The Cold

今年のNYC冬は今まで僕の一番辛い寒さを我慢する経験になりました！

This has been the worst winter I've ever experienced. There was the snow, the ice, the wind, but worst of all was just, simply, the cold. 

The following are some pics I've snapped over the last few months.

It's finally getting nicer, but we still have a few days in the low-30s that keep sneaking in.

March has already come in like a lion. Here's hoping it really does go out like a lamb!

The only truly theft-proof bike lock. 盗難の心配はないでしょう！

大雪が降ったら、近所のアストリア公園で友達と雪板乗ってみて、少し滑れました！

One Sunday, my buddy jokingly texted me about snowboarding in Astoria Park, but when I responded "Let's do it!" be stepped up and an hour later we were carving out trails and dodging sledding toddlers!

バレンティン選手がこの場所で保釈されたため、急に暖かいフロリダ州の出張がありました。

The next week a baseball player for the Japan league was locked up on domestic violence charges, so I was suddenly flown down to Miami to cover it! It was great to be warm, and in a place where I had so many chances to practice my Spanish. The irony was I missed two of my Spanish classes and the news itself was barely a step above the level of "paparazzi", so I left feeling unsatisfied, despite over half-a-minute of footage I filmed myself airing multiple times on Japanese national TV!

フロリダ州まで他社３局も貴局から同じ便を乗りました！面白かったです。

The flight to Miami was relatively empty, and we ended up taking over the back-third of the plane along with 3 teams of our competitors (TV Asahi, NTV, NHK). Since we are all basically friends, that made for a fun flight!

寒い冬はとても辛くても、綺麗ときもありますね。

Back in New York, what had already been two solid months of freezing temperatures turned nastier still! While the cold was biting, the snow piling higher, and wind chill dropping the feeling to to the sub-double-digits, I have to admit it could be beautiful at times!

公園以外は２年ぶり本気でスノボしました！

Fast forward a couple weeks, a group of regional JET alums from several states, and Canada all met in Killington, Vermont for a weekend of snowboarding! I had such an awesome time, I forgot to take photos, but it felt great to be back on a board somewhere other than my little park!

３０人近くの日本在住経験（JETプログラム元参加者）がこの素敵なリゾートに泊まりました。

Somewhere between 25 and 28 of us all stayed at this cool lodge. It had a large, indoor, hot tub, outdoor, heat pool, library, bar, and the slowest damn staff and breakfast service you can imagine, but the food was still good, and we had to keep reminding each other: "We're on vacation, in Vermont."
I want to rename their state slogan to "Vermont - What's the rush?". Somewhere from Vermont, start the petition!

バーモント州のキリングトン市にあるこのリゾートはレスキューされたワンちゃんを長年世話してることが自慢です。

The quirkiest thing about the lodge was they had a long history of adopting rescue dogs and their restaurant place mats were a history of all the dogs which was morbid, since all the dogs on the list were the dead ones. The live ones were two St. Bernards, and a French bulldog, and they wandered around and paid us very little attention.

雪挑戦した写真がFBで次の絵と似てる？

Before leaving the lodge, while in the outdoor pool with a water-proof camera, I hopped out and posed for a picture. Here is how it appeared on my friend's Facebook wall. The juxtaposition is pretty wonderful. 

The weather in Vermont was of course cold also, but surprisingly mild! Back in New York the following Tuesday morning, I was greeted with another snow storm.

セントラルパークは最後の大雪の一週間後でもこんなに綺麗でした！

The last (so far) big snow, took weeks to melt away, because of the daily cold temperatures. I got to Central Park to see friends visiting from DC and it was still a winter wonderland, at least at first glance. The broad strokes were gorgeous, and we even walked out onto a lake (granted, never the smartest thing to do, but that puppy was rock solid). You didn't have to look hard however to spot all the yellow, sometimes brown, snow from the hundreds of dogs that are walked all over the famous park. Still, please enjoy the following and forget all the yucky details. That's what a photo-blog is for anyway, right?

