Speaking of weekends of late, other than going out for golf I tend to stay inside playing Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter. I figure I better nurture my soul a bit when I stay in too much and so recently made it to a couple live events.
Saturday, January 30th [Superfly] Arena Tour 2016 “Into The Circle” Day One @ Makuhari Messe Event Hall
“Manifest” - Blues version gave me goose bumps the whole performance
“Kagayaku Tsuki no you ni” - Acapela version, the first time I’ve cried at a concert
I wonder what’s next. Maybe an album tour.
My expectations are growing.
Saturday, March 26th
FLOW LIVE TOUR 2016 [#10] final＠Zepp Tokyo
Unbelievably, I got sick on the day of the concert (I had a 38.9C fever when I got home). Thanks to a sore throat and a constant headache I was unable to party full power. This time we had thankfully bought balcony seats which let me at least sit down. Next time though I’m going healthy and partying hard.
Speaking of live events I’ll be heading to the annual “ROCK IN JAPAN FES” in August as usual, as well as the “Gunma Rock Fes” AKA “Mountain people’s music festival” in September that wasn’t put on last year. They’re still a ways off but I’m getting my excitement up for them day by day.
So with plenty of nutrients for my soul on their way, I shall continue my lifestyle of staying indoors to play Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter.
From Naotyn
For billions of years Earth’s evolution was driven by what we call “Survival of the fittest.” Strength, speed, and toughness were the dominating factors of who lived and who died. Over time that consciousness evolved from individual into families, communities, states, and finally nations.
In recent years Human Culture has evolved into what some call “Survival of the richest.” When wealth is used to buy food, shelter, and medicine, we no longer need to be strong or tough to survive.
“Survival of the richest” is however not the end of cultural evolution. In the movie “Star Trek: First Contact” The hero from the future explains to a modern woman: “The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity.” The movie may be science fiction, but the truth of that quote is very real. Mankind now, today, has the power to feed and educate every single person on the planet, but we choose not to, instead letting some people be rich while others are poor.
Last week the earthquakes of Kumamoto have no doubt caused a tremendous “cost” of damage. If we had evolved passed money, there would be no “cost” barrier for us to worry about, it would simply be the duty of the collective to house and feed our citizens in need.
In truth, money is just fancy paper that we all agree is useful. If we all agreed to stop using money, it would become worthless. We could build spaceships, evolve our sciences, heal the planet, and educate our people, but we choose not to.
Some people believe that if we shared resources equally there would not be enough to go around. But in truth there are currently 62 super-rich people that control more money and resources than all of the 7,125,000,000 rest of us. If the wealth and resources of the super-rich were shared more equally no one would ever have to go hungry or cold.
In order for global culture to “grow-up” we still need to fix a lot of things but rest assured the future is a lot brighter than the news they feed us on TV.
From Postman
Ride to an altitude of 1660m via gondola. Walk down a little to 1600m. 17:30. Aiming for a 900m plateau, dash downhill nonstop.
Such a race was the first of its kind for the snowy mountains of Japan. The total distance was around 5km. The maximum slope at 20 degrees. A downhill race using the slopes of a ski resort.
In the end I was only able to give my best for the first couple hundred meters of gradual slopes. I started out with a good sprint, but never caught up to the top class. After around 500m I started to slow up. After the first kilometer my toes started to hurt from digging into my shoes, my legs started to aches all over, and my heart was tiring quickly.
Then comes the 20 degree slope. When skiing 20 degrees is just about perfect, but when running it’s pretty darn steep. Especially when in the snow. Some parts are a bit frozen, some parts a soft, it’s not the best for running. You can’t stop even if you try. The load on your feet is extreme. Once again the benefits of the lightweight are made clear.
Already it has turned into a battle with myself. Not matter the position I just want to make it to the end.
After the 20 degree slope it levels out a bit. By now I’m journeying alone. There’s no one in front or behind me, so I start to take my time. I start to regret having not done any training before deciding the participate.
20 minutes after starting. My body is in shambles as I cascade through the goal.
The fastest of the participants finished around 12 minutes. That’s to be expected I supposed. The top class being athletes from around the country. I’m just happy to have been running the same course as them.
The day after next.
A continuation of immeasurable muscle aches. I can barely walk, and going down stairs is nearly impossible. It was a full week until all of my pains subsided.
I remember the original race guide noting “Skiers, snowboards, bikers, and all athletes with a need for speed have a chance at the money prizes,” but I know now that that’s not enough.
Next time…
First of all I’ll need to do some training. I’m going to need some better gear as well.
The race is planned again for next year, so for those who have a love for muscle aches, by all means.
From 3+
Amidst these days perfect for flower viewing across the nation, how is everyone doing? Here is Takasaki we have our grand share of Cheery Blossoms though for allergy bearers such as myself, we hide inside and watch TV…
It’s from there that I wish to introduce a television program gaining attention.
On E-Tele Wednesday April 6th starting at 23:00, is a new program called “Old Café System Haru’s Day Off,” which travels the country visiting old houses that have been renovated in cafes. It aired twice in 2015 and is a program I have been watching.
On March 20th the third installation will travel through Gunma, Takasaki’s with the café “Japanese Tea Café - Warehouse Gallery Natsume.”
Address : Gunma, Takasaki, Himono-machi 13
Hours : 11:00-17:00 (Fri-Sun until 19:00)
Closed : Wednesdays & Thursdays
This large tatami warehouse built during the Meiji Dynasty is a great café for Japanese teas and Japanese sweets that I have been to on several occasions.
As it’s very close to the Takasaki Castle Park, why not enjoy some flower viewing while you check this place out before is goes on air.
