When I first read the title of this jdrama, 1 Litre of Tears, I was turned off by it. It just sounded so stereotypical. “Another one of those get sick and die but fall in love in the process” kind of films, I thought. Honestly, I think this drama would receive more attention with another name.
First of all, the show is based off the real life account of Ikeuchi Aya, who contracts a rare disease called spinocerebellar ataxia. She wrote in a diary about her life until she simply could not write anymore. It was a bestselling novel and they adapted it into the film.
What is really moving to me about this drama is that it does not come off as forced. The love aspect may be a bit artificial, but the treatment of disability as a social concern and its affects on family and friends is very real and poignant. The dilemmas and sadnesses her family incur as a result of her illness are real issues which many families with disabled members face. The show really forces the viewer to think hard about how the disabled are essentially ostracized by society.
The drama is shot nicely with quality acting. (The father seems kind of exaggeratedly sad at times, though). Of all the dramas I have seen, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, this one is definitely the most moving simply because it is the most real. It is not just about people falling in love in the face of adverse circumstances. I think it really does challenge our notions of courage, family, and what it means to live.
So, this is highly recommended!
Here are a few linkages if you’re interested:
Site with links to streaming episodes, though the quality is bad
Oh, and the main actress Erika Sawajiri, is brilliantly cute. Enjoy, in the saddest sense of that word.
‘Tis all.
Filed under: posts | Tags: Evo, happiness, Pushing Daisies, self, Shoe Drop 2007, sights & sounds, society, TOMS shoes
“We wake up every morning with a list a mile long and maybe we spend our lives making those wishes come true. Just because we want them doesn’t mean we need them to be happy.” (S01E06 Pushing Daisies)
This has come to be a very mundane quote. It has been put more eloquently, with more high-brow vocabulary and from more notable mouths than Lee Pace. But its importance and potency stands, perhaps even more so in this colloquial, banal adaptation.
Sometimes, we all need to refocus and collect ourselves. This is a viable and important question to ask, honestly and often. Are we just checking off the wishes on our list, or truly looking for sustainable happiness? In an effort to be more optimistic, I will just skip the bashing of the endless commodity driven lives I see everyday at Cal and focus on where I’m at.
Things I want to be happy:
- Tanabe Touring Medallion Exhaust for the Evo
- Do-Luck style front carbon fiber lip for Evo
- APS BOV, Works Drop-In Filter and reflash
- Timbuk2 Medium Laptop Messenger Bag
- Nintendo DS!
- Subscription to Top Gear Magazine (!!)
Things I need to be happy:
- Giving and sharing happiness
The first list isn’t sin. It just needs perspective. It is so easily to fall on this path of jumping from one purchase to another as a means of happiness. I know I do it. However, like meeting friends at drunken college bashes, it is very brittle. Such happiness is insubstantial and wears away quickly. I find that they are much better as seasonings to a much stronger, core sense of happiness derived from the second list.
Like the happiness derives from family rather than from the presents during the giving Holidays, this weighty happiness is so valuable in life. For me, the thing that has made me so very happy during the last few days is this blog: http://tomsshoedrop.blogspot.com/
I worked with TOMS in the summer and to know that my work is paying off in the form of bringing happiness to children in Africa is extremely uplifting. It reminds me that I have the luxury of having my basic needs taken care of so I can write this otherwise unimportant blog about the need for more substantial happiness.
As for fulfilling that latter list (of one item), it does come in many forms I believe. One of those ways is through cause-driven work with clubs and companies. However, since only one of my clubs has an immediate human element, it is hard for me to find that happiness solely through my work. I find myself struggling some days to find this foundation in my life.
Even so, I am not afraid. I know it’ll come eventually. In the end, it will have to be a person, someone I can share happiness with and simply give a part of myself to. I am not in too much of a rush though, there is much to be done in all the other fronts of life as well.
Maybe I’m being too naive with my perception of human relationships. However, I really do believe in happiness being found in relationships rather than in a certain income level. They are sustainable, substantial and evolving whereas a number is simply a launch pad to another bigger number.
So I celebrate the little triumphs in life and in happiness. I smile knowing that a child in Africa has shoes on his little feet because I helped sell those shoes. I smile knowing it is the first act of kindness he has experienced in his life – the first expression of shared happiness. I hope this changes things, even if for a while.
The end of that episode of Pushing Daisies asks: “What do you need to be happy?”
In the dreamland that is television the answer from the guy protagonist to the girl protagonist is “you.” I bet in the mire of happiness that is life, the answer is not far off.
‘Tis all.
Filed under: daily inkless | Tags: daily inkless, democracy, Musharraf, Pakistan, terrorism
[From CNN]
A few weeks ago, I was hopeful for unofficial military dictatorship that is Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto’s return signaled a new hope for Pakistan; one that held democratic changes. However, once the bombings happened and her “coincidental” trip back to the UAE, I knew something bad was a’brewing.
Musharaf’s recent political moves have been grossly authoritarian. I open up today’s NYT (online) and read “Pakistan Rounds Up Musharraf’s Political Foes.” I am genuinely saddened by this news. Pakistan has been a precarious democracy since its inception. Democratic terms have been cut short by military strength. Musharaf’s announcement of a “state of emergency” marks the beginning of his attempt at complete autocratic rule backed by the military. He will suspend and delay national elections scheduled for January and the Constitution is already useless in a such an environment.
The Pakistani media is being suppressed by force. Protesters, political dissenters, and disapproving judges are being taken away in police vans. This is a political tragedy that may not have been unseen, but is still terrible nonetheless. The usual rhetoric is being spewed from Musharraf’s camp:
A government spokesman, Tariq Azim Khan, when asked Sunday why 500 people had been arrested, said the arrests were “preventive measures” because the people presented “a threat to future law and order.”
It seems that Musharraf will go very far in order to maintain power. There is no way he can sustain this type of government in a country where people are used to (relative) freedom. The man will become more desperate and more tyrannical. This is quickly becoming a dangerous police state sustained through physical violence as a means of control. There will continue to be democratic resistance but the backlash from Musarraf’s forces will only become more severe.
For the United States, this is much more than an issue with another rogue Muslim nation. We are all aware of Pakistan’s support of the Taliban when they were looking to stabilize the northern border with Afghanistan. If anything, we need Pakistan support to flush out the remaining Taliban/Al-Qaeda forces in the area. Hell, it is probably where Osama is eating breakfast everyday. (Don’t quote me on that).
So now, the US faces a country going under military dictatorship. The administration then has a choice to make. Do we cooperate with this new, authoritarian regime in order to “win” the “War on Terror,” or do we support democracy as it is being threatened?
If I were a gambling man, I would say the administration dishes out harsh words but nothing more. Maybe a meaningless economic sanction here and there.
We’ll see. In the meantime, let us all recognize and remember those in Pakistan who are brave enough to stand up against overwhelming oppression.
Update: 11/5
