Games
You know, I must be the hardest bastard to design games for
(more)
30 11 05 - 07:17 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Bus
Morning journeys should be quiet. A calm bustling of bodies all wearily
making their way towards the workplace, not careening down hilly roads
in a speeding bus, as the driver
pursues a car that has pissed him off. Ten minutes later than usual,
four stops on from my own, I jumped off the bus (not literally, rolling
onto an embankment as the bus careers off a cliff as in any action movie from the 80s), smiling that I am not
the only lunatic out there.
(more)
30 11 05 - 06:08 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Brrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmm!

Wow...just, wow! As Rhod
Bogarted the first copy of Mario Kart, stealing it from the post box
before I got home from work, five minutes ago was my first play.
Returned home, ripped open the packet and am still open mouthed with
glee at how much fun it all is. Sonic the road-kill! Mario's back.
29 11 05 - 10:19 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Train Delay
I have to admit, that although I was tempted to push the fat, disgusting
pig-of-a-man in front of the oncoming train today (after he shoved a
pregnant woman aside and pushed his way through the doors before anyone
had the chance to get out), I have no complaints about the punctuality,
space or cleanliness of Japanese trains. Pissing, wanking, snogging,
cooking, groping...I've seen most things on my journeys. Horribly, some
of the most shocking things happen at the most mundane time of day.
British trains are a laughing stock, and I wish the government just
finally sat down, admitted that they had been having a lark and got
down to some serious restructuring. London buses and the Tube have been
improving steadily in London, but no matter how hard they try, they could never
better the Japanese transport system. It is saying a lot when it is more
convenient to take the train than the car.
To lament British transport,
these doctored signs should cheer up the gloomiest of commutes.


28 11 05 - 12:21 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Boy Who Lived
"although I enjoyed the previous movies, there was something
unemotional about the stories, something barring my way from truly
feeling for the characters themselves. All this has changed and I felt
myself blinking back tears as Harry Potter came face to face with the
man that killed his parents."

Possible 'Goblet of Fire' Spoilers follow:
(more)
19 11 05 - 14:59 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Happy Birthday!
Well, well, well. The little yellow bugger is 25 today. Happy Birthday Pac-man.

19 11 05 - 14:48 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Something Wicked This Way Comes
A week and a half to Harry Potter. Well not so. Rhod cycled home and
popped into the local cinema last night. The last 2 tickets for the advance
showing tonight. And we have them. Glee. I am rooting for Viktor Krum. Wink.

