Thursday, July 30, 2009
Goldfinch Restaurant, Hong kong, In the mood for love...
Ayer me llevaron a cenar al restaurante que sale en la pelicula de Won Kar Wai "In the mood for love", una de mis pelis favoritas...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Summer pictures - July 2009
Pictures from this summer. I lost most of them from my computer crash, but here are a few, including the Peltiers.
Monday, July 20, 2009
18th Anniversary
We celebrated #18 both with and without the kids. A TIME magazine article came out the same week as our anniversary with a cover story on marriage (and how it is under siege). It reminded me how grateful I am for our marriage, and I decided I want the kids to see it as a family holiday at least as important as a birthday. So we got red and white balloons, a "sweetheart cake" from Baskin Robbins, lit 18 candles and sang "happy anniversary" to ourselves with the kids. Then we got a babysitter and enjoyed dinner out and a long walk in a beautiful park at sunset.
I forgot to take pictures but I will try to remember that next year.
I forgot to take pictures but I will try to remember that next year.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Jyuyondai sake
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Festival de, eh... Gundam!
La diferencia es que en vez de grupos de musica en directo, como es habitual en este tipo de eventos, en el escenario hay una maqueta escala 1/1 de Gundam.
Madre mia!
Monday, July 13, 2009
posteando desde el movil
Incluso puedo enviar attachment por 300 yen al mes, unos 2 euros.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Squaw Valley - Billharz Family Reunion
We spent a fantastic week with 50 Billharzes at the Olympic Village at Squaw Valley, celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary. Mom wore her original wedding dress, which you can see in the photos. We hiked to a waterfall, biked along the Truckee River, went rafting, hung out on the beach, toasted marshmallows at the campfire, and - best of all - made lasting memories. Mom and Dad hosted an anniversary banquet and asked each of the 12 kids to share "a favorite memory or experience." I wish I had the whole thing on video - we rarely get to be together and reminisce like that and it was fun to hear what everyone remembered. Mom and Dad's first honeymoon was basically a rainy, cold camping trip so we pitched in for a surprise second honeymoon. As Chip said, it was fun to give them that because at this point it is hard for them to be surprised by anything! They will be going to Banff and surrounding area next month, and we hope for beautiful weather and good times for them. Being married 50 years is great - being married 50 years AND being able to go travel together and enjoy it is awesome!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Un helado de té verde y "cerezo en flor" en Kyoto por lo que pueda pasar
Yo por si acaso, me meto este maravilloso helado entre pecho y espalda por lo que pueda pasar.
Mira al pobre Michael Jackson, se nos ha muerto.
Va por él...
Mira al pobre Michael Jackson, se nos ha muerto.
Va por él...
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Osaka, onsens, yakuzas y el más guarro del lugar
Estoy en Osaka, he llegado aquà en un maravilloso tren bala que casi le falta volar, digo casi porque creo que ya vuela...
Como siempre, me las he apañado para ver los lugares más sórdidos y oscuros de Japón, en este caso de Osaka.
Como soy un cutre, me gasto una miseria en dormir y me alojo en un recóndito agujero en un fétido barrio de Osaka lleno de borrachos y vagabundos.
Por no haber no hay ni ducha, sin embargo tenemos un maravilloso onsen, baño de agua caliente con duchas que lo rodean, con sauna. Si será sórdido el lugar que hasta dejan entrar a japoneses tatuados, digo hasta porque en todo Japón no se permite la entrada en lugares públicos a ninguna persona con tatuajes, aunque sea el nombre de la novia yonki de tu hermano en letras minúsculas...
De hecho todas las noches veo a un tipo de aspecto yakuza dale que te pego a la esponja.
La gente en Japón se lava hasta hacerse sangre. Se sientan en su taburete y se empiezan a frotar a quemarropa con una esponja o una toallita y bien de jabón. Esto se hace antes de meterse en el baño de agua caliente que es comunal.
Parece un poco una competición de a ver quién es el último en dejarse de frotar, como si ésto significase que al ser el último eres más limpio que todos los que ya se han dejado de frotar antes, los muy cerdos.
Mira que yo soy relimpio, si hasta tengo la piel que se me cae a tiras de ducharme... Pues ni con esas puedo con esta peña, me siento como el gaijin (extranjero) cerdo. Se deben pensar que voy a dejar una mancha de grasa a la que me meta en el baño.
