The Fan Is Spinning FAST...

So Japan, as we all know, is prone to lots of extreme natural disasters. They've got a full hand with typhoons, tornadoes, major earthquakes, fires, and volcanos.

Just to give you a brief glimpse into the bright future of this country I want to explain what I translated from a newspaper article today...

Mt. Fuji is actually a volcano that is, the Japanese so politely describe as, resting/sleeping. It's not dead, it's just resting. It erupts ever 30 years, on average. Except... for the past 300 years it's forgotten to erupt. This is starting to make people nervous since, ya know, when it DOES erupt it's going to be bad. Real bad probably.

If that wasn't the end of it, Japan has been preparing for the Tokai Earthquake. This is a massive earthquake that has a 90% chance of occurring in the next 20 years. They don't know when or where it'll hit, but it's going to hit and it's estimated to be around 8.5 - 9 on the richter scale. They're estimating lots of people dying and things like that but here's the REAL kicker...

When the Tokai Earthquake hits, if Mt. Fuji hasn't already erupted, the earthquake will surely make it erupt. Talk about a terrifying realization. The entire middle section of Japan is going to be destroyed, essentially. Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka... they're all at extreme risk of extreme destruction. I'm not trying to make light of a subject that is clearly extremely scary, but at the same time... everyone still goes to work. Everyone still cooks dinner. Everyone goes to movies. Everyone just does... stuff. If I was living here knowing that I'm sitting on a ticking time bomb, I'd freak out. Granted, I could be in my 40s when the thing actually occurs or we'll all be wiped out by global warming, nuclear warfare, or some disease... it's still scary.

Also on a side note. It's been all over the news how bitchy Laura Bush has been here in Japan. She's part of the G8 Entourage of Wives or something. This group of women go around and do various cultural things like Tea Ceremony and Kimono etiquette. First Lady Bush has insisted that whenever they travel anywhere she will NOT travel with the rest of the group in their fancy bus. She requires her own separate car with a personal driver so she can go on her own. Talk about making a fuss. She's the presidents wife which does not make her a fuckin Diva.

Yesterday I talked with my older sister about the G8 Summit that is happening in Hokkaido right now, pretty close to where I am now... she asked if there were protests and I said "no, Japan is too polite for things like that." Guess I'm wrong! This morning when I go to the train station the entire train station was covered in anti-Bush and anti-G8 graffiti. Mostly anti-Bush stuff. Of COURSE I show up when there are like 10 cops running around the building and they stare at me for 10 minutes until I get on the train and go to school. The cops are stopping TONS of foreigners as it is, if you don't have your passport you are immediately put into custody. They are FREAKIN out here.

Anyway... TAKE CARE everyone. Does anyone still read this? ANYONE?

I can say ANYTHING since no one reads this anymore. Today I listened to "I Will Always Love You" as performed by Whitney Houston on my IPOD. Her version is better than the Dolly Parton version (Dolly P. actually wrote the song...crazy, right?). When my friend asked me what I was listening to I lied and said "Gimme Shelter by the fuckin STONES." But deep down inside I wanted to say "I Will Always Love You by Whitney. There's so much truth in her voice in her performance, she really brought life to a song that can easily be performed as melodramatic and cheesy." But alas... I had to hide my true feelings.



-Mike