Had dinner in Pod.
When Branson builds his Space Tours lounge, this is probably what it will look like.
The coolest thing was the large 9 button panel on the wall of the "pod" tables. Press the button and the lighting in your pod changes color. Slick. Very uber-modern and trendalicious. Can't see why there isn't ten of these in Manhattan and LA already.
Other than that, the "Asian" food was typical but good, and the modern plastic furniture surprisingly convertible. Conveniently located across the street from UPenn, the bar is apparently where all the beautiful people hang out.
taxis in LA suck
Stood around UCLA for an hour waiting for our taxi to arrive.
When we went back for the evening presentation, I gave the driver an extra 20 and specifically told him to come back at 7:30 so that we could make it to the airport in time for our Philly flights.
So I'm on the curb at 7:30 and there's no cab. I ask the parking lot attendant and she's all "Oh he just left. He was here since 7." DUDE, did I not give you twenty bucks and say 7:30? My kingdom for a common language spoken by both taxi drivers and riders.
So we called for another cab and it showed up in 15 minutes. LA 15 minutes, which is closer to 45.
And the Russian (?) dude driving (whose car was absolutely infused with a painful garlic odor) proceeded to lament about "the conspiracy" to move people around and rob locals of jobs. And what am I doing in LA? Uh, recruiting. I am the enemy. I work for the man.
Managed to make it to LAX in one piece and had an uneventful flight to Killadelphia.
Got checked in to Rittenhouse Hotel about 6am and slept until noon, then did interviews all afternoon.
Nice suite, btw. Jacuzzi bathtub, full kitchen, and FREE WIRELESS. Thank you, finally.
When we went back for the evening presentation, I gave the driver an extra 20 and specifically told him to come back at 7:30 so that we could make it to the airport in time for our Philly flights.
So I'm on the curb at 7:30 and there's no cab. I ask the parking lot attendant and she's all "Oh he just left. He was here since 7." DUDE, did I not give you twenty bucks and say 7:30? My kingdom for a common language spoken by both taxi drivers and riders.
So we called for another cab and it showed up in 15 minutes. LA 15 minutes, which is closer to 45.
And the Russian (?) dude driving (whose car was absolutely infused with a painful garlic odor) proceeded to lament about "the conspiracy" to move people around and rob locals of jobs. And what am I doing in LA? Uh, recruiting. I am the enemy. I work for the man.
Managed to make it to LAX in one piece and had an uneventful flight to Killadelphia.
Got checked in to Rittenhouse Hotel about 6am and slept until noon, then did interviews all afternoon.
Nice suite, btw. Jacuzzi bathtub, full kitchen, and FREE WIRELESS. Thank you, finally.
sfo
NOT free wireless. And not free at the Mandarin Hotel, either. OK, at the airport I can sort of get it; let tMobile or whomever charge 10 bucks for people sitting around at the gate bored so that they can get some good internets lovin'.
But what is it with the Mandarin, and in fact most reasonably nice hotels, charging $12.95 a day for wired (not even wireless) internet? No problem charging $7 for the Snickers in the minibar; I certainly don't have to eat it. But I'm on bid'ness (you did notice the corporate rate and the corporate Amex card?) -- it's all about teh internets, man. Get me some work done. Check me some emailses. Surf me some websiteses.
So anyway yesterday I landed about 10am and got to the hotel at about 11am. No check-in until 3pm. And there was no request for early check-in (note to self: remind desk assistant to request early check-in when my flight lands anytime before 3pm.)
So I grabbed the blackberry charger an hit the local Starbucks rip-off. Nice Chai lattes, free eletricity, good comfy chair for napping.
After I checked in I got dim sum with the ladies M & E and parentals, then crashed early.
This morning I had some Peets (again a quality soy Chai latte) and a killer brekkie burrito (chicken and bacon: soul mates from the dawn of time) with Petey LongShort and Jensui.
I then headed off to Berkeley to have a chat with the kiddies about life and gainful employment. A summary: remember all those morons you're linked to on Facebook as one of them is gonna give you a job some day.
Next stop: El Lay.
But what is it with the Mandarin, and in fact most reasonably nice hotels, charging $12.95 a day for wired (not even wireless) internet? No problem charging $7 for the Snickers in the minibar; I certainly don't have to eat it. But I'm on bid'ness (you did notice the corporate rate and the corporate Amex card?) -- it's all about teh internets, man. Get me some work done. Check me some emailses. Surf me some websiteses.
So anyway yesterday I landed about 10am and got to the hotel at about 11am. No check-in until 3pm. And there was no request for early check-in (note to self: remind desk assistant to request early check-in when my flight lands anytime before 3pm.)
So I grabbed the blackberry charger an hit the local Starbucks rip-off. Nice Chai lattes, free eletricity, good comfy chair for napping.
After I checked in I got dim sum with the ladies M & E and parentals, then crashed early.
This morning I had some Peets (again a quality soy Chai latte) and a killer brekkie burrito (chicken and bacon: soul mates from the dawn of time) with Petey LongShort and Jensui.
I then headed off to Berkeley to have a chat with the kiddies about life and gainful employment. A summary: remember all those morons you're linked to on Facebook as one of them is gonna give you a job some day.
Next stop: El Lay.
the asswipe chronicles
So Brad wrote about this guy who left the retreat early without even telling anyone: asswipe.
The guy gets into a back-n-forth with Brad via email, and Brad writes about him again.
Seems Mr.Wipe is also posting to a thread on BigDaikon where they take Brad apart.
I find this whole thing amusing on so many levels.
First there's just the basic joy of the teh internets, where shredding people is a sport honed to a fine art and everyone's an expert.
Second is the whole expectation vs. reality argument, and I should know because I'm the disciple in the video they discuss. I guess it was one of those you-had-to-be-there experiences. We didn't really practice at all, and Brad had never done a precepts ceremony before, and like I said before it's really quite boring. So we bumbled through it. I guess it "should" have been more sacred and humble and servile and holy and serious so that it meets everyone's expectations about what a "real" Buddhist ceremony is...or something, who knows.
I guess Brad should shave his head, too, and end all his emails with "In Sangha" or "Gassho" or "Asala malekum" or something too.
Third is the Big Question About Zazen: what is "real" Buddhism? Brad has as pretty clear idea, which he got from Nishijima-sensei. Other Buddhist and so-called Buddhists have other ideas. Soto vs. Rinzai. Tibetan vs. Korean. Blah vs. blah.
Bottom line is: you come to a Dogen Sangha retreat, you should expect to do it Dogen Sangha's way.
Forth and final is the general asswipiness of the situation. And I quote:
And that is easily the most fundamentally asswipe thing he did. The year before there were a couple of participants who had misgivings about participating and they had a long chat with Brad and finally decided not to stay until the end. Courteous, honest, and manageable. This guy just walked out and didn't even tell his friend.
So for anyone thinking about coming on the retreat sometime, here's a hint: there is one way to do it: Dogen Sangha's way. It is not a vacation. You are an active participant, and not fulfilling your basic responsibilities (cleaning, meal service, set up, etc.) is just a basic asswipe thing to do.
But what do I know? I'm just a mindless Brad worshiper after all!
The guy gets into a back-n-forth with Brad via email, and Brad writes about him again.
Seems Mr.Wipe is also posting to a thread on BigDaikon where they take Brad apart.
I find this whole thing amusing on so many levels.
First there's just the basic joy of the teh internets, where shredding people is a sport honed to a fine art and everyone's an expert.
Second is the whole expectation vs. reality argument, and I should know because I'm the disciple in the video they discuss. I guess it was one of those you-had-to-be-there experiences. We didn't really practice at all, and Brad had never done a precepts ceremony before, and like I said before it's really quite boring. So we bumbled through it. I guess it "should" have been more sacred and humble and servile and holy and serious so that it meets everyone's expectations about what a "real" Buddhist ceremony is...or something, who knows.
I guess Brad should shave his head, too, and end all his emails with "In Sangha" or "Gassho" or "Asala malekum" or something too.
Third is the Big Question About Zazen: what is "real" Buddhism? Brad has as pretty clear idea, which he got from Nishijima-sensei. Other Buddhist and so-called Buddhists have other ideas. Soto vs. Rinzai. Tibetan vs. Korean. Blah vs. blah.
Bottom line is: you come to a Dogen Sangha retreat, you should expect to do it Dogen Sangha's way.
Forth and final is the general asswipiness of the situation. And I quote:
"And then there was me, the Philosopher King, who was invited by a friend. I didn't have any expectations going into the event. I just wanted to take a holiday, travel and profit from the experience. I did all three."Not sure why anyone would think a zazen retreat is a holiday, but whatever I am honestly glad he profited from the experience, got his holiday and did his travelling. I certainly do NOT think Mr.Wipe had no expectations. In fact he could have confronted his expectations if he spent some more time sitting staring at the wall, alone with his thoughts. But that didn't happen, because by the time I showed up, he had already taken off.
And that is easily the most fundamentally asswipe thing he did. The year before there were a couple of participants who had misgivings about participating and they had a long chat with Brad and finally decided not to stay until the end. Courteous, honest, and manageable. This guy just walked out and didn't even tell his friend.
So for anyone thinking about coming on the retreat sometime, here's a hint: there is one way to do it: Dogen Sangha's way. It is not a vacation. You are an active participant, and not fulfilling your basic responsibilities (cleaning, meal service, set up, etc.) is just a basic asswipe thing to do.
But what do I know? I'm just a mindless Brad worshiper after all!
midnight oil
No, not the Aussie band, the stuff one burns when one stays at work all evening into the wee hours. Been cranking hard lately at work; taking on more and more as the empire expands. Also I'll be out of the office from next week for several weeks; recruiting and then some much needed vacation, so I'm trying to get caught up before I get buried. And of course it's the end-of-the-year budget and planning time when all hell breaks loose, so I do not lack for work, surely.
carolina blue fire engine
carolina blue fire engine
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Papa is experiencing massive south-of-the-mason-dixon culture shock. Apparently locals are such rabid fans of UNC, even the fire engines are "Carolina blue".
