Today's lunch

I strolled around near the station today. First I headed down Georgia Avenue, taking pictures of all the neat houses. I don't know what is with the weird sloping roofs in North Augusta, but I think they are awesome.

Then I turned right on Martintown Road and headed up to Observation Way, where I made another right. That road is absolutely gorgeous; it's like a huge garden in there.

After that I was out on Georgia Avenue again. I wandered down the street a little bit, then crossed and headed back behind WBBQ.

And that was my lunchbreak. Nice way to spend my time, if I do say so myself!

I'm glad I got to see so many blossoms. They were gorgeous. As the day was beautiful and bright, the pictures don't do the flowers justice, but I hope they at least partially convey the loveliness that surrounded me on my walk.

Getting settled

I'm making curry for dinner. It occurred to me as I placed the onion on the cutting board that I don't have any knives! So I used a steak knife, which was interesting. I had to use it to cut up the chicken, too, since I don't have any kitchen scissors. Where has my brain been? Obviously, those two items are next on my list.

Right now, the meat and vegetables are simmering on the stove. My new pots and pans are awesome (thanks Mom!). They're so shiny and nice. And they're not difficult to use. I seem to be able to understand them pretty well. I'm using one of the Metro pots with the glass lids. It's neat to be able to see what it looks like in the pan when it's simmering.

We ordered a kotatsu, and it's scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I can't wait. Once it's here, I can figure out how I want to arrange everything else.

We keep going back and forth about a dining room table. I think we're going to hold off for now. We definitely have to get a chest of drawers, and I think Sean is pretty eager to get a bed, but that pretty much covers the absolutely necessary furniture, as we plan to eat at the kotatsu. So we'll see what happens about other furniture.

My car is still at the shop. They haven't even looked at it yet. I'm getting pretty annoyed with *cough*Gerald Jones Subaru on Washington Road*cough*. Depending on what I hear tomorrow (if anything), we may be buying a car as well as furniture this weekend.

I'm hoping for a PT Cruiser.

Check out this awesome email I just got.

From: Benavides Chester [mailto:irrespectively@atlas.cz]
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 4:24 PM
To: Bender Chi
Subject: Re[2]:

muttered in a sleepy voice but without malice : ' All right, then . . . but you'll pay for it ... I warned you, but if you want to ... What interests me most now is Pontius Pilate . . . Pilate . . .' And with that he closed his eyes.
'Vanna, put him in No. 117 by himself and with someone to watch him.'
The doctor gave his instructions and replaced his spectacles. Then Ryukhin shuddered again : a pair of white doors opened without a sound and beyond them stretched a corridor lit by a row of blue night-bulbs. Out of the corridor rolled a couch on rubber wheels. The sleeping Ivan was lifted on to it, he was pushed off down the corridor and the doors closed after him.
'Doctor,' asked the shaken Ryukhin in a whisper, ' is he really ill?'
'Oh yes,' replied the doctor.
'Then what's the matter with him?' enquired Rvukhin timidly.
The exhausted doctor looked at Ryukhin and answered wearily:
'Overstimulation of the motor nerves and speech centres . .

Wow :D

A little Googling turns up that this is a copy and paste job from Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Is this the new strategy? Rather than try to create realistic blocks of text, simply copy existing blocks?

Regardless, it's funny.

(And who's Bender Chi? That name is awesome. I may have to use it somewhere.)

Car = dead

Well, not dead so much as making a weird noise rather than, you know, starting. The engine seems like it's going to start, but then it hangs and doesn't catch.

Car's on its way to the shop and I'm at work now. Here's a silly audio post I made while I was waiting for Sean to come pick me up.

I went swimming

It was pretty cool. The Family Y (Wilson Branch) is huge. It'll be a good place to work out. The pool is pretty nice. Its deepest point is only 7 feet, though. Still, it's a decent size. I mainly played around in the open kiddie area because all the lap lanes were being used. Someday I hope to actually swim laps. I've never done it before ;P

That plus my walk during lunch give me some decent exercise for the day. I'm going to try not to overdo it. After work, I was starving, and had to force myself not to just go straight home and eat.

I did have hotdogs when I got home from the Y, though. Here's hoping I can improve my eating habits.

Adding exercise to my normal routine

I went for a 30-or-so minute walk during lunch today. Leaving the station, I first headed further east into the lovely little garden-filled neighborhood, then cut off to the right to hit Knox Avenue and finally head towards the river. At Martintown Road I turned right and headed up the big hill, and then I headed up the big hill on Georgia Avenue. By that time I was pooped, so I came back to work.

It was really pretty out. It has rained, and may in fact be raining right now, but I didn't get rained on during my walk. There were all sorts of flowers blooming and bright green leaves poking out of the trees. With the rain, the tree trunks were dark, providing a nice stark background. The sky was overcast, meaning it would have been perfect for pictures, but since I was out for exercise, I hadn't brought anything but my keys and phone.

There were two places in particular that I would have liked to have taken pictures. The first was on the road I took to get to Knox Avenue. On the left, there was a house with a No Trespassing sign--but I almost missed the sign because of the beautiful gardens practially pouring over the old brick walls and regular chain-link fence. There was a lot of wisteria, plus pink, red, and white flowers. Absolutely beautiful. The second spot was along Knox Avenue near a bank, where a stand of thick, dark-trunked trees was peppered with little bursts of bright green leaves. I saw the perfect angle for that shot, too...

But I'm glad I didn't loiter around. The exercise was great. It was about 55 degrees out, and unthinkingly I'd worn a coat. I finally ended up carrying it back up Georgia Avenue. The coat and the exertion of walking uphill had me working up a sweat :>

Tonight after work I'm hoping to get over to the Family Y, where I have a free membership from work (!!!!), and do some swimming. I don't think I will ask myself to do anything more advanced than that at this point. Besides, I need to get home in time to cook dinner.

I have been looking forward to swimming for a long, long time. I can't wait!

Well, this is interesting.

Publishers Weekly: Harper, Tokyopop Ink Manga Deal (via the ever-awesome Japundit)

In a turnaround that highlights the sales potential of graphic novels and manga in the book trade, HarperCollins will take over the distribution of the Tokyopop manga list to the trade. In addition, Tokyopop and HarperCollins will collaborate on developing manga adaptations of HarperCollins authors beginning with the bestselling young adult novels of Meg Cabot.

We here in the West keep hearing conflicting things about manga in Japan. First it's so popular that everyone grows up reading it; next it's not really so mainstream, and people in Japan don't understand our fascination with it. I think the real truth is somewhere in between: manga plays as big a role in Japanese life as the television does (did?) in American life, but like the television, it's not something you obsess about. It's just there.

I met a Japanese girl once who claimed strongly not to have any interest in anime and manga. Later, when I actually went to Japan, I met another Japanese girl who had some friends over, and they all watched an episode of One Piece. The girls obviously didn't follow the show regularly; they were just interested to see what was up with it. These girls were not stereotypical Akiba nerds; nor were they concerned about seeming to be stereotypical Akiba nerds. They were just living, and enjoying their pop culture. I think that mentality also describes the general manga experience.

So the manga phenomenon here in the West is different, because it's not already established, but I wouldn't say that it is completely alien from the Japanese manga experience. What may be different is the number of people who will buy any title simply because it's manga. It would be interesting to see how that number compares to the number of manga otaku in Japan.

I am so sick of "down the rabbit hole"

Please, people, stop using that phrase. It wasn't a particularly clever allusion before The Matrix, and it certainly isn't one now, afterwards.

So guess what? There was a fire at our new apartment complex.

I'm not even kidding.

The best part is, it happened right behind our apartment.

You can see the blackened dirt where pine straw used to be extending to about three feet from where our patio starts.

