Since I became the custodian of my Imperial 535 sewing machine I have been looking for a user manual. Many people have written in looking for the same. As luck would have it, Gord Bestwick of British Columbia, Canada happened upon my blog page and has kindly cleaned up and offered me an electronic version of his user manual, for free non-commercial distribution. This means no one need pay for this manual and all Imperial, New Home and Janome 535 owners can enjoy it. This manual is applicable to many Japanese sewing machines of similar era. Between us, the world is a better sewing place.

Imperial sewing machine model 535, as illustrated in the user manual. May also be branded as New Home 535 or Janome 535.

It looks like when the Japanese were manufacturing sewing machines in the 1950-60s, much “sharing” occurred. Sewing machines of a wide variety of makes and models looked and operated very much the same. Specifically the brands New Home, Janome and Imperial, were made by Janome. Janome had bought the brand New Home in 1960. Janome manufactured many sewing machines that were later branded to suit the needs of retailers.

What this means is that Gord’s Imperial 535 looks exactly the same as the one in his manual, yet my Imperial 535 is just slightly different. Important operational issues such as needle threading, bobbin operation and sewing are identical. Minor differences include how to refill the bobbin and the placement of certain buttons and switches. In almost all other respects the user manual is very applicable.

Differences with my Imperial 535 include:

• illustration
• thread guides
• bobbin winder mechanism
• drop feed knob: I only have a darn/sew option, no silk
• winding a bobbin, adjust bobbin winding device (I use my finger)

As stated, this document is provided free for non-commercial use. If you have information on the Imperial, New Home or Janome 535 that would be a good addition to this manual or to my blog post, feel free to contact me or Gord Bestwick at gbestwickatshaw.ca (change the “at” to @).

If you download this document please leave a comment with a valid email address. This document will be amended as we find more information. When it is I will email you, provided you leave a valid email address. Imperial/New Home/Janome 535 Sewing Machine User Manual

Imperial sewing machine, model 535, as depicted in the user manual.

Mayor Kotaku Wamura returns from the grave to save Fudai City from certain extinction. His floodgate saved his people and homes from the Mar 11 2011 earthquake and tsunami

This is infrastructure development at its best. Maybe a little slow, but when needed, his public works project was resoundingly vindicated. Why cannot we, here in Toronto, even build a new subway?

At his retirement, Wamura stood before village employees to bid farewell: “Even if you encounter opposition, have conviction and finish what you start. In the end, people will understand.”

Man vs Mother Nature, Mother Nature won: Japanese earthquake and Tsunami, Mar 2011. The Fukushima DaiIchi nuclear incident is a man made disaster.

Having taught English in Japan for a year, I have first hand experience with people from Japan. I was stationed in Kyushu, the largest southern island of Japan, about 100km away from a very large volcano. When you live in close proximity to a volcano that often blows its top, you become pretty nonchalant about tremors. Being Canadian, this never happened to me. The Japanese people love fresh food, especially vegetables. Having some of their food supply deemed unfit to eat is a big psychological blow. We can only hope that this nuclear disaster can be averted. Earthquake, tsunami, and now a nuclear incident: How much can they endure?

Japan loves fresh. You can see this in their homes, where there is no large refrigerator. All food is bought fresh daily and eaten soon after. Because much of Japan is tropical, this saves energy and increases your quality of food. Imported food is looked on sceptically. I recall a grocer telling me that the cheap “Grown in America” oranges were laced with pesticides and would kill me. They were Sunkist from Florida. Of course I bought them and they were delicious.

It is this attitude of “Fresh First” that makes the current nuclear incident even more serious. Contaminated land due to nuclear fallout may never again bear produce fit for human consumption. Here in Canada we would probably import fruit and veggies from some other part of the world and not bat an eye, but in Japan, this will not be the case.

The other issue is that Japan is a crowded country. In my little area of Japan, far from a large city, land is used intensively. There are fields for planting, and for living, not no area is fallow or otherwise unused. Here in Toronto you can go to many areas and see totally unused land. Small villages in Japan are really not very small when compared to Canadian villages. Japanese homes are not large and have small back yards. My point is that even in small villages in Japan, population density is high. This means that there is really no place to go to get away from a contaminated area. Those that are forced to flee will simply crowd out others in another area.

