on this harvest moon

they say americans are always talking about the weather - or is that the english. certainly the japanese seem to be at it too and in all respects, it's understandable. lets face it - it's human nature and not just small talk.

It's just that these days, for many of us urbanites, the weather doesn't really have an affect on us. there just isn't much of the hunter/gatherer left in us and it seems that some of us only look up if we're inconvenienced. sometimes there are just too many buildings. with my grandparents having been farmers I was educated in, from an early age, the art of weather speak. I can still hold a transglobal conversation with my gran limited to only the basic elements. I watch the weather fairly religiously too - but thats probably just the cyclist in me coming out.

anyway, we've come to yet another delicate point in the transition of seasons and things are changing. the moon and sun are strangely magnified at the moment - the setting sun looking truly like the burning ball of fire it is and the moon living up to its reputation as a reading light. I've yet to see the rabbit there, but that may well be just down to lack of imagination.

we're right in the middle of tsukimi or moon-viewing season at the moment and it's not hard to see why. the smell of the burning rice which represents autumn in our kanji will soon fill our noses in a welcome combination with the cool air.

meanwhile - the mcdonalds hamburger chain has come up with a rather appealing advertising campaign as they have to become increasingly savvy with their marketing. perhaps based on japanese senga art, they've used a simplistic and powerful style. sadly thats where the appeal ends. one look at the fare on offer and the first ever generation of obese japanese children kind of puts you off your dinner. or is that meant to be a breakfast.