kyonoki

Alton Water

Mum and Rebecca

Mum feeding the ducks and geese with Rebecca at Alton Waters (a massive reservoir in Suffolk). Every Saturday my mumf and paps look after Rebecca (who has Down's Syndrome) to give her own mum and dad a rest. Guess I know where my restlessness comes from, as my mum fills up her spare time with more things than you could shake a stick at, though think I would be exhausted long before her. Unlike me, my mum is the most selfless person I know and has always done so much to help others that I wish I was more than a little like her.

28 02 06 - 08:02 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Rheebie and Egg

Egg

A couple of photos of Esti (who thinks she is a dog, loves sitting in the bath and frolicking in the rain) looking much like the lions in Trafalgar Square, and Rhea (the ancient boss of the Griffiths family) looking like she is about to shoot death-rays out of her eyes.

Rheebie

27 02 06 - 09:32 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Snowy English Village

Snowy Bradfield

Because it is home I rarely look about the tiny village where my mum and dad live. But opening these pictures my dad sent today, it is funny now I see how pretty England can be. Bradfield always looks amazing in the snow, though it is quaint and almost stereotypically English, nestled on the hilly side of the Stour Valley. Kyoto has the mountains and ancient temples and gardens, but it is more often than not an ugly mess of concrete and electric cables...England still remains quite picturesque in many places. There is something almost refreshing about Britain at times. Please go to the gallery to have a look at more pictures taken by my dad on one of his many dog walking expeditions.

Bradfield in snow

27 02 06 - 09:20 - kieren - kyonoki| one comment - § ¶

Melody Cards

The Devil has decided that the best way to drive people towards WWIII is no longer through big gestures, such as war and natural disaster, but small initiatives that slowly push all those rage buttons inside our head until we are willing to kill. Melody cards are obviously by his hand. For the life of me I swear they must enchanted, for why else would I pick one up (let alone buy one) if there were any normal cards in the shop. What is the point? I rate them just below E-mail cards which seem more like a slap in the face than anything (saves trees but is about as personal as the cards banks sent when I was young and celebrating a birthday). If you are 3 then fair enough, they are fun. (more)

27 02 06 - 07:47 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Home

As my Paps gets to grips with his digital camera, he sent me this picture of our home in England. Makes me realise how much time has passed, as the pine trees are massive and the house has subtly changed. It is about time I flew back for a holiday. Looking quite seasonal in the photo, though Spring has come to Kyoto already.

26 02 06 - 09:44 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Akko and the Zombies

Akko Types to Save Us

Akko types to save the world from killer Zombies. As you can see it's been a slow day, sheltering from the pouring rain and the excesses of alcohol, shooting games (Misako kicked my ass again) and Hip Hop.

26 02 06 - 08:49 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Jol's Leaving Party

Misako

Misako gets lecherous.

Maki and Shu

Shu attacks.

Akko

And Akko...well Akko doesn't quite understand the concept of having her picture taken. More photos here.

26 02 06 - 08:23 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Where The Wild Things Are

Where the wild things are

Spike Jonze, Catherine Keener, the Jim Henson Company and a timeless children's book with a touch of the macabre...very excited.

26 02 06 - 08:18 - kieren - kyonoki| four comments - § ¶

Purikura

Print-club

Rhod, me, Erik, Mi-chan, Teruo, Akko, Naomi and some other little dudes on one of those Purikura things...quite cleverly sent straight to my cellphone.

25 02 06 - 18:12 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

The Historian

Vlad Tepes

Against my better judgement I managed to read Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. I say managed, because it was like running a marathon, and my track record of enjoying all the books I have recently picked up in the last year has been broken. I adore history, yet when you take factual and semi-mythological tales that are far more bizarre and frightening and interesting than any modern tales, and make it so droll and dull and boring, that surely is a talent. (more)

25 02 06 - 06:46 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Expectation

Spiderman 3

Here is the proof that a good teaser poster means everything. There are 4 highly anticipated comic-book/superhero movies to be released this year: V for Vendetta, X-Men III, Spiderman III and Superman Returns. Yesterday we finally caught a glimpse of Spidey in black. Now take a look at what they have done with X-Men...is there any way this movie will not suck? From Singer's superior sequel, we seem to have delved into the suck-ass territory that is the camp lameness of Fantastic 4. How unbelievably crap do the C&A models (also know as Dark Phoenix, Beast, Angel, Rogue, Wolverine and Storm) look. MTV video anyone? On a side note...V for Vendetta looks so stylishly cool that I begin to have high hopes that this movie is going to prove my initial thoughts wrong and be my favourite film of the year.

