Now Listening: Last Century Modern - Towa Tei
2016/11/20
2016/09/27
[Good evening Tuesday] Unverbalizable emotion, or rather, do not verbalize it
I don’t remember which movie that was, but there was
a scene where a female character is running around the town to get her favorite
flavor of icecream. Was it chocolate chip or coffee, I don’t remember. But she
had a tough day and she desperately needed it. She rushed from store to store
but no luck, and she started to cry like a mad woman in the store screaming why
there isn’t.
It was about icecream, but it wasn’t about icecream. I
still think this scene is the most accurate portrayal of that feeling.
2016/09/06
[Good evening Tuesday] Buenas noches Autumn evening
Summer is almost over...
nearly there...
SLEEP WALKER “Time Voyager”
2016/08/24
[Good evening Wednesday] Beep beep
My laptop started to act funnily.
Sometimes it decides to beep endlessly, and doesn't
show me anything.
I remove all the cables and pat and speak to it in
sweet way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And now seems like it
beeps more frequently.
I wonder how long the duration of computer's life is...
In the official guidebook of Japan Income tax return,
durable years of computer is stated as 4 years. But this doesn't account of its
operating time, so it's quite unclear.
In my case, it has been always around 3 years. Either
I make them taste coffee and they screamed "nnnnnnnn" and stop, or it became unbearably slow that I or my coworkers couldn't take it. I don't
dare to open the computers lid and exchange parts (further catastrophe is
predicted), so once that happens it's time to get a new one.
My current "bad-tempered" laptop is almost
3 years old. Except the fact that it occasionally beeps when I open (well, it's actually a big problem), I like how it works. It's really fast and it's very clear (it's
my very first GeForce-powered laptop. I don't know what this does though. I
blame demoscene for this) so I'm hoping to use it longer. What I'm gonna do is,
ask google and keep encouraging when it beeps.
---
By the way, I'd like to share a few things I've
learnt from past experience (if you happen to be a tech savvy person, please skip):
- Usually, pink or milky-colored laptops come with
many unnecessary software and functions and higher-priced. If your top priority
is not a color, you may want to think twice.
- Unless you do know what to do, "customize
option" is not always a good idea.
- Vista was really not a good idea.
- Not everyone who opens Mac laptop at Starbucks is tech savvy.
- When you buy a computer at the store, don't trust
chatty staffs loitering around "NEW!!" -tagged computers. Don't trust
someone who starts shooting jargon when you ask something simple either. They're
not experts. In my opinion, the word "CPU" should not come from
their mouth before buyer says it. Find a store staff who quietly listens to
what you need and budget.
And most importantly,
- Be extremely careful when you drink hot beverage
before laptops.
2016/08/10
[Good evening Wednesday] Donuts crisis
Just read a news about Japan’s doughnuts situation.
The biggest chain store, Mister Donut is struggling
to have a surplus, and Krispy Kreme is closing down their stores (they used to
have over 60 stores, now 45). Some things are considered to be the cause of
this situation (like convenience store started to sell donuts) but overall, it
seems like the “donut market” in Japan is shrinking year by year, they say.
Shrinking donut market…? This could be a very serious
problem. Smaller market means less donuts stores and less opportunity to get good
donuts. It’s almost like losing yet another paradise from this world...
Well, frankly speaking, only store I care about is
Mister Donut. I’ve been there from childhood, and at the peak point (around
20) I went there almost daily to chat with friends or kill time or comfort myself with a big ring or two. (btw, they have dim
sum and noodles too, and porridge for breakfast menu) And, I have quite a lot
of fond memories there.
One of them is this: I saw a little boy and his
father were having tea break during their boys dayout (I was sitting next to them).
