Read an interesting book on the topic. “Many practices which are considered traditional are in fact quite recent inventions, often deliberately constructed to serve particular ideological ends.”
August 20, 2009
July 13, 2009
More weird and less weird things in Japan
It’s been a while since my last Japan visit, but a friend of mine pointed out this newest craze:
Earwax cleaning is now mainstream entertainment; more information behind these links. Click here for Yamamoto Ear Cleaning Parlour… And here Moe Pillow Earcleaning Service.
Learning Russian through music
Vitas: My Swan (Лебедь мой) with English and Chinese translations. Here also a Chinese translation.
Opera No.2 with Russian lyrics. And English lyrics.
Vitas Russian lyrics transcribed into Roman alphabet.
For Russian alphabet, see here.
Below are the lyrics to My Swan – Лебедь мой.
Four lines, three of which are hidden in white for my Russian alphabet practice while listening:
Russian
Pronunciation
Word by word translation in original order
English translation
Лебедь мой, он был лишь мой
Lebed’ moj, on byl lish’ moj
Swan mine, he was only mine
Swan of mine, he was just mine
Он был зимой со мною, лебедь мой
On byl zimoj so mnoiu, lebed’ moj
He was winter with me, swan mine.
He was in winter with me, swan of mine
А весной он загрустил
A vesnoj on zagrustil
Spring he sad
And in spring he turned sad
Я отпустил: лети, лети там над облаками
Ia otpustil: leti, leti tam nad oblakami
I let: fly, fly there over clouds
I let him go… Fly! He is flying above the clouds…
Чужой он среди людей
Chuzhoj on sredi liudej
Stranger he among people
A stranger among human beings…
Ты любовь не трожь руками
Ty liubov’ ne trozh’ rukami
You love not trozh’ hands
Don’t touch love with your hands
И не стреляй в лебедей
I ne streliaj v lebedej
And (do) not shoot at swans
And never shoot at swans!
Лебедь мой, он был ручной
Lebed’ moj, on byl ruchnoj
Swan mine, he was tame
Swan of mine, he was tamed
Он был зимой со мною, лебедь мой
On byl zimoj so mnoiu, lebed’ moj
He was winter with me, swan mine
He was earthly with me, swan of mine
Золотой последний снег
Zolotoj poslednij sneg
Gold last snow
The last golden snow…
Лети для всех, лети, лети там над облаками
Leti dlia vsekh, leti, leti tam nad oblakami
Fly for all, fly, fly there over clouds
Fly for all of us, fly! He is flying above the clouds…
Чужой он среди людей
Chuzhoj on sredi liudej
Stranger he amond people
A stranger among human beings…
Ты любовь не трожь руками
Ty liubov’ ne trozh’ rukami
You love not trozh’ hands
Don’t touch love with your hands
И не стреляй в лебедей
I ne streliaj v lebedej
And (do) not shoot at swans
And never shoot at swans!
Время, стой, последний круг
Vremia, stoj, poslednij krug
Time, stop, last range
Stop, time! It’s the last circle…
Последний друг уходит – лебедь мой
Poslednij drug ukhodit – lebed’ moj
Last friend leaves – swan mine
My last friend is leaving, swan of mine
Всей душой тебя любя
Vsej dushoj tebia liubia
All soul you loving
Loving you with all my soul
Прошу тебя – лети, лети там над облаками
Proshu tebia – leti, leti tam nad oblakami
I (ask) you – fly, fly there over clouds
I am asking you: Fly! He is flying above the clouds…
Чужой он среди людей
Chuzhoj on sredi liudej
Stranger he among people
A stranger among human beings…
Ты любовь не трожь руками
Ty liubov’ ne trozh’ rukami
You love not trozh’ hands
Don’t touch love with your hands
И не стреляй в лебедей
I ne streliaj v lebedej
And (do) not shoot at swans
And never shoot at swans!
Лети там над облаками
Leti tam nad oblakami
Fly there above clouds
He is flying above the clouds…
Чужой он среди людей
Chuzhoj on sredi liudej
Stranger he among people
A stranger among human beings…
Ты любовь не трожь руками
Ty liubov’ ne trozh’ rukami
You love not trozh’ hands
Don’t touch love with your hands
И не стреляй в лебедей
I ne streliaj v lebedej
And (do) not shoot at swans
And never shoot at swans!
