No more camera envy: Xmas & Year End Party at the Blue Corn

Xmas morning. Valerie's camera is the one that inspired Santa to bring me one just like, only black.














Here it is!














A trio of photos I took at the New Sanno after I discovered the Sepia/Retro filter. I may be using this one for awhile.















































Now, Macky's Year End Buzz Party at the Blue Corn. Man, pretty much everyone we know in Japan was there, except Michael & Shingo, who were having there own party that night. Lots of pics. Lots of great music. Then there was Jeff & me. I had a cold, we had never practiced with just the two of us, but Jeff made me do it anyway. I'm glad.










Zukyan















































Toulouse-Lautrecesque kissy-face. Not pretty. Tomoi likes to do the secret Buzz handshake with me, because I can never manage to get the wraparound snap at the end. My thumb is too short, I plead.































Ma-chan!



















Abbey is just gettin' warmed up

And even Martin showed up






















Cool candles made by Sakai-chan

































Oh, the tequlia was flowing







RIP, JB












































Toru. Tequila.
















Abbey and his hotpants



































Su-san











































DJ Macky Ramone!




































Yu!






















































Here we are!




























The finale: Jeff sang "Linda Linda" with pretty much everybody. It's a famous song in that circle, by the Blue Hearts.





























That's it. I've been on the computer for hours. Someone sent me a link to "The Nine of Clubs Memoirs" and I've been strolling down memory lane all day. My right hand is freezing stiff and my head hurts. My legs are warm, tho, because Santa also brought me a little heater for under my desk. I'm gonna go take a hot bath and hope the children don't kill each other and just play their videogames like good little winter-breakers should.

I just can't do it.

There are too many wonderful pictures, mostly taken by Valerie, of her visit, our adventures, the kids' Winter Performance, our beautiful trip to Kyoto, the Blue Corn Xmas party, Xmas Day, etc. She took great pictures and I honestly don't see the point of trying to figure out which ones to steal and then laboriously copying them over here. Instead, I will provide a link to her pictures and call this one a guest blog. Go here: http://romangirl.smugmug.com/gallery/2227918

In the next day or two I will return our regularly scheduled program, including Macky's End Of The Year Buzz Attitude Party at the Blue Corn, complete with pictures from my cool new camera. Right now, I'm just too tired from the back-to-back visitors and the subsequent cold that had me in bed all day after Val & Katie left.

Oh, and I did see Casino Royale again today, this time on the big screen. My first real movie in Japan. It was Digital and crisp and gorgeous and godDAMN Daniel Craig looks even better when he's bigger. That's all I need to say about that, I think, and all you want me to say.

Why is my text in kanji?

I signed in to update my blog, and lo! everything is in Japanese. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Blogger is no longer in beta and that it recognizes that I'm typing in Japan. I don't know, but I hope I can fix it.

Anyway, I haven't updated in a while because Valerie & Katie have been here and I've been playing tour guide, and the holidays, and blahblahblah. I also have the kids' winter break to deal with, so I still have no time to do a real update yet. But, look here soon for details of our fabulous adventures and many pictures courtesy of Valerie and her cool digital camera, because my batteries died. And in the future, the pictures will be better than ever, because Santa brought me an awesome new camera just like Val's! Thanks, Santa!

I have to go take the kids to get new shoes, because D is running around with giant holes in his and looks totally ghetto. That's what you get for 1000 yen: disposable shoes.

Stay tuned...

The madness begins

Sorry if this post is later than usual. Karla is visiting and I haven't had much time.

The kids and I went to the xmas party at the local Japanese elementary school. The floor was really cold. The whole gym was freezing, in fact. Apparently we were supposed to have brought indoor shoes, but Jeff got the message on his cell phone, and he was in the US. All the kids were given color-coded nametags and had to sit in lines according to color.














There was a weird 'magic trick' by some old teacher,




















a couple games,



















and an ornament-making activity.

































Then the kids won at Bingo. Actually, the game kept going until everyone won something, but the prizes were swell.



