Americans is some strange people...
brunch then bbq
Never let a little rain stop a good plan for some quality eats. First we headed to Suji's for their most killer brunch; hugemongous omlets, eggs benedict, Canadian bacon, fresh pancakes...we were asked some soon-to-parents advice, and since we're no pros all of 10 months into it, we had plenty to review.
After that The Eng called and we headed to his place for a bbq. After napalming the coals we did some proper fleshy animal sacrifices and Tonchan even took a nap as I held her. I think she's getting used to me, or at least tolerates me when she's really tired.
After that The Eng called and we headed to his place for a bbq. After napalming the coals we did some proper fleshy animal sacrifices and Tonchan even took a nap as I held her. I think she's getting used to me, or at least tolerates me when she's really tired.
urahara
P had an appointment at 2 to get her haircut, so we cruised to Aoyama and a did a wee walkabout; had lunch at Crayon House and then did some Tonchan shopping at the Gap where she picked up some warmer long sleeved stuff and a mad cool camo jacket.
Then we hussled up the Harajuku backstreets to UR. I had Tonchan securely strapped in and it was getting on nap time, so I walked over to the X-Large store and the thumping hip hop beats lulled her right to sleep.
After P's cut we went back to the shop so I could fulfill my autumn jacket need with a sweet blue reversible jacket.
Then we hussled back to the home territory and I got myseld a pedicure and manicure. I would to claim I got the extremities treatment because I'm a raging metrosexual narcissist. Sadly the truth is that I have weak nails, dry skin, and seriously skanky toes. They went to work on me with tools I recognized from wood shop class in junior high, and after a couple hours with the belt sander I was looking fine.
Then we hussled up the Harajuku backstreets to UR. I had Tonchan securely strapped in and it was getting on nap time, so I walked over to the X-Large store and the thumping hip hop beats lulled her right to sleep.
After P's cut we went back to the shop so I could fulfill my autumn jacket need with a sweet blue reversible jacket.
Then we hussled back to the home territory and I got myseld a pedicure and manicure. I would to claim I got the extremities treatment because I'm a raging metrosexual narcissist. Sadly the truth is that I have weak nails, dry skin, and seriously skanky toes. They went to work on me with tools I recognized from wood shop class in junior high, and after a couple hours with the belt sander I was looking fine.
i am brad warner's brain-washed zen drone
DSCN6824-s
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Brad loves this photo, for obvious reasons. This and other photos are now available from my jukai ceremony.
There is also a video. But this is just the end of the ceremony, it doesn't show the part where Brad goes "Do not live by selling liquor...didn't even know her!"
Also note that we are so amazingly serene, holy, enlightened beings we had to...use the script. Because Brad had never done the ceremony before and I'd only seen it once.
loverly saturday
Had a late end to an hellatious week at work; finally left the office at 10:30 on Friday and walked home, attempting to short cut through Roppongi down Toriizaka and instead discovering many a dead end in that heretofore unexplored neighborhood.
Tonchan woke me up this morning in standard face-slapping fashion and all three of us headed to the dentist so that P could get her teeth cleaned. Ton was in a good mood and I carried her the whole time. She fell asleep right on schedule and napped nearly an hour, waking up just when P was done.
We all cruised home and then I dropped off the dry cleaning before hitting zazen.
On the way back I stopped by the dentist again to pick up Ton's toys that we forgot, then I took the Big Laundry (sofa cover, etc.) to the laundromat down the street. There was an (American?) kid doing laundry reading a Dungeons & Dragons book and since I was a mad D&D freak when I was his age we got into some deep discussions about the merits of halfling thieves versus half-ork berserkers, multiple weapon wielding, the new bleed-to-death rules and the magic of inanimate objects. Plus we both agreed that flesh golems are just stupid.
Tonchan woke me up this morning in standard face-slapping fashion and all three of us headed to the dentist so that P could get her teeth cleaned. Ton was in a good mood and I carried her the whole time. She fell asleep right on schedule and napped nearly an hour, waking up just when P was done.
We all cruised home and then I dropped off the dry cleaning before hitting zazen.
On the way back I stopped by the dentist again to pick up Ton's toys that we forgot, then I took the Big Laundry (sofa cover, etc.) to the laundromat down the street. There was an (American?) kid doing laundry reading a Dungeons & Dragons book and since I was a mad D&D freak when I was his age we got into some deep discussions about the merits of halfling thieves versus half-ork berserkers, multiple weapon wielding, the new bleed-to-death rules and the magic of inanimate objects. Plus we both agreed that flesh golems are just stupid.
maid cafe and homecoming
It has been a truly and royally hellatorius* week. The newly implemented Financial Instruments and Echange Law has been making my job complicated. Like most things implemented by the Japanese governmental bureaucracy, the intentions are wonderful and the execution atrocious. It seems there are not too many folks in the Ministry of Finance who actually have any clue how the professional, international banking and trading world works. It is not hard to imagine why there is no significant hedge fund presence on shore, for example. Lesse, here's your options:
Establish fund onshore, pay obscene taxes, be held to deleterious disclosure obligations, and be subject to patently xenophobic regulation by at best incompetent authorities whilst bearing the brunt of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Oh yeah, and there are no where near enough accountants and lawyers.
OR
Establish fund in Singapore/Hong Kong, get massive tax breaks, be surrounded by an absolutely humming infrastructure chock full of English fluent, competent support services, regulated by well-behaved and experienced self-policing organizations and pro-business authorities.
At lest when work was done we decided to hit the local maid cafe, GASH. Thursday nights it's open in the evening as a bar, so we headed down there with a quorum. Sadly, it was less than titillating. Besides the fact that the waitresses were dressed in poofy french maid outfits, the place was fairly typical. Decent fried chicken, small but cheap beverages, nice bathroom. The evening was definitely made by the entertaining stories of our former British Army and Queen's Royal Guard HR representative. The best thing about going out with Human Resources is it's like partying with your lawyer; everything you do and say is protected by their oath of secrecy.
A contingent went off in search of debauchery in Shinjuku and I walked home.
HOME, as in my apartment, not that stale hovel in Roppongi I've been living in for a couple of weeks. The ladies moved in earlier in the day and after getting a bit more intensive cleaning the place is once again livable. Took a shower in my newly renovated bathroom and am happy to report a lack of general flooding, so I think the problem is solved.
Establish fund onshore, pay obscene taxes, be held to deleterious disclosure obligations, and be subject to patently xenophobic regulation by at best incompetent authorities whilst bearing the brunt of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Oh yeah, and there are no where near enough accountants and lawyers.
OR
Establish fund in Singapore/Hong Kong, get massive tax breaks, be surrounded by an absolutely humming infrastructure chock full of English fluent, competent support services, regulated by well-behaved and experienced self-policing organizations and pro-business authorities.
At lest when work was done we decided to hit the local maid cafe, GASH. Thursday nights it's open in the evening as a bar, so we headed down there with a quorum. Sadly, it was less than titillating. Besides the fact that the waitresses were dressed in poofy french maid outfits, the place was fairly typical. Decent fried chicken, small but cheap beverages, nice bathroom. The evening was definitely made by the entertaining stories of our former British Army and Queen's Royal Guard HR representative. The best thing about going out with Human Resources is it's like partying with your lawyer; everything you do and say is protected by their oath of secrecy.
A contingent went off in search of debauchery in Shinjuku and I walked home.
HOME, as in my apartment, not that stale hovel in Roppongi I've been living in for a couple of weeks. The ladies moved in earlier in the day and after getting a bit more intensive cleaning the place is once again livable. Took a shower in my newly renovated bathroom and am happy to report a lack of general flooding, so I think the problem is solved.
yoko narabi
Sakaguch put up a video of me cutting four targets at the 2nd West Coast Taikai.
It looks like I nailed it, but actually I just chunked the top of the first target and therefore it didn't count. The winner did I seven targets anyway.
But man is that a great sword!
It looks like I nailed it, but actually I just chunked the top of the first target and therefore it didn't count. The winner did I seven targets anyway.
But man is that a great sword!
lunch @ mandarin oriental
lunch @ mandarin oriental
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Had to teach at honbu in the afternoon, so went with the ladies to Mitsukoshi to do some shopping in the am. We had lunch in the lobby of the Manadarin Oriental next door. A truly inspiring buffet, and we even saw a famous Japanese dude.
retreat...finally
So after much flood-induced anguish I finally made it up to the retreat.
The long and the short of it: it was loverly. Did me a whole bunch of sitting. Even busted out some more yoga with The Man himself, which helped get my sore back through some of the longer sessions.
Oh yeah, and now I am officially a lobster-bib-wearing layman monk named Renkoku Dōei, so bow down to my serenity or I'll totally muck up your karma, peasant.
Quote of the weekend goes to Brad for telling me, after whining about 3 straight hours of zazen, that I need to "man up." After some moderate consultation we decided that in order to be non-exclusionary the phrase should actually be "bodhi up", though that smells dangerously close to using the word "dharma" like an adjective, which is just universally lame. ("Universally!" Get it? *Snarf!*)
So in the end I did a bunch of meal services, we started with 22 people and finished with something like 16 (including one dude who just up and left...obviously he needed to bodhi up some.) We did a bunch of sitting, I helped clean the rock garden, and oh yeah we did the comedy version of the Precepts Ceremony. I guess it's really supposed to be a fairly solemn and serious event, but with Brad at the helm, all bets were off.
Actually, the ceremony is really boring; besides the fact that I had to prostrate myself (in the Buddhist sense, so don't get any clever ideas) to Brad far too many times, it's just really repetitive because we repeat everything three times. Brad states the precept (don't lie, don't steal, don't desire too much, don't kill unnecessarily, etc.) and then asks me if I can keep it until I die and I answer "Yes I can" and we repeat three times for each one. We were doing ok until Brad goes "Don't live by selling liquor(...I don't even KNOW her...)" and then it was third graders playing Zen. Lots of fun and a good tension release in middle of a 30 minute ceremony that's generally alot more boring, I suspect. Wouldn't have been Dogen Sangha without the goofing off I think. And the fact that we were both attempting to hold onto our scripts and follow along whilst doing all the various bowing, prostrating, incense lighting, etc.
