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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

What can I say? I was so looking forward to this movie. Indiana Jones back in the saddle, battling diabolical rivals, swinging through the air with his trusty fedora on, keeping the world safe from the forces of Darkness. But I was so disappointed. You would think I would have learnt something from the Star Wars prequels debacle. A classic, beloved trilogy, a gap of more than a decade, the presence of George Lucas near a script. I really should have seen what was clearly a recipe for disaster.

What were they thinking? What was I thinking? Harrison Ford is only a year younger than my Dad (sorry Dad). I just reconcile that with Indy leaping into a truck full of Russian Commandos and beating the living daylights out of them! Sure he looked a bit older and he made a few quips about his age and all that but in this case I just was not willing to suspend my disbelief of his unbelievable strength, stamina and agility. While all 3 previous movies had outrageous action scenes and stunts, this time I could only groan when the heroes plunged down a huge waterfall in an amphibious jeep, only to land within feet of each other, with barely a bruise on them. There were some cool scenes (the bike chase through Princeton for example) and some good lines here and there but it just didn’t cut it. It was better as a sequel than than Star Wars 1,2 and 3 were as prequels but that is not saying much , is it? I would even go as far as to say that the original Mummy was a better sequel to the original movies than Crystal Skull although Brendan Fraser is no Harrison Ford.

A few weeks after watching the movie and still with a bitter taste in my mouth I wondered if it was actually just me and not the movie. Perhaps my movie tastes have matured. I don’t like Slasher movies much anymore, had the same happened with the action adventure genre? Working on this premise I got out Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with my weekly instalments of 4400, Bob the Builder and Ultraman. Was I right, had I “grown up” as a film fan? No fear, the Last Crusade was still amazing. Ford and Connery were still a great pairing, the Nazi’s were still as villainous as ever and the logic centres of my brain quietly joined the rest of the grey matter on the sofa, not even raising a wee sigh when Indy made his leap of faith over the abyss to secure the grail or when the German fighter plane crashed into the tunnel, racing past our hero in flames. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull just didn’t cut it. ‘Nuff said.

Classic All Blacks Part 2

This past May 31st, Kanako, Johie and I headed up to Tokyo to watch the second annual(?) Classic All Blacks vs Japan exhibition match.

However it was not quite the feast of running rugby it was last year as the weather refused to co-operate. Poor Kanako, attending her first ever Pro rugby match, as well as Joshie and myself, suffered through rain soaked match huddled under disposable raincoats and umbrellas as King Carlos and the lads did their best to excite the crowd. But The King can only do so much when it is bucketing down and the match will have to go down as a pretty disappointing one.

As for the result, the Classics won but only just. I’m not sure what I would have done had they been beaten. Kanako would never have let me forget it. Then again, I could always bring up the scoreline from Japan and New Zealand’s one and only proper test from all those years ago. Yes, that one!

Still, all in all, it was quite an adventure, Kanako got to see her beloved King Carlos in action, Joshie got to ride the brand new N700 Class Shinkansen bullet train and Dad got to go to eat a BBQ Bacon Double Cheeseburger at BK before the match.

(Pix at flickr.com)

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Joshie in 2008

Prince Joshie has had a pretty good 2008 so far. He continues to grow and prosper, turning 4 on St. Paddy’s day (pix here). Among the many highlights of his year so far have been the aforementioned trip to New Zealand, the start of his second year at Kindergarten (Youchien), Spring Sports Day and a Kindy field trip to Denpark (A Denmark themed amusement park/botanical gardens in the heart of heavily industrialized Anjou-shi, possibly the last place anyone on earth would associate with Denmark).

Joshie’s kindergarten Sports day (more pix) had all the traditional kiddie games one would expect from such an event, such as, a papier-mache Demon guiding relay, a melon-shaped bun grabbing race, Stalin-esque mass gymnastics and last but not least, a race with giant carp suspended on hooks. Sounds like a bundle of laughs, huh? He enjoyed it anyway. His field trip to “Denmark” wasn’t that bad either even though the concept sounds bizarre. The park was actually rather pretty (paid for by the guilty factory owners as a sop to the community) and Joshie had a blast. His highlight was the Train powered by recycled cooking oil, not that he knew or cared (even more pix).

