nihon ni ikimashou, maybe

So we may very well be visiting Japan this year. It's both exciting and terrifying to think that we may be in the land of the rising sun in October or November of this year, barring unforseen changes. So we are keeping alert to flights and figuring out our budget for a two-week trip.

We have notes from the Frommer's Guide to Japan, and I've bought The Rough Guide to Japan, which is very detailed and sometimes overwhelming in content. Needless to say, after consulting with some great friends who are from Japan or who have lived there for a while, we are going to reduce the number of things on our itinerary we put together from Frommers.

Some things off the top of my head that I'd like for us to experience are:
1. Ride a bullet train--the fastest versions there. I know we'll have to pay for this as the JR Railpass won't cover it, but it may be fun regardless.
2. Stay in a Japanese-style inn, for one night in Kyoto. I just hope I remember to do the bathroom slipper and bathing thing correctly.
3. Visit the peace memorial in Hiroshima.
4. Survive Tokyo.
5. Visit some shrines, temples, castles, and art museums.
6. Visit the Buddhist park that has deer in it which you can feed (I can't recall its name right now).
7. See a kabuki performance.
8. Try fresh seafood, with plenty of drink to wash it down before I change my mind.
9. Visit with any friends or family of friends along the way.
10. Enjoy the trip for what it is and try to leave all of my years of expectations and American eccentricities in the USA.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions, comments, etc. for the trip. Thanks!

-David-

am I sick in the head for liking LoEG the second time through?

It's been years since I first watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie adaptation. I read the first graphic novel and fell in love with the rich story telling and world collaging going on--this in preparation to seeing the film version. The cinematic translation was a huge blockbuster popcorn action and adventure monstrosity that bore little resemblance to the printed piece. It was more fluff than substance and took many liberties with the major characters, in my opinion, eroding the clever character interactions and dynamics, and sanitizing the "heroes" so that a mass audience would maybe cheer for them at the movies rather than shrink in revulsion. But this was directed by the man who put Blade on the silver screen. So, it was foolish for me to think it would be more wit than shoot and slit. Last month, I rented the film from the public library and watched the commentary and extras and then the film and found that I actually liked it. Maybe I'm losing touch with great literary works (most of which I have never read, except Frankenstein which I adore), or even graphic novel crossovers, but the movie worked for me with over three years of distance from the source. Yes, it still lacked development for the non-Sean Connery characters, but the plot and pacing, etc. was balanced. It will never live on in my mind as a great movie, but I found that it was entertaining in a very stereotypical and predictable action-packed format.

Maybe I should revisit Hellboy?

-David-

Update - 7th Anniversary

Hi, all. It's been a while. Unfortunately, since we were not able to attend Matthew's joyous wedding event, our latest news is our wedding anniversary. The weekend of July 24, David and I drove to Ames for our annual pilgrimmage, though this was the first year that we got to take a dependent along. But I should back up.

Friday night before the trip was spent getting ready. Among other things, we had to pack, and Andy needed a bath. I did the bath while David did the packing and made dinner. We had to make sure that Andy was well groomed and ready to meet his public. That Saturday morning was also the first of the "Breed Days" at the Cedar Rapids dog park. Essentially, it's a series of scheduled blocks of time during which people with certain breeds are encouraged to come to the park. It's an opportunity to meet other owners and dogs of same/similar breeds, and also to do Q&A about your breed for interested others.

The event is broken up into time slots on several Saturday mornings, roughly by AKC grouping. The hound group was scheduled for Saturday morning at 8:45 a.m., and wonder of wonders, we could actually go! 8:45 is actually a little late for us, but I figured we could make a special effort to stay and see who would show up. It turned out that Saturday morning was a great day for the activity. There was a heat advisory scheduled for the entire weekend, beginning 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Early that morning while we were at the park, however, it was quite nice. It was muggy, but overcast so the sun wasn't a problem, and there was a stiff breeze blowing that made things downright pleasant, though only when it was blowing. When the breeze stopped, the air was heavy and uncomfortable.