The fire happened Sunday afternoon, in broad daylight. No one's sure what caused it, but the firefighters got it put out very quickly. I wasn't home when it happened, but Sean was, and he saw the fire. He says that the firemen looked at all the bystanders and were like, "Doesn't anyone have a hose?" and the residents had to respond, "We're not allowed to have hoses."

It's true. It's in our leasing agreement.

Ooooh!

Who is this?

Gunner may have competition for "Hottest Guy in Zap!"...

He kind of looks like Sasuke, except that he's actually hot.

Did I mention he's hot yet?

Wow, I am so sore

I almost couldn't get out of bed this morning :> But moving around helps.

Right now I'm sitting on the floor next to the kitchen, reading webcomics and eating leftover Chinese food from the other day. The dishwasher is running, scouring the lovely dishes Aunt Carol gave us, along with one place setting of the beautiful dishes someone at Sean's work gave us. He still needs to bring the rest of them from work.

I've got a few errands to run today. First, I need to take some stuff to Goodwill that we accumulated but ultimately decided we don't want. Second, I need to get over to Wal-Mart and snag a few essentials that I somehow forgot--like dish towels. And finally, Sean and I are going to a furniture store to see about a dining room table, some end tables for the living room, a TV stand, and a bedroom suite. We have the bed Will gave us, but we decided we'd like a king-sized bed, and we need a chest of drawers anyway, so there you have it.

We'll be using the kotatsu for a coffee table. With the shape of the room, using it as the dining room table wouldn't quite work, but that's okay. I don't know that all my friends and family would be ecstatic about eating on the floor, anyway ;>

I'll have more pictures later.

Update 1:25: More pictures start here. I'm off to run my errands!

So tired

I've been up since 7 and running hard all day, carrying things, unpacking things, sorting things, and putting things away, so I'm really too tired to give you all a debriefing. Suffice it to say that all of our possessions are now in our new apartment (though not necessarily in their permanent homes), and there are pictures.

I think I'll go die now.

Before I hit the sack...

Today (March 25) is my bone marrow birthday! As of today, I have been cancer-free for eight years. Go me!

I usually go out to eat for dinner on my bone marrow birthday, but tomorrow will be different due to the move. Friends are invited to come over and hang out tomorrow night, so my thought is that we should all get Giuseppe's pizza, since they're right down the street, and oh-so-delicious.

(So yeah, Mari, Kelly, Chris, I haven't been very organized with all this, but please come over and hang out if you have the time! Call me and I'll tell you where we live now ;>)

Me so happy

After work I went straight over to the apartment and took all the stuff out of my car that has been sitting there waiting for us to have a place to put it. Then I came back to the in-laws' and stocked my car full: all my clothes, paperwork, cooking supplies, and other random things I had lying around the house. I didn't get everything, but I got quite a chunk.

As might be expected, I took pictures.

I think I need a step stool for that kitchen. But I have so much more space than I did at Springhouse! Very, very nice.

And oh yeah, there are other rooms too ;>

Tomorrow is the big moving day. I have to be up at 7 or so and out of the house by 7:40, because that's when the guy who is giving us the sofa, chair, and china cabinet wants us to meet him and pick them up. I live to accomodate the man with all the furniture ;D At some point after that the washer and dryer will be delivered, and at some point after that we'll head over to Will and Sarah's and get the bed. After that I will just need to collect the TV from Audrey's basement, and I think that will be everything that people have offered us.

It's looking like I will need to buy a chest of drawers. Right now I just have my clothes in a laundry basket. I'm thinking Big Lots, but we'll see.

I have, in my possession, a key to the new apartment

WOO!

News flash

I clear my throat exactly the same way as my mom does.

Today's lunch

Today I went for a walk along the riverfront Greeneway.

Note to self: wear sneakers next time. (Ow...)

Good morning

Well, I thought 11 PM was early enough.

I guess technically I went to bed at 11:20 or so, but still.

This morning I was very tired. I heavily considered forcing myself to get up at 6:30 as planned, but ultimately I slept in until 8:30. And I'm still a little foggy. I don't think I would have felt better had I made myself get up, though.

Sean liked his present :) I got him the first season of Batman Beyond, which he didn't even know was on DVD. I kept it a secret for a month and a half :D

Fresh!

This Penny Arcade is about to come true.

Hope it doesn't suck!

Today was...a day

It was rainy again today. I went to lunch at the Bee's Knees and had the spicy shrimp sandwich, which was excellent. While I was there I read a few articles in the Metro Spirit. For some reason I was under the impression that the Spirit sucked, but it's actually a good paper. I enjoyed the Whines section quite a bit, and the editorial about rape in Richmond County was very well written. The paper covered a few issues that we've been covering at work; I found a lot of it illuminating. It makes me think that I should read more local newspapers, to fill in the gaps.

Doing contract work in the morning before work is draining, but I seem to be able to handle it as long as I get to sleep early enough. 11 pm seems to be the best bedtime for me, so I'm going to try to stick to that.

Ultimately I would like to spend at least some of my mornings working out rather than racking up more hours sitting in a chair, but I haven't gotten myself adjusted to getting up at the same time every morning yet.

I'd like to start planning and making delicious and nutritious meals, too. Once we're moved, I'm going to focus on doing that. There was a lady on the Oprah rerun today who wrote a book called Why French Women Don't Get Fat. I'd heard the theory before, but in a nutshell it's this: eat slowly. Savor your food. Don't eat until you're full. Eat what you want, in small portions. And walk to more places rather than driving/taking the elevator/etc.

I think I can handle the first part, but the walking bit is troublesome. There are no stairs in any of the places in which I spend most of my time. I can't walk to work (or even bike; North Augusta's a little far). I'm not sure there's any way to modify my normal routine to include more physical activity, other than walking more during lunch than usual. It would seem that old fashioned working out is going to have to suffice in my case.

In other news, Sean's special present came in the mail today. I can't wait to see the look on his face.

Lunchbreak linkage

Staying in for lunch today, since while I like rain, I don't necessarily like being rained on.

So I'm websurfing. Here are some of the things I've read today!

Asahi: Researchers transplant a human-type immune system in mouse

At the beginning of their experiment, the researchers genetically engineered a mouse and disabled its immune system to prevent an adverse reaction from the transplant.

Human hematopoietic cells were injected into the veins of the mouse within 48 hours of its birth.

The cells took root in the mouse's bone marrow, and then changed into various types of human immune cells.

The mouse's own cells remained in the animal.

However, almost all of the T-cells and B-cells, which are primarily responsible for immunization, and the NK-cells, which attack hostile cells like cancer cells, were human.

Mice have various types of immune cells, but because some of those cells are different than human cells, scientists have been unable to come up with results that apply directly to humans.

This problem is believed to be a reason why new drugs, including anti-cancer medicine, can have adverse effects on humans.

Testing the drugs on mice with a human immune system could help to fix that problem.

I found this article really exciting and somewhat disturbing at the same time.

Mainichi: Elderly woman killed by train after bogus barrier malfunction

A 69-year-old woman was fatally hit by a train at a railway crossing after apparently thinking the barriers were down due to a malfunction.

A nearby alarm post was displaying the kanji for "malfunction" at the time of the accident.

Police suspect Sumiko Shibata, 69, from Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, tried to cross the tracks, despite the crossing barriers on the JR Tokaido Line being down, because she believed they had lowered erroneously.

So the "malfunction" alarm was on "correctly", but the old woman didn't know how to interpret it. Sounds like JR needs to rethink the design.

The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites (via Slashdot)

As Internet professionals, we often forget that a large part of our society is actually afraid of the Internet. Although online shopping is growing, most people still have concerns about online security and the impersonal nature of the web. Most people do not know how to surf efficiently and use only the default tools that are given to them when they take their computer out of the box.

