Yesterday, I saw on the news that a chunk of Antarctica's shelf (7 times the size of Manhattan) has broken off, and I cried. I could not stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I looked at the satellite picture. What will it take for us to implement meaningful change??
I went to Scottsdale, Arizona for Easter weekend. Inside of 4 days, I saw at least 10 Hummers on the road, in an area of the country where natural resources like water are not exactly abundant. One of these monster trucks actually had a license plate that said, "GBLWRMR." ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? And we wonder why is it that we're not loved and admired by all throughout the world??
When I was in Japan, one of my good friends told me about a program that she watched on NHK one night (the "PBS" or "BBC" of Japan) on Sweden's initiative to combat global warming. I was stunned - cars that run on human waste - brilliant. Yes, the startup costs are high, and for a while it does cost more than regular gasoline, but eventually the investment pays for itself, and you're doing something small, but significant to help the environment.
WHY can't we flip on the tube and watch similar programming in the US??
I remember a few years ago when Uma Thurman was on Leno (or Letterman?), and said that cars could run on vegetable oil! Most of us were like, "huh??" The fact that she stunned so many people with this idea should have been enough to make us realize how ill-informed we were, thanks to our crappy, profit-driven media - whether it's outright lying, or lying by omission, they do this country a grave disservice. Now we know (years after Uma enlightens us on a late-night talk show!) that cars can run on corn, hydrogen and....HUMAN WASTE. ALCOHOL. Scrap from slaughterhouses, aka, TRASH. Thank god for National Geographic and the Guardian. More people should tune in: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070625-swedish-biogas.html
Hopefully, I am wrong about the majority of people in the US - that we do CARE, and if we hear the truth about what's going on in the world, we will act quickly to make positive change, for our own future generations and for the rest of the world with whom we are connected.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Back to reality
After many weeks on the road, life returns to normal. I took Teddy to the trail for his morning walk, and we went for a romp on the beach yesterday. Caught up with friends & family in Arizona over Easter - so great to go back there. Weather is unbelievably beautiful now, both there and here - the spring blossoms are just now starting to give way to green leaves. Time to catch up with spring cleaning and general household maintenance - ugh... at least I have great surroundings to escape to, and my trusty partner in crime!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
coco's kindergarten class
Coco (Madoka's daughter) is the one in the hat.We went to pick her up today and I became the gaijin ゛toy.゛
Saturday, March 15, 2008
whale meat
before you launch into a tirade, the answer is NO,I did not have any. but for those of you who are curious, this is whatwhalemeat sashimi looks like. the really dark meat is regular meat,then there is bacon,skin and tongue. one good thing is that none of the animal goes to waste but still, I cannot bring myself to eat it.
Sake competition
This was very cool. Line a bunch of sake up,six to a table and do a blind tasting. the object is to match them to the labeled ones on the other side of the room.
08-03-15_12-10.jpg
went to ｍａｓｕｍｉ brewery today and had shinshu soba for lunch,along with tasty sake,of course. masumi is a pretty well distributed sake in the US. really soft and drinkable.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Buitoni pasta bar!
Originally uploaded by js_hale
I was in a rush to have lunch in Azabu Juban earlier this week - I happened upon a brilliant little "pasta bar" restaurant - it's counter seating only, and you come in & choose from 15 different types of spaghetti. Fantastic. I got the 和風 Japanese seafood pasta. Shrimp, squid, bits of fish, etc. and nori sprinkled on top. A little dashi and olive oil to mix up the flavors. It was perfect!
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
the Newest Ockner
Baby Girl Ockner (my niece) was born on Feb. 28th. Peter and I went to see how Mom and Baby were doing this weekend. In the US, apparently can only stay 1-3 days in the hospital after delivery, depending on if it was natural birth or C-section - I haven't had kids yet, and I'm already envious of Japanese moms who get to stay 5 days for regular labor, and 10 days if they've had a C-section! Peter and I will start trying to have our own in April, so I'm already starting the research on what will work best. Maybe flying to Japan?? ; )
Monday, February 25, 2008
Snowing in Tahoe
Peter and I decided on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Tahoe - we had a BLAST. Snow was non-stop all weekend, and it was REALLY coming down as we were trying to get back on Sunday. Saturday was great skiing, and we made the most of our Sunday morning by taking the dog snow shoeing - with waste-deep powder, it was quite a workout for the whole family. Our shoes went 1-2 feet down into the snow with every step, and Teddy looked like he was swimming through the powder!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Fire! (he he...)
What is it about fire that fascinates young boys? Apparently some never get over it. We were up in Covelo for President's Day weekend, and Peter got to do all the things he loves - chainsawing, piling firewood, and setting things aflame. Teddy is somewhere out here, running around with Piper, which he did all day every day until he collapsed from exhaustion. I helped a little with the chores, which I didn't mind at all - we also went on a long bike ride, slept in each day, and were fed copious amounts of delicious food!
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