Only in America!

Literal Music Video

This is too funny!

Jesus Body

Oddest name for a diet suppliment I've ever seen. I guess it must work miracles.

Other half garden

These are the flowers that spring up every year and they actually do best draping over the cement.  It is the other side of my garden. This is the hals that has flowers left over from last years and some wild lilies that keep popping up every year.

Apartment Gardening

In my attempt to make things around my apartment building just a little nicer I went out and got some flowers to but into the flower bed that was recently weeded and left empty.  Actually I think they had but an old carpet down a few years ago to keep the weeds down but that also succumbed to weeds so they just pulled it up and left it empty.  There used to be trees in here but for some reason they took them out, there is another one behind it that still has the carpet down except for the very end where I've tried to at least keep some things growing.  The other side has almost now become self preserving, with some wild lilies that come up every year, and surprisingly enough some plants that I put in last year survived the winter and have been blooming again this year.  And there is also the grown cover plant that you pretty much can't kill that has really nice flowers that are out in the day time.  The old section has managed to survive, but I'm not sure how long this side will last. If it can survive the hot summer and then the weeds while I am gone this summer and if the landlord doesn't send someone out to just rip it all out or just through another piece of carpet over it it should bring some beauty for at least a few months.  And just maybe it will distract from the discarded TV at the end of the wall.

Gas Museum

I noticed in the morning paper that there was an exhibition of historic buildings done in wood block print at the Gas Museum in Kodaira, which is on my way home from church so I thought that I would give it a look.  It was just ok, but it was really interesting they have this really nice building in rural Tokyo. Actually there is on more building to the right of this but that picture didn't come out so well.
Any way it was a good chance to get some walking in and to see something in Tokyo that I have never seen before.  The exhibition was on the second floor of this building and in the stair well up to the second floor there was this interesting painting  on the wall.

Another interesting thing they had on display was this gas organ. Pretty interesting, but it would have been so much more interesting if there would have been someone there to play it. As it was I was pretty surprised to see that there was nothing there to prohibit you not to touch and it was obvious that it had been touched, 2 of the foot petals were broken and just sitting there.  And right after I took this picture 2 little girls proceeded to sit down and press on the petals. Sometimes I don't understand.

Cheeseburger in Paradise, not!

Ok, ever since a picture of a cheeseburger flashed up on my screen saver at school yesterday I had been craving a big juicy cheeseburger. Well Johnny Rocket's is gone, and I didn't want to make a trip out to TGIF or Hard Rock and sit at a table by myself so I thought Wendy's would do.

Well all was well until I noticed a table of girls staring at me.  I had to take a double take to make sure they weren't my students and happily they weren't.  But as I went to find a seat they were still staring and there was suspicious movement behind them.  I knew then there were students hiding from me, since it is strictly forbidden for our students to stop anywhere like this after school.  I walked over to the table and hiding behind this other table of girls were two of our students.  Hiding is an understatement, they had practically rolled themselves up in balls on the floor behind the chairs of the other girls and this was a table up against the wall so there wasn't so much space.  I just said stop being so stupid and go home, and I didn't use polite language so I'm sure the people around them were surprised. I'm sure, "Who is this foreigner scolding these students?", was running through their minds.  

As I sat back down and waited for them to leave, I had my back to them at this point, I realized that my diner had just be ruined.  I hate having to do things like this but it is just part of the job. I just wanted to enjoy a cheeseburger in peace and quiet, I guess that just wasn't to be.

Kamakura Wedding

Just as we were ready to leave Kamakura yesterday we encountered a wedding. Neat setting for a wedding but not very private.

Kamakura

This was at the entrance of Zeniarai Benten.

This was the path that I took to get to Zeniarai, it certainly has been warn down over many many years, it is solid rock.

Today was a school outing to Kamakura, I only visited one temple, Zeniarai Benten, which is famous for washing your money.  It is said that washing your money here will double it.  People have been doing this here since 1257.  No wonder there were deep ruts in the path.

