500 Thank you 500th

5年前の大晦日にこのブログを始めて以来、年の終わりはブログの記念日にもなりました。自由に好きなことを書いているうちに5年間が経ち、仕事をしてきた年数のおよそ半分にもなります。もともと文章修行とエディトリアルデザインの真似事として始めた記事ですが、初期のものを読み返せば至って拙く、荒っぽく、青臭く、独りよがりで面映い文章が占めています。そう感じられるということは、今は5年前より少しでも向上したのであろうと思いたいものです。読者の皆さまについては、直接存じ上げている方々は20人に満たないのですが、なぜか世界の色々な国からアクセスが続いていることはつねに嬉しい驚きです。以前は読者の目線を想定して記事を書いていましたが、5年が経つうちにそれもなくなりました。公的な記事と捉えていたものが時折私的な領域に近づくことを自らに許可し、さまざまな要素を含めたストーリーを書くことに慣れたお陰でしょう。そんな記事の幾つかに目を留め、読んでいただいた方に感謝を伝えたいと思います。

ブログの5周年記念ということで、何か好きなものをちょっと飾りたかったので、飛行機の模型。ありがとうございます。

Since I started this blog on the New Year's Eve 5 years ago, the end of the year has made itself an anniversary of this blog. I've been just writing freely whatever I like and spent 5 years, which adds up to almost half of the years I spent for working. The original idea here was to improve my writing skills and imitation of editorial design. When reading back the early posts, the mass of them are quite poor, rough, green, self-satisfied and embarrassing. Now that I feel them as such, I just hope my skills are getting at least better than 5 years ago. I personally know only less than 20 readers who I believe might be kindly an watcher of this blog, but for some reasons I've been getting accesses from all over the world, which always gives me the nicest surprise. I was highly conscious of the reader's point of view when writing before, but it disappeared in 5 years. That might be because I changed my mind and sometimes allowed myself to look closer at the private field for writing a post which I used to think as only public, and because I've got accustomed to the change of tone. I really wish to appreciate the readers whoever found some of these posts and read them.

This post caps the 5th anniversary of the blog and I would like modestly to feature something from my favorites, which turns out to be a model airplane. Thank you indeed.

499 Walk With Music

 Keith Haring

At the last minutes of the year I made a quick return to my hometown and just got back. It may be due to the travel itself or the "winter wonderland" holidays in snowy northern town, or spending hours away from daily lives having only limited things to go with, that the return washes away my usual thoughts and makes me clear. Now I feel like wrapping up my 2014. Not about work, but about life. 

I don't want to rank the people or things that I met and liked, so to just name them, "Frozen", Zaha Hadid, Taylor Swift, iPad, and Dance battle. iPad, needs no explanation but it is truly a great contribution to communication. Dance battle, needs little explanation and most people never get involved in such activity. I started it this year for the first time in my 10+ years dancing history. It is fun, tough, difficult and arguably gives some lesson to a dancer. I got 1 victory and 4 loss and still like it very much.

"Frozen" definitely needs no explanation. The vision, the music, the art, everything is harmonized in the story and beyond imagination. Taylor Swift, the greatest and youngest star, could swiftly win and grab my ears and mind. Zaha Hadid, supposedly the one and only talent in modern architecture, whose breathtaking works blew my mind.

It seems the year has been almost filled with delight given by gifted female, It's true but more than that, they are all actually, music, or related closely to music. For more than 30 years I have been living and walking (literally) with music whose creation, recreation and innovation keep me awake, inspired and anew lead me to discovery and encounter. 2014 reminded me that mighty power of music. How about architecture? They say, "Music is liquid architecture, Architecture is frozen music."

498 Wristband

In welcoming the end of the year, the usual and favorite custom of all might be looking back the "10 biggest events in the year" or "The deal of the year", so to say. This being shed light in most media and SNSs, I look at and thank the things that would be small and look less significant but in fact could contribute to some part of the life in this year.  

One of these is an ordinary wristband I started to wear when dancing. It's no special, a cotton-made product, but surprisingly, this small item can not only stabilize and facilitate the move of the wrist, but also fix the mind. It enables me to have kind of fortitude and strength in every dance showcases, cyphers or battles, which doesn't mean it can always lead me to victory, though. 