They looked happy but suddenly the papa got angry at the boy who’s eating his chocolate donut neatly. The papa said “it’s a donut, you just hold it with both
hands and take a big bite!” And after a little hesitation, the little boy
opened his mouth wide and savored the donut, leaving one big chocolate donut stamp
around his mouth… the papa looked contented, but as soon as he saw the stamp he
dashed to get a napkin shouting “oh no no! don’t wipe it with your sleeve!!” It was
so peaceful view that I kept thinking, “if I could make a donut AD clip, this
would be it..."
Anyway, the donut situation. We gotta do something to it.
Oh yeah, Arnolds opened its store in Tokyo too. I wonder how
they’re doing.
2016/07/01
[Good evening Friday] July, Summer Sky, Lemonade, Books, SPF50
July is here, it’s summer. Or at least early summer is here.
I start listening to the music which gives me the summer mood; something which makes me imagine the breezy driving along the blue sea… because this won’t happen in my real life. I don’t like heat and there’s no blue sea nearby. I don’t even remember the last time I saw the real sea (the one from the airplane counts? or that’s more like sky)
Weather forecast says we’re gonna have nearly 35c days from this weekend. So I guess it’s time to start my summer rituals: Stay in and avoid sun and heat. Actually it’s a great season to read and watch movies…
The Sea and Cake is something I enjoy listening during warm weather... and this video is just. So summerly. Something I won't/didn't do but enjoy imagining what the real summer is like... :)
Have a great summer!
2016/06/14
[Good evening Tuesday] Guilty pleasures
Q: I love my birds. Fuyu (white buncho, girl) and Goma
(gray sakura buncho, boy). I do think they are the cutest birds in this world,
and I do bring their photos when I travel for a while. But I see other buncho
birds shared on the web and can’t stop aww-ing. Does this consider to be cheating?
2016/06/08
[Good evening Wednesday] singularity
I saw a short Japanese reportage about AI called AlphaGo (Google DeepMind) the other day: How it works, difference from the previous AI model, and how the games with a human top player went. It was impressive, but it scares me, as it should.
When the word “technological singularity” started to
pop up in non tech-centered magazines (about 5-6 years ago?), I got the
impression that this will be just a next buzz word for semi-elite group to
refer “future” and didn’t find it to be
realistic. Because back then, IBM’s Watson debuted in Jeopardy and,
though Watson is not AI, I thought current AI would work like that: referring to every
single information on the database/web and filter, analyze and find the best choice to meet the given
condition. Sure it’s brilliant and not a cakewalk at all, but sounded like it hinged lot more upon the computing
capacity than AI’s ability.
But now, things have obviously changed. Research
around AI is heating up here and there. Even in my country side area, now the
phone shop has an AI equipped robot to serve us (this was freaky, he held my hand while watching someone else's face) And I thought
inspiration and instinct are something only animal can gain through experience,
but according to the reportage I saw, it seems like (or just my impression) AI is mastering quasi-instinct ability.
I’ve been interested in how far these things are doing, but there's always one big question mark in my head and that is “What is this for?” What does this ultimately aim to?
Why do we need to create something smarter than
human? What for?
Try understanding the mechanism or pattern of human emotions,
and reproduce them. But what for?
To prove that we can? To get the taste of our
Maker?
Machine can execute command for certain purpose, but
it cannot decide its purpose. Machine will understand what the general notion
of our happiness is, but it cannot sense or know what makes it (machine) happy or sad… Do
I understand correctly? Then what is the purpose here? What is this for?
Should I ask Watson…?
2016/06/01
2016/05/29
2016/05/25
[Good evening Wednesday] New Notebook
Now I’m sitting in front of a brand-new notebook.
A new notebook excites me.
And looking and touching the blank papers by thinking
what to write on it, is one of the most exhilarating moments in the life for me.
This one is quite self-explanatory. I’m pretty sure I
can easily meet its expectations.
2016/05/18
[Good evening Wednesday] A Letter
Among some letters I cannot throw away, there’s one letter
that I got from me from the past.