And this is one reason that ugly websites can sell. The lack of professionalism and a polished look leads one to believe that they are dealing with an individual. Websites cannot be trusted, but individuals can be trusted.

You may not believe this, but I have actually thought about this before. Every time I start out to design a slick website, I wonder whether or not it will scare people away. (Hey, it's a good excuse to be lazy, at least. ;P)

The article goes on:

Although the above theory holds true in many examples, I believe there is more to the success of ugly websites than just conveying trust. Many of the websites that I referenced above have one underlying trait that can be attributed to their success: they are extremely easy to use.

It's a good piece. (But the author seems to have an aversion to apostrophes.)

And finally, Marie Mockett discusses illustrated travel journals. And they are awesome.

I suppose it is all very well to be able to read and to like words, but after seeing these books, I really wish I could draw. Let me say that again. I really, really wish I could draw!

Well, I can draw, but I don't do it much. Seeing these books makes me think it would be a good thing to practice.

Blarg

I'm mostly well-rested, and it's a nice rainy day out (I don't mean that sarcastically; rain is so rejuvenating), but I'm stuck doing crap work I'm completely uninterested in, work that occurs every month, work that I am not sure I can get out of.

Oh well.

Trend: smaller, more open spaces

There's a good article on MSN about how a large portion of the American population is looking into "downsized" homes.

[Architect Sarah] Susanka's idea was so simple it was radical: "It's time for a different kind of house," the architect wrote, manifesto-like, in her 1998 book "The Not So Big House." "A house that is more than square footage; a house that is Not So Big, where each room is used every day. A house with a floorplan inspired by our informal lifestyle instead of the way our grandparents lived." She derided most spraddling suburban tract homes, with their unused dining rooms and their too many bathrooms, as spacious but not particularly comfortable -- less nests than "massive storage containers for people."

There is a really interesting table at the bottom of the piece, recreated here.

Average size of new homes built in various developed countries
Country	Sq. feet
United States	2,349
Canada	1,800
New Zealand	1,900
Australia	2,200
U.K.	815
Ireland	930
Japan	1,000

A zillion pictures

I've put up pictures from the last few days: Thursday's lunch at the Greeneway; yesterday's day trip to Washington, Georgia to check out a possible wedding site for Brooke and David; and Alchemy's Southern Oasis hafla, which took place last night. I did take some pictures on Friday to go along with my "podcast", but when I was uploading pictures last night I decided that all of those pictures sucked. It was too bright out.

Lunch Thursday was nice. I went to North Augusta's Publix and grabbed some sushi (which I dropped on the floor, but it still tasted good. It was still safe inside its package). Then I headed over to Martintown Road and sat on a bench and ate it.

The flowers were just starting to bloom in Washington, just like here in Augusta. This is the most prominent flower we saw.

The plantation home itself was beautiful, well-maintained but with that old-house feel.

As usual, it was tough to get bellydance pictures in the low light. Everyone has red-eye, which I did not bother to try and correct. And the costumes are difficult to make out. But some of the pictures are decent. There's also a little movie in there of Ame spinning around with a sword on her head! (I stuck it at the end to better facilitate slideshows.)

Hikaru no Go is out on DVD!!!!

O_O

Why was I not informed of this?!

Volume 1

Volume 2

Totally going on my DVD Wish List.

A pale shadow of what once was

Yeah, so here's a horrible recreation of what I audioblogged during my lunch today. It seems I'm okay at extemporizing and horrible at recitation. Maybe I should have used notes.

Oh well. I'll have to try for a good, fluid, off-the-cuff audioblog some other time.

I was hoping to enjoy this experience, and I had some thoughts all ready to post, like how when I'm explaining things I think I sound like my Aunt Carol, and how it's hard when I'm thinking of things to say and wishing I could magically hyperlink them to something to just keep talking. I even took some pictures to go along with the story.

But losing the post made me lose the thrill, so there you have it.

I'll put the pictures up later.

Doctor Who

I watched the US premiere of the new Dr. Who on the Sci-Fi Channel tonight. They showed two episodes.

The first one was kind of boring, and I found myself flipping to G4/Tech TV several times, which was showing a TNG rerun. I guess I don't find mannequins coming to life very compelling...and to be honest, there wasn't much character development in the episode. Rose was established as a gutsy, passionate woman who provided a good counterpoint for the seemingly cold Doctor, but I didn't really care about the things she cared about (especially her boyfriend--though given the episode's ending, maybe that was intentional).

There was one really good part. The Doctor describes an object he's looking for, and Rose spots it over his shoulder. When she nods at it, he looks, then turns back and says, "What?" She nods again, and he looks again, but still--"What?" Finally, after the third "What?", he gets it. The comedic timing is perfect.

Still, the second episode was much better overall. I don't know if I liked the premise better--space and time travel are always good, and there were some excellent themes--or if the characterization was superior--I think it was, we get insight into the Doctor's past and some great introspection on Rose's part. Probably both. The parade of aliens was nothing new, but I enjoyed the humor. The idea of a bunch of rich aliens risking their necks to watch a planet be destroyed by its sun is so perfect, I can't imagine that no one's ever thought of it before. And the "last human"...wow.

I loved seeing the Doctor get pissed, too. (And by that I don't mean "drunk", you zany Brits.)

I enjoyed the performances of both leads; the Doctor is charismatic, and Rose is compelling (and a total babe). Also, Rose's mum rules.

So all in all, I am interested to see the next episode.

I had never seen any Doctor Who before tonight. I wonder what the differences are?

ADV is having a huge sale...

...so I just bought a bunch of Angelic Layer, Full Metal Panic!, and RahXephon.

Check it out!

It's too bad it's only "selected items", and that more of the anime I want to get/replace isn't on the list. But hey, it's still a fabulous deal!

I figured it out

Apparently the post didn't go up because I didn't wait through the menu before I keyed in my menu choice.

So that's five minutes of my rambling gone forever.

Alas.

Grr...

I signed up for Audioblogger the other day, and today at lunch I called in and recorded my first entry.

So where is it?

Heck if I know :P

Inspiration

Why is it that when I have plenty of free time, I'm dull and lifeless and completely uncreative, but when I'm extraordinarily busy, I tend to come up with all sorts of creative ideas? (I'm pretty proud of that blog template/layout/feature toolbar I came up with, for example.)

Here lately, an anime music video has leapt almost fully-formed into my head. It happened in the car, because that's the only place I ever listen to the radio, and the inspiration was a new song.

Today the song came on again, and this time I could almost see the music video. The song is perfect. And the video would express some feelings I've had about one of my all-time favorite anime.

The only problems?

I don't have the source video.

I don't have the song.

I don't have video editing software.

I have never made an anime music video before.

;>

Finally some flower pictures

I've been staring at flowering trees for days (weeks?) and wishing I could get some good pictures, but I haven't managed to get close to any of them until today. Pictures of my excursion to Riverview Park are up. I also uploaded pictures from yesterday, when I went to the Greeneway.

I keep writing posts in my head while I'm out at lunch, and then not committing them to paper/screen later on. Today I thought I probably ought to set up audioblogger or something. We'll see.

In any case, let me just recap real quick what I did yesterday and today.

I brought my lunch yesterday, but that didn't stop me from going to McDonald's on my break and getting a Filet O'Fish combo meal :> I then took it to the golf course side of the Greeneway.

I chose to wear my new floral high heels (Brooke's shoes) yesterday, and while they are comfortable, they're still high heels. So I took them off and walked barefoot down the Greeneway. The warm pavement felt awesome under my feet.

