About China II

In order to present a fair and balanced view of China, in response to a comment on a previous post, here is a special video presentation by the Washington Post called, Redefining China’s Familes, focusing on women, the elderly and migrant workers.

I believe you will find it very interesting, as it puts human faces on a universal story: working hard and taking care of your family.

On its way

Just got an e-mail saying that my new MacBook Pro is on it way. Can’t wait to test it out!

A first

Yesterday I bowled my first “200″ game since I started bowling with Pop: a 204.

I thought it was funny when pop said, “what’s going on?” after my fourth strike in a row.

My next two games were sub-par so still more work to do.

A fun afternoon at the pool

On Friday, my boss (who’s on vacation) called me and said to close the office at 1pm, which was a nice surprise, so we did!

And so we kept ourselves cool on a hot afternoon at the pool with Kyle and James, plus cold beers, all topped off with a dinner of BBQ’d chicken, nasu, corn-on-the-cob and zucchini, thanks to Cliff.

Happy birthday Dale!

From Dale’s Update blog:

Dale is now 9 years old. We are grateful that Dale was able to celebrate another birthday.

Every year of his life so far, except maybe the first year, has been a challenge for him. We were told down at UCLA that Dale now has 2 birthday’s, his actual birth date and his transplant date.

Last Friday’s UCLA visit went well. His labs continue to remain fairly stable.

Danny and Derek’s busy schedules have cut into time with Eski. Today, Grandma Miya, Derek and Dale took Eski for a walk.

Thank you for continued support and prayers. Grace and peace to you all…….

Read about Dale’s marrow transplant.

On a roll

My new MacbookPro should ship between now and August 1!

I was wondering why there was a two week delay between my online order and shipment, until I read this yesterday:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday said its quarterly profit rose 73 percent from a year earlier, zooming past expectations on strong Macintosh computer sales and helping to send its shares up nearly 10 percent.

From Reuters.

Always a step ahead

Toyota always seems to have an answer for its rivals:

DETROIT, July 24 — Toyota Motor Company said Tuesday that it was testing hybrid vehicles with rechargeable batteries in the United States and Japan, setting up a direct challenge with General Motors to develop the industry’s first plug-in hybrids.

Toyota’s announcement is its first formal confirmation that it is ready to test plug-in hybrid vehicles, which environmentalists say may prove to be cleaner and more fuel-efficient than current hybrids.

From the New York Times.

Quote of the week

“Blogging is not about making friends, it’s about expressing yourself truthfully and in the process providing some hitherto unforeseen insight into an important issue or topic of the day.”

– From Wired, via Scripting News

Celebrating Obon

After Saturday’s Dodger game we went to Venice Buddhist Church for their Obon carnival, and got to see Carol, Michael, Cheryl and Eric join the odori, which was nice.

Game 3

Off to the Dodgers/Mets game shortly – lucky for us we get to see Dodger ace Brad Penny (11-1, 2.33 ERA).

Go Dodgers!

The lucky one

One final story about Hiroshima:

Pop reminded me this morning about his cousin, Yoshinori, who was spared on August 6, 1945 because he felt sick and wanted to stay home from school — which was located in Hiroshima city (they lived in Tsutsuse, in the countryside north of the city).

Yoshinori’s dad was angry that his son was taking a day off from school, but he finally relented when Yoshinori’s mom convinced him to let him stay home that day.

Whenever I hear this story I really wonder what goes through Yoshinori’s mind, and how his survival influenced his life choices.

Heroes

Tonight we saw a special screening at Warner Bros. of “White Light/Black Rain,” a new documentary by JA filmmaker Steven Okazaki.

“White Light/Black Rain” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to sold-out screenings in January. HBO will host its television premiere on August 6.

Three-peat?

The 2007 British Open is two hours under way. American Joe Durant was first to tee off at 6:30am (he opened with a par four).

This year’s tournament is being played at Carnoustie, a public course that was formed back in 1842.

Tiger will try to make it three straight British Open wins — the last player to do that was Peter Thomson in 1954 – 56, so Tiger will have plenty of motivation.

Visit the tournament’s official web site.

Bits

Just found an interesting tech blog called “Bits” (Business – Innovation – Technology – Society) on nytimes.com. It covers a wide array of topics, and the posts are a quick read.

I’ve subscribed to the RSS feed and will see how useful it is.

Japan earthquake

A dramatic shot of the damage caused by this week’s earthquake in Japan.

A powerful earthquake shook Japan’s northwestern coast on Monday morning, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 900, flattening hundreds of buildings and leaving thousands homeless.

Skyscrapers here in Tokyo, about 130 miles southeast of Niigata, swayed for almost a minute.

Japan’s meteorological agency said the magnitude was 6.8; the United States Geological Survey put it at 6.6.

The tremor occurred at 10:13 a.m. on what was a national holiday here.

The earthquake was centered off the cost of Niigata, a prefecture that was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2004.

From the New York Times.

Strange noises

My PowerBook G4’s hard drive is making weird noises every now and then, not a good sign.

