Friday we had an office party (4people) to celebrate the end of the year...
Yesterday we made Soba to celebrate the end of the year (2 of us)...
Tonight we'll have a home party with our family friends (5 people) to celebrate the end of the year...
2008 is really expected...
December 31, 2007
Buren, Daniel
Daniel Buren, the artist who defeated the anti-modern art in Paris with 'les colonnes de Buren'... Check this article from Libération in which he criticizes the State and the City of Paris for their lack of care regarding his masterpiece installed in the Jardins du Palais Royal.
What more than stripes? We made so many jokes about the artist like when we had a T-shirt with stripes and we called it "T-shirt Buren". We also applied the concept to shirts...
More about the artist in the following links :
What more than stripes? We made so many jokes about the artist like when we had a T-shirt with stripes and we called it "T-shirt Buren". We also applied the concept to shirts...
More about the artist in the following links :
December 28, 2007
Canard, Duck, Kamo, Ente
Ducks are my friends and my favourite food too! Sorry!!!
I remember the story of a little kid who was followed by his pet duck.
I recalled also the Japanese experiments with scientists who laid a color cube next to a duck egg. The freshly hatched duck immediately took the cube for his mom/parent. The stiry had me cry ; I found it sad and dsiturbing to imagine that poor little yellow thing ignored by a non creature with no souls and feelings...
I hate it when people take ducks for more stupid than they are.
I remember the story of a little kid who was followed by his pet duck.
I recalled also the Japanese experiments with scientists who laid a color cube next to a duck egg. The freshly hatched duck immediately took the cube for his mom/parent. The stiry had me cry ; I found it sad and dsiturbing to imagine that poor little yellow thing ignored by a non creature with no souls and feelings...
I hate it when people take ducks for more stupid than they are.
Dell asks customers
My first PC was a Dell 200MMX... That was somewhere in 1997. It was still working couple years ago.
I switched back to Mac this year after many PCs... I am so crazy for Apple hardware (and excellent software too!).
Yet Dell has realy impressed me with the consumer/user forum : http://www.dellideastorm.com/
Ask a customer about possible product improvement sounds like the road to wisdom and success.
I switched back to Mac this year after many PCs... I am so crazy for Apple hardware (and excellent software too!).
Yet Dell has realy impressed me with the consumer/user forum : http://www.dellideastorm.com/
Ask a customer about possible product improvement sounds like the road to wisdom and success.
December 20, 2007
Chinsagu No Hana ["I'd like to be involved"]
Sakamoto Ryuichi's most beautiful song with Okinawa inspired music had me cry a couple times simply because it spoke to me long before I would actually find its title and meaning (it just happened a couple minutes ago and lead me to write this quick post).
This is the feeling I have when I am among foreigner people who 'do not seem to care' about me.
Have you ever experienced that feeling : you can't speak a language that you love and the people around you are talking so much. You feel like you do not belong to the party and nobody cares about you. Of course they do care but they enjoy their culture. Yet you feel lonely like the guy outside the restaurant looking at the people enjoying ; he feels more hungry for company than for the food itself.
Next time it happens to you, focus on the beauty of the language and try to decode some expressions on the faces and in the eyes.
Listen to this beautiful song and raise volume at 2:00 to get the emotional musical background melody. The women's voices give humanity to the song too.
Sadness and yet hope are in this song. I can almost picture a movie scene with a daunted human being who finds the courage to stand up and look at the rising sun with a slow moving smile on their tear covered face.
Chinsagu No Hana, Beauty, Sakamoto Ryuichi
This is the feeling I have when I am among foreigner people who 'do not seem to care' about me.
Have you ever experienced that feeling : you can't speak a language that you love and the people around you are talking so much. You feel like you do not belong to the party and nobody cares about you. Of course they do care but they enjoy their culture. Yet you feel lonely like the guy outside the restaurant looking at the people enjoying ; he feels more hungry for company than for the food itself.
Next time it happens to you, focus on the beauty of the language and try to decode some expressions on the faces and in the eyes.
Listen to this beautiful song and raise volume at 2:00 to get the emotional musical background melody. The women's voices give humanity to the song too.
Sadness and yet hope are in this song. I can almost picture a movie scene with a daunted human being who finds the courage to stand up and look at the rising sun with a slow moving smile on their tear covered face.
Chinsagu No Hana, Beauty, Sakamoto Ryuichi
And on YouTube!
Chinsagu No Hana
Chisagu nu hanaya, chimisashi ni sumiti.
Uya nu yushigutu ya, chimu ni simiri.
Yuyu harasu funi ya, ni nu fa fushi mi-ati.
Wan nacheru uya ya, wan du mi ati.