Looking for a place to stop and eat, I considered a trail leading towards the river, and a park bench, but both were too sunny. So I went on until I reached the old metal building sitting along the left-hand side of the Greeneway.

I didn't stay, but I did look around. Though if walking a short way up the path, finding a trail that runs up next to the outbuilding, following that trail, and eating my lunch on a bed of pine needles counts as staying, then I guess I did stay.

By the way, the strap on my Wal-Mart purse is broken. This occurred shortly after Mari told me that the strap on her Wal-Mart purse had broken. I think she jinxed it. Regardless, I had a lot of fun lugging it and all my other crap around while trying to take pictures.

And that was my lunch yesterday.

Today I decided to go to Wife Saver. I knew there was one in North Augusta, but I wasn't sure where, so I googled it. When I drove out Martintown to find it, I realized that there are hella restaurants on Martintown Road. I will have to go to Monterrey's sometime!

My winding journey back into town led me further out Martintown, then back in on some road of which I don't know the name, and finally to Buena Vista, which I took all the way down to Riverview Park. I hoped to find some flowering trees in the public space, but no such luck. I drove past the place where I usually park and headed back around the baseball field. Finally I felt that I really wanted to eat under the shade of some nice pine trees, even if there weren't any flowers nearby, so I stopped and carted my lunch over to a bench among the trees.

Unfortunately I wasn't there long before a bee started buzzing around me. At first I just sat still and waited for him to go away, but after a time it became obvious that he was very interested in the bench beneath me, so I packed up and moved on. The bee nuzzled up under the bench; he must have been a carpenter bee. ;P

I finished my lunch on a set of concrete steps, then wandered around and took a few pictures.

On my way out of the parking lot I realized there was a beautiful flowering tree right across the street.

So, like the obsessive that I am, I left my car idling in the entrance to the parking lot, ran across the street, and took pictures until a truck pulled into the parking lot and I decided I'd better move.

After that, I headed back to the office, narrowly avoiding an accident when I failed to notice a stop sign ;P gj!

All in all, I had a good day. As usual, my lunch excursion was very pleasant, and breathed life into my day. Otherwise, I stayed busy, and I had a project to work on in between newscasts.

I also didn't get up early and do contract work today, which I think helped me be less tired. But I have plenty of freelance projects I need to finish before I can stop doing that and have a clear conscience, so tomorrow it's back to the grind.

"New Nigeria"

Nigerian 'Gbenga Sesan writes about his trip to Atlanta, and his reaction to seeing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s personal effects. It's a nice piece, and a good reminder that though sometimes it seems like the US is horribly horribly prejudiced, things have changed. (Let's just hope they can change even more!)

Koizumi embarrassed someone!

Gasp!

Reuters: Mind your language, Japan PM tells parliamentarian

A question in Japan's parliament on Wednesday peppered with English financial terms had Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi warning a lawmaker to mind his language.

"Who understands (English) words like 'compliance' and 'governance'?" Koizumi asked the embarrassed opposition questioner.

"Use words that ordinary people can understand," he said to loud cheers and laughter.

"Some members know English, I've studied a bit, but debates shouldn't be limited to those who understand English. Debates are for everyone."

X)

Last night I dreamed about a blog template.

Is that scary or what?

I can actually still see the template in my head, and it's kind of cool. It's Victorian and very flowery.

In my dream it was on someone else's blog, and I clicked a button to "apply it to my blog", which occurred instantly. Wouldn't that be a neat feature? Maybe blog hosts/software developers could create something to interact with themselves/each other/browsers. Has someone done this already?

Busy! Yay!

One of the best things about my job (did I mention I love my job?) is the fact that it gets really busy right towards the end of the day.

Normally things would be winding down, and I'd be trying desperately to make it through the last few hours of work. But not in this job! In this job, I have stuff to do that lasts pretty much until quittin' time. That rules.

I'm feeling a little sleepy.

Usually I go somewhere to eat lunch, but today I just stayed at my desk. No particular reason, really. I microwaved my Healthy Choice Sesame Chicken, then just sat here and ate it. Then I ate most of the rest of my lunch, while reading Book-A-Minute (they never get old). Now I'm just piddling away the last 15 minutes of my lunchbreak.

This morning I got up at 6. I actually woke up at 4:44, and considered getting out of bed, but instead I kind of lay there for the next hour and fifteen minutes, finally getting up just in time to catch my alarm when it went off.

The main thing I worked on this morning was designing a logo. We basically have the idea down, but it'll take some tweaking to finalize.

Then I came to work, and caught up on the weekend news stories, and did some extra things, and started on a section for Masters coverage.

I'd kind of like to take a nap!

Kitty-chan

When I stayed in Yatsushiro, our class went on field trips with the IEC college students. One such trip involved climbing 777 steps. It was hard, even given all the exercise I'd gotten on the Japan trip to date. As I was huffing up the stairs, Kuni, one of the girls, told me to ganbatte, and when I stopped to recuperate she pressed a tiny Hello Kitty figurine into my hand and told me to concentrate on Kitty-chan, and I could do it.

I finally did make it up those steps.

On one of our last days in town, Brandon and I visited the children's store where my host sister worked. I didn't get a picture of him, but there was a little boy at the shop, maybe the child or grandchild of the proprietess. He seemed shy...so I unzipped my backpack and pulled out the treasured Kitty-chan figurine.

I can't remember if I said hai, kore or douzo, but I gave the figure to the boy, and he smiled. Everyone seemed to think that was the perfect thing for me to do.

But as you'll note from the picture caption, I always sort of regretted giving that toy away, because of the memories associated with it.

This morning as I was driving in to 2go-Box, I suddenly thought that I don't regret giving Kitty-chan to the little boy anymore. After all, what point would there have been in my keeping it? It would just be gone now, with all the rest of my stuff.

Funny how one's perspective can change.

Princess Aiko goes to Tokyo Disney

I don't know why major news outlets think this is big news, or why I think it's big news, but there you have it.

Reuters: Japan's child princess gets taste of Disney

Mainichi: Crown prince, princess take Princess Aiko to Tokyo Disney Resort

I was interested to see Princess Masako in these pictures. She's looking well.

Look at that coat Princess Aiko is wearing! Isn't it adorable?

I don't know why, but Crown Prince Naruhito cracks me up. "Hi, I'm the next emperor of Japan! Like my burgundy jacket?"

A totally awesome, exhausting day

In a burst of ecstatic shopping, I have acquired quite a few of the things on my list for the apartment. I'm pretty much set on kitchen stuff (though it occurred to me belatedly that I also need kitchen towels and washrags). I didn't get the glass bakeware yet because I have a weird feeling like I already have some. It's probably all in my head, but just to be safe I'm going to wait until I've unpacked everything.

I met up with Mari, Bonnie (Mari's mother), and Brooke at Hair Cuttery, where Mari was having her hair done. After that was finished we went and had a late lunch at the cajun place in the food court--it was so good. I had the bourbon chicken.

We checked out Payless in the mall, and I found some absolutely beautiful high heeled sandals. They fit perfectly and were easy to walk in. I was so ecstatic that I refused to take them off until I showed them to Brooke.

"Look at these shoes!" I said.

"Yeah, I have those," she said.

"They're so pretty!" I said, not quite comprehending.

"Yeah, those are the ones Dorothy was trying on at my house that one time, that I bought thinking I'd wear them to the opera."

Thud. I've done it again! When I was in college, my roommate bought a dress, and I advised her on the color. Then I later bought the same dress without realizing it, in the other color, and she accused me of doing it on purpose.

"Are you going to get them?"

"Oh...I don't want to like wear the same shoes as you and outshine you or something," I said (because despite my very real concern, I can't help ribbing Brooke. It comes as naturally to me as breathing).

