OLYMPUS E-410
10.30.2008
10.29.2008
OBAMA WON!!
Have you guys enjoyed pumpkin carving yet?
My school had a Halloween party today and there were two competitions : the best pumpkin carving and the best costume.
Our class won NO.1 prizes for both contests.
Yeah, we "swept" the Halloween!!!
We carved Sen. Barack Obama's face on the pumpkin because he's really timely now.
This is a sketch I drew...
And this is the finished pumpkin!!!
All parts were carved by my great friend, Jiseon! Good girl!!
Of course, there were many many great pumpkins
but not as creative as ours! lol
Look at his nose...it's not running. We draw "08" on his nose.
His curly hair is made of newspapers.
American flag is handmade as well.
Here is the prize~!
We're having a class pizza party on Thursday!
One of my classmates who dressed up as Kleopatra won the costume competition.
She got a free tuition for the next semester!!!
Let me tell you a truth...we don't have any boys in our class.
We all are GIRLS.
Women are strong, huh????
Canon IXY DIGITAL 10
Dear my friends in LA...
Are you ready to celebrate Halloween?
I've bought a costume finally!
I'm really really looking forward to seeing all of you guys!!!
My school had a Halloween party today and there were two competitions : the best pumpkin carving and the best costume.
Our class won NO.1 prizes for both contests.
Yeah, we "swept" the Halloween!!!
We carved Sen. Barack Obama's face on the pumpkin because he's really timely now.
This is a sketch I drew...
And this is the finished pumpkin!!!
All parts were carved by my great friend, Jiseon! Good girl!!
Of course, there were many many great pumpkins
but not as creative as ours! lol
Look at his nose...it's not running. We draw "08" on his nose.
His curly hair is made of newspapers.
American flag is handmade as well.
Here is the prize~!
We're having a class pizza party on Thursday!
One of my classmates who dressed up as Kleopatra won the costume competition.
She got a free tuition for the next semester!!!
Let me tell you a truth...we don't have any boys in our class.
We all are GIRLS.
Women are strong, huh????
Canon IXY DIGITAL 10
Dear my friends in LA...
Are you ready to celebrate Halloween?
I've bought a costume finally!
I'm really really looking forward to seeing all of you guys!!!
10.28.2008
10.27.2008
10.25.2008
The Morning Sun
OLYMPUS E-410
It's getting cooler and cooler in the morning here.
It makes me feel like staying home as long as I can, but actually I like being outside in cold seasons.
The biggest hurdle is a determination of opening the door.
Be brave!
I always encourage myself.
10.24.2008
10.21.2008
Talkin'
You know what,
I mean,
Well...
Blah, blah, blah....
Yada, yada, yada...
I mean,
Well...
Blah, blah, blah....
Yada, yada, yada...
Ah-huh??
OLYMPUS E-410 on 18th Oct
OLYMPUS E-410 on 18th Oct
10.20.2008
10.19.2008
10.18.2008
Autumn Road
To Get the Summer Back
My friend told me, even though I was depressed, I should keep going...write something and try to release my mind.
10.17.2008
Photo is...
Where's The Sun
Losing Colors
Photography is like a proof of my life.
It shows that I breathed, I felt, I saw, and I heard at the moment.
Photography is like a beat of my heart.
Impulse to take pictures cannot be controlled by myself.
That means not I love it, but I live with it.
I will die if I stop releasing this shutter.
写真は 私が生きた証拠に似ている
その瞬間に 私が呼吸し 感じ 見て 聞いたことを証明しているから
写真は 私の心臓の鼓動に似ている
撮りたい衝動は 自分自身では抑えることができないから
写真を愛しているわけではなくて 写真と共に生きている
いまシャッターボタンを押さないと 私は死んでしまうから
10.16.2008
10.15.2008
富士山の写真をみつけた。
I found a picture of Mt.Fuji which I took in last year.
Mt. Fuji
06/17/2007
SONY Cybershot
from Shinkansen
SONY Cybershot
from Shinkansen
10.14.2008
Movie "the Visitor"
I'd like to write about a movie which I watched yesterday.
