Posts from the “ENGLISH” Category

Happy birthday to me :)

Posted on May 12, 2010

I’ve got so many birthday withes this year from the moment I woke up. Actually, since 2 days ago. So, I have been in a pretty good mood all day! Thank you so much, all! Many of them came through Facebook and another community site for knitters. Some people complain about the mal-effect of the highly networked society, but personally I feel blessed by being connected to many caring people around the globe. Those people who abuse the Internet will find a way of hurting people anyway, with our without the Internet. My colleagues have took me out for a birthday lunch to a near-by cafe/pub. It’s a tiny place, so we had the space to ourselves, and they even decorated the ceiling for…

Categories: **ENGLISH**, 2. Diary

Kindle Experience without Kindle

Posted on May 10, 2010

I wanted to briefly update my readers about my recent e-book experience. I have successfully completed my reading of 4 Kindle books, 2 of which are within a week, on my Macbook (named Alain in a french way) and iPhone (still hasn’t been named). Let me tell you this very clearly: don’t do it. It will kill your eyes, then your shoulders, then your head. No, I don’t want to read my books, newspapers, nor magazines on computer/cell phone/ iPad screens. Period. 奇しくもiPadの発売日決定と予約注文開始のメールを受け取った今日にこんなことを書くのもなんですが、iPhoneとMacbookのKindleでeBookを数冊読み終わった感想。絶対二度とやらない！これは失明の第一歩だと実感しました。やっぱり紙の本がいいです。それか、本物のKindle/Nook。iPadはそのうちeインクになるのではないかという話もあるそうですが、そうならない限り、書籍の代替は厳しいんじゃないかな。。。。持ち歩けるメディアプレーヤーという使い方はいいと思いますけど。

Categories: **ENGLISH**, **日本語**, 5. Thought

Lucie Lie Exhibition in Tokyo

Posted on May 10, 2010

It was a sunny day, such a perfect weather for a small neighborhood stroll. I managed to bring all my winter boots to a shoe repair shop, did some other chores and felt pretty good about myself. So, on did I ventured to an exhibition that I was dying to see. I had written about this person some time ago (a year or two?) when I bought a book on her beautiful work, but anyway there is a show going on for a great Austrian/English potter, Lucie Lie. The collection was far greater than I had expected. Apart from the signature style of very simple and colorful yet serene vases and bowls, she invented and rediscovered so many different methods which resulted in diverse…

Categories: **ENGLISH**, 8. Craft

Rainbow

Posted on April 30, 2010

This is my secret :) favorite project. Using 7 skeins of worsted weight yarn, we can do pretty amazing things! Simple garter stitched will give you a squashy blanket. Pattern is from here: PurlBee. Ravelry link here. I am copying my Ravelry friend Catrina and waldorfmama. I am into the third color.

Categories: **ENGLISH**, 8. Craft

Crochet Scarf

Posted on April 30, 2010

Finished! I don’t seem to be able to capture the color right, but it is lovely and totally worth the effort. This scarf has a collar on one side, and ribbon ties on both ends of scarf. I would love to make another one but it takes so much time… Pattern: 襟付きスカーフ Scarf with Collar , From かんたんかわいいかぎ針編みこもの Easy Cute Crocheted Accesories by Nihon Vogue Yarn: Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash Sock in Roter Himbeermund (150g, 575 yards), used about 500 yards Hook: 2mm crochet hook Modification: I did not have enough yarn for the collor, so I only did 1 row of pattern B and 1 row of pattern C This is another one from the same book. I found this shiny yarn at…

Categories: **ENGLISH**, 2. Diary

The Host

Posted on April 27, 2010

The Host by Stephanie Meyer It was actually far better than I had expected… although the setting and details were a bit illogical if you think about them, but the kind of difference between human race and the aliens made sense and gave me a lot of food for thought. Also, Jared was really great. Made me miss being in love. The book was also my first Kindle on iPhone project – so I thought I might record it. ステファニー・メイヤーの比較的新しい作品、ホストを読み終わりました。正直全然期待していなかったのですが、面白かった！トワイライトがどちらかというとライトノベルというレベルなのに対し、こちらはかなり読みごたえありました。人間が寄生エイリアンに身体を乗っ取られるなかで抵抗を続けて隠れて暮らす人々をメインにした恋愛小説なんだけど、細かい設定に陳腐さがあるものの、人間の心理や追いつめられた時の行動について、自分が理解できないものを人間がどう扱うかについて、色々と考えさせられる内容でした。主人公の恋人役ジャレドもステキでした。こんな人いないだろうけど。 Kindle for iPhoneで読んだ第一作だったので一応記録しておきました。

Categories: **ENGLISH**, **日本語**, 4. Book

Clash of the Titans タイタンの戦い

Posted on April 27, 2010

I was truly confused by this film. The visual was great. Very fast paced, realistic, and dramatic composition. But what about the story? I thought the Titans means the elder generation of the Greek gods, fathers and mothers of the regular gods like Zeus. But the movie was about Perceus, the son of Zeus. Where did they get that title from? What was stranger still was that Perceus story was also changed a lot. I wish the story was about the battle with the Titans… Overall, the actors were more suitable for playing mythical gods. I wish they were in the Percy Jackson films too. タイタンの戦いを見てきました。とても楽しみにしていたのですが、すご〜く変なのでまだ首を傾げています。タイタンとは以前にもブログに書きましたが、ゼウスやヘラなどの親の世代で、世代交代のときに人間を巻き込んだ戦いになります。。。映画はこれのことかと思ったら、ゼウスの息子（半分人間）のペルセウスが主人公でした。それで、有名なアンドロメダを助けに行く話なのに、最後がまた「えっ？！」という感じ。なんでペルセウスが漁師なの？話を間違えて覚えていたかと思って、家に帰って本を読み返しちゃいました。なんでこんなストーリーになったんだろう？元の話で十分ドラマティックなのに〜。なぜ「タイタンの戦い」なのかも不明。。。映像はすごく迫力があって、面白かったけど。

Categories: **ENGLISH**, **日本語**, 3. Film

Some updates – a shrine visit

Posted on April 27, 2010

I have been pretty busy with things these days. For example, the last weekend was the first weekend in a long while that I went out for errands on both Saturday and Sunday. Usually, I stay either day completely at home, trying to survive on stale snacks and frozen bread. The weather is getting nicer, and my health is improving, so I can manage it these days. Over the past weekends, I watched Alice in the Wonderland and Clash of the Titans both in 3D. I intend to write about them separately. Sunday was the first shrine visit for my niece. I didn’t know, but it seems that in Japan, people bring their newborn babies to local shrines for getting a good wish, within…

Categories: **ENGLISH**, 2. Diary

Big Wallet

Posted on April 20, 2010

English Text Follows.なぜかここ数日ブログへのアクセスが急に増えました。話題の作家について書いたからでしょうか？数ヶ月前から非常に気になっていた広告がありまして、それについてブログに書こうかとつれづれなるままに考えていたところ、今日になってそれがBig Walletと最近言われている手法なのではないかと思い至ったのでした。残念ながら企業名が思い出せないのですが（商品には興味がなかったため）、同じCM映像を別な会社の複数の商品・広告に使うというものです。一つはナショナルジオグラフィックの番組宣伝（サーファー風の3人が日本の各地を旅するというもの）。その同じ映像を使って、サーフショップの宣伝バージョン、デジタルビデオカメラ（よく知らないメーカー）の商品広告を作っているようです（他にもあるかもしれない）。昼間にぼおっと見ていたらCMとひとつながりになって番組そのものをやっていたこともありました。このコマーシャル自体は余り魅力的な仕上がりではないのでアピール度が低いですが、上手く作ったらとても効果的なものが出来るのではないかと思いました。何度も同じ映像を見るので覚えてしまうし、でも微妙に中身が違う、みたいな。Big Walletとは本も出ていますが、複数の企業がお金を出し合って共同でプロモーションをする手法として、最近出てきたコンセプトです。以前からやっている人はいたかもしれませんが、「手法」として認識されたようです。ちなみに、この前Uniqloに行ったらAlice In Wonderlandの映画の公開にあわせ、コラボデザインの洋服を売っていました。可愛かったのでスパッツなど購入したところ、1アイテムにつき1つオマケが付いてきた。採算が取れているのかな？と疑問に思いましたが、考えてみたら、あのオマケはDisney提供だったのかもしれません。もっともっと色々な組み合わせが出来そうで、なんか楽しいです。やっぱりもっとソフトな商品を扱う会社に転職したい気もします。金融商品では、うかつにオマケも付けられないので。。。 The idea of blogging about one particular series of TVCM was in my To Do list for a while. Somehow, just today, it had hit upon me that the CM was made in line with what is now called “Big Wallet” strategy.The company names had slipped my mind, unfortunately, but this series of TV commercials is using the same video for a few different advertisements of different companies. There is this program on National Geographic, in which 3 surfers (or who look like it) travel around Japan. They use the video image for the CM of this program, then additionally for a surf shop, and then a digital video camera. Also, the way they…

Categories: **ENGLISH**, **日本語**, 5. Thought

Lovely

Posted on April 18, 2010

I am so happy to see this photo! Hope it is OK to show it just this once.I made a sweater with organic cotton yarn for my newborn niece. I knew the baby is still too small (or the sweater too large), but it looks like Alice just drunk a tonic and shrunk… lovely.

Categories: **ENGLISH**, 8. Craft