If you ask me if I am a feminist, or at least if I am sensitive to women's issues, I would say yes. I would publicly stand up to protect women's rights, I mean, my rights.
However, this "Bijin-Tokei (The Beauty Clock)", I could not pass up.
"Bijin-Tokei" is developed by a Japanese company, bijintokei, Inc. It is a downloadable gadget (widget) or application, and as the name suggests, functions as a clock.
Every minute is represented by a photograph of a beautiful woman holding a board telling the minute of the hour. A day consists of 24 hours. An hour consists of 60 minutes. Do the math. If you can stare at Bijin-Tokei for 24 hours non-stop, you get to see all 1,440 photos of beautiful women.
They (supposedly) took to the streets with a camera, spotted beauties of Tokyo, Paris, Seoul, and asked them to pose for a photo with a board. The product became wildly popular in Japan, and is enjoying 240 million PVs a month.
The clock is downloadable to PC desktop and to mobile phones including iPhone. If you would like the mac widget or google gadget, you can downloaded them here.
I found out about Bijin-Tokei through a business associate of mine. A politically correct- and global-minded man that he is, he hesitated for a moment to bring up the subject.
After explaining to me what it was, he inquired, almost coyly. "It would never fly in the U.S., or you think it would...?"
I could not help but say, "No, I'm afraid not."
For several days now since the discussion, I have often pondered. Why do I think it would never fly in the U.S.? Is it offensive? Because it somehow objectifies women? Is it in bad taste? I have actually downloaded the gadget onto my iGoogle desktop and I am waiting to see how I feel.
What do you guys think? I would like to see you guys weigh in on the issue. Just to be fair, though, bijintokei, Inc. is an equal-opportunity objectifier, and they have Binan-Tokei (The Good-looking Guy Clock) as well.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Linchpins in Japan
During my recent trip to Japan, I had opportunities to meet many linchpins in Japan. I did not name them as such to their face, but I had a quiet pleasure of recognizing them in my mind.
One such occasion was when I accompanied my boss, @s_ishizuka, to a podcast recording session. He recently published a book called The Zappos Miracles in Japanese and was asked to be interviewed for a podcasting program. The producer/interviewer of this program is a young guy in his late 20s to early 30s. He is one of the best-known alpha bloggers in Japan specialized in book reviews.
My boss has never been recorded for podcasting before, so we had no idea what to expect. When we arrived at the studio, we were amazed by how compact the place was! There was a small table where the interviewer and interviewee (my boss) would sit face to face, and five of us, me and my colleague, a sound engineer and two interns who studied journalism in college sat on the floor circling the table, not unlike children eager to hear a bedtime story.
What moved me about this experience was the handmade quality of the setting. There was nothing extravagant about the studio, but it was well set-up. The sound engineer proudly demonstrated the quality of his recording equipment, a nifty-looking gadget the size of an oversized cell phone. Two curtains hang from the pole on two sides of the tiny room so as to absorb the noise, we were told. And the place smelled of dream and ambition! From this tiny studio just big enough for two people to sleep, they were broadcasting their own version of gospels to the world.
The producer/interviewer told us that he used to be a journalist for a traditional newspaper. Just as he was about to embark on his journey, representing the voice of justice and uncovering the truth for all of us general public to read, he fell ill. He suffered depression, and what finally got him out of the darkness and despair was a book.
From then on, he decided to be a book reviewer and to introduce books of inspiration to young readers like himself. Because books change one's life for the better, he said.
I will never forget the simple but extraordinary feeling of excitement that I felt as I sat on the floor of that compact studio, hugging my knees to my chest. As the quiet but confident voice of the interviewer filled the room and streamed into my ears, I felt strangely connected to the thousands of listeners who were listening to the program out in the world over the Internet. I did not know those people and, most likely we would never meet, but at that very moment I was connected to our collective hope for a better life.
One such occasion was when I accompanied my boss, @s_ishizuka, to a podcast recording session. He recently published a book called The Zappos Miracles in Japanese and was asked to be interviewed for a podcasting program. The producer/interviewer of this program is a young guy in his late 20s to early 30s. He is one of the best-known alpha bloggers in Japan specialized in book reviews.
My boss has never been recorded for podcasting before, so we had no idea what to expect. When we arrived at the studio, we were amazed by how compact the place was! There was a small table where the interviewer and interviewee (my boss) would sit face to face, and five of us, me and my colleague, a sound engineer and two interns who studied journalism in college sat on the floor circling the table, not unlike children eager to hear a bedtime story.
