Hiroshima and Nagasaki

「ヒロシマ語り伝える」＝７３回目、原爆の日－核廃絶へ対話と協調を
　広島は６日、７３回目の原爆の日を迎えた。広島市中区の平和記念公園では、午前８時から市主催の「原爆..........≪続きを読む≫

[アメーバニュース]

アメリカからこんにちは！   

ヒロシムと長崎の核爆撃は、日本の人々の間に深い苦痛の記憶を残したことを知っています。 

私はそれが多くの記事やブログで話されているのを見て、それはまだ議論されています。 

広島と長崎への爆撃が第二次世界大戦を終わらせたのを知っています。 

アメリカ人として、私は戦争中に日本国民に引き起こした死と苦しみのゆえに常に罪悪感を抱いています。 

おそらくそれが、私のような多くのアメリカ人が今、日本をとても愛している理由の一つです. 

第二次世界大戦のために起こった一つのポジティブなことは、今、

日本とアメリカは真の同盟国であるということだと思います. 

また、アメリカ人として、私たちは兄弟姉妹を保護していると言えます！ 

私たちの同盟は非常に強いので、もし日本が誰からも攻撃されたら、 

彼らは世界がこれまでに知った最大の怒りに直面するだろう.  

あなたの敵は私たちの敵になります。. 

それは私たちが第二次世界大戦中に引き起こした苦しみを決して取り去ることはありません。しかし、

そのため、

日本は今や世界史のどの時点よりも安全で保護されている. 

今夜は友達とよく寝て、安全に過ごしましょう。  

Kristopher

My Son makes Video and Board Games

I have two sons, who prefer to go by their chosen names, "Shouta" and "Tokoyami". 

They both have strong artistic and technical skills, and make me very proud! 

Tokoymai loves to make games!  He makes both video games and board games that we get to play as a family. 

My favorite are his Ticket to Ride maps   

He has made 6 different custom Ticket to Ride maps that we then play, which makes them tons of fun to play because they are unique. 

My most favorite are his YuGiOh map and his Yoshi's Mushroom Kingdom maps 

I am very impressed with his work 

When he finishes the map, I print it out big and tape it down to a large 600mm x 900mm hard wood backing, and then cover the top of the map with carefully placed packing tape. This creates a see-through yet strong protection for the maps. 

I have asked him to make a Ticket to Ride Japan for me, he is working on it now 

I will share it with anyone interested. 

Have a wonderful and safe day in Japan! 

Kris

Making a 3D Printer

I'm in Pennsylvania where my son is doing his apprenticeship right now. 

The big thing I'm doing is building large 3D-Printer for their business. It is the kind of printer that makes plastic objects. It's is big because they need to print full head-sized objects, and I wanted to custom-build it to their exact specifications. 

Here are some pictures of a complex 3D model I made, Yousoro! Blue sky Jumping Heart! 







I 3D printed this Yousoro! Aozora Jumping Heart for someone I cared about. It has 7 different color plastics in it, with over a dozen parts  assembled by hand. 


When finished the new printer will be printable 500 mm x 500 mm x 500 mm size objects! I created a new set of X / Y gantry's for it that much more heavy duty. I put my Vault Boy on the gantry for fun. 





I met the shop cats while working on the 3D-Printer, there are three of them here. Scooter is the most social, she was playful and wanted to get to know me right away. 





Yuki is more shy, I had not seen her at all before last night when I was sleeping in the spare bedroom. Suddenly she jumped on the bed, and snuggled up to me. 



She decided that she liked me, and we had a good sleep. 


Stay safe in Japan! Between the heat and the typhoons, we are worried. 


You are in our prayers! 


Kris

A Love Poem

A little shy about posting this one. 

But in truth there is a sense of vindication too. 

A feeling of freedom that I can now share it with the world. 

Still I 'm nervous, probably for no reason. 

I was very much in love with a Japanese woman, and wrote a love poem to her. 

To protect her privacy lets call her, "Kitsune" (eg the Japanese Fox Spirit). 

She did not feel the same about me, and ultimately we stopped hanging-out. 

I was very sad for a long time, months and months. 

Finding the right mate is rare. I will not give up though though. 

Someday I know that God will let me find someone who loves me equally.

But last year I was a pretty sad case .. I hope hopelessly in love with her, it was not fair. 