19 11 05 - 03:21 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Bush
The pulsing boom of the clock ticking down, hurrying through ugly urban
streets, subtly evading the police, stalking through the diminishing
day. It would be small surprise if Keifer Sutherland grabbed hold of me and
told me that the President's life was in danger.
(more)
16 11 05 - 07:49 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Gang War
Flashing red ambulance lights woke me up from my
zombie-like reverie this morning. As I arrived, a student was carried
unconscious into the pulled up vehicle. I peered in as the medics
strapped an
oxygen mask to his mouth and noticed the red buttons on his uniform.
The black
germanic, military uniforms of the boys have embossed gold buttons, but
gangs often replace them with different colours. Deep maroon denotes
one of the gangs at my school. As clever as they think they are, like
the FBI
dealing with Mafia, the school councillor has carefully recorded files
on
the
activities of the known ringleaders.
Walking in to an empty office, one boy sat miserably close to my desk,
unblinking and pale. Ignoring him as a lackey, I asked the clerk what had happened.
When walking to school, some elementary school boys had come across the
unconscious body of a second grader. His mouth had been foaming and his
cheek shattered. Just now the parents were supposed to be at the
school, but seemed unconcerned and had yet to arrive.
(more)
15 11 05 - 08:54 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Magic Works
This morning, I delved deep into the closet, pulling out scarfs and
gloves, hats and heaters. The lights have been burning all day, and
outside the city has been a dark, grey, cold and uninviting place.
Winter seems to have leap-frogged Autumn, leaving the days
bone-chillingly cold. Today feels more like Christmas than anything, and
I have been listening to the bitter-sweet Jarvis Cocker song Magic
Works, that accompanies the new Harry Potter film. Wrapped up on my day
off, I have also settled down to Season 3 of the
Sopranos, and with a heavy heart (in the knowledge of January
cancellation) Arrested Development.
(more)
14 11 05 - 07:38 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Shakespeare Retold
It seems wrong to be gushing about Shakespeare late on a cold Thursday
evening. Yet he truly was the most amazing weaver of tales, ever. Even
if he stole threads of stories, snatched ideas and pilfered characters,
he was still a master of drama and comedy. It is very rare that I sit
down to watch BBC dramas, let alone sit still for an hour and a half.
But I have truly been glued to the spot, mesmerised by the first of
four retellings of famous Shakespeare plays. Today was Much Ado About Nothing,
already perfectly captured by Kenneth Brannagh and Emma Thomson on
film. Completely modern, (snippets of original dialogue cleverly find
their way into the story) aside from the story arc and character names,
the production is a complete change of scene and set up. It made me
laugh, well up and rage, despite knowing exactly what happens.
Some things didn't translate so well, some dialogue seemed corny, but
the acting and comedic/dramatic timing was perfect. I haven't enjoyed a
programme like this for such a long time and am eagerly awaiting the
other three shows. Please please try to watch them if you get a chance.
Even if Shakespeare puts you off, or the idea of a retelling makes you
cringe, rest assured the productions are fresh and uncomplicated, and
much love and effort has gone into them.
I just hope Hamlet will live up to the expectations I now have.
10 11 05 - 11:26 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Wonderful World of Phlegm
Despite wearily plodding through breakfast and my morning routine, it is a
magical time. The morning chill is becoming sharper and more bracing.
But the absence of people in the deep greys of dawn, and the silence of
many still slumbering, is nice. It's as if I have been let in on a
secret, sneaking around at the break of day.
I park my bike and hurry to the subway, marvelling that all at once
winter has come and there is a carpet of frost on the ground. But it
doesn't crunch under foot and I almost slip. Glistening in the sun,
hundreds of globs of spit surround the entrance. Welcome to the
wonderful world of the morning businessmen and phlegm. Trails of spit
inside as well as out, men unzipping their flies and pissing wherever
it pleases them.
As winter colds come, so the rush hour becomes an uncomfortable dodging
game. For people so obsessed with cleanliness and keeping healthy,
slapping on face masks at the slightest hint of a sniffle, businessmen
are foul. Sneezing left right and centre, spitting, heaving great globs
of spit, sucking up their snot and swallowing. Gross. Handkerchiefs are
considered dirty...ummmm...better out than in. As the season gets
colder, my morning seems to be taken up avoiding carpets of bodily
fluids, and trying to ignore men peering by the side of the road.
09 11 05 - 09:58 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Shikoku Mura
Maybe not so interesting to most, I added this
gallery because I was genuinely impressed at the great lengths Shikoku
is going towards saving its heritage. Walking around the old huts, tea
rooms and store houses was quite an experience. Piece by piece the houses
were taken apart in their original locations all over Shikoku and
brought to the slopes of Yashima, where experts reconstructed them in
(although not necessarily their natural) rural surroundings.
(more)
07 11 05 - 09:38 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Poor Buggers
I love how insane the story behind the Okedoi-taki Waterfall (Rhod and I visited it whilst in Takamatsu) is. As the
ponds were dug out and the stones carefully carved, there remained the
small problem of no natural springs to power a waterfall.
(more)
07 11 05 - 09:28 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
End of the World

The currents of the Seto
Sea and Yashima Bay collide at this headland, treacherous but unseen.
(more)
06 11 05 - 12:44 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Feeding Frenzy

Rhod plays dare with
his hand, as the greedy Koi at Ritsurin Park fight each other for bread
sticks.
(more)
06 11 05 - 12:33 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones never had to put up with shit like this...no...wait...

06 11 05 - 12:02 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
Rainy Day Blog
I'm settled down in front of the computer,
completely grouchy for no particular reason, other than the pouring
rain outside and hours to kill before the bus back home. We're snug and
warm inside an ultra modern capsule of technology, sponsored by the
city of Takamatsu and in complete contrast to the less than wealthy
town spread out around us. Partly, I am angry that schoolkids sit in
unheated classrooms, with ancient chairs and desks, and crumbling
buildings, while money is pumped into pet projects like this 'sunport
takamatsu', to bring tourists and wealth back to Shikoku.
(more)
06 11 05 - 02:32 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
A Little Trip

Bags
packed, school work thrown away, am scrubbed up and ready for four days of
holiday. My Pod is crammed with songs for the three hour bus ride to
Shikoku tomorrow. Puzzling as it is, the first of many years with Rhod
has swept by so quickly that I am a little bamboozled how it can be so.
Ok
mum, take a deep breath...geography lesson. Shikoku is the smallest of the four main
islands of Japan, nestled in the Inland Sea between Kobe and Hiroshima.
We will take the early morning bus from Kyoto, drive down to Osaka,
sweep West through Kobe, Himeji and Okayama, before spinning South
across the immense bridge that joins Shikoku to Honshu. I booked
the hotel some time ago, and we should be by the sea. I am getting
excited that we will be able to walk down the beaches, island hop and
hike into some of the most untouched mountains in Japan. Getting more
excited that Rhod will be home soon, and tomorrow is our one year
anniversary.
02 11 05 - 08:39 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
The Modern Rupert the Bear

No...just, no!

01 11 05 - 08:16 - kieren - kyonoki| - § ¶
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