I had a cold when Anthony turned three years old (two weeks ago), which may explain why this picture turned out so blurry. Or, it could be because I was holding the camera with one hand (holding a video camera in the other). Or, it could be that my camera isn't spectacular in low light, and needed a long exposure.
[ UPDATE: the picture from when he turned four years old was much better ]
In any case, I think that the overall effect is quite nice. Happy Birthday my little stinkpot.
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This afternoon we all went to the Kintetsu Department Store at Kyoto Station to get some winter clothes for Anthony at Baby Gap, do some book shopping, and have dinner (the top-floor “Mirano-Tei”, a pseudo-Italian restraint which looks fairly dubious, had excellent spaghetti at a reasonable price).
We had a wonderful time, but I was dismayed to hear Christmas music already. Sigh. I was even more dismayed to [...]
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During a trip this morning to Nanzenji (the Nanzen Temple, in Kyoto), I came across this sight:

The sign says “To all dog lovers: we humbly refuse dog poop and pee.”
There were some nice photos as well:





You can see the mini-story on my A Visit to Nanzen Temple page.
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I've lately discovered a tasty dish called Nishin Soba , which is normal soba (buckwheat noodles, whatever those are) with a particular kind of fish, nishin, on top.
Looking it up, I see that nishin is herring (whatever that is).
It's all together in a hot or cold soup. (I prefer hot, even in summer.) The way the fish is grilled and prepared for the noodles is, well, I [...]
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What a hubbub going on in Kyoto this week, the likes of which this little backwater nowhere-ville has not seen in its short 1,211 years. I live about a mile away from the old imperial grounds, upon which the Kyoto State Guest House is situated, in which President Bush will stay during his one-day visit (arriving tomorrow night, leaving the next night).
As far as I know, he's not planning on coming my direction at all, yet there's a policeman in bullet-proof vest on most every street corner around here (just standing around, looking, uh, vigilant). The President isn't arriving until tomorrow (Tuesday) night, but the [...]
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Fumie and Anthony at my folks' place two years ago
The leaves are finally getting into the Fall spirit here in Kyoto, which got me thinking about the above photo which I took mid-October two years ago, in Ohio. I haven't really found a place like that within walking distance of my place here.
I rather like the shot, and it got me thinking of some amazing nature shots I saw when I first released my image viewer earlier this year. Here are some of those photos:
[ UPDATE: all the photos that were linked here are no longer available at their respective sites, but [...]
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This past Sunday was a big day for us, as we had the fourth and final interview at the Doshisha Preschool that morning. Doshisha is highly regarded for many reasons, and only about 10% of applicants actually get in. (We found out yesterday that Anthony was accepted!)

After the interview, Anthony and I took a little bike ride to see some fall foliage. It's pretty anemic this year, but we were still able to find some nice areas close by. We first went to a secluded area in the south part of the old imperial palace grounds (御所) where the President was last [...]
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Adobe's Photoshop is one of the most amazing pieces of software ever written, and I aspire to learn at least one percent of its functionality.
I've gotten pretty good at being able to touch up a photo to remove unwanted items, as with this photo shown at the end of my previous post (mouseover the phrase “the original” below the photo to see the original version).
The real roadblock with me and Photoshop is that even though I might learn the mechanical functionality, much of that functionality requires artistic skills to put them to good use — skills that I've never had in me. Consider, for example, one [...]
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A small part of the aqueduct bridge at the Nanzen Temple (Nanzenji), Kyoto Japan Photo by Katsunori Shimada
It's fall in Kyoto and that means lots of little trips to see the magnificent foliage. Anthony and I took a long walk last week with Katsunori Shimada, my good friend of 10+ years. We went to the Kyoto Biwako Canal Museum (about the canal built in the 1880s that brought water and Japan's first electricity to Kyoto), then up the Kyoto Incline and into the mountains and temples and paths back behind it. (Five pages of pictures here.)
Our day was mostly uncrowded until during our [...]
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