Curtain Closings

I'm sad to hear that Ricardo Montalban and Patrick McGoohan have passed away.

When I was a kid my elders were great Montalban fans, and as I grew older and watched his performances with a more experienced and critical eye, I could see why. Urbane and attractive, dangerous but charming, he was one of the best latino actors without being a caricature.

Patrick McGoohan will always be the epitome of the grim, gritty Danger Man/Secret Agent, John Drake, more realistic but in some understated way more suave than most James Bonds have been. Considerably more introspective and intellectual, too. He is probably better remembered for The Prisoner, and he did brilliantly in his fairly brief role in Braveheart, as well as in other roles, but I'll always remember him fondly as the sympathetic but implacable secret agent.

I'm going to miss both actors, but at 88 and 80 respectively, they each had pretty good runs. And the final curtain always has to come down, sometime.

Yearly Mistake

A reader pointed out that in my final Glimpses of Japan column of 2008 I made a truly silly mistake. I referred to it as the last column of 2009.

Every year for a week or so I have trouble remembering to use the new year when writing dates. This time at least it was a different mistake.

No less careless, though.

Seasoned Greetings

Merry Christmas!

I'd advise readers to try to avoid excess that they'll regret the next day, but that's not behavior that I've exhibited much in my life.

Besides, if you're going to regret, I believe it's better to regret what you've done rather than what you didn't do.

I spent the early hours of this morning speaking with a Finnish guy claiming to be Santa Claus. He certainly looked the part, beard, red suit, and all. There was also a girl in the place done up as a red-nosed reindeer. I hadn't drunk enough that there's any doubt that they were real, either.

Bistro Vin Beaux

It's small and hard to find, but this place is one of those "best kept secrets" you hear about. It's also a good candidate for "that romantic little French place".

The food's great, the couple that runs the place (he cooks in the open kitchen and she waits the three tables and half-dozen counter seats) do a fine job of making you feel at home and welcome, and the wine list, although not extensive, is well-chosen and reasonably priced.

Every time I go, I tell myself that I should arrange my schedule so that I could go more often.

I recommend making reservations, and bring cash because I don't believe they take credit cards.

It might be well to go sooner rather than later, because the couple must be getting close to retirement age.

Bi-partisan Season's Greetings

I got this from a friend today (a Democrat as it happens, but that doesn't matter), and couldn't resist posting it.

To All My
Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others; or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.



To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!     

Ka-boom!

I've decided that I want one of these for Christmas.
It's just from the sheer coolness of being able to create sonic booms in your own back yard.
What's not to like about that?

Minor Jolt

I just (15:18 on 8 October '08, JST) experienced a brief, mild earthquake.

It was strong enough to be noticeable, but not to trigger the automatic shutdown of my office building's elevators and its attendant PA announcement to the effect that an earthquake shut the elevators down and if you need to evacuate, you take the stairs. It's a relatively small building, so the announcement is pretty much superfluous: the single flight of stairs is within a few meters of the single elevator hall with its two elevators, so if you see that the elevators aren't running, you don't have far to go or much in the way of options if you want to leave the building.

I'm never in a hurry to leave a building in an earthquake. There's a lot of stuff out there that can be shaken down on passersby including roof tiles, hanging signs, window glass, etc., and in a recent major earthquake the very first victim was a guy who ran out of his shop into the street and was hit by a passing truck. Most of the buildings I spend much time in here in the Kanto Plains area are reasonably robust, and there's usually a desk or sturdy table under which I can take shelter if I really think it's necessary. I'll leave once the shaking's over, if it seems to be indicated (like, say, if the building's collapsing or on fire) but otherwise I figure I'm better off inside.

On the other hand, I believe that the land my office building stands on is landfill from a couple of hundred years ago: old maps show the beach across the (major thoroughfare) street from us, so this used to be tidal flats. It might just temporarily liquefy, in a really big quake. Of course, in a quake that strong, the building will probably collapse around my ears and the problem will become academic.

I'm reminded that I need to replenish my office emergency supplies. I used to keep a couple of days' worth of food and water, and some extra clothes and heavy boots, and some basic tools and utensils to use if I have to get along for a couple of days in a really devastated Tokyo before emergency services--if any--kick in. I've still got most of the stuff, but the food and water were used up and not replaced as they got close to their use by dates. It's time to go shopping for more.

I was impressed by the speed with which the Japan Meteorological Agency got the news on their website; within just a couple of minutes the updated map and numbers were there. Of course, if you visit them, it's very likely that the latest earthquake will be another one, since they're pretty frequent here.