It was the wrong time, and the person did not like me back. 

None the less, you know how love is blind. 

Once I had the red-colored sun-glasses on, there was no seeing the truth of it.

Still, I paid a professional Japanese linguist almost 56,000 Yen to translate a love poem I had written for her into Kanji that I would like to share. 

It was translated from English to Japanese by a wonderful person; Michiko of Japanneedsny (https://www.japaneedsny.com/)

I am very nervous about sharing it. 

Thank you for reading it. 

Feel free to let me know what you think.

Have a wonderful day !!

Kris

Climate Change will make Typhoons Worse!

Hello from America!  I read the Japan Times every day to stay in touch with what is going on, and the wheather still dominates the head lines. Now a new threat:

8 ~ 9, Honshu - Shikoku approaching = strong typhoon No. 13 to the north of the south - Japan Meteorological Agency
　strong typhoon No. 13 went north on Minamitorishima near the sea on the 4th afternoon. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the Ogasawara Islands from the fifth to the sixth .......... «Continue reading»

[Ameba News]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you! Please take every typhoon seriously

Remember that Climate Change is real, and the planet is warming up. Everyone knows this in Japan now with the constant heat waves. What might not be common knowledge though, that Typhoons will also become stronger. Every typhoon Japan gets hit by will be stronger because of Climate Change. It may not be much at first, but the difference will be there 

It means that the people of Japan need to be extra vigilant about Typhoons as well as the heat. Be safe, heed the evacuation warnings, and make sure your elders and pets are safe

Stay safe and take care! 

Kris

Please Be Careful in the Heat!

A 1-year-old girls death = investigation of heat stroke or injury in the car - Nagasaki prefectural police officer police said
　on Monday that the girls (1) were suffering in a car parked in a parking lot next to a private house in Hasami Town, Nagasaki prefecture, around 2:30 p.m. Then .......... «Continue reading»

[Ameba News]

I am saddened to hear this story.   

This is the kind of tragedy that will happen more and more as the heatwave continues.

 It is not just the children that suffer more in the heat. It is also the elderly and pets! 

Please do not leave Anyone in the car when it is hot outside   It is too dangerous

In the United States we have laws that punnish harshly when children, the elderly or pets die in hot cars. It is a very serious crime here. 

Remember that the inside of a car gets much hotter than the air outside

If the air outside is 40 Celcius, the air inside a car can reach 55 Celcius 

55 Celcius kills very fast. 5 Minutes can be too long

Please stay safe in the heat, we are thinking and praying for you. 

Kris

Memorial for Japanese-American Soldiers

Today I was driving back through Pennsylvania to my son's apprenticeship, and very much enjoyed the views of the mountains.  

I got a picture of some cows graizing in the cool afternoon.  

Driving was dangerous at some points. It was an overcast day, lots of rain in the mountains. 

I astonished to pay my respects, offer a small prayer and take a picture for my Ameba blog. I wanted to show my Japanese readers that we do honor our Japanese-American soldiers. It is a statue carved out of a huge tree that shows a Japanese-American soldier carrying another wounded soldier despite great hardship. It is a very honorable memorial. 

Stay safe and cool in Japan! 

Cheers,

Kris

日本とアメリカ。なぜ我々は戦った。なぜ今私たちは親友ですか

これはアメリカ人としての私の意見です。

私がジャパンタイムズで読んだ多くの論説は、「なぜアメリカ人はしばしば第二次世界大戦をあまりにも参考にしているのか」という質問をしている。日本との戦争を始めた真珠湾攻撃は、しばしば参照されます。これがそうである理由はいくつかあります。

アメリカは20世紀と21世紀に多くの戦争で戦った。第二次世界大戦は、私たちが戦いと犠牲を払うために「最も正当化された」ものとして際立っています。イラク第2戦争の正当化されていなかったこととそれ以前のベトナム戦争のために、私が言うように、アメリカ人としてはかなりの罪悪感があります。これは日本人が日常生活で見るものではなく、私たちが地球上で最も強力な国であるという事実に起因するものですが、依然として非常に欠陥があります。イラク戦争やベトナム戦争を見ると、私はアメリカ人として罪悪感を持っています。私がWWIIを見ているとき、私たちが戦うことは名誉あるものだったので、私は誇りに思います。日本の人々は、私たちが戦った最後の本当に正当な戦争であるため、WWIIと真珠湾を頻繁に参照することを意味するので、

