After the Storm…

Filed under:☽2007,♬ 2007,Bar Notes ♪,Culture,Misc,Music,Odds-n-Ends — posted by JAWjaw on July 20, 2007 @ 11:30 am

A look at what some local residents do after a typhoon blows by…

After the Typhoon - 14Jul07

(Click on image to view large size)

When the daytime outdoor clean-up is done, some people on island like to kick back and listen to the rock music at Bar JET.

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Also, it’s that time of year again. Although it’s hard to believe that 24 years have passed since I attended that first outdoor Rockfest concert on the weed-whacked hill up north (an area now in the vicinity of a golf coarse), the 25th annual RockFest is to be held on July 7 and 8 (Saturday and Sunday), 2007. This year it’s being billed as the pre-celebration to the long-awaited for (10 years in the making) MusicTown project. Among some of the venues MusicTown will house (from what I’ve been told) are an entertainment training facility for both management and artists, various independent vendor facitlites, and a standing-only live concert hall for visiting national “big name” concerts (unlike the parallel street’s Korinza entertainment facility, which houses a sit-down theater-style hall). Another aspect that seperates MusicTown is that it is a government-sponsored facility, unlike most of the other live music venues (about a dozen or so) in the area, which are independently-owned private facilties, each having its own style and characteristics. With the RockFest, comes that annual influx of tourists in the area. So…expect many of your regular neighborhood haunts to be a bit more crowded and busier than usual during the festivities.

A Brief Reminder…

Back in January I posted a notice that this site is part of “Just A Wife creations … projects consisting of material mainly created and accumulated by an unsigned independent artist (myself) who is not associated or affiliated with any official organization. These original creations chronicle the varying aspects of my life on the island.”

This still remains true, including any time spent at Bar JET. For some unexplicable reason, another NHK (from what I’m being told) film crew is coming to the bar again this weekend. This makes an untold number of times the company has deemed it necessary to obtain footage of the bar, both with and without previous agreement from the owner of the facility. How much footage does one company need of a fifty-seater facility, and why?

UPDATE: Seems the answer was that the crew wanted to bring in a group of about ten females to pose as customers in order to “produce” (instead of document the actual scene) a desired image for footage to be used in an unknown manner. That’s show biz…. as most people who frequent the facility already know, Bar JET customers consist of a mix of all persons who reside on island.

Civil Rights of Minorities Amongst a Minority in Japan

Filed under:★2007,☽2007,Bar Notes ♪,Culture,Misc,Odds-n-Ends — posted by JAWjaw on January 8, 2007 @ 3:25 am

Sometimes we can just be busy trying to live our lives, when out of nowhere a larger issue than one’s self comes to light. Last night was such an occassion. While helping out at my husband’s establishment (as I do every weekend), with no provocation a customer, and somewhat of an acquaintance of my husband’s, just popped me on the top of my face. Although this may be an action that is somewhat tolerated by some local females, I responded and quickly let it be known I will not accept physical aggression towards me. Having lived on Okinawa for most of the past almost thirty-four years, it is not the first time I have encountered physical aggression from the local population. It is however the first time any of the aggressors have hit me in the face. Verbal aggression, grabbing, and popping on the arm are not an uncommon occurrance here. However, there comes a point to where enough is enough. Although other people were present at the time, it isn’t uncommon for none of them to react to this behavior when it comes from a local. Because of the unusal circumstances surrounding the history of and relations towards Okinawa, the islanders are viewed as a minority in the Japanese civil and human rights rings. Most organizations are formed in an effort to gain the Okinawans rights. And much of this is due to anti-miltary, peace, or cultural pride movements. However, I am not associated with the miltary. I am an American (in which the locals take extreme pleasure in constantly reminding me) citizen who’s been married to an Okinawan for over thirty-two years. Which brings us to the second main difference between me and the majority of foreigners on island, I also happen to be a female. And to complete the trifecta of main diffences, I am also causasian instead of Asian. Talking about being a minority.

After experiencing last night’s physical agression, I decided to look further into info on the local civil rights organizations. To my surprise, I really didn’t find much info about the situation of being a minority amongst a group viewed by most human rights organizations as being the persecuted minority. However, I was able to find several informative links to civil rights in general and of foreigners in mainland Japan. Here is a list of some of those links:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Multiple Discrimination Against Minority Women in Japan

Human Rights Network

Japan Civil Liberties Union (JCLU)

Proposal on a Human Rights Law System in Japan (pdf)

United for a Multicultural Japan

Human Rights International

KFC Holiday Decoration

Filed under:★2006,Bar Notes ♪,Culture — posted by JAWjaw on December 21, 2006 @ 4:22 pm

This is another holiday collectable, a commemorative holiday plate from KFC celebrating the millenium (2000)….

KFC 2000 Holiday Decoration

(Click on image to view large size)

December Sky 2006

Filed under:★2006,Bar Notes ♪,Nature Scenes☉ — posted by JAWjaw on December 20, 2006 @ 5:12 pm

A look at a December afternoon sky on the island as the sun tries to peek through.

December Sky 2006

(Click on image to view large size)

Holiday Greetings

Filed under:★2006,♬ 2006,Bar Notes ♪,Blogging for Newbies☄,Misc,Music — posted by JAWjaw on December 17, 2006 @ 5:45 pm

Below are links to my latest attempt at a large video from scratch. Unfortunately it was too long for the YouTube site and I had to go back and break it down…..

Holiday Greetings

(Click on image to view large size)

View Part 1 and Part 2 of the video.

Coupon Update

Filed under:★2006,Bar Notes ♪,Misc — posted by JAWjaw on November 8, 2006 @ 12:21 am

A map on a flyer of the participants in a currently ongoing music-based club event that will be using coupons.

Coupon Participants

(Click on image to view large size)

In an update of an earlier post, the flyer above has been distributed indicating the participants in a reorganized event. Although I still find this particular means of distributing public funds in an equitable manner as less than optimum, the questions posed on the post have been replied to in an acceptable manner in a meeting this week. Therefore, Live Music Bar JET will be one of the clubs accepting the designated coupons for the event on Saturday 18 Nov ’06.

Mid-Afternoon Bird Flight Amongst the Clouds – Okinawa 2006

Filed under:★2006,Bar Notes ♪,Nature Scenes☉ — posted by JAWjaw on October 14, 2006 @ 2:02 pm

A bird enjoying the mid-afternoon breeze by ridin’ the wave. Also, two of the annual hawks came by very briefly later in the afternoon. Hopefully, I will be able to get some better shots this year.

Mid-Afternoon Clouds - Okinawa 2006

(Click on image to view large size)

Now a thought on the latest wave to roll my way (something I was told about last night), coupons:

1) it doesn’t seem to be an equitable means of distributing funds…depending on who gets the coupons, the finances will go to “friends” thereby producing the possiblity of keeping funds in a loop

2) if a guarantee to protect against counterfeit coupons is arranged, this leaves several possible misuses

a) a disreputable person could distribute counterfeits within a loop thereby providing additional funds to “friends” and/or self

b) a disreputable person could flood any given business with counterfeits thereby placing said business under suspicion of fraud

c) or a disreputable person could do both, thereby producing a total manipulation of the market

3) if no guarantee against counterfits is arranged, it leaves a business wide open to loss of funds through counterfeits

Even though intentions may be good, there are too many opportunities for misuse.

I say NO to coupons…..


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