That may be because it simply looks cool I guess. Appearance, or style of one's own is part of the essential factor in street dance. But it works well beyond the function. Wonder why? To cover, protect or adorn the wrist, like wristbands, bracelets or wristwatches, gives modest but significant power to the owner, doesn't it? They move closely with the arm and hand in the daily actions with much more frequency than neck or ankle. They act busily and are probably less eye-catching than neckless, tie or scarf, but a bit more identified with the owner. I'd like to thank them for being the closest gear.

497 1989

Very recently I've got to know Taylor Swift's latest works of music and really interested in them. They fascinates me so much actually. How will you define Taylor Swift by the way? Even with only listening to 10 plus songs I don't hesitate to describe her as a genius. She seems a bit different from her peers in the industry. Rarely the world's famous celebrities or icons make us think of the personality of them, because we tend to feel their given public images are not what we could get when we meet our our friends and neighbors, if not they are wrong. But sometimes we find so outstanding and obvious talent that enables us to believe in the person what we see through our television and Youtube. 

In the latest album called "1989" Taylor Swift, a talented country musician,   shows the sparkle of her genius in making brilliant pop anthems. They are glamorous, clever, tough and charming. It always surprises me that after so many marvelous tunes over the centuries today's artists still can create brand-new masterpieces. 

496 Playtime

 

At the early time of this blog, I wrote about Jacques Tati's "Playtime". After 4-5 years have passed since then, I was so surprised how my feelings changed, or diversified, not to say matured. Okay, I must admit that I said I felt like sleepy though I loved this film so much.

My first Jacques Tati experience was probably like everyone, "Mon Oncle". It was a striking discover. I understood how I care for modernism (Ultra-modernism, in the film) in the mid-century. Later I've got to know "Playtime", but I simply couldn't get it. I was just overwhelmed by the uniqueness, subtle but plenty sense of comedy, artistic perfectionism and the length.

Now free from the snobbism in youth that values the state of feeling like understanding something so classy and sophisticated, I am lucky to have an opportunity to find the real value of the film. What was it? I dare not explain, because it was really an extraordinary work of art. The sound (each of the footsteps, machine, wind, noise, car klaxon) are all carefully delivered and allocated. The buildings and set design are awesome in every inch, people are gorgeous and lively, and every single scene contains modest seeds for laughter.  It is outstanding, but furthermore, fun to watch.

The last sequence in the restaurant was once a nonsense to me. But now I understand this is a complicated mixture of laughter and sophistication, nonsense and warmth. It is marvelous and beautiful, and ridiculous. What is the most wonderful thing to me is whatever my sense and feelings have changed, the film still strongly fascinates me.

495 Haywire

Steven Soderberghが監督、総合格闘家のGena Caranoが主演の"Haywire"を観ました。第一級のスパイ・アクション映画という柄ではありませんが、むしろその分野の映画には珍しく、控えめで硬派で、タイトな雰囲気が異彩を放っています。この映画の最大の魅力は本物の格闘家が本物のファイトとアクションを見せつけるという点にあるのですが、その凄みを等身大の人間のスケールで追体験できる感覚が斬新です。本物の動きはシーンの振り付けという域を遥かに超え、窮地に陥っても素早く鮮やかに切り返す（という演出効果に過ぎないとしても）姿には、生身の痛々しさと同時に爽快感まで漂います。正確で鋭い格闘にも、街路を一散に走り、屋根から屋根に飛び移り、壁を滑り降る姿にも、作り物でない筋肉の重さを感じるのです。スチール写真ひとつを見ても、その佇まいに緊張と安定のバランスが取れた身体能力の強さが窺えるような気にさせられます。

女優男優を問わず、俳優は宇宙飛行士やシェフや弁護士や科学者から、王様や歌手や妖精やボクサーを演じます。その裏には相当な深さの肉体的・精神的な役作りがあり、自分ではない他の人格への変化を現実にする演技力があります。それでもなお、この映画のようにスタントもCGも編集も一切不要な本物の「人間の動き」の迫力を見せつけられると、まるで野生動物のドキュメンタリー映画のように、観て圧倒されるだけで十分に満足できる映画となるのです。

