April 2011
31 posts
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japan: silenced by gaman
via The Economist:
In a nation of stoics, the most patient sufferers—by common consent—are those from Tohoku, the poor north-eastern area struck by earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. The best-known poem by the region’s most beloved poet, Kenji Miyazawa (born in 1896), starts “Be not defeated by the rain”. It extols the virtues of enduring harsh conditions with good grace. Rarely can...
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japanese auto executives try to put on happy face
“We’re just about to go into the hottest selling months of the year — spring and summer — and this is combined with the fact that we have high fuel prices,” he said. “The vehicles that are going to be in demand are the smaller vehicles, which are typically the strongest for the Japanese.”
Read the article. Anna Claire and I will be living next to Toyota City...
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update from nagoya
The following update is from our friend and teammate Peter Bakelaar in Nagoya at Nisshin Church concerning the relief effort in Japan:
Up to this point, the Nagoya Team has made eight trips up to the quake affected areas. These trips brought much needed supplies to the earthquake areas. The work is now shifting toward work teams and volunteers to come alongside those in need and offer further...
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“The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless...”
– N.T. Wright, Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
Happy Easter! イスタ-おめでとう！
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the sounds of the great east japan earthquake
via TIMOG.com:
We’ve seen the sights, but the sounds of the Great Earthquake will probably stay with us (those living in Japan) much longer, especially the constant chimes of Japan’s earthquake warning system.
Here is NHK’s all too familiar advanced warning chime of an impending earthquake (or doom) that has spooked all but the hardened expats and citizens of Japan.
...
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Watch via TokyoTako:
If you haven’t yet seen japananarchist’s YouTube series “Japanese Girl Explains…”, then you’re missing out on adorable entertainment. Mika, an English learner, explains American movies in the cutest English ever and they’re expertly animated for hours of laughter. Some of the movies she’s explained are Titanic, The Matrix and Inception; not easy movies to explain in a second...
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What is Needed Now: Empathy & Availability
Makoto Fujimura on Japan’s recovery. An excerpt from a recent article in ByFaith Magazine entitled ‘What is Needed Now: Empathy and Availability’:
What makes the Japanese unique is that there is embedded in our culture an idea that we are to prepare for death by creating something beautiful. There is an understanding of the sacrifice that is involved. All the way back...
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Watch
Jake Shimabukuro’s mother gave him his first ukulele lesson when he was 4. Ever since, he’s been experimenting with innovative techniques and sounds that cross-cut funk, jazz, rock, classical, even flamenco. From gigs at a local Honolulu café, Jake has swept onto the international stage, and now tours frequently with Jimmy Buffett. With his light-speed fingerwork, he plays original pieces and...
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WatchAbsolutely terrifying.
producermatthew:
New video filmed by an amateur photographer of the large tsunami that swept through Japan one month ago. In the film, villagers from an unknown town in the Miyagi Prefecture could be seen running for their lives away from a large wave of water, cars and homes. [Amateur video]
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First Responders - Grassroots Efforts →
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979 Earthquakes In Japan...And Counting →
979.
Make that 995.
Errr…1,573? When will the madness stop?!
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how japan saw the world
Interesting look at some ancient Japanese maps over at Tofugu.com.
An excerpt:
I think it’s easy to forget that world exploration didn’t really start until fairly recently. The 1400′s was only 600 years ago, and in that short time we’ve mapped just about everything (that’s not underwater, at least). Even then, I’d say it took until the 1600′s for maps to start looking kind of like what...
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7.4 Earthquake Rattles Japan Again →
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Update From Kamaishi →
Mrs. F was born and raised in the seaside town of Kamaishi. She lived with her husband in a home near the sea, and her 89 year old mother lived in the 3rd floor apartment of their restaurant, located…
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dude weekend
Went to Tallulah Falls last weekend with a bunch of dudes from Athens (Redeemer & Resurrection Pres). It was so much fun catching up with a lot of guys I know and to meet some new folks. We stayed at the ‘Athens Y Camp’, dodged some tornadoes, had a lot of laughs, physically exerted ourselves with mindless sports until we regretted it, heard great talks on forgiveness from Brian...