I have faith in the Japanese people in that they are hard working and resilient. How they will solve this problem I do not know, but I wish them luck. I hope that the Fukushima DaiIchi Nuclear Powerplant will change the nuclear power industry for the better. In the mean time those in harm’s way need to move to safety.

Japan is known for their advanced earthquake technology. Was it a calculated gamble to use nuclear reactors in Japan? Unfortunately the downside of this gamble will now play itself out. I wonder if mankind is really smart enough to control Mother Nature. Maybe the smartest thing for mankind to do may be to coexist with Mother Nature and not try to conquer her. She is unpredictable and incredibly strong. Mankind needs to understand that we are small.

The Force is with Her, not mankind.

Atrio of trends from three different countries have come together for this posting. Strangely I have lived in all three countries and somewhat understand their cultural backgrounds. Japan has been through a decade of economic slowdown and 20% of its newly university graduated cannot find adequate work. More than a year ago I began to read about China’s “ant colonies”, newly university graduated who can not find work, who are underemployed or who have found work in their chosen fields but are poorly paid. Finally is my real life experience here in Toronto, Canada, of being newly graduated but unable to find work in my chosen field, or in the information technology field. There are too few employment opportunities for the number of graduates, resulting in a huge number of young people, depressed because they cannot find gainful employment. While I will not dwell on the negative aspects of unemployment, student debt and poverty, is there a positive side to widespread student unemployment for society at large?

Like most other Asian countries, in Japan education is critical to success. Students walk the standard social path of working hard through elementary and high school, taking exams and doing well in order to be accepted into the best school possible. The grand finale is the critical university entrance exam, where if one does well and gets into a top Japanese university, tuition is low and upon graduation, lifetime employment from a top company is virtually guaranteed. Those that do not pass such tests are left to find another way of making a living. Education is so important that one of the jobs of the wife is to do everything for the youngster so that s/he can fully concentrate on studying and doing exceptionally in these exams. Her role even has a name: Kyoiku mama, or Education Mother.

New employees at Toyota Motor Corp. attend a welcoming ceremony Thursday on their first day of work as President Akio Toyoda speaks at the firm's headquarters in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.

One’s identity is directly tied to your company. In fact your company is more important than your family. One Japanese family asked me to dinner and I asked the husband what is more important, his company or his family. In front of his wife he said his company, and his wife agreed.

The intake process for new graduates to their new company is a very ritualized and highly publicized event. All large Japanese companies participate in the intake process, which ends on May 1. If after May 1 a student does not have a job in hand, they have lost the lifetime opportunity to be chosen for the new graduate intake for companies, and mist admit defeat. The new grads all dress up in their company colours and go through a process and formality of company entry, very similar to a social marriage. These events are publicized and shown on television for the whole country to see. For those that are not chosen, viewing these proceedings is both and heart wrenching and painful.

In this context it is clear that when large companies reduce their intake of new graduates, there are many social norms that are broken. The strong social will to spend so much time and energy to study and to do well in exams is called into question. The pomp and circumstance of the company entrance ritual can seem even more out of reach for students. The social norms of a generation of hard working young people is called into question. It is these young disenfranchised Japanese that might want to change these social norms for their children.

Unfortunately for those graduates that are passed over, Japanese companies only select from students of the graduating year, so next year they will be ineligible. Students can then decide to postpone their graduation and return to university for yet another year of study. If they do this they will then be eligible for next year’s recruitment campaign and hopefully an opportunity at a position in one of Japan’s top companies. Rightly or wrongly this is how large Japanese companies have recruited for over 50 years, and before this government positions for near an eternity. The process is unlikely to change.

Staying in university for another year puts increased pressure on the student, the parents, as well as the next year’s graduating class. Competition and stress levels are increased for all students and parents. Students prolong their education not because they seek increased knowledge, but because they have no employment prospects. Is this a waste of educational resources?

The strategy of staying in school long after you could graduate not only occurs in Japan but also here in Toronto, Canada. I talk to many students who have graduated with a degree of some kind, searched unsuccessfully for months for employment, and eventually decided to return to University for yet another degree. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that after another couple years of expensive tuition and time, that their secondary degree will make them more valuable to companies. While this increased enrollment may be good business for universities in the short term, if graduates are unable to find employment what does this say about the institution as an educator?

There are many negative implications when people cannot find gainful employment. The worst is the psychological impact and the rejection from society felt by the candidate. Psychological stress is readily apparent and can affect the student in the longer term.