Y eso que me quedo un poco más de lo acostumbrado dale que dale al fregoteo para que no digan, pero nada, me jarto y ahà siguen, como si nada pasara.
El yakuza es el que más Ãmpetu pone el pobre, debe ser agotador estar todo el dÃa asustando y extorsionando, que lástima, lo agusto que se le ve ahà con su esponjica.
Que se le va a hacer.
Hasta otra.
Como siempre, me las he apañado para ver los lugares más sórdidos y oscuros de Japón, en este caso de Osaka.
Como soy un cutre, me gasto una miseria en dormir y me alojo en un recóndito agujero en un fétido barrio de Osaka lleno de borrachos y vagabundos.
Por no haber no hay ni ducha, sin embargo tenemos un maravilloso onsen, baño de agua caliente con duchas que lo rodean, con sauna. Si será sórdido el lugar que hasta dejan entrar a japoneses tatuados, digo hasta porque en todo Japón no se permite la entrada en lugares públicos a ninguna persona con tatuajes, aunque sea el nombre de la novia yonki de tu hermano en letras minúsculas...
De hecho todas las noches veo a un tipo de aspecto yakuza dale que te pego a la esponja.
La gente en Japón se lava hasta hacerse sangre. Se sientan en su taburete y se empiezan a frotar a quemarropa con una esponja o una toallita y bien de jabón. Esto se hace antes de meterse en el baño de agua caliente que es comunal.
Parece un poco una competición de a ver quién es el último en dejarse de frotar, como si ésto significase que al ser el último eres más limpio que todos los que ya se han dejado de frotar antes, los muy cerdos.
Mira que yo soy relimpio, si hasta tengo la piel que se me cae a tiras de ducharme... Pues ni con esas puedo con esta peña, me siento como el gaijin (extranjero) cerdo. Se deben pensar que voy a dejar una mancha de grasa a la que me meta en el baño.
Y eso que me quedo un poco más de lo acostumbrado dale que dale al fregoteo para que no digan, pero nada, me jarto y ahà siguen, como si nada pasara.
El yakuza es el que más Ãmpetu pone el pobre, debe ser agotador estar todo el dÃa asustando y extorsionando, que lástima, lo agusto que se le ve ahà con su esponjica.
Que se le va a hacer.
Hasta otra.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Canal de Isabel II privado
Me mandan este power point al mail:
Id dándole a la diapositiva y pasará a la siguiente.
Id dándole a la diapositiva y pasará a la siguiente.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Acariciando gatos en Tokio
Hay por la ciudad algunos lugares para acariciar gatos, sÃ, sÃ, el propósito de dichos lugares es el de que acaricies gatos.
¿Es o no es una maravilla?
¿Es o no es una maravilla?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Tokyo Star Wars Pop Up
Ya estoy en Tokyo.
El caso es que ya llevo unos cuantos dÃas por aquÃ...
Vovlvà a Hong Kong unos dÃas y desde allà pasé a Tokyo.
Casi no recordaba lo bestial que es esto. Y la comida...
Todo está bueno...
De momento solo subo este vÃdeo que grabamos de un libro “pop up” de Star Wars que vimos en una tienda de juguetes en Tokio.
Genial
El caso es que ya llevo unos cuantos dÃas por aquÃ...
Vovlvà a Hong Kong unos dÃas y desde allà pasé a Tokyo.
Casi no recordaba lo bestial que es esto. Y la comida...
Todo está bueno...
De momento solo subo este vÃdeo que grabamos de un libro “pop up” de Star Wars que vimos en una tienda de juguetes en Tokio.
Genial
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Moab, continued
More fun in the sun...discovered Sand Dune Arch yesterday. It's a 0.2 mile hike partway between huge vertical slabs of sandstone and ending in an arch over a big hill of very soft sand. Lots of shade, more lizards and one small snake in the rock wall, and very pleasant. We hung out about an hour while the kids played and played in the sand. Like the beach without any water, more shade, less wind and of course the amazing huge slabs of sandstone representing eons of erosion.
Afterward we went out on a limb and did a 0.6 mile hike out to Broken Arch, which is not broken as far as I can tell. The prickly pear cacti were blooming, lots of different colors - yellow, pink, white - and many other flowers graced the trail in bright yellow and purple. There was more greenery than usual, I think because of the recent rains. We carried the kids part of the way but our plot to wear them out worked - again they took a very deep nap after lunch. Ahhh...