Still, perhaps because the weather had been really bad the days before, not very many people showed up in our breed group. There was a bassett hound, and seven greyhounds. Zeus, Athena, Ripley, and Maggie were there. Then Andy got to meet two new hounds, Rusty and Marquee. We left about 9:15, because we had already been at the park for 2.5 hours, and it was apparent no one else was going to come. Andy was bushed, as was I, and we needed to get ready to depart for Ames.

We left a little earlier than expected that afternoon, and got to Ames about 3:30. We drove around a bit, ordered dinner from Great Plains Sauce & Dough, saw the rubble from the Knapp-Storms implosion, drove around the campus a bit, and then headed to Story City and our hotel. The plan was to get pizza to go, then have dinner at the hotel. Julie originally made us a discounted reservation at the former-Best-Western-now-a-Quality-Inn-and-Suites where she still works one day per week. However, her reservation got cancelled by her boss because he wanted to sell the room for the higher full weekend rate because of the demand brought about by the Iowa Games. Humph. Every other year or so, our anniversary conflicts with that event. Seeing as the full rate was rather more than we wanted to pay, Julie helpfully found us a better deal at the Viking Inn in Story City, which is only 10 miles north anyway. No biggie. Julie showed up at our hotel room about 9:00 I think, and we just hung out and chatted for a few hours.

Sunday morning, we visited the Iowa Arboretum, another annual pilgrimmage, and the site of the our ceremony. Julie had to work, so she wasn't able to join us, which meant we were short a photographer as well. It was hot, hot, hot. The heat advisory was well and duly noted. I periodically thought about how lucky we were that our wedding day was pretty pleasant, given the time of year. The Arboretum has changed a bit in the past seven years, with a large new building finished a few years back, a new entrance area, and a few more flower plots and a children's garden area. The herb garden where our ceremony was held has been rearranged and now only has one archway. The foliage is also steadily encroaching on the little pond with the fountain, so it's harder to get a good shot of us there. Not surprisingly, it's a bit more expensive to do a wedding there these days, so I'm glad we were able to take advantage of the place when we did. Sure, now we could have both the ceremony and the reception on the grounds in the big, new, fancy building... but I think ours was just right the way we did it.

David had to trek around the grounds to find someone who would be able to take our annual picture by the fountain. There just was nothing to set the camera on to do a picture using the timer. David found Kimberly tending the gift shop, and she was willing to brave the oppressive heat to walk all the way across the arboretum to take a few pictures of us. She said hello to Andy, who was happy to have someone else pet him. Of course, she was wearing a white skirt, which clearly showed his black hairs after he brushed up against her. We thanked her, and then escaped back to the car and the a/c.

We finished up the trip to Ames by grabbing a quick lunch at Hickory Park, another Ames original. I have never seen another dessert menu quite so thorough as the one at that restaurant; they take ice cream sundaes to a whole new level. Having procured our meal, we hauled it over to Julie's place of work and had lunch with her. We took over a small conference room, and the three of us ate while Andy wandered around some before becoming flat by our table. David enjoyed his peanut-butter-cup-and-peppermint shake, but my hot fudge malt was difficult to distinguish from Julie's chocolate shake. Humph. Well, it was cool and sweet, anyway. Then we headed out.

We had a quick stop in West Des Moines that included a visit to Petsmart, where we finally got Andy a new brush, and then the long trip home. Okay, it wasn't really all that long, but it seemed to take forever. We had hoped to head home earlier in the day, but of course that didn't work out very well. So we were driving with the hot westering sun blazing in the back window onto Andy the whole trip. I had the air cranked so he would be cool in the back, while I froze in the front. We were all happy to get home and crash. I thought wearily about taking the day off on Monday, but then remembered I had agreed to proctor an exam first thing in the morning, so I had to be there. Bleh.

So that was the anniversary weekend. We do have some pictures of the arboretum and the rubble from the Knapp-Storms implosion.

