Tsunami Hit Japan

After the 8.8 earthquake happened in Chile, communities all over the Pacific Coast we under a tsunami advisory warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/). Japan's costal residents immediately began to evacuate and head for higher ground.

According to CNN, Japan was fearing the worst tsunami in 15 years. The government and residents were relieved when the waves only peaked at just under 4 feet (1.2 meters). There were no injuries or damaged caused buy the tidal surge.

CNN also reported that in 1960 another earthquake hit Chile, but the tsunami that reached Japan left 140 people dead.

Tsunami warnings were canceled early this morning for the entire Pacific region. Hawaii also got lower than expected waves and the Governor canceled the warning just before 2 PM on Feb 27th, according to CNN.

Long Beach, California had an odd phenomenon where the tide went from hight to low in 10 minutes, according to ABC 7 News.

A Hard Sweep and a Loud Voice

If you’ve been watching the Olympics over the past days, you may have gotten a glimpse into the world of curling. It’s a sport that requires concentration, a steady hand and a loud voice. For China’s women's curling team the loudest voice belongs to the smallest member. Wang Bingyu is a first time Olympian, who led her team to a victory in the World Championships last year, according to an NBC article.

Curlers yell at their teammates in order to let them know how hard to sweep, and what direction they need to go. When you are sitting in an Olympic stadium with a large audience, you need a loud voice to do it. According to NBC, Wang has used her passion for Karaoke to improve her voice on the ice.

It just goes to show, stature has nothing to do with things at the Olympics, it’s all about heart, soul, and a loud voice.

Going for the Gold

Miki Ando is just one of Japan's 94 athletes in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. She is a 22 year old figure skater that is going for the gold this winter.

Born in 1987, Miki started skating at age 9. She went to a rink after school with some friends and fell in love with the sport. She "thought it was the most interesting (sport) for expression and playing a character." (Golden Skate, 08 May 2004)

She trains 28 hours a week in Hackensack, New Jersey. (isufs.org, 31 Jan 2009) Her coaches are Nikolai Morozov and Yuko Monna. In the 2006 Olympic Games, she ranked 15th. She went on to win the 2007 World Championships in Japan.

In these Olympic Games her short program music is “Requiem” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and her free skating music includes; “Rome” [soundtrack] Marco Polo [soundtrack] by Ennio Morricone, and “Mission Cleopatra” from Asterix and Obelix [soundtrack] by Philippe Chany. (ISU, 04 Feb 2010)

Watch her perform in the short program on February 23 at 16:30 and the free skate on February 25 at 17:00.

Find out more about her on the Official Olympic web-site.

For more information on the Vancover 2010 Olympic Games visit the Official site here.


Photo courtesy of Golden Skate.

Standing Still in Time

The National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C. has an exhibit on the Terra Cotta Warriors from China. The army of soldiers was stumbled upon by a farmer tending to his field. When unearthed, the army was larger than anything the world had seen or anticipated.

Made from terra cotta clay the army was constructed to protect Quin Shi Huang from enemies after his death. The army is all life size, with individual faces, armor, and poses. There are horses and weapons that also accompany it. All are accurately proportioned and look as though they are ready for battle.


Seeing the exhibit was an amazing experience. Often times we learn about these things and hear how they look, but you cannot imagine how it will feel to stand next to these unique pieces of art.