ポーランドの王様。。。スゲィっす！

セントラルパークってお城があります。皆が驚きます。

マイナッツを探してるリスちゃん。私もナツを探しています。

This last photo, a squirrel shoving his head deep into the snow, is analogous to many treks outside, checking, waiting, searching for signs that the long winter has come to an end.
The current temperature is: 36 degrees (2 degrees Celsius).

What’s in a UN? 国連とは？

本当の国際安全保障理事会の大統領席に座っている私

As a journalist, I have some pretty amazing access to the United Nations. Maybe that sounds impressive, but as an American I feel most people don't actually know or care much about it. So here is what will hopefully be the first in a series I'll call:  "A day in the life". Today is: The United Nations. 

レゴセットになったほどニューヨーク市にある国連は有名です。この中に私はよく働いています。只今国連は工事中で,
臨時施設「ノース・ロン・ビリデぃング」(NLB)というビルがありますが、このレゴセットにはありません。

First, let's break it down into pieces...:

The United Nations has many organizations that do amazing work around the world, especially UNICEF, the PKO (Peace Keepers), and OCHA (Humanitarian aid), but other than the infrequent press conference, I rarely get to cover them. I spend most of my time at the headquarters dealing with the three main bodies: the General Assembly, Security Council, and Secretariat (including the office of the Secretary General). 

The Secretariat - 国際連合事務局

国連事務所長パン・ギムン何回もみたことありますが、所長はほとんどこの会見の部屋に来られていません。

Most people think Kofi Annan when they think "Secretary General", but the current SG is a Korean named Ban Ki Moon. 

国連が大すき？ネット上で生放送はみれますよ。

His office, holds press conferences down the hall from the Security Council in the Press Briefing Room. These are always broadcast by the UN's own media division UNTV and can be watched online, always, for free. If you watch the Spokesperson for the SG's daily noon briefing, you'll likely see me, or at least a half-dozen people I know. It's especially fun to watch 15 minutes before the noon briefing starts because the reporters forget they're on camera and you can catch them being silly!

記者は会見の方によって沢山来ますが、満席はあまりなりません。

The Security Council - 国際安全保障理事会

普段、私が国連にいる時間の6割はこんなかんじです。

The Security Council is made up of 15 countries; 5 permanent members, the "P5", and two other groups of 5 countries representing their regions of the world through their own countries' self-interests, and these countries are chosen by a vote of the General Assembly to serve two-year terms in the SC. 

Each month, in alphabetical order, one of these 15 countries takes a turn as President of the SC, meaning they chair all meetings and set the agenda for the month. The SC passes resolutions affecting global policy, but many of the countries who are obligated as members of the UN to follow these resolutions do not comply when it doesn't suit their interests. Also, the P5 - the U.S., China, Russia, France, and the U.K. have the power to veto any resolution for any reason they choose. For these two reasons, along with a simple lack of consensus which is often the case, the SC is often ineffective. Even when they do reach consensus, the UN is mostly ignored by the U.S. public, but not the Japanese! Of all the foreign media, Japan is the most disproportionately present, with every television network, newspaper, and wire service present for all major events and a lot of minor ones that don't even make the news.
I spend a lot of time waiting outside the Security Council. Most of the serious topics discussed inside are closed to the media, so we rely on delegates, press liaisons, and the ambassadors themselves to come out and fill us in. They also come out sometimes to use the restroom, and we get all excited over nothing! When they do approach the podium (also recorded and broadcast live by the UN online) where we stakeout, you get a strange and rare sight. Ambassadors who are normally whizzing in and out private meetings, actually stand and listen respectively (usually) along with us, to their counterparts, patiently waiting for their turn at the podium. 

