Paco's Barber Shop

If you'll indulge me for a few minutes, I want to share two photos: one of my son and one of me getting haircuts at about the same age...at the very same place, Paco's in La Canada...thirty years apart!

Father


Son

Random Updates to the Website

I threw up a number of pictures from the last few months:

I still cannot get enough of Harajuku - it is seriously one of my favorite places in Tokyo. Before heading back to the States for a month, we stopped by with Rachel one last time.

Summers in Tokyo are hot and before escaping to LA, we visited Children's Kingdom, a very dated park that had good ice cream and put our sweet little Ella into an ice cream induced coma.

Shelley braved flying alone with two kids to Evansville from a family trip to Florida to spend time back in her home town. Her Fairy Godmother spoiled Ella.

Guess Who's Having a Birthday on August 26?

My father celebrates his 70th birthday today, August 26th. Wow, by looking at him you'd never guess it. He looks great.

There's a lot to love about my Dad - he's the most generous person I know. Growing up, though he was busy with work, he was always at the important events in my life...which meant a lot. And now that I'm grown I see how he's sacrificing his time and means to create memories with his kids and grand kids. Anthon adores his Papa.

My Dad for the most part grew up in Salt Lake City and had a paper route. He is named after his dad, the original Anthon Steffensen Cannon. As a side note, my Dad's older sister, Flora, is named after their Mother. So I'm sure conversation was confusing at times around the dinner table. Dad was on the debate teams in high school and college and he served an LDS mission to Australia where, as legend has it, he was actually the best man at the wedding of his companion who had just finished his mission (times are different, aren't they?).

Upon returning home, he studied political science at the University of Utah and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. If you saw that fraternity nowadays you'd wonder how such an upstanding guy could join a group like that...but he assures me that it was different back then. I, however, am not convinced.


He married Mom, drove back to law school in Boston, then moved to New York to pursue a career practicing law. Evidently the illustrious career could have been for naught. During his ethics interview, after taking the New York bar exam, they unearthed an unresolved jay-walking ticket he received in San Diego when the Utah debate team descended upon the poor, unsuspecting town. Those debaters get in all sorts of crazy trouble!

In 1975, about 6 weeks after I was born, my family moved to La Canada, California, where they have lived ever since. Growing up in LA with my Dad, our activities ranged from playing tennis on Christmas mornings, attending Lakers games in the 80's 90's and 2000's, and adventurously tagging along on Dad's exploration of new, odd and sometimes disgusting restaurants - Managua anyone?. I was also an unwitting sidekick when Dad went "Dirty Harry" on a few squirrels in our back yard who were causing trouble.



I'm blessed to have a great father who's been there for me and loves me. What a great example he's set and I'm trying to be like him now that I too have a son. It's been wonderful these past few weeks and months for my son to get to know his Papa better. I hope I can be half the father to Anthon that my Father was to me.

So, happy birthday Dad. I love you.



PS: I've tried to upload a smattering of funny and interesting pictures of my Dad through the years. He used to keep a "family humorous" section of pictures (slides) at our less than best...nostril shots, funny faces, etc. I've thrown a few of my favorite ones of my Dad, though if I had dug I'm sure I could find more embarrassing. From the top - picture of my Dad and me...maybe our first picture together. Then a picture of my parents before getting married. The next picture is of my Dad riding a camel on a trip to Egypt and then one with Shaq. You know, my Dad and Shaq are old buddies.

My other favorite picture is from my Dad's 50th birthday, but you'll have to click on the link to see it. I don't want to embarrass him too much.

Harajuku: Pink Eye

I took this shot right before leaving for the States this summer and I've been sitting on it. As you can see, this girl whom I saw in Harajuku, is wearing pink color eye contacts...not a strange occurence in Harajuku. She was posing for a local magazine that highlights the fashion and trends of the Harajuku style. So like the hack that I am I stood behind the photographer (as did a few others) and snapped a few pictures.

Download the full photograph by clicking on the image below.

Expat Life and Creature Comforts

As we settle back into our normal life here in Japan, I just want to say how grateful I am that expat life is so much easier now than it was in yesteryear. Even 10 years ago when I was an intern here, the company at which I worked had one shared computer for a team of 7 associates! Then later after I joined Capital, my corporate apartment didn't have broadband access and so if I wanted to check my email at night or on the weekends, I had to walk to an outdoor payphone, hook my laptop into the payphone and dial into my internet provider. The payphone, right next to a very busy intersection, solicited a lot of weird looks from people who were wondering what in the world I was doing.

