Kournikova Lately

Kournikova, in her teen

 What is happening with Anna Kournikova lately?
 At the age of 16, she became a semi-finalist at Wimbledon. At 17, she won the Australian Open doubles.  She was no doubt, the most popular tennis player from 1997 to 2003, which is the year she retired from professional tennis at the mere age of 22. There have been many "next Kournikovas," but in my opinion, no one compares to her. She was pretty without any makeup, and she had super-long blonde hair that swung with her. She wore short skirts to show her long, tanned, and perfectly-shaped legs. She had a big mouth at the press conferences. I miss her; I really miss her. Yeah, I know, she never won a singles title, blah blah blah, true, but she was ranked as high as eighth in singles and first in doubles in the world. That is pretty good. She was marketed perfectly. A Poor Russian who came to the United States at the age of 10, made it as a tennis player, and earned millions of dollars in endorsements.There were always rumors about her boyfriends. She made a lot of errors but made amazing shots. Her fans, who were usually relatively young men, filled the stadium when she played. When she practiced, people gathered around as if she was a movie star.
 So, what is my Anna doing lately? She plays occasional exhibition tennis matches with her overly-bleached hair and too-skinny legs. Her news that made the headline on March 28, 2011 was how her long-time boyfriend is not ready to become a dad; therefore, she is not pregnant. I miss her old days. Come on, that is news?

Kournikova lately

 I know her old days will never come back. She will never play tennis competitively. People will never give as much attention to her as during her peak years. I still miss her. I hope the real next Kournikova will show up someday.

Bryan Brothers Lose at the Second Round

Bryan Brothers

 Bob and Mike Bryan, better known as Bryan Brothers, lost at the second round of Sony Ericsson Open, a two-week tennis tournament held in Miami. The world's two highest ranked doubles players complement each other very well. Being identical twins is a big advantage when it comes to communication and trust issues, one of the most important aspects in playing doubles. One is right-handed, the other is left-handed, so they have great court coverage. They are known for their jumping chest bumping when they win.
 The tournament is said to be the fifth Grand Slam, considering the fact that this is one of only two tournaments that run two weeks, instead of one, besides the Grand Slam events.
  If you have ever watched their match, you would think that they are playing magic. The balls just go towards them, like magnets. You might even wonder if it is ever possible to defeat them. Well, after all, they are humans and they do make mistakes.

Farmers Forced to Shut Down Business Due to Radiation Fear

 Here is an story about one Japanese worker at a chicken farm. I found a news article online.

 Approximately 100 thousand hens are still alive and possibly laying eggs. A 55-year-old former worker of the chicken farm in Tamura city, located near Fukushima Daiichi power plant, where the nuclear explosion took place in the aftermath of the earthquake on March 11. Due to the people's increasing concern for radiation affected food, the eggs from the farm were no longer making their ways to people's tables. The farms was forced to shut down a few days later.
" I feel bad, but there is nothing we can do other than leaving them to dead. We want to transport them, but there is no gasoline," the worker said.

   Even after the evacuation notice,his "work comes first" motto kept him home. Although many of the nearby farms had substantial loss from the quake, his farm was not deeply affected. "The orders for eggs were increasing, (than before the quake)" he said.

   However, as the news reported the severity of the nuclear explosion, the orders for eggs ceased. He showed up at work and threw away the eggs with tears in his eyes. Otherwise, "Hens would remember to eat the eggs," he said. he also kept practicing the janitorial work to prevent the hens from acquiring the bird flu.

 Soon after, the farm was forced to shut down. The factory that produced the feed for the hens was impacted by the Tsunami. "There was not even one broken dish inside," he said with sorrow. He is not at the evacuation site.
   Dirty dishes lay in the kitchen inside his home. He doesn't even have energy to clean them. "When can I go back home? Will I ever be able to?" he asks himself.
"After the earthquake, the first thing that I worried about was the nuclear pollution and that is still all I worry about," he said with anger and frustration.


