Watched Evita (starring Madonna) and Muthu (a Bollywood film) on VCR recently. Evita wasn't that impressing, though I liked the song `Don't cry for me Argentina' very much. Perhaps the musical is better than the film.
Muthu is a very happy film. It's very easy to understand, very easy to relate to. Reminded me of those stories in The Thousand and One Nights and The Odyssey.
Bought:
Van Morrison is superb. A bit too adult-oriented, though. (I'm convinced that Jazz is for old people and those who want to appear old.)
ABBA is a bit too pop and dance for me. `The Winner Takes It All' and `Mamma Mia' are super, though. Should I say `super-duper'?
Attended the Kansai Society for Ethics conference over the weekend. Was very tiring, esp. because I had to get up extremely early in the morning. I'm still living according the GMT and that means usually I sleep after the sun has risen in the morning!
Just found out that I can listen to the BBC Radio 2. I've been listening to the Virgin Radio but it gets a bit monotonous after a while, so it was high time I should get fresh air.
The boiler in my house has broken down. That of course implies I can't take a shower at home. That leaves me a couple of choices: (1) go to a public bath; (2) ask my friend nearby to use the shower at his flat; (3) forget about taking a shower. Being a gentleman, (3) is not really an option, really...
It's getting terribly cold.
Been to a public bath last night. It's important to point out that contrary to foreign people's wild imagination, usually these public baths have two baths, one for men and the other for women. Otherwise it would be too embarrasing an experience to go to a public bath (It's not like Pompeii here). But it's true we don't mind (I mind, actually) taking a bath together with strangers. But then again, the public baths in Japan used to function as a place for socialisation, much like the pubs in Britain. It was a place where people in a community always go every night and see how kids grow and people get older.
Time indeed flies. In fact, I've got a sneaking feeling that somebody's stealing my time.
Held the first session of the liberalism study group. Studied the second and third chapter of JS Mill's On Liberty. Two out of the four participants are anti-utilitarians, so they're natural and committed `devil's advocates' against Mill's liberalism.
Took a walk around the neighbourhood. Saw a beautiful semicircular rainbow.
Reflected on the issue of identity and identity crisis.
Missed the shooting star spectacle last night. Said to be a once-in-a-couple-hundred-years stuff. Oh, well. Will wait for the next one.
Bored to death, so rented a couple of films.
Solipsist: "Why the heck are you referring yourself as `I'? You are YOU and I am the only one who can use I to refer myself. No, no, you are not I. You are YOU. I am THE I. You are just YOU, no more, no less..."
I want to start reading Sci-fi books again.
Gonna learn the constipation. Oops, I mean, constellation.
Watched Velvet Goldmine, Fight Club, There's Something About Mary. Fight Club was a very interesting sci-fi.
Watched L.A. Confidential. Cool.
Studying about last year's Siamese twins (or conjoined twins for PC sake) case to give a presentation today.
Diane Pretty case is interesting too. I'm all for her right to die. Go to the European Court of Human Rights, Diane!
Seems to have caught cold.
I read the news today, oh boy. George Harrison died. Japanese Crown Princess had a female baby.
Went to a public bath. In the changing room, I was shocked and embarrassed to find a 14- or 15-year old boy wearing the exactly same kind of boxer shorts. He seemed to have realised it too.
The two most important things I've learned from JS Mill (to date, obviously):
It's cold. It's cold.
Heard John Lennon is on his way to be chosen as the greatest British person so far (questionnaire done by the BBC). What about Bentham?
Attending a one-week seminar on virtue ethics. Mainly comparing Aristotelian conception of virtue(s) with Kantian one.
Need to read After Virtue carefully. Perhaps I should set up another study group.
"You're every parent's and grandparent's nightmare come true."
This is what the judge said to the guy who was found guity of the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne last year in the UK.
Guess this is quite an accurate description of people's feeling about pedophiles.
