Posted in: Dozens of WWII veterans to gather in Hawaii despite pandemic See in context
Hawkeye, what is even more remarkable is Sgt Ben Kuroki. He participated in the Ploesti Raid, yes that one, and later served in a B-29 over Japan. Very remarkable career for a nisei. But yes, we should remember everyone and on both sides and work towards Peace.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Guy deliberately bumping into women regrets it when he tries it on pro-wrestler See in context
It's not only women that get bumped. If you have a large backpack they'll bump you in places like supermarkets.
7 ( +11 / -4 )
Posted in: New film explores legacy of Puerto Rican actor Raúl Juliá See in context
I first noticed Raul Julia in Florida Straits, a made for TV movie. It often appeared on HBO after its initial release and I watched it because of Fred Ward, but left with an appreciation of Raul Julia. He was mysterious but compelling. I'd watch it again.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Pioneering TV actress Mary Tyler Moore dies at 80 See in context
Actually Ted Knight and Mary Tyler Moore are the only two of the main actors on the show that have passed on. Gavin McLeod is still with us as well as Georgia Engel. Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachmann who were both spun off to separate shows are also still living.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: New arrival See in context
It should be SS Dick Lykes. The source you may have gotten the name from is in error. A look at a photo of the ship shows it in civilian black, not the navy grey. It was chartered by the USN. The naming of some classes of USN ships has become very political and depends on who controls the White House and Congress. For large aircraft carriers, in practice the naming alternates between icons or patrons of both parties or the Navy Department. The U.S. can't make them Knights or Dukes to honor their service. The name Ronald Reagan still has lots of good will in Japan. I personally believe that he doesn't deserve it.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Back in time See in context
I have mixed feelings about Ruth Benedict. To put in another context, a North Korean academic, who cannot speak English, has never been to America and has largely interviewed or observed American students studying in North Korea, writes a much hailed book on American culture for North Koreans. That Sums up Ruth Benedict. That her book is widely praised says much about how much Westerners really know about Japan. Sorry.
3 ( +3 / -0 )
Posted in: Hit spy comedy tackles the tragedy of divided Korea See in context
goku_wo_maneku, you are right that many survivors might not have approved of that portrayal of WWII Nazi prison camps with befuddled yet lovable prison guards. But the great distinction is that it is about a Western Allies POW camp and not a concentration camp. The former was a holding center, albeit with limited amenities and the latter became abattoirs. Hogan's Heroes was patterned after the prison camp drama/comedy Stalag 17 and probably was inspired by the success of The Great Escape, a few years earlier, also a drama leavened with some comedic moments. The two German Regulars were John Banner, who played Sgt. Shultz, and was an Austrian Jew who was detained briefly in a concentration camp before emigrating to America and Werner Klemperer, who played Col. Klink, and was also a Jew but born in Berlin. Klemperer took on the role but stressed that he didn't want the Klink character to succeed in any episode. Robert Cleary, who played the Frenchman Cpl. LeBeau, was also Jewish and was actually in a concentration camp as a young boy. Although probably not the intent, comedy has a way of addressing serious issues in a softer setting. I'm sure that Secretly Greatly had this intent. The British Spy Comedy Sleepers is probably more similar to the Korean Movie.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: NRA chief: We will never surrender our guns See in context
Corrected.
How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown? http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death _tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html
You have to like it together to get to the site.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: NRA chief: We will never surrender our guns See in context
Both sides should look at this. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Hiroshima A-bomb re-enactment dropped from U.S. air show See in context
Up to that point in time the Japanese Military had not surrendered in large numbers in any battle even when faced with overwhelming force in WWII. So one could say that the addition of Soviet Military fighting against Japan would have merely seen more stubborn resistance with very little surrendering, but does provide an excuse for not surrendering due to the atomic Bombs. The examples provided by Japanese soldiers and civilians on Guam, Saipan and Okinawa showed the difficulty in getting Japanese to surrender and would have prejudiced the US and Allied towards scepticism that the Japanese would ever surrender without some dramatic face saving event. Also the experience of having Japan plan and execute the Pearl Harbor Surprise Attack during negotiations would have made it harder for any attempted negotiations in 1945 to be taken seriously. It is hypocrisy to criticize the Allied Bombings in Japan and Germany that killed civilians without mentioning civilians killed by Japan (in China, the Philippines, Malaysia and French Indochina) and Germany. At best you should start with there is no honor in War, it is a fight for survival, and neither side is not entirely innocent, but...
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Victory over Japanese at Kohima named Britain's greatest World War II battle See in context
Which is why the Koreans love the Japanese to this day and welcome visits by Government Officials to the Yasukuni Shrine. Before the Americans at Guadalcanal, the Aussies did it at Milne Bay. But Coral Sea and Midway came before that either of those. The Japanese were tough and skillful fighters that many Allied veterans will grudgingly admit.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: As stocks rise, so do hemlines See in context
I think that 'Keiki' is from the Hawaiian word for kids. 'Street Corner Kids' sounds more plausible than 'Street Corner Conditions.'
