Aaaand, here’s a video of a baby dwarf hamster easting his first broccoli.

Why, you ask? Because it’s cute. In today’s world, sometimes we see things online that can actually damage our souls. Like this. What? You looked at that?? Why did you look at that when I told you it would damage your soul? Quick! Look at the hamster video! There–now don’t you feel better?

It’s called a unicorn chaser. So now you have a quick unicorn chaser for emergencies.

By the way, if you did look at the soul-damaging picture, and are still going WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!–it’s a botfly larva being removed from a human eye. There. Now go watch the hamster kicking his little feet with joy again. Ahhhhh.

A Canadian girl posted this video on Youtube, just splicing together video shots of life around Kumamoto, which is just a bit south of my town. Although her city is a little smaller and a touch more rural (and they have a far more excellent castle), it gives you a good idea of life here. She obviously teaches a different age group, too. Kudos on her inclusion of cute kids and good music.

Iggy Pop celebrates turning 60 by stage diving. If this makes it onto CNN, I bet you $100 somebody says, "Wow, he sure has a ‘Lust for Life’, huh?" And the other anchors will probably look at her blankly and then laugh that polite "OK, whatever" laugh.

Holocaust survivor Liviu Librescu, a 76-year-old professor at Virginia Tech, held the unlockable door to his classroom closed to give his students time to escape out windows while a mass-murderer approached. He was shot to death; all his students made it out alive.

He’s my hero.

So I started my new job this week. I’m a Visiting Lecturer in American Literature and Culture at Kyushu University, Faculty of Letters, Department of English, teaching undergrad and grad both. Monday I was welcomed at a big meeting (had to make a speech–boy was I glad the new Chinese prof made his just before me, because he didn’t know any Japanese at all, so I didn’t feel as stupid), then yesterday I joined the other profs in welcoming the new English undergrad students, and on Friday we’ll welcome the new grad students.

For the past seven years, I’ve been teaching full-time at Fukuoka University and part-time at Kyushu U and Seinan U–those are the three best schools in town, with KU and SU neck-and-neck for best. So becoming a full-timer at KU is a promotion, and teaching lit and culture will be a lot more interesting than English Conversation, which is about 90% of what I’ve been teaching. Also, the number of classes I teach a week will drop from 14 to only 5, while the pay will remain about the same of what I’ve been getting, full-time and part-time included.

My office is kind of a pit, but after I finish cleaning up all the cigarette ashes the last guy left behind, it’ll be nicer. It’s only a 2-year job, though, so it’s just a stepping-stone to whatever is next.

And my youngest, Natsumi, had her entrance ceremony at her new college, Nakamura U, where she’ll be studying business for a 2-year degree. She looks way more mature now that she’s ditched the high-school uniform:

That’s her with a friend–Natsumi has the short hair. The clouds of white in the background are cherry blossoms (sakura).

The Taiko Club gave a great drumming demonstration–very exciting, especially following the very formal, stately rendition of the song "Sakura" by the Koto Club. (That "Sakura" link is to an MP3–imagine that with a dozen players. Oh, and here’s the lyrics, though I’ve rarely heard it sung.)

A new display at my local supermarket:

The whale-meat industry is really trying to get somebody, anybody to eat whale meat. People just don’t buy enough of it to sustain the industry, which officially doesn’t exist–all this meat comes from whales killed for "scientific experiments"…and if you believe that, I have an island to sell you, cheap.

I actually had some whale meat a couple weeks back, at a very swanky dinner (my boss gave me the tickets as a thank you for some above-the-call-of-duty work I did). I ate it because I hadn’t eaten any in a long while–the last time I had any, it was a slice of whale testicle, actually. Anyway, I couldn’t remember how it tasted. Meh–it was nothing special. I think, considering the amount of heavy metals that accumulates in whales, the argument that it’s good for you is particularly specious, and since nobody really wants to eat it, and all the other arguments are empty, the only reason whale hunting continues in Japan is that the whale industry bribes the politicians.