The most inspiring sunset this year was the one I observed from the roof of my relatives’ Tenrikyo church in Asuka Mura. I hope we can have a BBQ there on the roof during the summer.
Author: j@keitai
Shades of Quadrophenia
I liked Sting in Quadrophenia. He fit the role rather well, I think. It’s interesting to think that if the Mods and Rockers could find a common ground living in the current day it would probably be their disdain for Honda knockoffs.
Miwa Otori
If you drive down route 169 from Nara toward the city of Sakurai you will see a huge black “o-tori” that stands at the entrance of a parking area for Miwa shrine (Miwa-jinja or Miwa-myojin in Japanese).
This is the largest o-tori in Japan and the jinja is located at the base of a mountain. There is an ancient cedar tree there that a white snake (actually a reincarnation of the myojin) is reincarnated in. But you might not find many references to it on the web because the animistic details of the shrine might not have been written about much in English. And the history of this shrine, one of the oldest, is sometimes debated because of the different branches of shinto (and varying beliefs) that have appeared since then.
Sony Obelisk
This is a wired remote controller for my Sony head unit installed in one of Silvia’s 2-DIN slots. I specifically bought this toy because it had been around for at least 10 years and I thought it would be dropped in favor of a new model. Bingo! I was right and the new ones are wireless, though less 80’s-looking and hence worthless in my opinion. I think I may be one of three people in the universe who can change the settings for the subwoofer output’s high pass filter one-handed in the dark without looking at the display. Now somebody give me A GODDAMN COOKIE.
Running Strong
My Silvia still runs smooth after 150,000 kilos. That’s quite a distance for a four-banger, and is a testament to the design of the SR-20DE engine. The engine is chain driven and my mechanic tells me he sees them pass the 200k mark in other cars (Nissan Primera, etc.). The thing is, I’m not just puttin’ around all the time. I put serious (but loving) strain on that car and she comes through every time. So I reciprocate by keeping her pretty. This, in fact, is cause for ribbing from my buddies (when they see me bust out the tire wax) and also causes Nam to get quite angry (note I specifically did not say jealous).
“Osaka’s Nile”
This is the view toward Dotonbori bridge from Sakai-suji. Came out rather poorly but I think it does this area justice, really.
Long Name
Taro told me, about 8 years ago, that this is a rarely seen license plate, in Kansai, at least. Tatsuya disagreed. I take the middle road and comment only that I see it more often than Okinawa plates.
Fuka Fuka
This is the first photo I have ever posted to this blog that was not taken with my phone. Merin sent me this one. She spotted it when the girls went shopping after our nice luinch at Chedi Luang. The venue? Namba Parks, of course.
Merin’s phone is equipped with a camera that treads with muddy boots all over my once very modern Hitachi phone. The time for an upgrade has come. I can smell it in the air. Next month, I think. My incentive for waiting, of course, is the spring lineup from AU that will surely feature a model that can keep me happy for another long, long year.
Hell, in another year cellphones will eliminate a few more product categories if all follows the inevitable path to consolidation. I predict that cellphones will be marketed to replace IC recorders, lightweight mpeg video cameras, and universal remotes. The technology is already most of the way there and the manufacturers are definitely weighing customer demand for these features against higher price.
Daikon Flowers
Chedi Luang is a new Thai restaurant in Kita Horie that we visited (We: Me, Bill, Nam, Merin, and Nam’s kohai Dao) on the weekend. Good food and interesting presentation. We ate more than our fill of curries, fish/meat dishes, and more exotic fare. It broke down to about 2,500 yen per person ordering a la carte, which I declare a damn good deal for Japan. The girl who runs it danced with Nam at the event in Mihara a couple weeks ago. She also works part time as a masseuse (masseusesse?) and I have no idea why I am writing about that.
Go. Eat. Make like a Thai and be happy!