Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum

Okay. Finally back to Things I Did on Vacation in Seattle with my Family. Is that title too long? Who cares. It's all about the photos anyway.

If you don't know this by now, I consider myself an Asian-o-phile. My writing includes several things I find awesome about Asian culture, like martial-arts, calligraphy, religion, mysticism, and so forth. I don't know exactly where that love comes from, but it's been there as long as I can remember.

My daughter Kylie is the same, except she is really fascinated by Japan, in particular. She's already taught herself to speak some Japanese, and even write the simplified form (Hiragana and Katakana, as opposed to Kanji, which is the more complicated writing most of us are familiar with).

Anyway, the point is, one of the most beautiful places we visited while in Seattle was the Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. They have a real Tea House, which was unfortunately closed when we visited, and a pond that is filled with some of the largest Koi I have ever seen.

Here are some photos:

These lanterns are either iron or stone, I can't remember. They're absolutely beautiful at night, though.

Here come the Koi.

For some reason I couldn't capture one with his mouth wide open. They look really funny if you can.

This lantern was a gift from Seattle's sister city, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It weighs three and a half tons, and is hand carved out of granite. It is nearly 200 years old.

That's my daughter, Madison, pouting on the grass. We had a bit of a meltdown that day because we'd been doing so much walking.

Those are turtles, sunning themselves on the rocks. Madison would not believe us that they were real because they literally did not move for hours.

Our camera is shite, and none of us are great photographers, but these pictures turned out okay, don't you think?

If you'd like to know more about the Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum, please visit the website.

Congratulations to the Japanese Women's Football Team

The sad thing about the World Cup, like the Olympics, is that it's so complete. So final. So far above and beyond any other tournament or level of competition in that sport.

Of course that's the beautiful thing about the World Cup, too.

It's just tough to think that players like Christie Rampone and Abby Wambach probably won't get another chance to hoist the trophy. It must be hard to get so close, and then have it slip through your fingers.

I thought the match started well. I applaud coach Sundhage's decision to bench Amy Rodriguez, and to start Megan Rapinoe, and it was clear, or at least it seemed to be clear, in the first half, that Japan was outmatched. We out-possessed them, we spread the field, and managed what seemed like endless opportunities. Yet we couldn't finish.

I could analyze the entire game for you, and talk about what I think went wrong, but I won't. Instead I would just like to offer a huge congratulations to the Japanese side. They played a dedicated and determined match, and the Japanese keeper, Ayumi Kaihori, should be especially proud for standing up in the face of adversity, and stopping those penalty shots.

Congratulations, Japan, now I have to go cry in the corner, and start looking forward to the Olympics.

Help Your Own Child, Help the Children of Japan

This post is in support of my friend Lisa, of In Pencil, and her husband Ben. She did all the work, and it's a great cause. Can't beat that!

From March 24th through April 4th Ben Boswell, MD will be donating 50% of the proceeds from his new parenting e-book, Too Much Love, Too Much Discipline, to Save the Children in order to help the children displaced by the recent earthquake in Japan.

In a March 13, 2011 press release, Save the Children stated the following:

“We are concerned for as many as 100,000 children who may have been displaced because of last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. Many of them will have lost their homes and been forced to take refuge in unfamiliar places like evacuation centers that might cause them to be afraid and anxious,” said Stephen McDonald, who is leading Save the Children’s relief efforts in Japan.

“There is also a risk that some of them will have become separated from their parents and family members because of the disaster. It is important we provide support to parents and children who are struggling to cope in the aftermath of the disaster,” said McDonald.

"Save the Children has a team in Sendai, one of the worst-affected areas, establishing an operations base to help the most vulnerable children and their families.”

Help your own child and the children of Japan at the same time by purchasing a copy:

Too Much Love, Too Much Discipline: The Perfect Mix for Changing Your Defiant Child’s Behavior and Restoring Peace and Harmony to Your Life and Family

Available in the Amazon Kindle Store (click here to purchase)