"Top of a Mountain or Top of a Hill for New Year's?"

Tetsu: "I'd like to go somewhere to see the sun rise on New Year's Day... maybe Mt. Takao?"

Ishi: "Seeing the sun rise in an interesting location would be nice, but getting into packed trains in the cold, and then walking around in big crowds throughout the night, freezing the whole time, and then standing in a big crowd on a very crowded mountain isn't interesting at all.  In fact, it's downright unpleasant and boring!  How about taking something to drink (to celebrate) and just walking up a hill in a local park?  That would be much more fun in total, since we'd not have to suffer all night in the cold and then suffer in the morning in a big crowd, and then suffer still more in crowded trains on the way home..."

Tetsu: "Oh, you're so boring and negative!"

Ishi: "No, I'm not!  I'm being positive, practical, and realistic.  You're suggesting suffering for a really stupid reason!  It will be the very same sun that rises over the parks of Tokyo as the one that rises over the crowded and unpleasant 'popular spots' that you foolishly want to participate in for no better reason than it's a 'popular' thing!"

Tetsu: "All right, that's it!  I'm not talking to you!  You're too negative!"

Ishi: "OK - I don't feel much like talking to you right now either, but I'm not being negative!  I'm being realistic!  I suppose if we were on the Titanic on April 15th, 1912, and I said, 'Look!  There's an iceberg!  We should do something to avoid it!', you'd say 'There you go again!  Always being negative!'.  You know what Tetsu?  In actual fact, you're 100 times more negative than I am!  You bend over backwards to be unhappy and always look for someone with more money, a bigger apartment, etc. to compare with and be miserable!"

[Tetsu storms off, Ishi shakes head.]

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"Let's Watch a Movie!"

Ishi: "I don't suppose you'd like to see one of the Tora-san movies, would you?"

Tetsu: "Tora-san?  No thanks."

Ishi: "Well, you always say that, but what is it exactly about the series that you don't like?"

Tetsu: "It's kind of depressing - it never has a happy ending..."

Ishi: "Ah... well, some of them are like that, but some are actually fairly upbeat - like movie #19."

Tetsu: "What?!  Don't tell me you've memorized all of the movies in that series!"

Ishi: "Ha-ha!  No - I'm not that much of a fanatic, but I fairly recently saw #19 and and thought it was a lot of fun to watch."

Tetsu: "Hmmm... well, let's watch one next week maybe then.  I'd rather see something else tonight."

Ishi: "OK - then how about a Tsuri-baka movie then?"

Tetsu: "Ha-ha!  You're a big fan of that director, aren't you!"

Ishi: "Um, yeah, actually I am.  They're great movies.  They have interesting and fun story lines and don't resort to the action movie disease of needing to show death and destruction every two or three minutes.  Say - what is that director's name anyway?"

Tetsu: "Yamada Yoji"

Ishi: "Yamada Yoji... I'll try to remember that.  I can never remember people's names..."

Tetsu: "That's not so good you know... you should try harder to remember names."

Ishi: "Yeah... well....  Anyway - how about a Tsuri-baka movie?  Maybe #6 or so?"

Tetsu: "Why number six?"

Ishi: "I recently saw the first four or five and was hoping to see them in order..."

Tetsu: "OK, whatever.  Sure, why not - let's watch a Tsuri-baka movie then!"

Ishi: "Very good!  I'll get the cheese, peanuts, and wine ready!"

Tetsu: "What?!  You'll get fat..er doing that!"

Ishi: "..... But it's so much more fun watching a movie with something to eat and drink..."

Tetsu: "OK... suit yourself."

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"Let's go see a movie!"

Ishi: "Hello there Tetsu!"

Tetsu: ........  [Cold silence]

Ishi: "Ah... stop being Ms. Antarctica and let's go see a movie or something!"

Tetsu: "A movie?  What did you have in mind?"

Ishi: "Ah-ha!  So you *can* still speak then!  Let's go see... I don't know - whatever is playing at that nice theater in Yurakucho!"

Tetsu: "OK"

Ishi: "Banzai!"

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