GREATEST THESPIAN/SINGER/ENTERTAINER/STARSHIP CAPTAIN

O Captain! My Captain!

1
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart! 5
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

2
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; 10
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck, 15
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

3
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; 20
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

-----Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass. 1900.


On that cheerful note, Happy Friday Everyone !!
Hope you have a wonderful relaxing weekend planned ahead.

To get you started in the right mood. Listen to this lovely PIECE

Fills me with a sense of hope for humanity everytime.

UNTIMELY RAIN

今日は一日中雨でした。
この雨が日曜日に降ってくれればよかったのに、、、。

日曜日の午後。
消防車のサイレンが近くでとまったので
外にでてみると、真っ黒な煙がもくもくとあがっているではないか。
風向きは南→北であったためこちらはそんなに煙たい感じはなかった。
が、臭覚の鋭いLaikaはすごい怯え様でぶるぶると震えていた。

二階から見てみると炎が屋根から立ちのぼっているのが見えた。
時たま、バンっと何かが爆発するような音も聞こえた。
何人かの住人が煙をさけるために非難して来るのも見えた。

日曜日の午後たいてい家族は家にいたであろう。
なのに、なぜ誰もここまで火の手が広がるまで気がつかなかったのだろう？
何が原因だったのだろう？
最近相棒がお茶を飲むためお湯を沸かすためコンロの火を点けた後
2階に行ってしまう。そのあと、忘れてしまい私が火を消すことがある。
この火事を教訓に”つけたら2階に行かないこと！”を実行してもらおう！

INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Supposedly all dogs are descended from Wolves. But how the hell do you get from this:

to this!

Man! all this is way over my head. There must have been an all intelligent being who carefully plotted all this out. I have seen the proof!

AND TIME WILL HAVE HIS FANCY

As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
"Love has no ending.

"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,

"I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.

"The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world."

But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
"O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.

"In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.

"In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.

"Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.

"O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.

"The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.

"Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.

"O look, look in the mirror?
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

"O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart."

It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.

W.H. Auden

LA MARATHON

Today, we went out to Koreatown to enjoy some of their famous BBQ. But what did we run into? The LA Marathon. Now this was at 2:15 p.m ; the thing started at 8:17 a.m, it a 26 mile run (for you metric people, around 35 Kilometers) So these guys have been running or walking for 6 hours at this point !!! Wow. Here Me, Miyuki and my friend Paul were going into a restaurant to ingest a 5000 calorie lunch while everyone else was getting one killer workout!

So there is talk of Miyuki and me running the marathon next year. I can just feel the pain thinking about it. But it would be a good motivation to do a lot of training and lose some weight. We'll keep you updated on that one.

On a different note:

Is this art? 1500 naked Veneszuelans think so. I wonder what that guy is looking up at?

M FOR MIMI

今日は朝の学校が終わってから映画を観にいった。
とりあえず３つセレクトして上映時間も下調べOK！
頑張れば３つ続けて観れるかな

1. V for Vendetta
2. She's the Man
3. Failure to Launch

映画館に行ったらなんと時間が違ってるではないか。
でもなんとか2つ観れそうだ。

まず、１のV for Vendetta.
やっぱりあの兄弟（ウォシャウスキー兄弟；マトリックス）だったか。ちと難しかった。
テロリストのVなんであのマスクを選んだのか？そこからわからん。
独裁国家から自由と正義を取り戻すためにテロリストになったV。市民の心に
革命の火をつけ圧政から開放させる、って話だが。もう一回観ないとだめかな私の場合。

その点、２のShe's the manはとても楽に観られる。
双子の兄になしすまして高校のサッカーチームに入り、ルームメートでありチームのキャプテン
の男の子に恋する。って言うおきまりの話なのだが、男の子のふりをする芝居がとても笑わせてくれる。

さて、今夜の韓国×日本の野球試合はどうなってるかな。

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

WorldCup 06' is almost upon us. Let me take this opportunity to profess my love of the "Beautiful Game". Once every 4 years, I get my fill of soccer by gluing myself to the TV watching every exciting moment broadcast on FoxSportsWorld. You see, one of the few downside of living in the U.S., apart from the totalitarian government, is the total lack of national interest in Soccer. Philistines! I say!.


