Summer of 06

I finally got Toshi's cool samurai pictures up in my photobucket account. Without further ado I present them to you.

Toshi Combat

I did it! I finished my first edited video. I hope you like it. It takes a lot more time then I thought, and the more I worked on it the more critical I became of it. I got so sick of making it worse, so I decided to just post it.

Glaring mistakes aside, I feel a little cool. Making it was a lot of fun. "Grats" to Pebs for getting him to dance to her 50's music and letting us use her big couch he likes to jump on.

Been a while

Well, I guess I can update my blog. Here is what is new in my life. Hiro-chan is pregnant and Toshi is just as wonderful as I could expect him to be. We bought some new property and I have been focusing my computer skills training on Cisco products.

I have recently bought Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum + DVD. We are going to have fun with it.

The below clip is from a while back. I was actually just testing out my photobucket account. I have not finished my Sony Vegas video yet.

Christianity vs Scientology--A Rocketboom Video Production

As brought to you by Amanda Congdon

If you don't know who Amanda is, click on the above picture and you will get about a 3 minute video from Rocketboom. Rocketboom is a "vlog" that has a 3 minutes clip each day that usually covers wired news, web sites, social comentaries, and off the wall skits.

Amanda was the host until sometime earlier this week when either she got fired or quit (it is in dispute). The new host is ok but still new. I suggest you look through the archives.

For sure click on the pic at top of this entry. Altho this entry wasn't wired-related, it is pretty funny! "It's an interesting approach. Oddly Marketable."

I like the webcam and pizza data show. I am sure Mike will like Chris Christmas Rodriguez and this pulp. This Ghetto Mario is for Milo.

Photobucket Now Ready

I have organized my photo storage site that I use to post pictures on this blog. Not all of the links in this blog are fixed, but you can view my photobucket site here.

Each of the blue titles are a folder you can browse. I even have a `vids` folder with two videos I have uploaded. Nothing exciting yet, I was just testing the video feature. It takes much longer to upload videos then it does to download them.

And finally, here is a misc picture of toe socks for your amusement.

I Wonder Where the Restroom Is...

For all of us non-Japanese speakers, they sure made their signs easy to read. I am sorry for all the potty jokes, but with this kind of material what am I supposed to do?!

Squatters

The infamous squatter! The bathroom is so little I could not hide my shoe. At least they have a little metal basket for all you smokers out there.

Japanese Elevator vs American Walmart Greeters?

I think I like Japanese Elevator Greeters better!

Bare With Me

Or is it `bear?`

Anyway, I am at the net cafe trying to organize my photobucket account before it gets out of hand. This will break my photo links for who knows how long, but in the long run it is the right thing to do.

An Affair with Toilets

When I first sit down on the toilet at Hiro-chan's home, it makes a little whirr of anticipation. No joking. It is weird. I look over to where the toilet paper is and there is also a little box that looks suspiciously like the sprinkler controls at my momﾕs house. In essence that is what the box is.

It is true, all the houses in Japan have smart toilets that wash you, dry you, and auto-flush. Maybe not all toilets, but enough to warrant the reputation. In fact, toilets in Japan fall into the full range of expectation--from the unbelievable to the enviable.

What is there to envy beyond the controls and noises? How about the how the toilet keeps itﾕs seat warm 24/7? The unbelievable toilets are the public squatters where you are required to bring your own toilet tissue. Talk about uncomfortable! And yes, that is squatter--as in a hole in the the ground you squat over to relieve yourself. I am always worried something will fall into my pants.

Back to the enviable; I have not dared to push any buttons yet. The last thing I want my in-laws to see is me away from the pot with a stream of water shooting up my back as I am hopping back to the toilet after calling for help because it wonﾕt turn off. No thank you!



**Here is a little cultural fact for all you Jeopardy players. Apparently it is shameful for someone to hear you urinate (I am thinking this only applies to girls), so a long time ago girls used to flush twice in order to drown out the "peeing" sound. Japan is not a country of waste; now the public toilets are equipped with a button that starts a sound like flushing water. Only it is really loud so that it drowns out the sound of the person using the restroom.

