THIS IS HIT

Went to see the new Michael Jackson film, This Is It, which opened in 99 countries around the world last night.  The movie showcased Michael's professionalism, his creativity and the creative process that went into producing such an extravaganza.  It makes you realise Michael was not just a singer, songwriter and performer, he wasn't the "weirdo" the press poked fun at,..he was a person. It was a 2nd chance to feel loss,...the loss of a star performer, and the loss of what would have been a spectacular show! This is HIT!

SAMURAI BATTLE SITE

Sunday Oct 25.  Took a group of friends on a tour of the Sekigahara Battle site, the Rolfes, an Australian family, and the Horiba family. The two younger boys had made their own suits of Samurai armour out of cardboard, and carried plastic swords. 
The actual battle took place 409 years, 4 days prior to us arriving....(Oct. 21, 1600) over 30,000 Samurai were killed in what was to be the biggest Samurai battle ever, and a major turning point in Japanese history.
We visited not just the main battle site, but most of the sites where the War-Lords had set up their war camps and armies too. We walked the majority of the distance and had lunch, (Thanks to Debby) at the base of Mt. Matsuo, site of the Western Army's leader, Ishida Mitsunari's war camp
There's a bit of a history revival going on in Japan right now, and history-buff girls are now known collectively as "Reki-Jo", (Rekishi=history,  Jo=Josei or girl...) and I met a couple of Reki-Jo near the Eastern Army's' Head Burial Mound...
After a full day of visiting the site and associated museum and places of interest, the boys still had enough energy to wage their own battle in the museum car park. We only managed about a quarter of the important sites and locations regarding the battle and so we're planning a second tour in the coming months...

UN BEE-LIEVABLE

This is part of a larger painting I did for a friend recently. Another friend saw it here on my home page and took the image to create this set of pics using a special software device....

Making it into a major building sign board....

...and a curtain in a shop window...

..even a scene from an old B&W TV

or a child's drawing on a blackboard,...hey, that kid's got talent!! 

Never ceases to amaze me what you can do with computers these days,..all you need is the software and some knowledge and you can create all sorts of images. Thanks to Yasutomo San for making this for me too!

TABLE FOR TWO

Nagoya's famed Tokyu Hotel is now taking part in the world wide charity, Table For Two project, whereby part of the cost of your healthy meal is given to charity... So I went to check it out and have a chat with the hotels marketing manager.

The meal was relatively inexpensive simple but tasty...

Baked fish and vegetables...

and a desert of pumpkin cake, fruit and icecream,...

Enjoy lunch and help children in Africa too,...not a bad idea.

NEW TOYS

Got some new toys,...first is this Diecast metal Dalek... Love the packaging too, the inner walls resemble the TARDIS interior, and the inner roundells are made of a hard plastic..brilliant! Probably won't take this one out of the box...
Also got this Dalek themed Dr. Who Adventures magazine, with an audio Dalek adventure CD, and a small inflatable Dalek!    Before you laugh, I've already had some ribbing over owning an inflatable toy!

NEW TOY 2

The other new toy is an IC recorder. Got this free thanks to accumulated points on my bank card. 167 hours 40 minutes of recording facility, 30 hours continuous recording on fresh batteries too....Wish I had one of these when I first started in radio,..what a great toy,...now I have to figure out how to use it,...and then figure out what sort of tricks I can play with it

TOP SECRET

Can you see me? I'm hidden in there somewhere,... The location is a secret! I'm recording in a secret studio (well, ok, ...Nagoya's TV City) for a secret new TV show (well, the pilot episodes anyway)  In fact, I can't even tell you it's for Channel 1, Tokai TV.... OK, ...by now you're probably figuring out that it's just another routine narration job for a TV programme, and there's nothing really secret or exciting about it, but I'm having to spice things up....Sorry 'bout that,...

JAZZ MAN

Recent guest on my radio show was genius pianist Yaron Hermann. The former Israel National Basketballer only took up the piano after injury forced him from the court,...now he does covers of The Police and Brittney Spears in jazz form!

AZUKI PEPSI

Every now and then, Pepsi Japan releases limited time, seasonal special flavored colas...this season, it's Azuki (red sweet bean) flavored cola...

I don't mind Azuki beans, but this doesn't smell like azuki...

So, how does it taste? Gulp,... gulp,... gu....lp........

Mmmm, not so much azuki cola, more like ... cough syrup!   

Going to be great for halloween, a real trick ....or treat??

SHOOTING STARS

1:30 am, in the car heading out of Nagoya City again, towards the Nagakute Battle fields on the outskirts of town....where it's dark and quiet...
Over the next few days, we're supposed to be able to see a meteor shower, ... apparently we were supposed to have been able to see 40 to 50 shooting stars every hour,...the first morning I went, I saw just 3,...this morning, only 5,...but the very first one was spectacular! Wish there had been more like that,....oh blast, just wasted my wish...

DOCTOR SUIT

Todays fashion,..this is my Doctor Suit,...a brown with pink pin striped Italian made wool suit,...it looks like the one worn by the 10th incarnation of Dr. Who, hence being dubbed the Doctor Suit.   The painting of John Lennon behind me is one of my works....done with the blunt end of a toothpick dabbed in paint and dotted onto the canvas board.

SAMURAI ACTION

A fan had taken this photo at last years Inuyama Festival and sent it to me... Almost every year for the past 15 years I've donned my armour and taken part in the annual Samurai parade and event in front of one of just 4 castles rated as National Treasures, Inuyama Castle. During the parade, fight scenes break out,..this is one of them...

FORTISSIMO

In typical Japanese gift giving etiquette, a gift given receives one in return. I gave my program director Iida Chan some chocolates an sweets to celebrate her recent wedding,...and in return she gave me a box of Fortissimo brand cakes... 
5 bars of  chocolate based cakes, not quite a sponge, more a moist, chewy brownie type of cake.
consisting of multiple layers of thick, rich chocolate, with raspberry jam fill in between....They didn't last long!

FOOT BATH

As the days grow shorter and colder, it's time to get the foot bath out! During the days and nights while I'm working, I soak my feet in this foot bath kept under my desk in the PPF office,... I do get wrinkly toes, but the 44 degree water is LOVELY!! 

DOCTOR 3 ??

Sunday morning the doorbell rang,...It was Japan Post with a parcel! (yes, they deliver Sundays too) It was some toys I'd ordered from overseas...the latest Doctor Who figures, including the Third Doctor and a Sea Devil from the 1972 "Sea Devils" episodes,...
...and a Third Doctor with a Dalek from the 1974 story, "Death To The Daleks"...naturally I had to buy two sets of each, one to open and play with, the other to store and save....
I'm enjoying collecting these new series of Dr Who toys, and with nearly 50 years of Dr. Who history, I'm sure the toy line will continue for some time yet...Like the Star wars range, the toy makers have me by the proverbials!  Some may say it's a waste of money,...Well, it makes ME happy! And sometimes, that's all I care about!

DOCTOR 6 ??

I've been a fan of the BBC TV series Doctor Who since I was a little kid.  Thirty something years on, and I'm a big kid and still a fan! A friend in the U.K., Colin, sent me a small packet the other day containing some autographed pictures of the 6th Doctor, Colin Baker 
Could be the namesake that has them on such close terms, but anyway, Colin was in touch with Colin Baker and was kind enough to get me an autograph!  Colin, I owe you one,..both of you!

STORM

Saturday midday, the skies over Nagoya city turned an ominous grey.... "It was a dark and stormy afternoon,..."  just doesn't have the right ring to it, does it?

AUSSIE WINE

Last night as Chairman of the Central Japan Chapter of the Australia New Zealand Chamber Of Commerce I attended a Wine Tasting night at a Thai restaurant. The wines were predominantly Australian, and South Australian to be precise, selected and imported by local dealer Hand-Picked Wines. A member of the Hand Picked team provided an explanation on the wines and samples flowed like the Mississippi!
Over 26 friends and members of the ANZCCJ attended, including the former Australian Consul. Everything went well, and the wines were much appreciated.  Being a non drinker I was the only sober one at the end of the evening. There were quite a few un-sexy individuals by the end of the night, (an unnamed member of my staff was among them)

YOMIURI NEWSPAPER INTERVIEW

Got my mug in the nationally circulated Yomiuri Newspaper, Japan's most read, and the worlds most sold newspaper. The interview talked about my childhood dreams of becoming a radio DJ and a helicopter pilot and how those and other dreams came true. Part of the secret is revealed with the photograph,...that is, to remain at 19 years old in the heart, but about 12 in the head.

TV

Tuesday nights usually I'm working too late to catch one of my favorite programs, Nan Demo Kantedan, (opening title above) the Japanese version of the family treasure appraisals shows. Last week they had a Samurai Armor special, ....missed it, blast!! Caught it this time, but was so tired I almost fell asleep half way thru'....

KEIKO LEE

Today's special guest on my programme was jazz vocalist Keiko Lee, who's been voted Japan's most popular female jazz artist for 13 years running! Her new album "Fragile" featuring the Sting cover title track hits record shop shelves next Wed.

SWEET LOVE

My friend and radio program director Iida Chan got married on Saturday to one of my other programs assistant directors,...Both are sweet tooths, and so I got them a selection of chocolates and candies from around the world...Yum,...I guess you call that sweet love?

TODAY'S FASHION

Todays fashion, being a public holiday and with the weather fine but cooling down I was a bit casual...black open-neck long sleeve shirt with flame patterns around the neck and sleeves, black trousers and boots... And there you have it...

TOKUGAWA FASHION

This month at the Tokugawa Art Museum, the museum dedicated to preserving the artifacts and property of the local Owari Tokugawa Shogun Clan, is a display of Samurai fashion from the period of civil war. It includes armour and helmets, items worn under armour, everyday samurai fashions and clothing....
At the front gates of what was the original Tokugawa villa in east Ward, Nagoya. The villa's former Japanese styled garden has also been preserved and is well worth a look...
The gates and walls are all that remain after much of it was destroyed by fire bombing during WW2.  Thankfully many of the family's treasures were spared destruction.
The museum is always changing displays and is always worth visiting. I come here about 3 to 4 times a year for various exhibits. The current exhibition isn't bad, I guess I expected a wider variety of styles to be shown. Still, kept me entertained and off the streets for an afternoon.