Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day 2009. I wanted to post these pics right after parade but you know… family obligations can keep you from doing personal stuff on the computer. I know not everyone can make it into the city to experience The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade so I’m hoping that my photos can give those of you who have never been to the parade an idea of what it’s like to be there. Obviously crowds of people, blocked off streets, and policemen are all staples during the parade. My personal favorite balloon is “Hello Kitty”.  Some new ballons this year-The “Pillsbury Doughboy” an “Sailor Mickey Mouse”.  The photo of The Pillsbury Doughboy reminds me of a scene in “Ghostbusters” for some reason.

Before I headed back to Richmond, I ventured out to the city yesterday for some pre-Thanksgiving fun. Nothing sounded more awesome than watching balloons being inflated by the Museum of Natural History for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I imagined myself happily snapping away as the balloons slowly took form and floated into the big blue sky.

That image was tarnished as soon as I stepped outside. First of all, it was almost dark (This happens around, what, 4 p.m. now?). Second, it was raining. And third, there were too many people there, namely kids. Now, I love kids as much as the next non-maternal woman, but they’re pretty much guaranteed to step into shots, obstruct your view (hoisted on their parents’ shoulders) and the like. In many cases, this still could present the opportunity for great familial pictures, except it was too crowded and we were herded like cattle, nicely encouraged by staff to keep moving so as to keep the next group of gawkers happy.

Instead of happy pictures and big blue sky, there was rain, serious multitasking (one hand on the camera, the other on the umbrella), and disgruntled strangers.

“Watch your umbrella!” said the angry woman behind me.
“It’s not even raining!” some guy muttered.
“Oof!” said another after my umbrella stabbed his neck (I guess you could say this one was warranted).

Further, the floats looked like they were held captive, waiting to be freed the following morning for the spectacle that awaited them. Mickey Mouse wasn’t soaring above us, his white gloves in a permanent high five. A net covered him from head to toe. The Pillsbury Doughboy, making his first appearance at the parade, lay with his head on the pavement, weighed down by sandbags. At the end of the line, men and women in bright colored uniforms inflated yet another one doomed to meet its Gulliver-like fate.

Still, beneath all that unglamorous presentation, I admit there was something kind of magical about it.

Happy Thanksgiving, you.

Mickey under siege. Photographers nearby looked through their photos.

Two pups.

Hordes of balloon lovers.

Smurftacular.

Pillsbury Doughboy eats it.

Lilliputian hijinks.

Pooh from behind. What a great last glimpse.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national holiday tradition, and has been so for the past 83 years, and this year the tradition continued.

This year, the parade route returns to its roots with it ending at 34th street right in front of the Macy’s store. This is different than it has been in recent years.

 There is a list of performers that include Katharine McPhee, Jane Krakowski, and we have Spiderman, Kermit and Spongebob floating down the parade route. Ziggy Marley, the son of the legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley, performed a song with his daughter on a float decorated as a pirate ship.

Ziggy Marley and Daughter awaiting performance at Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade today

 Ziggy performed his new song ”It’s Family Time” while holding his daughter in his arms so she could reach the mike…very cute.

Katharine McPhee, sporting her new sassy blonde ‘do, performed her new single “Had It All.” Jane Krakowski performed a Christmas tune. She may play a ditzy spoiled celeb on “30 Rock,” but in real-life Krakowski is quite the songbird.

Teen superstar Miley Cyrus made an exuberant appearance waving to her throngs of excited fans that lined the parade route waiting patiently for the international superstar. She looked great, in light of the bush crash tragedy that killed her long time tour bus driver this past friday. Today was much happier times for her.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade aired on CBS and NBC at noon ET/9 am PT.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING…NOW GO EAT….

The 83rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is set to take place tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. EST.

For the first time, the parade will skip Broadway. The parade route beings at Central Park West and 77th Street in New York. The parade will travel down to Columbus Circle and make a turn onto Central Park South. When the parade reaches Seventh Avenue it will turn and go down Seventh Avenue, taking it through Times Square, to 42nd Street. It will then turn east to Sixth Avenue and travel down to 34th Street and Herald Square by Macy’s. The parade will turn at Macy’s and end at Seventh Avenue.

