The   New York Times   this morning published 8 charts comparing President Donald Trump's performance with that of this predecessors.  Here are three of them: Doing very poorly. I am the only person I know in Hawaii with a roots link to Hokkaido.  My father's father, Kenjiro, came from here.  I have made several trips to Akita in northern Honshu, Otaru ( where Kenjiro was born ), Sapporo ( where the population was only 1,256 in 1872 when he was born ) and Utashinai.  One thing I learned in this effort is that Kenjiro is a name given to a first son.  I am named after him with Kenji, which stands for second son, which I am. The story of this search is provided in my 31March2009 posting of  THE SEARCH FOR KENJIRO'S GRANDMOTHERS .  In that article, I also explain the colored symbol I have used for my books. In 2009, my wife, friends and I made a roots search in Otaru and Sapporo . On another, I actually started in Akita, from where Kenjiro...

On the Norwegian Encore, the   Panama Canal Transit   was a highlight.  Yesterday, Sunday, the Middle Rhine Transit could well be the top scenic portion of this river cruise.  Steve, our cruise director, provided commentary throughout the four-hour journey, which included numerous drinks and an English Teatime treat. The transit in photos.  But first, Saturday from Cologne to Koblenz.  A Japanese whiskey, Hinotori for pre-dinner.   We had two classical music entertainers playing popular songs on the region after dinner. The next day, for the Middle Rhine Transit, we thought we'd have lunch in Aquavit, because it offered a better view of the experience, and we could just sit there through the whole interval. The two wines were German. With appetizer.  Artichokes and cheese. Pumpkin soup. Lunch of salad and rigatoni bolognese. The Middle Rhine River Transit begins.  After a while, these cities all seem to look about the same.  There w...