494 Zaha Hadid

2年前にバーゼルでヴィトラ社消防所を観て、初めてザハ・ハディドの建築を体感しました。実はそこにそのような建築があることも知らず、11月の凍てつく雨の日に見学者は自分一人というわけで、あまり期待をしていなかったのですが、エッジの効いたユニークなデザインに驚き、しかしどことなく寡黙で控えめな印象の建築を十分に楽しみました。

昨日ザハ・ハディドのアーカイブ展を観て、さらに非常に幸福な感慨を覚えました。建築デザインに「うっとりした」というのはあまりないことです。ひとつとして平凡なプロジェクトはなく、どれもどこか奇抜で未来的、驚きと美しさが絶妙なバランスで共存しています。前衛的と評されることもあるようですが、どこか居心地がよく落ち着く雰囲気を湛え、温かみさえ感じさせます。精緻な数学と自由な感性が織りなす空間の魅力は本当に見事です。何より、そんな小難しいことを考えなくても、SF映画のようなデザインが現実に可能なのだと知るだけで快い驚きでした。

It was the first time that I experienced an architecture of Zaha Hadid when I visited Basel to find Vitra Fire House. Actually I didn't know it existed there, and being a sole visitor in an icy November rain, I didn't expect too much. But it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I was amazed by and enjoyed the edgy and unique design, on the other hand the quietness and modesty.

Yesterday I went to see the exhibition of Zaha Hadid's archives and felt more of the happiness. I'm sure it seldom happens that I was enraptured by the architecture (even though I'm a big lover of architecture). There was not a single project that was commonplace, everything was novel and futuristic, and I could feel the great balance between wonder and beauty. Her works are often referred to as avant-garde but they wear comfortable and composed atmosphere, even with warm spirit. It's truly magnificent that the allure is created by the combination of precise mathematics and free sensibility. After all, free from these fussy thoughts, it was a delightful surprise to know that kind of design which is likely to be seen in SF movies could be realistic. 

493 Album

  

I always put 1 or 2 photos on my post. Naturally there is an archive of the good amount of pictures. I looked at them and would like to shoe some of the typical pictures that well describe my intension which I didn't understand at all.

1. Lots of animals

2. Lots of airplanes

There is no surprise I chose pictures of airplanes so many times but I never noticed that much more pictures of animals appeared so frequently. I like both of natural beauty and industrial beauty and cannot give any priority to either of them. 

3. Lots of movie scenes

I don't remember how many times I have been trying to pretend to be a movie critics here and I don't care if it has succeeded, but the pictures remind me of the excitement of the movie. They are the journalistic part of this blog.

4. Few of foods

I don't avoid food topics--- in fact I love to see the professional photo of fine dishes. I just cannot be comfortable to shoot the food in front of me at a restaurant or a house where I am the guest of.

5. Few of musicians

It's a bit surprising because I love music. But after all music is there for being listened to. Not seen.

6. Few of architecture

It's the thing that I am ashamed of a little and actually I'm going to try to describe more of my favorite architectures with my own words and senses. But it's always awkward for me to show the grand masterpieces in such a small photo and small space. 

492 Warm Boiled Water

健康を維持する方法が誰に言われてでもなく本能的に見出せるときがあります。ここしばらく湯冷まし、つまり沸かしてから少し冷ました温かい湯を飲み物代わりに採るようになりました。忙しい仕事を終えて深夜、さすがにコーヒーやお茶を飲むには遅すぎ、冷たい水を飲むには寒い季節である、ただそれだけの理由でお湯を飲み始めたのですが、これが昔から言われている通り身体には大変良さそうだと気づきました。曰く、お湯で毎日身体を洗い、食器を洗うのと同じことで、お湯で体内を洗い流すことをしながら同時に身体を中から温めているのだそうです。本当に洗われているのかどうかは確かめようもありませんが、身体を温めるという点は、熱々のコーヒーやお茶を飲んだときよりもはるかに意識でき、飲んだとたん瞬時にその効果が現れます。健康にいいという結果はさておき、この体感できる化学反応は何より不思議です。

Sometimes we can find a way to keep health out of nowhere, so to speak, from an instinct. For couple of weeks it has become a habit to me to drink a cup of warm boiled water. In the middle of midnight after a long-hours work, it's too much late for a cup of coffee or tea, on the other hand it's a bit chilly to drink a cold water, so I just started to drink a warm water, which turned to be a great practice for health as it has been said. They say, just like warm water can clean our body or dishes, drinking warm water is to wash our inner body with warming inside. I cannot be sure if the warm water really cleanse away the body but the amazing thing is I can sense that warming effect at the instant I drink the warm water, far better than drinking hot coffee or tea. I don't much care about the benefit for the health it contributes but just have been surprised by the experimental reaction.

