Rated for personal reasons. Thanks for putting this up! R

You are VERY welcome, Marilyn, and I hope the personal reasons resolve themselves satisfactorily. Members often PM (and Skype with me)me if there are issues that I can assist them with, or if they just feel like talking.

Please feel free, and thanks, again, for stopping by.

oh these earthquakes and all that radiation, boo hoo.
nothing wrong with the planet, the people are fucked, ha.
just deny that there is any danger...
certainly our Conceit will rationalize it out of public concern.
That is what scientists are for.
To tell us we are making progress.

Japan maybe got cursed by Gawd for its anti american activities
these past few decades. That makes more sense to me
than to think all our good work in the 20th century
shall come to naught...not much..
I hope Gawd cursed this Carlin guy too with all his talk
of earth plus plastic.
rather funny, but his theology is off.
He forgets that we are the chosen.
Those other chosens are doomed.


i am getting a headache.
maybe it is the ungodly radiation from Japan.
i will take 3 pills and
some softly pornographic television to soothe me.
The higher order, the big electron, this poor damned soul says.
it just is...
this carlin fella.
denying our omnipotence and immortality.
that should be a sin.
Intellectuals fleeing, you say?Influxing to get the f. out?
Haw.
in "mother jones, " mr. carlin
said:
"The two big mistakes were the belief in a sky god --
that there's a man in the sky with ten things
he doesn't want you to do
- and private property, which I think is at the core of our failure as a species.
That's the source of my indignations,
my dissatisfactions, however it comes out on stage.
I feel betrayed by the people I'm part of,
these creatures, these magnificent creatures."

i am hoping a cool blue ray disc will come out,
with all of this fellow's rantings,
so i can see him in
high definition
on my HIGH DEFINITION tv,
which i am gonna get soon.

All i got now for definition is goddamn dictionaries.

oh, carry on.

i suspect u might even be a monty python fan?

I think Monty Python is stupid, but thanks for visiting, anyway.

If you haven't read Mark Twain's book, Letters From The Earth already -- do so.

yes well monty python is rather stupid.
they disregard all reason,
and
take clownish nearly-mad
irreverence to all norms values & mores
to the point of ...no return...

i don't wish to be oblique or hard to understand.
neither did they.
but they couldn't find a way back to reason,
i bet. i dunno.


comedy is often the only response.
radiation and such is not a thing for humor.
yet...it must be, or how do we all deal with it?
the tragedy's repercussions will be felt for generations indeed.

another tragedy: we in the usa no longer worry about it.
we are distracted.

as is the way of politics.........

George Carlin always was a smart clear seeing guy :).

Rated for doesn't really matter where you live, She's there too.

I hope the video helps to dissuade your relative too. What it shows is horrendous. Thank you for putting it up andthe best to you.

R♥

When I lived on top of the mountain for a couple of years in a cabin with no electricity or running water, I made a list of the five hindered most important books, I needed to read. Mark Twain was on that list, and as with many of the authors, one book lead to another until I read all of their works, but thanks for the rec., anyway.

I'm really thrilled about the new venues Your writings will be available within - More people need exposure to You.

Thanks, as always, for coming by.

"comedy is often the only response.
radiation and such is not a thing for humor.
yet...it must be, or how do we all deal with it?"

Truer words were never uttered, James. I had been inviting folks to come sample the radiation laden sashimi, which comes flying to Your plater (such a convenience!) until that line got old.

Thanks for the return visit, especially considering my uncalled for curt response to Your first comment. It was MY problem in comprehension.

Seer, I've increasingly come to appreciate Your visits, but I don't know who "she" is.

Well, welcome "stranger." How nice to see You here, again. If my "snarkiness" has kept ayou away, let me be the first to admit that I don't blame You. It is sometimes (maybe, ALWAYS) uncontrollable, FusunA.

My best Turkish friends' daughter is Fusun, but it is the loveliness of Your writing and Your dignified demeanor, I find most entrancing.

Thanks for coming by.

