The screenwriter who created the project and wrote the script, Ms. Natsuki Matsuda, lives in Shanghai. She got together over 20 staff and cast members from among her Japanese friends studying abroad in Beijing or who live in Shanghai, and spent a month on the islands of Awa and Shishi located in the Seto Inland Sea creating the film. Ms. Matsuda explained that the "Director and camera men are from Hong Kong, and the child was half Taiwanese and Japanese. There were also people from Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. The common language was Chinese. Although many of the staff couldn't speak with the people on the island, the more time they spent with one another, the more they intuitively understood each other.

The story begins when a mother and son, who live in Shanghai, travel to an island in the Seto Inland Sea to meet the boy's Japanese father. A humongous, old camphor laurel tree, a natural treasure which has been around for over 1,200 years, holds the key to the story. The story develops as the magical tree and the memories of the people of the island become intermixed.

"We were looking for a large tree during our location hunting, and we finally came across the large camphor laurel on Shishi Island. It has been a silent witness, standing guard over the island and its people for over a millennium. This awe-inspiring, regal tree, with infinite depth and all-accepting aura was where our shoot began. Living on the island reminded us of things that we had forgotten; things that were important. We were physically exhausted from living together in the Children's Center on the Awa Island for an extended period of time and shooting all day every day, but the bright smiles of the people of the island helped us keep going. Watching the resplendent sea-fireflies and listening to the sound of the breaking waves while walking back to our lodge was a luxury befitting of our film" said Ms. Matsuda, looking back at the shoot.

Shooting at the "Buoy Buoy Garden," where artworks created using buoys were exhibited - Awa Island.

The main theme of the movie is "family ties", but the film also describes bonds between people in different countries, across national borders, and also reminds us about the unique natural wonder of Japan. But it also expresses the bonds the staff experienced while on shoot and their passion. After premiering at the Sanuki Film Festival, the film will travel to other cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, and Sendai.

This is the Watanoha Elementary School, which has become a shelter for the town of Ishinomaki. When I went there in June, people there were still being harassed by swarms of flies, an outbreak caused by rotting marine produce, and a fine dust of dry, accumulated sludge lingered in the air. But when I got to the elementary school, I soon forgot about the bad; I received so much positive energy from the people there.

"Watanoha Smiles" is an exhibition filled with the smiles of children in Watanoha. At the gallery in Nishiazabu, Tokyo, many very lovable characters were on display, such as metal buckets wearing a colorful traffic cone as hats and fan covers with eyes and nose made of caps. All of these masterpieces were created using debris deposited in the schoolyard. Oh, excuse me. They are not debris, rather, they are them "fragments of the town." "Fragments of the town," usually treated as trash, have been transformed into symbols of restoration by the children.

Watanoha Elementary School had functioned as a shelter for people afflicted by the natural disaster for 214 days, until October 11. It offered asylum to 1,600 people at its busiest time. On the day of the earthquake, the school was struck by a one-meter tsunami, and homes and cars were carried over and stacked up in the schoolyard by the wave. The materials used in the artwork created by children were all picked out from the schoolyard.

It was at the end of March that the staff from the NPO Smile Hope, represented by an artist living in Yamagata, Tomo Inukai, began their volunteer activities while staying at the school. Back then, survival was the number one concern, so there wasn't any space for children to play, and there weren't any toys or illustrated books. So while asking people across Japan for assistance, they borrowed one classroom and created a playroom for children. It was in the beginning of April that workshops creating artwork using fragments of the town began. Having watched other kids take part, more and more children joined. Thirty children became so engrossed they created 100 pieces in just 2 days.

The "artwork" created by these children are being exhibited in 10 locations nationwide, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Volunteer staff, who came to Watanoha Elementary School, were touched by the warmth and when they got home, they made arrangements to hold the exhibition in their home cities.

"The children are very happy. It's not only because their artwork can be seen by many people around the country. Until then they had received various aid without a way of giving back, but now they are happy that they , too, can give something back" said Mr. Inukai.

At the end of August, classes started back up again at the temporary structure serving as a school , and life is slowly returning to "normal." They hope that life at their school will return to normal as soon as possible. They had sporting festivals and field trips, but there is still a shortage of tools such as wind instruments and percussions .

The "Watanoha Smile" exhibits is taking place over the following dates. You can also make donations at the gallery. Please make your way to the galleries and take a look.

[ Exhibition schedule in Tokyo ]
Ikebukuro Tobu Department Store from November 10th to 30th.

Aftershocks still continue, so people living in areas afflicted by the Great Tohoku Earthquake may still be told to evacuate immediately, at any given time. I wish there was a way to deliver a portable light to each and every person living in such conditions.

