I Sort Of Marched in the St. Patrick's Day Parade

I'm proud to say, yesterday I produced this story about the LGBT struggle to be included in the St. Patrick's Day parade. Sadly, it didn't air on our network news, but it was on our cable broadcast and news channels (and online, obviously).

It is quite difficult to produce an LGBT story in Japan, where the overwhelming tendency is to put their head in the sand. Ultimately, I have to be grateful to my colleagues and network for even considering it. 

Below, you can find the link to this story on my company's website, and I hyperlinked to it at the top of this post.

If you don't speak Japanese, I took the liberty of typing a rough translation.

(Translation note: I used the term “gay/lesbian group” because in Japanese the word feels more neutral than “homosexual”, and similarly gender-neutral. (同性愛者団体))  

As part of my company's online policy, the video will probably only be available for a few days, but I will keep a copy for my own private portfolio. and you can read the Japanese script below the English translation

http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2447294.html

(Reporter – Kiyoshi Hirata)

“At this parade, shutting down NYC’s 5^th Ave.: coming up next is a gay/lesbian group.”

(Narrator)

On the 17^th, NYC’s 5^th Avenue was colored green by a parade, where this gay/lesbian group marched forward under a banner.

The parade started in the late 18^th century in New York and is named for the Christian patron-saint of Ireland.

Never allowing openly gay groups to participate, saying it went against Catholic beliefs, makes this the first group ever to be acknowledged by the organizers.

Craig Robinson (participant)

(Narrator)

Although they enjoyed applause from spectators, this was the only gay/lesbian group to receive permission to participate.

Other groups who have spent many long years demanding participation were not accepted.

(Member of a group that has applied to march for 26 years)

(Narrator)

The mayor of NYC, who has also called for gay/lesbian rights to openly participate, refused to march as well, saying “At its core, the issue has not yet been resolved.”

The organizers of the parade say “We’ve worked hard to not let the parade be a political platform. This shows our willingness and goodwill toward gay/lesbian groups”

It seems it will take much longer to resolve the complaints surrounding the parade completely.

0:00

17日ニューヨークの五番街を緑 に染めたパレードで横断幕を掲

0:15

げて行進する同性愛者の団体アイルランド にキリスト教を広めた聖人にち

0:20

なみニューヨークでは18世紀後半 から続くセントパトリックデー

0:25

の行進でカトリックの教義に反 するとしてこれまで参加が認め

0:30

られていなかった同性愛者の団体 が初めて行進しました

0:34

本当に感動的な瞬間です長年にわ たり同性愛者の団体としては参加

0:39

できませんでしたから参加した 同性愛者の団体

0:45

沿道からも大きな拍手が送られました が参加が認められたのは1つの団体

0:51

だけ長年にわたって参加を求めて いた多くの団体は認められませんでした

0:57

これを進歩とは到底思えません 残りの私たちを締め出す言い訳

1:02

としか思えません26年間参加を求めて いる団体

1:05

同性愛者の参加を認めるよう訴 えていたニューヨーク市長も問題

1:10

の核心部分が解決したわけではない として参加を拒否主催者側はパレード

1:17

を政治的立場と無関係にするわれわれ の努力であり同性愛者団体への

1:21

友好の意思表示だとしています が完全に門戸が開放されるには

1:27

まだ時間がかかりそうです18日 1245

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).

I Also Go Out Too Much

I really should stay home more.
Poor me, right? Always doing fun things and spending a ton doing it, but I really would like to save more, stay home, play video games, drink my own home brewed beer, and pet my cat.

When she lets me.

But living for the moment does have it's benefits! Here are some moments I managed to get my phone out and capture between all my hours at work!

A mini-JET reunion

We had ramen, karaoke...

And a little honesty? 

My favorite things about Astoria are the people.

I get to run into them at cool events like this bloc party at the Strand

These shoddy photos are from outside The Strand on Broadway in Astoria. Less than a year old, and they're already throwing bloc parties! I didn't even ask who was going, I just went, and sure enough... saw about a dozen friends from the 'hood!

Somehow I didn't get any photos, but after this, I rode my bike halfway home tothe lovely home of a JET-couple who threw a killer BBQ on their deck! It was several more hours of delicious food, good conversation, games, beer, and dessert!

Theses two photos are taken from about the same spot. One looking into the restaurant, the other looking out! If you enlarge it, you can see the band playing on the stage in the middle of the street. They were strange, but quite rockin'!

Another (the next?) weekend, us former-JET-types dressed up in yukata and jinbei for a Brooklyn pub crawl!

Every few months my coworkers and friends get together for bowling too!

Ryan's b-day party at the beer garden!

Hugh and I at his wife's going away party. He was very torn up.

More friends with Janelle, a.k.a. the one going away. She's working the coolest job ever, so I bet that helps pass the time.

Not often enough, Wendy and I go on double-dates

This friendly raptor invited me to a juggling convention!

