Cherry blossom viewing, 2011

This year's cherry blossom viewing party was quite a bit different from last year's. One, I managed to press the 'record' button on my camera and get some video, instead of hitting the 'stand by' button and getting nothing. Two, the weather was a damn sight better, the only really nice day in a couple weeks actually, so we really lucked out on that point. Although there were a grand total of I think THREE cherry blossoms to view, but nevermind that.


The main thing that separated this year from last year, is that although the park was quite a bit less crowded, everyone in our group seemed to have just a wee bit more 'joie de vivre', the lust for life, knowing that they had (so far) survived the second biggest earthquake in recorded history, and were still living life fairly normally in spite of the hellish situation at the Fukushima nuclear power facility.


A bunch of us home brewers organized this party as a benefit to raise money for the relief effort up north. Here is a chronicle of the event.
Part 1

Part 2

In last year's post, I commented cynically that it is a time to ponder the fleetingness of existence, while getting rip-roaring drunk. This year there is humor, but no cynicism. Life is precious, folks. Cherish it, and reflect often on this point. If you haven't done it already, please donate to the disaster relief effort. Here are a couple of links to get you started.

• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• Doctors without Borders/Medecins sans Frontieres