text:
|Número de publicación
|Tipo de publicación
|Número de solicitud
|Fecha de publicación
|24 May 1994
|Fecha de presentación
|10 Sep 1992
|Fecha de prioridad
|10 Sep 1992
|Número de publicación
|Bruce E. Wiita, J. Michael Teets, Gregory D. Wiita
|Cesionario original
|Deumed Group Inc.
|Exportar cita
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Citas de patentes (6), Citada por (108), Clasificaciones (21), Eventos legales (3)
|Enlaces externos: USPTO, Cesión de USPTO, Espacenet
This invention relates to biological viewing instruments that include a lens used for video cameras or the like for internal viewing of the body and particularly to means for cleansing and shielding the lens.
There are a number of lens cleaning devices that are described in the prior art that are used on endoscopes, resectoscope, fiberscope catheterization devices and the like that provide for means for cleansing the lens. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,163 granted to Ono et al on Sep. 13, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,146 granted to Kawazoe et al on Mar. 18, 1986 disclose an apparatus for viewing blood vessels and the like by continuously flowing saline fluid through a passage formed in the endoscope at a flow rate that approximates the blood flow rate. Of particular interest is the lens cleaning means disclosed in these patents which show a pair of passageways that include outlets that flow the saline solution in front of the lens. The outlets serve to orient the flow so that the flow discharging from the outlets of each of these passageways oppose each other and hence, according to this patent, the interaction of the opposing fluids keeps the lens clean.
Also of interest as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,146, supra, is the spiral passageway for injecting the saline solution with a spiral flow to displace the opaque liquid in the region of observation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,140 granted to Mecca on Sep. 1, 1987 discloses an endoscopic tube with a passageway to route clear liquid to circulate around the endoscopic tube. Again this is another attempt to keep the lens clean.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,855 granted to Baba on Jan. 6, 1987 also discloses an endoscope that includes a tube mounted internally within the endoscope where the end at the distal end is bent approximately 90 degrees and directed toward the lens so as to blow air or water adjacent the observation window in order to keep it clean.
While these lens cleaning means may be satisfactory in certain biological procedures, they are not satisfactory for others. In the application of video-surgery in laporoscopic and arthroscopic procedures, for example, we have found that creating a film of cleaning fluid to form over the lens surface is a far more satisfactory method of keeping the lens clean or defogged, if it fogs up. In certain instances. injection of the fluid, which may be either water or carbon dioxide, intermittently as needed has proven to be a satisfactory method of keeping the lens clean and defogged.
This invention employs a radial cavity with either partial or full circumferential flow directed over the surface of the lens or lens cover. In other embodiments this invention contemplates incorporating a vortex generator circumferentially mounted around the lens. This invention also contemplates incorporating a judiciously mounted fluid conveying passage integrated within the sheath surrounding the flexible types of medical instruments.
An object of this invention is to provide for a biological viewing instrument improved means for cleaning and/or shielding the lens.
A feature of this invention is to provide a sheath surrounding the tube supporting the fibre optics that provide light and transmits the image to the camera (video or other types) used in video surgery that includes a passage for flowing fluid to the discharge end that includes a radial channel with partial or full fluid flow capability formed in a cuff downstream of the lens and means to redirect the flow and coalesce the fluid and direct a film of fluid adjacent the surface and toward the center of the lens.
Another feature of this invention is to provide at the distal end of a concentric sheath surrounding the medical tubular instrument used for biological observations a vortex generator circumferentially disposed relative to the lens of the instrument.
Another feature of this invention is to provide for a flexible medical instrument used for biological observation or video surgery a sheath fabricated from flexible material concentrically mounted relative to the instrument with a helical passage formed integrally with the sheath defining a channel for the passage of fluid.
A feature of this invention is to provide a sheath and means for cleaning and/or shielding the lens of a biological observation instrument that is characterized as being capable of being adapted to existing instruments or being fabricated integrally with these types of instruments. A still further feature of this invention is that the structure of this invention can be sterilized via an autoclave method. The instrument can also be used to irrigate an adjacent area in the body by flowing fluid through the lens cleaning instrument to obtain a clearer view of the surrounding area.
Another feature of this invention is the incorporation of a two-part handle having the inner part connected to the lens cleaning apparatus and the upper part being rotatable relative to the lower part and each part having a camming arrangement for locking the lens carrying tube by a slight turn of the one handle relative to the other.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly in section illustrating the invention adapted to fit a borescope,
FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view in section showing details of the lens cleaning passages of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the end cap for securing the invention to an existing borescope,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view illustrating another embodiment of this invention,
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating a vortex generator attachment,
FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view illustrating another embodiment of this invention,
FIG. 7 is a partial view in section taken along lines 7--7 of FIG. 6,
FIG. 8 is a view in perspective illustrating another embodiment of this invention when applied to a flexible borescope,
FIG. 8A is a partial view in section illustrating the rib portion for defining the helical flow path,
FIG. 9 is a partial view in perspective and partly in section illustrating a version of this invention employing a valving arrangement for controlling the cleansing and/or shielding fluids,
FIG. 10 is a partial view in section showing the details of the embodiment of FIG. 9.
FIG. 11A is a view in perspective of the bottom of a component of the handle of this invention;
FIG. 11 is an exploded view in perspective illustrating the two-part locking handle, and
FIG. 12 is a partial view partly in section illustrating the two piece locking handle.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view, partly in phantom, taken along lines 13--13 illustrating the handle in the unlocked position.
While in its preferred embodiment this invention is contemplated for use in video surgery, as for example for performing appendectomies, removal of gall bladders, removal of cancerous prostrate glands, and the like and for biological observation, it is to be understood that this invention has application in any environment where a lens is inserted into a cavity and ready access to cleanse the lens is not available. In a typical medical operation using video cameras the portion of the body to be observed is invaded by a Trocar which incises a small cylindrical hole through the body skin and tissue and is withdrawn leaving a hollow plastic tube in place. A tubular instrument (hereinafter referred to as a borescope) carries bundles of fiber optics which serves to transmit high intensity light beams to illuminate the area being treated and carries images back to the TV camera to view the sighted area. This invention is only concerned with the lens that is located at the distal end of the borescope an particularly to means that cleanse and shield it.
While the invention contemplates incorporating cleansing and shielding means to existing borescopes it is also within the scope of this invention to fabricate the borescope integrally with this invention.
To best understand this invention reference is now made to FIGS. 1-3 depicting a hollow cylindrical tube 10 adapted to concentrically fit over the borescope 12. The diameter is selected to provide an annular space between the outside diameter of the borescope 12 and the inner diameter of the tube 10 having specific dimensions for the passage of sufficient fluid necessary for lens cleansing and shielding.
In the preferred embodiment the bottom or distal end is formed in two cylindrical pieces concentrically mounted relative to each other. The outer piece or sheath 16 extends the entire length of the tube and the inner piece is a short tube 18 mounted at the distal end and extends axially a short distance up the sheath 16. The diameter of the inner short tube 18 forms a snug fit with the outer surface of the borescope 12 and is slightly spaced to form the annular passage 20 that is in fluid communication with the annular passage 22 defined by the sheath 16. A plurality of spacers 24 are circumferentially spaced and extend between short tube 18 and the inner surface of sheath 16 and are suitably bonded thereto and serve to keep the two tubes in concentric alignment.
