September 29th is St. Michael's Day (or All Angels Day) AND it is also my pseudo-fake birthday. Born on Christmas means that I was ripped off from having birthday parties/cakes/presents so when I was a wee lad, we celebrated it on St. Mike's Day. This worked for a while and I could have an actual birthday party, until my sister came along on October 1st and stole my thunder.
This article explains how much St. Michael was a BAD-ASS. He appears to be a tad wussy in this picture.
Yet that is very deceiving. He kicked the arse of Lucifer and his minions.
He also slaughtered the Demon, Belial.
Read the rest of that article for more details...
To celebrate my "birthday" today, I went to the sea and took a pano shot. (Lots of beach, not so much sea.)
After that, I popped over to the Agricultural Center to check out the Straw Art. Roar!
First thing I noticed was a distinct lack of straw sculptures. NO dinosaurs, NO King Kong, NO mini Gojira Shrine. You can check out last year's straw art for those. There was a cool Dragon at the entrance though!
There were only two more! Very disappointing.
Oh, Pumpkins!
Sigh. FAKE Pumpkins.
At least there's a slight tribute to Alice that's kind of cute.
Finally, I popped inside to grab a Muscat Soft-cream.
On the way out I snapped a pic of this dog posing for its Instagram page.
All in all, rather humdrum this year. Maybe there'll be some action next month.
To perk up, I bought myself a present, HAPPY PSEUDO FAKE BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Wow, only one day left in September and then the 2024 Countdown to Halloween begins?
What tricks and treats do I have in store? No idea!
I'm just going to throw a whole lot of photos here and then comment on the ones I recall. (I really should have written this two weeks ago!)
Ah it appears that just grabbing a bunch of photos and transferring them doesn't necessarily do so in order. SO, they're all mixed up! Sigh...
Photo taken in Mediatheque after popping in for a pee. Probably the 4th band I saw. They were called SIQ.
I went to Motokajicho Park (I think that's what it's called) in order to hear a recommended band.
Much to my surprise, my pal, Meg, was there on Keyboards!
The next group were called the Seven Jams and they are based in Shichigahama, where I teach twice a month. The vocalist has a great singing voice and sang a rare Carpenters tune.
Continuing to hang with these two reprobates (the dudes below, not the gals above), and listened to bluesy/ rocky tunes on the rocks.
Speaking of reprobates, this guy sought me out for one of my treats (KitKats) but sadly, I had run out.
My friends left and was forced to amuse myself on my own.
Here's a sample of my hijinks. The wee lass dancing sure put my efforts to shame!
I pooped myself out and received a message from a friend. He was at Oktoberfest so I shot over there like a bullet. And I missed the act though I did catch the aforementioned Meg.
And my buddy had skipped out by the time I got there for he had run to Toho to see the premiere of Alien Romulus. So I joined him belatedly. I missed the opening and drunkenly dozed through the first 30 minutes or so. Then I confusedly watched the rest of the movie.
THAT was Saturday, Sunday was for more low key for me. I didn't run into anyone I know and thanks to a dodgy gyutan on a stick, I ran into the runs and retired early.
I started the day at Nishi Koen and caught a few minutes of each act as I walked through the park.
Is that a Triffid? Phew, only a sunflower.
It ain't the Jazz fest until you've heard some a capella group singing "I Will Follow You" from Sister Act!
Moving down the road, I caught a few of the Indie Jazz groups warbling on Jozenji Street.
Back into Mediatheque for a pee. (Rookie attendees take note. Go to the second floor and the queue to the loo is shorter.)
A cool retrospective of all the Jazz fest posters since it first started.
More random groups including the above Junior Orchestra blasting out Brazil!
After a quick conbini break to grab a Fanta,
I head back to Motokajicho Park, just in time to hear my favourite Ska band, The Panamans!
My tummy was beginning to feel the effects of the gyutan, so I decided to call it quits. I caught a few more bands en route to the subway.
That last group was a "comedy" duo who I didn't find particularly amusing.
Since that day was also Star Trek Day, I wore my STtNG cap for the occasion.
That's it for the Jozenji Jazz fest for another year. Except for the tummy troubles near the end, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
