kinuta

Nice tv and a really nice price. The same set bought in Tokyo would cost almost double. The slow motion crash of the dollar against the yen is going to push prices up a lot. If GM goes bust I dread to think what will happen to the rate, it could end up losing 30% or more of it's value compared with a few months ago. If that happens you'll see a dramatic rise in the price of Japanese imported goods. I wouldn't hesitate for second to buy such a nice tv for such a ridiculously low price.

Very mild, no need for a jacket although lots of people are in full 'Nanook Of The North' kit.

Old Hollywood musicals '60's girl groups and

I remember seeing Alien in Ginza in 1979. I'd seen the trailer and was suitably psyched up but my mate and I nearly jumped out of our seats in the now famous chestbuster scene. We'd had no word of mouth info about what was going to happen. The longer 153 minute version of Aliens is the one I already have. Does the megabox version improve on this ? I also saw Alien3 on release day and really liked it. My mind hadn't been swayed by the bad press it later received. The longer version isn't available for rent here but I'd like to see it very much.

The Wire is a great classic, one of the best tv series of all time. The Shield is just as complex but faster . rougher and with more action. It 's about how power , police power, corrupts and how ruthlessness in crime fighting turns the cops into monsters. It's quite roughly made with a lot of cinema verite style camerawork that is rather jarring at times.

Only half of the Criterion releases are Region 0 (i.e. "region-free"), the other half are limited to Region 1 because of contractual limitations http://www.criteriondvd.com/search.php?encoding=0 http://www.criteriondvd.com/search.php?encoding=1 The region code logo looks like this (region number with planet in the background): "4:3" is the picture aspect ratio, the classic TV aspect ratio as opposed to widescreen (16:9) Thanks for the correction. The ones I've got are Reg.0 so I assumed that they all were.

That would involve spoilers and ruin it for those who haven't seen it. Suffice to say it's bleak, tragic and cleverly plotted. Mackey's comeuppance is not what we might have expected but an almost Shakepearean take on a man who loses everything, well almost everything. I found it a very satisfying end, sad, ironic and completely faithful to everything that had gone before.

Well , it's over with a magnificent ending. I'll miss The Shield.

I'm not certain but I think Taiwan is NTSC Region 2, the same as Japan. This would mean it is unplayable on an American dvd player which are coded for NTSC Region 1. PAL is the European system and is not used in Asia. Most players these days are auto switch NTSC/PAL but I don't know about the USA. These days multi region players are quite cheap. You can convert it from R2 to R1on your pc using three sets of software, DVD Region+CSS Free in tandem with DVD Shrink/DVD Decrypter. I've done it several times and can assure you it works. Total conversion time is about 20-25 minutes. Region 0 definitely exists, all Criterion dvds are Region 0. They can be played on any player but are not common.

'Buri' which I think translates as Yellow tail, teriyaki style, salad of daikon, kaiwari (radish sprouts)and scallops in a thin mayonnaise sauce 'Yudofu' which is just hot tofu with a simple sauce made from onions and other seasonings, rice. For desert pears. Buri teriyaki

Great analysis Alexander. I said more or less the same to the wife after we saw it the other night. With QOS the new hard man Bond has been deliberately and completely stripped of the laid back, double entendre, flirting with Moneypenny , shaken but not stirred trappings. To have successfully rebooted the series, it's just about the only course it could logically have taken. The master stroke was casting Daniel Craig, who so fully and convincingly takes over the role it makes any comparison with the previous incarnations of Bond irrelevant. You make a good point in the chronology, namely this is the pre Dr.No, younger Bond. The new energy really shows in QOS which almost raises the bar from Bourne in the dizzying action scenes. My only criticism might be that they are so fast and so rapidly edited that they are a bit hard to take in. Certainly merits reviewing a few times. DC is without doubt the greatest Bond, for me at least. Connery was the best of the previous suave Bonds. I'm looking forward to where they take it with the next one. I wasn't aware of Roger Ebert's aversion to comic books. He did, however, go overboard on Dark City which was almost like a film adaption of an SF graphic novel.

This song, "Cheese and Onions," sounds so much like the real thing that it apparently even fooled some Beatles fans and wound up on bootlegs. Cheese and Onions Indeed. Listen to this take of 'Cheese & Onions'. Quite remarkable. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=l6HWOSyaTJI&...feature=related

Got to mention The Rutles. The quality of music is quite something. They really captured the essence of you know who. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=297zDxqzUJo

We get tons of spam advertisements stuffed into our mail box to supplement the daily megadose stuffed in the newspaper. One real baffler I keep seeing is an ad for super high speed VHS tape rewinders. VHS tapes ? ? What ?

Many happy returns Chris.

I'm sad to hear that we have lost him, he was a great actor. Just the other day I watched 'Harper'. Today I'll watch 'Somebody Up There Likes Me'. Although he made a great number of good films, my own favourite will always be 'The Verdict'.

Another great writer gone. The stuff he did with The Temps was outstanding, especially Papa and Masterpiece. I'll be playing selections from The Emperors Of Soul today.

Tenzaru soba.

The software gives a general rating for Tokyo which is meaningless. I'd rate my neighbourhood as quite high. I can find almost anything I want within walking distance. If I want to buy say a new hard disc drive then I need to venture slightly further, say 30 minutes walk. There are lots of shops, several 24 hour stores, more barbers and hairdressers than you can imagine and dozens of restaurants, pharmacies, clinics, dentists, acupuncture , massage, dvd stores, clothes stores. There's also quite a lot of greenery, parks, two rivers, maze like back streets and temples. Also good for cycling and walking.

Grilled sea bream, rice with green beans. Tomato, lettuce, red onion, cucumber and broccoli salad with lemon , mint and olive oil. Apples and pineapple. Tap water.

Simba My parents took me to see it when I was 8 or 9. I was terrified. We lived three doors away from The Norfolk Cinema. My dad used to go in his carpet slippers.

Extremely humid and unsettled. Heavy thunder storms and monsoon like downpours almost every evening for the last few weeks. Not a single typhoon, which is almost without precedent.

I've solved the problem, thanks.