A retention nut and gland combination 28 threadably engages threads 30 formed on the inner diameter of sheath 16 at the proximal end and serves to secure and seal the sheath to the borescope. The outer circumference at the end of nut 38 may be knurled in order to manually torque the nut to the sheath. Sealing means, say 0-ring seal 42, seals off the end to the passage 22.
Fluid is supplied to passage 22 through opening 45 formed in the sheath 16 and fluid such as water or carbon dioxide from a source (not shown) is regulated by suitable and commercially available valves, such as trumpet valves that are normally biased close and merely require depressing the valve stem to open, similar to those used in musical instruments.
According to this invention, the fluid in passages 22 and 20 is directed to a cuff 46 extending from and formed a part of sheath 16 that protrudes beyond the distal end of borescope 12. The passage 20 in cuff 46 includes a curved or flat bottom that serves to change the direction of the flow in passage 20. By virtue of the momentum of the flow the stream is directed to flow in the transverse passages 50 and discharge through the annular spaced outlets 52 and is directed toward the central axis of the lens. The stream of fluid is made to coalesce to form a film or sheet of fluid to flow over the outer surface of the lens cover 53. The dimensions of passage 50 and annular outlet are critical in that they are sized to give direction and coalesce the flow into a film which serves to clean the lens cover or lens directly if no cover is utilized. The dimensions of the length of the transverse passage 50 depicted by arrow A and the height of transverse passage 50 depicted by arrow B are critical and are selected so that the size of dimension A is substantially larger than the size of dimension B. In actual tests satisfactory results were obtained when the dimension of A was twice the dimension of B.
In operation suitable valves 60 or 62 (schematically shown) are activated to flow fluid through the line 64 coupled to fitting 66 which admits the fluid to annular passages 22 and 20 via the opening 45. The flow proceeds to the cuff 46 where it is guided by the bottom surface 47 and is forced to redirect the flow into the plurality of circumferential spaced passages 50. The flow discharging from the passages 50 are directed toward the central axes C of the borescope 12. The fluid may be preheated in order to accommodate the defogging feature of this invention.
Another advantage of the cuff 46 is that by virtue of the fact that it extends axially beyond the lens cover it serves to shield the lens from being in direct contact with body tissue and in fact creates a space between the outer edge of the cuff and the surface of the lens which allows the intensive light being transmitted by the fiber optics to diffuse in this space and maintain visibility.
As will be appreciated from the foregoing that the outlet 52 is in a form of an annulus and is in proximity to the lens and in fact circumscribes the lens. This serves to attract, by capillar attraction, any liquid droplets that should remain on the lens after the liquid has been turned off. The attraction of the droplets is by a adhesion effect which has a tendency of drawing the liquid back toward the annulus and as a consequence the droplets are removed from the lens and thereby avoiding any distortion of the image being transmitted to the camera.
FIG. 4 depicts another embodiment of this invention where the number of outlets 52 are significantly reduced so that the span of the circumferential dimension is increased, simplifying the fabrication of the invention. Also the other sheath 61 is crimped at some distance up from the bottom end to form a dimple that bears against the outer circumferential surface of borescope 12 to keep the outer tube in concentric alignment. This replaces the spacers depicted in FIG. 1 to simplify the manufacture of the sheath.
It is contemplated within the scope of this invention that instead of having the fluid discharge from the outlets 52 in a stream that is parallel or generally parallel to the lens cover, a vortex generator will be mounted at the outlet to impart a swirling motion to the fluid to in effect create vortices in front of the lens which will serve to not only clean the lens or its surface but also prevent loose tissue or other opaque substances from impinging on the lens. A suitable vortex generator generally indicated by reference numeral 63 is shown in FIG. 5. Generally the vortex generator is a ring-like member 62 that carries a pluralities of upstanding vanes 64 spaced around the circumference. Vanes 64 serve to impart a swirl to the fluid passing therebetween so that the fluid discharging from the vane defines a helical path depicted by the arrow D.
As is apparent from the foregoing the cleaning fluid that exits the channels defined between adjacent vanes 64 flows tangentially toward the center line C, across the lens and with a spiral motion the fluid then travels in an axial/radial direction outwardly over the face of cuff 46 and as a secondary cleaning function serves to prevent opaque fluids present in the body from migrating from the cuff to the lens. The swirling fluid serves to not only keep the lens clean or defogged but also creates a shield to protect the lens from loose matter in the area being viewed.
The components of the lens cleaning system can be fabricated from suitable and well known metallic or non-metallic materials.
FIGS. 6 and 7 exemplifies another embodiment of this invention where the short tube 72 defining cuff portion 74 is fabricated from sheet metal stock and is attached to the end of sheath 76 (similar to sheath 16 depicted in FIG. 1). The bottom end is crimped to define dimple 78. The lens cover 53 bears against the dimple 78 when installed and defines the space 80 to allow the flow discharging from the annular discharge 82 to flow over the surface of the lens. Similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the cuff 74 serves to change the direction of the flow so that the flow passes beyond the lower extremity of the distal end of borescope 12 and is redirected to the outlet discharge end before being discharge adjacent the surface of the lens. In this embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 the tube 76 is held in concentric relationship with the borescope 12 by the scallops 86 formed on the inner diameter of tube 76.
FIGS. 8 and 8A exemplifies this invention when the borescope is formed from a flexible tube. In this embodiment a helical formed channel 88 is formed in the flexible tube 90 which may be fabricated similar to BX metal cable to define the passage for flowing the fluid from the inlet to the discharge end. The cuff portion which can be identical to the versions shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 6 is secured to the end of the flexible tube 90. As seen in FIG. 8A the rib 88 defines a flexible helical channel to the boroscope outside diameter for delivering the fluid from the proximal end to the distal end of the lens cleaning tubular member.
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate optional attachment means and trumpet valve means that can be employed with this invention. In this embodiment the borescope 12 is inserted in the tube 10 and held in place by end cap and bolt 92 threaded to the end of tube 10. A packing or gland illustrated by reference numeral 94 seals the end of the borescope 12. Suitable trumpet valves 96 and 98 serve to admit the fluid desired. The trumpet valve as shown in FIG. 10 consists of a plunger 100 that is spring biased by coil spring 102 in the upward direction. Depressing button 106 positions valve element 108 away from seat 109 placing passage 110 in fluid communication with passage 22.
In accordance with this invention and as can be seen in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 a two-piece handle is provided to conveniently lock the tubular member 10 to the borescope 12. The borescope 12 is inserted in the central passage 130 and extends throughout the distal end. The upper handle 132 carries an elongated triangular shaped cam element 136 that extends into the aperature 138 formed in lower handle 140. Aperature 138 is configured to define detents that have a smaller diameter area than the diameter area of the aperature 138. Hence, by rotating the upper handle 132 relative to the lower handle 140, which is held in place by the operator with the use of his other hand, the apex of the triangular shaped cam 136 fits into the smaller diameter area detents and the material of cam 136 is sufficiently flexible and resilient to frictionally engage the outer diameter of the borescope 12 and lock it into place.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in this art another use of the lens cleansing apparatus is the ability to irrigate the surrounding area by injecting a stream of fluid in the area where the surgeon requires a better or clearer view. To accomplish irrigation the operator merely depresses the trumpet valve to allow a stream of fluid to be injected in the surrounding area and leaves the valve in the operative mode until the area is visible. It is contemplated within the scope of this invention that the trumpet valve can include suitable means to hold the valve in the operative position.
Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to detailed embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.
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|Clasificación de EE.UU.
|600/109, 600/135, 600/157, 600/133, 600/182
|Clasificación internacional
|Clasificación cooperativa
|Clasificación europea
|3 Ene 1994
Owner name: DEVMED GROUP INC., FLORIDA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WIITA, BRUCE E.;TEETS, J. MICHAEL;WIITA, GREGORY D.;REEL/FRAME:006823/0035;SIGNING DATES FROM 19931118 TO 19931209
|24 May 1998
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|22 Sep 1998
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19980524


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The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen offers the perfect…read more (804) 261-2787
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The Country Club at The Highlands has a beautiful clubhouse…read more (804) 796-4800 ext. 317
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Make your reception "An Affair To Remember." We vow to…read more (804) 788-0900
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Select Local Merchants
Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center HotelRead MoreProperty Location A stay at Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel places you in the heart of Oklahoma City, walking distance from American Banjo Museum and Chesapeake Energy Arena. This spa hotel is within close proximity of Myriad Botanical Gardens and Oklahoma State Fair Arena. Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 311 air-conditioned rooms featuring iPod docking stations. Cable programming provides entertainment, and wired and wireless Internet access is available for a surcharge. Private bathrooms with shower/tub combinations feature designer toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and complimentary newspapers, as well as multi-line phones with voice mail. Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities Relax at the full-service spa, where you can enjoy body treatments and facials. If you're looking for recreational opportunities, you'll find an indoor pool, a spa tub, and a sauna. Additional features include wireless Internet access (surcharge), a concierge desk, and gift shops/newsstands. Dining Grab a bite to eat at the hotel's restaurant, which features a bar, or stay in and take advantage of room service (during limited hours). At the end of the day, relax with your favorite drink at a bar/lounge. Business, Other Amenities Featured amenities include high-speed (wired) Internet access (surcharge), a 24-hour business center, and limo/town car service. Event facilities at this hotel consist of conference/meeting rooms, small meeting rooms, and a ballroom. A roundtrip airport shuttle is complimentary at scheduled times.10 N Broadway AveOklahoma City, OK US
Cattleman's SteakhouseRead MoreProperty Location Located in Tulsa (Tulsa Central), Embassy Suites Hotel Tulsa is close to Tusla Promenade and Oklahoma University - Tulsa. This hotel is within close proximity of Drillers Stadium and Tulsa County Fairgrounds. Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 244 guestrooms, featuring kitchenettes with refrigerators and microwaves. 26-inch high-definition televisions with cable programming provide entertainment, while wireless Internet access (surcharge) keeps you connected. Conveniences include desks and complimentary weekday newspapers, as well as multi-line phones with voice mail. Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities Be sure to enjoy recreational amenities including an indoor pool and a fitness facility. Additional features include complimentary wireless Internet access, an arcade/game room, and shopping on site. Dining Satisfy your appetite at the hotel's restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner. Dining is also available at a coffee shop/café, and room service (during limited hours) is provided. Mingle with other guests at a complimentary manager's reception, held daily at evening. At the end of the day, relax with your favorite drink at a bar/lounge. Business, Other Amenities Featured amenities include a business center, business services, and audiovisual equipment. Planning an event in Tulsa? This hotel has 3330 square feet (300 square meters) of space consisting of conference/meeting rooms, small meeting rooms, and banquet facilities. A roundtrip airport shuttle is complimentary during limited hours.3332 S 79th East AveTulsa, OK US
Whispering Pines RestaurantRead MoreSunlight filters through the thick leaves of whispering pine tress, illuminating a 20-acre clearing of vineyards, lily ponds, and lush gardens. This is the site of Whispering Pines Restaurant, whose fairytale backdrop and upscale French fare has won the veneration of Discover Oklahoma. Guests who find their way onto its grounds are greeted by a towering 1900s-style mansion adorned in ivy and surrounded by a wrap-around porch. Inside, white-clothed tables scatter across deep-red carpets amid hanging artwork and a roaring fireplace. Owners and head chefs Chinda and Rany Kchao await to serve guests, drawing on years of fine-dining and French-continental culinary experience. The Kchaos and their family bring forth plates of upscale French fare and decadent steaks, punctuating each course with a house-made, palate-cleansing sorbet instead of a palate-cleansing spray from the garden hose. After dinner, guests of the inn climb the grand staircase to the main-house suites or meander across the grounds to independent cottages, where whirlpools and baskets of treats await them. In the morning, servers deliver freshly prepared breakfasts to each room.7820 E Highway 9Norman, OK US
Fox and Hound GroupRead MoreA lengthy lineup of traditional game-day fare and a sports atmosphere captivate fans at Fox and Hound - Bailey's, where the kitchen remains open as late as its neighboring fully stocked bar. Chefs cook until the wee hours of the morning and always until the bar closes, baking Bavarian pretzel starters, crafting towers of onion rings, and preparing hand-battered chicken tenders that are cooked until they are golden brown. They blend their own seasonings to sprinkle over grilled-to-order burgers, and draw from a diverse roster of cheeses and toppings to crown their wood-oven-inspired flatbreads. While manning the bars, bartenders tap into a stash of libations, such as UV Whipped vodka and Patron Silver tequila, to mix their specialty cocktails. To further foster a sporting ambiance, high-definition TVs glow with sports games and custom music-video playlists, and guests partake in pastimes of ump bashing, billiards, or competitive people watching.7001 S Garnett Rd.Broken Arrow, OK US
Texas RoadhouseRead MoreA well-known steakhouse in Lawton, Texas Roadhouse on NW Cache Rd is the ideal spot for fantastic steak. It's a culinary destination for customers that want fantastic food. It should be noted that business casual is the recommended attire. Having said that, we wouldn't plan on arranging a quiet meeting here, however; it's common knowledge that the background noise can get a little loud. If you're on the lookout for the perfect spot for family or friends, it's been reviewed as a solid option for large groups and kids. In addition to its convenient take-out menu, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town. Or, if you just want to pop in for a beverage, the restaurant does have a pretty decent selection at its bar. One of the tastier franchises in the area, this Texas Roadhouse won't leave you disappointed. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.5340 NW Cache RdLawton, OK US
Boulevard SteakhouseRead MoreIf you have yet to try Boulevard Steakhouse, it's a great time to check out the hugely-popular steakhouse. It's a local favorite for those looking for a pleasant waitstaff and amazing service. Many folks will be quick to point out that Boulevard Steakhouse is known for its martini bar. Try to remember that business casual is the suggested attire. Also, though the price can be a bit higher than average, you're going to get what you pay for. When you arrive, you should check out the prime beef, the caesar salad, or the au gratin potatoes, since all three stand out. In terms of the restaurant itself, it's been tabbed as a nice option for a romantic occasion and doing business, in addition to special occasions and entertaining clients. In addition to its convenient take-out menu, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town. Or, if you just want to stop by for a beverage, the restaurant has a pretty broad selection at its bar. A reputable option for dinner, you won't walk away from Boulevard Steakhouse disappointed. The food, in general, is "excellent." Also, its steakhouse is known to be "excellent." Visitors to the restaurant have access to a private lot nearby or can park on the street. Should you prefer to pedal over there, bicycle parking's also offered.505 South Boulevard StreetEdmond, OK US


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Toy (オモチャ) Street
He's a nice man, and I hope he still works at Seoul Izakaya down in Sanya. I think he's married to the Korean lady who owns and runs the place…
But sometimes when I was in their bar they fought with each other. Hell, when I took the picture below she even whacked me upside the head…
(Pictures taken in Nihonzutsumi, Tokyo in September, 2013)
September 25th, 2013
On this day in Tokyo two years ago, I stumbled across a little bar in Nakano-ku 5-chome called Freedom. It was a wondrous little place. Finding it and having a couple of beers there made the day one of the best I ever had in Japan.
