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Long time gone

I am still here really.

I'm in yur sleigh

Guidn yur raindeer

Merry Christmas

Get a queue

The line to pick up a Honeybaked Ham is about the same as the line for Space Mountain.

It's begining to look a lot like Xmas

Test

This is a test. Sent from the new typepad iPhone app. Cary on.

Just Because I Can.

There is a slew of cool tech out there that will let you blog from just about anywhere so this is not nearly as cool as it used to be, but I consider it a tradition to post something from the United Lounge using their free WiFi, while drinking a beer from the worlds greatest machine.

Less is more

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
  - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I believe this with all my heart. But I still wish I had two more lights in scene 6.

Star(bucks) Struck

Beautiful Day in Tokyo today. Crystal clear view of Fuji (which is rare) in fact the view was so great that it caused my camera battery to die. So you will have to just look at this several day old picture I took in Ginza instead. I will try again tomorrow.

I read recently that the average Starbucks customer goes there 16 times a month. When I read it I though that was crazy, but I realized today that I am above average. I don't often go to Starbucks at home but here in Tokyo I find it oddly comforting (sort of like American Idol which i refuse to watch at home but never missed an episode while in Hong Kong) also for reasons I don't fully understand my the corporate Apartment I am staying at gives me a Starbucks card every month, so basically it's free. So basically I go everyday.

I don't really have to order anymore since they all know me by now, which is also kind of comforting. I know they all yell "ohio gozaimasu" at everyone who comes through the door but I like to think it is more hartfelt for me. A sort Japanese equivalent of "NORM!". It's my cheers and I am their George Wendt. Or something like that. Usually my coffee is poured before I get to the counter. I used to mix up my order just to keep them on their toes but after a bad run in with something called a "creme Brulee latte" (which tastes like sepia toner smells) I decided to stick to my usual Tall drip with Vanilla aka ba-ne-ra.

But all good things must come to an end, and for me my love affair with Starbucks ended over the weekend when the Christmas decorations went up. It's early November for Christ sake (can you say for Christ sake when complaining about Christmas?) And I could probably deal with the decor if they could just hold off on the music for a bit, but I just can't take Bing Crosby out side of December, and certainly not in Japan.

Sunrise

The only positive thing that I can find that came out of the recent southern california wildfires was that the crappy air made for some beautiful sunsets,or if you were Jet lagged like me sunrises. Now If we can just find an upside to this stupid Writers strike.