Speaking of Philistines, whats with the angry French students protesting against the dismantling of the proto-communist "iron-bowl" policies of the French Republic. It certainly is an 180 degree turn from the revolutionary, down with the statusquo spirit of their 68' forebearers.

THE FUTURE IS HERE! AND IT IS SO SCARY.

When Terry Gilliam created the dystopian world of "Brazil" back in 1985, he envisioned a world where wealthy octogenarian socialites sought out the latest fountain of youth at the local plastic surgeon/artist's office; needing ever more drastic "touch ups" with each passing year.

Well, 20 years later, fantasy has become reality and it is not a pretty sight.

I wonder what she said to her favorite surgeon when she went in. Hummm, I would like to look like that kid in Mask.

Oh, No! not you too, Olivia?

Of course the curse afflicts members of the the masculine gender as well. Oh, Kenny, what have you done! For years you told us you knew when to "fold 'em" and when to "walk away."

Now, here's a good looking 60 year old woman looking great for her age, wrinkles and all. Kudos to you Sally.

THE ANNIVERSARY OF DAD'S DEATH

3月16日は、父の命日である。
もう10年になるが、あの日のことは何ひとつとして忘れてはいない。
すべてが鮮明に記憶の中に残っている。姉も同じようだ。

”梅の咲くころには、、、”繰り返されるフレーズ。神様からのお告げだったのだろう。
姉からのメールで、”今夜は満月。今年もまた梅の薫りがやさしくあたりを包んでいます”、と。
線香のかわりにお香を焚いてみました。
いつも父があの世で幸せでありますように。
しんみりしたあとで癒し系Laikaの”いない、いないバー顔”を見るとほっとします。

I'M GONNA TO MAKE IT AFTER ALL!

Tokoyo University here I come!! The promising start of a career salaryman. There are so few opportunities for the average Japanese to display unbridled passion and enthusiasm; it is really refreshing to see the Id come out once in a while. Of course this picture doesn't show the guys who couldn't find their names on the list. They are holding back tears, heads lowered , and going online to make that appointment to carry out the suicide pact. Sure beats our impersonal SAT results in the mail system, don't you think?

THEY ARE ALL HEROS!

ACADEMY AWARDS NIGHT 3

昨日はいけてる人、今日はいけてない人のノミネート。

• 痩せすぎな人
• 魔女みたいな人
• 眉毛薄すぎで怖い人
• 整形しすぎな人
  

ACADEMY AWARDS NIGHT2

昨日は相棒の大好きな俳優（主演男優と助演女優）がオスカーをとって
早速ブログを書いていた。でも、私のもう一つの楽しみは女優さんたちの
ドレスなのだ。

そこで、My point of view的にいけてるドレス、いけてないドレスを選出してみた。

いけてる人　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

ACADEMY AWARDS NIGHT

Seldom do I watch the Academy Awards. It all seems one big self-congratulatory-back-slapfest. However, I am glad, for once, the best actor award went to the deserving fellow. What Hoffman did in Capote was just amazing. A performance which transcended the mere catagory of "acting". He was Truman Capote.

So, who was the hottest babe of the evening. It was a hard decision. One can easily go for the cool allure of Kidman or the startling beauty of Theron. But for me, it is Watts who makes my heart skips a beat. Here is that rare combination of etheral beauty and bright eyed innocence all in one. Wow, I would climb a couple of tall buildings for her thats for sure. Since we are on the topic, whats the deal with Watts being overlooked for her work in Kong? lets see you try to act opposite a blue screen. One of the few movies last year which had me weeping like a babe.

Would you give this man a best supporting actor award? For that matter, would you give him the valet parking keys to your car? Speak volumes to his talent as an actor; because without it, this would be the mug shot hanging at the local post office.