I intend to revisit Freedom when I'm back in Tokyo in about a month. I hope it's still there. I want to see mama-san again, and buy her a beer…
(Pictures taken at Freedom in Nakano 5-chome in 2013)
We have never existed as physically anything…
We roam Asakusa,
We are ghosts of clown.
You can see us,
And we love you;
You are human
of warm summer days
and cold Tokyo beer.
And happy Buddha
is inside you all
in ways we street-play ghosts
will never know.
We pacify the street
for you,
and tell the street stories
of how it must love your feet.
You can see us,
We make sure of it.
We are cramps
in a leg you no longer feel,
the laughter that
results from great pain.
You give us hope,
so we paint ourselves,
and cherish our time
on the man-made
crust of the Earth,
and hope that
you give us money
which we can use to buy a new god.
(Pictures taken in Asakusa, Tokyo in October, 2013)
Planet Tokyo
"During my first-contact away mission to Planet Tokyo, I captured many images such as this which clearly show the sentient species native to this planet have invented and regularly utilize many advanced technologies. Here a young female prepares to obtain a form of encapsulated liquid refreshment from a beverage replicator installed on a public linear transportation platform. As local temperatures at the time were uncomfortably elevated, but still within parameters acceptable for this species, it was only logical that the young female would wish to cool herself before boarding the next available public linear transport. These transports are admirable for their punctuality and speed, but when crowded have rather poor interior cooling capabilities."
"Thank you, Mr. Spock."
(Picture taken at Nakano Station, Tokyo in September, 2013. 長寿と繁栄を.)
Render the smoke into purified nothing
I had never hoped to convince you
of my place as a giant in this world.
I appear as a dumpy man, a man of spent substance,
and I hide in plain sight amongst Tokyo's Sunday multitudes.
There is a kangaroo on my head, and I've never even fucking been to Australia.
I pass as so many gods do, looking down at the pavements of man.
Humans have built a crust encasing the earth
and they think I can't punch through it
and swim like an effortless dolphin through the mantle
down to the planet's core where I was incubated and born.
And that's okay, really, it's fine.
You took Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammad for granted,
and they actually told you all who they were.
I am, at the very least, a god of all Tokyo's streets
but I won't make the mistake of revealing myself.
You wouldn't believe me anyway.
There are more of us in the Tokyo city limits than you might think.
Men seemingly of little actuality and no style
wearing Western baseball caps and Velcro Nike shoes,
sparring with their wives over pension money
and how much shōchū they can drink before izakaya curfew at midnight.
Anyway, that's enough about me, but you asked.
I'm standing here smoking because I like it.
It won't kill me.
In fact, the smoke I suck in, process, and exhale
is more pure and sweet than the delivery room air you first breathed
inside whatever hospital in which you were born.
(Picture taken near Sensō-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo in October, 2013. Also published on Scholars and Rogues.)
Trolling Shinjuku
I shot these photos on the same day, within minutes of each other in the Golden Gai section of Shinjuku. And in the 20 months since then, it only just now occurred to me that the nice man in the second picture resembles the cartoon troll figure in the first picture. Weird.
I hope this pleasant-seeming fellow isn't offended if he ever sees this visual comparison…
(Pictures taken in Golden Gai, Shinjuku, Tokyo in September, 2013)
Asakusa contrasts
The younger man, calm and still, in the more traditional garb of a rickshaw puller. And the older man, speeding along, dressed in more-or-less modern street fashion…
(Picture taken in Asakusa, Tokyo in October, 2013)
So happy and blue
In Sanya there is, in fact, warmth in the shaded gutters and thermal uplift from cans of varying liquors.
And if the sky is clear on a given day or not, the blue streets can take its place, and one can soar in them, as this man seemed to do in whatever happy reverie put peace and contentment on his face…
(Pictures taken in Sanya (Nihonzutsumi), Tokyo in September, 2013)
Kamiya Bar (神谷バー)
Dedicated to my wife Michele, to whom I have been married for 15 years as of today, and who lived and inspired this story and so many others in my heart's yet unwritten library…
The old timers had been going there for over one hundred years, and I was finally back after more than twenty.
It was Kamiya Bar, in the Asakusa part of Tokyo, and in 2008 it was the oldest western-style bar in the city. Western as in high ceilings, with wood-veneer wall panels, chrome light fixtures and those patterned tin ceiling tiles you see in old saloons in Tombstone, Arizona or Virginia City, Nevada.
But I don't mean it also had brass spittoons and buffalo horns on the walls. Kamiya Bar is western in contrast to the small izakayas and tatami-mat sake parlors scattered all throughout Tokyo. The main drinking room is more like a European beer hall, with elongated tables often shared by strangers. Condiment stations and menu holders are placed on the tables the way they would be in a typical American diner. Everyone wears Western clothing, and foreigners are not only a common sight, the Japanese welcome them quite warmly.
Sometimes in unexpected ways.
I had been dreaming of returning to Tokyo for many years. I was a bachelor here, fresh out of university, working for an American company for a few months shy of two years. During the course of our relationship I had told my wife many stories of the happiness I had found here. So we had decided, six months before this day, to pool our resources and use her frequent-flier miles to take a grand 11-day trip to Tokyo and my old haunts.
Which included, of course, Kamiya Bar.
And actually, this was our second visit to the place. We had come to Asakusa a few days before to see the temple and do some shopping. My wife was utterly charmed with Asakusa and its more traditional appearance and overall feel. Before leaving Asakusa that day, I wanted to show her Kamiya Bar, where we had many drinks and several plates of excellent fried potatoes. Most of the food in the drinking rooms is western-style. Most of the drinks are large mugs of Asahi Beer and small, elegant glasses of denki bran, a luscious, fragrant brandy made and served exclusively by the bar.
On our first visit, my wife and I had a smaller table to ourselves along the wall of the main drinking room. This visit I wanted to go to the bar before she was done with her shopping. When I got there, the place was very crowded and I ended up sitting at a table with an elderly Japanese man in the smaller front drinking room. Our table touched another where a middle-aged Japanese couple were seated.
At first I thought all three of them were together, from the way they were talking and being friendly to each other. Empty food plates on the seam between the two tables made it look like these had been shared. Because of my perception, I used my poor Japanese to defer to the elderly man when asking if I could sit at his table with all three people.
It turned out the middle-aged couple spoke some English. So while the old man waved me to a chair without batting an eye, he spoke through the middle-aged lady who told me I was welcome to sit with them. There were many empty beer mugs and denki bran glasses on the tables, and I have often wondered since how much of a factor they played in the wonderful hour which was to come.