491 Celebration

I was really delighted to welcome so many messages to congratulate me on my birthday last week. Usually I think someone's birthday has nothing to do with other person who was not born on the same day, so frankly I am curious about why so many kind friends gave me a wish and celebration. But I know my idea is rubbish because I do care about other people's birthday. But to give and to take is different. When I notice my birthday is something to other person it makes me hilarious. Birthday should be special because this is once in a year to everyone. 

I was born in late-autumn-early-winter season. I kind of have a dream that someday I wish to spend my birthday celebrating marvelous fireworks in winter.

490 The Hundred-Foot Journey

料理、ことにレストランをテーマにした映画が面白いのはよく「目にも楽しい」と言われるように美味しそうな料理が並ぶことが理由かもしれませんが、人によってはそれほど食べ物自体に心動かされるわけでもないとしたら、何が魅力なのでしょう？フレンチ料理とインド料理のレストラン対決を人情豊かに描いた"The Hundred-Foot Journey"を観ながらそれを考えていました。美味しそうなスパイスの数々、出来立てのオムレツ、フレンチのソース、鳩、茸、魚の丸焼き、フレッシュなトマト、色鮮やかなベリーを盛ったひとくちデザートからちょっと奇妙な分子ガストロノミーまで、さまざまな食材が目に飛び込んで来ます。それだけでも目には楽しいのですが、やはり食材を、そしてシェフ達を引き立てるキッチンという空間に入ったような視点が得られるのが料理映画の醍醐味です。誰でも家にあるキッチンですが、プロの料理人達が真剣勝負で立つキッチンは、彼らの出身がインドであろうとフランスであろうと、美味しいものが生み出されるワクワクする気分と凛として研ぎ澄まされた緊張感に満ちています。普通の人間が足を踏み入れることのないプロのキッチンで、食材と料理人が輝く瞬間を捉えた魅力的な映画です。

489 Dance

I noticed that even though I have been writing about dancing so many times here I've never posted an article titled "Dance". Maybe I've not been certain if I can describe it from my limited experience and skills. Now I think I can write about it with a bit of confidence. A moment in the showcase last week, I had a feeling of an attitude towards dancing that was quite different from the past. It was just a moment in the middle of the performance so it may not come again, but as far as I understand, it made me this as follows---

Dance is not a movement or posing which I try to accomplish with using my arms and legs. It's an outer activities with a notion of expected style that I try to capture for years. It's important yes, but the essence of dance is somewhere far beyond. That is in me. The dance should be created from the core emotion and sense of my own, stimulated and inspired by the beat and sound. That is harder to capture than the outer shape of the body but that's the real spirit of free-style dance.

488 Backstage

 Last weekend I spent with my fellow dancers in a theatre all day long for street dance performance. We are no professional and our showcase was only 4 minutes but all I can say is that this was a real experience that we were lucky and tough enough to enjoy.

During the event we frequently entered and spent time at the backstage. In a real excitement and delight of performing I found that this dark, dirty, crowded, narrow and messy space which everyone would dislike turned to be the happiest and most lively, cheerful place of all.

487 Stranger

Today I happened to encounter an amiable couple, a guy and a girl. They were searching for the way to the famous tourist's spot. I told the way and because it was a bit complex route for a stranger, I offered to go partway with them. I asked the guy where they were from. He answered they were from London. And he asked me how about myself. I don't think I looked like a visitor but somehow he mistook me as a stranger, which amused and pleased me. It makes me rather happy to think I'm still a stranger here who doesn't and will not belong to the city no matter how long I've been living in here. Because I'm proud of having been raised in a northern countryside and I appreciate the fact that I can call it my hometown. 

