More cherry blossoms - pt.2 (night hanami party)

Can i be Bosley?


this old-fashioned cart was selling little bowls of Ramen noodles. they were really good!


night-time cherry blossoms are called "Yozakura" and apparently are best viewed drunk...


this group was having a very quaint barbeque under the trees. fire codes be damned!


the human aftermath:


the somewhat more disturbing environmental aftermath:

More cherry blossoms - pt.1 (daytime hanami)

now that the season of pink is well and truly over in Osaka i thought i would share a few more pictures:

"stealing" the show...

One more reason to love David Copperfield. The Illusionist - not the classic Dickens character, ya mooks.

Of course, it would have been funnier if it been Chuck Norris and there had been round-house kicks involved... maybe next time...

I SEEEEEEEEEEE YOU...

so i finally downloaded Google Earth, the sweet little program that allows you to travel around the globe from the comfort of your own home and view, close up, anywhere (almost) on Earth. so i was looking at Toronto and showing people my old house and my high school (i see they still haven`t gotten rid of the protables). and i took a look over at Morriston; looks like the restaurant that took over next to the furniture shop is still doing well. i can get so close that i can see cars in the driveway! i love it! mwahahahahahahaa! (evil laugh).

What an age we live in....

UM...... yeah... okay.

Only In Japan Pt.942 (or maybe in Thailand... but only in Japan would it be devoid of any secondary, less kosher meaning...)

Can you find Mr. Bean????

i got this in an e-mail forward a while ago and i thought i would share:
Find the man between the coffee beans!

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in 3 seconds, your right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then your right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes your right half of your brain is a mess, and the only advice is to look more for these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger.

The man really is there. In fact, once you find him, you cannot miss him afterwards.



...and now i know that coffee grinders are so loud not just because it was calculated to be one of the most annoying sounds the human ear could possibly hear early in the morning (and before getting to drink the coffee!) but also to drown out the horrible horrible screams of the Coffee Men.....

i laughed so hard i hurt!

This was buried in my inbox from an old friend.

check out the MATZAH RAP y`all. Peace t`all the real Rabb-ah-EEZ out there!

too funny!

i actually forget who sent this to me, but THANK YOU!!! love it.

I WIN!!

WOOHOO!!!!! uh, i mean "BORK!!"

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!" Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies. No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you. But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test

actually, truth be told, i got Animal the first time... okay, the first two times... meh.

and some cutesy photos for ya, too.

the cutest socks ever! i think they might even be cuter than those seperated-toe rainbow socks...


this one is not so much "cute" as it is very VERY disturbing...
oh Astro-Boy, say it ain`t so!

Some Arty-Farty photos for ya. enjoy.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

i`m so excited for this i actually want to travel forward in time. and then back again so i don`t miss anything...

the donuts know me so well.... i`m scared.

You Are a Powdered Devil's Food Donut

A total sweetheart on the outside, you love to fool people with your innocent image. On the inside you're a little darker, richer, and more complex. You're a hedonist who demands more than one pleasure at a time. Decadent and daring, you test the limits of human indulgence.

What Donut Are You?

What is in a name?

Prickly Pear People Iced: Thirty Car Bombs Planted: Eighteen Favorite Weapon Switch-Blade Arms Broken: Eighteen Eyes Gouged: Twenty Six Tongues Cut Off: Five Biggest Enemy: Fat Tony Get Your HITMAN Name

Only in Japan pt.612

does anyone remember that Sesame Street song
"One of these things is not like the others...." ?

They`re here!!!

The Cherry Blossoms are finally here!!!

WOOHOO!!!

i went to Kyoto to see Sanjusan-gendo temple and Chishaku-In temple to take some pictures of the Sakura (cherry blossoms). this week will be one of the most beautiful weeks all year here in Japan.

NERD ALERT!!

The Cos-Play Parade (aka - "Only In Japan pt. 483")

a few weeks ago Ulala and i went to Nipponbashi area to see the Nipponbashi Street Festa and thus came to witness something that will not soon be forgotten; the Cos-Play Parade! Nipponbashi is the site of Den-Den Town, which is an area that specializes in cheap electronics and, thusly, videogame stores, toy stores, and of course porn stores. the Cult of the Nerd seems to transcend national boundaries and ethnicities. and as with nerds of all races and creeds and bar codes, the element of fantasy comprises a masssive part of their world. Cos-Play is short for "costume play." it ranges from the sexually deviant, to hard-core Japanese animation, to the just plain deviant. for those of you that have been hounding me for these photos (with abnormally aggressive "curiosity", i might add) i wrote a little poem for you:

i`ve been berated,
since these pics are belated.
if you like Cos-Play,
i`m sure you`ll be elated.

tah-dah! enjoy. I SAID ENJOY!!!


The Chopits: half sexy maid, half animal, all Anime.


The Dolls:


The Maid Parade (a segment within the larger Cos-Play Parade, if you can believe it):


"Holy Land" indeed....


um... is that a rabbit?


the ever loveable Baikin-Man (or in this case Baikin-Girl):


two of the way-too-many Gundam costumes we saw:


Ulala and her favorite Hiyao Miyazaki character, Porco Rosso:


from the window of where we ate lunch. notice the veritable Army of Nerds taking pictures of these girls:


what`s the hand-on-a-stick for, exactly?


not sure what this is from....


most impractical hat ever:


more Gundam-ites, not too far from the Gundam store:


i have no legs!!


but i have crazy Christmas-Eyes!