Tun nu buri-bushi ya, yumiba yumariyun.
Uya nu yushigutu ya, yumin naranu.
Takara tama yatin, migikaniba sabisu.
Asayu chimu migachi, uchiyu watara.
Agari akagariba, shimi nare ga ichun.
Kashira yuti tabori, wa uya-ganashi.
Chinsagu nu hana ya, chimisachi ni sumiti.
Uya nu yushigutu ya. Chimu ni siniri.
The Flower of Balsam, one dyes on one's fingernails.
The words of one's parents, one must dye in one's heart.
Ships sailing the night seas take their bearing by the pole star.
The parents who gave me birth take their bearings by me.
One has to study and to master the name of constellations.
But the lessons taught by one's parents are no mastered by study alone.
Even gems and treasures will rust unless polished.
Polishing my spirit night and days, I traverse this transient world.
When the sun rises, I shall go off to study.
Please plait my hair, my dear mother.
The Flower of Balsam, one dyes on one's fingernails.
The words of one's parents, one must dye in one's heart.
December 13, 2007
Depression
Not talking about 1929 though investments at the end of the year are at the same level they were at its beginning (sigh!)... We're talking about "feeling blue" and more. Check Wikipedia and Van Gogh's painting.
I wrote a post about depression as the French Ministry of Health issued an advertising campaign to help people suffering. The document is mostly useful and testimonials are used as a way to show that it can happen to anybody and they are not alone.
With an increased competition, weakened family, materialism and lightspeed news, we are submitted to stress, frustration and attacks.
I still remember the feeling before exams or right after bad news... The only way is to dive into action. Even hopless action is still better than let go and be passive. The least passive, the least depression can enter your brains. And it is one way to strt changing your life too.
www.info-depression.fr
I wrote a post about depression as the French Ministry of Health issued an advertising campaign to help people suffering. The document is mostly useful and testimonials are used as a way to show that it can happen to anybody and they are not alone.
With an increased competition, weakened family, materialism and lightspeed news, we are submitted to stress, frustration and attacks.
I still remember the feeling before exams or right after bad news... The only way is to dive into action. Even hopless action is still better than let go and be passive. The least passive, the least depression can enter your brains. And it is one way to strt changing your life too.
www.info-depression.fr
December 11, 2007
Headroom, Max
When the first French Pay TV arrived in France, it was a revolution! in 1984 Canal + came with a new definition of television. One of their programs came directly from the US and it was, at that time, a state of the art computer generated entertainment show entitled "Max Headroom".
I liked this character and as many other teenagers, dreamed of having Max in my own computer. As an icon from the 80's, Max Headroom had to have a post in this blog.
By the way, the picture comes from a very interisting book with great names : Jean-Francois Bizot (founder of Radio Nova, and Nova magazines among many other things, died in 2007/09/8) and Jean Rouzaud (musicologist with extended knowledge, still on the air on Radio Nova). It is one of the few valuable books about the 80's.
December 4, 2007
keitai shousetsu
Mobile phone novels? I found the news this morning on one of my favourite blogs from Francis Pisani. He found the initial track from Tech Crunch and from this Australian newspaper.
During my trips to Japan I saw all the passengers using their "keitai" [mobile] with an astonishing usage of their fingers whatever the size of the keyboard. Looks like the keitai becomes an extension of their person : key, wallet, TV, eBook, games, email...
Japan is way ahead of technology yet the content/themes of these books is more frightening than the innovative way of publishing.
TO BE COMPLETED
During my trips to Japan I saw all the passengers using their "keitai" [mobile] with an astonishing usage of their fingers whatever the size of the keyboard. Looks like the keitai becomes an extension of their person : key, wallet, TV, eBook, games, email...
Japan is way ahead of technology yet the content/themes of these books is more frightening than the innovative way of publishing.
TO BE COMPLETED
November 29, 2007
Tenohira no shosetsu, Kawabata Yasunari
About to leave for Münich this monday, I left the keys on the door as I got more subject to anxiety before flying. When back to my second home, I looked for substitution books to the one I left at my usual home. I could not find what I wanted of course. So I digged and found the Kawabata book I bought around 2000 : Tenohira no shosetsu [Palm of the Hand stories]. Unread so far... I'll tell you why one day, should I dare.
I did not read it on the plane as I was busy reading the daily press and saving interisting articles. And reading finance magazines (the stock market is the one with turbulences at this time).
But I started reading it yesterday and I took a break from the corportae life and enjoyed the two first stories today. A dark tone writing with explicit or soft tone allusions to death...