PS - I have NO contact with family, as there is not a single one who is not a racist. It is posted to help an OS's friend's family member to reconsider.

It takes my breath away. So horrible and completely overwhelming to watch. Can't imagine being there. You are always the voice of sanity (along with George Carlin).

WOW, thanks for the compliment. There's an idiot named ordinaryjoe who keeps trolling me, that cut and pasting is NOT blogging, and this moron has blogged a singular post in his five months here.

You sure gave me a boost, Janice, right when I needed it most, and I am VERY grateful.

I love George Carlin! The footage was simply stunning. Good luck convincing her.

--r--

Thanks,Dunniteowl, I, too adore George, may He r.i.p. I know there are numerous more clips of his within my blogs.

The tsunami was mind-boggling, and there are extended versions of that above, with English narration on YouTube.

Thanks for coming by Dunite, and I enjoy Your blog, too.

"five hindered" above in my response ONL should be five hundred, but this new iMac has an autocorrect thingie that has a mind of its own - soon I'll figure out how to dismantle it.

I've seen tsunami videos in the aftermath of the last one but nothing like this video. This was truly amazing. So was the Carlin routine that went with it.

As I mentioned to Dunnite, there are YouTube videos, extended versions of this one with English narration.

As for George, I will be TOTALLY honest in saying that I miss him dearly. I truly believe that the world would be a better place were he still with us.

Thanks for stopping by, Kosh.

ALL things nuclear need to be put to bed for good; what a massive hornet ’s nest humanity has uncovered.

I watched a documentary not long ago and I apologize for not remembering who presented it or I would give you the link; I think it was NatGeo, or similar. Maybe BBC, or even PBS.

Disasters of this magnitude are virtually impossible to comprehend unless you're directly involved, but what the documentary so effectively portrayed was not just the power of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, but how the water very quickly becomes a sort of non-water; a gigantic wall of debris boiling along at a clip no human could possibly outrun, increasing its density every inch it traveled. The “wave” was so densely packed with shattered homes, boats, vehicles, trees, oil drums, trucks and even parts of bridges that I could see no water at all. None! It was like watching a monster from hell rolling over village after village.

Before watching the documentary, I had assumed that the victims all drowned, but the wall of “stuff” shown in the film would have been far more terrifying than any simple wave of dirty water and I doubt very few actually drowned, but rather met an even more horrendous death. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to see that speeding directly towards me; nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and the sound of all that stuff crashing along must have been unearthly.

I’ve never been there, but I hear it’s a beautiful country. However, it seems they frequently pay a very high price for life in Japan.

Boomer, a few random notes.

It may be a nice place to visit, like IS a nice place to visit, but would be expats should be aware that beneath the veneer of western modernity is a pre-neanderthalian mentality.

The brain-washing starts in pre-school, and the most destructive elements are thou shalt conform at all costs, whether the dictum is good, bad or somewhere in between. NEVER question authority.

Second or perhaps even worse is that "face" shalt be maintained. I don't know when asked directions is verboten; better to give false directions than to admit to not knowing. Lying is essentially sanctioned.

In a hierarchical/ honorific language, there are literally dozens of way to say the same thing, depending upon whom one is talking to. Body language, also, counts for reading the persons indirect meanings.

Another example:

If I propose a business idea to a native, and they say to me, "Sounds good, I'll think about it," chances are he means he doesn't like the idea and won't think about it further.

I can't tell You how many times, I've been promised an email concerning matters big and small and never heard from the person again.

Global expat blogs agree that the most difficult culture shock is for English speaking westerners. Around the world, the maxim there are a thousand roads to Rome is respected. here the maxim is altered to there is only one road to Rome, the Japanese road.

Face saving is practiced in all Asian countries, but nowhere near as fanatically as here.

Mistakes are considered to be BAD, BAD, BAD, and this, as well as some of the factors above accounts for the fact that Japan is number zero in English-speaking capability, and they all take minimally six years instruction.