When you first enter Kamiya Bar, you have to buy drink tickets at the front counter before taking a seat. In addition to the shopping bags which were now tucked behind my chair, I had tickets for two large beers and two denki brans, which I placed on the table in front of me. That's how it works: the waitress comes by, takes the tickets you've put out, and then comes back with your drinks. For subsequent rounds, you just put your cash on the table, and the waitress replaces the drinks you've had with fresh ones.
I had just gotten my beer and brandy when the middle-aged couple asked me some of the standard questions. Where was I from? How did I like Japan? I told them that I used to come to Kamiya Bar when I was a young man many years ago, and this made them delightfully surprised. The old man asked the lady what I had said, and when she told him he nodded approvingly at me and raised his glass to the one I had just picked up. When our glasses clinked, we drank and he nodded again. Then he put another bite of fried potato and croquette into his mouth.
For the next few minutes, the middle-aged couple and I talked, with the lady translating for the old man and I when we had questions for each other. Although far better than my Japanese, her English was not that great, but here is what I learned:
The couple were married, but lived separately during most of the month because he had to stay in a company dorm for his job in Tokyo. The lady and their children stayed at the family home far outside the city. The couple and the old man did not know each other, had only met that very afternoon at the tables we now occupied. I had thought the old man was a father or elderly uncle, but the lady said no. And the old man was a veteran of World War II. He had served the emperor.
By this time my wife had arrived, and I tucked her packages and shopping bags behind my chair with mine. In busted English and broken Japanese, my wife, the married couple, and the old man managed to introduce themselves. The lady and I further summarized for my wife the conversation she had missed before arriving. My wife was very taken by the fact that the old man had served in the war.
She asked the lady what the old man had done in the war, something she and I both wanted to know. The lady asked the old man, but he apparently wanted to dodge the question. I watched him as he spoke, and he didn't show any shame or embarrassment that I could see. He acted like a man who had happier things on his mind and didn't want anything but light-hearted talk to carry our little drinking session forward. Through the lady he said, while smiling, that he preferred not to say. That settled it for me.
Then the waitress happened by and the old man ordered another round of beer and brandy for our group. The drinks arrived a minute later, and he pushed his pile of cash yen towards the waitress. I motioned for my cash, to place it with the old man's, but he gently patted my hand down and away from his money. He was buying, and that settled that for us.
As we reached for our drinks, my wife asked the lady to tell the old man that her father had served in the U.S. Army during the war. It hadn't occurred to me to mention that, but it did not surprise me that my wife did. After the lady spoke to the old man, he looked at my wife and seemed to beam at her. A very warm look. He then touched glasses with my wife as he had with me earlier, and toasted the rest of the table. He noticed that I was looking at his fried potato and croquette and offered me his plate. I was so full of beer by then I had no room for his kind offer. He smiled at this after the lady passed it on to him.
And as we had asked him, the old man asked my wife what her father had done in the war. Through the lady, my wife said her father had been an airplane mechanic but that he really didn't like to talk about his role in the war very much either. The old man nodded and smiled at this. And perhaps it was the beer, but I suddenly noticed, except for the almond eyes and the lack of a mustache, my wife and I could have been sitting at this table with her father. Both men were the same age, about the same build, and favored long-sleeved dress shirts with sweater vests. At least that is what our Japanese old man was wearing, along with a grey wool driving cap.
And again maybe it was the beer and brandy but for the rest of our little drinking session I could sense real warmth between my wife and the old man. He bought another round of drinks for the table, and another plate of croquette which I agreed to share with him. He seemed pleased that no one had to suggest I put tonkatsu sauce on my food. Upon noticing, I asked the lady to tell the old man that all properly-trained gaijin know the value of tonkatsu sauce on croquette. The lady, her husband and the old man got a chuckle out of this. It made me happy to make them happy.
By this time about an hour had passed, and the old man announced that he had to go home and get some sleep. He had to spend the day with his grandchildren tomorrow. It was only six in the evening, but he got up and reached for the grey suit coat on the back of his chair. He had one arm into one sleeve, and seemed to be struggling with the rest of the process, when my wife quickly reached up and helped him into the suit coat. When the old man reached for his overcoat, my wife stood and helped him on with that.
For her help, the old man bowed to my wife and reached his hands to shake hers. My wife took the old man's hands into both of hers and kissed them as the old man bowed a little extra bow to her. The kiss ended quickly, and my wife looked up smiling at the old man. He in turn was smiling at me as we reached out with single hands and shook. He had one of the most confident grips I have ever felt.
The drinking session had ended.
The middle-aged couple said they had to go as well. My wife and I were bone-tired and a bit tipsy. We decided to leave Kamiya Bar and head back to our vacation rental across town in Nakano to regroup before planning the rest of our evening. We ended up staying in, having a snack dinner from the local combini and good beer and sake from a store called Life. We didn't regret staying in, for we still had a few nights left in Tokyo. And one night out in Tokyo can often be worth two or three in any major western city.
But we didn't go back to Kamiya Bar, though we talked about it. Even if we had, there probably would have been little chance of seeing the old man or the middle-aged couple again. I did give the couple our address and phone number with instructions to call us and stay with us if they travel to the States. But it has been seven years now and my wife and I have not heard from them. That's okay. We have already made plans to return to Tokyo this year.
But I have thought often about the old man since we returned from that trip, and I think of the bond he and my wife seemed instantly to share. I found it beautiful, but still don't quite understand it. But I have never been a daughter, or the child of a war veteran, so perhaps real comprehension of this will always elude me.
But from my point of view it doesn't matter, because I know this:
I don't care what the old man did in the war, if he was a medic, a cook, a commando, or a pilot who strafed Pearl Harbor. For a short time he was our benefactor and our friend. And he was Japanese and we were Americans and it was Kamiya Bar.
(This story was written in 2010, although the photos are from 2008. Uh, except the first photo, that's from 2013. Kamiya Bar was undergoing some changes last time I was there. I'm looking forward to seeing these changes with my wife in November, 2015. Published concurrently on Scholars and Rogues. Kampai, kids.)
Life at the kōban
All the wide happy and the scattering crowds,
these are which I watch over.
For I am police, I am law.
It is good I do this,
for there is no better humble god of justice
than me when I am on duty.
In Tokyo we have guns,
for we are police and
they are subtle extensions of sword
and I see them as
metals from repurposed katana
beaten into tiny rocket-spitting machines.
Musashi used guns.
I read this once in torn manga-page literature.
To me this brings honor to the idea,
and grinds nothingness into fine subtlety.
For if you can kill disbelief,
you can kill injustice.
When this is done
my work will be over,
I will no longer need to be police.
I would like to put myself out of a job,
I would like to always go fishing
in the Sumida River
and hook all the gold rings the yakuza ever dropped into it.
It would be a good thing to be with my son every day,
to know I will never need a gun to protect him.
To never need updated training
on the best American ways to shoot people in the head.
But these times are not here yet.
So I will guard you,
and you will love me for it,
and I will love you back because you give me purpose and honor.
And money.
(Picture taken in Asakusa, Tokyo in October, 2013. Published concurrently on Scholars and Rogues.)
Old men in Tokyo are monsters of subtle beauty
I watched him. He watched me…
Then he yawned, and the boredom spreading radially out from him was like a superhero power which placed into my mind the compulsion to walk away…
The old men in Tokyo always catch you in the lie you tell yourself that you'll never become one of them.