The Visitor is a 2008 drama film starring Richard Jenkins. It was written and directed by Thomas McCarthy, who is known for his directorial debut The Station Agent. Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a Connecticut College economics professor who befriends a young couple who have been squatting in his New York City apartment. Vale visits New York City infrequently, and is in town for an academic conference. The young unmarried couple, Tarek, a Syrian djembe player, and Zainab, a Senegalese jewelry-maker, are both illegal immigrants. Vale's depression is somewhat lifted by Tarek's drum lessons. After Tarek is arrested at a subway station by the police, he is transferred to a detention center for illegal immigrants. Vale attempts to prevent the young musician's deportation from the United States, paying for an immigration lawyer. Tarek's mother Mouna, whose journalist husband died following a lengthy politically-motivated imprisonment in Syria, arrives from her home in Michigan, and ends up also staying in Vale's apartment. Mouna, also in the States illegally, and Vale develop a friendship, which is abruptly terminated when Tarek is summarily deported. [Wikipedia English "The Visitor"]
This is not a movie that brings up illegal immigration issues for the main subject, but it would be hard to understand if this movie was played in Japan, because we cannot realize how the immigrant problem is big, also common and natural here, in the United States.
The young guy from Syria was arrested in a subway station in New York City by a misunderstanding that he didn't pay the fare.
When Walter Vale said to the guy's girlfriend
"He should be released soon, he didn't do anything wrong",
the woman from Senegal said
"We are illegal. We are not citizens."
Vale's expression looked as if he was surprised a little, like he didn't notice they were immigrants and illegal immigrants should be arrested.
I feel "citizen" is not just a word in the United States.
It seems contain something stronger...like a feeling, power, or dream...inside.
I remembered there were two gates for arrival passengers when I landed in LAX airport : for "citizens" and for "visitors".
I think the title of this movie means "people who are not citizens."
Walter Vale, a bored old American guy, was getting passions through his relationships with visitors and music.
The Syrian guy just wanted to play music in America.
He was not a terrorist.
But he was treated as a vicious criminal in a prison, even deported to Syria.
"I am not a criminal.
I have committed no crime.
What do they think?
I'm a terrorist?
There are no terrorists in here.
The terrorists have money. They have support.
This is just not fair."
Music has no border.
However, the border blocks music sometimes.
Also, I was touched by the scenes of New York City.
The prison was in Queens, where I was born.
Of course I don't remember what the place looked like.
It was my very first time to see Queens.
The Visitor is a 2008 drama film starring Richard Jenkins. It was written and directed by Thomas McCarthy, who is known for his directorial debut The Station Agent. Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a Connecticut College economics professor who befriends a young couple who have been squatting in his New York City apartment. Vale visits New York City infrequently, and is in town for an academic conference. The young unmarried couple, Tarek, a Syrian djembe player, and Zainab, a Senegalese jewelry-maker, are both illegal immigrants. Vale's depression is somewhat lifted by Tarek's drum lessons. After Tarek is arrested at a subway station by the police, he is transferred to a detention center for illegal immigrants. Vale attempts to prevent the young musician's deportation from the United States, paying for an immigration lawyer. Tarek's mother Mouna, whose journalist husband died following a lengthy politically-motivated imprisonment in Syria, arrives from her home in Michigan, and ends up also staying in Vale's apartment. Mouna, also in the States illegally, and Vale develop a friendship, which is abruptly terminated when Tarek is summarily deported. [Wikipedia English "The Visitor"]
This is not a movie that brings up illegal immigration issues for the main subject, but it would be hard to understand if this movie was played in Japan, because we cannot realize how the immigrant problem is big, also common and natural here, in the United States.
The young guy from Syria was arrested in a subway station in New York City by a misunderstanding that he didn't pay the fare.
When Walter Vale said to the guy's girlfriend
"He should be released soon, he didn't do anything wrong",
the woman from Senegal said
"We are illegal. We are not citizens."
Vale's expression looked as if he was surprised a little, like he didn't notice they were immigrants and illegal immigrants should be arrested.
I feel "citizen" is not just a word in the United States.
It seems contain something stronger...like a feeling, power, or dream...inside.
I remembered there were two gates for arrival passengers when I landed in LAX airport : for "citizens" and for "visitors".
I think the title of this movie means "people who are not citizens."
Walter Vale, a bored old American guy, was getting passions through his relationships with visitors and music.
The Syrian guy just wanted to play music in America.
He was not a terrorist.
But he was treated as a vicious criminal in a prison, even deported to Syria.
"I am not a criminal.
I have committed no crime.
What do they think?
I'm a terrorist?
There are no terrorists in here.
The terrorists have money. They have support.
