"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." — Albert Einstein

2013 Hanami Video

Click to see the Video

Cherry Blossoms 2013

At the Gokoku-jinja enjoying the Cherry Blossoms

March 29

 The Shrine has a Globe

in the center of the water trough

where people rinse out their mouths

 The walkway into the shrine

View from the park part of the shrine 

Hanami (花見, lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (sakura) or (less often) plum blossoms (ume). From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan,^[and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa. The blossom forecast (桜前線 sakura-zensen, literally "cherry blossom front") is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. In some contexts the Sino-Japanese term kan'ō (観桜, view-cherry) is used instead, particularly for festivals. Hanami at night is called yozakura (夜桜, literally night sakura). In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the purpose of yozakura. On the island of Okinawa, decorative electric lanterns are hung in the trees for evening enjoyment, such as on the trees ascending Mt. Yae, near Motobu Town, or at the Nakijin Castle.

A more ancient form of hanami also exists in Japan, which is enjoying the plum blossoms (梅 ume) instead, which is narrowly referred to as umemi (梅見, plum-viewing). This kind of hanami is popular among older people, because they are more calm than the sakura parties, which usually involve younger people and can sometimes be very crowded and noisy.

Marilyn Monroe, 'Nuff Said?

Marilyn Monroe impersonator on Hollywood Blvd.

February 11, 2013
Photo by Unidentified Passer By

Lovely Young Lady on Hollywood, Blvd.

A little bit of openess

and one can meet

the sweetest of people.

  Just outside the Chinese Theater
Photo of Alli by MaryAnn K.

Magic Castle

Here at the Magic Castle with Suzanne theMagician and Eugene Burger.

The Academy of Magical Arts have honored Suzanne by nominating her as 

Close up Magician of the Year for 2010. 

Suzanne is the first woman magician ever to receive this honor.

To get in the Castle,

you have to say

"Open Seseme"

To the owl at the left of the picture.

As you can see from the Ace of Spades
And the Joker of the Magic Castle deck
The Owl is the Magic Castle Symbol.

Eugene Burger is reputed for his close-up skills
and his work in mentalism and bizarre magic.
He is also a philosopher and a historian of religion.

St. Cecilia's Church in Pawtucket RI.

I Was Chief Altar Boy Here

My Being Arrested in LA on Hollywood Blvd.

It is with great shame that I have to tell of you of my arrest in LA. The police were very severe. They handcuffed me and hit me with their night sticks and treated me as the criminal that I was. I was bad and this is my confession.

My Arrest on Hollywood Boulevard

For some reason I did not resist arrest.

Some Comics

A Short but Sweet Interview with Alexandra Kosteniuk

Click here for a brief but interesting interview with Alexandra Kostiniuk, the 12th Women's World Champion Chess Master.

Heart of Lovecraf't Mythos

How to remember H.P.Lovecraft's "great texts," the absolute heart of HPL's myth.

 derived from Houellebecq 40 - 41.

 

 "Call the Colour of Dunwich in Whispers to the Mountains in Dreams of Innsmouth Time." 

This will give you hints in the heart of Lovecraft myth in order of publication. 

"The Call of Cthulhu" (1926)

 "The Colour out of Space" (1927)

 "The Dunwich Horror" (1928)

 "The Whisperer in Darkness" (1930)

 "At the Mountains of Madness" (1931)

 "The Dreams in the Witch House" (1932)

 "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1932)

 "The Shadow Out of Time" (1934)"

 

The way magic happens.

The Perception of Magic

The following links to an essay and video about how magic is perceived.

 The Perfection of Magic

Kobe College

I finished my academic year at Kobe College on January 21, 1013.

An Interview with H. P. Lovecraft

Click to Read the Transcript of

An Interview with H. P. Lovecraft

(as uncov­ered by Nick Mamatas)

By the way, this is a hoax
But very well done
 

Recipe: Saint's Tacos

Here is my recipe of my world famous tacos.

"Ron, this is incredible." -- Vijay

By Ron St. Pierre - 4 Jul 2000

  Categories - Main Course

  Title: Saint's Tacos

  Description:

  Mexican Tacos

  Ingredients:

  Taco Filling

  ================================

  Hamburger Meat

  Taco Sauce

  Onions

  Green Peppers

  Jalapenos peppers

  Stewed Tomatoes

  Tomato Paste

  Garlic

  Fresh Tomatoes

  Vinegar

  Red Wine and/or beer

  Spices: Cumin, curry powder, salt, pepper, crushed pepper, Tabasco sauce, oregano.

  =================================

  Taco Shells

  Chopped onion

  Chopped tomatoes

  Shredded lettuce

  Monetary Jack Cheese (pizza cheese is ok)

  Taco sauce

  Directions:

Cook Hamburger meat and drain most of the fat, then add all the meat ingredients to taste and simmer for an hour at least.

  While simmering, chop onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese.

  When finished, adjust spices to taste.

  Cook the shells, and add meat, cheese, onions, lettuce and tomatoes and sauce as preferred. I usually have a jar of medium and a jar of hot taco sauce, people can have their tacos as they like. I usually make a large batch of taco meat filling as it is as good or even better heated up a few days later and/or can be used to make a taco meat pasta sauce.

My Autograph Collection

Click here to see a video of my collection of autographs.

An Interview with Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk

Click Below to Listen to Segments one and two of Alexandra's Interview:

Segment 1

Segment 2

My Ghost Story: Absolutely true

When I was in London in 1975-6 I met a girl named Janice and we spent all the time together. One night I stayed over with her and her friend Tammy in Vauxhall south of the Thames. I had bought Janice an inexpensive necklace.

Janice, wearing the necklace and the top I bought her

That night Janice when to sleep early and gave me the necklace for safe keeping till morning. I stayed up with Tammy most the whole night talking.Tammy told me the apartment has a ghost who will show up at midnight and leave at five in the morning. I did not quite believe her. She said once she came home and the lights were on as she saw from the street, but when she got in the lights were off and the entire apartment was shatteringly hot. This is impossible because it was the middle of winter and she had no central heating, only an electric space heater that could barely keep a small part of one room warm. She also experienced things moved around. She would leave with a glass on the counter and would come home and it would be on the table.

We were talking about this and that with the dog and cat sleeping till at midnight I heard a sound, like a coin tapping glass. I looked around and asked Tammy what the sound was. She said the ghost. And just at that time the dog and cat woke and started walking around looking up at corners and the ceiling and so forth. Suddenly I heard a door slam.  I went out to the small hallway and all the doors were half ajar. More sounds like a bat hitting wood continued now and then all night.

At about four, I was too tired and went to the guest room to sleep, hanging Janice's necklace on the knob of a bureau drawer right beside where I was sleeping. When I woke up, some hours later I looked at the necklace and it had been broken apart at the bottom. (A jeweler fixed it the next day for free.) I am a light sleeper and if someone came in the room I would have woken up, and who would have broken the necklace anyway. Not Janice, Tammy or her son.Tammy did tell of seeing the ghost once. It was in the middle of the night and she was laying in bed on her back and the ghost came floating in all white with no hands of feet and hovered over her, face to face a minute or two. It's face was totally normal and nothing scary about it...then the ghost went away.

A Summary of 2012

And click this from Dave Barry