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Sites such as “Pick Your President” give you a quick idea of what each candidate supports and opposes, enabling you to use it like a Barcharts QuickStudy guides. No longer do you need to know a candidates’ character unrelated to the set of issues that are always around; as long as he [or a she, which will hopefully happen in the next elections in this country, and around the world soon] can give what you want, a candidate wins your temporary support.

This Halloween has been more extraordinary for many, while for others it’s a normal weekend as usual. It could be special probably because the “special” elections this year have caused other events around it to gain some more attention than usual. It could be that people prefer to focus their attention to the celebration of special days in the year to minimize the headache caused by any event such as the election; for others, it could mean that celebrating Halloween is a special way to start the final voting. No longer are majority of the people getting too worried about other issues in the world. All that people can think up of is to say “Are you voting? Go and vote!”; the same theme is visible in person, on TV, on radio stations, and in newspapers and brochures. It’s only when my own friend Elmo tells me to vote, that I think that it may have some potential value beyond what is generally conveyed through the media.

Are we sad that an innocent Japanese hostage has been murdered in Iraq? Some of us are; others are too busy with the elections to worry about other peoples’ lives, literally. We cry or laugh for one year after the elections because of the person who wins, the next 1.5 years we simply take a slow stance and do not question the candidate much of what he has done about the promises he made, nor do we question ourselves as to why we voted for some person. The last 1.5 years is devoted on the next elections. Thus, virtually, it is a 4 year term in terms of getting votes, no in terms of getting things done for the people or issues at hand.

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While a perfume can be marketed as a product that will give you a preferable scent on/in your clothes when you socialize with people, it is usually marketed with the images of glamorization and unrealistic goals [such as attaining a figure or a perfect face, which has actually been digitally altered]. Such images tend to affect the personality of the young generation; they grow up to value such opinions and to target for such aims. Instead of buying a beauty product to fix a scar on the face or to use cologne, we tend to buy a product in order to be like the ideal female/male shown in the product ad, or to attain a sense of happiness or pleasure shown in the ad, yet something which is not related to the product at all. Advertising isn’t evil; the way much of the advertisement is presented can be questioned, though.

Below is a picture of the American flag outside In-n-Out burger:

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<%image(20041026-PICT0001_DCE.JPG|600|449|In-n-Out Burger in Fullerton, California, USA)%>

<%image(20041025-Hatsume-Sato-seminar-with-someone.JPG|600|449|Hatsume Sato at the Torrance Seminar at Marriot Hotel)%>

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It seems that every seller [not only on Amazon] has a different shipping preference. Some of the books I received within 48 hours; others came a few days later. Still, I am waiting for one book for over 20 normal days now. Sending an email to the seller results in the seller saying that the book should arrive within 21 business days. Tomorrow is Saturday; in rare cases the book may arrive tomorrow. In cases where there is a situation that the seller is unaware of [leading to a delay], you should work with the seller to solve the issue. In some cases, the seller is not at fault; in fact, she/he is on the same boat as you in such cases. On the other hand, if the seller depends on the delivery estimate figures and does not care if you get the book early or not as long as it is within the delivery estimates, you should make sure the seller realizes that you are not pleased.

It takes less than 21 business days to get a book from here to Japan using standard mail. Sometimes books do arrive late; however, using the reason that “Standard/Special Media Shipping” options take such long time is strange since I ship at least one item every business day [mostly between Monday and Friday] within America and to other countries. The receivers have always received the books within two weeks from the date I sent them the item.

Book sellers have to go a long way to make sure that customers [including yours truly, who is a seller also for some reason that I am not aware of] get the exact service they asked for, and more. Simply because the USPS can take up to 21 days to deliver normal mail does not mean that you have to ship the item late and then use the delivery estimate as a reason for late shipping. Also, ask sellers why they do not offer expedited shipping; is it because that they do not know up front what the cost for such a shipping would be [Amazon charges you automatically and does not yet give the seller the option to charge custom amounts for shipping]? The reason may not be obvious; for some sellers, the reason may be that since they have so many orders, they ship the items every few days in bulk to all their customers. That is where some of the problem lies; treat each customer as a customer. Treating all customers as a one pack of clients is the same as thinking that all customers are the same, have the exact same needs, and deserve the exact same treatment without taking into consideration their requests or order types.

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The current child in American, a typical young child watches people, both heroes and villains, carrying guns in almost every form of media; comics, cartoons, movies, sitcoms, news, etc. While such depictions may be harmful, some may say, studies have shown that leaving a blank revolver or a gun, all ready but without any ammo [bullets], and a child in the same room will eventually result in the child picking up the gun and being able to pull the trigger in the end. While the concept of killing or hurting someone is not yet present in such young minds, the concept of having a gun because the “cartoon” or the “movie” depicted it as being cool and fun to use is one of the reasons cited by these children as to why they pulled the trigger in the first place.

