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What's inside Joe's head?


Actual MRI scan of my brain.
Click here to see the whole noodle.

Hey, if you notice anything weird on the scan, drop me a line, k?

A blast from the past

Get document --> 290K PDF

It seems the problem of telling various flavours of Asians apart has been around for a long time. But don't worry -- this article from the venerable TIME Magazine, December 1941, offers help! (emphases added)

HOW TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS FROM THE JAPS

Of these four faces of young men (above) and middle-aged men (below), the two on the left are Chinese, and the two on the right Japanese. There is no infallible way of telling them apart, because the same racial strains are mixed in both. Even an anthropologist, with calipers and plenty of time to measure heads, noses, shoulders, hips, is sometimes stumped. A few rules of thumb -- not always reliable:

  • Some Chinese are tall (average: 5 ft. 5 in.). Virtually all Japanese are short (average: 5 ft. 2.5 in.).
  • Japanese are likely to be stockier and broader-hipped than short Chinese.
  • Japanese -- except for wrestlers -- are seldom fat; they often dry up and grow lean as they age. The Chinese often put on weight, particularly if they are prosperous (in China, with its frequent famines, being fat is esteemed as a sign of being a solid citizen).
  • Chinese, not as hairy as Japanese, seldom grow an impressive mustache.
  • Most Chinese avoid horn-rimmed spectacles.
  • Although both have the typical epicanthic fold on the upper eyelid (which makes them look almond-eyed), Japanese eyes are usually set closer together.
  • Those who know them best often rely on facial expression to tell them apart: the Chinese expression is likely to be more placid, kindly, open; the Japanese more positive, dogmatic, arrogant.

    In Washington last week, correspondent Joseph Chiang made things much easier by pinning on his lapel a large badge reading "Chinese Reporter -- NOT Japanese -- Please."

  • Some aristocratic Japanese have thin, aquiline noses, narrow faces, and except for their eyes, look like Caucasians.
  • Japanese are hesitant, nervous in conversation, laugh loudly at the wrong time.
  • Japanese walk stiffly erect, hard-heeled. Chinese, more relaxed, have an easy gait, sometimes shuffle.
I found this article by chance in the library of my old high school. Finally got a chance to post it on the web for all to enjoy. :-)

Photos

Click on a thumbnail to open the image in a new window.

Fluffy.

Nate Harrison Grade, San Diego.

Mookie the Paranoid Guinea Pig, cornered in a contact lens solution box.

Little Bunn as a baby.

Snow on my spoiler, Seymour Mountain, Vancouver.

One of my favourite drives -- Lassen Park Road, Northern California. Elevation 2594m (8512 ft).

Driving Lassen Park Road.

The view from Odaiba, Tokyo Bay.

Fish hanging to dry in Northern Ibaraki prefecture.

Seabus, Granville Island, Vancouver.

Home Sweet Home - Northern California oak trees.

Rallying with Stephen in Canada.

Renaissance San Diego apartment.

Carp and Canadian Geese at Pymatuning Lake, Pennsylvania.

Dianne at the Cathedral of Learning, U. of Pittsburgh.

 

Other Galleries

This stuff takes a lot of space, so expect frequent rotation.
Japan Sep-Dec 02        
Japan Aug 2002   Karting in Chiba (Nov-02)  
  Osaka Trip Sept. 2002        

 

Miscellaneous stuff you might find useful

  • An excellent one-page keigo cheatsheet distributed at JET pre-departure orientation.(GIF)
  • A classroom handout for teaching past tense forms.(41k PDF)