The reason this issue has special resonance here in Japan, however, is because young people are putting off getting married and having kids for a variety of reasons, including unemployment uncertainty, and the older generation is worried the country’s pension and social security system will collapse under the weight of its growing seniors population.

That’s why talk of this second lost generation here sometimes takes on a “what’s wrong with the kids?” tone.

In extreme cases, the term hikikomori is applied, used to describe young people, especially males, who all but cut themselves off from the rest of society, often living in a virtual world of online chat groups and social networking sites, and refusing to leave their homes.

The Japanese education system, like those found in China, Singapore and South Korea, puts great demands upon youth. A multitude of expectations, high emphasis on competition, and the rote memorization of facts and figures for the purpose of passing entrance exams into the next tier of education in what could be termed a rigid pass-or-fail ideology, induce a high level of stress. Echoing the traditional Confucian values of society, the educational system is still viewed as playing an important part in society’s overall productivity and success.[11] In this social frame, students often face significant pressure from parents and the society in general to conform to its dictates and doctrines.[12] These doctrines, while part of modern Japanese society, are increasingly being rejected by Japanese youth in varying ways such as hikikomori, freeter, NEET (Not currently engaged in Employment, Education, or Training), and parasite singles.

Hikikomori: When you Suck at Everything in Life, just Retreat to your bedroom & never come out

While the social pressure in Japan is oppressive for some, leading to hikikomori, I have seen this phenomenon here in Canada. Internet technology is a very useful tool that can be used to withdraw from society, leading to increased psychosocial issues. Hikikomori is not just a Japanese phemonenon. Regardless of Hikikomori happening in Japan or Canada, it is clear to see that unemployment can have a severely negative impact on even the most talented and well educated individual. Unemployment is damaging to the social fabric of any society, but is particularly damaging to the educated young, long thought to be the future of the country.

Di Qun, one of the ants in Tangjialing, China rests in his cramped room.

The world’s most populous country, China, has a huge problem on its hands. An unwritten government strategy has always been “gainful employment for all in return for social stability”. The smarter and more educated its people, the better the country will become.

China, like Japan, has historically put huge emphasis on education. Studying and exams start in elementary school. Doing well in exams means attending the best school in your area, allowing you access to better teachers and resources. Parents push students to do well, as a university degree is thought to be one of only a few ways of escaping the poverty of farming. Emphasis on education dates back many centuries, when the Emperer used to hold exams for new positions in government. Going to university is the ideal path for young people in China.

Over a decade ago only 0.01% of China’s population could attend a university. This low percentage was thought to be inadequate by the Chinese government. Government bodies encouraged the universities with financial incentives and loans to expand in order to take in more students. In the past the government used to pay for universities, but now universities can charge tuition for their students, and charge they did. Student tuition was used, along with government financial incentives and bank loans to fuel their expansion. And expand the universities did, increasing their intake yearly. Parents saw an opportunity for their children to attend university, even though it was expensive.

Graduates began pouring out of universities. In 2009 China had graduated over 6 million students. Unfortunately there was very little quality control used for graduating students, and many companies complained about the lack of quality they saw in new graduates. No matter, the precedent had been set, and now China graduates way more students than industry and government can absorb.

China had more than six million new university graduates in 2009, but by year’s end, only 87 percent of them had found jobs, meaning nearly 800,000 were yet to be employed.

…A survey done in early 2009 by Lian and his team, conducted among more than 500 Beijing “ants”, found that about one-third of them had no formal employment contracts, with many changing jobs twice a year.

Their average monthly salary stood at just 2,150 yuan — little more than half of the capital’s average at the time.

After expanding universities in the 1980′s, China now has more than six million graduates a year, but there are not enough well-paid jobs to go round.

The small village Tangjialing, located 20 km from the downtown area in Haidian district, Beijing, China, is home to about 20,000 low-income college graduates - a demographic one sociologist likens to ants.

New graduates that could not find adequate work in their smaller cities began moving to Beijing to become migrant workers. Without the proper work permit these graduates can be easily taken advantage of and can be paid quite poorly. With high rent in Beijing many began living in the outskirts of Beijing. The tenement housing of Tangjialing was born. The term “ant colony” was created to describe the overcrowded and decrepit living conditions of these new graduates. With an average salary of $320US/month they cannot afford housing in Beijing and must commute over an hour in order to work.