The guy knew about my hometown and he said it was beautiful place. I agreed with him with much delight and I told him it had started snowfall and he told me that London was chilly and having snow also. 

Yesterday I happened to know that my big brother had been on business trip to our hometown for couple of days. Yesterday was his birthday and I'm sure he must have seen the snow falling just like the old days. 
Happy birthday to you, my bro! 

486 Happy Halloween

What's interesting about Halloween is it's something you have to create. If you want to be in a part of the feast you will need to act, be active enough to dress up as scary creatures or knock the neighbors to ask for a treats. It's interesting because Christmas is not like this. In Christmas we don't have to do anything but look around the town filled with holiday songs, reindeers in the sky and Father Christmas on the chimney, around beautifully decorated Christmas trees and tons of presents and cards. 

As far as I feel Halloween fever is not so overwhelming and encompassing. Yet Halloween is unique in a way it requires imagination and fun-loving mind, and stirs human's classic pleasure of letting ourselves be transformed into something far away from daily lives.

485 Grace of Monaco

不世出の美しい女優として記憶に残るGrace Kellyのモナコ公妃としての姿を（おそらくは大いに）フィクションを交えて描いた作品が"Grace of Monaco"です。映画の評価自体は賛否両論のようですが、伝記映画の醍醐味はどこまでが真実かそうでないか、似ているか似ていないかの議論ではなく、その人が生きた世界の中で発揮されたその才能と魅力、人間性を辿り、それに共感し、影響を受け、インスパイアされるという疑似体験ができる点にあります。

時代も国籍も遠く離れた過去の人間に後世の人間がこれほどまでに惹かれるのは、失われた宝を惜しむ気持ちではないでしょう。我々は先達の知恵やウィットや勇気や美や言葉や力を知り、それを学び、讃え、感謝し、そして彼らの遺産を借りてさらに人間性を磨く課題を与えられているようなものです。確かに脚本はディズニー映画のハッピーエンドのように行儀が良すぎるかもしれませんが、それこそがGrace Kellyというテーマなのです。実在の人間にインスパイアされたフィクションは伝記映画ではないかもしれませんが、それだけ後世の想像力を掻き立ててやまない圧倒的な存在感を持った女性を思い出させるという点で十分に観る価値があります。

484 2014.

I make it a rule not to write anything too much personal here. Because to me this is not a blog nor a diary but a journal, no matter how many readers I have, or even nobody notice it, each and every post here is a journal which I try to address my words to the world. Writing personal things itself is alright --- but it will be only for the writer's sake. I try to amuse people with words. 

But anyhow, sometimes I make it less disciplined to follow a desire to use here for my own chronicle. 

Year 2014 is about to finish its job and soon will leave it to the successor. My 2014 has been a rocky year next to 2013. They have closely linked stories within each other and like "book 1 and book 2" of a series. In 2015 I will try to take up my pen to write a new chronicle.

483 Baseball Cap

I like to wear hats and caps. I like winter knit cap and summer panama. Lately I tend to wear a blue newsboy cap made of wool, or smoky black cotton hunting cap. It's all about whether they go well with me or not, regardless of its color or material actually. 

Somehow I had never bought a baseball cap. Simply I don't play baseball but everyone knows that baseball cap is a signature of a style, or sometimes a certain organization. It's not strange to see them outside of the ballpark. I don't think of other sports-oriented outfit that establishes itself so familiar and widely accepted as the baseball cap. You would probably imagine when you look at them; your favorite baseball star (if you're a baseball fan), a father and son, holiday, driver, ball game, training camp, or street culture. 

Well I got one on the other day. It happened to be a basketball team cap, not a baseball team, but it doesn't matter much. This classic, well-made style icon attracted me a lot shortly. First of all it's warmer than I thought. It fits comfortably enough. And it gives me a lively feeling of myself belonging to some of the most eminent professional sports teams, or being one of the street dancers. That's cool, and it's brought just by wearing a cap.

