saddle's my middle name

It's pretty sad to read this article:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/315653_duncan15.html

Come the end of the month, the life-size fiberglass quarter horse perched above the entrance of Duncan & Sons in Seattle's Sodo business district will be coming down.

And with it the end of an era.

After 109 years -- and four generations of owners -- the venerable Western wear and saddle repair business will close its doors for good May 31....

...The company opened in 1898 when George Duncan, great-grandfather to Janeen and Larry, opened Halloway Duncan Harness Co. at Western Avenue and Marion Street.

My middle name is Duncan, after my grandma's maiden name; her brother is George Duncan. I haven't really needed to go in and we don't see the Duncans much but maybe I should get a saddle just in case...

shinkansen from tokyo to sendai

I just found this set of notes from my trip..

Starting very smoothly like floating on a cloud... it gives way, building for several minutes, to what can only be described as the g-force and shaking of a roller coaster.

This describes the Shinkansen, bullet train, after travelling all day and not sleeping for way too long...

bowties

What are your thoughts on bowties? Cool or no?

I think that only politicians can wear them and not feel uncomfortable.

What's a fruit?

I went to PCC yesterday; I overheard someone asking the cashier, "Is an avocado a fruit?"

About 45 minutes later, in Fred Meyer in the self-checkout line, this guy who was a little bit annoyed asked the attending cashier, "HEY! What the hell is an avocado? Is it a vegetable? Is it a fruit? What the hell?!? I can't figure out how to ring it up."

Last night, during a heated scattergories game, for 'a fruit that starts with G', I put down 'green pepper.' I wasn't given the point because no one at my table thought that a green pepper is a fruit. Here's what wikipedia says:

Today, the term "bell pepper" or "green pepper" is often used for any of the large bell shaped capsicum fruits, regardless of their color.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_pepper

It reminds me that tomatoes are legally considered vegetables from a tariff from the late 19th century. (Ok, maybe it's not anymore...but still, it's interesting)

Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 was a case in which the United States Supreme Court addressed whether a tomato was classified as a fruit or a vegetable under the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, which required a tax to be paid on imported vegetables, but not fruit.

...
Botanically a tomato is a fruit. However, the court unanimously ruled in favor of the defendant, that the Tariff Act used the ordinary meaning of the words "fruit" and "vegetable"—where a tomato is classified as a vegetable—not the technical botanical meaning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._Hedden

Rule of thumb: If it has a pit, seeds, or grows on a tree, it's probably a fruit.

Sheena is a punk rocker

On Saturday we moved from Shinjuku to Akasaka at the Hotel Okura. According to their website, they hosted the King and Queen of Sweden a few weeks before us.

We had Viking Style dinner - what's viking style? Buffet. Apparently Vikings = buffet. It was very good. Also dining with us, at a separate table, was a former Prime Minister - Obuchi Keizo?

After dinner, we went to karaoke with Keiko's dad and uncle, aunt, and a few cousins. I sang Take On Me, hitting the falsetto notes appropriately. Keiko's aunt took Karaoke lessons - it's her hobby. She's a very good singer.

Wedding day!

Wedding day was busy. Leaving the hotel at 9:30, we went to the shrine. With our shoes off and while the families were being introduced, Peter told me that my socks had a red stripe in them! I didn't realize that you're not supposed to wear things with red to a wedding. It took a little bit of finesse, but I rotated my socks using my toes. crisis almost averted.

The reception was very nice and I don't remember much about it because it was all in Japanese and kinda blurred together. But everything was very formal until all of the sudden, someone said something and people started getting up and wandering around for some reason.

After the reception was another reception, ju-kai? for the friends of tomoko and sheena. At the cafe which held the reception, most people were drinking beer. One of Tomoko's friends dragged Peter, Keiko, and me to a drinking game. There were 8 people at a table - you spin a dreidel and the person to which it points must drink a shot of beer. Except the shots are in progressively bigger dishes.

After this, we went shopping in Akihabara to the largest toy/camera/electronics shop I've ever been to, Yodobashi. It was entirely packed at 9pm. Plus it's about 8 stories.

After that, an izakaya full of super-great bar food. lots of fish and chicken balls.