Trying to squeeze the most out of my photos, I'm starting to work with HDR, but it's not an easy medium to work with. Just takes time I guess.

This all brings back strong memories for me.

A sad trend. I remember a Japanese told me once, that a Korean would committed suicide because of political issues, whereas a Japanese person would take their lives because of love. Sad.

I'm a big fan of Kitano. He's not for everyone, but if you like Quentin Tarantino, you'll very likely enjoy him. I found it interesting that he's being recognized in Russia, a country that usually makes for odd bedfellows with Japan.

Looks like a dire situation in Japan and other so-called 1st world countries, with the aging population dwindling the number of young people that can support the elderly. So the political machine in Japan is recommending raising the number of immigrants to their country. This is not something that the Japanese take lightly. Most have actively fought again immigration reform for years.

Japan, seeking trimmer citizens, decides to measure millions of waistlines

I wish our government would get serious about our health care, instead of just supporting the drug companies that make their fortunes by giving us little pills once we've already done the damage.