The parade will feature 1,500 dancers, cheerleaders, singers and performers; 15 giant character balloons; 800 clowns; 35 novelty or ornament balloons, balloonheads and balloonicles; 24 floats; 10 marching bands; and a slew of celebrity performers.

New balloons for 2009 are: Sailor Mickey, Ronald McDonald, Spiderman and the Pillsbury Doughboy. New floats for 2009 are: the Local Heroes Helping Everyday float, the There’s A Party in My City float and a new Santa’s Sleigh, which is the first new one in 40 years.

Performers in the parade include: Bello, Andrea Bocelli, Keke Palmer, Grandma and the cast of the Big Apple Circus, the cast of Hair, Boys Like Girls, DJ Lance Rock and the cast of Yo Gabba Gabba!, Kermit the Frog and Tiffany Thornton, the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, cast of Billy Elliot, Sarah Hughes, Jane Krakowski, cast of Bye Bye Birdie, Ziggy Marley with Judah Marley, Miss America 2009 – Katie Stam, the Radio City Rockettes, Katharine McPhee, Mitchel Musso, The Pizzarelli Quartet, cast of Shrek, and Jay Sean.

Balloons and floats in the parade include: Hello Kitty, M&M’s Chocolate Candies on Broadway, Flying Ace Snoopy, Winter Wonderland in Central Park, SpongeBob SquarePants, Snoopy’s Doghouse, Shrek, Musical Innovation Bigger Than Life, 123 Sesame Street, Tom Turkey, Dora the Explorer, Buzz Lightyear, Pikachu, Abby Cadabby, the Speed Racer Mach 5, Bridge To The Future, Big Apple, Horton, The Care Bears Winter Fun-derland, Smurfs, Bountiful Harvest Cornucopia, Kermit the Frog, Jolly Polly Pirate Ship, The True Spirit of Thanksgiving, Woodland Family Gathering and Cele-bear-ate Hugs Worldwide.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is broadcast on NBC starting at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day until noon in each time zone.

Okay, so it’s not a Carnival, but it’s a parade, and there is music and it’s lots of fun for the kids!!!

Check out Macy’s Parade site here. Very cool!

Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. Give thanks today and everyday!

#Tweetsgiving has to be the coolest topic on Twitter I have seen to date.

With the celebration of Thanksgiving (the start of the kick-ass food season, as I like to call it…) mere days away, the trending topics of Thanksgiving and #Tweetsgiving show me just how grateful and gracious the Twitter world is- through Twibbons, Tweetups, and more.

#Tweetsgiving doesn’t start until 12 today, but it got me thinking about things for which I am thankful.  Of course, I can list the very obvious: my health, my job, my family + friends, my diploma, the long weekend, etc.  But what’s the fun in being obvious?

A beautiful tree in my town

So let’s try to dig a little deeper.  What else am I thankful for?  Trader Joe’s curry chicken salad and all of its goodies, the beautiful piano intro of “Backstreets” and all [good] music in general, the radiant colors of nature in the fall, social media and all of its daily entertainment [what would I do without status updates and trending topics?], my best friend’s bachelorette party in Atlantic City a few weekends away [hey, I need a get-away!] and her fiancé and her brother [both in our military, her brother stationed at Ft. Hood and her fiancé in Iraq] both serving our country, both safe and sound.  I am thankful for wonderful coworkers and all the food they bring into the office.  I am thankful for Macy’s and their Turkey Day Parade- the musical performances, the Rockettes, and the floats.  See which ones have been especially memorable over the past 80 years here.  If this doesn’t get you in the mood for Thanksgiving, I don’t know what will…

Mostly, I am thankful for the opportunity to have secured a job 4 months after graduating, in this economy, and actually be doing what I studied in college.  And all of this while working for a non-profit, using the compassion and commitment to social justice taught at Loyola.  Woohoo Jesuits.

Ok, so most of those were sappy and expected.  My bad.

In the wise words of Sally Brown, Charlie Brown’s blonde little sister, “Anyway, why should I give thanks on Thanksgiving? What have I got to be thankful for? All it does is make more work for us at school.”