If we can just watch online, why spend so long staking out the podium? Often countries will speak off to the side of our media stakeout area, and being there is how we find out about countries tensions, future plans, and more. Of course the biggest scoops are made elsewhere, walking one-on-one in hushed tones down empty hallways. 

シリアの国連大使が安保理の外で申します。

The speaker pictured above is the Ambassador of Syria, Ja'afari.

記者の使っているスペースはとても狭いです。

ロシアのチュルキン国連大使

While "unity in the security council" is the often over-used and truly best thing for making progress on serious issues, I can't help but enjoy when the P5 ambassadors arguing at the stakeout! The verbal pokes and jabs they take at one another show their truly masterful grasp of wit. No one is more skilled at this than Ambassador Churkin of Russia. His - usual, deadpan humor, and classic Russian accent reminds me of Rocky and Bullwinkle's Boris mixed with Rodney Dangerfield, all while driving home exactly what he means to say.

安保理の近くに偉い方が使うラウンジ

This is the "North Delegates Lounge" down the hall from the Security Council chamber. It is mostly reserved for Ambassadors and delegates, and some press. With lots of art and vaulted ceilings, it is a great place to sneak off for a coffee during all that stakeout downtime, or grab a beer with a delegate and create a contact. Here, I thought I would be coyly leave it at that, but while writing this, a scathing article came out about the more deviant side if the room, and I encourage you to read it!

The General Assembly - 国際連合総会

改造中で去年から今年の夏まで完成させる予定です。

Okay, this may look impressive, and when President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine received a standing ovation from nearly every country (not the U.S. or Israel obviously) in the standing-room-only, packed hall, for his speech asking for observer-state UN membership in 2012, impressive would be an understatement. However, the General Assembly Hall has been moved to a temporary building for remodeling and currently looks like this:

総会の臨時施設です。この写真撮った時の公演者がわかりますか？

Aesthetics aside, because I never follow their daily meetings outside of the UN General Assembly every late September/Early October when the world's heads of states come to speak, I tend to subconsciously assign less importance to their proceedings. But reflecting, I realize things like last year's arms trade treaty, the sudden election of Jordan to the Security Council to substitute Saudi Arabia, and special speakers like Steven Spielberg (above) for the Holocaust day of remembrance, all make it an equally important branch that should not be ignored. Much the way the U.S. 435+ members of the House of Representatives, are (sometimes disappointingly) essential to the design of the full congress in our legislative branch, everything at the U.N. relies on their member states.


It's fascinating to work where some of the biggest names across the full spectrum of fame. I've seen current and former heads of state - including dictators, Bill Gates, Stevie Wonder, Malala on her 16th birthday, Ted Turner, and royalty. Here are a few:

ヨルダンの王子様が国連大使です。

Ambassador and Prince of Jordan, His Royal Highness Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein

スティーヴィー・ワンダー

Stevie! (A couple months later I also got to hear him perform live!) On this occasion he spoke about freedom of accessibility for the disabled.

去年ビル・ゲーツの奥様メリンダさんが何か国の元首と一緒にパネルディスカッションしました

Melinda Gates chairs a panel of heads of states during last year's General Assembly.

去年の総会でイランのローハニ大統領とザリフ外務大臣のトゥーショットが撮れました。

The newly elected President of Iran Rouhani and his Foreign Minister Zarif. 

パン・ギムン事務所長とマララさんとイギリスの元総理大臣ゴルドン・ブラウン氏です。

Gordon Brown, introducing Malala Yousafzai before her first public speech since being shot by the Taliban. It was also her 16th birthday that day.

第二次世界大戦でオスカー・シンドラーに命救われた生存者レナ・フィンダーさんが先月総会の前で語りました。

Rena Finder, who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oskar Schindler, speaks before the GA and thanks Steven Spielberg for "making it easier to tell" her story, by making people genuinely interested. It was a beautiful speech. 

That's IT! Plenty, I think. I leave you with this gorgeous view of the UN from the East River and the UN's rose garden! See you in a couple weeks!