"Don't worry girl, you could never outshine me," she responded, and that was that. I bought the shoes ;>

After a quick stop at American Cookie Company (because apparently such a stop is required by law), and then a visit to Brooke's mom at Macy's, we headed over to Target. I mainly just wanted to eyeball their furniture to get an idea of what I might want for the living room and bedroom, but we also perused the purses and the exercise equipment.

When I realized it was 5:15, I headed over to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Since I had a gift card (thanks to the generosity of a previous employer), that was where I wanted to do the majority of my shopping, and I was afraid that it would close at 6. (It actually closed at 7.) Mari and her entourage stuck around at Target, looking at shoes (I think).

It turned out that I hadn't thought of everything I would need. I got some ceramic containers for dry goods, a scrub brush for doing dishes, and a potato peeler. From the list, I got glasses (a nice set of rounded-square glasses with an intentionally non-flat bottom--the "flaw" intrigued me), a cutting board, wooden spoons, spatulas, and a lovely wok, complete with lid and complimentary bamboo steamer. (The first wok I saw was $100. I'm not insane. This one was a far more reasonable $35.)

I saw a couple of other things I wanted--a dish drainer and a beautiful tea kettle--but I decided to wait on the drainer until I knew the dimensions of my counter, and on the kettle because it's not a necessity.

While I was shopping, Brooke called to say that they were heading to the nearby Payless, so when I was finished I met up with them. Brooke and Mari both bought a zillion shoes.

Then we decided to go to Michael's; Mari wanted to look for some flowers and feathers for a spring wreath she was making for her house, and I doubt Brooke would ever turn down a chance to go to Michael's. She even used to work there. So we headed over.

At first I just observed their shopping, and vainly attempted to slake my all-consuming thirst at the water fountain, but after awhile I decided to indulge in a few unnecessary things: two candles, a candle holder, and a decorative box. When I showed them to Brooke, she was like, "Do you need that?"

Which is funny, because usually she's the one who says, "Go on, buy it, girl!"

I think we decided it was a case of sour grapes, though ;> Since she's moving to England next year, she can't buy decorating stuff anymore. (Well, "can't" isn't the right word. It's more like she decided it wasn't prudent to keep buying a bunch of stuff until she's there, in England, with a better idea of what she has to work with. Which makes a lot of sense. But it has to be annoying. I mean, all three of us--me, Mari, and Brooke--are the type who like to organize and plan and design and decorate. Brooke probably feels like her hands are tied. ...just like how I've felt these past six months!)

So finally the store closed and we checked out, and Mari and her mom headed out their own way and I drove Brooke back to her car. It had been a long day already, and my feet were killing me...but I still had to get groceries!

So I went to Wal-Mart in Evans. In addition to the typical grocery stuff, I got two shower curtains, two sets of shower curtain hooks, and two "allergy reducing" pillows. Now we will be able to bathe and sleep in our apartment! Yay!

It was a really fun day. I'm so glad to have this much of my shopping out of the way, since I don't have a lot of time left to do it. As you know, next weekend is the Washington roadtrip, and the weekend after that is the move...and I work until 7 pm, and right now I'm doing contract work in the morning before work. So really my weekdays are full, because when I get home all I want to do is sit around online for a bit and then go to sleep. (Thursday, the bridesmaid dress thing, is going to be interesting.)

I think I can wait to get the rest of the little items until we're moved in and I have a better idea of a decorating style. The kitchen stuff I bought today is all shiny silver metal and black--I don't like brushed aluminum/whatever anymore because it's so ugly when fingerprints get on it. Plus, my new pots and pans are shiny. So that'll be my general theme, and then I'll add splashes of color here and there. I have no idea about the rest of the rooms, but I imagine a lot will depend on what the furniture we're getting looks like.

Whee, plans...so much to do...

I'm so happy right now :)

O_O

.............

Have you seen the Prince of Tennis movie?

O...M...F...G!!!!

About the point where Tezuka Zone caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, I literally could not get my mouth to close.

And then it got ridiculous!

Just...wow.

The radishes are back, and they want revenge

Remember how poor Gutsy Radish was decapitated? Well, apparently

Radishes sprouting up in unusual places have been reported all over Japan

and now there's a Gutsy Radish copycat in Tokyo.

The radish, which measures about 4 centimeters in diameter, apparently started growing under the asphalt and pushed up the wooden lid of a ditch as it got bigger. Its leaves span the width of a human hand and the radish can been seen from the road.

They're coming.

They're coming for us all.

Bloody pirates

I watched Pirates of the Caribbean today for the first time. What a fun movie! I didn't know anything about the plot, so I had no idea what to expect. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jack Sparrow--excuse me, Captain Jack Sparrow--is such a cool character. When the movie first came out I saw some promo pictures, and all I could think was that he looked a little weird, what with the mascara. But in the movie it works! (What is it with Johnny Depp and makeup?)

Keira Knightley is purdy.

And the music is pretty good. I hadn't heard of Klaus Badelt before. Based solely on the driving theme of the ships (and the fact that Disney used him for The Lion King), I guessed Hans Zimmer. I was wrong!

I do agree with Mari that the corset aspects of the plot were pretty stupid. I guess they would be cute and funny if you didn't know anything about corsets.

The IMDb has some fun facts about the movie.

Planning

Our move-in date for the new apartment is March 24. I am really excited.

So many people have been generous to us. Furniture-wise, we will start out with a couch, a chair, a china cabinet, and a desk (thanks to a man at Cheryl's work); a bed (thanks to Will and Sarah); and a TV (thanks to Robert and Julia).

My mom gave me her other wicker basket to use as a hamper--she started out with two, and I had one of them in the apartment. That will lend a sense of normalcy and familiarity to the new place, although I did unfortunately break one of the handles.

We've also already got dishes, including a set from someone at Sean's work, a set from Aunt Carol, and some nice Japanese pieces I picked up at various Asian grocery stores. And Cheryl gave us some lovely silverware for Christmas. I'll have to buy some glasses when I do the shopping for other necessities. I'd also like to buy two coffee cups for hot cocoa, a treat Sean and I indulge in on cool evenings.

We have some bedding, from Aunt Carol and Aunt Irene, some beautiful towels from Uncle Tom, and two towels I bought at Wal-Mart, but I will need to buy pillows and a few extra towels.

Aunt Carol gave me a Magic Bullet, which I am very excited about--I can't wait to try out some recipes with it. With that, I shouldn't need a blender or food processor, but eventually I would like to replace my Kitchenaid mixer. (Mom says I should have a Bosch mixer/processor. They are industrial-strength, strong enough to grind grain. They are very expensive...I'm not sure I would use it enough to justify it. But you never know.)

I will need to get a new can opener and toaster.

Mom and Dad gave me a wonderful set of pots and pans for Christmas, so I shouldn't need anything in that department except a wok. I already have a rice cooker, given to me by my mother's cousin. With the pot and pan set came some cooking utensils, but I still need wooden spoons and plastic and metal spatulas. I also need to buy a set of glass bakeware.

As I mentioned, we're getting a desk for the office, which Cheryl says she thinks is an L-shaped desk. David gave me a nice CRT monitor which I plan to make liberal use of; at first I'm just going to use it as a second screen for my laptop, but eventually I'd like to have a desktop again. It will be so nice to have a CRT and be able to see colors and details properly. I'm used to LCDs now, but they still don't feel as "real" as CRTs.

We got a printer free when we bought our laptops, so we're covered there too.

We will eventually need chairs for the office. I want to get Aeron chairs again, of course, but we might not do that right away. We'll see. Herman Miller has also come out with a different chair, the Celle, which costs less and is available in burgundy and pink. I definitely want to check those out.

