Tenuous

A great afternoon of baseball today. I went to see the second and third games on the first day of the 91st Spring High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium. The big game was third game, which saw Seiryo High School beat the local team, Osaka's Reiseisha, eight points to zero. Their victory was largely down to their incredible pitcher who struck out player after player on the Reiseisha team and was throwing consistently around 150 kph. I felt quite sorry for Reiseisha, really, because they played well when they got the chance. I bet that pitcher will be scouted for a professional team after he graduates. Who knows, he could join Seiryo alumnus Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui as one of the all time great Japanese baseball players.

To say there was an air of incredulity in the stadium would be an understatement. There might have been a Revolution, but Japanese crowds are renowned for their polite and orderly behaviour.

Ouch! That was a very painful segue to my Sony Walkman Countdown. At No.4, with 156 songs, is Jean-Michel Jarre. I can still remember the first time I heard a piece of music by JMJ, coming through the open bedroom window of my best friend's brother. I had never heard anything like it before and I bought Oxygene and Magnetic Fields on vinyl soon after, then Equinoxe a short while after that. I have never stopped listening to his music and his incredible music plays a huge part in the soundtrack of my life, and he's still at the top of his game at the age of seventy. Phenomenal!. 

Seiryo is the main photo, Reiseisha is the extra.

Taking part in the 56 kilometers Cannonball Run tomorrow. Planning to be faster than last year. Back to work on Monday. Am I nuts? One of the rules of the Cannonball Run is "Don't die." I hope I don't let them down.