It was addressed to “Me who finished the university
exam” and it was from “Sixteen years old Me who's one week before the final
exam, writing at 0:48 am” :D
In the letter, she (me from the past) wrote about how
boring it is to study World History, how happy she is to have a new bookshelf,
what she wants to do after the high school and what she wants to be in the
future. And she told me to remember “Love this moment”
It’s been 20 years since I wrote this letter (gosh)
and reading this letter makes me smile... or more like laugh.. (If she really “love
this moment” she wouldn’t have wrote this letter back then, would she… :D)
Well, this was one of my ways to avoid studying or to escape from reality… and
something hasn’t changed at all… haha.. :D
And what if I write a letter to future me now..?
I guess it’ll be like this;
------------
Dear future me,
Sometimes I get lazy, sometimes I do what I know I
shouldn’t do. But overall I am living my life at full speed. This is all I can
do for now. Please don’t look back and say “I could have done this” or “I
shouldn't have done that” because at this point I don’t know. I’m not wiser than
you.
Love,
Me
------------
Ok, back to work.
2016/05/10
[Good evening Tuesday] ALMOST ASMR
This morning I accidentally found a short and cool
science program for kids while I was zapping.
They were trying to create perfect milkcrown with
various liquid, so that they can provide that to a king who recently lost his
favorite crown (mind you, it’s a kids program) But the king’s expectation is
quite high, he wants a white crown with orange inside. (website)
I’ve seen milkcrown slo-mo video with milk or water
before, but I’ve never seen a milkcrown with olive oil (sorry it sounds a bit
confusing) I didn’t know that olive oil milkcrown looks like contact lenses.
They tried with orange juice and yoghurt too. Somehow it all looked surreal and
CG to me… but it was fascinating…
The program is called “Discover Science”. Not sure if
it’s geo-restricted, but they publish some episodes on the web. Just watched
the “Colored flame” episode… and it’s oh so gooood…. :D
2016/05/04
[Good evening Wednesday] Visual or Aural
Back in my university days, I took a test to figure
out whether I rely more on visual or aural information. I forgot the exact
ratio, but I found out that I had a strong tendency to capture information from
audio rather than visuals.
This test was part of teaching methodology class, and
it was about to give effective teaching materials by understanding student’s
cognitive tendency. If the student’s visual, it’s more effective to use pictures. And if they’re aural, it’s better to use listening CD. And if they’re
balanced? …I forgot, but probably video would be effective (because they can
get both equally… right?)
Obviously this test was simplified version since they
don’t include other tendency like verbal or kinetic but to know whether you’re
visual, aural or balanced, it’ll help you when you learn something. I couldn’t
find this test anywhere, but I guess it’s not that hard to know your type when
you pay attention to your behavior or thinking process. When you recall
something do you see image or words in your mind? or hear something?
I give you an example. There was an old workmate of
mine who’s trying to learn Japanese. He said he had been listening Japanese
conversation CD but it really didn’t work. After having meetings with Japanese
people, he often said “I’m probably not blessed with language skills…”
However,
when we were walking outside, he frequently pointed out the store sign with
Japanese kanji characters and checked if he understood its meaning correctly.
It was very accurate that I had to ask why he knew much. And he revealed that he
enjoyed looking at the Kanji picturebook which he originally bought for his
kid... And... you know what I’m trying to say.
To me, it was clear that he was visual. He was
capable of reading and handling complex charts easily and explain things by
drawing. And he paints well too.
We say “I know myself very well” In a way, yes. But
in a way, no, not really.
Now listening: "Pipoca"
(Hermeto Pascoal must be extremely or fully aural... :D )
(Hermeto Pascoal must be extremely or fully aural... :D )
2016/04/27
[Good evening Wednesday] Time will tell
There's a topic I wanted to write for this week's
Good Evening, but as I write on, it doesn't seem to go anywhere. So I gave up
for now.
"In Your" mabanua
2016/04/20
[Good evening Wednesday] Who were you?
The other day I visited a small shrine in the
mountain to catch the last cherry blossom in my area. It was beautiful and I
enjoyed the quiet time and negative ion there, but everything changed when I
spotted a big black animal.