X-Men III

25 02 06 - 06:30 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

The Demon in Sleep

Nightmare

When I was a freshman at my first job in Japan, over coffee a young trainee teacher told me about her sleepless nights and about the frightening nightmares and paralysis she felt upon waking. As she described the experience of awakening from her dream, I tried desperately to translate the meaning of Kanashibari from my dictionary. Flicking through descriptions, I was more and more perplexed and then horrified as she explained that upon being roused she could not move a muscle, that her scream was silent as her larynx had frozen, and that she felt an evil presence in the room. Not a ghost exactly, but something akin to it. (more)

23 02 06 - 08:41 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Aerial View

Was perusing Google maps and discovered this perfect snap shot of Kyoto far far above the Earth (well not that far, but pretty cool that this is from a satellite). If you lean back from the screen, squint your eyes and swivel right round in your chair, whilst not looking directly at the image, then you might just make out our house in the west. Go on to have a look... (more)

21 02 06 - 12:54 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

The Shadow of Tyranny

Bullying

What is it with my school and fingers? No sooner have the stitches been removed from one ichi-nen-sei boy's hand, (after he inadvertently sliced it off in a door) than another boy comes yelping into the teachers room with his thumb hanging off.

The Red Button Gang is operating on the down and low, struggling to survive now their leader is imprisoned and one by one they are succumbing to reform and police observation. However, the last few members are still proving a hardy species, subtle in their vicious bullying and theft. Sparse in numbers, they intimidate weaker boys so much so that they have no choice but to join with them and do their dirty work just to stay safe at school. (more)

21 02 06 - 09:25 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Death of Exercise

Take a look at this picture. Happy woman exercising: LIE! Oil spurting from beneath machine, woman desperately scrubbing her ruined giraffe carpet, Twist and Shape pummelled with woman's fist: TRUE!

Hopping off my Twist and Shape to get a bottle of water, I returned to find the machine sitting in a pool of oil. Concluding that it had neither pissed itself nor been assassinated, I figured that for the second time in as many months the none-too-cheap machine had died another death. (more)

20 02 06 - 08:47 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Views of Sanjo-bridge.

As my transfer station from subway to main-line, I pass through Sanjo every day. Here are five views of Sanjo over 400 years. (more)

19 02 06 - 08:59 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

The Art of War

Misako plus gun

Misako takes matters into her own hands. There will be no more queuing for this girl.

19 02 06 - 06:27 - kieren - kyonoki| one comment - § ¶

Lite

DS Lite

This little dude gets to play on the DS Lite, a month ahead of release. As Kyoto gears up for the next stage of Nintendo's invasion into the hearts and minds of Japan, Rhod got to ohhh and ahhh over the little machine for his 5 minutes. This photo was taken with my cell-phone, shockingly the same quality as our new digital camera. Go figure. Technology certainly is making leaps and bounds in the handheld phone industry here.

19 02 06 - 03:42 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

The Dregs of Dreams

Before reading the following, consider that it may be one-sided and is only my own opinion, not influenced by anyone else... (more)

17 02 06 - 02:42 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Innovative Insanity...for cats!

Cat Dusters

Sigh! Sometimes it seems as if the floor just won't stay clean. Well, why not make your kitty earn his keep, with these stylish dust slippers. While you put your feet up, watch puss frolic around the house whilst cleaning the floor. No household should be without Kitty Slippers. Yours for only $19.99. All major credit cards accepted.

15 02 06 - 10:51 - kieren - kyonoki| two comments - § ¶

Lights, Camera...Demons!

Oni

Topsy-turvy Day is a tradition at school, in which classes are cancelled in the morning and given a few hours to prepare a play on the spur of the moment. Teachers and resources are placed at the students disposal. By lottery each class is given a theme...this year was Japanese National Holidays. I got to pull class 1-2's card...Setsubun. Not great, but full of potential. In a way the whole chaotic mess is a farewell to the third grade. After today there are exactly 4 weeks until their graduation.