In all it went well and next year I'll be in a better position to organize the whole retreat a bit better (and hopefully won't have to deal with a flooding apartment as well.)
The long and the short of it: it was loverly. Did me a whole bunch of sitting. Even busted out some more yoga with The Man himself, which helped get my sore back through some of the longer sessions.
Oh yeah, and now I am officially a lobster-bib-wearing layman monk named Renkoku Dōei, so bow down to my serenity or I'll totally muck up your karma, peasant.
Quote of the weekend goes to Brad for telling me, after whining about 3 straight hours of zazen, that I need to "man up." After some moderate consultation we decided that in order to be non-exclusionary the phrase should actually be "bodhi up", though that smells dangerously close to using the word "dharma" like an adjective, which is just universally lame. ("Universally!" Get it? *Snarf!*)
So in the end I did a bunch of meal services, we started with 22 people and finished with something like 16 (including one dude who just up and left...obviously he needed to bodhi up some.) We did a bunch of sitting, I helped clean the rock garden, and oh yeah we did the comedy version of the Precepts Ceremony. I guess it's really supposed to be a fairly solemn and serious event, but with Brad at the helm, all bets were off.
Actually, the ceremony is really boring; besides the fact that I had to prostrate myself (in the Buddhist sense, so don't get any clever ideas) to Brad far too many times, it's just really repetitive because we repeat everything three times. Brad states the precept (don't lie, don't steal, don't desire too much, don't kill unnecessarily, etc.) and then asks me if I can keep it until I die and I answer "Yes I can" and we repeat three times for each one. We were doing ok until Brad goes "Don't live by selling liquor(...I don't even KNOW her...)" and then it was third graders playing Zen. Lots of fun and a good tension release in middle of a 30 minute ceremony that's generally alot more boring, I suspect. Wouldn't have been Dogen Sangha without the goofing off I think. And the fact that we were both attempting to hold onto our scripts and follow along whilst doing all the various bowing, prostrating, incense lighting, etc.
In all it went well and next year I'll be in a better position to organize the whole retreat a bit better (and hopefully won't have to deal with a flooding apartment as well.)
found the leak
found the leak
Originally uploaded by renfield.
There is an overflow tank underneath the bathtub, in case anything starts leaking. Well, the overflow tank (which holds several hundred liters) overflowed, thus the wet carpet. The water also leaked out into the other two rooms, soaking the tatami floor and parts of the closets.
They have now ripped out all the carpet, removed all the tatami, cut a whole under the sink and smashed a hole in the bathroom, drained out all the water, and set fans and dehumidifiers all over the apartment.
They now have to call in the marble specialist to remove the entire bathroom wall, pull out the bathtub itself, completely drain the overflow tank, remove and replace all the piping, and rebuild the apartment.
Suffice to say that for the time being we are living in a furnished apartment conveniently located between the Tokyo American Club, the USA Embassy and the Russian Embassy, in a lovely 3 bedroom in a tower from the seventies call The Mansions.
So not sure if I'll be making it to the retreat at all this year...
sick...?
So as Tonchan gets better and better I get worse and worse...this sucks, because I actually haven't been sick in quite a while.
Last night I thought maybe it was just hayfever (some late summer plant called butakusa in Japanese) because my runny nose snot was clear, and according the Runny Nose Snot Matrix that means allergies.
But then I woke up this morning feeling the long-forgotten aching in my joints. Went to the tiny little drug store in the basement of the office, conveniently located between the restrooms and the Irish Pub, and got the 1050 yen "Fast Acting Cold Set" which consists of: two bottles of genki drinks and a handful of vitamins, supplements, and over-the-counter drugs. Actually I quite like the taste of the genki drinks and all morning I was wired so the stuff certainly works. (Probably the 25 mg of pure caffeine in there doesn't hurt either.)
My throat doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm still kinda achy and I think I'm starting to get a cough too.
Well at least this weekend I won't be doing much but sitting, literally.
Last night I thought maybe it was just hayfever (some late summer plant called butakusa in Japanese) because my runny nose snot was clear, and according the Runny Nose Snot Matrix that means allergies.
| Runny Nose Snot Matrix | ||
|---|---|---|
| Color of Snot | → | Diagnosis |
| clear | → | allergies |
| yellow | → | cold |
| any other color | → | alien implant in brain has ruptured |
But then I woke up this morning feeling the long-forgotten aching in my joints. Went to the tiny little drug store in the basement of the office, conveniently located between the restrooms and the Irish Pub, and got the 1050 yen "Fast Acting Cold Set" which consists of: two bottles of genki drinks and a handful of vitamins, supplements, and over-the-counter drugs. Actually I quite like the taste of the genki drinks and all morning I was wired so the stuff certainly works. (Probably the 25 mg of pure caffeine in there doesn't hurt either.)
My throat doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm still kinda achy and I think I'm starting to get a cough too.
Well at least this weekend I won't be doing much but sitting, literally.
mellow weekend
Just as well that Tonchan's sick, as it's been a hot and nasty weekend. Spent most of the time indoors with the disease monster. Actually, her fever was gone by Sunday, though now she may be getting the tell-tale red, non-itchy rash. Anyway she's been bouncing all over the apartment and generally in good spirits, though not not eating. We're not really trying to feed her too much until her stomach gets better. She doesn't need the food anyway; gets all her goods from breast milk.
She seemed much better so I ventured out this morning to Shibuya to check out suitcases and buy P a new digital camera. I am looking for a carry-on that I can use without checking in luggage. Figure I can wear one suit and pack the other, plus five shirts and the various fixings, laptop in my shoulder bag and carry that on, too.
Tumi's 20-inch carry-on is la bomba, but I think I might have to go for the extra 5cm and get the 22-inch. They both have a garment bag built into the top flap, but I fear that the 20-inch is too narrow for my suits. I'm guessing that on international business and US domestic first class I can get away with a slightly-too-large carry-on...then again every other business-travelling a**hole is thinking the same thing, eh.
She seemed much better so I ventured out this morning to Shibuya to check out suitcases and buy P a new digital camera. I am looking for a carry-on that I can use without checking in luggage. Figure I can wear one suit and pack the other, plus five shirts and the various fixings, laptop in my shoulder bag and carry that on, too.
Tumi's 20-inch carry-on is la bomba, but I think I might have to go for the extra 5cm and get the 22-inch. They both have a garment bag built into the top flap, but I fear that the 20-inch is too narrow for my suits. I'm guessing that on international business and US domestic first class I can get away with a slightly-too-large carry-on...then again every other business-travelling a**hole is thinking the same thing, eh.
keeping cool w/ frozen sausage
keeping cool w/ frozen sausage
Originally uploaded by renfield.
This is how we kills two birds with one stone: gotta defrost the frozen sausage for dinner, and gotta keep Tonchan cool to fight her fever. So: we strap the frozen sausage onto the baby!
my first cold!
my first cold!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
So this little monster is all grumpy and fidgety, not really eating, crying alot more than usual. About midnight she just won't sleep and she's warm. Really warm. P took her temp and it was 39C!
So this morning we took her to the hospital and the doctor said she's got a cold! It could turn into something slightly more serious but even then it's no big deal. Good timing to get sick on a three-day weekend; we're all gonna just hang out and stay cool.
belgian flemish dutch
Some genius has sub-titled a disturbing Belgian kids show, adding English subtitles to the Flemish Dutch song, phonetically and hilariously. NSFW at all, by any means.
sunburn'd
Forgot to mention that in SF, the sun was bright and strong, and as a result my smooth-shaven dome was nicely reddened.
Now I have a wonderfully peeling, sun-burnt head and I haven't shaved it in a few days because it's too damn painful.
So next time: a hat!
Now I have a wonderfully peeling, sun-burnt head and I haven't shaved it in a few days because it's too damn painful.
So next time: a hat!
nyc
Renfield
Originally uploaded by Guzilla.
Schedule in NYC went something like this:
wake up, breakfast, office, lunch, meetings, dinner, tv.
Managed to have greasy Chinese food, killer Italian, 4 slices of Two Boots Mr. Pink, and a lobster at Black Pearl with Lee and Chaziness. The lobster was aggressive and fought valiantly, but in the end it died in gastronomical peace.
And now I'm in the lounge in JFK waiting to go home!
pacific heights
Too much up in Pacific Heights!
Originally uploaded by George Arriola.
Riding the lady bugs in the park with Corr and Maia.
shovellin' in the park
shovel 2
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Took the girls to the park and waited for Jenn and Peter (and dog Teddy.)
At the park not only did they have the new super-safe squishy floor and lots of cool jungle jim equipment, but they also supplied these most excellent heavy duty earth moving shovels. I quickly mastered the complex manual operations and proceeded to dig so effectively I managed to relocate the entire park 37 meters to the southwest.
After such hard labor we had lunch and then goofed off for a bit. When I came back, the ladies was sliding down the stairs nekkid, so Jorge and I went up the street for some take out Chinese. Ah, the magical joy that is sweet and sour pork!
bye-bye la
Well the 2nd annual West Coast Taikai was a rousing success; managed to start and finish on time. I used my new HC to try a 4-roll yokonarabi as well as a 4-roll futomaki. Almost made both of them and can easily blame the mistakes on not being used to the new sword (truth is closer to I basically don't know what I'm doing.)
After the tournament we headed out for Mexican food and the Japanese posse stuffed themselves on chips and salsa, tacos,and refried beans.
Then back at the hotel we took over the lobby bar and cause trouble into the wee hours.
Now I'm sitting in LAX waiting for my flight to SF.
After the tournament we headed out for Mexican food and the Japanese posse stuffed themselves on chips and salsa, tacos,and refried beans.
Then back at the hotel we took over the lobby bar and cause trouble into the wee hours.