The highlight of his highness’ calendar so far this year would have to be meeting Ultraman and Ultraman Mebius. “Ultra who?” I hear you ask. Good question! Ultraman and his numerous allies and protégés is the oldest and most famous of Japan’s myriad live action/rubber suit super heroes. Conceived just after Godzilla first hit screens, Ultraman is the shared ancestor of all such similar shoes of which there are dozens of variations, the most ‘famous’ being “The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers”. Does anybody out there remember them? Other famous Heroes include, the Masked Rider, Go-On-gers and Rescue Force. Ultraman’s legacy is also very evident in a lot of Kids manga and anime. Click for Pix

After all the excitement of the first half of the year Prince Joshua Patrick has decided to take it easy for a while. So this summer vacation he’ll spend some time at home, chillin’ out with Mum and Dad, catching up on the adventures of Ultraman, Bob the Builder and Thomas.

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NASA probe beams back conclusive proof of water on Mars.

Good News

As I mentioned below, Kanako wan't able to make it down to New Zealand this time round. Amongst other reasons is that she is expecting again! Bundle of Joy No. 2 is due right in the middle of August (the hottest time of year). Ultrasouns and 4D scans would seem to indicate that this time around Joshie will be getting a little sister who we decided about 7 years ago would be called Jasmine Marika Koishi-Pryor. And don't worry I won't take sooooo long in posting photos of the little lady when she decides to join us.

New Zealand Trip 2008

In January this year, Joshie and I made the trek down to Aotearoa as Jack Frost held Japan in his icy grip. Kanako couldn't join us this time around, due to work and other reasons (I'll explain later).



This time round as well as the usual scoffing and hanging aound with the whanau I went down by myself to Christchurch to attend my mate Jason's wedding. Just in case you don't know, Jason is in the Army down at Burnham camp and his beautiful, blushing bride is a Police officer in Christchurch. To say the ceremony and reception were a bit different is an understatement. It isn't every wedding where the Groom carries a sword and he and the bride leave the chapel under the swords of his brother officers. The wedding car wasn't your typical Limo or Rolls Royce either as you can see by the photos here. As well as being a celebration of the happy couple it was also really great to have almost all my old compadres together again for the first time in ages. Only a certain troll/pirate was missing, presumably off plundering the Spanish main.



As well as the wedding festivities we managed to get in our fair share of scoffing as always. I even beat my old record for lamb consumption by a good margin too. Joshie enjoy all the kiwi nosh too especially the ice-creams at Raglan. Being the middle of Summer we managed to get to the beach a coupla times while Mama shivered in much chillier Northern climes. I had only been to Raglan once or twice before and then only to the Surf beach at Whale Bay (?) but this time round, on consecutive days, we went to the main beach on the estuary. The first day was with my sister Judith and her husband Dan and the second time around Keven, Esther and Julie came too. I have to say Raglan beats the polluted sands of Mikawa Bay by a mile. although you probably can't buy a $100 musk melon anywhere nearby.



As always, it was great to get back to the land of the long white cloud even if it was only for a couple of weeks. The next trip though might have to wait a while though;-) See the pix here.

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Time for a bit of a catch up session 2

From the balmy, tropical climes of Hawaii our interpid trion next headed (after a bunch of work, kindergarten and other stuff) to the foothills of Mount Fuji for our annual pilgrimage to Thomas the Tank engine Land.

I'm not sure how it happened but we have now made the trek to Fujikyuu Highland three times now. I think Kanako is a bit of a closet Thomas geek at heart. We had a good time anyway, especially Prince Joshie who was in Junior trainspotter heaven. And like our visit to Hawaii, he could enjoy himself so much more now that he is a bit bigger. Mum and dad didn't miss out too much though. The adjoining Hot Spring was much appreciated after two days of walking around the Isle of Sodor. Not only that it boasted Japan's largest wooden bath-house. Amazing, huh? :-)

Other non-locomotive highlights of the park included sledding/tobogganing on a small artificial snow slope that had been constructed on an empty lot. Great fun! Joshie was more impressed however by the Jumping castle which he played on for what felt like hours while his poor parents slowly froze to death in the icy winds howling about Japan's sacred mountain. Kanako also bullied me into trying ice-skating for the first time which she and Joshie thoroughly enjoyed. I however was not so enthusuastic and would have to be paid rather a lot of money to try that again. Dad did however manage to pack away his fair share of booze and local etas so the trip was not a total loss.


