Ippoippo

For some reason, I found this most amusing.

EDIT: Found a higher quality link on YouTube…
plus as a bonus… here’s something from Japan (It’s from a show called “Mecha mecha” which was something I used to enjoy watching when I was in Japan).

or Tacoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! (That’s Octopus for those of us who can’t speak Japanese)
We managed to get some from our Fish chappy down at Riverside Market on Sunday. A bit expensive though, so we’ll probably keep to the イカ (Ika - Squid) instead. We did enjoy it though.

Anyway, weekend was nice and relaxing. Saturday was a good day weatherwise (unusual!), and we spent the day and night over at my folks. It was good to see my niece who’s just turned 1 years old.

It was a bit of a pain to get up early on Sunday, so we could get back to Cardiff so we could get to the market… and when we got back it was well and truely pissing it down. Ahh well.

With the rain being so bad, Yuko and I just rented out two DVDs. We ended up getting Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters From Iwo Jima. The second was the better film by far, as had been said by critics before I watched them both. I also found it too be the most moving film, hoping that Saigo (one of the Japanese foot soldiers… who was a baker before being forced into the army) survives the whole thing so he can get home to his wife and child.
Actually, the scene when Saigo gets drafted into the army did make me laugh. It was so…. well Japanese! A desk-jockey soldier turns up with the papers, complete with two Obaa-san (old ladies) who then in typically politie enthusiasm proclaim that he has the great honour to fight (and probably die) for the country.

In Japan related finds on the net, I loved this latest Theme Onsen. Yuko and I are going back in December for a wedding. We’ll be visiting the folks as well, and Yuko and I have been saying that we really need to head off to an Onsen.
Must admit, feel guilty about taking the aeroplane to Japan… but since we need to go for this wedding, may as well make the most of it. Who knows, this may be our last chance to get there and back.

Japan Stuff

In other Japan related finds, apparently they need Geisha in Cumbria (UK). Hmmm, I find that strange. Yes, Japanese tourists have a tendancy to stick to what they know, and head off in droves to Mitsukoshi (a Japanese department store) in London to buy gifts to take back to Japan… but, when visiting Cumbria, surely they want to try tea the British way??!!??

In the last bit of Japan news… I see I have new border controls to contend with. There’s a video over at a Japanese Govt. Dept. website explaining it all (and being rather cheesy and crap at the same time).
In brief, it seems Japan is introducing the same fingerprinting, and photo taking that currently happens at US Immigration control. Great
When we lived in Japan, I used to be able to get through Immigration in the Japanese Nationals section, because of my Visa. However, this December, I’m going to be stuck in the queues with all the other foreigners. It was slow enough before… but now I suspect it’s going to be really slow to get through. In the video, I did notice something. Apparently, after showing your passport, the immigration officer will conduct a short interview, as the do currently. Ehhh?? That never happened to me before. None of them can speak enough English (or any of non-Japanese language) to do so. Mind you, the customs officials used to ask questions sometimes… pretty much in Japanese though when they saw I was a resident.

Peak Oil News watch

A few interesting things.
We’ve had a front page article by The Independant, and article in the FT… now it’s the turn of The Times yesterday.

Also, some people have made available some footage of an interview on George Galloways TV show. Now, George Galloway is an absolute ego-manical politician, who’s so far up his own *&^&**(%^&(()^((&&*^)*
Anyway, the guest on his show though was pretty good, even though it was pretty much a book plugging exercise. You can see the video here.

Finally, a US Organic Foods company is starting to open up over here in the UK. I must admit, I was pretty sceptical of them before… just another Greenwash company. After reading this, I certainly have no desire to buy anything from them.

I think Japanese Rainy season has migrated from Japan to the UK with our move over here. Apparently, Japan has had a very weak Rainy Season (and Shikoku is suffering severe shortages)… but it’s been raining quite a lot here in the UK.

Saturday wasn’t too bad. Yuko and I enjoyed the sun in the afternoon to get some gardening stuff done. We cooked up a Mexican style chilli… home made stuff, and not a packet or jar of sauce in sight.
Sunday was a complete wash-out however. We spent the day chilling out, reading the papers, and watching some DVDs.
The latest James Bond Film, Casino Royale, was a cracking film. Much better than previous two films.

The most recent Wallace and Gromit film though was a disappointment in comparison to the earlier films.

I really want to watch this film.

Loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae, this film seems to take a hell of a lot of liberties with the plot. However, it looks visually stunning!

Check it out here and here.