General Yuzuru Chat

[barbara]

7 hours ago, Songster01 said:

 

Note: unless they have particular health conditions/are on immune-suppressing drugs I don't know about, Jun, Jason, Evgenia, and any other elite foreign skaters may be allowed to come and skate in Ontario, provided they are permitted to enter Canada. As I've said before, they are already letting in foreign NHL hockey players into the GTA as special exceptions, provided they first quarantine for 14 days.  So it may be SkOn is applying for certain elite skaters to come back as well, based on that.  We'll see what happens!

 

Re: asthma and COVID-19

That's interesting!  Since it's still relatively early days in research terms, however, and there is still plenty we don't know with a very high degree of certainty about COVID-19.  The science on some studies has been less than stellar (for a recent example the Lancet scandal that broke in the past day or so), which means however striking the information seems to you and me, do SkOn and do public health agencies here consider it certain enough to risk bringing a high-risk individual in, when already they are stretching the rules to have any elite foreign athletes return here?  Therefore when the rules explicitly state "lung disease" I wouldn't be surprised if SkOn might be going for a broad stroke to protect those athletes, for there may be liability issues they have to consider.  That whole list was about protecting individuals who at are perceived to be at higher-risk, not punishing them.  SkOn may want to avoid the bad optics of letting a high-risk individual go to a rink and have them fall ill, especially if that someone is as famous as Yuzu, though I don't think those rules were aimed at any single individual, but based on public health's guidance. 

 

I strongly suspect Yuzu has the patience and discipline to handle a required 14-day quarantine.  That's relatively little compared to the recovery time for some of his injuries.  If he wants the highest level of feedback from Ghislain (or any of his coaches) over a long period and not for a week or two at a time supplemented by videos, then it would be ideal for both to be at the same rink, if it is allowed.  It would only be foolish to go through self-isolation if he wouldn't be permitted to skate here and I doubt his team would forget to get a guarantee about that before departing Japan.

 

More importantly, I honestly can't see Canada being so foolish as to toss the 14-day quarantine any time soon (and by soon I mean this summer at the very least), given that Ontario has been having challenges in testing and really reducing cases down to the level that public health has felt comfortable moving quickly in re-opening.  Why would we want to muck up any of our hard-won positive results by ending the need to self-isolate too soon?  Especially before having months of data about how domestic travel alone is affecting case numbers?  I'm not sure it's something anyone should wish for under the circumstances. Limiting international travel strictly and making self-isolation a requirement has clearly helped us; differences among the provinces' situations are linked to when travel was restricted (the theory that the date of Québec's spring break lead to it becoming the biggest epicentre here).  In fact, I would be deeply disappointed if they did away with mandatory self-isolation for anyone but for certain essential workers, considering that international travel certainly already lead to the disease getting into the community.  Maybe a certain few countries might be considered safe enough someday to be exceptions (NZ? Australia? Taiwan?), but those would be places where the disease had demonstrably been stamped out over a long period.  But even then it might be felt that the risks of traveling among others in a plane would mean even nationals from say NZ are not a safe enough bet to come in w/o self-isolating first.  

 

Again, it's terrible to have to think this way, when normally it's fantastic to have people from all over visiting and working here.  Canada normally should be a country that welcomes visitors from around the globe here enthusiastically.  But under these particular extraordinary circumstances, non-Canadians need to respect that Canada will temporarily want to avoid having visitors here unless they are willing to self-isolate for enough time to be absolutely sure they didn't bring the disease here.  We managed to avoid the worst level of outbreak of COVID-19 so far, why risk that unnecessarily? 

I agree with you on so many of these issues - you are right about Yuzu being able to stay home, if necessary, for 14 days once he is allowed to travel to Toronto (which, of course, he won't do if he's not assured he can train after the 14 days.)  Canada has handled this pandemic so much better than the states.  Even some provinces have closed their borders to other Canadians.  Not only do we have a science-denying prez and zero federal response, the last week of protests (which I support, but would not attend) is going to cause a huge resurgence, I fear, of cases.  It truly is embarrassing (and scary) to live here.  I wonder who is  training at TCC.  I've seen Instagram posts of Conrad and Joseph and Corey.  That's all.  And I think that So Korea would be one of the few countries considered safe to allow travel from.  Airlines are flying with very light loads and I think people can safely travel, if they take the proper precautions.  And Jason could just drive to Toronto.  Maybe he will.  Again, I have NO faith in my federal gov't at present, to do anything constructive to fight this virus, but great faith in researchers and scientists, some who have studied similar viruses and have worked their entire lives on how to combat just such a virus.

