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Cultural Interlude

Thursday, September 20th, 2007

31/08/2007 (still)

From cutting-edge deep-sea research to, well, the cutting edge (and deep-seated tradition) of making a katana, or Japanese sword.

Swordmaster

This is Sadanaga Kobayashi of Shimane Province, were one of the few remaining traditional forges is located, reviving a two-thousand-year old tradition.
[read on]

Posted in events, Japan without a Clue, Travel | 2 Comments »

Aliens of the Deep

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007

Yokohama Exhibition Hall

31/08/2007

JAMSTEC, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth science and Technology, has its own SF club, and Tetsuya Miwa, from the Extremobiospheres Research Center (or XBR), is the president.

In the workshop which he chaired this afternoon, the boundaries between science and science fiction blurred in more than one sense.

The deep ocean has always seemed as alien to me as outer space, and it’s about as difficult to explore. Its inhabitants give most science fiction writers a run for their money. But footage of living deep-sea critters is still relatively rare and we are discovering new details all the time. For example, did you know that certain deep-sea squid have one red and one green eye? The green eye looks permanently into the abyss. And if you look at living fish under UV light, they reveal the most amazing patterns, implying that they see their world differently than we suspected. But these organisms are fragile: dead fish reveal little. To find out more about them we have to either go down there, or bring them up to us.

JAMSTEC does both: its (now missing) remote controlled vessel ‘Kaiko’ found amphipods at the bottom of the Mariana Trench at over 10,000 m deep, and the manned submersible ‘Shinkai 6500’ descends down to (guess what) 6,500m to collect specimens. Not only do these guys keep deep sea fish alive in hyperbaric chambers for up to three months, they establish tissue cultures.

And if you think that’s easy, think again. HeLa cells shrivel up at 300Atm, because the cytoskeleton crumbles. Enzyme binding is affected and calcium/sodium channels blunt under pressure. Cells can’t metabolize or signal in hyperbaric conditions without special adaptations. And it cuts both ways. (Saying that, I don’t see where they are going with the molecular research, because links are either restricted or in Japanese. Grrr.)

If you leave behind the conventional deep sea critters—as bizarre as they are—and venture into microbial ecologies, things get weirder still. By now most of us are familiar with the hydrothermal vents and the fantastic assemblies of organisms associated with them, including 3m long tube worms living in symbiotic relationship with chemotrophic bacteria.

But there are weirder things still.

Hyperslime—or rather HyperSLiME—is a technical term. It stands for ‘hyperthermophilic subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystem’. This sort of thing may have been the cradle of all life on Earth. Quite aside from the outrageous chemistry involved, pay attention to the subsurface bit. The research vessel DV ‘Chikyu’ is equiped to drill down into the upper mantle; and to look for subsurface microbes is part of its mission.

I leave it here. I have to go and get some air.

The D/V Chikyu, Jamstec

Posted in events, Japan without a Clue, Travel | 1 Comment »

Into the Swing

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007

Pacifico Yokohama

31/08/2007

My karma seems to be turning around.

OK, that’s enough of the present tense. Most of my journal is actually written in past tense, and I’m finding that easier. After all, even if I’m jotting down things at the time, they’ve already happened.

I attended a surprisingly entertaining session on ethics and biotech, surprising myself by making it to the convention center in time for the 10 am start. Key quote: “If you allow panels of bioethicists to decide things, there will be no forward motion—except in places where there are no bioethicists.”

Both Robert Silverberg and Gregory Benford displayed a refreshing cynicism. Steven Baxter was in the audience (but kept quiet).

After that, I went to get a ‘Dining with a Difference’ ribbon, designed to make it easy to hook up for a night on the town (alas, today and tomorrow are party nights—I’m holding out for Sun/Mon). I also signed up as a volunteer. G. is right: the experience isn’t complete if you don’t volunteer. I have to work in order to make it work for me.

But volunteering would have to wait until tomorrow. Today, I would make the most of a crowded program.
[read on]

Posted in events, Japan without a Clue, Travel | 1 Comment »

Panels and Parties

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

30/08/2007

Sitting in a panel session at a science fiction convention feels exactly the same as sitting in a panel session at a scientific conference, or so it seems at first. The rooms are the same size, there are the same rows of standard-issue chairs—half-full—and there are glasses of water placed next to the speakers’ microphones on the standard-issue desks. Everyone looks sober, and people are wearing the same attire as I’ve seen during W3C 2007 in Banff.

But this is because it’s only the begining.

I should be paying attention, rather than doodle. The panelists are ready to start, and immediately I discover a difference: conference participants tend to be better prepared, but con panelists are way more fun. Who knew that one of my favourite writers is also an internet guru? (Shame that I lost my program notes.)

This first panel is titled ‘The Future of Computers’ and I’m listening with half-an-ear while fiddling with my Zaurus. There is no internet. The coin machine in the hotel lobby has no input, the computers in the lounge are frozen and so is the Zaurus, as soon as I plug in the wireless card.

I reckon it will be a while yet until the Singularity arrives…

After the panel, I go on an errand: out to the tourist information by the station where I feed 100¥ coins into the machines only to discover that they have no USB. Back to the convention centre to for some food only to find that the station was the better option. I miss the slide show about interstellar travel but realize once-and-for-all that I’m not at a conference when I watch the iado demonstration that follows:

Iaido Demonstration
.

21:00. The first party of the convention is shaping up nicely, taking place in the harbour lounge with spectacular views of the port. Helicopters fly over the canal, low enough to skim the surface. Any moment now I expect one of them to appear from behind the wall, bearing down on us like in the movies.

It’s sub-tropically warm (bliss) and I’ve relocated outside to the smoker’s corner. The air is like silk. All that’s missing is a big-ass cigar like that fella is smoking over there. That thing must be over a foot long.