In my role as a medical editor, I know the doctors have a huge passive vocabulary from studies using English txtx, but even these enlightened individuals won't speak English to You for fear of grammatical mistakes.

All of these folk have been taught to memorize grammar to an extent that they know the rules better than many americans, but they daren't even try.

Having taught in a dozen countries, I have no problem understanding "broken" English, but they consider it a loss of face so they won't even try - frustrating as heck.

As we talk, they are still a year later trying to cool the fuel rods with seawater. The seawater containment vessels are flooded and the overflow is running into the sea.

Michio Kaku says trying to cool fuel rods with seawater is like trying to put out a forest fire with a garden water bucket. Furthermore, he advocated, long ago, a fleet of helicopters capping the reactor(s) by dropping particles of concrete, boron, sand ,and lead.

When asked why he doesn't didn't call Tokyo with the suggestion, he essentially replied; why would they listen to me; I'm ONLY a nuclear physicist?

"Michio Kaku (加来 道雄 Kaku Michio?, born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, a co-founder of string field theory,[1] a futurist, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science. He has written several books about physics and related topics; he has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film; and he writes extensive online blogs and articles. He has written two New York Times best sellers, Physics of the Impossible (2008) and Physics of the Future (2011). He has hosted several TV specials for BBC-TV, the Discovery Channel, and the Science Channel.

At Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, Kaku assembled an atom smasher in his parents' garage for a science fair project.[2] At the National Science Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he attracted the attention of physicist Edward Teller, who took Kaku as a protégé, awarding him the Hertz Engineering Scholarship. Kaku graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1968 and was first in his physics class. He attended the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley and received a Ph.D. in 1972, and in 1972 he held a lectureship at Princeton University."

VERY arrogant "leaders" - no academics on the counterpart to our board of education, ergo no speakee English.

Thanks for providing me room to rant,Bob.

Oh and by the way, potatoes, tomatoes and carrots sold in 2-packs at $2 - $4 and watermelons starting at $30 and up.

Professors paid 1/5th or less than american equivalents (my wife taught at five institutions of higher ed. in the states before we moved here); doctors paid 1/10th that of american doctors, etc. etc. etc.

Thanks, again for visiting, Bob.

Not even Seoul anymore, Mark.
No-one f--ks with tectonic plates.
I'm in Sydney-by-the-sea & we're nervous. We pay top dollar for a water view, but we're nervous.

Kim,an educated man such as Yourself in this region doesn't need an explanation of "The Ring of Fire."

Aside from radiation, quakes have been occurring, again, as I'm sure You know, well beyond the ring of fire with alarming frequency.

The tectonic plates are nowhere near settled. I expect many more and not in the distant future. Radiation aside, this part of the world is stone-cold dangerous.

You had a 5.2 just a few months ago - they seem to be all over, this hemisphere.

Thanks for stopping by.

What a fascinating description of the Japanese psyche. Thanks, I enjoyed that. You should post some on that very topic, it would be very good reading.

ordinaryjoe doesn't like my writing style, (nor do I), BoomerBob, but I'm glad You enjoyed it, typos and all.

Thanks for the compliment.

As much as I agree with Carlin's contempt for human hubris I still feel a twinge of regret that the potentials of humanity are frustrated by the massive egotistical idiocy of its behavior. There are worthwhile human qualities and it's a shame they should become obliterated by the pervading stupidities.

[r] mark, finally getting to view this. how perfect the carlin counterpoint! monster tsunami is right ... it just kept on going and going and going. mother nature is not happy with what mankind has done to the global paradise we should be sharing and enjoying and cultivating not killing.

special thanks, mark. I will share! best, libby

She is Nature and the Planet :).

Mark,good morning,and thank you for this reminder.

Ya' know Jan, it seems that we've always been on similar wavelengths. After telling my wife that I haven't changed from who I was when I was in america, but she has dramatically changed, now back in Japan, and it was ruining our marriage and putting it in jeopardy, in the car on the way home, I was thinking of Carlin and his phrase willfully ignorant in regards to the american people; and contemplating what he would say about the Japanese.