This is just not fair."
Music has no border.
However, the border blocks music sometimes.
Also, I was touched by the scenes of New York City.
The prison was in Queens, where I was born.
Of course I don't remember what the place looked like.
It was my very first time to see Queens.
10.13.2008
10.12.2008
Blooming Violet II
Thanks for your comments on my previous post, friends!
It was very interesting to know how you all felt about the article.
At least, WE know it is ridiculous to scale people by using a stereotyped measure, because we already have many friends from different countries and understand each other deeply.
But in all probability, this measure might exist even in our mother country.
I explained about the western Japanese's stereotype in class on the day I posted "Blooming Violet."
Most Japanese believe that the people from western area, especially from Osaka, are very funny.
They know many jokes, they like to make other people laugh, they are always cheerful...those are typical stereotypes of western Japanese people who are called "Kansaijin."
On the other hand, western Japanese people think the eastern Japanese are sophisticated but icy.
Of course these are not true at all...but we tend to expect humorous conversations when we have a chance to meet a new person who is from Osaka, and worry that we will be treated unkindly if the person is from Tokyo.
Believe it or not, when I told my teacher that I had moved to Virginia from California, and some Californian had suggested me that East Coast is beautiful but boring, she said to me
"We would say...besides the Grand Canyon, there is nowhere special on the West Coast."
There are still many things that we've never known or never tried.
Seeing is believing...the most important thing for me can be described in four words :
"go and see them."
It was very interesting to know how you all felt about the article.
At least, WE know it is ridiculous to scale people by using a stereotyped measure, because we already have many friends from different countries and understand each other deeply.
But in all probability, this measure might exist even in our mother country.
I explained about the western Japanese's stereotype in class on the day I posted "Blooming Violet."
Most Japanese believe that the people from western area, especially from Osaka, are very funny.
They know many jokes, they like to make other people laugh, they are always cheerful...those are typical stereotypes of western Japanese people who are called "Kansaijin."
On the other hand, western Japanese people think the eastern Japanese are sophisticated but icy.
Of course these are not true at all...but we tend to expect humorous conversations when we have a chance to meet a new person who is from Osaka, and worry that we will be treated unkindly if the person is from Tokyo.
Believe it or not, when I told my teacher that I had moved to Virginia from California, and some Californian had suggested me that East Coast is beautiful but boring, she said to me
"We would say...besides the Grand Canyon, there is nowhere special on the West Coast."
There are still many things that we've never known or never tried.
Seeing is believing...the most important thing for me can be described in four words :
"go and see them."
OLYMPUS E-410 "So...where are you from,chick?"
10.10.2008
Blooming Violet
OLYMPUS E-410 "Is this a violet...?"
日本人のステレオタイプっていうと、「シャイ」とか「内向的」っていうのが典型的だけど、
英語ではそういう恥ずかしがり屋さんのことを"shrinking violets"（閉じかけのスミレ）って言うんだって。
なんか美しいですね。
I read an article titled "The Geography of Personality" in today's class.
In this article, Japanese people (and Estonians) are described as "shrinking violets" meaning shy or introverted. It is hard to avoid this sort of (negative) words whenever we face a situation of talking about the personality of Japanese people. This is a kind of world standard common knowledge and it's partially true.
But actually, most Japanese people are basically outgoing and talkative in their personal relationships.However, meeting foreign people and describing their own opinion in English are big difficulties for the Japanese,because they don't have the opportunities to do those two actions in their country.They can't do them, also they don't want to. ...Of course not everyone.
I thought I was a people person and liked to discuss things with friends, but it was still really hard to get used to seeing foreigners and give my own thought in English.Not just because of my ability in English.I'd known English vocabulary and grammars for ages and even could get good scores on some English exams, but I hadn't used them at all in Japan.
I cannot say if it is good or bad...
For me personally, I feel I'm changing little by little....to be a "blooming violet"?
Anyway, I was happy to know the word of shrinking violets.It sounds beautiful, doesn't it?
Shyness has been regarded as one of the important virtues (beauties) for Japanese women through the centuries and influenced our cultural aspects a lot.
Oh, I am absolutely like a wise student!
P.S.
I'm gonna watch Family Guy for two hours now.
I love this cartoon!
I'm dying to watch Family Guy!
10.08.2008
10.07.2008
Don't laugh at me.
OLYMPUS E-410 "Crystal Glass, Twenty Eight Dollars"
Today was the perfect day.
