Tanabata Tidbits.

I happened to be downtown today between 9 and 5 for some lessons today and had a three hour window starting at noon. So I decided to battle the crowds and venture into the core of the celebration.

I don't ever recall seeing these cylindrical bulbs in past Tanabata celebrations (click that to see ALL of my previous Tanabata posts) yet they are kind of cool. Undoubtedly, they illuminate at night.

The above was my attempt to take a panoramic view of a cylinder. I like how it turned out.

As soon as I snapped a few pics, it began to rain fairly heavily so I aborted my photographic enterprise and hightailed it to shelter. As you can see, the banners were being put under wraps to protect them from the elements.

I popped into Spinners for a kebab and when a Turk invites you to puff on a hookah pipe, you're wise to accept.

(Honestly, it was only tobacco, orange-flavoured at that.)

Continuing on my trek, I tried my hand at a lucky draw at the Ghibli store. I asked for two kuji at 500 each and ended up with two Third Place Prizes, two Totoro hats!

My timing couldn't have been better for I needed some shelter from the elements.

Banner pics!

 A cute little puppet show.

 A troupe of Hula dancers.

More banners.

So many of these are reruns from previous years. These DjoDjo ones were about the only ones of any interest.

I tried my hand at UFO Catcher and after many (many, many) tries won my booty.

I was now running late so I couldn't take any more photos. One thing missing that would have made this year's event more interesting...alcohol!

Mr. Smoketoomuch.

Since my lungs are shot anyway (stupid asthma), I thought I'd take up smoking. Don't I look suave puffing on a fag?

I decided to start with an exotic brand, Orions. They must be good, they're recommended by the gals from Vocaloid.(Which, come to think of it, sounds like a throat disease. Ooh, my vocaloids are acting up.)

While I'm inhaling, let's listen to Deep Purple's, Smoke on the Water, Vocaloid style!



Hey, wait a sec, these are just candy sticks! And they're hard as rocks, not at all yummy. Cocoa, orange and Soda flavoured. Ah well, I hope they aren't too addictive.

Oh what a silly bunt I am.



Speaking of candies, here are some mini-boxes of grape, orange, strawberry, apple, grapefruit, and Muscat grape mini-gumballs.

The 4 mini-balls in each mini-box for 63 yen, not bad. Yum.

Beyond the Fringe*

*Alternative title: Through the Grapevine**
**Alternate alternative title: Michael dances silly.

Long long ago in a galaxy not so very far from our own, there was a bar called the Fringe. It is the sort of place where legends were made and it petered out into the vestiges of history. From the ashes of that phoenix another bar rose and more legends were created. Alas that establishment, the Grapevine, also went by the wayside though the bonds that were tethered back then have remained strong ever since. All of this took place before I arrived to Sendai although I had heard many of the whispered tales of glee and revelry. Last night, one of the forebears of that era returned and a reunion of several of his troupe took place.

On Friday, Alex and I met up with the head honcho, Stefan, and his son, Kai, for dinner and a few drinks.

Last night was the Event. I met several acquaintances from days gone by but mostly hung out with Alex and his kids.

The following photos are of people whose names I know but will not disclose in order to protect the innocent. You'll also see DJs and dancers and an assortment of others whose names I don't recall.

I placed my phone upon a nearby speaker and taped the following.

What follows is not for the faint of heart. Those of you with weak tickers (or weak stomachs) may want to click away and not view any of the horror that is to follow. Yes, yours truly, your humble narrator has been photographed cutting a rug, tripping the light fantastic and dancing up a storm.
This is your last chance to turn away...

The party continued until around 5 am. and I stuck it through until then, though most of the time was spent off the dance floor under an air conditioner to waft away the smoky environs.

See ya all at the next reunion!