Author: sofia

I wonder how long it is going to take lobbying corporations in the resources and agricultural sectors, as well as their political cronies to figure out that working against the environment isn’t going to help them. In this episode of ‘Ostriches Against the World,’ Australian MP is continually attacking climate change proponents by using partial readings of scientific papers. The author, Prof Sandy Harrison, rebutted, saying… “the risk of catastrophic fires will continue to increase.”

“She added: “As a scientist, my job is to tell you the facts. Your job is to act on them.”

Kelly has been prolific in his Facebook attacks on the “climate alarmist cult” and the “prophets of doom” in the past few weeks.

In the past 24 hours, Kelly has posted six times, attacking climate campaigners at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland as “prophets of doom”, promoting attacks on alarmists, attacking environment activist group Greenpeace, and other posts claiming “fake climate news”.” – Quoted from the article.

People with this stance are in the losing camp, and need to look at the global market. Comparatively, green investment is almost the only thing going up, and there’s a reason for that. It’s time for global leaders and corporations involved in infrastructure to get with the times and start coming up with sustainable solutions FAST.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/uk-climate-scientist-corrects-australian-mp-craig-kellys-blatant-misrepresentation

So I have a balcony garden, and I haven’t given it as much time as a proper gardener might, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you like to eat spring weeds… since what I would be weeding are the edible greens! Who needs to grow veg when it pops right up?

Also, spring shoots on trees can be edible. Here in Japan, the shoots of many plants can be eaten after parboiling. In the spring, when vegetables are scarce and expensive, it is a good time to prune your edible fruit trees and get your greens in that way!

Today I picked chickweed (too late and bitter raw because it now has flowers), dandelion and it’s cousin, and I trimmed some spring shoots off my adorable little mulberries so that they will bush out.

I washed the greens, and ate the dandelion right away because it was so tender and irresistible.

The other ones I gently placed in boiling water, and cooked for about three seconds. Then I took them out and put them in a bowl of cold water. Finally they got swished around a few times in the water to get rid of any left over dirt or seeds, the big leaves we’re removed, the chickweed was wrung and cut into 3- inch-size pieces, and here is the picture!

As for flavor, I’ll make a sweet miso-ae, which is miso with a little sugar (in my case, honey) and a dash of vinegar. But I want to try them all raw.

RAW:

The mulberry leaves were exquisite. They had a gentle flavor, a bit like spinach but less intense. I ate them up. The chickweed… Tastes good, but it is fibrous. I need to pick it younger.

MISO-AE

Here is the recipe I used for miso-ae, a sauce to put on freshly steamed veggies.

Mix 2Tbsp miso, 1Tbsp honey or sugar, and 1/2tsp vinegar. This is a protein-packed sauce that people add to cooked veggies in Japan. It makes a nice dip and can be used as a salad dressing, especially if thinned a bit.

I saw this problem when I visited the Huichol Indians 20 years ago. Agribusiness firms had come, provided chemicals that destroyed the ecosystem in the soil, and created economic debt in a community that could not afford to pay it back. Further, this debt extends into another, ecological debt, that affects not only their land, but our world as a whole. As a researcher in Horticulture, I firmly beloeve that it is high time that academia involved in agriculture studied how ECOSYSTEMS work, and focus on them, not on chemicals and biological mutations that destroy them. There is plenty to study there, but it is uncharted territory. To change the paradigms of science requires innovation, creativity, and dedication. Belief in new methods and ideas is necessary, but it can be, and is slowly being done. Let us join this revolution and create a better world through interdisciplinary research that challenges big money and destructive practices. Everyone, not only researchers, but everyone has the ability to change their immediate surroundings. May we be blessed with the inspiration to love our world and make it a better one.

https://youtu.be/SD620xinnPk

I had kind of nightmare trying to do this, so I am writing this for my fellow Expats living in Japan. The US government addresses are unclear, and this caused problems.

To renew your passport, if you have lived in Japan for about 10 years and have a Japan Post Bank card, you can use your card to make the payment for the money order (currently $110) payable to the US government.

