Kyoto

This one is longer than any other post but Kyoto is an exceptional place so cut me some slack.

The hardest thing for me to do is to let my mind go- not think, analyze, and consider but sense and feel. That's one reason I love hiking so much- it allows me that escape. I felt that untetheredness for hours on end in Kyoto- the beauty and aesthetics of my surroundings left me lost in a timeless and peaceful state.

I walked from my traditional "Ryokan" hotel and encountered the striking Heian shrine.

Before entering the shrine most Japanese lave their hands with water- dipping the water from a fieldstone trough with beautiful raw wood dippers. I love this ritual- and performed it (multiple times).

The shrines are hung with votive tablets, wooden slats inscribed with personal hopes and prayers. Considering what to write has a wonderfully cleansing effect- thinking about what is most important makes life seem a lot simpler. My first one was easy. 

I could have spent weeks in the garden surrounding the shrine. I rested in the pagoda and watched tadpoles learning to swim and carp mouthing the surface of the water.

This bridge was one of the loveliest things I've ever seen- I stood spellbound at the lakeside watching a heron stalk across the shore and turtles paddle along the bottom.

I love the culture of wood in Japan- I kept stopping to smell the beautiful cedar beams. A sidepath into the woods led me to this tiny shrine that smelled of fresh cedar and recent sanding.

I walked out of the shrine towards the old imperial palace and ran into the Kumano shrine- a Shinto shrine devoted to marriage and childbirth. My votive tablet was easy for that one too.

I then wandered through the imperial park- acres of beautiful trees, fields, and the imperial palace. One tree looked particularly inviting so I stopped and went through some work emails. Several locals stopped thinking I was a "statue" busking for money and one took this picture.

I woke up early the next day and walked up the street to Nanzenji Temple- home of another beautiful "hujo" garden.

I returned to a 14-item breakfast that included a personal grill for 2 small fish. It was one of the more interesting meals I have ever eaten

My host loaned me a bicycle and off I went.

Kiyomizu-dera was next- it was crowded and this picture came from the internet.

Higashi-hoganji claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world- it and Nishi-Hoganji were impressive.

This small gate was my favorite.

I then biked several miles through the heart of kyoto- whizzing along the wide sidewalks. I chanced upon another half dozen shrines before reaching my destination in the northwestern part of the city.

My touring finished at Kinkakuji- the most spectacular building I visited all day.

What I loved most in Kyoto was the gardens- nature gently sculptured to create a peaceful and serene escape.

It was one of the best 36 hours of my life- I can't wait to go back.

Londontowne

I live next to a school and every day I stop and watch the kids playing soccer before class starts. No matter how early I leave for work they are always playing.

I love walking around on weekend mornings and seeing the "walk of shame" outfits (men and women). Everyone gets so glammed up when they go out- the results the next morning can be memorable.

I was walking to a breakfast in Mayfair and took this picture of sunrise over Big Ben. I was in front of Buckingham Palace- I like to think of the Queen out on her balcony at the only time of day when tourists don't swarm- taking in the same view.

I found a wonderful book in my local pharmacy...

The toughest thing in London is doing laundry. I'm extraordinarily lucky to have a combo washer dryer (dryers are unusual) but I still have to dry each load 3 times. I've also had to (re-)learn how to iron.

I saw this hilarious old Guinness ad in a pub bathroom. The original Gatorade...

My diet is surprisingly healthy here. Fruits and Vegetables (Veg in British) are higher quality and cheaper so I can enjoy fruit and yogurt for breakfast. lunch is typically sandwiches or takeout sushi. There's less food around the office which means I don't eat leftover greasy sandwiches.

British marketing is sensationally catchy, clever, and layered. some of the ads on the Tube are really really good.

I haven't found a rhythm yet but my travel schedule lightens up now.I'm really looking forward to experiencing Christmas season in London.

Surprising... most things I buy in London are cheaper or similarly priced as in Boston

GBP Price in USD Boston Comp Cappucino           2.20           3.52                  4.00 Sports Ticket         50.00         80.00                70.00 Dress Shirt         25.00         40.00                75.00 Dress Shoes         90.00       144.00              150.00 Pizza Slice           1.95           3.12                  3.50 Beer           3.50           5.60                  5.50 Haircut         10.00         16.00                15.00 Sandwich           3.50           5.60                  6.00

Good News

On October 27th I received news I knew would come but dreaded. My beautiful, goofy, affectionate, snugglemonster of a hound had suffered another bout of her recurring illness.

Watching Jerz get sick leaves me stricken- her head and tail droop, she starts at any noise, forgets everything, loses her housetraining, falls on the stairs, and sometimes goes blind. She paces constantly, can't get comfortable, and strikes her paws at imagined phantoms circling her head. She eats pens, cardboard boxes, and sometimes nibbles a misplaced hand. She is lost in a dark, unfamiliar, twisted place

The first sign that she has turned the corner is when she first wags her tail.

This morning in beijing I got a text from her wonderful caregiver Wendy.

"Brought her (Jersey) over to my friend's house this evening for dinner. They have a 7 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. Jerz loved the kids! Wagged her tail, gave them her paw and smiled her doggie smile. I haven't seen her that happy in a month! I'm hoping she has turned the corner and doesn't look back!"

Its fitting that children brought Jerz back from her dark place. She has always had the pit bull love of babies. I was alarmed initially when she tried to drag me over to anything under 4 and a half feet tall but quickly learned that she just adores being mauled by kids. She was ogling a baby in a stroller once when the child took a piece of muffin in her fingers and shoved her whole hand in Jerz's mouth. Her horrified mother shrieked but Jerz just sat there with her mouth open as the toddler explored the inside of Jerz's maw with a hand full of food.

This is the 4th incident and while I know eventually she won't come back from that dark confused place I'm glad its not this time...