While it does make for more work in school, it’s still something to think about.  In this time of economic turmoil (among other things), what are you thankful for this season?

Can’t make it to Manhattan’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade? Why not head out to the UBS Parade Spectacular on Sunday, November 22nd? Parade starts at noon, but streets will be closed at 10 am for traffic. Get there early and leave your bulky items at home.

Watch the balloons inflate on Saturday, Nov. 21 from 3 – 6 pm on Summer and Hoyt Streets

Download the details, including parking, general information, and other maps at www.stamford-downtown.com.

It’s almost that time again. Thanksgiving is here once again and so are all of its goodies, like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade made its debut in 1924 as an advertising promotion. It has become an American tradition and family staple ever since. Everyone loves to get together on Thanksgiving morn and watch the parade, naming which floats are their favorite. So, in keeping with traditonal values here are some of the most memorable balloons and floats through the years.

Felix the Cat balloon introduced in 1927.

Mickey Mouse balloon debuted in 1934.

Popeye made his first appearance in 1957.

Surprisingly, Tom the Turkey wasn't part of the parade until 1971!

Everyone's favorite amphibian, Kermit the frog, made his first flight in 1977.

Betty Boop made her first entrance in 1985.

Clifford the big red dog barked his way through the parade route and our hearts in 1990.

Here comes Santa Claus, who has closed the parade every year except one, 1933.

There way more than this few here, but it would probably take up the whole blog to mention them all. I hope you all enjoy the parade this year. New surprises are being promised, but I’m sure they won’t forget our favorite classics. Although its a shame that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade isn’t the start of the Christmas season anymore, all we can do is enjoy what we can.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009.  That’s the day.  Circle the date in red, day on your wall calendar, set a reminder on your computer or do whatever you have to do to remind yourself to check back here on that day!

Why?

For your own personal behind-the-scenes scoop on decorating a Rose Bowl Parade float!!! 

Yep, four of my friends and I are scheduled to spend Monday the 28th in Pasadena working with glue, paint and organic goodies (flower, beans, etc) to help cover a float!!  We’ll be in a very large cold room and wearing our grungy clothes, happily speckling them with more memories.

We don’t know which float yet or exactly what we’ll be doing, but I will definitely tell you ALL about it on Tuesday the 29th so when you watch the parade on New Year’s Day you can see our handiwork!  Of course, I’ll have pictures of the process to upload that day too.

So, MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

NYC was awash today in confetti(and toilet paper) up the Canyon Of Heroes to City Hall. This was the day the City thanked the NY Yankees for winning the World Series of Baseball. People came from far and near to see the celebration and to witness the history-making 27th time champions ride the floats up Broadway.
One only had to be there to see how huge it was. Each player and the Manager got a Key to the City. I wonder what door those keys open! Does anyone know? Well,if you missed it, perhaps we’ll see you there next year!

That is the question I have been asked by some investors. Putting aside the many individuals who have written to me to say they have recently had a less than encouraging shopping experience at Myer, meeting with disinterested casually employed staff, it seems there are those who are taking the current price as a signal that a $2.90 valuation is too conservative.

If ‘price’ is what you pay and ‘value’ is what you get, then your job as an investor is simply to pay a lower price than the value you receive. It is essential therefore that your valuation is completely independent of price.

When I bought JB Hi-Fi at $8.50, the valuation was much higher. When I bought Fleetwood at $3.50, the valuation was much higher. Had I taken my cue from the price of Fleetwood and JB Hi Fi, I would have been fearful that the price was correctly reflecting the possibility that the GFC would roll into something much more damaging.

The Myer valuation of $2.90 is based on the facts presented in the prospectus. The only subjective part of the valuation is the selection of the after tax Required Return. If I adopt a 12% required return I get a $2.85 valuation. At 11.5% the valuation is $2.99, at 11% is $3.19 and at 10% is $3.65. You can take your pick.

In any event, even an optimistic Required Return produces a valuation well below the current price and remember, you want to buy shares at big discounts to valuations. I adopt a policy of simply saying I want to buy the very best businesses when they are trading at substantial discounts to even the most conservative valuation. Compromising this standard in the attempt to generate more activity or valuations that are closer to the current price has the effect not of making you more money, but of making you more active!