Many of these graduates have studied computer science and engineering, but because of a very tight labour market and because they do not have the residential permit for Beijing, their pay is very low. Newsweek call this phenomenon China’s new high tech underclass.

“When I was at school, I believed in the saying, ‘Knowledge can help you turn over a new leaf,’” says Guo. “But since I’ve started working, I only half-believe it.”

The competition for jobs is fierce. Nearly 70 percent of high school graduates are expected to enroll in university this year, according to state media, compared with 20 percent in the 1980s. There are more college graduates than readily available jobs – a once unthinkable situation.

“Trying to find a job that pays enough to survive is much harder than I imagined,” says Ren Yanguang, who makes $150 a month as an intern at a local software company in Beijing, where the average income is four times that. “It’s frustrating because if I don’t find a job soon, then I’ll have no choice but to leave.” source

Recently Tangjialing and the plight of China’s ant colony has been getting international news coverage. There is also the social risk that these slums of educated new graduates might be hotbeds of social change. This is viewed negatively by the Chinese government, who have begun to demolish the small town of Tangjialing. The ant colony has been forced to move to a nearby town.

Here in Canada life may not be as startling as cases of Japanese hikikomori nor as gritty as the Ant Colony of Tangjialing, but youth unemployment is nevertheless a huge social problem. The vast majority of high school students are encouraged and/or coerced into going to university and community college. This is the stied and true path a good future. In the case of university a four year degree with the student living at home will cost around $20,000CAD. Living away from home a four year degree will easily cost in excess of $80,000CAD. If a student is able to get a government student loan in order to finance this education, how will s/he pay this large sum of money back to the government? Without employment everything stops and nothing is possible. Students cannot even declare bankruptcy now.

Youth unemployment rose from 10.7 per cent in January 2008 to 16.3 per cent during the summer of 2009, the report found.

“The report shows us how the impact of the recession has been immediate and severe for vulnerable groups, such as youth,” CFC president Monica Patten said. source

The most recent Canadian data reinforces the OECD’s findings. The national unemployment rate sat at 8.2 per cent in March, Statistics Canada said recently. Among youths, the rate jumped to 15.6 per cent. source

Luckily, that problem was easy to solve. Labour force statistics are readily available in Canada:

• Canada’s youth unemployment rate is 14.1 per cent. The average for “all the countries in which information is available” is 21 per cent.
• The Canadian rate has risen by 3 percentage points since the beginning of the recession. The global average has gone up by 7 percentage points.
• The rate of youth joblessness among Canadian youth is approximately double the adult rate. In the rest of the world, the youth rate is three times the adult rate.
• In Canada, 48 per cent of young people work part-time, compared to 45 per cent before the recession. Most other countries have seen a dramatic shift from full-time to part-time work in the same age bracket (15-24). source

These statistics should be alarming for Canadians. I know they are alarming for Canadian youth, as well as all unemployed Canadians. The issue is what to do to turn the tide of unemployment, even for those with solid skills that are actively looking for work.

I have no solutions to provide. I can only encourage Canadian companies to try to hire people from different backgrounds and experiences than you would normally, because these people could help you improve creativity in your company and therefore create better products and services.

I find it ironic that Canada was touted to weather the 2009-2010 economic recession better than all other OECD countries yet greatly lag behind all in increased productivity. Maybe Canadian companies should stop relying on the sale of our natural resources and our reliance on selling goods to the US, and look to the rest of the world as potential customers. Invest in people with non-traditional backgrounds and you will be pleasantly surprised at their creativity, hard work and persistence. Frankly the so called “international” Canada is not very international at all.

To put it bluntly, it sucks to be young the world over. The UN’s Labor Agency reported in August that global youth unemployment hit an all-time high at the end of 2009, with 80.7 million workers, aged 15-24, unemployed worldwide, up 7.8 million from 2007. source

Widespread Youth Unemployment

Addendum Nov 07 2010: China’s educated youth face a tough future

Addendum Dec 16 2010: What’s the matter with kids today? Well, no jobs, no money … , What the boomers are leaving their children: Fewer jobs. Lower pay. Higher taxes. Now the Screwed Generation is starting to push back.

Hot was the word of the day on Saturday Aug 28 2010, when we took in the Buskerfest in Toronto. It hit 32C and high humidity. There performers were sweating profusely, as was the audience. Arriving at about 12:45pm we took in the shows of Victor Rubilar from Argentina (juggling soccer balls), Mat Ricardo from the UK (balancing, juggling) and saw a couple of others. It was really crowded and we could not see much, which was to bad.

