Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Niigata Earthquake 2004
It's strange to read the international news items on the web and see descriptions of the earthquake in Niigata, Japan. Strange for me because I live there (here). I've been quite lucky. The 6.8 magnitude quake tossed my apartment about but merely left my floor cluttered with books, debris from potted plants, and fragments of glassware. Some others, mostly in the nearby town of Ojiya, had their houses collapse completely. It's now been three days since the initial quake, and thirty-one people are reported killed while hundreds have been injured.
The dark side of nature can be rather exciting, initially. Before I realized the seriousness of the matter taking place around me, I had found it all rather amazing -- now it's starting to wear on me a bit. There have been several "aftershocks" each day. Yesterday morning a fairly large one occurred with that rapid increase in intensity that leaves one wondering just how far it's going to go. It's almost like a huge truck approaching on a bad road, and you realized it's not just passing by but may be about to hit your house. I'm not sure that "aftershock" is the proper terminology to describe events when you're struggling to keep your bookcase from falling over.
I'm on the 4th floor of a five-story apartment building which now periodically feels like a ship at sea. Even when there's no activity, one gets this surreal feeling of always being in suspension. There's mild swaying and occasional trembling. Watching one's entire apartment move about so easily makes one feel like a hamster in a shaken shoebox. When the trembling begins, it steadily increases like someone turning up the bass on their way-too-loud music system. You never know if it will taper off or continue to escalate in intensity. The constant sound of helicopters and sirens has been a bit disconcerting as well.
For those who have never been in an earthquake (it's a relatively new thing for me), it's really something you've got to experience in person to fully appreciate -- a multi-sensory experience.
I was sitting in a large commercial coffee shop on the ground floor of a local department store when the first strike occurred. When it began, it was like a chorus of jackhammers pulsing behind the walls. Everything becomes oddly flexible. It increased quickly and it would have been impossible to stand up if I had tried. All I could do at that point is sit and hope that when it reached it's highest point, it wouldn't be enough to bring an entire building down around me. Several minutes later, another major hit. Although one can experience visible quick movement (at least several inches in either direction) what's most impressive is the sound -- a clatter, a rumble, a barking medley in every pitch. Concrete, glass, twisting metal, and probably the heartbeats of lots of scared people -- nature gnashing its teeth.
About an hour after this initial cacophony, another fairly big hit. This time I was outside -- same sound, more amazing visuals. A few 6-10 story buildings all rumbled and shook as if they were mere accessories on a toy train set. You can actually see whole buildings shaking as if they were made of plastic.
Yesterday, a friend and I made it through the blocked-off streets of Ojiya, the little town about twenty minutes south of here (Nagaoka). Ojiya was the quake's epicenter, where most of the damage was focused. The photos I took fail to capture the reality of the scene, lots of buckled roads and collapsed structures. A two-story supermarket had its whole insides collapse.
I thought that this was something that occurs and then tapers off, but we're told to expect continued aftershocks over the next week (possibly, month), some possibly as intense as the initial one (in which case it probably shouldn't be called an "after shock").
The inconvenience to me is now primarily that of having to shower in ice cold water (still no gas). Thousands of others are in public shelters.
All of this just because some large stone plates have shifted a bit -- and because humans are so relatively small in comparison. Nature is a mixed bag.
*****************************
"In other news:"
I'm sure that some local Western leftist clown living here in Japan is now working out a conspiracy theory linking George Bush to the Earthquake -- he's been blamed for typhoons and hurricanes already. The truth is, like plague bearing mosquitoes, freezing wind, and floods, an earthquake is just another face of "nature" that environmentalists tend not to acknowledge. Butterflies and leeches, rainbows and earthquakes, nature fails to show the one sided preferences shown by so many sandal clad youths with a "cause."
*****************************
In more mundane political genre, it appears that voters are being hassled for daring to hold the "wrong view." There are reports coming from both the Bush and Kerry camps but lets face it, this fervent moralizing intimidation is most typically a taunt from the hypocrites of the Left. I've heard and read plenty of positions on the election and its clear, the most rabid fervor comes from the "my stuff don't stink" crowd. In every chastisment, you can hear the arrogant, self-righteous subtext of socialist control freaks:
Bush is Hitler (I'm Mary Poppins and maybe Mother Theresa) Republicans are mean spirited, greedy, selfish, and cruel. (I'm loving, cooperative, caring, -- and better than you) Bush is creating a fascist police state to help his rich oil buddies (We're making a better world with more laws and bigger government -- do what I tell you to do now! ...Capitalist, imperialist aggressor!)
The clueless hyperbole and bitterness from the Left is actually helping to reelect Bush. (How dare he initiate the removal of one of the Left's favorite dictators). If Bush wins by a narrow margin, one can speculate that some of those votes will have come from people who have just had their fill of excess rants from the morally pure clique of musicians, drama majors, and spoiled middle class socialist idealists.
State your case, vote, and otherwise, shut up and let others hold their own views and run their own lives -- you're not a superior human being because you like socialism and prefer to cut dictators some slack.