Luckily there's some distance between us, and the
cryptid ran away. Though I first thought it was a black horse, I immediately
changed my mind and consider it was a bear... after that... you can imagine how
scary it was for me to walk back to the car.
But after getting back to home, I started to think it
was a reindeer...
I don't know. But now I know it’s true that the memory deceives me.
2016/04/13
[Good evening Wednesday] Rock
The other day I was invited to a party where the
dress code was “Rock”. And this got me puzzled for a while.
Rock…
Should I paint stars or attach sideburns on my face…?
…no, that’s more like a cosplay than dress-up. And most of my favorite rock
bands are hardcore normcore, so I can’t use them as a reference. After all it’s
a party, so need to be a tad more formal…
Rock…
Black would be a safe bet… and leather pants and lock
bling…? …no, that sounds more like a punk, and to wear them after 20s, there’s
a risk to be seen as fetish clothes if they’re untrained… uh-uh, definitely not
for me.
But before anything else, what is “rock”...?
It seems like there’s a certain or fluid definition
in terms of music genre, but for clothes or fashion, there’s no particular
rules or uniform to manifest “rock”. Leather, studs, chain, long hair, Flying
V, gargling with vodka. These things remind us (or me) “rock ‘n’ roll” or “rock
musician” but they are not mandatory items to be one.
Personally I think “Rock” is an attitude. An attitude
of someone who has built his/her steadfast belief and act up to it. Fight and
resist if needed. And if I see “Rock” from that point of view, I can quite
easily name few people for the model. And among them, who reflect those
attitude in what she/he wear…? Mr. Quentin Crisp came up my mind first
(famously, he is The "Englishman" sung in Sting’s “Englishman in New York”).
So I opened my closet, and went through my clothes
imagining what Mr. Crisp would say if I wear this… and… my inner channeled
Quentin voice said “Without having a
style, anything you wear is just a piece of cloth, dear”
..........Right. So I gave up and decided to go with a simple dress. “How boring”, Quentin would say. I know. But I have no clue. And I don’t feel comfortable doing this… What a party pooper… I always am… and maybe that’s my style… (this was my comeback/excuse to my inner Quentin) ...but at least I sort of consulted one of my rock icons...
..........Right. So I gave up and decided to go with a simple dress. “How boring”, Quentin would say. I know. But I have no clue. And I don’t feel comfortable doing this… What a party pooper… I always am… and maybe that’s my style… (this was my comeback/excuse to my inner Quentin) ...but at least I sort of consulted one of my rock icons...
Being at the party with observer mode, I saw most of
the guests there were wandering somewhere between standard semi-formal clothes
to “rock” evoking attires. Except few people who were clearly enjoying the
dress-up, I guess everyone had tough time figuring out what to wear.
But to sum up, by judging from the outfits of hosts, “this is what I’d wear if I became a rock musician and
be on stage” was the appropriate interpretation of this event’s dress code…
Ah…(sigh)…
Ah…(sigh)…
Then what if I…?
Don’t know… but probably a gal band.. wearing dress...?
Don’t know… but probably a gal band.. wearing dress...?
“He’s not A Boy” The Like
2016/04/08
2016/04/03
haunt me: B to the E to the A to the T
GoGo Penguin - One Percent (Live)
GoGo Penguin - Weird Cat (Live)
OMG U GUYS... (my fists in the air)
2016/03/30
[Good evening Wednesday] switchback
When my train of thought starts to go backwards, I lately
learnt to say this to stop this train.