Now I'm sitting in LAX waiting for my flight to SF.
nose
鼻！
Originally uploaded by piroko_kuroda.
I think I've blogged this before, but I miss my daughter and I love this photo because it really shows how much she appreciated me.
demos and seminars
Landed two days ago about noon, checked into the hotel and tried to stay awake until evening.
Full day of teaching yesterday, and testing in the afternoon. Everyone did well and passed. Gosoke was quite happy.
More seminars today and I picked up my Howard Clark blade that I bought last year and had polished and mounted by Keith. It is indeed a light saber; wicked light and fast, and being made out of L6 it ain't ever gonna set a bend. Photos pending so stay tuned.
After a late lunch we had the enbu in the evening -- all the sensei doing their thing. Yamada-sensei and Gosoke went last and did some jo and some of the advanced wakizashi. Then we all piled into the restaurant for some dinner, bad jokes, and off-color stories.
Need some sleep now as tomorrow we start at 9am sharp. I'm signed up to compete in a bunch of events and sadly cannot use my sword as an excuse if I miss my cuts!
Full day of teaching yesterday, and testing in the afternoon. Everyone did well and passed. Gosoke was quite happy.
More seminars today and I picked up my Howard Clark blade that I bought last year and had polished and mounted by Keith. It is indeed a light saber; wicked light and fast, and being made out of L6 it ain't ever gonna set a bend. Photos pending so stay tuned.
After a late lunch we had the enbu in the evening -- all the sensei doing their thing. Yamada-sensei and Gosoke went last and did some jo and some of the advanced wakizashi. Then we all piled into the restaurant for some dinner, bad jokes, and off-color stories.
Need some sleep now as tomorrow we start at 9am sharp. I'm signed up to compete in a bunch of events and sadly cannot use my sword as an excuse if I miss my cuts!
chocolate oliver biscuits
When I was a wee lad, my dad used to come home from business trips to the UK and bring back for me a can of confectionery perfection: the Chocolate Oliver Biscuit.
Every time I've gone to London I have scoured the aisles of Harrod's but I could never find them. But now: "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life At Last I Found Thee".
Every time I've gone to London I have scoured the aisles of Harrod's but I could never find them. But now: "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life At Last I Found Thee".
efficiency
Gotta hand it to the Japanese Police, they got that whole driver's license renewal process down cold.
A month before my birthday of the year my license expires, I get a postcard telling me I have until a month after my birthday to renew.
Since I had one minor moving violation within the past five years, I had to do the regular renewal (one hour.) If I had a perfect record I would qualify for speed renewal (30 minutes.)
First floor, general reception, they took my license, stuck into a machine and spit out a completed renewal form. All I did was fill in my name and birthday and sat on a bench before the eye check room.
Stare into the machine and say which way the C is facing: up, right, right, left. OK, done.
Proceed to photography; look into the light, pop, ok next proceed to counter #5. Hand over license and form, receive new form and old license with a hole punched in it. Minor spelling issue with my name here, but corrected quickly.
Next window, pay 3600 yen and receive two stamps (actual stamps, like postage -- one for 3000 and one for 600 yen.)
Step up to the machine and punch in pin twice to set, then upstairs to counter 300, and redirected to room #32.
Hang out for 20 minutes until the 1:30 class starts. Here begins the one hour session.
First watch the 30 minute video; don't drive drunk, don't drive sleepy, don't drive in a hurry, don't drive like a twit. Here we get a small sense of The Japanese Way -- the big message of driving drunk and killing a pedestrian is: since you are in prison, your wife will have to go to visit the victim every day in the hospital and deal with the lawyers, and finally the stress, pressure, and guilt will get to her, and she kills herself. So don't drive drunk or you will cause your family undue horrors.
After the video we had a 30 minute lecture, 25 minutes of which was the intimate details of the changes to the driver's license law and how to renew five years from now. The remaining five minutes was on the detailed stats of driving accident deaths. Curiously enough, most deaths are in fact due to lone two-wheel drivers killing themselves. Basically making this whole course largely pointless, since I was pretty much the only person in the class without a 'regular' (4 wheel) license. And actually my license is only a scooter license, not even a proper motorcycle license.
After the class we got a stamp and then went to pickup our brand new license, complete with embedded IC chip, which eventually will be used by Big Brother to track our every move. But for now is only compatible with the machines...down the hall. Touch your license, type in the PIN and reveal: a full screen image of: your license. The only information NOT shown on the license that is available via the IC reader is my "koseki" aka census registration, a very Japanese thing. Every Japanese person born in Japan is added to their family registry at birth. When they get married, girls (ONLY girls, unless the boy explicitly gets "adopted" into a family that has no natural male heir) are removed from their original koseki and added to their husband's.
One's koseki is considered "personal information" and it is a breach of the personal information protection law to have unnecessary personal information. So for example when a client opens a new account for securities trading we take a copy of their driver's license to verify their name and address. But of course their koseki is irrelevant, so on the photocopy of their license we draw a big black line through their koseki to ensure that we are not in breach of the personal information protection law.
So anyway someone finally figured out that since one's koseki is printed on one's driver's license, and there are basically no situations that require one's koseki but DO require a copy of one's license, then perchance it's a good idea NOT to print one's koseki on one's license?
So on new licenses there is a big blank space for koseki.
Can't wait for the crackers to start pounding away on the IC chip's encryption publishing lists of people's names, addresses, birthdays, koseki, and photographs. Then again this is Japan, land of rampaging citizen apathy; lowest voter turn-out in the modern world, and basically zero response to issues of personal privacy like IC-chipped drivers licenses. Probably the only person in Japan who cares is Joi Ito.
A month before my birthday of the year my license expires, I get a postcard telling me I have until a month after my birthday to renew.
Since I had one minor moving violation within the past five years, I had to do the regular renewal (one hour.) If I had a perfect record I would qualify for speed renewal (30 minutes.)
First floor, general reception, they took my license, stuck into a machine and spit out a completed renewal form. All I did was fill in my name and birthday and sat on a bench before the eye check room.
Stare into the machine and say which way the C is facing: up, right, right, left. OK, done.
Proceed to photography; look into the light, pop, ok next proceed to counter #5. Hand over license and form, receive new form and old license with a hole punched in it. Minor spelling issue with my name here, but corrected quickly.
Next window, pay 3600 yen and receive two stamps (actual stamps, like postage -- one for 3000 and one for 600 yen.)
Step up to the machine and punch in pin twice to set, then upstairs to counter 300, and redirected to room #32.
Hang out for 20 minutes until the 1:30 class starts. Here begins the one hour session.
First watch the 30 minute video; don't drive drunk, don't drive sleepy, don't drive in a hurry, don't drive like a twit. Here we get a small sense of The Japanese Way -- the big message of driving drunk and killing a pedestrian is: since you are in prison, your wife will have to go to visit the victim every day in the hospital and deal with the lawyers, and finally the stress, pressure, and guilt will get to her, and she kills herself. So don't drive drunk or you will cause your family undue horrors.
After the video we had a 30 minute lecture, 25 minutes of which was the intimate details of the changes to the driver's license law and how to renew five years from now. The remaining five minutes was on the detailed stats of driving accident deaths. Curiously enough, most deaths are in fact due to lone two-wheel drivers killing themselves. Basically making this whole course largely pointless, since I was pretty much the only person in the class without a 'regular' (4 wheel) license. And actually my license is only a scooter license, not even a proper motorcycle license.
After the class we got a stamp and then went to pickup our brand new license, complete with embedded IC chip, which eventually will be used by Big Brother to track our every move. But for now is only compatible with the machines...down the hall. Touch your license, type in the PIN and reveal: a full screen image of: your license. The only information NOT shown on the license that is available via the IC reader is my "koseki" aka census registration, a very Japanese thing. Every Japanese person born in Japan is added to their family registry at birth. When they get married, girls (ONLY girls, unless the boy explicitly gets "adopted" into a family that has no natural male heir) are removed from their original koseki and added to their husband's.
One's koseki is considered "personal information" and it is a breach of the personal information protection law to have unnecessary personal information. So for example when a client opens a new account for securities trading we take a copy of their driver's license to verify their name and address. But of course their koseki is irrelevant, so on the photocopy of their license we draw a big black line through their koseki to ensure that we are not in breach of the personal information protection law.
So anyway someone finally figured out that since one's koseki is printed on one's driver's license, and there are basically no situations that require one's koseki but DO require a copy of one's license, then perchance it's a good idea NOT to print one's koseki on one's license?
So on new licenses there is a big blank space for koseki.
Can't wait for the crackers to start pounding away on the IC chip's encryption publishing lists of people's names, addresses, birthdays, koseki, and photographs. Then again this is Japan, land of rampaging citizen apathy; lowest voter turn-out in the modern world, and basically zero response to issues of personal privacy like IC-chipped drivers licenses. Probably the only person in Japan who cares is Joi Ito.
say what?
I tend to look upon the chosen profession with a significant amount of disdain, having been a Japanese government bureaucrat myself. I know what it is like from the inside; the rickety metal desks, the endless paperwork bound with string requiring approval seals, the section chief fanning himself with one hand, holding his tea with the other whilst watching high school baseball on the tv and proclaiming how busy he is, how we're all going to be working all night to finish up, and how the most junior guy on the desk should fetch the delivery menus so that they can choose between sushi or ramen.
So when I was called upon to visit the Ministry of Finance, I deferred. I stalled, avoided, countered, schemed and scammed. But in the end, I went.
And it was beyond what I expected.
The halls were dark, dank, and not entirely clean. The air-conditioning was non-existent. The meeting room was a storage closet with one clanking desk fan on top of a cabinet that pushed stale air onto the back of my neck every ten seconds as it rotated.
The MOFers, representatives of the section whose sole purpose is to regulate the securities and finance industry, where...well to be kind, they were just plum clueless.
Did not have the faintest clue about what we were talking about. At one point (only about fifteen minutes into what ended up being a 90 minute meeting) she actually asked, with all innocent sincerity "What's an option?"
