Japan Earthquake 2011: Unofficial Missing Or Dead Toll At 12,000

First reported at Zennie62.com

The unofficial missing or dead toll as a result of the 8.9 Richter Scale Japan Earthquake is, solely according to this blogger's estimate, standing currently at 12,000 people. That's the result of taking two solid reports from the Kyodo News (which is starting to be recognized as a reliable source for news on the Japan Earthquake).

One report explaining that the victim toll is greater than 2,000, and the second one from Focus-Fen.net, a breaking news story that over 10,000 people are not "accounted for" in the port city of Minamisanriku in quake-hit Miyagi prefecture, according to Japan's NHK.

That's just over half of the town's population of 17,000 people.

The other reason for this, is the apparent lack of desire of the Japanese Government to release actual, reliable data on the latest information relate to the quake. More often than not there are conflicting reports on everything from the death toll, to persons missing, to the possibility of a nuclear meltdown at one of the five nuclear plants of concern.

Stay tuned.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Split

People magazine online reports that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have split after their on-again-off-again three year relationship. The magazine also includes rumors that Timberlake may be cozying up with costar Mila Kunis:

Last month, Timberlake, 30, and his Friends with Benefits costar Mila Kunis were "pretty inseparable" at an afterparty for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but a source said at the time that the pair – who lit up the Oscars stage as co-presenters a couple of weeks later – were just friends.

In October, another source shot down chatter that Timberlake was cheating on Biel with actress Olivia Munn.

Despite the infidelity rumors, Timberlake and Biel continued to show a united front and spend quality time together.

A different source who knows the couple said Biel "looked the other way" when it came to Timberlake's alleged cheating. The source says "it's been a rough road" for the pair who denied rumors of a breakup in 2009 after spending some time apart due to busy work schedules.

Image from Ecorazzi.

UPI.com reiterates that the break up was mutual.

Top Comic Book Artists Headline 25th Wondercon 2011 SF

Wondercon 2011 SF (San Francisco) is fast approaching and will be held April 1st - April 3rd 2011 at Moscone Convention Center South. The Bay Area-born event, created by Bay Area retailers John Barrett, Bob Borden, and Rory Root, along with comics writer and agent Mike Friedrich, was bought by Comic Con International in 2002, and has grown to draw 36,000 people.

Wondercon 2011 is sponsored by BBC America, DC Comics, G4, Showtime, and War North, the 25th Anniversary Wondercon 2011 is bringing some of the World's top comic book artists to San Francisco.

Just check out this list: Jason Aaron, Sergio Aragonés, Berkeley Breathed, Tony Daniel, Mark Evanier, Adam Hughes, Brian Keene, Robert Kirkman, Hope Larson, Bob Layton, Paul Levitz, Jeremy Love, Francis Manapul, Carla Speed McNeil, Terry Moore, Ryan Ottley, Joe Quesada, Frank Quitely, Amy Reeder, Seth, Bill Sienkiewicz, Len Wein, F. Paul Wilson, Marv Wolfman.

Wondercon posted bios of the artists on the event website, like this one for Jason Aaron:

Jason Aaron is an Eisner and Harvey nominated comic book writer whose work includes the critically acclaimed crime series Scalped for Vertigo and celebrated stints on Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine: Weapon X for Marvel. He currently writes Wolverine, Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, and Punisher Max, all for Marvel. Jason lives in Kansas with his wife and two sons.

And this one for Sergio Aragonés:

One of MAD magazine's longest-running cartoonists (Al Jaffee holds the record) and the creator of that popular dim-witted barbarian Groo, Sergio Aragonés recently ventured into the popular world of The Simpsons, becoming a featured writer/artist in Bart Simpson Comics. A new book, MAD's Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragonés: Five Decades of His Finest Works, celebrates Sergio's long history with the humor magazine.

Zennie62 Will Be At Wondercon and Comic Con 2011

Follow Zennie62 on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel Zennie62, to get videos and tweets on what's happening at both Wondercon and Comic Con 2011.

A Badge Warning

Additionally, Wondercon producers want you to know that events are on a first-come, first-seated basis. Having a badge doesn't mean you're going to be seated if a room is already filled to capacity, so get there early.

Satoshi Tajiri (Pokemon), Yuko Yamaguchi (Hello Kitty), Alive After Japan Earthquake 2011

First reported at Zennie62.com.

There's a rumor on Twitter so persistent that it's caused "Satoshi Tajiri," the creator of the game Pokemon (pictured), to become a Twitter Trend over the assertion that he, as well as "Hello Kitty" character creator Yuko Yamaguchi died.

Both Satoshi Tajiri and Yuko Yamaguchi are still alive.

In the case of Mr. Tajiri, the Pokemon creator was, in part, the focus of a Nintendo Twitter Tweet reading:

NintendoAmerica Nintendo of America
Thanks for your concern! During the earthquake no one at Nintendo in Japan was injured and there was no apparent structural damage.
17 hours ago

Additionally, the blog Mauritiushot.com reports:

Satoshi Tajiri,45 years old live in Machida, Tokyo. Satoshi Tajiri fainted while seeing the destruction done by the Tsunami but he is not dead.

In the case of Ms. Yamaguchi, there's no evidence or reports of her death in the Japan Earthquake or the Tsunami.

For reasons that add up to insensitive mischief, Twitter has been a cosistent source for rumors of the death of celebrities, and in the wake of the fifth largest earthquake in history, someone elected to play on fears and launch tweets that have turned out to be a hoax.

Japan Earthquake 2011: Nuclear Plant Explosion, No Radiation Rise #prayforjapan

Contrary to reports at The Huffington Post, the explosion at the massive Tokyo Power Electric Co. Fukushima Dai-ichi plant did not cause a rise in radiation levels.

AlJazeeraEnglish on YouTube just issued a new video, the one above, reporting that the metal container that shelters the reactor has not been effected. Radiation is not rising, but decreasing. This information was released by the Japanese Government.

The blast was originally feared to have caused a radiation level increase. Four workers were killed.

Al Jazzera reports that a state of emergency has been declared for five nuclear reactors at two different sites in Fukushima.

As of this writing, the Japan Earthquake 2011 death toll is at 600, although it's believed that number will be revised upward as time progresses.