Zap Comix

I just had to share my collection of ZAP Comix issues 0 to 5. Next I'm going to upload some of Mr Natural and some selected episodes in his quest for Truth.

Hanami Boating

Dick, Bob and I went boating on Sunday to do some hanami and ended up far out in Tokyo Bay beyond the Haneda Airport. There was this big container ship there, calmly floating without a ripple.

We also checked out the Sky Tree from the Sumida River which is in its final phase of construction.

Later Kaoruko's admirer Mineo came over to a bridge on the Kanda River and lowered a bottle of sparkling wine to her. That made us all happy.

More boating planned.

Chinese Carpets

Great carpets from the region Gansu bordering on Tibet.

Cherry Blossom Viewing 2011

The mayor of Tokyo is impinging on the lives of Tokyoites with his pronouncements on how to react to the earthquake. One of his ideas is for everyone to go into an austerity mode and refrain from many common Japanese practices, like viewing the cherry blossoms. More than 70% of the Tokyoites polled believed his ideas are incorrect. Rather than austerity, every effort should be made to stimulate spending to power the economy so that the earthquake recovery can come about in the context of a strong business environment. I decided to protest the Tokyo mayor's imperialistic pronouncements and went to a popular cherry blossom site last night, where under the light of a very thin moon I drank a beer and admired the full blossoms - as I usually do at this time of year.

Mr Ishihara! You are wrong!

People of Japan - enjoy the seasonal beauty! Hanami Banzai!

Happy Birthday, Bob

It was Bob Peterson's birthday this week. We went to the Beacon Chophouse for steaks, seafood and a couple of New York size Manhattans.

The robowatch made a guest appearance.

Apple products now showing up as garbage

Walking down the street of Gangnam, Seoul I saw my first piece of Apple garbage. The shapes of an Apple product are unmistakable. And it's a piece of garbage on the sidewalk.

How Korea would change America

In a subway ad for a Korean esthetic salon the image of the Statue of Liberty gets an uplift with a short skirt and some heels! I'd say it's an improvement. How long will it last as a fashion though?

Hoff Greetings for the Year of the Rabbit – 2011兔

In 2010 Anton (20) took an apartment off campus with a friend for his sophomore year at USF. His Tokyo summer internship at RAGE was a great success. He’s now officially a business major and worked part time at the San Francisco Japan Town video shop.

Thor (18) visited colleges on the west coast in June and is now in his senior year at ASIJ. His summer internship with Cartoon Network involved translating for the integration of a newly acquired company into Turner Broadcasting’s Japan operations. He’s studying hard to get into his first choice – University of Washington in Seattle; he’s already accepted at USF and Hofstra.

Naomi’s students at Sacred Heart middle school sewing class continue to inspire her. She has a regular round of tennis weekly and has taken up golf again with a new set of Taylor Made clubs. She has also begun a new career as costume designer for ASIJ’s plays. The first batch of fish have all died, so she’s restarted with three more.

Paul continues FTSE work throughout Asia Pacific focused on major pensions and sovereign wealth funds. He also specializes in helping ETF managers launch funds based on custom FTSE indices. In June Paul and Thor shared a week of campus visits in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco, then he and Naomi visited Norm and Barb Quinn on St Thomas & St John. Paul and Kimiko Owens celebrated their 60th with a big Izu party featuring flamenco dancers and a jazz band with Hideaki Yoshioka on piano.

The photo is of a noren Naomi made for the entrance to the restaurant where the Aka Tora 60th birthday was held. Anton and Thor got a shock seeing it hanging there!

This last picture is of Naomi with our good friend Mayumi Jones at the Masseys' party celebrating their second departure from Japan. This time to Sydney.

FTSE Tokyo Team in late 2010

Roger dodging himself

The Sarradins at home in the west Parisien suburbs

I knew Denys in Osaka in the mid 1970s. We reconnected when I found him in the INSEAD alumni book.

Mr Adrian Hope & his martini one night in London

La Tour Eiffel - 2010 at the end of November

I wandered near the Eiffel Tower on a Friday, going to art museums, taking photos, watching the tower and dodging the weathers changes.

Star Wars graphed

[Source: School Grants Blog]

Little Red Plug

Tokyo American Club poolside

Lenny Bruce

I took Lenny Bruce's autobiography off the shelf to reread his description of what had influenced him in his life. At the end of How to talk dirty and influence people he says:

I have been influenced by my father telling me that my back would become crooked because of my maniacal desire to masturbate...by reading "Gloryosky, Zero!" in Little Annie Rooney...by listenting to Uncle Don and Clifford Brown...by smelling the burnt shell powder at Anzio and Salerno...torching for my ex-wife...giving money to Moondog as he played the unturned pails around the corner from Hanson's at 51st and Broadway...getting hot looking at Popeye and Toots and Casper and Chris Crustie years ago...hearing stories about a pill they can put in a gas tank with water but the "big companies" won't let it out - the same big companies that have the tire that lasts forever - and the Viper's favorite fantasy: "Marijuana could be legal, but the big liquor companies won't let it happen"...Irving Berlin didn't write all those songs, he's got a guy locked in the closet...colored people have a special odor...James Dean is really alive in a sanatorium...and Hitler is waiting to book me for six weeks in Argentina...
It was an absurd question.
I am imfluenced by every second of my waking hour.

I can relate to that last sentence...every second of my waking hour!

Nothing special

Just a damn good saxophonist.

A Poem from a hotel

May the wing of winds please her mind
May the light of love please her soul
May the sweetest scent of all kind
May her dream, fold on fold she finds

Sunthon Pu
1786-1855

Flying the Malay Colors in Izu