508 Light Weight

I don't drink much. Rather, I seldom drink. I don't feel sorry that I cannot acknowledge and appreciate the pleasure of being intoxicated. It is strange to say but I can only sense alcoholic material and not the happy uplift which easily makes people love drinking.

So it took many years to understand why people drink alcohol; they are not taking alcohol but having spiritual and physical uplift. Alcohol beverages are not the ultimate goal of pleasure but the vehicle to the happiness. 

I'm not sure if I'm happy or the opposite that I am born to be ignorant of that pleasure delivered from alcohol but I do understand the fun in the course of finding another way to reach it. For me to dance, listen to the music are the sources of the uplift which otherwise I will have from drinking (though, I must admit I have some from drinking lots of coffee.)

I'm very much fond of listening to the music from pop, hiphop, jazz, lounge, classics, and rock n roll as if the variety of beverages gives us different kinds of fun, such as wine, beer, whisky, or cider. And dancing sometimes has even more powerful effect on mind. Might those who can handle lots of alcohol be able to understand what can replace the fun?

507 Blank Space

In a society surrounded by advertisement which amaze us, amuse us and sometimes maybe just annoying, we are accustomed to being chased by them in train or metro. But somehow it happens that you enter into a train car and find yourself in a blank --- advertisement-free --- space. Absolutely no advertisement. What do you think then? 

Before, advertisement in train offers a fine measure for killing time. Now the things totally changed to the state where every one of us are deeply in love with smartphone. So basically it doesn't matter if the wall, window and ceiling are fully covered with advertisements or not, but there exists interesting effect.

Free from advertisement that makes a kind of visual rhythmic background to the space,  suddenly the faces or outfits of the people there. People's expression stands out as if it looks more lively than usual even though the person is just snoring. Also we can appreciate how simple but reasonable and functional these train are made. At last the design of the car itself are shed light.

Usually we don't think the train car, especially commuter's train is certainly designed space, and most likely we think them as just a box for moving where we get almost nothing worthy to be looked at except for a couple of cool advertisements.  But the sudden blank space inspires and suggests that the train car can be turned to an interesting example for cool interior design. 

506 It's been ages

Most of us think ourselves as essentially unchanged as 10 years ago.  Many people seem to get accustomed to the idea of staying young in appearance as well as in spirits, which is a good thing but on the other hand we had better remember and appreciate the unmatched quality of aging that only time can create.

When I was contacted by an old friend back in university days, we found each one of us unchanged and could open up at the moment we met for the first time in almost 15 years. While I sent email to another friend who had been losing contact for 8 years since he and his girlfriend left for Stockholm, and they surely remembered me and our friendship like yesterday.

During these unexpected delightful reunion, I wonder what is unchanged and what is changed, in each of us. Maybe 10 plus years is not so long time, but what is left after the test of time and experience means something very close to the essence of the person and what is gained through times leads to the person's flexibility and wisdom. In both ways, "long time no see" carries fresh surprise. 

505 Moneyball

数年前の映画ですが、ベースボールの勝負にセイバーメトリクスという斬新な理論を持ち込んだ、オークランドアスレティックスのGM、ビリー・ビーン氏の実話に基づくストーリーです。実に上質な、見応えのある映画という印象です。野球の話と聴いて、それだけであまり興味がない向きにもお勧めします。話の軸はベースボールの戦略に直感や経験値でなく大胆にも統計学的理論を適用するという試みであり、面白いのはそれが勝利を収めたという話でなく、未だに挑戦が続いているという点です。

発端は、予算の少ないチームに許される資金の範囲内で選手の最適化を図るもので、それが必ずしも最強のチーム、勝利の公式を作るという訳ではないのが現実であり、この映画も現実感から一歩も踏み外すことなく、米メジャーリーグのチーム経営の世界を垣間見せてくれます。

何の説明もなくストーリーが展開するところもリアリティを高めているのでしょう。GMとは何か、どのような権限と責任を持つのか、監督と何が違うのか、選手や守備をどう決めているのか、観客が皆そうした知識を備えているかどうかに関わらず、不自然な説明は省いて僅かな台詞と展開で描き出しています。

とりわけ強烈なのは、電話一本でトレードされ、「OK」の一言で全米のチームを転々とするメジャーリーガーのドライな現実。選手の獲得と放出がまるでポートフォリオ運用のように行われ、優秀な選手が投資商品のように取引される姿は驚きです。

ベースボールの世界を知るだけでも興味深いのですが、この映画の素晴らしさは純粋に映画としての魅力に満ちている点です。目を凝らす、眉をひそめる、瞬きをする。手を差し出す、指を差す、机を叩く、ガムを噛む、いつでもどこでも足をデスクに投げ出す、絶え間なく手の仕草を見せる、あるいは、緊張してテレビ画面に見入るときの呼吸、不満そうに歩み去る背中、そうした種々様々なさりげない動作と演技がこれほど雄弁な映画はあまり見たことがありません。

