http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/en-EUMokoFeed10http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/f4/bea96ec2303d5469429853dd1330f1_160x200.jpghttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/11/05/firefox-plug-in-feedly-7314339/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-11-05:/2009/11/05/firefox-plug-in-feedly-7314339/Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:38:36 +0100 <p>I'm trying to find a part-time job at the moment,<br> and want to save some money so tend to stay at home...<br> Umm, it's not good, I should be more active!<br> Maybe I should try planting at least one seed/day.</p> <p>By the way, I started to use a Firefox<br> plug-in called "<a href="http://www.feedly.com/">feedly</a>". I really like it!<br> It re-format the feeds from your google reader<br> to "magazine site" look...so</p> <p>This</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/google/4079709" title="google"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/709/4079709_23b336ae21_m.png" alt="google"></a></p> <p>becomes this</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/feedly/4079708" title="feedly"><img src="http://data6.blog.de/media/708/4079708_808d63cbc1_m.png" alt="feedly"></a></p> <p>Actually the change it makes is not that complicated,<br> it's just about things like font, margin, size, it's so simple!<br> But these small changes make articles much more readable.<br> I think feedly itself has some problems of usability,<br> but still it's much better than Google Reader!<br> It makes you realise the importance of layout.</p> <p><a href="http://www.feedly.com/">Feedly</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/11/05/firefox-plug-in-feedly-7314339/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>digitalhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/11/05/firefox-plug-in-feedly-7314339/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/10/22/came-back-to-london-7222820/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-10-22:/2009/10/22/came-back-to-london-7222820/Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:12:37 +0200 <p>After staying in Japan for a while, I came back to London.<br> It was wonderful to see lots of my friends, thank you!<br> To whom I couldn't see this time despite you contacted me,<br> I'm so sorry! I will definitely go to see you next time.</p> <p>During the stay, I went to see Kabuki, ate lots of<br> yummy foods, went for shopping etc...<br> it was such a wonderful time!<br> As it was too wonderful, I felt so sad when I left Japan...<br> I can't see them for a while again.<br> But this is the way I decided to go,<br> so have to stay positive...</p> <p>Since I went back to Japan just after the MA finished,<br> I feel like it's a new start.<br> To be honest I'm feeling much more anxious than one year ago<br> as I don't have jobs and moneys,<br> and I feel like I'm totally alone in this big city.<br> It's totally a start from scratch.<br> But only I can do, is just working hard, isn't it? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/10/22/came-back-to-london-7222820/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/10/22/came-back-to-london-7222820/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/10/09/kinshu-tokubetsu-stage-shin-7129128/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-10-09:/2009/10/09/kinshu-tokubetsu-stage-shin-7129128/Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:43:59 +0200 <p>I went to see the Kabuki stage called<br> "Shin" performed by Kantaro/Shichinosuke Nakamura!</p> <p>This time a taiko performer, Tetsuei Hayashi, and<br> a shamisen performer, Chikudo Takahashi were on<br> the stage as well. Hayashi is the person who<br> participated to start "Kodo", which I went to see<br> their performance on the other day, so their<br> drumming today was also amazing and energetic.<br> Takahashi was so good at playing speedy tunes.</p> <p>And of course, Nakamura brothers was fantastic!</p> <p>In their first performance, "Ninin-Wankyu",<br> I was so surprised that Shichinosuke,<br> who played "Matsuyama-dayu" looked so beautiful.<br> "Matsuyama-dayu" is a phantom in the story,<br> but Shichinosuke well expressed that dreamy mood,<br> and how he moves lookes so feminine, and<br> his proportion is so thin...<br> I remember when I saw his performance last time,<br> he was not that good at all! It was the first time<br> I kept looking at Shichinosuke while Kantaro was<br> on stage too.</p> <p>The last performance was "collaboration",<br> and it was so cool! Energetic taiko, dynamic shamisen,<br> and Nakamura brothers wearing simple hakama and dancing...<br> The title "Shin" (="core") expresses how it looks<br> very well. The whole impression was "modern Japanese".<br> And this time, Kantaro was so good at performing<br> masculine dance...he is getting really closer to<br> his father recently. I love Nakamura family so much.</p> <p>Now I have favours to Shochiku!</p> <p>1. Please release a DVD of this stage! I will buy it!<br> 2. Please come to London! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/10/09/kinshu-tokubetsu-stage-shin-7129128/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>japanese-traditional-kabukihttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/10/09/kinshu-tokubetsu-stage-shin-7129128/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/23/onedotzero09-j-star-7026561/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-09-23:/2009/09/23/onedotzero09-j-star-7026561/Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:06:05 +0200 <p>I went to see onedotzero this year too.<br> I didn't see any installation, so it's<br> only about j-star09.</p> <p>They showed these movies.</p> <p>1. <a href="http://www.mtvjapan.com/usavich/index.html">Satoshi Tomioka</a> : "Usavich"<br> 2. <a href="http://web.mac.com/kudan/kitune/">Kitune Akimoto</a> : <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz39ztQ8nio">"Meat or Die"</a><br> 3. <a href="http://www.teeveeg.com/project/newWorks/index.html">Hidenobu Tanabe</a> : "Phantom Planet" (Beat Crusaders)<br> 4. <a href="http://www.caviar.ws/">Takeshi Nakamura</a> : "Mind Wall"<br> 5. <a href="http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~adc52520/">Shintaro Kago</a> : "Terror on the golf course"<br> 6. <a href="http://web.mac.com/mirai_mizue/iWeb/MIRAIwebsite/Blog/Blog.html">Mirai Mizue</a> : "Devour Dinner"<br> 7. <a href="http://makotoyabuki.com/">Makoto Yabuki</a> : "<a href="http://makotoyabuki.com/original-works/as-one/">As One</a>"<br> 8. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/moodmagicjapan">Mood Magic : "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxAx63r7qgo&feature=player_embedded">Hinotori</a>"<br> 9. <a href="http://takafumitsuchiya.com/">Takafumi Tsuchiya</a> : <a href="http://takafumitsuchiya.com/works/motion/With%20Rain/">"With Rain"</a><br> 10. Takahiro Kimura : "Born to Bone"<br> 11. <a href="http://takafumitsuchiya.com/">Takafumi Tsuchiya</a> : <a href="http://takafumitsuchiya.com/works/motion/apoptosis/">"Apoptosis"</a><br> 12. <a href="http://www.w0w.co.jp/mobile/jp.php">Wow</a> : "Another perspective"<br> 13. <a href="http://www.groovisions.com/">Groovisions</a>: "Ensuring the future of food"<br> 14.Kawamura, Kirkland, Nakamura + Kawamura : "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBlUQguvyw">Hibi no Neiro</a>"<br> 15. <a href="http://dokugyunyu.boo.jp/">Taijin Takeuchi</a> : "<a href="http://dokugyunyu.boo.jp/movie/">A Wolf Loves Pork</a>"<br> 16. Horoaki Higashi : "Ahiru"<br> 17. Muto Masashi : I will be here<br> 18. kouki Tange : "Bikini Sports Ponchin"<br> 19. <a href="http://www.daito.ws/">Daito Manage</a>: "Electric Stimulus to Face Test 6" </p> <p>Again, I really liked the movies by Makoto Yabuki<br> and Takafumi Tsuchiya, whose movies were shown last year too.<br> I like their very detailed graphic and texture...<br> Also Taijin Takeuchi who is doing stop motion animation,<br> his work was actually made inside a small room,<br> but looked like we are traveling outside of the room,<br> and was good idea! Also, "Hinotori" by Moon Magic was<br> amazing...(It might not enough to convey it on youtube)</p> </a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/23/onedotzero09-j-star-7026561/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>filmhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/23/onedotzero09-j-star-7026561/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/21/coldplay-coldplay-coldplay-7011978/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-09-21:/2009/09/21/coldplay-coldplay-coldplay-7011978/Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:57:11 +0200 <p>I went to see coldplay!</p> <p>It was amazing. It's still playing repeatedly in my head.<br> Actually I was so excited already just because<br> the place was Wembley. When I got to the station,<br> I wished it was a football match...<br> but no, that thought was wrong, coldplay was wonderful.</p> <p>I have seen coldplay twice in Japan...<br> but this time was the best! Of course they are<br> in their own country, their home city,<br> and maybe because it was the last day of the tour,<br> they looked really full of life.</p> <p>The live consists of both tracks from "Viva la Vida"<br> and older tracks by turns, they played<br> "In my place" and "Yellow" even at the beginning,<br> it was so exciting to sing these songs with lots of people.<br> "Fix you" almost made me cry!<br> Also their graphics and lighting were amazing,<br> I enjoyed all from the beginning to the end.<br> Their stage always looks cool, but it was<br> awesome this time.</p> <p>They also played tracks like "God Put A Smile Upon<br> Your Face" and "Talk" in "electrical" version.<br> (It sounded a bit like the Gorillaz...)<br> In the middle part, they moved from the main stage<br> to a smaller stage in the middle of audience,<br> and played in acoustic style, it was full of amazing music.</p> <p>Led by Chris Martin, we tried "mobile wave" as well.<br> (each person holds mobile phone and do wave!<br> So beautiful!)During that, coldplay played "Billie Jean"!<br> It was so unexpected but actually they were quite good.</p> <p>I was so fascinated by Chris Martin.<br> He changed that strange hair style, so looked cool.<br> His voice was so beautiful too...</p> <p>It was my dream to see them in the UK.<br> And they showed me a wonderful night.<br> I love you, Coldplay! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/21/coldplay-coldplay-coldplay-7011978/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>musichttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/21/coldplay-coldplay-coldplay-7011978/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/17/desgree-show-finishing-the-course-etc-6984742/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-09-17:/2009/09/17/desgree-show-finishing-the-course-etc-6984742/Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:48:51 +0200 <p>The course finished last week.<br> One year was so quick!</p> <p>For the last project, we made an<br> iPhone application called "Alight".</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2663/3906564" title="IMGP2663"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/564/3906564_b2ca36df7f_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2663"></a></p> <p>Alight is an application to allow users<br> to associate their small ideas in daily life<br> with particular location, so that they will<br> have more chanced to develop them further.</p> <p>I was in charge of interface design.<br> I know iPhone is not small as mobile phone,<br> but still designing menu for small screen<br> was good learning for me.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2660/3906565" title="IMGP2660"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/565/3906565_24ab91575e_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2660"></a></p> <p>We used 50inch plasma TV for the degree show,<br> so I had to edit some footages (which I hadn't<br> done for a few years!). My poor macbook (not pro)<br> was crying all the time rendering HD.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2657/3906566" title="IMGP2657"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/566/3906566_b651ac74fc_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2657"></a></p> <p>Finishing the course, I really feel that I met<br> such wonderful classmates! It was so fun<br> to do project with people who are enthusiastic about<br> interactive media, and we enjoyed the time together<br> even outside the studio!<br> Some of them have already gone back to their own<br> countries, but I believe I can see them in the future again.</p> <p>By the way,</p> <p>>To friends in London,<br> I have to move our from the current flat soon,<br> and looking for a new place! Please let me know<br> if you have any ideas.</p> <p>>To friends in Japan,<br> I'm going back to Japan in October!<br> Let's go for a drink if you have time.<br> Let me know when you are free,<br> but as I am a poor student, (i.e. no money<br> to drink a lot)<br> let's drink together if you guys know each other lol </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/17/desgree-show-finishing-the-course-etc-6984742/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukdigitalhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/09/17/desgree-show-finishing-the-course-etc-6984742/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/17/switzerland-day3-6746497/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-08-17:/2009/08/17/switzerland-day3-6746497/Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:31:07 +0200 <p>OK, I know I'm writing about long time ago...