$70 bags of rice

by **ewraught** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 3:17 am

Just out of curiosity, I wonder why rice prices seem so inflated here. I appriciate rice is highly prized for centuries and all, but there should be enough sellers in the market place to bring the price down to the triple digits, no? Can someone lend me some historical insight into this perplexing bit of economics?

by **Taro Toporific** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:16 am

ewraught wrote:... Can someone lend me some historical insight into this perplexing bit of economics?

Why $70 bags of rice? Because my lawn tractor is bigger than my rice planter.

VS

$70 bags of rice exist because you have to pay for all the Taros: Gramps and Granny Taro, hopelessly unmarriageable Bro-in-law Taro, Dog Taro, Cat Taro and the rest of the Taro crew who are "farming" a rice paddy smaller than my side yard in Colorado. To put it another way, thanks for my $70-per-bag presents: Rice happens.

by **Marked Trail** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:48 am

Blame Soviet Supreme!

Those $70 bags of rice exist because Gramps and Granny Taro's votes are equal to 7.2 sacks-o-shit salarymen in Saitama.

by **devicenull** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 6:51 am

government is stockpiling rice for the next war?

by **cstaylor** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:29 am

devicenull wrote:government is stockpiling rice for the next war?

No, it's what Marked Trail said: think American corn-lobby... same thing.

I posted an article a few months back from the NY Times that compared California-grown Japonica with Japanese grown rice... couldn't tell the difference. It's all a matter of market perception: the rice-buying public believes that Japanese-grown rice is better, so they buy it at inflated prices. Just like they waste 5000+JPY on a bottle of French swill, because they believe it's better.

I'm hopelessly waiting for Japan to discover sourdough bread, but I don't think that will happen in my lifetime. Perhaps I'll open my own bread store when I get tired of writing software...

by **Taro Toporific** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:49 am

cstaylor wrote:
devicenull wrote:government is stockpiling rice for the next war?
No, it's what Marked Trail said: think American corn-lobby... same thing.

I can only be glad I ain't a member of the Wareware Nihojin CLub when NHK news reports that for the 30th time since the end of WWII, the Japanese High Court rules that it is "consistutional" that 2.8 votes in a Kanto district is equal to 1 vote back on the Rice Ranch in Ehime Shikoku. :shake:

(Yes, yes, we all know that originally the over-balanced farm vote was rigged by the Occupation to silence the J-Commies but that was more than 50 years ago.)

There far more hope for a fair vote in Japan than having decent. :arrow:

by **devicenull** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:08 pm

note to self... buy copious amounts of french swill and sell them off to spoiled rich kids or trade them for things i want.

i hear that levis jeans also cost a fortune there. any other tidbits of advice for crap i should stock up on to sell to rich kids at seijo?

by **cstaylor** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:33 pm

Well, if you're in the U.S., you can pick up tons of t-shirts from thriftstores with crappy English written on them (my favorite is LagWagon) and sell them here for 10x the price.

Even if you're already in Japan, you can buy things via eBay and resell them here. A coworker asked me to help him order a 70's-style sparkle motorcycle helmet. We won the helmet for $8, shipping cost $30, and he sold it for 2man to somebody very dumb (IMHO).

It's a tricky business though, so you may end up sitting on a huge pile of unsellable t-shirts. If you have any Japanese exchange student friends, take them with you to the thrift store and cut them in for half on the proceeds. You'll be surprised how they'll choose one ugly-ass t-shirt over another... there must be some unwritten code for what they're looking for. :lol:

by **kamome** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:04 pm

cstaylor wrote:You'll be surprised how they'll choose one ugly-ass t-shirt over another... there must be some unwritten code for what they're looking for.

Yes, there are certain characteristics they look for. I went shopping in the States with a Japanese friend, and he said that certain kinds of stitching, vintage years, and certain labels and buttons can make or break a particular piece of shitty used clothing. You're right, though--they all look the same to me.

Then again, FG's who are freak manga otaku and have cosplay conventions must come off equally fashion-challenged and wacked to our J-friends.

by **cstaylor** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:08 pm

kamome wrote:Then again, FG's who are freak manga otaku and have cosplay conventions must come off equally fashion-challenged and wacked to our J-friends.

They are wacked to me, too. There are only a few anime that I enjoyed growing up, and that set has slimmed today to anything by Miyazaki and some old Urusei Yatsura (I watched that series with my then-girlfriend now-wife, so it brings back good memories).

Actually, for anyone who knows nothing about Japanese culture (as I did when I first watched the series), Urusei Yatsura is a very good introduction. In the very first episode I learned about oni and oni-goko, and by the tenth episode I learned about tengu, musashi, kintaro, setsubun, shinto, buddhism, salarymen, otaku, propane deliverymen, Japanese highschools, safuku, and momotaro.

Now, I did briefly date a girl in high school that sewed her own Star Trek uniforms... and she looked really good in them, too. She was a bit on the strange side. :wink:

by **GomiGirl** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:20 pm

cstaylor wrote:Now, I did briefly date a girl in high school that sewed her own Star Trek uniforms... and she looked really good in them, too. She was a bit on the strange side.

by **cstaylor** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:21 pm

I'm totally serious. She was all into sports, so she had a very nice build. The uniform filled out in all the right places... unfortunately it was one of the ST:TNG unisex uniforms, and not the Uhura one. :cry:

by **GomiGirl** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:24 pm

cstaylor wrote:I'm totally serious. She was all into sports, so she had a very nice build. The uniform filled out in all the right places... unfortunately it was one of the ST:TNG unisex uniforms, and not the Uhura one.

Stop it - you are scaring me..

Actually I don't know what is more scary.. that you dated her or that you know the difference between the different uniforms!!

You know I am just kidding you..

BTW she wasn't the sort to have plastic surgery to make Vulcan ears? :wink:

by **mr. sparkle** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:17 am

cstaylor wrote:I'm totally serious. She was all into sports, so she had a very nice build. The uniform filled out in all the right places... unfortunately it was one of the ST:TNG unisex uniforms, and not the Uhura one.

She must work here now

Quark Espresso

by **kamome** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:13 am

mr. sparkle wrote:She must work here now

Quark Espresso

YES! I've been there. Talked to a Vulcan. Got served by Quark. I think I even had one of those drinks with the dry ice smoke coming off of it. It's actually a fun, quirky alternative from typical Vegas casinos.

by **cstaylor** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:23 am

Nah, she's a medical student at George Washington... almost finished, and plenty in debt I bet.

by **den4** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:30 am

devicenull wrote:government is stockpiling rice for the next war?

and here I had thought up to now it was all just due to a bunch of sunspots in its 11-12 year cycle.... :lol:

didn't they have another killer price war back in the early '90's

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