The original article, which is pasted below, can be found at http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/110322/fks11032216010016-n1.htm

Translation by Noriko Okada

約１０万羽のニワトリはまだ生きて、卵を産み続けているだろう。事故があった福島第１原発に近い、福島県田村市の養鶏場で働いていた男性（５５）は思い浮かべる。風評被害で卵は売れなくなり、養鶏場は数日前に閉鎖した。「かわいそうだけど放置して死なせるしかない。運び出そうにもガソリンはない」と話す。

　２１日午後。第１原発から３０キロ圏内の屋内退避区域にある自宅の様子を見に、避難先から戻った男性は息を潜めた。人影の消えた山あいの集落を、警察官が巡回する。明かりが外に漏れないように雨戸を閉めた。まだ屋内退避の指示すら出ていなかった１２日に、市の職員から避難するよう促されていた。

　「まるで、昔映画で見た『逃亡者』みたい。悪いことをしたわけでもないのに」。日が暮れると、お年寄りがいる数軒の家だけ、ぽつり、ぽつりと明かりが見えた。

　１２日の避難催促に、男性は「仕事が第一」と自宅に残った。勤め先の養鶏場は震災に遭っても鶏舎や水道などに問題はなく、他の養鶏場の設備に被害が出た分「卵の注文は増えていた」という。

　ところが原発事故の深刻さが伝えられるにつれ、卵が売れなくなった。男性は毎日出勤し、卵を集めて泣きながら捨てた。そうしないと「ニワトリが卵を食べることを覚えてしまうから」。鳥インフルエンザ対策のため、鶏舎の清掃も続けた。

　津波で被災した飼料工場から餌が届かなくなり、やむなく閉鎖が決まった。「養鶏場の中は茶わん一つ割れていなかったのに」。後ろ髪を引かれながら、家族とともに郡山市の避難所に移った。

　自宅の台所は食器が散乱したままだ。片付ける気力もない。いつ戻れるのか。一生戻れないのか。「地震が起きて、最初に心配したのは原発。原発だけなんですよ、問題は」。悔しさと怒りを絞り出した。

Pray For Japan

  Japanese people area staying strong even after the massive earthquake and Tsunami hit, affecting thousands of citizens.
 http://prayforjapan.jp/tweet.html is a collection of mesmerizing tweets from Japanese people after the quake.
 Here are some of the tweets listed on that site.

子供がお菓子を持ってレジに並んでいたけれど、順番が近くなり、レジを見て考え込み、レジ横にあった募金箱にお金を入れて、お菓子を棚に戻して出て行きました。店員さんがその子供の背中に向けてかけた「ありがとうございます」という声が、震えてました。

@matsugen

Translation: A child was waiting in the line at the store, but as he got close to the checkout, he thought for a little, he puts his money in the donation box set by the cashier, and took the snack back to the shelf. " Thank you," the cashier's voice was trembling.

”暗すぎて今までに見たことないくらい星が綺麗だよ。
仙台のみんな、上を向くんだ。”

@現地での会話 @ryoji96

Translation:  It is so dark here that stars shine and appear brighter than ever before. To the people in Sendai, look up!

「世界唯一の核被爆国。大戦にも負けた。毎年台風がくる。地震だってくる。津波もくる。・・・小さい島国だけど、それでも立ち上がってきたのが日本なんじゃないの。頑張れ超頑張れ。」ちなみに僕はいま泣いてる。

@copedy

Translation:  The only victim nation of the atomic bomb, who lost in the big war. Typhoons hit every year. Earthquakes and Tsunami frequently occur. It is a small island, but still managed to come right back up after each crisis. Stay strong.

  http://prayforjapan.jp/tweet.html  collects mesmerizing tweets from Japanese people after the quake.  

Miranda Kerr is already on the Runway

  Two months after giving birth to her giant baby boy, she is already back to work, like she needs money to feed her son.
  I have noiced her super flat belly when she was spotted outside her son's pediatrician's office on his check-up day.