<br> But I never give up! This is for my own record!</p> <p>So this is Switzerland Day3.<br> We went to a city called Montreux which has<br> really beautiful scenery, next to the lake.<br> The lake was soooo large that it looked<br> almost like the sea.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2381/3797351" title="IMGP2381"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/351/3797351_1ddf5ccb36_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2381"></a></p> <p>After having a lunch, we moved Lusanne.<br> This city looked more similar to England,<br> it looked like shopping area.<br> Although we walked to the Cathedral,<br> it was over 30 degrees and so hot!!!<br> No more walk.</p> <p>After that, we went to Gruyères.<br> It is the birth place of cheese fondue,<br> we went there to have dinner,<br> but scenery was also amazing!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2408/3797352" title="IMGP2408"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/352/3797352_73e45cd772_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2408"></a></p> <p>Unfortunately the castle was already closed,<br> streets are very european stone pavement,<br> the windows on the buildings looked cute<br> with flowers. Cheese fondue was very good of course!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2421/3797353" title="IMGP2421"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/353/3797353_3d41829f1b_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2421"></a></p> <p>To be continued. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/17/switzerland-day3-6746497/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/17/switzerland-day3-6746497/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/14/priscilla-6725772/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-08-14:/2009/08/14/priscilla-6725772/Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:42:26 +0200 <p>I went to see the musical "Priscilla".</p> <p>I didn't know anything about the story,<br> but it was amazing!<br> The costume was so gorgeous,<br> all the scenes was so energetic and powerful!<br> I wish I could understand their jokes more...<br> but still, their dancing was wonderful<br> and I enjoyed it so much.</p> <p>Actually my friend's friend is playing<br> in this musical. Her name is Kanako Nakano.<br> The scene she speaks was not too long,<br> but her character was so unique<br> and performance was great!<br> It cheered me up as well, looking at<br> a Japanese woman trying so hard in west end.</p> <p>You should check it out too!</p> <p>Priscilla website is <a href="http://www.priscillathemusical.com/">here</a>. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/14/priscilla-6725772/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/14/priscilla-6725772/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/09/swine-flu-6686937/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-08-09:/2009/08/09/swine-flu-6686937/Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:23:55 +0200 <p>I've been ill for one week.</p> <p>On Sunday night, I started to feel so cold<br> and my body started to ache, having a sore throat.<br> Usually it gets better if I sleep early<br> wearing "pocket body warmer", drinking Japanese medicine,<br> but this time I couldn't get recovered until wednesday.<br> I repeated feeling cold and having a fever,<br> so called to NHS at the end.</p> <p>As they have stopped checking swine flu,<br> so it was not clear if I had swine flu or not,<br> but anyway they gave me Tamiflu.<br> My friends went to get it. On Thursday,<br> fever has gone. Although I was still feeling stomachache,<br> it was better than having high fever.<br> But on Friday, it was horrible again.</p> <p>When I got Tamiflu, I was told that I should have it<br> with foods otherwise I would throw up.<br> I did, but after taking it, I had awful neusea.<br> Even after throwing up everything, it didn't stop.</p> <p>On Saturday, I felt much better and today<br> I'm fine now! Well, I was going to Bristol<br> to see Banksy with my classmates, but<br> overslept and missed the bus...<img src="/img/smilies/graycry.gif" alt=":`(" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>So disappointed...but maybe it means<br> "I should stay at home today".<br> To be fresh again, I did laundry,<br> and being relaxed.</p> <p>I feel so bad to have had a flu<br> during the final project, I'm so sorry!<br> And I appreciate my flatmates who helped me<br> a lot during the ill. Thanks! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/09/swine-flu-6686937/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/09/swine-flu-6686937/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/spain-day4-6635042/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-08-02:/2009/08/02/spain-day4-6635042/Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:52:28 +0200 <p>This is the last entry of the trip to Spain.</p> <p>The last one day trip was to Granada!<br> Althuugh we wanted to see Alhambra,<br> there was a restriction of the number entry already!<br> Unfortunately we couldn't get inside.</p> <p>So...I had no choice but took a picture from outside.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0128/3744979" title="SANY0128"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/979/3744979_3ee21a2765_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0128"></a></p> <p>Ok...this picture looks a bit too dark...</p> <p>But the area we walked around looked amazing,<br> it was so fun to talk around.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0125/3744980" title="SANY0125"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/980/3744980_f4f1ede89f_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0125"></a></p> <p>It seems there is a history of arabic culture as well,<br> looking around the shops was also fun.</p> <p>It was the first Spain trip for me,<br> but it was amazing as I could go to some different cities.<br> I really liked the foods, especially sea foods<br> I usually can't enjoy in London!</p> <p>It was such a wonderful trip!<br> OK, I finally finished writing about one trip... </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/spain-day4-6635042/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/spain-day4-6635042/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/27/lavender-harvest-6599486/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-07-27:/2009/07/27/lavender-harvest-6599486/Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:44:30 +0200 <p>My friend told me about this,<br> I went to the Lavender Harvest.<br> It smelled so nice even outside the place.<br> They were selling lavender oil and creams etc.<br> It was so fun.</p> <p>I had rice balls and Japanese tea for lunch.<br> (OK, it's not British style, but...)<br> And we went to pick lavender.