Picture Problems

I signed up for a site called Photobucket. I am linking my ics from that site, but I have been having some problems of some of my thumbs not linking to the bigger picture. If you would like to see them, you can visiti my photobucket site here.

One of these days I will have real blogging skills. Until then, sorry.

Picnic Bread Shrine

Day 6 June 5th, Monday





In the morning I went to the uncles home to do internet. I first helped him move some boxes of produce to sell at the market. At around 11:00 we went hiking up a little hill in-between Tachiarai and Ogoori that turned out to be very steep to have a picnic. The hike up had many stairs, but we had brought the stroller. I carried the stroller and Hiroko took Toshi.

Their family was very happy to spend time together. At the top we had a Japanese picnic of radish, apples, rice balls, cantaloupe Jell-O, and fake fish bars. We took a different route down that was quite scenic. It was a longer walk but we could use the stroller and it was very beautiful.

After lunch we went Akizuki which is a little town where it is illegal to remodel with western style architecture. It is very old. Toyotoshi took us to a famous little bread shop. He spent $14 on fresh bread. It was yummy tho. We then went to a shrine that Hirokoﾕs family goes to often. Hiroko use to play by they shrine as a kid.



After that we stopped at a parking lot and walked through an old district that used to be a Shogunﾕs Palace. The castle is long gone, but there was a nice stroll through a lane of cherry blossoms (not in bloom) and overpriced shops.

We continued the walk to my favorite shrine hidden in a forrest. On the way there we saw wild raspberries and ate them.





I went to that/this shrine when we had a Japanese reception. At that time we could go in and see original bullet holes from the Christian wars. It was closed, but we could walk along the ground.

On the way back to the car Toyotoshi, Hiroko, and I explored the ruined grounds of the palace some. There was not even a foundation left, but there were little statues from that era and a middle school built where the castle used to be.
Before we went home, we stopped at Hirokoﾕs favorite restaurant The Ringer Hut. We had noodles and dumplings. At home I was so tired I crashed until morning. I am not sure what everyone else did.

Farming and Flowers

Day 5 June 4th, Saturday

I took a little stroll by myself this morning. We had breakfast when I got back. Bajang took Toshi for a walk during breakfast. Toshi sat on her support stroller. I was worried about them, but Hiro-chan assured me that the whole town is nice.

They have all been neighbors for decades. No one moves in Japan unless they move because of marriage where they never divorce or a job which they never leave. Until Hiroko came to America, she lived in this house her entire life. Her Grandma has lived here her entire life.
During the walk Toshi jumped out the ﾒgrandma strollerﾓ and ran to a dog. Grandma was frantic because she could not catch up to him. A neighbor brought him home. Hiroko and I went and got grandmaﾕs stroller.

We spent some time at Hirokoﾕs familyﾕs farm. Hiroko and her mom scattered manure, her dad plowed with a tractor, grandma uprooted green pea plants, and Toshi and I picked peas off of the uprooted plants. All the neighbors seemed to be working on their respective farms.
We came home and had lunch. Naoko took Toshi to her neighborsﾕ house so Toshi could play with their kids. Toshi came back happy.

Everyone took a Sunday afternoon nap. Afterwards Naoko took Hiroko, Toshi, and me to a Shrine in Amagi and a Flower Garden. The Flower Garden consisted of a huge field filled with pink and red flowers. It is in the shadow of a Kirin Beer factory. The flower place is called ﾒBeer Farmﾓ and is financed by the company.

On the way home we stopped at a market and then at Toyotoshiﾕs little brotherﾕs family. A market girl loved Toshi. Naoko wanted to show off Toshi to her relatives.

I found out they (Hiroko's Uncleﾕs family) have internet access. He disinvited Naoko (in good humor) and Hiroko, Toshi, and I had dinner with Him, his wife, their daughter, and her boyfriend. He wanted me to drink with him soooo bad. Hiroko wanted me not to just as bad. I will leave it at that. :P

After they served us fried meat with sauce and fresh garlic and I checked my e-mail, we walked home. They live less then a 5 minute walk from Hirokoﾕs home.