FYI: I'd fly to Nova Scotia in a heartbeat as one of my best friends lives there and happily isolate the first two weeks.  But the airline i can fly for free on (stinkin' United) has NO flights to Canada at all right now.

[Fay]

He might be great friends with insects, but not so keen on pigeons.

 

[Umebachi]

2 hours ago, Fay said:

 

 

Today we celebrate the Insects (Mushi) in Japan.  It's a word play on the number six (Muttsu) for June and four (shi) for day 4.   I was fortunate to attend a Japanese primary school (in Tokyo) for my first grade and part of second grade.  In looking back, I now appreciate much of what I learned in those two years, one of which was to learn to love and appreciate insects - something that was definitely not taught at American schools that I attended later while overseas.   One of the mandatory science curriculum for the first graders is to capture and take care of grasshoppers, for which we were all given a special clear plastic container to house the bugs.  We would all go out into the nearby field or park to look for a grasshopper, capture one and keep it for a day or two, feeding cucumber pieces and giving them droplets of water to drink.  We released them later after writing our "observational report".  It made us observe these creatures carefully and not be afraid to touch them and pet them.  This was a school in the middle of Tokyo - but we were fortunate to have parks and temple grounds where we could find grasshoppers ("batta").  Over the summer vacation, many of us went insect hunting with nets. The big horned beetles mentioned by Yuzu were very popular among boys (who competed for the most formidable looking ones).  Near the end of that summer, I remember catching a "suzu-mushi" - a bell-cricket  - which makes beautiful melodious chiming calls that poignantly remind us that the summer is coming to an end...  

 

A description of suzu-mushi:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meloimorpha_japonicus

 

So perhaps it is not so unusual that Yuzu displays his love of insects, as this is something we all learn in schools in Japan.  But his care and concern for bugs on ice is very unusual and shows his mindfulness and ability to notice the smallest things and to show compassion and respect for the weak.  Reminds me of the Jain priests who sweep the ground before them to avoid inadvertently stepping on and hurting insects and other life forms.... 

 

[barbara]

31 minutes ago, Umebachi said:

 

Today we celebrate the Insects (Mushi) in Japan.  It's a word play on the number six (Muttsu) for June and four (shi) for day 4.   I was fortunate to attend a Japanese primary school (in Tokyo) for my first grade and part of second grade.  In looking back, I now appreciate much of what I learned in those two years, one of which was to learn to love and appreciate insects - something that was definitely not taught at American schools that I attended later while overseas.   One of the mandatory science curriculum for the first graders is to capture and take care of grasshoppers, for which we were all given a special clear plastic container to house the bugs.  We would all go out into the nearby field or park to look for a grasshopper, capture one and keep it for a day or two, feeding cucumber pieces and giving them droplets of water to drink.  We released them later after writing our "observational report".  It made us observe these creatures carefully and not be afraid to touch them and pet them.  This was a school in the middle of Tokyo - but we were fortunate to have parks and temple grounds where we could find grasshoppers ("batta").  Over the summer vacation, many of us went insect hunting with nets. The big horned beetles mentioned by Yuzu were very popular among boys (who competed for the most formidable looking ones).  Near the end of that summer, I remember catching a "suzu-mushi" - a bell-cricket  - which makes beautiful melodious chiming calls that poignantly remind us that the summer is coming to an end...  

 

A description of suzu-mushi:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meloimorpha_japonicus

 

So perhaps it is not so unusual that Yuzu displays his love of insects, as this is something we all learn in schools in Japan.  But his care and concern for bugs on ice is very unusual and shows his mindfulness and ability to notice the smallest things and to show compassion and respect for the weak.  Reminds me of the Jain priests who sweep the ground before them to avoid inadvertently stepping on and hurting insects and other life forms.... 

