walk before the next storm

just about to go for a long walk to the beach.  "they" say it may be raining tomorrow and thru the weekend.  here is a nice song to start my walk . . .

Standing there ...                             Bonobos

from Russia with Love

and what do these photos have in common?

perspectiv

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no rain today.  another nice day for walk in the south bay.  i did lose track of time today . . . and by that i mean, somehow i lost my watch.  i had it as i walked along Redondo Beach.  and as i walked thru the farmer's market. and on Redondo Pier.  i had it at Redondo Beach library where i checked out six dvds, one book and one cd.  it was on my way to Hermosa Beach that i realized i no longer had my watch on.  so, i retraced my steps all the way back to the beach along Redondo Beach.  no luck.  no problem.  the funny thing is i noticed early in my walk that i was wearing a watch and actually thought to myself "why am i wearing a watch? i have no place to be that requires me to be anywhere at a specific time."  plus, my iPod and camera have a clock on them.  maybe i will get another one, maybe i won't.  i will need one when i return to work in April.  if you remember, i bought the watch a couple of months ago.  it was the simple, no frills, Timex with 2 hands to tell the time...not digital.   here are some photos from my walk.  i think i walked about 8 miles before catching the bus home after getting a few more groceries at Trader Joe's.  i really enjoyed the guy flying the kite with the colorful tail. i actually had to put my sweatshirt on as it was very cold with the wind blowing. i will add some video of the kite tomorrow to my blog or to youtube.  the book i checked out is the new one by Pico Iyer called The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. the cd is called Bare by Annie Lennox.  i will explain why another time.  and 5 of the 6 dvds are mysteries.  the sixth one is an Italian film called The Keys to the House.

lady bug and cricket

love hurts

endless summer/winter/summer

our first traffic circle

chocolate sunflower seeds at Trader Joe's

flow . . . energy, chocolate, dandelions and gowith

thanks Lemonhead

one and three-quarters tanpopo

between the lines

  Energy Flow                               Ryuichi Sakamoto

home again . . . and you didn't even know i was gone

 Los Angeles

 Chicago

rainy days and 月曜日

              not John Martyn

             NO LITTLE BOY

achikochi . . . here and there . . . mostly there

Wyatt before coffee on a sunday morning.  oh yeah, i was reminded by Wyatt's owner/friend of the Bulldog Beauty Contest next weekend in Long Beach.  i think i know where i will be next weekend.

looks like it might be a rainy sunday

leftover raindrops?

Kyoto

Kyoto

Kyoto

Minoo

Minoo

Kyoto

Minoo

Minoo

Minoo

Minoo

Kobe

not Kyoto, Minoo or Kobe but Redondo Beach this past friday

Oyasumi sung by Matsu Takako and Oda Kazumasa.  this video was from Oda-san's Christmas special.  the younger guitarist on the left of the screen is Sahashi Yoshiuki and is married to Matsu Takako と思う。as you may remember, Oda Kazumasa is one of my favorite singers.  i have been to two of his concerts and hope to see him again one day.  i think this song may be Matsu Takako's song but the three of them sound beautiful together.  

7 ways on day 7

i found this this morning while trying to find information on the Japanese poet, Shinmin Sakumura.  somehow it is all connected.

Buddhism has a a teaching called "7 ways to give without having a fortune" which teaches everyone can give 7 things and plant seeds of happiness even without having a large sum of money.  these are the 7 ways from the Zohozokyo (a Buddhist scripture):

1. a kind look

2. deal with others with a loving smile

3. warm words

4. use your body to serve others

5. have a considerate heart

6. give your seat to others

7. let others stay at your home

at the market

and on the way back from my walk i found this

there was a new Vinyl Cafe this morning which featured a new Dave story.  Stuart also had two musical guests.  Jill Barber, i had never heard of but she is an excellent award-winning singer up in Canada. and the other was Dan Hill. not sure if i knew he was Canadian but i did learn some things about him after he sang his classic "sometimes when we touch" and before he sang a beautiful song about his Father. if you look at his webpage you can see him singing "My Father's son".   you can also see how his hairstyle has changed.  his voice is still the same.

the rain stopped

some rain, a hummingbird, a nest, kite surfers, some sunshine, blue sky, white puffy clouds, fallen petals, 3 buses, and teriyaki. and more rain

in between the raindrops i walked to the beach again today.  on the way, i came across a hummingbird.  or shall i say it came across me. it was hovering in front of me for several minutes.  and then i saw why. i was near it's nest and it was returning to feed it's babies. very cool.  i took a little video of it.  it was a National Geographic moment.  at the beach, the kite surfers were just started to enjoy the "angry sea".   i finally made it to Redondo Pier where i caught the bus to Mitsuwa Market for some more miso and tofu.  i also picked up some "Mike popcorn" in honor of my friend Mike. and then it was a short walk to the Teriyaki Inn for some chicken teriyaki.  two buses and 25 minutes later i was home again as it started to rain.  and it is still raining now at 6pm.

10pm.  still raining.  just about to go to bed and fall asleep listening to the rain and Miwa Sasagawa.  i finally found out her name.  more on that tomorrow.

Present プレセント

this morning's present while listening to the Tom Morton Show on BBC Scotland, a very colorful sunrise

just a few minutes ago while watching Ai no Uta (episode 6).  it has been raining off and on all day, a present for the flowers and trees.

here is Present which is the theme song to Ai no Uta (Love Song).  Tamaki Koji (former lead singer of the 80's band Anzen Chitai) is the singer. he also played the male lead in the Ai no Uta drama. Kanno Miho (one of my favorite actresses) played the female lead.  will they get together? spoiler alert... yes, but for how long?  

Present (here is a live version of the same song)

still raining at 4pm