Certainly that's benign compared to some of the veterans that we've come across in Tokyo. People who have been here 10-15-20 years tell stories of no English doctors, no access to foreign foods, no English TV, phone calls home costing arms and legs, writing letters home (who does that anymore?). You might as well be talking about the 1800's as far as I'm concerned.

Websites, digital cameras, Blackberrys and cell phones, Skype, iChat, video cameras, Costco and the like are all things no one really had 10 years ago yet they have really changed expat life. There is one underappreciated aspect of technology that Shelley and I are extremely grateful for, and that's websites like Hulu.com, that put full episodes of our favorite shows, and even some movies, online...for free. Talk about making us feel more connected to our home.

So, in that vein, I thought I'd marry the two concepts, favorite TV shows and use being in Japan and link a Saturday Night Live skit they did of the Office in Japanese. There's a 15 second commercial at the beginning, then the SNL clip starts.

Leaving Los Angeles

Our trip back to LA was one of the first times in my life that I've taken a vacation "back home" and it was wonderful. Shelley said that normally vacation means leaving your friends, and that this was the first vacation where she went to see her friends.

Our visit to LA was filled with tons of family time. While I feel like I'm quite used to moving around - and the emotions surrounding leaving loved ones, Anthon had a harder time. Once he realized what it meant to leave for the airport for Tokyo, he broke down and cried because he wanted to stay with his Nana and Papa (my parents). Indeed Anthon had probably the best time of us all here in the States. He and his cousin Peter are just best buds. It makes Shelley and I sad to think that he'll be without that for a year.

But during our trip we accomplished a lot. As is the case with expats who come home for the summer, we loaded up on stuff to take back home with us that we can't get in Tokyo - I mean a lot of stuff...enough to take back 9 huge bags with us to Tokyo. Clothes, shoes, books, food, you name it.

It was great to see my 91 year old Grandma Ella take to our 3 months old baby Ella. It's also very sad to think that few family members will see her in person until next year - when she will be so much bigger. Thank goodness for video iChat.

Other than that, we gorged ourselves on Mexican food (taco truck, La Cabanita and La Serenata) went to Dodger games, Hollywood Bowl, and even a few movies.

By the end we both felt like it was time to head back to Tokyo. Despite being away from family and many friends, our life is really there. I certainly was relieved to hear that from Shelley because when we first arrived in LA she was so happy that I didn't know if she would join me on the flight back!

Click on any of the pictures to see more of our trip.

The Toe Game

So you know how there are things that you didn't know about your spouse, or your spouse's family that pop up years later? Well, Shelley learned that our humble family are the originators of 'the toe game.' Thankfully not a deal breaker in our marriage.

What is the toe game, you ask? Think keep-away meets gym socks. Each player lies on the bed, while one holds a sock between their toes and tries to keep everyone else from grabbing it with, you guessed it, their toes. Here's a picture of me totally dominating in the toe game.

I remember playing the toe game with my Dad when he would come home from work. We'd be watching TV together on his bed, usually a sporting event, and it would devolve into the toe game. Really fun memories. We taught Anthon the game and he seemed to get into it. He still has a ways to go before he has strong sock grabbing and protecting abilities.

So all in all, not a bad family secret. Though I'm not so sure Shelley's ready to bust out the game when we have guests over. But who knows?

Outdoor Movie Night at the Cannons

You honestly can't beat summer time in Los Angeles. The days are hot, but the nights are cool and pleasant. As a treat for the grandkids, my Dad bought a video projector and decided to have outdoor movie nights. I guess it's all the rage. What started out as an impressive logistical feat - with my Dad lugging all of his AV gear outside running long extension cords - has become quite a fun and easy gig to set up. The retractable screen gives us an 85 inch wide screen picture. Throw in tons of blankets and chairs and popcorn and candy and drinks and it's movie night at the Cannon home. So far the theater has featured Indiana Jones, Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs and Empire Strikes back, among others.


