AngieStars comments

@cracaphat The poster was done in a studio with controlled lighting, angles, hair, makeup and photoshop. The pic snapped here was of a different angle, different lighting, different clothing, different pose, and her hair is pulled back so now her fringe isn't framing her face. Staging makes a world of difference!

The zombies kept coming from both directions in what I can only imagine as one of the worst ways to die imaginable.

I'm not sure its fair to call them ''zombies'' (And the cattle comment from Alex was really uncalled for). Oftentimes in human crushes like this, people are unable to stop or turn around because of the force of the crowd, and many people who have survived crushes note that their feet leave the ground and they're held up just from being pushed so close to those around them.

But I fully agree with you, the police really did not control the crowd properly in these circumstances. It's an awful tragedy that I hope isn't repeated, as having the life squeezed out of you or being trampled is a horrifying way to die. I hope the families of the victims find peace.

This is three hours away from me! Maybe a good day outing during Golden Week since I didn't make any long term travel plans, hmm...

Not sure about her school in particular, but the ''first homeroom'' the teacher and students have (attended by parents watching in the back) where I work seems to be a much more formative event that shows the parents what the teacher will be like with their new students because of the more intimate setting. The article mentioned her missing the ceremony, but not other events after the ceremony, so its possible she headed over to her school as soon as her son's ceremony wrapped up?

Really tragic, especially for the families, friends, and teachers of the boys involved. My thoughts are with them.

''Basic traffic law 101 -pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way.''

When I first moved to Japan, I actually looked up my local traffic laws as a pedestrian because so many drivers here seem to fly through pedestrian crossings whether someone is there or not or if the pedestrian has a green light to cross. Even being hyper vigilant has yielded close calls. Pedestrians seem more like obstacles to drivers here.

If these women don't want to wear these uniforms, they don't have to apply for a job there and go through the incredibly long interview process which would be a clear indicator of what is to come.

What about the women who already worked for the airline before this new uniform was introduced? And while the president pays lip service saying that they won't ''force'' anyone to wear it, there's a large amount of social stigma in Japanese workplaces for people who go against the flow. This means that women who are uncomfortable are likely to feel pressured to wear it anyway in order to maintain workplace harmony or keep their job.

It's not always easy to just walk away and find a new job, either, before anyone makes that suggestion. Everyone has bills to pay and needs to fulfill, and sometimes the job they have is the only one they were able to get.

Alex80 I'd like to be Oscar from The Rose of Versailles.

Seconding this. Lady Oscar is a total babe and bad ass.

You won't ever change human nature, so learn to side-step it.

If it's human nature to beat other people with metal rods, I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

AnonymousArizonan A nation that has many states, and a large percent of it's general population opposed to gay marriage has no business bothering other countries for opposing gay marriage.

This opposition has absolutely nothing to do with marriage, and everything to do with human rights. LGBT people in Uganda face a culture that employs physical violence, death threats, black mail, murder and ''corrective rape'' just for being gay. And now, under this law, it will further criminalize homosexuality with the price of life in prison, and even has penalties for people who do not out gay people that they know to the authorities or are supporters of the LGBT community.

While I don't feel it is the place of the US to go in and physically force them to change their laws, it is important that they voice their disapproval of these human rights violations to try to foster a safer environment for LGBT people everywhere.

Hardly, you are just shoving ALL of the blame on the men and just giving women a pass absolutely deplorable!

Even if the roles were reversed, with a woman buying drinks and dinner for a man and getting close to him expecting sex because she perceived his cues and body language as a yes, and he said no, the fact that he accepted all of her advances up to a certain point would never excuse her raping him.

Consent is a clear and defined ''Yes'' and is never negated by the amount of doting that person A has given to person B, and that should be universally true for everyone. There is no obligation to continue things further if that person does not wish to.

Travelling in Korea was so much easier thanks to being able to buy cheap access to olleh wifi for a day at any 7-11. They had hot spots all over the place so checking maps or locations of places I wanted to go was always accessible. It's too bad that Japan doesn't have something similar, but this seems to be a step in the right direction.

I agree with YuriOtani, it sounds better than the whale meat they constantly serve here in Nagasaki Pref for kyuushoku.

My friends and I encountered this situation shortly after moving to Japan. We were walking home one night to the train station in a dark, quiet neighborhood at about 9 pm when suddenly a crying child (Maybe 3-4 years old) called out to us from the corner of a cul de sac. None of my friends spoke Japanese, so I approached him, kneeling down and asking what was the matter, what his name was, why he was alone, etc.

Turns out his mother worked until really late, and he was supposed to be staying with a neighbor. But he told me he didn't like the neighbor, and just wanted his mom to come and get him. None of us were sure what to do, so we decided to wait with him so he wouldn't wander out in to the street again, and tried to cheer him up. We considered going and finding the koban we had seen earlier in the day, but since we were knew, weren't 100% sure of the location. Eventually his mom drove up, and we went on our way, but she ran after us and thanked us for waiting with him.

