michael lambe's scrapbook

Just a few snapshots from last Sunday. We were too late for the antiques market but we had a bit of a stroll around Toji’s temple grounds anyway.

Then on into town for a light meal at Vanilla (which you can read more about here).

We stayed there for a while and had a bit of a read – I was reading my book about machiya. It was making me a bit sad though reading about how many old machiya have been lost and looking at photos of the destruction unfolding… So we went for a stroll towards Teramachi and on a whim had a go at one of those “UFO catcher” machines. Oddly enough we won!

Only problem with that though was that Mewby had to carry a giant pink Stitch around with her for the rest of the evening – looking a looney. Stitch in toe – we did some purikura. This particular purikura machine puts too much contrast into the eyes so Mewby comes out looking like some kind of strange anime character:

And then on for a nice dinner at Apollo (which you can read about here). Nice place Apollo. We like it a lot.

Here’s “this month’s word” as posted in all the classrooms around my school:

善き友があり善き仲間と
ともにあることはこの聖なる
道のすべてある

yoki tomo ga ari yoki nakama to
tomoni aru koto ha kono seinaru
michi no subete aru

My co-teacher mumbled something about it probably being from some sutra or other, but he basically had no idea. It is obviously old though. Notice the old fashioned よき instead of the current よい for “good”. Also notice the use of the kanji 善 for “good” instead of the alternatives 良い or 好い. To me this suggests a more moral sense of “good”; good as in “right” and “proper”. 聖なる道 literally means “sacred path” but in this case it probably means simply a good way to live – way meaning the Buddhist way of course.
Here’s my translation with vocabulary notes below:

to live the good way
being together
with good friends and good companions
is everything

善き  – よき = good
友 – とも = friend
仲間 – なかま = companion
ともに – together, in company with
聖なる – せいなる – sacred, holy
道 – みち- path, way
すべて – everything, all

Where the Wild Things Are is quite a good movie to watch right after you’ve had a row with someone. Makes you feel very very silly indeed. Quite unlike Maurice Sendak’s original picture book in tone, the movie explores the mood-swings of childhood; the high points of excitement (snowball fights) , the slumps into depression (some big boy smashes your igloo) and then the tears and the rage (tearing up your sister’s bedroom). It’s a familiar pattern and one we all recognize. Becoming an adult is in part learning how to control those moodswings, and learning how to compromise with people when you can’t quite seem to get along. The boy Max becomes leader of the “wild things” and especially friendly with Carol among them. But as children (and monsters) do, soon they are squabbling over petty slights and misunderstandings. Because they are so close – they feel all the more hurt and let down when they argue and the sense of betrayal seems unforgivable. And yet, a simple gesture can suddenly make them forget their argument and remember how important they are to each other again. When the movie was over I asked Mewby what she thought about it. “I’m not a child…” she said smiling, as if to say the movie was too childish for her. But I noticed that there were no children in the audience when we went to see it. And I don’t think this movie is for children really. It’s not particularly “fun”. It is a far more realistic and sombre depiction of childhood experience than one would expect from a popular movie. But it is also a study of those feelings, those moodswings; the hurt, the loneliness, the joy and the rage that we all still have inside us even as adults – whether we choose to express them or acknowledge them or not. Spike Jonze and David Eggers wrote the screenplay for this movie together. It’s interesting what they are trying to do here. I’m not sure it works – but it is interesting.

…from Joao last Saturday evening. Yutaka (right) and his cousin Manabu (left):

Mewby and Me:

I rented this one at the weekend. I figured the subject matter and inevitably sad ending would make this movie heavy and depressing but ultimately the story of Harvey Milk is a positive and inspiring story of a life full of meaning and purpose. On his birthday in 1970 Harvey Milk says to his new lover, Scott Smith, “I’m 40 and I’ve done nothing in my life that I’m proud of.” Scott encourages him to come out of the closet, make new friends and find a new scene in California. There Harvey Milk becomes passionately involved in the world of politics, fighting for gay rights, and ultimately becomes the first openly gay man elected to public office in the USA. I knew nothing about this man before watching this movie. I’m really glad I know now. And Sean Penn’s performance – fantastic. Watch this movie first chance you get!

Get “Milk” on DVD from amazon.com, amazon.co.jp, and amazon.co.uk.