When we got home we got ready for a family walk (tradition), We left Toshi with Fukuko (Hirokoﾕs sister) and went on an hour walk. On the way home we saw Fukuko and Toshi. Apparently Toshi cried a lot after we left and went looking for us. Fukuko followed him out where we found them.

Cows Raman Walk

Day 4June 3rd, Saturday

This morning I woke up very early. Hiroko was so tired and she needed to sleep. I took Toshi on a walk to practice walking to the train station. When we got back, we played blocks and spent some good daddy-son time together. After Hiro-chan woke up, we had our typical breakfast. I am not sure I will like fast food when I get home.

We had an easy morning. I went on a walk with Naoko and Toshi to go see some cows. For some reason the cows bothered Toshi. He would not look at the cows and looked really sad. When we left he waved goodbye at the cows behind his back.

Hiro-chanﾕs sister Fukuko took us to Ichimi Raman in Kitano city for lunch. It was really good. We get to tell them how spicy we like it and how hard we want the noodles. The store was in a little neighborhood.
Fukuko dropped me off at the train station so I could go to Kurume to go to the internet cafe. She, Hiroko, and Toshi went to go shopping at a used book store in another city.

An older man stopped me and wanted to practice English while I was eating bread from a shop at Kurume station. I think he was either very lonely or a little mentally ill. Maybe both.
I forgot where the cafe was, so I walked around the station. Eventually I found it. I was able to update my blog and shoot off some e-mails. I took the train back to Hirokoﾕs town. I walked the 20 minutes to her home and we all had dinner. It was stir fry noodles and squid.

Naoko tried to feed me a whole squid...but I was full. We went on a walk as a family--Hiro-chan, Toyotoshi, Naoko, and me. Toshi was asleep and we left him with grandma. Hirokoﾕs parents REALLY had a good time.

They leave at exactly 8:30 every night for their walk. They really missed walking with Hiroko. They do two huge laps around their neighborhood--it takes about an hour. Hiroko and I only did a little more then a lap before we went home. We didnﾕt want to overdo it.
Life is good.

About Frogs and Gods

The coolest place I have visited (so far) was the frog shrine. I took about 120 pictures there. It is nestled in a suburb in Ogoori. One minute you are on a road, the next you enter the shrine.

Shrine is a deceptive word. It is more like a park. You walk in and there are rows of little stone frogs along a wall greeting you. People leave money on them for good luck. There is some green bushes on your side. As you go further along the path you start to encounter LARGE statues of Gods and Frogs. Some are angry, some are funny (to me).

You turn and are in a densly wooded area. There are statues both big and little in all the green. You go through woods and find different shrines. We went in three of them. It feels like you are in a whole new world. You can go into the shrines.

There are bells to ring, incense to burn, and even some trinkets to buy. The funny thing is that there are not workers that you ever see. In the area where you buy frog trinkets, it is done on the honor system. You take what you want and leave the anount of money you think is worth the item.

One of the shrines was rather large and we went exploring in it. Toshi liked to ring the big bell in front of the shrines. He also liked to put money in the donation box (in the shrines). He would take money off of the frogs and drop it in the box. It was cute.

I can`t quite describe the beauty or size of the shrine. It looks so little from the outside. However, I will post several pics at my Frog PhotoBucket Site. Please visit it.

You may need a fast internet connection. I uploaded a lot of photos.

Frog God I am Tired

Day 3Friday June 2nd, 2006



We slept in today. It felt very good. Hiro-chanﾕs mom, Naoko, took the day off. We went to a frog shrine and then she took us out to eat at the Garden House. It is a upper-class pasta joint, but we ended up getting curry.




We needed to go to Toyotoshiﾕs school so Naoko could pick up something. He is the principal of an elementary school. The kids treated me like a celebrity. Toshi had fun.
We went to a library so I could update my blog, but the blog site and Emil were blocked. We got home around 4:00pm. We took a nap, but I slept for 6 hours! I then went to bed. What a restful day.



This all happened in the town of Ogoori.

Fancy a Cone?