Luckily, in our situation, it went fairly well but its easy to understand how this might have been seen as threatening to the mother with 4 foreigners waiting with her kid in the dark. As many have stated, there are a lot of different factors to each situation you encounter that may have positive or negative impacts on you. Now that I'm more familiar with my area, I'd ring up the koban right away to seek help, but I still wouldn't change my position of trying to help out a crying child in any way I could.

Right. While my use of quotes was incorrect, it seems like many people believe that if Oulson knew better than to verbally harass and then assault Reeves with his bag of popcorn, he'd still be alive. But the thought of being shot as a result of immature acts like that is the last thing to cross my mind, and Oulson probably did not expect someone to shoot him over something minor. Maybe, ''This guy might deck me'' but not ''This guy might shoot me.'' That seems like a big leap in expectations, even if you are provoking someone. (However, this disagreement may be a result of our different life experiences, which is entirely understandable)

While we're examining words...

if you refrain from referring to me and possibly others as "mental" for advocating views we did not promote.

Except the part where I said that the amount of victim blaming that was going on was mental, not the people themselves doing it. I go in to these threads expecting a bit of victim blaming in the comments, but was surprised by the amount of ''Oulson was asking for trouble'' related comments. But upon re-reading the thread today, I realized I was exaggerating.

will you refer to the judge and jury members as "gun nuts" too?

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I've used that term during the discussion, (Pretty sure I never mentioned gun control, at all) unless you're referring to a general ''you'' towards the other commenters, and not me specifically? But then you mention Cleo specifically later, so...

@samwatters Could you please refrain from using that condescending tone with me? It is a distraction from what you are trying to communicate. Thank you.

I have an issue with your scuba analogy. Naturally, its expected of an animal to bite a human in those circumstances you described, but the difference is that both Oulson and Reeves are both human beings with higher intelligence. I would like to think that as evolved beings, we have moved beyond such animal instincts as lashing out quickly at any percieved threat (with deadly force, in this case). Just as you say that Oulson could have avoid being shot by not acting the way he did, I will argue that Reeves could have avoided shooting him by walking away from Oulson's taunts. It's not as though he had been backed in to a corner and left with using his gun as a last resort.

While we all agree that Reeves was in the wrong by drawing his weapon and firing on Reeves, and are advocating for Reeves' imprisonment, the addage that Oulson was somehow ''asking for it'' is where the knee-jerk reaction comes in. Because no matter how much you think Reeves was wrong, adding that puts some blame on Oulson for his own murder. It's the same line of problematic thinking that blames victims of rape or abuse (ex: ''It's wrong that they were raped, and their rapist should go to prison, but did you see what they were wearing? Totally asking for it.''). Those of us who take issue with statements like that are advocating for a world where there is no complacency (''It can't be helped. Just avoid x.'') towards violence, and where victims are not blamed for the actions of their attackers. Oulson was wrong for harassing and throwing things at Reeves. Full Stop. Reeves shooting Oulson was wrong. Full stop. No ifs, ands, or buts. It's a sad reality that we have to be so overly cautious that everyone else is out to get us, but I disagree that we should just shrug and say that every victim of violent crime should have just ''known better.''

The amount of victim blaming in this thread is absolutely mental. My mind is boggled by the number of people who seem to think that Oulson was somehow deserving of being fatally shot for the heinous crime of being rude.

it is high time that rude people learn that we all live in a stressful world and acting like a jerk can get you rebuked, punished or killed.

While I agree that Oulson's actions were immature, they in NO WAY justify being gunned down, and this goes for any other perceived slight or act of rudeness. People who talk on their phones, cut you off in traffic, or ignore you should NOT have to fear being ''punished or killed'' for their actions. Rebuked, yes, by all means, call them out on their rudeness. But if they start to escalate the situation, you act like an adult and you walk away and remove yourself from the situation. Reeves could have easily changed seats or even asked for a refund/tickets for a different showing. Violence is not an acceptable answer to being rude.

My heart goes out to this lady and her child. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of helplessness, pain, and loneliness she felt as she tried to handle this ordeal by herself. It was not the wisest decision, but in dire circumstances it is often difficult to think clearly, especially without any support or advice from people you trust and care about. I hope that the people in her life (Like the friend she eventually turned to for help) reach out to her so as to foster a more healthy system of supportive relationships.

why is it wrong to commit suicide? i mean, they were all adults, and if they choose to end their lives willingly then it's not really a tragedy.

It's certainly a tragedy for the people left behind, in particular the brother of the homeowner that found all of them. First his nephew, now his brother, sister in law, and niece? My heart goes out to him.

I feel so sad for that lady. Like many others have said, this lady was in dire need of mental health services but since the subject is pretty taboo here, nothing was done to help her. I hope she can receive the care she needs, soon.

Dang, quite a lot of negativity on a harmless little article about curry. I live alone, so I always have leftovers when I make a pot of it. I'm looking forward to trying some of these out!

@ex-japan-visitor

Friendly reminder that your date is under no obligation to reward you for being nice. If rewards are all you care about in a relationship, then I think you need to reevaluate your priorities with other human beings. Communication is a healthy way to establish what you're looking for in a relationship, how you would like things to go (paying for dates, splitting the costs evenly, etc), and putting all the blame on the women in your life reveals a lot about you.

Just saying.