From Aqua
In Japan with our four seasons we occasionally are shown wonderful expressions from Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Fall. Amidst the four seasons, we are shown the Spring Cherry Blossoms for but one week. It is these ephemeral moments that people place great importance on.
The warming air and soft breeze make us want to chase after the pale pink blossoms. I ended up taking my little adventurer out for a chase of his own.
In the city the blossoms have already begun to fall but at two of the top 100 sites chosen throughout Gunma Prefecture “Akagi South-side One-thousand Sakura(Maebashi City)” and “Mount Sakura Park(Fujioka City)” full bloom is still from here on.
Throughout Gunma Prefecture we may still be able to see Cherry Blossoms through until May, so why not move your legs a bit and go on a little chase.
From Pumping both wheels
Isn't food just wonderful.
An update from me who finds happiness in delicious food.
This time I would like to introduce a famous shop in Maebashi called “Sucre Et Fromage.” With “fromage” in the title, which is French for cheese, they have a variety of sweets made using cheeses from different countries around the world.
Amidst all of their items, their New York Cheese Cake which bears the name of the shop “Sucre Et Fromage” happens to be my special recommendation.
There are no words fit for the sensations brought on by the creamy yet full-bodied flavor. There are bite-sized cubes for sale rather than just the sliced cuts which make them great for souvenirs as well.
This shop is in Maebashi, making it a little far from out company, but for those that are visiting the area, it’s well worth tasting.
From Creampuff-fingers
[LOVE Japanese Sake Remember by Prefecture The Big Encyclopedia of Sake]
Author: Miki Hiroya
Editor: Kensuke Matsui
Publishing date: February 2nd, 2016
After reading about Japanese sake for my first book, I ended up buying another.
This book approaches sake based on their location of origin with an encyclopedia sorted by the prefectures of Japan. There are 130 pages in total meaning it doesn’t have every sake ever refined, but it’s great for looking up sakes you’ve drank or to carry around to look up sakes you will drink from here on.
There was a section lecturing on sake itself I thought I’d share a bit of as well. When it’s cold out we often enjoy hot sake, or atsukan. But do you know from what temperature it’s okay to call sake atsukan?
Looking at this graph I realized there are more variations that I had thought. I also felt the way that the “hiya” descriptions are used gives them a certain beauty.
Of course some sakes are intended to be enjoyed at a specific temperature, so be sure to try different sakes at different temperatures to find your own preference.
During the winter I tested different levels of heating using a favorite sake of mine to find out what I like best. That sake in particular gives off a strong alcoholic waft that caused me to choke when heated above 50 degrees, but didn’t feel warm enough if heated less than 40 degrees, so I set to drink it between 40 and 50 degrees.
For me, the problem with hot sake was that the temperature never lasted long. One day while drinking with a buddy of mine he pointed out "You’re microwaving! Then your cup won’t get warm enough"
At once I understood. I wanted to measure the temperature but didn’t want to spend time and so was doing everything with my microwave. In order to aim for superior quality you’ve got to spend more time thinking up a good management plan. Just as it is with die-casting.
We have come into the most difficult season for those of us with allergies.
I started taking my allergy medicine around two weeks ago when this year’s pollen started flying, but had my switch turned full on at a golf course last week that was bursting with bright yellow pollen from the local cedar.
Once switched on it’s all over.
It’s not a question of today’s pollen level, it’s 1 or 0.
Often whether a person will slip into an allergy fit gets described as their allotted bucket overflowing, and quite clearly I have gone over the limit of my bucket. A mask is a must, and hiding behind the mask I have tissues stuck in my nose allowing me to barely endure.
Rather than simply suppressing symptoms with medicine, methods of treatment seem to be evolving more and more, some which I hear aren’t so troublesome.
This year I’m already well in the thick of it so I’ll try to just dodge and endure my way through, but I’m keeping my ears open and gathering information for a better way to get through next year
PS:
My room is 3.6 meters square with an air purifier built for 10.4 meters square equipped with a plasma cluster ion generator, humidifier, pollen countermeasures galore. The weekends consist of me hiding safely in my room playing Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest.
From Naotyn
When I was still in elementary school I started learning my first programming language. I didn’t latch onto to it at that age though I dabbled in computer sciences throughout all my years of school. Turning my third century several years ago I started to study programming more seriously and have used it every day ever since.
For the most part programming is largely a hobby of mine I use to make video games and webpages. From time to time that experience becomes useful at work, or even out in the world, when other people are having trouble with machines or computers.
Beyond the ability to read and write different languages of code however I’ve gained several skills that are much more valuable: problem solving, critical thinking, and determination.
There really are no problems in a programming project that cannot be solved. The question is how do you do it. Admitting that “I don’t know” does not mean “I cannot know.” You may have to learn something new altogether or simply need to approach things from a different angle. The only time that things become impossible is when you say “I cannot.”
Subconsciously believing for the first thirty years of my life that “I don’t know,” meant more or less “I cannot,” kept me from doing what I do all the time now without much effort. Now, when I do not know how to do something I look at people who do, I read about it online, I look to nature for inspiration, and spend time thinking about it rather than just giving up.
There is only so much time in each day, and in fact in our lives. I read once that many great minds such as Shakespeare and Galileo kept an ornamental skull in their offices to remind them of that fact, time is precious. More and more I find it difficult to sit and watch TV, or listen to the troubles on the news. There are so many better ways that we could all be spending out time, so many problems we could solve if only we put our minds to them.
What sort of tough questions or unsolved problems exist in your life? What would happen if they were resolved? Can you not resolve them? Or do you simply not know how?
From Postman
2014 posts:
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