Sunday May 27, 2012

Home alone

Picture of the Day ( 43 )

Picture expired.
AP

A man talks on his cell phone as he sits on a sofa among the rubble in an area devastated by March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the town of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture.

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43 Comments

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  • 0

    herefornow

    Based on his cap and uniform, he appears to be some form of official or rescue worker. In that case, good on him, he probably deserves a break. Wonder how he's getting his phone charged?

  • 0

    keika1628

    Hey Tosh.... I'm down in the dump.... fancy a game of cards ?..... Yeah I got the place fixed up..... tell the rest of the lads to bring a six pack each, yaah...... see ya soon ....

  • 0

    borscht

    Amongst all that rubble he managed to find a complete six-piece sofa set. Miracles do happen, eh?

    And based on the cap, herefornow, it looks like he shopped at a cap store. But if he is a rescue worker/supervisor, yes, he deserves a break.

  • 0

    ebisen

    • Hey what'your'doing?

    • Nothin', watching the game, drinking a bud.

    • Wazaaaaap!

    • Wazaaaaap!

  • 0

    kiss1969

    How did that living room stay so together?

  • 0

    Laguna

    When life gives you rubble, make a living room.

  • 0

    WA4TKG

    Notice he found a "rubbish" can to put in his living room, next to the nightstand.

  • 0

    cleo

    But if he is a rescue worker/supervisor, yes, he deserves a break.

    Heck, anyone living in that area at the moment deserves a break.

  • 0

    WilliB

    Hanging out in is new living room.... great photo!

  • 0

    Zenny11

    Very nice pic, brings a smile to my face.

  • 0

    Laguna

    Notice he found a "rubbish" can to put in his living room, next to the nightstand.

    He's got a couple; probably separating his trash. Not a bad idea, even now.

  • 0

    yasukuni

    That is a classic photo. He's probably telling his wife he's having a bad day at the office.

  • 0

    Papigiulio

    hah nice one.

  • 0

    my2sense

    looks like my frat house.

  • 0

    the_sheriff

    Looks like a deleted scene from "Terminator".

  • 0

    goddog

    Looks like "Animal House" when the took apart the "Delta" fraternity house.

  • 0

    PenelopePitstop

    Great photo!

  • 0

    Maitake

    "Based on his cap and uniform, he appears to be some form of official or rescue worker."

    Based on his cap and jacket and pants, he appears to be just your average ojiisan. I **always **see these types of hats on ojiisans.

  • 0

    the_odeman

    umm, he is probably trying to rebuild his house, looking for any furniture that he had....and while he cant rebuild his actual house, he can gather his furniture together for now...

  • 0

    BurakuminDes

    Some people will be couch potatoes even in the midst of unprecedented disasters! (Just kidding!)

  • 0

    combinibento

    "Well to be honest, hun, its a bit of a fixer-upper."

  • 0

    Foxie

    I am surprised at how clean this sofa looks considering the scale of the disaster.

  • 0

    Youdontknow

    "Yes..Hello? Police? Well, I was taking a nap on my sofa and woke up just now. The problem? Someone's stolen my television!"

  • 0

    Alphaape

    If it was his home, he must have had a nice, large one. I have been in many homes, and have not seen any living room areas large enough to fit that type of sofa and love seat. It looks almost American style, except that it has the typical low height of Japanese sofas.

  • 0

    rockbuster

    "Yeah, hello TV company. I'd just like to complain about the job that the "Home Makeover" team has done........."

  • 0

    oikawa

    I bet the NHK man will still turn up wanting payment

  • 0

    cactusJack

    The NHK man was there. He knocked down the door.

  • 0

    Heda_Madness

    This looks like a man who has lost everything and has gathered a few bits and pieces so that he and his mates can have sit down, a bit of a chin wag, away from the dreadful conditions in the shelters and in the area that used to be their homes.

    If you think it's worth a laugh then that's up to you.

