A pleasant romp of a story. Having seen the movie before, I couldn’t help but imagine Audrey Hepburn’s perkiness as I read. However, far from detracting from the experience, it rather inclined me to think that the casting director for the film was brilliant. In any case, I liked it much more than In Cold Blood.

Another better than expected movie watching experience. Sure, the samurai were just as corrupt and oppressive a bunch of bastards as the Japanese government and, aside from select individuals, embodied the ways of life associated with that group about as much as the founding fathers of the U.S. did the noble principles upon which our great country was founded. However, if you were going to set about to romanticizing the samurai, you could do worse than this film.

We happened upon this all women taiko drumming group at Yoyogi park, maybe as part of some massive celabratory business in Tokyo this weekend called the Sanja Matsuri or maybe they just like to show off their big drum. Regardless of their motives, I was impressed.

A tour de force, debunking a theory to which I didn’t happen to subscribe myself, but which I was more than willing to hold up so that Diamond could so eloquently knock it down. I’m reminded of Roger Penrose’s book, The Emperor’s New Mind where, in the course of making an argument about artificial intelligence, he expertly summarizes the whole of the field of physics. Diamond presents clearly a great deal of information that is fascinating to learn whether or not you care about why the Europeans have managed to take over so much of the world.

Have I mentioned how much I love my neighborhood? The kids walking home from school are always blurting out funny things. There are lots of old people sitting around on benches smiling. The station is five minutes away. They are even so kind as to put up banners everywhere expressing my feelings to the world in my native language. What a great place!

I recently learned how to complain about something in Japanese (お寺なんて、なん回も見に行ったよ), so I thought I’d celebrate with yet another temple picture. This one being in the middle of Tokyo and thus easy to get to assuming two million Tokyoites aren’t making the rounds at the time.

This is one of my many new bovine friends from Nepal. The whole story is even available for those of you with too much time on your hands or an uncommonly keen interest in mountain mammals.