What moved me about this experience was the handmade quality of the setting. There was nothing extravagant about the studio, but it was well set-up. The sound engineer proudly demonstrated the quality of his recording equipment, a nifty-looking gadget the size of an oversized cell phone. Two curtains hang from the pole on two sides of the tiny room so as to absorb the noise, we were told. And the place smelled of dream and ambition! From this tiny studio just big enough for two people to sleep, they were broadcasting their own version of gospels to the world.
The producer/interviewer told us that he used to be a journalist for a traditional newspaper. Just as he was about to embark on his journey, representing the voice of justice and uncovering the truth for all of us general public to read, he fell ill. He suffered depression, and what finally got him out of the darkness and despair was a book.
From then on, he decided to be a book reviewer and to introduce books of inspiration to young readers like himself. Because books change one's life for the better, he said.
I will never forget the simple but extraordinary feeling of excitement that I felt as I sat on the floor of that compact studio, hugging my knees to my chest. As the quiet but confident voice of the interviewer filled the room and streamed into my ears, I felt strangely connected to the thousands of listeners who were listening to the program out in the world over the Internet. I did not know those people and, most likely we would never meet, but at that very moment I was connected to our collective hope for a better life.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Meeting Bodhisattvas
I have pretty much abandoned my blog. Not because of anything in particular, but because I no longer could find the time. With my 12-hour-a-day work, it was simply too much trying to maintain two blogs (one in English, the other in Japanese) and two Twitter accounts.
Recent tweets by @jkellie and @simplybetrue motivated me to check out my blog after a nearly two-month break. To my great surprise, there were several people commenting on my review of Seth Godin's Linchpin.
Sometimes at a perfect moment in one's life, people appear to remind you of something very important that you have almost forgotten. Those people are Bodhisattvas, divine beings. It is a variation of a Buddhist thinking that I have adopted over the years. Every one and every thing that one encounters over the course of one's life is there for a reason. Every good deed that you do for a person, you do that for a buddah. Every one carries a blessing with him/her to bestow upon you a gift to remind you of a life's wonder, a teaching, only if you are open to it.
This led me to another thought. Quite distinctly I was reliving the days after my breakup with a partner of seven years. For months after the breakup, I sleepwalked in a shock and a complex mixture of sadness, bitterness, anger and pessimism. I was able to function at work, but that appeared to be the only thing that I could do properly.
Everything else, I did in an auto-pilot mode. Only the feelings that I mentioned before, sadness, bitterness, anger and pessimism, I could experience as real in my flesh. In a state of numbness I told myself that there was a way out of this. I told myself repeatedly that she, my partner of seven years, was also my Bodhisattva.
As difficult as it was to stomach, instinctively I knew it to be true. The idea of her being my Bodhisattva will save me and will give me the strength to climb out of the misery. She too carried with her a precious gift; she gave me joy and made me see what was dear to my heart, what I held to be true in my life. There was a meaning in our meeting, and there was a purpose to her departure.
The story of my recovery was one that I have to tell some other time. Instead what I wanted to say today was this: from that point on, as I reconstructed my life bit by bit, I had opportunities to recognize many Bodhisattvas in my life time and again. Some were my family, colleagues and neighbors. Others were complete strangers whom I encountered only briefly. Today I recognize you as bodhisattvas, people who have commented on my blog, people whom I have crossed path with in this universe called the Internet. You have reminded me that there is power in believing in what you do. That what is hard may be the only thing worth doing. Sometimes you have to keep going even if you are not sure where the road will take you. I thank you for showing up at just the right moment and for reminding me what I, once again, have almost forgotten.
Recent tweets by @jkellie and @simplybetrue motivated me to check out my blog after a nearly two-month break. To my great surprise, there were several people commenting on my review of Seth Godin's Linchpin.
Sometimes at a perfect moment in one's life, people appear to remind you of something very important that you have almost forgotten. Those people are Bodhisattvas, divine beings. It is a variation of a Buddhist thinking that I have adopted over the years. Every one and every thing that one encounters over the course of one's life is there for a reason. Every good deed that you do for a person, you do that for a buddah. Every one carries a blessing with him/her to bestow upon you a gift to remind you of a life's wonder, a teaching, only if you are open to it.
This led me to another thought. Quite distinctly I was reliving the days after my breakup with a partner of seven years. For months after the breakup, I sleepwalked in a shock and a complex mixture of sadness, bitterness, anger and pessimism. I was able to function at work, but that appeared to be the only thing that I could do properly.
