Mother Nature

The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Scary news, regarding the effects of these natural events toward Japan’s nuclear power plants.

NY Times’ Nicholas Kristof observes his sympathy and admiration of Japan, under these circumstances. He had been the Tokyo bureau chief for the Times and so he has some experience about his perceptions of the Japanese:

Uncomplaining, collective resilience is steeped into the Japanese soul. We sent our eldest son to Japanese school briefly, and I’ll never forget seeing all the little kids having to go to school in shorts even in the dead of winter. The idea was that it built character. I thought it just gave kids colds. But it was one more effort to instill “gaman.” And it’s “gaman” that helped Japan recovered from World War II and tolerated the “lost decade” after the bubble economy burst in about 1990. Indeed, it might be better if Japanese complained a bit more – perhaps then their politicians would be more responsive.

One factor may also have to do with our relationship with nature. Americans see themselves as in confrontation with nature, taming it. In contrast, the Japanese conception is that humans are simply one part of nature, riding its tides — including many, many earthquakes throughout history. The Kanto earthquake of 1923 killed more than 100,000 people. The Japanese word for nature, shizen, is a modern one, dating back only a bit more than 100 years, because traditionally there was no need to express the concept. In an essay in the Times after the [1995] Kobe quake, I made some of these same points and ended with a 17th century haiku from one of Japan’s greatest poets, Basho:

The vicissitudes of life.
Sad, to become finally
A bamboo shoot.

I find something noble and courageous in Japan’s resilience and perseverance, and it will be on display in the coming days. This will also be a time when the tight knit of Japan’s social fabric, its toughness and resilience, shine through. And my hunch is that the Japanese will, by and large, work together — something of a contrast to the polarization and bickering and dog-eat-dog model of politics now on display from Wisconsin to Washington. So maybe we can learn just a little bit from Japan. In short, our hearts go out to Japan, and we extend our deepest sympathy for the tragic quake. But also, our deepest admiration.

I’m not sure about how to react to the tv coverage of the news so far, as I haven’t gotten to watch much of it. James Poniewozik at Time posts on the concern about how coverage is successful (or not) with the networks having cut back on their foreign bureaus and so coverage is due to the social network/Internet/cell phone systems.

I kind of expected more from “Nightline” than seeing Bill Weir at Santa Monica, CA, about a tsunami wave that didn’t devastate mainland USA; then, he spent a few minutes talking to the ABC Tokyo bureau correspondent; glad that they at least still have a bureau.

Nice that PBS Newshour does some context about the tsunami’s effect on the Pacific Rim; it’s good to hear that Hawaii has gotten better experience with these situations (after last year’s threat from the Chilean earthquake).

The images of the tsunami in Japan, though, are horrifyingly devastating. “Devastate” becomes a word used so often, it nearly becomes a cliche. But, I’m not sure what else one can say.

ABC did turn to Dr. Michio Kaku for scientific context about the earthquake and tsunami. I like how he explains things.

The troubling 21st Century continues.

Marching On in March 2011

Yeah, it’s still March.   But, not yet the NCAA brackets time.  We’re getting there…

Hat tip from Roger Ebert’s Facebook fan page (yeah, I checked off that I’m a fan – his blog is great writing): the happiest man in America is Alvin Wong, a Chinese American Jew from Hawaii.  Why am I not surprised that the happiest man in America is in Hawaii?  Angry Asian Man also does his acknowledgment of Alvin Wong.

Interesting blog post on MoCA’s blog – what is in a Chinese-American’s name and the more personal take on the 1882 Exclusion Act.

Hat tip from AALDEF‘s Facebook page: the Washington Post editorial says that Prof. Goodwin Liu don’t have bad values to be a US appellate court judge.  This fear of his becoming a potential US Supreme Ct. nominee is making his current nomination for the 9th Circuit ridiculously more difficult than it has to be, I’d say…

Hat tip from NAPABA‘s Facebook page: interesting post on The Huffington Post about the Goodwin Liu confirmation hearing, from Richard Painter, a former Chief Ethics lawyer of the George W. Bush White House.  Honestly, when even a George W. Bush administration ethics lawyer says that Prof. Liu is qualified to be a US appellate court judge, well, it goes to show how this craziness is.

Yeah, I’m on Facebook way too much…

The whole Borders in Chapter 11 bankruptcy saddens me, because the Wall Street Borders was pretty much my local Borders.  Plus, Wall Street Borders was essentially the successor to the World Trade Center Borders, so it feels really sad.  Yeah, the mega bookstores did harm to the mom-and-pop independent bookstores and so the e-book reader is the comeuppance of Borders – but I still feel depressed about any bookstore closing.  Time.com has an article on how Barnes and Noble might continue doing better in this climate.

Over on “Law and the Multiverse,” the folks there analyze on the legal ethics of the She-Hulk.  I had no idea that She-Hulk is a lawyer.  Actually, of the comic book character world, I only knew that Daredevil is a lawyer.  Kind of awkward to think of the legal implications when you’ve a secret identity and have legal ethics to think about.

Some TV commentary:

“Fringe” on FOX – umm, I don’t know where the arc is heading for Peter “the ex-Pacey” Bishop.  Which Olivia or which universe will he choose?  Assassin (of – spoiler! – shape-shifters)/psycho Peter was a little over the top.  Peter “I hate my father-umm-which-father?” Bishop was also a little… well, the life of Peter isn’t easy.

The episode where Peter’s and Olivia’s first meeting as youngsters was an interesting episode – not only for what it revealed about Peter, Olivia, and the two Walters, but also about Elizabeth Bishop, who I think is a missing piece of the puzzle, no matter which Elizabeth of which universe it is.

Looking forward to the next episode, where the preview suggests that Walter thinks he can bring William “Belly” Bell back from the dead.  Yeah, right, Walter, you crazy troubled mad scientist.

Of course, none of the foregoing commentary about “Fringe” makes any sense unless you’re a viewer of the show.  Or if you do not mind sci-fi tv shows that cover two universes, and/or you don’t mind feeling blown away with simultaneous confusion and amusement over a tv show.

Will still catch up on “Community.”  I sorely need a laugh.

Actually… I think we all need laughs.  The world is too crazy, as usual, what with all the anti-public sector sentiment, political revolutions, continued economic problems, and craziness over Charlie Sheen (sad vs. amusing; Ken Tucker over at Entertainment Weekly posts the contrasting reactions of Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Fallon – it is crazy out there, it really is).

The Final Hours Of Chinatown Fair, The Last Arcade In Chinatown | NYC The Blog

The Final Hours Of Chinatown Fair, The Last Arcade In Chinatown | NYC The Blog Source: nyctheblog.blogspot.com      End of an era…     

Source: nyctheblog.blogspot.com
    End of an era…    

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