イースト川から見える国連の姿はいいですね。

2013's Resolution and 2014 Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!
2013 was quite the adventure, for me - a year of transitions to be sure!

Inside the control room for the Metro North Rail at Grand Central Terminal, one year ago

At work, I covered the Boston Marathon bombing; was promoted from "Associate Producer", to "Producer"; started focusing on the United Nations and Security Council much more; met and interviewed all sorts of interesting, sometimes famous, people; produced many many news stories, including one I wrote about craft beer; and almost got to do a live broadcast myself. (The story didn't turn out to be as newsworthy, so it has been placed on my very large back-burner.)

At home, my sweet cat Samus has been with me a full year now! She purrs away next to me as I type this. I have successfully brewed four out of four one-gallon batches of home-brewed beer, and number five is fermenting happily under my sink.

I ended a big chapter in my love life, meaning I am single again, but the break was amicable and mutual, and hopefully we will remain friends. The prospect of dating in New York City is both intriguing and daunting, but I will wade out into those waters when I'm ready.

If you've paid some small attention to my sparse blogging, you'll know I bought an SLR off a friend, and slowly work on my photography skills, and I traveled to South America for the first time, and my first foreign business trip... ever! So yes, this review skips much of my big events and reduces others to broad strokes, but one cannot live in the past, now can one!

2014 promises to be no less engaging and I plan to meet it head on with many New Years resolutions. The first one being this! . . . my online presence. My blog, my Facebook, my social media engagement. I have slacked and probably missed opportunities because of it, but no more! I will blog monthly at least, with more updates, stories from months and years past, and behind-the-scenes photos I may have forgotten to share along the way, going on my new Facebook Page. Feel free to "like" that, and subscribe to this while you're at it. My goal is to create a following to engage with, so it feels less like work, and more like chatting.

Next is studying Spanish.
I have already started studying on a free app called Duolingo, which I love so far, and I've just been accepted to a beginner's-level Spanish class at the UN, starting next week! Wish me luck.
Another goal is to visit at least 3 new countries this year, and I'm very sorry Japan, but that means I'm focusing on different parts of the globe until 2015, at least. You're always welcome to visit me in New York City!

- Greg

My First SLR in My First S.American Country: Argentina

I very generously received a broken SLR and a pristine lens from my coworker, and managed to get it repaired for a fraction of the price of even a used SLR bundle, just in time for my first foreign business trip, which also happened to be my first trip to South America. My destination: Buenos Aires, Argentina!

After the first day of work, I timidly set out from my hotel
to explore and use my new camera in the hour of free time I found!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Stepping off the red eye to Buenos Aires, we took a bus to the big-top style, heavily secured, temporary tent set up for the media to cover the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) elections. Without a moment to change or relax, we went straight to work. That night, after my stolen moment out with my SLR - I really have to name "her" -we had a huge company dinner with almost our entire team.

This gentleman (center) is the head of Japan's National Olympic Committee, Mr. Tsunekazu Takeda

The majority of my work in Argentina was attending each of the three bidding countries' daily press conferences leading up to the day of the vote and reporting back to my team on what new gimmicks and info they've disclosed.

Japan's, typical of their stereotype, was largely dry and logical. Interestingly, they waited until the Prime Minister arrived the day before the vote to give precise answers to press questions about Fukushima radiation. After the press conferences I would interview the world media for their impressions, and while this was their main gripe, it didn't seem to matter to the IOC members ultimately.

video of an interview/appeal with Kirobo on the Int'l Space Station

Kirobo's Earth-bound copy with Olympic fencer Yuki Ota

One English sports commentator commented that Mr, Ota reacting with the robot was ironically the least robotic (most passionate appeal) portion of the press conference!


This famous Japanese talent seemed to be there mostly because she is fluent in French. Never having been to France, or any French-speaking country, I can't tell you anything about her international popularity, but she is quite beautiful, although at times her boredom with the repetitive, mechanical presentations was only too obvious.









