673 No Ordinary Morning

Almost everyone has iPhone or smartphone or tablet, means, almost everyone carries high quality digital camera with them everyday. Taking a photo, posting it, saving it in cloud, sharing it, sending it, editing it, adding effect on it, and getting "Likes" are part of our lives, and also something that the traditional camera couldn't do at all. Camera only gives you an image of a moment you take and that's all. We could only face with the photo that you and your camera created together. iPhone or any tablets are really excellent in its multi function working as a handy-sized super intelligent machine. The camera function is only a part of that so we tend to forget we have a great camera with us, everyday, always, even at this moment, in your hand. But we still can rebuild a old-school relationship with the "camera" and us by just looking at the photo. Sometimes we find one image out of dozens of photos we take without much intention, which captures the moment when anyone but you only can understand why you wanted to save it in the photo.

This is a very usual, normal and ordinary moment in a morning in the business district where I walk to my office everyday. This is normal. But this is something to me.           

672 Countdown

2017 is coming and we have one month left in 2016. As usual, I'm trying to upload 100 blog posts in a year. It's not a mandatory but I keep this for 6 years. This year it seems a bit harder, as almost 30 unwritten posts are waiting for me to realize them. A post per a day. Again I don't have to commit to anyone that I will finish with 100 posts at the end of 2016, but somehow, in every December, I cannot help but trying to achieve my own mission. It is fun after all. Blogging is different from Facebook or Instagram but I might have fun in searching for the way to optimize the act of keeping blog. Sometimes I have no idea why I keep doing this for over 6 years, but this is something I need to.   

671 Matcha

It is a ultra green tea. I'm not sure if we call it a tea, as this is to drink ground tea leaf itself. It is strongly, deeply green like a coffee is utmost black and dark. However, it tastes like refreshing and relaxing with a bit of bitterness and subtle sweetness. For hundreds of years it has always been a very sophisticated way of making tea and appreciating the tea culture. No objection to it, at all, but I would like to think of it as a little bit different from the noble status, as something wild with an air of roughness, given the fact that we actually drink leaf. It has strong effect of disinfection. It has a good amount of caffeine. It's a very special and wild drink.

670 Be A Million Miles Away

What makes a trip wonderful is that it gives me insight which might stay long. I got a feeling that it's alright to sense that I am not belong to where I live my everyday life. I might keep being a stranger regardless the length of the time I spent in the place, because sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the fact that it seems I haven't succeeded to be a part of it, to understand it, and to embrace it, and after all, the most favorite place in this city is the point where people depart from it. It's irony, but funny. I don't have to tune in to the place that surrounds me. Instead I can live in the air and time of the place that is thousands of miles away from here. It's not evasive, because at any cost I do what I do and what I am supposed to do whatever the idea I take, only being always free from the effort to ingrain myself into a place where I happen to be. 

669 DNA

Are we born to leave something valuable to the future? I guess it's true, as this seems to explain why we continue to exist for the first place. I'm not making a philosophical view on this. I just wish that the generation who follows us could be better, wiser, happier, healthier, and more creative. Some might have a family and children and teach them to grow, learn and be a positive and innovative successor of the parents. I think it's also so beautiful that some might not have child and instead make new discovery and invention, leave knowledge, wisdom or way of thinking, plant trees or make cities or building, write a book, make a film or music or cloths or recipe, save human life or animal life, or any good things that makes you remembered for what you have done. Isn't it exciting that there are so many different ways to leave your DNA to the future?    

668 Illumination

Sometimes the building itself is an illumination in the street, and even more awesome than the usual illumination. Light makes us bright.

667 DJ

I was talking with my friend about the fun of the classic stage performance of a person who tells a comic story by oneself.  

"Amazing because the performer is only one that is in front of many audience"
"Yes, everyone watches and expects to listen to great work"
"The performer looks at the audience and consider how to entertain them, based on the reaction from them"
"The smaller the house is, the greater the heat"
"So it's really like a DJ event, isn't it?"
"Right, exactly"

666 Design Anatomy

The exhibition of "Design Anatomy" being held in Tokyo this winter truly gives you an alternative perspective to see usual commodities in daily life, from chocolate cookie to instant camera. The anatomy digs into not only the what the product is like but also sheds sharp light to the package, the name of the product, information to customers, the competitive landscape, the differentiation, the chemical structure of the ingredients and how people taste it, logo, the thickness of packaging paper or plastics, marketing, branding, logistics, and the whole history of the product. I'm sure no one has ever seen the product with such knowledge and understanding with such passion and accuracy that reaches almost the level of a very refined joke. 

Everything surrounds me right know, the MacBook, a cup, a mirror, a glass, magazines, and of course my whole place (however small it may be), might have similar history and background and story worth telling. In this fresh eyes every commodities doesn't seem like just a thing. Each of them might be one universe made by combination of idea, consideration, hard work and efforts. I don't say this applies to literally everything, which is not realistic, but the exhibition marvelously leads and gets us to feel this way.  

http://www.2121designsight.jp/en/program/design_anatomy/director.html

665 Corner

Inspired by some Pinterest images on fine interior, I came to think of setting my favorite chair on the tiny corner of my place to create a small space of calming myself, reading, drinking coffee, or just listening to music. It does work very well more than expected. As no one can easily change their place and live in larger space than they are today, it is amusing to find a way to activate the space that we have.

664 Google

Surprised to see this picture. Thank you Google!

663 Just Before the 39th Birthday

I was born in the sunny daylight on 12th November 1977. Tomorrow, within an hour I will kick off my 39th year. I haven't taken it seriously to get aged and celebrate the birthday. The concept of "a special day of my life" doesn't fit to me much because I know life sometimes gives me and surprises me by making any given day as a special one. It's totally unpredictable. Given that, however, maybe it's a good idea to celebrate one's birthday as no one can tell when a really special day is coming to you. Maybe the reason we celebrate our birthday is to get ready to expect a real special one. 

On the other hand, I've learnt to understand that the normal, usual and ordinary daily life is what we actually should celebrate and appreciate, because everything will be slowly but surely change in the course of time. When the change comes, you might miss your good and old days, your ordinary life the most. Or not... you might embrace the change and your new life. No one can tell.

I would truly appreciate my ordinary life that supports me, while I would embrace the change and surprise that guides me to the new stage of life that is totally unknown.

662 A Film About Coffee

"Coffee is not a industrialized, mass-production commodity". It's so true in the magnificent Specialty Coffee. But actually I find almost all kinds of coffee is amazing, special magic. Every single cup of daily coffee I drink at home and office and cafe everyday, makes me feel better, different, tranquil, strong, smart, and definitely happy. A cup of coffee can always make a new start like a refreshing daybreak. Coffee is a dream as well as a sunlight. It's a loyal friend who keeps me as I am. Specialty coffee is no doubt precious, special and great. And my daily coffee is also special even if it is an ubiquitous commodity. I think this is something that the film is all about. It's a great anthem for coffee.  

661 Watch Your Feet

In a clouded street where lots of people walking into different direction, you will have problem in going through with passing people in front and side. In order to identify exactly where people you are facing is going to move, I was once told by a veteran "not to watch people's face or eyes, but to watch their feet and steps. The step and the move of the feet will tell you the direction, not their expression." Sometimes I remember this and try to gaze people's feet, such as in a clouded crossing. I'm not sure if this is convincing to all the culture and to all the corner of the cities, but it actually works.