interlocking hearts

Once upon a time, there was an evil five headed dragon who terrorized people with violent storms and earthquakes. One of these quakes shook the seas and created the island of Enoshima. Shortly thereafter, the goddess Benzaiten appeared in the sky. Enamored with her great beauty, the dragon fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. She demurred, citing his bad behavior. Or so the story goes.

Today, Enoshima is a beach destination for the denizens of Tokyo, who flock to the area for the surrounding sand and surfer-chic cafés.

The island is also replete with temples, shrines ,and sightseeing spots, many dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten and her would-be suitor. Inspired by the dragon's love and the beauty of the island, many couples in recent years have been professing their own love here with a visit to Lovers' Hill.
Walk on to the island - there's only one land route. Travel along the road that rises straight in front of you, running the gauntlet of seafood and sweets vendors giving way to pretty shops and restaurants. Soon, you'll pass through a great torii, a gate marking the entrance to a temple or shrine. This is Enoshima Shrine.

A path branches off to the right. Follow this winding road up, up. On your way, check out the remarkable views across the water, and stop to nicker at one of the cats that wander the island. You'll soon start to pass a few locks fastened to the railing, attached by lovers in a rush to profess their affection.

You'll pass a temple festooned with the likeness of the fierce dragon. You may want to stop and pay your respects to the lovelorn monster.

Continue up the hill. The locks fastened to anything viable along the way will multiply until they reach a critical mass. You'll find yourself at the lovers' bell, looking out over the ocean.

Write your message of forever togetherness on your lock and cinch it tight amid all the others. Ring the bell to profess your devotion, seal it with a kiss.

Pudgy lovely

She was a lovely, darling girl, with beautiful eyes and beautiful coloring and a sweet nature. She wasn't very cuddly but sometimes, just sometimes, she would jump up and sit on the arm of the worn old easy chair next to you, and prrr.

oregon

One of the nicest things I did this summer was an impromptu camping trip with Birch and Cory.

We packed a haphazard assortment of food, coolers, tent, sleeping bags, and flashlights, and drove west out of Corvallis toward Sweet Home at 8:30 p.m.
After 45 minutes of highway and another hour, almost, of bumpy, unmarked, potholed dirt road, we turned off at the pine tree and parked in a little clearing.

I had never been to this place before, but B. had been with Tyler, and was going by memory. We collected all our gear (oops! too bulky and heavy) and set off galumphing into the night. After about fifteen or twenty minutes of wandering through the woods (me with my GPS), we decided to pitch camp in a clearing that was - we thought - near the trail. A creek tinkled nearby, though we couldn't see it, and we put up the tent by flashlight. Luckily for us, it was a very easy tent to pitch, a pup tent belonging to Birch.
We made a fire and roasted taters and ears of corn with lots of Earth Balance margarine, and had chips and salsa and juice. Girl Scouting came in handy here, as we foraged for firewood and I made layers of tinder, kindling, and big log pieces for fuel. Then we tied the food up in a tree, just in case.

Snuggled up we three in the pup tent, we all slept til mid-morning.

Vietnamese coffee boiled on the campstove and granola with wild blackberries tucked away, we zipped up the tent and tromped down to the lakes.
The lakes were nearly deserted, save for a lonely fisherman on one shore. We beat our way through the brush, jumping over fallen logs and swatting away spider webs. Finally, an out-jutting log was pronounced a satisfactory swimmin' base, and we hung our bag on a tree and teetered out over the clear water. From there, we slathered on the sunscreen, sharing the space with curious swimming salamanders and skating water bugs. Plop! went C., into the lake. Splash! followed B. I eased into the water slowly, then all at once.
I dropped my camera in and it fell all the way to the bottom and I had to go under and retrieve it, and I didn't even care.

THE 'ME' MEME.

I AM: U.S.American and Japanese. The 'merican side is Irish-German-France-NativeAm-etc.

I WANT: café con leche and fruit.

I WISH: I could quilt.

I HATE: intolerance and pomposity.

I MISS: my mom, dad, and sister.

I HEAR: coffee percolating, the shower showering, the shutters rattling.

I WONDER: how Scooter is doing.

I REGRET: regretting; it's a waste of time.

I AM NOT: as decisive as I'd like to be.

I DANCE: in the living room and on the train platform.

I SING: all the time. Loudly.

I CRY: at the news, reading books, watching movies.

I AM NOT ALWAYS: proactive.

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: baked things, like cakes and muffins and cookies. And bottlecap magnets.

I WRITE: less than I should. For a dinky newspaper. And a few ballogs.

I CONFUSE: myself trying to speak two foreign languages at once.

I NEED: to procrastinate less.

I SHOULD: get back to a lot of people.

I START: retiling the bathroom floor. Sort of. Well, we bought the tiles.

I FINISH: things long after I start them.

Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, Vietnam

Mumbreeze

An article up at Pingmag about Kinya and Kao's art and current show at Nagi Shokudo.

oh shit! i saw Beat Takeshi on Basha-michi today in Yokohama!

It's a bit of a tempest in a teapot, but I'm glad some folks are paying attention.

Censorship all around

What the hell? We all can look at nekkid girls til the cows come home, but post a (limp) dick and people start freaking the fuck out.

This isn't even porn, people. There's nothing dirty or wrong or even sexy about it.

Talk about a double standard.