Musings from Patmos: Discourse on Display: Blogging from Japan

Greetings and salutations!

In light of the clear disappointment that was last month’s post, and the sudden onslaught of much more interesting news, I submit this latest update – which I hope you will find to be quite entertaining/informative/whatever *S*

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Of Israel

After months of seemingly sluggish progress on this front, I am preparing for a dramatic shift in the process. Last week I took the painful yet exciting step of transferring the rather large amount of funds required for the purpose of obtaining my Israeli working visa. The money will be used to cover the various legal and government fees involved in the application process, which can take anywhere from 1-3 months.

Of course there’s so much to consider in the meantime, such as closing up my affairs here in Japan, considering a trip home, and all the small, practical issues such as finding a place to live, etc. in Israel. I would ask that those of you who continue to support me in prayer would pray that all such details would be taken care of. Pray for success of the application and for the wisdom of my lawyers and employers. Pray for ongoing provision and protection in my life. I continue to appreciate the covering your prayers have kept me under. Aside from this, my mother will be spending the next few months in ministry in Karachi, Pakistan. Please pray for her safety and success as well.

A few people seem to remain unclear as to why I’m going to Israel. I’ll try to make a long story as brief as I can. I’ve had a strong desire to travel to Israel since I was about 8 years old. I’ve had specific visions of Israel on several occasions and I have maintained a passion for issues involving Israel and the larger Middle East. After my initial 3 month stay in the country during the summer of 2003, I was addicted. I love the simple yet delicious food, the generally fantastic weather, the geo/topography of the land, the diverse and often surprisingly warm people – but more than any single attribute, it’s the only place that I’ve been in the world that just feels right…feels like home…even stepping off the plane in Ben Gurion there was this feeling of comfort and belonging.

I spent another month and half in Israel in late 2005, which is when the whole journey of attempting to relocate on a long term basis really began. Unfortunately, current Israeli policy makes is unbelievably difficult for goyim (gentiles/non-Jews) to obtain working visas required to stay in the country as a resident (hence the need for lawyers) and even after I obtain mine, I will be limited to a maximum stay of 5 and a half years. The only ways around this limitation are to marry a Jewish woman or to convert to Judaism (a choice I am presently unwilling to consider, despite my sister’s decision to convert in years past). I would ask that you also pray for a change in Israeli immigration policy in this regard.

Aside from my desire to reside in Israel, this move is exciting because I will be making a strong career progression as well. I will be working as a Technical Writer which will provide me with valuable work experience and build on my formal education in the field of Technical Communications. So this is really all good. To those who might bring up the inevitable dangers of living in Israel, I would simply say that the whole world is an uncertain, dangerous place and that I cannot let fear stand in the way of my dreams. Just as I believe I have been brought to this point, I believe I will be preserved. But even if I am not, I will be doing what I have longed to do.

You can read more about my experiences in Israel (or Japan) by reviewing the archives of this blog; simply select the relevant time period from the list of links on the left of this page. In closing this section of my post, I want to inform you of the larger reasons for this move:

To manifest personal destiny
For the benefit of all the peoples of Israel and the surrounding region
For the glory of God

If you wish to support me financially in this endeavor, you can send any contributions directly to my Royal Bank account (contact me for details).

Of Japan

Things have been rather busy here in Japan of late as well. I was planning to get into more detail of some of the trips I took with my dad in January but I’ll have to leave that for another time. I was quite sick for the last two weeks but have just come out of it in recent days. I had developed a massive chest cold accompanied by flu like symptoms (fever, shakes, etc.). This was thoroughly unpleasant of course and pretty much shut me down in most ways. I did finally see a doctor which resulted in a disturbing collection of 5 different pills and a liquid medicine I had to take….but it seems to have worked anyway.