Jeff got home later, thankfully, and I almost immediately went out drinking. Sunday, he took the kids out all day. They went to a free zoo where they had penguins in their natural habitat of a model of Yokohama and a small-animal encounter area. Later, they had super-stacked pancakes that made the kids' eyes bug out.



















































































Monday, Karla arrived! On Tuesday, we had a fun trip to the American Embassy, because Japan is en route to Thailand and Cambodia for Karla and she belated learned, at the airport, I believe, that one needs to have a passport valid 6 months out to enter Cambodia. She was going to try to fix the problem when she got here. We luckily had directions from a handy Navy base handout and found it no problem. You have to go through a few checkpoints and leave such things as food, drink, cellphones, and cameras behind. Then you take a number and wait. Surprisingly, when we were expecting a US DMV kind of situation, we were out of there in 10 minutes. Sadly, it was fruitless. She could take the chance that a passport could make it to the US and back by Saturday, but it wasn't likely, so no Cambodia this time.

We spent the rest of the day wandering about the area, where we found a pretty little garden behind some office building,



























trying to get into the East Imperial Gardens near the palace, but they were closed,















and wandering a bit in Hibiya park in the rain after a nice coffee. Karla loves trees and gardens and stuff, so she enjoyed it despite the weather. The maples were really lovely at this late date, which surprised me.





weird organic teddy bears















































I think these are plants wrapped up against the cold, very strangely and artistically





























































































We made for the nearest subway station soon, though, to get out of the rain and cold and back to home to collect the children from school.

Oh, the guilt. D had complained in the morning that his tummy hurt, but like most moms, I figured he was just trying to get out of going to school, so I made him go. When we got to school to pick them up in the afternoon, we learned that D had thrown up twice and had spent the day sleeping in some schoolroom (I don't even know if they have an infirmary). They couldn't get a hold of me, because our cellphones were down because our phone bill goes to a friend who helped us get our phones before we had an address and it hadn't been paid--long explanation. Anyway, no phones, so someone took D all the way to our house, but we weren't there, obviously. Of all the times to not have a phone! I felt so bad for D, and the school must think I'm a neglectful mom. Sigh.

The next day, I kept him home, and we laid around most of the day, then went on a walk to show Karla around the neighborhood a little. This is our neighborhood friendly cat, which we enjoy petting in lieu of Blix.

















































































A potted plant graveyard













A grapefruit tree???































There were some surprises for me, like a nearby temple I didn't know about.






















































































We met Helen at night for drinks. We met a friend of hers recently returned from London called Jenji , and a magician called Tatsuki. He did cool things with cards and balls.




































This picture was taken after they had all done a tequila shot. I don't do shots of any kind, let alone tequila.















Thursday, we had a hard time getting motivated, but we did finally get to Oguchi for a little shopping, then band practice @ Shingo's, which went well.

Friday morning, we made sure we got out of the house at a reasonable time and spent the day in Harajuku.





































These are from an odd diva shop where they sell all kinds of bizarre patent leather and spangle-covered outfits. I've seen some of the 'cosplay' and 'gothloli' girls around, but I don't know where one would wear the Vegas Showgirl outfits.















































Lots of shopping, a stop for ramen with Helen, Ian, and Lara, who work nearby, and a quick, eye-and-foot-soothing stroll to the Meiji Shrine. More lovely maples.









































































Tomorrow, Saturday, Karla leaves and the family goes to Tokyo for a work xmas party at the New Sanno. Sunday, Val & Katie arrive and full-on tourism ensues. I'm looking forward to it. I don't how much time I'll have to post before they leave, because there's a trip to Kyoto, the Blue Corn Xmas party, and Xmas itself. Xmas is weird this year. I haven't quite got my shopping done for the family, we will have guests, and I'm still so out of my element here that I don't know what it's going to be like. Anyway, in case I don't post before then, hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

In case you thought I forgot, here's this post's random picture. This is a vending machine in front of the local supermarket.

Unexpected visitor!