By Roger Montgomery, 5 November 2009

The twenty-sixth of October with kids roamin’ all over.
Main Street was all cluttered with folk.
Comin’ down the street was a royal fleet and the diesel was-a-blowin’ smoke.

Yeah them smokies were holdin’ back the traffic.
They even had a Segway with Paul Blart.
Those Jackson’s were-a-dancin’ for quite a spell.
And they were showin’ an abundance of heart.

“Cause we gotta great big convoy, rockin’ through the night.
Yeah we gotta great big convoy, ain’t she a beautiful sight?
Come on an’ join our convoy, ain’t nothin’ gonna git in our way.
We’re gonna roll this truckin’ convoy, cross the USA.
Convoy.”

Well that’s what it seemed like.  Ok.  It was just the Annual Dubuque Halloween Parade, but it was a big deal with a lot of big vehicles and Dubuquers made a big whoop-dee-doo over it.  And rightfully so.  A parade is a show and it takes a lot of work and organization to put on a good show.  You can tell that many of the participants put forth a lot of effort and we applaud them. 

It was my first time at this annual event and I was impressed.  There was fun to be had by all.  I would guestimate that there were probably around 3000 people taking part and observing from the sidelines.   The weather stayed very cooperative as the temperature hovered around a comfortable mark – even after the sun went down it. 

There were marching bands, plenty of big vehicles, some very elaborate floats, plenty of candy for the cherubs, cute costumes worn by even cuter kids (the Little Fry Daycare) had some of the best kid costumes – check out the TH Online for more photos.  They didn’t have a bear in the air, but there was a gorilla on a bike.  And my personal favorite was the 50 or 60 dancing Michael Jacksons from Studio 5678.  They were dancing before the parade started and they continued dancing for the entire route.  I’ll bet they were plumb tuckered out by the time it was all over — but they put on a great show and that’s what this parade was all about!!!  (You can check out the dancing MJ’s in the video of the parade below.)

Runde Auto Group had a strong showing.  They entered the Split Decision Chevy 4500 truck with it’s infamous custom paint job.  They also had one of the Runde golf carts and the Runde Community Service truck.  The folks from Runde handed out bags full of Tootsie Rolls and about 1500 mini Nerf-like footballs. 

Jeff Kueter

Jeff “Lenny” Kueter of Runde Chevrolet drove the Split Decision diesel and had a good time.  He got carried away and at one point started throwing the mini football out of the truck’s driver side window.  He had to be reminded that the parade organizers now frown on throwing items into the crowd.   This was the 2nd time Jeff participated in the parade as he also drove a vehicle for Runde in 2008’s parade down Main Street.   Jeff commented just before the parade: “It’s good that a lot of people take part in this.  When people put on a big event like this for kids of all ages, it shows that they really care about this community.  Have you seen all they people along the street?  There must be thousands of ‘em.”  

Hannah, Jeff & Logan

 While I was walking along the parade route, I ran into Hannah, Jeff, and Logan Heiar of Dubuque.  They have purchased 4 vehicles from Runde’s over the past few years and they had some kind words to say about Runde’s (check out the video below to find out what they said).  Their son, Logan, who is beyond cute, was born a year ago and he will be getting either a baby brother or a baby sister in a few more months.  We wish the Heiar Family well.   You can bet that they’ll be back again next year and so will Runde Auto Group as we look forward to participating in this annual tradition.

Below is the video we shot of the event.  Check it out and if you weren’t able to attend the parade this year, there’s always 2010.  The more, the merrier.

Lisa Charley (who organized Runde's parade participation) pictured with her husband.

Hello!

This is Ivette Gonzalez and as an off-campus senator for yet another year I can thankfully say, “Phew!” The hard work dedicated to Homecoming from a lot of us in the Student Government Association, especially on the External Affairs Committee, turned out to be beyond worth it.

