551 Shade

For the first time in several years, I happened to think of updating a shade over a little window in my house. For years there has been a smoky-wine-red fabric which has a fine contrast with white wall and green plants. But somehow I sense a need to change. I researched some interior shops and looked at catalogs. Then I decided to change the current dusky red color into the one with very different, opposite impression. I came up with an idea of navy blue or midnight blue that might be again a successful contrast between plants and other stuffs. After 1-hour discussion with the store staff surrounded by several many curtain fabrics, finally I pointed out a greenish one, a combination of forest green and light green with a little bit of maroon, which probably suggest a very earthy but modern taste. 

To my plants, the change means a lot. No more contrast but welcoming harmony. The shade will be made within 1 week and I hope it will bring an awesome change.

550 Ambiguous and Tender

"The world is ambiguous and tender."

I came across an interesting blog article telling that how people are designed to stick to their own recognition and perception of the world around them. We seem to see the world not as it is but as we see with a bias driven from our past experiences, aside from some physical, scientific facts and logic that can stand the test of time (or, even they can be questioned sometimes.) 

In human life, absolute right answer doesn't exist. Each of us have our own window through which we can see the world but the difference of the way we recognize our circumstance may sometimes shed light through the window, or shadow. What is ambiguous and tender is our perception and sense.

Then what if the world is really ambiguous and tender? What kind of images you come up with? I started to think about a sea of clouds over the top of the mountains. It's not easy to go through the path but it might be also beautiful.

549 Warmth

Sometimes I am lucky enough to feel the warmth of people like bathing in the warmth of sunlight. It happens in good time but more likely, in bad, hard, tough times. I really think it's much better if these hard things never happen but still it's undeniable that it sometimes leads to a path to appreciate the unexpected warmth. If it doesn't help us out at all we still can remember it and give ours back to someone in need of it.

548 Chef

気軽に見始めた映画がまさかここまで非の打ち所のない傑作とは嬉しい驚きでした。Jon Favreauが監督、脚本、主演と制作を手がけた意欲作"Chef"は、心から楽しめてお勧めできる映画のひとつです。

お話はL.A.の高級フレンチレストランで気鋭のシェフを務めていたカールが評論家とオーナーとの衝突でクビになり、離婚した妻と息子とともにマイアミに戻ったときにキューバ料理に魅せられ、心機一転フードトラックを始めるというもの。筋立てがシンプルな分、キャラクターの面白さ、セリフの妙、SNSを組み入れたプロット、心躍るような音楽、アメリカの街の風景、父と息子のドラマ、ロードムービーの高揚感など見所が際立ち、そして何よりも数々の料理の美味しそうなことと言ったら、「シェフもの」映画の中でも第一級です。整然とキッチンに並ぶ食材、上品に盛りつけられたフレンチのコースから、友達の家で手軽に作るパスタ、様々なソースに彩られたシェフ渾身の新メニュー、息子と市場巡りをしながら頬張るサンドイッチ、じっくり焼いたテキサス風バーベキューに、熱々の、黄金色のキューバサンドイッチ。それらの料理が、音楽と旅と一緒になって何とも言えない幸せな空気を運んできます。

美味しい料理というものは、必ず人を幸せにできるのかもしれません。美味しい料理がそこにあれば、人はとてもシンプルな喜びを感じます。この映画は登場人物のほとんどが善良でシンプルな人間で、敵対するオーナーや評論家も悪い人間なのではなく、ビジネスやポリシーなどそれなりの理由を持ってシェフを批判する側というだけのことです。この話は出来すぎかもしれませんが、美味しい料理も人生もあれこれ考えず楽しく味わうのが一番だという気持ちになります。

547 Stress Management

There is no easy way or answer to such thing like stress management. Stress is not always a harmful thing, and the way it works depends on personality. One certain fact is that the definition of stress and stress management may differ widely up to the each person. It's no use trying to hide that I take so much stress like most of us and wonder why some other lucky person can avoid it inherently. 

But the simplest and truest answer to the problem of stress is, you just take time to get as much as streets out of your body and mind. You have to detox them. Just like the conversation in Little Prince, "watch out for the baobabs!"--- "it is a question of discipline --- You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment --- It is very tedious work, but very easy."

546 Email

It seems everybody is always busy for the bunch of emails every day. It cannot be helped. I just wonder why all kinds of email applications show the pile of mails in an ordered line? If you got a bunch of letters you have to pile them on the table and pick one of them, open the letter or just toss it to the garbage can. You never lay them down methodically on the table to see what you get at a glance. You just deal with letters one by one. But for the case of email, whatever layout you apply in your application you most likely have to face the list of senders, subjects and dates at once, all packaged in a line. Isn't it just tiresome and inhuman? Can we take care of them in a way somewhat more intuitively and organically like when we read a letter?

545 Pitch Perfect

「大学の女性アカペラグループに渋々参加したクールなDJ娘が、伝統の殻に閉じこもったグループのカルチャーに反発しながらも次第に仲間を見出し、彼女の音楽の才を発揮して古くさいアカペラを革新する」…どこかで聞いたことのあるような筋立てで、現代の映画の脚本としてはいかにも新味はなさそうです。にもかかわらず"Pitch Pergfect"は、脚本こそひねりはないものの、音楽映画として、若者映画として、何よりおふざけ満載のコメディとして一級のエンターテインメントに仕上がっています。

人の声だけで演奏しているとはにわかに信じがたいレベルのアカペラ、それにダンスが加わり、映画の中のアカペラのステージはリズムとハーモニーとエネルギーが炸裂しています。ウィットと音楽性が試されるアカペラバトルに至っては、何百というストックから瞬時にぴったりな曲を選び出し、相手の演奏にかぶせるというまるで”人間DJブース"のような凄さ。そうした音楽のクオリティだけでも十分に楽しめるのに、この映画の愉しいところは音楽以上にバカバカしくシュールなコメディを中心に据えている点にあります。それもどこか力の抜けた、ちょっと醒めたようなオフビートな笑いで、それが主人公のクールで自然体な態度とよく調和しています。シンプルに笑い、音楽を楽しみ、クライマックスまで一気に快走できる痛快な映画です。