 

Ah, but I live in the land of scorpions, black widow spiders (and have been bitten by one years ago- they don't kill you, just make you sick), palo verde beetles that can be up to 3 1/2 inches long and FLY.  Like a monster flying cockroach. Oh, and really big cockroaches, too.  I do remove bugs from the house, if I can, and do respect their right to live.  And it's very easy to spot a black widow (once you know what to look for) and they are basically peaceful.  That said, I have an intense dislike for moths but a love and admiration for praying mantises.  And ladybugs.  And fireflies. Love fireflies.

I don't really know a lot about many Japanese customs, but I wonder if there are biting, poisonous bugs there?  To honor the celebration of Mushi, I will endeavor to not cause harm to any insect today.

[Figure_Frenzy]

On 6/3/2020 at 5:43 PM, Umebachi said:

 

Hi!  Back on the Planet after a period of hiatus - took a vacation from social media to rest my eyes (too much screen time during this time of covid-19).

 

I tried to order the new Yuzu book from Canada but I found the process too complicated, so I asked my sister (in Tokyo) to pre-order the book from Rakuten.  She managed to reserve one (yay!), and she will ship it to me.  Another reason to be grateful today - having a family back in Tokyo! 

 

I wonder why the publishers haven't figured out that there is a huge global market for Yuzu books?  How about publishing quality prints in multiple languages?   I suppose they make enough money just from the Japanese publication and can't be bothered to make the marginal investments required to expand the market...  I am speculating that Japanese publishing houses are geared toward translating foreign language books to Japanese, but not the other way.  This is purely a guess: Anyone on the planet familiar with the publishing houses?  For example, Haruki Murakami's books are translated into millions of foreign language versions - I assume these are mainly published by non-Japanese companies?  In this case, we should alert them to the prospects of a lucrative revenue source by translating Yuzu books...

 

      

 

OOT but overseas promotion is not a problem limited to Japanese media publishing industry, but other industries as well 💀 (eg. some electronic product companies are reluctant to launch a promo campaign overseas, thinking it might not be as advantageous to them compared to focus just on domestic sales 😒)

[Figure_Frenzy]

Speaking of quarantine upon arrival in Canada wouldn't it be better still for Yuzu to travel ASAP to Canada anyway? I mean, the earlier you finish your mandated quarantine period (+additional days for those in the at-risk group) once you arrive, the earlier you can go to practice anyway? Did I miss something here??

 

 

...also yeah unpopular opinion but I lean more towards the speculation of Yuzu not leaving Canada all this time ._.

[Umebachi]

34 minutes ago, barbara said:

Ah, but I live in the land of scorpions, black widow spiders (and have been bitten by one years ago- they don't kill you, just make you sick), palo verde beetles that can be up to 3 1/2 inches long and FLY.  Like a monster flying cockroach. Oh, and really big cockroaches, too.  I do remove bugs from the house, if I can, and do respect their right to live.  And it's very easy to spot a black widow (once you know what to look for) and they are basically peaceful.  That said, I have an intense dislike for moths but a love and admiration for praying mantises.  And ladybugs.  And fireflies. Love fireflies.

I don't really know a lot about many Japanese customs, but I wonder if there are biting, poisonous bugs there?  To honor the celebration of Mushi, I will endeavor to not cause harm to any insect today.

 

Yes, we do have our share of dangerous insects.  The most well-know among them is the Suzume-bachi (sparrow-hornets) - the infamous killer hornets.  We also have mukade (giant centipede) which can be poisonous...   They all have the right to live, and we can co-habit by maintaining social distance!

 

To stay on topic: we also have the sweet honey bees (mitsu-bachi), beloved by Yuzu.  They are welcome everywhere.  

[mercedes]

37 minutes ago, barbara said:

Ah, but I live in the land of scorpions, black widow spiders (and have been bitten by one years ago- they don't kill you, just make you sick), palo verde beetles that can be up to 3 1/2 inches long and FLY.  Like a monster flying cockroach. Oh, and really big cockroaches, too.  I do remove bugs from the house, if I can, and do respect their right to live.  And it's very easy to spot a black widow (once you know what to look for) and they are basically peaceful.  That said, I have an intense dislike for moths but a love and admiration for praying mantises.  And ladybugs.  And fireflies. Love fireflies.

