Carpet treatment for queen with shovel

Now that’s how you plant a tree! Thanks, Matt, for the red carpet photo.

QEII, please be careful with your back.

 

Keeping track of the nuclear leakage

Even in Japan, there is less daily news about the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. That’s why it’s lovely to see this Asahi newspaper chart that keeps us up to date. I like the top row visuals which help you remember which reactor is which (this power plants is blessed with six reactors in a row).

If you’ve seen me in the past month, you know I have a serious fetish over the blue and white abstract pattern that once covered these toxic time bombs.

The other rows provide updates on current temperatures, water levels, whether robots have been sent in yet, and, at the bottom, the expected date when the new replacement cooling systems will be installed (May, July and July).

A pattern of dangerous penis-shaped technologies?

Amidst the fear over quakes, water safety, and radioactive fallout, I do not mean to come off as a paranoid conspiracy theorist, or even an antiquated “mother earth” feminist. Still, it is impossible to ignore, in all the dioramas, illustrations, and video footage all the penis-shaped technologies at the heart of Japan’s natural and man-made disaster.

Most obviously, the six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are all boxes (or were boxes, until the explosions) that cleverly conceal what appears to be a giant dildo of radioactive nuclear fuel rods, with torus doughnuts of water at the base and a steel containment vessel pointing this unholy mess of danger and energy sky-ward.

Japan’s protector/daddy/occupier the US military flew its Global Hawk man-less planes to take detailed images of the disaster. These are the drones that support the video distance warfare that delivers bombs throughout Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya. It’s good that these planes have some non-military uses, although I nearly spit out my drinking water when I saw on television these giant black penises flying through the air.

The storyline seems to be that we are dependent on reckless technology that happens to look like enormous penises. And that we can only contain the damage they cause by employing their similarly shaped flying cousins. We are then treated to a parade of government officials, energy company spokespeople, and nuclear epxerts– all of whom seem to be male– who promise vaguely that everything is mostly under control.

What is your favorite penis-shaped disaster technology?

Captain Jamaica

On our recent trip to the “interior” of Japan, we rode a ferry boat with a grumpy pilot. We like to call him Captain Jamaica. He seems to share our love for plants. I love the orange leatherette, too.

Name this plant

Does anyone know the name of this plant? I thought it looked so good that at first I thought it was plastic. As much as I love gardening, I am slow at learning the names of plants. .

The plant was a free gift with purchase from my second sayonara sale. Basically, foreigners in Japan who are leaving try to unload their stuff on English-language websites. I went to buy our first flat screen HD TV (only $300), and also left with this gorgeous plant, a humidifier for the husband, and a bike pump.

Because it’s costly to dispose of garbage, sayonara sales feature deeply discounted items and often free stuff. True recycling. Thanks, Brit guy in the neighborhood, and good luck with your next adventure!