We got a TTC family pass and took an additional 2 kids, so 6 of us went down, all for $10CAD. Parking was free at the subway station. For us this is the best way to get down town.

Victor Rubilar is a juggler from Argentina and brings a Latin flavour to his show. Of course he is crazy about two special subjects: soccer and women. He juggles soccer balls very well, as well as spins them. His grand finale was juggling 5 soccer balls. His comedy centers around ogling the women in the audience, which he pulls off very well. He plays the romantic lover with various audience members. One issue I have was that he placed an audience member in the middle of the performance area, blocking our view of his performance. Still, he was a professional and patient performer. When some kids spontaneously ran into his performing area, he rolled with them with ease. Victor is very comfortable in front of his audience. His bikini routine was very surprising and unexpected. He is so dedicated to his craft.

Did I mention that the heat was oppressive? The City of Toronto had closed off Front Street from Yonge to Jarvis for the Buskerfest. Victor Rubilar’s performance was at an intersection, so there was a lot of room for spectators. Other performers that drew a crowd were in the middle of Front Street, which is 2 lanes each way. These performances were so deep with people that it was very difficult to even bypass them. On the north side of the street some street vendors were cooking some souvlaki, the searing heat baking both the meat and pedestrians. This was not a convenient setup and I would venture to say that it was also unsafe. If there was an emergency there would be no way ambulance or police personnel on bike would be able to pass. In the middle of this corridor of barbecue a bicycle was locked to a street sign. I say the city should cut off the lock or cut through the bike for the safety of the public. Many people got cut up from the pedals of this bike.

I have not been to Buskerfest for a couple of years, but I would say that Front Street is not a good venue for this event. Buskers draw large crowds that assemble in a circular formation. Front street does not lend itself to this type of public event. There were people with small kids in strollers, the disabled in wheelchairs and people walking with their bikes, all that had great difficulty trying to bypass the crowds. Toronto could do a lot better in organizing the street for better pedestrian flow.

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Victor Rubilar's grand finale, juggling 5 soccer balls

I have often visited Prince Street in Montreal, where they regularly schedule buskers. They do it right in the Belle Province. The street is very wide in order to accommodate the large circular crowds. Front Street does not do the performers justice. It would have been much better to move all the vendors north, away from the sidewalk so that pedestrians could bypass the large crowds. On top of this it was apparent that some stores on Front Street detested the Buskerfest. A specific hair salon would regularly tell people to move from their front door and window. Not only was this unfriendly but more than a little hostile.

Still, contrary to the Toronto I know, the people were very well behaved. Even in the oppressive heat there was no shoving and pushing, no major temper tantrums from kids, no swearing matches between pedestrians. Torontonians were actually civil with each other. I find this shocking to admit this, as well as saddened that this came as a surprise.

As we walked on Front Street it was very apparent that others were also suffering from the heat. Shade spots provided by buildings were in high demand. There were few areas to sit down, one of which was a “games” area, where people were playing board games. Some of their wooden boxes used for advertising worked very well as impromptu stools.

Interesting was the City of Toronto water exhibit, which was a large truck sized water bottle with 8 taps on each side. There were people there to explain that city water was healthier and better for the environment than bottled water. Water, which was refrigerated, was free for the taking, so you could fill up your water bottle as your leisure. I took the opportunity to wet down my face and cool off some in the shade of the truck. It was a marvelous marketing opportunity and a great public service. To the civil servant that thought of the water truck, a big cookie for you! I should have taken a photo but did not. I do appreciate the effort.

There was nothing happening at Centre stage when we passed by, though I did recognize it from Youtube videos we watched. There were few places for performers to perform, which was unfortunate. That meant that if you wanted to see many acts, you would have to attend Buskerfest for many hours and multiple days. This we could not do with the family. I suppose you should just try your luck and be happy with what you get.

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Silver Elvis poses for photos

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Mat Ricardo from the UK spins a silver tea tray perched on three spoons

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Mat Ricardo whipping his diabolo up to speed

Mat Ricardo from the UK was the last performer we saw. Quaintly attired in trousers and suspenders, tie and top hat, he was sweating profusely. I could actually see him melting from the heat, poor chap. With his English accent he mocked the Americans, to the delight of the local crowd. The one hecker I heard the whole day was right behind me, and he was also from the UK! I suppose Mat got a taste of some home grown medicine? We are too polite here in Canada to heckle a street performer. Maybe we save our best for fellow Torontonians.