The Turkish bid was very convincing to me, focusing on bringing the games to a new region, bridging Asia and the Middle East, engaging the large youth population; but ultimately the people they needed to convince were the IOC members, not the viewing public, and their press conferences were the weakest in terms of star power and wow-factor, with a couple very well-made videos played over and over again to the point they were no longer effective.

The Spanish press conferences I went to took place in a beautiful room, no where near the other two venues. I was happy for the chance to visit a different part of the city, but logistically, it was a pain, and the room had no phone reception and faulty wifi, both of which ended up making my job harder, and almost costing us an interview I had set-up for my colleagues with an important IOC member. Luckily I still managed to make it happen.
The Spanish presentations, by the way, started late, and were completely in Spanish. Other than their celebrity and royal family speakers, their presentations also felt lack-luster and light on substantive answers to hard economic question.
Most people who supposedly knew more than me were shocked when Spain was the first to fall in the first round of voting, but based on what I saw, it made sense. Also, Barcelona hosted the Olympic games in recent memory, so I also imagined that as a high hurdle to clear.

Reporter, Mr. Okudaira reporting from a park across from the IOC's Hilton

Buenos Aires is quite the beautiful city. I enjoyed the parks, shops, architecture, and skylines.
Here's some photos of places we broadcast live from, or locations close enough for me to wander around in brief moments between jobs.

The Istanbul Photo-op at the Sheraton basketball court

Our cramped work space

Our official live position. (Eurovision used this tape to prevent us from using the spot previously pictured :P) 

Here it is during the day. Reporter Mr. Otake, interviewing Olympic swimmer Ryosuke Irie

Hardware! (This lets us broadcast live)

Outside the Madrid Committee's hotel

Probably my favorite photo. These are not police dogs.

Interviewing the mayor of Tokyo, live, outside the Sheraton Hotel,

This expansive area was used mainly by press who did not have their own private work space, although we who did used it too.

These happy old Japanese men are smiling because Tokyo was just announced the 2020 Olympic City

Stylized bald spot...

Even in Argentina, we found Japanese bento, and it was good!

Red scarf...

This is Shinzo Abe, current Prime Minister of Japan, preparing for an interview after finishing ours. I sat at his feet and held a monitor so he could see the person in Tokyo he was speaking to. Wasn't expecting that, but he didn't seem to take notice that a very non-Japanese looking person was working in this Japanese television crew!

All the stars of the Japanese bid gathered to watch a montage of their efforts

After the results came in, there was a victory party and everyone, including IOC members who supported Japan, showed up. The Japanese Olympic Committee members did live interviews with each Japanese television network, right there at the party. 

Of course Buenos Aires is the city of wine and steak, and we had plenty of both (although perhaps not enough delicious red wine). I especially liked their Malbecs.

Here's the name of the restaurant pictured above, if you ever get a chance to go...

I don't want to pretend Buenos Aires is a paradise, free of trouble. There were plenty of homeless people, and children-street-performers who should have been in school, along with dilapidated buildings.

During our one "free" day, which was less than a day, we visited a touristy Gaucho ranch.

This is a dinosaur.

I love how these female peacock all rested in a circle

Menacing goat photobombing to dirty sheep

Of course, more meat!

My hotel room was spacious and the hotel staff were very nice!

Boca fans will know who this is

Lots of shops had dogs and cats just hanging out

The Boca Juniors Stadium

Gift/sports merch stores

Seeping stray dogs always reminds me of Thailand

This is the touristy version of the barrio

Great tango = scary-nice legs!

This seems like "the life" to me...

Beautiful Gaucho dancers

I'll just sit here.

Hope you enjoyed! Sorry it was such a long-time in the making! Next up (real soon, this time, I SWEAR!): my year-end wrap-up and 2014 resolutions! Stay tuned!