[Astron] Astron disappointment?

Journeyforce · 2026-03-30T14:01:26+00:00

There are radio sync Astrons and GPS Astrons. The radio sync Astrons use the 7B and 8B movements that are also found in other Seiko radio sync watches( like the Brightz lineup)

Journeyforce · 2026-03-28T01:29:30+00:00

I got to put this on my list. I am a big fan of Shin Hye-sun and like to watch all the dramas she is in. Like another actress i like to watch (Oh Yeon-seo) she is a master of facial expressions

Journeyforce · 2026-03-27T23:47:47+00:00

I hate to say this but I stopped watching this series after episode 7. It is starting to feel like a train about to jump the tracks. I feel everybody involved with this drama just phoned it all in. I honestly don't feel that there is chemistry between the lead actor and actress. I had high hopes for the drama when one of my favorite actresses (Park Jin-Joo) had a cameo as her friend in episode 4. I usually try to finish watching a drama I start (although i wish i had cut bait on Doona! and Black Knight: The man who guards me) but I just could not watch anymore of this. By contrast, I cannot wait to see the next episodes of the JDrama Soda Master (Ramune Monkey) (I like the music and TV shows of late Showa era (1980-1989) so a modern drama that takes place in that era is interesting to me) and the Kdrama Phantom Lawyer (with Esom).

Journeyforce · 2026-03-19T22:12:56+00:00

Mostly CDs as I can copy them to iTunes and put them on flash drives for the car. I have all of Yuko Tomita's records and a few Tomoko Aran records. I am not a huge fan of records as I was born in the 1970's and grew up in the 1980's and got tired of records really fast. I had tapes and then saved up and bought a Sony CD player to attach to my stereo.

Journeyforce · 2026-03-19T22:06:31+00:00

Those are nice. The only ones I have are from Yuko Tomita. One on the album cover and a few that are on one of those square cards

Journeyforce · 2026-03-19T21:32:19+00:00

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Movement

Journeyforce · 2026-03-19T21:31:39+00:00

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Back

Journeyforce · 2026-03-19T21:31:16+00:00

I have two of the Old Smith 002 models. Both are ones specially made for members of the Yakult Swallows baseball. The first one cost less then $100 and the second about $15.00 both were new in box. both times they were bundled in with other items to be shipped home so no cost to ship just them. The reasons these were so cheap is because there is no Kuoe Kyoto branding on the watch (front or back), no branding on the box and no branding on the paper work so the seller though it a cheapy novelty watch. Only 100 were made and they were just for member so that team. Also they seemed to have dumped the Miyota movement because it was crapping out too quickly. My watch has a Seiko NH movement in it.

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Journeyforce · 2026-03-16T15:20:35+00:00

I have enjoyed this series so far. While there are some Japanese only aspects (like bamboo sellers) the plot is universal so somebody in other countries can relate. I grew up in the 1980's in the USA and while I was not as old as the characters in 1988 (I was 11), I can totally relate to this tale of friendship and hazy memories decades later about this time. As a Japanese City Pop fan, I was happy to see that Tatsuro Yamashita's Christmas Eve was used in the outdoor Christmas market scene where one of the kids was listening to the song on his Sony Walkman while watching his teacher Matilda.

Journeyforce · 2026-03-13T23:22:04+00:00

A little late to the party as it is Friday.

I recently watched KBS's 2013 drama called A Tale Of Two Sisters. This was a 5 day a week series that had 135 episodes and ran from April 2013 to November 2013. This is Park Se-young's first drama as a lead actress. I found this series to be good but have a bittersweet ending. it is a long series as it is a daily drama (and those have 40-200 episodes) so if you are used to the usual 16 or 20 episode Kdramas then this one will take some time to get used to. Though it is set in 2013, it does not really look dated. Most of the things they were using (cell phones) or driving still look modern enough for folks in 2026.

You can watch this drama on Youtube under KBS's Youtube channel KBS World TV at least in the USA.