As far as dining room furniture, all we have so far is the china cabinet. However, Sean has agreed that we should get a kotatsu. For those of you who don't know, a kotatsu is a low table--essentially coffee-table height--with a heater built under it. The top of the table comes off so you can put a blanket (futon) beneath it, and you sit at the table with your legs under the blanket on cold days.

A kotatsu is a decent-size table, and I think we will probably just use it to eat on at first (or maybe permanently). For that, I'll want to invest in some zabuton pillows for sitting on. (For now I'll probably get some cheap Wal-Mart cushions.)

When we're not using the kotatsu, it will serve as a coffee table. I'm kind of imagining Sean spending most of his time there, maybe leaning back against the couch, legs tucked under the warmth of the blanket and heater.

As you can see from the floorplan (we'll be in an apartment like the one on the left), the living room and dining room are one big long open area. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to arrange the furniture. I will need something to put the TV on, but that's not a high priority right now. I'd like to take my time and find nice furniture pieces that will go with my style.

I do want to buy a shelf to keep books and DVDs on. My collection is rebuilding, slowly but surely.

I'm going to have to live in the apartment for awhile before I decide on a noren, but I really do think I will want one--or something--for the doorway to the kitchen right off the front door.

For the bedroom, we have a walk-in closet, so we might not need to get a dresser/chest of drawers. If we do, though, we can certainly buy one. Other than that, we'll need bedside tables, and then we'll be pretty much covered.

A large expense will be the washer and dryer set, but thanks to the generosity of Mom, Dad, and Hai, we will save a lot of money when we buy them at Sears.

I think that pretty much covers what we'll need for our new place.

It is, of course, due to the generosity of Aunt Bev and Uncle Josh, Aunt Irene, Grandma, Uncle Steve, Hai, JP at Japundit, Matt, and so many others that we are able to replace so many things, move into a new apartment, and still have money left over to invest in our future. And then there are those dear souls who bought us treasured things from the Things We Lost in the Fire list! I'm continually amazed that we are doing so well, given that we had no renter's insurance and did not receive any assistance from the Red Cross. Our well-being is completely due to the kindness of our friends and family, and for that we are grateful beyond words.

Here's my schedule for the next two weeks:

• March 13 onward: accumulate smaller needed items
  
  
• March 16: try on bridesmaid dresses for Brooke and David's wedding
  
  
• March 17: order kotatsu (delivery estimate is 5-9 business days via FedEx)
  
  
• March 18/19: head to Washington, Georgia with Brooke to check out a possible wedding site
  
  
• Week of March 20: shop for and decide on washer and dryer
  
  
• March 24, 25, 26: move into new apartment--gather up donated goods from across Augusta (neighbor's house, a storage facility, friends' houses); pick up washer and dryer
  
  
• Thereafter: organize, arrange, and buy any additional needed items

And there you have it.

Friday's lunch

I went to the Bee's Knees yesterday for lunch, to celebrate my first paycheck and my first two weeks of work. (Which reminds me, I forgot to turn in my timesheet yesterday...blah.)

This time I had the Spicy Crab sandwich, which was quite delicious.

It is really nice to be working so close to downtown, with quick access to my favorite restaurants, and in North Augusta, close to my favorite parks and trails. My plan is to join the Riverview Park Activities Center so that I can go there before or after work to work out.

I also want to buy a car that is big enough for my bike to fit inside--Mari is able to fit her bike inside her PT Cruiser, so that's what I'm leaning towards right now. With that, I can bring my bike with me for a morning ride and then not feel paranoid that something will happen to it while I'm at work and it's sitting outside.

Remember: form and function!

Tokyo's City Hall is gorgeous, a striking design that photographers love. You can see it in the opening credits of Hikaru no Go...but if you don't have access to that glorious anime (and why not?!), you can see it here.

Nice, eh?

Unfortunately, that cool design comes with a price, as government officials are discovering.

Only 15 years after it was built to great fanfare for its novel design, this soaring Tokyo landmark is plagued with rain leaks, faulty lighting and other aging problems.

Rainwater seeps through cracks, staining the walls and ceilings. City officials are clearly embarrassed.

But repairing the structure--even simply cleaning the outer walls--is hampered by the unusual geometric patterns of its modernist design.

"This is a result of the metropolitan government giving priority to design, without considering the operating costs," said a Tokyo official in charge of maintenance.

Full-scale repairs would cost about 100 billion yen, according to one estimate. That is almost two-thirds of the 157 billion yen it cost to build the structure in the first place.

Oops.

Kid brings mercury to my old high school

Lexington Herald-Leader: Student brings mercury to school; cleanup required

Ten students touched the liquid mercury, Young wrote in her letter. "When you touch it, it beads up and runs away from you, and they were touching it to see what it would do," Young said in an interview.
Those students were required to wash thoroughly, and their parents were called to bring changes of clothes to school, she said.

The boy brought the mercury to school on a bus. Young said that bus will not be used until it has been cleared by state officials.

The school will be closed this weekend as a private contractor removes any traces of mercury from a hallway in the upstairs seventh-grade wing, Young said. A Nicholasville contractor will do the cleanup work, but a cost estimate wasn't available today.

The student who brought the mercury, his family and home will be scanned for the chemical, according to Young.

Scary!

In other from-home news, I saw Dunbar High School cheerleaders on national news today.

Lunch, plus a possible photoblog

Pics from today's lunch are up. I went to the little trail stretching between Buena Vista and the golf course end of the Greeneway. I'm not sure if that's technically part of the Greeneway or not. Either way, it's pretty there.

Tomorrow I get my first paycheck. In celebration, I'll be taking myself out to lunch, so I probably won't take any pictures.

I'm thinking of starting a separate photoblog (I already have a name for it) in which I feature a single photo every day. I'd process the photo and make it all purty and stuff. I'm thinking that maybe that would gain more attention than spewing a whole bunch of mediocre photos all at once. Quality over quantity, plus a guaranteed photo every day.

Of course I would be dipping into the photos I already have up on smugmug, but I'd be making them better, you see.

I'll have to think more about this, especially about how I want to actually do it. A lot of people use pixelpost, which is definitely an option, but there is something very comforting about having my photos stored on smugmug. Maybe I could do both somehow.

Moron

I've got the blinds and curtains open and the lights off in the bedroom so I can see across the street where, despite numerous warnings from weathermen and the fire marshal, some idiot is burning something.

He's got the stuff in an oil can, but the fire keeps sparking and shooting out the top.

Today there was a fire in Aiken County that flared up out of nowhere to cover an acre in minutes. Officials say it could have been a cigarette or even someone's car exhaust that started it, because conditions lately have been very fire-friendly: dry with hard gusts of wind. Needless to say, people have been told they should hold off burning until the weather conditions change.

I'm waiting for the fire in the oil can to jump out and spread to something else--the car in front of it, or maybe the house behind it. Then I'll call 911 and hope I don't lose all my possessions yet again.

New, controversial museum in Savannah

Look, another reason to go back!

Not everybody in Savannah saw Safdie's design as romantic, nor did they celebrate, when the Telfair Museum pitched his 64,000-square-foot annex to city leaders in 1999.

The Historic Review Board, guardians of the 2.5-mile National Historic Landmark District where Savannah was founded in 1733, saw the glass-and-stone structure as a jarring intrusion on the city's Old South landscape.

This reminds me of Kyoto's train station, and the controversy thereof. (Although now I think more people are annoyed by Kyoto Tower than they are by the beautiful Kyoto Station.)

Lunchbreak

I dropped my lens cap into the Savannah River today.

When I told Sean, he didn't even blink. Without hesitation he responded, "That was coming."

