Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

In front of the Harajuku train station in Tokyo is a busy shopping arcade called Takeshita Street. During the 90s, this was the epicenter of a major fashion counterculture in Japan. Young women with tanned skin, boldly colored hair and gaudy clothing strutted down the street, presenting themselves as the antithesis of a mainstream culture that believed in the beauty of fair (read: white) skin, jet-straight shiny black hair, and cute blouses with toned-down designs. The eponymous "Harajuku style" became known worldwide as a streak of individualism in a Japanese society perceived as fundamentally conformist .

"Variety shows" are one of the mainstays of Japanese television. Entertainers put on skits and funny talks about exaggerated versions of everyday events, getting laughs from the viewers by making fun of just how absurd even the most mundane situations can be if pushed to the logical conclusion. With thousands of funnymen trying to make living doing their own skits, only the most memorable few make it to the big stages of national television, become household names, and earn a decent living by regularly performing and hosting their shows.

One of the oddest things about traveling in smaller towns in Japan is the lack of family guesthouses. While national hotel chains are present throughout the country's many towns and cities, they are able to keep prices relatively high because consumers, outside major tourist attractions, have few choices other than staying in those national chains. And considering that big chains will only invest in massive multistory facilities that are consistent with their brand images, little towns with little out-of-town traffic simply will not be considered for future investments.

The founding and first president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, died today, two years after being toppled in a coup. Mugabe, who ruled over the country for a whole three decades from 1987, leaves behind a country plagued by economic mismanagement and squandered potential. Years of hyperinflation and shortage of basic services like power generation have turned what was once one of the wealthiest countries in Africa into one of the most problematic, with emigrants leaving in droves for South Africa just to make ends meet. Mugabe, without a doubt, should be blamed for the downward spiral that sank Zimbabwe into poverty.