Santa Clara's Library Storage System

Farallon with Levines

A great dinner at San Francisco's Farallon with Russell, Olivia and Barbara. Oysters started us off into crab cakes, walleye, scallops, duck, dessert and fine wines. It was great to see them at the end of Thor's college search.

Thor's 20th

Thor finished this round of college visits at Santa Clara University. We've seen twenty schools, four of which were Jesuit like SCU. He liked them all - BC, Seattle, USF and SCU.

Back to Oyster C

I can't get enough of the scampi at Oyster C. Had a lovely night eating French, Namibian, Irish and Dutch oysters.
This was a bad hair night. I had run from the hotel where I had a late afternoon swim.

Dinner with the Marshalls at the Hong Kong Club

Roger and Miki were in Hong Kong, so I invited them to dinnner Saturday night at the prestigious Hong Kong Club. We had a leisurely, delicious meal.

Mr Churei's report on the Akatora Kanreki Party

赤沢通信（65）号外　「赤寅会」抒情　＊　　安芸潮　赤沢村の属する行政区域は八幡野ですが、国道135号線に沿ってささやかな店舗群が並び、伊東市から来ると左手に相模湾、右手に大室山が控えています。海側の一帯には温暖な気候に恵まれた別荘地のほか役所の出先機関や郵便局・学校・消防署などが点在し、山の手側は夏の暑さを凌ぐに適したいくつかの別荘地が散在しています。ただひとつのパチンコ遊戯館以外どこにも華やかな歓楽施設はありません。ところが、時にといっても何年に一度という程度の頻度ですが、素晴らしく華やかなダンス・シヨウやジャズのライブが開かれる機会があるのです。地域の名だたる美女や美男は言うに及ばず、関東一円は当然として国籍もアメリカや中近東というのはちょっと定かではないのですが、数十名の名士たちが集まってきます。眉唾物と思われるかもしれませんが、これは夢幻の世界のことではなく、現実の話なのです。さて、今回の会の名は「赤寅会」、場所は建物の二階全部を借り切った「そば処えびな」に招集がかかりました。名誉ある招待を受けたのは私ども夫妻を含めて、極めて限られた人たちです。時は平成二十二年五月二十九日土曜日の夜。この会を企画し、主宰したのはポール・ホフならびにオーエンズ貴美子。（以下もすべて敬称略）片や体重百二十キロ、背丈二メートル弱の巨人、片や日本人離れした背丈の色白の才女、ともに東伊豆周辺でその存在を知らぬ人はいないぐらいの有名人です。ポールは祖先を辿ればノルウェイから南下したＮorman ConquestのＶikingの血を引いていますが、憎いことにこれがなかなかの美男子。マイクもほら貝もなしに朗々たる日本語と英語を駆使しててきぱきと会を進行させます。フラダンスを皮切りに賑やかに始まったパーテイはたちまちフラメンコダンサーたちの情熱的な踊りとステップで会場を熱気の渦に巻き込みました。貴美子は踊りとカンテ（歌い手）の一部を受け持って赤寅の女王の貫禄を示したのはさすがです。（因みに赤寅とは赤いちゃんちゃんこを着せられた還暦祝いのメンバーを指しています）延々五時間を越えて八幡野の夜を煌煌と輝かせたパーテイの圧巻はなんといってもまずフラメンコ、中でもカンテのゆきじ、こと杉村有紀代。その声量・苦悩に満ちた表情としぐさは流浪の民ジプシーの血を受け継いだ魔性の雰囲気があります。床を踏み鳴らして舞う名だたるダンサー数名の見事なリズムにはただうっとり。会場はアルコールの香気の中で一気に盛り上がりました。続いて一服の休憩の後にベース、ドラムとサックスのリードでジャズのライブです。即刻そのテンポを頂点に引きあげたのはピアノの吉岡秀晃、宮崎生まれで岐阜・関東をはじめとする全国ライブで一躍ジャズ界にのし上げてきた経歴を知らずとも、たちまち聴衆は魂を奪われて陶然・陶酔そして小刻みにリズムを踏み始めます。何よりも吉岡秀晃自身の微笑のあふれる躍動的な表情がいい。ダンステンポに変わると、ポールがこらえきれずに中央の舞台に駆け上がって腰をくねらせ奇声を上げると会場はもう手が付けられません。建物を揺るがして老若男女が踊り狂う有様です。若いころ多少はジャズに熱中したといっても今即座に思い出せるのはサッチモやプラッターズくらいのもの、そんなど素人でしかないのに、私は演奏が一段落した合間を見計らって初対面の吉岡秀晃に会って握手を求めたのです。「いや素晴らしい演奏！あなたの表情は特に魅力的ですな。ところで余計なお世話ですが、あなたは女性ファンとトラブルを起こす卦が出ていますよ。ご用心！」咄嗟のひと言に相手は虚を突かれたか一瞬真顔になりました。彼の親友の平崎建築士に話すと「満更当たらずとも遠からず。彼は驚いたでしょう」とにやりと笑ったものです。（平成二十二年六月）

Tokeso - the passion flower

Today's flower from the fence between our house and the landlord. A harbinger of the rainy season....