On the way there I was stopped by a group of  6th graders who asked me if they could interview me. I was very surprised to hear that their foreign teacher had given them this assignment. They were cute, but really had no idea what I said outside of the very strict boundaries of their questions, and even then it was difficult.  The thing that surprised me was that at their age the teachers would feel ok about giving the kids this kind of assignment.

Of course part of the assignment was for them to take a picture with me.  Just as we had finished with one of their cameras a few of our students came buy and I had them take another shot for us.

High Tech, Low Tech

The old and the new.

On the busy shopping street in Kamakura this rickshaw driver was so engrossed in his cell phone that he didn't even notice my snapping his picture.  These guys have a pretty tough job, and if you can afford the ride they are pretty entertaining.  When Drew was here we rode one in Kamakura, and that was how I found one of my favorite restaurants, Yoshimoto, which I stopped off at today also.

Jesus & Buddha?

On my way home from church today I glanced up and out the window of the train and this is what I saw.  I grabbed my camera to get a quick shot because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Here is the original art work.

It is from a Japanese comic called 『聖☆おにいさん』Saint Young Men. I guess it is about Jesus and Buddha sharing an apartment in Tachikawa Tokyo. And I guess the reference on the billboard indicates that yes they live in Tokyo but sometimes they go shopping in Harajuku. I may have to pick up a copy of the comic to see what it is all about.

Looking for History

After my excursion yesterday I thought that I might explore a little more, but the 80% chance of rain this afternoon made me change my mind. I did get out this morning and rode to Ryokonowatashi.  This is the place where people crossed the Tamagawa, formerly know as Ryokokawa.  I went to the Tokyo side and didn't really find much. Below is a commemorative boat decoration on the current bridge.  I was looking for something that explained this sight but I realized when I got back home that that is on the other side of the river.

This was a small plaque in front of a run down little shed next to the small shrine that is on this sight.

The shrine that stands at this sight.

It was starting to rain so I thought that is enough exploring for the day, but on the way home I made sure to stop and get a picture of this Kura (storage house). I don't think I have ever seen one made with bricks.

Old Tokai Road

Beginning marker at Shinagawa Juku

Ebara Shrine

Narita San

This is one of the 100 scenic views of Shinagawa, it is the Suzugamori Execution Ground.

This area was used for executions from 1651. One of the links that I looked at said the rent in this area tends to be cheaper because of the fear of ghosts.

Marker 25

Kyu Tokaido

This is the route that I walked today.

View KyuTokaido in a larger map

47 Ronin

Today I ventured out to walk part of the Old Tokaido Road.  First stop was Sengakuji, as I exited the station I saw this sign and if I am not mistaken it lists the names of the 47 Ronin that are buried at the Sengakuji temple. Here is Wikipedia has to say about it.

The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (became ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzukeno suke. The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for over a year to kill Kira. In turn, the ronin were themselves forced to commit seppuku — as they had known they would be — for committing the crime of murder. With little embellishment, this true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that all good people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the almost mythical tale was only enhanced by rapid modernization during the Meiji era of Japanese history, when it is suggested[by whom?] many people in Japan longed for a return to their cultural roots.

Below is the temple gate

One row of graves

Over view of the graves. People were walking around placing incense if front of each tomb marker.

My walk along the Old Tokaido Road started here. 

This is the Shinagawa Barrier. I guess you could call it a customs station into old Edo.

Swine Flu, really a problem?

Was looking at some blogs and ran across someone saying basically, why all the fuss about this new strain of swine flu. If you go to the CDC home page you can find this information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released data indicating that the estimated number of people who die from influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) per year in the United States is substantially higher than previous estimates. The data are published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Using new and improved statistical models, CDC scientists estimate that an average of 36,000 people (up from 20,000 in previous estimates) die from influenza-related complications each year in the United States.

 So yes what is the big fuss when 36,000 people die of the flu every year, why aren't they saying more about this everyday? Why aren't they doing more?  I do understand that they are concerned that a new strain means one that is vaccination resistant, but it seems that the news media is really trying hard to blow this a little out of proportion.