I did not see the start of Mat’s performance because it was much too crowded. The little weed, as usual, slid between adults for front row kid’s seats. This is to be expected. Mat started with three large serving spoons, one wood and two metal. Wedging them together on end, then spun and balanced a silver serving tray on the last spoon and put the first spoon in his mouth. His balance was quite grand.

People in the front rows were getting tired and started to semi kneel. This allowed me a better view of Mat’s performance. Once in a while their legs would cramp up, forcing them to stand up.

Mat then did his cigar box routine, where he started with three and quickly built up to 8. He finished with stacking the boxes brick style and balancing all 8 on his chin.

Next Mat went into his diabolo routine. He explains that the diabolo originated from China and is the predecessor of the yoyo. He checks the sun and wind, whips his diabolo up to speed and flings the rubber thing 3 stories high. As it comes down, the sun is in his eyes, the wind blows it off course and Mat sidesteps the diabolo as it come bouncing down to earth. It rebounds up about 8′. He decides to change his body position to not have the sun in his eyes and starts his diabolo tricks. Most of these tricks I did not see because others were blocking my view. My little weed tells me he was quite good and he wants to learn diabolo as well. Mat flings the diabolo up 3 stories a couple of times and successfully catches it before it hits the ground.

For Mat’s grand finale he sets a table with a tablecloth, flowers in a silver container, 4 servings of China for tea, and sugar and teapot on a silver tray. He then tells the crowd he will fling the diabolo up 3 stories. While it is in the air he will pull the tablecloth out from the table setting, without disturbing the place setting and catch the diabolo with the tablecloth. He show the audience that there are no magnets or such keeping the table setting on the table.

Even with the advice to watch the table and not the flying diabolo, at least half the audience watches the flying diabolo and misses Mat successfully pull the table cloth away from the table, leaving the place setting intact. It was a very showy ending.

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Mat Ricardo's Grand Finale was to launch a diabolo 3 stories in the air, pull the table cloth from the table without messing up the China and silverware, then catch the diabolo with the tablecloth

I talked to Mat after his performance and asked him if he did unicycling and rola bola. He said he did it all in his 20 years as a performer but simply could not take all his equipment to his shows. He also wanted to stay firmly planted on the ground.

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Witty Look's stash of unicycles

Toronto Buskerfest 2010: Daiki of Witty Look's 5 wheel unicycle

I really wanted to see the unicycle performance of Witty Look’s Daiki and Cheeky, from Japan. I had seen some of their performances on Youtube and was intrigued. Alas it was not meant to be. They performed at 08:00 on Saturday and we arrived at around 12:45pm. Since there was no performance schedule posted on their web site, we could not have known Whitty Look’s performance time. Poking me in the side was that their unicycles were still on site, enticing me but leaving me unrequited. Oh well, maybe next time. Their unicycles look meticulously maintained and were very colourful. I do like their white tires.

Overall the Buskerfest was good. The performers were entertaining, professional, and not mean to the audience. Still there is a little bit of improvement on the part of Buskerfest organizers. I would hate to see an emergency happen and not allow emergency personnel to quickly enter.

For a year I taught English at the Miyakonojo Commerical High School, and Miyakonojo Agricultural High School, Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Ken, Kyushu, Japan, with the JET program. Kuyshu is the second largest and most southerly of Japan’s four main islands. Having a minor in East Asian Studies, China and Japan, it was an interesting time for me to learn first hand what I had read in university text books. Living in a foreign country for an extended period of time immerses you into the culture and gives you invaluable first hand experiences.

As a Chinese Canadian living in Japan the experience was jolting. Me teachers would introduce me as Chinese, but I would introduce myself as Canadian, and the kids would talk to me as a Canadian. I found it ironic that the kids would be able to see with their eyes.

My memories if Japan are largely pleasant ones. I remember vividly arriving in August to 34C heat and high humidity, and having almost no energy to move the whole day. Half way through the month they broke down and allowed me to use an electric fan! There is no air conditioning in the school. From 09:00 to 16:00 I just laid down on a bench and sweat. In August there were no kids in school and therefore no work. All the other teachers were at home, but I was employed by the school so had to attend work.