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2638/3727000" title="IMGP2638"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/000/3727000_347b91d453_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2638"></a></p> <p>I realised it was the heaven for bees...<br> They looked so huge...so scared.<br> Everyone said, "Don't worry, they wouldn't<br> hurt you". But still scary!<br> Well, but they looked so busy flying around lavenders.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2646/3727001" title="IMGP2646"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/001/3727001_b3ee8b038d_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2646"></a></p> <p>Although it rained a bit, it was so nice<br> to have been away from London and surrounded by lavender.<br> It still smells so nice in my room now,<br> I'm feeling so happy!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2656/3727002" title="IMGP2656"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/002/3727002_d0f9b6aba3_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2656"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/27/lavender-harvest-6599486/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/27/lavender-harvest-6599486/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/25/magistrates-at-koko-6586793/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-07-25:/2009/07/25/magistrates-at-koko-6586793/Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:15:15 +0200 <p>My friends told me about "Magistrates"<br> and I went to see their gig at koko yesterday.<br> It was really good! I loved it.</p> <p>I don't know why, but their tune sounds<br> a bit like Asian traditional music.<br> But still soulful.<br> The vocal's voice was so good.</p> <p>You can listen to their music here.<br> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/magistratesband"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/magistratesband">http://www.myspace.com/magistratesband</a></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/25/magistrates-at-koko-6586793/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>musichttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/25/magistrates-at-koko-6586793/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/portugal-day3-aaron-koblin-6542114/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-07-18:/2009/07/18/portugal-day3-aaron-koblin-6542114/Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:35:32 +0200 <p>Portugal day3 = Offf day 2.<br> The first talk I saw on that day was by Aaron Koblin.<br> I had seen his works sometimes,<br> but didn't know his name, so it was so surprising<br> I could hear his talk in Portugal.<br> He visualise the information using the Processing,<br> and also does experimental projects related to<br> "Wisdom of Crowds". The promotion for Radiohead<br> is also popular.</p> <p>The talk was maintly about these issues.</p> <p>1. Visualising information.<br> There are many kinds of "visualisation",<br> but he uses things like the record of<br> searching query, or flghts records and<br> I find interesting that make animated<br> information using actual data which happened<br> in the reality. The promotion of Radiohead<br> was done by capturing his movement.<br> All the works has very detailed texture,<br> and looks so beautiful.</p> <p>2. Wisdom of Crowd<br> He showed the project to ask 2000 internet users<br> to sing only one sound of the whole song,<br> and to combine them into one song.<br> And the project to ask 10,000 users to draw sheep.<br> It was so funny one users wrote<br> "Why are you doing this?" instead of drawing.</p> <p>Anyway, seeing would be quicker so<br> have a look at his website.</p> <p>Aaron Koblin <a href="http://www.aaronkoblin.com/">Site</a><br> Song by 2000 people is <a href="http://www.bicyclebuiltfortwothousand.com/">here</a><br> Not sure if we can say it's working though<img src="/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif" alt=":DD" class="middle" border="0">.</p> <p>This is a some scenes from the talk.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/portugal-day3-aaron-koblin-6542114/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/portugal-day3-aaron-koblin-6542114/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/switzerland-day2-6542073/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-07-18:/2009/07/18/switzerland-day2-6542073/Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:23:41 +0200 <p>It is the Switzerland Day2.<br> We went to Jungfrau, which I heard<br> the highest mountain in Switzerland.<br> We went to the bottom of the mountain<br> from Interlaken by car.<br> (I don't remember the name of the station...<br> I can't remember as I couldn't pronounce it!)</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2297/3699425" title="IMGP2297"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/425/3699425_4879b2cbfa_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2297"></a></p> <p>Unfortunately we couldn't go to the top,<br> but the scenery was amazing~~~.<br> It was Switzerland! Mountain!<br> What a scale! The ice cream I had there<br> was so yummy~~~. Eating an ice cream,<br> having a walk, we had a sandwitch lunch<br> wathing the mountain and the sky.<br> It was such a nice time.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2295/3699426" title="IMGP2295"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/426/3699426_6f708200a6_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2295"></a></p> <p>After returning to the bottom of the mountain,<br> we went to see the village near to there.<br> There was some waterfalls, looked great.<br> Meeting cows, sheep, and we had nice time again.<br> To be continued to the day3.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2318/3699427" title="IMGP2318"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/427/3699427_1f89f8527c_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2318"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/switzerland-day2-6542073/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/switzerland-day2-6542073/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/spain-day3-6541656/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-07-18:/2009/07/18/spain-day3-6541656/Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:54:42 +0200 <p>I finally finished my disseration! I'm free!<br> And, oops, I was writing my blog in Japanese<br> but have been lazy for the English version...<br> now I have to catch up.<br> So, this is about the trip to Spain, Day3.</p> <p>We went to one day trip to Sevilla.<br> It is a capital city of Andalucia...it's huge!<br> But the buildings of pastel colours looked so European.<br> Walking around, we arrived at Santa Cruz area.<br> Narrow passages look so pretty.