Catwalker

I am finally beginning to catch up on
sleep lost during my studies this last
semester. I don't know why, but this time
around, I didn't sleep very well.
The post semester is making up for it;
the fact I am on holidays doesn't
hurt matters.

No studies

+

Holidays

=

sleep and rest.

じゃまた

It's Christmas time again, the time
of year when we (well, a good number
of us) celebrate Messiah's birth.

Time to pause and take stock of where
we are, not location wise, but spiritually.

What is really important?
Not just to us, but what is important,
period. It certainly shouldn't be things,
stuff, and more stuff. In a world where
so many have so little, and so many of
us have too much, we need to take
thought at this time of year, for the
reason why Christ came in the first
place: to give... Not stuff, but himself;
for everyone, every man, woman, and
child on this ball of rock.

Think about what that means.

Merry Christmas.

So often you hear the question being
asked:

"Why does God allow such things to happen?"

The question should really be:

"Why do we, His creation, make it happen
in disobedience to Him?"

じゃまた

Science shall never be able to prove or disprove the
existence of God, no observation via scientific means
is capable of this, neither can philosophical thought
make him vanish like a soap bubble, as in the Hitch Hiker's
Guide To The Galaxy, and in particular no evolutionary
theory will make Him go away.

The reason is that there is no instrument capable of
working at Gods level, for only the heart can sense
the existence of God, knowing and keeping His spirit.
This is why most scientists will never beleive, because
He cannot be measured.

じゃまた

You might be a progressive ideologue, if:

1. You are never wrong.

2. You can never be accused of being a hypocrite because you are never wrong.

3. You are utterly shocked and dismayed to discover that others do not enthusiastically recognize your inherent wisdom or superior compassion.

4. You see problems in the world as resulting from others not realizing that they should defer to your inherent wisdom and superior compassion for solutions.

5. You always know what is best for everyone else and what is best is usually burdensome and never applies to you.

6. You have the constant urge to enslave and impoverish everyone who is not at your level of sophistication.

7. You hold that arrogance is a strength and self-righteousness is a virtue.

8. You believe that "the ends justifies the means."

9. You believe that even lying is okay because the ends justifies the means.

10. "Divide and conquer" at all costs is how you achieve your ends.
 
See ya! :)

You might be a progressive ideologue if:

1. You find that common sense makes no sense at all.

2. You know that there is no such thing as unintended consequences from your actions or proposed solutions.

3. You are a master at projecting or "transferring" what could be your problem or attitude (but not really) on to others.

4. You find that people who don't agree with you are idiots or racists or mean-spirited...or mean-spirited racist idiots.

5. You do not include the word "grateful" in your vocabulary.

6. You consider your thinking based on emotion, and you express it through emotion -- even to the point of shameful antics. And you think that's perfectly okay.

7. You echo the accusation that those with opinions opposite yours obviously originated said opinion from some "echo chamber."

8. You bluster about your personal trials and tribulations as a tactic to get others to think you truly emphasize with their plights.

9. You blame others if it appears (and obviously only appears) that you may have made a mistake.

10. You are certain that you never ever operate from an ideological position.

That seems to be it in a nutshell. :)

Narfle the Garthok!

Dumb, isn't it?

That was used in the Coneheads movie. I thought I would do a few oddball
quotes from some oddball movies.

Spaceballs:
Helmet! So, at last we meet for the first time for the last time. 

John Hurt - as himself - [alien rips out of his stomach. He looks down at it] Oh, no. Not again.

Buckaroo Banzai:
Wherever you are, there you will be.

Starcrash (Really bad Italian Science Fiction):
Time for a little robot chauvinism.

Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy:
Oh No, not again!

I will add some more if I can think of any.

So Justin has decided he wants to not only be an MP, but he also wants to be PM?

The sad thing about this is that he will probably be elected to the position, mainly on the coattails of his father's so-called "reputation".

Well, at least he has shown that he can dishonour Parliament, just like dear 'ol dad....

Justin Trudeau Obscenity 2012
Pierre Trudeau Obscenity 1971.

Let's not forget the (in)famous flipping the bird at western protesters from the train. (Also known as the Trudeau salute)

On another occasion telling protesters "mange le merde"...

