I haven't been loving the news lately.

Up north, the only thing that's missing is a plague of locusts.

The above is Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, not Kobe.

The English-language news is something that I'm trying to avoid. The emotionally-laden tone of it is something that really doesn't help.

In Kobe, and in western Japan generally, life is more or less unchanged. There are no electrical cuts. There are no gasoline or food shortages. The transportation system is running as it should. People are going to work. They are going to work grimly, perhaps, but going nonetheless.

Yes, things are bad in the affected area and many people are in trouble; Sendai is not a small city. When I have a stretch of time-off, myself and others are planning to look-in to volunteer opportunities. Until then, it's more or less business as usual. Red Cross donations are always good.