Does his red braid match his pedestal carpet?

One of my favorite of all the many types of guards at the Imperial Palace. Who coordinated the outfit with the pedestal? Love it!!

Seeing Christopher Columbus up close, in bougie living room

I am excited to climb up to the temporary living room set up around the statue of Columbus Circle on Friday. I love the crazy Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi and his upscale domestication of this well-situated piece of Amerikana. I especially love the pink and red decor scheme, which matches exactly this blog.

Police on the move, at anti-nuclear demo in Shinjuku

Marching solemnly together, these police look disciplined and prepared for the rain. Do you think one red plastic light saber is enough for this troupe? I wonder if the others wish they could carry it?

Fried hair super-heroes at the beach

Red, platinum, and tiger hair. Did these guys coordinate their looks before going to the hair dresser? They look like super heroes united by hair color and deep tanning. Is this the oasis I’ve been looking for?

Happy Bastille Day

She’s wearing France’s colors! Long live the Revolution!

Drag villain?!

Thank you, Josh F, for putting these two images together of Bernie Madoff, Ponzi mastermind, and his biggest Austrian feeder Sonja Kohn, who is now being sued for US$ 19.6 billion and labeled his “criminal soul mate.”

As the photo makes evident, it also seems likely that Sonja and Bernie are the same person, with the simple addition of lipstick and a red wig. Why are villains so captivating?!

Red hair in futuristic factory tour

Because I was invited, I found myself in a Suntory beer factory tour. Of course, moe follows me throughout Tokyo. One of the tour mates had the most luminous red hair, piled thickly, widely, and just plain big-ly. I guess I was supposed to be watching the video, where the guy in the fancy hat explains just how Suntory makes such delicious beer. But in fact, I could not take my eyes off this hair-do, whose glory was magnified by the strange lighting.

Woman topples Pope at Xmas Eve mass

Apparently this lady in the red coat loves the pope more than she should. Love the shouting! And tourists continue snapping pix. According to papal sources, the fangirl had no “malicious intentions.”

Winter ferns in San Francisco

The husband and I spent most of February in San Francisco. It was great to see friends and to spend time in my garden. I love how this fern in the winter has new leaves that are red. Seeing my San Francisco garden has given me inspiration for re-making the in-laws small shady garden in Tokyo.

Fall folliage at Rikugien

Fall folliage is particularly spectacular this week in Tokyo, including the giant yellow ginkos lining our street. It seems fall is longer and later in Japan than in the US. Yesterday, the husband, sister-in-law Y and I went to Rikugien park to see the special evening “light-up” event.

The Japanese maples were amazing in bright yellow and deep red– some trees pruned to be flat planes made up of hundreds of leaves, others lining a reflecting pond and layered along a small stream. Also lit up were bamboo and gorgeous pine trees.

Alas, we didn’t see Kitaoji Kinya this time.