Glee

Ryan signed up for the after school Glee program at our elementary school this year. He's been busy practicing these songs:

"Don't Stop Believing"

"Total Eclipse of the Heart"

"Defying Gravity" which came from the musical Wicked.

Cal Wins Thriller

Ethan and I were on-hand for this thriller that featured three technical fouls called and a game of "I can do better than that" between two former Golden Gopher teammates. Joseph of Oregon won the scoring battle, but Cobbs' Bears won the game. Ethan says that this was the best game that he's ever seen in person.

Valentine's Day

Faces of 2011 Holiday - The Video

Sights of 2011 Holidays

Although mostly rainy, we did manage to get out and about the Seattle area.  The Seattle Sheraton had its annual Gingerbread House display to raise funding for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  On the flight to Seattle, we took in the sights from 30,000 feet to spy Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.  Although Christmas evening dinner was the height of food smells and sights, we sampled small and large bites at:

Locol Barley & Vine in West Seattle where Chuck had a gig playing jazz adaptations of tunes by local grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden to name a few as part of a keyboard, drums and bass trio; the atmosphere was local, the food was good (we sampled kale chips, a beet salad and a spicy corn and chicken chowder), and the music was a hit;

boom noodle at the U Village (which is no longer the U Village that I remember from my days as a kid going to the Village to bowl); while walking to the place from where we parked a horde of young men only wearing underwear crossed our path (didn't get this photo);

Red Mill Burgers in the Magnolia area; drive by this place several times as it is near where our relatives live; we first heard about this place on a show on the Food Network; the burgers and fries were terrific;

Kaname Izakaya in the International District that we visited for Happy Hour and consumed way too much food, the idea was to go and eat a little bit of this and little bit of that off their Happy Hour menu; we continued onto order ramen, soba and donburi; the food was good but the service was a little off;

Blue Star Cafe & Pub in the Wallingford district that must have one of the largest selection listing of scrambles and omelets known to humankind; I think I already know what I'd order for the next 10 times that I visit; not only is the menu large so is the establishment itself;

Stell's Burgers and More across the street from Seattle Pacific University is another place that we drive by frequently but had never tried; we tried the gyro sandwiches and Greek fries and were pleasantly surprised; the pita bread used for the sandwiches were warm, light and fluffy;

Old Mill Cafe outside Sequim where we stopped on the way back from our visit to the Olympic Game Farm; another stop being the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and Spit (could see Canada across the way!);

Getting to the Olympic Game Farm included crossings of Puget Sound on the Washington State ferries.  In all the years going to Seattle, this was the first such crossing for our kids.

Mixed into this fun was two movies with the kids:  The Adventures of Tintin in 3D (we even convinced Ojiichan to see what was his first or second movie ever) and Arthur Christmas.  The parents had a movie night too and took in the latest Sherlock Holmes offering.

The Adventures of Tintin was at the IMAX theater at the Pacific Science Center which we visited a second time to see the exhibits.  Finally, we hiked over the Fremont district on two occasions - the place has really grown up to have an interesting mix of restaurants and eclectic shops.

But really for the kids the best times seemed to be when they were just hanging out.  They built forts with the bedding.  They built their own arcade and shops.  They played games and discovered a new favorite game called Forbidden Island that was actually based on the need for teamwork to succeed rather than on winning or losing.

Perhaps that should be the message for all of us in 2012 - let's succeed together.

Faces of 2011 Holiday

We had a memorable time with family over the holidays. The following is a compilation of our many faces from the holidays. The fish eye and other effects were the courtesy of our new camera. We played with many of the settings - perhaps too many of them. It was only on our return that we discovered that we had shot all of our photos in compressed mode using a lower resolution. And we thought that there was something wrong with the camera...

Happy New Year!!!

We rang in the new year this year, just barely filling our glasses before the end of the countdown to midnight.  Then it was back to a game of bowling on the Wii.

Christmas Dinner 2011

The menu included: lasagna, turkey, scallop casserole, soy chicken, corn casserole, green bean casserole, mash potatoes, sweet potato rolls, green salad, rice, homemade chow mein noodles, strawberries and pear...and for dessert: apple pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream and creme brulee.

Afterward, we had a friendly round of a white elephant gift exchange that included coffee, a stick of beef salami, CD of Christmas music, that Drew Barrymore smash "Ever After," a multitool, a note tablet, chocolate turtles, a magic set, an LED headlamp, UNO card game, chocolate candy assortment, a puzzle, and window crayons.

After the game, there was a round of friendly bartering where that Drew Barrymore fan (Tatsu) traded up for the movie by giving up his UNO game. Ryan surprised his parents by giving away chocolates for window crayons. Naomi to the surprise of some secretly coveted the LED headlamp - perhaps a new instrument to read in bed after "lights out." The three most stolen items for the night were: an assortment of chocolates, coffee and a stick of salami - who would've thought in Seattle.

Neil Young, Bob Dylan and others

Can you name all of the performers?

Bob Dylan and Neil Young

This apparently was from something called the SNACK concert at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco in March of 1975.

Life Imitates Art...Sort of

Watch this video first...