To get the money order
You will need:

• Your MyNumber card (a Japanese Tax card)
• Your Japan Post Bank Card or Bank Book
• Your Inkan (If for some reason you do not have the password number for your bank account)

Directions:

1. Bring in the items above.
2. Ask for an in-country “kokusai yubin kawase”
3. Address the money order to: “U.S. Department of State”
4. In the address area write: “PSC 471 Box 1111 FPO, AP”
5. The Country is: “USA”
6. The postal code is: “96347”

Then prepare your envelope for sending everything in.

Address the envelope to The American Embassy in Tokyo if you live in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (includes Chiba, Saitama and some other prefectures). If not, please check the internet for where to send it, most likely your local consulate.

In my case, this was what I wrote on the envelope I sent:

米国大使館　領事部　旅券課

〒107-8420

American Embassy, Passport Division

1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 〒107-8420

When you are done, it should contain:

1. – Your US passport.

2. – 50mm X 50mm (2×2 inch) photo with a white background (not blue). You can take them at the photo booths outside large stores for ¥700-¥800. Be sure you powder your face. Those things take horrible photos.

Cut out the photo and staple it to your DS-82 form according to the directions.

3. – Your printed out, completed, signed and dated DS-82 form.

4. – The money order fee of $110.

5. – A self-addressed, insured envelope. I chose the one that that they need a signature for, because I didn’t want my new passport sitting in the mailbox outside.(~¥500)

(6.) The envelope itself – An addressed envelope to the Embassy to send all these things in (~¥300).

You should give them 4-6 weeks to process and deliver your new passport. Good luck!!

Want to have an interesting evening figuring out how different cultures view gender through pop media? This can be done by accessing Netflix around the world.

I noticed this issue of sexism really deeply when I had the chance to choose different countries’ Netflix. Netflix selects it’s shows based on what they think will be popular (obviously).

People watch shows that identify with their social norms. While Japanese Netflix didn’t show extreme sexism, Sweden’s Netflix floored me.

It contained a lot of shows about women in positions of power, non-prettied up women, lesbianism, and other positions of decision-making and power, leading me to think that Swedish people consider women to be a strong and important part of society, able to make decisions about the world around them and what they want for themselves.

The US Netflix was extremely sexist. There was a clear distinction between girl’s shows and boy’s shows. Women, even if in positions of power, have to fit a physical feminine standard (great example: Wonder Woman). There is not much gender identity swapping, and there are a lot of labels for what is good or bad. Rather than lesbianism, there is a lot of ‘what women can sexually do for men’, like the movies about the nympho, and sexy girl horror flicks. But it is also clear that Americans are struggling with an internal discussion about gender identity and what it means.

As I see it, In the end, as long as women feel that they need to be physically attractive for men, they will be on a lower power rung.

Women should get pretty for themselves, not so that they can fling themselves at men in high places. They should be able to believe that they can do as well as men can, regardless of their physical state. After all, we are not hunting with clubs and spears or living in caves anymore. It’s time for a societal evolution.

https://www.google.co.jp/amp/amp.slate.com/articles/life/the_kids/2017/11/how_to_stop_sexism_and_raise_a_son_who_respects_women.html

What a lovely song about hope. It has always been one of my favorites. When heard for the first time at age 16, it changed something in my mind.

https://play.google.com/music/m/Tzpfq7zuqelq4lsmchoqszucgii?t=Caribbean_Blue_-_Enya

I made a cardboard bat house, and put the towel I had wrapped him in within it. Attached it to the wall outside. And hoped that he would be alright. And the other day, when I went outside, he was scratching around in there! I need to make a real one…

Thank you, Ursula K. LeGuin, for your wonderful books. You were my favorite author. Your books always made me think, and brought me much joy. It was interesting, but understandable, to read that your basis was in Taoism. No wonder… About so many things I learned from you. Nothing was stale. My favorite quote was from my least favorite of your books, Searoad, which was about a quiet little town on a US coast. It was about the passion of reading. My favorite of your books… Hmm. I loved the Earthsea Trilogy. But the passion of “The Left Hand of Darkness” was engulfing. I will never forget it. Immense gratitude for your contributions to our world, and to my own little universe.

https://www.google.co.jp/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/obituaries/ursula-k-le-guin-acclaimed-for-her-fantasy-fiction-is-dead-at-88.amp.html