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: U.S. broadcasters worry about 'Zero TV' homes See in context
Tastes vary, but some shows that I like that may appeal to CrisGerSan, who derides American TV, are Person of Interest, Elementary, Adventure Time, Regular Show and Archer. Violent, sometimes yes, cartoonish, maybe so, but save for the last, there is a heart beating in each that makes them enjoyable to watch. There are more that I watch, but some that do turn me off. I do not like to see evil glorified.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: JJ Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars' film See in context
Good news, unless you are a fan of the old Star Trek.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: 7-yr-old boy drowns in Fukuoka pond; brother in critical condition See in context
The water temperature can be quite cold and jumping in can cause shock. I jumped into the American River in California in the summer and I almost became rigid from the unexpected cold. Could have drowned. In the winter with much lower temperatures, it could have happened to the two children. How many times do we read of parents jumping in to save their children and drowning themselves. Sympathy for the mother and family. They are already punishing themselves with guilt and remorse. No need to add any more, I think.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: 'Captain America' keeps full name in most of world See in context
Captain America actually first appeared in Captain America's Comic #1, March 1941. The First Avenger title certainly plays on today's mood of retribution. He is the oldest published hero, but not the first to join, in the Marvel Superhero Group, The Avengers. That's probably why it's titled The First Avenger. Also as noted in the article above, there was some concern that anything so blatantly American might be poorly received in some parts of the world.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Why must Tokyo’s railways engage in aural assault? See in context
Actually the woman making the announcements is probably Canadian.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Beat Takeshi appears in ad for ECC language school See in context
Concerning the commercial with the girl, I taught a pair of twins that had previously went to an all week preschool in Japan with no foreigner students whose English turned out to very good. I had one or two students in the same program that turned out very well, so it is possible. But it's not likely if only 45 minutes once a week.
Also does anyone remember the old Nova commercials? Yoku Gambarimashita!!!??? Foreign teachers being taught how to speak Japanese, before they enter the class.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Hiroshi Tachi, Yumiko Shaku to star in NHK period drama See in context
I think he means that if a woman says those things, it means 'Tell me that you love me,' 'Let's get married as I can be a good wife,' and 'Don't stray.'
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: WikiLeaks memo complicates picture of North Korea See in context
True, But have you ever listened to people talk in an izakaya? What people share in a small group of friends show that truth and objectivity are not necessarily most important. The objective is build relationships and influence people.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: WikiLeaks memo complicates picture of North Korea See in context
While speaking that absolute truth and candor is desirable, there will always be differences of opinion where diplomatic niceties are necessary. The contents and opinions expressed in the US documents are no different from those that would be found in documents from any other nation, should they be exposed. Absolute truth can be damaging in relationship. To put it into perspective, just as as you would not say everything that you really feel and think about your coworkers, spouses, or family members to their faces, especially when you are in disagreement or under stress, nations must maintain a level of appearances. Let the person without sin cast the first stone.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Tensions high after North, South Korea trade shelling See in context
Anyone who thinks that the US might have an easy time should read a good history of the Korean War. The US and South Korean armies was suffered serious reverses, first when the North Koreans first invaded, again when the Chinese reacted after UN units crossed the 38th Parallel and approached the Yalu River and twice more when the CCF launched Counter Offensives. Much blood was spent. today, if North Korea were attacked, China might intervene and present day China still has a military force that greatly out numbers the US and South Korea and is no longer technologically far behind the US. There is no do over in war. Wiser and cooler heads are called for.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: 'Hobbit' films to be made in New Zealand as planned See in context
It's not going to be for kids, unfortunately. It would be great if it did. Peter Jackson talked about doing a backstory on Bilbo's father. There was enough in the Hobbit to fill the two movies, if he desired. Expect it to follow LOTR in mood.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Laugh-in See in context
Would this photo be posted if it was Maehara whose mouth was open and Clinton watching with an amused face?
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: What books or movies would you recommend to anyone wanting to gain an understanding of Japanese people's way of thinking and culture? See in context
Japanese Inn, by Oliver Statler and for another view, From a Ruined Empire: letters, Japan, Korea, China, 1945-46. Edited by Otis Carey. Correspondence between USN translators, many Japanophiles, during and after the War.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Unusual bond heals wounds for American WWII POWs who will visit Japan See in context
Thank you. Hope that it leads to better things.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Land mine swept ashore from NKorea kills SKorean See in context
Traditional mine detectors are metal detectors, so use of non-metal containers such as wood or ceramics makes detecting them much harder. The wooden box mines may not have looked dangerous to the uninformed, so the farmers might not have been aware that they were in any danger. Any death or injury in circumstances like this is regretted.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: 'Dollhouse' star Eliza Dushku to visit Japan See in context
It was an interesting show. I watched it until the end. I believe that it is her thumb that looks like something else.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Snoop sells out to MAGA. Why is thinking for himself selling out? Do YOU own him?
Posted in: Kanye West's account on X goes dark after hate-filled rant
As far as the LDP goes, Ishiba is probably the most honest of the bunch!
Posted in: Ishiba's approval rate rises 5 points to 44%, NHK poll shows