This weeks Friday Favorites include mean comments, interesting jobs and beautiful photos.

We all know the internet is a wonderful place, that brings like-minded people together. Unfortunately that is not only true for the nice ones…
It is really sad, that we still have to deal with this kind of bigotry and hate in 2016, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to end soon. Grace, from Texan in Tokyo, found the perfect way to describe internet comments in her post about hate mail and trolls (see first link under “Articles”).

I am really glad, that my husband and I didn’t have to deal with this kind of hate so far. Of course it might be, because my blog is not only still very small, but our relationship is also not the focus point of it and I don’t have any pictures of us up (yet?). When I started blogging I was a little worried about mean comments and how I would react to them. But so far I barely had to deal with any of this and am just so glad that I found a very friendly and heartfelt community here.

The comments under Graces post are all very encouraging and show that even though we might have to deal sometimes with cruel and hateful people, the ones that support us are so much bigger in number.

And now, this weeks Friday Favorites:

Articles/Blog Posts

• I (still) get hate mail because I married someone who isn’t white – This week Grace published an article about getting hate mail because she is married to Ryosuke, who is Japanese. Everyone who follows their blog and YouTube channel, can see, how much they are in love and how well they fit together. Besides that, I can not understand why some people would think it’s some of their business who another person is marrying. But with discussions about gay marriage and equality in general, we probably all know someone who does.
• Meet the woman who makes fake fingers for Japan’s reformed gangsters – A fascinating article about Yukako Fukushima who is one of the few people in Japan, who makes artificial pinkie fingers for former Yakuza members, so they can re-enter the society. Probably everyone knows about the tradition, that Yakuza have to sever their own fingers when they make a mistake and (in combination with tattoos) it’s a sign, that is easily identifiable. Yukako Fukushima seems to be a very strong personality, who even sacrificed personal relationships to continue her work. Very interesting story.
• Japan to use fingerprinting instead of credit cards – “Japan is introducing a system which could replace both cash and credit cards. There are hopes the move will attract more tourists to the country, while easing payment and dispensing with the need for cards or cash. Tests are starting this summer.”
  I’m not sure what I think of the idea to use fingerprints as identification, mainly since I am not sure, if such a system would reliable and safe (for tourists as well as businesses). The 2020 Olympics have brought a bunch of new ideas and initiatives and I am curious to see how they will play out.

Photos/Comics

• Portraits from Hiroh Kikai – I find photographs fascinating and love to take pictures and the photos from Hiroh Kikais monochrome series capture a very special atmosphere with the expressive portraits.
• 15+ Of The Most Beautiful Bonsai Trees Ever – Bonsai trees are something really stunning to look at and the ones in this list are really beautiful. They require a lot of patience and care, but the results are absolutely amazing.
• The Pigeon Gazette “Carpe Diem” – Jane, the artist behind The Pigeon Gazette, makes hilarious comics that are for the most part more than relatable and never fail to bring a smile, if not outright laughter (read as: not a good idea to read while sitting in a very quiet train).
• Haneda Airport Stamp (on the right) – Since the first time I came to Japan I have collected stamps. But mainly they were stamped on any piece of paper that I could find. Lately I bought a little note book, that I now use for it. There will probably be a longer post about it in the future, but for now, I was just happy, that after all my visits to the Haneda Airport, I finally found the stamp.

Videos

• Taiko no Tatsujin Master – Just a short clip of a real master at Taiko no Tatsujin. Everyone who has been to an arcade in Japan probably knows this drum game. It has usually three difficulty settings: Easy, Medium and Hard. If you clear those stages you get another setting, the Oni level (demon level). Though this level is really hard, I have seen many people play it perfectly (they even bring their own drumsticks) but this guy took it to another level, by playing the Oni level on two drums simultaneously.
  Very impressive!

What was your favorite story/photo/video this week?