Fujimoto Potpourri

Hi.

Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!

Jul 2
Jul 2 Radiolab

There are many great science shows around, NPR's Science Friday being one of them. However, I find WNYC's Radiolab to be more of a must-listen because of they way they are able to find an over-arching story from seemingly disparate interview clips or even show segments, for the extra content they inject into the podcast, and how they are willing to go beyond science towards topics such as art.

Jun 23
Jun 23 The end of the line for Kodachrome

In the News, Photography

Many people asked "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?" when the holder of the most impressive sports record (56 game hitting streak) died in 1999. Many will be citing Paul Simon this week about how Eastman Kodak will "take my Kodachrome away" after the company announced that it will retire the venerable slide film of my youth.

Jun 18
Jun 18 PSCS Music Performance

As part of the last week of school the music students at PSCS held a concert today at the Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square. Everyone got to showcase talents and the crowd had a great time!

Jun 16
Jun 16 Photo - Cat boarding

As I was walking up to this cat boarding building I saw a cat walking around the corner, which struck me as humorous. My first thought was either the cat had escaped or was looking for a place to stay. Or perhaps this is that particular cat's accommodations?

Jun 14
Jun 14 Kellen's graduation

Family, What's Up

Every parent goes through milestones, and without a doubt one of them is watching your child graduate from High School. Last night Kellen went through his graduation ceremony from Puget Sound Community School, and while I naturally have high regard for him, it's great to see his classmates do, too.

Jun 12
Jun 12 Cutting boards

I needed some small gifts for this month so I went to an old standby, cutting boards. They're relatively quick to make, offer lots of possibilities for variation, and usually end up looking pretty nice.

Jun 6
Jun 6 Ichiro's hitting streak

Hobbies, In the News

Mariners fans are used to Ichiro Suzuki getting hits, and it seems he does so every game. Of course he doesn't, but one doesn't get 200 hits every season without putting together some impressive streaks. Ichiro just ended a 27 game hitting streak last night, the second-longest streak in the Major leagues this season.

Jun 4
Jun 4 Photo - Groundcover

Hobbies, Photography

A couple years ago we had some flagstone installed for paths in our front yard. That fall we planted groundcover, each smaller than the size of a quarter and about a foot apart. We weren't sure how well they'd do, but it was a relatively small investment.

May 31
May 31 Meadowbrook Farmers Market

Today was the first day of the Meadowbrook Farmers Market, so Melody and I went to take a look. It's not far at all from the house (less than 3/4 mile).

May 29
May 29 Wisteria

Heritage, What's Up

The latest set of blooms we're getting in the Seattle area is wisteria, which has unmistakable blossom clusters and a penchant to climb. There are several specimens on the walk between work and the house.

May 28
May 28 Fence work

Hobbies, What's Up

Part of the purchase and sale agreement when we sold part of our land to our neighbor (so he could split his lot into two) was that he would replace the existing fence. I was home from work today and heard (de)construction sounds which seemed close enough to be in our yard. Took a peek out the window and the fence was being torn down.

May 26
May 26 Sam Maloof 1916–2009

Hobbies, In the News

Sam Maloof passed away last week, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. To those who appreciated his furniture, he was best known for his rocking chairs. To those who were further interested in his methods for building furniture, he was famous for his freehand technique on the bandsaw, sculpting with the tool. Fine Woodworking also set up a tribute page.

May 19
May 19 Star Trek at the Cinerama

TV/Movies, What's Up

Melody and I don't go out to see many movies in the theater, but I took a couple days of vacation last week and on one of those days I went downtown to the Cinerama to see Star Trek. Since I went to a matinee there was no line and the theater was less than half full, even though the movie was released less than a week before.

May 13
May 13 Free ice cream!

Food, Oral History, What's Up

When Melody and I met to walk home after work last night, she noticed that there was a line of people at the Häagen-Dazs near where I work. Ends up the people were waiting for free ice cream, so we got in line (which wasn't all that long) and we each got our free scoop.

May 9
May 9 Flowers blooming in the yard

Hobbies, What's Up

We're at the time of year when the first cherry blossoms have come and gone, and the rhododendrons, dogwoods, magnolias, and lilacs are blooming all around the area. Our rhodie in the back yard and lilacs are very showy now. Some of our annuals are blossoming now, too (red flowering currant, columbine, blue star creeper) and our osmantus are at the tail end.

May 3
May 3 Podcasts pass the time

For walking to/from home or doing projects around the house, Melody and I fill our iPods with podcasts and listen. I've mentioned Coverville, Grammar Girl, and Escape Pod before, but there are several others which always make it onto my playlist. Today the standouts were an episode of Coverville and this week's Only a Game.

Apr 26
Apr 26 PSCS Student Showcase

Family, What's Up

Kellen and Tynor's school has a showcase every year, and this past Friday was the 2009 PSCS Student Showcase. All the senior projects were on display and several students got together to perform or give demonstrations.

Apr 20
Apr 20 Diplomas for internees

Family, Heritage, In the News

Yet another article appeared in last Saturday's Seattle Times about the Japanese American internment during WWII. This time, Kimiko Nagaoka Mukai received her degree from Seattle Pacific University, over 65 years after she was forced to leave the west coast. She was awarded the degree during her 90th birthday party. SPU has identified seven other Japanese American students who were also forced to leave and has been reaching out to their families.

Apr 13
Apr 13 WWII and the 442nd; Hosokawa's Nisei

Family, Heritage, In the News, Oral History, Reading

This past weekend the Seattle Times had an article about how the Iraqi-bound 34th Division honored Japanese-American members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd was a Japanese-American unit of the US Army during WWII which highly decorated, while many of the soldiers had families in internment camps at the time.

Apr 7
Apr 7 Weekend in Spokane

Family, What's Up

Melody's sister Celeste was in town for several days, so we went over to Spokane for the weekend to visit family over there. Celeste lives in Austin, TX and had originally planned to come over the Christmas holiday. However, the weather was bad enough that she postponed the trip until this month when the weather would be better. We always enjoy having her visit and spending time with her.