(Pictures taken at Nakano Station, Tokyo in October, 2013)
All your soft drinks to buy for the world
A cheap and well-stocked vending machine alcove on the streets of Shinjuku near Golden Gai…
(Picture taken in Tokyo, Japan in September, 2013)
In Golden Gai
I once tripped through these lands like a god,
like the pure embodiment of all the liquor
the Allies ever drank in Tokyo.
It is quiet here now,
and the Americans are gone,
but I know these streets.
They are masters and servants to me.
In the daytime, the vampires are hiding,
(well, most of them)
even though I know where they lay.
At night they will be back here,
disguised as young salarymen,
and high school girls in vocational school,
and tourists from Russia and France.
I will know their minds and their innocent evils,
and I will keep watching until the sun and the train schedules
drive them from the streets back to their lairs.
(Picture taken in Golden Gai in Shinjuku, Tokyo in September, 2013. Also published on Scholars and Rogues.)
Heated talk and hot air
They spoke heatedly, passionately, and didn't seem to care who heard them. Overall she didn't seem happy with him and he seemed frustrated by whatever she said. But it really didn't matter, because it was a steamy-hot September day in Shinjuku, which made all of Tokyo cranky, so nobody passing nearby paid them any attention anyway…
(Pictures taken in Golden Gai in Shinjuku, Tokyo in September, 2013)
Shinjuku bivouac
It was a sweltering day in Shinjuku, the sort of day where the hot, heavy air doesn't much want to move out of your way, and seems to resent it when you push it aside to pass by. Days like this in Tokyo can suck the energy out of you, and the man obviously needed a rest.
The people passing by didn't bother him just as he wasn't bothering them, for the sidewalk was wide. There was an equilibrium in this, and a kindness which it is sometimes surprising that Tokyo is willing to provide…
(Pictures taken near Shinjuku Central Park in September, 2013. Here's a site for the park in Japanese)
Smoke the Prince
In passing, quiet moments, when tobacco takes you its lover….
…maybe you think about all the furrows in fields you've never sown, all the gorgeous richness you'll never see…
…and you puff on a tube of leaf, it is good Tokyo leaf and came at great cost…
…but it jackhammers into you that it won't fill your belly, and maybe that's okay because it is hard to care anyway.
(Pictures taken in Golden Gai, Shinjuku, Tokyo in September, 2013)
The kid was young, like "Why aren't you in school?" young. Twenty years ago I would have assumed he was, with his modest black suit and schoolboy backpack, just out of university and starting a salaryman career path with a good company. That isn't a safe assumption in Japan anymore. Maybe that's why the kid looks so uptight.
(Picture taken in front of Trattoria Il Fornello, Nakano-ku, Tokyo in September, 2013)
Nobody prays in Tokyo
The edge of your seat
Is where my property line begins.
It's crowded here in Tokyo,
A year in ghost time is one second to us.
Since my husband retired,
And my children grew and moved away,
I don't have anywhere to go really now.
So some days I come down here to the crosswalk.
I shuffle back and forth over it a few times,
The wide expanse of asphalt,
Just to feel how spacious this city can be.
(Picture taken at Nakano Station, Tokyo in September, 2013)
This ride is ending
It has been a shitty year.
My beloved father-in-law died, my "Tokyo Panic Stories" book is WAY behind schedule, my chronic depression got particularly aggressive during numerous week-long periods, I made a few enemies online and in the town where I live, I drank and smoked too much, I exercised too little, and during November and December my wife and I have been sharing a real mucous festival of a respiratory virus, while I developed a painful tooth abscess that recently required a root canal.
So, like the seemingly impatient man in the photograph, I can't wait for this 2014 train to stop and the doors to slide open so I can jump the hell off of it onto the platform for 2015. And I don't exactly know where the 2015 train is going, but I am sure I will see my 51st birthday, and the publication of "Tokyo Panic Stories", and continued love and support from my wife, and Tokyo.
Yep, I will see those things and knowing this maintains my optimism and hope. I'm not sure of the exact how or when on Tokyo yet, but I know I will soon see those things too…
(Picture taken on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo between Takadanobaba and Shibuya in September, 2013)
Part of my past is a hotel sidewalk where pretty girls still walk by every now and then…
When I first moved to Tokyo in mid February, 1987 I stayed in the Akasaka Yōkō Hotel. My room there was a fine little place, and I stayed in it at my company's expense for about a month until I found my own apartment in Yushima.
I hadn't seen my first "home" in Japan since I moved out of it in late March, 1987. So the last time I was in Tokyo in 2013, I made a point of going to Akasaka to see the place for the first time in over 26 years. It was still nice, still monolithic and rust orange-red.
And I didn't go inside the hotel, but I lingered in front of it for awhile and admired the occasional pretty girl passing by it like I used to do when I was a much younger man.
(Pictures taken in Akasaka, Tokyo in September, 2013)
Evening and Ameyayokochō
I am so fond of Ameyayokochō, a place in Tokyo where I spent a lot of time in my twenties. It is so vibrant, metal blue, and beautiful, full of the street-level life and kinetic personal frenzies that are the very blood pumping through Tokyo's many mythological hearts…
(Picture taken in Ameyayokochō, Ueno, Tokyo in September, 2013)
Ameyayokochō time warp
Tokyo changes so rapidly. Parts of it, anyway. Although this photograph of Ameyayokochō on a Tuesday afternoon is from April, 2012, it could well have been taken in 2002. or 1992, or 1982, or….well, you get the idea.
(Picture taken in Ameyayokochō, Ueno, Tokyo in April, 2012)
Tokyo Freedom
The tiny neighborhood bars and watering holes distributed throughout Tokyo are probably as numerous as the stars on a clear night in the Himalayas. Perversely, they're often the kinds of places that are easy to miss, at least in the daytime, even if a given joint is open when one happens to walk by.
But sometimes one can pass a Tokyo bar, even a run-down looking place, and feel strangely drawn to it somehow. Something about it catches the eye, perhaps the way it's painted or how the bar's name is displayed on the street. And suddenly one finds oneself walking into the joint even if one wasn't originally in the mood for a drink.
Freedom in Nakano 5-chome is that kind of place, an unassuming little neighborhood bar that doesn't look like much on the outside, but had an allure that made going inside an unexpected but rich Tokyo experience…
Freedom is on the eastern edge of Nakano 5-chome, near a place called Kitano Shrine. The combination of its severely-faded blue color, arched window, and the liquor bottles on the curb made the building stand out.
The katakana and phone number were missing from the front of the building, revealing the more vibrant color the place used to be and begging the question as to whether Freedom was actually still named Freedom.
But once inside, the outside didn't matter much. Even to a foreigner with very limited Japanese, the folks in Freedom were warm and welcoming. Mama-san, the owner, is the lady laughing.
One of her customers, a garrulous and inquisitive older fellow, was quick with questions in limited English about California. And with the universal sign that he was Japanese and posing for a picture.
Mama-san showed obvious pride in her place, and it showed in the service she provided.
As to the interior of Freedom, it was like being in an artist's teeny world where the artist serves up booze as a way of saying thanks for visiting.
With the front door open and light from an overcast sky seeping through it and the window, Freedom had a comfortable, glowing beauty within that a photograph almost can't convey.
Mama-san enjoyed her place and her customers. One got the impression that her customers were more than regulars, but friends on whom she relied not only for income, but also for a reason to even own and run a bar in the first place.