Not an ice cream cone. How would you like a rice cone wrapped in seaweed with fish eggs on top? One of the things I like about Japan is that many restaurants will have their food displayed on the outside of the establishment so you can decide if you want it.

Come to think of it, I only have seen this at the food places at subway/train stations. Kurume station sit atop and within a bnch of stores. Many of these are food places. As you walk up and down the station, you can see which food you would like to eat. I am still trying to decide if they are made of plastic or are real.

　　　　　　　　　　　　

A Day in Kurume and Tons of Meat

Day 2 June 1, 2006Thursday

Today I woke up to Hiro-chan making stir fry for breakfast. As she cooked, Toshi played with grandma. They made blocks then went outside. She wanted to take him for a walk, but I was scared bajang (grandma) might not be able to handle him. Bajang is 91 years old. She still works in the garden everyday.

I went on a walk with bajang and Toshi. Normally she needs a stroller-like-cart to balance herself while she walks. Today she used Toshiﾕs toy car to push him and balance herself on. It was very cute. They love each other.


For breakfast we had stir fry, fresh seaweed, fresh spinach, and fresh radish and apples that Bajang grew. Hiroko and I (and Toshi) took a train to Kurume to spend family time. We went shopping. We ate at a raman store and occasionally stopped for bread. We spent a long time at a dollar store where Toshi played with bubbles.

After food and shopping, I went to an internet cafe while Hiro-chan took Toshi upstairs to a place I can only describe as a getaway for mothers. There is a big play area that is free as long as you are with your child. Toshi had so much fun playing with other kids. I posted some entries on my blog, but I could not get my pictures to post.

We came home and went out to eat with Hiro-chanﾕs mom and dad. When Toshi saw bajang he ran to her laughing. Hiokoﾕs parents took us to an expensive restaurant where we had meat, meat, and more meat. There was a salad bar where I had fresh pineapple and seaweed. After we made ourselves sick eating pork, beef, shrimp, chicken, and sausage barbecued in front of us, Naoko ordered intestine. I declined that last little bit of food.

It was good tho. I am amazed that everyone except Toshi ate more then me!! At home I showed Fukuko some of the features of her laptop and she said I could use it to resize my pictures in the future and save them on my external hard drive. Time for sleep!

Silent Hill Continued

This one is for you Mike. Until I can get home and make a slide show, I will just tease you with some pics.



Into the haunted courtyard.



Where is Toshi?! I have got to find the right room.



Did I just hear the phone ring on the wall?

Silent Hill, New Cam, and Hiroko`s Favorite Restaurant

1st day May 31, 2006Wednesday

I am not sure what day it is in Japan. It is late at night. Hiro=chan and Toshi are asleep.
We slept in today, which was nice. I woke up to breakfast which included yellow pickled radishes that were cut into strips, miso soup, rice, and some type of tofu. We went to Hirokoﾕs momﾕs work. She is a principal at a kindergarten.

They were having a birthday party. They have one once a month for everyone whose birthday is in that month. The party consisted was more like an assembly where they presented the kids with a picture and asked them basic questions.
It was really fun. The kids loved Toshi. They played well together.

Japanﾕs population has officially started to shrink. Naokoﾕs kindergarten used to have over 100 students, now it has less then 50. It is connected to a grade school which is also shrinking. There were a lot of empty rooms. I was reminded of the video game Silent Hill, which partly takes place in an abandoned elementary school.

Hiroko, Toshi, and me went exploring while Naoko worked. We took lots of pictures. I canﾕt wait to see how they turn out. We ate lunch there. It was rice with TONS of anchovies, a small amount of fish, and a piece of fruit that tasted like honey-dew.

We came home and slept for a few hours. Later grandma (Hirokoﾕs), Naoko, Toyotoshi, Hiroko, Toshi, and me went to lunch at .....I forgot. We had noodles and dumplings. My little family went with Naoko to go shopping for a new digital camera. We got one.
We then went shopping for mugi-cha (barley tea). Naoko was so funny pushing Toshi in the store stroller and walking real close to people so they could comment on how good looking Toshi is. Hiro-chan and I laughed a lot.