Something rather strange happened to my son on the way to bed the other night. Something quite peculiar and somewhat disturbing.
Imagine, if you will, the story of Bambi, the same story of the cute little deer and his friends that we all loved so much growing up. Imagine the book, not the movie. But imagine it with one small-but-significant change from the version you knew as a child. Specifically, imagine a final page that literally shows Bambi being served up as a delicious-looking venison steak.
Now imagine that this ending is not intended to be sad in any way. In fact, it's supposed to be happy... and rather mouth-watering. Well, you've now got an idea of the Japanese bedtime story my son was exposed to just the other night.
Kaishan
Octopus's Garden: Japanese Bedtime Stories (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Embrace Death)
The Sound of Saccharine: The Sour "Honey" Rant
Ok, contrary to what some of you may believe, I have no problem admitting when I've screwed up. And it appears that in this case I most certainly have. A couple of days ago I was informed that I had left an excruciatingly bad, and poll altering, song off the Worst Song of All Time Poll list last month. My friend Chris, who informed me of this crucial omission, was adamant that it belonged on the list and that people would have voted for it if only given the chance. Well, feeling her passion, and not yet understanding the root cause of her feelings, I went and found it on YouTube and now, after having heard it, have no choice but to agree with her that the final results of the poll are completely distorted.
Daddy, The Monkey and The Halloween Carol
Kaishan had a real blast last night, as would be expected considering that it was his first real Halloween. He was only one and a half last year and, therefore, had no idea what it was all about, of course. But this year he was fully enthralled, enthused and excited by it all.
The Inappropriate Grandma Rant
You've heard of Dora the Explorer toys for young kids, right? And Thomas The Tank Engine? And I know you've definitely heard of Sesame Street and Winnie The Pooh toys. Well, this isn't a story about any of those. No, this is a story of how one woman took the whole gift-giving experience and transformed it into something that no one could ever have imagined.
The Old Timer Rant
"You know how I know you're old?" I heard myself ask myself. And I guess it did creep up on me a bit. I mean, I don't really feel any different than I did in my twenties, but recently a couple of things made me realize that I may, in fact, be older than I feel.
DAY OF THE BOB: The Dylan Live In Concert Rave
I know there's just one simple question all of you Bob Dylan fans are dying to know the answer to right now, and that's how was The Bob in concert? And the one simple answer is: F*$#ing amazing!!!
Kofu, Japan: BIG and EVEN BIGGER NEWS
Here's some BIG NEWS: Our 4-year trip has reached its end and we're now back in Japan staying with Son's mom here in Kofu, not that far from Mt. Fuji, which we can see from here. We're having a good time visiting not only with Son's family, but also with all of our friends. On December 9th we fly back to Canada - to Toronto - just in time for my mom's 60th birthday bash on December 15th. And then, after a few weeks of visiting with her, her husband David and my sister Liz over X'mas and New Years, we'll be heading out west to B.C. No date for that yet and no idea exactly where we'll live in B.C., but that's all part of the Great New Adventure.
And now for the EVEN BIGGER NEWS:
