Free Your Mind

Arthur and I watched Osaka Toin play Okigakuen on TV this morning and, great news, Osaka Toin won. Fingers crossed they will win the summer championship just as they won the spring championship in April for the second year in succession. I learned from Valerie that there is a very good reason why Osaka Toin are such a fantastically successful team. To be in the high school baseball team at Osaka Toin you have to be in the top percentile for all academic subjects; you have to live in the dormitory and be in bed by 21:30 every night; you are not allowed to own a mobile phone or use social media; you have to live on Y1,500 pocket money per week, and you have to practice baseball for at least two hours every day. It sounds severe, but that is the price of success, I guess. One Toin player really stood out as something special this morning; Neo Akira. Not only is he an incredible pitcher, he also scored a home run. His intense focus, self-discipline and the articulate humility he displayed in the post-game interview makes me think he could definitely be the next Ichiro Suzuki.

Inspired by these outstanding athletes, I went for a 22 kilometers in the afternoon. 36 degrees, but I felt fine. I don't think I would have coped so well if I had gone in the early evening, though, because it came over very stormy and humid. Still hoping for rain now 21:30.

This evening we went to my father-in-law's house to celebrate his 81st birthday with sushi, sashimi and birthday cake.  

Jeanno inadvertently gave me a great idea for a challenge this morning. I'm going to drop one or more clues to my favourite films into each blip. The clue(s) could be in the photo or the text. I'm going to do it in two parts; the first ten films will be the more well known blockbusters that make up my favourite films; the second ten will be my slightly more avante garde or obscure favourites. The (fairly cryptic) clues to the first film are scattered around this blip. Good luck if you choose to play my little game.