Category: Slice of Life

Moving Day (Summer Break)

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO320
 “Loaded Up” Houston, 2021

This afternoon I drove down to Houston to help Bay move back home for the summer. Everything fit nicely in the back of my Subaru, and we had plenty of room to accommodate a special delivery of Mochinuts. 😂 They were delicious!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO800
 “Mochinuts” Cedar Park, 2021

Out near Bastrop, we got to see a car on fire. It looked intense! A fire truck had just arrived on-scene and the car didn’t appear to be involved in an accident so that’s good news.

“Car Fire” Bastrop, 2021

Anyways, it’s good to have my son back home and catch up a bit. I missed him! 🥰

I hope you had a good day! またね～

Sunset Bicycle Ride

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/8, 1/500 sec, ISO320
 “Twilight Clouds” Cedar Park, 2021

We had another stormy day today but the sky lightened up just after sunset so Mango and I went to the nearby park to see if there were any interesting clouds. They were pretty good, in my opinion!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO400
 “Mango at Twilight” Cedar Park, 2021

We only went out for a few minutes to take the photos because it was still sprinkling a little bit and there was thunder rumbling as well so I thought it best not to be out on the bicycle too long. 😁

Brief Storm

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/8, 1/2400 sec, ISO320
 “Mammatus Clouds” Cedar Park, 2021

A storm rolled though the area this afternoon, with a severe weather watch in effect for a couple of hours. We had heavy rain, no hail, and an amazing showing by the storm clouds! These photos are highly stylized in Adobe Lightroom, but I really like them. They look like the undersides of ocean waves, don’t they?

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO160
 “Mammatus Clouds” Cedar Park, 2021

I hope you had a nice day! またね～

The Third Bicycle

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27.7mm, f/3.2, 1/10 sec, ISO3200
 “Bianchi” Cedar Park, 2021

Some of you more perceptive readers might have noticed that not only did I bring my Peugeot bicycle home, but I also took my brother’s old Bianchi mountain bike. It’s in better condition than the Peugeot was, so it just needs some new cables and will be ready to go.

Did you know that Bianchi is the oldest bicycle brand in the world? I didn’t know that before today. At any rate, this bicycle is from around 1990 and is a type of bicycle that is popular right now: vintage mountain bikes. I guess people like the steel frames, rigid forks, and old geometry. I’d like to customize it a bit with some new tires, a new saddle and maybe a front rack. We’ll see!

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World / 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ (2004) – Movie Mini Review

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Aki” Cedar Park, 2021

******** SPOILER ALERT *********

Tonight I watched the 2004 Japanese movie Crying Out Love in the Center of the World / 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ, which was the breakout movie for my current actress crush Masami Nagasawa. I love melodramatic tear-jerkers these days and I knew going in that this was a sad story (you find out early on that Aki passes away), but I didn’t know that the story’s time period would also include a lot of nostalgic interest for me.

The story switches between 2004 (present day) and 1986, when the characters were in high school, which means the characters are the same age as me and Mariko. Adding to the nostalgia, Aki (Masami Nagasawa) and Saku (Mirai Moriyama) exchange messages to each other via cassette tape and it’s fun to see the old Walkman models and compact boom-boxes in action – it almost makes me want to find an old cassette player. 😁

The plot is more interesting and complex than you might expect, and there’s a bit of mystery as to who the character Ritsuko (Kou Shibasaki) really is, and how the cassette tapes connect the past to the present. But it’s the acting that really impressed me. Most of the scenes are quiet are drawn-out, so all attention is on the acting and I am happy to say that it does not disappoint. A+ from the entire cast.

I really liked that the story Crying Out Love in the Center of the World is so pure and innocent, yet can still be so moving. There’s no controversial, disturbing, or uncomfortable scenes – it’s just a story about love, loss, and trying to move on.

I rate it 9 out of 10 on the enjoyment meter!