Big-ass cigar!

Hang on, he’s coming over…

He offers me one of those cigars and I think Christmas has come early. We talk for two hours—it takes that long to smoke it. For some reason, we end up discussing career options. G has dug that I don’t enjoy being a ‘housewife’ in a village next to a bomb factory and lays out various paths for me: cheese making in Wales (too much competition), rearing carp in ponds warmed by waste heat from power stations, clock making, long-distance lorry driving…

I stop him there.

He also gives me a short introduction into fandom, which is a sub-culture all of its own and may well be the most interesting thing about a convention (rather than a conference). I mentally review my schedule and decide that it’s worth signing up as a volunteer for a few hours, to see how a Worldcon ticks behind the scenes.

G assures me that the volunteer ribbon is as good as a backstage pass.

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Japan Without a Clue

Monday, September 17th, 2007

<START TRAVELOGUE>

Virgin Atlantic to Narita

29/08/2007: Journey to Yokohama

I was duped out of 1,500¥ by the downstairs exchange office at Heathrow, which offered a lousy rate. I an attempt to turn around my bad karma (everything’s gone wonky in the past three days—ever since that writers’ group meeting where I presented the first 3 chapters and synopsis of my ‘novel’ to exacerbated cries of “Whatever you do, don’t show that to anybody!”), I gamely tried to take the Keisei line and tackle the Tokyo subway system all the way to Yokohama, which would have saved me almost 2,500¥.

I don’t know whether that would have represented good value, seeing that I spent about an hour trying to figure out the subway system before chickening out and ending up on the bus instead. Since I do not have a guide book (that karma thing again) and consequently no maps, I wondered whether that was a good decision.
[read on]

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Japanese Lessons

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

Speaking some of the language—however little—adds a whole new dimension to the travel experience, and if you’re planning to set off to rural pastures on your own, it could be essential.

It helps that Japanese isn’t particularly tonal and the words tend to be short. Even a complete beginner can pick up a few vital expressions relatively easily.

I’ve just downloaded the JASFIC Japanese Phrase Book (requires Japanese fonts for Acrobat Reader)—a big thanks to the JASFIC volunteers 🙂

However, I would be lost without some auditory feedback. In Malaysia and Indonesia, I could half-way read the subtitles to movies, and yet not speak a word much beyond ‘Salaama’, let alone negotiate prices or ask directions. I’ve learned from that experience: Listen to the locals. Reading a phrasebook is no substitute (especially when travelling to countries where you can forget about reading anything!)

There are several sites which provide free Japanese lessons—well worth investing a little time in.

My favourites (at the moment) are Japanese online, which offers free registration for people who want to take advanced lessons, although there’s a waiting list (beginners’ lessons are free-for-all) and Chiron’s Survival Japanese Course, which is a little harder to follow for slow learners like myself, but has very useful auxiliary notes on grammar and word structure.

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The End of an Era

Saturday, June 9th, 2007

By late afternoon, the sky was lead grey, but the threatened downpour didn’t happen. And even if it did, would I stay at home?

For twenty-two years, the peacewomen have camped by the side of the Friendly Neighbourhood Atomic Weapons bomb factory almost every month; come rain or shine, in freezing temperatures, howling winds and chilling damp. And in the two-and-a-half years that I have been living in the neighbourhood, I did not once go to join them, or even visit.

Why not? Because it was inconvenient.

And yet, I have been invited to the party. We all have. Tonight, the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Campaig(-n) would celebrate its twenty-second birthday in style: a cocktail party with music late into the night and a dress-code of ‘fabulous’.

So, I dug out my mother’s vintage cocktail dress (which fits, because the rubber band broke long ago, so the skirt has to be tied under the loose-fitting top) and set off, equiped with a bottle of sparkling Chardonnay, a punnet of local strawberries, a big bag of tortilla chips and some kick-ass home-made guacamole.

22 Years of Peace Camp at AWE Aldermaston--
(Artfully blurred)
Me in front of our Friendly Neighbourhood Atomic Weapons Establishment

[read on]

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Party Invite!

Friday, June 8th, 2007

I’ve been invited to a Cocktail Party (9th June), and you can all come too, if you’re female.

The Women’s Peace Camp(aign) at our Friendly Neighbourhood Atomic Weapon’s Establishment is 22 years old. What better occasion to celebrate the introduction of new byelaws which are designed to protect the MOD from peacewomen (LoL).

Contrary to what most of you may think, I don’t often get invited to parties, much less to ones where the dress code is ‘fabulous’. With that being the case, and with the British weather being what it is, I’m now too fat to fit into any of my fabulous cocktail dresses.

Well, I’ll just have to improvise.

Tonight we’re going to the pub to sink a few pints with some people who work inside the base. It’s kind of strange to live in a village like this. The police are taking pictures of everyone who participates in the demos, and I’m curious of what they’d make of ‘suspected terrorist’ peace-campaigners hob-nobbing with nuclear weapons engineers…

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Knitting for Peace

Monday, March 19th, 2007

Knitting for Peace

I’m not gonna live this down…

There we were on this freezing morning, sitting by the entrance of our very own Friendly Neighbourhood Atomic Weapons Facility, knitting.

Parliament voted last Wednesday to replace Trident. We knew—the building work for the new Orion laser and supercomputing facility started a long time ago.

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Magic Sunday at the Reading Festival

Saturday, September 2nd, 2006

It’s nearly a week ago now, but it feels much longer. Perhaps this is because of the dreamlike quality of he day.

Odd to think that in my 41 years, I’ve never been to a major rock festival before.
[read on]

Posted in events, Tadley Times | 2 Comments »

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