Miyakonojo Commercial and Agricultural High Schools, Miyazaki Ken, Kyushu, Japan

Miyakonojo was, by far, the smallest town I’ve ever lived. I believe there were about 200,000 people in the city. Most people in their 20s and 30s moved away from the city, leaving school aged kids, their parents and the elderly. It was a somewhat socially limiting place, but I still had a good time. I concentrated in learning Japanese, as well as knowledge gems such as “Don’t fly a kite during a hurricane”. As the typhoon swept into the city that day I decided it was time to watch more news!

I rode my scooter around the city and traveled to nearby towns, learning Japanese as I went. I once visited an onsen, to find the nice girl a the front desk was my student. She blushed and so did I. To the south of my apartment were rice paddies, which I explored. My Japanese map of the city had some traditional ruins marked on the map, but when I tried to find them the locals had little idea of what I was looking for. Even they did not know. I eventually found them.

Miyakonojo Commercial High School map, Miyazaki Ken, Japan

It is interesting to be able to use Google Maps to find Miyakonojo Commercial, but to not have any detailed satellite images. Maybe there are some restrictions in Japan about satellite images? I have labeled certain buildings in red, which you won’t get with Google Maps. My apartment one street east of the school, within 5 minutes walk. There were lots of kids around, so I was able to play with them on a daily basis. They would come over and I would give them peanuts and snacks, ride bikes and play tag.

My apartment was 2 story, each story was 7 tatami mats large. Other families that lived in similar apartments had 4-5 people living in the apartment, and I only had one. As well, in front of my apartment was a small garage, where I could park my scooter and bicycle. I was not allowed to ride my scooter to school, because of insurance purposes.

I probably won’t be going back, and I knew that when I left. Still my memories are pleasant and I often wished I would have better appreciated the time when I was there.

It takes very little for me to have flashbacks of eating street meat in places I’ve lived or visited, namely China, HK and Japan. The mere whiff of an exotic spice can easily send me off to places past, transforming me from here to where I’ve been. I literally lose track of what I am doing and will walk off to chase a scent down. Now that I live in Toronto, Canada, where multiculturalism has evolved to mind expanding lengths, I become easily impatient with our city politicians as they dither about what is acceptable street food offerings to Torontonians. Here’s a novel idea: Let anyone offer food on the street and let the general public decide what they want to eat. Make it easy to get a licenses, enforce strict health rules, and punish those that are unclean. That, however, would be too easy.

___Street meat is any snack you can purchase on the street, usually cooked hot on the spot. Local delicacies vary around the world, and I’ve had my fair share. Here in Toronto, until recently, we were restricted by law to hotdogs and sausages. Yes, they wrote hotdogs and sausages into the local bylaw. In Montreal and Quebec City I cannot even recall a single street vendor. To all the Quebecers out there, you need to get out more.

Yangrou chuanr, mutton kebobs, Chinese street meat

___I can still remember eating yangrou chuanr (mutton kebobs) on the street corner near Beijing University in China. The vendors were from Xinjiang, with skin that was dark and non-Chinese. Mutton was roasted on skewers, which happened to be old bicycle spokes. You could sprinkle their special seasoning and then add powdered chili. I can still identify that special seasoning now. Maybe a little suspect, maybe a little unclean, but I recall not getting sick. Their setup was pretty bare bones. They had a small portable hibachi with coals, a box of unrefrigerated mutton, and a bucket of dirty water.

Jianbing, Chinese egg crepe

___Still in China, there is jianbing, an egg-based crepe. Supposedly it originated from Tianjin. Vendors use a sanlunr or 3 wheeled bicycle cart with a large 4′ by 3′ by 4′ box on the back. This housed the small stove and skillet. Vendors would use a kerosene lantern at night. You were asked if you wanted one or two eggs, and were charged accordingly. The mixture was brewed up and spread on the skillet. The vendor would use a mini rake looking device to spread the mixture in a circle of fine liquid, while you watched it cook. In short order they’d flip one half onto the other and serve it to you on a piece of newspaper. Napkins optional. Jianbing are great food. I’ve never ever gotten sick eating jianbing.

___In Japan I used to frequent the summer matsuris or festivals. Being so hot at night and not having air conditioning, we’d walk around in our cotton yukatas trying to stay cool. All matsuris served food. You could get squid on a stick, curried squid, deep fried squid, fried fish, and many other unidentifiable items, which, unfortunately, I was asked to eat. I did. And did not get sick.