Now folks, I don't expect my mom to know the ins and outs of exotic credit derivative pricing, and to be honest I don't even expect the industry regulators to know that much, but at the very least, the basics, the fundamentals of trading and the securities industry should be well within their grasp.
Imagine if you will a World Series umpire asking the catcher "So, what happens when he gets three strikes?"
Needless to say I do not fear any potential retribution from this blog post because, though I know some people in the industry will read it, I seriously doubt anyone at the Ministry of Finance even knows about teh internets.
The highlight of the evening was walking back through the Ministry of Tax, a sweet post-war building that in its glory days (before it was gutted by zombie bureaucrats) must have been splediforous. At least it still had an awesome curved and carpeted staircase.
So when I was called upon to visit the Ministry of Finance, I deferred. I stalled, avoided, countered, schemed and scammed. But in the end, I went.
And it was beyond what I expected.
The halls were dark, dank, and not entirely clean. The air-conditioning was non-existent. The meeting room was a storage closet with one clanking desk fan on top of a cabinet that pushed stale air onto the back of my neck every ten seconds as it rotated.
The MOFers, representatives of the section whose sole purpose is to regulate the securities and finance industry, where...well to be kind, they were just plum clueless.
Did not have the faintest clue about what we were talking about. At one point (only about fifteen minutes into what ended up being a 90 minute meeting) she actually asked, with all innocent sincerity "What's an option?"
Now folks, I don't expect my mom to know the ins and outs of exotic credit derivative pricing, and to be honest I don't even expect the industry regulators to know that much, but at the very least, the basics, the fundamentals of trading and the securities industry should be well within their grasp.
Imagine if you will a World Series umpire asking the catcher "So, what happens when he gets three strikes?"
Needless to say I do not fear any potential retribution from this blog post because, though I know some people in the industry will read it, I seriously doubt anyone at the Ministry of Finance even knows about teh internets.
The highlight of the evening was walking back through the Ministry of Tax, a sweet post-war building that in its glory days (before it was gutted by zombie bureaucrats) must have been splediforous. At least it still had an awesome curved and carpeted staircase.
sangenjaya
This afternoon we headed over to Sangenjaya, the hip and cool youngin's neighborhood (kinda like the West Village or Noho).
We met up with Amy and Maya and had some shaved ice at an ancient ice shop that used an old ice shaving machine and blocks of what is probably real (natural, as in cut from a frozen lake in the winter) ice.
After the snack I went to the new dojo before dragging my broken and tired butt home.
We met up with Amy and Maya and had some shaved ice at an ancient ice shop that used an old ice shaving machine and blocks of what is probably real (natural, as in cut from a frozen lake in the winter) ice.
After the snack I went to the new dojo before dragging my broken and tired butt home.
open sesame
And now her little monkey brain is starting to figure out how the world works...once she unlocks the secret of the home security system, it's all over.
shibuya shopping
Visited Nishijima-sensei in the morning, who has decided that my name is now Renkoku Do-ei. I brought Tonchan, who slept most of the way there, and then sat patiently as we ate watermelon.
In the afternoon P and Ton and I went to Loft and Muji in Shibuya for some random shopping, had a late lunch in the basement of Seibu department store, and bought some sweet-n-sour pork and a deep fried pork sandwich for a porky goodness dinner.
In the afternoon P and Ton and I went to Loft and Muji in Shibuya for some random shopping, had a late lunch in the basement of Seibu department store, and bought some sweet-n-sour pork and a deep fried pork sandwich for a porky goodness dinner.
stupid versus ignorant
First let's define our terms.
Ignorant is lacking knowledge. Learn some, and you cease to be ignorant.
Stupid is lacking the ability to escape your ignorance. Dumb is dumb.
I remember a long time ago, when I was a wee tot, my dad gave me one of the many random Dad Talks one gets as a child that, whether intentional or not, molded my general outlook on life. I can't remember what I was complaining about, but it was something. Or more likely someone. He said: "Don't blame the average person for being average. It's not his fault: he's average. Remember what average is: in school a C is average. Think about the guy who gets all C's in school, and is probably pretty content with that. That's average, and that's pretty dumb."
This sent shock waves through my little monkey brain. C's! Good lord if I ever got anything less than an A- minus I'd have conniptions and my mom would have to use chocolate chip cookie dough to coax me out of my bedroom where I had retreated to bury myself in tears.
So for the past few weeks I've been studying up on FIEL. The Financial Instruments Exchange Law is a massive rewrite of the securities and related financial laws and cabinet orders in Japan. Massive is an understatement. And being legal text, it is written in the most impenetrable legalese mumbo-jumbo Japanese that I have ever written. And it's a bunch of cross-referencing articles and sub-paragraphs and follow-on ordinances and guidelines and framework implementations....total nightmare.
Past couple of nights I've been leaving work early (8pm-ish), walking up to the Starbucks-Tsutaya (Japan's version of Borders or Barnes & Noble crossed with a Blockbuster crossed with an HMV music store) on the corner of Roppongi Hills, and reading various FIEL books.
Last night a read a flimsy little paperback written by the politician who basically devised and architected the entire FIEL framework. It was good to get the perspective for all these confusing laws and directives. The basic concept is: evil financial and other companies take advantage of people and rip them off. Companies, especially securities firms, must be severely regulated. People, mom and pop investors, must be protected. And by protected we mean: ripping them off carries stiff financial penalties and jail time. Everything must be disclosed: when marketing, when selling, before signing a contract, when signing a contract, after signing a contract (cooling off), etc. And everything a company wants to do must be regulated, registered, administrated, approved, allowed, condoned, reported, documented, and verified.
The author throws in many key anecdotes from the go-go times of the early 21st century: Livedoor stock getting pummeled as the president gets arrested, the TSE freezes up because it can't handle the trading volume, Mizuho mis-trades a huge order and sends the market into chaos, Murakami makes a bundle with his fund on insider trading, promises of huge gains by punting foreign exchange only to be cheated and swindled by back alley hoodlums...scandal, deception, criminality.
The poor people! They bought Livedoor stock in good faith, and lost money! They must be protected! The poor people! They bought New Zealand Dollars and Prussian Thaler and Tibetan Srang, and lost money! Even though the guy on the phone said they would probably make money! Oh, the poor, common man!
Granted, there has always been and always will be criminal element who will explicitly deceive people. Con artists and swindlers abound, especially when a badly written law makes what they do technically legal yet massively amoral. So kudos to the politicians for closing loopholes and making things that look, act, trade, and feel like a security, a security.
BUT, and here's the real problem: people are stupid. Not ignorant; stupid.
If you didn't know anything about Livedoor; had no idea about the company, didn't read any research or have a view on the sector, let alone a coherent, diversified investment plan, if you simply bought it because everyone else was buying it and it just kept going up...and then you lost money? Well then you're a stupid investor and you get what you deserve. You don't need protection from a lying company president or colluding securities firms or falsified documents. You need protection from yourself and you should probably cede control of your bank account to the nearest pachinko parlor for gambling, because that's all you're doing.
The sad, sad part of the this whole ordeal is that whilst the government pursues this fatalistic FIEL policy of "disclosure" and "transparency" and "investor protection", from the other side of the proverbial mouth we hear lip service about internationalization and what Japan can do to open itself up to compete with Singapore and Hong Kong let alone London and New York.
For starters: stop making it so damn hard for professionals to do their job in this country. In this day and age teh internets and Virgin Airlines, WHY would anyone trade Japanese stocks in Japan, where all off-market transactions have to be reported and publicly disclosed within five minutes of trading, when the exact same stock can be traded via Singapore, with no disclosure, negligible fees, and no tax?
What hedge fund, institution, or otherwise pro is going to put up with arcane bureaucracy of regulatory filing, xenophobic hostility to any and all attempted direct investment via LBO, and totally opaque regulators who are free to impose (or not) punishments as they see fit, with zero appeal?
The government has a grand plan for turning Tokyo into a 21st Century International City of Finance. The members of the requisite committee are mainly from the construction industry, and not surprisingly, their plan is based on massive building projects of modern high-rise offices, swanky apartments, and first-class hotels.
Never mind the complete lack of requisite lawyers and accountants, and don't even mention Japan's complete inability to come to grips with the pressing need for increasing immigration to bolster a rapidly shrinking workforce. And let's not forget tax law reform and some legitimate personal information protection laws. Trivia fact: a stack of business cards on your desk is considered a "personal information database" and must be stored safely under lock and key. And yet every year the national government publically releases a list of the top tax payers for the year, including such personal information as name, address, assets, income, and tax liability.
That's just stupid.
Ignorant is lacking knowledge. Learn some, and you cease to be ignorant.
Stupid is lacking the ability to escape your ignorance. Dumb is dumb.
I remember a long time ago, when I was a wee tot, my dad gave me one of the many random Dad Talks one gets as a child that, whether intentional or not, molded my general outlook on life. I can't remember what I was complaining about, but it was something. Or more likely someone. He said: "Don't blame the average person for being average. It's not his fault: he's average. Remember what average is: in school a C is average. Think about the guy who gets all C's in school, and is probably pretty content with that. That's average, and that's pretty dumb."
This sent shock waves through my little monkey brain. C's! Good lord if I ever got anything less than an A- minus I'd have conniptions and my mom would have to use chocolate chip cookie dough to coax me out of my bedroom where I had retreated to bury myself in tears.
So for the past few weeks I've been studying up on FIEL. The Financial Instruments Exchange Law is a massive rewrite of the securities and related financial laws and cabinet orders in Japan. Massive is an understatement. And being legal text, it is written in the most impenetrable legalese mumbo-jumbo Japanese that I have ever written. And it's a bunch of cross-referencing articles and sub-paragraphs and follow-on ordinances and guidelines and framework implementations....total nightmare.
Past couple of nights I've been leaving work early (8pm-ish), walking up to the Starbucks-Tsutaya (Japan's version of Borders or Barnes & Noble crossed with a Blockbuster crossed with an HMV music store) on the corner of Roppongi Hills, and reading various FIEL books.