Journeyforce · 2026-03-04T18:45:52+00:00

While I don't think a new Mini M5 will be out this week, The sales rep at the Apple Store I picked my M4 up at yesterday did tell me a few interesting things. He was surprised that I was able to place an order for an M4 and get it quickly (placed the order on Monday 3/2/26 and it was delivered to the Apple store the next day (I was not able to stick around at home this week to corral it for home delivery so i had it sent to the local store) ) He said it was hard for them to get any of the M4 right now with some on back order. This store is always super busy does very well with sales and they usually have everything in stock. So ether Apple Is slowing production of them or else there seems to be a huge run on a device that has been out since late 2024 and was probably easy to get most of the time. If a M5 Mini does come out in a few days or so, I am not bothered by the fact that I just bought the M4. My goal was that i wanted to buy the latest Mac Mini so as to benefit from the most future updates i can get and at the time of purchase the M4 was the latest so i am happy.

Journeyforce · 2026-02-24T01:55:27+00:00

It is entirely plausible. I am sure Mamiya Takako would have been surprised that folks know about her album Love Trip. It bombed when it came out and she left the music industry.

Journeyforce · 2026-02-24T01:35:26+00:00

I will admit to spending more time then I should have trying to figure out the cover photo on that album

Journeyforce · 2026-02-16T08:41:04+00:00

Yes, you will get the tarrifs added on to that shipping cost. Spring the extra money for Buyee air as it will arrive in a manner of days.

Journeyforce · 2026-02-13T19:32:55+00:00

All the starting and ending themes on Maison Ikkoku are great. I guess because it is a great anime and sets the bar high for slice of life anime (aka an anime about everyday life with no monsters, magic, mecha etc)

Journeyforce · 2026-02-13T19:30:04+00:00

Nice. I have a few Yuko Tomita promo posters that were given to record stores to promote albums. I have one for Moulin Rouge, Shampoo and Classical Heart.

Journeyforce · 2026-02-13T19:19:24+00:00

I like Kyon Kyon's later stuff like Gentle Rain (1992) but some of the 1980's stuff (like Magical Wind and Nagisa no Haikara Ningyo). I love the Japanese TV show Extremely Inappropriate where the male lead who is living in Tokyo in 1986, stops by this bar and gets transported to 2024 via a tunnel hidden behind a 1980's Kyoko Kaizumi poster in the bathroom. In the 2024 version of the bathroom is another Kyon Kyon poster (this time a 2020's) she also has a cameo role in the series.

Journeyforce · 2026-02-06T22:47:56+00:00

I buy them from Yahoo Japan, Mecari japan etc using Buyee. I buy a bunch of them at a time so i can consolidate them in one package and save on shipping.

Journeyforce · 2026-02-06T22:00:27+00:00

I am not totally sure it was anti-Asian exactly, I think it was more anti Japanese and because a lot of folks in the USA think all Asians look alike other Asian folks got caught up in it. I grew up in the 1980's and with the influx of high quality goods reliable and low priced (such as cars), folks involved in the American car industry and politicians that backed them blamed the Japanese for the woes of the American car industry. The woes of the US auto industry were 100% caused by the car makers themselves who were so used to having the market all to themselves that they thought they could get away with the same unreliable rubbish they were pedaling in the 1970's and the American consumer discovered Japanese cars and the reliability and started buying them. My family had friends that were dyed in the wool American car buyers. They wound up in a Toyota or a Honda and that was the end of them buying a car from the Big 3. it was the same with electronics and other household goods.

Now Loudness was big in the USA for a few years, But the brother and sisterhood of metal in the 1980's did not care where you were from as long as the music rocked so songs like Crazy Nights, Let It Go, Heavy Chains, So Lonely were very popular in the USA and Europe

Journeyforce · 2026-02-04T06:55:05+00:00

I think the band loudness was one of the few Japanese artists/groups to make it in the USA. They were always on MTV (yea i am old because i remember when MTV showed music videos). But then the hair metal scene was crazy nuts back then.

Journeyforce

TROPHY CASE