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Hanabi
Last night, Tod & I (and the UBS staff outing) had arena seats for the Jingu Hanabi Taikai. In addition to two spectacular 25 minute firework displays, there were concerts featuring famous musicians we don’t know but the 30-something crowd went wild, so I guess we should have. Then again, the crowd were also excited…
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US Immigration
I am not sure what to think about America’s changing immigration policies. Beginning next month, aliens entering from “high risk” countries are to be fingerprinted at their port of entry. If they remain in the US longer than 30 days, they must register at an INS office and check in annually. Here in Japan, all…
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Perseids
Tonight we should be able to see the Perseid meteor shower if today’s bank of heavy clouds goes away and light pollution doesn’t spoil the show. I remember the first time I saw the Perseids. I was at a drive-in with a friend during a university break. The movie was too stupid to capture my…
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Polyceman
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iMovie crashed my Mac
I have a video editing project with no particular deadline, though I’ve put it off long enough that now I want it over so I can spend time procrastinating on other projects. For the past two months, I’ve been working on it, getting frustrated with my preferred software which is not OS X ready, and…
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Zoupi in Belgium
Zoupi is still enjoying his vacation in Belgium. He’s travelled all over and amassed an extensive photo album. Here he is in Brussels with Manneken Pis, the famous fountain that inspired the funny Suntory Dakara commercials. (Click on the videotape, then navigate the menu to choose MPG or animated gifs–you don’t really need to understand…
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SMAP’s soda
Pop superstars SMAP’s latest album cover art has been turned into a promotional soda with a discount price–just 105 yen instead of 120. What’s the flavor of SMAP? Its a cola/orange baby aspirin/gum fantasia. I haven’t had a cola drink in years and the contents of the can took me by surprise. I’ve become accustomed…
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The Global Cities Tokyo
The Global Cities Tokyo team (me, Fred, Chiharu, and Wilson) are smiling because the film is “in the can.” We wrapped up last night at about 11 pm; Wilson and Fred are on their way back to Frankfurt today. At the end of the night as we said our thanks and goodbyes, it really felt…
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Sugamo filming
Yesterday was a fun day of shooting at Togenuki Jizo in Sugamo, “Grandma’s Harajuku.” I’m too rushed to write more, but I’ll be back tomorrow.
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Stamina in Kabukicho
I have no idea how these guys shoot for 14 hours without stopping or eating. In this photo, taken yesterday at 17:30, I’m exhausted, sunburned, sweaty and starving after traversing Harajuku, Omotesando and Shin-Okubo from 10:00. They are taking shot after shot of Kabukicho’s neon-covered porn shops & pachinko parlors. I’m cranky and at the…
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