Last night a read a flimsy little paperback written by the politician who basically devised and architected the entire FIEL framework. It was good to get the perspective for all these confusing laws and directives. The basic concept is: evil financial and other companies take advantage of people and rip them off. Companies, especially securities firms, must be severely regulated. People, mom and pop investors, must be protected. And by protected we mean: ripping them off carries stiff financial penalties and jail time. Everything must be disclosed: when marketing, when selling, before signing a contract, when signing a contract, after signing a contract (cooling off), etc. And everything a company wants to do must be regulated, registered, administrated, approved, allowed, condoned, reported, documented, and verified.
The author throws in many key anecdotes from the go-go times of the early 21st century: Livedoor stock getting pummeled as the president gets arrested, the TSE freezes up because it can't handle the trading volume, Mizuho mis-trades a huge order and sends the market into chaos, Murakami makes a bundle with his fund on insider trading, promises of huge gains by punting foreign exchange only to be cheated and swindled by back alley hoodlums...scandal, deception, criminality.
The poor people! They bought Livedoor stock in good faith, and lost money! They must be protected! The poor people! They bought New Zealand Dollars and Prussian Thaler and Tibetan Srang, and lost money! Even though the guy on the phone said they would probably make money! Oh, the poor, common man!
Granted, there has always been and always will be criminal element who will explicitly deceive people. Con artists and swindlers abound, especially when a badly written law makes what they do technically legal yet massively amoral. So kudos to the politicians for closing loopholes and making things that look, act, trade, and feel like a security, a security.
BUT, and here's the real problem: people are stupid. Not ignorant; stupid.
If you didn't know anything about Livedoor; had no idea about the company, didn't read any research or have a view on the sector, let alone a coherent, diversified investment plan, if you simply bought it because everyone else was buying it and it just kept going up...and then you lost money? Well then you're a stupid investor and you get what you deserve. You don't need protection from a lying company president or colluding securities firms or falsified documents. You need protection from yourself and you should probably cede control of your bank account to the nearest pachinko parlor for gambling, because that's all you're doing.
The sad, sad part of the this whole ordeal is that whilst the government pursues this fatalistic FIEL policy of "disclosure" and "transparency" and "investor protection", from the other side of the proverbial mouth we hear lip service about internationalization and what Japan can do to open itself up to compete with Singapore and Hong Kong let alone London and New York.
For starters: stop making it so damn hard for professionals to do their job in this country. In this day and age teh internets and Virgin Airlines, WHY would anyone trade Japanese stocks in Japan, where all off-market transactions have to be reported and publicly disclosed within five minutes of trading, when the exact same stock can be traded via Singapore, with no disclosure, negligible fees, and no tax?
What hedge fund, institution, or otherwise pro is going to put up with arcane bureaucracy of regulatory filing, xenophobic hostility to any and all attempted direct investment via LBO, and totally opaque regulators who are free to impose (or not) punishments as they see fit, with zero appeal?
The government has a grand plan for turning Tokyo into a 21st Century International City of Finance. The members of the requisite committee are mainly from the construction industry, and not surprisingly, their plan is based on massive building projects of modern high-rise offices, swanky apartments, and first-class hotels.
Never mind the complete lack of requisite lawyers and accountants, and don't even mention Japan's complete inability to come to grips with the pressing need for increasing immigration to bolster a rapidly shrinking workforce. And let's not forget tax law reform and some legitimate personal information protection laws. Trivia fact: a stack of business cards on your desk is considered a "personal information database" and must be stored safely under lock and key. And yet every year the national government publically releases a list of the top tax payers for the year, including such personal information as name, address, assets, income, and tax liability.
That's just stupid.
barf!
Well we thought Tonchan was okay, and when we got home she was in normal fine spirits so we fed her and put her to bed. Instead of the rice she always eats we gave her some udon noodles instead. She seemed to like it and ate the whole bowl (minus the amount she spread all over her face, the table, the chair, and the floor.)
But she just woke up crying and puked all over herself!
No fever, so we're thinking she was just stressed out from the weekend; she didn't eat as much as she usually does, and she was grumpier than usual what with all the random strangers fussing over her. P's just put her to bed and she seems to be sleeping okay -- was crying more from being tired than anything else.
But I swear my heart stopped for a second; the first time she gets REALLY sick I am doomed; don't think I will handle the stress too well!
But she just woke up crying and puked all over herself!
No fever, so we're thinking she was just stressed out from the weekend; she didn't eat as much as she usually does, and she was grumpier than usual what with all the random strangers fussing over her. P's just put her to bed and she seems to be sleeping okay -- was crying more from being tired than anything else.
But I swear my heart stopped for a second; the first time she gets REALLY sick I am doomed; don't think I will handle the stress too well!
obon
We took Tonchan back to P's village for the first time. It is the middle of summer, obon season, when you go back to your homeland and pay homage to your dead ancestors.
The Kuroda family had several deaths this past year, so lots of new spirits to welcome back. The main house was done up properly to welcome all the pending guests, so we visited early and paid our tribute.
Tonchan was quite excited all weekend so she didn't eat much and was a bit grumpy, but I think she had fun.
I had a fantastic allergy attack, the likes of which I haven't experienced in years. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have a runny nose, stuffed and groggy head, sore throat, and puffy itchy eyes. The air purifier in the room helped, but the weeds, pollen, and dust didn't help.
We took the bus up, and Tonchan started crying soon but with a little breast milk she fell asleep.
We decided to take the train home, since if Tonchan had any issues we could easily get off the train and deal. She was okay on the train and we got home with minimal fuss.
The Kuroda family had several deaths this past year, so lots of new spirits to welcome back. The main house was done up properly to welcome all the pending guests, so we visited early and paid our tribute.
Tonchan was quite excited all weekend so she didn't eat much and was a bit grumpy, but I think she had fun.
I had a fantastic allergy attack, the likes of which I haven't experienced in years. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have a runny nose, stuffed and groggy head, sore throat, and puffy itchy eyes. The air purifier in the room helped, but the weeds, pollen, and dust didn't help.
We took the bus up, and Tonchan started crying soon but with a little breast milk she fell asleep.
We decided to take the train home, since if Tonchan had any issues we could easily get off the train and deal. She was okay on the train and we got home with minimal fuss.
nishijima sensei
This morning I went to see Nishijima-sensei to consult with him about taking the precepts. He decided that my Buddhist name will be Renkoku Mudo = "lotus valley, no path" and he will write my rakusu for me.
I will most likely do the precepts ceremony at the end of our yearly retreat, thus ensuring the salvation of my everlasting soul...or whatever.
I will most likely do the precepts ceremony at the end of our yearly retreat, thus ensuring the salvation of my everlasting soul...or whatever.
walk this way
Recently (call it the past couple months) I have been walking home from work. Late in the evening the oppressive heat and humidity is slightly more tolerable, and since I get no exercise as of late, it's a good 45 minutes of activity 3-4 times a week.
In order to maximize the geek factor of a simple walk, I had to get myself a pedometer.
I've settled on Omron's HJ-113. I could have gone ubergeek and stepped up to the HJ-710IT but the software is Windows only and besides, not entirely sure how much statistical analysis I can get out of my daily walks home.
At the very least I am shooting for the Walking Holy Grail: 10,000 steps a day. My strategy for achieving includes always using the stairs to go up or down less than two floors at work, skipping the taxi when I can walk, and getting up to talk to people instead of using the phone.
Do my pedometer antics make me pedantic?
In order to maximize the geek factor of a simple walk, I had to get myself a pedometer.
I've settled on Omron's HJ-113. I could have gone ubergeek and stepped up to the HJ-710IT but the software is Windows only and besides, not entirely sure how much statistical analysis I can get out of my daily walks home.
At the very least I am shooting for the Walking Holy Grail: 10,000 steps a day. My strategy for achieving includes always using the stairs to go up or down less than two floors at work, skipping the taxi when I can walk, and getting up to talk to people instead of using the phone.
Do my pedometer antics make me pedantic?
yoshida party
Went to Yoshida's place and as always there was tons of good food. Tonchan didn't nap much because she was so excited. After feeding her we went home and she fell asleep as soon as we walked out the door and stayed pretty much dead all night, slept in pretty late this morning too.
she loves books
she loves books
Originally uploaded by renfield.
The Tonchabeast when hungry cannot be easily sated! Combine a months-old habit of eating paper with the ability to sort of crawl and add a low bookshelf of kids books. The results are books all over the floor and a mouthful of soggy paper.
And of course the book is her favorite and mine: Where the Wild Things Are. Wild Things indeed!
life is good
life is good
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Happy birthday to me! Mama sent me this awesome t-shirt. And P got me some great books including Oh Daughter! and Crazy Festivals of Japan.
meat coma
The weather looked like it would hold, so I fired up the BBQ and began the grillin'. Eventually the rain started coming, after some lovely thunder and lightning, but by then we had piles of pork, lamb, and chicken, as well as the occasional potato and corn cob. Various children raced about wildly as their parents sat bloated and smiling, and slowly the meat piles receded.
A few photos; no meat, mostly family.
A few photos; no meat, mostly family.
jolly jumper
The latest in child torture devices. She loves it, for 10 minutes. And then she totally freaks.
carnage
First of all, it's just too goddamn hot. 'Nuf said.
Went to check out a couple more international pre-schools for the Tonchalizer. Big schools, small schools, English schools, Japanese schools...lotsa options. Guess the most important things are:
* does the schedule work for us?
* do they have room for her?
* are the teachers cute and from New Zealand?
My daughter's education is massively important, obviously. The carnage I can imagine her doing with a box of pencils and a bottle of glue...she's got my genes, so I'm sure she'll be one of those unique kids who requires lots of "quite alone time" in the corner with the restraining belt.