And in regards to Your phrase: "egotistical idiocy of its behavior," I'd like to add for any readers and especially BoomerBob, that the world has largely forgiven the Germans for their role in WWII. I have met many young Germans and I find them to be a most proactive bunch, for the most part in owning up to the tragedies of the past.

By contrast, Japan is creative; they are still peddling this phrase "comfort women." Sounds real nice and cuddly or almost evokes images of a time spent in a spa, when the reality is, it was the wholesale roundup of women, many underage, to be forced into prostitution as reward for the Japanese army's pillage of China.

And the Japanese wonder why the only thing their neighbors like about Japanese tourists is the money they lavishly spend on vacation.

The twenty-three years since the housing bubble burst is called the "the lost decade." mathematics, the Japanese way! 23 = 10!!!

Thanks for stopping by, Jan.

I could've chosen the English version, which is longer and has greater impact, but I especially chose the Carlin version for reasons You mention, Libby.

Please DO share this.

Thanks for stopping by, as always.

I suspected that You meant Mother Earth, Seer.

Thanks for stopping back to clarify that.

One last thing that I neglected to mention in my response to Jan, is that in the new,new, new history texts, to the best of my knowledge, The Rape of Nanking is dealt with in a single paragraph, if that much.

Previous texts limited the obscenity to a single sentence, and the Japanese continue to wonder, in their delusions, "why do ALL our neighbors hate us so?"

Sorry for passing over You, Heidi. From my perspective, it's never a good morning in the "land of the setting sun." Yes, I know THEY still call it the "land of the rising sun," but those days are long gone.

The economic devastation comes from as george Carlin would say, willful ignorance. They CHOSE to build the Fukushima reactors on the coast. They made their beds or tatami mats, and now, they have to sleep in them.

We are in the midst of Golden week holidays, which like most other things, Japanese is neither a week in duration, nor is there nothing golden in the future of Japan.

Grossly underestimating how long it will take to recover economically at thirty years, when more knowledgable economists say it will be at least double that time, and double the amount of money necessary to recover.

And ordinary, I WILL continue to delete Your comments. You ain't welcome here. Go to fRANK's if you EVER have anything to say, or heaven forbid do a blog post.

One thing about mr. ordinary is he's a persistent little COCKroach with increasingly obscene comments, so I regret to have to close comments for a while so I can concentrate on important matters which, needless to say DON'T include mr. ordinary.

Thanks for the rating Snarkychaser, and the several others who have seen fit to rate.

It is VERY late here, already, but if anyone has any questions on the information contained herein, I will endeavor to answer them now or in the morning.

Scary, tough choice for someone who care; which I assume this person does otherwise she probably wouldn't be considering it.

I'm sure you know better than me; but in the higher lands at least the Tsunami wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for stopping in Zachary. I had REALLY stopped posting about Japan, as I thought it was my PERSONAL problem, primarily, and didn't want to belabor it open others, further, but I was wrong, which is more common that I choose to emphasize.

Japan and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) have been lying about all aspects of this event from day one, and they are still lying.

Recently, information has come to light that they are working on plans to evacuate FORTY MILLION people from the Tokyo area, which could lead one to surmise, they expect further problems than those, already, enumerated, here.

Your comment is true that should the woman choose to relocate to higher grounds a tsunami might not be problematic for her, but it is the prediction of an epidemic of cancer and leukemia within the next few years that concerns me most for her.

Unless, she is planning to bring her own food, obviously an impossibility, I wish she could understand the concept of an entire nation captive to a totally contaminated food supply, and as Kim Gamble mentioned, these concerns pervade this entire area.

I don't expect to live long enough to have to worry about that.

Another problem that many here are starting to question is the monies being spent on PR campaigns to convince people to come and visit. Many feel these monies would be better spent on capping the errant reactors and others in danger of similar catastrophes, a sentiment I share.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by, Zachery.