The hydrangeas at the back of the garden

Our backyard

I regularly use the Jacuzzi to relax. Naomi wanted it, but she rarely gets in it. Nobody cuts the backyard. So it grows full of weeds. The landlord next door is just as bad. He has a gardener come to trim everything twice a year. I think they're coming soon......

Mussells Saganaki

I enjoy the Greek food at Santorini in Seoul. Where else are you going to get mussells saganaki on the peninsula???

Anton & Thor at the Izuvian sylvan abode

Anton's home from USF and working at RAGE, an Akasaka PR firm. Thor is going to be a Senior at ASIJ next year. Soon he'll start his college applications.

Kanreki Party in Izu

Thanks everyone for coming!
--
Fortune favors the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur

Akatora Noren

Naomi made a noren for the party. We took the tiger face from a Christian Audigier iPhone cover bought for HK$10 in the Mongkok market in Hong Kong.

What a day for golf!

Dan Videtto is a member at Narita GC, so I called him up and got a foursome to go out on a perfect day. We played Bingo Bango Bongo. This is also the course where Tiger played before he went off to Australia with one of his Bimbos.

Golden Week in Izu

Michel brought his girlfriend to Izu at the end of Golden Week. As usual, I cooked and Michel ate. We both drank. His girlfriend's daughter spoke Rumanian, Japanese and some English. Very cute little girl.

The end of the cherry blossoms

Cat Warmer

Our jacuzzi is where the local cats come to sleep, groom themselves, and stay warm on cool days.

The Universe

The circle-triangle-square is Sengai’s picture of the universe. The circle represents the infinite, and the infinite is at the basis of all beings. But the infinite in itself is formless. We humans endowed with senses and intellect demand tangible forms. Hence a triangle. The triangle is the beginning of all forms. Out of it first comes the square. A square is the triangle doubled. This doubling process goes on infinitely and we have the multitudinosity of things, which the Chinese philosopher calls ‘the ten thousand things’, that is, the universe.

The trouble with us linguistically-minded beings is that we take language realistically and forget that language is of no significance whatsoever without time. In truth, language is time and time is language. We thus come to think that there is in the beginning of the world a something which is real and concrete, such as a world of galaxies which though formless and nebulous is yet real and tangible. This is the foundation of the universe on which we now have all kinds of things, infinitely formed and varied. It is thus that time itself begins to be thought of as something concrete and real. A circle turns into a triangle, and then into a square, and finally into infinitely varied and varying figures. In the same way the Biblical account of creation has turned into historical truth in the minds of many. But Zen is very much against such fabrications.

There is another and a more traditional interpretation that may be given to these three figures or forms. Sengai was familiar with Shingon, the mantra sect of Buddhism, as well as Zen. He liked Shingon because it taught the identity of the bodily existence (rupakaya) with ultimate reality (dharmakaya). The bodily existence is here represented by a triangle which symbolizes the human body in its triple aspect; physical, oral or intellection, and mental or spiritual. The quadrangle represents the objective world which is composed of the four great elements (mahabhuta); earth, water, fire and air. The Dharmakaya, the ultimate reality, is the circle here, that is, the formless form. We generally hold a dichotomous view of existence, form (rupakaya) and formless (arupa), object and subject, matter and spirit, and think they contradict each other and are mutually exclusive. Both Shingon and Zen, however, oppose this view and hold that what is form is formless or empty (sunya), that is, they are identical.

Tengan Yaku

In his little treatise on this subject called Tengan Yaku (Medicine for the Eye), written in dialogue form, Sengai estimates Zen as being higher than Shingon, and states that Zen is more direct and immediate and to the point without indulging in verbalism. Zen in this respect is the more effective medicinal drop for the eye that is still wandering on the level of intellection. It replaces this kind of eye with the one possessed by Mahasvara (Great Lord). It is the divine eye which looks directly into the secrets of the ultimate reality. The opening or awakening to this order is abrupt and beyond verbal demonstrations of any sort, which is characteristically lacking in Shingon.

New York Pizza Report by Clint on Facebook

L&B Spumoni Grdns_Bensonhurst:Hands down, the best Sicilian.

Lucoli's_Carrol Grdns: Closed

Totonno's_Coney Island: Perfect. Expensive Italian tomatoes.

Motorino's_Williamsburg:Amazing. The best dough/crust of all.

Patsy's_E.Harlem:Fantastic. Coal oven, sauce less sweet. Sinatra's favorite.

DiFara's_Midwood:Disappointing.$5.00 slice; coated in olive oil & Parmesan; Too rich