Will order that new MacBook Pro very soon — and in the meantime will keep my backup current.

Quote of the week

“For better or for worse, Pixar is always gonna throw itself in the deep end and try to figure out a way to not drown. I love that about this place.”

– Brad Bird, director of “Ratatouille”

Enough

Bob Schieffer’s commentary today on CBS News’ Face the Nation is worth repeating here. It’s great to hear such an honest opinion on national TV:

Bon Appetit

We went to go see “Ratatouille” last night. It was just great, a truly wonderful film. It certainly deserved all the praise heaped upon it.

“When I heard this idea about a rat that wants to be a fine chef,” [Pixar chief John] Lasseter says, “I thought, ‘Wow, this is the most extreme fish-out-of-water story I’ve ever heard.’ Following one’s creative passion against everyone telling you, ‘No, you can’t do this’–that was such an amazing idea.”

From Time magazine.

Day +142

142 days since young Dale Inouye’s bone marrow transplant.

Dale’s mom writes that “he continues to do well,” which is wonderful news.

Her closing remarks remind us that gratitude is one key to peace of mind:

As I watch Dale say his prayers every night, I think of all of you who continue to pray for Dale. We are grateful for your continued prayers and support. Blessings to you all….. Have a great week.

Read Dale’s Update blog.

MVP performance

Update: new YouTube clip – fast forward to 2:00. Old clip was removed.

Ichiro gave an All Star performance at yesterday’s game, including the first-ever inside-the-park home run at an All Star game. Read about it in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

And read this funny piece about Ichiro’s Japanese-speaking teammates:

It’s time to fly

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always liked this United Airlines commercial: the story, tone, creative execution — all tied together by the musical score: George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Heading to Tokyo in early August.

More Pollo a la Brasa

Oishii Eats wrote about Pollo a la Brasa (their Koreatown location, not Gardena), probably the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had.

Cliff’s been raving about this hole-in-the-wall place for years, and cousin Amy ordered 18 birds for Nicole’s party (OK I admit now that I had a piece while waiting to pick up the order — it was piping hot with a crispy skin and tasted REALLY GOOD).

Cousin Amy said that she got a 25 cent per bird Okinawan discount after she learned from Arlene that the owner is Okinawan — which would make him a Peruvian Japanese/Okinawan.

POLLO A LA BRASA (Vermont)
16527 S Vermont Ave
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 715-2494

Quote of the week

“No one can lead…no one can ever accomplish anything in life without trust and confidence. That is the only currency that counts.”

– Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), on “Meet the Press,” on the President and Iraq

Priceless

I can’t believe it’s been 2-1/2 months since I started bowling with Pop on Sundays.

If this was a Mastercard TV commercial, it’d go something like this:

• Three games at Gardena Bowl: $6

• New bowling shoes: $35

• New bowling ball: $99

• Time spent with Pop: Priceless

Nicole’s big day

Today is Nicole’s 1st birthday party. Cousin Amy tasked me to pick up the food at Bob’s Okazuya and El Pollo Ala Brasa. Running late, got to run.

New bullet train

Japan just launched a new bullet train, the Type N700, in their top-level “nozomi” (のぞみ) class. It’s the first upgrade since the N700’s introduction in 1999.

With a top speed of 186 mph, a ride from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka station will take you 2 hours and 25 minutes.

The N700 has some competition — in April, the French V150 set a new rail speed record of 357.2 mph.

Baseball pioneer

Sue e-mailed the official web site link for Walter O’Malley, former Dodger owner and baseball pioneer.

I noticed that the site is copyrighted by O’Malley Seidler Partners, LLC.

After a quick Google search, learned that:

• Terry O’Malley Seidler was Walter O’Malley’s only daughter.
• Kevin O’Malley, son of Peter O’Malley, is a professional at Seidler Equity Partners.

Read more here about the O’Malley family ownership of the Dodgers.

Fading glory?

Found this photo on Fred Wilson’s AVC blog. I read his post asking whether our country’s glory is fading.

To me it’s more about disappointment in our U.S. leadership rather than fading glory. It seems that many people believe that the scales have been tipped too far in favor of self-interest, special interests and political spin versus doing what’s right for ordinary Americans and their families.

We can do better — leading by example; deeds over words. Like the late Ted Ohira, WWII hero.

Today’s New York Times Opinion piece is also a very good read.

iPhone: The good and the less so

The pros and cons, by Michael Gartenberg, Jupiter analyst.

Apple shares jumped nearly $6 yesterday after research company iSuppli reported that Apple’s profit margin on the iPhone is over 50%, based on a bill of materials of $265 per a tear-down analysis.

The film to see this summer

Ratatouille opened last weekend, to near-universal rave reviews:

Written and directed by Brad Bird and displaying the usual meticulousness associated with the Pixar brand, “Ratatouille” is a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film.

It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated, that movies at their best have always promised.

Sunday at the Park

Fred and Jane invited us to yesterday’s Dodger game with the Sansei youth baseball group. We sat in the third row of the Reserved level, which was a pretty good view.

Quote of the week

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

– Steve Jobs, from his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University