Despite new and unfamiliar circumstances, events, Boone’s infamous weather patterns and ideas that came along with the 2009-2010 Homecoming, I believe we did pretty darn well. We did have a wonderful turnout of creative floats, kazoo bands and walking groups. The town of Boone loved the parade, the students enjoyed being a huge success in the parade and the students gave Appalachian an amazing win that day.  I just want to take this opportunity to recognize everyone that made this homecoming a great success- THANK YOU!

Nonetheless, External Affairs still has many many events planned for the rest of the semester as well as for the rest of the year. So, please be on the lookout for those! I am a member of the Community Service Subcommittee and would love any ideas from ASU for service projects you guys would be interested in being involved in so we can make it happen! I’m sure all of us will be more than happy to answer any of your questions, comments or concerns—also, make sure to contact your friendly neighborhood senator because they too would be happy to meet you!

Remember, we are located on the 2^nd floor of the Plemmons Student Union!

Another weekend, another festival. October seems to be Festival Month here in the Gifu area. Nearly every town surrounding us has had one recently. We just attended our fourth in 3 weeks. In previous weeks we wrote about the ➔Seki Sword Festival, ➔Mino Lantern Festival, and the ➔Tajimi Pottery Festival. This past Saturday we made our way with three friends to the Inuyuma Festival.

Inuyuma is a fairly small, but immensly beautiful city. The city is crowned with Japan’s oldest castle. It stands triumphantly at the top a hill that over looks the city and gracefully stands over the Kiso river. The castle was our first stop, which was ¥300 ($3) with our ‘tourist map’ which gave us ¥100 ($1) off, and the view from the top is worth it. Japanese castles are very different from the typical Western European castle. They are big, but are not as vast as European castles. Depending on your perspective the castles here are either very small castles or very big outposts/forts. Inuyama’s castle is quite tall, and so exploring it involves more climbing than walking. Steep stairs allowed us to go to all the different levels and, best of all, enjoy the top view. (Click to read more about Puppet Shows and Lantern Floats).

Japan still has 47 castles throughout the country, but Inuyama’s castle is the oldest original castle. Many of the castles have been destroyed by typhoons or during WWII firebombings. In recent years, many have been rebuilt according to their original blueprints or restored.

After walking/climbing through Inuyama Castle, we watched a series of puppet shows. A friend that went with us is a real life puppet master and so he was able to explain some of the “magic” to us. The puppets perform at the top of large displays with the “operators” standing directly below the puppets. This type of puppet-erring is very different from the dangling string puppet that Westerners automatically associate with puppets. The shows were impressive and slow at times.

At a tea house nearby we grabbed coffee and talked about teaching English in Japan. Afterward we met up with a whole herd of Gaijin (foreigners) who are also teaching in Japan. After this we were able to watch the main event, lantern floats! Earlier these 50 foot (high) floats were used as stages for the puppets, but at night they are transformed into glowing towers. This was quite the show since these floats were made way back in the 1600s and are still used today. And we wonder why people like Japanese cars better…they last forever! Each lantern has a real candle that is lit with fire and then the floats are pushed by hand down the road by 20 or 30 men. Inside kids and musicians sing, play flutes and hit drums. The most impressive part of all of this was watching the floats make a 90° turn with wheels that don’t turn. All in all it was an incredible performance!

We had a great day! Best of all we ate our first Chinese food in Japan only a few minutes from our apartment. It was so delicious! Put Inuyama on your list if you ever visit Japan!

More Pictures Below via Picasa:

Inuyama Matsuri 2009

In short, the answer is no. Three years ago Myer was purchased from the Coles Myer Group by a private equity team called TPG/Newbridge. The Myer Family was also involved and together the consortium acquired Myer for $1.4 billion. The group used $400 million of their own money and borrowed the rest.

Before the first anniversary, a very long-term lease on Melbourne’s Bourke Street store was sold for about $600 million, and a clearance sale reduced inventory and netted $160 million. All this additional cash allowed the new owners to reduce debt, pay a dividend of almost $200 million and produced a capital return of $360 million. In other words, before the first year was out the owners had received all of their $400 million outlay back, and arranged a free ride on a business with $3 billion of revenue.

But as a participant in the upcoming float of Myer you are not being invited to pay $1.4 billion, which was 8.5 times the Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT). You are being asked to stump up to $2.9 billion, or more than 11 times forecast EBIT. You are also being asked to replace the vendors as owners and while they know a lot about extracting maximum performance out of department stores, you don’t.