I have to read the whole book and then start the book compliling some of his novels and short stories before I can start writing about his approach to litterature. Not that I am entitled to judging, just because I find it enjoyable to share my experiences and understandings in litterature. By the way, how many people do read this blog?
November 28, 2007
Chichin, Frédéric
Fred Chichin... Another myth has gone. Not worldwide but France lost a guitar player from the 80's hype band "les Rita Mitsouko"
Legend has it that Prince took a sample from Rita Mitsouko's music. Just listen to singing in the shower tonight!
TO BE COMPLETED
Legend has it that Prince took a sample from Rita Mitsouko's music. Just listen to singing in the shower tonight!
TO BE COMPLETED
November 22, 2007
Japan is trendy
Bento & Database cannot be mixed?
Check ! The idea behind the name is 'bring all you need with you'. Clever!
Another proof that Japanese words are trendy.
Check ! The idea behind the name is 'bring all you need with you'. Clever!
Another proof that Japanese words are trendy.
Power of dreams and passion in work?
Just a quick post inspired by 'Star Wars' and 'what color is your parachute'...
The best example and a real testimonial can be found in this excellent book by Po Bronson : What should I do with my life? His www.pobronson.com/ is the start of the journey for whoever would think about the meaning of life. Check his blog too! The picture on the book cover is self explanatory and I like it as a photographer. It's a s swift as an icon : you get the whole meaning of the concept in one single picture. That's brilliant.
You can find his picture on findagrave.
In a nutshell, in order to differentiate yourself from the others on the labour market (it can be applied to any other competitive free market, of course) you need to outperform.
If one hates what one does, how can one outperform? Dick Bolles advises readers to use their original passions and turn them into real assets with added value and increased differention power.
A first example of this statement can be foud on http://www.astromech.net/ where people re-create robots inspired by Star Wars.
The best example and a real testimonial can be found in this excellent book by Po Bronson : What should I do with my life? His www.pobronson.com/ is the start of the journey for whoever would think about the meaning of life. Check his blog too! The picture on the book cover is self explanatory and I like it as a photographer. It's a s swift as an icon : you get the whole meaning of the concept in one single picture. That's brilliant.Eventually, remember the title of the major book from Cesare Pavese : 'this business of living'.
It means that life itself is a full time work. What a concept!
The translation in French is even more powerful (as it is closer to the original Italian title) 'le métier de vivre' since it is understood that you need skills, talents and dedication and eventually hard work to make it 'succesful'.
You can find his picture on findagrave.
Another post I have to work on... Yet I am already busy working on my life.
November 20, 2007
Tokyo acknowledged world best for restaurants
Guide Michelin is an old 'institution' in France... As such and because the name and red colour guide managed to be trusted after more than a century, we can be confident in their judgement.
As published and subject to controversy it is the first time Michelin has ever pubished a guide for Tokyo restaurants.
I feel lucky to know the best lady guide for Japan with an experienced, delicate and always proven right taste... She took me to the best sushi place in my whole life and also had me experience more restaurants to upgrade my taste : domo arigato gozaimashita PN ;-)
Ikitai (I wanna go) to tabetai (I wanna eat)
As published and subject to controversy it is the first time Michelin has ever pubished a guide for Tokyo restaurants.
I feel lucky to know the best lady guide for Japan with an experienced, delicate and always proven right taste... She took me to the best sushi place in my whole life and also had me experience more restaurants to upgrade my taste : domo arigato gozaimashita PN ;-)
Ikitai (I wanna go) to tabetai (I wanna eat)
November 19, 2007
Kuki ga Yomenai
Today I found an expression to describes how I am slowly losing grip at work : kuki ga yomenai.
It means litteraly "I can't read the air". The true meaning is that, for instance, when sitting in a meeting and everybody wants to end but one participant will go on, this one cannot read the air. An extension is that one cannot understand what's happening around.
It does apply to my current work situation : I do not understand anymore my environment, my collegues and the company itself.
Yet my question is : what to do when you feel as a drifter? I'm slowly sliding out of this company. But where am I heading to? This is when I would need a crystal ball!
Gambaru
It means litteraly "I can't read the air". The true meaning is that, for instance, when sitting in a meeting and everybody wants to end but one participant will go on, this one cannot read the air. An extension is that one cannot understand what's happening around.
It does apply to my current work situation : I do not understand anymore my environment, my collegues and the company itself.
Yet my question is : what to do when you feel as a drifter? I'm slowly sliding out of this company. But where am I heading to? This is when I would need a crystal ball!
