Tag: english

Not funny

December 6, 2009
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I was thinking of posting a notice in the elevator, with some kind of “basic rules” for the dorm. Of course, one could say that rules are to be broken, but it’d be so nice if… First, if you meet someone from the dorm, the center or just someone you think you may know, at least nod. You don’t have to ask about the health of their family, just say hi. Is that so much? I know, i’m not innocent, but still, i don’t think that’s alright. The other is about the internet. Of course everyone wants to use Skype and torrent all the possible pr0n off the legendary japanese broadband—side note: for this “legendary japanese broadband” in the dorm, there’s about 150 people using it. At least limit your torrent’s bandwidth usage, consider that maybe others’d like to use that connection as well…

I’m wondering if the kitchen’s oven is all right by now. Want to use it soon…

Serial Experiments Lain

December 4, 2009
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Last time i was in Shibuya, when i bought myself the Twilight book, i caught sight of the Yozakura Quartet DVD’s on a shelf. Since i’d already seen it, i just checked others around it. One had “lain” written on it in an interesting typeface.

Then yesterday i was in some strange mood, and i started watching the series on YouTube. I could compare it to .hack, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Haibane Renmei. Just as with these three anime, Lain is deeply philosophical, and a lot of questions are common. The existence of the world, God, one’s self, the nature of the conscious, of communication and of relationships, the idea of total subjectivity, the extreme power of the network, a lot of psychology and a very twisted graphical presentation. I liked it, as much as one can like any drama series, in the western sense of the word (not to be mistaken with the asian soap operas). It’s not easy to follow, not easy to understand, so leaves you thinking “what the heck’s going on in there?” for a pretty long time. It has a lot of references to real science, the collective unconscious of Jung, for example. To be honest, i was on the series’ wiki after each episode, checking out all the half-word references and kind. I haven’t really seen anything of this kind, this thrilling cyberpunk drama: it’s a lot more serious than .hack, it’s not as depressed and mystic as Evangelion, though i couldn’t really grasp how it differs from Haibane Renmei, it does. A really good series to see the world fall apart.

Exotic music

December 4, 2009
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I wanted to write about asian music in general, but that’d be a bit too much at once. Furthermore, i already wrote about japanese music (even though my view since then changed in a few points), and i didn’t look for any mongolian, korean, indian and so on music, only chinese and vietnamese, after i stumbled upon an indonesian ska band on a blog. However, if you happen to know any music, literally any, it doesn’t have to be asian, it could be south american or arabic as well, i don’t mind the language and the style as long as it’s good and my kind of music. Check my last.fm profile for what i like, or just read on, what kind of music i found. By the way, if you’re on last.fm, and know me, feel free to add me as a friend.

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Starbucks Kenya

December 2, 2009
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Not a month has passed since i bought myself the Italian blend, and i already finished it. Guess it’s the exams’ fault. Anyway, this time i wanted to try something different, and ended up with Kenya. It’s nowhere as good for me, as the Italian blend, but i’ll cope with it until it’s over. It’s obviously much less roasted than Italian blend, and its flavours are totally different. The ground beans smell clean, fresh and somewhat acidy, but not so “dark” (you could say burnt, but that’s a bit different). If you smell its steam after making it, the view changes a bit. It’s smell is quite strong, but at the same time warm and somehow friendly. There’s a slight fruity feel to it, and it doesn’t have the good old burnt acridity in it. The taste of the coffee itself is totally different once again. It has all the basic tastes a coffee should have, it has the stinginess i like and a very warm feel to it, on the other hand it hardly has any aftertaste, which is a big bad point in my eyes. At least it has the body that coats the tongue for a few seconds, but that’s gone all too early too. I’ll see if i get used to it, or what. The sure thing is, my next one will be Gold Coast. ‘Nuff said.

Less

December 1, 2009
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I wasn’t under the shower long enough apparently, because i’m still moody, although my eyes are all right, except for the left one (what a coincidence), which is practically blind, but whatever. On the way home there was a funny scene at Chofu station (and yes, i’m starting to write english sentences with japanese structures, i realised it as well, but can’t do anything about it for now). I was waiting for a local train to come home, but a special express was at the station right then. I was standing where the local would have its door, which coincided with the place of the express train’s door. And behind that door were a twitting group of schoolgirls. You know, the typical sailor uniform, mini skirt, that crappy shoes from the 1920’s and the young teenage girls’ gigglishness. Suddenly one of them caught sight of me. Jawdrop. Still staring at me, she poked another one, and by the time the train was leaving, they were all gazing at me, as if i was at least the frontman of Gazette or whatever girl-popular japanese band. I guess i’ll just have to get used to this, i hope they don’t find out my address or i’ll be in trouble handling all the fangirls. Another thing, which i won’t joke about, a case that i recalled when i read a post about why guys are afraid to pick up chicks (of course it’s in hungarian, bad luck for everyone else). She was kind of perfect, by looking at it, and japanese, which is a terribly rare combination. I don’t have a photo, nor her number. A crowded train is not the best place to approach a japanese girl… That’s bad luck, in my case.

