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Showing posts from May 10, 2020

Honshu and Okinawa

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I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the suicide cliffs of Okinawa. From what I understand, at the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. Besides other types of suicide, they jumped off the cliffs at the Southern end of the main island. If you have seen the original color footage taken at the time, I am sure you ...
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I think the opening lines in "A Tale of Two Cities" has never been more true than today and what has beholden us with the pandemic. Georgia has been "open" earlier than any other state, now 2 weeks. Most restaurants are closed still, but take out is more brisk than it was a month ago. I am not seeing any changes to the reported state-by-state "body count." I am sure I am missing something unlike the folks who are sure they are not missing something. I guess that I am trying to cope with the fact that the equivalent of a small city has died in the US from the virus (80,000). But I am also given numbers that I can't confirm. China is reporting very low numbers of deaths (5000), Russia (2000), etc. ---A source--- . I don't have videos to look at like I can with the Tsunamis of 2004 (220,000) or 2011 (16,000). I didn't see a meteorite fall from the sky and explode. It is very hard to reconcile our current crisis. Pictures: The center of Terminal ...