Movies show a lot of action, yet the consequences are very low or almost nonexistent for the good people [or the bad ones] who commit any form of violence [whether it is because of guns or anything else]. The “bad people” are shown to die off quickly, and while they are dying, they usually utter out a piece of advise for the good guy. This typical situation creates a level of unreality in the mind of a young teenagers and even younger children, who tend to view movies differently than adults. For kids, television and anything on it is a form of reality; whatever they see on it is also comparable and adoptable in real life, if such need arises.

Guns aren’t the only form of effect that media has on children and adults also. There are many other types of violent acts related to alcoholism, aggressive behavior, social problems, etc. In addition to that, violence is not the only thing that is portrayed on television that may have an adverse effect on the viewers. Depiction of drugs [even without any violence] and sex also go a long way to modifying the characters of the viewers who watch shows with such content and affect their behavior in real life. This issue is not only limited to American population; it affects every country, all the way from American to Japan to Russian and Europe. The way this effect varies depends on the viewers and what their prior learning values have been.

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Hatsume San - Size - 46 kb ; File Type - Word 2002 Document. [exact document is reproduced below for your convenience]

Join the Mother Teresa of Japan,Hatsume Sato, for a Seminar & Rice ball making demonstration
- Saturday, October 23, 2004

Rejuvenation of the Heart through the Process of Food Preparation

Hatsume Sato, the founder of Mori-no- Ischia, a forest retreat in northern Japan, has been helping thousands of people to recover from depression through her insightful conversation and traditional Japanese homemade cooking using natural ingredients.

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She was introduced in a Japanese documentary film called Gaia Symphony II, along with other celebrities such as the 14th Dalai Lama. Since then, inquires about her miraculous rice balls, ‘Omusubi’, never ceased to stop. People have eaten her legendary ‘Omusubi’ and given up the idea of suicide, and taken a renewed joy in living.

Don’t miss this precious opportunity to participate and see Hatsume create rice balls for all the attendees through an intricate technique. In addition, Japanese traditional food will be served along with her ‘Omusubi.’ You will truly be amazed and inspired!

*The English translation is provided for the lecture.

Date: October 23rd. Saturday

Time: Rice ball making demonstration 11:00am - 12:30 pm
Lecture & Movie Gaia symphony Hatsume’s version
1 - 3 pm (Movie is Japanese)

At: Marriott Hotel Torrance,
3635 Fashion Wy.,Torrance, CA 90503

Price: Rice Ball Demonstration $20
Lecture & Short movie $15

Information: Mitsuko Cannon (310-541-3790) mtcannon@earthlink.net

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Mail order advanced tickets:
Please let me [or anyone at the above contacts] know if you need the English translation or not and send check with a return address and stamped envelope [do not send a check to me; send it to the above address. I can only request English translation for you; anything regarding paying for this event should be arranged directly with the above contacts or sent to the below address].
Name: Address:
Tel: E-mail:
Rice ball demonstration $20 ( ) ticket / Lecture & Movie $15 ( ) ticket

Payable to : Gaia LA

Mail to : Gaia LA

C/o. Mitsuko Cannon (32622 Nantasket Dr, # 54, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275)

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Gaia Symphony III details - Size - 81 kb ; File Type - Word 2002 Document. [exact document is reproduced below for your convenience]

Gaia Symphony III

Documentary Film Directed by Jin Tatsumura

Amazing message for whole being.

It is quite reasonable to believe that the universe has a mind.

Gaia is The Goddess of the Earth in Greek Mythology. The purpose of the Gaia Symphony III is to inspire viewers through conversations and contributions of modern-day heroes who use their time for a more harmonious Mother Earth. “It is quite reasonable to believe that the universe has a mind.“

Date: Oct 31, 2004 (Sunday)

Japanese: 1:00 pm (opening 12:30 pm)

English: 4:30 pm (opening 4:00 pm)

Place: Japan America Theatre , 244 S. San Pedro St. LA, CA 90012

Ticket: Advance Sales $10, Day of Screening $13

*Complimentary ticket for seniors (over 85 years old) ID required.

Ticket sales: Kaede Shobo(Torrance, Nijiya Plaza), Book Value:(Torrance, Rolling Hills Plaza) ,Nichibei Gekijo

Mail order advanced tickets: Specify version, English or Japanese and send check with a return address and stamped envelope.

Payable to: Gaia LA

Mail to: C/o. Yuki Nakazono 1414 Brett Pl, #147, San Pedro, CA 90732

Contact: Japanese Naoko (310-328-1488)

English - Tony (310-541-3790) /gaia_la@hotmail.com

Organized by Gaia Symphony LA Screening Association

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<%image(20041015-rail-road-crossing_DCE.JPG|600|449|Waiting at the railroad crossing at a stop light)%>