482 Osmanthus Fragrants

毎年秋は金木犀が香り、強い芳香が嗅覚に染み渡り、その場を離れてもいつまでも匂いがするくらいですが、以前はこの甘い強い香りがあまり好きではありませんでした。しかし昨年は嗅覚を一時的に傷め、特に甘い香りは感覚がなかなか戻らない状態でした。去年の秋はこの香りを感じとることができなかったのです。それが今年は、金木犀が惜しみなくまき散らす香りを楽しめるようになりました。苦手だった香りが今では楽しめるものとなったのです（とはいえ、香りの種類で言えば同じモクセイ科でもライラックの方がよほど好きなのですが）。

Every autumn we have orange fragrant olives which smell sweet and catch your nose to the extent that the fragrance remains event after you left from the tree. I used to have a bit trouble with this strong sweetness. But last year I had accidentally lost my sense of smell for a while and couldn't even feel this smell in autumn. This year on the contrary, I am enjoying the scent that the orange flower gives us as generously as possible. The one that used to make me frown turned to be one of my delights. Nonetheless I'd rather care for the scent of lilac which is in the same Oleaceae.

481 Horse

A friend of mine and I were talking about dogs, and about the delight to know the life with dogs or cats which human are allowed to have as a best friend. I said I had never lived with animals except for goldfishes in a tank, and my friend gave me an ambitious suggestion that one day I should have a horse. 

Have you ever thought about having a horse? I'm sure almost no one did and won't. Horse is and has been such a close, great animal in human history but not at all familiar with us in modern life. The dynamics and beauty of running horse has ever attracting people in thousands of pictures, movies and races. Nevertheless they are not seen walking with its owner around the city park, nor resting peacefully in a zoo. 

I've never thought of actually having a horse, but always imagined in my childhood. In reading A.T. Seton's wild life stories I always identified myself with cowboys, naturalists and frontiersmen. As a grown-up, it still excites me to imagine what my life should look like if it is with a buddy horse. 

480 About Time

"Notting Hill"や"Love Actually"などのヒットで知られるRichard Curtis監督の引退作、"About Time"は味わい深く、温かく、洒落の効いた作品です。映画を撮るのは最後と決めた物語であるからなのか、これまでの作品のように練られた台詞や音楽やナンセンスなギャグが効いたコメディの使い方の巧みさもさることながら、映画としての洗練度よりもよりパーソナルな感情に深く切り込み訴えかける力を感じました。

日常のうっかりトラブルやちょっとしたアクシデントを何度でもやり直せてしまうという便利なタイムトラベル能力を持つ主人公。歴史を変えるような力はなく、タイムトラベルにつきもののパラレルワールドの困難もなく、その能力に課せられた条件はよくよく考えると辻褄が合わなかったり、同じ力を持つ父親との時間の概念を超えた対話にもいささか煙に巻かれてしまう感もあるのですが、それもこれも含めて一つの寓話として大いに楽しめる作品です。誰もが感じている仕事や雑事に追われる忙しい人生を、この映画を見た後には少しゆったり構えて大海原を渡るひとつの道程のように見直すことができるのですが、人生というやや哲学的なテーマを大げさに押し付けることもなく、タイムトラベルの非凡な設定を使いながらもそのシンプルな意図を淡々と伝えようとする意欲作と言えるでしょう。

479 Unrefined

全粒穀物、つまり精製しない穀物はビタミンやミネラルに富み、丸ごと食べる方が健康に良く美味しいことは周知の通りですが、いわば食事を先祖帰りさせるようなもので、ではなぜ人間はわざわざ精製した穀物を長い時間をかけて開発してきたのだろうかと思わざるを得ません。見た目の良さ、食べやすさ、加工のしやすさなどが挙げられるでしょうが、おそらくその開発の過程には「不純物を取り除き、ピュアな成分を取り出そう」という純粋なる探究心が働いていたことでしょう。"Refine"という言葉に示される通り、食物に磨きをかけ、洗練させることを意図したわけで、何も不健康な食事方法を作り出そうというつもりではなかった筈です。ところが穀物においては精製して得られた方ではなく、取り除かれた部分こそが実はその本質的価値を持っていたというアイロニーだったわけです。洗練が良いのか天然のままが良いのかという二者択一を全てに当てはめる必要はもちろんありませんが、穀物に限らず、もしかすると洗練という目的で取り除かれ、削ぎ落とされる部分に何か貴重な価値が存在しているのではないかと、時々見直してみるのも面白いでしょう。
It is widely known that whole gains, unrefined grains are rich in vitamins and minerals so well work for health. If the diet is in a sense a reversal to that of the ancestors' age, then why human had been taking the trouble to develop the refined ("unhealthy") grains for the long time? Because refined food is better in appearance, easier to eat, digest and to be processed, and most of all, because human had been in pure pursuit of removing worthless materials and obtaining  pure ingredients. "Refining" was supposed to purify, polish, and perfect our food, not to create something unhealthy. But the irony in the case of grains is what had been removed was in reality its essential value, and the polished part wasn't. It's no use of arguing if the refined or natural is better in every aspects of our life, but sometimes it might be insightful to wonder if something removed in the process of refinery could have in fact greater potential for invaluable essence.

478 And Take Off

I sometimes go to airport and look at airplanes taking off and landing. At the large international airport the departure and arrivals are so frequent (about every 2 minutes) that the scene should look like nothing special --- like taxis at jammed traffic circle --- but it still looks special. I think we cannot deny our feelings of excitement when we see something flying. I don't say "I don't believe that 300tons of metals flying up." I'm always surprised at the fact but I know it's a physical truth that they do so I believe it. Yet I cannot help admiring the beauty of the combination of technology and natural science, every time I see the jet starting to float in the air so gently and lightly. 

Also I love to see how wonderfully everyone and everything function, from pilots, flight attendants to airport control tower, mechanics, customs officers and working dogs. What is marvelous about this business is that they share, and have responsibility for one simple, clear mission. Fly airplanes safely.

477 Beard

From The Sartorialist, January 27, 2009

It's been a while since I last met my father. He showed up with a grey beard and looked very different. It was kind of cool but in his opinion it shouldn't be such carefree to grow beard. He said that "the beard will stand out so I'll have to take more care of my outfit." I wonder if, a beard is a part of style or something that requires style? 

476 Human Nature

Human being is originally created so functional, precise, and highly efficient just like a precision machine. Also it has the amazing power of spontaneous cure. Furthermore, it's designed to have a learning power and growth potential. Even though we are not designed to fly, swim fast or run at 100km per hour, we should sometimes stop to think that we are natural-born gifted in many ways. 

475 Guardians of the Galaxy

MARVEL、PixarやDisney、米国のクリエイティブ＆エンターテインメントの質の高さにはいつも驚かされます。「銀河の守護者」なる大げさなタイトルのこの映画も例外ではなく、派手で子供っぽい外見とは対照的に、実に趣深く、気分よく笑って泣ける傑作でした。会話は冴え、ギャグも痛快、宇宙戦の造形は質が高く、ストーリーは「古き良き」と表現したいくらいに実にオールドスクールなところ、そこにいまどきの軽妙なコメディが組み込まれ、しかも荒唐無稽な主人公達が見せる思わぬドラマには大人も唸らせる力があり、欠点のない映画といってもいいくらいです。
I've been amazed by the high quality of the creativity and entertainment of the studio like MARVEL, Pixar and Disney. "Guardian of the Galaxy"---what a grandiose title--- but this is no exception. Contrary to the loud and childish appearance this comic movies is one of the masterpieces deeply interesting and full of brisk laugh and sympathy. There're skilled dialogues and jokes, fine creation of the space action, as well as the good old-fashioned story with today's witty comedy, and furthermore the drama shown by the nonsense heroes is powerful enough to be beyond expectations of the grown-ups. I should dare to say this is flawless.  

474 Life is...

人生はチョコレートの箱だったり、冒険であったり、旅であったりします。航路を定め、目的地を定めて人生に乗り出す人もいれば、まだ見ぬ目的地を求めて進む人も、目的や航路も定めずその旅の過程を生きている人もいます。人生は実に様々なものです。どのような旅を歩むにせよ、好い風向きを探し、進む力を得、発見を楽しみ、自分なりのストーリーを生み出す航路を続けたいものです。
Life is sometimes a box of chocolate, or an adventure, a journey. Someone will depart with setting their course and destination beforehand, and others will embark on with hoping to find the destination unforeseen, or will just live the course of the journey without setting the object or the route. Life is so diverse. I'd wish to go on searching for comfortable wind, gaining a power to move on, enjoying the discoveries, to keep my own course with its own story, whatever the journey might be.