Where’s An Onsen When You Need One?

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It’s been five months since I left Japan, and now comes the time when I start to post nostalgic meanderings on this site. Do I need a new Memories of Japan category?
As winter arrives, I often find myself dreaming of Japanese baths and onsen. And I’m wishing I had more photographs of all the beautiful onsen I visited while in Japan. But wielding a camera in a steamy pool full of naked men isn’t the height of propriety.

Jeremy has a few beautiful photos in his The Gentle Art Of Japanese Bathing entry.

You Ug-lay!

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Ugly Nokia Phones
What happened to Nokia phones? When did the company start churning out butt-ugly mobiles like the batch above? This is a collection of recent or soon-to-be-released phones from the company that only a few short years ago was making simple, well-designed, sophisticated phones. No more, apparently.

Nokia 8800 and 8200

Aside from a few annoying issues (the easily-breakable internal antenna and the dust that collected inside the screen) the 8200 series was a joy to carry and use. It was clean, simple and small. It wasn’t fancy, just well-designed. The 8800 series, though ridiculously expensive, added some extra flash and style without looking silly or ostentatious.

Nokia 6120

I even liked the original (at least I think it was original) 6100 series, which was my first mobile phone. It was solid and well-designed.
Phones like these are what helped lead Nokia to success in the late 1990s. If the new phones above are any indication, the company has lost its way design-wise. Need proof beyond just the visual? Look here then here.

Bush: Not Responsible For ‘Mission Accomplished’

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President Bush yesterday tried to pass blame to the Navy for the boastful Mission Accomplished banner that trumpeted what Bush then called the end of major combat in Iraq.

This is a load of crap, and yet another in a long line of untruths to come from Bush and his administration.

Back when things were looking a bit rosier for the Bush Administration, White House officials weren’t so shy in taking credit for the Hollywood stagecraft that provides a cover for the emperor with no clothes.

In an article last May, the New York Times covered the efforts of the Bush White House to put a positive visual spin on presidential events.

Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights
The most elaborate — and criticized — White House event so far was Mr. Bush’s speech aboard the Abraham Lincoln announcing the end of major combat in Iraq. White House officials say that a variety of people, including the president, came up with the idea, and that Mr. Sforza embedded himself on the carrier to make preparations days before Mr. Bush’s landing in a flight suit and his early evening speech.

What I find tragic is that it takes a disaster in Iraq to begin prying people’s eyes open to the fast and loose manner with which Bush and his administration play with the truth. This administration has been misleading the American people from the very start on a wide range of issues. But it takes a mistake that’s costing American lives, hundreds of billions of dollars and attention that should be focused elsewhere to shock people out of their stupor. Maybe.

Clouds Catching Fire

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It threatened to rain all day today, but never did. During my walk home at dusk, a section of clouds parted for about two minutes, catching the setting sun and bursting into color.

My digicam can’t capture this kind of image on its own, but Photoshop allowed me to tweak the photo to match what I saw.

Seattle Skyline

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So far, the fall weather in Seattle has been great. That is to say, it hasn’t been the typical gray, gloomy, dreary weather we generally have this time of year. Rather than the claustrophobic descent of a damp, gray ceiling of clouds, the weather has been interesting — stormy, windy, warm, hard rains and periods of sun breaks with beautiful cloud formations that tumble across the sky or which provide a canvas for evening light, as in the photo above.

Enjoying The Classics

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I played Ms. Pac Man last night, and had a blast. This morning I came across the following article, wherein a gaming magazine subjected a group of kids to classic video games.

In the following exchange, Tim and John tackle Pong.

Kids Play
Electronic Gaming Monthly

TIM: My line is so beating the heck out of your stupid line. Fear my pink line. You have no chance. I am the undisputed lord of virtual tennis. [Misses ball] Whoops.

JOHN: Tim, how could you miss that? It was going like 1 m.p.h.