What Mr. Tatsuto Mamiya, a student at Tama Art University created in response to his wish is a very simple button light using an LED and 2 button batteries. You can use a safety pin to attach the light to your chest. It is also pocket size, so you can also keep it in your pocket and take it out when you need it. The light will last for about 15 hours, and it is bright enough to light your immediate vicinity in pitch darkness. Hearing that there are not enough flashlights in the afflicted area, he shared his idea about mass producing this mini light and delivering it to the people in the Tohoku region on twitter and mixi (a Japanese SNS).

There were many people who supported this idea, but there was also quite a lot of skepticism - "Is it really necessary?" "Isn't there another way to help?" We can only imagine what the needs of the people in the afflicted area are, and because he didn't have a local network , the project did not move forward. The idea had hit a wall.

Then, companies contacted him and told him they wanted to help; they provided 800 LEDs and 2,000 button batteries free of charge . Mr. Mamiya got together with his friends and started making the button lights. Professor Tatsuya Wada from the Department of Product and Textile Design, Tama Art University also joined the project. Together they took a closer look at usability and safety and Professor Wada named the product, "Life Light." A wonderful package design was developed as well.

By March 24th, Mr. Maimiya and his team had created 750 "Life Lights." They were thinking of selling them in Tokyo and donating the proceeds to charity, but NPOs they knew contacted them saying they wanted to help deliver them. So on the 25th, 600 were sent to Kesennuma, etc. Currently the team is creating an additional 1,000 units.

Can an individual's idea help move schools and companies into action? Although there may have been hesitation when he first started the project, Mr. Mamiya explains, "with products that are on the market there is a limit to the available quantity, but with this light, we can make as many as we need as long as we have the manpower and materials." Ideas unique to students majoring in art have given way to a product design developed for the disaster that has moved many people into action, and their desire to help is being delivered to people living in afflicted areas.

Many lives were lost in the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Rescue efforts are ongoing and the extent of the damages and the number of victims are still unknown, but what is certain is that it will be a long time before the beautiful Tohoku region, blessed with gifts from both the sea and the mountains, finds peace and tranquility again.

Mr. Yukio Kitsukawa, who co-founded the music magazine, "Rockin' On," is the director of the "Digital Media Research Center" (Meguro Tokyo). He has deep personal ties with Hachinohe city in Aomori prefecture, so he wanted to think of a scheme that would help people there in the long term. Hachinohe is one of the leading fishing ports in Tohoku, but currently the distribution channels to the Tokyo metropolitan area have been completely disrupted. Because there is no way to deliver the fresh fishes caught by fishermen, they have to be disposed of by incineration. The fishermen want to go back to work, but they can't... Mr. Kitsukawa and his team thought about how disappointed and dispirited these fishermen must be.

That is why the Digital Media Research Center proposed an idea to one of their long time friends, the Italian restaurant, "Osteria Del Bolgo" located in Hachinohe. The idea was this: a new, unique way of offering support by making a reservation with the restaurant and donating a course meal (5,000 yen or about 50 US dollars per person). The chef will incorporate local produce such as fishes and offer the course meal to the local residents for free. And people who have made a "reservation" will be able to enjoy a 2,500 yen course lunch once things in Hachinohe settles down.

The chef at the restaurant responded to this idea positively saying, "I wanted to go back to work, too!" He didn't waste any time. He immediately cooked hot curry and passed it out to the local people at a soup run. It was very well received. Perhaps the hot meal helped people who had remained silent until then open up, but he received feedback that people start talking to each other non-stop.

Going back to work will help lift the spirits of people who were lucky enough to escape the natural disaster unscathed. If this idea works well, the Digital Media Research Center hopes to get other restaurants in Hachinohe as well as in other regions of Tohoku involved. Why not take part in this new way of showing support and make a reservation at the restaurant?

The director realized that although America is the world's greatest economic power , many people in the U.S. weren't happy. That is why he decided to shoot a documentary about what being "happy" is all about in various parts of the world. When he shot people living in slums in India, the director described how "Despite the fact that they live in little huts made of bamboo sticks covered in plastic tarps and plastic bags; despite the fact that there's open sewage running in front of where they sleep; despite the fact that they have no income for medical care or schooling or for anything in excess of subsistence living, they're as happy as the average American... What I saw in the slum that I see missing in many American neighborhoods is a real, genuine sense of camaraderie and a bond among the people who live there." He also shot clips of grandmothers in Okinawa, and there too, he saw how people's strong relationships were the key to their happiness.

Butan's "Gross National Happiness (GNH)" index is known worldwide now, and many researches on happiness are being undertaken such as the World Database of Happiness made available by the Erasmus University Rotterdam in Holland. It is evident that purely pursuing economic wealth does not lead to happiness, and because we have prioritized economic development, social issues such as environmental destruction and the widening gap between the rich and poor are intensifying. The key to stopping these trends depends on what kind of happiness each and every one of us seeks. Perhaps the film, "Happy" will give us a great hint.

The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) is holding the "Choose Wisely - Sustainable Fish Dish Challenge."This contest open to both professionals and amateurs began in April and will run until October 15th. The contest aims to raise consumer awareness for critical levels of overfishing.