The quote of the day was Sam's - he reliably denies any questions about whether his diaper may be poopy. Bryan asked, "Sam, why do you always lie about having a poopy diaper?" and immediately Sam replied, "Becuzzz...I...WUV you!!"
The pool was not very warm our first couple days here, but they must have fixed it because last night it was very comfortable - MUCH warmer. We brought all our pool toys. Alex is really very independent in the water now - as long as she has her life vest - she likes to zoom all around on her own and jump in all by herself. The first time I saw her head go all the way under I thought, "Well, this should be interesting," but she came up grinning from ear to ear. She is ready for swimming lessons - wish I could teach her but I'd really like her to learn to swim. :-)
Sam is just getting used to floating on his own, but isn't as adept as Alex yet - he rolls in the life vest and his face goes right in the water. He does love holding on to his inflatable ring though, and gets mad if we try to hold on to him. Every day the pool is a highlight. There is sand in the bottom of it but I guess this is Moab, where people come off the trails and bring it in with them.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
fun in Moab
Vacation in Moab. FUN!
Will need to post pictures later - currently they are trapped in the camera in the same room as 2 sleeping kids.
I don't think we've been here since before Alex. We've enjoyed surprisingly mild temperatures (50's to 80's) and some equally surprising afternoon rain showers. Refreshing. This morning we took the kids on their first hike in Arches, exploring the Courthouse Wash. It's a soft sandy creekbed next to a canyon wall - shade and trees much of the way - and we really had a great time. Alex loved it, loved squishing the red mud between her toes, walking in her bare feet, chasing lizards and tadpoles and water striders, and playing in the mud and sand while telling me long, involved imaginary stories. She did not like the live crawdad Bryan picked up, though. Sam, suprisingly, was pretty squeamish about the mud and wanted to be carried a lot of the way. WTH? Since when does Sam care about getting his feet a little wet? Go figure.
Anyway, we also explored the Ranger Station where we got to imprint Play-Doh with animal tracks and play with various types of rubber animal poop. We even brought the plasma cars and ranger station has a nice patio perfect for zooming around on them. After all that sun and fun, Sam actually stayed in his seat during most of lunch. :-) We got pineapple sorbet and browsed the used bookstore, where, incredibly, I found a used hardback illustrated (animated comic-book style) story of the "Robin Hood of Korea." It's over the kids' heads now, but they will probably like it when they're older. The author grew up in Korea as the daughter of medical missionaries and studied Korean painting...what a find for Moab. We bought some other books and went back to the hotel room and both kids drifted away looking at their new books.
The pool here was advertised as "heated" but if it is, it's not very warm. Well, other than that we can't complain. The hotel serves us fresh baked cookies every afternoon and a continental breakfast every morning. So far, fabulous.
Will need to post pictures later - currently they are trapped in the camera in the same room as 2 sleeping kids.
I don't think we've been here since before Alex. We've enjoyed surprisingly mild temperatures (50's to 80's) and some equally surprising afternoon rain showers. Refreshing. This morning we took the kids on their first hike in Arches, exploring the Courthouse Wash. It's a soft sandy creekbed next to a canyon wall - shade and trees much of the way - and we really had a great time. Alex loved it, loved squishing the red mud between her toes, walking in her bare feet, chasing lizards and tadpoles and water striders, and playing in the mud and sand while telling me long, involved imaginary stories. She did not like the live crawdad Bryan picked up, though. Sam, suprisingly, was pretty squeamish about the mud and wanted to be carried a lot of the way. WTH? Since when does Sam care about getting his feet a little wet? Go figure.
Anyway, we also explored the Ranger Station where we got to imprint Play-Doh with animal tracks and play with various types of rubber animal poop. We even brought the plasma cars and ranger station has a nice patio perfect for zooming around on them. After all that sun and fun, Sam actually stayed in his seat during most of lunch. :-) We got pineapple sorbet and browsed the used bookstore, where, incredibly, I found a used hardback illustrated (animated comic-book style) story of the "Robin Hood of Korea." It's over the kids' heads now, but they will probably like it when they're older. The author grew up in Korea as the daughter of medical missionaries and studied Korean painting...what a find for Moab. We bought some other books and went back to the hotel room and both kids drifted away looking at their new books.
The pool here was advertised as "heated" but if it is, it's not very warm. Well, other than that we can't complain. The hotel serves us fresh baked cookies every afternoon and a continental breakfast every morning. So far, fabulous.