“Wow, I’m so bored”
2016/03/23
うちの文鳥: 懲りない2羽、悩める私
たまには、うちのモフモフのことを書きたいと思います。
ふゆ(白文鳥・メス)とごま(桜文鳥・オス)の2羽が仲良く手のひらに収まっていたのは、もう昔の話。今や5センチと近づけば、マンガで見るような床を転げまわる取っ組み合いをしています。本当に危ないので、しっかり監督できない場合には同時にカゴからは出しません。
![]() |
両者一歩も譲らず
|
ただ、近づけばすぐケンカにはなるものの、本能なのか何なのか、ごまはふゆの前で歌と踊りを披露し、必死に求愛を続けています。そして、ふゆはそれを怒りながら見て、ときどき怒りながら受け入れ、ごまは怒りながらアプローチしているという、、何というか、少しいびつな愛の形が生まれているようです、、ははは、、、(苦)
ふゆちゃんが求愛を受け入れてくれないと、遠くから飛んできて、「ほかにとまるところがなかったんだもん」とでも言いたげに、ふゆちゃんの背中にダイレクトに着地という卑怯な手を使い始めたごま。見つけたら即、逮捕されています。あたりまえだ。
しかし、ふゆもふゆで悪い。カゴの中にいる時など、絶対にごまが手を出せないと分かってる状況だと、ふゆから求愛をしたり、甘える声を出すんですよね、、。何なのあなた、、プロなの、、どこで覚えたの、、、。笑
こういう時、やっぱり2羽を引き離すほうがいいのかな、、それとも、本当に取っ組み合いのケンカになるまでは止めないほうがいいのかな、、と、実は日々ささやかに悩んでもいます。ときどき、本当にときどきですが、2羽で毛づくろいをし合ったりすることもあるので、こういう「ケンカ」が2羽の間では愛情表現なんだろうか、、と、、飼い主は悩ましく思っておるわけです。考えすぎかなあ、、1羽ずつ出すと、必ずもう1羽のカゴの前に飛んでいったりしてるし、、、。仲良くしてくれると助かるんだけど、、まぁ、、文鳥もいろいろあるのかもねぇ、、。
そろそろ換羽の時期が来ることもあり、最近はいつもより余計にピリピリムード。換羽が終われば、春は恋のシーズンだからなぁ、、、はぁ、、、どうしよう、、、。 ( なんか、ちょっとビロウな話ですみません、、 )
2016/03/16
Whisper #417-424
#417
Was
that a violet you gave me?
#418
#419
No
one wants to be categorized as “one of them”
that's
what you mean, I understand
because
I feel the same
But you just did that to me
#420
I
wanted to be heard, too.
Just
like you wanted.
#421
So hear me, this is what I wanted to say:
#422
Right
now, nothing makes me more insecure than James Bay's skinny jeans.
#423
this
isn't a coincidence, is it?
i'm
asking you here.
#424
Say
it in whisper, not on twitter.
2016/03/09
2016/03/08
[Good evening Tuesday] Games
I occasionally feed the cats in Neko Atsume, but I’m
really not a game player. However there are few games that I enjoyed playing or
watching lately, and I want to write a bit about that tonight…
One is called “Her Story”. It’s almost a year ago,
Andrew who always provides interesting information around games (and more) were
tweeting about this game, and his description of this game (I couldn’t find
that tweet but it was like “you need a notebook to play this game”) got me interested.
Unlike the games I know, this game doesn’t involve
any fighting or “level-up” action. You just hear “her story” on recorded video
and pick up the keyword and connect the dots. I thought the actress was darn
good and it gave away the story quite instantly :D, but I really enjoyed how it
played out.
Another one is “The Longest Journey”. Several months
ago, Gargaj, a demoscener and avid game player told me about this game, and
when I found out that the main character of this game is a girl who keeps
journal and that there’s a talking bird involved, I decided to check out its
playthrough video. I watched it, and kept watching its sequels and started
playing by myself. It’s seriously a long story, and it’s more like an audiobook
of witty conversation than games to me and I love that. I can’t wait to see
their final chapter coming out.
Well, I guess both are quite passive comparing
with action-packed ones, but you know, if you are someone who doesn’t know and
play games much like me, you may find them surprising and interesting.
(Thanks Andrew and Gargaj)
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