Taiko Skin

Ondekoza is on a World Tour

ondekoza world tour march 2012 tohoku earthquake overcoming the disaster

OVERCOMING THE DISASTER
GRATITUDE FROM JAPAN TO THE WORLD

Ondekoza is on tour throughout March, along with an entire ensemble of musicians from Japan:

"On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami inspired shock and horror among all who saw the unbelievable footage of the disaster. But people all over the world sprung into action immediately, establishing emergency funds, sending relief supplies, and even going to Japan themselves to lend a hand wherever it was needed. The gratitude of the Japanese people for these acts of kindness is immense. With this concert tour, featuring some of Japan’s top performers in several musical genres, the people of Japan hope to be able to express some of their appreciation for the care and assistance of so many people around the globe, to show that the nation is recovering, and that the affected region is rediscovering joy after so much destruction. The tour will take the performers to Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongchin, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong and features some of the best musical artists from the region most greatly impacted by the disaster."

Admission is free, and tickets are going fast. Dates and details can be found at the Ondekoza homepage.

Here are some extra details for anyone in New York, Los Angeles or Paris:

March 2nd: Los Angeles, Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre, 6:30pm

March 6th: New York, Rose Theater, 7:30pm

March 10th: Paris, Le Palais des Congrès de Paris, 6:30pm

For further information, post a comment below, or send an email to taikoskin@gmail.com

TaikoSkin Loves the Knicks

Image via Wikipedia

Yes, it's true, and this time, I don't even care that this has nothing to do with taiko. I've been a Knicks fan since I was in elementary school, and if anyone reading this is on the same boat, I've been feeling your pain for the last 10 plus years. Sure, knowing the Knicks, somethings likely going to mess up and the frustration will continue, but for the first time in a long time, this Jeremy Lin is really giving me some reason to cheer again.

So that's my taiko-irrelevant rant for the day. Check out our latest TaikoSkin Podcast episode, about taiko life and beyond in 2011-2012.

TaikoSkin Podcast Ep13 "New Year Episode"

TaikoSkin Podcast Ep.13- 'New Year Episode'

Hope everyone has had a great 2012 so far, and that those resolutions are still keeping up. To kick start the new year, we'll be taking a break from our usual format, and instead Isaku and I will be talking about 3 things we learned in 2011, and 3 things we want to work on in 2012. We'd love to hear your new year resolutions too- we know you've got some. Do share them with us- who knows, it might help you keep them for longer!

taikoskinpodcast@gmail.com

As always, you can listen to the TaikoSkin Podcast here at the TaikoSkin Blog, or you can find them all here at the itunes store:

TaikoSkin on iTunes

Once again, best wishes for the new year, and we do hope to hear from you.

Keep on drummin'.

Posters in Cologne

--Photo by Raiki Machida

Show posters in a tunnel in Cologne, Germany.

How would the SOPA bill affect us?

There's a lot of talk about SOPA and PIPA right now, and frankly, I didn't fully understand it's technicalities and repercussions. This video helps clarify a lot of it. What is the SOPA bill? What's it trying to do, and how does it affect us? A must watch.

Haiti Earthquake Recovery (Compared to Japan)

haiti flag earthquake recovery daage slow

--Photo by yamrock83

Saw some interesting photos/article about Haiti's recovery from the earthquake that hit two years ago (can't believe it's already been two years), and it turns out, recovery has hardly progressed at all. And most of us seem to be completely uninformed about it.

The sad truth is, people, including myself, tend to forget about these disasters as time passes. It's a sad truth, and when people are disinterested, and when there's no money in broadcasting it, the media just stops talking about it. Those two factors- disinterest and lack of money- obviously play off of each other, resulting in an utter lack of coverage.

These pictures show just how oblivious I've been to the progress in Haiti, or lack thereof. It's especially a surprise being in Japan and seeing the recovery efforts that are being made here from the earthquake that struck last March. Japan's still got a long way to go, and a lot of issues to work out over many years to come, but the difference, even in just the clean up efforts, is painfully obvious.

For everyone who donated/volunteered, I'm sure the lack of progress in Haiti is of particular concern. Where's all that money gone?

Apparently nowhere useful. Or at least a much, much better job could be done about spending that money, and sending where it needs to. I try not to trust everything I read, but this article certainly is coming from somewhere, and its definitely struck a blow to my trust of NGOs and aid agencies.