Isn't he sweet?

I'd been working my way up the Riverwalk from St. Paul's, taking pictures.

I stopped to get some shots of the river and that's when my lens cap sprang out of my hand and fell into the water.

Unruffled (though I will admit to a curse word), I simply climbed down the rocks to the beach, took off my shoes and socks, waded into the river and snagged the floating bit of plastic.

Then I stayed and had lunch on the rocks while I waited for the lens cap and my feet to dry. I shared half my sandwich bread with the seagulls and little black ducks, and spent the remainder of my memory card snapping pictures of them as they converged on the crumbs.

Mmm...sugar wafers.

Had lunch at Riverwalk today. Beautiful day out.

We'll have more coverage on Heather Meadows Action News at 10.

Driving myself (let's get the seven lines? ...okay, no one will get that but Hai)

Immediately after work yesterday I went to Brooke's, stopping at Bi-Lo to grab a dinner of sushi (some sort of crab roll) and fruit. We sat around online for several hours; I read news and chatted with a few people (including Vertigo, who I haven't seen in awhile, so that was nice), and Brooke occasionally sent me links to bridesmaid dresses. (We're liking this one at the moment, but ultimately all the bridesmaids will help pick the final dress, on March 16. Brooke originally picked this one, but I don't know if it would look good on me. I guess we'll find out...)

At around 10 pm we got around to watching some Kyou Kara Maou. I watched Taizen Shuu episode 6 by myself, and then Brooke joined me for the regular series episodes 52-54. Cool standalone plot episode, silly standalone Gunter episode (ah, the Wild West exists in other dimensions!), and awesome beginning-of-the-end plot episode. As usual we ended on a cliffhanger :>

By the way, Brooke can now read this megapost, and the addendum.

In any event, the purpose of relating all that was to demonstrate that I had a long day yesterday. Last night as I fought to get to sleep I suddenly remembered that Uncle Lewis' wallet with all his foreign money he'd picked up while he was in Europe during World War II was lost in the fire. I started to feel sick over it, because that was truly a treasure. Then I forced myself to think of other things.

And now I'm up early doing some contract work. Whee!

Idle abortion thoughts

All the abortion news lately has got me thinking.

While I am opposed to abortion in general and absolutely believe that a baby that hasn't been born should have the same rights as a baby who has, I am not completely blind to, or hardened towards, the point of view of mothers who don't want to be mothers.

I can sit around all day and say that if a woman is raped, that doesn't make it the baby's fault, and the baby shouldn't have to die because of it. And I do believe that. But that doesn't negate the fact that the woman has been violated and may very well not want a reminder of that violation growing within her. She may want nothing to do with the baby whatsoever.

So I was thinking today, surely there is a solution to that sort of problem that doesn't require the death of the baby. Would it be possible to "harvest" a child from an unwilling mother, and either grow it in a test tube or implant it in a surrogate? Is anyone doing research into this?

Singed but triumphant

Today, my supervisor praised me for an email explanation I sent her of how part of our site works. She said it was the best explanation of the feature she'd seen.

Go me!

I am really enjoying the production meetings. It's so fun to watch the producers throw out and discuss story ideas. I almost feel like I might have something to contribute someday, which would rule.

Today I ate my lunch while I worked, then drove around trying to find flowers to photograph on my actual break. I didn't get anything particularly good, unfortunately. And there's supposed to be a freeze tonight, so probably all the flowers will be gone tomorrow.

Oh well. They'll come back, I suppose.

Oops

I totally fucked up last week at work. Let's just say I was overzealous in cleaning house. Something very important was lost.

Fortunately, there were backups, from which I was able to restore everything today. My employers seem to be taking the position of "no harm, no foul".

I felt like a moron for most of my workday, but by the end of everything I was cheerfully humming as I wrapped up the last few articles.

I am very lucky there were backups. I'm sure my mood wouldn't have bounced back if there hadn't been.

A lesson learned!

Romanization angst

If, like me, you are amused by attempts to render languages in the character sets of other languages, you might like this article!

To help spell road signs in Roman characters, the government uses a handbook issued by an affiliate of the transport ministry, the Japan Contractors Association of Traffic Signs and Lane Markings.

The handbook goes with the Hepburn rules, James Hepburn's widely used system for Japanese-Roman character transcription.

The Hepburn system eschews the use of macrons when indicating long vowels, like that tricky "o" in "Muroji." And it advocates that place names be spelled phonetically; the handbook uses the example of "Kyoto."

Based on the handbook, Masayuki Matsuhira, the temple's financial officer, says it is clear that the name should be spelled "Muroji."

Not everyone is on the same page.

Akihiko Yonekawa, a Japanese language professor at Baika Women's University, says that "Muroji" is not a proper phonetic spelling, so if that is the goal it should be spelled "Murooji." According to the direct transcription of kana characters, it would be "Murouji," but that does not comply with Hepburn's principles. The professor notes that prohibiting macrons made the whole process more difficult.

West Japan Railway Co. agrees. Forgoing the Hepburn system, the railway firm uses macrons for names with long vowel sounds, like Kyoto.

Macrons were used in romanization for decades after World War II, but in 1986 the transport ministry prohibited them.

"We don't know the details as to the change," says a transport ministry official.

"But we presume that Roman characters with macrons were not used for many of the road signs in the past, and those officials in charge of the changes might have thought it would be difficult for foreigners to understand the Roman alphabet with added macrons, since there are no macrons in English."

The textbooks I first studied used Yonekawa's method, but then almost immediately switched to using Japanese characters so it didn't really matter. Knowing what I know now about Japanese, I prefer to transcribe the sounds as they are represented in Japanese (rather than how they are pronounced), because that helps me remember how to "spell" them. (Sometimes there actually is a double お; a system that uses two 'o's for every long /o/ sound does not reflect this.)

I'm crazy

I decided to burn the candle at both ends this week and do a little web work for a couple of hours before work every morning. I may rethink this if today doesn't go so well.

So far in my web design "career" I have managed to avoid learning much of anything about ASP. Here lately I've had to mess with it some, and I haven't had a very good experience.

I don't really understand how it works. I can look at the code and think I get it intellectually, but there are things going on that I am unaware of, meaning that when I go to edit, I end up breaking the page. It is really irritating.

In the case of the particular project I'm working on this morning, there must be some special settings on the server, because I can't get the page to work on my own machine. That makes it a little hard to test, doesn't it?

So now I'm paranoid that I'm going to completely destroy the page I'm working on. I guess I'll spend this morning working through some ASP tutorials and studying the existing page code...

The Witch's Boy

I spent the day reading Michael Gruber's The Witch's Boy.

It was very good.

Mari lent it to me, so I knew it would be, but I wanted to be clear on the point ;>

I am, as you well know, the type of person who likes to try to figure out where a story is going, so this book was perfect. Gruber threw in all sorts of fairy tales, such that I kept saying, "Oh! Hansel and Gretel! Oh! Rumplestiltskin!" And I was typically pleased when I was right, though I was also a little trepidacious, because I cared about Lump, even as I hated him.

There were a few things that I felt had to be references, but I wasn't quite able to identify. One of them came as the woman and her little family were fleeing the cottage. She stops and goes back in to get a rose. I felt like that was a reference to some fairy tale, a very oblique one--maybe to Beauty and the Beast, maybe to Snow White and Rose Red--but I don't think anything more came of it, unless it was something subtle that I missed.

The other part I am almost positive is a reference to something occurred at the very end of the book, so I won't spoil it. It's in the last paragraph, for those who've read it. Feel free to enlighten me in the comments, or engage in speculation.

It's a very good book. Reimagining old stories is interesting in and of itself, but this book also presents a new story, and weaves everything together expertly. Well done.

