Japan may not have a caste system like India but I think their careers are dictated by the same job as their ancestors before them. If you are born in a family that cooks, chances are, that’s what you will be doing for the rest of your life. It’s so unlike America where every kid can grow up to be president. With their lack of ambition comes the contentment and determination to do their best in whatever their profession. I'm sure this is slowly changing as Japan faces a negative population growth.

As you read this email, I will be somewhere in the streets of Japan. But I know some of you guys need to get your TGIF Joke to start your Friday so here you go. TGIF!

The last and only time I was there was decades ago when I was still single. I was working for my Dad mining 5 ton marble blocks in Bulacan (a province in Northern Philippines). At one point, our little company was the number one Philippine marble exporter to Nagoya, Japan. Ken Y*, the president of Sekigahara (our Japanese customer) invited us to visit his factory which was/is arguably the largest stone installation company in the world. Sekigahara supplies polished stone tiles, tables and sidings for prestigious buildings all over the world. The company specializes in a “book ending” technique which meant installing beautiful veined marble tiles side by side to look like it was one continuous piece.

Now if they come up with a “Survivors Senior Edition: Outlast, Outplay, Drop Dead,” maybe then I’d consider it. Wouldn’t that be fun? Old people with wrinkled tattoos running in their flabby underwear, checking their blood pressure before a physical challenge; jumping over hoops with their oxygen tanks; playing chess instead of solving puzzles; going through a maze without their glasses; shouting their instructions because everyone is deaf; fence-fighting with their canes; and eating without their dentures.

These past few weeks have been a Repair Nightmare for me. My computer broke down; so my old programs had to be reinstalled and some of them were no longer compatible with my new operating system --- so I had to search for alternative programs and learn how to use them; then my colored monitor lost its red and everything looked blue and green; my cell phone stopped ringing and I missed several calls; then my car tires began to wobble; then my clock radio died; (and while all these were happening, I was suddenly flooded with work). Sanity was hanging by a thread.

This week I worked on an article (you can see it here at TravelingBoy.com) about a famous Imagineering artist named Sam McKim. I never knew the artist’s name but I recognized his style in several books and movies released by Walt Disney. Boy, did this project take me back to my childhood.

The news media’s credibility has never been so low … and justifiably so. They are guilty of spreading lies they never apologized for and omitting the truth. Are you aware of the billions of dollars allegedly stolen by corrupt politicians this year alone? From Day Care to Medicare, from NGOs to UFOs, from vaccinations to assassinations -- we live in a world of confusion.

This has been a super busy, physically-draining week and the heat here in Los Angeles didn't help any. I spend most of my time indoors so last Saturday I got my first taste of the heat. I helped represent the La Habra Art Gallery and rode an SUV "float" at the weekend-long Corn Festival (which was sponsored by the local Lion's Club).

A few months ago, Ben Affleck gave an interview where he said the movie industry was in deep financial trouble. He said (on the average) a good movie costs at least 25 million dollars to produce. They need another $25M for marketing. Then $50 million goes to the outlets like movie houses and streaming platforms (like Amazon Prime, Apple +, Disney +, YouTube, Netflix). That’s 100 million dollars just for a movie to break even. Very few movies make that much. Many Hollywood movies currently operate in the negative.

I listened to poetry readings at an art gallery in a predominantly Mexican community. It was curiosity that pushed me to attend because I had never been to a poetry session before. However, I didn’t expect to be immersed in so much Mexican culture. I saw a side of Mexican Americans I had never noticed before. Their pride for their humble roots reminded me of the Filipino culture which (like Mexico) was greatly influenced by cruel Spanish colonialism for 300 years.