This evening while driving in Kyoto, I looked in my rear-view mirror and noticed a police car coming up behind me with its lights a'flashing. It pulled up right behind me.

I then did something that would probably freak out most Americans: I ignored it.

I didn't pull over to let it get around (or to stop and talk to me). I didn't speed up, but I didn't stop, either. I just ignored it.

When traffic caused me to stop at an intersection, he just stopped behind me. I listened to music on my iPod (I [...]

I've had this cold for a week that's just left me feeling totally blah, with a mild headache and without an ounce of energy. Luckily, it doesn't take much energy or brain to sit in front of a computer, and so I thought I'd try to mix in some other colors with the blue this cold has left me feeling.

Here are some colorful shots from one outing a month ago.

The contrast and shadows in the last one grow on me as time goes.

The second-to-last, looking up at a tall tree, is interesting in that you can see [...]

While on the short outing last week that yielded the surreal foliage image, I happened upon this scene. While sitting on my scooter, I whipped out my camera and took this picture.

I have no idea what they were waiting for; I doubt it was their transportation, since it was a one-way street heading in the direction they're looking. The street was positively packed with people, so the few cars that were around were going very slowly. I was lucky to get a clear shot.

On the temple grounds is a temple-run preschool (the sign on the [...]