Ernest Schaal wrote:
> in article 1112362121.764489.285970@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com,
> declan_murphy@hotmail.com at declan_murphy@hotmail.com wrote on
4/1/05 10:28
> PM:
>
> > Five times so far. Working unfortunately, but I've seen a fair bit.
> >
> > Go to any of the international pavilions and the lines are a lot
> > shorter (how could the US or Australian etc pavilions possibly
compete
> > with a trumpet playing robot and frozen mammoth?).
> >
> > Go on a weekday and you'll be fine.
>
> Having gone to the Expo today, I now understand why you went five
times so
> far. I spent a day and didn't see one of the main attractions
(basically saw
> the national pavilions), and it was fun but there is so much more to
see
> later.

I've been six times now - but unfortunately I still haven't seen
anything I really want to see because when I go there I'm working.
Currently thinking of taking a few days off the week after next and
will probably spend 2 of them on site. Cost isn't a problem because
they gave me a 6 month pass.

I'm still a bit ambivalent about the whole thing though. An Expo based
on an environment theme built by bulldozing a large portion of one of
the largest remaining verdant forests close to Nagoya? Browbeating less
developed countries into "participating" by not so subtle ties of their
ODA allocations? The airport and the wonderful new highways in Aichi
are great - I really love the isewangan and the new shortcut for Nagano
but surely they could have been built without the excuse provided by
the banpaku.

At the airport tonight I dropped into Maruzen (which still refuses to
accept the Maruzen point card and still has zero English/foreign
language literature) and picked up a copy of "kyoshoku no aichi
banpaku" by Maeda Eisaku. The translation of the title into English is
much less contentious, a mere
"Unofficial guide to Expo 2005 Aichi". I've only flicked through it so
far since I was waiting for my customers to clear customs, but it seems
like a good read. Covers all of the bullshit & corruption, the
"Environment War" over the Kaisho forest and seems to give a reasonably
in depth account of the local opposition to the expo. It was getting as
much shelf space (and prominent at eye level) as the official guide
which is also encouraging.