"A torrent of government investment has improved the buraku* so they are no longer slums. Yet average income for buraku families is still only about 60 percent of the national average, and social problems are proving to be far more persistent than discrimination. Buraku leaders acknowledge that alcoholism is a disproportionate problem in their ( Read more... )

I watched Rashomon with Naomi tonight. I'd heard lots of cultural references to it before, but somehow never got around to seeing it before now. It's good. Like a shorter, better version of Clue, with half the humor replaced by speculations on ethics and human nature ( Read more... )