disasters haven't dampened japan's predilection for the weird

I'm not gonna lie. I love Japan. You might even say I'm a Japanophile. But I also hate disaster porn. Ever since 9/11 the American media has fallen in love with the gratuitous, the spectacle of tragedy. 24/7 cable news coverage thrives on the continuous "coverage" by manufacturing the unfolding of an "event." But enough meta-media commentary...

I've been more interested in the trickles of information that have come through showing how Japan is coping in the wake of the quake, tsunami, nuclear reactor trifecta. Instead of a rolling counter of dead bodies and CGI effects projecting worse case scenarios, Japan (not just the government but the nation) has rallied to overcome. Western news agencies have taken the opportunity to emphasis the exotic other-ness of Japan: look how orderly they line up to buy food, gas, etc.; there is no looting in Tokyo.

Here's some interesting bits you may not have heard.

Immediately after the quake and tsunami, the Yakuza opened up their dormitories to the public, making sure people had a safe place to sleep. They were shipping in food by the ton to make sure people were fed. They even helped keep order on the street where Japanese police weren't able to maintain their normal omni-presence.

Too often, we don't really think about how scary it must be for young children caught in such disasters. Japan didn't forget. In the aftermath, Japan's super heroes began tweeting encouraging messages to their young followers. You think twitter is lame. I think it may have helped keep up the flagging spirits of an entire generation.

How do you explain what's going on with the damaged nuclear reactors to a young child? With a cartoon about farts and poo. One thing I'd like to point out that just because something is animated doesn't mean it's childish. In Japan, cutesy, cartoon mascots explain everything from quarantine procedures at the airport to the weather report. The strict segregation of childish from adult in cartoons, comics, and cute mascots prevalent in America and much of the world doesn't prevail in Japan. Enjoy this cartoon. And let's hope Nuclear Boy doesn't poo in the classroom.

i guess they think everybody from texas is in the militia...

I, like most Americans, receive a lot of junk email and spam. Apparently my sex organ is too small and fails to reach satisfactory tumescence on demand. Also, apparently, I should be worried about increasing the size of my breasts as an Asian woman to please my male partner (disclosure: I am a white guy). Thankfully these things, as well as ads for a cocktail of painkillers without prescription, are intercepted by my provider's spam filters. But one piece of mail keeps getting through.

Back in the day, I think I registered to vote as Republican. However, I'm almost entirely sure I've never voted that way in an election. But I still get emails from Texas Republicans urging me to vote and participate in activities that I find, frankly, politically and morally repugnant. I don't know why I don't just unsubscribe. Perhaps like the folks of J.G. Ballard's _Crash_, I get off looking at human tragedy. Seriously, Rick Perry, secession?

But there's another email I receive regularly; it comes from the Ready Nation. I have no hypothesis how I ended up on their mailing list except for the aforementioned Texas Republican party link. This "business" markets your typical survivalist mentality gear to people (MREs and long term storage foodstuffs, emergency preparedness kits, etc.) This evening I received a disturbing email playing off the tragedy in Japan to sell me through their Ready Store a variety of Saratoga Farms canned foodstuffs by the case [10 cans per] (diced apples, green beans, macaroni, freeze-dried scrambled eggs, even buttermilk biscuits cuz they know how us southerners love a healthy dose of biscuits and gravy before we venture out of the Vault to battle giant radioactive scorpions in search of a replacement Water Chip).

Scared of the tsunami and earthquake (the newsletter still rated it 8.9 instead of the upgraded 9.0)? Nuclear crisis emptied shelves of food in Tokyo. Buy our cases so you don't get caught unprepared when God's divine wrath via natural disasters strikes in your area. Way to exploit a human tragedy to sell a few more cans of freeze-dried beans, Ready Nation. Wanna also sell me some fake potassium iodide pills to stave off radiation poisoning? Sheesh.