Trying to grasp the enormity of the cataclysmic series of horrors striking Japan - earthquake then tsunami then fire then shortages and outages and radiation leaks and economic calamity, with worries that these latter might get much worse - and to resist the false solace of sensationalist headlines worst in recorded history! - worst since WW2! - worst since Chernobyl! I'm boning up on my never very strong newspaper Japanese. Headlines especially are in a kind of telegraphic shorthand that reminds me I can barely scratch the surface. (The photo caption from the online Asahi Shimbun is different: why...welling up tears.) That keeps it real.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Apocalyptic
Trying to grasp the enormity of the cataclysmic series of horrors striking Japan - earthquake then tsunami then fire then shortages and outages and radiation leaks and economic calamity, with worries that these latter might get much worse - and to resist the false solace of sensationalist headlines worst in recorded history! - worst since WW2! - worst since Chernobyl! I'm boning up on my never very strong newspaper Japanese. Headlines especially are in a kind of telegraphic shorthand that reminds me I can barely scratch the surface. (The photo caption from the online Asahi Shimbun is different: why...welling up tears.) That keeps it real.