И не стреляй в лебедей
I ne streliaj v lebedej
And (do) not shoot at swans
And never shoot at swans!
Opera no.2 – Опера № 2
Дом мой достроен, Но я в нем один.
Dom moj dostroen, no ya v nem odin
Хлопнула дверь за спиной
Hlopnula dver’ za spinoj
Ветер осенний стучится в окно
Veter osennij stuchitsya v okno
Плачет опять надо мной.
Plachet opyat’ nado mnoj
Ночью гроза, А на утро туман.
Noch’yu groza, a nautro tuman
Солнце остыло совсем.
Solnce ostylo sovsem.
Давние боли Идут чередой.
Davnie boli idut cheredoj
Пусть собираются все.
Pust’ sobirayutsya vse
Дом мой достроен, Но я в нем один.
Dom moj dostroen, no ya v nem odin
Хлопнула дверь за спиной.
Hlopnula dver’ za spinoj
Ветер осенний стучится в окно
Veter osennij stuchitsya v okno
Плачет опять надо мной.
Plachet opyat’ nado mnoj
Это судьба, а судьбу не могу
E`to – sud’ba, a sud’bu ne mogu
Ya ni o chem prosit’
Tol’ko ya znayu, kak posle menya
Stanut vetra golosit’
Learning Italian through music
Andrea Boccelli: Con Te Partirò (on Youtube with English and Italian lyrics)
Learning Spanish through music
Volare with translation.
Pienso que un sueno parecido no volvera mas
I think that a dream like this will never come again
Y me pintaba las manos y la cara de azul
and I painted my hands and face blue
Y me improviso el viento rapido me llevo
and all of a sudden the wind quickly took me away
Y me hizo a volar en el cielo infinito
and made me fly into the infinite sky
Volare, oh oh (Italian)
I’ll fly, oh, oh
Cantare, oh oh oh oh (Italian)
I’ll sing, oh, oh, oh, oh
Nel blu dipinto di blu (Italian)
blue, painted in blue
Felice di stare lassu (Italian)
I’m happy to be there
Y volando, volando feliz
and flying, happily flying
Yo me encuentro mas alto
and I find myself higher
Mas alto que el sol
higher than the son
Y mienstras que el mundo
while the world
Se aleja despacio de mi
slowly moves away from me
Una musica dulce
a sweet music
Se ha tocada solo para mi
has been played only for me
Tsuji Hitonari’s Mother Calm and Father Storm （母なる凪と父なる時化）
Finally finished this book by Tsuji Hitonari…
A bit of it is available on a Chinese blogger’s site, and here in automatic translation 
July 10, 2009
Good sides of catching a cold
1. No work
2. Lots of sleep
3. While awake, watching DVD’s
Saw these while recuperating…
Fascinating documentary China: A Century of Revolution
US romance / comedy New in Town
Korean love story My Girl & I
Jackie Chan movie City Hunter, where the best bit was his moonwalk
Yes Man with Jim Carrey, the best of all the above films 
Learning Elvish
Just starting out with basic facts:
Old Elvish is called Quenya, colloquial “modern” Elvish is Sindarin.
Tengwar is the script with which Elvish is written.
April 12, 2009
Familiale
La mere fait du tricot
Le fils fait la guerre
Elle trouve ca tout naturel la mere
Et le pere qu’est-ce qu’il fait le pere?
Il fait des affaires
Sa femme fait du tricot
Son fils la guerre
Lui des affaires
Il trouve ca tout naturel le pere
Et le fils et le fils
Qu’est-ce qu’il trouve le fils?
Il ne trouve rien absolument rien le fils
Le fils sa mere fait du tricot son pere des affaires lui la guerre
Quand il aura fini la guerre
Il fera des affaires avec son pere
La guerre continue la mere continue elle tricote
La pere continue il fait des affaires
Le fils est tue il ne continue plus
Le pere et la mere vont au cimetiere
Ils trouvent ca naturel le pere et la mere
La vie continue la vie avec le tricot la guerre les affaires
Les affaires la guerre le tricot la guerre
Les affaires les affaires et les affaires
La vie avec le cimetiere.
