Burrito chases baby Jordan
Burrito chases baby Jordan
Originally uploaded by lunamania
Run!
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July 26, 2007
July 25, 2007
Turtle Tower
Turtle Tower
Originally uploaded by lunamania
The tastiest pho ga and lemon soda in the TL.
July 22, 2007
Jindo
Does this look like the face of a psycho killer? Don't be fooled. This is a jindo puppy. Pride of Korea and National Cultural Asset of Natural Beauty No.234234, the Jindo breed is known for loyalty, hunting skills and uncanny sense of direction. All admirable traits, but as one friend pointed out, even the most laudable traits can turn into mental health cases when intensified through inbreeding...true true. Sadly, inbred these dogs are since there are no other breeds allowed on the island.
I pestered Elaine with ridiculous questions about Jindo Island the second I got to Korea.
Are They just roaming around the island?
Do They live in packs?
Is there really a policy to deport all non-jindos off the island?
There were no packs of guard dogs, but we did see a number of Jindos "guarding" temples and other places.
Aside from a pair of sad looking puppies, all the dogs looked well cared for--or as happy as one can be when living in a kennel. At least it was clean. This 3 legged puppy watching over the art museum was the happiest looking dog.
July 19, 2007
Can't wait, can't wait
The hype is intensifying. David Pogue reviewed the iPhone. Michi Kaku's thoughts on the final Harry Potter--in the A section. No spoilers, of course.
July 18, 2007
I heart neon
Some find calm in the sound of crickets and rustling trees, or crashing waves and the smell of seashells. That's all that very nice for about 24 hours. After that, I get anxious and begin wondering if civilization still exists.
I find comfort in places where there is an average of at least 100 people on a city block at any given hour, the eau de megacities of humid heat reflecting off hot asphault with a splash of trash, and as my brother would say--wattage in neon high enough to power a small country. Having grown up in the Neon Capital of the World, I could compose many Odes to Neon--Neon during the day, dusk, and at all hours of darkness, neon from the car, train, large, small, flashing and making that buzzing sound--but who needs to wax unpoetic. Above is Shinjuku san-chome. Below is Center gai in Shibuya. Both in Tokyo.
Ahh...I can feel my heart rate dropping and breathing settling into a nice meditative pattern.
July 17, 2007
Back from my wanderings
I have returned from my travels to Tokyo and Gwangju, Korea. What FUN! How TASTY! Elaine and I spent the week exploring, roaming around and eating our way through her current home city of Gwangju. This is a "small" city of 1.4 million and the site of mass uprisings against military dictatorship in May of 1980. I made a small ripple in my sea of ignorance on this topic and visited various memorials and parks dedicated to remembering the massacre of civilians by the Korean military's Special Forces unit .
I also exercised Gwangju PRIDE by cheering on the Kia Tigers as they played the Samsung Lions. That's me and Elaine at the ballpark. With 9 league championships the Tigers are the most successful team in the Korean baseball league--the league has only been around 22 years. We're holding one of the noise makers that Ginny so happily purchased and banged along with the cheering section.
The entire first baseline comprised the cheering section. All fans are led in chants for each home team batter by the guy in the middle there and a mess of cheer leaders who gave me the chills, but that's a whole other issue. There's also the requisite mascot in the corner. He kept adjusting his face and lifting it up every once in a while to talk to the squad leader. Elaine and I concluded that people dressed in large furry costumes make us uncomfortable. None of this prevented us from shouting KIA!! when prompted and enjoying the echo that comes back from Echo Land or where it is echoes come from. Baseball snack options include, beer (of course), all kinds of squid, fried chicken, ice cream and anything you want to bring in to the stadium. This game was a lot of old school small ball which I really enjoy.
The food was amazing and while Korea is not a good place to be a squid or chicken, it is a good country to eat lunch for 3 dollars. Well, Gwangju is--from what I recall Seoul a tad pricier. Here I am pointing out the finer elements of this excellent mandu. I also enjoyed several bowls of spicy cold noodles. Perfect summer eating. I will post more pictures and updates over the next week or so.
