PHOTOS: Japan's BIG One

Imagine being woken up by your bed shaking to the point of no control or sitting in traffic while the earth shook beneath you and cars  came crashing into yours, can you imagine that? Or better yet what about a massive wave coming straight towards you and you had not where to take refuge. Well, the people of Japan didn't have to imagine that, because last Friday the movie "Hereafter" came to life--taking  an entire town off the map.

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Pearl Harbor Attacked--Back Story and More

There are actually many names for December 7th, 1941. By the Japanese Imperial Headquarters, it was called Hawaii Operation or Operation Z, but by Americans-- it was simple "the attack on Pearl Harbor".  My generation still had  a good forty years before we appeared on this planet and my parents had a good ten years, nonetheless "the attack of Pearl Harbor" was and is something we remember about December 7th.

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{Famous Kiss} WWII Kiss Unveiled in Times Square

A "Kiss" that ended  a WAR!!

Known to the world simply as "The Kiss", Alfred Eisenstaedt's black-and-white photograph of an unidentified sailor kissing nurse Edith Shain in 1945, marked the end of WWII.  The photo was published in Life Magazine, and was made the most famous kiss in the world. 

 

To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the U.S. victory over Japan (V-J Day), a 26 foot statue representing the image has been put on display at Times Square.

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Obama Bows To Japan

I have been a little hesitant to blog about Obama's gesture to Japanese Emperor Akihito. But I'm a bit confused as to why this is such a big deal. So he bowed, what's the deal? I mean really, why is this even a story.
Just so you know, there were three former Presidents who bowed and no one then thought it was a weak move on behalf of the U.S. All of a sudden, now we are weak because our President bows. Bill Clinton also bowed to Akihito; Nixon bowed to his father, Emperor Showa and Eisenhower bowed to French President Charles de Gaulle. And guess what, none of those gestures lead to the fall of American power overseas. I am sure the President did it in as CNN's Donna Brazil puts it "in kindness and goodwill" to an aging Emperor.

So really, why is this even a story. In America, you can shake our hand or don't, say "What's up" or don't and we don't really care. But in other countries, their culture, their way of life, their gestures mean a lot and what we may think is not a big deal, is a very big one to them. And maybe President Obama didn't need to bow, but to an aging Emperor, it probably meant a lot.