Archive | May, 2012

Imponderable #45: Tampa Florida & The Vatican

11 May

May 11, 2012

A pair of related stories today, making up one Imponderable.

The first story concerns the Republican National Convention. I’m putting politics aside so please, look at this from the perspective of it as a gathering of high-ranking government officials including one who may be President next year.

Of course security is high. There are threats from all angles here so logically there is a ban on weapons. Is it a stretch to call sticks, rocks, and bottles weapons? Not at all, there is more than ample legal justification. But what can’t be banned? Guns. Actual weapons. If you are a licensed gun owner you can walk right in with your sidearm. Does this make sense? Does the license somehow imply that the gun owner will not be likely to go over the edge due to a hot button political topic? I’d like to see some studies on that. Gun ownership does not require a psychological exam. This is a case were a group has some special status under the law due to nothing special about them. I am not coming out pro or anti guns, but I am against someone getting special status under the law for nothing. And in this case it is really the gun that has the special status. A law says that the rights of gun owners may not be restricted. Is it a right to carry a gun into an anti-weapon zone? What is the legitimate use of that weapon there? On the other hand if a man is thirsty and he wants to carry a Snapple into the zone it will be taken away from him. Does that make sense?

Then we have the case of the Vatican Cardinal. Has he ever shot anyone? Does the article even imply he has? He has given up hunting and simply enjoys repairing guns. And don’t try to smear him as a hunter, he also went to shooting ranges, places where no one gets hurt and you can exercise your skill at firing guns. That’s called marksmanship and in the Olympics you get a medal for that.

What this all comes down to is that it is the gun, not the person, is the focus of the issue. Assuming he  is unlicensed in Florida, that Vatican Cardinal could not carry a gun into the area around the National convention while some yahoo from Pensacola who filled out the right forms could stroll right in. We are so focused on making everyone equal that we are making everyone “special,” which therefore makes them unequal by definition. I can’t get near a Presidential candidate with a stick but if I have a licensed gun I can stride right over.

Why are we so obsessed with protecting the rights of guns and not the rights of people?

The question is Imponderable.

And I am not interested in any civil rights or Consitutional arguments. Let’s use common sense here.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Grandpa, No! Classic Japan Repost

10 May

May 10, 2012

This is the last, and most disturbing, of my Japan-themed blogs. This one has gotten me a lot of hits from search engines. Frankly that scares me.

From November 17, 2010

I’ve been mining News of the Weird pretty hard lately. Why? It keeps me from writing about reality TV. Of course, “Noots” is always good for a laugh, and if I see an Asian Paul Teutul I’ll post the picture, but on the whole, I think Shakespeare said it best in Hamlet:

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

In other words, no matter what stupidity you see on TV, the real world can always beat it for shear ridiculousness. I wonder what The Bard would think of Jersey Shore?

So here is today’s news nugget. I warn you, this one is uncomfortable.

About 20 percent of Japan‘s adult-video market is now “elder porn” with each production featuring one or more studly seniors and Shigeo Tokuda, 76, among the most popular. He told Toronto‘s Globe and Mail in October that he still “performs” physically “without Viagra,” in at least one role a month opposite much younger women. His wife and adult daughter learned only two years ago, by accident, of his late-onset career (which began at age 60 when a filmmaker hired him for his “pervert’s face”). Tokuda figures the “elder porn” genre will grow with Japan‘s increasing senior population. [Globe and Mail, 10-3-10]

Sigh.

Take a  break, drink a glass of water, I’ll wait.

Anyway, here he is, in one of the only pictures I feel even remotely comfortable posting.

The article claims he was hired for his “pervert’s face.” In Japan that gets you a job in porn. In America that gets you on the sexual predator list.

This is just a small, albeit gross, example, of the problem with health care: there’s too much of it. It’s too good. People are healthier and living longer, and this is the result.

More uncomfortable information from wikipedia. which is nearing the five-hundredth correct entry mark:

Male actors are usually anonymous in Japanese porn but Tokuda is now featured in his own branded series of videos for Ruby with actresses of various ages. Another studio specializing in elder porn is Glory Quest which launched the “old man” series Maniac Training of Lolitas in December 2004 and when that became popular, had Tokuda star with a variety of young AV actresses in the Forbidden Elderly Care (Forbidden Nursing) series beginning in August 2006. An additional series Big Tits Loving Grandfather Erotic Mischief* for Glory Quest began in April 2008. Not all of Tokuda’s roles involve sex and he enjoys acting different roles. He has said he hopes to be able to continue working in adult videos until he is 80 (with a laugh).

*isn’t that title a bit long for this sort of thing?

If you’ve stuck around this long without clicking away to something that doesn’t make you feel skeevy, you may be wondering how his family feels about all of this.

The 5 foot 3 inch slightly paunchy former “salaryman” is married with two children and a grandson. He says his wife of 45 years suspects he plays some role in the porn industry but doesn’t ask any questions and he has kept his “star” status a secret.

How? He’s been in over 350 of those things. He must have a Clark Kent thing going on.

TOKUDA: (to himself) Oh no! It is almost time to film another porn!
(to wife) I’m going out for the paper and some milk.
                   (takes off his glasses, takes out his loincloth.)
WIFE: OK, enjoy your walk.
(pause)
WIFE: How come I never see Tokuda and Big Tits Loving Grandfather in the same place? Oh well, time to fire up the DVD player.

Japan is a country of 127,360,000people. They have a life expectancy rate of 81.25 years and about 20% of the population is over 65 years old. This was bound to happen.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →