[Good evening Sunday] Transition

Now Listening: Last Century Modern - Towa Tei

[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.

[Good evening Tuesday] Buenas noches Autumn evening

Summer is almost over...

nearly there...

SLEEP WALKER “Time Voyager”

[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. 

[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.

[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!

[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?

[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.

modern age pillow talk

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…?

[Good evening Wednesday] 6

   Hey, it’s June!

Violet, from our garden. Favorite flower of mine.
Thanks dad. #garden #violet

haunt me: Milk White Rain

“Sunday Afternoon” by Nathalie Cusson

Nicolas Jaar - Colomb (video by Igor Brodecki)

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

So… which type are you?

Now listening: "Pipoca" 
(Hermeto Pascoal must be extremely or fully aural... :D )

[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

[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.

[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... 

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)…

Then what if I…? 

Don’t know… but probably a gal band.. wearing dress...?

“He’s not A Boy” The Like

Cherry Blossom 2016

Fleeting beauty.

Fleeting dream.

We cannot love if it’s everlasting.

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)

[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”

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、、　）

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.

[Good evening Wednesday] Come, spring

Kings of Convenience “Misread”

[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)