I was going through a box of photos and found this picture of two right wing terrorists massacring some aluminum cans. This was over two decades ago! I believe this was autumn 2002, after we had moved back from Japan that August. My uncle Gary took us to his favorite spot called Yellow Jacket off of the Black Canyon Highway and Mayu got to shoot my .22 rifle. I still had some hair then. I think we had a picnic and it was a fun day. The only ones who didn’t enjoy themselves that day were the aluminum cans.
Here is Mayu with Uncle Gary. She enjoyed shooting that day.
The neat thing about Yellow Jacket is that the soil has washed away underneath the tree roots, so the trees just stand up from out of the ground. It’s pretty wild. Here is Mayu sitting underneath one of the trees.
The local grocery store now carries pita bread, so I made Greg-version Turkish/Greek kebab sandwiches for dinner Saturday night. While eating, I put in the Aliens DVD again. My daughter Ulan voiced her displeasure at the first chestburster scene. I said, “Hey, this movie is about FRIENDSHIP. Because when everyone is getting killed in horrible ways by hideous space monsters, friends are all you have left!”
She probably thinks I’m crazy, but someday, she’ll learn. She’ll also learn that there were only TWO Alien movies ever made. The rest are feldercarb.
This song reminds me of a wonderful girl from Ireland I once knew. She was a girl whose kindness had helped lift me from a dark cloud of loneliness and despair, yet I couldn’t do the same for her as she was wasting away from anorexia and became withdrawn. I then found love with another girl, so far away in Japan. But this Irish girl was a kindred spirit, a hurting soul like me. When she transferred to a college out of state, I felt her absence and it made me sad. Although I married the girl in Japan, I wish I could have held onto the Irish girl’s friendship forever. I was always such a lonely nerd, yet I found myself in a love triangle between two beautiful, lovely foreign girls with black hair. This was 24 years ago…
Silly girl You don’t look so good There’s nothing here that makes you feel the way you should The summer’s gone and you’ve lost your way Why hide your heart You know it’s always such a waste Seeing you cry and it makes me sad Makes me think that I should hold you everyday Miss you always Even if you hit the ground Miss you always Even if you’re here someday
Silly girl It’s just a way to go There’s nothing cool that makes my heart stay away I’ve seen you cry and it makes me sad Don’t hide your eyes You know it’s always such a waste Miss you always Even when you hit the ground Miss you always Even when you’re here to play
I’ve changed my desktop wallpaper. Here’s what it looks like now. Some side street in Japan. I cannot recall if this came with my distro or if I found it somewhere on the net.
Will you get down on your knees right now and accept Linux as your personal computer’s operating system and renounce the demons of Gates and Cook? Hallelujah!
This bizarre plastic model kit by Imai comes from the days when Japan blatantly plagiarized stuff. Here is the “Command Robot VR-1” kit from their “Star Command” series, also known as “Nazi R2-D2.” I’ve actually seen this kit in person (at an IPMS show in Phoenix) and it comes with swastika decals. Sieg heil, you overweight glob of grease.
Today I took the day off to spend with my daughter. Every year we do a father/daughter picnic under the cherry blossoms (sakura) for flower viewing (o-hanami). We went to Family Mart to buy sandwiches and walked to the small river lined with cherry trees. A pleasant pedestrian path runs alongside, with the blossoms overhead. We had a picnic in the gazebo there. When the wind picked up, it would shower flower petals on us as we walked along the river. It was a beautiful day.
With a smile on her face, our beautiful daughter Ulan tears it up on drums. This jazz song has a particularly complicated rhythm, and she does a wonderful job!
The last time we saw her perform was last summer, and she was just barely doing simple rhythms on the drums. Seeing her now and how well she played with a smile on her face the whole time, she’s so incredible. I’ve told her since she was little that she has a special gift to bless others. I can see her playing drums in a church someday, or playing in a band. Blessing others.
I am reminded of the song “She Bangs the Drums” by The Stone Roses:
I can feel the earth begin to move I hear my needle hit the groove And spiral through another day I hear my song begin to say Kiss me where the sun don’t shine The past was yours But the future’s mine You’re all out of time
I don’t feel too steady on my feet I feel hollow I feel weak Passion fruit and holy bread Fill my guts and ease my head Through the early morning sun I can see her, here she comes She bangs the drums
[Chorus] Have you seen her, have you heard The way she plays? There are no words To describe the way I feel How could it ever come to pass? She’ll be the first, she’ll be the last To describe the way I feel The way I feel
If you have never heard shoegaze music, it’s not merely something to listen to, but it’s like a warm guitar bath for your soul to experience. It’s definitely music for introverts, like myself. One of my favorite shoegaze bands is Slowdive. I’ve never heard this Slowdive song before until tonight!
Just reading the comments in this video from people whose lives have been touched by this song has moved me to tears. It’s beautiful to read how this song has affected people. One person spared his life from suicide. Another regretted all the time spent in youth feeling sorry for himself and regretted not spending more time with others. Another commenter urges others to become a better, positive part of others’ lives, even strangers. It’s amazing what an affect such beautiful music can have on others.
Here are the lyrics.
I can see you laughing Through dreams of perfect sleep Sleep away from me You know what’s in my mind When you go, I’m crying Dream, dream away from me
Let the Lord embrace you Bow down, spare the reed When I close my eyes Your fate shall be free When I see you drowning I’ll dream, dream away from you