Yep (more or less) a chip off the 'ol block...

So what's missing?

Well, for starters:

• Experience - Justin hasn't got dear 'ol dad's experience. 
• Pierre had published a book "La grève de l'amiante"
• Had worked in the Privy Council Office of Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent
• Had been founder and editor of Cité Libre
• Had been An associate professor of law at the Université de Montréal from 1961 to 1965

What's Justin done?

• Substitute drama teacher.
• Back bench MP for four years.
• Umm - anything?
• Anyone? Anyone? Beuller? Beuller?

There certainly seems to be both no end
to, nor a cure for, stupid.

Why, Oh why are people so hepped up on brown rice over white rice? I am well aware of "studies" about the health benefits, but folks, I am sorry, I despise brown rice! WHY? I dislike the taste, dislike the texture and I dislike the smell. Eat it if you wish, but I will stick to white, thank you very much. And don't get me started on Basmatti - it ALWAYS smells stale.
[/rant]

Thank you

じゃまた

I can't grantee the provenance of these, but they are true in my view:

To which I add some more dangers to humanity:

8) Science minus a Christian worldview.
9) Politics solely controlled by the heart.
10) A strictly secular nation.
11) Christianity polluted by secularism.
12) A population focused mainly on self.

じゃまた

It's amazing how much you can change over the years (and decades) I can now see how when I was a teen ager I was such a lazy lout. But now however, I am thoroughly enjoying the yard work I am doing on the old homestead. When I was a kid, I hated doing it and tried as hard as I could to get out of it.  Just as it waits for no man, Time and tide also changes things - especially the heart. I guess it is a benefit of age to enjoy doing hard work, when your body is rejecting it.

じゃね

Looking better.

But, to quote Antonio Banderas from Mask Of Zorro:

This is gonna take a lot of work!

I am enjoying this, I don't get to do much
physical work anymore, and I need it.

This is roughly the
same angle and location
I took the first photo in
the first yard care posting
from and using the same
camera.

Looks different, doesn't it?


There is a lot of stuff buried in the tall grass and weeds
which was invisible before, such as the 40 gallon
oil drum (used as a burn barrel) in the picture above,
another oil drum (on its side elsewhere) and the old
garbage can you can see below.

Going to bring in a pick up truck to haul away the
stuff in August. Which will make the yard work even
easier to accomplish.


There is still a whole lot of work to be completed, I
wore my work boots with the steel shank and toes
today, as I didn't want to wind up with a broken
ankle in an old post hole.

Another shot from the
same location as another
photo, with minor changes




This area is behind the pile
of stuff in the above photo.

This is the general area with
all of the post holes




Nice to see things coming together, I will soon have
to start doing some work with a pick/mattock combo.

I am gonna be sore afterwards. :(

But it will be worth it. Next season, the lawn will
be easy to care for.

じゃね

東京へ行った時に、日本の教会へ行ったんです。
下北沢聖書教会に行きました。
下北沢会衆は親切です。音楽はとても良かったです。
この教会へすごく戻りたいんです。
2014年の春は日本に戻ると思っています。

2012年05月20日に











 下北沢聖書教会の前に

じゃまた

More lawn care. :)

Same area but from the other
end. Definitely looking cleaner.
Haven't done as much in this
area as I would like because of
this:


This is the area of yard which
dwells on the other side of all
that tall grass and vines on the
one side of the other photos.



It needs a lot of work.

(Still)

I suspect the yard will take the majority
of the summer (two hours, once per week) to
complete. We cut the main lawn first, then I work
on the forest back here.

I also need to take a pick, hoe and garden rake to some
spots in the back, they resemble the surface of the moon
or Mars - and running the lawn mower over them
is difficult if not impossible. There are also post
holes where posts and poles have been removed
or rotted away and are ripe for stepping in and breaking
an ankle....

じゃまた

For something completely different!

No, it's not a man with a tape recorder up
his nose! This is different from my Japan stories.
Today, I cut some of the forest growing
in my dad's back yard.

It was up to 5 feet tall in places.










