Birthrates in the developed world, especially in South Korea and Japan, have fallen below the replacement rate. Japan’s total fertility rate dropped below replacement back in 1974 with population decline beginning in 2010 (Oizimi, 2022). Japan’s population also declines because of people migrating out of the country. This has led to concern about demographic collapse,…
Category: Finds and Ramblings
2024: Another Spin Around Our Star
This next year, 2025, will mark my 14th year of blogging about anime, the anime community, Japanese history, and all the other meanders I make here. JP began as a video game blog called Gamemories about a year before I changed over to blogging about anime. Some fragments of that blog still float around if…
Book Ban Banality
Tony Yao discusses another book ban on his website Drop-In to Manga. This time, Florida has banned Sasaki and Miyano by Sho Harusono because of its LGBTQAI material. Book bans happen frequently for many different reasons, usually under the guise of “protecting the children.” Most of the time, the parents who want to ban books…
In the Future, Human Skill Will [Increase | Decrease] in Value
The typed version of this hand-written article follows below the notebook scans. In the future, the value a skillful human hand has will increase. As machine learning improves, digital art, music, writing, and other realms will demand higher skill. Mediocre to average quality art will be available to anyone with a modicum of technology…
West Virginia, Librarians, and Obscenity
A bill passed from West Virginia’s House of Delegates and to the state’s Senate. The bill removes protections from public libraries, schools, and museums, holding librarians and curators possibly liable for displaying or distributing ‘obscene matter to a minor’ when the child isn’t accompanied by a parent or guardian. Which, I must add, is the…
Looking Back on 2023: Another Year of Anime Writing
Time for my usual, end-of-year indulgent reflection. So its another new year, and I’m still alive and writing, which is more than I can say about a pair of friends. The past several years has seen a lot of death around me, from library patrons to family members and to friends. I had spoken with…