Happy St. Patrick's day!

Was picking up a passport for a friend and chanced by the cathedral at around 10 AM. Took this picture then. Life has been quite busy -- I am not really sure things would be sane otherwise. But then again, thats what work is for. I have been following the news in Japan quite single-mindedly. I have a lot of respect for the Japanese culture and its people from my interactions with them. The sheer scale of the disaster is unimaginable. It is saddening to see the loss and agony that people are having to deal with -- this is something that would be unimaginable even in a Jerry Bruckheimer summer blockbuster. There is something to be said about the social fabric that keeps the Japanese together though. I cannot imagine any other country running its stock exchange and any other facilities with a strict business as usual attitude. If something of this magnitude happened in India, people would be catatonic.
This article talks about and addresses some of the recent stories that have come up about how this cataclysm is a *good* thing for Japan and will herald in the next boom in the region. It reminds one of the broken pane economics and the fallacy inherent in the argument. But then again, its human nature to look for the good in every news one gets. So, the slip-up might be minor.
The media has been whipped up into a frenzy about the nuclear situation developing in Japan. However, the major story should be the humanitarian nightmare a few more hundred miles to the north. The cold, coupled with not much food/communication channels and the aging population is a deadly trifecta of tragedy. Lets hope the resourceful Japanese can come up with something to avert the issue. My thoughts are and have been with them. Lets pray for them to get the strength to do the best they can.

ps: If you end up getting drunk tonight, lets hope your hair does not hurt tomorrow (mal aux cheveux -- learnt this cute phrase today!)