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0060/3699129" title="SANY0060"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/129/3699129_620cb4d603_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0060"></a></p> <p>For the lunch, I tried gazpacho<img src="/img/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" class="middle" border="0"> yummy!<br> I liked its light taste, and I love tomato!</p> <p>After that, we went to the cathedral.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0066/3699130" title="SANY0066"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/130/3699130_420a05b1d3_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0066"></a></p> <p>err...it's blurred. But it looked amazing.<br> Its detailed decoration was brilliant.<br> As usual, it looked like CG...</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0082/3699131" title="SANY0082"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/131/3699131_fb1b45ee8f_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0082"></a></p> <p>To be continued to the day4.<br> Well, after writing about Portugal and Swiss. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/spain-day3-6541656/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/18/spain-day3-6541656/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/07/sour-hibi-no-neiro-this-video-might-make-you-smile-6468010/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-07-07:/2009/07/07/sour-hibi-no-neiro-this-video-might-make-you-smile-6468010/Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:18:25 +0200 <p>I'm so busy with writing my disseration<br> that I can't update this blog at the moment,<br> but I found a lovely music video so will put the link to it.</p> <p>This kind of "effect" could be done by editing application,<br> but they made it "by hand" using a lot of webcamera.<br> I also like that a lot of people from different<br> countried participate it.</p> <p>It gave me a small happiness while I am so busy. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/07/sour-hibi-no-neiro-this-video-might-make-you-smile-6468010/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diaryhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/07/07/sour-hibi-no-neiro-this-video-might-make-you-smile-6468010/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/09/kodo-at-southbank-centre-london-6266203/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-06-08:/2009/06/09/kodo-at-southbank-centre-london-6266203/Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:41:16 +0200 <p>I went to see a performance by "Kodo"<br> (A group of Japanese traditional drum players).<br> To be honest, I hadn't seen any proper<br> Japanese drum performance before,<br> and I just went there because it was 50% off for students!</p> <p>But it was amazing. Just amazing.<br> I thought it would be good when I saw the promotion video<br> on their website, but you can never experience<br> the sounds of "big drum" unless you go to see them.<br> It echoes inside your body, rather than on the surface.<br> It was like thunder. </p> <p>Another thing I liked about them was that<br> they were really entertainer.<br> The quality as musician was good, so they can<br> perform serious drum, but also they can do it<br> comically so that audience feel relaxed,<br> and above all, they looked enjoying themselves so much.<br> You can feel thrill, fun, rhythm,<br> and the time just goes by!</p> <p>They will be travelling around Europe, so check it out!</p> <p><a href="http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/index_en.html">Kodo website</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/09/kodo-at-southbank-centre-london-6266203/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>musichttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/09/kodo-at-southbank-centre-london-6266203/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/06/portugal-day2-6252696/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-06-06:/2009/06/06/portugal-day2-6252696/Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:45:33 +0200 <p>Portugal, Day2. (yes, it's confusing but switch your brain!)</p> <p>It was the first day of the event, OFFF.<br> There was a long queue in the morning!<br> After waiting a lot, finally we went inside the place.<br> There were some interactive installation,<br> and, Microsoft was showing their interactive campus<br> and "Surface".</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0174/3572571" title="SANY0174"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/571/3572571_25deab6cd6_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0174" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Opening talk was by Neville Brody.<br> (I didn't know he was alumni of LCC...)<br> But actually I don't remember what he talked...<br> Well, how things were organised was not so good,<br> the sound was not so good...<br> The first day was a bit disappointing. </p> <p>But the dinner we had at the hostel was so yummy!<br> Spinach soup and main dish was cod...<br> This hostel is so clean, the location is good,<br> the price is reasonble, I recommend!</p> <p>To be continued to the Day3.<br> <a href="http://www.researchstudios.com/home/006-neville-brody/NEVILLE_home.php"><br> Neville Brody</a><br> <a href="http://www.lisbonloungehostel.com/">Lisbon Lounge Hostel</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/06/portugal-day2-6252696/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/06/portugal-day2-6252696/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/04/switzerland-day1-6239688/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-06-04:/2009/06/04/switzerland-day1-6239688/Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:58:30 +0200 <p>Now it's Switzerland! It's the first experience<br> for me to travel around again and again<br> in such a short period. Actually it was a field<br> trip of the course but some of us went there<br> a few days earlier.</p> <p>Taking a flight from Gatwick, it took only<br> 1.5hours to Zurich. So close!<br> We rent a car and travelled around.<br> The first place we went was Luzern.<br> It was such a beautiful city with<br> lots of European buildings around the lake.<br> Walking on Kapellbrücke, having a dinner,<br> eating ice cream, we left the city and headed<br> for Interlaken. It was a really comfortable<br> travel on the car driving along lakes.</p> <p>To be continued to the Day2.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/imgp2265/3566970" title="IMGP2265"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/970/3566970_8ae81231c0_s.jpeg" alt="IMGP2265" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/04/switzerland-day1-6239688/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/06/04/switzerland-day1-6239688/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/22/spain-day2-6157651/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-05-22:/2009/05/22/spain-day2-6157651/Fri, 22 May 2009 14:00:15 +0200 <p>I just finished writing a report...yey! I have to prepare for a presentation as well,<br> but I'm going to Switzerland tomorrow so want to write one more blog<br> before I have much more things to write...