i personally had a serious connection to the tragedy in japan. several of my friends are missing, though thankfully my real family is ok. their house though, is part of that mud pile you see on tv as it was directly hit by the tsunami. really, terrible stuff. figured some of you would care to know, and hope some others affected are strengthened by the public show of solidarity. if you have been affected by the earthquakes or tsunamis, please feel free to PM me or contact me via any of my publicly available contact channels at any time as i will gladly be there to help you in any way i can. i do have people on the ground in sendai with mobile phone and have several links to networks of people searching for the missing.
japan is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been to. though ive been lucky enough to travel throughout the atlantic and the mediterranean, there is something very special and incredibly beautiful about the pacific.