23 August 2006, early morning Last night we rented one of my favorite movies from my childhood - War Games. It was cool to see it again, and I still remembered a lot of the lines. My family had it recorded on Beta cassette, so after Beta went away, it was one one of a limited supply of films we could watch, and we watched it over and over, along with Ferris Bueler's Day Off, Breaking Away, and Vacation. I love all of those movies. Seeing Dabney Coleman in War Games made me remember another childhood favorite, which we didn't have on video, called Cloak and Dagger. It was about a kid who got caught up in some sort of espionage plot. I mainly remember that the kid got out of some scrapes by pointing his realistic-looking squirt gun at the bad guys. It was filled with red ink. I really wanted a squirt gun with red ink after seeing that movie. I have my doubts as to whether I'd still enjoy Cloak and Dagger if I saw it again. I don't think it qualifies as a timeless classic.
We failed to attend the latest fireworks festival in Ikeda last Saturday. We rode out to the station, but it was raining and miserable when we arrived, so we decided to go home. The rain actually stopped in time for the fireworks to go on, but we didn't regret the miss. I made hamburgers and we watched the whole fireworks show on Toyonaka/Ikeda local cable television. It was fun. I've scanned some of my monochrome fireworks shots from Yodogawa. They turned out better than the color ones. Here's a sample....
The view from our grassy spot at the latest Yodogawa Hanabi Taikai
Photo with Fujifilm Klasse 35mm on Kodak T-Max 100
13 August 2006, evening There were no fireflies. But it was still a nice evening. We met Ueda-san on the train at Sone. She's in the dumps now because she's been transferred to a division of Panasonic where she's surrounded by annoying old men with bad breath who make lame jokes and then study her reactions. We went to Mino station and stopped at Wendy's before heading up the mountain. There was no sign of fireflies along the way, so we decided to just go all the way to the top and see the waterfall instead. It was lovely. Back down at the bottom, we stopped at a really rustic standing bar/liquor shop for a beer. All the regulars were out in force, making sure we knew everything that was available there, doing push-ups on the ground, showing us the music selection. I don't think they get a lot of girls in there.
Akashi Kaikyo - World's longest suspension bridge - Just an hour away.
Photo with Voigtlander Bessa 6x9cm on Kodak T-Max 400
12 August 2006, afternoon Yesterday was Kumiko's birthday. She went to work in the morning, but had the afternoon off, so we met for lunch at a very local restaurant called Blues Kitchen. We both had the same thing, a hamburger steak cooked in a terrine with a kind of soupy demiglace. It was nice, but not as good as the hamburger steak we had last weekend at a steak place called "Delicious" in Hattori (next station to ours). It's run by a very old man who's quite set in his ways. We had a beer first off, and I finished mine pretty quickly and ordered another, but the old man told me I had to wait until I got my steak. I didn't argue. He had posters from Takarazuka Review all over the walls, and publicity shots signed by the actresses. We asked him if he was a big fan, and he said, "No. They're my fans. They send me all this stuff and I have to put it up." I believe him. It was really tasty hamburger, made from the trimmings of the fancy steaks he serves to high-rollers (not us).
So back to Kumiko's birthday...After lunch we came home and I gave Kumiko her presents - some glasses from a glass and ceramics studio in Umeda, and a Spongebob lunch box. She seemed pleased with everything.
In the evening, we headed over to her parents' house, because Kazuomi and his family were visiting from Kyoto. Daichi was full of beans as normal, and Shogo was just a cute ball of fat. We played a card game with Daichi that helps in learning how to read. It was fun. I can still read much better than Daichi. He's almost four years old now. I guess he'll pass me by in the next 3 or 4 years. He already speaks Japanese much better than I do of course. There was also a fabulous dinner to be eaten, as usual. We had roast beef, and fried spring rolls and fried stuffed lotus root things and mozarella tomato salad and a variety of sushi.
Today was what you might call "inconsequential". We didn't leave the house until about 2pm. Then we took an exciting trip to the drug store. I spent 1,310 yen for 8 razor refills. I don't know why those things cost so much. I guess there's some collusion in the industry between Gilette and Schick. Tonight if it doesn't rain we're going to check out fireflies in Mino with Ueda-chan. Maybe we'll eat at Wendy's while we're in Mino.
A scene in Ryokuchi park in Toyonaka. That's my bicycle.
A homeless guy lives under the pavilion.
Pinhole photo with Zero Image Multi-format camera at 6x9cm on Kodak T-Max 400
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