Everything else, I did in an auto-pilot mode. Only the feelings that I mentioned before, sadness, bitterness, anger and pessimism, I could experience as real in my flesh. In a state of numbness I told myself that there was a way out of this. I told myself repeatedly that she, my partner of seven years, was also my Bodhisattva.
As difficult as it was to stomach, instinctively I knew it to be true. The idea of her being my Bodhisattva will save me and will give me the strength to climb out of the misery. She too carried with her a precious gift; she gave me joy and made me see what was dear to my heart, what I held to be true in my life. There was a meaning in our meeting, and there was a purpose to her departure.
The story of my recovery was one that I have to tell some other time. Instead what I wanted to say today was this: from that point on, as I reconstructed my life bit by bit, I had opportunities to recognize many Bodhisattvas in my life time and again. Some were my family, colleagues and neighbors. Others were complete strangers whom I encountered only briefly. Today I recognize you as bodhisattvas, people who have commented on my blog, people whom I have crossed path with in this universe called the Internet. You have reminded me that there is power in believing in what you do. That what is hard may be the only thing worth doing. Sometimes you have to keep going even if you are not sure where the road will take you. I thank you for showing up at just the right moment and for reminding me what I, once again, have almost forgotten.
Friday, January 22, 2010
A Confession of A Struggling Middle Manager -Book Review on Seth Godin's Linchpin
I have a strong aversion to business self help books. Ones that supposedly tell you how to be successful, get rich quick, work fewer hours a day, exercise more influence on people, tend to turn me off.
So when I saw the subtitle of Seth Godin's new book Linchpin, "Are you indispensable?," a red flag went up in my head, but I read on. I have always admired Seth Godin's work and, somehow his campaign with the Acumen Fund told me this was different.
From the first page, it was obviously different.
This book does not tell you how to of anything; it simply demands you to become indispensable for the right reasons. Many of us already see the change that is happening in the marketplace. If we only lift the blinders that we have on as a business in the name of efficiency, we clearly see what customers are demanding. What we are demanding.
We are demanding a human interaction. Emotional connection with another human being, regardless of whether it is a business or personal interaction.
We no longer want to shop at a place where they treat us like a chicken in a chicken coop. We are tired of a service assembly line where even smiles and greetings are considered as "parts" of a system (for example, in McDonald's in Japan where $0 smiles are listed as a part of the menu).
The new economy of emotional currency (Seth calls this gift economy) demands more from us, but not at the humanity's expense.
On the contrary, it demands us to express our uniqueness, to do more than our job description, to create a meaning and a value in our interaction with one another.
It demands a middle manager like me to unlearn the discipline of blindly enforcing the procedures and frameworks. Even for a knowledge business like consulting where I live and work, we often fall into a trap of handing out the manuals to our junior workers. It is because, unfortunately, many of knowledge businesses nowadays are organized as a knowledge factory.
Linchpin challenges a struggling middle manager like me to become indispensable. I am learning to recognize my "lizard brain" (which, out of fear and a misguided need for self-preservation, tells us to hide and stay unremarkable) at work and say, thank you for sharing, and move on.
It is an important book that should be read by all who is serious about their career, whether young or old. I shared passages with my 13 year old, because I know the world will be a very different place when she is ready to enter the workforce. Because I want her to know it is demanded of her to be indispensable.
Linchpin gives us courage to be indispensable, share, lead, and be generous. The courage to appreciate our humanity once again. I believe that it is the only way that we get out of this turmoil that we are in.
It is not an easy book. It is not the kind of a book that you can put down and pretend you have learned all there is to learn from it. The book is just a start to live and work in a new way. It is the book to be taken seriously. Thank you, Seth, for the indispensable gift that you offer to the world.
So when I saw the subtitle of Seth Godin's new book Linchpin, "Are you indispensable?," a red flag went up in my head, but I read on. I have always admired Seth Godin's work and, somehow his campaign with the Acumen Fund told me this was different.
From the first page, it was obviously different.
This book does not tell you how to of anything; it simply demands you to become indispensable for the right reasons. Many of us already see the change that is happening in the marketplace. If we only lift the blinders that we have on as a business in the name of efficiency, we clearly see what customers are demanding. What we are demanding.
We are demanding a human interaction. Emotional connection with another human being, regardless of whether it is a business or personal interaction.
