Deck the Halls!

I'll get this out of the way. Merry Christmas those that celebrate and Happy Holidays to everyone else. Now, it's all about ME!

 

The above pic is from a calendar I own. The following were scammed from someone, sorry I can't make out who.

My buddy Hinnie, who makes frequent trips to Japan from Hong Kong, sent me a birthday care package of items that she picked up at a HK 7-11. First up, a deck of cards. And not just any deck, they're sparkly.

The Jokers:

 

The Clubs:

The Diamonds:

 The Spades:

And the Hearts:

 

I think I like the diamonds best. (Who doesn't?)

She also gave me a huge Tote bag (450X400) of Godzilla in battle with King Ghiddorah!

And the pièce de résistance, is this plate. I was going to have my Christmas dinner upon it, but it looks so great, I may keep it pristine for a while longer.

Hmm, it is microwaveable, I may use it tomorrow for leftovers.

Speaking of Christmas dinner, I had a supermarket bought leg and some veggies. Not very elaborate, but tasty enough.

 Other than that, the only other prezzies I received was from my fellow Santa. A barely visible girl...

 and a Graphic Novel.

A little Christmas/birthday mirth.

In case any of you are wondering what age I have just reached, here's a hint. (link to a South Park short, not spam.)

I might as well show off some of the Christmas pics I've taken over the last few days at Royal Park Hotel.

 

The aforementioned Kris Kringle who gave me the X-Men and FF goods. Does this look like an AI photo gone horribly wrong?

Schmoozing with some of the staff.

 

Hey, speaking of Hotel staff, a former student of mine from my Tokiwagi days was tickling the ivories in the lounge, and I managed to show up in time to hear her play an encore.

This is me sipping a tea listening to her. 

 Earl Grey, Hot!

An incredibly boring but pleasant birthday for me. If I get ambitious, I'll post some pics of earlier Santa endeavours going back as far as NOVEMBER FOURTH!

Merry Christmas everyone, and Deck the Halls! 

 

A Few D**K Pics!

This may be the first time I've ever sent any D**k pics, I was inspired by this Rolling Stone headline.

In case you're unaware, the asterisks represent the letters "ic". Just so I don't get flagged by some ignorant algorithm, when referring to the centenarian above, I shall call him DVD. DVD turned 100 years old on December 13th. There, that isn't confusing at all. 

Since I perpetually present pics from pamphlets of passed people, it's a privilege to showcase one of the living.  I can't locate my copy of Mary Poppins, so here is the next best thing. 

 

Notice that author Ian Fleming is mentioned in the Japanese credits (third name down) yet not shown in the English credits.

 

 

The producer, Albert R. Broccoli, also brought in a couple of his Bond troupe such as Gert Fröbe and Desmond Llewelyn. Apart from DVD, few of the cast is still around, fortunately the kids are still with us (they're just a year younger than me.) Benny Hill and Robert Helpmann as the Toymaker and Child Catcher are deliciously evil.

Here are several pictures of DVD hamming it up.

 

 

Here is his bio along with a wonky Googly translation.

 

Finally, here are a couple of pictures of Caractacus Potts' wacky inventions.

 

I've made mention of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang before, most notably here. Apart from a few deleted YouTubes, there are three videos there about the song, チキ・チキ・バンバン.

Here is a newer version of chiki chiki ban ban, for you to sing along with.

 

Happy 100th to D**k Van D**e! (Just in case, the algorithm doesn't approve of his surname either.) 

Gorgon But Not Forgotten.

Happy Day of the Dead everyone! (Is it okay to use Happy in this regard?)

 

Remember Me? This photo is from four years ago.

When I looked up Day of the Dead, there was a link to page in Sendai. Sure enough, there's a tattoo parlor/clothing shop named Day of the Dead.

I don't know much about Heidi Klum except that she is a master of dressing up for Halloween. Hopefully this link will take you to a quick presentation of her as Medusa. A longer video here will take you to the makeup process. 

Get stoned with your favourite Gorgon, Medusa!

 

Other tidbits that I've seen while scrolling today, includes a Jack o' Labubu.

This popcorn bucket would be appropriate for Halloween, Day of the Dead or while watching Frankenstein.

I didn't have a chance to check it out today (too lazy) yet there was a DragonQuest Walk in downtown Sendai today. A photo op with a really good Great-Sabre Tiger would have been nice.

Tomorrow is Culture Day in Japan and it happens to coincide with their ambassador, Godzilla, he too has a Godzilla Day. I'll hopefully be posting some Godzilla content for Govember (GodzillaNovember) but first a few leftovers from Halloween.

I must reiterate the sigh uttered across Canada when the Toronto Blue Jays succumbed to the Dodgers. From this... 

to this...

From Japan's Tourism Canada:

"An exciting MLB postseason that feels like it's been magic

We've been blown over and over again by the amazing play by the Blue Jays players 

And the unity of Canadian people cheering on the Blue Jays, not just in their hometown Toronto, but Canada-wide. Our pride

Congratulations to the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki on winning the championship.

I applaud you all. Thank you for dreaming and inspiring!"

 

 

Ya know how I'm always complaining about how the Christmas season encroaches on Halloween. It shouldn't be promoted until after Black Friday. I'm about to contribute to the problem for tomorrow I have my first Santa gig of the year and need to drive to a mall in Yamagata! Details after it's done...