The sparkle in your eyes ...
Originally uploaded by nofrills
7 September 2009
"Do not enter"
"Do not enter"
Originally uploaded by nofrills
Tokyo, Japan. August 2009.
あぶないからはいってはいけません！
(Can be written with kanji: 危ないから入ってはいけません！)
The phrase means "Danger! Do not enter!"
そろばん window
そろばん window
Originally uploaded by nofrills
Tokyo, Japan. August 2009.
そろばん is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soroban
2 September 2009
1 September 2009
Fever :: Heat
Fever :: Heat
Originally uploaded by nofrills
29 August 2009. Tokyo, Japan.
After somewhat autumnal spell for a few days (less humid, less hot and clear), summer is back again - heat and humidity. When I get back to my room on this day, the room temperature was astonishingly over 38 degrees celcius.
31 August 2009
秋の気配 Autumn is just around the corner - とんぼ a dragonfly
秋の気配 Autumn is just around the corner - とんぼ a dragonfly
Originally uploaded by nofrills
25 August 2009.
The first dragonfly just outside my window .
Another view:
Saturated view:
秋の気配 Autumn is just around the corner (hopefully)
秋の気配 Autumn is just around the corner (hopefully)
Originally uploaded by nofrills
20 August 2009, Tokyo, Japan
August 30, Election Day
August 30, Election Day
Originally uploaded by nofrills
Click on the image and read the notes for language tips.
A public announcement poster for the General Election 2009.
I like this simple and well-designed poster. This girl is not somebody famous; she's probably a model, and she's a perfect "girl nextdoor". They usually employ a famous actor to attract attention, or use stupid "manga"-ish characters, to make a bad poster.
Party Posters (a left-wing wall)
Party Posters (a left-wing wall)
Originally uploaded by nofrills
Two left-wing national political parties in Japan (共産党 and 社民党), one left-ish local small party in Tokyo (生活者ネットワーク) and one centrist party (民主党).
Don't believe the American mainstream media's lazy propaganda: 民主党, or the Liberal Party of Japan, is NOT on the leftside of the political spectrum. (If they are, the Liberal Democtrats are on the left, too - they have had Keynesian policy for a long time.)
The LPJ are just another centrist party made up of 1) ex-LDP members (conservatives, nationalists, ultra-nationalists) and 2) ex-Social Democratic Something members (they indeed are on the left, but not very influential even within the LPJ itself). The NYT's article was one of the worst I've read on this election. They didn't even know the LPJ are now not against the "war on terror". (They used to be strongly against it.) The UK's Times and the Guardian have had good articles published.
I intentionally avoided two other political parties linked to religious organisations (公明党 and 幸福実現党). 公明党 (Komei Party), which is currently part of the ruling coalition, is thought to be the political wing of a large religious organisation (Soka Gakkai). 幸福実現党 is a very new political party which really is a political wing of a new religion (新宗教, which can be roughly translated as "cult").
Party Posters (LDP)
Party Posters (LDP)
Originally uploaded by nofrills
自民党 (the Liberal Democratic Party - they really should rename themselves as the Conservative Majority-loving Party). They are going to lose their position after all these five or six decades. (I don't count Hosokawa gov't because it was too short.)
At the last election, in 2005, the LDP (under Koizumi, who was known as an "eccentric" and "artistic" person) employed a skilled graphic designer. But this time, there they are! The good old CONSERVATIVE, BORING, and STALE LDP!!
A Party Poster
A Party Poster
Originally uploaded by nofrills
国民新党 (the People's New Party) is a relatively new party formed by not-new-at-all jokes, erm, political veterans who are largely conservative and populist.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Political Party Posters (archive):
whatiseehere.blogspot.com/search/label/political%20poster
8 August 2009
_
_
Originally uploaded by nofrills
Written on Saturday, 8 August 2009 (around 13:00: posted here)
Just woke up. What a show. What a night. Thank you Trent, Robin, Justin, Ilan and everyone involved in NIN. Thank you my fellow fans in the arena.
Osaka, you can expect a really intense show tonight. I've been to NIN shows in 2000, 2005 and 2007, and this was the most intense.
When the show started, it was getting dark, due to the sunset and the dark clouds. I felt a few raindrops on my face during Heresy, but it was during The Frail when the downpour started to seem for real, complete with thunder. I was in the arena (right block) and saw some people leave - it really was too much rain - but most of us remained. I was reminded of Woodstock 94 which I only saw in a TV/computer screen. I couldn't believe it was real until I heard a woman standing next to me say "What a fun!" during I'm Afraid of Americans.