In estimating an intrinsic value for Myer, I have ignored the fact that the balance sheet includes $350 million of acquired goodwill as well as $128 million of capitalised software expenses. I will also ignore the addition of sales made by concession operators “to provide a more appropriate reference when assessing profitability measures relative to sales”, the removal of the incentive payments to retain key staff (not regarded as ongoing costs to the business), costs associated with the gifting of shares to employees and most interestingly, the reversal of a write-off (meaning it has been left in) of $21 million in capitalised interest costs; all regarded as non-recurring.

While ignoring these in my estimate of intrinsic value seems irresponsible, it merely means that whatever number is produced by the calculation, it is going to be higher than it really should be. That’s fine; I just have to ensure a larger margin of safety.

Taking a Net Profit After Tax figure for 2010 of $160 million and assuming a 75 per cent fully-franked dividend payout, I arrive at a return on equity of about 28 per cent on the stated equity of $738 million – equity that could have been higher after the float if $94 million in cash wasn’t also being taken out of retained profits. Using a 13 percent required return I get a valuation of $2.90.

Alternatively, I am buying $738 million of equity that is generating 28%. If I pay the $2.9 billion that is being asked for that equity, or 3.9 times, I have to divide the return on equity by 3.9 times, which produces a simple return on ‘my’ equity of 7.2 per cent. For ‘my’ money it’s just not high enough for the risk of being in the department store business.

And looking into the future, things don’t become dramatically more attractive either. Based on the numbers in the prospectus I estimate the value only rises by 6 per cent per year over the next five years and delivers a value in 2015 of $3.90 – the price being asked today.

In valuing Myer I am not predicting its price. Remember what Benjamin Graham said; In the short run the market is a voting machine.  Shares that are popular can go up a lot even if the value is much lower. In 1999 and 2000 Telstra’s value was less than $3.00 and yet the shares traded around $9.00 for a long time. But Ben Graham also said in the long run the market is a weighing machine. In the long run, Myer’s share price will reflect its value.

So no, I have not changed my view of Myer’s float.  I am going to pass on My piece of Myer.

By Roger Montgomery, 26 October 2009

Well apparently I survived the weekend, though I’ve been too exhausted/busy/lazy to update my blog… I’ll take each thing, one at a time, each in its own blog-post, so it won’t become an entire novel here.

First things first: karaoke and Kawagoe matsuri! As I wrote last time, I made some new friends at the tomodachi event last week, and especially one was very interesting I might add… Obviously I took the opportunity of our weekly karaoke-tours to invite him and his friends, and we all had a very nice time although the communication wasn’t the easiest thing. Even so, I ended up having an accidental date with him the next day. But that’s for later (soon, promise! Or just skip the next paragraph if you want to fast forward). After the karaoke Masa and his friend Hiro walked me home, all the while Hiro was strongly promoting the poor, embarrassed Masa, pointing out that we’re both the same age, single and…well…

Filling our stomachs before the karaoke.

The day after I went to Kawagoe Matsuri together with my hostfamily and their friends from Nagano. The festival itself was huge and crowded, especially at the spots where you could find the dashi, the traditional floats pulling a local kami-sama (god). Even more crowded when two dashi met and “battled”… There was tons of food and trinkets for sale, and I have to add that the Japanese festivals definitely win over the Swedish ones! I could easily walk around there all day and still not see everything (and spend a minor fortune…).

 Dashi

After walking around for a while with my hostfamily, I met up with Masa at Crea Mall, and I think we were both equally surprised/awkward when we realized that none of us had brought friends, so we were alone – together! We walked around for a while, trying to find a not so crowded and noisy place so we could actually sit down and talk, and for the millionth time so far, I now again wished that I would become fluent in Japanese in the blink of an eye. Or at least faster… Awkward, yes. Embarrassing, yes. But very nice! Hopefully he’ll be less embarrassed and more relaxed next time we meet.

