Global Earthquakes

With all that is going on in Japan, people are concerned  

about how events such as this will effect the rest of the world.

Global Movement

Also, this site (above link) lets you monitor a bevy of other events and situations that may be of interest (Human trafficking, Amber Alerts, Hazmats, Disease outbreaks, etc.) 

From a scientific point of view, it certainly seems that the major plate movement in and around Japan has activated or awakened other associated plates.

Japan's Tsunami

Yesterday Japan was plunged into chaos after a cataclysmic earthquake sent merciless tsunami waves rushing through its helpless streets.

The unforgiving tide of water unleashed after one of the biggest quakes in recent history obliterated tens of thousands of buildings, devouring almost anything in its path.

As the death toll soared, dozens more countries braced themselves for similar scenes of destruction as the full force of the mother nature powered through the Pacific ocean.

Stretching into the distance, waves caused by the tsunami pour over the coastline and rush inland swamping all before them. As the seawater passes over the land it mixes with the soil and begins to change colour to a dark brown

Helpless: A ship, dwarfed by the sheer size of the whirlpool, is drawn ever closer towards the vortex as it is tossed about in the foaming waters off the port of Oarai, Ibaraki

Menace: Wave upon wave heads towards the coastline which has already been breached by an earlier onslaught

With fires and destruction all around him a man picks his way carefully though the rubble while (below) there's gridlocked in either direction in Sendai as people try to escape the coastal city

This extraordinary image shows how the quake split this road in Satte on the island of Honshu right down the middle

Two women in Urayasu city, Chiba, scramble up a road that was buckled by the force of the quake. Below, a young woman wells up and leans on her friend as the true scale of the disaster that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people becomes apparent

Collapsed: Three shocked employees look at what has become of the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima, where moments earlier they had been working

Raging seas: The tsunami pours through trees and engulfs homes on the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck

The same scene just moments later shows how the entire area with dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving waters which swept away anything in their path. Bobbing about on the surface is all the debris the waters have picked up along the way

Swelling: The murky flow of mud and debris trapped in the tide of water washes over the tarmac car park at Sendai airport in northern Japan

Destruction: Tsunami tidal waves race upstream along the Naka river at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki hours after the massive 8.9 magnitude quake struck yesterday morning

Shock: A young couple at a bookshop in Sendai, northern Japan, embrace as the ceiling collapses  and the building rocks from the force of the quake while in Tokyo, below, black smoke rises from fires caused by the quake

Aftermath: Clouds of grey smoke billow out of an oil refinery, and an inferno burns at its centre, in Chiba following the earthquake

Concerned: Two office workers in Tokyo brace themselves for a potential disaster as the earthquake rumbled buildings and smoke can be seen rising from skyscrapers outside

Effects: A mother and her daughter watch nervously as pools of water from burst pipes encroach on the pavement in Tokyo while, below, paramedics carry away casualties from a nearby building that was rocked by the earthquake

Red alert: Flames engulf homes that were hit with the full force of the tsunami in the Miyagi region of north eastern Japan

Debris: An eerie mist sweeps across the debris of destroyed homes and cars caught in the raging tsunami waters in Kesennuma in Miyagi, northern Japan

Cold: Elderly women who are likely to have experienced a number of earthquakes in their lifetime sit on the street as they take in the most recent disaster which is one of the worst in recent history

Stuck: Stranded commuters inside Tokyo railway station prepare themselves for a long wait as the city, where infrastructure is designed to withstand disasters, recovers from the earthquake

Aftershocks: A frail elderly man rests under a blanket as all around him the country is gripped by the full scale of the earthquake and below, young Japanese people evacuated from buildings at risk of collapsing wrap blankets around themselves

Pile-up: New cars ready to be shipped are stacked on top of each other after the water gushed through Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture

The sheer force of the quake is evident in this image of the road in Fukushima which has been flipped, buckled and broken

Aftermath: The remains of houses are surrounded by broken wood and concrete after flood waters engulfed Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture

Explosion: Flames reach hundreds of feet into the sky after a natural gas facility in Chiba near Tokyo explodes after the earthquake, while below, a fire tears through residential houses in Yamada in northern Japan

Stranded: Shoppers sit on the floor of a department store as train and bus services were suspended due to the earthquake

At risk: Confusion spead amoung passengers who were taken off planes at Narita International Airport in Naita city, suburban Tokyo

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365318/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-The-moment-mother-nature-engulfed-nation.html#ixzz1GPES98FG

Totoya new cars

Early Thursday morning in Tokyo, Japan, Toyota officials said that the automaker was considering "some kind of measure" that could include the recall of 270,000 vehicles worldwide involving eight models of Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

As of Thursday morning, however, Toyota had not alerted US safety regulators of a recall of Toyota and Lexus models for possible engine stalling while driving.

No accidents or injuries have been reported in relation to the engine problems.

Toyota said that decisions by government regulators would determine if a recall was necessary in this instance for the eight models, which include the Lexus LS460 and Toyota Crown. The models involved have 3.6-liter and 4.6-liter engines.

This engine issue is just the latest in a series of safety issues that have been plaguing the world's top automaker since last September. The biggest issue to date has been one involving potential acceleration. To date, 7.3 million vehicles have been recalled in Toyota's largest market - the United States

Fast and Furious 5 with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker

The fourth installment of Fast and Furious is a real theatrical success. Car tuning, racing, hot babes, and Vin Diesel: such a high-octane combination is sure to detonate! And Universal is banking on it! So I think there's not a shadow of a doubt that a Fast and Furious 5 movie is going to be green lit. The question is rather if any of the cast return.

Not really a question actually: both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have been hinting at Fast and Furious 5. So you bet they're going to reprise their roles.

"Yes. Yes. I think a few pictures at a time ahead. I try to work out stories in the way I approach sequels. In that, Coppola way. I try to think out the story, even before we go to shoot the film that's at hand. So yes, I have been thinking about it (Fast and Furious 5). I actually brought up the idea of shooting both of the movies back to back to the President of Universal. He was like, 'What? We're just getting our feet back together."

Vin Diesel

"It's beyond rumors at this point. I've spoken with executives at Universal and they're pretty serious about it. They're developing it. They know where they want it to take place. They want to do it in Europe"

Paul Walker

And the end of Fast and Furious 4 has been clearly made with a new Fast and furious sequel in mind: you can but think that Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), aka Dom, is going to somehow escape and that Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) will meet him again.

Justin Lin is likely to direct this fifth Fast and Furious movie. But it is not yet set in stone: Vin Diesel could indeed get the job. He's been working on a short film prequel to FF4 that should be released with the DVD. And I would no be surprised if this 20-minutes film was an opportunity to check his skills for him to take over the direction of Fast and Furious 5. Shall see.

No official release date yet for FF5 but unless they fasttrack its development Fast and Furious 5 is unlikely to get released before 2012.

Paul Walker has been talking about Fast and Furious 5 shifting location to Europe. Well, it could be nice but I'd rather see Fast and Furious 5 picking up picks up right where Tokyo Drift ended. Maybe with some flashback to explain how he went there. Some trick plot would then involve Paul Walker. Well that's my fan dream, I must admit indeed that I'm still obsessed with the Teriyaki's song:


What about you? How do you envision Fast and Furious 5? In Europe or as a follow up to Tokyo Drift? And What about the title: is Fast and Furious 5 just fine or do you have any proposition?
:)