We no longer want to shop at a place where they treat us like a chicken in a chicken coop. We are tired of a service assembly line where even smiles and greetings are considered as "parts" of a system (for example, in McDonald's in Japan where $0 smiles are listed as a part of the menu).
The new economy of emotional currency (Seth calls this gift economy) demands more from us, but not at the humanity's expense.
On the contrary, it demands us to express our uniqueness, to do more than our job description, to create a meaning and a value in our interaction with one another.
It demands a middle manager like me to unlearn the discipline of blindly enforcing the procedures and frameworks. Even for a knowledge business like consulting where I live and work, we often fall into a trap of handing out the manuals to our junior workers. It is because, unfortunately, many of knowledge businesses nowadays are organized as a knowledge factory.
Linchpin challenges a struggling middle manager like me to become indispensable. I am learning to recognize my "lizard brain" (which, out of fear and a misguided need for self-preservation, tells us to hide and stay unremarkable) at work and say, thank you for sharing, and move on.
It is an important book that should be read by all who is serious about their career, whether young or old. I shared passages with my 13 year old, because I know the world will be a very different place when she is ready to enter the workforce. Because I want her to know it is demanded of her to be indispensable.
Linchpin gives us courage to be indispensable, share, lead, and be generous. The courage to appreciate our humanity once again. I believe that it is the only way that we get out of this turmoil that we are in.
It is not an easy book. It is not the kind of a book that you can put down and pretend you have learned all there is to learn from it. The book is just a start to live and work in a new way. It is the book to be taken seriously. Thank you, Seth, for the indispensable gift that you offer to the world.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Japan has a craving for change.
I did not know about this today, but every year Kanji certification association of Japan selects "The Kanji of the year"! It seems awfully bizarre to me, because it is like choosing "The Alphabet of the Year." (But then again, I would be very curious to know what the alphabet of 2009 would be. Anyone has any ideas.)
Well, Japan has spoken, and the Kanji of 2009 was selected today. It is the Kanji which stands for "new." Here, take a look. http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20091211-00000564-san-soci.view-000
More than 160,000 people voted this year, which was the most votes that they have ever gotten in the 15 years of its history.
2009 saw Japan's Liberal Democratic Party defeated by Democratic Party of Japan; a new cabinet was born. People welcomed Prime Minister Hatoyama with hopes for change; he was to be a breath of fresh air. Whether he will be able to fulfill on that expectation is uncertain in the midst of issues with suspicious funding.
Being a Japanese myself, I have always believed that Japan is not a country made for revolutions. Japanese people are much too conservative and timid to seek a radical change. However, I may have been wrong. Japanese people have seen an opportunity for change and they grabbed hold of it. Whether they will be able to make it happen... is anyone's guess. For now, I am willing to believe that Japan is ready for change.
Well, Japan has spoken, and the Kanji of 2009 was selected today. It is the Kanji which stands for "new." Here, take a look. http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20091211-00000564-san-soci.view-000
More than 160,000 people voted this year, which was the most votes that they have ever gotten in the 15 years of its history.
2009 saw Japan's Liberal Democratic Party defeated by Democratic Party of Japan; a new cabinet was born. People welcomed Prime Minister Hatoyama with hopes for change; he was to be a breath of fresh air. Whether he will be able to fulfill on that expectation is uncertain in the midst of issues with suspicious funding.
Being a Japanese myself, I have always believed that Japan is not a country made for revolutions. Japanese people are much too conservative and timid to seek a radical change. However, I may have been wrong. Japanese people have seen an opportunity for change and they grabbed hold of it. Whether they will be able to make it happen... is anyone's guess. For now, I am willing to believe that Japan is ready for change.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
WAKEARI Gourmet
Maybe about a year ago I started hearing this expression WAKEARI Gourmet.
The expression WAKEARI Gourmet is applied to food products that do not meet "visual" quality standards, but otherwise are perfectly acceptable. Crabs, Cookies, Chinese dumplings, apples..., you name it.
These products, as you may guess, are priced much lower than their counterparts which do meet the quality standards. That is why, in this recession, they are attracting the Japanese consumers' attention.
I have heard many foreign visitors to Japan say how impressed they are with the aesthetics of supermarkets in Japan. Perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables which are neatly packaged and beautifully displayed... Supermarkets in Japan are like food galleries!, they say.
