...but thinner than that, and more of a crossing weave. Anyway, you get the idea. The sides of the stairs are lined with that stuff. So, you walk up the stairs and go two times around before you get to an opened door where you can see that the light is on and there are various items, like vases and such, so you know you're in the right place. I went inside there and looked around and it was pretty much a normal thrift store from there on out. 
Japanese cities are profiting from the sale of precious metals sifted from cremated ashes, it was revealed today, as the country attempts to cash in on a potentially huge "urban mine" of gold, silver and palladium.
Several cities, including Tokyo, have earned millions of yen from the sale of rare elements found in capped teeth and artificial bones, the Asahi newspaper said.
The Tokyo metropolitan government made 3.2m yen (£24,700) in 2007 from the sale of 700g (1.5lb) of gold, 500g of palladium and 1.9kg of silver retrieved from cremated remains.
The city earned 90,000 yen from coins placed in coffins before cremation, the report said.
One of Japan's biggest crematoriums, in the central city of Nagoya, collected 12kg of metals worth more than 10m yen.
The precious metals are being retrieved from ashes and bone fragments left behind after the family of the deceased have completed the ritual of packing some of the bones into an urn for burial.
While the practice has ugly historical precedents – the Nazis routinely searched for gold in the ashes of murdered concentration camp prisoners – the Japanese authorities have the law on their side.
In 1939, the supreme court ruled that any leftover ashes not taken away by bereaved relatives belonged to the municipality; any income they generate is considered part of the city's miscellaneous income.
According to one estimate, 1,850 tonnes of bones and ashes were produced by cremations in Japan in 2007.
Although one local council said it had stopped searching for precious metals after complaints that it was profiting from the dead, most families are unaware of the practice.
Japan has a huge quantity of discarded mobile phones, PCs, televisions and MP3 players, which, if properly tapped, could turn it into a major producer of precious metals.
About 20m mobile phones containing minute quantities of silver, gold, palladium and other precious metals are replaced in Japan every year, but only a tiny percentage are recycled.
While the government is encouraging the stripping down of gadgets, experts have mixed feelings about profiting from crematoria treasure hunts.
"There's nothing illegal about it, so it's not something we can condemn outright," said Yuji Moriyama, of the Japan Society of Environmental Crematory. "But personally, I think it's wrong. We're talking about human beings, not mobile phones.
"Human remains should be treated with just as much respect as they were before cremation. Whatever ashes and bones are left should be packed up and taken to the nearest Buddhist temple to be blessed and looked after properly."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/14/japan-cremations-gold-metals
The birth of the colorful cards(click it to make it bigger---oh yeah...):::
I made this while visiting my parents at their home in Dushore, PA. It's colored pencil on cardboard with ink on sketch paper cut-outs glued on. And photos. Compiled as one unit in the granduer of photoshop!
Also uploaded this to facebook.
I ended up making 12 in all during my visit, but only photographed these 10(I can't remember why the others didn't join ranks...I guess I just made this and then made the others and didn't bother to include them post-digital-creation...)
 |
All politicians are prone to make slips of the tongue in the heat of the moment - and President George W Bush has made more than most.
The word "Bushism" has been coined to label his occasional verbal lapses during eight years in office, which come to an end on 20 January.
Here are some of his most memorable pronouncements.
"They misunderestimated me."
Bentonville, Arkansas, 6 November, 2000
''I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right." Rome, 22 July, 2001
"There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."
Nashville, Tennessee, 17 September, 2002
"There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead."
Washington DC, 11 May, 2001
"I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me."
Nashville, Tennessee, 27 May, 2004
"For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times."
Tokyo, 18 February, 2002
"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorise himself."
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 29 January, 2003
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Washington DC, 5 August, 2004
"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the - the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice."
Washington DC, 27 October, 2003
"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat."
Washington DC, 17 September, 2004
"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."
CBS News, Washington DC, 6 September, 2006
"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
Florence, South Carolina, 11 January, 2000
"Reading is the basics for all learning."
Reston, Virginia, 28 March, 2000
"As governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards."
CNN, 30 August, 2000
"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''
Townsend, Tennessee, 21 February, 2001
"I understand small business growth. I was one."
New York Daily News, 19 February, 2000
"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."
Reuters, 5 May, 2000
"I do remain confident in Linda. She'll make a fine Labour Secretary. From what I've read in the press accounts, she's perfectly qualified."
Austin, Texas, 8 January, 2001
"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."
Washington DC, 19 May, 2003
"I don't think we need to be subliminable about the differences between our views on prescription drugs."
Orlando, Florida, 12 September, 2000
"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."
Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 6 September, 2004
"Will the highways on the internet become more few?"
Concord, New Hampshire, 29 January, 2000
"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber."
Washington DC, 10 April, 2002
"Information is moving. You know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets."
Washington DC, 2 May, 2007
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
Saginaw, Michigan, 29 September, 2000
"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, 18 October, 2000
"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."
Tucson, Arizona, 28 November, 2005
"That's George Washington, the first president, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three - three or four books about him last year. Isn't that interesting?"
Speaking to reporter Kai Diekmann, Washington DC, 5 May, 2006
"I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together."
Bartlett, Tennessee, 18 August, 2000
"I'm the decider, and I decide what is best."
Washington DC, 18 April, 2006
"And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is, I read it, and [Tony Blair] read it."
On the publication of the Baker-Hamilton Report, Washington DC, 7 December, 2006
"All I can tell you is when the governor calls, I answer his phone."
San Diego, California, 25 October, 2007
"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
Washington DC, 12 May, 2008