******************************************
Several days ago, a few of the "mainstream" wire services ran a brief article telling us that an Iranian official supports Bush in America's presidential election. It went on to say that Republican are preferred, and Democrats have always been bad for the theocrats of Iran. Get real! Can anyone actually believe such concocted nonsense? Okay, lets say it's true and Iran fears the dangers of that noted strong and aggressive hawk -- John Kerry. Then, lets take a look at how some others see the choices in this year's election.
I'd say the totalitarian endorsements for Kerry are a bit more believable. With a long record of opposition to his own country and its system, John Kerry is the natural choice of anyone seeking the complete demise of the U.S. and its much maligned free-market system.
The dark side of nature can be rather exciting, initially. Before I realized the seriousness of the matter taking place around me, I had found it all rather amazing -- now it's starting to wear on me a bit. There have been several "aftershocks" each day. Yesterday morning a fairly large one occurred with that rapid increase in intensity that leaves one wondering just how far it's going to go. It's almost like a huge truck approaching on a bad road, and you realized it's not just passing by but may be about to hit your house. I'm not sure that "aftershock" is the proper terminology to describe events when you're struggling to keep your bookcase from falling over.
I'm on the 4th floor of a five-story apartment building which now periodically feels like a ship at sea. Even when there's no activity, one gets this surreal feeling of always being in suspension. There's mild swaying and occasional trembling. Watching one's entire apartment move about so easily makes one feel like a hamster in a shaken shoebox. When the trembling begins, it steadily increases like someone turning up the bass on their way-too-loud music system. You never know if it will taper off or continue to escalate in intensity. The constant sound of helicopters and sirens has been a bit disconcerting as well.
For those who have never been in an earthquake (it's a relatively new thing for me), it's really something you've got to experience in person to fully appreciate -- a multi-sensory experience.
I was sitting in a large commercial coffee shop on the ground floor of a local department store when the first strike occurred. When it began, it was like a chorus of jackhammers pulsing behind the walls. Everything becomes oddly flexible. It increased quickly and it would have been impossible to stand up if I had tried. All I could do at that point is sit and hope that when it reached it's highest point, it wouldn't be enough to bring an entire building down around me. Several minutes later, another major hit. Although one can experience visible quick movement (at least several inches in either direction) what's most impressive is the sound -- a clatter, a rumble, a barking medley in every pitch. Concrete, glass, twisting metal, and probably the heartbeats of lots of scared people -- nature gnashing its teeth.
About an hour after this initial cacophony, another fairly big hit. This time I was outside -- same sound, more amazing visuals. A few 6-10 story buildings all rumbled and shook as if they were mere accessories on a toy train set. You can actually see whole buildings shaking as if they were made of plastic.
Yesterday, a friend and I made it through the blocked-off streets of Ojiya, the little town about twenty minutes south of here (Nagaoka). Ojiya was the quake's epicenter, where most of the damage was focused. The photos I took fail to capture the reality of the scene, lots of buckled roads and collapsed structures. A two-story supermarket had its whole insides collapse.
I thought that this was something that occurs and then tapers off, but we're told to expect continued aftershocks over the next week (possibly, month), some possibly as intense as the initial one (in which case it probably shouldn't be called an "after shock").
The inconvenience to me is now primarily that of having to shower in ice cold water (still no gas). Thousands of others are in public shelters.
All of this just because some large stone plates have shifted a bit -- and because humans are so relatively small in comparison. Nature is a mixed bag.
"In other news:"
I'm sure that some local Western leftist clown living here in Japan is now working out a conspiracy theory linking George Bush to the Earthquake -- he's been blamed for typhoons and hurricanes already. The truth is, like plague bearing mosquitoes, freezing wind, and floods, an earthquake is just another face of "nature" that environmentalists tend not to acknowledge. Butterflies and leeches, rainbows and earthquakes, nature fails to show the one sided preferences shown by so many sandal clad youths with a "cause."
In more mundane political genre, it appears that voters are being hassled for daring to hold the "wrong view." There are reports coming from both the Bush and Kerry camps but lets face it, this fervent moralizing intimidation is most typically a taunt from the hypocrites of the Left. I've heard and read plenty of positions on the election and its clear, the most rabid fervor comes from the "my stuff don't stink" crowd. In every chastisment, you can hear the arrogant, self-righteous subtext of socialist control freaks:
The clueless hyperbole and bitterness from the Left is actually helping to reelect Bush. (How dare he initiate the removal of one of the Left's favorite dictators). If Bush wins by a narrow margin, one can speculate that some of those votes will have come from people who have just had their fill of excess rants from the morally pure clique of musicians, drama majors, and spoiled middle class socialist idealists.
State your case, vote, and otherwise, shut up and let others hold their own views and run their own lives -- you're not a superior human being because you like socialism and prefer to cut dictators some slack.
Several days ago, a few of the "mainstream" wire services ran a brief article telling us that an Iranian official supports Bush in America's presidential election. It went on to say that Republican are preferred, and Democrats have always been bad for the theocrats of Iran. Get real! Can anyone actually believe such concocted nonsense? Okay, lets say it's true and Iran fears the dangers of that noted strong and aggressive hawk -- John Kerry. Then, lets take a look at how some others see the choices in this year's election.
I'd say the totalitarian endorsements for Kerry are a bit more believable. With a long record of opposition to his own country and its system, John Kerry is the natural choice of anyone seeking the complete demise of the U.S. and its much maligned free-market system.