As for everything else, things are moving along fairly conventionally around here. David got to help out with tagging baby osprey at the MacBride Raptor Project (MRP). The MRP was involved in a project designed to reintroduce osprey to the area, and it looks like the program has had some success! They had a nesting pair of osprey with two babies this year, so someone got to go into a cherrypicker and pluck the babies out of their nest. They were weighed and banded, then put back. David has some pictures of that event, as well.

David's also been busy, busy, busy with The Coaster Project, an endeavor to help benefit local non-profit organizations. Unfortunately, since this is a volunteer activity, he gets all the headaches of being the Executive Director of the endeavor, without actually getting any of the big bucks. One of the endeavor staffpeople created the logo, and David designed and created the website.

I recently have gotten in contact with the new Editor at a local arts/entertainment publication called The Little Village. I'm trying to get some experience with editing, and David knew someone who knew someone who knew... well, anyway. She and I have talked over email a little, and are trying to arrange to meet sometime to discuss the publication and their needs. I'm mostly interested in the experience, but if they actually decide they want to pay me, I'd be happy to work for them and quit my not-so-lucrative-right-now city job taking minutes.

Coming up, we're debating whether to go to the Renaissance Festival early in September. Also in September on the 24th is the Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption annual reunion, which we'll be sure to attend. Technically speaking, Andy's first Gotcha Day is Sept. 25. However, he officially became ours during the reunion last year, which is a day earlier this year. So it'll be kinda like a Gotcha Weekend event. =)

Also in September on the 30th, Heartland Greyhound Adoption near Des Moines is having a gathering they call "Prairie Beach." [a nod to the popular Dewey Beach annual greyhound gathering.] Prairie Beach is something we just learned about, so we haven't yet figured out whether we'll go. Probably it'll be a matter of deciding between the Ren Fest and Prairie Beach, and we'll probably only do one day. That option is definitely a nice perk of only living 1.5... okay, 2 hours away from Des Moines.

Work, play, sleep, eat. That about sums it all up. =) Hope you all are well.

Dinner and a Movie

David and I try to go on dates on a fairly regularly basis. Yesterday was dinner and a movie. Actually, it ended up being the other way around. David heard about the New Strand Theatre from someone at work. New Strand is actually *gasp* locally owned! It reminded him of our occasional trips to Story City while we were still living in Ames, to see their cheap movies. So heck, why not?

The movie was at 4:00 and 7:00, so we decided to do very early dinner before the 4:00 show, then go to the movie, then hit Fareway on the way back into town. Nice theory, except that we learned - after we got to West Liberty - that the restaurant did split shifts, and wouldn't be open until 5:00. Humph.

Years ago, David and I took a couple conversational Spanish classes through continuing education at Kirkwood. We were introduced to the restaurant - a very good authentic Mexican restaurant - back then. It's right across the street from the theater, so we hung out until the movie started, then had dinner afterwards. Well, the movie was really good, but the restaurant not nearly as good as we remember. Ah, well. It's not like there aren't any others to try in West Liberty. There were four Mexican groceries/restaurants in a two block area down town, and we passed another on the way into town. One must realize that West Liberty is not a very large town. I don't think it even has a McDonald's.

As for the movie, it was the much-touted Batman Begins, and I must say, it did live up to its hype. =) A very good movie. I would highly recommend it. There are, of course, a few things that bear mentioning, both on the good side and the not so good side.

First of all, I have to agree with the assessment that Katie Holmes just seemed... so... young! I think she did a very good job with the part, performance-wise, but she just seemed pretty juvenile for the assistant DA position she was holding.

I also thought the "Batmobile" in this movie was a bit over the top. Okay, a lot over the top. On the one hand, Bruce Wayne in this movie wasn't nearly as smooth as other takes on the character. He wasn't as polished and practiced in the art of being a city and social figure, here at the beginning of his career in that role. And his humble beginnings as Batman were sometimes painful to watch. However, even with this version of Bruce/Batman, the vehicle seemed too much like a brick through a window. The really big, macho sort of vehicle seemed rather gratuitous to me.

There were several elements to the film that felt rather cliched. Um, the speedy trip with the love interest to the Bat Cave? Been there, done that. Thankfully, the "suiting up" sequence was mercifully short.

