Earthquake in Japan

Well,  I'm sure you've heard an earthquake hit Japan.  The scale of the violence and destruction is just incomprehensible.  Thankfully for our little family all my wife's relatives and friends are safe and accounted for.  Sadly there are many thousands of others that are not so fortunate.  I have written a lot about Japan and travelled there extensively and love the people, the culture, and the country and it is always terrible to see nature exert such destructive forces on any people but that much harder to watch when you have some personal connection.  Unfortunately I've been relying on the national television media for much of my information, which is akin to asking your eight year old niece to describe the plot of a David Lynch film.  They'll get some facts right, others massively wrong, and just generally miss the whole point.  


Thankfully due to the wonders of modern technology and the robustness of the Japanese infrastructure we have been able to talk with my wife's family in Osaka, which was quite far away from the destruction, and her brother in Tokyo, who had to stay in at his office overnight but is at his apartment now and doing well.  I must say, if ever there was a country and a culture that could deal with this type of destruction it is the Japanese.  Even having lived in California, I've never seen a place more prepared, top to bottom, for a calamitous earthquake.  From their building techniques and home furnishings to their school drills and infrastructure, Japan is constantly aware of the risks of their geological location and planning for the worst.  It's just terrible that finally their preparations were needed (and then some).  


I hesitate to even include this in what is typically a light little meaningless blog, but if you feel the need/desire to help by sending money/food/clothes or just buying tickets to Charlie Sheens' live tour (seriously, he's doing a tour and giving the proceeds to Japanese relief?  I mean, I guess doing charitable work, even in a totally batshit crazy way, is still good, right?) please do so.  At the same time, if you do have the itch to help out but want to help with Haiti, which even a year later still has enormous work to be done, or Chile, or even someplace that has issues that are not geologically caused, or even something close to home, go for it.  It's a good thing.  Even if Charlie Sheen does it.