I got up at the exact time I wanted to wake up at,
I prepared for my class,
I'd studied in advance last night,
and I was a little bit excited,
because today was the first day of my new semester!
I arrived at my school on time as usual.
I went to the office and checked the bulletin board where my new class was.
However, there was no information about our classes on the board.
"I'm sorry but school will start tomorrow..."
A man at the office said to me.
How stupid I was!
I sent a text to my friend Jiseon to explain my story.
Surprisingly, she replied to me "Oh my god-! I almost went to school,too!!"
We truly understood why we are such good friends!
We went to Georgetown and enjoyed walking around, looking around some stores, and chatting.
So, anyway, today was exactly the perfect day.
10.06.2008
HANA -flower-
OLYMPUS E-410
来る、来ない、来る、来ない、来る、来ない、来ーる！
Love me, love me not, love me, love me not, love me, love me not..... love me!
10.05.2008
10.03.2008
Es in us
エス（独:Es 英:Id=イド）
自我（Ego）は意識層の中心の機能である。
またエスからの要求と超自我（Super-ego）からの自己の規制を受け取り、
感情を現実に適応させる機能である。
エスは無意識層の中心の機能である。
また感情、欲求、衝動をそのまま自我に伝える機能である。
超自我は意識・無意識の二つの層をまたいだ機能で、
ルール、道徳観、倫理感、自己の規制を自我に伝える機能を持つ。
この機能がエスや自我を強く押し付けているとき、
自我がエスの要求を通すことができずに防衛機制（要求を無意識のうちに様々な手段で
解消しようとするメカニズム）を働かせることがある。
＜日本語版Wikipedia 「自我」参照＞
Id (German: Es)
The Id comprises the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives.
The Id is unconscious by definition.
"It is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality, what little we know of it we have learnt from our study of the Dream-work and of the construction of neurotic symptoms, and most of this is of a negative character and can be described only as a contrast to the ego. We all approach the id with analogies: we call it a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations ... It is filled with energy reaching it from the instincts, but it has no organization, produces no collective will, but only a striving to bring about the satisfaction of the instinctual needs subject to the observance of the pleasure principle.
[Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1933)]
<Wikipedia-English "Id,ego,and super-ego" >
Es is our real feelings, real desires, and real impulses.
We all have Es inside us.
OLYMPUS E-410 "The Gateway to A Labyrinth of Es"
----------------
Now playing: Mr.Children - [es] (Theme of es)
via FoxyTunes
自我（Ego）は意識層の中心の機能である。
またエスからの要求と超自我（Super-ego）からの自己の規制を受け取り、
感情を現実に適応させる機能である。
エスは無意識層の中心の機能である。
また感情、欲求、衝動をそのまま自我に伝える機能である。
超自我は意識・無意識の二つの層をまたいだ機能で、
ルール、道徳観、倫理感、自己の規制を自我に伝える機能を持つ。
この機能がエスや自我を強く押し付けているとき、
自我がエスの要求を通すことができずに防衛機制（要求を無意識のうちに様々な手段で
解消しようとするメカニズム）を働かせることがある。
＜日本語版Wikipedia 「自我」参照＞
Id (German: Es)
The Id comprises the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives.
The Id is unconscious by definition.
"It is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality, what little we know of it we have learnt from our study of the Dream-work and of the construction of neurotic symptoms, and most of this is of a negative character and can be described only as a contrast to the ego. We all approach the id with analogies: we call it a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations ... It is filled with energy reaching it from the instincts, but it has no organization, produces no collective will, but only a striving to bring about the satisfaction of the instinctual needs subject to the observance of the pleasure principle.
[Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1933)]
<Wikipedia-English "Id,ego,and super-ego" >
Es is our real feelings, real desires, and real impulses.
We all have Es inside us.
OLYMPUS E-410 "The Gateway to A Labyrinth of Es"----------------
Now playing: Mr.Children - [es] (Theme of es)
via FoxyTunes
10.02.2008
月s
OLYMPUS E-410 "The Moon from Virginia"We see the same moon from all over the world.
We are all under the same moon anywhere on the earth.
From Los Angeles, from Virginia, from Japan, from Brazil...
If moon had a mirror on its surface,
I could see your face everywhere.
We could meet anyone anywhere.
OLYMPUS E-410 "The Moon from Los Angeles"
10.01.2008
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