</p> <p>So Spain, day2.</p> <p>Before I went there, I had read some blogs<br> and had one place I wanted to visit, Frigiliana.<br> It seems most Japanese tourist who visit Malaga,<br> actually choose the place to visit Frigiliana, or Mijas.<br> The pictures show such a beautiful scenery<br> with lots of white houses. We went to an information centre<br> and a woman there told us she personally recommends Frigliana.<br> It seems a bit closer as well.</p> <p>Taking a bus from Malaga, we first went to Nerja,<br> and changed there to a bus going to Frigilana.<br> The weather was a bit cloudy, but when the sunshine came up,<br> the white houses and colourful flowers looked so beautiful.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/fri0/3528363" title="fri0"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/363/3528363_18e996eaa1_s.jpeg" alt="fri0" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>It was such a small village, narrow paths on the mountain<br> looked so european.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/fri1/3528364" title="fri1"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/364/3528364_dc0aab68a1_s.jpeg" alt="fri1" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>I just remember Kiki's delivery service looked a bit like this...no?</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/fri2/3528365" title="fri2"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/365/3528365_5686f3b1bb_s.jpeg" alt="fri2" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Spain is so lovely...the village itself is not so big,<br> so you can walk around everywhere only for a few hours.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/fri3/3528366" title="fri3"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/366/3528366_03d7fe8149_s.jpeg" alt="fri3" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>So, when we were waiting for a returning bus,<br> suddenly I was talked by a Japanese women.<br> She told me that she was travelling around by herself.<br> She was such a nice person, and we decided to travel together <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>To be continued...<br> But the next entry will be about Portugal again or Swiss! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/22/spain-day2-6157651/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/22/spain-day2-6157651/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/19/portugal-day1-6138822/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-05-18:/2009/05/19/portugal-day1-6138822/Tue, 19 May 2009 00:45:36 +0200 <p>Err...what should I write about now...right, Portugal day1.</p> <p>The reason why I went there was to attend a media event called <a href="http://www.offf.ws/">OFFF</a>,<br> but I was just passive as always, my classmate found about it (thanks!)<br> and I joined them! So I did no research beforehand!<br> But I enjoyed it very much <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"><br> The event started on the second day, so the first day was beach...</p> <p>After taking a train from Lisbon for about 30mins towards West,<br> we took a bus towards North. The beach was so nice!</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/beach/3518870" title="beach"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/870/3518870_ed613e9a5f_s.jpeg" alt="beach" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Well it was a bit cold and windy...the water was so cold...<br> but the beach was amazing. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/19/portugal-day1-6138822/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/19/portugal-day1-6138822/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/15/japanese-postgrads-students-in-the-uk-6120134/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-05-15:/2009/05/15/japanese-postgrads-students-in-the-uk-6120134/Fri, 15 May 2009 13:29:21 +0200 <p>Again, input exceeds output.<br> I want to write more about Spain, but went to Portugal last week<br> so want to talk about it too...and I'm going to Switzerland next week!</p> <p>Anyway, today is a short story.</p> <p>A few weeks ago, I went to meet other Japanese postgrads students.<br> I was so impressed by people studying such different things.<br> We have all different background, age, but<br> have a big thing in common: struggling to fit into the life in the UK lol<br> I enjoyed it so much.</p> <p>I think there were almost 30 Japanese students there...<br> One corner of the British pub looked like Japanese pub. hehe.</p> <p>I'm going to join them again soon.<br> I wish to keep these connections after the course too. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/15/japanese-postgrads-students-in-the-uk-6120134/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/15/japanese-postgrads-students-in-the-uk-6120134/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/05/noh-at-va-6060056/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-05-05:/2009/05/05/noh-at-va-6060056/Tue, 05 May 2009 01:18:57 +0200 <p>As I heard that I could see "Noh" (Japanese traditional theatre)<br> at V&A, I went there wearing my kimono.</p> <p>To be honest, when I went to see "Noh" almost 10 years ago,<br> it was in Yasukuni Shrine and the play was "Atsumori"<br> as same as this time, the situation was perfect as<br> there were some cherry blossoms around the stage...<br> but I fell asleep. Sorry. Noh is sometimes a bit too difficult.</p> <p>But this time I watched everything! And it was amazing.<br> I wonder why the "Noh-men" (Mask that actors use) looks<br> so powerful. Wearing a gorgeous kimono, waving a fan<br> and a sword, he looks like someone who is not from the real world,<br> he looks so mysterious but still beautiful.<br> Some audiences who looked getting bored at first<br> even started to lean forward a bit and concentrated on the stage<br> once "Atsumori" appeared. And the last part of the play,<br> suddenly the music stopped and the air fell completely silent.<br> This silent actually talks a lot....it was so touching.</p> <p>I would like to say thanks to my friend who told me about this event! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/05/noh-at-va-6060056/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>theatrehttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/05/noh-at-va-6060056/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/03/spain-day1-6052765/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-05-03:/2009/05/03/spain-day1-6052765/Sun, 03 May 2009 21:49:27 +0200 <p>I went to Spain for Easter holiday.<br> It was the first time for me to go there!