Yet those, along with my usual lament about how dull I personally find car chases, are small complaints.

I was watching for a plot twist at the end, and didn't catch one. Unless we're talking about who turns out to be the real bad guy? If so, I didn't think that was too twisty. If not, then I must have just missed it. I saw the real bad guy coming from a long way off, but can forgive Batman for not seeing it because he didn't know he was in a movie. Batman didn't realize that guy had to come back, and in spectacular fashion. ;-) Also, the drug additive was a dead giveaway.

So generally, enthusiastic thumbs up. Very good performances by the entire cast. I liked the humor thrown in during Batman's very humble trial-and-error beginnings. I'm glad that Gordon was not made Commissioner by the end of the movie, up from a Sgt. The mix of gothic and modern elements in the properties and set always kept me guessing. The music score was very nice, understated, and well-fitted to the tone and emotion of the movie.

This was definitely a Batman with whom the audience could relate and sympathize. Batman has always seemed much more accessible than some of the other super heroes, and in this movie the audience really gets to see the character grow up. And wow, getting turned down by the woman at the end was quite a kick in the shins, wasn't it?! He took it with good grace.

outline for an adventure in japan

Hello world!

Here is the first rough outline of what we could do with two weeks in Japan, as advised by the Frommer's Guide to Japan. In short, I think that we are not adverse to seeing a little of Tokyo, and Hiroshima (both have lots to see I hear), but me personally... I'd like to visit around the Kyoto and Nara region to see some of the art and religious aspects I have read and studied about recently.

If anyone has been to Japan or knows anything about it that might help us to plan for an amazing yet not overwhelming two week trip, please let me know. We are going to take pictures and share our experiences whenever we can get over there in the next couple of years. Thank you in advance. :-)

Day 1: Settle in after arriving in Tokyo and eat dinner. Stay awake to adjust to the new time.

Day 2: Visit the Tsukiji Fish Market, walk through Hama Rikyu Garden, take a boat down sumida River to Asakusa and later visit Sensoji Temple. Then to Ginza (find a meal in the basement level) and/or either a Kabuki or Takarazuza performance.

Day 3: Visit Tokyo’s National Museum and the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Head to Harajuku to see Meiji Shrine, find dinner and rest.

Day 4: Visit Kamakura or Nikko, or to Hakone. There is the Nikko Mausoleum, the Kamakura Kotokuin, the Hase Kanon, the Hakone tram up to the mountains to maybe see Mt. Fuji on a clear day.

Day 5: Go to Nagoya and then to Takayama in the Japan Alps.

Day 6: Visit the morning market in Takayama before taking the 2-hour bus ride to Shirakawago. Stay in a farmhouse.

Day 7: Go to Kyoto and bus to either Takayama or Nagoya and then transfer to Kyoto. Dine and rest.

Day 8: Start the day with a self-guided walk through eastern Kyoto, seeing Sanjusangendo Hall, Kiyomizu Temple and perhaps Heian Shrine, stopping through the Kyoto Handicraft Center before visiting the Museum of Kyoto and ending with a stroll through the Gion geisha district and Pontocho.

Day 9: Visit Kyoto Impersial Palace, Nijo Castle, Ryoanji Temple, and the Golden Pavilion. Stay over in a ryokan in Kyoto. Also the Nishijin Textile Center and Ginkakuji and Ryoanji Temple with the Zen Rock garden and more.

Day 10: Early in the morning, head for Nara to see the Great Buddha and Kasuga Shrine in the Nara Park. Feed the deer. Travel by train to reach Mt. Koya. Spend a night in one of the temples, dining on vegetarian food. Horyuji Temple area might be fun as well.

Day 11: Participate in a morning services before visiting Okunoin and then return to Osaka to reach Kurashiki. En route, make a two-hour stopover in Himiji to visit the Castle there. Spend the night in Kurashiki and stroll along the canal.

Day 12: Take in the sights of Kurashiki and leave for Hiroshima.

Day 13: Spend the morning at Peace Memorial Park and then around town before visiting to the tiny island of Miyajima and its Itsukushima Shrine.