The latest NYC craze is the Cronut, a croissant-like doughnut. The flavor changes every month. I've had lemon and coconut mint. Apparently this month's flavor is "fig and mascarpone". Getting one involves lining up outside the one bakery that invented them at 6 am and waiting until they open at 8 to buy one before they sell out, so needless to say, it's a commitment. 

Remember that juggling raptor? Here he is playing the 8 string bass with his band "You Bred Raptors?"

Another weekend I gave a couple lectures to this year's new JETs heading to Japan on Japanese etiquette. This guy, Steve, surprised me by being one of the group because we first met as fellow foreign exchange students in Japan in 2004! 

This guy works at the Czech-style beer garden near my house! The beer is good and CHEAP, but the food is pricey, so I only go about once a month.

Every year I wonder what to do for New Years, Halloween, 4th of July, etc. But this year, once again, I was lucky to be invited to friend-of-a-friend's apartment for a Japanese-style BBQ and then viewing of the Macy's fireworks on the Hudson from the communal deck in New Jersey. It was such a fun and comfortable environment, we got to know a lot of new, cool Japanese people while enjoying drinks and Japanese food! 

We love sake!

So much food!

The view was amazing even before the fireworks!

Another fun day out and 2nd year running (no pun intended) - This year we did the Color Run, a 5k "fun run", in Brooklyn. Last year in Philadelphia was better scenery, but really, it's more about who you run with!

This is our "after" shot. Hence the name "Color Run"!

Here is the post run brunch I got in Greenpoint! Nom!

Then I went home and shaved my hair!

I got to the beach only twice this summer, but on this lucky day I took 4 lovely ladies with me!

Saw the NY Philharmonic play with Mariah Carey in Central Park

And my buddy Dan held his annual, insanely good BBQ in Astoria!

So that's pretty much my summer! WINTER IS COMING!

Now I'm 29.

I turned 29 in Boston last month. I traveled back to Boylston Street, where I basically lived the 9 days in February, after the marathon bombing, coordinating, interviewing, editing, running and driving around, producing the news, but I never actually got to see the bombing sites, because they weren't open to the press or public until the day after I got back to New York. So this time, on May 13^th, we went straight there and took a good, slow walk up and down. We looked at where the blasts happened, and where memorials people had previously set up on either side of the finish line have been organized and arranged into a shrine at Copley Square. 

I spent that day interviewing an awesome prosthetic maker. He helped us get permission to interview some of his patients so we could hear about living without one or multiple limbs. It was powerful, moving stuff, and they spoke beautifully! Sadly, it didn't make the final cut. Seems a waste. 

Anyway, he also set us up with another interview the next morning with a Paralympic gold medalist named Joe Lemar. He is an amputee runner, and I don’t mean he lost an arm! 

He too was incredibly inspiring to hear talk about the strength of conviction, because he won his gold medal less than two years after his amputation! The next day, I met three of the actual marathon bombing survivors, but only one had time to grant us an interview. Luckily for him, relatively I mean, he did not lose a leg, but he had some serious hardware screwed into one leg and burns on both. He was training hard at his physical therapy, but as a craft beer bartender, he perked up when I asked him what styles he liked and if he home-brewed (he did!). The hardest part about his convalesces, he said, was not being allowed to enjoy a tasty beer, but by the time his current batch matures, he said happily, he will be well enough again to enjoy it.   

CLICK HERE TO SEE STORY ON BOSTON (in Japanese)

When I came home, I received some very nice birthday gifts from my family and friends, but this year the winner is definitely Wendy, who got me a bike lock to go with the bike I got myself, and of all things… a kit to brew my own beer!

I didn't get to enjoy either one that week, because I needed to buy a helmet for the bike, and an extra pot for brewing my beer, but before that could happen, a huge tornado hit an elementary school in Oklahoma, so once again, I grabbed a change of clothes from my locker and flew out the door!

By 2 a.m. we were broadcasting live from South Oklahoma City, only 2 miles from the path of the F-5 tornado that ripped across Moore, OK, and as the sun came up and we moved to a better position, we could start to see some of the real damage along the path of the tornado.
CLICK HERE FOR THAT STORY (in Japanese)
My words don’t really do it justice so I’ll just throw some pictures in and mention that they are from the area around the Moore Medical Center and Briarwood Elementary School, one of two elementary schools hit. This one had some injuries, but luckily, no loss of life.

Homes across from the Moore Medical Center

Homes across the street from Briarwood Elementary School

Behind what was a nice pond is what's left of Briarwood's gym. The school is to the left behind the man walking by.

When I came home I got to relax a bit. I watched my friend Tim play Paris in Romeo and Juliette, rode my bike, brewed that beer, and just Saturday, we had a pub crawl with other former JETs in Brooklyn and we all wore our yukata and jinbei!

That’s what I've been up to. Hope it was interesting and worth the wait!