<br> Since I decided to join my friends only before the holiday,<br> I had no idea where "Malaga" was.<br> I took Easy jet for the first time, and flew from Luton airport.<br> I could sleep really well on the place as it was so early in the morning,<br> so I felt it was really short time. Once we arrived there,<br> I felt the air was so warm...feeling happy~~~.<br> We took a train from there to the centre of Malaga.</p> <p>My first impression of Spain (or I should say Malaga)<br> was Japanese apartment area with strange colours???<br> Being different from British buildings, Spanish buildings looked<br> rather plain rectangle. But the colour is different from Japanese ones,<br> and there is a lot of palm trees so they looked so interesting.<br> From the centre, we went to the hostel called Melting Pot.<br> It was cleaner that I thought, so relieved.<br> After leaving the luggage, we went to have a walk along the beach.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0005/3471916" title="SANY0005_"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/916/3471916_9fe0c4d479_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0005_" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>It was a bit a shame that there were some places where were under construction...<br> The sand was rather dark like Japanese beaches, and also as the weather<br> was not so good at first, it looked "port" rather than "beach".<br> But still, long, long beach line looked amazing.<br> Walking for a while, we went to a cafe along the beach,<br> and went back to the city centre to have a dinner.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sany0008/3471917" title="SANY0008_"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/917/3471917_77e19ec772_s.jpeg" alt="SANY0008_" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>The fist paella in Spain! I loved it.<br> Seems I can expect much about foods....to be continued to Day2. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/03/spain-day1-6052765/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/05/03/spain-day1-6052765/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/28/wedding-party-6024397/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-04-28:/2009/04/28/wedding-party-6024397/Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:47:19 +0200 <p>I was invited to my friend's wedding party.<br> It was very nice ambience, and the couple who<br> looked so happy made me feeling so happy too.<br> It was the first time for me to attend a wedding party in the UK,<br> but it was really relaxing place and I enjoyed it very much!</p> <p>When another friend played Japanese flutes,<br> it was as if Japanese wind blew into the air in the UK,<br> exactly representing the couple, it was so touching.<br> It also made me miss Japan so much.<br> The sound of her flute was so warm,<br> I think I have to practice playing it too...</p> <p>Anyway, congratulations! I wish their eternal happiness.</p> <p>By the way, I want to write about a trip to Spain<br> which I went on Easter holidays, but don't have enough time... </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/28/wedding-party-6024397/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/28/wedding-party-6024397/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/14/places-i-haven-t-been-before-5944399/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-04-14:/2009/04/14/places-i-haven-t-been-before-5944399/Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:10:12 +0200 <p>Although it's been for a while since I came to London,<br> there are still lots of places I haven't visited.<br> They are two of them. Primark<img src="/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt=":>>" class="middle" border="0">and St. Paul's Cathedral. </p> <p>My image of Primark is cheaper Uniqlo.<br> But they have more different designs than simple Uniqlo,<br> so it's fun to look around. But I had never bought anything<br> because it always looked so crowded! But I'm going to<br> Spain this week and wanted to buy some small things,<br> so joined the friends going shopping there. </p> <p>Wow...everything was so nice price. To be honest, I don't know<br> about its quality...but it's like a few pounds anyway.<br> Oops, this way of thinking might be dangerous...<br> it's not eco-friendly! Anyway I bought a small bag/£5, camisole/£2.5,<br> a pair of sandals/£2, simple T-shirts/£2, Bikini/£6...<br> They are just like £17! I understand why there is few people<br> in the Next just opposite to this Primark...<br> Well, if I got a job, I might prefer proper quality clothes,<br> but I have no money at the moment as I'm a student,<br> and Primark was really nice.</p> <p>After that, I went to see my friend visiting London from Japan,<br> and the other one living in the U.K.. We went to St. Paul's Cathedral.<br> I regret so much that I didn't visit there sooner!</p> <p>I have visited some other cathedral, but I think I like here the best.<br> The painting is really detailed, the tone of the colour is mild<br> but looks gorgeous, and solemn. I'm not sure if this is appropriate<br> description, but it looked like the sky with full of stars,<br> which is impossible to count, and looks so mysterious.<br> I should have brought my camera!<br> But I think I will visit there again soon with my parents. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/14/places-i-haven-t-been-before-5944399/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/14/places-i-haven-t-been-before-5944399/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/11/yougisha-x-no-kenshin-japanese-film-a-suspect-x-s-devotion-5926235/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-04-11:/2009/04/11/yougisha-x-no-kenshin-japanese-film-a-suspect-x-s-devotion-5926235/Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:10:28 +0200 <p>Although I haven't seen the TV drama "Galileo",<br> I watched its movie "Yougisha X no Kenshin" on the other day.<br> I haven't read the original novel written by Keigo Higashino.</p> <p>...It was really good! As a mystery, it has thrilling and surprise,<br> as well as bizarre feeling, and as human drama,<br> its title "Kenchin (= devotion)" exactly describes the key point of the story.</p> <p>I felt like I wanted to read the original novel.<br> I think film-hour is too short for this kind of story,<br> and it would be more touching if I read the detailed<br> description of each person's emotion.</p> <p>Anyway the actor, Shinichi Tsutsumi who acted Ishigami was amazing.<br> When I read reviews by other people, most of them said<br> "Ishigami should be more frumpy.", but maybe because I haven't read<br> the original, he looked enough "frumpy"<br> despite the actor is typical cool man lol<br> He looked so bizarre! Basically he talks so quietly with emotionless face,<br> but his behaviour was so touching at the end. Great actor.