All in all a great New Year's holiday again. I just hope Joshie gets into snorkelling or something warmer this summer so next New Year's can be spent in the sun not snow.

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Just a little something to lighten the mood.

Time for a bit of a catch up session 1

Yes, I know I said I was gonna post a bunch of stuff in February but you know how it is. In my defence, it's really cold here and my typing fingers were frozen for most of the winter. Anyway, the Plum blossoms are blooming and the ice in my veins has thawed so it's time for a bit of an update. But where to start, faithful reader? How about Hawaii?



Travelling back in time to the last week of November 2007 finds our heroic trio in the balmy climes of Hawaii. As you know we are big fans of sun, sand and tropical cocktails by the pool so for our very belated Summer vacation we headed back to Hawaii. Despite it being the end of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere the weather in Hawaii was absolutely brilliant. A bit of afternoon rain but never lasting more than 30 minutes and not that heavy either. It's a nice feeling to go from sweaters, jackets and woolly hats to daggy Aloha shirts, shorts and sandals.

This time round we didn't get any further round the island than last time, even going on the same tour to Hanauma bay, but with Joshie being a bit more grown up it was a lot more fun. He really loved going to the beach every day and scoffing. He is definitely a Koishi-Pryor. He is definately his Star Wars Fan Father's boy too. He spent almost every minute that he wasn't in his togs wearing his Star wars costume that kanako made him for Halloween, complete with lightsaber. Luckily Homeland Security seemed to get the joke and he wasn't dragged away at the airport.



Apart from the above mentioned sunning, swimming and scoffing we did venture away from our hotel and go for a submarine ride. By submarine, I mean the real deal, Captain Nemo style, not a glorified glass bottomed boat. We actually dived down to 150ft at one point.However the underwater view did not quite live up to our expectations. While the experience of being on a real sub was kinda cool the scenery wasn't quite as stunning as glossy brochure suggested. The lack of a dense barrier reef was definitely a factor although there were some artificial reefs, a wrecked freighter and two purposely sunk Aircraft fuselages. I was expecting crystal clear waters teeming with colourful fish and sea life. Instead the water a little cloudy and the fish few and far between. It was definitely not worth the $100 plus price. Rant over.

The very reasonably priced snorkel ling tour to Hanauma bay was the complete opposite however. Here the water was amazingly clear and tropical fish were swarming around our feet just 3 metres off the beach. Even though the sand was reasonably crowded, once we were in the water there was plenty of room to explore and fish to see. It was definitely a highlight for both of us.



As with all our trips abroad, scoffing played a big part. Great piles of Italian, Mexican, Hawaiian and Chinese were consumed with relish. However we were disappointed Jackie Chan's restaurant had gone out of business. Our first run-in with Matzoh ball soup was also rather interesting. I don't know whether it was the restaurants particular take on the dish but we failed to see the appeal on a great big ball of dough plonked in the middle of some pretty average chicken noodle soup. The bagels were awesome though. Despite the huge variety of exotic food on parade , Kanako and I both agree that the best thing we ate were the hamburgers we had upstairs at the Alamoana shopping centre. Huge patties, cooked to perfection, not too tough, not too tender, slathered in home-made sauces, enough salad items to assuage our consciences but not so much as to get in the way of the main attraction = perfection. The best burgers we have ever had! Light years away from Maccers and BK (although they still have their place ;-).



Well, that's about it for Hawaii, we would love to go back this year but that might just prove to be impossible. Why? I'll explain later. You'll just have to keep reading.

Procrastination

Yes, I know! It's been ages since I have updated my blog and I know you are all just hanging out for all the news that's fit to print. Do not fear, I will be posting a bunch of stuff over the next coupla days. If you cannot possibly wait that long (and haven't seen the already) then head on over to flickr.com to see pix of some of our adventures up until the end of the year.
Cheers
Mike