I'll admit I totally forgot it was St Patrick's Day until just now.
Your faithful Not Greatest Translator is currently taking a breather in the countryside with slightly limited internet access, but will try to translate some more of Imai's blog soon.
The gist of things: a few more aftershocks have rocked Tokyo, but nothing really serious. Radiation levels were elevated for a while, but nothing harmful to health, and are currently back to normal. For those of you who wondered: yes, the Japanese government is being very closed-mouthed about the nuclear meltdown. No, it's not quite the end of the world yet, like the foreign media are apparently saying it is. The troubling thing is, no one knows where the situation is heading. It will probably be decided in the next few days. Also, an unusual cold front has set in, mercifully sweeping most radiation out over the Pacific, but also dumping lots of snow on lots of miserable elderly people sheltering in public schools and offices up north after having their homes destroyed by the tsunami. There is almost no electricity, water, or medical care, and the temperatures are below zero Celsius. For everyone up north, things are looking very, very rough. In Tokyo, to compensate for the extra electricity being used for heating, trains are running at half capacity, and train platforms are swamped with people waiting for hours to get home. Lots of foreign-run businesses have shut their doors. Lots of wealthy people have skipped town. All the fashionable stores on Omotesando are closed, to save power, and so are a lot of places elsewhere in the city. Still very little food on the store shelves, and a severe shortage of gasoline.
Buck-Tick has not yet issued details of ticket refunds, but they did send around an email telling people to make sure not to lose their tour tickets. On his blog, Imai is urging everyone to donate to the Red Cross.
All of you in Japan, please do everything you can to stay safe.
All of you overseas, thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please, continue to send us your good energy. The next few days may be the most difficult yet.
I want to reach out across Taiheiyo and hold your hand to say it's okay. And if all else fails, you can all come to our country, (Canada) there's lots of room. Please be safe and stay strong
ReplyDeleteto say the truth... i dont like Your sarcastic Imai wannabe style of writing, but... damn f*** cares about that now! TAKE CARE MY FRIEND! STAY STRONG! WE ARE WITH YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Cayce for keeping us up to date. I take greater comfort hearing from someone who is actually there and knows what is going on than what is being said on the news.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Sweden, I don't know what I can do or how I can help. I was thinking about donating but the atmosphere here is like; Japan is having a hard time but people's money will go to Hiati or some other impoverished country. Now I'm talking about Doctors Without Borders which is were I donate since I trust them. (The red cross here has been part of a money scandal so they are not getting my money but this is another story). So all I can do is hope the best for Japan and that they get the help they need, and also that the weather will change to a more favourable one for those that are cold. Stay strong and remember that every dark tunnel has a light at the end.
Again, thanks for blogging and take care of yourself!
A friend that lives near Tokyo told me that is not sooo bad as media says, but the fact is, as far as we stay, the more worried we are.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that for you things are not that bad, but I still suffer for those in North.
Thanks for your continuous sharing of BT information!
Warm hug from Brazil...
Vivi Hakemi
Thank you so much for all your support. Right now the most serious situation is up in the north, there is a severe shortage of everything: power, water, food, gasoline, and vital medicine. Sick people are dying in emergency shelters because there is no heat and they can't get the food and medical care they need. If you want to donate, make sure you donate to a reputable organization that will send the money to the right place, but, I think donating is a very good idea. Japan is trying to do everything it can but the devastation is unbelievable and I think we need all the help we can get.
ReplyDeleteBut about sarcasm...we at Not Greatest Site have prided ourselves on it for more than five years now :) Long before Imai started blogging. If you can't laugh, you've lost everything.
Hey there, I know this is pretty late, but I'm glad you're somewhere safe, don't worry about missing St. Patrick's day, I forgot about it until you posted about it. =/
ReplyDeleteI can't thank you enough for continuing to translate and post, I get most of my B-T related news from your site.
I wish I could donate, and my mother and I are pooling our pennies together to try to come up with enough to donate (she's a huge BUCK-TICK fan, too)...but after some of the things I've heard, I don't know what organization to send the money to. Obviously, I want the money to go straight to Japan, not just anywhere. Where would you recommend donating to?
As for the sarcasm... Don't ever change your writing style or so help me I will tie you up and hand you over to Toll for use as a practice drum set. I do my best to emulate Imai's writing/speech style, but I don't do it anywhere near as well as you do. Really, I'm just glad there's someone out there who 'gets' BUCK-TICK the same way I do.
Thanks for posting, take care of yourself~