    But when all you can see is total devastation where people's lives have been taken and the 'lucky' ones have lost everything, then it's very difficult for me to see anything amusing in the situation.

  • 0

    Papigiulio

    Heda_madness: although I somewhat agree, I think we can all appreciate some cheering up no? Please let me advise you to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather instead of hating. Nobody here meant any disrespect.

  • 0

    Noripinhead

    Classic photo. Should get a Pulitzer prize. It kind of sums up the "ganbaru" spirit in Japan after the quake. Business as usual even in the worst of circumstances.

  • 0

    Alphaape

    But when all you can see is total devastation where people's lives have been taken and the 'lucky' ones have lost everything, then it's very difficult for me to see anything amusing in the situation.

    @Heda Madness: If you would do a study of human emotions, you will see that it is a tendency for humans to take totally horrific and tragic situations and try to make light of them. This doesn't mean that they take lightly the devistation, but that if you can laugh at a bad situation, you still have some sort of humanity left in you and still have the strenght to look at your situation and look at the big picture.

    So a few people make a joke about a man sitting in a chair. But, at least when I made comments, I thought about that at least he is still alive. He may or may not have lost it all, but he still has life, and a chance to start all over again. That doesn't mean that it will be easy, but I think he has a lot better chance at making a change for the better than being dead.

    Joking in terrible situations is a matter of fact. If you ever read any of the old US slave narratives about their situation, you will find they made light of many negative situation.

  • 0

    rockbuster

    Heda_madness - I can only speak for myself, but I would hazard a guess that nobody is making fun of the greater situation that this photo obviously is drawing attention to. For me it is the juxtaposition of the devastation in the background with the guy just sitting casually as if everything was normal, having a chat on his phone that makes this photo quite bizarre.

  • 0

    Heda_Madness

    The photo itself is making light of the situation. It's showing that people are trying to move on with their lives. If you ever go up to the area then you will see just how people are moving on (Carp streamers, combini's, gas stations trying to open etc).

    However, I just find it distasteful for people who are not directly involved in the disaster to be making gags. Certainly the people we met there were in good spirits but they were the people affected by it and as such any comparison's between the comments on here and slave/victims aren't relevant. They suffered an incredible loss. And as each day passes they continue to suffer.

    Papilguilo - There's no 'hating'. I simply expressed an opinion on the photo. But thanks for the condescending remarks.

    As I said at the time, if you think it's worth a laugh then that's up to you. Again, that's just my opinion and if you disagree then fine.

  • 0

    mayonaiseblues

    " ..nno, no, no ,neither that,..the living room set..ah and the dustbin "

  • 0

    combinibento

    "On the bright side, George, cellular reception in this room has really improved."

  • 0

    ppayne

    Yes, people do make light of a bad situation. Like when my mother died and we joked with the funeral home that we'd like a grave that has a good wifi connection so she could use the Internet in the afterlife. It's just being human.

  • 0

    Ranger_Miffy

    Hilarious. I'm pretty sure people going through the muck and devastation assembled these units into a previously unimaginably vast "living room" set. Well done.

  • 0

    Disillusioned

    I fail to see any humor in this image. Just spare a thought for the hundreds of thousands of people still living in city halls, high schools, evacuation centers and billets. This is not funny at all!

  • 0

    tclh

    I take my hat off to this man cleanliness ,neatness, tidiness despite all rubbish ,dirt around him.

  • 0

    WilliB

    disillusioned:

    " I fail to see any humor in this image. "

    Oh lighten up. Isn´t this the old discussion about QI and the unluckiest man? There was no offense meant by either the photographer or any JT commentator. Please.

  • 0

    cyan77

    Sofa size looks almost like it's for a living room in a Hiroo expat apartment.

  • 0

    seesaw2

    Sofa size looks almost like it's for a living room in a Hiroo expat apartment.

    I know..I've seen them before. But now those Expats are in Shanghai or HK, are they not?

  • 0

    oberst

    notice the coffee table is improvised, and he's a smoker !!

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