Britney and Shinzo

Shinzo Abe announced his resignation as Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday. Japanese mass media, which had been obsessed with attacking his lack of leadership and his fellows' scandals for many months, is now crazy about predicting his successor. I bet that many news related to his abrupt decision and the election for next president of LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) are filled with on TV, newspapers and weekly magazines in Japan.

But here, while news websites such as CNN reported it as a breaking news, TV news programs didn't report his resignation as far as I know. My roommate at our office, who seldom watch TV, knew this news on New York Time's website. I realize that Japan's presence is weak on US TV media (and perhaps for US people) as many Japanese in US lament. Outstanding on TV recently is not only Bush's Iraq policy but also Britney Spears' poor performance at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

I casually watched her at VMAs on last weekend. She was just strange. She was visually nervous. She was barely moving. As PM Abe had been for several months, She seemed lack of energy on her stage. It's a great pity that most popular pop star and our prime minister become like zombies.

As US people don't know much about the "big" news from far east island, Japanese people don't know how absorbing topic Britney's "disaster" is here, I imagine. Our world has not been flat yet. Media environment in different society constitute diffrent reality. Maybe I will experience counter culture shock when going back to Japan in future.

(You can move to the reports by CNN if click each picture.)

To sir, with Love

Watching TV here is very interesting because TV service and program in US are different from Japanese one. What I found so far is three points.

First, the mainstream of broadcasting system is different. Terrestrial television (free TV) is dominant in Japan, but cable TV (CATV) is in US. Although satellite and CATV broadcasting become popular recently in Japan, the majority mainly watch terrestrial television with no charge. If you have a TV set and connect it to an antenna, you can enjoy programs immediately (to be precise, only NHK, quasi-national broadcaster, collects viewing fee, but anyway you can watch their program on your TV set weather you pay or not). But, here, we cannot watch anything without subscribing CATV service with monthly charge.

Second, the number of channels offered is quite different. In Japan, most people generally watch seven free TV channels. On the contrary, majority of American TV viewers seem enjoy far much more channels. For example, Patriot Media's Full Basic I use now has nearly one hundred channels. This package is second cheapest one among their service line. If I pay more, I can enjoy two or three hundreds.

Third, because of the diversity of channels, viewers in US can enjoy various programs everyday. Such special channels as Food Network and Comedy Central can't be expected on Japanese free TV. Also, some channels are designed exclusively for Christianity, and others are for Spanish speakers. Even Princeton University has their local channel. This diversity of choice is very attractive to TV viewers.

But it is a irony that huge amount of channels offers the digital video recorder industry such as TiVo a business opportunity to gain customers who feel inconvenient to find their favorite programs from thousands of choices. Freedom of choice is sometimes the burden on consumers' decision making, as information processing theory insists.

As for me, I enjoy freedom of choosing TV programs so far. On TCM (Turner Classic Movies), I found a good old movie, To sir, with Love. According to Wikipedia, this movie, released in 1967, is "a British film starring Sidney Poitier that deals with social issues, especially racism, in an inner city school." I like the story about an idealistic teacher because I am also a teacher (but I don't hope to be in his position). This movie seems a classic one in this genre.

Not only the plot, but also schoolgirls' Swinging London fashion is fascinating. But most attractive part in this movie is its title song "To Sir, with Love", sung by Lulu. This is the main point I want say on this post.


To Sir, With Love - Lulu

Those schoolgirl days of telling tales and biting nails are gone
But in my mind I know they will still live on and on
But how do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters
That would soar a thousand feet high 'To Sir, With Love'

The time has come for closing books and long last looks must end
And as I leave I know that I am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong and weak from strong
That's a lot to learn, but what can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start
But I would rather you let me give my heart 'To Sir, With Love'

Buying a Car

At the dealer: "scare copy" or truth?

The car you looked at today and want to think about until tomorrow may be the same car someone else looked at yesterday and will buy today.




Three weeks has passed after my arrival on US. I finished every paperwork related to my stay in US, and bought a car. Yes, I have got Suzuki Aerio 2004. Not sexy at all, but maybe useful enough. I bought it about two weeks ago. This car is fine till now. But there was an incident about the car in fact, I should confess. On the next day of the purchase, Sunday when the dealer closed, I could not start the engine because of the battery trouble, so I payed fifty five dollars to the gas station only for jumping it. But, on the next day of the trouble, the dealer apologized me, replaced it to brand new one, and refunded me the fifty five dollars. Tom, the salesperson at Suzuki, is a reliable person.

I tell you the story how I finally decided to buy Suzuki as follows. Even now I am not certain that my purchase was smart. But anyway, my experience may be useful for foreigners who want to buy a car in US.

At first I thought that buying a used car was best. I visited several dealers. Aggressive salespersons introduced me a lot of cars, saying that those were best among their inventory and meet my need. But I could not understand how to find the most suitable one for me because I have no experience to buy used car even in Japan. What should I check when I talk with salesepersons and test-drive cars? Appearance (many cars are so dirty)? Brake (if there is any problem, I will die)? Engine (I listened to the sound, but found no answer)? Miles (the ratio of mile and year seems to be important)? I was just confused.

In addition, many websites on used cars warns me that dealers try to sell consumers lemon (i.e. defective cars). So I changed my idea. I'll buy a new car so that I don't have to worry about its quality and enjoy the warranty from the manufacturer.

But I immediately found that new cars are just too expensive. Because I am a foreigner arrived recently, I cannot use loan or lease. I have to pay in cash. Above all, I have to sell my car one year and half later when I go back to Japan. Several alespersons told me that the depreciation of new cars are faster than old ones. These two problems of new car made me change my idea again. I'll buy a used car.

I found Nissan Maxima 2000 with low mileage (about 61,000 miles) at some dealer. This car with 3.0 liter engine is a bit big for me because only I use it. But the cost performance is very good. Also, the salesperson (I will call him "Pooh") was patient to explain me the detail of the car and its insurance when I asked him to speak slowly and repeat what he said many times. At that time, I was about decided to buy it, but didn't pay the deposit on it, because I am very cautious about the purchase.

After going home, I visited Kelley Blue Book to reduce my "cognitive dissonance". All right, the price of my Maxima is cheaper than Trade-In Value on the Book. But I found that some websites recommended me to check the Carfax information about the car I will buy. Carfax is an Internet web site offering vehicle history information about used automobiles.

On the next day, I visited the dealer again, asking Pooh to show me the Carfax data. He said "OK" and printed it out. After scanning it quickly, he was strangely reluctant to pass it to me and tried to change the topic. I asked him again to show it. After all, he gave me the document.

The data showed that Maxima's mileage is more than 100,000. I asked Pooh about the difference. He replied me that the shop which repaired the car before made a mistake and he would ask them to correct it. I felt dubious of his sincerity. But, finally, I gave him the deposit under the condition that it was refundable unless the Carfax data was updated. I became tired of buying a car and wanted to finish it as soon as possible.

Am I wise? Is that a lemon? I became increasingly anxious.

This is a bit long story. So, continued.