cutting practice

Had a mellow cutting practice. Honma-chan and Kobayashi-chan were cutting for the first time, and all things considered they did very well. Kobayashi-chan had one perfect cut that just passed through the target like butter, making that great sound kind of like a zipper being opened really quickly. Niina-gosoke came in from the other room going "That sounded good!"
Everyone else cut ok, too. Presley was pummelled from aikido the day before, so he was all sore but doing ok. Sakaguchi-san cut pretty well, too, and he brought a couple of killer wakizashi that he's selling for super cheap. His sword shop "Mugaido" will be open in Takadanobaba soon. He's going to cater to practitioners, so unlike most uptight arty sword shops, he'll sell to iai practitioners who want to get a feel for the sword before they buy it, etc. Can't wait for his shop to open. He said he's got a cutter from a modern smith in Chiba that is an absolute light saber that he can get for a ridiculous price. I told him my custom-forged cutter will be coming next month and he just smiled and said "When your sword comes, we'll compare, and then we'll see which one you want to keep."
After practice I went back to Shibuya with Presley and bought him a hotdog, talking smack as we walked down the hill from Aoyama. Nice weather so the crowds were out in full fall fashion, so we swivel-headed at Hachiko Crossing while he waited for his 7:30. Conclusion: Japanese chicks are in general too damn skinny, and if you look up the word 'grace' in a Japanese dictionary, there is most definitely no mention of 'walking in high heels' for most of the knee-knocking female population.

ted's jingasa


ted's jingasa, originally uploaded by renfield.

The old man said "This is the jingasa the general wore when he was hunting wild boar in the forest."
It must be true because no one can make up a story that cool-sounding.
It's covered in chicken feathers, and in surprisingly good shape considering how old it must be.

will wants cake


will wants cake, originally uploaded by renfield.

Will came over for dinner a couple nites ago and brought cake. Hiroko ate the cake for breakfast for days. Bad Will, no biscuit.

nyc marathon

Dolph finished the marathon in five hours nine minutes.
See for yourself: Race results, runner #38042.
FYI, five hours nine minutes is the amount of time it takes me to watch Blade Runner 2.64 times.

ted & andy

ted & andy
Got up reasonable early and got down to Harajuku to check out the flea market at the temple. Andy was already there and professed his deep disappointment at the selection of stuff. Still, we wandered around and managed to grab some cool stuff; cufflinks, nice kimono, jingasa (helmet/hat) covered in feathers...
Got gyoza for lunch and then walked back to Nishi Azabu for some cake and iced tea before heading home. Ted went off to meet a client for dinner and Will come over to be fed. Surprised Hiroko because she didn't realize he's in town. Ate too much chocolate cake before calling it a night.