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Video: Katsunobu Sakurai Mayor from Ravaged Minamisoma

The mayor Katsunobu Sakurai from Minamisoma (16 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi reactors) has been outspoken to help the people of “his” town. I remember reading that he was told not to, but since he’s still there and committed, he’s telling it how it is. The video has subtitles and if I could, I’d help this dude. His message delivery is great and glad it’s getting out. There’s 20,000 people still there and he’s trying to be accountable for them. There’s little supplies, little gas, and he’s asking for help.
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PBS – Nova’s Japan’s Killer Quake

PBS Nova’s Japan’s Killer Quake – 52minutes aired 3/30/11 At the outset, this one hour special already has footage that most of us haven’t seen. From the moment the quake hits, there’s shots from inside of buildings and cameras outside. The largest recorded earthquake was an 8.4 and some thought it was an error. The tsunami happens and this documentary shows how they work, from how the plates shift to create them, and of course the footage of what ensues. They show Miyako in Sendai ready with it’s 30 feet high seawalls, they do drills there, but still in minutes, what can you do? Then, they touch upon the nuclear threat but it’s left fairly vague since the news is changing daily. And of course it begins to end with talk about a future quake in Japan since the faults are activated, and then finally, what to do if or when it happens here in the US. UPDATE: It’s now watchable at the pbs page
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Takashi Murakami Lends a Hand to Japan

Takashi Murakami’s been working on his own project called New Day after canceling his Geisai event. He’ll be releasing a shirt that’ll be all for complete donation. It’ll be part of his exhibitions, so you’ll still have to visit the Zona Maco Int’l Art Fair. His New Day initiative is all about getting artists to respond by drawing and posting them on social networks. – via Designboom
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