Well, hell. I'd promised myself that I would finish my current fic
before I started on another, but... well, what the muse wants, the muse
gets, ya know? :)
So. Some of you may recall a Ranma/Matrix fusion I was working on a
ways back. Well, it's come to life again, even as my short-lived bit of
inspiration for American Vacation burned out. Don't worry; I'm still
working on Vacation... but everything that comes out right now seems to
be Matrix. Sigh. :)
At this point, I could really use some info on Japanese life...
sorta. At any rate, here's my questions:
* Can anyone describe to me a typical, semi-low-rent apartment and
the complex it would be in? I've heard that some places have communal
bathrooms... yes/no? The sort of apartment a not-quite-poor (but darn
close) feelance photographer would rent. The more detail, the better!
:) And info on higher-scale apartments is great, too, if you have it.
* Japanese police. From what I'm told, generally speaking they do
not carry guns. Yes? So, what police forces do? Their equivalent of
SWAT (what's the name of that, BTW?) What's the structure of the police
system? Under what circumstances can a street cop carry a gun? Side
question: I'm informed that Japanese street cops actually walk their
beats. Is this true? (-I- haven't seen a beat cop in... um... twelve
years, I think.)
* Prices. I can handle it in yen or in rough US equivalents, but I
have no clue as to the price of everyday things in Japan. A can of Coke
from a machine averages $.75 in the US; what's it cost in Japan? That
sort of thing. Gas costs. Train/subway fees. Taxi costs. Rental on
apartments. Video rentals from a video store. Any and all of this sort
of information would be a huge help. If anyone knows of an online
resource for it, that would be even better. :)
* Japanese attitudes (by the authorities) regarding computer crimes.
Is it the "Oh, boys will be boys." attitude that was prevalent in the US
until relatively recently, or is it a hard-line "Lock 'em up NOW!"
attitude?
I think that's all of them...
Thanks for any help you can provide! And please, private replies
only, unless you think it's REALLY necessary to reply to the list.
Brian Payne
sofaspud@sofaspud.org
http://www.sofaspud.org