  

Miranda Kerr, Photo By Getty

Of course, she is looking stunning. Not that she did not look great during pregnancy, but she just is incredibly beautiful. I know all models get back to work immediately after having babies, and they should be in shape shortly after giving births because they get paid millions of dollars for that, but in my opinion, she just did a great job. Heidi Klum came back to the runway two months after having baby but honestly, I did not think she looked great. No offense to Klum, she still did a good job considering she had more than one baby, and she was a lot older than Kerr. But anyway, good job, Miranda, I really wish I could be you.



Heidi Klum, Photo by Victoria's Secret

 

      

Japan's Earthquake

 It was a little past midnight on March 11, as I was on the phone talking to my mother in Japan, she screamed, "earthquake!"
 She quickly turned the TV on, saw the images of cars and houses swept away by water like toys.
 Japan gets hit by earthquakes frequently. Born and raised there, I have experienced earthquakes more than I can count. Still, at 61, my mother claims this earthquake was the biggest one she has ever been in.  Her town, Nara, is located about 370 miles from Sendai, the epicenter of this quake.
 Out of all the videos on the Internet that I have seen, reporting the tragedy of the quake,  I think this one best portrays the severity of the incident .

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 As an environmentalist, I truly believe in the importance of the need to decrease world's population massively. We are the biggest pollution to the earth and I am a cold person. So, when I hear about the causalities in the news whether they are from catastrophes or wars, unless they affect my family or somebody important to me, I do not feel any sympathy and I was feeling the same way about this earthquake. However, after watching this video and other images of the quake's aftermath, it made me teary, and all my heart goes out for the victims and their family. My family is ok, but this could have happened to them. I am truly blessed that I have food in my fridge to keep me from hunger, but I might not have that luxury tomorrow if a quake hits the area I live in.
 When the biggest earthquake from my experience hit Hyogo prefecture on Jan. 17, 1995, I was 11 years old. I was too little to understand the real tragedy and the consequences. The Sendai earthquake, even though I was not there to physically feel the tremble, it made me realize how fragile our lives can be. I will pray for the people's recovery and the continued psychological support from their family.

Miranda Kerr Is Already Back into Her Usual Slim Figure

I talked about how super-slim Miranda Kerr gave birth to a almost 10-pound baby.
Only about six weeks later, she is already back into her pre-baby figure! How could this be?

How does she do that? Where is the stomach? I want to know the secret! That must be Victoria's Secret's angel's secret.  What happened to the fat you stored during pregnancy for the baby? Maybe she never stored any fat in the first place.
 Her outfit is not so super-modely, that is the only flaw I can find in this picture.
 She must have added something to her resume today- gorgeous, famous, tough, and capable of shedding all the baby fat in six weeks even the baby weighed 10 pounds.

Let's Take the Tri-Rail and Go Green!!

The gas price is going crazy because of what has been happening in middle east recently. I live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and I go down to Boca Raton twice a week, Fort Lauderdale once a week, and Miami once a week. From Palm Beach Gardens to Boca Raton is about 35 miles, to Fort Lauderdale, 55 miles, and Miami, 90miles. I have to fill up my tank twice a week, each time costing me over 50 dollars. So, if I take the train to Boca Raton, the fare would be five dollars round trip. I know my car uses quarter of the tank when I make a trip there, so it would cost me 12.5 dollars in gas.(50/4= 12.5)

 I save about seven dollars every trip. Plus I would be putting less mileage on my car, so it helps prolong my car and postpone the need to get an oil change. My tires would last longer. I would have less chance of getting into an accident, so I have less risk of dying or killing others. I will get to do things in the train like reading, studying, and eating. There are so many benefits! The only downside is that you do not get flexibility. You have to go according to the train's schedule. and also, you will have to carry things like your lunch instead of putting it on the passenger' seat. Most of us are lazy but if we consider the environment and our future seriously, we really need to change our views.