How I ended up as the shape-shifting, long nosed Tengu (a demon of sorts) is not such a leap of imagination. As a foreigner all the students say I have a 'tall' nose. So it was that 10 boys in loincloths, painted themselves red and donned masks. Throw in a foxy nanny, students wrapped up as dried soy beans and norimaki (rolled sushi) and essentially you have the skeleton of our play. Am not quite sure where Elvis, Prime Minister Koizumi, Ayumi Hamasaki, Morning Musume and Doraemon come into this, but they were all lead parts too.
(more)

14 02 06 - 09:34 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Cock-block

Penis Festival

There comes a time in every teachers career when he must think about his penis. Not because he particularly feels inclined to, but because the measurements of his penis are constantly under scrutiny. Can't say it has ever bothered me too much. I remember the fantastic story my sempai told me when I was taking over his job...filthy but perfectly batting back the sheer personal nature of the question he was asked. (more)

13 02 06 - 11:32 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Terrible Joke

Oh my, a lot of bikes!

So have you heard that old jape?...
When does a Japanese man look where he's going? When he's under the wheels of a car.
Sadly true. Today I must have run over four people on my bike. Still, I did turn to shout an apology each time. Helps with population problems. The running over, not the sorry.

11 02 06 - 03:50 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

''24''

Been given 24 hours
To tie up loose ends
To make amends
His eyes said it all
I started to fall
And the silence deafened
Head spinning round
No time to sit down
Just wanted to
Run and run and run
Be careful they say
Don't wish life away
Now I've one day

(more)

10 02 06 - 09:05 - kieren - kyonoki| two comments - § ¶

The Restoration of English Magic

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is the most astounding novel I have read in many years. Every book I have picked up this year has had me reading in bed, and staying awake on my commutes to work, unwilling to leave the worlds woven by each tale. Set in an England that might have been, magic has been forgotten and France stands master of Europe. (more)

09 02 06 - 08:55 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

New Photo Gallery

Taking photographs seems to have gotten out of hand, so the galleries are full to bursting of static shots. In shooting temples, shrines, statues, gardens, ponds, mountains and rivers, I seem to have forgotten that although they make ideal memories of my time in Japan, they don't seem overly remarkable to other people. One thing that is constantly absent are pictures of Rhod and I. So here is a gallery of pictures snapped in 2005 of just us. I absolutely hate having my picture taken...but I am going to relent for once so that my mum and dad and bro can see how much weight I have put on if nothing else. Enjoy.

07 02 06 - 12:39 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Footprint of Bullying

I interrupted teaching today, unusually bothered by a boy sitting in the front row, head buried in his arms. I squinted, bent down and asked him if he was ok. He looked at me with teary eyes and mumbled that he was fine. Lifting up his arm, on one lapel of his blazer was the perfect chalk imprint of a slipper. Scratching my head I wondered how it could have gotten there.

(more)

07 02 06 - 09:23 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Arashiyama at Dusk

Winter at Arashiyama

Misako and Rhod posing for Kyoto Journal Winter Edition in Arashiyama.

05 02 06 - 13:07 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

Wrestling with the Devil

Setsubun

'Tis that season where upon the fattest teacher is hounded out, stripped down, dunked in red paint, garbed in a leopard skin loin cloth and sent out to terrorise the students. They in turn hurl dried beans at him, bombarding him until he turns and flees from the classroom. In this way he is driven from the school, his big club unsuccessful in crushing a single child. Miserably he watches as the children, so young and tasty, eat their age in beans, plus one. There was a time when the head of a sturgeon fish would be hung up on the boughs of holly to protect such abodes, but greedy sushi corporations have turned the whole thing into a more cute holiday. Many families eat sushi wrapped in seaweed on this day, but it has no basis in tradition. And so, it's in this way that we celebrate Setsubun here.

(more)

03 02 06 - 06:45 - kieren - kyonoki| four comments - § ¶

Argument, Japanese-Style

What the Hell?

The robots (read Businessmen) of Japan are so well programmed to be subservient and apologetic that arguments at work go something like this...
'I very much appreciate your point -in fact it may be the most brilliant thing I have ever heard said in my life- but I am sorry to say that I am not sure I agree with it, though actually it is changing my mind as the words come out of my mouth'
'Oh, you do not agree! Oh my gosh I feel so terribly sorry for you. Sorry that I have put you in this horrible position of arguing against me. You must consider me a monster'
'Oh no no no, I am sorry'
'But why? 'Tis me who should be sorry'.
This generally continues until their memories have been wiped, one has commited ritual suicide or hunger and thirst so raddle their bodies that they faint, or the unleashed sorrys (sorries?) blur into a whole, making both parties forget what they were talking about in the first place.

(more)

02 02 06 - 08:50 - kieren - kyonoki| No comments - § ¶

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