主人公は頻繁に車で移動します。ニュース番組を聴きながら、試合の実況中継を聴きながら、家族と電話しながら、あるいは沈黙したまま、その数々のドライブ中の横顔が（時には輪郭と視線のみで）焦燥や迷いを表し、一方で激高して椅子を投げつけ、電話を投げつけ、物を壊すといった荒っぽい行動がストレートな怒りを示します。

淡々として抑えた映像、ややくすんだ色合いの中、蛍光灯で照らされ薄暗く殺風景なトレーニングルームや球場の通路や控え室は現実そのものではないかと思わせます。徹底してトーンを抑えているにも関わらず何故か冴えた映像です。台詞は抑えながら、演技と映像がきわめて効果的に雄弁に機能しているすぐれた作品です。

504 Instant Coffee

I suspect almost nobody think that instant coffee is a preserved food.  It is a food for incredible convenience.  Grinding coffee beans, setting coffee server and making coffee, means nothing but a delight on Sunday morning but a nuisance on Monday morning. Instant coffee is there for you (however I make a coffee via french press every day as I'm a stubborn coffee junkie.)

But here's a great tips worth to be spread all around. I was told this by my big brother and he got the knowledge from a TV show. So probably millions of people had already known it before I learned it but still it's a great tips. Just try this next time you turn to a cup of instant coffee --- before you put hot water in your cup, mix the coffee powder with only a spoonful of water until it is no lumps, just like mixing cocoa powder. Then you can pour hot water or milk whatever you like. The taste of coffee is incredibly different---delicious.

The difference in taste is so drastic that I almost think mixing the power with water is the official way to make instant coffee. The manufacturer of these coffees should rather put this on the label. After all this is not a huge step but just adding one action. without special tool (if you can make instant coffee, then you can certainly find water and tea spoon somewhere around.) But as far as this knowledge is treated only as a kitchen secret, I dare to say the instant coffee is so undervalued and unfairly advertised for convenient life, not for tasty life.

503 Less Is More

When I was staying for 3 days in a cozy single room during my return trip I found that sometimes small room (to some extent) can offer the comfort rather than the large room. It's really subjective how people recognizes its surroundings, so this never be a universal standard but I'll try figure out why that small room fit me. 

We all might remember that we used to hide in a narrow space or den in childhood to find ourselves in a safe haven where everything was within arm's reach. Room with a modest width with equipment that is well customized for single person sometimes reminds of the children's hideaway. 

Meanwhile it'll be a strict requirement for a small room that it has wide open window letting the light as fully as possible. The effect of light is greater for smaller room because if a small room is well lit with natural light then there must be less wall and less furniture, so the room should have been carefully designed to, and luckily succeeds to function as a single room.

Of course I do know the charm of large houses and rooms which enable us to feel the sense of openness and freedom. Also small rooms may only fit for resting, reading and sleeping, not for other activities, like building a dog house or playing drums. But we can surely find a comfortable and small room which makes us wonder how the room works well in spite of the smallness and what is the key. This is much intriguing.

502 ABC Jazz

One thing I really feel thankful to the age of internet is the free and unlimited access to internet radio. I've been a huge fan of radio program and interestingly, fortunately, the digitalization of radio never lessens the joy and even opens the way to further delight of music. Because I'm not only a listener of one certain category of music, I do like listening to the station called 'ABC Jazz' which plays "real good music" cross-bordering the definition of jazz. Here you can meet classic jazz, pure jazz, bossa nova, jazz rock, RnB, lounge, house and electronica for 24 hours. I have no idea who creates and keeps the incredible sound list but I believe this is simply a tasteful and stylin' station. I can listen to this for whole ordinary day or Christmas day (much better).

Some of the finest tune I met here are;
 "This Is What You Are"  / Mario Biondi
 "Music Takes Me Up"  / Mr. Scruff
 "Bocadera Corazón (feat. Assunta Mandaglio) / Bocadero
 "Soon" / Gelka
 "All I Want For Christmas Is You" /  Michael Buble
 "Waterdrops" / Rivera Rotation
 "Bossa No.5" / RioListic
 "St Germain Des Pres" / Pink Satellite

Please try your ears if you would like.
http://www.radionomy.com/en/radio/abc-jazz/share

501 New Sunrise

Why 1st January is the first day of the year?

Like every other describable knowledge, this can be clicked and checked on the internet. To my surprise (though I had imagined this to some extent), there is nothing connected with astronomic or scientific fact, and roughly it's all about the calendar we use. Today's new year's day has nothing to do with the specific day which the daylight is the shortest of all (winter solstice), nor the equinox which has equal daytime and nighttime and seems more appropriate for the beginning of the year. Beyond all these natural facts, the new year's day rules the calendar in (so to say) a cultural way. 

It's interesting that it has no specific reason for being the most eminent day of all and also that no one seems to care or question it. It's interesting that there is no specific religious ceremony (like Christmas day) nor historical anniversary on the date, and the day is just a civil custom only linked with the universal system of counting time. I admire the fact and suppose that's why this is easily accepted all around the world.

So the sunrise on new year's day means nothing in astronomic way, but every year the new years sun looks shining so brightly for the special day without special reason, which makes us happy.