Myanmar cyclone damage estimated at $4 billion

SINGAPORE (AP) — Myanmar needs at least $1 billion over the next three years to put the survivors of Cyclone Nargis back on their feet, a U.N.-led report said Monday in the first comprehensive assessment of damage caused by the disaster that killed more than 84,000 people.

The May 2-3 cyclone caused damage estimated at $4 billion, said the report prepared by the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the military junta that governs Myanmar. Damage to assets was determined to be about $1.7 billion and loss of income was estimated at $2.3 billion.

The cyclone devastated large swathes of the Irrawaddy delta and the Yangon region, killing at least 84,537 people and leaving 53,836 missing and presumed dead.

Observed Skill of Indigenous Osakans

I have not yet learned or aquired the skill of sleeping while standing on a packed train, but I'm getting closer!

Site of First Front Gate

Destroyed in World War II, this gate formed a square shape with the Second Front Gate, had a smaller gate on the side with a gabled and tiled roof. The wall section under the front part of the gate was covered with wooden tiles, and the gate itself was iron plated and rocks could be dropped from a second story machicolation. The door on the smaller gate was latticed for reinforcement.

From the context I guessed what a machicolation was but I had to look it up anyway.

Storming Another Castle

Nagoya Castle.
Climbing on up.

As They Say in Japan

There is a saying in Japanese.
猫の額ほどの庭 = neko no hitai hodo no niwa
My yard is sooo small...
It's no bigger than a cat's forehead.

My Vast Wisdom

They were talking about how even though in Hawaii the temperature can be 32 degrees it still doesn't feel as hot as it does in Osaka.
I chimed in.
"It is because there are no bugs." I sagely imparted.
I got The Quizzical Look.
I tried again "It is because there are no bugs". I apprehensively ventured.
After one of those uncomfortable silent moments, they made a guess.
You mean not muggy?
Yes, that's what I was saying, "It is because it is not as muggy in Hawaii as it is in Japan.

mushi by itself means bug;
mushi in conjunction with atsui means muggy.

Circle

On the way home from church, I noticed this company.
The building looks very old but it also looks well kept as if there is good money in their business.
The company name is the Fuso Sobi Circle Company.
So I got to wondering about who the owners were and what their craft or trade might be. I wondered if perhaps they owned the rights to the use of circles in Japan.
And so I got to thinking about who might have the rights to circles in Canada. I remember a few years ago McDonald's applied for a patent on the sandwich and in a similar vien perhaps I can apply for a patent on the circle. I could start my own circle company! And get a piece of the pie for every circle made.
I think I had better do some market research first though, to see if people still use this ancient device in this high tech computer age.

Defining the Quizzical Look

Being on the recieving end of the quizzical look, something that foreigners learn (sooner is better than later though it took me a while) as a sign that they have said something not quite right (which can range from just not being understood to saying something downright insulting).
Mostly one hopes it is the former, which just leaves you feeling stupid, but somtimes you end up feeling not only stupid but embarassed as well.

Shocking

My all time favorite quote on the use of chopsticks comes from my all time favorite aunt.

Oh! You only use one hand!

Just For Now

One of the Osaka incineration plants posted only because it is weird and I haven't posted since my return from Canada.

More Hibbie Jibbies

On the other hand being not only a red blooded Canadian male but also a hockey playing Canadian, I have been known to wear garters.

Hibbie Jibbies

Many men in Japan carry purse like bags and or carry their bags in a very purse like fashion.
It can be very disconcerting for me, a red blooded Canadian male, to see this, I need to get into the 90's.

Canada Bound

Northwest. Sekime to Georgetown. Trains, planes and automobiles. Kansai, Detroit and Toronto airports. Close to 24 hours of travelling.
It always astounds me it works out.

Is that Kosher?

At the Canadian Consulate in Nagoya the Japanese lady who helped me had a bit of an Austrialian accent.

What I learned in Japanese Class

目に入れても痛くない。= me ni iretemo itakunai.
It's a saying. They say it originally came from China.
Translation: Even if you put it in your eye it won't hurt.
Usage: My son is sooo cute, even if I stick him in my eye it won't hurt.

Hence the Diatribe

In retrospect, I am probably just bitter about the lack of hot dogs in my neighbourhood.

The wisdom of it all.

知 = tomo = wisdom
宏 = hiro = vast

Parents often have high expectations of their children. My boy is going to play in the big leagues, my child is going to be able to read by the time he is four, my son is going to love to go hiking with me, my child is going to excel academically.
And etcetera.
I like to think we are not like that.
And yet our son's middle name is 知宏.

Trying to Remember My Quadratic Equations

I still have not become used to the quantities in which things are sold in Japan.

It is a little like the hot dog idiocy in Canada,　where wieners come in packets of twelve and hot dog buns come in packs of eight. It takes a math whiz to figure out the number of packets of wieners required to arrive at a common denominator consistent with the number of buns in a package, dividing by the number of persons in your household and how many hot dogs you will have that will feed your family for x amount of days and then reconciling that with the best before dates of BOTH packages. (You might find it odd that the meat lasts longer than the bread). Perhaps it explains why some families eat so many hot dogs. If you were to make a slight error in your calculations or if you are unable to do math, you will end up with too many of one or the other and it is back to the store to get more of what you don't need, in which case you would end up with more of the other again. Its one of the those downward spirals.
In Japan things tend not to come in packets of four. And it would be a great social faux pas to give a gift in a quantity of four. Things often come in packs of three or five which can create strife and marital struggles for our family. The solution often involves knives.

Prayer

I remember praying in childish English, for hitting the ball as the pitch came at me. Oh so childlike.
I have heard people pray in British Anglican English, graceful, deep and solemn, that left me with an inkling of the majesty of God, and feeling extremely inadequate in my own way of praying.
And in Japanese, with the language's built-in ability to convey a sense of respect and reverence for God, which also makes me feel inadequate in my praying.
And in English, colloquial, comfortable, able to bring the nearness, kindness and gentleness of God more easily into focus.
I am certain there are more ways in use, both more simple and complex.
All need redemption.
Yappari.
One can't do them all
We are sinners even when we pray.
And yet God treasures every word.

Woman arrested after caught living in man’s closet

From Wikinews
"In the town of Kasuya, Fukuoka, Japan, a 58-year-old woman was arrested after surveillance tape from inside an unnamed man's home showed her living in his closet.

According to police, Tatsuko Horikawa had been living in his closet for over one year. One day when the man left, she walked through his front door which had been left unlocked. From then on, she would take small amounts of food from the kitchen and even take showers. When the man noticed food missing, he set up cameras to catch what he thought was someone robbing him."

Yup, I checked our closets, the most likely one (the biggest) is clear, the other smaller one is so full it is, however improbable, still possible someone is in there. I let you know if anything develops.