</p> <p>By the way, Yukawa, acted by Masaharu Fukuyama,<br> is he a kind of "light" person like that?<br> And I heard the person acted by Ko Shibazaki<br> is not in the original novel...was it necessary?</p> <p>....Well, I really want to read the original.</p> <p>By the way, now I'm so interested in "Four colours theorem puzzle"... </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/11/yougisha-x-no-kenshin-japanese-film-a-suspect-x-s-devotion-5926235/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>filmhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/11/yougisha-x-no-kenshin-japanese-film-a-suspect-x-s-devotion-5926235/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/07/trends-5904659/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-04-07:/2009/04/07/trends-5904659/Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:36:01 +0200 <p>This blog has started to get more access since I wrote about Kabuki last time.<br> Most of the searching keywords are "Kamejiro"...wow, he is so popular.</p> <p>Usually access is from searching engine or mixi (Japanese social network site)<br> but today I found unfamiliar URL named "<a href="http://kizasi.jp/">kizasi.jp</a>",<br> so I jumped to that site.</p> <p>It seems they are collecting keywords from a lot of blogs,<br> and makes rankings of what people are interested in.<br> I didn't know such a website exists.<br> What is "Panic face"...? (Seems it's the popular keyword right now in Japan)</p> <p>Well, I found this article on the other day too.<br> <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/04/04/twitter-trends/">「15 Fascinating Ways to Track Twitter Trends」</a></p> <p>Yeah, Twitter is full of irrelevant information, so now there are more<br> service which select and put them into tidy order. Looks interesting. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/07/trends-5904659/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>digitalhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/07/trends-5904659/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/05/japan-is-great-5895591/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-04-05:/2009/04/05/japan-is-great-5895591/Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:52:41 +0200 <p>I found an article like this.</p> <p>"9 Reasons Why Japanese Interactive Work is Awesome"<br> <a href="http://www.crackunit.com/2009/03/17/9-reasons-japanese-interactive-work-is-awesome/">http://www.crackunit.com/2009/03/17/9-reasons-japanese-interactive-work-is-awesome/</a></p> <p>The first reason, "The work is polite" made me laugh a bit.<br> I don't know if these reasons are right,<br> but it's really nice to hear someone says Japanese contents are awesome.</p> <p>Not only about interactive media,<br> but I think we have a lot of things we should be proud of.<br> Foods, technology, design, traditional culture, politeness...<br> But usually these things are delivered in misunderstood or distorted way!<br> I wish more Japanese people could work a lot internationally.<br> I should try harder too.</p> <p>Of course there is a lot of culture which I don't like.<br> But Japanese politeness, and seriousness to try to make things crisp and detailed,<br> could be our strength which other country don't have,<br> I started to think like that after I came to London.<br> I'd like to study more from western cultures<br> but meanwhile I want to stay as proper Japanese as well.<br> (Not sure if it makes sense...) </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/05/japan-is-great-5895591/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>diary-ukhttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/04/05/japan-is-great-5895591/#commentshttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/03/27/ninagawa-twelfth-night-5844748/tag:maytone1123.blog.co.uk,2009-03-27:/2009/03/27/ninagawa-twelfth-night-5844748/Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:44:32 +0100 <p>I went to see Kabuki on the other day.<br> The story was based on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night".</p> <p>My impression was, unique Kabuki (in a good meaning).<br> There were more British audience than I thought,<br> and the atmosphere was completely like "away"!</p> <p>At first, three children were on the stage and sang<br> western style song with cembalo, and Orsino wearing<br> Japanese style costume said "Shakespeare lines"...<br> it was extremely weird! Some British people were giggling,<br> and I thought the whole play might be crap...<br> But don't underestimate Kabuki actors!<br> They started to capture audience's feeling little by little.</p> <p>Well...Kikunosuke acted Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian,<br> by changing his costume quickly (this is traditional skill called Hayagawari).<br> I wonder how many British audience could understand<br> how difficult that "hayagawari" was?<br> He changed into gorgeous princess style kimono so quickly,<br> but no one applauded...I felt so sad.<br> It was such a great performance!</p> <p>I heard Twelfth Night was comedy. I don't know much about the original,<br> but as the story went, the theatre became filled with laughter.<br> Especially, Kamejiro who acted Maria was really good.<br> His original face is not feminine at all, but somehow<br> he looks so sexy while he is acting a woman...<br> His comical character was really attractive.</p> <p>I thought the reaction of the audience at the theatre was really good,<br> so I read some review on the internet...<br> but most of them were rather critical.<br> Wondering why, I read them, but it seems their opinions<br> were "This is not Shakespeare."<br> One article says the first "chorus" made her curiosity,<br> but the rest (direction which is typical Kabuki" was not good<br> because it reduces main point of Shakespeare.<br> It seems, what is important for them is "being Shakespeare"<br> rather than "being Kabuki". That is,<br> I went to see "Kabuki based on Shakespeare's story",<br> but they went to see "Shakespeare which uses Kabuki style".<br> ...Well, I can understand even if they don't understand Kabuki.<br> Anyway I thought the audience were enjoying it.</p> <p>But I also felt that atmosphere of the theatre was important<br> for Kabuki. The situation no one shout at actors during the play,<br> (Some audience shout names of actors at a certain point.<br> Only a few regular audience can do it because it might destroy<br> the rhythm of the play. It's kind of tradition.) was less exciting.</p> <p>Anyway, I really enjoyed my favourite theatre after for a while! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/03/27/ninagawa-twelfth-night-5844748/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>japanese-traditional-kabukihttp://maytone1123.blog.co.uk/2009/03/27/ninagawa-twelfth-night-5844748/#comments