___In Hong Kong street food is elevated to an art form. There are so many options that it boggled my mind. Once in a while you’d see vendors running off as police would try to catch them, only for them to return 10 minutes after. One unfortunate vendor would get caught, the sacrificial lamb, so to speak, who would then loudly alert all the others. Hong Kong offers noodles, dimsum, deep fried stuff, stews on rice, the list goes on and on. I recall wanting to go back to a specific shopping area because of one vendor’s tasty street meat, only to find he was not working that night. Oh, the bitter disappointments of my past. These are fond memories. Though I’ve been to Hong Kong many times and have eaten a LOT of street food while there, I did not once get sick.

___A recent blog entry from Xinjiang introduced me to samsa. Mmmm, Uighur food sounds great.

___Just to dispel the myth that I have a cast iron stomach I will tell you that I once ate shrimp in Guilin while in a regular resteraunt, and for the next 12 hours threw up on a regular basis. I vowed not to eat shrimp or shellfish from any place I did not know. But this shrimp was not street meat.

___Back to Toronto, it has taken over 2 years to start a pilot project that will introduce fellow Torontonians to street meat other than hotdogs and sausages. Can you believe that there is a City of Toronto bylaw that outlaws all other foods served on the street with the exception of hotdogs and sausages? These people really need to travel more. These people also need to walk in any direction here in Toronto and sample the local multicultural cuisine.

___After all this dithering, a food competition amongst many other requirements was required by all vendors, the city eventually licensed 7 new vendors. I was actually a little ashamed, no a lot ashamed. With over 3.5M people and a virtual “Tower of Babel” number of languages, Toronto has way more than 7 ethnic neighborhoods to its name. One vendor will have the monopoly for a large geographic swath of Toronto. City of Toronto politicians should be working on more important work than strictly regulating street vendors. Please stop nannying us, Toronto!

___I could go for a yangrou chuanr or a jianbing now, followed by breaded squid. Toronto, we have come so far, but we still have far to go.

___I happen to enjoy keeping up with news on China and Japan, but with so many sources, checking them individually is madness, and going to Google will drive you to use psychotic drugs. News about China and Japan in the local papers is scarce. There is always more space devoted to local issues, so world news gets pushed to the back of the queue, often not making the papers. By gathering news from around the world you gain different perspectives on news. I do like the objectivity of the British press. Both the Canadian and American press can warp stories one way or another.

___My search to filter rss feeds stopped at the door of Yahoo Pipes. After a brief video it was pretty easy to use and relatively intuitive. I threw together 26 rss feeds, filtered by keyword, eliminated duplicates, and sorted by descending order of date. My China Japan News feed was finished.

___My sources include: Google, NY Times, CNN, BBC, Danwei, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Times of India, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Asia Times, Asahi, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Japan Times, LA Times, The Straits Times, Channel News Asia (Singapore), The Star (Malaysia), Jakarta Post. Are there any other Asian flavours I should add?

___Some of my feeds are not cooperating and gave me errors:

warning error fetching http://feeds2.feedburner.com/latimes/asia (502 Bad Gateway)
warning error fetching http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/rss/world/asia/index_xml (502 Bad Gateway)
warning error fetching http://rss.cnn.com/rss/cnn_world.rss (502 Bad Gateway)


___Oddly, some online newspapers do not provide rss, though they are mostly in Asia. These include:

• People’s Daily: RSS feed does not work
• China Daily, Yomiuri Shumbun: have no RSS feed. The Yomiuri Shimbun subscribe link is for a delivered paper copy subscription
• Asahi Shimbun’s english section: gives an RSS in Japanese
• Chicago Tribune: has no RSS. Maybe Obama will fix this

___I’ve fed this new feed into DonTai.com‘s news aggregator and it displays very nicely. I’ll play with it for a couple of days and see if the pipe breaks. Overall I’d give Yahoo Pipes a B+ for user interface and usability, and a B for bugs. Often the news preview and the save functions were not working, but you wait long enough and it fixes itself. The bottom line is that the functions of Yahoo Pipes work and work very well.

P.S. I just added The Straits Times, Channel News Asia (Singapore), The Star (Malaysia), Jakarta Post. I also notice that I must be logged into Yahoo mail or I cannot access Yahoo Pipes. Yahoo Pipes have their own login, but it won’t let me authenticate with my valid Yahoo account. Logged into Yahoo Mail I bypass Yahoo Pipes’ authentication.