The day after it was time for us JSPs to join the parade and actually pull one of the dashi ourselves! Or, well, together with 40 or so other people. Still, it was fun. Hot, but fun, it’ was a very very sunny day after all. Everywhere we went, people were equally happy/surprised to see a gang of gaijins pulling one of the dashis, the oldest one of them all on top of that! We were all cheerful and waved back though, and I think that we’re now in hundreds of Japanese families’ photo-albums…

Matsuri-boys

If anyone wonders; it says “Kawagoe” on the back.

Our dashi: the Kawagoe Motomachi Dashi

Stopping to greet another local kami’s crib.

We pulled the dashi all over town for about 2.5 hours, and were then treated to lunch by the people who arranged the pulling-business. After that, we soon split up, and I ended up walking around with Kai and Jonathan for a while, searching for sweet-potato ice-cream, getting stuck between not two, not three, but four battling dashi, which meant that we were literally stuck on the spot for 45 minutes! We managed to escape eventually, and met up with Kozue and her friend, who guided us towards the ice-cream and local beer.

How to make a German happy: give him a beer…and an ice-cream.

After this, Kai and Jonathan left us, and the remaining three of us headed to a cafe with very special tea…(very expensive too I have to add, but an interesting experience!)

Jasmine-tea. Flower and all.

My tea-set. See the tiny white cup? That’s what I poured the tea in, over and over again. Like taking tea-shots. Tasty though!

Soon enough I had to head back home and study for the upcoming mid-term exams, but at least I had a yet another great weekend in Japan!

Since Java runs on a virtual machine, types have fixed ranges. There is a method that allows users to increase the range if they have Intel processors. I am not interested in it however.

Integer types:

• int <-2,147,483,648;2,147,483,647>
• short <-32,768;32,767>
• long <-9,223,372,036,854,775,808;9,223,372,036,854,775,807>
• byte <-128;127>

You cannot choose between signed and usigned types. The same applies to Flash variables.

Floating-point types:

• float ± 3.40282347E+38F
• double ± 1.79769313486231570E+308

NaN value, example: isNaN(0/0) returns true. Java compiler reacts differently when dividing ints and floats by 0. With ints, it returns an exception, whereas with floats – NaN.

Boolean values – can only be true or false, comparison with 1 and 0 doesn’t work. In C++: 0 and false, not 0 and true are comparable values.

Multiple declaration of variables is allowed, ex.: double salary,payment.

Case sensitive naming of variables, ex.: Ball ≠ ball (of course, by rule it’s a bad idea to start a variable name with a capital letter)

Declaring constants

The final word is used. In many other languages, ex. Flash and C++, const is needed instead. Ex. final double C=2.54.

AUSTRALIA should consider introducing a congestion charge to tax drivers who travel on busy roads, Treasury secretary Ken Henry says…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: flight information. The blog is also related to: birmingham airport.

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

My very own, Jack Skellington: A Tribute to A Nightmare Before Christmas

…my favorite holiday -Halloween! What did you think I was going to say? Christmas? That can wait a little while. For now, I just want to share with you some of the devilish reminders that trick-or-treat time is just around the corner!

Halloween decorations are popping up all over Williamstown this week, most notably on Main St. where residents are gearing up for the annual Halloween parade on October 17.

The Halloween Parade will start at 7 p.m., beginning in the CVS shopping center and ending at Church Street. I advise you to find a parking spot early, because it’s nearly impossible if you wait until 6:30 p.m. The parade will include a costume contest, fire trucks, floats, police, and music. Oh yeah, I forgot: CANDY! In the unfortunate event that it rains, the parade will take place on Oct. 24th.

The parade is being sponsored by the Monroe Township Parks and Recreation Commission.

Mums and pumpkins make the season!

…more halloween posts coming!

When most people think of pike fishing tackle, they think of the obvious pieces of equipment, rods and reels.   However, this unfortunately leaves out several other pieces of equipment that are just as vital to catching giants pikes as rods and reels are.

One of these pieces of equipment that needs particular attention is a quality landing net.  Landing nets are essential because it decreases the trauma you cause to a pike as you take it out of the water and also prevent the fish from breaking the line close to the shore.  You can lose as much as twenty-five percent of your fish by attempting to land them.  The net should have at least a thirty inch diameter and should be made out of rubber instead of traditional nylon ones.  Rubber nets last longer and are more humane to the fish because it doesn’t remove the protective slime that covers them as easily.