July 6, 2007
Yesterday
Walked through Shinjuku gyoen yesterday before it got too muggy. Like Central Park, this is a green haven surrounded by skyscrapers. On weekends, the open spaces are packed like the subways, but we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Which is kind of strange when I think about the difference in people per square foot just outside of the park.
As it got muggy, my mom and I headed to our favorite Japanese dessert place. I had to prep for my paht bing soo tasting with this green tea and red bean excellence. The ice was soft and fluffy with green tea and red bean both on top and inside for a perfectly proportioned snack.
I then headed to Ebisu Garden. Ebisu is a neighborhood named after one of Japan's premier beer companies. There's a large shopping/entertainment complex with a free beer museum. The samples were not free and the exhibit was ok, but I did catch this woman seemingly praying at the temple of beer. I took this picture as a funny, but she was standing there for a good 45 minutes.
The same complex houses the Tokyo Photography Museum that had two excellent exhibits going. First were portraits of notable folks from the Showa era. Second were photos from the World Photojournalism Contest--some were difficult to look at, but all amazing pictures for sure.
Finally, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the park near my Grandma's house is over populated with stray cats. I found the enabler...I chatted with the Cat Lady who told me she feeds about 30 cats 365 days a year. It takes her 3 hrs a day. Crazy or just a cat lady?
July 5, 2007
Rain
July 4, 2007
Random things
I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. I know it's sick, but I decided to go for a run in the what I thought was pre-dawn grey, but now I think it was just the light rain that made things hazy. To get to the neighorhood track, I evaded a dive bombing Tokyo crow --that thing was the size of a B-2 bomber, resisted petting the cats in the stray cat haven and enjoyed playing aural peeping Tom to the sounds of people getting ready for work/eating breakfast/washing up. Once at the track, I joined a handful of seniors making their way around the track...backwards...with their umbrellas. Somehow it made sense.
I ran over to the playground where my brother and I used to play and had one of those, "Everything looks so small," moments.
I realize this information is absolutely uninteresting, but you see, I am in a manga cafe killing a bit of time before I meet folks for dinner. Being in manga cafe in Tokyo compels me to blog something--anything...just so I can say I did it. Why? Because manga cafes are the bestest urban cyber invention. For 250 yen (around $2), I have full internet access, TV, DVDs and of course free access to all the comic books I can read. Oh and free fountain drinks. In Japan that means lots of tea, soda and stuff called White Water which is like calpis which is a sweet uncarbonated (unless it's calpis soda, of course) tasty drink. If I wanted to I could take a shower, but instead I just used the immaculate restroom where upon entering a kind woman's voice informed me that as I left the seat the toilet would flush automatically.
I'd post a picture of the little closet like space I'm occupying, but I don't have a USB connector. Next time.
July 3, 2007
Guess I was hungry...
Guess I was hungry...
Originally uploaded by lunamania
Three mediocre movies (Breach, Astronaut Farmer, and Blades of Glory)--I know, who's ever heard of those first two movies? Ten hours sandwiched between 3 children permanently attached to their Nintendo DS game. 12 hours wondering how the large dog sitting in the aisle across from me gets to travel sans kennel. 15 hrs to the dinner above and then finally to Grandma's house I go where she greeted me with my favorite grapes. Must sleep...
July 2, 2007
SFO
July 1, 2007
Off to different time zones
I'm leaving for a week in Tokyo to visit the fam. love summers in Tokyo. Watermelon, baseball, white peaches, muggy heat, shaved ice, festivals, cold beer, fireworks, and rolling around at Grandma's house. Then I'm heading to Korea to wreak havoc with Elaine. We have grand plans to explore Jindo island, eat paht bing soo every day--maybe even twice a day, roam around the countryside, go on a hike or two, watch a baseball game and generally be on vacation.
I hope to post frequently so visit often--or if you haven't already add this to your rss feed. Here's a nice how-to from Tony.