Last week it was Jaws. I was somewhat nervous to see my son's reaction to a shark that dismembers peoples limbs. But Anthon seemed to keep the movie in its proper perspective. In the end, Jaws is blown up by a bullet being fired at a scuba tank Jaws is munching on, sending shark bits everywhere. Anthon and four year old cousin Peter have the following conversation:

Anthon: Jaws blew up! His mouth exploded (making explosion movement with his hands)
Peter: And, before that they stabbed him in the head.
Anthon: Yeah...Jaws went to Heavenly Father!
Peter: Yeah, in pieces.

Over and over and over this conversation was repeated. Two days later, Anthon is still talking about the exploding Jaws. He is similarly obsessed with poison apples and wicked queens. We might need to cleanse his mind with a little Mary Poppins or Cars or something like that.

Ella Nadine Meets Ella and Nadine

One of the big objectives and highlights of our trip is introducing Ella Nadine to her two namesakes, Ella and Nadine.

I am Tiger Woods

Last week Anthon's cousins gave him his first set of golf clubs, thus marking Anthon's first real step towards supporting his parents' lavish lifestyle through playing professional sports. They were Charlie Brown golf clubs (one wood, one iron and one putter), three plastic golf balls and a golf bag. Talk about setting up children for success.

Like the overly-annoying "little league Dad" I fully intend on becoming, I definitely am projecting my lack of sporting success onto my son. :) I see nothing but dollar signs (or yen signs, if we happen to still live in Japan when he turns pro!) in my his future. We went out back to practice. Anthon seemed quite fond of the one-handed stroke. A little unconventional, yes, but unconventional did work for Happy Gilmore.

But as any over-zealous father/manager will tell you, it's best to start the hype machine early for your kids. You know, create a little buzz and get the world ready for the golf phenom that will be Anthon Cannon. So, in that vein we created a little video that we hope will put Tiger Woods on notice that he better win all the golf titles he can in the next 18 years, because after that it will be Anthon's turn.



Here's the original "I am Tiger Woods" commercial hyping the future has-been.

5 Years

Shelley and I were married five years ago today and it's hard to fathom where the time has gone. It's blown by. In that time we've traveled across 5 continents, moved to Japan, had two kids, laughed a lot (argued only a little!) and grown deeper in love. I can't imagine my life without Shelley and am grateful I married someone so beautiful, loving, compassionate, fun, spiritual and intelligent. Each day I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have found and wooed Shelley Daetwyler. She is my best friend. I love you, Shelley, and look forward to the many years we have ahead of us.

I Love Bic Runga

I love Bic Runga. My wife needn't be worried or concerned over my feelings, because I think she loves Bic Runga too...or at least is deeply in like with Bic. Many (most? all?) of you probably have no idea who I am talking about. Bic is from New Zealand and is a singer/songwriter who's a virtual unknown here in the States, but is probably one of the biggest musicians in New Zealand. I love Bic Runga so much that if I had to whittle my music collection down to only five artists, she'd be in the final five; maybe even final two...keeping company with Ben Folds.

Her music is guitar and piano based (she plays both), and is mellow, pensive, a bit sad, yet with emotional lyrics. Great lyricist. She has an honest, and authentic quality to her voice. She wears her emotions on her face when she performs yet seems awkwardly shy between songs receiving her applause. She's a wonderful musician.

So, for the first time in six years, I had the chance to see Bic perform live last night. She's in the U.S. to record material for a new album. She performed at Largo, one of my favorite local venues. What's more, this was Shelley's first time seeing Bic. The big unknown was whether Ella would enjoy her first concert. We're not so attached to our darling daughter enough to want to bring her everywhere we go, it's just that Ella still doesn't take a bottle. So that keeps our date nights to three hours max. Knowing that wouldn't work tonight, we brought her along. Ella was swaddled tight, fed (a lot!) and rocked to sleep as the concert was starting. Though we didn't have any crying or screaming, it was funny to hear Ella snore, hum and sort of make the smacking noises associated with breastfeeding that were clearly audible between songs.

Now, I'm not usually a star struck person. Growing up in LA you're sort of accustomed to running into famous people around town and I never went screaming like a teenage girl up to anyone. But, I was so excited and nervous at the prospects of meeting and talking to Bic tonight. There were only 25 people in attendance and the venue is tiny so there's a lot of hanging out that goes on after the show between the musicians and the fans. So when I got a chance to meet and talk to Bic, I of course blathered on and on...but she couldn't have been more sweet. She posed for a picture (seen below) and was glad we brought Ella along.