Being a Japanese expat in LA, I find the uniqueness of Trader Joe's and the airy open market feel of Whole Foods more exciting than the cleanliness of Japanese supermarkets. In my opinion Japanese people culturally are a bit too obsessed with how perfect their food looks. I remember working at Mister Donut one summer while I was in college. They had employees like me survey the display shelves one by one, screening out the baked goods that are misshapen and throwing them away. It worked to my advantage though, because we were allowed to eat them if we liked. Today they would be sold as WAKEARI donuts.
Personally I am hoping the current trend of WAKEARI Gourmet will change Japanese people's mind about how their food should look. I hope they will learn not to be so concerned about visual perfection. That way we may be able to stop wasting food and may be able to purchase them much cheaper at stores. (But then, some producers will no longer be able to make money off WAKEARI Gourmet???)
If you are curious, you may check out WAKEARI Gourmet News. http://www.gourmet-digest.com/
The expression WAKEARI Gourmet is applied to food products that do not meet "visual" quality standards, but otherwise are perfectly acceptable. Crabs, Cookies, Chinese dumplings, apples..., you name it.
These products, as you may guess, are priced much lower than their counterparts which do meet the quality standards. That is why, in this recession, they are attracting the Japanese consumers' attention.
I have heard many foreign visitors to Japan say how impressed they are with the aesthetics of supermarkets in Japan. Perfectly shaped fruits and vegetables which are neatly packaged and beautifully displayed... Supermarkets in Japan are like food galleries!, they say.
Being a Japanese expat in LA, I find the uniqueness of Trader Joe's and the airy open market feel of Whole Foods more exciting than the cleanliness of Japanese supermarkets. In my opinion Japanese people culturally are a bit too obsessed with how perfect their food looks. I remember working at Mister Donut one summer while I was in college. They had employees like me survey the display shelves one by one, screening out the baked goods that are misshapen and throwing them away. It worked to my advantage though, because we were allowed to eat them if we liked. Today they would be sold as WAKEARI donuts.
Personally I am hoping the current trend of WAKEARI Gourmet will change Japanese people's mind about how their food should look. I hope they will learn not to be so concerned about visual perfection. That way we may be able to stop wasting food and may be able to purchase them much cheaper at stores. (But then, some producers will no longer be able to make money off WAKEARI Gourmet???)
If you are curious, you may check out WAKEARI Gourmet News. http://www.gourmet-digest.com/
Thursday, December 3, 2009
There is nothing cool about a murder.
There is something which is bothering me in Japan, a lot.
Japan is my home country, even though I have not lived there for the last twenty years (currently I reside in Los Angeles).
When I was visiting Japan on business in early November, there was a news of an arrest. A young guy, by the name of Ichihashi, was finally arrested after a year and seven months on the run from the authority. Ichihashi is suspected of murdering a young British woman who was teaching English in Japan at the time. I will spear you the details, but her body was found on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment.
Ichihashi avoided getting caught by having his facial features altered by cosmetic surgeries multiple times. During the days leading to his arrest, his trail was discussed all over the news. It started looking like a plot from a TV murder mystery typically shown around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Now the sick thing is that there are multiple fan clubs for Ichihashi on Mixi, the largest SNS in Japan, with some attracting more than 2,800 members.
Inside these fan clubs Ichihashi is called "Ikemen," a modern Japanese slang for good looks. There are women who claim they wish to marry him.
I need to say no more. I am in total disbelief. Come on, since when is a murder cool?
I realize I have promised to spare you with the details; however, I need to say this: There is nothing cool about a murder or a rape.
Japan is my home country, even though I have not lived there for the last twenty years (currently I reside in Los Angeles).
When I was visiting Japan on business in early November, there was a news of an arrest. A young guy, by the name of Ichihashi, was finally arrested after a year and seven months on the run from the authority. Ichihashi is suspected of murdering a young British woman who was teaching English in Japan at the time. I will spear you the details, but her body was found on the balcony of Ichihashi's apartment.
Ichihashi avoided getting caught by having his facial features altered by cosmetic surgeries multiple times. During the days leading to his arrest, his trail was discussed all over the news. It started looking like a plot from a TV murder mystery typically shown around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Now the sick thing is that there are multiple fan clubs for Ichihashi on Mixi, the largest SNS in Japan, with some attracting more than 2,800 members.
Inside these fan clubs Ichihashi is called "Ikemen," a modern Japanese slang for good looks. There are women who claim they wish to marry him.
I need to say no more. I am in total disbelief. Come on, since when is a murder cool?
I realize I have promised to spare you with the details; however, I need to say this: There is nothing cool about a murder or a rape.
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