I don't really know a lot about many Japanese customs, but I wonder if there are biting, poisonous bugs there?  To honor the celebration of Mushi, I will endeavor to not cause harm to any insect today.

as long as they don't crawl(worms,caterpillar...you know the kind)I'm pretty fine....I ususally try to save spiders because they help with my mortal enemies AKA mosquitos(this part of Italy used to be a swamp...we produce mosquitos like no one else LOL) but yep in general I try to respect every living thing.

3 minutes ago, Umebachi said:

 

Yes, we do have our share of dangerous insects.  The most well-know among them is the Suzume-bachi (sparrow-hornets) - the infamous killer hornets.  We also have mukade (giant centipede) which can be poisonous...   They all have the right to live, and we can co-habit by maintaining social distance!

 

To stay on topic: we also have the sweet honey bees (mitsu-bachi), beloved by Yuzu.  They are welcome everywhere.  

cancel her planned trip to Japan 

[Hydroblade]

3 hours ago, Ririka said:

HERES TO MORE FILES 😩😩 also I love Japanese designs— theres a MASK file. Who would think of that 

 

A mask file? Now i;ve seen everything

[sweetwater]

In addition to our relationship between insects, many Japanese of his generation were crazy about Mushiking when they were kids. At the end of this video shared by Fay, he says, "Boku, Mushiking sedai dakara. (僕、ムシキング世代だから)" That means "I am Mushiking generation." I don't know much about Mushiking myself, but I remember hearing how my acquaintance's son was into Mushiking in the early 00s. His son was born in 1994 or 1995. I guess Mushiking played a part in making Yuzu emotionally attached to insects in general. (He is almost always kind to everything, though.)

After arriving in Sochi in 2012 to compete at GPF that year, he said he was sad to find dead bugs in his hotel room. I wondered whether he was sad because there were bugs or sad because they were dead. Now, I am almost certain it was the latter.

[rockstaryuzu]

3 hours ago, barbara said:

And Jason could just drive to Toronto.  Maybe he wi

CCRA border agents are being super-strict at the land border. Non-essential travel from the US to Canada is prohibited right now and the border people are taking a very very wide interpretation of 'non-essential', going so far as to permit a pregnant Canadian citizen to return here but block entry to her US citizen husband. 

 

There's no point in speculating on any of this, guys. The Canadian border is currently sewn up tight until the end of June. Unless you're willing to enter strict quarantine, and that's only for arrivals by air. Don't even bother trying to come by land. 

 

As frustrating as it is, we need to give it all another month and then see. 

[happy_fish]

6 hours ago, micaelis said:

All the speculation about when Yuzu might return to Toronto seems to be leaving out one major factor, and that is, whether there will be a 2020/21 season.  Already the three initial competitions in the JPG have been canceled.  Of course that is easier for the junior level since the competitions are less attended so the economic considerations are considerably less.  Skate Canada has said publicly that it will not firmly commit itself to a go or a cancellation until August.  That is easy to comprehend since economic elements of the senior GP are much more consequential. 

 

Where did Skate Canada make the statement? I can't seem to find anything on their website News section. Thanks!

[rockstaryuzu]

1 hour ago, Hydroblade said:

A mask file? Now i;ve seen everything

I could actually use one, to be honest. Right now I have a cloth mask that ends up crumpled in the bottom of my purse. Something to contain it would be very handy.

[barbara]

5 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

CCRA border agents are being super-strict at the land border. Non-essential travel from the US to Canada is prohibited right now and the border people are taking a very very wide interpretation of 'non-essential', going so far as to permit a pregnant Canadian citizen to return here but block entry to her US citizen husband. 

 

There's no point in speculating on any of this, guys. The Canadian border is currently sewn up tight until the end of June. Unless you're willing to enter strict quarantine, and that's only for arrivals by air. Don't even bother trying to come by land. 

 

As frustrating as it is, we need to give it all another month and then see. 

If I must.  Is there an emoji that would represent me pulling my hair out?  (Really, the frustration is more for myself wanting to go to Nova Scotia than it is for the skaters.) And strict?  I think the husband of the pregnant Canadian would consider himself essential. He must have been quite stunned being turned away at the border.   And is there a way for a US citizen to become a Canadian citizen when they marry?  I'd have thought so.  My friend in NS had to jump through multiple hoops over multiple years to get her Canadian citizenship and didn't give up her US citizenship.  

[amylance1215]

A brilliant choice of passage from Yuzu for a Japanese English textbook.