And here I thought I wouldn't have much to post, with Jeff gone and all.

Thursday, I think it was, was a great day. I paid the rent nearly by myself! This may not seem like a big deal to you, but I have to get cash from a post office ATM (one of the few places where I can use my American cash card), over two days (you can only take out a certain amount per day, due to some old ladies getting robbed or something). Then I have to decipher the ATM at the bank down the street, where I make the deposit to the real estate company's account. Luckily, after being walked through it last time, I made a cheet sheet of the touch-screen button locations (the buttons are labeled in kanji), and after I figured out I had a number order transposed, I did it alone! I walked out of the bank happily bobbing my head to the music on my iPod and took off down the path back to the kids' school, where I had to deliver M's lunch, which he had forgotten. It's a pretty little path by a creek and a few fontains. As I was walking, I spotted a crane by the water. Of course, it wouldn't cooperate and stand still while I tried to take its picture, but I did manage to capture it atop a lightpost:


















Later that night, watching a movie with the kids, we heard my cell ring from the other room. D and I both raced for it, but we were too late. Luckily, the caller ID gave me the number. Thinking it might've been Jeff from the states, I called.

'Montauk,' someone answered.

???

'Did you call me?' I asked.

'Is this the Davis residence?'

'Yes...'

'This is Chaz!'

Imagine my surprise! I had seen Chaz once in the past ten years, I think. he was one of the first people we had known in Seattle, as he was Jeff's stateroom-mate on The California, when he was in the Navy. We used to hang out with him and his girlfriend Anji a lot. The they moved to Chicago, broke up, etc. Anji moved back to Seattle, and I used to see her bartending/waiting at various bars around town, and she came by our house once with another (short-lived) boyfriend. Then a year ago, I saw her working at Peso's and she told me that she and Chaz were back together. !!! Some time in the summer, he unexpectedly showed up at one of our parties with Agudelo. It was awesome to see him then.

SO, he called because he was here. He was working on a ship that was docked in Yokohama harbor. He wasn't sure how long he would be here, or if he could even get off the ship, but a couple days later, he managed to talk his captain into a little liberty time. We met him at Sakuragicho station, because he had always wanted to ride the giant ferris wheel he'd been staring at from the ship he'd been stuck on for weeks.

We started with that. It used to be the biggest in the world, but it's the second, now, I htink. There's a bigger onIt's called the CosmoClock, because it has a big clock on it.















Here's Chaz & M:














Chaz's home in Japan (the big red boat):














The view from the top. Pretty impressive, ne?














The rest of the time, Chaz played Favorite Uncle and bought rides and games for everyone. The kids had a blast. I enjoyed it immensely myself.













































Ramen cups?















We had a late lunch and then went to part II of CosmoWorld.














Best display of plastic food I've seen.















We stopped at Ice World. Let me tell you about Ice World. We saw this on vacation here last year. Two years ago? It was a small building, just labeled "Ice World." Anyway, we were curious about this time, but forgot about it. Here we were again, and the kids wanted to see what it was. It was a What the Hell kind of day, so we said 'what the hell?' and went in.

This has to be the weirdest attraction at any amusement park in the world. Seriously.

You walk in and immediately notice how unbelievably cold it is. Then you round the bend into the place proper, and there's ICE and SNOW everywhere. Everything's frozen and there's super-chiller fans blowing really cold air. Like Cleveland in January. My nostrils hairs were freezing like they hadn't since we last visited Chicago several years ago. There are stuffed animals (I mean, real stuffed, not like plush teddy bears) standing posed in the ice and snow, arctic beasts like white foxes and wolves, forever snarling. What the F??? We wandered amazed around the corner and it's COLDER (shocked shrieks from us all) and there's an ox or something covered with snow and a giant, rearing polar bear. Very amusing, very weird, let's get the hell out of here, it's freezing!








































Merry Xmas Bear





It was relatively warmer outside, leading us to speculate that this attraction must be popular in the hot, humid summer. But WHY would such a thing be open in December? Just for unwary tourists? No one else would be eager to go in and freeze their asses off in winter.

