137 High and Shore

After more than 2 months of uneasy days I landed a skyscraper at bayside Tokyo. It's no wonder these high-and-shore buildings are now the last choice to live in, but I dare to say the vision was magnificent enough to think twice of it.  

I saw thousands of city lights beyond achitectures surrounded by curving motorway, with the round bay where some ships are taking passengers on board in the dim light of dusk.

(note; please do not mind the unusual red light in the photo, that's just a reflected inside light. Not U-F-O or anything like that.)

These are surely an achievement. Achievement of a solution to help this crowded metropolice work beautifully and enable people to inhabit and work comfortably. I'm not in a position nor be qualified to talk about city planning after 3.11 but let's not just forget these challenges and achievements, even though the value has changed.

136 Media

Blog is the interior.
It's eventually your place. If others like it it's better.

Facebook is the exterior.
It's colorfully, tactfully decorated your signature.

Twitter is the swing door between them.
It's a voice cast over the open door, "What's happening now?"

135 Purkinje Phenomenon

学生のときに「色彩検定（2級）」という資格を取りました。仮にレジュメに書けば読んだ相手が不思議そうな顔をするような、今の仕事にあまりにも関係のない話ですが、実に魅力的で楽しく、興味の尽きない修行でした。毎年のように1級をマスターしたくなるのにそうしないのは、今さら役に立たないことを覚えるより仕事に必要な勉強をしなければ、というもっともな分別です（が、仕事に必要な知識こそ本なんかで勉強するものではないというのもまた真実）。

「人の視野は明るいところでは赤色が鮮やかに見え、暗いところでは青色が鮮やかに見える」、これをプルキニエ現象といいます。「2級」課程で得られる知識の中でなぜか最も印象に残りました。

晴れた日の夕方、陽が沈んで暗くなり始める瞬間、青々とした暗いような明るいようなまさに「鮮やかな青」の空の色を見るたびこれを思い出します（どうもその他のことは全て忘れたようです）。いつもこの貴重なロイヤルブルーを写真に収めたくなります。でも、人間が「鮮やかに見える（ように思える相対的な）」色を、写真という機械が再現するなんてはたして可能なんでしょうか？

かように実践は難しいのですが、試験問題ときたらこんなに楽しそうなのです。
http://www.aft.or.jp/what/what_10.htm

左目の手術を受けてからもうすぐ1年、近々経過観察と右目の検査も行うことになっています。夕闇の青に感嘆し、色彩の勉強を続けられるように、メンテナンスは欠かせません。

134 O Sleep!

O sleep! O gentle sleep!

Nature’s soft nurse

("Henry IV", William Shakespeare) 

I was in a station rushing to the office. Then I slipped. I hit my knee and cut it (I finally noticed with the pain that I was bleeding after I got to my desk.)

This is NO good. Fatigue or drawsiness are natural affair that no one can escape, but "slip and fall" is worse, childish, too bad. Even though the way was slippery enough, I cannot fall and hurt my knees everytime it rains! 

Doctor said that the carelessness and loss of physical control was caused by shortage of sleep and showed me the mechanics of sleep. Do everyone know that sleep automatically changes the nerve system and it switches your muscles to a state of "fully-rest"? I didn't. I didn't know that not only brain but muscles also follow the instruction of nerve signals. 

Well, all your body can never be eased unless you close your eyes.

O sleep! O gentle sleep! is pretty medical and scientific. I regret that I see sleeping as just a couple of unconscious time between today and tomorrow. It isn't. Living systems have lots of work to do during your sleep. 

Sleep is such a strict order that is easiest thing to do in the world. So have good night, everyone!

133 Piano

While I was soaked in dance my little niece started to learn to play piano. I imagine that she, being my-rather-unconventional-family, would fancy playing ad-lib as well as playing "It's a small world".

The news reminds me of my long-time question about piano:

-Is piano a percussion instrument?
-Is piano a stringed instrument?
-Is piano a keyboard instrument?

Surprisingly it seems that all three are true. It is a percussion, it has strings, and it works with keyboards. I admit my knowledge of musical instrument is primitive since I've lost interest in musical education at elementary school and never had a satisfactory explanation about it. They say that piano is just unique. I vaguely understand piano will create beat like drums, and melody like vilolin though piano in its appearance has nothing in common with those percussions or strings.

Actually I'm no better at musical instruments than I am familiar with color pencil, sketchbooks and a camera. I adore listening to music. I adore dancing to the music. But I happen to be lack of good relationships with any musical instruments. This might be a bigger question to me.

Maybe my niece could tell me the tips some day. 

132 On the Spot

連休の間、ダンスのチームメイト達と舞台に立っていました。多少のアクシデントはありましたが、パフォーマンスは成功でした。幸いなことに”本番に強い”気質を持っているのですが、本番に強いというのは自分の力というより観客の力だと思っています。

リハーサルはこんな感じです。観客はなし。舞台監督と音響や照明などスタッフ全員が職業的な目できびしく舞台を見ていて、というより見張っていて、進行は秒単位で測られ、緊張感が支配する場面です。出荷前の最終ラインで品質点検を受けている製品になったような気分です。（これが本番を左右する重要なプロセスなのは言うまでもありませんが。）

本番はこれが一変します。向こう側には観客。観るために来た人達が「一体何が飛び出すやら」と見守っている空気は、パフォーマンス側に瞬時に伝わります。その空気に応えて観客を（もっと）驚かせ、喜ばせ、楽しませたいという思いがパフォーマーの予期せぬ力を呼び起こします。このとき舞台上で受けとめるのはただ観客の視線のみ。拍手や歓声はずっと後になって気づくものです。

観客の力に支えられ舞台に立つとき、別の人格を授かるような気持ちがします。それは舞台が終わっても残ります。ちょうど俳優がさまざまな役柄を経験していくように、壁が開けて新しい空間を見つけるように、実に気分の良いものです。

観に来て下さった皆様、応援頂いた皆様、ありがとうございました。

131 A Cup of Coffee

Maybe, all my life I've been almost addicted to a cup of coffee.

I started drinking coffee customary from age under 10. In early teens I've learnt to make nice black coffee. During the schoolage I definitely had 4 or 5 cups of black coffee everyday. (Just a note for those who kindly worry about under-aged coffee-taker, I say I never had sleeping problems.)

I've earned this little habit from my mother who loves coffee more than any other person I've ever met (she says she wants to have coffee whenever she sees a person in cinema uttering "I want some coffee"), and educated me to a master of making coffee. Yes, I always boast of my special gift! Only reason I don't say such a self-esteem these days is that we now can reach and enjoy good coffee at any Starbucks at the corner.

Coffee is a friend. Coffee ease your mind, reset your tension, refresh your brain, change your moment, open up your senses, warm your spirit and fill your space with chic bitter scent.

As a grown-up, I've been slowly getting to know the charm of wine. Green tea also suits me. And in fact coffee is not my favorite one...because, though it may sound funny, my true loving drink is, a water. 

But coffee is my long-time friend like Tiffany is a friend to Miss Holly Golightly. So I have a cup of coffee and gallons of water happily together on my desk.