Finally, the summer heat has broken and the weather is cooling off. It's actually possible to sleep at night again. But, of course, I'm wondering about a few things. That's what I do...

Thought 1: Two weeks ago I went to Yokohama for a short vacation. And there I was able to meet my cousin. It's very odd, finding someone who you appearantly have some connection to but so far from everything that you would expect to be connected to. While he was a witty, fun and all-around good guy, it was surprising how different we are.

Let's forego the explanations about different backgrounds and experiences. I'm not concerned about why we're different, that part is easy to understand. I'm concerned about how and why we happen to have any sort of connection at all. The same last name? Some shared DNA? What makes our connection more valuable than the connections that we would share if we were entirely unrelated by blood? Why is the idea of family so important?

Thought 2: Some people seem to be able to be happy fairly easily, others have more difficulty with it. Is it a skill that can be acquired? Is it like dancing or singing or making good coffee? Is there any reason to think that people can learn how to be happy? Or can people just learn how to do things that make them happy?

If mood altering chemicals like prozac make it easier to be happy, is it reasonable to think that a solution might be purely quantitative? That all one might need for a type of happiness is the addition or removal of a certain amount of certain substances. I'm not entirely sure where this train of thought is going, but it's been rolling around in my head for a while.

Thought 3: If America's current government is going to continue behaving as it has, is there any reason to think we won't face a series of attacks, famines, ecological crises and general reductions in the quality of life on the planet, all of which might have been easily avoidable?

I was just wondering...

Not much time before I go to work, so this'll have to be quick.

Two months ago I went to Albuquerque for my brother's wedding. After the ceremony, I went to a bar with my high school buddies.
'Cause that's what you do when you only have 28 hours in town between 26 hour travelling schedules.

What does that sort of nostalgia-soaked evening look like?

Damnned if I know. It was also fairly alcohol-soaked. But someone took pictures and this is what they look like.

(There seems to be some sort of editing glitch below, so please excuse any inconvenience it may cause...)

It's almost O-Bon

Or Obon. Or something. I'm not too clear on the spelling. It's a traditional holiday that's something like a Japanese version of Dia de Los Muertos. Folks go back to the old homestead to clean off the family tombstones, leave offerings for the dead relatives and visit with the live ones. Most businesses give folks a couple days off to handle ancestral affairs.

Since I'm on the wrong side of the Pacific to easily visit my family, I'm just gonna hack around Tokyo for a couple of days. That is, if I can get out of Fukui.

Damn stupid night bus being damn stupid sold out tonight.


Of course, my own waiting until the last day to buy a bus ticket has no bearing on the situation.

No new pictures this week. Maybe next time I'll get around to posting the shots from Kyoto.

Or the ones from that weekend in Albuquerque in May.

Or not.