Speaking of carnage, who pulled the bottom out from under the markets? Man I haven't seen it this ugly since the post Y2K internet bubble popped and I was sitting on some really expensive Cisco and Yahoo. Nikkei dropped like 2.4% today, which isn't too bad because it was never really up all that much. But yikes the rest of the world is feeling it.
This isn't any subprime fallout, this is your basic, run-of-the-mill over-reaction stupidity. All the talking heads on CNN and BloombergTV tell everyone the subprime shakeout is squeezing the big lenders and for some reason all the couch-traders and soho day traders think it's somehow relevant, and start selling out of everything, chasing the bottom.
Ah, but we can't blame retail, because the "professionals" have been caught with many a pant leg around the ankle, eh. The intelligence of crowds, they say?
At least I bought some reasonably cheap dollars...could have done better but I don't exactly sit around all day watching the FX tickers and punting currencies. I sit around all day reading Japanese securities law and punting term sheets and product descriptions and making little charts with arrows.
It's actually kind of fun, the whole "product structuring" thing; if only I actually knew what I was doing. I think my main job is to keep all the interested parties in the room from killing each other, find the one thing we can agree on, and drill on that until we have a workable product that
a) makes money for us and the client, and
b) keeps everyone out of jail.
Of course a is easy if you ignore b, but all that money isn't going to buy you much more than smokes and tv privileges in prison.
I honestly believe that the law is meant to be followed. Just sometimes the rules are hard; incomplete, a bit vague, kinda out-dated. All the more reason to scrub it down, figure it out, do the right thing, and come out shiny. Clients love it, regulators love it, and I can proudly tell my mom I am not perpetuating vast evils and carnage.
At least not at work.
Went to check out a couple more international pre-schools for the Tonchalizer. Big schools, small schools, English schools, Japanese schools...lotsa options. Guess the most important things are:
* does the schedule work for us?
* do they have room for her?
* are the teachers cute and from New Zealand?
My daughter's education is massively important, obviously. The carnage I can imagine her doing with a box of pencils and a bottle of glue...she's got my genes, so I'm sure she'll be one of those unique kids who requires lots of "quite alone time" in the corner with the restraining belt.
Speaking of carnage, who pulled the bottom out from under the markets? Man I haven't seen it this ugly since the post Y2K internet bubble popped and I was sitting on some really expensive Cisco and Yahoo. Nikkei dropped like 2.4% today, which isn't too bad because it was never really up all that much. But yikes the rest of the world is feeling it.
This isn't any subprime fallout, this is your basic, run-of-the-mill over-reaction stupidity. All the talking heads on CNN and BloombergTV tell everyone the subprime shakeout is squeezing the big lenders and for some reason all the couch-traders and soho day traders think it's somehow relevant, and start selling out of everything, chasing the bottom.
Ah, but we can't blame retail, because the "professionals" have been caught with many a pant leg around the ankle, eh. The intelligence of crowds, they say?
At least I bought some reasonably cheap dollars...could have done better but I don't exactly sit around all day watching the FX tickers and punting currencies. I sit around all day reading Japanese securities law and punting term sheets and product descriptions and making little charts with arrows.
It's actually kind of fun, the whole "product structuring" thing; if only I actually knew what I was doing. I think my main job is to keep all the interested parties in the room from killing each other, find the one thing we can agree on, and drill on that until we have a workable product that
a) makes money for us and the client, and
b) keeps everyone out of jail.
Of course a is easy if you ignore b, but all that money isn't going to buy you much more than smokes and tv privileges in prison.
I honestly believe that the law is meant to be followed. Just sometimes the rules are hard; incomplete, a bit vague, kinda out-dated. All the more reason to scrub it down, figure it out, do the right thing, and come out shiny. Clients love it, regulators love it, and I can proudly tell my mom I am not perpetuating vast evils and carnage.
At least not at work.
crab, king of the ocean
Ah, the joy that is traditional gift-giving in Japan!
Every summer we send various people who have done us right a traditional summer gift, usually some tasty katsuo. In return, Momo's mom and P's childhood friend sent us a huge case of frozen, boiled king crab legs.
Oh, the mighty feast that ensued. Masa came over to help eat, and I diligently separated flesh from shell, resulting in a huge pile of crabby goodness.
After stuffing ourselves, we still had a massive pile of crabmeat leftover, so I made up a huge pan of crab fried rice for later.
Post-dinner I was feeling the food coma and dozed off on the couch for a bit. Crab power!
Every summer we send various people who have done us right a traditional summer gift, usually some tasty katsuo. In return, Momo's mom and P's childhood friend sent us a huge case of frozen, boiled king crab legs.
Oh, the mighty feast that ensued. Masa came over to help eat, and I diligently separated flesh from shell, resulting in a huge pile of crabby goodness.
After stuffing ourselves, we still had a massive pile of crabmeat leftover, so I made up a huge pan of crab fried rice for later.
Post-dinner I was feeling the food coma and dozed off on the couch for a bit. Crab power!
akiba
At Roland's behest, I spent the day in Akihabara with Madeleine Brand (and her posse) host of NPR's Day to Day.
They were working on a story about Japanese manga and anime's portrayal of environmental issues, and I took them around the hood to see all the standard stuff. Akiba was in full Sunday swing, with cosplay kids, street singers, cafe maids, custom doll shops and awesome action figures, robots and PC parts, comics and eclectic electronics.
With a mic in my face and the odd probing question, I waxed non-eloquently about a variety of anime and manga topics, so on some show in the future, I may very well make my radio debut!
They were working on a story about Japanese manga and anime's portrayal of environmental issues, and I took them around the hood to see all the standard stuff. Akiba was in full Sunday swing, with cosplay kids, street singers, cafe maids, custom doll shops and awesome action figures, robots and PC parts, comics and eclectic electronics.
With a mic in my face and the odd probing question, I waxed non-eloquently about a variety of anime and manga topics, so on some show in the future, I may very well make my radio debut!
soba
Before we headed off to Ginza, we stopped by Sarashina Horii for some soba. I went for the futouchi (fat, boonies style) which was seriously al dente and damn fine.
Checked out the antique faire at Matsuya, but besides the crazy old lady who sold me a nice kimono last time, and the crazy old lady and her husband who sold us the hand-made geta last time, wasn't much impressive stuff.
Checked out the antique faire at Matsuya, but besides the crazy old lady who sold me a nice kimono last time, and the crazy old lady and her husband who sold us the hand-made geta last time, wasn't much impressive stuff.
slob
slob
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Parenting is War. One of the many battles I lose: feeding. The Tonchabeast will not be sated. The Tonchasaurus will not be pacified. The Tonchalizer will not be satisfied.
I am entirely unclear as to how she managed to get food onto her eyebrows. Nevertheless, she ate everything (excluding the bits spread all over her face, arms, clothes, table, high chair, and floor.)
shinhinanomoto
shinhinanomachi
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Many nefarious dealings with The Shady in town, so after multiple debauchery nights, we required some quality seafood and fried chicken. A final bowl of salty sea slug finished off the evening meal before several bottles of champagne down the road.
A good time was had by all.
debauchery
Big Boss in town and the typhoon clearing out, so the whole team headed out to dinner. I came late because I had to teach at Honbu.
We took over the back room of 57 before heading up to Orange at Midtown. Vertical appetizers were a bit silly but the french fries with truffles was quality.
Sent the foreigners into the depths of sketchiness in Roppongi whilst the Japanese crowd went for late-night ramen and I dragged myself home at 2:30.
We took over the back room of 57 before heading up to Orange at Midtown. Vertical appetizers were a bit silly but the french fries with truffles was quality.
Sent the foreigners into the depths of sketchiness in Roppongi whilst the Japanese crowd went for late-night ramen and I dragged myself home at 2:30.
italiano iai
taikai done!
done!
Originally uploaded by renfield.
The taikai was a raging success. 250 competitors and the foreigners put in a strong showing. There was a big Italian/Belgian showing this year, and the son of the sensei in Rome won the 2dan division, Brian took the 3dan division, and Elvis took it home for 4dan. Considering I seriously have not trained for a year, I did okay. Won my first two rounds, then lost to Tominaga, whom I beat last year for the championship. But he ended up losing to Hoshina who took the top spot. That makes two for her, one for me, and two for him. So I better get back into shape for next year!
After the taikai we devolved into the standard debauchery.
palace hotel
Had a big work thing at the Palace Hotel. Net net, it went well, and the food at the end reception was of course awesome.
I dig the Palace Hotel. It is located, as you can imagine, across the street from the Emporer's Palace. It has the chill '50's stylish thing going on, but does smell like the fifties like the Okura does. That place just reeks of old politicians and gangsters and hair grease. The Palace is all class.
After the hotel thang I was supposed to go teach, but the building that Honbu is in had a blackout and so training was canceled. Random,but the building is older that several emporers so not surprising.
I dig the Palace Hotel. It is located, as you can imagine, across the street from the Emporer's Palace. It has the chill '50's stylish thing going on, but does smell like the fifties like the Okura does. That place just reeks of old politicians and gangsters and hair grease. The Palace is all class.
After the hotel thang I was supposed to go teach, but the building that Honbu is in had a blackout and so training was canceled. Random,but the building is older that several emporers so not surprising.
tanabata summer festival
summer festival
Originally uploaded by renfield.
P was at her junior high school reunion in Ginza, so the Tonchabeast and I took the bus back to Azabujyuban, had some chili at Cravings, and then walked home. As we passed Zenpukuji, there were little kids everywhere dressed for the summer. Must have been some elementary school kids' Tanabata special or something, because all the local teachers were dressed up in yukata as well and the kids were writing their wishes on colored paper and tying them to the tree set up just for that purpose.
budo is...technology?
The Viriginia crew has come to town for next week's taikai, so we all went out to dinner with Gosoke and the rest of them. The Big S was in fine form and after several grapefruit sours he stood up and declared, in his best English:
"You know Asakusa? I am shitamachi boy, I am slum boy."
I explained that shitamachi in English is more colloquially "the hood", so he explained "I am Asakusa is my hood."