Over and over and over again...

I have two inexplicable passions in life, my dog and the English football club, Arsenal.The logic behind both gets stretched quite quickly.

Arsenal's biggest game of the year is the north London derby against local rival Tottenham Hotspur. After 15 years of dominance by Arsenal the recent matches have been much more balanced.

Last March I arrived in England at a nadir in Arsenal's season. They trailed Spurs by 10 points and 30 minutes into the match Spurs led 2-0. The fans were baying for the manager's head and chaos ruled the stadium as hope for Arsenal's season (and business model) expired.

Arsenal then scored 5 goals in 30 minutes for a season-transforming 5-2 win. Spurs collapsed and Arsenal powered to a 3rd place finish.

Just listen to the crowd noise in this video.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcj_00LQzBI

The player Arsenal fans hate the most is Emanuel Adebayor. Nurtured in the Arsenal youth system, made a star in the Arsenal team, he left for Manchester City's lucre but didn't make the grade (he did pick up a 3 game suspension for taunting Arsenal fans and another 3 game suspension for raking his cleats across a former teammate's face). Adebayor ultimately moved to Spurs and scored the second goal in last year's 5-2 trouncing. The last half hour of the game was dominated by chants of "Adebayor... What's the score..., Adebayor... What's the score." I'm not a vindictive personality (in contrast to most English football fans) but I frankly enjoyed this one.

Arsenal got off to a horrific start in this year's derby as Spurs dominated possession. In the 10th minute Adebayor swept home and celebrated wildly. Spurs looked fully in control and a seismic power shift in North London looked on hand.

Imagine the glee of 60,000 when he then flew in uncontrolled and studs up...

 earning himself a red card and a walk of shame in the 17th minute.

From there Arsenal dominated (mostly)- our big f------- German headed home 5 minutes later and more goals followed until last year's 5-2 score line was matched.

Every Arsenal fan's favorite sight- the away section clears out long before the final whistle...

You couldn't write a more perfect script from an Arsenal fans perspective. Our problems remain but for today at least there's only one team in London. One team In London... One team in Looooondon.... There's only one team in Londoooooon....

Big F------ German

Arsenal have a German defender named Per Mertesacker. He's 6'5 and weighs around 190 lbs. On a team of 5'6 pixies and speed merchants he sticks out. He is calm, happy, occasionally ungainly, and brings a sense of stability to the team.

More than any other player Mertesacker loves the song the fans sing about him. He always turns, smiles, and pumps his arms when we sing.
We've got a big f------ German
Big f------ German
Big f------ Gerrrrrrman
We've got a big f------ German

Needless to say Mertesacker reminds me of my big brother Bruce.

I was awakened at 1am friday morning by a call from Bruce announcing the arrival of Bruce Lee Kennedy III (goes by Lee). This is the first child born to our sibling group.

As Portuguese soccer coach Jose Mourinho would say, my sister in law Maggie "Is Champion."



It was a good weekend for Baltimore. Besides welcoming Lee to the fold my beloved Orioles made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. I wore my Orange all over Europe!

My high school friend John is in Germany to speak at a conference. It's his 30th birthday so we met up in Berlin for the weekend.

We started out eating and drinking

Then met up with an old high school friend (German exchange student) and saw his band play at a club.

We made friends wherever we traveled

But in the end the liter glasses won.

The next morning we went to see the Pergamon marbles.


Some impressive gateways.


Ancient confirmation of a current fashion trend (this Babylonian king has a man-satchel).


The whole notion of a museum seemed a bit different to the Germans. Basically they just picked up massive structures and moved them back to Germany.

We also stopped by Checkpoint Charlie (East Berlin look different now Dad?)

My favorite thing I saw in Berlin was the Holocaust memorial. It's a maze of steel blocks that creates a disorienting isolation as you walk into it.

I climbed on top of the blocks, walked into the middle, and watched the sunset. This city leaves you a lot to think on.

A Chance Meeting (Memory of Light)

One of my two favorite singing memories is from the Saint Chappelle in Paris. We made an arc around the upper chapel and sang 5 songs. The sun came out while we sang- a beam angled through the stained glass and illuminated the singer beneath. I could see the dust motes.

As I waited in line today at the ticket counter I saw a familiar face- our tour guide/organizer Bob Burns. I said hello and he immediately recognized me- "you were on the tour in 2001 when you sang here! I was just showing my tour group how you stood!"

I had a lot to do in Paris and little time. But I did stand here for a while.

And here






Slightly different angle





I found a nice spot opposite the Louvre to do some work reading/meeting prep














And watched the full moon rise over the Seine.



I don't love Paris. But you see this

And this

And this
And can only wonder at a city so rendered

What is Art (Arsenal 6 Coventry 1)

One of my colleagues and I had coordinated to go to the Arsenal game last Wednesday. I had an exceptionally busy week, was sick, and Arsenal were playing weak opposition. I actually tried to give away my ticket! Hard to imagine I know.

The match started out as is typical- the lower division team had adrenaline and 8,000 screaming fans and Arsenal had put out a second string. 30 minutes in Arsenal scored and again just after halftime (they were now shooting at the goal I was sitting behind).

A few minutes later disgruntled Russian captain Andrei Arshavin scored this goal (go to 1:30 in the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNEVVRRuVb8

Think about the physics- Arshavin is running at ~20mph, the cross is coming in ~35mph. He has a cubic space in which to put the ball of 4-5 cubic ft while leaping and landing on the same foot and calmly placing it in the botton corner of the goal. Try doing it without a ball in slow motion- then think about what he did.

My father always says seeing Baryshnikov dance was one of the coolest things he's ever seen. Tolstoy would disagree but I saw an exquisite piece of Russian ballet on Wednesday.