Now read these lines from the song "Highlands" by Bob Dylan from his Time Out of Mind album:

Then she says, “I know you’re an artist, draw a picture of me!”
I say, “I would if I could, but
I don’t do sketches from memory”

“Well,” she says, “I’m right here in front of you, or haven’t you looked?”
I say, “All right, I know, but I don’t have my drawing book!”
She gives me a napkin, she says, “You can do it on that”
I say, “Yes I could, but
I don’t know where my pencil is at!”

She pulls one out from behind her ear
She says, “All right now, go ahead, draw me, I’m standing right here”

Ethan and Friends

Ethan has been able to develop close friendships in elementary school, but now that part of his life is coming to a close as he will be heading off to middle school next year. The sad part is that the new face of education in a large school district has kids likely at different schools as they move from elementary school to middle school. Here's a picture of Ethan with some of his closest friends. From this group, perhaps one or two may end up at the same middle school as Ethan next year.

Go Bears!

The Bears are winding down their football season that has AT&T (home of the SF Giants) as their home field with Memorial Stadium under renovation. They have their last home game tomorrow against the Oregon State Beavers.

At their home game last week against the Washington State Cougars, they had Tony La Russa of the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals on their sideline sporting a Cal lid. He was on hand promoting his Animal Rescue Foundation located in Walnut Creek, California.

As he has announced his retirement from baseball, the words out that he's looking for a new gig. He announced that his first job offer was one to be an elephant trainer.

Wave Your Flag

This is a current favorite video in our household. It was the official theme song for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

CYO Falcons Cross Country Running

We had all three kids run cross country once again this year. They each showed improved throughout the just completed season. The CYO program is through our neighborhood Catholic church/school, St. Francis.

Cross country running is somewhat less time demanding compared to other sports. First, the season is relatively short. There are two practices per week and there's one meet per week with the meet usually running about an hour and a half.

Ethan and Ryan ran in the 1st through 5th grade division while Naomi ran in the 6th through 8th grade division. Depending on the course the kids run any where from just under a mile to a little over a mile. Their meets this year were in Oakland, Danville and Alameda.

Here is a write up about cross country running by Matthew Keenan of the Kansas City Star that was placed in our kids' end of year packets.

Over the years my kids have played all the sports. At last count the number was nine...but only with the sport they picked last - cross country- did I gain an epiphany about what I - and they - had been missing. It's the sheer simplicity of a sport that has the complexity of putting one foot in front of the other. A sport that celebrates something you can do for a lifetime no matter the weather. A sport removed from parent politics, coach substitutions, or relying on a portly man with a headset calling an ill-advised fake punt that costs the game. Where the word "bench" never crosses anyone's lips. Where spectators cheer most loudly for those who finish last. A sport where the competitors are challenged to improve their last, best time.

Naomi won the Spirit Award for the 6th through 8th grade girls on the team. There wasn't a specific race that was mentioned, but for me she showed incredible spirit at her last race in Alameda when she ran when she easily could've opted out because she was getting over a bad cough. This was probably the toughest race she has ever run, but she fought and finished the course.

See if you can find Naomi, Ethan and Ryan below.

Or how about here?

Ninja Soccer Highlights

Ryan completed his first season of soccer competition in the Mt. Diablo AYSO U8 Division.  His team, the Ninjas, were a good group of 7 and 8 year old boys that all got along quite well with one another.

Ryan is playing competitive soccer for the first time this year. He's playing in a Under 8 Division of the Mt. Diablo Soccer AYSO. His team is the Ninjas. Ryan says he came up with the team name.

Lyrics for Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki
Kyu Sakamoto

(Words by Rokusuke Ei, music by Hachidai Nakamura)
- released in Japan as "Ue O Muite Aruko" (I Look Up When I Walk)

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
omoidasu harunohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

ue o muite arukou
nijinda hosi o kazoete
omoidasu natsunohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

shiawase wa kumo no ueni
shiawase wa sora no ueni

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
nakinagara aruku
hitoribotchi no yoru

whistling

omoidasu akinohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

kanashimi wa hosino kageni
kanashimi wa tsukino kageni

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
nakinagara aruku
hitoribotchi no yoru

(whistling)

-----------------------

Translation:

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Remembering those happy spring days
But tonight I'm all alone

I look up when I walk, counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days
But tonight I'm all alone

Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

whistling

Remembering those happy autumn days
But tonight I'm all alone

Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

--------
The story goes that the song was written by Rokusuke Ei when his heart was
literally broken by a Japanese actress, Meiko Nakamura.

Two Versions of Sukiyaki

Here's the original:


Here's a version used for a Suntory commercial that includes Tommy Lee Jones singing:

Kids on Bikes!

I think we broke a record for spontaneous bike riding on our street today!  We had kids on bikes with and without training wheels, scooters and even a motorized four wheeler.  This totally unplanned!

After this, our kids got so jazzed we went on a bike ride on the canal trails in our county through Concord and Walnut Creek.  We rode past Heather Farms, near John Muir Hospital, past Arbolado Park and underneath Ygnacio Valley Road before returning home.  The ride included a crossing of one major signalized intersection in a bike lane and two other mid-block crossings.  We even got a complement for safe biking from another biker on the trails.