Whiner

November 30, 2009
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The only thing left for me is hope, and if that not, the re-exam. The math was terrible. I learnt everything, practiced all, that i couldn’t do from the practice papers. But dear guy managed to do a list of exercises that made even those who didn’t fail math before worry (first hand report). Of course, i did mess up stuff i was supposed to be able to do. I don’t expect a 100% A grade, i just want to pass. Kinda low chance, considering that last time when i thought i did well, i messed up pathetically. Now i know i didn’t do well (although i did give a result to almost all of the problems), so…

Japanese is not that bad. Grammar wasn’t as bad as i expected, and tomorrow i have high hopes for the reading and listening comprehension. I’m not good at learning stuff by heart, especially not when it’s a whole book. That’s why i think my best points will be the speech, reading and listening.

And i don’t know what university i could get into with this kind of scores. Of course my first would be Osaka, but that’s as if the little devil guy of Sinfest would want to go on a holiday in Heaven. I guess by next week it’ll be decided, when we get all our results. And until then, my nowadays catchphrase: take the fastest train to Osaka, it’s called Hope.

iAmerica

November 27, 2009
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The power of America. Where is the culture that could at least withstand the amazing pressure from the States? I mean that now the world’s too concentrated there. The official “stars” of “popular music” are the “stars” of the american scene, enough to check last.fm for the most popular bands, and in the very top, i always see those bands i’ve only heard the name of, but don’t know how or when they popped up. Maybe, i’m just not keeping up with music news (very true, i don’t really know any good global music news website that could tell me about the stuff i need—be it from Europe, Asia or America), and only know about the bands i listen to (also true). Or is it that last.fm is american as well, so they only focus on their own market, and also that users from other countries use it lot less, thus can’t really be considered “significant”?

The same way i was wondering what’s with the huge hype around Apple. The States’ got tired of the Microsoft monopoly, so switched to Apple? How clever. Instead of turning in an “open” direction, use the even more closed computers ready-made by Apple (not to mention i don’t like their user interface). Nevertheless, i considered buying an iPhone now that i became twenty, but again, no way. (For now.) I couldn’t get one (luckily) in april, when i came here. I’d have bought one then, but i don’t have a normal credit card, nor was of age then (here), not to mention it’s expensive, so it would’ve been kind of troublesome. Now i was wondering if i needed it—and concluded: no. I’m not using all the features of my current “small, dumb and cheap” phone, why would i need the almost-computer possibilities of an iPhone? I hardly talk on the phone, and when i’m texting, i like to do it quick. It’s pointless. Rather buy a new, high-end laptop next year for the sake of Starcraft 2.

What’s luck?

November 26, 2009
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“I don’t believe in luck…” said a then-little kid in the youth camp of our church many many years ago. It struck me, and i remember it ever since (the sentence continued “… i believe in Jesus Christ”, but that’s not the point of this post, however beautiful a creed (is this the correct word? i know it in hungarian and japanese, but not english…) it is). I agree. There’s hardly an objective thing called luck. It’s just us, no other thing. As displayed in for example the sixth Harry Potter book, the Half-Blood Prince, one doesn’t need external boost of luck, the placebo effect will do just the same (though rather have a bottle of Felix Felicis on you if you’re going to duel to death). Further proof of that is that when you’re down, the world’s against you as well, and vice versa.

There are times when i think what it’d be like if i stayed at home. I’d be studying programming on second year, i’d probably be researching artificial intelligence, neural networks and cloud computing, work on getting an advanced language exam in german and an intermediate in spanish, and that’s kind of all of what i could think of. I absolutely have no idea. Sometimes i think that coming to Japan with this national scholarship was a mistake—but as for now, i’m happy. In april, a great thing happened to me.

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Ambiguity

November 21, 2009
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All these human rights declarations, the countless treaties about human rights are all unnecessary. They are made because of the ambiguity of the phrase “free”. When is someone free? Who can be free? Check, all the declarations of rights limit these rights, to citizens of that given state (like too many constitutions), or more generally, to humans. It’s so interesting that humankind couldn’t yet resolve this problem. The declarations and treaties list all what humans are free to do or what they have right to, but this is not the right way. This way, the rights and freedoms are inverted: it would be more practical to suppose that everyone is free to do whatever he/she/it wants. And then come all the limitations. First limitation: as long as it doesn’t limit someone else’s rights or freedoms. And all the others of what you’re not allowed to do.

Are these the same? Are the human rights actually just the limitations of the rights of the community? For sure, since we’re a race that has to survive, the community has to be put higher than all else (meaning that if one can reproduce, they have to). And an “embodiment” of the community is the state, which would explain why there are so many freedoms from the state.

Are we trying to write our own laws of humanics (after Asimov’s laws of robotics), the same way, just since we’re not born bound by these laws but impose them on ourselves, nor are we good, we have to detail them to minimize the damage possible. What’s the answer? How to deal with the whole of our race, and later, with the whole of lifeforms?

Opeth

November 21, 2009
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Tuesday, the seventeenth of november in year 2009, from evening seven o’clock Opeth played a fantastic concert in Shibuya O-East, Tokyo. They played for two great hours. I can’t list all the songs in the setlist, but they mostly played songs i knew, with a few from the older records i’m not so familiar with.

Not only the music was great, as expected from (in my opinion) one of the best active progressive bands, but between songs Åkerfeldt’s hilarious comments made everyone laugh too. (It turned out Opeth renamed themselves Swedish manboobs, i’ll have to re-tag my mp3 library.)

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