Hot coffee. Now. But we were distracted by a street performer in the courtyard of the shopping plaza. He seemed really eager to please, desperate, I'd say, from the constant cues for applause and funny little embarassed noises he was making. He did, however, do some cool stuff, and had one trick after another. Hardest working man in show business, Chaz said.















BMX jumprope
















Riding a very small bicycle thru the ring of fire

We finally got our coffee and hot chocolate and headed back to my house. We ate a little and watched Princess Mononoke (which was an incredible coincidence: long story, ask Chaz), and Chaz feel asleep on the couch with both kids after a fun-filled day.




















The next day, I put Chaz on a train back to Yokohama (hopefully we'll see him again while he's stuck so nearby) and the kids and I set off for Tsunashima, where the kids had a 'play date' with a school buddy while I went shopping to kill time. I was supposed to meet Jason and Alex at the BC at 4 for a beer, but lo! it doesn't open til 5 on Sundays! After wandering a bit in search of beer, Jason called a halt in favor of a coffee and a donut (Jason's first in 10 years, he said). I had a delicious pumkin-sesame pastry. Picked up the kids and went back to the BC to wait for Shingo, who was not there, so we got our beer after all. Michael eventually led us tback to their house for our first practice (I still don't think I could find it on my own).

We did a couple songs, and any anxiousness I'd had about the difficulty of pulling this together disappeared. Jason and Shingo are pros and knew exaclty what they were doing, and that made me relax. The xmas party is going to be a breeze. I'm actually excited now!

And now, because maybe I'm making this a regular feature, like a Moment of Zen, here are this weeks random pictures.














A strange cloud. I thought it looked like a bunny.


















Carddass Masters. Draw your own conclusions, because I don't know what to say.


















Proof that anything in Japan can be rendered cute.

Hope all of you are well, in your corner of the world.

James Bond is a MAN

It's so rare when your expectations are met in a movie. I think, in recent years, it was only the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies that rewarded my excited anticipation. There was so much hype about the New Bond that I was a little nervouse about Casino Royale.

Oh, I was so not disappointed.

Daniel Craig has revived 007, whose silly jokes were starting to smell as bad as the zombie that the James Bond Institution was becoming.

I stopped going to see Bond films after GoldenEye, because the formula took precedence over any story and he became a parody of himself that wasn't interesting enought to see over & over. Casino Royale was a shot in the arm to Bond. It made me want to watch again. And 007 is a MAN to be reckoned with in this one. In the physical shape that would be required of such a lifestyle.





















I liked Roger Moore, and Brosnan at first, but no one has been this masculine since Connery. All traces of the effete smirkiness that was becoming unbelievable in a trained killer and general badass were gone. I was drawn in by the hype, yes, but I'm thrilled that I was not disappointed in the least.














This James Bond is much grittier and relies more on his wits and his (did I mention his AWESOME body) physical abilities than the gadgets (there are a couple, but nowhere near the usual amount). And he's a person, not a caricature. He has motivations, emotions, makes mistakes, and doesn't always look pretty when the situation calls for some pain and ugliness.

And Judi Dench as M has a bigger role in this one, and is actually allowed to show some of her considerable talent. If this movie, in the Bond timeline, is supposed to take place as he is becoming a double-0 agent, how is there a female M? Because it isn't set back in the 60s; it's now. It isn't retro. It's a new universe. And it's a good story, too, with real humanity. Eva Green is a smart Bond Girl, and gorgeous. She doesn't just fall into his bed.

And the villian weeps blood! How cool is that??!

I hope they make more like this. Some idiots on the imdb website are calling for remakes of the old ones. That's just stupid. Don't mess with the institution. The old movies have their place in history and most are still very entertaining. Who cares if they're "dated." Is Casablanca dated? The Graduate? The original Star Wars trilogy (don't get me started on the latest 3)? I could go on a whole rant about remakes, but that is off-topic. The point is: Go See This Movie and be excited about Bond again.