He then proceeded to explain that even with a broken toe he can persevere:
"I am konjo, you know?"
Acutally no, no one knows that konjo means "to overcome hardship." But you are now known as Konjo-san. I then explained that he broke his toe by goofing off and playing karate fighter with another of our 59-going-on-12-years-old members. Good to be young at heart, even if old of toe.
Finally, when he saw an awesome display of the brute power of our American brethren (that grapefruit half never knew what hit it) he announced:
"Budo is...technology, not power."
Uh, "technique", big guy. Technique, not technology.
However it was too late; a new t-shirt idea was born.
"You know Asakusa? I am shitamachi boy, I am slum boy."
I explained that shitamachi in English is more colloquially "the hood", so he explained "I am Asakusa is my hood."
He then proceeded to explain that even with a broken toe he can persevere:
"I am konjo, you know?"
Acutally no, no one knows that konjo means "to overcome hardship." But you are now known as Konjo-san. I then explained that he broke his toe by goofing off and playing karate fighter with another of our 59-going-on-12-years-old members. Good to be young at heart, even if old of toe.
Finally, when he saw an awesome display of the brute power of our American brethren (that grapefruit half never knew what hit it) he announced:
"Budo is...technology, not power."
Uh, "technique", big guy. Technique, not technology.
However it was too late; a new t-shirt idea was born.
BUDO IS TECHNOLOGY, not power.
- by Mr. Konjo-san
- by Mr. Konjo-san
only for parents
Testing my new cell phone's video capability, I present: Tonchan, sitting on the bed. And, not doing much:
gyokufukai
Today was the opening ceremony for Gyokufukai, one of the branch organizations under Suimokai. Held on the 33rd floor of the Kasumigaseki Building downtown, I was asked to demo.
First I started with the standard jinrai:
Link to this video on youtube
And then I did a basic yokoichimonji. I like this next video because I screw up. Actually, I did the cut once (not in the video) but was too far away so didn't cut the target all the way through. And then I got a little peeved, so you can see that I'm not chill and I tense up my shoulder and just biff the second attempt big-time. So finally I take a second to calm down and just do it like we always practice and it went worked.
Link to this video on youtube
Also, I'm using Salty's sword, which is a seriously wonderful piece of steel. 950 grams, perfectly balanced, cuts like a light saber. Thanks Salty!
First I started with the standard jinrai:
Link to this video on youtube
And then I did a basic yokoichimonji. I like this next video because I screw up. Actually, I did the cut once (not in the video) but was too far away so didn't cut the target all the way through. And then I got a little peeved, so you can see that I'm not chill and I tense up my shoulder and just biff the second attempt big-time. So finally I take a second to calm down and just do it like we always practice and it went worked.
Link to this video on youtube
Also, I'm using Salty's sword, which is a seriously wonderful piece of steel. 950 grams, perfectly balanced, cuts like a light saber. Thanks Salty!
crushed
Getting absolutely devastated at work. I think I've passed some magical point blimfark; before this point, no one really knew what I do, nor what I should do, so I wasn't really asked to do too much nor involved in too many new things except when obviously necessary. Beyond this point though, everyone expects that I know far more than I actually do (I talk well, or at least alot, which basically gives the same impression of being knowledgeable) and I am therefore asked to do and be involved in many, many things. Also, several truly reliable people are no longer with the firm, so I've taken it upon myself to get up to speed on various nitty-gritty details in areas totally beyond my expertise (which is what, exactly?)
Upside: huge amounts of interesting stuff of which I am key; learning new things regularly, lots of exposure to different senior management.
Downside: 13+ hour days, frequently operating outside my comfort zone, lots of exposure to different senior management.
Upside: huge amounts of interesting stuff of which I am key; learning new things regularly, lots of exposure to different senior management.
Downside: 13+ hour days, frequently operating outside my comfort zone, lots of exposure to different senior management.
july 4 celebration and demo
The US Embassy residential complex had their annual 4th of July celebration today and we were asked to demo iai. One of our guys is in a HOG (Harley Owner's Group) club and he and his teams always join the parade, and this year we were asked to do a demo.
We got to the compound at 8:45am and saw all the Harleys. Oh. My. God. There were two main groups: the first group all drove white Harleys tricked out with blue lights and POLICE stickers, and they all wore uniforms like American cops...sort of.
The second group drove tricked out bikes. And when I say tricked out, I mean tricked out like this. My favorite was the side car with a big gold buddha statue on it, but they were all amazing.
We wandered the compound a bit while everyone was setting up. It was basically America inside a big wall, in the middle of Tokyo. Very freaky. All the food stalls were run by large, well spoken military and their families, or large well spoken support organization (Lions, Free Masons, etc.) members and their families. Kids everywhere of course.
And it was really, really hot. We weren't demoing until noon, so we hung out and grabbed a little food, checked out the dojo at the rec center next to the pool, got changed, and prepped for our demo.
It went well, besides being really, really hot. Did I mention it was hot?
We did some kata, and then Elvis and I ran through some kumitachi. Not sure if people were into it, but at the end of the last kata when I deflect Elvis' cut and take his neck from behind, a couple of "OH! Got him!" came from the audience, and there was some nice applause. Never had anyone applause during kata when I "got 'im", but I guess that means they had fun.
When it was over, we changed out, got some more food, and took off. I didn't actually stay for the Harley parade because I didn't want to hang out for another hour in the heat, so I headed back to Hombu, dropped off my stuff, and met P and Tonchan at Roppongi Hills, then walked down to the DoCoMo shop to get a new phone. I have gone back to NEC after trying to Sony. I never should have cheated on NEC, my first and only true love. My new phone has 3D surround sound, a huge 3 inch wide screen, full internet browser, 3.2 megapixel camera, and superfast data.
We got to the compound at 8:45am and saw all the Harleys. Oh. My. God. There were two main groups: the first group all drove white Harleys tricked out with blue lights and POLICE stickers, and they all wore uniforms like American cops...sort of.
The second group drove tricked out bikes. And when I say tricked out, I mean tricked out like this. My favorite was the side car with a big gold buddha statue on it, but they were all amazing.
We wandered the compound a bit while everyone was setting up. It was basically America inside a big wall, in the middle of Tokyo. Very freaky. All the food stalls were run by large, well spoken military and their families, or large well spoken support organization (Lions, Free Masons, etc.) members and their families. Kids everywhere of course.
And it was really, really hot. We weren't demoing until noon, so we hung out and grabbed a little food, checked out the dojo at the rec center next to the pool, got changed, and prepped for our demo.
It went well, besides being really, really hot. Did I mention it was hot?
We did some kata, and then Elvis and I ran through some kumitachi. Not sure if people were into it, but at the end of the last kata when I deflect Elvis' cut and take his neck from behind, a couple of "OH! Got him!" came from the audience, and there was some nice applause. Never had anyone applause during kata when I "got 'im", but I guess that means they had fun.
When it was over, we changed out, got some more food, and took off. I didn't actually stay for the Harley parade because I didn't want to hang out for another hour in the heat, so I headed back to Hombu, dropped off my stuff, and met P and Tonchan at Roppongi Hills, then walked down to the DoCoMo shop to get a new phone. I have gone back to NEC after trying to Sony. I never should have cheated on NEC, my first and only true love. My new phone has 3D surround sound, a huge 3 inch wide screen, full internet browser, 3.2 megapixel camera, and superfast data.
sushi
sushi
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Took Eimisho out for sushi to thank her for writing my mu. We went to Rokuroku on the 6th floor of the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills. Confusing building; when we got off the elevator we were in the Oak Door restaurant and had to walk past the bar and across the balcony seating to get to the sushi place. And of course no signs. I seriously think Roppongi Hills was specifically designed to confuse the hell out of you. But damn the sushi was fine!
soro
After class (huge showing, 11 on the floor at once!) went to Soro in Roppongi to check out the food and chat w/the owner about the demo we have to do on Saturday morning. Seems it's the American Embassy employee apartment's (several weeks early) fourth of July celebration, and for some reason we'll be doing an iai demo. Classic American; no planning no schedule, show up at 8:30, probably demo "first in the afternoon". Love that USA planning! Hopefully there will be some classic US style BBQin' tho, so Elvis and I are looking forward to that.
tokonoma
P1000912.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
A proper photo of the mu displayed in the tokonoma at home. All bow down to Boba Fett!
6 months
P1000928.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Tonchan had some friends over to celebrate their collective 6 month birthdays. Actually it was more an excuse for moms to congratulate themselves on surviving, and for the dads to congratulate moms for surviving.
congrats salty
Salty took his Denshobu test this evening. I got to the dojo early and he was practicing cutting so I watched and gave him some pointers. I haven't cut in nearly nearly a year, but he's got a great sword -- light (only 950 grams) and well balanced-; perfect for both kata and cutting -- so I borrowed that and tried a few cuts. Managed to cut pretty well, especially since I haven't cut in so long.
For the test, he cut, did the 20 kata, and then we ran through 15 kumitachi. He's solid, and moves well, just got some issues with blade angle that he needs to clean up. And he needs to slow down sometimes; he gets too anxious at times. But he's good and will get better, and I'm glad to finally have someone in Denshobu now.
After the test we went Ninjin by Kanda station for some gnarly greasy Chinese food. Haven't had it in a couple years. Ah, sweet and sour pork, chili prawns, fried rice...so greasy, so gooey, so good. As expected, I didn't sleep very well because my stomach was gurgling all night...but it was worth it!
For the test, he cut, did the 20 kata, and then we ran through 15 kumitachi. He's solid, and moves well, just got some issues with blade angle that he needs to clean up. And he needs to slow down sometimes; he gets too anxious at times. But he's good and will get better, and I'm glad to finally have someone in Denshobu now.
After the test we went Ninjin by Kanda station for some gnarly greasy Chinese food. Haven't had it in a couple years. Ah, sweet and sour pork, chili prawns, fried rice...so greasy, so gooey, so good. As expected, I didn't sleep very well because my stomach was gurgling all night...but it was worth it!
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