Terrible Analogies

This week Karin and I took a quick trip to Mitsuwa, an amazingly large and well stocked shop specializing in all things asian.  Admittedly, I like to go to this store because they stock a drink called “Calpico”.  It’s something that looks like watered down milk but tastes like an Orange Julius.  Tucked inside Mitsuwa is a cool little alcove filled with nifty Japanese baubles and doohickies, reminding me of the stores on Green Pole Road in Misawa, Japan, where I spent a fantastic three years (’92-’94) of my life and made some great friends that will forever be an important part of me (a shout out to James, Dain, smooth Kev, R. Bone, Scott, John Daley, a crazy guy called RJ, the DJ “what’s his name?”, and everyone else on the 2nd floor of the Intel dorms…).

A few doors down from Mitsuwa is what I like to consider their sister store which stocks Japanese Manga, imported CDs, and movies.  It’s quite easy to lose an hour or two wandering the isles here.

Looks like they had a run on Calpico. I don't blame them. 'Tis the nectar of the Gods. I'm a bit hesitate about their "Aloe" flavor though...

I'm still unsure what this is. Perhaps some sort of salad dressing? For whatever reason they seemed to be fascinated with eggplant and pickles at this store.

For all your pickle and chinaware needs...

Who knew Octopuses could sweat?

The candy isle! A sugar connoisseurs dream...

"Its translucent color so alluring and taste and aroma so gentle and mellow offer admiring feelings of a graceful lady." IMHO, there is no better candy description.

They're really big on the Domokuns here...

Pac-Man (?!), DragonballZ, and Domokun energy drinks. They unfortunately appeared to have been sold out of the Resident Evil drinks.

More manga books than you could shake a tentacle at...

What'd I tell ya? This is just a small portion of their book store.

Awww...sweet! They have a dedicated Toto section!

If you haven’t seen Denzel Washington in Man On Fire, stop reading this blog right now.

No, seriously….just stop.  right.  there.  Pick up the movie and watch it.  It’s brilliant.

Go ahead.  I’ll wait….

[HermanTurnip taps his foot....whistles....twiddles his thumbs...performs some long division...]

You’re back?  Okay, great!  We can now continue.

Karin and I watched Man On Fire on blu-ray last night.  This emotional roller coaster might very well be Denzel Washington’s finest film.  If the end times were nigh, the red menace was knocking at my front door forcefully hawking Girl Scout cookies with impish glee, and the resulting zombie hordes were slowly shuffling towards me screaming for my brains, I’d want John Creasy guarding my back with a dual chamber 8-gauge scatter gun and a mean case of the heebie jeebies.

But one thing bothered me.  In the 146 minutes that this film spanned, one scene lasting not but a fraction of that time made me jump from the couch, grab the remote, and smash the “pause” button with the fervor of a maniacal true believer pointing to the passage in the New Testament which he ardently believes provides undeniable proof that the Son of God is among the living making preparations for the final judgment.

I wasn’t sure I saw what I just saw.  I just couldn’t believe my eyes.

It was near the end of the film, where Denzel/Creasy is mustering what strength he has left in his body to walk to his certain doom, redeem himself for all past sins, and offer the ultimate sacrifice, guaranteeing his place by the Lord’s side.

But when I scanned back and paused, there it was.

At the end of Man On Fire, Denzel Washington is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice

Hmmmm....just a tad dark. Lets lighten it up a bit

Gack! Correct me if I'm wrong, but fingers aren't meant to bend like that

Okay....I'm making myself ill. Is this the result of an old war wound, an overly-exuberant session of Scattegories, or the result of a particularly physical game of pickup b-ball?

If you didn’t already know, I’m currently in the market for a new car.  The wife and I are thinking about having kids and I need to find something bigger than my Honda S2000 two-seater.

As luck would have it, while walking through the parking lot on my way to get a haircut today, I think I located the perfect vehicle.  The long search is over!  

What I stumbled across was a vehicle that holds more than four, has ample room for lugging items, would be perfect for a family getaway, and has a custom paint job.  

This vehicle was, to put it mildly, a work of art.  It’s a shame I was unable to track down the owner to offer cash-in-hand for this custom ride…

It was obvious that the owner poured his heart and soul into this creation

I'm assuming that the owner of this van is of Spanish descent, loves rock-n-roll, and has a penchant for gnawing on license plates. Ya know, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if this van belongs to my old high school prom date...

Have you seen this suspect?  If so, contact the authorities immediately!  Rodney Stanger is to be considered armed and…dangerous?

…and before I forget, congrats go out to the Steelers on winning Super Bowl 43.  It’s lucky that the final sack of Warner wasn’t reviewed.  To me it looked like his arm was going forward.  Why this play didn’t warrant a second look from the officials I couldn’t say.  Seemed a bit odd, that’s all.  But when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro, eh?