I highly encourage you to check out Bic's music. You can go to BicRunga.com, or her MySpace page to listen to a few tracks. Or you can go to Youtube.com and type in her name for videos and some live clips.

As a primer, I suggest you listen to Sway, Listening For the Weather, Something Good, Winning Arrow, Suddenly Strange, Get Some Sleep, and Bursting Through.

Finally, she will be performing at Largo on I think September 6th. So if you're in town, and have the time and inclination, I recommend seeing her in person.

Did I mention that I love Bic Runga?

Family Trip to Florida, 2008

We recently got back from a Daetwyler family vacation to Florida. This is an annual event in the Daetwyler home. Much to our delight, at the last minute every eligible member of the family was able to make it. I say eligible, because Elder Mike, the missionary in Spain, could not make it...for obvious reasons.

Anthon recently had a scary experience with water, so he was reluctant to get anywhere near the pool or the ocean. He was so anti-beach and anti-pool that Shelley and I really began to question our future beach/resort vacations possibilities. I mean, he hated the beach. Hated the sand, hated the waves, hated the pool, hated everything. He only wanted to be inside. Over time, and thanks to a huge blow up Shamu toy given to him by his Aunt Diana and Uncle Danny, Anthon ventured into the pool and ventured into the ocean and eventually had a lot of fun - diving and swimming and braving the waves. It saved our vacation...and perhaps future ones as well.

Click on the picture below to see a number of photos taken by me, Shelley or Shelley's father, Ed.



Or...click on the picture below to see a short video of Anthon dumping sea water on my head, jumping into the pool, swimming and driving a boat...all in one family vacation.

Mormon Night: A Dodger Tradition

July 31 was Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium...and having grown up in LA it never occurred to me that this might be something of a strange event. But tonight the thought came to me, are there "Mormon Nights" at other ballparks in other parts of the country? And because in Utah every night is Mormon Night, do they have "Non Mormon Night" at Salt Lake Bees or Utah Jazz games? And do they have special halftime or 7th inning stretch "presentations" led by the missionaries. Maybe my Utah friends can help me out on that one.

It was a big night as Elder L. Tom Perry was invited down from Salt Lake City to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. For those of you who aren't familiar with this man, he's a member of the Quorum of 12 Apostles - basically one of a handful of senior leaders of the entire church. He's 85 years old and was dressed in a Dodger jersey with his name, Perry on the back. I had a good chuckle hearing the PA announcer say to 20,000 cheering people, "And please welcome Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles." Within the context of our church, we're just so used to seeing our leaders in dark suits, white shirts, walking in and out of meetings with reverence and zero fanfare - no clapping, no woo-hoo'ing...nothing but silence, usually.


So to see this was really cool - yet at the same time somewhat surreal. I think this was the first time in my entire life that I have ever let out a "woo hoo!" directed at a senior leader of the Mormon church. And that was funny to me - because it got me thinking what it would be like if that sort of thing became OK and we could clap, cheer, boo and woo-hoo during their General Conference talks?

Anyway, Elder Perry threw the pitch high over the plate. Bill Reynolds, my former scout master and all around great guy, expertly caught the pitch and made us all proud. Unfortunately the Dodgers lost 2-1.

Another Sunburn

A quick trivia question for you all - can you tell which parts of my back came into contact with suntan lotion and which parts didn't? Let me tell you, that's the last time I use spray-on suntan lotion.


I have a knack for getting sunburn on the very first day of becah vacations. I don't set this as a goal, it just happens. The night after I got burned, as we were saying our family prayers, I could have sworn Shelley said, "and please bless that Tony's sunburn won't hinder us from having a good time in Florida." Shelley contends, however that she said me instead of us! For the record, I didn't let the sunburn hinder my having a good time, except I did fry my scalp a few days later.

So, I was rolling on the beaches of Florida sporting a t-shirt and hat towards the end of the week. Nothing says 'advanced age' and 'uncool' like some dude hanging out on the beach or wading in the water with a t-shirt and hat...but that was me. I really feel bad that Shelley has to be married to someone like that!