253 Up

The other day I was waiting at the crossing for traffic light to change. I looked up the sky as I felt something was moving. So did the other people. Then we saw a balloon floating high in the wind over a busy street. 
Seeing a balloon swimming in the air is one of the moments we suddenly feel like captured by a child's pleasure. Or think about blowing the soap bubbles. Colorful as rainbow, brilliant as marbles, these very fragile tiny balls still give us excitement and fun. Or remember the moment when you see your breath in the cold air. You might perhaps imagine yourself smoking a cigar when you left home for school in a winter morning.
Balloon, bubbles and breath, all flow freely, float up in the air and bring us mysteriously instinctive delight. 

252 Bentley

ごくごくたまに、途方もないものが欲しくなることがあります。本当に稀な出来事です。数日前、車庫から出てくるベントレーのコンチネンタルGT（と思しき）シルバーの大きな車を見かけた瞬間、見事なデザインと最高クラスの上質さ、圧倒的な存在感にすっかり惹き付けられました。ベントレーのような車を「欲しい」と思うというのは間違いかもしれません。このような高級車を自分が所有したいと思うのではなく、粋を集めた芸術品のようなこの存在を心ゆくまで観察したい、という気持ちに近いでしょうか。

251 Baseball

The other day I was having dinner with my acquaintance who was working at an insurance company. He said he was playing baseball in high school. I said I would probably understand the rules (there are many sport games that I don't understand the rule). He asked me of my knowledge. I told him, "Well as far as I know, people hit the ball and run around. If he manage to circle around the field, then he can score a point." "Yeah that's true" he said. I asked him which position he played. He answered he was a third-baseman. I said "I always think the catcher is the unique position because only the catcher faces to the spectator and sees everyone, everything going on the field while other players cannot."


He was a bit surprised to hear my comment and started laughing. I didn't get it. I asked "Did I say something wrong?" he said, "No, no, I just feel bit shocked because I've never imagined that the catcher would be seen as such. I was a player myself on the field, and we players have never thought about these things you said, like 'Run, circle around and you'll get point' or 'Only the catcher turns to the audience and sees the field from his unique position'. Now if you put it that way, it's true. And I've never recognized it and it's so funny."


I thought it funny that he felt it that way. Having conversation with many different person makes your way of thinking fresh.

250 Hero

If you are asked of your heroes, whom you admire most for his or her achievements, behavior, attitude, personality and sense of humor, which name you would come up with? Maybe it's Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Muhammad Ali or your parents, could be anyone. I would like to personally name Peter Drucker. There's no specific reason for this--- just because he was a giant of business and management. But besides him I would choose several different great person who had/has nothing to do with my profession. And I suppose most people do the same, that is, respect someone who aren't living in the same world or field. That's simply interesting.

249 Man on a Ledge

先週封切りとなった「Man on a Ledge」はサスペンス＆アクションの良作と言えるでしょう。話の中心はNYの高層ビルの窓のひさしに立ちつくし、飛び降りを仄めかす男。その行動の本意と、隣のビルで起こりつつある計画が緊張感を孕んで徐々に明らかになる展開が見事です。ストーリー自体は荒唐無稽なのに、要所要所に強烈なリアリティのあるエンターテインメントです。例えば主人公が、彼を説得にかかる刑事との間で一本の煙草を分け合うシーン。ビルに侵入し、一刻の猶予もない作戦の中でついつい無駄口をたたく共犯者たち。窓辺の男を見上げてヤジを飛ばしたり歓声を上げて見守る群衆。NYの刑事たちも最初はまったく男の身元も分からず、それが時間とともにゆっくりと真実が現れてくるのも説得力があります。冒頭、脱獄シーンの比較的派手なカーチェイスもありがちな超人的テクニックは一切なく、一体どう逃げ切るのか観客がハラハラできるつくりです。
映画全体の落ち着いた色のトーンや、所謂ハリウッドの大スターが出ていない為にどちらかといえば終始地味な印象さえあり、また「説明なしにどんどん進む」展開が、少し昔の映画に近い感覚です。ストーリーにも登場人物にもほとんど余計な説明を加えず、観客は否応なしに謎に引き込まれます。また観客が主人公の男に次第に感情移入していくのと、男が交渉人の刑事の信頼を勝ち得ていく過程がうまく重なっています。高層ビルのひさしの上で動けない男と、隣のビルの密室と、その周辺の刑事たちと、場面も人物も非常に限定的なために、まるで「潜水艦もの」のようなタイトな緊迫感も得られています。野次馬よろしく集まっていた群衆が知らず知らず彼の行動を助け、さらにラストで俄然意味を持つのも（やや強引ですが）新鮮な驚きでした。
地味でリアルなシーンを重ねつつ、緊張感たっぷりに面白く見せてしまえるのはドキュメンタリー出身の監督の成せる技でしょう。見て損はない一本です。

248 Word Bank

この数日間にどこからともなく浮かんできた、もしくは突き当たった言葉。
These are the words that came across, or ran into my mind out of nowhere for the last 2-3 days.


姿勢
posture
クラシックカー
classic car
噴水
fountain
2倍
double
高いところ
height


これだけ並べてみても何のことはありませんが、本当はそのひとつひとつを思い浮かべた瞬間に、その背景に数多の発見や思考の糸口があるような気がしていながら、それを記憶にとどめていたのです。
They seem to be nonsense altogether but actually I was keeping in my mind the instant I came up with them with sensing that each of them would have many discoveries or key to ideas behind.
でも残念ながら、現代は役にも立たないことに思索をめぐらす時間はあまりないわけです。さりとて言葉だけ抜き出してみても、クロスワードパズルの解答のように味気ないものです。
However unfortunately today we have little time to philosophize useless things. Yet the words only are as uninspiring as the answer to a crossword puzzle.
そこで、休日の午後いっぱいをかけて長編推理小説を読むとか、映画を観に行くとか、敢えて普段より少し時間のかかることをしてみます。ひとつふたつの事柄や言葉に集中し、考え、形にすることができるような気がします。
So I try something more time-consuming than usual, like reading lengthy detective novels sparing much of holiday afternoon or going to movies. Then I feel I can focus on just one or two things or words, reflect on them and yield something out of it.

247 Landing

旅の良さは語るまでもありません。短い間でも、旅行中は時間の流れが普段と異なるように感じるものです。旅の間は時間の感覚が変化するのだとすれば、おそらく自分の行動、気持ち、考え方も少なからずいつもと違い、日常の自分をbreakthroughすることができます。
ところでアインシュタインは「旅は好きだが、着くのが嫌いだ」と述べたそうですが、「帰ってくる」のは旅の魅力の一つです。滑走路に着陸し、まわりの景色を見回すと、帰ってきた場所がなぜか初めて訪れた場所のように新鮮に見えることはありませんか？

246 Giant Tree

A giant tree is probably the only thing that covers you all over and still makes you refreshing.

245 Life in Monocle

Monocle is a magazine. Monocle has its own radio broadcasting. Monocle supplies TV program on Bloomberg. Monocle publishes special issue newspapers twice a year. Monocle produces some collaboration goods. Monocle has retail channels of freestanding shops in several world cities. Monocle manages some  cafes. Monocle has readers and subscribers globally. Monocle is a media mainly focusing on world affairs, people, politics, fashion, design, travelling and branding. It was launched in February 2007. 

One of the noticeable points about Monocle is that it apparently has certain traditional values of how media should work. When you see the monocle.com you'll be surprised to find there is no "Follow us on Facebook/twitter" button, no "alert mail" or no "App for iPad". I'm not sure why but it may be the reason for Monocle's success. It doesn't have interactive communication tools but it offers qualified cover stories, news and editorials. It doesn't expect to be shared in real time but enables us to be informed 24 hours on its radio program. Monocle doesn't especially show statement on it but its consistency is clear.

It's just a matter of taste if you choose magazine or take iPhone, and probably there is no significant reason why Monocle tends to avoid social media tools, but it's reassuring and comfortable to see that one magazine is simply perfect so nothing else is needed to appreciate the quality of journalism. 

244 Metropolis

大都市の街並みを見ていてふと不思議に思うことがあります。建物も街路も地下鉄も当たり前のように秩序だって存在していますが、これだけ多くの人間がお互い何も考えずに当たり前のように暮らし、移動し、街を形作ることができるのは、その背景に緻密な計画と制御と管理が機能しているからです。地下深くから超高層ビル、海洋から航空まで、人が巧みな仕組みを作り、またそのサークルの中で同時に数十億の人が生きていることは、奇跡に近いようにも思います。本来人間は組織や秩序だった生き方が向いているのかもしれません。カオスや無秩序を一種の美として捉えることにどうも抵抗があるのは、それを生み出す人もどこかの建物に住み、水道を使い、風邪をひけば薬を飲むでしょうから、人間の高度な調和能力にどこかでは当たり前のように依存していると思うからです。