Ako Kawada suicide - mother speaks out
Some of you might remember an article I wrote a couple of months ago about Japan’s suicide rate, and how freelance TV announcer Ako Kawada was the most famous recent one. Well it seems that Kawada’s mother has now come out criticising her daughter’s last relationships, and one in particular. Japan Today has the following article, before my usual critique:
Kawada’s last relationships before suicide draw mother’s criticism
The suicide by freelance announcer Ako Kawada, 29, in May came as a great shock to media insiders and television viewers. While it was reported at the time that Kawada had been suffering from depression, some insiders suggest that problems in her relationships with her two boyfriends might have been contributing factors.
Kawada’s mother recently talked to Shukan Post about her daughter’s relationships with the two men. One was Kawada’s boss, Mr A, and the other was American peace activist Matt Taylor.
Kawada’s mother recalls: “Our family appreciated Mr A’s support at her funeral, although some people criticized him. However, we don’t feel like that toward Mr Taylor. He met her on the day she committed suicide. Apparently, she had talked of suicide before and he knew everything about that. I wonder why he wouldn’t have told us. I just can’t understand it.”
Taylor directed a film on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a project in which Kawada helped. At the press preview, Taylor said: “She was a very pure person. We cried together several times when watching the film. I am proud that her name will forever be part of the credits.” However, this has caused some resentment that he is making use of Kawada’s name to get extra publicity for the documentary.
“We don’t want him to use Ako’s name to promote his film,” said Kawada’s mother. “We don’t even want her name to be part of the credits.”
Commenting on the reaction by Kawada’s family, Taylor told Shukan Post: “I promised her that her name would be in the credits. In the American film industry, it is common for film producers to put the names of people involved in the film and loved ones who passed away, in the credits. I think her mother would understand this if she had an opportunity to see my film.”
Dark Knight - a few thoughts
Last Saturday saw the release of Dark Knight over here in Japan. For those of you who have not had contact with civilization over the past month or so, that is the name of the new Batman film. So much has been said about this film, and in particular, about Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. Would he surpass Jack Nicholson’s performance in the same role 19 years ago… did his involvement in this particular character help to push him over the edge and have a part to play in his untimely death by overdosing on medication… these were just 2 of the many questions people have been asking about this film. From last Saturday, Japanese cinema-goers had a chance to find out.
First of all, so much has been said about The Joker that we should probably start there. Times have changed, and for those of you with a long enough memory, you will recall that Jack Nicholson was not the first person to play The Joker on the screen. 1966 brought about not only a World Cup win for England, but also the late Cesar Romero as The Joker (see below), fighting against Adam West’s Batman. The Batman TV series was a family show, where punches were not shown on screen in favour of cartoon-like explosions with “POW!”, “BAM!” or “KAPOW!” written over them. It was essentially a show that everyone could watch. While The Joker was the villain, he was a humourous villain and was likeable in the role.
I’m famous!
Or rather, my car is semi-famous. Am happy to report that my car is featured in the September issue’s Readers Rides section of US import/performance car magazine, Super Street. I get a copy of this magazine every so often whenever one of a few car friends of mine is about to throw it away. I sent a picture and a mini-profile of my car in a month or 2 ago for the hell of it. Was very surprised to find they actually printed it!
It’s hardly bringing me fame, fortune and infinite happiness, but it did make my day! Click on the pictures below to see them in a bigger size.
Raise The Red Lantern - a short review
In an attempt to relieve my boredom at work today somewhat, I decided to bring in a film to watch. I’ve got quite a few films I bought and then never got around to watching, so I was well overdue to watch Raise The Red Lantern, a film from director Yimou Zhang. If I remember correctly, I bought this film because it was rated by others and starred Gong Li (see below). Voted “Most beautiful woman in China” in 2006 (no mean feat in a country with over 1.2bn people), Gong Li is a hugely underrated actress in my opinion. Western audiences will probably know her best as Hatsumomo in Memoirs of a Geisha, but she has been in many other films and is well established in China.
But onto the film itself. Raise The Red Lantern is set in 1920s China and revolves around Songlian (Li) as a 19-year old girl who has recently lost her father. Dropping out of university, she decides to marry into wealth, but has an indifference to becoming a concubine. She becomes “Fourth Mistress” in the Chen household and acquires a maid who works for her, albeit secretly dreaming herself of one day becoming a mistress to the master of the house. Being close to the master means more power, and there is strong competition between the wives. Each night, the master chooses who he will spend the night with, and lanterns are lit in the chosen Mistress’s house. As the competition becomes more fierce, the story takes a number of surprising and deceptive turns.
Car parts ready to be installed
Monday was an exciting day for me, with news that a big package had arrived at my friend’s house to pick up. Inside the package was the rest of the things I needed for the next stage of upgrades to my car. So, for those of you that might have any interest, we have:
A Treadstone TRV185 intercooler (which you have seen before), rated to 720hp. I am going to get my tuning shop to fabricate me some custom piping to go from the turbo to the intercooler (60mm) and then from the intercooler up to the engine (70mm). Should help cool down my intake temperatures a lot and help me make some more power. And I know the intercooler is upside down in this photo, but that’s how it’s going to have to be positioned when it’s mounted on my car!