Along almost an entire wall there was a more fiery interpretation of Mount Fuji than one typically sees. It was obviously Freedom's visual centerpiece.
Even while relaxing with a beer, Mama-san paid warm attention to everyone in her bar, even those shooting flash pictures while barely being able to speak Japanese.
Freedom had little artistic flourishes almost everywhere, from the walls…..
….to the various objet d'art which contributed to Freedom's quirky beauty.
But the true quality of a Tokyo bar begins and ends with the people one meets there. And judging by the folks at Freedom, it was a rather exceptional place.
Freedom is the kind of place one is glad to have found, and feels reluctant to leave. Freedom and the little places like it throughout Tokyo are showcases for the kind of hospitality for which the Japanese are famous, and for their often-overlooked friendliness and warmth.
In a sense, one hasn't really discovered Tokyo, or Japan, until one finds one's own kind of Freedom.
(Photographs taken in Nakano 5-chome, Tokyo in September, 2013. Published concurrently on Scholars and Rogues. In addition, I am proud to say Japan Subculture Research Center published a shorter version of "Tokyo Freedom" on Christmas Day, 2014.)
Tokyo Gone Street
No big deal
just the passing of time
and a flesh suit
going for cigarettes
while I hang back and watch.
Normally I'm the ghost in him.
But today he left me behind
so that I could watch the street
and then
when he gets back
I will once again
meld my ghostly membranes to his meat frame
so I can make him remember who he is
and we can be whole again.
(Pictures taken in Sanya (Kiyokawa 2-chome), Tokyo in September, 2013)


text: Arrived in Astorga after a long camino day's walk and wanted a change from hostel sleep. Some how ended up at Casa de Tepa. One could not ask for a warmer- more cordial welcome. Room was so quiet, grounds were gorgeous..and to my delight, a nice long tub to soak in. Would come stay here again in a heart beat.


text:
Two rounds of the Survey of Adult Skills are under way: Round 1 (2008-13) with 24 participating countries, whose results were released in October 2013, and Round 2 (2012-16) with 9 participating countries, whose results will be released in 2016. A third round is scheduled to begin in May 2014.
English, PDF, 1,715kb
How's Life? 2013 - Country note - Japan (PDF)
Education at a Glance 2013 - Country notes and key fact tables
This book offers evidence and examples of useful experiences to help policy makers, providers and experts measure and improve the quality of long-term care services.
Following the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, extraordinary efforts were undertaken in Japan to implement a compensation scheme for the proper and efficient indemnification of the affected victims. This publication provides English translations of key Japanese legislative and administrative texts and other implementing guidance, as well as several commentaries by Japanese experts in the field of third party nuclear liability.
The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has prepared this publication in co-operation with the government of Japan to share Japan's recent experience in implementing its nuclear liability and compensation regime. The material presented in the publication should provide valuable insights for those wishing to better understand the regime applied to compensate the victims of the accident and for those working on potential improvements in national regimes and the international framework for third party nuclear liability.
English, PDF, 633kb
Gains in female education attainment have contributed to a worldwide increase in women's participation in the labour force, but considerable gaps remain in working hours, conditions of employment and earnings. More specific data for Japan are available in this country note.
Regulatory Reform in Japan was among the first in a series of in-depth reviews on regulatory reform. Since 1999, when the review was published, Japan introduced a number of measures to enhance regulatory quality and promote regulatory reform, competition policy and market openness.
English, Excel, 5,098kb
ECEC is a topic of increased policy interest in Japan where improving quality in the ECEC sector is a subject of growing importance. The OECD has identified five effective policy levers to encourage quality in the sector.
English, PDF, 86kb
The labour market recovery in Japan began strongly but has weakened since.


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I'm the father of Jacko's daughter, says Oliver! star Mark Lester
Sunday, 09-August-2009
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- 'Michael Jackson asked me in a private conversation if I'd be willing to donate sperm on his behalf,' says Lester. One of Michael Jackson's closest friends, the former child star Mark Lester, has claimed he is the real father of the singer's daughter and would willingly take a paternity test to prove it.
Lester, who is godfather to all three of the Jackson children, has told how Michael approached him with a request that he act as a sperm donor so he could have children.
He also claims he has concerns about the welfare of Jackson's children and hopes his confession will ensure he is able to maintain contact with them.
Lester shot to fame in the lead role of Lionel Bart's 1968 musical film Oliver! and met Jackson in 1982 after the singer's manager rang him out of the blue.
He said he was "heartbroken" at losing contact with the three children, Michael Jnr, 12, Paris Michael Katherine, 11, and six-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket.
Lester, 50, also points to a close physical resemblance between his 15-year-old daughter Harriet and Paris.
He said: "I'm godfather to Michael Jackson's children. I believe that Paris could be my daughter. I would be willing to take a paternity test.
"Michael Jackson asked me in a private conversation if I'd be willing to donate sperm on his behalf. I was phoned up by a London clinic and I was asked what would be a convenient time for me to attend," he told the News of the World.
"I made an appointment to go along. Michael was married to Debbie Rowe at the time. She's the birth mother of the children so I naturally assumed that sperm donation would have gone into Debbie and Debbie would have both the children.
"Of all Michael Jackson's children I'd assume that the one that looks most like me is Paris. In pictures of Harriet and Paris there is a strong resemblance between the two of them.
"Paris has blue eyes and a pale complexion and high cheekbones. My girls all have very similar features. It's been commented (upon) many times how similar Harriet and Paris are.
"I've come forward now because I have concerns about the welfare and upbringing of the children. There is a contact issue. I really want to remain in contact with those kids and I feel now that this is the only way I can ensure that.
"It's very, very upsetting not being able to see all those children. They are my godchildren and I love them deeply."
Jackson died of a heart attack at his Beverley Hills home on June 25. He was aged 50. A court has awarded permanent custody of the children to Jackson's mother Katherine, with closely-monitored visiting rights for their mother, Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe.
Last month Lester gave an interview to Hello magazine. In what now, with hindsight, appears to be a telling part of the interview, he spoke movingly about Paris' tribute to Jackson at the memorial service at the Staples Center last month. He said: "It wasn't planned, it was spontaneous and a decision taken by Paris."I sat directly behind the children at the service and know Paris decided to get up on the stage there and then, because she wanted to do something, by herself, for her dad."At Jackson's memorial service, Paris had taken the microphone and told the audience: "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much."
Sunday, 9 August 2009
More from "Entertainment"
Kitten dropped, discovered in Boston city mailbox
From Yemen to Indiana, then to see the goat man
Million-year-old human tooth found in Spain
Ms. USA Booed, Falls at Universe Pageant
Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84
Other titles:
ICRC concerned about situation in Yemen's Taiz
Saudi airstrike kills five in Sa'ada
EU: Airstrikes against Hodeida port create immediate obstacle to imports
ICRC Chief: Humanitarian situation in Yemen is catastrophic
Four people killed in Saudi raid in Amran province
ICRC President: We'll expand our activities in Yemen due to the disastrous situation
Saudi aggression continues bombing several governorates
Saudi aggression carries out 6 sorties against Old Mareb
UN: Yemeni IDPs number doubled
AI calls for probing into Yemen's civilian deaths by Saudi-led airstrikes
OIC appeals to support Yemen with medical aid
Yemen: Zeid calls for investigations into civilian casualties
Pakistan calls on resolving Yemen's crisis through dialogue
Al-Saeed Chaired a meeting of the civil society sector
Ban Ki-Moon Urges Return To Political Talks In Yemen
Pakistan's Parliament Rejects Joining Saudi Coalition In Yemen
UNICEF, ICRC medical aid landed in Sana'a
Nine people killed in Saudi aggression airstrike
HRW requests neutral investigations with Arab coalition forces against Yemen
Iraq, Iran calls for halting military aggression on Yemen
EU calls conflicting parties to protect civilians
UN: There should be accountability for targeting Marzaq camp
UN: Negotiation is the only option for resolving Yemen's crisis
Pakistan Denies Allegations Of Air Strikes Involvement In Yemen
OIC calls Yemeni parties to give priority to Yemen interests
ICRC concerned about situation in Yemen's Taiz
Saturday, 29-August-2015
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is seriously concerned about an increase in fighting in the city of Taiz.