Gambaru
November 8, 2007
Mogari no mori by Naomi Kawase
Yesterday, I went (alone) to watch mogari no mori in a small cinema . You can watch the trailer here and here (French). There's more to this movie than a simple story and a road movie. It tells about the meaning of life (listen to the shinto monk) : you are alive if you eat and if you feel alive through the people around you.I love Japanese movies because of the esthetics (the expression of beauty), the language and the culture. This one surprised me as I did not really like it at first but then it slowly grew on me : as the old man (Shigeki) and the young lady (Machiko) got into the forest, I was caught by the movie as the intensity grew. Shigeki shows the way of love, respect and devotion and Machiko, the way of selfishlessness (is that English?) and dedication.
The first element to catch my attention was the quality of the photo. Hideyo Nakano has a very special eye : sometimes on the move to stress the action and most of times like the eye of God on the human beings, calm and steady. The wind blowing on the green vegetables (gree wheat?) reminded me of my time in the army in 1993, at the back of a truck, the only consolation came from the beauty of nature and countryside...
I found out this morning that the movie won the "grand prix du jury au Festival de Cannes 2007".
One of the best scenes was when the lady removed her top and bra to hold the old man in her arms and make him warm : it was sensual (in a clean way) and very moving as she previously lost her baby. Mogari means "end of mourning" in Japanese.
Difficult to explain how touching the movie was. Read more at IMDB.
Another step on the path of understanding the meaning of life and a moment of warmth in a cold world. Another "Food for thought" movie.
Thank you Naomi Kawase
October 31, 2007
Friendly fire
My friend working at the same company refuses a gift offered to show my compassion and help him forget about another mistake he made and for which he has to wait couple weeks to be cleared off. This is the second mistake of the same kind except the first alert all made us so sad as we had to wait and expect for the final test...
October 10, 2007
October 8, 2007
October 5, 2007
October 2, 2007
October 1, 2007
September 30, 2007
September 29, 2007
September 28, 2007
How to fly without fear?
I'll answer this question when I am back from day trip after more than 5 hours in the air...
September 27, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 24, 2007
KamiSama paints today!
Everyday is art. Today I managed to get a picture to show you that beauty is everywhere, even homebound (From my mobile)
Momiji, the "shin" generation
Of course, I could not take "karakara" for an answer. And still, I hope it will make it.When the gardener came back, I asked him for 3 new cuttings. I also met our executive neighbor who happens to be a successful gardener. He mentioned "growth hormone" for cuttings. An excellent article from Le Monde, which I read by chance, also led me to trying one more time.
This time, it looks more like it has a "good health", don't you think?
Momiji, the "karakara" Japanese mapple
The smooth mapple tree from Japan! Remember my beautiful tree post? Well, the gardener subcontracted by the company offered me to "take cuttings" after I asked questions about the handsome tree.Now, it's all karakara (dried out). Yet my wishes are still alive : never let go until you're sure it's over.
I hope to write a post about this endeavour in a couple weeks from now and show how it revives. Wish E.T. was around! Do you remember the flower scene from 1982? This movie and Star Wars fuelled a generation's dreams and many more.
September 22, 2007
This is the place I worked the whole week
... Until 3:30 PM today. Then I'll have a long train trip plus tube then weekend will begin when I start walking in the streets to go back home.
One week ago in Paris
With direct access to this blog, I'll post more... So I decided to dig in my archives and publish some of my favorite pictures.
This guitar player (you can meet him in the streets of Paris) is a Fender fan (you can tell!). So am I. Couple months ago, I found a blog of a very talented young woman who is very knowledgeable about guitars : I found out Prince does not use one brand but several...
Someday, I'll buy a USB guitar and plug it in my MacBook. As PN would say "Phil No Manga" (You're dreaming your life like in a Manga). I'll get back to work now!
September 21, 2007
Prince concert in london
Wish I could go there! I don't own my life for I couldn't attend because of work!
Itadakimasu 'guten appetit' style
I really enjoy japanese food especially abroad after one full week of work. The japanese culture and people are like a second home to me...
September 18, 2007
September 17, 2007
Sometimes life seems like a manga strip
While listening to Massive Attack... How could I ever forget 'Unfinished Sympathy' in Paris' Chinatown on Edgard's TV. MTV had it. As well as Prince. Still remember the day I rushed out to buy videotapes to record the 'Prince day' clips. Who will ever remember this in the future? Hope my soul is a suitcase for memories...
September 16, 2007
September 15, 2007
September 13, 2007
September 12, 2007
Destroy to rebuild
Difficult to turn a bad sleep night and a business trip into a profitable day but sometimes it may work.
September 11, 2007
September 10, 2007
September 8, 2007
Yatta! I found Alexa de Paris
Long time before I could find music from Prince on CD too... Listen to this andyour life will change. The Artist signed the soundtrack of my life : honto arigato!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