Still more to do, but this small patch took
2 hours with gas powered weed eater,
lawn mower and rake.


Heh? What 's that?

O.K. O.K.  here it is then:

Tape recorder. 

:)

Here are a few snaps taken from
the Keisei Skyliner on the way
out to Narita Airport.

This is some
housing and commercial
buildings, you can just
see the front of the
skyliner on the right.



Housing density in the major centres is pretty
thick.


Again, lots of housing and
business/industrial
mixed together.





For some strange reason, I am fascinated by the rice paddys.

OK, I'm home now, but ready to return to Japan
already. Going to be a couple of years though. :(
So over the next couple of days I will post a few
more pictures.

Here is my ride home, same plane as I went over
on. Same type of plane blew chunks out of an
engine a few days ago, oddly, on a trip from
Toronto to Tokyo... Glad it didn't do that while
I was on board, I'm a nervous enough flyer
as it is.

Here is the very new in the background
behind the very old. The 634 meter Tokyo
SkyTree over the Senso-ji Temple complex,
which was originally founded in 628, with
the first temple having been built in 645.













The temple complex is in Asakusa.
The tower was physically completed early
this year, and opened May of this year (2012)

[Update:] the other edit of the picture I
had on here looked fine when viewed
on my laptop, but everywhere else the
colours looked hideously overdone.
So, yes, I did replace it with a re-edited
version.

This is in Asakusa, this woman is partaking in
a service which allows one to dress up as a Geisha,
in full costume, makeup and all. Her little one is
dressed as a little Samurai. Geisha normally remain
single while Geisha, if they marry, they are
required to retire. Contrary to legends and
rumors, pretty much originating from the
post WWII era, Geisha are not prostitutes.
















I might add, this little one was not thrilled,
he wasn't happy with the shoes, the costume,
or the attention. They had just stepped out
of a Ricksha ride when I rounded the corner.

Sometimes, you see things here which
just look out of place:














This is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral,
a Russian Orthodox church. Known locally as
"Nikorai-do" after its founder, St Nicholas
of Japan.

It was founded on 2 July 1861.

It is pouring with rain here in Tokyo today.
I managed to get out for a few minutes in
order to buy some books. There is a bookstore
in the Ueno train station now. There is also
a big one near the station in Ikebukuro.






The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. C.S. Lewis
新選組を旅する - in essence - "Explore the Shinsengumi" 
             Published by Ikkojin

Went to Harajuku today with a friend,
wow, not many Cos-players that I could see
but wow, was there ever a lot of people there.
Out of the 32 million population
(give or take) of the metropolis of
Tokyo, I think 15 million of them were
there.






Small portion of the crowd streaming through
the streets.

Old and new co-existing together, literally.











Hard to tell from this photo, but the old
brick building has a skyscraper built around it.
The far corner of the brick building has a
Citibank branch in it.
If this is not an old brick building, then
the design is.... interesting.

Whenever I go somewhere, doesn't matter if it
is 5 minutes from home, or as in this case,
10 hours from home, I tend to think outside
the box. Yes, I enjoy the scenery, the tourism
stuff and the views, but to me, a trip is about
the people I meet, or see.









Such as these artists, sitting on a Tokyo sidewalk
drawing and painting.








My mother would have been in there with pen and paper
in hand, I would have too, if I had more time.
They were drawing this:








Tokyo station.

These artists were pretty darn decent as well, the
works I saw showed years of practice, and the
skilled eyes of artists.

In front of the station was this scene:










The man in black seated with slippers on
(supplied by the man on the ground) was
having his shoes repaired while he waited.
Where do you see that these days?

I love the water, especially the ocean, but
if there is no ocean handy, a courtyard area
with fountains and pools will do. They cool
the air, they make an area seem clean somehow.






These are across from the Imperial palace
in Tokyo. They are well maintained.







While I was there, a gent with a modified broom
was wading around the water courses sweeping
the bottom.

He was taking his time, in Japanese fashion, getting
the job done correctly.









The water courses were very clean.








Yes, I did some magic to put the water in motion,
but it was done with the camera, not with software.








If you look carefully in this shot, you can just make
out a building in the background which is on the
Imperial Palace grounds.