Among us in the arena, there were many moments of smile and happiness in the heavy rain. There was something that can even be called "solidarity". We were in that together. The Marine Stage is a baseball stadium covered with thick plastic sheet, so it was like a huge pond. I was drenched from head to toe. Even my wallet in my hip pocket was so soaked that I had trouble to take out a banknote afterwards.
The downpour had turned into a shower by the time they started Hurt. As if planned. Beautiful.
During Burn they started moshing a couple of raws in front of me. They were real moshers, not "pushers", and it was really organised (and chaotic at the same time). The mosh pit was there during Gave Up, Wish, Survivalism, THTF and I could almost join. In fact I didn't - I couldn't move my legs because my trousers were sticking. If I had joined, it would have been the first moshpit in 15 years for me. ;)
The best moment for me was The Frail - when it started pouring. People were quietly listening - I never hear anybody talk or chatter during the quiet songs in NIN shows in Japan - and the sound of rain, could be felt if inaudible, made it so special. Surprises were Closer being played and HLAH not being played at the end.
When the MC guy's voice came "Nine Inch Nails! Thank you! What a show!", we knew it was the end but remained there for a while. The crowd were chanting "Nine Inch Nails!" and clapping. Well, Trent said it was their last show in Tokyo but I'm still hoping to see them play HLAH at the end. A 15-song set is too small and short for us to wave goodbye after all the 20 years. Please come back.
Edit:
@nineinchnails on twitter uploaded this video yesterday during the show:
"Burn," minutes ago from rain-soaked Tokyo (via iPhone 3GS):
twitvid.com/FFD3B
24 July 2009
Adebisi Shank, live at Marz, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (23 July 2009)
Adebisi Shank, live at Marz, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (23 July 2009)
Adebisi Shank is an instrumental rock/punk trio from Ireland:
www.myspace.com/adebisishank
Watch my video (an entire song):
www.vimeo.com/5741733
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQWI4r4866A
Adebisi Shank - Upstairs! (series)
Adebisi Shank, live at Marz, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan (23 July 2009)
Adebisi Shank is an instrumental rock/punk trio from Ireland:
www.myspace.com/adebisishank
Watch my video (an entire song):
www.vimeo.com/5741733
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQWI4r4866A
One:
The masked bassist decided to climb up on the PA stack and get to the terrace, where I was standing LOLing. I remembered I had a camera but my battery was running out - shame, I wish I could have recorded this historic event in a movie file!
The guy in a white shirt is an innocent bystander. He was asked by the bassist (named Vinnie) to hold his bass for a sec. And he helped to get the cable in place. Such kindness. *tears*
Two:
Three:
Here, the guitarlist climes up too to join the masked bass player. Beautiful. Shame, it was too dark, my camera was too slow, and I was loling so hard that I just managed to handle the "auto" mode.
Four:
Five:
The masked bassist is getting back on stage.
Six:
The masked bassist is moving too fast!
22 July 2009
Iwo Toh, On TV (1)
Iwo Toh, On TV (1)
Originally uploaded by nofrills
From NHK's special programme. Soon after the broadcast they uploaded the segment onto youtube.com.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNF4sEwyS2Q
They are on Iwo Toh (or Iwo Jima, 硫黄島) with the most advanced equipment to film the solar eclipse. The reporter said the orange band was 360 degrees aroung him.
See also:
You can see two tiny shade of pink in the middle - prominence. On the TV screen, they were far more clear.
The "Diamond Ring" moment.
You can see a hill behind the reporter. It's Mount Suribachi.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima
Tokyo - where's the sun?
Tokyo - where's the sun?
Originally uploaded by nofrills
Around 11:20 am, 22 July 2009.
You know, today is a big day - the biggest solar eclipse in 40+ years in Japan! In summer, I usually see the sun somewhere near the pole top, but today the cloud has won. I hoped that some of the cloud would be gone by 11:00 am or so, but this is the reality.
I waited a little more. After all, I was not able to see any piece or shade of the sun during the eclipse. On the other hand, my twitter friend was in Shibuya area and took this picture below:
post.ly/1SJK
And people were tweeting "I'm seeing the half sun behind the cloud" or something from Shibuya and Ikebukuro etc.
私のいるところでは、空はずっとこんな感じで、何も見えませんでした。渋谷は雲の切れ間から見えたそうです。
post.ly/1SJK
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