Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

This movie was a kind of remake of 1960's movie "Guess who's coming to dinner?".

But this movie is a comedy and the story takes place today's America. In the old movie white person is a woman, this time it was a man. I've heard the things got much better these days.

I remember 10 years ago, when I lived in US, I saw some interracial couples. I know a Japanese friend who married American guy who is white. But black and white was rarely seen.

Although the story was comedy, it tells how difficult black and white marriage still is.

In NBC show "The West Wing" a young Black man called Charlie became a boyfriend of the President Bartlet's daughter. But as that show describes, interracial marriage is still some issue in US. Charlie became the scapegoat for white supremacist group.

Racism still is. But the society should encourage the interracial marriage. It is a good thing.

Such marriage not only represents the love between two people but also the unity of different races.

Of course it is not comfortable for the couple to be symbol of the social reform but they would contribute to the society anyway.

I remember when I was in China last spring, I fell in love with a Chinese woman. I thought if I could marry her, this might some way help repair the worsened relationship between the two nations.

Let's get over the differences.

I decided not to eat beef in my life. I do not eat steak or sukiyaki any more.

Beef are delicious but also very dangerous these days because of mad cow disease.

US beef imports to Japan is currently suspended now.

Actually, mad cow disease is not the only reason I stopped eating it. Raising cattles for meat consumes so much energey and burdens our planet's environment.  Cutting forest trees, Grazing the filed. Raise cattles only for milk! Let them eat only grass, not their own meat to cut cost.

Americans should eat less beef and eat more fish like we do!

I went to see the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha." Here in Japan the title was changed to "SAYURI."

The movie was kind of strange but also very interesting.

The characters in the movie speak in English. The hairstyle of the Geishas were appearently different from real Geishas walking on the streets in Kyoto.

The story was good in first half but the latter half was kind of difficult to understand. I actually did not like the story.

Some of Japanese argue Japan portrayed in that film was too strange to see. But how many of Japanese know the old time Japan, especially the life of Geisha? How many of us know how to wear traditional kimono?

So in that sense Hollywood made the best of their efforts.

One thing I find they are better than Japanese films is the scenes of the evening party. Usually those scenes are very bright like today's party room with fluor lamps on the ceiling. That never happened in 1930's. But in the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha," the room was not very bright and the Geisha's face was lit by orange paper lantern. That should be real scenes of those days, I think.

The thing I was kind of disturbed by was the main character was played by Chinese actress, Zhi Zhang. She is a great actress, but the point is the character she played might aggravate Chinese people. The story took place in 1930's Japan. It was a time Japan was invading China. The Geisha fell in love with Japanese rich man who once fought in Manchuria. Then after the war she helped him with reconstructing his business sleeping with American military man.

Today is the time the relationship between China and Japan has become worst in post-war time. It is due to our stupid prime minister and his uneducated conservative supporters.   

As one of Japanese citizen who is very aware of how apologetic Japan should be to China, I could not enjoy this movie although the Chinese actress did played that role as Hollywood actress.

I went to Egypt last week. 14 hour flight from Tokyo.

I really had fun visiting pyramids and old ruins.

An Egyptian guide I met talked so much about the war in their neighboring country, Iraq.

He repeatedly said to our tour group that the US started the war because they wanted oil, not to provide democracy. He was so emotional about that. I've seen very few American tourists visiting there. I understood why.

I recommend Americans not visit there nowadays although the pyramids and ruins were magnificient.