OK, This one is for you Damion,
Drool dude. ;)

This is just the tiniest portion of Akihabara, there
is a LOT MORE!

Can't identify it? Just pick up,
close eyes, open mouth, insert,
chew, swallow, wash down
with strong liquid like Green
tea, black coffee, coke, etc.

Repeat. :)

Of course this doesn't mean you won't like it, it just means it is
a completely different and unusual taste and texture sensation...

Especially the following:

Now imagine (if you can)

One of these.







Topped with two baby sized
copies of this , tentacles and
all staring up at you.



Had one for lunch two days ago.


Read above eating procedure.


A little on the chewy side. 


Eating these with a straight face is beyond good missionary
and pastoral training, it is an exceptional part of missionary
and pastoral  training. ;)

Did I mention this is Sushi?
You know what that means, right?
Yes, the ocean denizens are mostly raw... :)
Marinated and properly prepared to deal with
critters, but still, more or less, raw.

No idea where these photos came from, had them on my
hard drive, if they are yours, let me know, I will add
attributions, or remove at your request.

Lets see if this works. Here is 38
seconds of video, taken on the
Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka
Station to Tokyo, on my way to
Takasaki and Shibukawa.

Something I have wanted to see in
person for many years.

Mount Fuji

Taken on the first leg of my
Shinkansen train ride from
Shin-Osaka station to Takasaki
in Gunma-Ken.

This is the tram station accross
from the south (Shinkansen) exit
of Hiroshima station, this will take
you right to the station across from
the atomic bomb dome.



In my case, it took me to and from
Dobashi station, which is just
5 minutes walk (even with
heavy luggage) from the J-Hoppers hostel where I stayed.

A departing Bullet train.






An arriving Shinkansen (mine
came in just after this one)




The Japan Rail Pass really is the way to go. You can't
use some trains (such as the Nozomi) but it doesn't
matter, plenty of perks, reserve seats (or not - you
can take your chances with an unreserved seat car).
And use a number of other JR lines, such as the
Tokyo and Osaka loop lines - for free. These tickets
do pay for themselves quickly if you are doing
a lot of traveling.

The sea from the Shinkansen.
(bullet train)
On my way to Hiroshima.



A door opened briefly, and the
world had a quick glimpse into
hell.


One war ended a few days later.
When the same door briefly
re-opened.



80,000 died in the blink
of an eye, a couple of days
later the process was repeated,
and World War II ended.




But....

 Another war began, one which
is still being fought to one extent
or another, no shots fired, but
lots of money spent, lots of people
horribly frightened.


What came to be known as the cold war, which included
approximately 2050 nuclear test detonations, still frightens us today, and
we can now eradicate every man, woman child, cat, dog,
bird etc. in just a manner of minutes.....

What is worse?

The lunatics of the world now have this technology.

It's official (to me) I have too much coin,
I was sure I had it under control... :)

Anyone who knows me, knows I can
have some pretty weird tastes in food,
just ask Penny about my childhood
choices in sandwich ingredients. ;)

When I saw this, I just had to try it.

Yes, it is Pizza flavored potato chips.

Grossed out yet? :)

Pay 100 Yen (about $1.00 Canadian)
and get your fortune (mikuji)
You drop your coin in a slot, shake
a can full of numbered sticks, you
shake out the stick, which has a
symbol on it corresponding to
a drawer,


you open the drawer
and pull out a piece of paper

which has your mikuji on it
either for good or bad, if it is not good, you tie it to the rack on

the left and the wind and rain will blow it away. These school
kids are probably hoping for good grades or a decent spouse...

This man is baking goodies, this store is
located in the market which
leads into Sensoji, in Asakusa.

He is baking a cookie type
of treat filled with chocolate.
The cookies are in various shapes, birds,
fish, etc.

Had to stop and see my favorite,
the "Ogon no unko" as the locals
like to call it.

The Asahi brewing company
with a new neighbour.

Fugu, anyone?

Puffer fish on the fin

Need a taxi?
Not the fastest thing on wheels,
but I bet she has strong legs after
towing that thing around full
of overweight north Americans.

A Ricksha...

Near Asakusa.