“If you give up, it’s all over.”

via brain pickings
A piece of existential poetry for today and relates to Japan’s most beloved flower — the cherry blossom — that began blooming a month after the devastating tsunami. Lucy Walker captures the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi. There is no direct translation in English but it connotes a way of living that finds beauty in imperfection and accepts the natural cycle of growth and decay.

Watch the video here. Viewing images of the tsunami is very emotional, but if you can, please watch this until the end, it is worth it.

Yoko Ono: Hiroshima Day

via boingboing
“Artist and peace activist Yoko Ono (78), wife of the late John Lennon, was recently honored with the 8th Hiroshima Art Prize. The award honors artists whose work has contributed to peace. To commemorate this, The Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting ‘The Road of Hope: Yoko Ono 2011,’ an exhibit honoring the ‘spirit of Hiroshima that yearns for permanent world peace and prosperity for all humanity.’ The show is on display through October 16, 2011. It features new works by Yoko Ono inspired by the survival of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and by the disasters that struck Japan in March, 2011, ‘with hope for the future.’”
Read the rest here, which includes an interview with Yoko Ono; and her blog post “On Hiroshima Day August 6th 2011” here.

Karakuri, Japan’s Ancient Robots

via make
“Japan has always been on the forefront of cutting edge robotics. Its roots can be traced back 200-300 years during the Edo period when skilled craftsmen created automata (self-operating machines). Using nothing more than pulleys and weights they were able to make the Karakuri (Japanese automata) perform amazing tasks. Today Hideki Higashino is one of the few remaining craftsmen who is determined to keep the history and tradition of Japanese Karakuri alive…”
Watch the video here.

Women’s World Cup Final

Watch Japan’s goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori save
the ball during the final match, here.

I spent most of the afternoon at a local establishment watching the thrilling final game of the Women’s World Cup between the U.S. and Japan. How utterly heartbreaking it was to watch the reaction of some of the patrons there upon the loss by the U.S. team. With their “us versus them” outlook and middle finger retorts, they ultimately disgraced themselves while giving Americans — as well as all men — a bad name with their poor sportsmanship and misogynistic attitude.

. . .

Please take a few moments to read the expertly written post by Ray Curren; Women’s World Cup – Things We Learned: Final Edition As Japan Is Crowned on the women’s soccer fan site All White Kit (AWK):

“The rules of athletics (at least knockout style) dictate that there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser.

Expert commentary, I know.

But (and I realize not everyone reading this is a United States fan, and I love that about AWK, so keep visiting) if you can take yourself out of your rooting shoes (or jersey) for a second and take the game you watched on Sunday for what it was.

A brilliant advertisement for women’s soccer, which saw the best the game has to offer. An underdog that everyone could root for, coming off an unspeakable tragedy in their home country, playing an attractive style of soccer, and exuding pure class and sportsmanship at just about every turn.

Of course, the rub is that this great story of Japan comes at the expense of the U.S., who lost the game in heartbreaking fashion, leading both in normal time and extra time before losing in penalties. It’s hard to imagine losing in a more painful fashion, actually.

But, perhaps the biggest lesson I try to get across to both the players I coach and students I teach is the ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes’ lesson.

Can you be happy for someone else even if it comes at your expense? Can you put aside your pride to congratulate an opponent or adversary on a job well done?…”
Read the rest of this well written post here.