Nova, the company I work for here, has also had some interesting troubles lately. For starters, they were recently raided by the federal and metropolitan government in connection to alleged financial misconduct. This followed on the heels of several Nova instructors being arrested for drug use. So…good times all around really *S* while some have been heralding the doom of the company, Nova remains the largest private English school in the country and I imagine they will continue to function into the distant future. The reality is that corporate corruption is pretty much the norm in Japan and this is really small potatoes in the larger scheme of things. I’m not defending Nova by any means, just not freaking out about the state of the company because, for the most part, I’m not all that concerned.

Of Entertainment and Random Linking

As I tend to do every year, I watched this year’s Academy Awards (to those out there still confused by this – these ARE the Oscars). A big difference in my viewing experience from years past was that I watched the telecast in HD and it really made a difference! The picture was noticeably cleaner and sharper and it gave me a new appreciation for HD technology.

This year’s ceremony was just as long as usual but there was a much more minimalistic feel to it which I quite liked – everything from the set design to Ellen DeGeneres’ entertaining (and largely musical number free) hosting. I also enjoyed the focus on the nominees in the opening presentation. The Oscars, while certainly pretentious to a degree, are always an entertaining event which also provides a sort of barometer on the political climate of the times, though even the vocal political attitudes we’ve seen in the past were much more subdued this year, which was also one of the most internationally diverse in Oscar history.

The Oscars, along with movies I’ve watched recently (Rocky Balboa, Finding Neverland (repeat), the Departed, Pan’s Labyrinth, the Road to Guantanamo, etc.) always serve to remind me of why I love movies – because at their best they can help us reflect on profound truths while instilling fantasies that can simultaneously allow us to escape our realities while giving us different perspectives by which to approach them.

I won’t get into all the highlights of the evening but I do want to point out Robert Downey Jr.’s hilarious instance of self depreciation regarding his 90s drug use as well as the literal worship Guillermo del Toro received from each and every one of the Oscar winners involved in the development of Pan’s Labyrinth. I was the most excited for Martin Scorsese’s long delayed wins for Best Picture/Director (for the Departed) and it was fun to see Stephen Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola be-little George Lucas before presenting the award to Scorsese. It was nice to see Alan Arkin pick up the Best Supporting Actor award for Little Miss Sunshine but I was very disappointed that Peter O’Toole was, once again, denied the Oscar he so truly deserves.

I think the most moving moment of the evening was when Ennio Morricone, composer of some of the most beautiful music ever put to film, received his honorary award. He gave his speech entirely in Italian (interpreted by Clint Eastwood, oddly enough) and just came off as a man of sincere humility and passion. Other than that, I have to give Ellen props for her comment that, “Without blacks, Jews, or gays there would be no Oscars…”

And with that, I do have to make a bit of a segue. This is somewhat of a sensitive issue but one that certainly interests me and one on which I’ve received many different viewpoints, both from Jews as well as gentiles. Is Judaism really a race? I hardly think so due to the fact that the genetic traces of the ancient Hebrew tribe are now so dispersed among other, actual, races and that, if Judaism is indeed a race, it would be the only one that I know of which you can convert to. Of course, there’s a lot of room to argue over this issue and the different terms involved including race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, etc. but I welcome any comments on the subject.

I can say with certainty, regardless of the designation, that the Jews (like many people groups) continue to be the target of discrimination for which there is no excuse. The ignorance displayed by even supposedly educated people is maddening. Recently Rhie Won-bok, a professor of visual arts at Duksung Women's University in Seoul, stated that "The Jews are the invisible force that controls the U.S.," and maintained that his depiction of Jewish control of American media and politics was based on fact and "commonly believed." These types of pathetic expressions are rendered all the more ridiculous in light of revelations such as the recently released Nazi archives in Germany.

Misc Links:

An interesting article discussing the relationship between evolution and religion (NY Times – free membership required)
A new development in the JFK mystery (NY Times – free membership required)
Some provocative statistics (WMV)
A very cool (but expensive) form of graffiti
The future of display technology brought to us by, who else, Sony and the future of poster display technology
The girls are reaching out too (not geared to believers, NSFW)