(Jacques Prevert)
April 11, 2009
Anonymous hour of unspeakable tenderness
The most forgiving,
Most anonymous,
Tranquil hour,
When almost the whole world sleeps,
Just taxi lights flash in the window beyond bare tree branches,
And street sweepers are fast asleep.
Bars are closing, sunrise is still at safe distance, and there is no reason to go home yet.
Tender is the morning blue,
kiss on the eyelids
of the insomniacs.
Pour toi mon amour
Je suis alle’ au marche’ aux oiseaux
Et j’ai achete’ des oiseaux
Pour toi
mon amour
Je suis alle’ au marche’ aux fleurs
Et j’ai achete’ des fleurs
Pour toi
mon amour
Je suis alle’ au marche’ ‘a la ferraille
Et j’ai achete’ des chaines
De lourdes chaines
Pour toi
mon amour
Et puis je suis alle’ au marche’ aux esclaves
Et je t’ai cherche’e
Mais je ne t’ai pas trouve’e
mon amour
(Jacques Prevert)
August 16, 2008
August 14, 2008
Eckhart Tolle on awakening to your life’s purpose, part 2
Excerpts from the book “A New Earth”.
…
- When you are still, you are who you are beyond your temporal existence: counsciousness-unconditioned, formless, eternal.
- Your inner purpose is to awaken.
- What is the relationship between awareness and thinking? Awareness is the space in which thoughts exist when that space has become conscious of itself.
- Many people who are going through the early stages of the awakening process are no longer certain what their outer purpose is. What drives the world no longer drives them. Seeing the madness of our civilization so clearly, they may feel somewhat alienated from the culture around them.
- If helping others gives meaning to your life, you depend on others being worse off than yourself so that your life can continue to be meaningful and you can feel good about yourself.
- We are not speaking of clock time, but of psychological time, which is the mind’s deep-seated habit of seeking the fullness of life in the future where it cannot be found and ignoring the only point of access to it: the present moment.
- But why did anxiety, stress, or negativity arise? Because you turned away from the present moment. And why did you do that? You thought something else was more important. You forgot your main purpose. One small error, one misperception, creates a world of suffering.
- Through the present moment, you have access to the power of life itself…
- When you meet with people, at work or wherever it may be, give them your fullest attention… The field of awareness that arises between you becomes the primary purpose for the interaction.
- Whereas the notion of purpose before was always associated with future, there is now a deeper purpose that can only be found in the present, through the denial of time.
- Seen from beyond the limitations of thinking and therefore incomprehensible to the human mind, everything is happening now. All that ever has been or will be is now, outside of time, which is a mental construct.
August 12, 2008
Recent reads
Japanese language
Tanizaki Junichirou
In ei rai san
Chijin no ai
Yukiguni
Natsume Souseki
Kokoro
Kawabata Yasunari
Yama no oto
Sakaguchi Ango
Darakuron
Akutagawa Ryuunosuke
Rashoumon
Torokko
To Shishun
Hana
etc. short stories
Yu Miri
Kazoku Cinema (Family Cinema)
Oooka Shouhei
Nobi (Field Fires)
Murakami Haruki
Norway no mori (Norwegian Wood)
Dance Dance Dance
Hitsuji wo meguru bouken (Sheep Adventure)
Sekai no owari to hardboiled wonderland (The End of the World and the Hardboiled Wonderland)
1973 nen no natsu no pinball (Pinball of Summer 1973)
Kaze no uta wo kike (Listen to the Wind’s Song)
Ooe Kensaburou
Hiroshima nooto (Hiroshima Notes)
Shisha no ogori
Dazai Osamu
Shayou
Ningen Shikkaku
German language
Max Frisch
Homo Faber
Stiller
Hermann Hesse
Siddharta
Das Glasperlenspiel (The Glass Bead Game)
Steppenwolf
French language
Albert Camus
L’etranger
Russian literature (translated)
Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
English language
John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men
J.D.Salinger
Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare
Macbeth
Norman Mailer
The Naked and the Dead
Executioner’s Song