In a press release issued on Friday, the ICRC said that there has been indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, and essential infrastructure is being destroyed.
"We call on the parties on the ground in Taiz to allow the safe passage of ambulances, medical workers and aid workers so that lives can be saved and the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance can be made possible," said the head of the ICRC in Taiz, Olivier Chassot.
The ICRC indicated that the health situation in the governorate is particularly dire. The handful of hospitals still functioning are having to deal with large numbers of wounded people as well as severe shortage of supplies. The ICRC has had serious difficulties in delivering lifesaving medical and surgical supplies to a number of hospitals in Taiz.
Saudi airstrike kills five in Sa'ada
Friday, 28-August-2015
Around five people were killed and two others injured in a Saudi-led coalition attack on a number of densely populated areas in Razih district in Sa'ada province.
A local source said the Saudi-led coalition launched hundreds of air raids during the past few days on various parts of Sa'ada, including Razih, Ghamer, Shatha, al-Dhaher, Haidan and Ketaf.
EU: Airstrikes against Hodeida port create immediate obstacle to imports
Friday, 21-August-2015
The European Union (EU) has affirmed that the recent airstrikes on Hodeida port imposed an immediate hindrance to imports food, fuel, medicines and other supplies.
A joint Statement by the Spokespersons of the High Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides on the bombings in Yemen of port facilities in Hodeida said:
"The current conflict in Yemen is having a dramatic impact on the civilian population whose needs have reached alarming proportions. Access for the delivery of humanitarian aid and essential supplies, including fuel, food and basic commodities to ordinary Yemenis remains extremely difficult.
ICRC Chief: Humanitarian situation in Yemen is catastrophic
Wednesday, 12-August-2015
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has described the humanitarian situation in Yemen as catastrophic.
"The humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Every family in Yemen has been affected by this conflict. The people are facing immense hardship. And it is getting worse by the day. The world needs to wake up to what is going on," said Peter Maurer, who just ended a three-day visit to Yemen on Tuesday.
"The compounded effects of intense fighting and import restrictions are having a dramatic impact on health care," Maurer said. "Health facilities have been massively attacked as well as suffering collateral damage."
Four people killed in Saudi raid in Amran province
Monday, 10-August-2015
Three women and a child were killed and two children injured on Sunday in a Saudi bombing on citizens' houses on Harf Sufyan in Amran province, a local source said.
The source added that the Saudi-led collation is still launching raids
ICRC President: We'll expand our activities in Yemen due to the disastrous situation
Sunday, 09-August-2015
President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Maurer has said that the ICRC will expand its activities in Yemen.
In a press conference in Sana'a on Sunday, Maurer affirmed that his visit will achieve positive and prompt results with regards to the humanitarian response in Yemen.
He said that he is optimistic that the visit will result in doubling the ICRC efforts to face this "disastrous" situation as what the ICRC and its partners currently provide cannot cover all the humanitarian aspects, specially that the country is under siege.
Saudi aggression continues bombing several governorates
Sunday, 02-August-2015
The Saudi aggression continued on Sunday to launch airstrikes on several governorates in the country.
A security source said Saudi war jets launched a number of raids on different parts of Hajjah governorate, destroying the building of the Roads and Bridges Authority in Haradh town in addition to many air raids carried out by drones in the town.
The Saudi warplanes also launched many raids on al-Hamara area of Lahj governorate, which led to numerous fatalities, including women and children. More than 16 sorties were carried out against areas of Muthalath al-Anad, al-Anad Air Base, Abain and Karesh, the source said.
In Dhamar governorate, the Saudi warplanes launched an airstrike targeted the Yemeni Economic Corporation building in Ma'abar city.
Saudi aggression carries out 6 sorties against Old Mareb
Saturday, 01-August-2015
The Saudi-American aggression implemented on Saturday 6 sorties against Old Mareb and the surrounding areas.
Local sources said that the Old Mareb was attacked by six sorties extending to Al-Ashraf area to the west of the city.
UN: Yemeni IDPs number doubled
Thursday, 30-April-2015
The United Nations has announced that the number of Yemeni internally displaced persons (IDPs) due the military aggression had doubled in less than two weeks.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the number of Yemeni IDPs had increased twice in 19 governorates since 17 April 2015 when 150 thousand Yemeni IDPs were registered.
It warned of the gravity of situations in Yemen because of the aggression.
The statement pointed out that the big number of IDPs are from the northern Hajjah governorate, in addition to southern Al-Dhalea and Abyan governorates.
AI calls for probing into Yemen's civilian deaths by Saudi-led airstrikes
Wednesday, 29-April-2015
Amnesty International has called for investigating the killing of hundreds of civilians, including scores of children, by the Saudi Arabian-led airstrikes across Yemen.
"The month-long campaign of air strikes carried out by Saudi Arabia and its allies has transformed many parts of Yemen into a dangerous place for civilians," said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.
"Millions of people have been forced to live in a state of utter terror, afraid of being killed at home. Many feel they are left with no choice but to move away from their destroyed villages to an uncertain future."
The UN has stated that more than 550 civilians have been killed including more than 100 children since the military campaign began on 25 March.
Amnesty International said it has documented eight strikes in five densely populated areas, which are Sa'ada, Sana'a, Hodeida, Hajjah and Ibb, noting that several of these strikes raised concerns about compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law.
According its research, Amnesty International said at least 139 people, including at least 97 civilians, 33 of whom were children were killed during the strikes, and 460 individuals were injured, at least 157 whom are civilians.
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A parent in Sutherland carried his inclination to protect his teenage daughter too far, landing him in jail, the Lincoln County Sheriff's office said Monday.
Deputies responded and contacted the girl, her parents and several other witnesses at the girl's home. The girl, a juvenile, said she had met a boy at the Hershey teen dance. When she got home she told her father, 42-year-old Shane Halcott, about the boy, according to a sheriffs statement.
Halcott began to berate the girl and told her she could not date any boys. The girl grew distressed and an argument began. At one point, in passing, the juvenile said she wanted to hurt herself, the sheriffs statement said.
The girl and other witnesses told investigators that Halcott retrieved a pump shotgun, loaded it and tried to hand the gun to the girl. He allegedly told her to use the gun to kill herself and attempted to give it to her several times.
When questioned, Halcott did not deny the story, the sheriff said.
Halcott was charged with felony child abuse (class 3) and jailed. The maximum sentence is 20 years imprisonment.
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