Day 14: Return to Tokyo and depart for home.

going to Japan?

I don't know if it will happen, but we are investigating the possibility in a realistic manner about visiting Japan. It's something I've wanted to do for over fifteen years. Maybe it's anime, or movies or tech, whatever it is, it's a dream of mine, and thankfully, Robyn is interested in doing this with me. I think that it will be a fantastic experience and I'm fine with 2 weeks for our first visit. If it's wonderful, maybe we'll stop through again down the road.

So what have we done to prepare for this trip that will take place within the next couple of years? We've found out what we already guessed, that because we don't have a house we don't have much, but some, collateral for a loan through our bank. We'll need to save up money with all the school debt will be an interesting challenge. I've checked out a great travel guide, Frommers, that provides invaluable insights for people like us. That as a guideline and then hopefully through conversations with a number of friends, some from Japan, we will have a plethora of knowledge to help guide us on and off the beaten path through Tokyo, Nara, Kumakura, Kyoto, Hiroshima and so much more. We'll keep you informed of the details.

Take care and please wish us well.

MK Update for June, 2005

Seeing as it's been a while, and we weren't sure how far back to go, we just went way back to give everyone a recap.

For those of you who don't know, we went to David's sister Julie's wedding in February in Frankenmuth, Michigan. We had a marvelous time meeting the in-laws and revisiting with family after so many years. The wedding went off without a hitch, which included the bride's father and her brother jointly giving her away at the ceremony. The reception was replete with Frankenmuth's famous chicken meal, a delightful apple cider, and much camaraderie both on the dance floor and off. We wish the very best to the new couple, Mike and Julie Farney, who have begun their new life in an apartment in Flushing, Michigan. Julie is still working as a nail technician in a salon and Mike is applying for engineer positions.

After the wedding, our friend Edward hosted us at his home in Shelbyville, Michigan, for a couple nights. He gave us a quick tour of the area and aided David in his quest for ice cream at 10pm [only one 24hour grocery somewhat far away] following a dinner of Uno Chicago Grill's very tasty deep dish pizza. It was great to finally catch up with Edward and see his collection of artifacts from his trip to India. During the stay, David was also able to catch up with a couple other high school friends. They met with Marc Wojtowicz and his girlfriend, Tammy, for lunch at the Travelers Club International Restaurant & Tuba Museum (http://www.travelerstuba.com/travelersclub_001.htm) in Okemos, Michigan. Marc runs his own computer support business, Help Room (http://www.helproom.com/), does consultation, and occasionally teaches. Later on that same day we met with Mike Oliver and his fiancée, Michelle. They may wed in a year or so. We met them at his recently acquired computer sales and service store, Hometown Computers, in Fenton, Michigan. It was a very good move for Mike and I'm sure that he'll continue to succeed. At the conclusion of the trip to Michigan, we met with Edward's sister and her husband, Amanda and Rick Marble, for breakfast at a Big Boy restaurant so that Robyn could finally have the honor of dining at one, before visiting the Marble home, and then departing homeward for Iowa where we could pick up our boy from the kennel and recover in Iowa City.

A few weeks after Julie and Mike were married, Pearson Educational Measurement contacted and hired David to work on a portal Web demonstration project for the month of March. The experience and money were wonderful. The combined thirteen hour work days (between Pearson and Kirkwood), will not be missed. It was during this dual employment time, 7am to 1pm at Pearson and 3pm to 8pm at his Library Assistant job at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa City, that work commenced on the Kirkwood Libraries≠ Web site redesign with a bold modern and user-centered approach, both visually and technically. After two month's part-time work on the site, the construction and development stages are complete. David awaits the review and edit stage. When it's a public entity, we'll give you the Internet address.

