Tonight my friend Mikey and I went to the theater to rewatch the classic Studio Ghibli film Laputa: Castle in the Sky / 天空の城ラピュタ. It was the first time for either of us to see it on the big screen, and it was also one of the Ghibli films we haven’t seem in a long time. I’m so glad we decided to watch it again because it was fantastic! There were so many iconic scenes and stills, like the ones in the photos, and the artwork of the landscapes and clouds were breathtaking. Paired with Joe Hisaishi‘s soundtrack, those scenes were absolutely magical.
One of the memories I had kept with me from the first viewing of the movie many years ago was how yummy the egg looked when they were having lunch in the cave. I just had to snap a photo of it. And yes, it still looks delicious! 😄
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO500 “Intro” Cedar Park, 2021
Wrapping up a super-busy couple of weeks of marching band competition, and also his four year high school marching career, Koa traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in the 2021 Bands of America Grand National Championship competition. It’s a huge event, with about 90 marching bands performing at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts. The 3-day competition is incredible, with about 30 bands advancing to semi-finals, and 12 of those advancing to the final round.
We’ve seen most of the shows before in other competitions, so we knew that it was a longshot for Koa’s band to win, and even making semi-finals was not a given. But sure enough, their show made it to the semi-final round, and they performed at 8:30 am in the morning. Was it good enough for them to make it into the final round?
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/120 sec, ISO400 “Battery” Cedar Park, 2021
The announcer started reading the names of the 12 finalists, and Koa’s band’s name wasn’t coming up. I was counting on my fingers as the high school names were read off, and when I ran out of fingers, I lost hope. But then the twelfth name to be announced was Vista Ridge High School Band!!! I yelled at the tv, scaring our dog and cats! They had made it to finals!!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO400 “Battery” Cedar Park, 2021
I think I share the view with most of the other band parents that making it to the finals was the big goal, and that we would be satisfied with even a 12th place finish. I think the band directors felt the same way because (I heard thru the grapevine) that instead of the normal pre-performance talk focusing on what to concentrate on, the kids were told to just go out, have fun, and savor the moment. 😀
The band did, in fact, finish in 12th place but to everyone’s surprise, they were the one band at the competition to receive an invitation to march in the 2023 Rose Parade! Unfortunately, Koa will have “aged-out” since he’s a senior this year so he won’t be able to perform there, but I’m really happy that the band he was a part of earned that spot for next-year’s band.
As parents of a senior band member, were a bit sad that we won’t be seeing him march anymore, but it was an awesome 4-year run. We enjoyed every performance!
I dropped Mariko off at the airport today. She’s got her vaccination + booster so I’m not too worried about her traveling on the plane. I guess things are getting back to “normal”?
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/55 sec, ISO800 “Beef Curry” Cedar Park, 2021
Tomorrow, Mariko is flying up to Indianapolis to watch Koa’s marching band perform in the Bands of America Grand Nationals. Since I’ll be home alone for a couple of nights, she made a big pot of beef curry so that I don’t starve. 😀
It’s so delicious! ❤🍛
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I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