You should also have an unhooking mat with the rest of your tackle also to help prevent removing the protective slime that covers the fish.  Floats to keep your bait at the level you want it and bite indicators, especially important if you have more than one line in the water, are also important pieces of any pike angler’s toolbox.

Many folklore experts agree that the Panama Gala Pollera is the most beautiful national dress in the world.  After all these years, it continues to dazzle audiences everywhere it’s proudly displayed by Panamanian women.

The Pollera is the most beautiful and admired national costume of the Americas and the world.  There are many tales related about its origin, but the popular opinion is that it was adapted from a gypsy dress worn in Spain at the time of the conquest of Peru—XVI Century—and brought to Panama by the servants of the colonial families.  It normally consists of a blouse or shirt and a two-tiered full skirt.

The lavish satins and brocades that made up the dress of society at that time were not suited to the tropical climate and the servants’ garb was appropriated by the mistress and enhanced with lace and embroidery.  It was not worn outside of the home, but gradually the ladies added more lace and ribbons, ornaments for the hair (tembleques) and jewelry for the neck and eventually it made its way into the public eye.

Polleras are made of wool or cotton and are very colorful. The large gathered skirt is generally white with two or three ruffles which have a floral design or embroidery. The top has several ruffles as well on the shoulders and has inlaid yarn. There is a large pompom matching the yarn in the front and back of the top. The yarn also matches several large ribbons at the waist and the slippers that go with the outfit.

The clothing includes a headdress called a tembleque (or tembeleque) which is made of beads attached to a spring so that they tremble when the wearer dances.

In Panama and Colombia, hand-made polleras evolved during time to a very elaborate piece of clothing. Currently it is the National Costume of Panama. Girls and women would generally own two polleras during their life: one before age 16 and one at adulthood.

A single pollera can cost from several hundred to several thousands of dollars and take up to a year to create. The gold and pearl mosquetas and tembleques that accompany a pollera are generally passed down as heirlooms through generations.

During the November 10th. parade  at Juan Diaz, the Santeño community selected a bouquet of attractive young women exquisitely dressed in polleras to participate in the event.  The singular part of the parade were oxen-driven floats decorated with Santeño’s motives; and of course, the national dress of Panama—the pollera.  It was the icing on the cake of this traditional parade.  I recall having seen similar oxcarts parades in the town of Escazú in Costa Rica while I was living there.

Enjoy a Santeño independence parade at Juan Díaz in Panama City, Panama on November 10, 2009.  Here we go.

Preamble of an oxcart parade in Panama. Notice the typical dresses worn by the Santeño children. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

An attractive young lady proudly displays a gala pollera in Panama City, Panama. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of oxcart participating in the Independence Day parade on November 10, 2009. Notice the bright tropical red flowers. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of a colorful float donated by a local member of the Panama Congress. (Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of a float with two huge toucan birds participating in the Independence Parade of November 10, 2009 held in Panama City, Panama. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of an oxcart with a beautiful young Santeño woman proudly wearing a pollera and tembleques. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of an oxcart with a young woman wearing a splendid gala pollera. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of Alejandro, the oxcart driver, participating in the Independence Day parade at Juan Díaz. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of one of the oxcarts that participated in the Independence Day parade of November 10, 2009. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

A spectacular float carrying a beautiful specimen of the Santeño woman wearing an awesome pollera. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

This was the tail of the parade.  It was reserved to be the final big surprise of the event which was heavily applauded by the bystanders, including my wife and myself.  A tropical cloudburst was forming, so we hurried back home before St. Peter opened the faucets.

This post will end the coverage of the patriotic events which took place during November in Panama.  As stated previously, I plan to travel to the Miraflores Locks in the Panama Canal,  to shoot pictures of that historic landmark, only surpassed by the great pyramids of Egypt.  Good Day.

Telekenisis dog Can play fetch by himself

dose u haff da forse?

Picture by: laura Caption by: Nemo via Loldog Builder

» Recaption This!

» View All Captions