At the conclusion of working at Pearson, David continued to apply for other jobs when a word of mouth referral caught his attention. A car advertisement publisher called up a Kirkwood art instructor who knew David, asking if she new of anyone interested in graphic design work. After an afternoon lunch interview at Applebee's, David was onboard for more print-based experience. He has proven himself through the creation of several graphic layouts to be used in upcoming local publications, and so far is impressed with the working relationship. One important difference with this job over his other design experiences is that the employer seemed outgoing, supporting his employers with constructive feedback, technical improvements and training. However, two weeks after telling David he really liked the produced artwork, the employer sent an email explaining that he couldn't afford to pay David to do the graphic design work he wanted and that was that. No discussion. No negotiation. Nothing. But at least he paid for the work and David will use it in his portfolio.

With regards to our boy Andy, he turned 6 on April 16. He was doted on with treats and attention the whole weekend and David thinks he could get used to eating liver and beef meatloaf dinners, with peanut butter and berry yogurt frosty paws for dessert, every weekend. One week earlier, Andy had four teeth extracted at the vet as a result of long-term dental hygiene neglect. We all survived the two days of bloody drool and pain and Andy's back to eating and chewing every treat we offer him. When he smiles at us sometimes we notice the
gap as a result of the lower front two teeth, now absent.

On his birthday weekend, he also participated in a fundraiser for the creation of an Iowa City off-leash dog park, along with over a hundred other dogs. The event was sponsored in part by a gourmet dog treat bakery, and involved an "Easter egg" hunt at a city park, using gourmet dog biscuits in the shapes of flat Easter eggs. Thirty minutes and the mass of dogs and their owners scurried about in search of treats. However, Andy, and likely the other sighthounds, were more interested in meeting other dogs and the impromptu walk outside. We dutifully collected a handful of treats for Andy as he obliviously stepped on them. We were pleased to see about five other greyhounds in the mix and learned that there is a group who regularly meets for lure coursing up at the Cedar Rapids off leash dog park where we habitually take him on the weekends for socialization and to let him burn off excess energy. Robyn is investigating the group now to find local greyhound connections with the hope of organizing a gathering around here.

Robyn has since bitten the bullet and decided to get involved with JCDogPAC (Johnson County Dog Park Action Committee), and has attended two meetings. She declined to put her name in for the Board, however, opting intead to simply volunteer an extra set of hands. She helped draft the fundraising letter the group will be sending out soon, and will probably also assist with organizing the annual Dogpaddle, a fundraiser at a city pool coming up in September. Furthermore, Robyn also is volunteering now and then with the Quad Cities Greyhound Center, where we got Andy, once a month or so since the drive is considerable. David has already heard all about the ones she wants to bring home.

Besides David's nearly four years of volunteering with the Macbride Raptor Project, changing water and feeding the owls, along with a summer assisting with the osprey reintegration program, conning Robyn into helping, and surviving annual spring cleanup days (don't dare ask him about the mulch), he's added another role to his life as a volunteer for the arts. David signed on to be the executive director for the Coaster Project, a James Gang endeavor that promotes non-profit organization services through artistically created beverage coasters, which will be distributed in Johnson County bars and restaurants hopefully during October of this year. This project will be coordinated with several other James Gang releases as a celebration for arts and humanities. The success of another endeavor for a second year in a row, the Ten Thousand Hours Show has proven that the James Gang is capable of making community development projects a reality. If the Coaster Project happens, it will be big and exciting. Details will follow and everyone will be invited to the party.

That's most everything exciting so far from the M-K's for now. Keep in touch!

book-end

In preparation for a possible number of interviews I ordered a book called "Getting It Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers," by Mark Gatter. It is fantastic! Though because I've read so much on color theory recently in another wonderful yet extremely dense book, "The Color Mac," (on loan to me from a friend who works at a print shop in town) I've slowed to a crawl when I reached this book's version of the same material. Gatter's book is an efficient read through some of the most pertinent concepts that graphic designers either avoid or feel at a loss for in normal workflow activities. If nothing else I learned from my group honors project was to get to know your printers and their capabilities. Gatter's book provides a high quality overview of the major themes in such a relationship and adds a bit of history for context as to when and how printing developed so that a reader knows not just what the equipment can do, but also why. I'm 99% sure that I'll buy the book assuming that the rest of it holds up as well as the first 30 pages have. If you're at all interested in pursuing graphic design, I highly recommend this book.