だから、現実には、アメリカの参考パールハーバーとWWIIは、日本をひどく感じることとは関係がありません。私たちは日本が大好きです。これには非常に良い理由があります：

イスラム教とクリスチャンムとの間の宗教戦争に関する私の研究から学んだことは、大戦争にもかかわらず、なぜ多くのアメリカ人が日本と日本の人々を愛しているのかを実感しました。アメリカ人と日本人は多くの点で非常に似ているからです。私たちはどちらも戦士文化です。我々は両方とも、名誉と義務を強く信じています。私たちはどちらも根元の保守的な社会です。日本人とアメリカ人がとても多くのことに目を向けるのは不思議ではありません。兄弟のように、私たちはお互いを愛し合ってお互いが成功するのを見たいと思うので、私たちは主張するのが一般的です。ほとんどの場合、日本とアメリカを兄弟として見ると、時には互いに腹を立ててしまうのは当然です。

真珠湾の前では、アメリカは日本への石油供給を遮断した。これは日本に2つの選択肢を残しました。戦うか死ぬかです。これは現在受け入れられている履歴です。それは私たちが戦争をしたことを吸いましたが、私たちはそのために強い兄弟として出てきました。私はそれから生まれたすばらしい友情を見るよりも、両側で戦った兵士を敬う良い方法はないと考えることができます。すべての日本人とアメリカ人はそれを誇りに思うことができます。

だから、アメリカ人が真珠湾を多く参照しているとき、それは嫌悪ではありません。アメリカ人は日本を愛する。私たちはあなたを真の同盟国とみなしています。私たちは本当の同盟国なので、私はいつか日本に移住するという夢を実現することができます。私は日本の文化に没頭したい。私は日本がより強い国家に成長するのを助けたい。そして最後に、私は日本に私の骨を埋葬したい。

良い一日を過ごしてください！

クリス

The Beauty of Pennsylvania

Today I am travelling through the Appalachain Mountains of Pennsylvania on the way to my son's apprenticeship with supplies. It's a nice trip, about 4 hours one way. I have to make the trip twice, so about 16 hours of driving over 2 days. I grabbed one selfie on the way.. 

Normally I might complain about such long drives, but not in Pennsylvania! The state of Pennsylvania is one of the more beautiful places in the United States. It is still pristine, untouched in many places by civilization. I think Japanese people would enjoy travelling through Pennsylvania because the people and culture are closer to Japanese culture than many other places in the US. The people here are genuinely nice, conservative, Christian (God) loving people. 

The best part about my trip was the drive   My Son has ADHD, which we treat with medication. Drives through the mountains always make him feel calm and allow him to focus, which is one reason I love driving him around. 

The roads are often like driving in a leafy tunnel. 

A view of a valley from the road with mountains in the background.

The clouds are low because of storms, and touch the mountains! 

I start the drive back to Virginia in about an hour, and then back here to PA tomorrow morning. By this time tomorrow I'll have more pictures to share. 

I hope everyone in Japan is staying away from the heat, and is safe! 

Have a wonderful day in Japan!!  We in the US are always thinking about you. 

Kris

Having a Purpose in Life

Hello Japan!

I am grateful that the Typhoon was not too severe! 

So many weather challenges lately, and Typhoon season has just started.. 

According to the Japan Times, the people are taking it in stride. I am glad for this! 

Today's blog is about having a purpose in life.

This is something I learned when my son started his internship. Before he started the internship, he was not very happy with life.  He knew what he wanted to do with his life, and tried hard to learn how on his own but struggled and often became discouraged. I tried to help him and encourage him, but that only goes so far.

After starting his internship, he changed overnight. He became happier and more motivated. His attitude changed and became more professional. It was noticable. It was powerful. It was then that I saw it. The inspiration had returned to my son. It was a glorious day. 

It was later that day that my mother told me the truth of what I saw. She told me, "He has found his purpose in life, and a way to achieve it." She is right and very wise. When we as humans loose our sense of purpose, we become lost in our own house. When we find that one thing that we want to do for the rest of our lives, we have found our purpose, and the path ahead becomes clear.

Thank you for reading! 

Have a safe and happy day in Japan!  We send our love from America. :)

Kris