Smithsonian displaying Hokusai masterpieces, including "Great Wave"

Happy News: Smithsonian shows artwork by Hokusai

A show opening Saturday at the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery includes Hokusai's original color print - a tsunami-like breaker threatening a small boat, with Mount Fuji in the background. Japan's sacred mountain was a favorite subject and this scene comes from one of his most famous books, "36 Views of Mount Fuji."

[...]

The exhibit ranges from a 47-foot scroll, too long to be completely unrolled in the show, to samples from his 15 volumes of random sketches called "manga." It's the same word used for the comic books that are now favorite reading on Tokyo subways. On the scroll, one of the many scenes shows a cat gazing at a butterfly.

I was lucky enough to see "Great Wave" in the Tokyo National Museum in 2001.

I was looking forward to seeing it again in 2003, but it wasn't there. (The Smithsonian's site lists it as belonging to "The Mann Collection, Highland Park, Illinois". Being as famous as it is, I'm sure it gets around.)

"Great Wave" is an ukiyo-e, or "woodblock print". Hokusai created it by carving the image into a piece of wood, then applying the proper colors to the wood, and finally pressing the block to paper.

The Tokyo National Museum gift shop sells "reprints" made using the original block. I wanted to buy one both times I was there, but both times I was dissuaded by money. Maybe next time :)

In the meantime, the Smithsonian's show is looking mighty appealing.

Smithsonian: Hokusai Exhibition: March 4-May 14, 2006

The exhibition of more than 180 paintings, prints, drawings and printed books brings together for the first time 41 paintings from the Freer Gallery of Art, the largest and most important collection of paintings by Hokusai, with masterpieces from museum, library and private collections throughout the world. Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), founder of the Freer Gallery, collected most of the Gallery's Hokusai paintings, drawings, and prints between 1898 and 1907. "Hokusai" celebrates the 100th anniversary of the official gift by Freer of his art collection and museum to the United States.

(I love that "largest and most important" bit. Arrogant much? ;>)

Mmm, ekiben

Kobayashi Shinobu is "one of Japan's foremost writers on bento", and she has an article in the Mainichi today about the kind of ekiben she likes to get for hanami in Kyoto.

On my way to cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, I usually pick up a Takekago Bento, an ekiben sold in a bamboo basket. Takekago Bento, a widely loved and top-selling ekiben since its 1997 release, is one of the ancient capital's most popular bento.

The loosely woven bamboo basket, with a red and white paper suitable for a red-letter day at the bottom, is packed neatly with a colorful combination of rice bale-shaped rice balls, norimaki and homemade Obanzai.

A pair of dishes made with namahu -- a green yomogifu and a chestnut-colored awafu -- are dressed with rich miso paste. Popular obanzai dishes, yakiyuba, koimo and dashimaki tamago are also included. Sawara, selected to represent the spring, and tori no sasami age, are also in the ekiben. Tori no sasami age is chicken breast coated with brown rice and deep-fried until crispy. The perfectly fried aroma goes really well with wine.

The elaborate bamboo basket can be thrown away, but that would be a shame. It could be used as a candy box or a seasonings holder at home. And it even looks nice when used as a flower holder.

I have to try it!

My first week of work

Well, I've made it through my first week.

I'm hesitant to say this because I might jinx it, but what the hell:

I love my job.

It is really exciting to be a part of disseminating the news, and fascinating to hear all the stuff that doesn't get on the air. I love the editorial control I have over the website, and I love the responsibility of my position. I'm getting into a groove already with the work, so I'm able to pace myself and make time for side projects, like adding features to the site or making custom graphics. It is really great to have a set schedule of things that absolutely have to be done, but yet have so many things different day to day. (For example: there are recurring segments on some days, but reporter packages are always different.)

It's fast-paced and I have a lot of responsibility. I feel important, and it's obvious that what I do matters very much.

Yesterday someone in the newsroom said to me, "You're doing a great job!"

I'm really excited about this. Not just because I finally have a decent-paying job, but because this is something I can actually see myself doing long-term. I am far too old to keep bouncing around from job to job looking for something I like. I need to get settled in and start planning for the future. Up until I got this job, I couldn't imagine really doing that. I didn't think I would ever find a job I could stand for years and years.

Happily, I stand corrected.

It's possible that the newness might fade after awhile and I might get to the point that I'm bored or dissatisfied, but I'm optimistic that those effects will be lower than they've been at other jobs due to the fact that so much is new every day. There's always something different going on. And being responsible for the whole website means I can always be tweaking something, which really satisfies my OCD.

In all, I'm very happy, and I look forward to a long career with this TV station.

Pixeges

I dunno, I was tired of "pics".

As usual, it's really too bright at midday for pictures. But they're okay.

I loved seeing that lizard sunning himself on the fishing dock. Right after I took the picture above, he slipped down through that crack. I guess I got too close to him.

Went to the North Augusta public boat ramp for lunch.

I took some decent pictures (I think). They'll be up later, along with some pictures I took at the Greeneway on Wednesday. Yesterday I went to a doctor's appointment during lunch, so no pics from that :>

Revolving elevator

Mainichi: Hitachi successfully tests first revolving elevator

With the increase in high-rise buildings, elevators with high transporting ability and shorter waiting times have been in high demand. Up until now, elevator makers had responded by making elevators faster and producing double-decker elevators, but there was a limit to how fast elevators could go, and with double-deckers, the people in one car had to wait when the other car stopped.

Revolving elevators had been seen as a key to the problem, but lack of the technology to move them proved an obstacle. Designers considered a linear motor system using electromagnets, but the huge amount of electricity they used and safety concerns in the event of power failure remained problems.

The revolving elevator Hitachi produced was developed for a 20-story building, using eight elevator cars. The system uses cables, like conventional elevators, but rather than fixing the tops and bottoms of the cables, four pairs of cables are arranged in rings to carry the eight cars. The carriages are placed at opposite angles, and the elevators move in pairs, with one car going down while the other goes up.

Since the elevators operate in pairs, when one of the elevators in the pair stops, the other one does too, but the system is still more efficient than double-decker types.

Is that crazy or what?

Holy shit

Kurama's on fire :/

I was just looking at a picture I took there the other day, of the Hina Matsuri dolls they have in the waiting area.

I hate to think they've lost all their great authentic Japanese souvenirs/collectibles...:/

Update: Here are some pictures. Here's the Chronicle's story.

That's crazy talk

See, this is why Language Log rules.

A discussion of the phrase crazy talk--what it is, and how it may have come to be.

Now they just need to investigate devil woman, and their analysis of Kevin's speech patterns will be complete.

"Pocket Monster Advance Generation Game of Life"

With a name like that, how could it not rule?

The new product coming out in April merges the companies' most symbolic products into one just as the two toy makers have fused together.

"Pocket Monster Advance Generation Game of Life" requires players to race toward a goal, collecting Pokemon, forcing them to fight competitors and striving to achieve qualifications such as a Pokemon doctor along the way.

Unlike the regular "The Game of Life," where players' pieces are model vehicles, the Pokemon version uses Monster Balls. "Pocket Monster Advance Generation Game of Life" will cost 3,780 yen. A pocket version is due to go on sale in June at a recommended retail price of 892 yen.

I used to love the Game of Life when I was a kid.

Did you know that the Japanese months used to have different names?

I was very pleased when I first learned the Japanese months. ichigatsu 一月, nigatsu 二月, sangatsu 三月...hey, they're just counting! How easy!

Imagine my surprise today to learn that in the past, the Japanese used month names like we do. The names have some interesting meanings, and are still used in literature.

Read all about them on About.com.

My favorite is shiwasu 師走, the "month of running priests". :D