The eco-conscious fish recipe will be posted on the website along with a picture and rated by online visitors. The recipe with the highest rating will be featured in UAE's sustainable fish dish cookbook.

Moreover, you will find a consumer guide on this website, which classifies 19 different local fishes into different color groups: "red - Think again! (stock is heavily overfished), orange - Good choice but there's better (stock exploited within sustainable levels), and green - Go for it! (stock is not experiencing heavy fishing pressure).Even if you don't take part in the contest, if you print this guide out and take it with you, you can be friendlier to the environment and shop in a smarter way.

According to EWS-WWF, 66% of the UAE population eat fish at least once a week. And hamour (orange spotted grouper), a local favorite, is being overfished seven times above the sustainable level. With a decline of 87-92% since 1978, it is at the top of the overfished species list.

In the UAE, 60% of total fishes caught are comprised of species that are fished above the sustainable level. EWS-WFF believe that giving consumers the correct information on the local fishes and helping them shop for fishes more consciously will be a big step towards preventing overfishing.

Not only will this contest help prevent overfishing, but it also lets you take part on a daily basis in a fun and tasty way. What recipe would you enter in the challenge?

Diakonie is a Christian social welfare organization in Germany that operates numerous social welfare facilities such as care homes for older people or people with disabilities, hospitals and day-care centers. This February, its Frankfurt branch launched the "Help the Oma" campaign to recruit volunteers who can provide assistance and counsel to older people, people with disabilities, and sick patients.

Three old ladies in their 80s, Klara, Maria, and Charlotte, walked through the city-center of Frankfurt and pretended to need help going up stairs, crossing the street, or using a ticketing machine. They would then pass out flyers to recruit volunteer staff to people who took the time to help them. The campaign video looks like a clip from the show, Candid Camera, but it's really heartwarming to watch people giving the old ladies a helping hand. The means used in to promote the cause in the campaign is drawing much attention. It won a bronze award (in the Content & Contact category) at the Clio Awards, a globally renowned advertising award, held in New York on May 27th.

In Germany, it is not uncommon to see people helping each other around town. A spirit of mutual help seems to be rooted deeply in the German society. For example, someone will without fail offer help when you try to get on the train with a stroller, or a child will open the door for an older person who is walking into the store.

When it comes to care for older adults and children, discussions tend to focus on institutions and facilities. These are also important aspects, but if we try to help each other day to day, these small acts of kindness may bring about big change in society.

Hanging baskets are commonly seen with flowers planted in it, but how would you react if you see tomato plants hanging upside down instead? Recently in the United States, there are increasing number of gardeners who practices "upside down
planting", where they hang a plastic bucket with about 5 cm diameter hole at the bottom and plant vegetables or herbs upside down from the hole.

While some people reuse plastic bottles for upside down planting, commercial upside down planting kit has been on sale at various retailers since 2005, and 20 million kits were sold. Especially, this year's sale is double of last year's, which shows the big hit of the product.

Through hanging plants in the air, there are less pests and fungus to be worried about, and it save space. Additionally, there are advantages such that nutrients and water are delivered to plants efficiently because of gravity, and depending on the vegetables, it would reduce the stress on the vine caused by fruits. While there are some urban farmers that report, "The plants seem to stay healthier and yield better produces upside down compared to planting in the ground," horticulturalists and plant scientists agree with the fact that it would prevent pests, but are unsure of whether it would result in a better produce. Furthermore, because it is being hanged upside down, soil inside the planter tends to get dry faster, which requires more frequent watering compared to other planting methods.

It was reported that upside down planting is effective for plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and basils. Although some vegetables or herbs are preferred than one another for this type of planting, if you are troubled with pests, it may be worth a try to plant your vegetables upside down.

Mexico has the world's second-highest adult obesity rate after its neighbor, the U.S. And the Mexican children raised by such "parents" are now at the top of world obesity charts. It is said that 1 out of 4 elementary school children in Mexico are overweight or obese. So this is becoming a serious social issue for Mexico.

People in Mexico love tacos. Unfortunately they contain few vegetables and much fat, and what makes it worse, many people believe the soft drinks go extremely well with them (Mexico also has the highest per capita consumption of Coca-Cola in the world).
You can find adults and children stuffing themselves with tacos and chugging sweetened juice at many taco stands.

Bad diet is a contributing factor to obesity, but another factor is the lack of exercise. According to the latest research conducted by the Nutrition and Health Research Center , the average time elementary school kids in Mexico spend running and jumping around a day is a mere 13 minutes.

Last month, the lower house of the Mexican Congress unanimously passed a health reform bill that aims to ban sales of sweets and junk food at shops within schools while obligating a half-an-hour of physical exercise in class every day. The government hasn't stopped there. They are also calling on parents to cooperate by providing nutritious meals at home.

If the Mayans and the Aztecs who built advanced civilizations in the region could see the bulging waistline of the people in Mexico today, they would be quite surprised.